Second Class Sailing with NCL

We spent October 2014 sailing on Norwegian Star from Copenhagen across the Atlantic through the Panama Canal and then to Los Angeles. A wonderful trip! Our cabin was first class as was the service that we received. Entertainment throughout the ship was good and kept us fully occupied for the many days at sea.
The food was boring and repetitious and on occasions obviously some food items had run out. We used the two main restaurants as well as the self service ‘Market Restaurant’ which we referred to as the canteen as it had that sort of atmosphere. On most occasions it was overcrowded and cramped. It was impossible to eat a meal without having to keep getting up and down to allow fellow passengers access to their seats. Tables were left uncleared on many occasions. The tables in the other restaurants were close together and we still experienced people pushing by to get to their tables. There was allegedly a dress code for the service restaurants in the evening time but this didn’t appear to be enforced as passengers were turning up in whatever apparel they chose.
The main emphasis was on NCL’s own organised shore trips with not a lot of information forthcoming for the independent traveller. Disembarkation at both Miami and Los Angeles was shambolic. We will not use NCL again and suggest that if you want to make your cruise a special occasion consider using other cruise lines.