NCL Suffers By Comparison .....

[nycruise]

We were big fans of NCL back in the day (2003). We loved the Freestyle concept (which no other line offered), thought the ship (Dawn) was modern and elegant, the staff friendly, the prices fair, the food varied and good, just an overall good cruise experience.

 

When we took the Star to Glacier Bay a couple of years later, believe it or not we missed Glacier Bay. The ship sprung an oil leak and wasn't allowed to enter the National Park to foul the waters. We also noticed that when we left Seattle, we were docked alone at an industrial port, while other ships were clustered together closer to downtown.

 

Glutens for punishment, we took the Star again later that year on a Mexican Riviera cruise from L.A. to Acapulco. Luckily we made it to Acapulco, but the very next cruise and several more after that, couldn't make it that far South due to engine problems. Our cruise experience was okay, nothing more - particularly compared to the Sapphire Princess cruise to Mexico we had taken the year earlier.

 

We pretty much signed off on NCL and sailed Princess, Carnival, RCCL and Holland America, all of which in our opinion give a better overall cruise experience and also some form of Freestyle of their own.

 

Skip forward to last week when we sailed the Pearl on the 5 day Pacific Coastal repositioning cruise. The ship is pretty much a duplicate of the Dawn and the Star, seems we didn't miss much over the past 5 years. The cruise again started from an industrial pier in Vancouver, not Canada Place as originally planned, and boarding was chaotic.

 

The staff seems very robotic and not really engaged with the passengers. Unlike other cruise lines, our bags were left outside our cabin, instead of brought into the cabin and placed on the bed. The cabin stewardess seemed like she was disengaged, hard to put your finger on it, but she didn't seem to like her job.

 

Much like the dining room staff in the 2 main dining rooms, everyone is going through the motions, no warmth at all. The service was slipshod; we were never offered a beverage with our dinner, some evenings the dessert order was taken at the beginning of the meal other nights at the end. Other nights we had to ask to see a dessert menu. Water and coffee were refilled some nights, not others. The food was mediocre at best.

 

So let me ask, why does NCL charge the highest automatic tip of $12 per day, it's surely not the quality of service.

 

The high pressure sales make Carnival seem like amateurs, drinks, drinks, drinks, drinks? That's in about 3 minutes time.

 

The Food in the Garden Cafe was the best of the cruise and that includes the night we ate in Lotus Garden, which was just okay Asian cuisine, not worth the more than $60 it ending up costing us with one drink each and a tip.

 

Speaking of the Garden Café, why did they take up half of the table space with the kiddie area, getting a table was like find a needle in a hay stack and than you had to protect it with one person sitting guard while the other went back for more food or dessert or a beverage.

 

There was plenty of entertainment for a 5 day cruise; we thought the Four Seasons tribute group put on the best show, Sharkbait and the comedian weren’t our cup of tea.

 

When compared to the cruise experience we had on Holland-America earlier this year, it’s like night and day.

 

We enjoyed this cruise primarily due to the 3 wonderful nights we spent in Vancouver/Whistler and a night in Los Angeles. We viewed the Pearl merely as a floating hotel and a means of transportation from port to port

 

The ship’s tours we took in Astoria and Sonoma were well handled, but all in all we need another long break from NCL.

[RaMar]

There's a cruiseline for every taste. I have done three NCL cruises in a row and I am very pleased. I have also cruised on Carnival, Princess, RCI, HAL & Celebrity.

[DMH15]

I'm sorry you didn't like your NCL cruise(s). I am not doubting your word just did not experience that myself. Some of the things that upset you wouldn't bother me either. If I wanted to order dessert at the top of the meal I would, it I wanted to order at the end, I would say so. Waiters have differing styles. If they didn't particularly ask me what I wanted to drink, I would just say so. I have always found the staff to be very friendly on NCL ships. Sorry you didn't.

 

I have never felt the $12 per day was too excessive. But I have a degree in Food and Hospitality, so maybe I lean more to the crew in this matter.

 

Thanks for coming on and sharing and I hope you have better luck next time.

[tlpeters]

Totally agree with you on this. I just got off the Jade and while we had a good time I really feel that NCL has gone downhill in the past few years. I thought maybe it was just that specific ship but maybe it's not. Our experience in the dining rooms were the same as yours and by the fifth night of the cruise we decided to eat the rest of our meals in the Garden Cafe. The food was better there and I didn't have to wait 30 minutes just to get a cup of coffee. We didn't let the mediocre food or poor service ruin our cruise at all but I don't think we'll be back on NCL.

