Hendricks Clan

I find myself in a situation I was in back a few years ago. We sailed exclusively Carnival. Bob Dickinson retired and Carnival brought on a new CEO. After a few cruises under the new CEO, we noticed the product changing and not for the better. Even though we were platinum, we began to try other lines to see if any fit our taste better than Carnival. We cruised on Allure (RCI) and the Norwegian Star all within a few weeks of one another. We fell in LOVE with freestyle cruising and everything NCL had to offer. Sadly, with all the recent changes being made, that imho are not for the better, I have decided to branch out again. A few weeks ago I made a return to Carnival, and this fall we have canceled out Escape cruise and are giving MSC Divina a try. The Yacht Club fare was very affordable, and with MSC's current promotion of matching your loyalty status from other lines, we submitted our Carnival VIFP information and our status was matched by MSC. I'm extremely nervous based on some of the reviews I've read about food and announcements, but I seen high praises for the entertainment and the ship. So we shall see...

NCL may lead in dining variety but certainly not dining quality. Cruised with them once and the food and service was terrible.

 

Having seen any more parties on Carnival than on the other lines we have cruised.

I can say the same about my recent CCL cruises. Give my NCL's over Carnival's any day!

So they are following Carnival's lead by keeping continental breakfast free of service charges? If so..this is a lesson for all the naysayers who were gladly emptying out their pockets for the NCL upper echelon. Customer's do have a voice and do have the power. Vote with your wallet and companies do come around to what the "market" will pay.:)

I wished they would have followed Carnival's lead. With CCL's new menu one can still get sandwiches and other things free 24/7...where as for a sandwich on NCL were going to pay a $7.95 fee.

What other brand would,there be? RCCL has dDreamworks and DCL has, well, pretty much everything else.

and Carnival now has Dr. Seuss...

They were inundated with outrage complaints about the room service because of the secret planning and sneak attack. Many of the posters still don't get it. NCL has broken a bond of "trust" with many loyal customers that is the commercial equivalent of infidelity.

 

I'm beginning to suspect this type of back room one way street loyalty planning, following NCL's November aquisition of Regent & Oceania, may have had something to do will Kevin Sheehan's surprise January resignation.

I think you may be on to something. It's just my speculation is that Apollo may have promised the keys to FDR, and they basically forced Kevin out. Sad if true, as Kevin brought the brand and line back from the brink of disaster.

I doubt many have called. When there was all the uproar over the 18 percent gratuity on the specialty restaurants, when I called NCL, they said they hadn't gotten any calls. I think it is easier for people to complain on here, instead of actually calling the company, which would have more impact.

Dont be fooled. This site can have an impact. That is why NCL can and does post here. This is the largest cruise community site in the world. They know the power of Cruise Critic.

Im sorry but charging 18% gratuity on top of the $4.95 is just a slap in the face!

It has already happened ...

 

 

 

Here is a link to the thread (I've only quoted the first post of that thread) ...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2191129

Couldn't agree more. I LOVE NCL and its by far my favorite line. That said, with all the recent changes, the huge fares there requesting, and the apparent elimination of offering an interline rate to airline employees, I had no choice but to go back to Carnival. When we booked the other night the Getaway was well over $1,000.00pp more than the Carnival cruise we booked. I truly miss Kevin Sheehan and with most companies when there is a change in leadership the customer hardly notices any changes...not the case here :(

As others have said, when it comes to Alaska try lines that specialize in Alaska. Go with HAL, Princess, or NCL. Those three lines control over 97% of the slots available to sail into Glacier Bay. No one else comes close to offering the itineraries that NCL, Princess, and HAL offers to Alaska.

If I book a cruise and it says waterslides are included with my fare, and I get to the cruise and there is a charge each time I want to use the slide, is that somehow fair? I mean some people would spend all day on the slide, creating lines. So the fee is for my convenience so I can use the slide more quickly? And for this I should thank them?

 

I am saddened by new cruisers who truly never experienced things that made cruising different from other types of vacations. Those differences have been pretty much eroded from the cruise experience. Newer generations, and this is my opinion, seem much more casual and accepting of changes that either cost them more money, impact the services and value they thought they were originally getting, or both.

 

So no, I don't believe for a moment that people actually ordering and using RS was an abuse, and I don't think these people "did it to themselves". I think with a new generation of cruisers NCL is just pushing the bounds on what they can get a fee for, and how much more they can remove from the experience before they run into trouble filling berths. If everyone accepts this and pats them on the back and sends them love notes for all these new conveniences, of course they will continue to change the cruise experience.

 

I don't consider a few thousand dollars for a vacation to be bottom of the barrel anything. Cruising certainly costs significantly more than many other ways one could spend their free time. I don't want bottom of the barrel, I want value. I don't want the cheapest price, I want a fair deal. It is very sad that is becoming a minority position these days and to speak up and say I want what I paid for in this bargain essentially gets you beaten back down.

