Not a fan of NCL

[HappyHappy1]

We just got off of our first NCL cruise and were not impressed. Our previous cruises have all been on Carnival.

 

The food in the main dining rooms was disgusting. My son ordered an appeitizer of Jumbo shrimp and yukon gold potatos. There were two raw baby shrimp on mashed potatos. The shrimp were actually still gray. Gross! We tried the main dining rooms twice then gave in and went to the Italian restaurant. The food was ok at best. Much of the food on the Italian for a fee restaurant appeared on the main dining room menu at one point or another during the cruise. The Mozzarella, tomato, & bazil consisted of 3 slices of a roma tomato (about 1/2 of a tomato in total) and 3 chunks (about 1/4" in thickness) of mozarella cheese that you would get from a deli counter...not fresh buffalo mozz. The cheese was hard as if it had been sitting out all day. YUCK! The buffet remined me of a high school cafeteria. We did enjoy the Teppenyaki and Mambos.

 

The staterooms are so small. It was about the size of a large walk in closet. We had an ocean view stateroom.

 

NCL does not allow teenagers to have their own room. They must share with their parents. We have two teenage boys. 4 people in a stateroom that is about 9' x 11'. There is only one bunk. There are two lower beds and a trundle bed. When the trundle is up, there is one giant bed that stretches from wall to wall. Weird! You have to get out of bed by crawling out the foot of the bed. And if you are the unlucky one who is sleeping under the bunk (which is only 22" over the bed) you need to crawl over the person in the middle then down to the foot of the bed due to the low bunk and ladder.:confused:

 

The Television...well...I don't think they could find a smaller one if they tried. Also the TV stations are a joke. We had MSNBC, BBC, Fox News, ESPN, and E!. Oh yeah...and a station that played the Karate Kid 24/7.

 

There are very few teens on the ship...so there weren't any activities happening. Not very family friendly if you have kids older than 6 or 7 years old.

 

When I asked at the reception desk about the staterooms not being suitable for families, I was told that I could have booked a suite or a Garden Villa. Costing an extra $3,000 to $15,000 more.

 

The jumbo TV in the center of the ship is used mostly for Jewelery sales and other semenars to get you to purchase stuff. It is in that area that Carnival would consider the Atrium...not fancy or anything...very plain...boring.

 

The CD had a Volleyball tourney in the kids pool. The problem with this is that there were only men playing and the kids couldn't swim. A few kids went over to the adult pool to use it during the volleyball game (since they couldn't use the family pool) and the kids were chased out.

 

We will never do another NCL Cruise.:(

 

My rating out of 5 stars:

Food: 2 overall

Main dining rooms: 1 star

Italian for a fee restaurant: 1 1/2 star

Lotus Garden for a fee restaurant: 1 star

Buffet: 1 star

Mombos for a fee restaurant: 3 stars

Blue Lagoon restaurant: 3 stars

Teppenyaki for a fee restaurant: 4 stars

 

Staterooms size: 1 star

Stateroom stewards: 4 stars (they were awesome!)

 

Family friendly ship: 2 stars

Decor: 2 stars because it is so plain

Cleanliness: 3 stars

Activities: 3 stars

 

Not worth the money we spent. On the 5th day into our 7 day cruise the boys wanted to go home. This was our 3rd cruise in a year so we are not strangers to cruising.

 

Just my opinion...so I thought I would share.

[reefgirl]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. NCL has no problem letting the teenagers have a room to themselves. You just have to put an adult on the room res. I did the same thing with my teens. So the res shows one adult and one teen in each room. No problem. Most kids are in school this time of year, which explains the lack of teens

 

You should consider changing your screen name.

[SuiteRose]

[quote name=The staterooms are so small. It was about the size of a large walk in closet. We had an ocean view stateroom.

 

NCL does not allow teenagers to have their own room. They must share with their parents. We have two teenage boys. 4 people in a stateroom that is about 9' x 11'. There is only one bunk. There are two lower beds and a trundle bed. When the trundle is up' date=' there is one giant bed that stretches from wall to wall. Weird! You have to get out of bed by crawling out the foot of the bed. And if you are the unlucky one who is sleeping under the bunk (which is only 22" over the bed) you need to crawl over the person in the middle then down to the foot of the bed due to the low bunk and ladder.:confused:

 

[/quote]

 

I was under the impression that you could book two adjoining/connecting OV rooms and your sons could have stayed in one of them... even if they couldn't officially be booked in one alone, you and your husband/wife could have been booked one in each but let the boys stay in the room alone.

