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Video: Onboard Norwegian Prima's First Caribbean Cruise

In November 2022 we sailed the new Norwegian Prima, the first of her class, for a seven night Western Caribbean cruise.  We visited Roatan, Harvest Caye, Costa Maya, and Cozumel -  but the real highlight was the ship.  Norwegian Prima is a 144k GT ship carrying about 3100 people, but has a totally new aesthetic, several new venues and entertainment options, and the most favorable passenger : space ratio of any ship in the fleet.  In the player below, you can watch all of our daily videos recorded during our cruise (one per day) and see what sailing on Prima is really like.

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Norwegian Prima - Day 6 - Cozumel Grocery Store, VR Games & Larissa Breaks the Rules @ Mini Golf

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Norwegian Getaway Review with 107 photos & 9 videos!

By Spaniel Lover , September 21, 2014 in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Spaniel Lover

We had a FANTASTIC experience on the Norwegian Getaway during the first week of September, and it's my pleasure to present you with this review of our cruise... featuring 107 high-quality photos and nine HD videos.

Before I get going, though, I'd like to just briefly introduce myself... so you know who this review is coming from.

I'm Jim Zimmerlin (everyone calls me Jim Zim) and I always cruise with my wife, Kellyn. (Pronunciation tip: it rhymes with Helen.) We're from Grover Beach, California... a little beach town on the California coast about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. We've been cruising since 1996, and this was our 26th cruise overall... but only our second with Norwegian Cruise Line.

Most of our previous cruises have been with Carnival Cruise Lines. We did over 20 Carnival cruises, and we were quite happy with them. Back in 2008, after our first couple of Carnival cruises, we decided to give Norwegian Cruise Lines a try... just to see how it compared. We did a cruise to Acapulco on the Norwegian Star... and it just didn't measure up well to the Carnival experience. So, we stuck with Carnival for years and years after that. But earlier this year, I got an offer from Princess Cruise Lines that I couldn't refuse (it was an almost-free cruise) and so we found ourselves on our first non-Carnival cruise in a quite a while... and it really opened our eyes! We discovered some things about Princess that we really liked better than Carnival... and it got us to thinking that maybe we should try some of the other big cruise lines (including giving NCL a second chance) and see if anyone else could give us a better cruise experience than what we were used to with Carnival.

I have to start by saying that the Norwegian Getaway has got some amazing features that make it stand out as one of the best cruise ships in the world, in my opinion.

We were impressed with the huge variety of dining options onboard, some of the best entertainment we've ever seen on a cruise ship, and the best spa facilities we've seen, too. We were very excited to be able to sail on her during her inaugural season.

I'm going to get in to a whole lot of details about our cruise... but before I do, I want to give you a little overview. The easiest way for me to do that is to have you watch this 4-minute video of highlights from our cruise:

[YOUTUBE]9xuDCNmHj7g[/YOUTUBE]

Here are a few tips about watching the videos included with this review...

All of the videos have sound, so be sure you have your speakers turned on or headphones plugged in. To get the video to start playing, click on the little triangle in the center of the picture.

All of the videos are available in HD. Cruise Critic defaults to playing them in a fairly low resolution format. If there's one you want to see a little more clearly, you can bring up the HD version by clicking in the lower right where it says YOU TUBE. This will open it up on YouTube, rather than within Cruise Critic. One you're watching it on YouTube, you can switch the resolution over to 720p by clicking on the "settings" adjustment in the lower right hand corner... and you can also expand the video to full screen by clicking on the full screen icon in the lower right corner.

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We've been on many great cruises before. For you to understand what took this cruise totally over-the-top for us, I have to tell you about The Haven.

There are about 4300 passengers on the Norwegian Getaway, but only about 250 of them have access to a special V.I.P. section of the ship known as The Haven. It's a private, hidden, quiet area of the ship... with it's own swimming pool, Jacuzzis, outdoor sundeck, sauna, restaurant, bar, and lounge. The Haven is all walled off from the rest of the ship... with access by way of a special platinum-colored key card. Everyone staying within The Haven has a butler and a concierge, in addition to the traditional room steward that all cruise ship guests have.

The focal point of The Haven is known as "the courtyard". It's a private sundeck with a swimming pool, two Jacuzzis, and lots of comfortable loungers and day beds.

The Haven made its debut with Norwegian Cruise Lines back in 2005 on the Norwegian Jewel... but the roots of the Haven actually go back even further than that. The Norwegian Star, built in 2001, featured a couple of amazing courtyard suites featuring a huge private outdoor area and the ability to have your meals delivered so that you didn't have to eat in the busy restaurants with all the other regular passengers. You know, the folks in "steerage"!

NCL refined and improved that idea with the introduction of The Haven on the Jewel-class ships. The whole concept was to offer a private area within the ship where the folks from the most expensive cabins could spend some quiet time in the sun without having to put up with all the noise and commotion that typically exists around the main pool area of a cruise ship.

In 2010, with the introduction of the Norwegian Epic, they took the concept a step further by offering a private restaurant within The Haven and also by offering a much larger Haven courtyard.

Kevin Sheehan became Chief Executive Officer of NCL in 2008, and at that point they started designing the company's next generation of ships. Perhaps you remember Kevin from a very interesting episode of the TV show Undercover Boss ... where Kevin disguised himself so that he could see what was really happening on his ships without his employees realizing that they were talking to the CEO. The first ship that was completely designed and built during the Sheehan era at NCL was the Norwegian Breakaway, which debuted in 2013. It was really interesting to see the improvements that they made to The Haven on the Norwegian Breakaway. The biggest improvement was adding a second deck above the courtyard, featuring lots more loungers and daybeds... so that there would never be a shortage of places to lay out in the sun even if most of The Haven guests all decided to do so at the same time.

With 4300 passengers onboard, dining in one of the large public dining rooms onboard can seem a little noisy and hectic at times. Guests of The Haven have the option of eating in the much quieter, more refined setting of The Haven Restaurant.

On embarkation day, boarding doesn't begin until 11:30 AM. People are always very excited to get their vacation started, and lots of them arrive at the terminal way before boarding begins. Usually, by the time 11:30 rolls around, there are at least a few hundred people waiting in the terminal to board the ship. One of the perks of being a guest of The Haven is that there's a private lounge in the terminal for check-in of Haven guests, and then when boarding begins you can be among the first to walk on to the ship. But Haven guests don't just walk on to the ship on their own... there's an employee who personally escorts you on to the ship and who takes you all the way up to The Haven. It was pretty cool.

The Haven restaurant doesn't open for lunch on embarkation day until 12:30, so after boarding and until the restaurant opens, you are invited to wait in The Haven lounge and bar area. They served complimentary mojitos and rum punch... and they also brought out sliders as appetizers.

At 12:30, the restaurant opened for business and we were seated at a table by the window. There's not a whole lot of window space within The Haven restaurant, so the tables are crammed a bit too-close together in that area. The lesson we learned, since we like our privacy at meal times and don't like being seated so close to other people that they end up hearing every word we say to each other, is to ask for a table in the interior of the restaurant rather than by the windows. Away from the windows, the tables have a comfortable amount of space between them... as you can see in the previous photo.

One really great thing about The Haven restaurant is that you can choose to have your meals outside, in the courtyard. FYI, if you want to sit outside in the courtyard and have your meal served to you out there... check in at the entrance to the restaurant just like you wanted to be seated inside, and then tell them you want to be seated outside in the courtyard. If you don't do that, they won't know you're out there... and won't send a waiter or waitress out to take your order.

We found that we totally loved having breakfast outside in the courtyard of The Haven. It was always nice and warm outside at breakfast time... but not too warm. Breakfast always feels like it should be a very casual meal... and outdoor seating in the courtyard seemed just right for us. Back at home, thinking back on our vacation on the Norwegian Getaway, breakfasts outdoors in The Haven courtyard are among my favorite memories of the cruise.

At breakfast time, there's fresh fruit in The Haven courtyard, too...

One odd thing about breakfast in The Haven...

They had no idea what a Denver Omelet was! Their breakfast menu offers an omelet with your choice of several listed ingredients. Rather than tell my waitress that I wanted "an omelet with ham, onions, green bell peppers, and cheese" I thought it would be easier to just tell her that I wanted a Denver omelet. She had no idea what that was! That surprised me. Was I really the first person to ever ask for a Denver omelet in The Haven restaurant?!?

We stayed in cabin 14136. Hopefully, people who are booked in this cabin in the future will Google it and find this page... so they can see how wonderful it is! We totally LOVED it. The big selling point is the Jacuzzi bathtub, right next to the bed...

A few things to know about the Jacuzzi tub...

It takes about twenty minutes to fill. When you're all done using it, drain it... just like you would a bath tub. Don't leave it full of water like you would an outdoor Jacuzzi. In the (very unlikely) event the ship hits some rough seas, you don't want water sloshing out of the tub and in to your cabin.

Make sure you don't turn on the jets until the tub is almost full. If you turn on the jets before all the jet nozzles are under at least an inch or two of water, the jets may spray water out in to your room and make a big mess! I did NOT learn this lesson the hard way... but my sister did, on a vacation many years ago! Her story has stuck with me all these years.

I'm sure that you can tell from the still photos that it was a nice cabin, but I bet you still don't fully get it. For you to really see what's so great about this cabin, I need to take you on a video tour...

[YOUTUBE]WOjvMcJTBvI[/YOUTUBE]

Unless you're on a super-tight budget, don't ever consider booking an "inside" or even an "ocean-view" cabin. For the full experience, you have to get a balcony cabin. There's SO much to see! Here's a picture I snapped from our balcony as the ship sailed out of the port of Miami...

A few final thoughts about our Haven Spa Suite cabin...

