Norwegian Cruise Line - Cruise Terminal B — Local services in Miami

This was my wife and my 1st cruise on Norwegian. I have cruised carnival 9 times. The comparison is night and day. 1st we didn't know we had to make reservations for the 1 main dining room on ship, Carnival has 2 main dining rooms, assigned time and assigned table as a result we had 1 dinner in Manhattan room. All specialty dining was gone before we even got on the ship, so the specialty dining credit was a joke. The pool was amazingly small for 1,000 people never mind the 3700 that were on board. Carnival has 2 or 3 pools for adults, there were only 5 umbrellas available by the pool and the 15 min reserve on the lounge chairs wasn't enforced as per your notices, People had their stuff on loungers ALL day and staff was afraid to do anything it seemed. The kids pool area is right next to the adult area, so there are too many people confined to one spot. We had the unlimited drink package and was told that bottled water was not included??? What, really? The food at the different restaurants was repetitive and o.k. at best. They Also had no Captains dinner which is something my wife and I always look forward to and packed clothes for.The deck plan shows our staterooms' deck is not a triangle but has a bend to it and looks larger than the ones next to it, but what we had was a smaller triangle instead of the bigger deck we thought we were getting so that is definitely misrepresented and stowage for 4 people is ridiculous, not enough closet or draw space and once bunk beds are set up there is no room for 2 people to even walk past each other. The Casino is also a joke, no vaping in casino, you have to go into a small enclosed poorly ventilated room with cigarette smokers even their employees have to wear masks and are forced to work in there. When you want a drink, you have to wait forever for the waiter/waitress to bring you a drink, especially if you’re only drinking soda or water.Now the biggie, We were on this cruise for my granddaughters 16th bday, all she wanted was to go to the aquarium as she is studying to be a marine biologist. My wife Maryann bought tickets for our other 2 grand kids and our daughter & son in law, bought lily (Bday girl) & her friends tickets for the aquarium, museum and cave tour. At the pick-up point they were separated into separate buses, kids in one adults in the other,( as both were partially filled) , so instead of switching people from one bus to the other they separated them, they believed it was just for the ride over as one bus followed the other but no, they went through the attractions separate from her family which upset and caused her to cry because she couldn't go with her family , her step dad told the driver to make sure they waited for the adults to be out before he left with the kids. They ran through everything 25 mins at aquarium, 20 mins at museum and walk through the cave. At the end the driver with the kids brought them back to the ferry and left them there. with another couple who were willing to pay their way back and stay with them until the parents showed up. THIS WAS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. When Kyle Audrey & everybody got back to the ship drop off spot, the driver of the kids bus was waiting for Kyle to chastise him for telling other driver to have him wait and got verbally abusive. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. This was the most stressful ' aggravating vacation I have ever had. We were traveling with 8 adults and 5 children in total and the consensus was not very good. My Daughter even said on the last night that she won't let this experience tarnish her on cruising and she would try Carnival on the next cruise as this was theirs and 4 other people with our groups 1 st cruise. Ruining my granddaughter’s big day was horrible and unforgivable. I spoke with the cruise rep, Dabriel Hand, about this and advised me to fill this out. We are planning another cruise in June of Next year, but I feel Norwegian won't be part of our plans. I Thank you for reading and allowing me to vent my frustrations. I sent this letter to NCL over a week ago...

We did the 10 day Mediterranean cruise through Spain, France & Italy. The stops were amazing, except for all the issues with Norwegian, it was a great trip. Having been spoiled by Royal Caribbean over the years, we will not be back to Norwegian. Our friends are regular Carnival travelers & even they agreed they would never do Norwegian again. We all know that upselling is part of cruising, but Norwegian has taken it to the next level, & to the point that it actually takes away from enjoying time on the ship.

1. We paid extra for the "Vibe beach club" only to find out you get very little for the money. There is nothing to do with any beach or club, not even light music. It is a private area, but there is no pool, only two hot tubs & it closes at 7pm. So if you go out on an excursion, you eat afterwards, there is zero chance you'll even get to use it. We tried three times over a 10 day cruise & maybe got two total hours in. This would only be beneficial if you wanted silent time alone in a hot tub. Otherwise the main hot tubs had plenty of room & were open until 9pm! The floor is extremely hot & you have to wear something on your feet at all times in the club area. Not possible to even make it from your chair to the hot tub without your feet covered. You would think paying hundreds of dollars per person for a private area on the ship would come with some benefit. Nope, no extra hours, nicer pool (or any pool for that matter) etc.
2. The go kart track is not only another extra charge, but it's only open several hours per day! That's right, a ship you'll be on for over 24 hours at a time, & the go karts are nearly impossible to even ride. Open from 1-7pm some days, so by the time you're back on board after an excursion, just like the "beach club", it's closed & unavailable. The at sea days when there's no excursion, guess what, they're closed until 6pm. All day while everyone is on board & available to ride them, no go karts. So unless you want to skip dinner, you don't get to ride them then either.
3. They have darts but unless you want to pay extra for simply throwing darts, don't bother, after dinner, nope, they're closed! Even if we were to go during the day, if you want a drink while playing, nope, there's no bar in sight or even on the floor, you have to leave that area & take an elevator to a floor that has a bar!
4. Want to play put put golf late at night or after dinner? Nope, they're closed! Went back several times & had no luck catching them open.
5. The slides look amazing, until you try to ride them & realize all but one are not water slides! They have you lay on a mat that grips the slide so much that you literally come to a stop & have to scoot yourself to get going again. The one that was a water slide was of course another up charge, so we never rode it.
6. Simply ordering drinks was a hassle from time to time. At one point I had three people from behind the bar ask what I wanted, finally a fourth asked & said he was the only one making drinks, the others who asked me weren't & to not wait for them. Then why are all the others asking me if they're not making them or relaying the order at least? Very strange. Never did get drinks after having this happen on three different occasions at different bars.
7. We had originally prepaid for a transfer back to the airport after the trip. We later booked an excursion that includes a transfer to the airport. Norwegian took it upon themselves to then cancel our originally paid for transfer. They then decided to cancel the excursion since there was not enough time for it before our flight. But didn't rebook our transfer! They also didn't bother to tell us this. We only figured it out when we didn't receive our transfer schedule or bag tags. Luckily we went to customer service only to be told of their screw up & that there's nothing they could do since the cut off for booking transfers had passed. They said to try to catch a cab but to get there early since there are very few. Lovely! We hope to catch one, will update...

