Have you/ are you going to cancel your NCL bookings

That and probably realizing that the cruise line is making pay for the service separately from the what's included in fare (Personally, I always those those two things were separate from each other from the get go). I too always included the what extra fees that's a 'must' along with the base fare - even airfare, there's the 'fare' and then there's baggage fee for extra bag even if its a carry-on, that should be factored in as well. Also, since majority of the naysayers haven't been on NCL since the most of the changes got implemented - they don't even know if they can remove / reduced the DSC like they claim before (Might have been easy under Sheenan, not so sure with Del Rio going into his 7 month in office)

That has not changed. Question answered.

That sucks that you had a bad experience. Was this your 3rd time on the Sun, or 3rd overall with NCL?

 

On our Epic cruise in Nov 2014, we never saw any festivities upon returning to the ship. We think maybe we returned too early.

 

The only time we had to ever leave dinner before a meal was served was in the MDR on the Spirit 10 years ago. It was 25 minutes before we even got our water/sodas! So I feel your pain. On that cruise the entire crew just seemed unhappy.

 

Unless every cruise you've taken with NCL was just like this, I wouldn't cancel anything. One bad cruise doesn't negate the other good ones, or in any way indicate that The Getaway will be the same. I'd read the recent reviews posted here about Getaway and use those to determine, not your latest experience on the old Sun.

Thanks for your comments. This was my 6th NCL cruise, 15th cruise overall. I sailed the NCL Sun three years in a row as part of that 6, and prior to this cruise, it's always been one of my favorite ships. That's why I was hoping to get others feedback. Was this just a one off or is this the way things will be under Del Rio?

In light of the overwhelming changes in such a short span is it enough to get you to cancel your current bookings?

 

Personally for my family and I the answer is YES, 2 Suites Cancelled and I'm not looking back at this train wreck until they realize constantly changing the product makes people feel uneasy and abused.

No even with the increased Tips its still better than Cutback Cruise Line and CHEAPER

Thank you so much for posting this. I am taking a 14 day cruise on the Dawn starting 10/30, booked a long time ago. I have a lot of medically necessary dietary restrictions including gluten free and dairy free. I was assured that they are very accommodating and I read that on many forums. I discussed my dietary needs at booking and was again assured I would have no problem. Now I'm concerned. What did you do before your trip? Did you email with the Access desk? I was planning on doing that in addition to what was already noted at booking just to make sure.

 

Were you looking for gluten free substitutes? I don't really care if I get gluten free bread or pasta. I just want to be able to get meat/fish and a side. Many of those things should be naturally gluten free and shouldn't be hard to accommodate.

 

Did you ever get glutened or was it just long and annoying to get your food? A mix up is my biggest concern because I will spend days ill. I never considered a cruise a good option because of this but I was assured on NCL it would be "no problem."

I did not get glutened. I believe your chance of being glutened from cross contamination on a land trip at a restaurant is far greater than on a cruise ship, because the lines have a separate special diet kitchen. This advice does not apply to the buffet. Buffets anywhere, as you probably already know, are dicey. I wouldn't avoid a cruise because of allergy issues. I'm just stating I thought Carnival did a better job of making my dining experience special than NCL.

What I had trouble with is the way I had to order on the Sun. It may not work this way on other NCL ships. In the dining room, they would bring me the menus for the next day to pre-order my meals. I would frequently pre-order, only to be called or stopped at another meal and told that what I pre-ordered could not be made gluten free. After two days of this, I asked to speak to the assistant Maitre D. My question to him was, why do you show an allergy guest all these meal choices, when in reality, you only have a couple of choices per meal?! It was frustrating. Just show me what I can have, and I'll deal with it. We sailed on Carnival Miracle in January and almost every single dish they offered could be made gluten free. On the Sun, only things that could easily be made gluten free (like leaving off a sauce) were offered. This applied to the deserts, as well. I could have chocolate, flourless cake or ice cream. That's it.

