I was on the TA from Barcelona and also agree with most of the comments made about the subpar quality so far. Early on in the cruise, some cruisers I met commented that this was a 'cheap cruise' and therefore at that moment I accepted that things were not going to be up to par. With half capacity, the shows would only have one seating. It just proved to me that they would cut cost wherever they could including running out of certain foods.
At first, the Cruise Director blamed her sickness for not being visible, but even after her recovery, she was only visible on TV and the late night parties. They said she was lured over from Disney Cruises and I was curious to see what she would bring over. Overall, it didn't matter to me because her team was absolutely wonderful and they more than made up for her lack of presence.
There were definitely a lot of people that were sick on this cruise. Early on in the excursions, there were people unmasked and constantly coughing on the buses. Gradually, you would hear more and more people with that similarly sounding cough on the ship including the dining room. The announcements started to change to infer there was something floating around. Some people blamed it on the new carpet, but you can hear that the cough sounded like a respiratory illness resembling a cold/flu. Sadly, by the end of the cruise, I caught whatever was spreading around the ship.
Out of my three NCL cruises this year, I can definitely say that the taste of the food on this trip was the worse. On a few days, the food was so salty in the MDR, that I could not eat it. It truly tasted like you were eating a spoonful of salt. The fish and meats were often overcooked and dry. Even the Korean Chili wings didn't taste like usual.
By the end of the cruise, the main dining service improved a lot. However, O'Sheehan's continues to be spotty. Sometimes food never arrived with no explanation given and customers including myself just got up and left. I would expect no refills on ice water, since I have experienced this on other NCL ships, however waiting for over 15 minutes and not getting any food was just unacceptable.
Even leaving a note for the GM at guest services for an unrelated issue produced no acknowledgement nor reply.
Again, all of these things didn't bother me since I accepted early on that this was going to be a 'cheap cruise.' With that lowered standard, I had a wonderful time. The weather didn't always cooperate, but I loved the ports, the people I met and made the best of everything that was offered.