[DCT61]

Ive been on Celebrity..Holland America...RCCL....and Ive never had my luggage brought into the room.

[Sea Born]

Ive been on Celebrity..Holland America...RCCL....and Ive never had my luggage brought into the room.

 

We have never had our luggage brought into our cabin either! CCL or HAL.

[cherylroslyn]

We were big fans of NCL back in the day (2003). We loved the Freestyle concept (which no other line offered), thought the ship (Dawn) was modern and elegant, the staff friendly, the prices fair, the food varied and good, just an overall good cruise experience.

 

When we took the Star to Glacier Bay a couple of years later, believe it or not we missed Glacier Bay. The ship sprung an oil leak and wasn't allowed to enter the National Park to foul the waters. We also noticed that when we left Seattle, we were docked alone at an industrial port, while other ships were clustered together closer to downtown.

 

Glutens for punishment, we took the Star again later that year on a Mexican Riviera cruise from L.A. to Acapulco. Luckily we made it to Acapulco, but the very next cruise and several more after that, couldn't make it that far South due to engine problems. Our cruise experience was okay, nothing more - particularly compared to the Sapphire Princess cruise to Mexico we had taken the year earlier.

 

We pretty much signed off on NCL and sailed Princess, Carnival, RCCL and Holland America, all of which in our opinion give a better overall cruise experience and also some form of Freestyle of their own.

 

Skip forward to last week when we sailed the Pearl on the 5 day Pacific Coastal repositioning cruise. The ship is pretty much a duplicate of the Dawn and the Star, seems we didn't miss much over the past 5 years. The cruise again started from an industrial pier in Vancouver, not Canada Place as originally planned, and boarding was chaotic.

 

The staff seems very robotic and not really engaged with the passengers. Unlike other cruise lines, our bags were left outside our cabin, instead of brought into the cabin and placed on the bed. The cabin stewardess seemed like she was disengaged, hard to put your finger on it, but she didn't seem to like her job.

 

Much like the dining room staff in the 2 main dining rooms, everyone is going through the motions, no warmth at all. The service was slipshod; we were never offered a beverage with our dinner, some evenings the dessert order was taken at the beginning of the meal other nights at the end. Other nights we had to ask to see a dessert menu. Water and coffee were refilled some nights, not others. The food was mediocre at best.

 

So let me ask, why does NCL charge the highest automatic tip of $12 per day, it's surely not the quality of service.

 

The high pressure sales make Carnival seem like amateurs, drinks, drinks, drinks, drinks? That's in about 3 minutes time.

 

The Food in the Garden Cafe was the best of the cruise and that includes the night we ate in Lotus Garden, which was just okay Asian cuisine, not worth the more than $60 it ending up costing us with one drink each and a tip.

 

Speaking of the Garden Café, why did they take up half of the table space with the kiddie area, getting a table was like find a needle in a hay stack and than you had to protect it with one person sitting guard while the other went back for more food or dessert or a beverage.

 

There was plenty of entertainment for a 5 day cruise; we thought the Four Seasons tribute group put on the best show, Sharkbait and the comedian weren’t our cup of tea.

 

When compared to the cruise experience we had on Holland-America earlier this year, it’s like night and day.

 

We enjoyed this cruise primarily due to the 3 wonderful nights we spent in Vancouver/Whistler and a night in Los Angeles. We viewed the Pearl merely as a floating hotel and a means of transportation from port to port

 

The ship’s tours we took in Astoria and Sonoma were well handled, but all in all we need another long break from NCL.

Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. I'm glad you have found lines that you are happy with.

 

The one thing I have to say that I completely disagree with is you assessment of the warmth of the staff.

 

I have sailed every line that you mention oloving and the staff on those line, though quite nice, pale in comparison to the incredibly warm and sweet staff on NCL.

 

I believe that NCL recruits in the Philipines and the people from the Philipines must be some of the warmest most giving and loving on the planet......

 

 

I can not wait to get on my upcomming cruise to reunite with many of the staff member sthat I still keep in touch with from past cruises.... There is nothing robotic about any of these people. They have always waited on my hand and foot as ifI am some sort of celebrity....my stewards never even let me take my key card out and they run sown the hall like sprinters to open the door for both myself and mu daughter....

