What do you miss about your NCL experience?

I went to print out our edocs and luggage tags yesterday and realized how much I miss getting that packet in the mail a month or so before our cruise. It contained very nice, blue, sturdy luggage tags with a white string to attach to luggage. Along with that, you got your edocs. I always looked forward to getting that in the mail. Now we get to print out everything and it seems so flimsy...........and the anticipation of getting them in the mail is gone.

So what do you miss that is no longer there anymore........??

DH missed that there was no lobster in the complimentary dining room and also no more shrimp cocktail

I'll flip it around .... we took a cruise on another line and here's what we "missed about our NCL experience" while on that line:

1. Embarkation day had only the buffet and the grill poolside open for lunch. And the grill didn't have any free drinks at the drink station (no water, coffee, etc.) We missed having NCL's MDR open for lunch as well as O'Sheehans.

2. Extreme upselling to the beverage package when a bar waiter came to take drink orders. We thought we were going to have to call guest relations to sign the bill. This was worst than any sales pitch I have ever had on NCL.

3. Horrible breakfast in the MDR; the "Cinnamon French Toast" was literally 1 slice of regular width bread, cut diagonally then grilled with unsweetened cinnamon sprinkled over it. The fancy waiter dribbled about a quarter of an ounce of syrup, and had to be prompted twice to get enough on the toast to make it run over the edges. The eggs were cold. Out of four meals all four were substandard both times we tried the MDR for breakfast. Never had that happen on NCL.

4. We had their version of Freestyle with any time dining, and it was horrid. We always waited at least 20 minutes if we didn't make a reservation. The MDR dedicated to any time dining didn't have clear aisles ... we definitely missed the spaciousness of the NCL dining rooms with the wide, clear aisles. Especially when waiters had to swing trays over our heads to serve the people at the next table.

5. We felt "herded" at every function. There was a complementary "galley tour" that crammed everyone into the same any time dining MDR and then took groups of about 20 through the galley. At the end, we were "escorted" to different specialty dining restaurant presentations for more upselling. We skirted around the stations and politely explained to each crew member who stopped us that we were going to leave.

So that's what I missed about my NCL experience when on another highly rated line. Oh, they did send us luggage tags in the mail, a nice touch that was forgotten about ten minutes after boarding.

NCL does some things very well, and does some things not so well. But alas, it is the same everywhere.

yes, miss the shrimp cocktails but they have been gone so many years I have forgotten about them. As for the Lobster, if I want Lobster I want it to be really good and I have never had really good Lobster on any cruise, so it isn't a big thing to me.

I guess there isn't much that has changed that really bothers me, I am pretty easy to please and just love getting away a few times a year. I think God we can still travel.

Oh, there is one thing I do miss, I miss my lox and bagels in the buffet for breakfast. And I miss not getting 2 bottles of wine because we are both platinum plus. I know having the UBP makes up for it, but it is still nice to have a bottle or two in the cabin.

I miss the Observation Lounge on some ships.

I love being able to sit high up on the front of the ship, in air conditioned comfort, and see where we are going, especially as we approach the next port, myself full of excitement. The TV channel with the bridge camera view is a poor substitute, but better than getting salty wind blown in your face or nothing at all. My most recent cruise was on the Norwegian Dawn, March 2017. It did not have an observation lounge, but instead had several "owner's suites" in that place, to generate extra revenue. This was the ship that pre-dated the Haven penthouse idea.

I also miss having ship layouts that are easy to navigate.

My favorite ship is the Norwegian Sun, because she has a straightforward layout, that is easy to get around. In a good ship layout, every deck should have one / two main corridors that extend all the way from the front to rear of the ship, and stairways & elevators that go from the bottom to the top. This "grid" design may seem boring, but it works really well! I am glad to see that the newer NCL ships are using this design more. On the Dawn, I was constantly confronted with the same frustrating issue of you can't get there from here. I see this flaw in reviews and designs of the whole "gemstone" series of ships, 2001-2007 time frame. I think that is a design holdover from when Star Cruises of Malaysia took over control of NCL, and based all ships on the Norwegian Spirit (then SuperStar Leo) layout. I think they may have finally learned their lesson.

On this most recent cruise, I was pleased to see that NCL still did just about everything right. Service was good, food was good, and I did not feel crowded or herded. The "nickel & dime" upselling advertisements for extras were a bit toned down from what I remember on previous voyages, which was definitely an improvement. Overall, I am glad to see that NCL is striving to improve, and they remain my cruise line of choice.

Oh, and I miss baked Alaska in the main dining room, but I can live without that.

First cruise on NCL they greeted us with glasses of champagne upon boarding the ship. They let us come back for seconds too! It was very nice.

I miss the midnight buffet they had in the main dining room with all the fancy deserts and center pieces with the ice sculptures

I just started cruising NCL, and love Freestyle Cruising! Not sure if I could go to another line after trying NCL! I cruised Carnival and RCCL before trying NCL, and I noticed the difference! Back on the Getaway this January!

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Nclgetawaymenhoney said:

> I miss the midnight buffet they had in the main dining room with all the fancy deserts

> and center pieces with the ice sculptures

Yes! I miss that too. It was called the "midnight chocaholics buffet," and it was wonderful. I have not seen that promoted lately. But I am grateful that NCL has plenty of late night food options. The 24 hour Irish pub, located near the main atrium, is another of their great ideas. I was just reading on another thread that many ships shut down all their food options around 9:00PM. Bummer for them.