[silkhair1]

I am happy Carnival is more to your liking. I think that is why there are so many lines. Everyone likes different things!

 

Was there anything you liked about your cruise? A lot of people book 1 room with 1 parent and a child then another room with the other parent and a child and then they have 2 rooms. 1 for the parents and 1 for the teens. That seems to work out and (unless your kids are out of control) nothing is said.

 

I am sorry that everything was horrible, but at least you tried a new line! Hope your next cruise is more enjoyable!

[ShakyBeef]

We just got off of our first NCL cruise and were not impressed. Our previous cruises have all been on Carnival.

 

The food in the main dining rooms was disgusting. My son ordered an appeitizer of Jumbo shrimp and yukon gold potatos. There were two raw baby shrimp on mashed potatos. The shrimp were actually still gray. Gross! We tried the main dining rooms twice then gave in and went to the Italian restaurant. The food was ok at best. Much of the food on the Italian for a fee restaurant appeared on the main dining room menu at one point or another during the cruise. The Mozzarella, tomato, & bazil consisted of 3 slices of a roma tomato (about 1/2 of a tomato in total) and 3 chunks (about 1/4" in thickness) of mozarella cheese that you would get from a deli counter...not fresh buffalo mozz. The cheese was hard as if it had been sitting out all day. YUCK! The buffet remined me of a high school cafeteria. We did enjoy the Teppenyaki and Mambos.

 

The staterooms are so small. It was about the size of a large walk in closet. We had an ocean view stateroom.

 

NCL does not allow teenagers to have their own room. They must share with their parents. We have two teenage boys. 4 people in a stateroom that is about 9' x 11'. There is only one bunk. There are two lower beds and a trundle bed. When the trundle is up, there is one giant bed that stretches from wall to wall. Weird! You have to get out of bed by crawling out the foot of the bed. And if you are the unlucky one who is sleeping under the bunk (which is only 22" over the bed) you need to crawl over the person in the middle then down to the foot of the bed due to the low bunk and ladder.:confused:

 

The Television...well...I don't think they could find a smaller one if they tried. Also the TV stations are a joke. We had MSNBC, BBC, Fox News, ESPN, and E!. Oh yeah...and a station that played the Karate Kid 24/7.

 

There are very few teens on the ship...so there weren't any activities happening. Not very family friendly if you have kids older than 6 or 7 years old.

 

When I asked at the reception desk about the staterooms not being suitable for families, I was told that I could have booked a suite or a Garden Villa. Costing an extra $3,000 to $15,000 more.

 

The jumbo TV in the center of the ship is used mostly for Jewelery sales and other semenars to get you to purchase stuff. It is in that area that Carnival would consider the Atrium...not fancy or anything...very plain...boring.

 

The CD had a Volleyball tourney in the kids pool. The problem with this is that there were only men playing and the kids couldn't swim. A few kids went over to the adult pool to use it during the volleyball game (since they couldn't use the family pool) and the kids were chased out.

 

We will never do another NCL Cruise.:(

 

My rating out of 5 stars:

Food: 2 overall

Main dining rooms: 1 star

Italian for a fee restaurant: 1 1/2 star

Lotus Garden for a fee restaurant: 1 star

Buffet: 1 star

Mombos for a fee restaurant: 3 stars

Blue Lagoon restaurant: 3 stars

Teppenyaki for a fee restaurant: 4 stars

 

Staterooms size: 1 star

Stateroom stewards: 4 stars (they were awesome!)

 

Family friendly ship: 2 stars

Decor: 2 stars because it is so plain

Cleanliness: 3 stars

Activities: 3 stars

 

Not worth the money we spent. On the 5th day into our 7 day cruise the boys wanted to go home. This was our 3rd cruise in a year so we are not strangers to cruising.

 

Just my opinion...so I thought I would share.

 

I'm sorry to hear you were so disappointed with your cruise on the Pearl. Thanks for sharing.:)

 

DH and I loved our cruise on her, but we were not traveling with kids, and everyone's experience is different.

