NCL - Downhill ?

[steveknj]

It's not that NCL has gone downhill, it's that it has changed and I don't like change. I miss the free glass of champagne on boarding and the pillow chocolates. I miss the big lobster tail, I miss the carving station in the buffet. I miss the extensive choices in the MDR.

 

So, to get over those disappointments (on any cruiseline) I'm learning to just go with the flow. The cruises won't be like they were in the past but they will still be wonderful. I will still have the best time of my life. They will still have to pull me off kicking and screaming at the end and I will still want to book another cruise immediately.

 

I was very disappointed with the changes I noticed on our last NCL cruise but I thought the food was delicious. (great cheesecake and key lime pie.) Our cabin attendant was the best we have ever had. Of course the ship was beautiful (the Pearl), the itinerary was fabulous (Alaska) and the time spent with my DH was priceless.

 

As I see you have an extensive history on lots of different cruise lines, are these types of cutbacks the same across all the lines? Do some still give you those kind of fun touches and others just have stopped?

[Mooder]

It's not that NCL has gone downhill, it's that it has changed and I don't like change. I miss the free glass of champagne on boarding and the pillow chocolates. I miss the big lobster tail, I miss the carving station in the buffet. I miss the extensive choices in the MDR.

 

So, to get over those disappointments (on any cruiseline) I'm learning to just go with the flow. The cruises won't be like they were in the past but they will still be wonderful. I will still have the best time of my life. They will still have to pull me off kicking and screaming at the end and I will still want to book another cruise immediately.

 

I was very disappointed with the changes I noticed on our last NCL cruise but I thought the food was delicious. (great cheesecake and key lime pie.) Our cabin attendant was the best we have ever had. Of course the ship was beautiful (the Pearl), the itinerary was fabulous (Alaska) and the time spent with my DH was priceless.

 

Very well said. I always resist change, but the years have taught me to adjust quickly and I am usually happier than before! ;)

[willysgrandma]

A cruise is always subjective. If you are a nitpicker who wants the finest service, your glass of wine waiting for you at your table when you arrive for dinner, and staff at your beck and call - well, NCL probably isn't the best line for you.

 

But NCL is great for a lot of people. I HATE dressing formally - for me, dressed up is wearing shoes instead of sneakers. I loved the fact that I don't have to dress formally on NCL. Yet they still accommodate those who do like formal nights by assigning one dining room to those who want to dress up. NCL also was the first line with Freestyle Dining - which I also love. I remember years ago asking our RCCL rep. why RCCL didn't do Anytime Dining and the rep. told me flat out "We'll never do that - that's an NCL thing".

 

Well low and behold, NCL was ahead of it's time, because now almost all the other lines do it too. (Unfortunately, in my opinion they no longer do it the best - other lines handle it better).

 

Is the food the best? No. Will you starve? No. There is always something to eat that is just fine - the good thing for me is that I maintain my weight on NCL and don't gain any - so that's a plus. But the food on other lines isn't spectacular either. To keep the price of a cruise down, an easy way for the lines to do that is by cutting the quality of the food. If doing that makes a more affordable cruise - then so be it.

 

Families tend to like NCL because they don't have to worry about all the formality of other lines and NCL is a money saver.

 

Disney will be sailing out of NY next year to a Bahamas/Florida itinerary. Has anyone priced them? We just quoted a family of three $6600 for an 8 night cruise June 30 for the lowest category balcony for 3 people. A similar itinerary on NCL is $3700. They don't give you a free pass to Disney and you aren't going to Disney's private island, but NCL's instead - but is it worth almost twice as much money? We've been able to sell a lot more NCL for next year when people get off the floor after hearing Disneys price.

 

So perception of NCL is different for everyone and my feeling is if you know what to expect before getting on the ship- you won't be disappointed. From what you say you are lookign for - I think you will be FINE with NCL.

 

 

Hi, this is Mr. carolknj (the OP). Carol is just not an experienced poster on these types of forums so give her some slack.

