Princess lover back from NCL

[ttnc4me]

Your review is appreciated but seemingly apples to oranges. I don't think it's fair to categorize one short Bahamian cruise as "NCL" in general. For sure we've found that 1. the shorter cruises have a different clientele and 2. the Bahamian cruises definitely have a different clientele.

 

That wouldn't excuse the staff behavior. However, on our last Princess cruise, we too had some staff let us know that they were treated as "just a number" and weren't all too pleased to be there. I'm sure it's like that across the board though, depending on to whom you speak.

 

Just as the same line has different ships that appeal to different folks (ie: choosing the megaships or not), so do different itineraries. So, I would say, for *this* sailing, on *this* ship, then NCL may not be your line of choice, but it'd be a shame for anyone to rule them out entirely.

[kendon]

Well, I'm not sure if it's the Celebrity Summit or Norwegian Sun that is our worst cruise. Too bad for you, it's what I'd expect from a ship that looks like a floating kids beach toy. I miss Princess as well....

[moonshadow1010]

We are looking to go on a cruise in October out of New York. Destination does not really matter. We are just looking for a relaxing, but not boring cruise. We are in our 50's and do not want a ship filled with out of control kids or people who cannot hold their liquor and become obnoxious. It seems our choices are NCL Gem, Carribean Princess, and Carnival Glory. Celebrity is our favorite line, but does not have any cruises available out of the NY area at that time.

 

Can anyone give us their opinion on which cruise would suit our needs. We had thought that Princess would be the best, but have read some negative reviews about condition of the Carribean Princess and staff complaints.

 

Any information would be helpful.

[RickEk]

Your review is appreciated but seemingly apples to oranges. I don't think it's fair to categorize one short Bahamian cruise as "NCL" in general. For sure we've found that 1. the shorter cruises have a different clientele and 2. the Bahamian cruises definitely have a different clientele.

 

That wouldn't excuse the staff behavior. However, on our last Princess cruise, we too had some staff let us know that they were treated as "just a number" and weren't all too pleased to be there. I'm sure it's like that across the board though, depending on to whom you speak.

 

Just as the same line has different ships that appeal to different folks (ie: choosing the megaships or not), so do different itineraries. So, I would say, for *this* sailing, on *this* ship, then NCL may not be your line of choice, but it'd be a shame for anyone to rule them out entirely.

 

I'd agree that short cruises aren't really comparable to a line's longer cruises. We took a short 2-day cruise on the Dawn Princess a few years back from San Diego to Ensenada and back. To call it a "party cruise" would be a gross understatement. We had cruised on the Dawn earlier that year on a New Year's cruise and the difference was astonishing. :eek:

[caribill]

Your review is appreciated but seemingly apples to oranges. I don't think it's fair to categorize one short Bahamian cruise as "NCL" in general. For sure we've found that 1. the shorter cruises have a different clientele and 2. the Bahamian cruises definitely have a different clientele.

 

 

It will be interesting to read the reviews of the 4-day Ruby Princess cruises that start next year.

 

Then it will be an apples-to-apples comparison with this NCL cruise.

[RickEk]

It will be interesting to read the reviews of the 4-day Ruby Princess cruises that start next year.

 

Then it will be an apples-to-apples comparison with this NCL cruise.

 

Or the 3 or 4 day cruises on the Golden Princess on the West Coast... I'm sure we'll book one of these to get back to Catalina... :)

[nimiq]

First Thx for your review.

 

We have been on both lines and our first cruise was with NCL and since we havent stop cruising. I remember my first cruise with NCL it was amazing but our second one was not as well and since have always avoided to go back on them.

I actually prefer NCL ships and the look and feel nice but for the rest its all Princess for me.

 

Sea ya

Eric

 

TBA November 2012

Hal Westerdam March2012

Ruby Princess Nov2010

Sapphire Princess Sep2010

Rccl Adventure Of The Seas April 2010

Carnival Miracle Feb2010

Rccl Oassis of the Seas Feb2010

Rccl Majesty of the Seas Nov2009

Rccl Navigator of Seas Sep2009

Hal Westerdam Nov&Dec2008

Caribbean Princess Nov2007

Sea Princess Nov&Dec 2006

Diamond Princess Apr2005

Rccl Navigator Dec2004

NCL SUN Nov2004

Visit of QM2 Oct2004

Carnival Victory Nov2003

Golden Princess Apr2003

Celebrity Mercury Nov2002

Carnival Elation Nov2001

NCL SKY Nov2000

[kath00]

Or the 3 or 4 day cruises on the Golden Princess on the West Coast... I'm sure we'll book one of these to get back to Catalina... :)

 

We did the 4 day cruise on the Sapphire last December (I think it was mid-Dec, preholiday) and it was NOTHING like the cruise described above. It felt very much like every other Princess cruise we've been on (we've been on 10). It didn't have any of the party animal feel that is often described on short cruises on Carnival in the same region, for example.

 

I think the 3 and 4 day cruises on the Golden and Sapphire are going to be a great opportunity for professionals who work a lot to get away and still enjoy the superb Princess service and food. :) Can't wait to go on a few of these myself!

 

katherine

[hiworldtraveler]

I agree with CJS Kids, NCL is definitely not Princess. I sailed on NCL for a one night cruise to no where charity fundraiser. I thought it would give me a chance to experience NCL while helping a good cause. From the moment you board the ship, it is a totally difference atmosphere which included the crew not smiling, not helpful or friendly. You would think with a lot of new comers on board the crew would go beyond the call to have repeat passengers.

 

The inside room we had was cramped and the bathroom is the size of a closet. I am a short person and sitting while sitting on the toilet, my knees almost touched the wall. Princess rooms are more spacious. Although I attended a couple of more charity cruises, it was only because I was helping a good cause plus one night is all I could handle on NCL.

[mountainmaniacs]

We cruised NCL last Sept. on the Jewel. It was the New England cruise. We chose NCL over Princess as we got a cheaper price. I will not do that again. I didn't like going to the MDR and sitting beside people that looked likek they hadn't bathed since getting on the ship. They had flip flops on and trying to eat beside somebody with nasty feet just isn't my forte. Our cabin steward was awesome! We did notice alot more people on the ship that was staggering around with drinks in hand. Just my opinion, we will stick with princess. :p

[Host CJSKIDS]

OK - I have heard about the "naughty room" but I never knew what line they were referring to. Did the note really use the term "naughty room" or did they use a different term like "report to this Lounge A to retrieve luggage"? Sorry if ignorant here.

 

Thanks for your review. I think you just saved me some money in the future.

 

I only used the term "naughty room" as that's what I have read on here. It said to report to this area on deck XXX.

 

They seem to be so concerned about finding smuggled liquor that it seems that is their priority. Every bottle of water gets inspected and pounded to see if there are "legs" on the sides of the bottle. Every seal is looked at.

As there wasn't a thing but clothes in that particular suitcase, I still don't know what the heck they thought was in there.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Your review is appreciated but seemingly apples to oranges. I don't think it's fair to categorize one short Bahamian cruise as "NCL" in general. For sure we've found that 1. the shorter cruises have a different clientele and 2. the Bahamian cruises definitely have a different clientele.

 

That wouldn't excuse the staff behavior. However, on our last Princess cruise, we too had some staff let us know that they were treated as "just a number" and weren't all too pleased to be there. I'm sure it's like that across the board though, depending on to whom you speak.

 

Just as the same line has different ships that appeal to different folks (ie: choosing the megaships or not), so do different itineraries. So, I would say, for *this* sailing, on *this* ship, then NCL may not be your line of choice, but it'd be a shame for anyone to rule them out entirely.

 

That is true to a degree. However, sailing on one short Bahamian cruise on Disney was exactly like sailing on one 7 night cruise on Disney. The service was the same for both. I actually did the short one first and enjoyed it so much that we booked longer cruises with them. I like that service would be incredible across the board. Much like I would anticipate that the crew and my experience on a 30 day cruise would be the same as a 7 day cruise on a line.

 

Again, we had fun. I'm really not trying to bash NCL. These are just my opinions on what happened to us or what we experienced. There were things that we enjoyed about the sailing. We met some wonderful and fun people. There were some exceptional staff members and I made sure to take care of them and to fill out the cards for them.

 

One thing I will point out, embarkation was about as easy as easy could be. This area they do extremely well. Got to the pier around 11:10 and we were on board by 11:40.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Well, NCL is known for their live entertainment . . .

 

Your review is very similar to what I experienced on NCL. Or, as I call them, Never Cruise w/Them Again Lines.

 

LOL.... that's a great way to put it. Live entertainment!

