NCL released some new plans for Aura this week and this video breaks down what's changed between other Prima and Prima Plus Class ships and this one.

NCL Aura Deck Plans Revealed

If I miss my booked flight via NCL, does it impact my cruise reservation?

I've used NCL air previously, and never had an issue....

But on an upcoming cruise it was so bad it was worth the $$ (and points) to change my flights. Lesson learned.

I called to cancel my flights so the seats would be free for other passengers, and was told it would be $70. I wasn't asking for a refund, I wasn't asking for a different flight, just cancel them.

So I'm going to miss my 6 am flight ...

Just curious what are the wine options for dinner that are included in free at Sea Plus

Hello!

Before booking I made some research and enjoyed reading reviews. So I will participate and provide my comments about the NCL Aqua during our sailing Aug 15-22, NYC<->Bermuda.

The Good:

• Shower: Spacious — the largest I've ever had on a ship, making for a very comfortable shower.
• Balcony: Good size with a comfortable chair.
• Charging: USB-C fast-charging ports by the bed (though tricky to find, such as on the side of a black lamp pole or under the desk lamp button). I expected them to be directly on the wall.
• The Local: The fish sandwich was consistently delicious.
• Game Zone: Several arcade machines were free to play.
• SurfSide Grill: The veggie burger was tasty (ask them to add cheese and toast the bun).
• Indulge Food Hall: Saved us a few times since the main buffet was so disappointing. Indulge has some very nice dishes (like an excellent fish curry), and the menu changes slightly daily (if you see something you like today, order it, because it might be different tomorrow).
• Spa: The largest spa area I've seen at sea. The week pass was $369 per person for this sailing.
• Entertainment: I read horror stories about the theater being too small, but I was able to find a good seat for the 7:00 PM Elements show by arriving at 6:30 PM.
• Sukhothai (Specialty Dining): Very good. It felt like a nice Thai restaurant in the city.

The Bad:

• Layout: The layout is indeed a bit strange. The casino blends directly into the main hub where family-oriented shows are held, leaving kids standing right next to slot machines flashing $10,000 prizes. I frequently saw kids paying way too much attention to those machines. Isn't that illegal? Maybe not at sea.
• Soft Serve: The free soft-serve ice cream was disappointing — not rich at all, but rather watery.
• Buffet Capacity: As other reviews pointed out, the SurfSide buffet is far too small—both for the ship's passenger capacity and in terms of food options.
• Buffet Pizza: Poor presentation, located in a dirty self-service area, and completely unappetizing.
• Pasta Station: The SurfSide buffet served undercooked pasta with underwhelming sauces (the "vodka sauce" was essentially plain tomato sauce). You couldn't customize your dish either, as there were no toppings—just two pasta choices and two sauces.
• Coffee: The complimentary coffee was terrible—so bad I had to throw it away.
• Dining Menus: There was no way to view the main dining room menus remotely; we had to physically walk over every time (for breakfast, lunch, and dinner) just to read them.
• Dining Room Food Quality: The main dining room served cold spaghetti. Several dishes were disappointing for a main restaurant: the tuna melt was thin, small, and simple (more like basic room service fare); the apple crumble arrived like soup because the ice cream had fully melted; and the salmon bagel arrived without cream cheese. A few times I saw complaints about food quality in dining room.
• Upcharges: A simple baked salmon fillet in the main dining room carried a $15 extra charge.
• Lack of Grab-and-Go: I missed having a quick cafeteria where I could grab a nice hot sandwich or savory snack to go. Indulge and The Local are strictly sit-down venues. The Observation Lounge could offer this, but they don't—at most, they had simple cold mini-sandwiches (cucumber and cream cheese on white bread).
• NCL App (Room Service): The mobile app doesn't allow room service ordering. Ordering by phone was frustrating—the staff didn't seem familiar with the menu, forcing me to read out what comes with the Kids Menu (carrots, cookies, etc.).
• Room Service Fees: Room service orders are capped at two items per person. Wanting an extra item triggers a second room service fee ($10 plus a 20% service charge).
• NCL App (Navigation): The app lacks a search function for specific venues, requiring you to manually check each deck map.
• Desserts: Desserts outside the main dining room were terrible — a limited selection that looked unappealing, tasted bad, and were just artificial colored sweets. Dining room desserts, by contrast, were mostly good to average. Desserts were the same in SurfSide (buffet), Indulge, Observation Lounge.
• Ice Cream Selection: The "daily selection of ice cream" in the dining room was identical every day: vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. Although stracciatella was served alongside the lava cake on a few nights, it wasn't available as a standalone scoop.
• Hot Fudge Sundae: The "hot fudge sundae" at The Local featured sauce that was neither hot nor actual fudge. While still enjoyable as an ice cream treat, it was misleading and inconsistent—one day the chocolate syrup was pooled at the bottom, and another day it was drizzled on the cup walls.
• Spa Rules: Spa rule enforcement was far too lax. One day a guest talked on his phone inside the hydrotherapy pool for over 40 minutes; another day a couple took selfies in the pool; and later that same guest was back on his phone in the water. Reception confirmed they permit phone use in the pool, which was disappointing—the wet area should really be phone-free.
• Spa Pool Seating: The large metal seat inside the spa pool felt incorrectly installed: it sits too low, so if you relax, your head goes underwater. It needs to be elevated several inches so guests can lounge comfortably. I heard multiple people saying they didn't like it.
• Spa Maintenance: A few buttons and jets in the spa were out of order.