 

As a brief background as to what our plans are and our experience with cruising:

 

We've only been on 2 cruises in our lives, the one on the Pearl in 2007 to Alaska and one on Premeire Cruise lines some years back. We absolutely loved our Pearl trip and that's why we started our plans to do the Gem in November. But, in another general topic forum, where a person asked about cruise lines, there were quite a few people talking about NEVER going on NCL and that the food was bad, and all the other stuff my wife described in the OP. They mentioned that RCI or Princess or others was a much better option for mass cruise lines. Since we love our last NCL cruise but it was 4 years ago, we thought to come here and ask around, since we are not avid cruisers and we want to make sure we aren't disappointed.

 

So I ascertain from the posts here that things that have changed are:

 

No more free specialty restaurants - a bit of a disappointment but we can survive this

 

The coin op laundry is gone - we liked the idea of packing light and doing a wash one day on the cruise, but since the port is "local" we can pack a big heavier.

 

No chocolates on the pillows - a nice touch, but again, not a deal breaker

 

Other than that, seems to be about the same as always. We are trying to do this kind of "on the cheap" as we are planning to go indoor cabin and not go suite, ect. I'd rather spend the extra money on the restaurants or an nicer excursion. But that's our choice. We are not drinkers, so that's not an issue, and I rather drink iced tea than soda. We are taking my 11 year old girl with us, so any insight on the kids program would be helpful.

 

So what we are looking for is more of a comparison with NCL and how it is with other lines. Nothing here so far has convinced me NOT to take NCL based on our logistics and the "bang for the buck".

[CruisinMaterial]

The economy is behind a lot of the changes and the fuel prices are another BIG BIG reason for a lot of the changes. Before cruise lines were passing on fuel surcharges to passengers so the cuts were not necessary. However, when the US economy went south and the cruise lines needed to fill their berths, the fuel surcharge disappeared and so did a lot of the extra frills that went with it. NCL was not the only one to cut back on the frills though and upsell. Princess and Celebrity do very much the same (since the economy went south) - even on a charter so it's definitely industry-wide.

 

NCL has gotten better IMHO with some of their changes. The White Hot Party survived the cuts (Monte Carlo night, free bubbly) and this night really works for them and for me as well. NCL has invested itself in the nightlife scene far more than any other cruise line. The Norwegian Epic was a testament to this fact. Two separate nightclub venues and one under the stars (Spice H2O). NCL is attracting a much younger crowd to their company and with the solo cabins being so trendy. NCL knows what their doing adding to their fleet.

 

A small re-check of somethings that didn't work on Epic will make the two new builds they have in the pipe line that much better. I can't wait for them and NCL has only gone uphill since it's delivery of the EPIC. :)

[STARFISH*4]

been cruising with NCL since 2005....9 cruises with 10/11 booked for this year and 12/13 booked for 2012; dont feel they have gone down-hill at all...cut-backs YES, but EVERYTHING has endured them these days and it wont be the last!

as far as nickle & diming its no different from what i saw when i first started to cruise in 2002 with X---and if you go read on the different boards here at CC its on most of the lines.

 

remember too you came to the NCL board and there are ALOT of us here who LOVE NCL and FREESTYLE;)so naturally we are going to be RAH RAHin "OUR" cruiseline:)

[Barb Nahoumi]

It's not that NCL has gone downhill, it's that it has changed and I don't like change. I miss the free glass of champagne on boarding and the pillow chocolates. I miss the big lobster tail, I miss the carving station in the buffet. I miss the extensive choices in the MDR.

 

So, to get over those disappointments (on any cruiseline) I'm learning to just go with the flow. The cruises won't be like they were in the past but they will still be wonderful. I will still have the best time of my life. They will still have to pull me off kicking and screaming at the end and I will still want to book another cruise immediately.

 

I was very disappointed with the changes I noticed on our last NCL cruise but I thought the food was delicious. (great cheesecake and key lime pie.) Our cabin attendant was the best we have ever had. Of course the ship was beautiful (the Pearl), the itinerary was fabulous (Alaska) and the time spent with my DH was priceless.

 

Is the carving station gone from the buffet now? I thought that it was there last summer on the Spirit.

[swedish weave]

Is the carving station gone from the buffet now? I thought that it was there last summer on the Spirit.

 

The carving station is still on the Star at the Market Cafe.

[peg013]

Is the carving station gone from the buffet now? I thought that it was there last summer on the Spirit.

 

It's still on the Gem and the Jewel.:)

[TakinAChance]

I agree with you what you said..Now the question is, who should we cruise with next year??? NCL is not off our list, we will probably cruise them again. Will be spending the next few months doing research.

 

Alvin--Sorry for the slow response. I didn't see your post.

 

I can't offer much advice on who to cruise next. The only other CL I've used is RCI and I had good experiences with them. But I have no experience with the others.

 

I'm really disappointed because I was seriously considering another cruise in January on NCL for an itinerary I thought was pretty cool. But, my experience last week kind of killed that idea.

 

If we cruise again we'll probably either go with RCI or Disney.

[TakinAChance]

Wow! I love the Dollar Tree near my house. It has good products, a clean store and an excellent crew. Kind of like NCL. BTW, as a suite cruiser, I have found them hard to beat.

 

Being a suite cruiser probably makes a difference.

[DMH15]

Being a suite cruiser probably makes a difference.

Not all my NCLs were suite. Did a 2 week Transatlantic repositioning on the Jewel in an outside. NCL was truly wonderful, but my mother became ill and that was the catalyst that led us to desire our own space while cruising... That and visiting our friends in a courtyard villa. I guess on the Jewel we didn't know about the suite breakfast and lunch, so we didn't miss it. Now if I tried to cruise NCL not in a suite they might have to pry me away from Cagney's!!!

[more cruises]

As I see you have an extensive history on lots of different cruise lines, are these types of cutbacks the same across all the lines? Do some still give you those kind of fun touches and others just have stopped?

 

That's a tough question. I started cruising NCL at the beginning of their Freestyle 2.0 upgrades. I think most of that has gone away so it's been very noticeable to me that there have been a lot of cuts.

 

We cruised on the Pearl last summer and I think they were testing a new, very sparse menu in the MDR. I don't know if that has gone fleetwide or not. The carving station in the buffet was replaced by slices of meat. That was still better than RCI that had meatloaf at the carving station.

 

All of the cruiselines seem to have done away with the midnight buffet. I personally don't miss them because I was always too full from dinner to even think about more food. I haven't noticed the cuts in entertainment that other people have reported (on other lines.)

 

The food choices on the Caribbean Princess weren't as good as they had been on the Emerald Princess a year before but I think that's just a difference between ships, not a symptom of major cuts. Our next cruise is on Princess and I'm anxious to see if they have remained constant. We'll be on the Grand Princess, which is currently undergoing a major retrofit, so I think I'll more likely see lots of new and exciting things, not noticeable cuts.

[newmexicoNita]

The last time we went on an NCL Cruise was in 2007 and we had a great time. We heard that NCL has gone downhill. Is this ture?

We heard that they nickel and dime you for everything and they took away the coin laundry and they constantly nag you to buy this or that.

 

Is this any different from other cruise lines?

 

Quick answer: not any difference than other lines: in order to keep prices down there are more things to spend money on when you get on the ship. How much you spend is totally up to you. Other than tipping you do not need to spend a penny if you don't want to.

 

Has the line gone down hill? Actually I think it has improved the past 5 years.

 

Nita

[stripe]

I just got off NCL Star on Saturday and had the worst cruise experience I have ever had. It doesn't even compare to RCI and the food and service were horrible (food almost inedible).

 

NCL is the Dollar Tree of cruise lines.

How funny! We just came off the Star on Saturday also and thought the food was all very good! We are Diamond level on RCL and love them. But NCL is good also. We were always offered coffee in the MDR.....so not sure why some thought there was a problem there.

[swedish weave]

How funny! We just came off the Star on Saturday also and thought the food was all very good! We are Diamond level on RCL and love them. But NCL is good also. We were always offered coffee in the MDR.....so not sure why some thought there was a problem there.

 

The use of words like horrible and inedible tells me more about the poster than about the cruise line. I believe that person's decision to patronize another cruise line is beneficial to all of us who like to cruise on NCL.

[newmexicoNita]

My understanding is there are no coin operated laundries on NCL.

 

There is no more nickle and diming on NCL than any other cruise line.