Because we had access to the Spa Thermal Suite, which had a gigantic thermal pool plus a large Jacuzzi, we only used the in-room Jacuzzi tub three times during the week. But it was really wonderful to have it those three times. The pool and Jacuzzi in the spa are larger and more comfortable... but there are times when it's nice to have the privacy of a no-suit-required Jacuzzi right there in your own room. It especially came in handy on the last night of the cruise. We wanted to spend some time soaking and relaxing on the last night of our vacation... but we didn't want to get our swim suits all wet before we had to pack them in our suitcases for the flight home. By having a private Jacuzzi in our own room, we were able to relax in a warm Jacuzzi without having to get our swim suits wet.

With all that said, when I think back about our cruise and the wonderful cabin we had, the Jacuzzi isn't actually the cabin feature I enjoyed the most. You might be surprised to hear what was. It was actually the modern, spacious bathroom. Having been on 25 previous cruises, I'm used to cruise ship cabin bathrooms being fairly tight. In fact, the biggest negative thing about both of the Princess cruises we've been on was the horribly uncomfortable tiny shower. This bathroom wasn't tight at all, though. In fact, it may have been larger than the one we have at home! It was certainly more comfortable and luxurious. (Not to mention that someone comes in twice a day and cleans it up!) If you skipped past the cabin tour video I shared a few moments ago, go back and play it and pay special attention to the tour of the bathroom. It was such a comfortable bathroom!

Our "Haven Spa Suite" cabin entitled us to full access to the ship's spa facilities... and I was a little surprised to find that this was one of my favorite aspects of the cruise. We ended up spending a LOT of time in the "thermal suite" within the spa... which is what they call the area you see in the following pictures...

The best part of the thermal suite is the big indoor pool area you see in the first picture. I had seen pictures of it before our cruise and I assumed that the Jacuzzi with the white border, over on the left side, would be warm and that the main pool itself, in the back, would be the temperature of a regular swimming pool. Wrong! The water in the whole thing is like what you would expect in a Jacuzzi. It was wonderfully warm! It was so luxurious to have such a large pool filled with such warm water. I've never been in such a large warm pool before. Normally, no homeowner or hotel owner would want to pay the heating bills involved in keeping such a large pool that warm. But normal rules don't necessarily apply on cruise ships!

Before the cruise, in viewing pictures of this area of the ship, I also couldn't really figure out what that area on the lower right was. A second Jacuzzi? Or what? It turns out that it's a little like a regular Jacuzzi, but a little different. Instead of the force of the water coming horizontally out the sides of it, there are tremendously powerful bubbles coming up vertically from the floor. It's really turbulent in there! It's kind of fun to sit in there and fight the force of the bubbles for a while... but you probably won't want to fight it for long. After a few minutes in there, you'll find just relaxing in the main section of the pool is a lot more comfortable. All the whirlpool jets are on a timer... so after a while they all shut off... and they only come back on if someone pushes the button there along the side of the pool.

Just outside of the big warm indoor pool is the row of tile loungers that you see in the photo above. What you can't tell from the photo is that those tile loungers are heated! It feels nice to have the heat from the tiles against your skin as you stretch out and relax there. See those windows to the right of the photo? They have a spectacular view! This entire area sits directly above the ship's bridge... and those windows look out forward in front of the ship... basically the same view the Captain and navigation crew have. It's a great view during the day.

In addition to those heated tile loungers, there's also a bunch of these soft padded loungers in this area. Those tile loungers take a little getting used to... the heat is great, but the tile makes it very rigid. Depending on your body size, you may or may not fit the contour of the tile lounger well. What would happen with me after getting on to one of those tile loungers is that I would spend the first minute thinking how uncomfortable the stiff tile and rigid shape made it... but then after a minute or two the heat would work its magic and my body would relax and somehow mold itself in to the contour of the lounger. But if you can do without the heat... you can avoid that uncomfortable first minute by just using these soft loungers instead.

Note the towels on each lounger. At first glance you might tend to think that a "chair hog" was trying to reserve these loungers and that they were "taken". Not so. The staff puts a rolled-up towel on each one. If you see a towel that's not neatly rolled up... THAT'S a chair hog in action.

Now I'd like to offer a few words to future guests of the Norwegian Getaway who may be reading this now... a few words which, I hope, will help promote considerate behavior when spending time in the spa:

<rant>

There are a very limited number of those heated tile loungers, and everyone that gets out of the pool, Jacuzzi, or sauna wants to use one. Don't be a tile lounger hog. There aren't enough of them to allow you to reserve one for when you eventually get out of the sauna or the pool... so don't stash your bath robe, beach bag, sunglasses, or towels here. If you need a place to stash your stuff while you're in the pool... look around... there are other places you can put them. The heated tile loungers are there to be used... not to be used as a table for your stuff while you're in the sauna or the pool.

</rant>

A sauna is a fairly standard feature in a cruise ship spa. One unusual thing the Norwegian Getaway's spa has is a salt room. They say that the salty air in the room is good for your skin.

They recommend that you spend about 20 minutes in the salt room. I tried it out, and found it to be a comfortable place to relax and cool down after getting quite hot in the sauna, Jacuzzi, and thermal pool. The salt room was kept at what seemed like a fairly normal temperature and humidity... so it was a nice change from the heat and humidity of the other rooms within the thermal suite. However, I can't say that I noticed any benefit to my skin condition. It just seemed like another one of those unsubstantiated claims that you tend to hear a lot in a cruise ship spa. Luckily, this one did not come with a sales pitch or a price to be paid!

The big thermal pool has a very powerful waterfall feature in the center. I enjoyed getting under the waterfall and letting the pressure of the water massage my shoulder and back. Just be careful if you're in the pool and you see someone else head to the waterfall like they're going to get under it. It splashes water around when they're under it... so back off and leave a little buffer zone between you and them so you don't get splashed.

The thermal suite within the spa has limited access. Only people staying in spa cabins, and a limited number of people who purchase a spa pass, will have access to this area. So, it tends to be pretty calm and peaceful in there. With that said, though, there are certain times when it's busier than others. On sea days, of course, it's far busier in the thermal suite than on a port day. We came in for a relaxing soak in the pool on the evening that the ship had been in St Maarten. I guess everybody was so tired from having fun in St Maarten that they just crashed in their rooms that night. Or perhaps the entertainment was so good, that they had better things to do that evening. In any case, the thermal suite was empty that evening and Kellyn and I felt like super-rich snobs with our own private thermal suite. It was great.

The Free-Fall Water Slide

As someone who's done a lot of cruises with Carnival, it was really interesting to see the many ways that NCL has surpassed Carnival with the Norwegian Getaway... and how, in some respects, Carnival's ships seem a little out of date to me now. One example is in comparing waterslides. The Norwegian Getaway offers, by a wide margin, the best array of water slides at sea.

Sure, Carnival was the first to offer a vertical-drop water slide on a cruise ship... and at the time, it was amazing and impressive. But not only does the Norwegian Getaway now have one of its own... it has TWO... plus three other curvy slides, too. So, that's FIVE waterslides on one ship... which I believe is two more than any Carnival ship has, and four more than most.

The other strange thing about Carnival, as far as waterslides are concerned, is how they took one of only two ships with a vertical-drop slide and sent it to Australia. So, as far as us Americans are concerned, there's only one remaining Carnival ship with a decent waterslide on it. For the bread-and-butter of Carnival's fleet... the Conquest-class and most of the Spirit-class ships... you've just got one very pokey little waterslide on the ship. Not impressive when compared to the five waterslides on Getaway, five on Breakaway, and who-knows-what coming up on the Norwegian Escape next year. So, consider me a fan of what NCL is doing in this area.

It's kind of ironic for me to be poking fun at Carnival over waterslides, since several of my Carnival cruises were paid for by ad revenue generated by

[YOUTUBE]v5uC2hbsKpo[/YOUTUBE]

Now let's take a look at some of the entertainment available on the Norwegian Getaway. I guess one way to illustrate the vast number of entertainment options is to admit that during my 7-day cruise there was simply not enough time to experience it all. I never made it to Burn The Floor, Legally Blonde - The Musical, or Howl At The Moon. There were just not enough hours in the day to experience it all... and that's a good problem to have on a cruise ship.

But let's cover some of the things I did have time for... and I'll start with what I'd say was flat-out the best entertainment I ever experienced on a cruise ship: it's something totally unique to the Norwegian Getaway called "The Illusionarium".

I've seen magic & illusion shows on Carnival and they've always been good... but what happens in the Illusionarium on the Norwegian Getaway is in a totally different league. It starts with the fact that the Illusionarium, and by that I mean the theater itself, was built specifically for this show and this show only. Nothing else ever takes place in the Illusionarium... it's not a multi-purpose room. It exists solely for this particular show.

Photography and videography are not allowed during the show, so I was only able to take a couple of pictures before the show began. A careful look at the following photo will reveal a few special aspects of the Illusionarium and the show that takes place there.

In the lower portion of the photo you can see the circular-shaped stage where the show takes place. Notice that wrapping around the stage are people seated at tables. The Illusionarium is a dinner theater. They serve a pretty decent surf-and-turf dinner along with the show. I think the fact that they built a theater just for this show, and that they went to the trouble of making it a dinner theater and not just a straight magic show, illustrates how NCL wanted to really make this something special. I think they've succeeded!

Another thing to point out in that photo is the thing that looks like a dome over the stage. Those are actually video screens, and what happens up there on those screens will change to match things throughout the show. It's pretty cool. At this point, before the show had actually started, it was just made to look like a glass dome over the stage.

What happens in the Illusionarium is far from just an ordinary magic show. The show involves four magicians, plus a cast of several other actors and actresses who assist. I don't want to give it away... there's a storyline that forms the basis for all the illusions during the show... and all I'm going to say about it is that if you ever cruise on Norwegian Getaway, do yourself a big favor and go see this show!