I noted my reservation as Gluten free and filled out the Access Desk form and received confirmation from them prior to my cruise.

I did not get glutened. I believe your chance of being glutened from cross contamination on a land trip at a restaurant is far greater than on a cruise ship, because the lines have a separate special diet kitchen. This advice does not apply to the buffet. Buffets anywhere, as you probably already know, are dicey. I wouldn't avoid a cruise because of allergy issues. I'm just stating I thought Carnival did a better job of making my dining experience special than NCL.

 

What I had trouble with is the way I had to order on the Sun. It may not work this way on other NCL ships. In the dining room, they would bring me the menus for the next day to pre-order my meals. I would frequently pre-order, only to be called or stopped at another meal and told that what I pre-ordered could not be made gluten free. After two days of this, I asked to speak to the assistant Maitre D. My question to him was, why do you show an allergy guest all these meal choices, when in reality, you only have a couple of choices per meal?! It was frustrating. Just show me what I can have, and I'll deal with it. We sailed on Carnival Miracle in January and almost every single dish they offered could be made gluten free. On the Sun, only things that could easily be made gluten free (like leaving off a sauce) were offered. This applied to the deserts, as well. I could have chocolate, flourless cake or ice cream. That's it.

 

I noted my reservation as Gluten free and filled out the Access Desk form and received confirmation from them prior to my cruise.

Sometimes when I come on these threads I feel like I'm on an episode of Punk'd

Sometimes when I come on these threads I feel like I'm on an episode of Punk'd

Meaning what exactly?

Jayne, it's so nice to see your post! I tried to figure out how to contact you earlier in the year, but couldn't figure out how. I'm glad that you and Squoose are still cruising!

I'm sorry that your most recent Sun cruise wasn't as good as the one we traveled together on. That was probably my favorite ever. We're sailing on the Dawn in February and we'll see how that one goes. I'm not giving up that aft balcony!

Jayne, it's so nice to see your post! I tried to figure out how to contact you earlier in the year, but couldn't figure out how. I'm glad that you and Squoose are still cruising!

 

I'm sorry that your most recent Sun cruise wasn't as good as the one we traveled together on. That was probably my favorite ever. We're sailing on the Dawn in February and we'll see how that one goes. I'm not giving up that aft balcony!

No for sure, that Sun cruise was amazing! That's why I hope was a hotel director issue and not a Del Rio issue. I wasn't gluten free then, so everything was easier, eating-wise.

I am sad to tell you that Rich passed away unexpectedly during our Hawaii cruise in January. He was 6 weeks from retirement. Life will never be the same without him, and I haven't been on these boards much since then. :(

Mrs. Squirrel,

Sorry for your loss and thank you for taking the time to respond. I feel much better about my upcoming cruise now. I'm good with "hold the sauce" type ordering.

Jayne, find several of us here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1455726&page=114

I'm sorry for your loss.

I will continue to sail NCL. The changes seem not worthy of thinking about to me. If the price, ship, and itinerary are right, then count me in.

Hi Jayne, Dan and I want to say how deeply sorry we are. I have no words to express our shock and sadness. Dan is an GM employee too and we know how many people were planning for retirement this year - it is doubly sad. I can only hope you shared some beautiful memories planning and you experienced some great times while in Hawaii. My heart goes out to you and your son.

Dan & Jai

Mrs. Squirrel,

 

Sorry for your loss and thank you for taking the time to respond. I feel much better about my upcoming cruise now. I'm good with "hold the sauce" type ordering.

Thank you. You will have a great time, I'm sure.

Hi Jayne, Dan and I want to say how deeply sorry we are. I have no words to express our shock and sadness. Dan is an GM employee too and we know how many people were planning for retirement this year - it is doubly sad. I can only hope you shared some beautiful memories planning and you experienced some great times while in Hawaii. My heart goes out to you and your son.

 

Dan & Jai

Thank you so much. We do have great memories. He loved Hawaii. It was our first time there.

