NCL Fans- what don't you like

[gargoyle999]

I've just booked my first NCL cruise and even though it is a ways out I've been reading up NCL.

 

I would like to know from people who like NCL overall, what don't you like about NCL?

 

For example. I like Carnival. But I am not a fan of the overall ship decor, singing waiters in the MDR, balcony doors that do not slide open and room safes that need a magnetic card to open. None of that is something that stops me from sailing on Carnival and having a great time, however are things common across the fleet that I don't love.

 

Nothing is perfect so what are the things about NCL you wish were different? :confused:

[DMH15]

I do not like NCL bingo. X and CCL much better.

 

I do not like NCL smoky casino. X much better.

 

I wish Le Bistro, Cagney's, etc. had a little more a dress code, since I prefer "specialty" to feel special and ambience is more than just décor. X Summit's Normandie was truly my best meal at sea.

 

Wish NCL had a spa menu like I had on X.

 

Gosh, sounds like I prefer X, doesn't it? I do like X, it's my second favorite line.

 

I just answered your question. Obviously I choose NCL as it was my line of choice the last three cruises.

[buckirj1]

I've just booked my first NCL cruise and even though it is a ways out I've been reading up NCL.

 

I would like to know from people who like NCL overall, what don't you like about NCL?

 

For example. I like Carnival. But I am not a fan of the overall ship decor, singing waiters in the MDR, balcony doors that do not slide open and room safes that need a magnetic card to open. None of that is something that stops me from sailing on Carnival and having a great time, however are things common across the fleet that I don't love.

 

Nothing is perfect so what are the things about NCL you wish were different? :confused:

 

I like the NCL ethos a lot; they do freestyle better than anybody. They also have some of the best crew service I've ever had. And then there's the Blue Lagoon:D

 

However, I don't like those "toilet in a cubbyhole" bathroom arrangements, and I don't like the lack of self-serve laundries. I wish there were more inside cabins that didn't have pull down bunks. Pricing for solo travellers to locations where I like to cruise is pretty consistently 200%, which is one of the main reasons why I don't take NCL as much as I'd like.

 

Other than that, they have an awful lot going for them.

[gargoyle999]

Thanks for the comments. Those are the type of things I was curious about.

 

Just specific things that aren't exactly your favorite on a cruise line that overall you like.

[gargoyle999]

And then there's the Blue Lagoon:D

 

After finding the menu it made me sad(der) I was going to have to wait two years for my cruise! Made me drool. :p

[travelfairy]

where can i find menus for blue lagoon or other ncl restaurants? i know they have restaurants that are included and others that you have to pay for. are they really worth teh extra money? i'm sailing on the pearl in march.

[Davechipp74]

i'll have 53 days at sea with ncl before i get moved up to a siliver latitude member :mad:

[gemcrusier]

I have sailed on different lines over the years I choose by where the ship is going and price for the trip I have sailed NCL twice and had a terrific experience both times , service , food, shows, all very good I would sail on NCL again.

[gargoyle999]

i'll have 53 days at sea with ncl before i get moved up to a siliver latitude member :mad:

 

That is one of the debates going on with Carnival right now since they go by number of cruises too and do not consider number of days.

 

I'll have 61 days with Carnival after my 2 cruises coming up in a few weeks. And I'll still need two more cruises to get any additional perks.

[gargoyle999]

where can i find menus for blue lagoon or other ncl restaurants?

 

I just searched on google and came up with some. Not all are the most recent.

 

Since I am brand new to NCL the dining was confusing me at first with so many options. I found this to be very helpful. Lists what is included and what is pay eating places for each ship. Helped me become familiar with the names as well.

 

http://www.ncl.com/csimages/872/597/NCL_Dining_Options_01062011.pdf

[faymuiheng]

The one thing I don't like about NCL, and it's really a minor issue, is that the "make up" room dial outside the room. Once we had the room dial to have room made up, and someone had switched it to "do not disturb".

 

That's the only thing I can really think of.

[niki1785]

I'm with faymuiheng... that bothers me... the room dials outside of the room! I also wish they kept more of the restaurants free instead of charging to dine in them. However my DH and I LOVE NCL and those things are minor in comparison to why we sail with them :)

[terrymtex01]

Honestly the only thing that came to mind for me was the buffets on NCL, with the exception of the buffet on the Pearl. I have always found them to be less than average on food quality and you have to fight to get a place to sit down. I am not a buffet fan, so maybe I shouldn't even post on this subject, but it is what came to mind for me. On the Pearl however (and I am sure other ships with the same layout as the Pearl) their buffet is set up very nicely as far as the layout of the actual food stations and seating. We liked the Pearls buffet so much we actually chose it one night for dinner over the MDR or a specality restaurant.. and that is saying a lot coming from us (since we don't really care for any buffet).

 

The other thing is I would have to agree with the lattitudes complaint. People are always posting on CC about what is fair and not fair. I just don't believe it is a fair way to do the lattitudes program when it is base don how many cruises you take vs. how many days you sail. I just don't see it being fair that you get the same credit towards lattitudes if you take a six day cruise as opposed to a 15 day cruise. To me it should be based on how many days you cruise.

[sandancer]

Agree with Terry on this. Living in the UK we don't get to take 3 nt cruises so even though we have taken several NCL cruises of 10 nights or more we are still only Silver. They should follow the lead of RCCL and change to nights cruised and not cruises taken when calculating past cruiser bebefits.

[newmexicoNita]

I've just booked my first NCL cruise and even though it is a ways out I've been reading up NCL.

