TR Dawn with the Spring Break kids

[cruisinreunion]

My sister just returned from a Carnival cruise, the same week. She had all similar complaints, drunk college kids throwing up, over worked staff, short staffed made very very long dinners which made them miss the evening shows. Public bathrooms were filthy and large groups of loud kids everywhere. She did not realize it would be spring break either and has learned from her mistake. She did have fun because of the group of people she was with but saw a different side of cruising. It is not just NCL.

[familyof4cruising]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise.

 

All cruises are not perfect. One bad NCL experience doesn't make another NCL cruise horrible. Every week is different.

 

I was on a Carnival cruise in August. My son 11 years old found a box of condoms in a drawer. We were under the buffet and all night long( until 4:00 am) there were noises from above. I never had this issue on other cruises in the same location. I didn't sleep well at all ...all week long. It was my 12th Carnival cruise. I do prefer RCCL and NCL, but I am not closed off to Carnival because of one bad experience.

[newmexicoNita]

I know exactly what you went through. Please read my Post about the NCL Jewel. I would never cruise with NCL again. I hope that you next Cruise will be absolutely awesome!

 

I don't think the OP said exactly what you are saying. They were able to get the cabin cleaned by talking to someone, they said some very positive things about the cruise and at the rate you are going, you will get everything you post pulled. I guess you realize the posing yesterday has been deleted..

 

Nita

[rickechambers1@aol.com]

I don't think the OP said exactly what you are saying. They were able to get the cabin cleaned by talking to someone, they said some very positive things about the cruise and at the rate you are going, you will get everything you post pulled. I guess you realize the posing yesterday has been deleted..

 

Nita

 

I was wondering where that post went. :)

 

I recall on the Mediterranean cruise we took the masses of children on board...just SO many...and I was absolutely grateful for the Courtyard area as I would not have handled the main pool areas well...and you already know how I feel about the Disney cruise-yikes. I remember waiting for our car service after the Disney cruise and feeling surrounded by kids...and not relaxed. When I saw our car pull up so we could depart I was so releaved (here's a shot of the car we used pre/post cruise...this is picking up at Orlando Rennaissance Hotel...I know, how subtle...:) )

http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2548320120104776953lybUWZ

 

I've only done one cruise less than 7 days and, although I was mid-20's at the time, won't do it again. Actually, I prefer longer than 7 days because it changes the dynamic of the clientele. The longer the cruise I've found the older the age...some how at 39, I mesh better with 60's+ than 20's crowds...and I much prefer quiet 'dead' cruises to riff-raff/partying 'til 1AM.

 

For OP, I would have been surprised with the underwear bit...I've left behind many a bathing suit after forgetting they were drying in the tub, but I think I'd notice if I forgot my underwear :) Most importantly, did you say you had red wine in the fridge?

[sjbdtz]

I was on this cruise as well, with 4 other girlfriends. We were stunned by the amount of college spring-breakers. Guess I kinda realized there would be many, but geez, they really outnumbered us! All in all, we had a great time anyway.

You didn't happen to be the 4 ladies wearing the crystal-embroided t-shirts, are you?

 

 

Hmmm..... 2 posters were both on the cruise. Both represent groups of 4 ladies, with no men...... on March Break....

 

I'm not sayin' they were "Going Wild" :eek:.... or anything.... I'm just sayin'. :p

[kgm0612]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise.

 

All cruises are not perfect. One bad NCL experience doesn't make another NCL cruise horrible. Every week is different.

 

 

Well said!

 

My husband & I (late 40's) cruised last March 13-21st on CCL Miracle. A month before, our 25-year old daughter brought to our attention that the week we were sailing was spring break for many colleges/universities in New England. I was a little worried, but I have to honestly say, the kids were fantastic! Most of them were very polite and were actually trying to get the "older" crowd involved with deck activities.

 

Karen

[Mooder]

Well I was waiting to see if anyone else would post. We originally booked 2 weeks earlier but they canceled that cruise and so we had to rebook 3/7-3/12.

 

I will think long and hard before booking again on NCL. Tons of kids and I think that the staff was way overworked (the food and service were bad and I hope this was the reason).

 

The trip started off good, boarding was easy and quick we were in 2 adjoining balcony rooms and perhaps that had something to do with it. I brought a bottle of wine with me and expected to pay the 15 corkage fee but couldn't find a place to pay it so.... I did luck out. When we boarded the ship was already full of young ones LOL. We did meet I think it was cool cruising at the bimini bar for a quick M&G.Our rooms were ready early but at a cost, they were not really clean.

 

I had lipstick/makeup spots on my bed covers and we found mens underwear under our bed UGH. We were 4 women and I think we would have noticed if one of us snuck in a man :). We only had 1 coffee package and they never restocked it. I just read we were suppose to get hand lotion and never got that either.

