Believe what is written in reviews

[monteman]

We just got back from the Alaska cruise on the star and wish we didn't take this ship. All the bad reviews posted are so true. The food, ship layout ( for viewing alaska) and the crew attitudes are beyond bad. For the first time in many cruises it was nice to disembark this wasteland.*

Never NCL again!

 

Puhleeze. This sort of, er, "review" is a waste of time to even deal with. Don't egg him or her on!:rolleyes:

[che5904]

An interesting factor on the boards is that posters often start with some premise that isn't even true. It was a matter of curiosity that led me to go to the review page because I was thinking, "Gee wonder why the STAR IS getting such poor reviews?" And only after doing that did I see that the basic premise wasn't even true.

 

 

Actually the majority of this thread was directed at another poster within the thread. Who post was accurate. Like you I do not like to take things at face value and I actually did go back and do the math myself. Not that I think a 75% over an entire cruiseline is a bad percentage. But to a new traveller who does not understand reviews that may look out of line.

[roger001]

The food, ship layout ( for viewing alaska) and the crew attitudes are beyond bad.

 

This is the part that truly puzzles me. The food...the ship layout...the crew attitudes.....are beyond bad. Gosh, that really covers the entire ship and all that it offers. Not only bad....it was beyond bad. Beyond bad must just be horrible. But what exactly??? A few fellow passengers might agree about a very few of the staff....maybe. A few might agree about a small portion of the food offered. And a few might agree that they have been on other ships that had a better layout, as they might see it. But this person apparently disliked it all to the extreme....nothing good. Specifics????? Please???? Did you tell anyone on the ship at the time so they could maybe make it better for you????

[Partyatsea]

Thanks to OP for giving us the heads up about NCL and particularly the Star.:rolleyes: Very thoughtful of him/her.

[Love Overboard]

Can't count the number of times we have cruised the Star, I'm sure we are close to 50 some days total and never a complaint.

[che5904]

Not only bad....it was beyond bad. Beyond bad must just be horrible.

 

LOL :) Is that even grammatically possible? I think that would rank up there with badder.

[FuninWB]

In the past year, there have been several bad reviews of Dawn cruises due to various issues. After cruising on the Spirit and loving it, we decided to try the Dawn anyway. It was wonderful. My only complaint is that I had to get off the ship. Different people have different perspectives. Foe those about to take this Alaska cruise, go with an open mind and enjoy every minute!

[valleyvillage]

Five cruises on Star, Hawaii, 2 MR, Pacific Coastal, 2 day CTN, never had a bad meal, always enjoyed the staff. Love the ship both before and after the dry dock.

 

It is funny the way a reviewer will do one star, you read the review and they talk about many things they liked but then...BOOM! Something rubbed them the wrong way!

 

So they get out the poison pen.

 

There is a Star review out there like that where they missed the ship in PV because of their mistake about the time! And then they were mad because NCL would not come back for them. Then they got mad because they would not send a helicopter out and back with their passports!

 

Then they complained because they felt that when they met the ship in Los Angeles that people did not treat them in a special way because of their trials and tribulations!

 

Hence, one star.

 

Me, I will really miss her when she moves to NOLA!

[sdmike]

If nothing else these type of nonsensical, empty "reviews" give us the opportunity to self level to make sure we go into things with open eyes and good attitudes.

[che5904]

If nothing else these type of nonsensical, empty "reviews" give us the opportunity to self level to make sure we go into things with open eyes and good attitudes.

 

good point ;)

[Lovely_Star]

I know I'm supposed to take each review with a grain of salt, but all the negative reviews I'm hearing about NCL's food are really starting to make me nervous :( I could care less about the ship layout or crews attitudes hey they work hard for almost nothing and we all have bad days, but the FOOD is something that is a crucial element for me on every cruise.

[Hikini]

I don't mind a negative review when there is something to back it up. But just to come on here and make a blanket statement like this hack did, makes it obvious that s/he is just an unhappy person.

 

We love the Star and that includes the food, the layout and the crew, which we have found to be completely wonderful every single time! I can understand why some (or even many) would be unhappy with the displacement of the Spinnaker, but there are lots of other viewing places. We are among the lucky ones to enjoy the new suites where the Spinnaker used to be, and that's another reason we love the Star. But we loved her even before that!