[satxdiver]

The bar game sounds interesting and I can see the older group shaking their heads. While I maybe a member of that group, I still have an open mind. It sounds something similar to the RCCL quest game but not involving alcohol. Both are in the spirit of irreverant fun. I have heard way too many stories about NCL to know to stay off their ships. To those who love NCL happy cruising. I will stay with Princess. Just my personal preference.

[PunkiC]

We live in Seattle so it is easy for us to do what I call "test cruises" on various lines.

 

While we didn't really witness any paticularly wild partying on NCL, it was wilder than Princess. Mostly a lot of women drinking and dancing together, which we don't like because they take up too much room on the dance floor, but they were having a ball, so good for them. The Wheelhouse on Pricess is almost always reserved for couples dancing, sometimes even observing line of dance. ;)

 

The NCL dining was a huge disappointment, whether in the dining room or the buffet, which reminded me of a high school cafeteria.

 

That whole Mickey Mouse business with the wine drives me crazy and in and of itself is enough reason for me to part company with any cruise line, even one I rather like, like Celebrity.

 

We were, however, able to board 4 bottles of wine and only paid corkage on one. We each had a carry-on and a tote that each contained one bottle of wine. When we went through security they stopped my husband with his carry-on. While they were talking to him, I simply retrieved my carry-on and both totes and went upstairs to wait for him to finish the silly corkage payment business. That whole process made me laugh, but certainly was not amusing enough to ever repeat.

 

I know that the idea is that they will make more money if they don't allow passenges to bring wine on board, but in my case that is definitely not true, because their silly policy assures that they will get exactly ZERO money from me in the future. On Princess, where we are allowed to bring wine on board so we can have a peaceful glass on our deck before dinner, they make lots of money off me. Not only do we cruise Princess several times a year, but we always buy a bottle of wine at dinner and occasionally beer at lunch if they are having some sort of Mexican food.

 

It is true that we don't buy well or mixed drinks at the bar on a ship, but then we almost never do that on land either. Our big thing on a cruise is dancing that just usually requires lots of water.

[KruzPrincess]

I haven't been on NCL since it changed hands, so I can't speak to that, but I think short cruises do have a different atmosphere. It also depends on the demographics. People want to pack a lot of fun into a short period of time. This doesn't explain food and service issues, of course. I've read several people on CC (different threads on the subject) expecting Princess short cruises to be the same as long cruises. While I don't expect Princess to become a party ship on these cruises, I think there could easily be a different atmosphere. It will be interesting to read reports from those cruises.

[Host CJSKIDS]

The bar game sounds interesting and I can see the older group shaking their heads. While I maybe a member of that group, I still have an open mind. It sounds something similar to the RCCL quest game but not involving alcohol. Both are in the spirit of irreverant fun. I have heard way too many stories about NCL to know to stay off their ships. To those who love NCL happy cruising. I will stay with Princess. Just my personal preference.

 

They also have the quest game on the last night. We went to that on princess and thought it was lots of fun.

 

I had no issues with the games as long as I didn't have to participate!

[shepp]

As you work or worked for Princess, guess there is no love there!

 

Yeah, Interestingly, there are "several" posters from Valencia/Santa Clarita, each with few posts to their credit, who leave a trail of terse posts trashing Princess. At least in this case, it's explicit that the critiques have come from a (probably past) Princess employee.

 

It's entirely possible that Princess is a monstrous employer, and that the posters' slams are justified. On the other hand...

 

So what's the opposite of a "cheerleader?"

[cruiselvr1]

I had posted that I was going on a quick last minute NCL cruise and asked for opinions last week. One poster had asked me to let them know what I thought of it.

 

Well, let's begin by saying, It sure wasn't Princess! We did find ourselves comparing things to Princess over the course of the cruise. Went in with low expectations and I'm happy that I did!

 

I have always said that the crew on Princess is the best. I had no idea just how good they really were. Most crew members on Princess smile, all say hello and interact with guests and seems to really care about those of us cruising. I can say that while this is the norm on Princess, not so much on NCL. I don't think I have met as many crew members that didn't bother smiling, say hello, offering to help or even acknowledge that I was standing in front of them. Many of us on the sailing said the same thing. Most of the crew just seemed like they really didn't want to be there. More than one told us how they were leaving when their contract was up as they didn't care for how senior staff treat them.