 

Did the kids not enjoy the bowling alley or the rock-climbing wall?

 

I do happen to agree with you, somewhat, as to the quality of the MDR food. Not as good as Carnival IMHO (at least in 2008, anyway). But I think it was far from disgusting, more like mediocre (again, JMHO). We loved The Lotus Garden, though - even better than Teppanyaki. But maybe the quality of their food has gone down since our cruise.

 

When we were onboard, kids were often playing Wii on the giant screen TV in the Atrium. None of that available on your cruise?

 

We thought the Pearl was a beautiful ship with a lot of entertainment options and plenty to see and do. We also found our cabin quite sufficient and well-laid out (also OV). Again, we were a couple traveling without kids, so of course our experience would be different from yours.

 

I do appreciate your sharing and wish you a more enjoyable next cruise.

[garycarla]

Sorry about your cruise.

 

Food - well, not what it used to be. Some like, some deal with it, and some downright hate it.

 

As to cabin - four in that cabin is a killer. Wish you had visited here in advance and you would have found that folks book two cabins all the time, with one adult "officially" in each cabin, but let the kids sleep on their own..usually connecting, other times nearby.

 

Would have also heard and seen about the sorry setup for 4 people in a cabin. I agree... that is not vacation.

 

(but, better than the Splendor, this week anyways)

[HappyHappy1]

I'm sorry to hear you were so disappointed with your cruise on the Pearl. Thanks for sharing.:)

 

DH and I loved our cruise on her, but we were not traveling with kids, and everyone's experience is different.

 

Did the kids not enjoy the bowling alley or the rock-climbing wall?

 

I do happen to agree with you, somewhat, as to the quality of the MDR food. Not as good as Carnival IMHO (at least in 2008, anyway). But I think it was far from disgusting, more like mediocre (again, JMHO). We loved The Lotus Garden, though - even better than Teppanyaki. But maybe the quality of their food has gone down since our cruise.

 

When we were onboard, kids were often playing Wii on the giant screen TV in the Atrium. None of that available on your cruise?

 

We thought the Pearl was a beautiful ship with a lot of entertainment options and plenty to see and do. We also found our cabin quite sufficient and well-laid out (also OV). Again, we were a couple traveling without kids, so of course our experience would be different from yours.

 

I do appreciate your sharing and wish you a more enjoyable next cruise.

 

The boys (15 & 13) did like the bowling alley. The rock wall was closed most of the time due to winds from Hurricane Tomas.

 

The Wii was available on the large TV for 1 hour per day...I believe it was 10am-11am...I may have the times wrong here.

 

Shark Bait and the Second City were awesome. They definately had better shows than Carnival did on the Legend. The Valor had decent shows.

 

Our CD, Andy, was great. We really liked him.

 

As for the room...When I booked I was told by NCL that there was two bunks and that there were no adjoining state rooms at that time. When on the cruise I asked about getting a second room and was told that we would need to split up and the boys were not allowed to be in one room and the adults in the other. This was made very clear.

 

My kids are actually very mellow and well mannered. So there wasn't an issue with out of control kids.

 

Last year we cruised the same week on Carnival and it was packed with teens. NJ schools are closed most of the 1st week in November for Teachers convention.

 

NCL may be a great line for some...I just didn't find it to our liking and thought it didn't match our lifestyle.

[soonerplyr]

NCL does not allow teenagers to have their own room. They must share with their parents. We have two teenage boys. 4 people in a stateroom that is about 9' x 11'. There is only one bunk. There are two lower beds and a trundle bed. When the trundle is up, there is one giant bed that stretches from wall to wall. Weird! You have to get out of bed by crawling out the foot of the bed. And if you are the unlucky one who is sleeping under the bunk (which is only 22" over the bed) you need to crawl over the person in the middle then down to the foot of the bed due to the low bunk and ladder.:confused:

 

This is not true. We have gone on many trips and the kids stay in one room and us in another. You just put one adult on each room to book. This whole review seems bogus to me. I like NCL and Carnival in case you are curious.