 

Don't give any credence to this so-called review by the OP.

[sdmike]

Food is so subjective that I would not put a ton of value in reviews, including mine. :) I had no issues finding plenty of things that I enjoyed on each of my cruises. You also pick a ship like Epic with all kinds of customizable ala carte options (sushi, noodle bar, etc.) and you're guaranteed to find something good.

[che5904]

I know I'm supposed to take each review with a grain of salt, but all the negative reviews I'm hearing about NCL's food are really starting to make me nervous :( I could care less about the ship layout or crews attitudes hey they work hard for almost nothing and we all have bad days, but the FOOD is something that is a crucial element for me on every cruise.

 

I wouldn't worry about the food. You have 10 complementary dining venues to choose from or mix and match if you wish (appetizer at one entree at another, desert at another). You also have 7 upcharge dining venues from ($10pp - $25pp) + possibly 1 more if Churrascaria gets done before you sail.

 

I am an extremely picky eater and always managed to find something I liked, to fill my belly. And only ate in one up charge restaurant (Cagney's) one evening for an extra special treat.

 

Food is such a subjective thing. And people have a tendency to say food is "good" or "bad" instead of probably the truth which is it didn't live up to what they liked to eat.

 

 

[Hikini]

I know I'm supposed to take each review with a grain of salt, but all the negative reviews I'm hearing about NCL's food are really starting to make me nervous :( I could care less about the ship layout or crews attitudes hey they work hard for almost nothing and we all have bad days, but the FOOD is something that is a crucial element for me on every cruise.

 

I know how you feel. However, after a couple wonderful NCL cruises we were table to talk some friends into going with us. Then I started reading here on CC, more and more negative reviews (this was about the Spirit at that time) and I was getting nervous because my friends were going simply based on my rave reviews of NCL.

 

I honestly had some real qualms about it until the first few hours on board. The ship wasn't falling apart, the carpet wasn't gross, the paint wasn't peeling off the walls, and the food was delicious! No, not ALL the food, but overall that is the rating we gave. I just couldn't understand all the negative reviews I had read. And the staff was wonderful. Anyone can have a bad day, or even a bad few minutes, but I can honestly say in 6 cruises with NCL I have yet to see it. The staff is what makes the cruise even more enjoyable because they want to please you.

 

Nothing is always going to be perfect. There may be something that goes wrong at times. But that's life and you have to learn to roll with it. I think some people go into certain things with unreasonable expectations and on top of that, they can't learn to take the bad with the good. Attitude is everything!

 

Enjoy your cruise! We are really looking forward to being on the Star again in September and can't wait to experience all those wonderful things again.

[youngestof9]

If I believed all of the negative reviews, I would have canceled my Epic cruise. I was getting so carried away with everyone's opinions that I had myself crazy.

 

But I waited it out and sailed on Epic and had the best time I've ever had on a cruise. Was everything perfect? Nope, but nearly.

 

Cruising and just about every other thing in the world, is very subjective. I don't cruise for good food. Some others do. I don't cruise for the onboard entertainment, Some others do. I do cruise for ports and good pups. Lots of people don't.

 

I just learned to read reviews to learn good tips and sometimes things to do (or NOT do) but not take everything as complete fact. We're reading so much opinion in reviews versus facts. You just have to wade through it all and determine what will make or break your cruise. Unless a tsunami or ashcloud hit, I'm positive I'd have fun.

[4774Papa]

Well I will be candid since you asked the question.

 

#1 My opinion, anyone that does not have any experience in travel really should not be looking at percentages, because they really then don’t understand what they are seeing. Reading reviews – yes, going by numbers – no

 

There are way too many reasons for review percentages than I can list here but I will give you a couple of examples.

The very first post on this thread should be a good indication how low that particular poster would rate NCL (for what appears to be no specific reason)

Some will rate a hotel at a 2/5 and the only thing negative in their review was it rained all week while they were there (yes I’ve seen that actually a couple of times)

NCL gets a lot of flack because of past traditional cruisers who take NCL because the price is lower and then take issue with the a la carte choices that would bring them up to the price they would have paid on their favorite cruise line. NCL is freestyle meaning that you have many choices to add things to enhance your vacation at charge (some people like to call it nickel and diming). This works for a lot of people who don’t wish to pay for other passenger costs of wanting to eat filet mignon when they may be a vegetarian.