Jayne, find several of us here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1455726&page=114

 

I'm sorry for your loss.

I'll come over there to chat further. Sorry to the OP for the off topic.

No way. I've learned not to sweat the small stuff, and so far, the overall impact on my wallet is still very minimal. I have no anger towards NCL, even though I might shake my head at certain things. I'm going to roll with it and have a blast.

Same here! :)

Do it. At this point you're so peeved at NCL, there's no way you would have a good time. We sailed several times with CELEBRITY, but after our cruise on the Solstice, we left. Same with HAL. But we did so quietly and deliberately. No "goodbye cruel world" posts for us. No "I'm gonna do it...I swear I'm gonna do it..really...I'm gonna do it" There are several cruise lines you can run to. sometimes a change of scenery is needed.

 

But if you're so firm in your convictions, why tell us? You don't need our permission. If you're unhappy with a restaurant at home, do you walk up to other tables and ask "are you happy here" do you stand outside and tell other customers "I'm never coming in here again". JUST GO ALREADY.

JUST GO ALREADY!

My feelings as well. After 18 cruises with Celebrity(the most), HAL and RCCL we booked our first cruise with NCL.

The price, itinerary and the fact that it sails from N.Y.C. sold us. Unless we find something horribly wrong with the Gem or NCL in general we see nothing but positive features for our cruise.

BTW We have never been on a bad cruise, maybe a bump in the road here or there, but never a bad taste from any in the past.

bosco

Being fairly new to cruising, my opinion may not mean much, however, I can tell you that my wife and I love NCL. We won't be cancelling.

 

It is about honesty and a contract. NCL (or any cruise line) presents a product and accepts reservations and payments for the product that they present. After they accept your money, they increase change the terms of the contract.

 

Yes, you could lock in your DSC by paying in advance, but it is still changing the terms.

 

You didn't get grandfathered for $8 room service, dining price changes, etc. If you cancelled because of the charges, NCL would still collect the cancellation fees.

 

It's not about the amount, it's about INTEGRITY and living up to one's word.

 

(I have also seen threads that mention that make it unclear whether all of the DSC actually gets paid to those that it is intended for.)

I get that, but if you have been cruising long enough, and on various lines, you'll know that each one of them has had pages of irate passengers complaining on CC for something similar regarding contracts and integrity....I do understand why you are upset but with cruising, making a decision to 'jump ship' or jump a line, IS biting off your nose to spite your face because if you do enjoy cruising and want to continue to cruise, you will find nothing different about any of the other mass market lines.

If you are jumping to a luxury line, it may be different (I really don't know) but you certainly pay for the 'integrity'.

No matter what your decision, I hope you enjoy your future travel.

What is the big announcement on Aug 4?

That might change minds.

I like NCL and had book a cruise on the Pearl(great ship) but have to say when I saw the changes to NCL decided that NCL and I were going in different directions and decided to cancel and book on RCL. I will miss the Pearl but I think some of these changes have me shaking my head and trying to figure what they are up to. And reading the news portion today on CC from the President of NCL I am now sure I did the right thing...They are out of touch with their customers.

 

I did not consider the cruise to be the best portion of our trip this time around. I have an NCL Getaway cruise booked for this Christmas that I am rethinking. There are just too many options out there and deals can be found on all lines.

In your signature line, I see you have sailed plenty of other lines. Vacations are expensive and why risk having another poor experience. Go with the other lines that have treated you well in the past.

I enjoyed reading your post.

Nope not canceling. I have two booked

Did you cancel the November 1st, 2015 cruise on the Star? It's no longer on your signature???

I have no clue as to what the announcement on the 4this going to be ,but,I just read a post about 15 to 20 minutes ago that there is no longer going to be a fireworks display on the breakaway and the getaway as of August 1st

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I tried to read as many of these posts as I could tolerate....:eek:

From what I can figure out rates on somethings are rising a little...is there any other "major" changes being made or is this just another case of a daily "internet outrage" :rolleyes: