Customer service question....

[dcollette]

I'm wondering what others think and have experienced with NCL. It seems with the promotion of the Haven, do you feel that non Haven guests are kind of getting treated as second class? Or do you think that the attitude and demeanor of the passengers dictate how the staff treats guests? We have cruised in balcony cabins with NCL before and have never been treated badly. We are not ones to complain unless something needs serious attention (i.e. if something wasn't working in our room). We are flexible, easy to please and we tend to try to find the positive in every situation. Just wondering what others have been experiencing with NCL and Breakaway recently, as we haven't been on NCL in awhile. I know staff are supposed to treat every guest with the same respect, but lets face it, these are people not robots.

[johnsak123]

I think that everyone is treated equal on the ship no matter where you are staying since most of the time the staff does not know your cabin number.

However, I do think once the staff knows your cabin there might be a bit more of an effort by them to accommodate your needs.

For instance when we were going to be seated in the MDR we mentioned we did not want to sit in a particular section because we had bad service there prior. The host came over and assured us we would have great service, gave us a free bottle of wine and free drinks with our dinner. I think his assistant mentioned to him that we were in the Haven and that is why that happened.

I still think he would have gone out of his way to accommodate us but not sure there would have been free wine and drinks. But, that's my opinion

[WildcatRock]

I think the staff are good, hard working people, who continually strive to provide all passengers with a great cruising experience regardless of what room you're staying in. I think anyone who has been in a service related industry knows how hard it can be sometimes to provide great customer service to a passenger who already has preconceived notions about their cruise experience, or about that person, or about the ship, or about the cruise line. It's hard to make someone happy when they've already decided to be unhappy.

 

 

 

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[Ilovesailing]

Twenty plus b2b non haven cruises and never had an issue with being treated badly.

Were are you getting your info from.

[RN Cruiser1]

We have always been treated well by the staff on any ship. I go out of my way to make eye contact and inquire on how they are doing, make small talk, etc. I do believe that there are other guests, no matter what cabin they are in that treat staff like second class citizens. These people are away from their homes and their loved ones for long periods of time, they probably appreciate some sincere conversation. A little human kindness goes a long way.

That being said, NCL most likely encourages staff to make sure their big money spenders are happy so those rooms stay full. :rolleyes:

[bjlaac]

Like others have pointed out the crew really doesn't know for general things throughout the ship like the buffet or pool or lounges if you are Haven or not unless you show a room key. But I think that's where the benefit of the doubt stops. After all, the whole idea of the Haven is to treat those travelers better than anyone else with perks such as a private pool, restaurent, seating priorites and so forth. So yes everyone else is treated as second class in that respect.

 

That should be of no shock to anyone as the whole business model of NCL is to treat passengers in a class system based on money. Want better service go to a specialty restaurent with an upcharge. What a shrimp coctail go to a specialty restaurent. Want to see a better show go to the Cirque Solei.

 

If you are a cheerleader you say the company line and say its Freestyle cruising I pay for what I want, if I want and no one forces me to have to pay extra if I don't want to. What most miss is that unless you pay for all the extras NCL has cut out whole venues and food choices that are available with other lines free of charge. They have in effect reinstituted the class system of years gone by.

 

I know this is a bad example but the Haven and all its exclusivity is no different than 1st class on ships of yesteryear like the Titanic.

[esp13]

I've never sailed in the Haven (yet) but I've been in an Aft PH Suite and regular cabins and did not notice a difference in the way the staff treated me. They have always been very friendly and accommodating. I've never felt "second-class" when I have been in non-suite accommodations and, aside from my butler and concierge, didn't feel like I was treated better when I was in the suite.

[cherylroslyn]

Like others have pointed out the crew really doesn't know for general things throughout the ship like the buffet or pool or lounges if you are Haven or not unless you show a room key. But I think that's where the benefit of the doubt stops. After all, the whole idea of the Haven is to treat those travelers better than anyone else with perks such as a private pool, restaurent, seating priorites and so forth. So yes everyone else is treated as second class in that respect.

 

That should be of no shock to anyone as the whole business model of NCL is to treat passengers in a class system based on money. Want better service go to a specialty restaurent with an upcharge. What a shrimp coctail go to a specialty restaurent. Want to see a better show go to the Cirque Solei.

