graphicguy

Be careful what you wish for. 😉

That was fun. Enjoyed meeting and making more CC friends on that cruise. Loved the Prima, too!

My ROI was good owning NCL stock. Bought at 11....sold at 16....OBC for the cruises I took equaled $600. I doubled my original $1,100 investment. I wish all my bigger investments would offer that ROI.

Exactly. MSC is set up to sell different embarkation/disembarkation points, a la carte. NCL (nor Royal, nor Celebrity, nor Carnival, etc) does not do this. And yes, if you want to do this, probably a better idea to book MSC than it is to try this with NCL. We're read time and again how this goes sideways.

I like Celebrity. Haven’t sailed them in a couple of years, though! Their fares are indeed high, just like her sister Royal. Was Celebrity “premium” vs NCL? I dunno about that. But, they are different enough.

@YVRteacher…first and foremost, thanks for the time and effort you put into this, and every review you’ve done. 2nd…I’ve observed some of the whining on this board (and many other cruise line boards) on this site. YOU are not whining. If my toilet didn’t work, my food was cold, I was summarily dismissed by Customer Service? I would have been apoplectic. I also agree that $500 for your troubles is not enough. I was thinking double, maybe triple that! Or, a 35% cruise discount. At the end of the day, I’m happy to hear you made lemonade out of lemons!

With you on that. This is the song I play on the way to the airport pre-cruise...

In fairness, what @YVRteacher had happen on the 2nd leg of her cruise was inexcusable. But, it was in stark contrast to the first leg...same ship. The total breakdown on the 2nd leg truly is mind boggling. Certainly sounds like NCL was saying "we don't care"! That's a perfect way to lose guests. My guess is if Katy Byrd, VP Guest Services, got wind of it, someone, somewhere would no longer be employed by NCL. When Managers DO NOT want to speak to guests, something is very wrong with management. Overall, the cruises I've taken on NCL, while I could nit pic, were all good to excellent. That included cruises on Epic, Jewel Class, Breakaway Class, Breakaway Plus Class and Prima Class. The cabins ranged from Solo to Haven 2 BR Suites. Itineraries ranged from Caribbean, to Bermuda, to Alaska, to New England/Canada, to Mexico, to the Mediterranean. I've sailed solo, with a SO, and with family. Point being, I've had a fair amount of experience with NCL...ranging from the Kevin O'Sheehan days to today. I've sailed MSC, Royal, Celebrity, Carnival, HAL. NCL still has the best mix of what I look for in a cruise. It does not bother me whether they have hashbrowns. It does not bother me if one liquor, wine, beer or another libation is or isn't still available. That's not why I cruise. I cruise to relax, see cool places, meet great people. NCL has all that covered. And, they take care of me in the process. Their fares are good to great (shopping a little helps). All that said, if there's a good fare, for an itinerary that's interesting, on a ship I might like, I have no qualms about booking with another line.

Cool! I'm going to book it and see how it shakes out. I think fares will drop. I love the AWAY ships and I love Bermuda. Hope to see you on board.

This kind of hand wringing entertains me. It shouldn’t, but it does. If you go to Princess or HAL you’ll see people fretting about being bored. If you go to Royal, you’ll see complaints about the cost of their drink packages etc. Point is, go to any cruise line and you’ll see complaints. The question is, how much weight do you give to the complaints? And, what influence would any cruise line’s complaints have on your cruise? You’re sailing in less than a month. Are you going to cancel if you find some people complaining? Sail, smile, be happy! That’s my best advice!

Good to hear you enjoyed it. While a less than "Haven experience" pops up every once in a while, generally speaking, NCL is still tops when offering a more luxury experience aboard a mainstream cruise line. Your experience bears that out. The Epic, Breakaway (+) and Prima classes are the ships that are the heart of what NCL Haven cruising really entails. The Jewel Class Haven is small and doesn't have the Haven Lounge/Bar/Restaurant. The Spirit Class has no Haven, at all. The Haven Restaurant truly is a special dining venue on board the ship (and equals or exceeds anything else on the other Premium experiences on other main stream cruise lines). As you experienced, if they can do something to appeal to you, they will do their level best to accommodate. Bartenders and Waitstaff are generally the best in the fleet. Their service and knowledge are a step above. Concierges are the heart of the Haven experience. Overall regarding their abilities to accommodate....If they can, they will. Epic has a LARGE Haven. Having sailed it last year, it's also one of the best in the fleet. Behind the Epic are the Breakaway/Getaway Havens. Prima Haven was quite nice, but lacked the special ambiance of the Breakaway/Getaway Havens.