[halos]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. NCL has no problem letting the teenagers have a room to themselves. You just have to put an adult on the room res. I did the same thing with my teens. So the res shows one adult and one teen in each room. No problem. Most kids are in school this time of year, which explains the lack of teens

 

You should consider changing your screen name.

 

Carnival also does NOT allow teens in a room by themselves. You have to book one parent in each room and then do a key switch at the front desk.

If the OP has truly been on carnival cruises, she should know this.

I also agree that even on CCL this time of year there will be less kids.

They're in school for goodness sake. :rolleyes:

 

I'm sorry, someone that has cruised before should know that having 4 people in a cabin is never a comfortable situation.

yes, NCL cabins are definitely smaller than Carnival's. I am sure that made it even worse, but come on....she didn't think she could book TWO cabins???

[GORDONCHICK]

There are so many things that are subjective. I've cruised Carnival once, and wasn't impressed. I would do it again if the timing, itinierary and price were right, but I dont' think I could drag DH on Carnival again.

 

Been on NCL twice, and the last one was the Pearl. We'd heard the Pearl buffet was the best afloat. Not being a buffet person, I reserved judgement, but I too was singing the praises of the Pearl buffet! I will say that some the MDR food wasn't a good as Carnival's (mainly some entrees, but I thought NCL's appetizers and soups were much much better) over all.

 

As far as teens in their own room, I've known many who've booked one adult in each cabin with each teen and then had the key cards changed on board for the adults to be in one cabin and the teens in the other - as long as the cabins were in very close proximity to each other. I've known of this to happen on all the 4 lines I've been on, so I'm thinking there must have been some misunderstanding. This would have been a great time to contact the hotel director to get it fixed. If you go to the CC M&G, you will usually meet most of the officers and they hand out their cards that include the phone number (the phone that hangs on their belt - not one that rings in an office they are rarely in). However, since you booked one cabin, there are rarely many empties to fix this issue once on board.

 

Bottom line, not all lines are for everyone, but also understand that one cruise with the line isn't indicative of all others on the line (which is exactly why I'm willing to try Carnival again).

[gatorsfam]

Sorry to hear of your poor experience. Hopefully your venting all of your frustrations will allow you to move past this and look forward to your next Carnival cruise

[uppitycats]

We just got off of our first NCL cruise and were not impressed. Our previous cruises have all been on Carnival.

 

The food in the main dining rooms was disgusting. While I didn't find NCL food "disgusting", I did find that it was what I expected -- basic "banquet food", what I would expect in any venue trying to serve 2,000 people dinner at the same time.

 

We tried the main dining rooms twice then gave in and went to the Italian restaurant. The food was ok at best. That's unfortunate. I found the Italian Restaurant the least acceptable of any of the specialty restaurants. I really disliked the pizza, both there and elsewhere on the ship. We went to one of the other specialty restaurants, though where I got the best rack of lamb I have had, EVER. So you might just have made a wrong choice here.

 

Much of the food on the Italian for a fee restaurant appeared on the main dining room menu at one point or another during the cruise. This is true. I found this to be true regarding the other specialty restaurants, too -- some of their dishes would appear on the main menu, and often on the buffet. We liked it -- didn't have to spend the "specialty bucks" to get a sampler of the foods offered in the specialty restaurants!

 

The staterooms are so small. It was about the size of a large walk in closet. We had an ocean view stateroom. Yes, the staterooms are smaller.

 

NCL does not allow teenagers to have their own room. They must share with their parents. We have two teenage boys. 4 people in a stateroom that is about 9' x 11'. There is only one bunk. There are two lower beds and a trundle bed. When the trundle is up, there is one giant bed that stretches from wall to wall. Weird! You have to get out of bed by crawling out the foot of the bed. And if you are the unlucky one who is sleeping under the bunk (which is only 22" over the bed) you need to crawl over the person in the middle then down to the foot of the bed due to the low bunk and ladder.:confused: It's too bad that you didn't find this site before you cruised -- you would have learned, as some of the others have already described, a way around this. No, they'll not TELL you that when you try to book, and when you asked in person, they'll certainly not allow it!, but people do it all the time without consequence. If you would have booked before the cruise it would have been likely you would have found if not connecting cabins, at least cabins next door or across the hall, and then you would not have been so cramped.