One thing I am willing to give away about the show is that if you arrive early enough to be seated during the first 5 or 10 minutes that the theater is open, you'll see an unusual sight. For the first five minutes or so, every visible waiter and actor pretends to be frozen in place! In this next photo, you can see one of the actresses up on stage... and she stood dead still like that for a good five minutes or so. Frozen in place! Throughout the room, there were waiters and waitresses that all appeared to be frozen in place while in the middle of doing their normal routine. And then, after five minutes or so, all together to some silent cue that I couldn't detect, everyone came back to life! It was quirky and whimsical... and just a taste of the fun that would unfold during the show ahead.

I was totally delighted by both the show itself and the food they served. I had read some negative comments here on Cruise Critic about the food... and that surprised me, given how much I enjoyed it. I was also fortunate to have the best seat in the house! One of the perks of being a guest of The Haven is that you get priority seating at many of the shows onboard... including in the Illusionarium. Rather than standing in line outside the Illusionarium like the other passengers did before the show, Haven guests were asked to meet at the concierge desk in The Haven. Then, the concierge walked us (there were about 10 of us) over to a special crew-only elevator and we went down to the Illusionarium and entered via a special entrance which bypassed the line outside the theater. From there we were escorted to the best seats right next to the stage. Once we were seated, the other guests were allowed to enter.

Later that evening, perhaps an hour or so after the show, something very unexpected and totally delightful happened to us! We decided to head to the buffet at the Garden Café on Lido deck to have some dessert. Much to my surprise, two of the actors from the Illusionarium show were sitting at a table having some dinner... and one of them was the lead character from the show, who plays the part of "Geoffrey" and who acts as the host and master of ceremonies. I later found out that his real name is Bruce Gold.

On the one hand, I didn't want to mess up Bruce's dinner... especially since the actress he was dining with was drop-dead gorgeous and if I had been dining with her I certainly wouldn't have wanted anyone butting in! But on the other hand, I just HAD to let him know that he had made a big impression on us and that we had been completely delighted with the show. So, I politely interrupted and told them how much we had both enjoyed the show that evening. Bruce is a super-friendly guy, and it was easy to tell from his body language that he didn't mind the interruption at all. In fact, he seemed to encourage the conversation. So, Bruce and I chatted for a few minutes. It was really a fun chat. Both of our lovely companions were content to just observe and listen, though! If it had been up to me, I would have sat down and chatted with Bruce for 15 or 20 minutes... but I knew that would have been rude... so after a few minutes, we left Bruce and his companion to have their dinner.

I spent much of the rest of the evening thinking about all the things I would have loved to have asked Bruce if I had been able to have more time with him. So, imagine my delight when, later in the week, I noticed an item in the Freestyle Daily newsletter about a question-and-answer session with the Illusionarium cast, to be held in the atrium. There was no way I was going to miss that!

The cast made a few opening remarks and then they opened it up to questions from the audience. I was bursting at the seams, and got the opportunity to ask the first question. Bruce indicated that he recognized me from the other night, and then the cast took my question (about how often things go wrong during the show) and ran with it. It was fun. I could have easily asked ten other questions... but that would have been rude, so I shut up for the rest of the Q&A so everyone else could have a chance to get their question in. When the audience finally ran out of questions, several of the magicians did a few illusions. I included one of my favorites... where Bruce impersonates one of the other magician's making a bird appear from nowhere, and then reveals how the trick works by showing that the very real-looking bird was actually a fake... in

One thing I learned during the Q&A session was that NCL will not be putting an Illusionarium on their upcoming new ship, the Norwegian Escape... nor do they plan to add an Illusionarium to any other ship in the fleet. They want it to remain a unique feature of the Norwegian Getaway. I can't wait to see what kind of interesting improvements the Norwegian Escape does have! I definitely plan to sail on her.

cmdchiefthom

:D Great start, you have my attention, and the pictures are absolutely fantastic

That Q&A session in the atrium was just one of many interesting things that happened there in the atrium throughout the day. It's an interesting space that they put to good use... far better than Carnival gets out of their big atriums. In this next picture, of pianist Chris Wade entertaining a small group of folks in the atrium, you can see how the atrium curves around and how there's seating up on the next level that provides a good view of what's happening below.

They also use the atrium for some things like trivia contests, dance classes, and game shows. I thought this was an interesting use of the space, rather than tying up the main theater with things like that, and it has the added benefit of catching the attention of people just walking by who might not have had any intention of catching the show or activity.

One of the things we enjoyed seeing in the atrium was the "Newlywed Not-So-Newlywed" game... a concept we've seen used on just about every one of the 26 cruises we've been on. It's always good for a laugh or two, and I was curious to see how NCL did it compared to the format I was used to on Carnival. Turns out that it was pretty similar.

Now I have to go on a little rant here for a minute, because the picture of the Newlywed game brings up one aspect of our cruise that was less than perfect.

See the guy in the hat, hosting the show? That's JC Sanchez, Cruise Director of the Norwegian Getaway.

From my experiences with Carnival, I knew that when Carnival rolls out a new ship, they fill it with their best crew members, including whoever they think is their best Cruise Director. I expected, when sailing on the newest ship in the NCL fleet, to be wowed by a great Cruise Director. It was one of just a few areas where they didn't meet or exceed my expectations!

I don't know if JC Sanchez was just filling in while their main guy was on vacation... or what... but he sure didn't seem like "best CD in the fleet" material to me. Surely, they must have better! Oh well, that's OK... if the Norwegian Getaway had to fall a little flat in one area... that's probably one of the better areas to fall flat in. (And one of the easiest to fix: NCL please send JC somewhere a little less visible... like the Norwegian Spirit!)

Back to the Newlywed game show...

Perhaps you've seen the show before on another cruise. The idea is to pick three couples from the audience: one who have only been married for a few days, one who have been married for somewhere around 20-25 years, and one who have been married for upwards of 50. The youngest and oldest couples are fairly easy to pick... you just start asking the audience who's been married for the least amount of time and who's been married FOREVER. It's the middle couple that's a little trickier to pick. The host usually does some kind of audition to try to find a lively couple who seem like they'll be fun on stage. On the Norwegian Getaway, they used an imaginary scene from the movie "Tarzan" and had the couples act it out. The wife says something like "Tarzan, Tarzan... where ARE you?!?" and the husband replies with his best

So, there we were, sitting in the audience of the Newlywed game show, watching people audition with the Tarzan & Jane bit... when we heard them introduce one couple as "Brian and Heidi". This rang a little bell in my head... as I had seen the names Brian & Heidi before. You know how on a cruise, some people will decorate the outside of their cabin door with artwork? Just down the hall from our cabin, I had seen a cabin door with a fake porthole and the names Brian & Heidi. So now here were Brian & Heidi up on stage, doing the Tarzan & Jane thing to try to get in to the Newlywed game. Figuring there probably weren't two couples by the names of Brian & Heidi on our ship, I assumed it was our neighbors. I just made a mental note of it, in case some day during the cruise I might see them popping in or out of their cabin... and I could do a little Tarzan yell to make them laugh and let them know I had seen them on stage.

After that, every time I walked by their cabin door and saw their names on the sign, I laughed and thought how the sign should really be modified to say Tarzan & Jane rather than Brian & Heidi. Not wanting to permanently deface their sign, I came up with a simple way to make my little joke, and hopefully give them a laugh:

So, Brian and Heidi, if someday you stumble across this page and read this story... you'll finally learn the answer to the mystery of who defaced your door sign! It was me, your neighbor from down the hall.

I guess they must have thought it was funny, because they left the post-it notes on the sign for the entire duration of the cruise!

In a couple of the previous pictures, you saw the big video screen in the atrium. There were a couple of others on the ship, too. Here's one at the far aft end of the ship, in the outdoor area known as Spice H2O. By day, Spice H2O is a quiet adults-only area similar to Carnival's Serenity Deck. At night, it becomes party central... similar to how they have outdoor deck parties by the main pool at night on a Carnival ship.

They also use big video screens in their main theater, where they do the Welcome Aboard Show, Burn The Floor, and Legally Blonde - The Musical. It's similar to how they use big video screens on Carnival ships that are set up for the Playlist Productions shows.

Here's another example of where NCL has taken a simple Carnival concept like "let's create an intimate venue for musical acts" and taken it to a different level. The Grammy Experience is simply a small lounge with a stage and a bar, where a musical group plays to entertain guests who would like to listen to some good music. The NCL twist is that there's always one member of the band who has won a Grammy award for musical excellence... and the room is decorated with all sorts of interesting Grammy memorabilia.

The Grammy award winning musicians rotate in and out every few months. For our cruise, it was Grammy award winning blues harmonica player, Sugar Blue .

Kellyn and I are not really in to the blues, so we didn't stay around real long... but we listened to a few songs and got a taste of his act. It was interesting to imagine what it would have cost to see an act like that at somewhere like the House Of Blues outside of Disneyland.

I did get a kick out of looking at all the Grammy memorabilia on the walls of the room. The most interesting piece to me was this set of costumes worn by the Jackson Five back in 1977 for a TV sketch. A photo of the group in those outfits was used on the cover of a greatest hits album that was released in Japan.

One of the things I always truly enjoy during a cruise is having the opportunity to see several good stand-up comedy acts. At home, in my real life, I'm a total homebody and would never go out to a comedy show. But on a cruise, it's one of the things I really enjoy. In my 20+ Carnival cruises, I always appreciated their emphasis on comedy and the way they would have four different comedians perform during a two week cruise.

Earlier this year, during two cruises on Princess, it was interesting to see the different philosophies that Carnival and Princess use regarding the best way to present a comedy show.