Another thing I miss is the poolside BBQ. Every afternoon, the crew would set up charcoal kettle cookers on deck near the pool, and cook hot dogs, burgers, and chicken for guests right on the spot. Meanwhile, a Caribbean band would set the party going. Good times.

No lobster nights. Not even an upcharge for lobster in any of the restaurants, including Cagneys.

I miss lobster night too. Only time of the year I got to eat it.

Nclgetawaymenhoney said:

> I miss the midnight buffet they had in the main dining room with all the fancy deserts

> and center pieces with the ice sculptures

 

Yes! I miss that too. It was called the "midnight chocaholics buffet," and it was wonderful. I have not seen that promoted lately. But I am grateful that NCL has plenty of late night food options. The 24 hour Irish pub, located near the main atrium, is another of their great ideas. I was just reading on another thread that many ships shut down all their food options around 9:00PM. Bummer for them.

 

Another thing I miss is the poolside BBQ. Every afternoon, the crew would set up charcoal kettle cookers on deck near the pool, and cook hot dogs, burgers, and chicken for guests right on the spot. Meanwhile, a Caribbean band would set the party going. Good times.

They are still doing the BBQ on some ships like Gem.

I miss the cheap cruise price.

I miss mozzarella sticks in o'sheenans, chocolate martinis included in ubp, the ability to NOT have to book all of the shows, and miss not being kicked out of our room super early on disembarkation

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I miss being greeted at embarkation with a free drink.

I miss the shrimp cocktail with large shrimp.

I miss "lobster" tail as part of surf n turf

I miss midnight buffet items

I miss decorative ice carvings

I miss chilled soups -- the ones tasting like dessert

I miss free cappuccino

I miss being able to add --free-- an omelet to cabin breakfast

I miss coffee pot in OV cabin

But I am glad to still have friendly service

First cruise on NCL they greeted us with glasses of champagne upon boarding the ship. They let us come back for seconds too! It was very nice.

yes, they did that for a year or so; I think the idea was to keep up with Celebrity. It was fun, but if you looked around and saw all the wasted champagne it is easy to see why the perk was dropped.

I miss mozzarella sticks in o'sheenans, chocolate martinis included in ubp, the ability to NOT have to book all of the shows, and miss not being kicked out of our room super early on disembarkation

 

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When did mozzarella sticks leave and chocolate martinis no longer included?

When did mozzarella sticks leave and chocolate martinis no longer included?

We were on escape 2 years ago, mozzys were gone...im thinking chicken strips were taken off too :( chocolate martinis are now 17.95 from what i last read, and over the ubp limit, causing you to pay the difference

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I'll flip it around .... we took a cruise on another line and here's what we "missed about our NCL experience" while on that line:

 

1. Embarkation day had only the buffet and the grill poolside open for lunch. And the grill didn't have any free drinks at the drink station (no water, coffee, etc.) We missed having NCL's MDR open for lunch as well as O'Sheehans.

2. Extreme upselling to the beverage package when a bar waiter came to take drink orders. We thought we were going to have to call guest relations to sign the bill. This was worst than any sales pitch I have ever had on NCL.

3. Horrible breakfast in the MDR; the "Cinnamon French Toast" was literally 1 slice of regular width bread, cut diagonally then grilled with unsweetened cinnamon sprinkled over it. The fancy waiter dribbled about a quarter of an ounce of syrup, and had to be prompted twice to get enough on the toast to make it run over the edges. The eggs were cold. Out of four meals all four were substandard both times we tried the MDR for breakfast. Never had that happen on NCL.

4. We had their version of Freestyle with any time dining, and it was horrid. We always waited at least 20 minutes if we didn't make a reservation. The MDR dedicated to any time dining didn't have clear aisles ... we definitely missed the spaciousness of the NCL dining rooms with the wide, clear aisles. Especially when waiters had to swing trays over our heads to serve the people at the next table.

5. We felt "herded" at every function. There was a complementary "galley tour" that crammed everyone into the same any time dining MDR and then took groups of about 20 through the galley. At the end, we were "escorted" to different specialty dining restaurant presentations for more upselling. We skirted around the stations and politely explained to each crew member who stopped us that we were going to leave.

 

So that's what I missed about my NCL experience when on another highly rated line. Oh, they did send us luggage tags in the mail, a nice touch that was forgotten about ten minutes after boarding.

 

NCL does some things very well, and does some things not so well. But alas, it is the same everywhere.

Yep, exactly our experience on Princess. Even though you didn't mention the name of the "other line", it almost has to be Princess. I don't think we'll be sailing Princess again.

Yep, exactly our experience on Princess. Even though you didn't mention the name of the "other line", it almost has to be Princess. I don't think we'll be sailing Princess again.

yep, sounds like that was the line and we too, after 3 cruises on them would hesitate to sail them again. But, of course we are not on that thread and the OP isn't asking us about other lines.;)

I miss the chilled soups in the MDR, especially Gazpacho.

I miss being able to bring my own bottled water on board.

I really miss the forward location of the Bliss Lounge, (formerly Spinnaker Lounge), on the Dawn.

I hope that NCL will read these lists and restore some of our wishes.

My first two NCL cruises were on the Norway. Hard to beat that ship. We were sprayed with evian water while sitting on a lounger by the pool - the beautiful place settings at the dining table - the food!! Loved earning tickets for various activities and redeeming them for t-shirts, etc (not a pen or lanyard).

First cruise on NCL they greeted us with glasses of champagne upon boarding the ship. They let us come back for seconds too! It was very nice.

I'm curious how long ago it was they used to do that.

Complementary NCL Logo'd shoe shine cloth,s. ;p

i'm curious how long ago it was they used to do that.

2008