 

The Television...well...I don't think they could find a smaller one if they tried. Also the TV stations are a joke. We had MSNBC, BBC, Fox News, ESPN, and E!. Oh yeah...and a station that played the Karate Kid 24/7. I don't know any of the cruise lines that have extensive TV coverage! They're all restricted on what access they have because of limited satellite connections, distance from shore (and sending stations and towers), and all that.

On our last cruise (in Norway) we were on a ship that had 2 stations and a constantly running movie. I got sick and was confined to my cabin and was bored to tears after the first 2 hours. But we didn't go cruising to watch TV anyway..my husband had quite a nice time out and about on the ship. It was just me, stuck, that was wishing for more!

 

There are very few teens on the ship...so there weren't any activities happening. Not very family friendly if you have kids older than 6 or 7 years old. Well, you already acknowledged that the weather was affected by a hurricane. That's hardly the fault of the ship. There WOULD have been activities had Mother Nature cooperated!

When I asked at the reception desk about the staterooms not being suitable for families, I was told that I could have booked a suite or a Garden Villa. Costing an extra $3,000 to $15,000 more.

 

The jumbo TV in the center of the ship is used mostly for Jewelery sales and other semenars to get you to purchase stuff. It is in that area that Carnival would consider the Atrium...not fancy or anything...very plain...boring.

 

The CD had a Volleyball tourney in the kids pool. The problem with this is that there were only men playing and the kids couldn't swim. A few kids went over to the adult pool to use it during the volleyball game (since they couldn't use the family pool) and the kids were chased out.

 

We will never do another NCL Cruise.:(

 

My rating out of 5 stars:

Food: 2 overall

Main dining rooms: 1 star

Italian for a fee restaurant: 1 1/2 star

Lotus Garden for a fee restaurant: 1 star

Buffet: 1 star

Mombos for a fee restaurant: 3 stars

Blue Lagoon restaurant: 3 stars

Teppenyaki for a fee restaurant: 4 stars

 

Staterooms size: 1 star

Stateroom stewards: 4 stars (they were awesome!)

 

Family friendly ship: 2 stars

Decor: 2 stars because it is so plain

Cleanliness: 3 stars

Activities: 3 stars

 

Not worth the money we spent. On the 5th day into our 7 day cruise the boys wanted to go home. This was our 3rd cruise in a year so we are not strangers to cruising.

 

Just my opinion...so I thought I would share.

 

Not all lines are for all people. We have one cruise line on our "never again" list, but I'd cruise on NCL again if the itinerary was right. I hope you find a line you and your family like better, next time.

[HappyHappy1]

This is not true. We have gone on many trips and the kids stay in one room and us in another. You just put one adult on each room to book. This whole review seems bogus to me. I like NCL and Carnival in case you are curious.

 

Sorry...NOT Bogus. When I asked about putting the boys in 1 room and the adults in the other...I was told that it is against the cruise lines policy to do this that the boys were not allowed to share a room without an adult. Maybe there was an incident somewhere along the way...I dont know. Like I said...Just my view.

[Tiffany1203]

OP- I feel the same way about NCL. My fiance and I werent impressed but glad we tried it! :)

[HappyHappy1]

OP- I feel the same way about NCL. My fiance and I werent impressed but glad we tried it! :)

 

Thanks...at least I'm not alone.

 

I wish I would have looked into the cruise line more before I booked...definately my fault here. We book this cruise based on the itinerary. Had a great time in the ports.

[halos]

Sorry...NOT Bogus. When I asked about putting the boys in 1 room and the adults in the other...I was told that it is against the cruise lines policy to do this that the boys were not allowed to share a room without an adult. Maybe there was an incident somewhere along the way...I dont know. Like I said...Just my view.

 

You can't book them in a room without an adult on carnival either.....Every time I took my kids on a cruise (when they were under age) I had to book one each with my DH and myself and then once we boarded, go to the purser and have the room keys changed.

 

I am not sure if CCL is the same now...maybe they will just allow you to book the kids seperately, BUT NCL would have allowed you to switch the room keys once on board if you booked one of your sons with each of you in a cabin.

 

I wish I would have looked into the cruise line more before I booked...definately my fault here. .

