I've gone on 50+ cruises and just tried Norwegian Cruise Line for the first time. I was disappointed despite some pleasant surprises.

For years, I've seen Norwegian Cruise Line offering promotions that seemed to good to be true, like free unlimited bar packages, specialty dining, internet, port adventures, and more.

It was the Free at Sea advertising that compelled me to book my first NCL sailing, and although I found there were a few caveats and hidden expenses, these freebies enhanced my cruising experience and helped me save money.

In particular, my husband and I enjoyed having 150 minutes of free internet, which was just enough time to feel connected to our life on land but not enough to take away from living in the moment while sailing.

Also, although I don't generally pay the high surcharge for drink packages, I enjoyed getting an unlimited bar package for free(ish) – my husband and I still had to pay gratuities for the retail price of this package, which amounted to $218 per person for our 10-night sailing. In all, this still offered a great value since the package usually costs over $100 per person per day.

NCL's casual approach really appealed to me — there were no formal dress-up protocols and the ship had flexible freestyle dining that allowed us to eat in the main dining rooms whenever.

After previously suffering through long wait times on Royal Caribbean's similar "anytime dining" program, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Norwegian's freestyle dining offered little-to-no wait, making this program a huge win for me.

My family also enjoyed ample dinnertime seating at the ship's more casual eateries, including the multicultural Indulge Food Hall, which allowed us to easily order everything from Indian cuisine to BBQ and salads from a tabletop tablet menu.

As seamless as dinnertime service was, other mealtimes posed a challenge.

Limited operating hours in the dining room led to a frustrating hunt for available tables in the overly crowded buffet and Indulge Food Hall during traditional breakfast and lunch hours.

Norwegian Prima lacked grab-and-go style eats that we typically find on other cruise lines, like late-night pizza and quick-service burgers.

This absence of readily available sustenance was especially evident during the late-night hours when the only dining available was at The Local, a traditional sit-down eatery with service that felt agonizingly slow for a midnight snack.

NCL ships offer innovative onboard spaces I haven't seen on other cruise lines.

Notably, NCL is the only cruise line to feature go-kart tracks on its ships' upper decks. I also enjoyed the extra-wide promenade deck Ocean Boulevard, which offered posh loungers, infinity pools, a bar, outdoor dining spaces, and a sculpture art garden.

Similar promenade decks are featured elsewhere in the Norwegian fleet, and this unique space was a delight.

As my sailing through Iceland and Norway was chilly at times, I also enjoyed Norwegian's luxurious indoor Observation Lounge, which featured expansive window views of the scenery outside. It was the ideal spot to enjoy drinks and card games on sea days.

I was glad to have packed some games for my cruise as, despite having an entertainment venue with Improv in the name, there weren't any comedy shows during my sailing. Actually, I found there weren't many live shows available at all.

Our 10-night sailing featured just one scripted theater show – "Summer: The Donna Summer Musical." My son, whose knowledge of disco is virtually non-existent, was not amused and, despite being a child of the '70s myself, the material was not as cross-generational as I'd hoped.

The only other major stage production was a lively recreation of "The Price Is Right," which my family enjoyed much more.

I was especially disappointed by the limited entertainment because I'd recently traveled on Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas where I was treated to Broadway-style musicals, a Vegas-inspired water theater production, and dazzling ice-skating shows.

Despite not providing tons in the way of kid-friendly live entertainment, my sailing did offer many features that my 10-year-old enjoyed. He loved racing around on go-karts, zipping down multi-story slides, and playing miniature golf and video games.

However, although the onboard kids club was complimentary, almost every other family-friendly feature came with an added – and often costly – expense.

I thought the worst onboard value was the virtual-reality arcade, Galaxy Pavilion. Each experience was $8 so the costs quickly added up.

Price aside, we found many of the attractions were not working properly during our visits. My son was frustrated as he jumped on VR "rides" that didn't move, attempted to operate video games that were no longer interactive, and queued up for a row of what should have been 10 racing simulators that only had a three operating cars.

The expenses incurred at the Galaxy Pavilion were just the tip of the iceberg for me. We found fees all over the ship for miniature golf or even access to certain pools.

Some of these costs were not a total shock as add-ons have become very common in the cruise industry in recent years, but NCL's paid offerings were some of the priciest I've seen.

In my opinion, many add-ons didn't offer a good value, either. For example, it cost $45 to play darts for a little under an hour. Mini golf was $15 a person for nine holes and many of the course's interactive elements were not even working when we played.

Despite some downsides, my family mostly enjoyed our experience on the Norwegian Prima. Although I was able to overlook most of my disappointments, there were some more significant issues as well.

Perhaps my biggest frustration was the number of changes to my cruise itinerary. Two of our seven planned European ports were canceled last minute. I understand itineraries can sometime change — often for safety reasons — but I was disappointed my group of three was still charged port fees for the missed stops, even after I contacted customer service.

These fees have always been returned to me when similar incidents occurred while sailing with other cruise lines and my lack of a refund only added to my disappointed.

Overall, I had a good trip but I'm unlikely to select NCL as my cruise line of choice in the future.

Representatives for Norwegian Cruise Line didn't respond to Insider's request for comment.