 

FOOD: Our breakfasts in the dining room were always cold. I will not eat cold eggs. The day before last we ate at the buffet and it was great . Made to order omelets fresh fruit, yogurt. I wanted to eat fish because my hubby is allergic so when I can order fish I do. The one time our table tried it, it was so fishy smelling and tasting UGH. The 2 specialty Bistro and Salsa we tried were good , I don't think you should have to pay extra to get decent food/service.

 

ENTERTAINMENT: Jose and Patti were very good I think we saw them 3 times. Second City was Fantastic. Bollywood was ok. didn't like the music but WOW the acrobatics were super.

 

BOOZE EVENTS: We did the martini tasting and it was great. We sat with a group of the spring breakers and they were very polite and funny and we kept giving them our leftovers :p good value and lots of fun. We tried to do the Sangria and Mojito and they were both canceled.

 

I have never had a balcony room and it was very nice we slept with the windows open and really enjoyed the ocean sounds, and we enjoyed coffee in the am on it.

 

I am sorry to be so negative but the trip itself was yucky good friends made it fun.

 

I am so sorry you had this experience. The undies and dirty linens really would have bothered me. I hope you will give NCL another try and have a better experience. I really appreciate that you reviewed the positive as well as the negative experiences that you had. I also agree with you that it is not so much the age of the passengers as the sheer numbers that overwhelmed the crew. Having said that, and I say this as an NCL cheerleader, I have experienced room stewards who handled the pressure of embarkation day better than others and had attitudes better than others. I always sympathize, but I also always appreciate those who handle it with good cheer and quality work.

[siwst852]

Rick we did not have red wine in the fridge NCL stocks red wine in the fridge . Who would think that a little tiny bottle would make such a huge mess. I know better than to put mine on ice

 

And yes we were wild wild wild women :D . This started as a 5 day cruise to celebrate 2 of our friends turning 70. We started with 8 and ended with only 4 women, 3 singles so perhaps they did smuggle in a man or 2 LOL.

[ElizSta]

I've taken 4 NCL cruises during "kid" times and my experiences all varied. That being said, I'm taking the Dawn during April vacation to Bermuda this year. I won't let a bunch of irresponsible parents experience ruin my trip.

 

2 cruises were in April during the big school vacation week, one was during college spring break, and the 4th was in August-- school break for everyone!

 

I found on all 4 cruises that the kids were mostly well-managed by the staff and parents. There were always 4 or 5 kids that everyone on board got to know because the parents seemed to disappear as soon as they got onboard and those kids ran wild.

 

What bothers me most is the kids in the hot tubs. The Gem handled this very well because there was an adults-only pool and adults-only hot tubs.

 

Hot tubs are not generally safe for kids (though the temp does vary on cruise ships) and it's not sanitary to have too many people in one. I counted 19 kids (if you can actually believe that) in one hot tub on the Majesty last August-- 19!!!

 

Also, there's really nothing nicer than relaxing in a hot tub with a cold drink, watching the sky go by. Having kids jump in, go underwater, splashing around, NOT acceptable. This is acceptable in the pools and the kids' areas.

 

What I've found is that there are less kids after 4 or 5pm and that's when I get in the hot tubs and spend time relaxing on deck. I'm also considering getting a spa pass where it's a quiet, kid-free zone! One thing I do NOT recommend is getting a pool-side chair during the day-- KID CENTRAL. I always head to an upper deck where there's nothing but chairs, books, and views of the ocean-- basically the most boring situation for a kid.

 

There are always options and if you're looking for annoying kids, you'll find them. If you grab a chair on an upper deck during the day, enjoy the pool and hot tubs in the evening, you'll be all set. As a teacher, I do love children, but not enough to spend all my time with them on vacation!

 

Have fun and don't worry-- your cruise will be as good as you want it to be.

[Warmer Climes]

The OP's cruise would have made me very unhappy, too. I have two college students of my own and would definitely not want to cruise with them and large groups of their peers. The dirty linens and underpants are just disgusting. We cruised the Dawn last year (not a spring break week) and had a great cruise and found the ship to be very clean. I think the cruise lines need to re-think filling their empty cabins on the cheap with large groups of college students or rowdy locals or they risk alienating the rest of us and over-stretching the crew.

