Dawn, Boston-Bermuda, 8-26 to 9-2 (kinda long)

[bogalusa]

Roughly in the format of this post http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1473582 (thanks for the idea,

ecclectic-eccentric!).

 

My wife, 2 kids (12, 9) had a fine time _again_ on NCL. Some details:

 

Departure--

Our driver dropped us at the ship at 11:10. We were onboard at 11:50 and heading for the pool. A nice, smooth process

- smoother than the drive to the ship, actually. At the check-in, I meant to ask for a (free) cabin upgrade. Bad form

on my part, perhaps, but the kids provided all the distractions we needed, so I forgot to ask. An upgrade of _any_

type wasn't likely anyway, since it was peak season on a sold-out ship (according to my NCL booking agent). But it

never hurts to ask.

 

Facilities--

The ship is kept up very nicely. Layout will always be a bit confusing. It's worth it to identify the ship's layout

quirks early in the cruise. We had read here on CC that the pool is small, and it is. But when we used it, it was

fine. Regarding the spa, we visited it for an hour's swim. Returned a couple of days later and found that none of it

is free, meaning that we "snuck in" the first time!

 

Cabin--

5th floor midship. Some noise at night from the ship's engines or equipment (despite our use of earplugs), but we

were all happy to have a porthole and more room than in previous cruises. We had a good stewardess, very friendly and

accommodating. We needed her to empty the stocked refrigerator to keep the kids from ringing up charges (and getting

into the liquor) - stewardess could have done that much sooner; other than that, was fine. Our king bed was comfy;

kids' beds hard as rocks. Great bathroom, great shower head. Towel animals were outstanding, always a bedtime thrill

for the kids!

 

Service--

With very rare exception, we found the service to be very good. [Direct quote from ecclectic-eccentric!]

 

Dining--

In hindsight, our preference would have been to each most meals in the Venetian, a very nice place. [A couple of

dinners at Aqua were OK, but the roomy feeling at the Venetian is much better.] But with kids, plenty of pool time,

and other scheduling concerns, we went to the Garden Cafe buffet most of the time. The buffet had plenty of variety

to look forward to each meal. One disappointment: The Chocoholic Buffet, which was nice if you were looking for a

wide selection of desserts, but not much was truly chocolaty except the wonderful Dark Chocolate Crispy Bars, which

were surprisingly nice! Premium restaurants: We had made reservations for Le Bistro, but after seeing its menu, and

after hearing a great review of La Cucina from fellow poster Sfpspark, we tried it. Loved it and fed our faces big-

time. What value and variety! If you can, bring a second stomach...At the Garden Cafe, do not miss the omelet station

or the waffle station! Or the fresh fruit!

 

Entertainment and Relaxation--

The Second City Show was fine, as were comedian Dave Heenan, the cruise staff show, and the pianists in all the

lounges (the latter was the type of relxation we sought most). Bollywood was built up by NCL big-time, but despite

the great costumes, sets and acrobatics, was a HUGE letdown. Didn't see the magician at all. Go to the Star Bar for a

relaxing time, especially in off-hours when it can be a good place to get away from everyone. Also good for that (at

times, at least) is the outside Quiet Zone on Deck 13.

 

Kids--

The younger one enjoyed Kid's [sic] Crew quite a bit. The staff seemed very attentive, which was good when it came to

both kids. The older one got into a fair amount of trouble, which we think the staff handled fairy.

 

Disembarkation--

No sweat. Chose to disembark last, and that worked out well for our late-rising kids. Found the luggage easily in the

cruise terminal.

 

Complaints, Peeves and Rants--

*One elevator was down for days! This really hurts when _everyone_ uses them!

*On room key cards, having video arcade access turned on by default. Ouch!

*Having to make a late-night trip to the service desk to have them reset ALL our room key cards after our son lost

his. (Had to do this due to the video arcade item above!)

*Finding the small pool behind the bandstand closed for over 24 hours while in port. WHY??? The signed said closed for

a little while or something...?

*The (alleged adult) male passenger seen on shore with a very offensive T-shirt that read, "I enjoy V*gina". Hey,

jerk, there are kids on this ship. And Bermuda doesn't need your sort of ugliness. The island is your HOST, and you

insulted it big-time.

*Seeing the bodybuilder in Aqua in a T-shirt AND with a bucket of beer. Wrong place, pal!

 

Now to figure out our next cruise, maybe with more family!

[cruiser1955a]

Nice review. Full of helpful tips !

Thanks

[cruisingberger]

Fun review, Thanks!