 

As far as going downhill - NCL has never been known to have the best food or service but their food and service is fine for me - I don't need to be overly pampered and there will always be something to eat. I had worse experiences on a Celebrity shop than I ever had on NCL.

 

food I might agree, service, absolutely not true. We have had as good and in many cases better service on NCL than any other line other than HAL. Well, I take that back, some of our service on NCL was better than NCL. The people in the casino on HAL were the rudest least friendly people I have ever met and our waiter was expecting an empty table I guess, because the 8 of us were booked at other tables the first night. When we showed up, night 2, he acted like he had more important things to do than wait on us. We were not all the same group, 4 of us were traveling together, the other 4 not and we all pretty upset about his lack in caring what we did or did not want the entire 10 days.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

People find really weird stuff to complain about!

 

My thoughts exactly, going downhill cause they made some changes in the design of the ship or they removed the self service laundry? Come on guys, I guess we all judge satisfaction in different ways. I can't understand how little things can really make or break someone's decision on anything.\

 

Nita

[Minoushka]

I found SERVice SUPERIOR on NCL EPIC Food was good to great but that Is a question of Taste

EPIC is all about entertainment and I really enjoyed it

It is more like other lines then different .I did find the JEWELLERY people ANNOYING Grabbing me as I walked by I kept telling them I did not NEED anything but they literally dragged me in I had to ask them to stop their sales pitch THEY really have TO COOOL it

THey wwere always outside the store HUSTLING!!!!NOT PLEASANT .I tried to avoid DECK 7 as a result

 

I really liked NCL hope to enjoy more cruises with them .My son ALWAYS runs late so freestyle did work BUt you do not meet as many people as a result when you eat with your travelling companion only

 

Michele

[newmexicoNita]

This is a site to share opinions. Yours is valued, just as mine should be.

 

I'm happy you had good experiences, but you can't tell people that their opinion is untrue. Opinions are subjective by nature.

 

This site exists to give people a 360 degree view of everyone's experiences. It's not here to post only good reviews. That's what marketing departments are for.

 

But there is one difference, yes, this is a place for us to share opinions and we all have them, you are stating yours as fact and not opinion. We all know food is subjective, you think the buffet sucks, most people give NCLs buffets top marks, even those who do not like the cruise line. Is it better than Hometown buffet which is the example you gave? Probably not except more choices, is it better the Golden Corral, probably not. Why, a buffet is just that, a buffet, it isn't meant to be gourmet food. It is meant for a quick bite. The breakfast buffets on all NCL ships have everything anyone could ever want, the lunch buffets have meat carving and huge salad bars plus veggie dishes, hot foods, sandwhiches and desserts. What more are you looking for in a buffet?

 

You see, you are giving an opinion, it is the worst cruise line out there. I think your snide remark about NCL being the Dollar Tree of cruising is why so many are a little defending NCL, especially when you admit you have only cruised one other line. I don't think that makes you an expert on cruising. you are an RCI fan, fine, but should you also be saying this is your opinion instead of posting comments as facts? You didn't get asked about coffee or tea, I really don't remember if we did. We always do when we order dessert, but not being coffee and tea drinkers at dinner I have no clue. I don't think this would bother me, it certainly seems to bother you. I have a mouth and can ask for what I want. There are just too many things I think about when I look at the overall picture, little things do not bother me, they bother some people I realize.

 

Let me ask one more question: when was the last time you sailed RCI and how many times have you sailed them? If it has been more than a year or so, you might find a little difference today. Price and the economy has taken its toll on everything.

 

Nita

[K&M2009]

Cruising has changed for sure from 10-15 years ago. The biggest disappointment when I cruised recently after a long gap was no more midnight buffet :mad:. It's not like I need that food, but I was looking forward to it because I just remembered those as a kid and they were fun. I thought it was just Carnival being cheapo or something, but it's just that all cruise lines have changed.