 

The $12.00 is my opinion is a great starting point for tipping...but for me it is not adequate for the level of service I receive and I make sure that my stewards, waiters, and bartenders receive the extra compensation I feel they deserve.

 

You can bash the ships, itineraries, food, decor.....but the staff on NCL is the friend;iest at sea in my opinion.

[RaMar]

We have never had our luggage brought into our cabin either! CCL or HAL.

 

Neither have we except for one time and I think it was because the hallway was so narrow.

[sdmike]

Ive been on Celebrity..Holland America...RCCL....and Ive never had my luggage brought into the room.

 

Was thinking the same. DCL either.

 

I'm not going to fault the OP for their opinion. They clearly didn't enjoy their trip and should likely move on to another line. I just don't see some of those things bothering me personally. A "glum" mood by the entire staff would be a bummer, but I'm not sure "not enjoying their job" would affect me much. It might be a LOT better if they were really into their jobs and had fun with us though, like our staff at DCL when we went. Or cabin attendant on our recent Epic cruise was cordial and professional, but he wasn't our "buddy" at the end of the trip like some previous cruises.

[DocJohnB]

Was thinking the same. DCL either.

 

I'm not going to fault the OP for their opinion. They clearly didn't enjoy their trip and should likely move on to another line. I just don't see some of those things bothering me personally. A "glum" mood by the entire staff would be a bummer, but I'm not sure "not enjoying their job" would affect me much. It might be a LOT better if they were really into their jobs and had fun with us though, like our staff at DCL when we went. Or cabin attendant on our recent Epic cruise was cordial and professional, but he wasn't our "buddy" at the end of the trip like some previous cruises.

 

In his post yesterday "EPIC first impressions", Iceman2a had the following comment at the very bottom and in the same small font I will use. And it has been mentioned in other posts (albeit occasionally), perhaps there is some problems on NCL ships that is affecting crew morale. . . . . just a thought.

 

 

"The crew on board are doing the very best they can with what they’ve been given !"

 

I am hoping that when Iceman gets back and does a thorough review he will clarify this point.

[nycruise]

They have always waited on my hand and foot as ifI am some sort of celebrity....my stewards never even let me take my key card out and they run sown the hall like sprinters to open the door for both myself and mu daughter....

 

We don't expect to be waited on like a celebrity, we're pretty low maintenance. We rarely saw our cabin steward, let alone open our door. There was no sprinting done on this cruise.

 

The $12.00 is my opinion is a great starting point for tipping...but for me it is not adequate for the level of service I receive and I make sure that my stewards, waiters, and bartenders receive the extra compensation I feel they deserve.....

 

I believe it's the highest in the industry, higher than Holland America which blows NCL away for service, food and staff morale.

 

 

NCL has problems competing with Carnival and RCCL which control the market, I think I read that NCL has 8% of the cruise business and is owned by an investment company and Star cruises which I think was recently taken over by another company. Lots of managment turmoil works its way down to the product they are offering and the employee morale.

[mafig]

I have had my luggage put into my cabin once or twice but I can't say I remember which ship it was on. I say ship because I think this is not fleet-wide on any cruiseline. It was never put on the bed. Inside/outside is not a big deal for me. I'm nervous until I get my bags and then I consider my cruise started.;):)

 

I'm going on Pearl this month (:D). I am reading the reviews and most seem positive, except for this Coastal one. Could it be the staff was just tired of the weather in Alaska? I know it's beautiful and all, but after awhile they may just want a change of scenery.

 

:)

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

Skip forward to last week when we sailed the Pearl on the 5 day Pacific Coastal repositioning cruise. The ship is pretty much a duplicate of the Dawn and the Star, seems we didn't miss much over the past 5 years. The cruise again started from an industrial pier in Vancouver, not Canada Place as originally planned, and boarding was chaotic.

 

The staff seems very robotic and not really engaged with the passengers. Unlike other cruise lines, our bags were left outside our cabin, instead of brought into the cabin and placed on the bed. The cabin stewardess seemed like she was disengaged, hard to put your finger on it, but she didn't seem to like her job.

 

Much like the dining room staff in the 2 main dining rooms, everyone is going through the motions, no warmth at all. The service was slipshod; we were never offered a beverage with our dinner, some evenings the dessert order was taken at the beginning of the meal other nights at the end. Other nights we had to ask to see a dessert menu. Water and coffee were refilled some nights, not others. The food was mediocre at best.