My very first out of country experience back in 1980 was to Jamaica (no internet to reseach at that time). I would have given that trip an extremely low score. Why? I had never traveled anywhere outside Canada & the U.S. It was a major culture shock, I didn’t understand hotel ratings that did not meet North American Standards, I was not prepared for the sellers on the beach or streets. Therefore my score would have been very low due to the fact that my vacation did not reach my (unrealistic) expectations.

 

A note about reading reviews – when you read a review look for tangible things. Don’t believe subjective opinions, food, shows, activities, cruise directors ability. For example probably about 85% of people love second city, if I was to go not knowing what it was, I would say “I hated it”. Not meaning the show was bad but certainly wasn’t my like in entertainment.

 

If you want a great vacation, my opinion is

Go with an open mind

Go with a positive attitude

Don’t expect it to be perfect, nothing in life is

Don’t have unrealistic expectations

Expect the unexpected and chalk little things up to great memories for the future.

Research, research, research (and no not just reviews)

Smile at everyone and you will receive smiles back.

 

Che,

Once again you have nailed it.

[Got2Cruise]

Hmmm. Interesting. We are on Cruise Critic but should not believe reviews. . .;) As anything, you need to know what YOU enjoy. You also need to research and become familiar with each cruiseline "brand". No you will not starve on NCL, but as with anything, you get what you pay for. NCL makes its revenues with the pay restaurants, that is a fact. Back in the day, when I started cruising, a meal that one would get at LeBistro, was the average meal on most cruiselines. It isn't like that on NCL, but on other cruiselines where you can expect to pay several hundred dollars more pp you might get it. jmo. Now, if I were cruising to Alaska and KNEW I didn't want to go outside, and I read several reviews stating that the Star didn't have good inside viewing, this would be a red flag for me. I would choose another cruise line or itinerary. There are so many choices to Alaska. No need to settle for something. jmo

[DMH15]

I am just glad that I was raised to be positive and I have a hard time with anyone who can't find anything good to say. I travel with my mom and she would never let me get away with that!

 

In any situation you might meet one or two people who might be having a bad day but to say an entire ship's crew was bad leads me to think that the OP might have gotten back based on what they projected?

[bonsai3s]

Well I will be candid since you asked the question.

 

#1 My opinion, anyone that does not have any experience in travel really should not be looking at percentages, because they really then don’t understand what they are seeing. Reading reviews – yes, going by numbers – no

 

There are way too many reasons for review percentages than I can list here but I will give you a couple of examples.

The very first post on this thread should be a good indication how low that particular poster would rate NCL (for what appears to be no specific reason)

Some will rate a hotel at a 2/5 and the only thing negative in their review was it rained all week while they were there (yes I’ve seen that actually a couple of times)

NCL gets a lot of flack because of past traditional cruisers who take NCL because the price is lower and then take issue with the a la carte choices that would bring them up to the price they would have paid on their favorite cruise line. NCL is freestyle meaning that you have many choices to add things to enhance your vacation at charge (some people like to call it nickel and diming). This works for a lot of people who don’t wish to pay for other passenger costs of wanting to eat filet mignon when they may be a vegetarian.

My very first out of country experience back in 1980 was to Jamaica (no internet to reseach at that time). I would have given that trip an extremely low score. Why? I had never traveled anywhere outside Canada & the U.S. It was a major culture shock, I didn’t understand hotel ratings that did not meet North American Standards, I was not prepared for the sellers on the beach or streets. Therefore my score would have been very low due to the fact that my vacation did not reach my (unrealistic) expectations.

 

A note about reading reviews – when you read a review look for tangible things. Don’t believe subjective opinions, food, shows, activities, cruise directors ability. For example probably about 85% of people love second city, if I was to go not knowing what it was, I would say “I hated it”. Not meaning the show was bad but certainly wasn’t my like in entertainment.