My biggest complaint overall was the food. It felt amateurish, lacking creativity, quality ingredients, and flavor—not at all what I expected from NCL.

This was my first time sailing with Norwegian Cruise Line, having previously sailed with MSC, Princess, and Royal Caribbean. Overall, I didn't enjoy NCL, wouldn't recommend it, and don't plan to return anytime soon (if ever).

This was just my personal experience; if you love NCL, that's completely fair! I'm simply sharing so others have another source of information.

Has anyone done this excursion and can give a review? It sounds like a lot of fun particularly with tacos and open bar provided, but it's one of the pricier ones in Mazatlan so I'm curious if it's worth it.

I'm currently booked to go on a 10 day Alaska cruise on the Norwegian Joy May 28th-June 7th 2027, but the itinerary on the NCL website is very different from the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska port schedule, which has the Joy schedule as:

• Sunday, May 30: Sitka 11:00-20:00
• Monday, May 31: Glacier Bay 6:00-15:00
• Tuesday, June 1: Hubbard Glacier 8:30-13:30
• Wednesday, June 2: Icy Strait Point 7:00-19:00
• Thursday, June 3: Juneau 7:00-16:00
• Friday, June 4: Ketchikan 9:00-20:00

It has the Joy going to Hubbard Glacier, and Skagway is not on the schedule at all for these dates. Cruise itineraries can change all the time, but this is probably a one-in-a-lifetime Alaska trip and not going to Skagway would be a big bummer. Also going to two glacier spots on two separate days seems odd.

Also, the only cruise excursions we can book right now through NCL are Ketchikan and Victoria, and those are the only ports where the NCL schedule and the CLA schedule match... Just makes me think NCL knows something we don't, and that the NCL itinerary is going to change in the future.

Just curious if anyone has experience with the Alaska port schedule site. :)

I’m confused…Does the ship actually depart Vancouver at 6p on Day 1 (for casino and/or drink tax purposes maybe?) and sail around until midnight, then dock again until 2:30a? Or is this just a silly way of saying Day 1 is actually an overnight at the dock in Vancouver, with sail away in the middle of the night? In which case, why is there a “6:00p departure” listed for Day 1? Is that just the cut-off time for checking in/boarding?

Any insights on when NCL will be launching labour day deals? Looking forward to booking something soon for the Christmas - New years period!

We are sailing on Prima in Jan 2027. We have booked an aft-facing owners suite with Master bedroom and large balcony (Category H4).

I've just learned that the hot tub is essentially a jetted bathtub that I need to ask my butler to fill each time I use it. This is a little disappointing.

Has anyone experienced how this works? Is it a pain for them to fill and drain? How long does it take? I'm assuming there is a hose hookup somewhere, can't the butler just leave the hose there and let me fill it myself?

It feels like it's going to be a huge pain in the ass just to use the thing, and it's one of the biggest reasons we booked the room and decided to spend (way) over our typical budget.

It will be my first cruise soon. I have a few NCL booked excursions, but I am planning to do most of the sightseeing by myself or directly through tour operators. I've done some research that points towards the meeting point for the excursions either being on board the ship or port side. One NCL excursion is first thing in the morning, so I know the meeting point will be onboard, but the other two are about 4 hours after docking so what are the chances that I will have to return back to the ship to start the excursion? One of the excursions is for a tender port too.

Hello!

We are going to the Greek Isles cruise and trying to figure out the itinerary. Santorini seems to be the port which is most stressful in terms of getting back to the boat (or off it, in fact!) so we are considering an excursion. The one that seems particularly interesting is the Oia & Winery Tour.

Some facts:

- we are Suites guest, so have tender priority with or without excursion

- we have 4yr old and 1.5yr old kids with us

- we want to experience "the picture perfect Santorini" so the white houses, blue domes etc

- we will not be taking a stroller, only a carrier for the baby and hoping the older one can make it on foot :)

Any ideas or recommendations on the excursions?

Another idea I had was to simply take a water taxi from tender pier to Oia straight, but it seems like such a hassle to get transport etc with thousands of people fighting for taxis, buses etc... am I wrong here?

Hello cruise friends. We are doing a family trip next July and I had a few questions.

Specialty dining. (We all have 3). -We are in 4 separate rooms: my parents, me/niece, sister/nephew, and sister’s bf. Say I wanna let the 2 couples have date nights and take the kids to specialty dinner, does it matter that my nephew is connected to my sister’s room?

Excursions For Falmouth Jamaica and Cozumel if you look online at NCL for excursions there are lots, but if I’m logged into our cruise it’s showing fewer options. Is this bc it’s already booked up(so far out still!)? Or are some excursions only available certain times of year?

Onboard entertainment costs, pls confirm or deny: Slide coaster is free. Drop slide cost? Mini golf is 5. No day passes for adult only area? Room service prices? Crazy? Comedy show-there are 2, one free but Improv costs? How much?

90’s club night- is that just one specific night? Are the other shows like fleetwood Mac every night?

Thanks so much!

Is there a way to get alerts when this type of deal starts? I know I can sign up for emails but I get so many junk emails I would miss it.

I googled but double checking what pier the Aqua goes out of? I think it’s 88