 

So let me ask, why does NCL charge the highest automatic tip of $12 per day, it's surely not the quality of service.

 

The high pressure sales make Carnival seem like amateurs, drinks, drinks, drinks, drinks? That's in about 3 minutes time.

 

The Food in the Garden Cafe was the best of the cruise and that includes the night we ate in Lotus Garden, which was just okay Asian cuisine, not worth the more than $60 it ending up costing us with one drink each and a tip.

 

Speaking of the Garden Café, why did they take up half of the table space with the kiddie area, getting a table was like find a needle in a hay stack and than you had to protect it with one person sitting guard while the other went back for more food or dessert or a beverage.

 

There was plenty of entertainment for a 5 day cruise; we thought the Four Seasons tribute group put on the best show, Sharkbait and the comedian weren’t our cup of tea.

 

When compared to the cruise experience we had on Holland-America earlier this year, it’s like night and day.

 

Certainly you have addressed your concerns with SOMEBODY WHO CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT THEM??? :confused:

 

This message should be sent to NCL. The good and the bad.

 

We're just a bunch of other cruisers on a Message Board, any of whom could have been on the same cruise with you and had the exact opposite observations that you had.

 

If there is something, in your opinion, that can be "changed" to make your cruise experience a better one on NCL, surely you must let them know!

 

Some here will sympathize with you, and others will take you to task, but only NCL is in a position to respond to your thoughts.

 

I understand why people like to post their thoughts here, but it's kind of like telling your neighbor that the steak you had at the restaurant last night was tough without giving the owner the chance to grill you up a new one. If no one tells Him his steaks are bad, he'll just keep serving them!

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

:)

[nycruise]

Certainly you have addressed your concerns with SOMEBODY WHO CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT THEM??? :confused:

 

This message should be sent to NCL. The good and the bad.

 

:)

 

We received a post-cruise email survey and expressed our likes and dislikes.

 

Interesting that NCL didn't email either us or our travel agent about the pier change, but were quick to email the survey.

[watchdiva]

The beauty of cruising is that there are so many cruiselines out there that if one doesn't work for you there's another one to try!

 

We've sailed RCCL, HAL (2x in suites), Carnival and NCL (we lost count since many were before Latitudes programs!) and have never had luggage put into our cabin.

 

While we have enjoyed all of the cruises that we have taken, our favorite continues to be NCL - they have the best suite perks!

[nycruise]

We've sailed RCCL, HAL (2x in suites), Carnival and NCL (we lost count since many were before Latitudes programs!) and have never had luggage put into our cabin.

 

 

We had the luggage placed on our bed on our last 2 cruises, Carnival and Holand-America. Maybe we just got lucky or maybe it a new service on Carnival owned lines.

[halos]

The beauty of cruising is that there are so many cruiselines out there that if one doesn't work for you there's another one to try!

 

 

Exactly. :)

Personally, I feel it's good there are people that would rather cruise a different line than NCL...It makes NCL work that much harder to make the line better AND if everyone liked NCL, we'd all be paying a lot more to cruise the line.

 

I don't understand the posters that jump on the Op for his opinion....:rolleyes:

It's just an opinion for goodness sake.

[pcreek]

The beauty of cruising is that there are so many cruiselines out there that if one doesn't work for you there's another one to try!

 

We've sailed RCCL, HAL (2x in suites), Carnival and NCL (we lost count since many were before Latitudes programs!) and have never had luggage put into our cabin.

 

While we have enjoyed all of the cruises that we have taken, our favorite continues to be NCL - they have the best suite perks!

 

 

I just noticed your location! Are you actually IN Roatan, or just wish you were?

We'll be there in a couple weeks...I cannot wait! Tabyana Beach is my absolute favorite beach! Can't wait to show my DH around there!

 

--sorry OP...just had to insert a non-related comment...:rolleyes:

[Planer's Edge]

I just noticed your location! Are you actually IN Roatan, or just wish you were?

We'll be there in a couple weeks...I cannot wait! Tabyana Beach is my absolute favorite beach! Can't wait to show my DH around there!

 

--sorry OP...just had to insert a non-related comment...:rolleyes:

 

Yes, she retired to Roatan.

 

PE

[sottovoce]

 

When compared to the cruise experience we had on Holland-America earlier this year, it’s like night and day.