San Pedro pier, L.A., CA. Ncl Bliss: First off,...what an amazing crew! Never once did we feel in any way,unwelcome or devalued! Superb eager staff from front of house to back of house. Def the best staff that genuinely want 2 help in any way they can. Such happy service! Ronie was a hilarious host in the Manhattan. Pearl looked after our every stateroom needs daily with exceptional diligence. The towel Elephant was outstanding and so cute! Rosalie Y in the Manhattan was warm, attentive and delightfully responsive. Ncl is so lucky to have a staff that is so industrious,warm and sincere. The Manhattan was def our prime choice for dining,followed by Savour and taste. Manhattan room was truly a culinary delight! 5 star Michelin caliber all the way. Cagney's was worth the fee! The Local offered gr8 pub grub as a decent alternative around the clock. Best fries ever! The American diner took us by surprise with the best burger I've noshed in a while. Superb shoestring fries too. We enjoyed the Zesty ""Grecian Salad" several times. The Caesar salad was also notable. Best salads were in the Dining rooms, particularly the Waldorf salad rif w lettuce was refreshing and satisfying. Cagney's Lobster tails were a stunning introduction to Lobster! So rich, tender and delicate. All seafood was fresh, plump and abundant throughout Mexico and the cruise. I noshed succulent samples of Lobster,Mussells, Clams,Squid, Flounder, Hoki, Ocean Scallops,Bay Scallops, Shrimp and more shrimp.A bounty of seafood abounds! Yum. The unique Avacodo hummus and the bacon wrapped shrimp were both sublime. The Paella was such a decadent treat from the sea. Pistachio Mousaka was jaw dropping flavourful and legit authentic. Desserts lacked all around, most were bland and flavourless. Sugarless desserts were a hard pass. Poor at best. Garden cafe' was inedible consistently. Good soft serve, bagels and de caff throught the ship. Stiff drinks! Worth the tip! Poor shops limited as well. Gr8 $ on "ck be" cologne @$55/usd 200ml. Game shows were decent...adult game shows were well worth attending...DAN DAN rules! Cisco was gr8 too! Beatles in the Cavern were top notch even with the Argentine accents. Gr8 musicians and fun too. GO carts WERE THE Sh@#! So worth $15usd! Observatory was gorgeous and chill. Waterfront was one of our favourite spots 2 crash for an afternoon siesta. So chill with the shade and comfortable couches. More Jacuzzis needed on deck. Did I mention how bloody fun the Go carts were? Go 5pm - 6pm when ppl r dining. Lotsa hyper kids so expect 2 c accidents often. Lotsa kids in Jacuzzis as well due to limited Jacuzzis.

Superb sound engineers in the poolside,Atrium and Q venues. Never seen a 2 minute set up, 1 minute sound check and 3 minute strike!!! Like a race track pit crew!

Elevators were poor, small, infrequent and not at all mobility challenged friendly whatsoever. This needs 2 change and an added elevator steward would be appreciated 2 direct and keep the vacation blind passengers safe & aware of mobility spaciality issues and the obstacles faced daily by ppl w mobility needs. Hallways r very narrow for mobility devices.

Lovely product for those who prefer a less Vegas chill vibe but not a stuffy sedate vibe either sorta like the porridge Goldilocks would've chose. Ncl is somewhat elegant and understated with a nod to the 55+ demo. I prefer the Carnival vibe, with ample choices of events,shows,shops and a host of dining options and daily activities. Ensenada port fees should've simply been converted to shipboard credits as a token good faith. Ncl however chose to ignore our request for fees returned as a sbc.

Clean ship...approx 4k pax, 168,000 grt...little if any line ups, superb stabilizers and exceptionally quiet in staterooms. Stateroom # sequence is frustrating, illogical and just ill-conceived and guest unfriendly.

Cruising is subjective and always my preferred mode of travel! Choose 2 cruise! Back 2 Carnival.

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