On Carnival, they think comedy is best presented in a small comedy club. I've seen John Heald, Carnival's Senior Cruise Director, discuss this subject in his blog. The small comedy clubs on Carnival always fill up and it becomes impossible to get a seat. Guests complain that the shows should be held in the main theater, so that there would be ample seating. But on Carnival, their philosophy is that a comedian gives a better performance in a small room that's literally standing room only. The comedian see's that standing room only crowd and it makes him feel like he's a hit. It puts him in the right frame of mind to give a great show. Put the same number of people in a big theater, with the comedian looking out at a hundred empty seats along the outside walls and in the back, and the comedian sees all those empty seats and feels like a flop. It affects his performance.

On Princess, they look at it a different way. The philosophy is that the comedian is a pro, and he can give a good show whether there's 50 people in the audience or 500. What they totally want to avoid is making their guests mad... and I can tell you for sure that when you're on a Carnival cruise and you go to the comedy club a half hour early just to find any empty seat and there isn't a single one... it's going to make you mad! So, to avoid this, Princess puts their comedy shows on in their main theater. There are always plenty of seats. That's great for the audience, but the Carnival folks would tell you that it can mess with the mind of the performers. I'm pretty sure they're right about that, too... as I did notice at one of the comedy shows I saw in the main theater of the Sapphire Princess that the comedian made several comments about how badly he was bombing... and he really wasn't! I think those empty seats were indeed messing with his head.

So, that brings us to Norwegian. How does NCL do it? I was surprised and amused to find that they employ a hybrid approach to the problem. In other words, they do it both ways! They have some comedy shows in the small "Headliners Comedy Club" on deck six... and they also do a few shows in the big Getaway Theater. I never would have predicted that... but I think it's a great idea!

There's one other thing about the comedy shows on Norwegian Getaway that I found particularly interesting compared to what I had seen on Princess and Carnival. On both of those lines, someone from the entertainment staff will host the comedy show. On Princess, I think it was the Cruise Director... who just opens the show with a few welcoming remarks and then introduces the comedian and gets off the stage. On Carnival, it's just some guy from the entertainment staff who gets designated as "the comedy club manager" and who starts the show off by reciting a few rules ("keep your table talk to a minimum!") and then gets off the stage after quickly introducing the comedian. On a couple of Carnival cruises, there have been super gung-ho comedy club managers who have padded their parts a little bit by telling a quick joke to warm up the crowd.

On the Norwegian Getaway, they once again went a step above what I was used to. The crew member assigned to open up the comedy show and introduce the main act was himself a professional comedian. And instead of doing a one-minute introduction and then getting off the stage, he did a good 10 minute comedy routine to open up the show and warm up the crowd. At the first comedy show we attended, I thought he was the main act! Imagine my surprise after ten minutes or so when he introduced the main act and headed off the stage. I thought it was a really great way to get the show started.

So, every comedy show that we attended on Norwegian Getaway began with James Ervin Berry. The shows in the Headliner Comedy Club featured James and one other act... the shows in the big Getaway Theater featured James and two other acts.

Just for the record... all of the comedians on NCL are provided by the Levity Entertainment Group .

I spotted a little blurb in the Freestyle Daily newsletter one day about a crew talent show in the Getaway Theater. I took my camera with me and shot some video of the show... and then edited down the video to just two minutes of highlights, to give you a little taste of what the crew talent show is like. It gives you an interesting look in to the diversity and cultures of some the ship's crew. Take a look...

[YOUTUBE]H_zozkGdjps[/YOUTUBE]

NCL is fond of saying that there are 28 dining options on the Norwegian Getaway, so I thought it would be fun to see if I could come up with them all. I'm afraid that I could only name 24:

• The Garden Café (buffet restaurant on Lido deck)
• Taste (main dining room on deck six)
• Savor (another main dining room on deck six)
• The Tropicana Room (old Miami-style main dining room, including a dance floor and a live band)
• O'Sheehan's (Irish pub) I'm guessing the name is a joke based on NCL CEO Kevin Sheehan's name
• Room service
• Flamingo Bar & Grill (Cuban food)
• Officer's dinner (A drawing is held on the second sea day to choose who gets to dine with the ship's officers)
• The Haven Restaurant (For guests of The Haven, only)
• Wasabi Sushi A la carte pricing
• Raw Bar (Fresh seafood) A la carte pricing
• Shanghai's (Noodle bar) A la carte pricing
• Dolce Gelato A la carte pricing
• Carlo's Bake Shop A la carte pricing
• Atrium Café A la carte pricing
• Pizza delivery $5 extra charge
• La Cucina (Italian restaurant) $15 per person extra charge
• Le Bistro (French gourmet restaurant) $20 per person extra charge
• Moderno (Brazilian steakhouse) $20 per person extra charge
• Teppanyaki (Japanese restaurant) $25 per person extra charge
• Wine Lovers - The Musical $25 per person extra charge
• Cagney's (American steakhouse) $30 per person extra charge
• Illusionarium (dinner theater) $39 per person extra charge
• Ocean Blue (Gourmet seafood restaurant) $39 per person extra charge

I have a feeling that the way they come up with the 28 number is to count the outdoor dining areas of the four restaurants which offer seating on "the Waterfront" as unique dining options. That would be Cagney's On The Waterfront, Ocean Blue On The Waterfront, Moderno On The Waterfront, and La Cucina On The Waterfront. I think that's cheating! Same restaurant, same menu... the only difference being indoor and outdoor seating.

Notwithstanding my quibble with NCL about the ethics of padding their numbers by double-counting those four restaurants... I do want to say that I think one of the best things about the Norwegian Getaway is the wide variety of food choices onboard. Whether or not you like the food on your cruise ship makes a HUGE difference on your overall cruise experience. I learned this the hard way on the Norwegian Star in 2008... which had some nice things going for it, but by the end of the week I disliked the food so much that I would dread dinner each night.

Everyone's taste in food is different... and no one restaurant is going to please everyone. The key to keeping everyone happy is to offer a wide array of restaurants that cater to all sorts of different food tastes. That's why I've come to like the newer, larger ships... they seem to offer the most food choices... and that gives me lots of options and ensures that I can always find something I like.

This is the part of my cruise review where I show you pictures of some of the things we ate during our cruise. Now, keep in mind that I'll be expressing some opinions based on my tastes in food... and that may be quite different than YOUR taste in food. So, enjoy the pictures and don't put too much credence on my opinions of the food... as my food tastes never evolved much past that of a 12-year-old boy.

Let's start with the kind of food that I absolutely HATE! This was my dinner in The Haven restaurant on the first night of the cruise. I really enjoyed my steak lunch in The Haven restaurant on the first afternoon... so I was excited to see what kind of a dinner they offered. It turns out that it's gourmet "foodie" food. Tiny little portions. Beautifully prepared. Art work on a plate. Worst meal I had on the entire cruise!

Neither of us liked the dinner menu in the Haven restaurant , so we never went back there for dinner after that first night. Now, if you're one of those "foodies"... you'd probably LOVE it. But we didn't!

So, The Haven restaurant wasn't our thing... but let me tell you what was. Oh my goodness... we had never been to a Brazilian steakhouse before! What a treat!

The appetizer...

So, Moderno Churrascaria, the Brazilian steakhouse, was a huge hit with us. We walked out of there totally satisfied and completely full. Too bad they don't have a Brazilian steakhouse back home... I'd be their best customer!

Luckily for me, the Norwegian Getaway actually has a second steakhouse onboard. In addition to the Brazilian steakhouse, there's also Cagney's, a traditional American steakhouse. I totally enjoyed my meal at Cagney's, although I made a slight mistake when ordering. What I should have done was not order an appetizer... because it ended up being too much food! By the time I finished the sliders I ordered from the appetizer menu, I was well on my way to being full.

For a steak lover like myself, you couldn't pick a better cruise ship than the Norwegian Getaway. Two onboard steakhouses, both of which offered a wonderful meal, perfectly prepared. Plus, I had also had a delicious steak for lunch on the first day in The Haven restaurant, and later in the week I had another steak in the Tropicana Room... although that one wasn't quite as good. All things considered, though, this carnivore was very satisfied. It was a far cry from a bad experience I had last year with a horrible steak in the steakhouse on the Carnival Sunshine.

Now, let me tell you a little about the Tropicana Room... I have to say I really enjoyed myself there. I liked the menu and the food, and I totally loved the atmosphere of the place... with the huge vaulted ceiling and the live band and people dancing on the dance floor. Here are a few pictures...

So, the ambience of the Tropicana room was really nice, I liked the things they had on the menu and the food itself. We ate there twice... and if we had discovered it earlier in the week we might have ended up eating there three or four times. Of all the cruises we've been on, it was certainly one of my best main dining room experiences.

I have to say, the Norwegian Getaway really impressed me as far as food and dining goes. We got off to a bit of a rocky start with that first dinner in The Haven restaurant, as I am not a "foodie" and don't like that gourmet style of cooking... but as the week went on and I got to know the other specialty restaurants onboard, I became more and more impressed. When I look back on the week and think about the dinners I had in the Tropicana room, the two steakhouses, plus the surf and turf at the Illusionarium... I just really enjoyed it. I'm a picky eater, and I've had trouble on cruises before. Norwegian Getaway definitely offered the best overall dinner experience I've had on a cruise. However... for lunch, I'd have to give the prize to Carnival, because I love those Guy Fieri burgers they serve and their pizza is pretty good, too.

There's one other aspect of the food and dining experience that we haven't talked about yet... and that's the dress code. It's so much more relaxed on Norwegian than on Carnival. I didn't really expect that... as I had always thought of Carnival as a pretty relaxed and casual cruise line. But NCL is even more so. On a 7-day Carnival cruise, there are two formal nights. Don't even think about wearing a pair of jeans to dinner anywhere but the buffet or the pizza place on those two nights. And if you go to the steakhouse, any night of the week, you better dress nice. That's Carnival. It turns out that NCL's freestyle concept is much more my style. Instead of having two mandatory formal nights, there's just one night... and you can dress up IF YOU WANT TO... or don't! It's up to you.