 

Waterslide fee seems insane doesn't it? Well, for over four decades so did a RS "convenience fee". If they succeed with this it will never end. There will be extra fees in the MDR for bread replenishment, extra fees for a second appetizer. Oh, you want your room done twice per day? The new standard is once. Turn down service will be a fee.

 

It all sounds crazy now...or does it? At some point you will simply board a ship, have three times daily access to a buffet restaurant (scan your card each time, no 100 trips in and out), and a non-premium positioned deck chair, and they'll make ports of call in all their own special built, sanitized compounds dotted around the Caribbean; probably wherever gave the most building credits and has the cheapest fuel. Everything else will be optional. Everything.

This wins the best post award!

With a bang & fireworks, on the 4th of July, 2015 weekend ... saying that most guests wouldn't need access to hot water & can always get coffee DIY at the buffet (and, get rid of the tiny cups at O'Sheehans & the 3 bigger pots there) and that is, as a test, of course, at no extra charge for everyone's convenience to simplify housekeeping work for the stewards. :D

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Oops, right - or, swipe your Guest Keycard to use it on a daily basis, for a low flat rate of $x. xx

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Ditto, locked mini-refrigerator, unless ...

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Aren't we evil & bad here, LOL. :confused:

I was going to say July 4th myself but since you beat me to the bunch, I'll go with sailing beginning on June 6, 2015

We havent sailed on Carnival since 2012. We have sailed exclusively on NCL since then, however with the new leadership in charge, they seem to have done away with interline rates. So last night we booked the 7/4 sailing on the Glory. We have sailed the Glory before but that was in 2005, and I know a lot has changed with Carnival since we have been aboard one of their ships. I'm guessing the ship has all the 2.0 upgrades? How was your experience onboard the Glory?

For me it simply boiled down to the price. Since the new regime has taken over, NCL is currently not offering interline rates. So when I booked last night the rate in a Balcony on the Getaway for July 4th is $1,619.00pp. A balcony on the Carnival Glory (Carnival offers interline rates) was $616.36pp. That's an astonishing price difference of $1,002.64. For my family of 4 the Getaway is $4,010.56 more. Are there things were going to miss about NCL, absolutely as they are our favorite line. That said, we can have an equally as good time on Carnival and have a lot more money to spend on Excursions and various things to do in all the ports. I just hope the new leadership hasn't priced NCL out of our range entirely and force us back to Carnival full time.

Actually, according to what the NCL person posted, the charge is UP TO $7.95

That means it could be from zero on up.

They posted that because on some ships its free, one ship is $4.95, and one ship is $7.95. If your on the Breakaway right now, I bet those people would be willing to tell you nothing is "zero," and its all $7.95

I booked with CCL and saved $800 over what NCL had to offer.

As much as I hate to, I myself am going back to Carnival this summer. Del Rio or Stuart one has eliminated interline rates at NCL, so to do a return trip on the Getaway on July 4th is over $1,500pp for a Balcony. I can get interline on Carnival and the Glory or Valor is only $616.60pp for a Balcony. I havent cruised on Carnival since 2012, but the price difference is just not worth it so last night we booked the Glory. Hopefully, if NCL doesn't continue this policy of not offering interline rates, I'll be back and on the Escape this fall.

We always pick port side and 9 out of 10 times we face the port!

Here's the simple solution to the Room Service dilemma, grab this to use as a tray and go bring back as much as you need and/or can fill up with - of course, that is until guests are banned from walking around the ship with them for safety reasons :D (It is a bit on the small side, but for those accustomed to a light continental or snacks ... it should get the "job" done, I always joked while cruising that Room Service is "me" as DW usually dispatch me to see what's "upstairs while she take a break/nap/shower/iPad moment, etc.)

 

What I'm troubled by is A.S. took the heat for the failure to communicate to the customer base, and, make no pledge or commitment to improve/change the mode of back-handed operations - and, he has been a seasoned NCL veterans - unlike the fellow who ran Olive Gardens. I've said this more than once already on other post, how difficult is it to communicate - do an official corporate email to ALL, not just a webinar exclusively for TA's yesterday, 4 days after the experiment was put into effect on 2 of its largest megaships, without prior notice to passengers, until they boarded it for sailing. This was, IMO, planned & not a rabbit jumping out of the hat magically - jamming the new Feestyle cruising experience with the ships packed with families & children on Spring breaks. Stuart held that live Q&A via Twitter 10 days ago & mentioned about more changes, so I am not completely surprised - still, waiting for his replies to earlier questions posted on T & FB as there's been no acknowledgement so far. NCL can use some damage control on their social media pages & here on CC, but ...

 

As Platinum members, we don't want to stop sailing NCL after 2015 (just one more on the radar due to FCR already purchased, which we might just unload & cancel) - we stopped booking United Airlines after more than a quarter century of flying because we refused to fly a narrow tin can for 3+ hours and get nickeled & dimed unless ...