Your view, but certainly not mine. Our HAL and Celebrity cruises were of equal overall quality to our NCL cruises. Saying "night and day" is simply nonsense.

[travelerpair]

We sailed in 2009 on the Star for a return to NCL, because we did not have to fly. We were very imressed after a very awful experience on the Sun in 2005. 2010 and we were back looking forward to a week of fun, sun and a repeat of 2009. We had your experience, only slightly worse. Embarkcation took over three hours. Year before no problem. No welcome champagne only drinks for sale in about 4 places before you even walked 100 ft. I hate the hustle and I know the servers are getting presure from NCL to sell, sell, sell. And we still have one of those deposits left. I hate to just let them have the money. Penciled it out and spending a little more up front gets you a better experience.

[Don Haynes]

We had the luggage placed on our bed on our last 2 cruises, Carnival and Holand-America. Maybe we just got lucky or maybe it a new service on Carnival owned lines.

 

Frankly, I don't want an army of cruise line personnel in my cabin, just the room steward and their assistant. The smaller the number the better...

 

I have always carried my carry-on bag aboard myself. Why wait hours for your bags? Plus in this era of bed bugs infestations, I don't want any bag on my bed. I am quite able to empty my bag from the floor/deck... :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

You see it as a possible lack of service, I see it as a service I don't want...

[nycruise]

Frankly, I don't want an army of cruise line personnel in my cabin, just the room steward and their assistant. The smaller the number the better...

 

I have always carried my carry-on bag aboard myself. Why wait hours for your bags? Plus in this era of bed bugs infestations, I don't want any bag on my bed. I am quite able to empty my bag from the floor/deck... :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

You see it as a possible lack of service, I see it as a service I don't want...

 

 

Not sure what you mean by carry-on bag, we carried ours also, I'm talking about the two 50 pound bags left in the hallway. I assumed the room steward put them in our cabin on our last 2 cruises, and not an army of cruise line personnel.

 

If you're going to worry about bedbugs, you may as well stay home, do you think bedbugs aren't going to be in the carpeting if it's in the bed?;)

[jeannep]

We had the luggage placed on our bed on our last 2 cruises, Carnival and Holand-America. Maybe we just got lucky or maybe it a new service on Carnival owned lines.

 

I guess you just got lucky because we just got off of the Carnival Miracle a week ago and out luggage was left outside our room. No problem.

 

We really enjoyed our cruise with Carnival but we kept comparing it to NCL and NCL won out 95% of the time.

 

We chose "anytime dining" but realized there is no comparison to NCL. We could go to 1 main dining room, 1 buffet or 1 speciality steak house. With NCL there is always 2 main dining rooms, buffet, Blue Lagoon and many speciality restaurants for less than the $30 they charged on Carnival.

 

I will admit bingo seemed cheaper but when you think about it, they gave 1 card for 1 game for $20. NCL is more expensive per card but you get 4-5 games for that.

 

Carnival pushed the drinks I think even more than NCL.

 

We enjoyed the staff on all of our NCL cruises as well as the staff of Carnival.

 

After all of that, we definately prefer NCL but would go on Carnival again if the price and itinerary sounded good.

 

We are really looking forward to our 2/5 trip on the EPIC.

 

Jeanne

[kitsVA]

The beauty of cruising is that there are so many cruiselines out there that if one doesn't work for you there's another one to try!

 

So true. We decided not to be too obsessed with one cruiseline to get the royal member benefits. Our first cruise was on Carnival Sensation. It was our first time and had no idea about CC or how things are on ships. Still we had a blast just dining at MDR and buffet. Only on last evening we found they have shows on cruise :-).

 

Second cruise was on NCL Pearl early this year and what a blast we had. Just can't believe if cruises can get any better. Soon we will be sailing on Epic mainly because we liked NCL and their contemporary setup and also want to get on a new ship before it gets an year old.

 

We are already looking forward to our Oasis of the Seas next year and planning to get on Princess cruise. Maybe in couple of years we will figure what suits us best but I already figured with my little cruising experience - itineraries and time play a major role on which cruise we take. Looks like Princess Ruby is our only option to get to South Caribbean during my kids Spring break (Apr 16) . But the cruise starts on a Sunday and we hate that schedule. We want to get home on Saturday and rest before kids hit school on Monday.

 

If we let life's little things bother you, it will get hard to enjoy vacations and even life :D.