I prefer to dress very casually when I'm on vacation. So this quote, directly from the NCL dress code, makes me very happy:

We want you to be comfortable, so cruise casual attire is perfect for... most specialty restaurants.

All these food pictures have made me hungry!

My wife and I are going to head out and get some lunch. When we get back, in about an hour, I'll finish off this review.

This is your opportunity to make a few comments!

youngestof9

I'm absolutely loving the review. It's balanced and so well written and your pictures are great. I appreciate the Carnival comparison as well. Can't wait to read more - you have me very excited for next July!

Great pictures and videos. We have a spa suite on the Getaway in December and cannot wait. We love the thermal suite on the Epic and are looking forward to the Getaway.

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Norwegian Jade complete cruise ship tour (video)

         I really love #NorwegianJade. It is my favorite cruise ship. Every time I visit it, it shares something new and it never seems to show its age. Originally built as Pride of Hawaii and launched in 2006, it changed its name in 2008 when it was taken over by Norwegian Cruise Line. In the meantime, it has been refurbished several times – most recently in 2022 – so it has something for everyone, including children, whose delight made us choose it several times. The size is just right to walk in any direction, whether you go to a show or go to the pool, you won’t feel tired at the end of the day. And what strikes me every time is the way they treat you. The smaller the ship, the greater the attention to detail.

         So, let me take you on a virtual tour of the entire ship, starting with deck 6, and then let me know what do you think about it. Would you choose it for a cruise instead of a new and very large one?

If you want to see more about NCL Jade please visit our Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/CruiseTravelVideos

         Watch the videos below!

Ncl jade deck 6, ncl jade deck 7, ncl jade deck 12, ncl jade decks 13, 14, 15.

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Norwegian Encore Video Tour

The complete video of the Norwegian Encore , the latest ship to have entered into the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet. Elegant interiors, lounges and bars, many places for fun and lots of restaurants. Never a moment to be bored when cruising on the Norwegian Encore !

Read all the Reviews of the Norwegian Encore on Cruising Journal , with Report , the Photo Gallery and plenty of information and opinions.

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Welcome to EMBARK with NCL - our way of introducing you to the people, destinations and experiences of Norwegian Cruise Line.

Whether you've sailed with us before or are new to the NCL family, we want to connect with you beyond our ships. Through our EMBARK with NCL video series, you'll get an inside look at NCL, and hopefully, a bit of inspiration. We are sharing our story with you through docuseries episodes which chronicle the journey of our fleet, spotlight our extraordinary experiences and showcase behind-the-scenes stories about our global crew, executives, partners and guests.

NEW TO EMBARK

Aloha, Hawaii

January 19, 2024

Hawaiian Paradise

Destinations.

Caribbean Adventures

June 29, 2022

Sand, Sun and Fun

Adventure Alaska, Part 1

December 9, 2021

Adventure Alaska, Part 2

Christening Norwegian Prima: First in Class

December 1, 2022

Norwegian Prima: Discover Innovation

The Great Cruise Cookoff

September 15, 2022

The Future of the Cruise Experience

August 11, 2022

The Evolution of Entertainment

The History of Innovation

Live From Broadway

December 17, 2020

The Choir of Man

Live from London | November 19, 2020

Feeding South Florida

Faces and voices of Norwegian Cruise Line

Kevin Bellido

Staff Captain, Norwegian Encore

Co-Founder of Bar Lab

Stephen Tobin

President of Yankee Trails, NCL Travel Partner

Sanja Bozinovic

Group Service Coordinator & Access Officer, Norwegian Encore

Alvin Oliva

Cruise Director, Norwegian Spirit

Clarense Bennett

Bartender, Norwegian Encore

Sigit Widodo

Bar Utility, Norwegian Sun

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In this five episode series, join us for a behind-the-scenes look at the preparations for our highly anticipated return to cruising following a 500-day pause.

Adventure Awaits

Episode 5 | September 30, 2021

Welcome Aboard

Episode 4 | September 9, 2021

All Hands On Deck

Episode 3 | July 29, 2021

Second to None

Episode 2 | May 20, 2021

Great Cruise Comeback

Episode 1 | April 15, 2021

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Complete Guide to Sailing Norwegian Cruise Line (What It’s Like)

What is it like to sail on Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)?

The experience can vary from ship to ship, but expect to have a great time. While the cruise line is the third of the “Big Three” in size among rivals Carnival and Royal Caribbean, it doesn’t mean that its cruises lag compared to its larger competitors.

If you haven’t yet sailed Norwegian, you might not be sure what to expect. The name of the cruise line makes it sound like it is Nordic, however, as you’ll see below, the experience is anything but.

Today the cruise line of about 18 ships sails worldwide, including cruises to the Caribbean, Bahamas, Alaska, Europe, and Asia. In total, Norwegian carries millions of passengers each year, making it among the largest cruise lines in the world.

For those unfamiliar with sailing NCL and who aren’t sure what the cruise line is all about, we’ve put together the following guide to help familiarize you with everything you need to know.

In This Article...

Overview of Norwegian Cruise Line

Founded in the 1960s, NCL is the smallest of the big three cruise lines — but it is no slouch. However, in recent years it has made a big push with a lineup of huge new ships. In total, the line has seven new ships in the past decade, with another newbuild on order each year through 2027. 

Like competitors Carnival and Royal Caribbean , Norwegian is what we call a mass market cruise line. This means it offers mega ships designed to appeal to all types of passengers. You’ll find options for everyone from families with kids to couples on romantic holidays, young, old, and in between.

Not the sort of person who likes huge ships? It is also making an effort to offer more exclusive service and a smaller ship atmosphere with “The Haven” on many vessels.

The Haven is a luxurious, high-end “resort within a resort” experience with dedicated space and amenities like a pool, restaurant, and bar that are only open to The Haven guests.

While the cruise line sails globally, North America — and the United States — is its largest market. You can find all types of sailings from the U.S., ranging from quick trips to the Bahamas (including Norwegian’s private island), to Alaskan cruises to Hawaiian cruises.

In short, no matter what you look for in a cruise, Norwegian likely has something for you.

Atmosphere of Norwegian Cruise Lines

In general the atmosphere that you’ll find on Norwegian’s ships is on par with other mass market cruise lines, although it does seem to focus on a more luxury and and upscale vibe. It is still warm, inviting, and comfortable. After all, you’re there to have a fun vacation.

You’ll find plenty of friendly staff, ready to welcome you to the ship and help with anything you need. And because Norwegian is known for its “Freestyle Cruising,” that means you can set your own schedule for dining — taking some of the rigid atmosphere out of mealtime.

Ships can vary, but with a relatively new fleet, the décor and atmosphere is modern. You’ll see bright colors painted on the ship’s hull, but the interior is more subdued with lots of wood and metal finishes.

The style seems more in line with a high-end hotel than a classic cruise ship. That said, the people — both crew and passengers — keep things friendly and down-to-earth.

If you are looking for more exclusivity and a higher-end experience, then Norwegian offers “The Haven.” Mentioned above, this is a separate area of the ships with access only for The Haven guests. It includes higher-end cabins, your own restaurant, pool, and more.

Price of Cruising

With a wide range of cruise options from quick Bahamian getaways to Alaskan cruises, and also sailings worldwide, it can be a little tricky to nail down exact pricing.

As well, there’s a wide range for prices even within a region depending on the ship you sail and the length of journey.

During the height of summer, we found prices starting around $80-120 per day on cruises from Miami on Norwegian Sky (an older ship in the fleet). For example, a five-day cruise on the Sky to Key West and the Bahamas ran $599 per person for an interior room in a recent search.

Longer trips and newer ships are usually more expensive. The summer season sees 7-day cruises from Miami to the Caribbean aboard Norwegian Escape (a newer ship, but not the newest) running around $899 per person.

However, what you spend on cruise fare is just a portion of what you’ll spend on your entire cruise. Norwegian is big on generating onboard spending.

The cruise line charges for many amenities on the ship, and at prices higher than you’ll find on other lines.

For example, while Carnival charges around $60 per day for its drink package, NCL charges $99 per day. The highest tier of wi-fi service costs about $40 per day on the ship. The cruise line also has a heavy focus on specialty restaurants that are an extra charge, as well as charges for some things to do on the ship like laser tag and go-karts.

Don’t like extra charges? Norwegian offers a “Free at Sea” sale that can give you certain perks for free, including free drinks, Internet, shore excursions, and specialty dining. For some passengers this can save money, just be aware that the rate for a cabin with these perks included is usually higher than the base price for the room.

Ports of Departure

As we’ve mentioned, Norwegian sails around the world. You can board a cruise anywhere from London to Lisbon to Los Angeles. In total, the cruise line has sailings from more than 40 ports worldwide.

In the United States Norwegian has a smaller presence than bigger lines like Royal Caribbean and Carnival. That means the cruise line is more limited when it comes to U.S. departure ports. Smaller ports typically don’t have as many sailing options as you will find with larger lines.

All told, Norwegian sails from the following U.S. ports:

• Los Angeles
• New Orleans
• Port Canaveral

Ports of Call and Itineraries

No matter where on the planet you want to go, if it has a coastline then Norwegian likely sails there. This includes exotic destinations like the Greek Isles, Scandinavia, Africa, the Mediterranean, and Alaska.

Sailings include everything from short three-day getaways all the way to three-week tours of entire regions. This includes numerous trips to The Bahamas, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Alaska. 

Two specific ports of call deserve special mention: Great Stirrup Cay (Bahamas) and Harvest Caye (Belize). These two spots are Norwegian’s private islands for the exclusive use of NCL’s passengers.

Great Stirrup Cay features ziplining, several stretches of white-sand beaches, and beautiful blue water. If you’ve ever wanted to spend your day in a postcard-perfect island, this is your chance. Located about 140 miles due east of Miami, the island is a regular on itineraries that go to the Bahamas.