That T-Shirt has "you" written all over it. 😉

There's the issue. No one cares enough to even sit down and talk to you about their egregious failures. Customer Service Managers, General Managers, etc.....their jobs are varied and demanding, I'm certain. However, at the very tippy-top of their duties, especially in a service industry like cruising, should be taking care of the guests. Forget that you're in the Haven. Forget that you're a Diamond cruiser. Their first priority should be taking care of their guests. They obviously failed on all counts and didn't have the wherewithal to spend 5 minutes with you.

This is the 2nd time we've heard of this in recent weeks. Makes no sense. Why cruise? Especially, why pay for a 7 day cruise and not use it? What's the fare they're charging for the "good friend"? They won't pro-rate his fare.

Have CNs and and CFs just waiting for me, too. Atlantic weather in June does not bother me. I actually like sailing then as the weather is usually nice...UNLESS...there's a hurricane. Which I've also sailed through before. I'm feeling mighty fearless. There's a Getaway and I think a Jewel cruise in June that will go to Bermuda. Eyeballing both. Both have good fares right now. I'll probably wait until later this year. Maybe see what those fares look like when I'm on the Getaway this December. I'm thinking I can score another deal for Bermuda like we found on the Joy this past June. Who knows, might get some pleasant surprise coupons in my account I can use, too.

If you turn off WiFi on your phone, you would be using whatever data network is available. No cruise line can affect that. You can do that now. I know I always check my cellular signal when cruising if I'm sailing to an area I know T-Mobile offers free service. Once I get close to the shoreline, I turn my data signal back on and use it for voice and data. You won't get signals while away from the shore line, though. But, I do use ship's purchased WiFi for data and VoIP phone calls and not incur roaming charges.

Where I find this helpful would be when docked at a port T-Mobile works with. On board, I can't see ANY of the cruise lines giving up on the internet connectivity revenue stream. So, wouldn't plan on seeing t-Mobile offering at sea internet while sailing on any ships. At ports? Different story. I've found Starlink on NCL to be quite good since they've adapted it on most of their ships.

It is amazing how. those little "suggestion cards" can solve a multitude of issues. Have had personal calls from the GM after me dropping one off in the a.m. and getting the GM phone call that afternoon.

Can I throw in a cruise that I'm totally selfish in looking at? June 1 or June 8 2025 Getaway sailing to Bermuda out of NYC. This is kind of how my whole B-Day cruise deal started. And, it's NYC, which will be helpful to some of you. And, it's to Bermuda, which I dearly love. Thoughts?

As a perfect example, on my last cruise, I bought transport to and from the airport to the ship for a Bermuda cruise out of NYC. When I got to the meeting place at the airport for transport, I was not listed on their manifest. I did not argue with the boarding agent. I just showed them the Amenities Sheet showing where I had purchased transport. End of discussion.

May or may not need the Amenities Sheet. Actually, you can print it from your reservation page. It should show everyone on the same reservation, their perks, their purchase options (like VIBE or FAS+). If there are deviations from that sheet, you have a copy of everything due to you. And, you can correct them with that proof of what you're owed. Generally speaking, it's much more preferable to do it before boarding. If, as in this case, you added someone to the reservation, or changed something since booking, you have proof of those changes. This is all speculation, but my guess is having FAS+ and VIBE access for a solo, would not transfer over to having it changed for 2. After the changes were made, a new reservation sheet should have been emailed showing the changes. Those changes would also be reflected in the Amenities Sheet. A, "I took care of it", by a PCC should never be accepted as proof. The career for a PCC is usually short lived. Turnover is high (as in most commission sales positions). The PCC who said "I'll take care of it" might not even be there as a PCC before he/she can actually take care of anything. As most things, having it in writing will preclude any confusion.

Yeah. Should be on the eDocs. I'm a big believer in redundancy. I bring a sheet with all the amenities on it, too. That shows things like FAS, VIBE, etc. I have the amenities sheet with me when I check in at the port. Until I get everything all sorted at check in, I probably wouldn't leave until all that is rectified. No way I'd board with a blank key card.

First thing I thought, too. Any time you change things at the last minute, the chances of "stuff" going sideways increases. As Bird says, the Amenities Confirmation would show all of what you agreed to....giving you time to rectify any discrepancies before boarding. Part of my "routine" is to contact the reservations desk pre-cruise to get that sheet to have a physical copy to show Guest Services.

I've never, on any cruise ship, on any cruise line, been happy with the Guest Services line/desk. It's the very definition of an oxymoron!

I welcome all reports, good and bad. I LOVE your reviews. They are upbeat and bring back lots of fond memories of places I've also visited. But, this 2nd leg of your trip is inexcusable on NCL's part. Again, this is a total failure of the ship's upper management. From the toilet, to the service to the condition of your cabin, totally unacceptable. I sometimes read posts by folks who whine about things and I just shake my head wondering if they're 12 years old or adults. This? This experience is just a failure by NCL....all the way around! As an ongoing and frequent guest of NCL, this really ticks me off!!!!