 

I would like to know from people who like NCL overall, what don't you like about NCL?

 

For example. I like Carnival. But I am not a fan of the overall ship decor, singing waiters in the MDR, balcony doors that do not slide open and room safes that need a magnetic card to open. None of that is something that stops me from sailing on Carnival and having a great time, however are things common across the fleet that I don't love.

 

Nothing is perfect so what are the things about NCL you wish were different? :confused:

 

Obviously nothing stops us from sailing NCL and I can't imagine anything that would, but I do not like the fact we can not even bring on one bottle of wine for consumption in our cabin, and I wish the cabins were a little larger on most of the ships. We do find the food in the main dining rooms sometimes hit or miss, mostly we are satisfied. No, it isn't anything like the whiners would like you to think, but we usually do get one meal that could be a little better.

 

Nita

[Coastalbreezes]

I agree with the OP about the bingo -- it is very expensive and the payouts very low. I love to play bingo but not on NCL. Also (and it's strictly MY opinion), I don''t like the fact that children are allowed to play bingo (on NCL or any ship).

 

I also think their casino player card system could be improved. You need to spend an awful lot of money in the casino to rack up enough points just to get free drinks, then a whole lot more to get $$$ off your bill at the end of the cruise.

 

TracyE

[PIPER50]

I most definitely do not like the bingo on NCL it is far too expensive and slow. I also do not like how the lattitudes status depends on cruises taken and not number of nights. Coming from the UK we tend to do B2B cruises but only get credited with one cruise for what is essentially 2 cruises.:( Not good NCL

 

Apart from these minor problems, we love NCL and the atmosphere on board

[watchdiva]

I love NCL but not their Latitudes program....wish they would transition from # of cruises to # of seadays when determining levels.

[FLAHAM]

I find the service in the main dining rooms to be very inconsistent. The food itself is OK. But for every meal with attentive service, I have had another one that stretched out ridiculously long due to slow service.

[Fishbait17]

I also agree somewhat with the Latitudes complaints - longer cruises or higher cost cabins should count more, but it's not that big of a deal for me.

 

I wish NCL had more varied, interesting daytime activities, like classes, more crafts etc. NCL U is fine, but mostly the same Wine, Martini, Sangria, Beer, and Margarita Tastings - just getting a little tired of them. It would be nice if they tailored the activities to the itinerary - including some basic language classes, local arts demonstrations or classes, maybe even some daytime gameshows. For a new NCL cruiser they are probably fine, but once you have "been there, sone that" you start to get bored.

 

Of course, these negatives are far outweighed by the things I love. Love having so many dining choices (and don't mind paying), love casualness, love the freedom, LOVE the suites..

 

Robin

[Warmer Climes]

The decor of most of the NCL ships I have been on looks like my daughter's preferences when she was five years old.

 

On some cruises we have done the system for getting tender tickets has been chaotic.

[newmexicoNita]

I also agree somewhat with the Latitudes complaints - longer cruises or higher cost cabins should count more, but it's not that big of a deal for me.

 

I wish NCL had more varied, interesting daytime activities, like classes, more crafts etc. NCL U is fine, but mostly the same Wine, Martini, Sangria, Beer, and Margarita Tastings - just getting a little tired of them. It would be nice if they tailored the activities to the itinerary - including some basic language classes, local arts demonstrations or classes, maybe even some daytime gameshows. For a new NCL cruiser they are probably fine, but once you have "been there, sone that" you start to get bored.

 

Of course, these negatives are far outweighed by the things I love. Love having so many dining choices (and don't mind paying), love casualness, love the freedom, LOVE the suites..

 

Robin

I have heard this before and always wonder what guests really do want: you have suggested a few things, I too sometimes wish there would be some classes, but I don't think activities tailored to the ports on a 7 day cruise would work. I just picked up a Freestyle Daily" from the Spiit in Dec. They had classes (free) in the spa, back pain and arthritis siminar, ping pong with the crew, golf siminar, logo block building for families, trivia, movies, line dancing classes, salsa classes, Bridge playing, Nintendo Wifi plus cooking classes (with a fee) and several other activities. I really am at a loss as to what more people really would like. This is not to say I don't like your idea. On HAL we loved the lectures on the ports, but mostly it was about the Panama Canal. That was a little different. Other than that, I haven't been on many cruises in the past 10 years that offered much more than NCL offers.

 

Nita

[gargoyle999]

Agree with Terry on this. Living in the UK we don't get to take 3 nt cruises so even though we have taken several NCL cruises of 10 nights or more we are still only Silver. They should follow the lead of RCCL and change to nights cruised and not cruises taken when calculating past cruiser bebefits.

 

Since we have to fly from Minnesota to cruise I agree it should be based on number of days not number of cruises. I am hoping that Carnival changes to number of days and then perhaps NCL will too.

[gargoyle999]

The one thing I don't like about NCL, and it's really a minor issue, is that the "make up" room dial outside the room. Once we had the room dial to have room made up, and someone had switched it to "do not disturb".

 

Is that used in place of something that hangs on the door knob? If so we may like that better. On Carnival the tag to hang on the door always seems to fall off when you go to open the door when inside the cabin unless you open it really fast and grab it or really really slow. It makes DW mad.

[Crusin6]

where can i find menus for blue lagoon or other ncl restaurants? i know they have restaurants that are included and others that you have to pay for. are they really worth teh extra money? i'm sailing on the pearl in march.

there is a thread here about Jewell menus..lots of pix...I would search for it and upload it if I knew how to do it:D...it's here..just takes some time to find it