Harvest Caye is located in Belize and is often visited on cruises to the western Caribbean. Like Great Stirrup Cay, the island’s big draw is the beach and water. As well, Harvest Caye has a large freshwater pool, as well as a number of bars and restaurants, wildlife exhibits, ziplining, and more to do.

One other unique thing about Norwegian is that it has the Pride of America — a U.S.-flagged cruise ship. This allows it to sail U.S.-only itineraries around the Hawaiian islands. Foreign flagged ships (which most are) must incorporate a stop in a foreign port before they return to the United States. So if you’ve ever wanted to cruise Hawaii, NCL is your choice.

Things to Do on Norwegian

Over the past several years, Norwegian has put a major emphasis on things to do on its ships.

As with other lines, the newest and largest cruise ships will have the most — and latest — things to do. Older ships are more limited in what they offer, but still offer plenty of basics including pools, spas, casinos, and shows.

Here are a number of things to do that you’ll find on Norwegian’s newest ships:

Speedway (Go-Karts) Available on NCL’s newest and largest ships like Bliss, Joy , and Encore , the speedway is the only racetrack at sea. The electric carts race around a custom-built track that twists and turns around the top decks of these ships. It’s one of the most unique experiences you can have at sea and a lot of fun. You have to pay to ride, but it is definitely worth the price for a turn.

For more, see our guide to the go-karts on Norwegian .

Laser Tag Along with go-karts, Norwegian has made a name for itself with outdoor laser tag games. Suit up and use your gun to blast the other team. The sets that are built are immersive and extremely impressive. Our suggestion is to sign up to play at night when the laser colors and lights are easier to see.

Evening Shows Norwegian has put a big emphasis on its entertainment onboard the ship, and that means bringing Broadway shows to sea. The biggest-name shows are on their newest ships, including Choir of Man, Kinky Boots, and Footloose. Considering that people normally pay hundreds to watch these performances on Broadway, but they are free on the ship, it’s a great deal and a can’t miss.

Mandara Spa Want to pamper yourself? Check out the Mandara Spa on Norwegian ships. Here you can get any treatment under the sun, from a massage to a haircut. A day in the spa can also come with access to many unique areas, including the heated loungers, a salt therapy room, whirlpools, and a snow room.

Galaxy Pavilion A newer feature on some ships, the Galaxy Pavilion is a virtual reality playground. You can walk a plank above the city, race an F1 car, outrun dinosaurs, and blast zombies — all virtually, of course. It does cost money to play and some things (like the driving simulator) are extra on top of that.

Casino Every cruise ship in the fleet will have a casino — except for Pride of America. Gambling on cruises is always popular, and NCL is no different. Casinos on older ships are usually more closed, separate areas. On newer ships the cruise line has built them to be open and airy, which is a nice touch.

All your favorite games will be here, including slots, tables games, craps, roulette, and even a few games you won’t see on land like “claw games” where you try to maneuver the claw to pick up money.

Outdoor Dining One of the unique things about Norwegian is that they’ve placed a lot of focus on connecting people to the outdoors. Despite a cruise ship being at sea, so much takes place indoors.

Norwegian puts a big focus on outdoor dining. It may not seem like a big deal, but with the sun and wind, eating outdoors on a cruise ship can be a pain.

Instead, NCL has done thoughtful design for outdoor eating with covered spaces and windbreaks to make it pleasant to sit out and enjoy your meal. The cruise line definitely focuses on bringing people closer to the sea.

Daily Activities There is never a shortage of things to do on the ship, and what we’ve covered above is just a taster of all the things going on while you sail. (For more see our 25+ Fun Things to Do on a Norwegian Cruise .)

In addition, there are plenty of activities put on by the staff. Below is a sample of the activities on board a ship in just a single morning:

Norwegian Ships

All told, NCL offers 17 different ships, but with six new ships in the past seven years, much of its fleet consists of newer vessels. Its oldest ship, Norwegian Spirit, was built in 1998 and last refurbished in 2020.

To us, there is a big difference between the cruise line’s ships. While older ships still have plenty to love, its newer ships are much more modern in both amenities and atmosphere and have more things to do.

We’d prefer to sail on the biggest and newest vessels. That said, the lower prices for sailing older ships can be tough to ignore. You can sail largely the same trip for potentially hundreds of dollars less on an older, smaller ship.

Here’s a breakdown of all ships for NCL:

• Spirit Class (1 ship, built 1998) Norwegian Spirit
• Sun Class (2 ships, built 1999-2001) Norwegian Sky Norwegian Sun
• Dawn Class (2 ships, built 2001-2002) Norwegian Star Norwegian Dawn
• Pride of America Class (1 ship, built 2005) Pride of America
• Jewel Class (4 ships, built 2005-2007) Norwegian Jewel Norwegian Jade Norwegian Pearl Norwegian Gem
• Epic Class (1 ship, built 2010) Norwegian Epic
• Breakaway Class (2 ships, built 2013-2014) Norwegian Breakaway Norwegian Getaway
• Breakaway-Plus Class (4 ships, built 2015-2019) Norwegian Escape Norwegian Joy Norwegian Bliss Norwegian Encore
• Prima Class (6 ships, built 2022-2027 Norwegian Prima Norwegian Viva Unnamed #3 Unnamed #4 Unnamed #5 Unnamed #6

Food & Restaurants

Norwegian takes its food seriously. While you don’t have to be a foodie to appreciate a good meal, even diners with high expectations should be pleased.

Specialty Restaurants Most eateries on the ship are specialty restaurants. Just like a restaurant on land, you’ll have a full menu with a la carte prices. Specialty restaurants range from steakhouses, to Italian, seafood, Japanese, Mexican, BBQ, French, and more.

We’d suggest planning to eat in a specialty restaurant at least a couple of times during your cruise. Not only is the food great, but you can pick a style that fits your taste buds.

While we have yet to try every specialty restaurant on Norwegian, the ones we have had were fantastic. We were especially surprised by Q Texas Smokehouse — a BBQ restaurant on a handful of ships. Being from Texas, we’ve grown up on BBQ and what we had would fit right in back home.

Other favorites that earn strong reviews are Food Republic (a fun spot where you order small dishes that are Asian and Mexican inspired) and Onda by Scarpetta — a high-end Italian spot.

Keep in mind that the restaurants on your specific ship will vary. Here is a list of what’s available:

• Ocean Blue (seafood)
• Onda by Scarpetta (Italian)
• La Cucina (Italian)
• Cagney’s Steakhouse
• Food Republic (Asian fusion)
• Teppanyaki (Japanese)
• Los Lobos (Mexican)
• American Diner
• Le Bistro (French)
• Q Texas Smokehouse
• Moderno Churrascaria (Brazilian)

Included Dining As far as number of options, you have a lot fewer spots to eat that are included with your fare. That doesn’t mean you will go hungry. There is plenty to eat, all around the clock.

Main Dining Room Just as with any other cruise line, Norwegian has the classic main dining rooms. With its famous “Freestyle Cruising,” one thing you don’t have to worry about is a set dining time. Simply show up when you’re hungry.

Expect classic cruise classics like steak, chick, pasta, and lobster, all served in white tablecloth atmosphere.

Garden Cafe Garden Cafe is NCL’s main buffet. (There are sometimes other spots that serve the same food in different locations on the ship.) You’ll get the classic buffet fare like burgers, dogs, entrees, salads, and desserts for lunch and dinner. In the morning, breakfast is served.

The buffet is fine, but you certainly don’t want to eat it for every meal for a week. That’s why we suggest trying breakfast in the main dining room and checking out specialty restaurants during your cruise.

The Local/O’Sheehans No matter when you get hungry, The Local or O’Sheehans will have you covered. Each ship will have one or the other, but they fill the same space — a spot to grab a bite to eat 24 hours a day. They feature sit-down dining where you eat your fill with classics ranging from burgers to salads and more.

While most people won’t stay in The Haven during their cruise, it is an important differentiation between Norwegian and other cruise lines. As well, it’s also a sign of the more upscale atmosphere that NCL has for passengers.

As mentioned, you can think of The Haven as a “resort within a resort.” So passengers staying in these rooms can get the experience of sailing on a large cruise ship with all the amenities and activities it offers, but also have the small-ship, exclusive experience.

Not every ship has this area, but many — especially newer vessels — do. To put simply, staying at The Haven makes you a VIP. Rooms are more luxurious than the rest of the cabins, and you are given access to an area reserved only for The Haven guests. Amenities include a private pool, bar, and restaurant. You also earn priority status for boarding, tendering, and even restaurants and entertainment. 

Passengers staying here also have a 24-hour butler and personal concierge. In short, if you’re looking for the most upscale experience on NCL, then you’ll find it in The Haven.

Gratuities on Norwegian

Like other cruise lines, Norwegian charges a daily gratuity (the cruise line calls it a “service charge”).

The daily rate is $16.00 for most passengers who book interior, oceanview, or balcony cabins. Guests in The Haven, Concierge or Suites pay $20 per person, per day. The rate is charged to all guests three years and older.

A couple staying in a balcony cabin would pay $32 per day in total. A week’s cruise would cost a little over $220 in these service charges.

You can pay the amount ahead of time (so you don’t have to worry about the charge during your trip) or you can have it charged to your account each day that you sail. 

As well, NCL charges a 20% gratuity on things like drinks, spa treatments, and specialty restaurants.

Plan to have a drink… or ten… on your cruise? You’re not alone. Alcohol is popular on a cruise, but it’s also expensive. Expect to pay $6-8 for a beer and $10-12 for a cocktail.

If you want to better budget your cruise, then you might want a drink package. These offer all-you-can-drink for a set daily price. This way, you don’t have to worry about a surprise bill at the end of your cruise.