 

If you are a cheerleader you say the company line and say its Freestyle cruising I pay for what I want, if I want and no one forces me to have to pay extra if I don't want to. What most miss is that unless you pay for all the extras NCL has cut out whole venues and food choices that are available with other lines free of charge. They have in effect reinstituted the class system of years gone by.

 

I know this is a bad example but the Haven and all its exclusivity is no different than 1st class on ships of yesteryear like the Titanic.

It is EXACTLY the same on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. Take a trip on the OASIS of the SEAS and then come back and tell me about bad bad NCL and their class system and how all the other lines let you do whattever you want and go wherever you want and you don't have to pay for any of it........

[SissasMomE]

I'm wondering what others think and have experienced with NCL. It seems with the promotion of the Haven, do you feel that non Haven guests are kind of getting treated as second class? Or do you think that the attitude and demeanor of the passengers dictate how the staff treats guests? We have cruised in balcony cabins with NCL before and have never been treated badly. We are not ones to complain unless something needs serious attention (i.e. if something wasn't working in our room). We are flexible, easy to please and we tend to try to find the positive in every situation. Just wondering what others have been experiencing with NCL and Breakaway recently, as we haven't been on NCL in awhile. I know staff are supposed to treat every guest with the same respect, but lets face it, these are people not robots.

 

I definitely think the demographic makeup of the ship's guests account for staffs' actions and attitudes.

 

I have never felt treated as second class on any ship (NCL or otherwise), no matter which cabin we have selected. Also, I've never had a bad crew on any NCL ship either. We sail primarily from Florida, which may or may not account for a more laid back atmosphere. I have found the crew and fellow passengers on a texas based cruise the friendliest, followed by Florida.

[DMH15]

Like others have pointed out the crew really doesn't know for general things throughout the ship like the buffet or pool or lounges if you are Haven or not unless you show a room key. But I think that's where the benefit of the doubt stops. After all, the whole idea of the Haven is to treat those travelers better than anyone else with perks such as a private pool, restaurent, seating priorites and so forth. So yes everyone else is treated as second class in that respect.

 

That should be of no shock to anyone as the whole business model of NCL is to treat passengers in a class system based on money. Want better service go to a specialty restaurent with an upcharge. What a shrimp coctail go to a specialty restaurent. Want to see a better show go to the Cirque Solei.

 

If you are a cheerleader you say the company line and say its Freestyle cruising I pay for what I want, if I want and no one forces me to have to pay extra if I don't want to. What most miss is that unless you pay for all the extras NCL has cut out whole venues and food choices that are available with other lines free of charge. They have in effect reinstituted the class system of years gone by.

 

I know this is a bad example but the Haven and all its exclusivity is no different than 1st class on ships of yesteryear like the Titanic.

 

By all means if anyone agrees with you they should cruise another line.

 

I paid $900 for a one week inside broom closet cabin on the Norway in 1986. Cruising is an even better bargain today and NCL's model is ala carte cruising. I love it.

 

I felt NCL treated me nicely when I cruised in regular cabins before I discovered the suite life. I have never felt second class.

[deladypilot]

I have always been treated with great respect but then I treat the staff with respect as well. I think that most people can read when others think they are better than you and that is no different on a cruise ship. If the staff gets the idea you are a pain in the rear they may treat you like a pain in the rear. As my mother said, reap what you sow.

 

We usually sail in mini-suites and all of our room stewards have been wonderful and we even get notes from some of the other staff telling us how much they are going to miss us.

[kcwingwalker]

Too much service bothers me as I do not want anyone "hovering" over me. So I've never really been interested in NCL's upscale accommodations. Love and enjoying having a balcony. NCLs service is just right for me, I always have just what I want without any intrusion to my privacy. The service staff at any level is fast, efficient, polite and always friendly.

 

When it comes to service and most things I do think NCL is way ahead of Carnival. However Carnival does have better deserts!

 

Just my opinion!

[DMH15]

Too much service bothers me as I do not want anyone "hovering" over me. So I've never really been interested in NCL's upscale accommodations. Love and enjoying having a balcony. NCLs service is just right for me, I always have just what I want without any intrusion to my privacy. The service staff at any level is fast, efficient, polite and always friendly.