 

If you want a great vacation, my opinion is

Go with an open mind

Go with a positive attitude

Don’t expect it to be perfect, nothing in life is

Don’t have unrealistic expectations

Expect the unexpected and chalk little things up to great memories for the future.

Research, research, research (and no not just reviews)

Smile at everyone and you will receive smiles back.

 

 

che5904, those are some great advice!...we agree with all of it. I frequently smile and you are right...it is always return with another smile. :)

[JMHAM1]

If I had believed the reviews I read about the Sun before I booked my last cruise I would have run the other way. It was the best vacation ever! We loved the ship, the food, the ports, the crew and just about everything. I hardly read the reviews now and just concentrate on what people post about the ships in the regular boards as I'm thinking that a lot of folks who loved their cruises don't post reviews. Please tell us what made it so bad.

 

I agree. We moved to NCL from another cruise line and sailed on the Gem. It got horrible reviews for their European sailing at the time and we had the best time ever. So much so that I can't see us ever going back to CCL. We are on the Star in January but not in Alaska. Maybe that is the difference and there may be a change in crew.

 

We had a bad CCL experience on a ship that was going into dry dock but still had a wonderful trip and experienced wonderful ports. The experience is what you make of it.

[slotaddict]

Ok, so if I took to heart all the negitive reviews I would have never sailed the Dawn...we had a wonderful time and it was the start of a love affair with NCL....

 

Last cruise was the Epic and it was very hard to find something that I didn;t like about the ship, in fact I still can't think of anything...

 

Next up the Sun and after that I was planning to said the Star since she will be porting in Tampa, which means no airfare for me....after reading this thread....I will still sail the Star...at which point I will have finally reached "Gold" yay.....

[newmexicoNita]

We just got back from the Alaska cruise on the star and wish we didn't take this ship. All the bad reviews posted are so true. The food, ship layout ( for viewing alaska) and the crew attitudes are beyond bad. For the first time in many cruises it was nice to disembark this wasteland.*

Never NCL again!

 

have no idea which cruise lines you have sailed in the past or if you have sailed at all, but I just checked the official CC reviews: of the last 12 reviews on the Star, 10 have recieved 4 or more thumbs up. It sounds like either you expected a luxury cruise on a mid price budget or have a different idea of what a good cruise should be.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

Hmmm. Interesting. We are on Cruise Critic but should not believe reviews. . .;) As anything, you need to know what YOU enjoy. You also need to research and become familiar with each cruiseline "brand". No you will not starve on NCL, but as with anything, you get what you pay for. NCL makes its revenues with the pay restaurants, that is a fact. Back in the day, when I started cruising, a meal that one would get at LeBistro, was the average meal on most cruiselines. It isn't like that on NCL, but on other cruiselines where you can expect to pay several hundred dollars more pp you might get it. jmo. Now, if I were cruising to Alaska and KNEW I didn't want to go outside, and I read several reviews stating that the Star didn't have good inside viewing, this would be a red flag for me. I would choose another cruise line or itinerary. There are so many choices to Alaska. No need to settle for something. jmo

 

just thought I would throw this in: I just heard back for 2 groups that cruised Alaska in the past few weeks; one was a couple an one a group of 20, both on lines other than NCL and both had great cruises except for the food. In both cases they mentioned the food was bland and absolutely no choices; they said each night the menu was the same or about the same. I think this shows what we need to expect from cruising todays lines period, not just NCL.

 

Nita

[dasmonkey]

just thought I would throw this in: I just heard back for 2 groups that cruised Alaska in the past few weeks; one was a couple an one a group of 20, both on lines other than NCL and both had great cruises except for the food. In both cases they mentioned the food was bland and absolutely no choices; they said each night the menu was the same or about the same. I think this shows what we need to expect from cruising todays lines period, not just NCL.

 

Nita

 

Good to see other lines have their share of drama queens as well. :D

 

I have been on multiple cruises on 4 different lines in the last 18 months and stand by my assertion that the food is more alike than different in ALL the MDR's on main stream cruise lines.

 

It's not five star but it's hardly swill.

 

If I see someone on any cruise make a statement like "absolutely no choices" the rest of their assessment of the cruise has zero use to me.