Norwegian offers several different packages, for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages:

Premium Beverage Package | $109 per day + 20% gratuity The Premium Beverage Package is the base package for alcoholic drinks. It offers your choice of beverages, from water to soda to beer, wine, and cocktails. The package covers drinks on board up to $15 per glass.

Premium Plus Beverage Package | $138 per day + 20% gratuity The Premium Plus Beverage Package is made for those with higher-end tastes. It includes practically any drink on the ship as it has no dollar limit on the price of the drink. So if you are someone with top-shelf preferences, then this might be the deal for you.

Corks and Caps Package | $65 per day + 20% gratuity Beer or wine drinker? This less-expensive package could be a better deal for you. It offers up beers, wine, sodas, and more, but not cocktails.

Soda Program | $6-8 per day + 20% gratuity If you have kids or simply like to drink soda, then you can get the Soda Program. Prices vary by age. Older kids and adults pay $8 per day, while younger kids are charged $6. The program gives you your fill of any sodas on the ship.

Before you purchase a beverage package, there are a number of things to know. For example, if you purchase the package for one adult in the cabin, all adults in the cabin must buy it. For more on what you need to know, see our guide to Norwegian’s drink packages here .

What Norwegian Cruise Line Does Well

Norwegian Cruise Lines has a lot to like. In fact, it’s among our favorite lines. New ships are especially modern and gorgeous, and the newer things to do like the go-kart track are lots of fun.

In our opinion, Norwegian is a great all-around cruise line. We like the upscale, yet welcoming feel of the ships. We also like how NCL has taken special effort to bring people closer to the water with outdoor eating and outdoor promenades. Entertainment and shows are also top-notch.

Solo cruiser? Norwegian is one of the few lines that takes special effort to cater to you. Many ships have solo cabins that aren’t charged a single passenger supplement. They also feature solo-cruiser lounges for socializing with your other solo passengers.

What Norwegian Cruise Line Could Improve

That’s not to say that the cruise line is perfect. While we haven’t sailed every ship in the fleet, there is a big difference between the newest ships and older ships we’ve seen (just like on many other lines). Your impression of the line may vary based on whether you sail an older ship or the newer fleet.

What we’d like to see improved is pricing of things on the ship. Norwegian seems to price at a premium, which means the costs you see can be higher than what you’d find on rival lines, especially with drink packages. 

As well, there are charges for many things to do on the ships (such as Galaxy Pavilion and go-karts), which we’d like to see reduced or eliminated altogether.

We certainly don’t mind spending money on vacation, but seeing charges for items that are considerably less expensive on other cruise lines is hard to swallow sometimes.

More on Sailing Norwegian Cruise Lines

• 17 Tips & Tricks for Great Stirrup Cay (Norwegian’s Private Island)
• 27 Fun Things to Do on a Norwegian Cruise
• Norwegian Cruise Tips & Tricks
• Complete Guide to Norwegian Drink Packages

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8 passengers got stuck in port after a late return. What to do if you miss your cruise.

A group of Norwegian Cruise Line passengers was left behind after returning late to their ship in Africa.

Eight guests missed the last tender back to Norwegian Dawn while the ship was visiting the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe on Wednesday, according to a spokesperson for the line. They were on a tour not organized through Norwegian.

Two guests, Jay and Jill Campbell, told South Carolina’s ABC 15 News their tour went longer than expected. When they returned, the ship was still in port, and the captain declined to let them board despite numerous attempts to reach Norwegian. At one point, they said, the island nation’s coast guard took them to the ship on a boat but told them to return to shore.

“The captain could have made an easy decision to turn one of the tender boats back, pick us up, safely load us, and then go on the way," Jay Campbell told the outlet.

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“When the guests did not return to the vessel at the all-aboard time, their passports were delivered to the local port agents to retrieve when they returned to the port, as per the regular protocol,” the Norwegian spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Our team has been working closely with the local authorities to understand the requirements and necessary visas needed for the guests to rejoin the ship at the next available port of call.”

Since then, the passengers have been scrambling to catch up to the cruise. Here’s what to do if you get stranded during a stop and how to minimize the chance of being left behind:

What happens if I don’t get back to my cruise in time?

Cruise lines warn guests they may get stuck if they don’t return to the ship by the stated all-aboard time.

“While this is a very unfortunate situation, guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time, which is communicated broadly over the ship’s intercom, in the daily print communication and posted just before exiting the vessel,” the Norwegian spokesperson said.

Cruise ships are on tight schedules while in port, said Joanna Kuther, a New York City-based travel agent and owner of Port Side Travel Consultants. “So if they have to leave at a certain time, they have to leave at that time,” she said. “It could be that there's another (ship) coming in. It could be (that) people aren't going to be there to be working on the pier.”

The Campbells told ABC 15 News that they traveled through six countries for 15 hours to reach Gambia, where the ship was due to stop on Monday. However, the vessel was unable to dock due to low tides. Norwegian said it made the change “due to adverse weather conditions, as well as tidal restrictions that require specific timing for safe passage.”

“While we share in our guests’ disappointment, this modification was made with great consideration for their safety and that of our crew, which is our top priority,” the spokesperson added.

The cruise line authorized them to rejoin the ship in Dakar, Senegal, on Tuesday.

Kuther recommended guests who miss their all-aboard time contact the cruise line to let them know and reach out to their travel agent – if they have one – who can help handle the logistics. She said the nearest U.S. embassy may also be able to assist them.

Are travelers responsible for added expenses?

Travelers who do not board their ship in time are generally responsible for getting themselves to the next port of call, according to Kuther.

Travel insurance won't be much good in that scenario, either.

"Typically travel delay coverage/missed connection coverage is due to a delay of a common carrier such as an airline delay or cancellation for a covered reason which causes you to miss your cruise/tour departure," Meghan Walch, director of product at InsureMyTrip, said in an email. "An excursion supplier not getting you back to your cruise in time is typically not covered."

The Norwegian spokesperson said the cruise line is reimbursing the eight guests for their travel expenses from Banjul, Gambia, to Dakar, but Kuther stressed that kind of compensation is “definitely the exception to the rule.”

How to avoid getting stranded

When choosing a shore excursion, Kuther said it’s safest to book through the cruise line or with another vendor that guarantees to get passengers back to the ship on time or to the next port. Travel agents can help guests find those options, or they can ask operators about their policies directly when booking.

Just in case something does go wrong, travelers should bring a credit card or debit card so they have a way to cover any costs they might incur. Kuther typically recommends bringing an ID “because you don’t want to be carrying around your passport,” but if travelers are going on a private excursion without that kind of guarantee, it’s a different story.

“You probably should have your passport with you because you're going to need it to get on a flight to get to the next port, especially if it's in a different country,” she said.

At the very least, it’s a good idea for travelers to have a photo of their passport on hand, and share a copy with someone back home who is easily reachable.

Story continues below.

Cruise insurance: Should you buy it through a cruise line? Maybe not, experts say

She also recommended they make sure their phone or watch is set to ship time rather than the time of the destination, which may be different (the all-aboard time will be on ship time). “So many people get confused with that,” Kuther said.

To be safe, she suggested guests get back to the ship an hour early if they’re exploring on their own or on a self-booked excursion in case they hit traffic or face other issues.

“It's one of those things like, it's not a problem until it's a problem,” Kuther said. She urged travelers not to expect the ship to wait. “If they can, I'm sure they will, but I would never tell someone, ‘Don’t worry about it.’”

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected]

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The passengers were late for the scheduled departure, so the Norwegian Cruise Lines ship set sail without them from an island in Africa, leading to a days-long journey to catch up with the ship. NBC News' Erin McLaughlin reports. April 2, 2024

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A group of cruise passengers stranded off the coast of Africa spent 6 days chasing the ship to get back on

• Eight passengers chased their cruise ship around Africa for six days.
• Norwegian Cruise Line confirmed the passengers re-embarked in Senegal on Tuesday.
• They were stranded in São Tomé and Príncipe and missed a chance to re-embark in Gambia.

A group of passengers left stranded on a small African island after missing a boarding deadline finally managed to rejoin their cruise ship on Tuesday after chasing it for almost a week.

On March 27 a private tour overran, causing eight passengers to miss the Norwegian Dawn's 3 p.m. all-aboard time by over an hour, a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line confirmed via email to Business Insider.

The passengers found themselves stuck on São Tomé and Príncipe , an island nation of some 220,000 people off West Africa, in what the cruise line called a "very unfortunate situation."

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Despite the efforts of São Tomé and Príncipe Coast Guard to ferry the passengers to the ship in tender boats, the group was unable to reboard and had to turn back to land, according to the ABC affiliate WPDE.

The first attempt to get the guests back on the ship occurred on Monday, when they hoped to re-embark at a port in Banjul, Gambia, some 1,800 miles from São Tomé and Príncipe.

However, "adverse weather conditions, as well as tidal restrictions" meant that the ship could not dock safely, a spokesperson for the cruise line said.

As a result, the guests had to chase the ship to Dakar, Senegal — a distance of some 100 miles further — for another attempt to re-embark on Tuesday.

Norwegian said it helped the passengers by facilitating their visas, and would pay them back for the trip from Gambia to Senegal.

Jill Campbell, one of the passengers, told NBC News that she and her husband traveled through seven countries in 48 hours to catch up with the ship.

It wasn't clear exactly what route they took.

The couple had considered not rejoining the ship, believing that Norwegian Cruise Line had fallen short in a '"basic duty of care," Campbell told NBC News.

But, six days after being left behind in São Tomé and Príncipe, the cruise line confirmed the eight passengers, including the Campbells, finally re-embarked in Senegal on Tuesday.

Watch: Stowaways survive 14 days at sea clinging to a ship rudder

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Cruise ship was right to ditch the late passengers in africa, travel writer says.