 

I am not going to challenge others on matters of differences in opinions but surely going to put in my quarter's worth of voices. As a small footnote -

agreed to disagree and the dialogue continued, or else - click on the IGNORE List and move on.

Perfectly said. I might add...what this boils down to is FDR is going to go the Carnival way. He's going to water down the NCL product so much that in order to get what were accustomed to he's going to try and force us over to Oceania and Regent for a better cruise experience. The difference here is, NCLH has no line that is similar to Princess or HAL like Carnival has. Most people who cruise on NCL can not afford to cruise on Regent or Oceania. Its sad really but I think thats what he's trying to do and wouldn't be surprised to see more increases in fees and take aways.

I read this with interest and am hoping it is true.

 

So I gather NCL is adding too the room service menu and some or all of the added items will be for a nominal fee. The ones that were complimentary still are. This is good, I now have more choices.

 

All sorts of folks here freaking out over NCL attempting to make a better product, because they didn't get the whole story.

 

As a side note. When NCL started charging $5 for pizza, guess what? I see a whole lot less half eaten pizzas all over the passage way leading to or from the staterooms.

I just watched Andy's presentation and in no way shape or form did he say that. In fact he showed a slide that was side by side with the old menu and the new enhanced menu. From what I heard and saw, he said they were not charging per items just a small delivery fee (paraphrased) but thats basically what he said along with apologizing several times for lack of communication. The only thing mentioned about the free menu was that the remainder of the ships remained unchanged while they tested this out and waited on guest feedback.

We haven't tried NCL, and honestly, have zero interest in trying them. We have always price checked against Princess and Royal, but for the weeks we can sail, Carnival has worked out in our favor.

Its a shame you feel that way about NCL. They offer a great product right now and IMHO its the best of the 3 mainstream brands.

Personally, I don't care too much about Oasis. Neat as it is, to us it's just a giant tub that can't hardly go anywhere. If I lived in Florida already, then it might make more sense in being a destination in and of itself, or maybe catch it in Europe.

Not true at all. Most ports have upgraded just to accommodate ships like Allure and Oasis...as thats where the future is going.

You should give Princess a try sometime. I think you'd be surprised. They are supposed to do Alaska like no other. (in a good way)

Princess is on my bucket list for sure!

Carnival Corp has many brands under the umbrella - NCL, not so much.

 

Princess is a Carnival Corp brand.

True, but Oceania and Regent are considered by far the best lines in the category in which those two lines are placed in. On the other hand its very debatable where NCL falls when compared to Carnival and RCI. NCL, has however picked up serval awards from global travel ranking organizations such as "Best and Leading Caribbean Cruise Line," "Best European Itineraries," "Best Mega ship Cruise Line," and "Best New ship," just to name a few. For every award NCL has, another company gives RCI the title in the same category, but the constant is that you never see any of those same awards being given to Carnival. Not to mention NCL, has a partnership with Asia's Star Cruises. I think all 3 brands under the Norwegian Cruise Lines Holding umbrella are well equipped to compete with Carnival Corp and Royal's lines.

Carnival is the number one favorite in So. California because Carnival has never left our PORT. The other cruise lines come and go and they lower their rates because they have to compete with Carnival. They try to steal the Carnival clients but we who like Carnival will always cruise on Carnival.

 

I have cruised on 7 different cruise lines and I like them all but Carnival is more fun for single solo me. I love the music and the activities.

I dont think its fair to say the various other cruise left. Yes, they come and go and the reason for that is they have to deploy ships elsewhere that are more profitable. Carnival has been in a unique position in that their sheer fleet size allowed the to have ships based in areas year round that the other cruise lines couldnt match. The tables are starting to even out especially with RCI about to equal Carnival in size. Lets see what the future holds a couple of years down the road.

I couldn't care less about what RCCL is doing but I do like what NCL is doing with its new ships. I am very interested in sailing on the Escape. Granted I am also very excited to sail on Vista.

As a Carnival Platinum cruiser, I can honestly tell you IMHO NCL is currently offering the best product out there. They have earned my loyalty with the product they are currently offering. Just wished they had a little more variety in the Caribbean sailings during the summer, thankfully its coming!

Carnival to me is way better than NCL too, and a few of the others too. I would call it a tie between Carnival and Royal Caribbean as my fave's. Annoys me when I talk to staff on NCL and they roll their eyes at the mention of Carnival. I am thinking, really you think NCL is better than Carnival. Oh brother. I will try NCL again given the opportunity and a good deal on Breakaway/Getaway or one of the newer builds, but Carnival for me is my choice. I took Epic on NCL and even that didn't persuade me to be an NCL fan.

and I would choose NCL over Carnival 10 out of 10 times. Everyone has positives and negatives from each particular line. For me NCL is my line of choice, others its Carnival, RCI, etc...

I for one find NCL's entertainment to be years ahead of Carnival's. Carnival however has more variety in Caribbean sailings, yet NCL offers unparalleled Alaska, Hawaii, and Bermuda sailings compared to the other mainstream lines. To each his own!