 

 

 

This is true. The saddest thing is if you had done some research, you could have learned how to book two cabins...you could have learned that NCL cabins are smaller than carnivals and you would have possibly learned other stuff that may hve prepared you for a different cruise than CCL and you may have enjoyed it more if you had been better informed.....sorry it didn't work out that way.

[Fishbait17]

I am sorry you did not enjoy your cruise. Food is very subjective and unfortunately it wasn't to your liking (I have only had a few not-so-great meals on NCL in more than 10 sailing, maybe I have been lucky?)

 

As a NJ parent, I understand about "Teacher's Convention" week. But I am curious, when you sailed Carnival last year, was it out of the same port? Because I have heard the Jewel and Gem (out of NYC) were packed with kids last week, but I wouldn't expect sailings out of Florida as full of kids - airfare during that week can get very expensive for a family. We were always lucky that the were tons of teens on our sailings (on weeks where all many states schools were out, not just NJ). The only sailing we ever did during Teacher's Conv was on Carnival, and we had a terrible trip due to a hurricane and lack of children as well.

 

It is a shame you did not check here about the separate rooms, it is something done every day - or at the very least we could have directed you to

better cabins for four. I would have never considered sharing our cabin with my daughters once they reached preteen years, it would be just too cramped.

 

I am sorry you did not enjoy NCL. Perhaps it is really just not for you.

 

Robin

[HappyHappy1]

I am sorry you did not enjoy your cruise. Food is very subjective and unfortunately it wasn't to your liking (I have only had a few not-so-great meals on NCL in more than 10 sailing, maybe I have been lucky?)

 

As a NJ parent, I understand about "Teacher's Convention" week. But I am curious, when you sailed Carnival last year, was it out of the same port? Because I have heard the Jewel and Gem (out of NYC) were packed with kids last week, but I wouldn't expect sailings out of Florida as full of kids - airfare during that week can get very expensive for a family. We were always lucky that the were tons of teens on our sailings (on weeks where all many states schools were out, not just NJ). The only sailing we ever did during Teacher's Conv was on Carnival, and we had a terrible trip due to a hurricane and lack of children as well.

 

It is a shame you did not check here about the separate rooms, it is something done every day - or at the very least we could have directed you to

better cabins for four. I would have never considered sharing our cabin with my daughters once they reached preteen years, it would be just too cramped.

 

I am sorry you did not enjoy NCL. Perhaps it is really just not for you.

 

Robin

 

Last year we were on the Valor during Teachers Convention. My sons made at least 30-40 friends from NJ during that week. It was a standing joke by our CD that the ship made a detour through NJ on the way to Miami. Our assistant CD was also from NJ.

 

We love cruising. It was good to try a different line. It helped us to find out what we really like and dislike.

 

Thanks all for your opinions.

 

Have a HappyHappy Day!

[k4btzs]

Thank you OP for sharing your opinion with us. I like that we are each entitled to our own and hopefully people will respect that. The fact that you have experience with Carnival and are comfortable there may have highlight for you the differences between what you were expecting and the product that NCL offers. I have only been on 1 cruise and it was with NCL but we enjoyed it and are doing a B2B on the Pearl in March.

 

You mentioned that you really enjoyed the ports of call. Would you mind sharing what you did at each port? I would be really interested in reading more about what you did at each stop. Thanks

[HappyHappy1]

Thank you OP for sharing your opinion with us. I like that we are each entitled to our own and hopefully people will respect that. The fact that you have experience with Carnival and are comfortable there may have highlight for you the differences between what you were expecting and the product that NCL offers. I have only been on 1 cruise and it was with NCL but we enjoyed it and are doing a B2B on the Pearl in March.

 

You mentioned that you really enjoyed the ports of call. Would you mind sharing what you did at each port? I would be really interested in reading more about what you did at each stop. Thanks

 

In Samana we were scheduled for an ATV tour with Terry (Tour Samana with Terry). Miss communication with Terry had us meeting him 15 minutes after he left (he gave me 50% off on a tour of our choice if we are ever in Samana again ... really nice guy...just a typo in an email). We took the hike to El Valle. It was very muddy but adventurous and the boys loved it. We have been to the DR before (Punta Cana), but Samana is poorer than any area we have ever been to. If you are looking for glitz and glam...this is not your port. The pearl uses their life boats as Tenders in Samana. They have no air circulation and the first one we were on smelled pretty bad. Anyway...the waterfall was beautiful.