 

As for the OP, you are a good cruiser to be as positive as you are about your vacation. I'd cruise with you anytime.:)

 

Barb

[newmexicoNita]

I was wondering where that post went. :)

 

I recall on the Mediterranean cruise we took the masses of children on board...just SO many...and I was absolutely grateful for the Courtyard area as I would not have handled the main pool areas well...and you already know how I feel about the Disney cruise-yikes. I remember waiting for our car service after the Disney cruise and feeling surrounded by kids...and not relaxed. When I saw our car pull up so we could depart I was so releaved (here's a shot of the car we used pre/post cruise...this is picking up at Orlando Rennaissance Hotel...I know, how subtle...:) )

http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2548320120104776953lybUWZ

 

I've only done one cruise less than 7 days and, although I was mid-20's at the time, won't do it again. Actually, I prefer longer than 7 days because it changes the dynamic of the clientele. The longer the cruise I've found the older the age...some how at 39, I mesh better with 60's+ than 20's crowds...and I much prefer quiet 'dead' cruises to riff-raff/partying 'til 1AM.

 

For OP, I would have been surprised with the underwear bit...I've left behind many a bathing suit after forgetting they were drying in the tub, but I think I'd notice if I forgot my underwear :) Most importantly, did you say you had red wine in the fridge?

 

I think we have done about 5 that were less than 7 days, like you no more...We too prefer 10 days or longer but usually end up with the 7 day cruises.

 

Nita

[CanadianTwosome]

Let me just say it was not the kids themselves we did a martini tasting with about 8 of them and they were very polite and fun . I think it was just the sheer numbers of them and that they do tend to travel in packs. I did not call them any names in my TR.

 

The times we ate at the buffet the food was hot they also toasted bagels and the fruit we had was really great, I was bummed we discovered it so near the end. It was the sit down restaurants that had cold food.

 

As to the stewards we didn't complain except with the red wine spill and that was handled poorly by the supervisor. We just didn't tip extra at the end. We did tip when we used room service and that also was good coffee and prompt service. I think that the mandatory tipping could be part of the problem. They get the same tips if they work hard or not. I am one of those people who always leaves a tip for the maid so please don't start the flame throwers.

 

On a positive note I did lose weight LOL.

 

I'm very sorry to hear about your negative experiences and glad that there was much that you did enjoy. :) I hope this one experience won't keep you from booking another - longer, non-break - NCL cruise sometime.

 

It sounds like you really took things in stride, but I think it's too bad that you didn't complain 'a little louder'. The things that you found in your cabin were unacceptable, and so was the lack of attention or 'full' response by the supervisor. I believe that the autogratuity system does work, but that passengers need to be proactive about communicating with NCL - meaning that poor service should be reported. Of course, I also understand not doing so - it's a vacation, who wants to stand in line to lodge a complaint?

 

Interestingly, we also found some men's shorts once... they were of the swimming variety, though, and they were in one of the drawers. They were Del Sols, too, probably purchased for a pretty penny on the ship. Another time we found a tank top behind one of the drawers. That one made more sense to me, since it was small and really hidden so I could see someone missing it in a cabin sweep. We figured that it could have been there for weeks, really, waiting for someone (me) who just had to make the drawers line up and pulled one all the way out to check the runners... :p

[newmexicoNita]

I'm very sorry to hear about your negative experiences and glad that there was much that you did enjoy. :) I hope this one experience won't keep you from booking another - longer, non-break - NCL cruise sometime.

 

It sounds like you really took things in stride, but I think it's too bad that you didn't complain 'a little louder'. The things that you found in your cabin were unacceptable, and so was the lack of attention or 'full' response by the supervisor. I believe that the autogratuity system does work, but that passengers need to be proactive about communicating with NCL - meaning that poor service should be reported. Of course, I also understand not doing so - it's a vacation, who wants to stand in line to lodge a complaint?

 

Interestingly, we also found some men's shorts once... they were of the swimming variety, though, and they were in one of the drawers. They were Del Sols, too, probably purchased for a pretty penny on the ship. Another time we found a tank top behind one of the drawers. That one made more sense to me, since it was small and really hidden so I could see someone missing it in a cabin sweep. We figured that it could have been there for weeks, really, waiting for someone (me) who just had to make the drawers line up and pulled one all the way out to check the runners... :p

 

and we found a Penthouse magazine in a drawer one time at a Vegas hotel,,it was the first time we had seen one, loved some of the jokes, still remember them, 30 plus years later.

 

Nita

[swedish weave]

I know exactly what you went through. Please read my Post about the NCL Jewel. I would never cruise with NCL again. I hope that you next Cruise will be absolutely awesome!

 

I am unable to locate your post about the NCL Jewel. Can you help ?

[luddite]

It went Poof!

[newmexicoNita]

It went Poof!

 

and I have to wonder if she is coming back?

 

Nita

[Zeno]

Underwear and Dirty bed cover - Yuck! Please tell me that you will complain to NCL since it does not sound like the supervisor handled it well.

 

Cold food - Yuck. Did you send it back?

 

Spring-breakers - that's why we don't cruise during spring break.