 

I brought some wine on, was upfront and told them I needed to pay the corkage fees. Did that and walked on with the wine. First suitcase delivered no problems. Second suitcase did not arrive. On my door was that "you have been called to the "naughty room" come and get your bags. So my first impression of NCL, you have wasted my time and made me wait on another line and get my bag. I was thrilled as I watched my undergarments rummaged through right in front of others. Thrilled when all the dry-cleaned clothes that I paid good money for and carefully packed was somewhat shoved thing back and forth trying to find I don't know what and were now wrinkled. What was in the suitcase, NOTHING BUT CLOTHES! I asked what they possibly could have thought was in there and they had no answer.

 

Food, ate in Cagney's steakhouse which was the same price as the Crown Grill. Not even a close match. You should be able to cut through your filet with a butter knife. My husband had a hard time cutting his meat with a steak knife! Where you can order as many sides as you wish at the Crown Grill, here you got 2 small portions of sides per person and were not allowed more than that. I asked at the Italian restaurant if I could have a 1/2 order of the pasta (it was an entree) for my appetizer and then the entree and was told 'No, sorry one entree per person. The french restaurant was the best out of the bunch.

 

The cabin was not exactly clean. I had to wipe down the back of the bathroom wall when we boarded with hot soapy water. The picture that was hanging had I don't know what all over it. Once again, this was clearly not a princess ship. As I didn't even see our cabin steward until last night which was the last night of our cruise, it was hard to ask for something to be cleaned.

 

Did the pub crawl on the first even gin and the games they played was certainly not something I have ever witnessed on Princess. It involved people on their knees and bananas or guys seated with a bottle of beer with a straw in it between their legs with the girls on their knees in front of them sucking down the beer as fast as they could. Many seemed to enjoy themselves but there were some of us who just watched.

 

Now I don't know if this all holds true for NCL across the board, or it's just on the shorter sailings so hopefully what we experienced isn't the norm.

 

We met some great people, still had a nice cruise and I did enjoy myself. Both hubby and I were fine with the fact that we were getting off the ship this morning. 4 nights on there were enough.

 

Sorry to all of you who love NCL, I have hopefully not insulted you too much.

 

Next time, Princess here we come!!!!

We have heard bad things about the Sky. Still any ship should be run the same. It shouldn't matter whether the ship is old or not.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I tried --- them big mistake..

[DrivesLikeMario]

Well, NCL is known for their live entertainment . . .

 

Your review is very similar to what I experienced on NCL. Or, as I call them, Never Cruise w/Them Again Lines.

 

Ditto here. Also our last Carnival cruise (and I mean LAST). Just not our cup of tea. Service means so much more to me than what you get with either line. Carolyn, sorry you had to go thru that luggage search and that the cruise wasn't as good as it could've been. I do think it's good to try other lines though - it helps you determine where you feel most comfortable. ;)

[Tatka]

We have 5 Princess and 4 NCL cruises under our belt. Princess is a finer product, but what you have experienced is not a norm for NCL.

 

I heard from many people that Sky is not their normal ship, and even entertainment which is NCL's strong point is not on par.

[Host CJSKIDS]

We have 5 Princess and 4 NCL cruises under our belt. Princess is a finer product, but what you have experienced is not a norm for NCL.

 

I heard from many people that Sky is not their normal ship, and even entertainment which is NCL's strong point is not on par.

 

Happy to hear that. The entertainment was not good which disappointed me.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I'm with my future son-in-law who works at Port Canaveral. He checks in the food etc that is being loaded on the cruise ships. He said that all the cruise line use Fresh Point for their produce but NCL, they use Global and it's much cheaper. All the food they get is cheaper

 

Guess that explains the food!

[Cruisin' Chick]

You must not cruise very much. NCL rocks! The crew on the Jewel was spectacular on a recent cruise I was on. Much better than Princess. I would never go back to Princess. Different strokes for different folks, eh?

 

 

After seeing others mention that you've worked (or works) at Princess, and seems to post a lot of negative comments, I decided to look at your other posts, and now wonder if you have an axe to grind with the company or you really haven't enjoyed your cruises on Princess (have you been on any Princess cruises????). Those are two different things -- if you have a problem with the company, either deal with your issues or quit (even though with these tough times, that's a hard choice to make). But if that's the issue, why bother to post here? If you didn't like your Princess cruises, why not be more specific? But remember, if you work in Princess HQs, no one is forcing you to vacation on its ships.