 

In St. Thomas we went to Emerald Beach (Lindbergh Bay). It is absolutely beautiful Water is very calm. The snorkeling is ok over towards the rocks. We saw alot of fish. You can rent kayaks and snorkel gear at the Best Western. We rented two chairs under a palapas. The water was warm and very clear. It is like a smaller version of Megans bay. Except when the tide is out there is a 3' drop off about 2 feet into the water. When the tide is in it is a gradual slope. We found lots of shells and sea glass. There is a fantastic beach bar at the Best Western...only steps from the water. Food was very good and so were the drinks. We loved this beach. Also...there were only about 40 people (if that many) on the entire beach...and there were 5 ships in port that day.

 

In Tortola we took a charter to the Baths with Tortola Charters. The baths are so beautiful. $60 per person for a 5 hour adventure. It was about 40 minutes getting there and 30 minutes coming back. The rest of the time was in the water and on the beach. If you go to the Baths, there is a little stand on the beach that sells necklaces with the pendant made from a conch shell. Very pretty and reasonably priced. They provide water, soda, beer, and rum punch - included. www dot tortolacharters dot com. i highly recommend them.

 

GSC - we missed this port due to high winds and not being able to lower the tenders.

[mjkacmom]

You do realize that you need to BOOK an adult in each room, but you can sleep anywhere you like, right? Families do this all of the time, and NCL is totally okay with it. We liked the food in the main dining rooms - rarely got something bad. We didn't try the Italian restaurant (being from the NYC area, we avoid Italian restaurants when we travel, because we're usually disappointed), but Le Bistro was awesome, and we really liked the Tex Mex restaurant. The buffet was fine for me - loved the eggs benedict, omlet station, and yogurt/berry station. Lunch for me was the made to order soup, plus salad, and fruit. Your HS must have a great cafeteria!

[k4btzs]

Thanks Happy! We are definitely looking at tortolacharters to get to the Baths and I am glad to hear you had a good time. Did you feel like you had enough time to explore the Baths? We are not snorkels. I would like to try but the rest of the family is really not interested and would probably just swim straight in and enjoy the beach. Is the swim difficult?

 

We are also talking to Terry about the trip to the waterfalls. :) Sounds like we are similar in what we might like. Did you do the horseback ride to the falls? We are thinking that we might like to do that but the kids are a bit worried about riding the horses even though I have explained that they will have someone leading their horse the whole time.

[GigCrusier]

Thanks...at least I'm not alone.

 

I wish I would have looked into the cruise line more before I booked...definately my fault here. We book this cruise based on the itinerary. Had a great time in the ports.

Trust me, you are not alone! I have sailed NCL several times. I will only sail NCL is staying is a full suite with all the perks. The one time we did not stay in a suite, I think I shared most of your feelings. You might want to try our RCCL which is a step up from Carnival, but not as "different" as NCL.

 

Thanks for sharing with us.

[mjkacmom]

There are very few teens on the ship...so there weren't any activities happening. Not very family friendly if you have kids older than 6 or 7 years old.

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Should've taken the Jewel out of NYC - 700 kids on the ship! Dd14 was in her glory, and made a whole bunch of new friends that she is now facebook friends with (and they're meeting up in a few weeks, because they're all from NJ). TONS of activities! Why would you think there would be a lot of teens - except in NJ, they're all in school, and who takes a high schooler out for a week of school.

[mjkacmom]

Last year we were on the Valor during Teachers Convention. My sons made at least 30-40 friends from NJ during that week. It was a standing joke by our CD that the ship made a detour through NJ on the way to Miami. Our assistant CD was also from NJ.

 

We love cruising. It was good to try a different line. It helped us to find out what we really like and dislike.

 

Thanks all for your opinions.

 

Have a HappyHappy Day!

 

Last year, I don't believe there were any cruises during Jersey week (I've been checking for a few years). I was very suprised that not only were there sailings this year, but the price, at least when we booked almost a year out, was the same as the following week. So that's probably why there were more kids on the ship last year in Florida. With high airfare, a lot of people probably decided on the cheap and easy local port.