 

When it comes to service and most things I do think NCL is way ahead of Carnival. However Carnival does have better deserts!

 

Just my opinion!

 

I agree with you about desserts. Only one or two were memorable. Like the tira mi su cake.

[triptolemus]

Last year on the Jewel we had some issues with noise at night. It sounded like a full on maintenance shop was directly fwd of our cabin. One phone call and it was taken care of. The HD (Klaus) sent us a note apologizing, a plate of chocolates, and dinner for the two of us at Le Bistro. We were in he cheapest, crappiest cabin on the boat, 4501. Point is, while I'm sure there are "class" issues on NCL, the HD still has time to address even the lowest teir pax.

[Demonyte]

That should be of no shock to anyone as the whole business model of NCL is to treat passengers in a class system based on money. Want better service go to a specialty restaurent with an upcharge. What a shrimp coctail go to a specialty restaurent. Want to see a better show go to the Cirque Solei.

 

If you are a cheerleader you say the company line and say its Freestyle cruising I pay for what I want, if I want and no one forces me to have to pay extra if I don't want to. What most miss is that unless you pay for all the extras NCL has cut out whole venues and food choices that are available with other lines free of charge. They have in effect reinstituted the class system of years gone by.

 

Could you please clarify what venues NCL has "cut out" that all (or at least most) other lines offer for free? I only remember NCL adding more choices of which some are for extra fee but not removing anything that has used to be free (except foodwise but cutbacks are done in all menus and by other cruise lines too).

 

Also, I really disagree about absolutely getting better service in Speciality Restaurants, our best waiters have been in MDRs (once even in the "trashier" one, that was the only waitress whose name I still remember after long time) and when taking the total visit count to consideration, we have had more flawless service in MDRs than in Speciality restaurants.

 

I might also be wrong but that's why I genuinely would like to get some clarification and facts to back that claim. :)

[lisakoivu]

Too much service bothers me as I do not want anyone "hovering" over me. So I've never really been interested in NCL's upscale accommodations. Love and enjoying having a balcony. NCLs service is just right for me, I always have just what I want without any intrusion to my privacy. The service staff at any level is fast, efficient, polite and always friendly.

 

When it comes to service and most things I do think NCL is way ahead of Carnival. However Carnival does have better deserts!

 

Just my opinion!

 

I totally agree with you ... we had a suite in March and it really didn't do a thing for us. We actually felt that the staff was less "friendly" - butler and steward, almost like they were waiting for us to be difficult or make an outrageous demand. Don't get me wrong, the service was excellent, but there was a "distance". None of the things we got on the suite made me want to do a suite again.

 

We just came back from an inside on the Dawn and had a blast. Mario, our room steward, made us laugh every day. Yeah, it took him until 2:00 to make up the room, whereas in the suite, it was made up the minute you stepped out the door, but again, as a cruiser, you have to decide what's important to you and pay accordingly.

 

I didn't feel second class as an inside passenger, what I felt was that I had more money to spend on other stuff. So the budget is the budget. If the budget is $4000, and I spend $3500 on the suite, then I only have $500 to spend onboard. If the budget is $4000 and I spend $1200 on the room, then I have $2800 to spend on board and in the case of the Dawn, in Bermuda.

 

I don't think I'm a "cheerleader", (really hate that term), but it's simple economics. If you spend your budget, you have a wide variety of things that you may or may not get in that budget. If suite and amenities are most important to you - most of the budget goes there. If shore excursions and extras on ship are most important to you, get an inside. It seems simple to me, but I guess the downside is, you do have to cruise a number of times to figure this out.... reading the boards also helps . :)

[dcollette]

 

We just came back from an inside on the Dawn and had a blast. Mario, our room steward, made us laugh every day. Yeah, it took him until 2:00 to make up the room, whereas in the suite, it was made up the minute you stepped out the door, but again, as a cruiser, you have to decide what's important to you and pay accordingly.

 

I didn't feel second class as an inside passenger, what I felt was that I had more money to spend on other stuff. So the budget is the budget. If the budget is $4000, and I spend $3500 on the suite, then I only have $500 to spend onboard. If the budget is $4000 and I spend $1200 on the room, then I have $2800 to spend on board and in the case of the Dawn, in Bermuda.