 

I have found NCL's service to be the best out of all the cruise lines I've sailed. That's their strongest point in my opinion. I'm talking about throughout the ship - just very friendly and willing to help you in any way they can. It's interesting because I remember back in the day when we sailed on Celebrity and RCI, our waiters were always from Turkey, Romania, etc. It was interesting to me when I started cruising again a couple years ago, both on Carnival and NCL, the staff members seemed to be more from Indonesia. I sort of miss the waiters being a little bit more...professional? I don't know the word but they seemed like more of connoisseurs back in the day. I think that's probably something that has changed across all cruise lines though.

 

It did surprise me at first the cover charge restaurants. That was weird to me, because cruising should cover all food, right? Now that I've gotten past it, it makes sense to me. I'd much rather them have all of those great options to choose from without hiking up the cruise fare, and if I want to experience a couple of them, I'll pay for what I want. Makes perfect sense and it's really a pretty minimal cost.

 

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that the entire cruising industry seems to have changed to adapt to market research and economic factors. I find NCL to be a great cruising experience and I think they really put an emphasis on market research, moreso than other cruise lines. That's my opinion.

[nbsjcruiser]

In over 30 cruises on the Star, I have NEVER had a bad meal. The service is also top notch. The disparaging remark about NCL is not true and is uncalled for.

 

30 cruises on the Star?!? Wow. I think I would be bored out of my mind spending 30 cruises on the same ship. Don't you get tired of the same meals, entertainment and ship? We did 3 cruises in a row on the Conquest class ships on Carnival and when I stepped off I felt I didn't want to see another one for about 5 years.

[nbsjcruiser]

Let me ask one more question: when was the last time you sailed RCI and how many times have you sailed them? If it has been more than a year or so, you might find a little difference today. Price and the economy has taken its toll on everything.

 

Nita

 

Very interesting question. We last cruised RCI before the economic downturn. We did a Princess then 3 Carnival. By the time we got to Carnival people were grumbling about cutbacks. We sailed on Valor last year and found the food acceptable. Later in the year we sailed on the Destiny and found it passable. This year we sailed on the Liberty and I found the food failing in certain aspects. The buffet was frequently cold, it was impossible to order a good steak in the dining room (the waiter advised against the flat iron steak), the breakfast food in the buffet was inedible with wet and cold eggs and cold toast and for the first time on any cruise line, we actually sent food back from the MDR because it was cold. My point I guess is that we saw cutbacks first hand. Carnival has maintained its price hold on the market by cutting back on the quality of its food. So it will be interesting for us to see how RCI fares when we sail on the Majesty in October. I will be looking to see if there are cutbacks and corner cutting. We've sailed RCI 4 times and they are our favorite line so I'll be taking notes. :p

[swedish weave]

30 cruises on the Star?!? Wow. I think I would be bored out of my mind spending 30 cruises on the same ship. Don't you get tired of the same meals, entertainment and ship? We did 3 cruises in a row on the Conquest class ships on Carnival and when I stepped off I felt I didn't want to see another one for about 5 years.

 

We both LOVE the Star, and have gotten to know a lot of the "kids" who work there. And believe it or not, we still find many interesting things to do at the ports.

 

We both like cruising, and don't require much in the way of entertainment so it is the most relaxing way we have found to spend our time, and the price is great.

 

We will probably go into withdrawals when the Star moves out of the Mexican Riviera and goes to Florida, because we are not particularly fond of flying.

[joealan]

We were on the Spirit 4/03/11, last year the Valor. Loved the Free Style Dining. We spent $40 above the tip. Loved the coffee at buffet and Main Dining (what brand?). Buffet was good but need to change theme a little. Only 1 adult pool. Biggest complaint #1- the windows were always steamed, especially in Captains lookout, buffet and main dining.:cool:

[newmexicoNita]

We were on the Spirit 4/03/11, last year the Valor. Loved the Free Style Dining. We spent $40 above the tip. Loved the coffee at buffet and Main Dining (what brand?). Buffet was good but need to change theme a little. Only 1 adult pool. Biggest complaint #1- the windows were always steamed, especially in Captains lookout, buffet and main dining.:cool:

 

We have never noticed the windows, guess I was too busy talking. I agree about the pool situation, but the positive side of that, they have an awesome kids pool including hot tubs for them. I just keep telling myself, she is an older ship, built for Asia and is smaller than most of the ships we have cruised in the past few years.

 

Nita