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Eight people have accused Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) of abandoning them on a tiny island in Africa after a private tour ran late and the group missed the embarkation cut-off time.

Four of the group are elderly and another is pregnant, and though the ship was still at anchor, they were denied boarding.

The ship, the Norwegian Dawn, set sail without them — and it was right to do so.

Once, I was late to check in for a flight. I jumped out of the taxi, sprinted to the counter (which is no mean feat when you’re hauling luggage) and arrived at the desk sweating bullets, prepared to get on my knees and grovel if it meant I’d be allowed through.

I began to tell my sob story to the lady at the desk, heart hammering and lungs gasping for air, when she politely interrupted and shook her head.

In the nicest way possible, she said this: “Stiff bickies.” (OK, yes, I’ve paraphrased.)

Sure, the plane was still at the airport, no more than a few hundred meters from where I was standing. However, the luggage had already been loaded, the manifest had already been finalized, and the other passengers were already boarding.

There was no way they were going to let me board, nor should they have.

You see, I had been on a whale-watching tour about two-and-a-half hours south of the airport — hey, it was my last day, I wanted to make it count.

I planned it to perfection, except for one detail: We spotted a playful pod right at the very end, so the captain offered to give us some bonus time to enjoy the view.

With one eye on the magnificent mammals and the other on my watch, I held on to a flicker of hope that I might make it.

I jumped on the bus back to town, flagged down a cab and asked the driver to hurry. I launched out of the car like a 100m sprinter launches out of starting blocks and ran into the terminal.

Alas, my proverbial ship had sailed.

Was it a bummer? Absolutely. But imagine delaying the other 158 or so passengers scheduled to depart on the Boeing 737, asking the crew to extend their shifts, or holding the plane and disrupting airport traffic … all so little old me could drop off my bags, scurry through security, and find my gate.

Imagine the awkwardness if I stepped onto that plane. What do you say? “Sorry, guys, my bad, lol.”

Keep up with The Post's coverage of the Norwegian Cruise debacle

• Eight Norwegian Cruise passengers, including a pregnant woman and an elderly man with a heart condition, were stranded on an African island without money and vital medications after the vessel left port without them.
• A spokesperson for the cruise line claimed the passengers were left on the island “on their own or with a private tour” and missed the “all-aboard time” by over an hour, according to the company.
• Americans Jill Campbell and her husband, Jay Campbell, said they are unsure whether they even want to resume the 20-day voyage after Norwegian Cruise Lines forgot about its “basic duty of care.”
• The eight passengers raced through seven different countries over a span of 48 hours to make it to Senegal, where the ship docked Tuesday morning,
• Doug and Violeta Sanders, a stranded Australian couple, have spoken out about their ordeal , saying it was “the worst experience of our lives.”
• Julie Lenkoff, 80,  suffered a stroke during an excursion on the cruise — and was left “alone” and “helpless” to find her way back to the US, according to her family.
• COLUMN: Cruise ship was right to ditch the late passengers in Africa

Check out The Post’s tips on what to do if you’re left stranded like the Norwegian Cruise passengers

That doesn’t even scratch the surface of a cruise ship’s operations. Norwegian Dawn can accommodate 3,372 people — 2,340 passengers and 1,032 crew — and this group of eight expected it to wait?

A ship’s departure time isn’t exactly a mystery.

I sailed on Norwegian Dawn in February and the departure time was published in NCL’s Freestyle Daily newsletter the night before and announced over the loudspeaker multiple times in the morning.

It was also posted on signs at the doors where guests disembark.

The golden rule is clear: Make sure you’re back on time, or the ship may sail without you.

So what do you do if you’re left behind?

Generally there are two options: Either catch up with the ship at a later port or head home.

If you’re lucky, you’ll have brought your essentials with you — your passport, phone, credit card and medication — because all of your belongings will stay on board until the end.

Please don’t get me wrong, of course I’m sympathetic to the distress of those who were left in a foreign country without the safety of the ship.

It would be scary and stressful to figure out next steps, especially for the members of the group with higher needs, and disappointing to miss out on their vacation.

However, the unfortunate reality is that ships can’t always wait.

Private tours are a whole separate issue, because while the ship will wait for official tours — those which have been organized by the cruise ship operator — to return, all bets are off for passengers taking their shore excursions into their own hands.

Unofficial tours can be slightly cheaper than those on the ship’s itinerary, with slightly more availability, so they can be attractive. However, while operators will do their best to stick to scheduled times, all bets are off once you board that bus and leave the port.

Think of it like booking multiple legs of a trip with different airlines. They’re not in the same network, they don’t owe each other anything, and they can’t guarantee that you’ll make your connection. Say the bus breaks down. Maybe someone wanders off and takes ages to return.

Perhaps the group lingers over a delicious lunch. Someone might need to stop at an ATM or a bathroom. You could get stuck in traffic. Or maybe your tour will be like mine and you’ll see something incredible that simply makes you want to pause.

And so, eight passengers were left in São Tomé and Príncipe , Africa’s second-smallest country.

“While this is a very unfortunate situation, guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time,” NCL said in a statement, adding that it is communicating with the guests about their next steps. It’s harsh but fair, especially since the other 3,364 (or so) people on board got it right.

Kirrily Schwarz recently sailed on Norwegian Dawn as a guest of Norwegian Cruise Line.

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Norwegian Cruise captain refused to let eight passengers who were late reboard ship

Passengers, who have since rejoined vessel, missed scheduled departure time from São Tomé and scrambled to reunite with ship

Eight cruise passengers had to scramble to reunite with their cruise ship after being left behind in São Tomé and Príncipe.

The passengers, including a pregnant woman and a paraplegic traveller, missed their scheduled departure time from the island of São Tomé in the Gulf of Guinea, about 250km off the coast of Gabon, after disembarking the Norwegian Dawn to take a local tour.

Another passenger in her 80s was reportedly late to the ship because she was receiving emergency medical treatment on the island.

The vessel, operated by Norwegian Cruise Lines, arrived in São Tome on Wednesday morning having departed Cape Town for the three-week cruise to Barcelona on 20 March.

The group’s private day excursions on the island ran overtime and, despite the efforts of the local coast guard, which motored the group to the ship before it set sail that afternoon, the captain would not allow the late guests to board.

Jill and Jay Campbell, from Garden City in South Carolina, described attempting to board the vessel after arriving late.

“We have never had an experience like this before,” Jill Campbell told ABC4 News .

“The harbour master tried to call the ship, the captain refused the call. We sent emails to NCL, the NCL customer service emergency number. They said, ‘Well, the only way for us to get in touch with the ship is to send them emails, they’re not responding to our emails,’” Jay Campbell added.

“The captain could have made an easy decision to turn one of the tender boats back, pick us up, safely load us, and then go on the way.”

The travellers’ passports were returned to them via port authorities. The group, which reportedly includes two Australians, had to leave their medication, bank cards and other belongings on board. The Campbells said they were the only members of the group with a Visa card and had paid more than $5,000 in their attempts to reach the ship.

They aimed to reboard the Norwegian Dawn in the Gambia the following Sunday but low tides prevented the ship from making the scheduled stop. The group reportedly travelled through six countries and eventually met the ship in Dakar, Senegal, the final west African port call of its journey, according to the cruise line.

“What we looked at was some type of van transportation for eight people, the quadriplegic woman included,” Jay Campbell told ABC15 . He described having to take a ferry to get into Senegal, and then a four-hour drive.

Australians Doug and Violeta Sanders were among the stranded passengers.

“It’s been the worst experience of our lives to be abandoned like that in a strange country, can’t speak the language,” Violeta Sanders told Seven’s Sunrise program.

“We have no money, our credit cards aren’t accepted.”

The 21-day cruise is due to end in Barcelona on 10 April.

A spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Lines said it was a “very unfortunate situation” and that it was the passenger’s responsibility to be back on board the ship no later than one hour before the ship’s scheduled departure time.

A Sydney travel lawyer, Anthony Cordato, said passengers needed to heed ships’ tight schedules.

“Terms and conditions would make returning to the ship on time essential,” he said.

“From a consumer’s perspective, it’s harsh but from a ship’s perspective, are you going to hold up the cruise for an hour or two because they were slow to get on board? Are you going to inconvenience 1,000 passengers for the sake of four?”

The cruise company said all eight guests had rejoined the ship.

In a statement, a spokesperson said: “On the afternoon of March 27, 2024, while the ship was in São Tomé and Príncipe, an African island nation, eight guests who were on the island on a private tour not organized through us missed the last tender back to the vessel, therefore not meeting the all aboard time of 3pm local time. While this is a very unfortunate situation, guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time, which is communicated broadly over the ship’s intercom, in the daily print communication and posted just before exiting the vessel.

“When the guests did not return to the vessel at the all aboard time, their passports were delivered to the local port agents to retrieve when they returned to the port, as per the regular protocol. Our team has been working closely with the local authorities to understand the requirements and necessary visas needed for the guests to rejoin the ship at the next available port of call. Given that these guests were on a private tour and did not return to the ship at the communicated all aboard time, they are responsible for any necessary travel arrangements to rejoin the ship at the next available port of call, per our protocol.

“While the eight guests made arrangements to rejoin the ship in Banjul, Gambia on April 1, 2024, unfortunately the ship was unable to safely dock in the destination due to adverse weather conditions, as well as tidal restrictions that require specific timing for safe passage. While we share in our guests’ disappointment, this modification was made with great consideration for their safety and that of our crew, which is our top priority. We contacted these eight guests regarding this itinerary adjustment and provided them with authorization to rejoin the ship at Dakar, Senegal on April 2, 2024.

“Despite the series of unfortunate events outside of our control, we will be reimbursing these eight guests for their travel costs from Banjur, Gambia to Dakar, Senegal. As of this morning, all eight guests have rejoined the ship.”

• Sao Tome and Principe

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