 

:)

 

See, now this is my thought exactly, as well. This year, my budget is smaller (and Breakaway a bit more expensive) so I talked to my kids and said we can either have a better room and less money to spend (fixed budget for vacation) or a lesser room and more money to enjoy whatever we want, like Carlo's, leBistro, Cagneys, etc. We rarely spend time in our cabins except to change, shower and sleep. I am really the one who suffers without the balcony, because I am always the first one up and usually wait out there for everyone else to get out of bed! It is all up to what you value personally. I wish we had enough of a budget to have both, the balcony and plenty of money for all the extras, but we must stay reasonable. We have always enjoyed our cruises immensely and have never had a bad experience. (even when a waiter in a specialty restaurant spilled a soda all over the table and my dress!!) I believe you get what you give and if you treat others nicely, you will get it right back. Thank you for your thoughts.

[jaja]

We have sailed insides and suites..on NCL...I never saw a difference in service ....One of the reasons we sail NCL is the staff...so friendly & helpful.. Just my personal observation...

[vols_159]

I book inside cabins. And also treated awesome cant complain.

[agabbymama]

Could you please clarify what venues NCL has "cut out" that all (or at least most) other lines offer for free? I only remember NCL adding more choices of which some are for extra fee but not removing anything that has used to be free (except foodwise but cutbacks are done in all menus and by other cruise lines too).

 

Also, I really disagree about absolutely getting better service in Speciality Restaurants, our best waiters have been in MDRs (once even in the "trashier" one, that was the only waitress whose name I still remember after long time) and when taking the total visit count to consideration, we have had more flawless service in MDRs than in Speciality restaurants.

 

I might also be wrong but that's why I genuinely would like to get some clarification and facts to back that claim. :)

 

I'm not the OP that talked about "cut out", but I do agree that NCL seems to have lowered the food standards in the MDR to encourage folks to go to the specialty (fee) venues. Breakfast was the only decent meal we had in the MDR. Dinner was awful every night of the cruise, except the night we dined with the Captain (steak that night was delish).

 

We were on the Star and folks from our Roll Call planned a birthday special dinner at Cagney's for 8 of us. We were definitely catered to that night. Whether it was just the specialty restaurant, CC members or Birthday celebration, I don't know, but we were placed in a back (more private) room, and could not have had better service anywhere. I think we had 3 or 4 waiters and the maitre D actually came over about 3 times to see if everything was okay.

[Wendy-Europe]

Most cruiselines offer "higher class" cabins

 

MSC call them "Yacht Club", NCL "Haven", Costa has their "Spa Cabins" and so on.

 

These cabins come with goodies - payed with their higher cabin price (Blu Restaurant at Celebrity for Aqua Class Cabins, Butler, Concierge, free drinks in a special lounge and so on)

 

Royal Caribbean has special seats in the theatre for Suite guest & Diamond Members and same on pooldeck....

 

Why not....something like this happened since people started cruising....

 

But what you get in MDR and from your cabin attendant depends from this special person.

 

And cruises have really reasonable prices today - I found an old brochure from my first ever cruise:

 

This ship:

http://www.ssmaritime.com/atalante.htm

 

Lets see - brochure was from 1989:

 

The had typical 7 and 14-night cruises at the mediterrean sea R

 

14 night inside: 3300 DM (german marks) p.P.

cheapest outside: 3400 DM (

Deck C inside: 3700 DM, outside 4100 DM

Deck B inside: 4100 DM, outside 4400 DM

Deck A outside : 4700 DM

 

7night:

cheapest inside: : 1700 DM p.P.

cheapest outside: 1800 DM (Deck D)

Deck C inside: 1950 DM, outside 2050 DM

Deck B inside: 2100 DM, outside 2250 DM

Deck A outside : 2350 DM

 

Included was the possibility to take your car with you, if you want to hop off the ship at one port and hop on the next week there was an supp of 50 DM per person and 80 DM per car.

 

Routing

Ancona-Katalkolon-Santorin - Rhodos - Bodrum - Piräus-Ancona

 

The cheapest inside 7 night was a "1 month earning equivalent" for me (and I had a nice job in a travel agency).

 

Today there are so many offers that a cheap offseason inside is 399 $

 

Oh - and just for fun: they charge 8 DM tipp per person/per day on your cruise account!

 

 

Wendy