 

Well I am pleased to say that on our Dawn cruise in Jan we did not encounter any of the above.

 

OP - do complain to NCL about the stuff that should not have been (underwear and dirty covers) and was not corrected properly. The best time to complain is on-board but better to complain to them now than not at all.

 

BTW - I don't know how others feel but I did not find your review overly negative. You had some problems and you reported them to us. You were specific and non-hysterical - fair enough. Apparently you had some good times too. A very reasonable review.

[Mooder]

You apologized for a negative review. I saw mostly positive remarks in your note.

 

I really appreciate that you reviewed the positive as well as the negative experiences that you had.

 

As for the OP, you are a good cruiser to be as positive as you are about your vacation. I'd cruise with you anytime.:)

 

I don't know how others feel but I did not find your review overly negative.

 

To the contrary, quite a few of us appreciated the way this was handled. This OP handled a negative experience exactly the way I believe it should be handled on these boards. She gave the information, but didn't let it color her entire experience.

 

I hope those who say the cheerleaders can't handle any criticism of NCL will take note.

[newmexicoNita]

To the contrary, quite a few of us appreciated the way this was handled. This OP handled a negative experience exactly the way I believe it should be handled on these boards. She gave the information, but didn't let it color her entire experience.

 

I hope those who say the cheerleaders can't handle any criticism of NCL will take note.

 

My only complaint about the way the OP handled it had to do with the first and the last part of the review: To almost, from the beginning to say she would think along time about booking NCL Again and then to finsish by saying the trip was yucky is what probably set some people off. The cabins experience was pretty gross, I would agree. Other than that I am not quite sure why she would have come on with comments about not cruising NCL again. She did point out all the good things about the cruise. I do think most of us sided with her and her complaints. Except for those few words I think the OP did a fair job of reviewing her experience. Of course I do take exception to her saying she should have been told there would be a lot of college kids on the ship..I am sure if she re-thinks the statement she would realize this just could not be expected to happen.

 

Nita

[Mooder]

My only complaint about the way the OP handled it had to do with the first and the last part of the review: To almost, from the beginning to say she would think along time about booking NCL Again and then to finsish by saying the trip was yucky is what probably set some people off. The cabins experience was pretty gross, I would agree. Other than that I am not quite sure why she would have come on with comments about not cruising NCL again. She did point out all the good things about the cruise. I do think most of us sided with her and her complaints. Except for those few words I think the OP did a fair job of reviewing her experience. Of course I do take exception to her saying she should have been told there would be a lot of college kids on the ship..I am sure if she re-thinks the statement she would realize this just could not be expected to happen.

 

Nita

 

I don't disagree with any of that, but compared to the negative posts we usually see on here, it was a very refreshing post. And, in return, the responses she received were relatively kind. I would just hope that the difference would be noted by those that give us a hard time so often. We can handle criticism if given in the light of reality. I don't look for perfection on a cruise OR on these boards. :)

[Planer's Edge]

I would just hope that the difference would be noted by those that give us a hard time so often.

 

You're not holding your breath are you? :rolleyes:

 

PE

[Mooder]

You're not holding your breath are you? :rolleyes:

 

PE

 

Not a chance. ;)

[siwst852]

Well thanks for the different take on things. I kept wondering who OP is? Do you mean me? How did I get to be OP?

 

I guess , in hind sight, it was a dumb thing to say that they should have warned us about spring breakers . They wouldn't have any one on the ship but them if they did

 

I did fill out the lengthy questioner that NCL sent me. I guess no one really wanted to complain we all felt it might make the birthday girl uncomfortable. Best foot forward and all that. It was not til after the cruise and the 3 of us sat talking that we all realized , we were unhappy with the same things and all felt the same way.

[stegosaurus1]

I know exactly what you went through. Please read my Post about the NCL Jewel. I would never cruise with NCL again. I hope that you next Cruise will be absolutely awesome!

another newbeee, who knows it all... Thanks so very much for your critique. Why is it first time posters that have all the bad experiences? Could it be them? lol Barb:D

[Zeno]

Well thanks for the different take on things. I kept wondering who OP is? Do you mean me? How did I get to be OP?

 

I guess , in hind sight, it was a dumb thing to say that they should have warned us about spring breakers . They wouldn't have any one on the ship but them if they did

 

I did fill out the lengthy questioner that NCL sent me. I guess no one really wanted to complain we all felt it might make the birthday girl uncomfortable. Best foot forward and all that. It was not til after the cruise and the 3 of us sat talking that we all realized , we were unhappy with the same things and all felt the same way.

 

OP = Original Poster = You

 

Do write NCL - you had some very legitimate complaints (the HK problems especially disturb me in that they were not properly dealt with)

 

BTW - thx for taking the trouble to write your review.