Tampa 1st Dec 13 - Ode To Norwegian Dawn

[TonyE]

Ode To Norwegian Dawn Cruise (NCL) The No Consideration Line

:mad::mad::mad::mad:

Once a year we go on a cruise,

After all what have we got to loose.

Well this time it seems we’ve wasted our time and our money,

Queue for everything, problems galore, no interest in fixing them really isn’t funny.

So here’s my list of NCL terror,

Hopefully it’ll stop others making the same error.

3.5 hours queuing in the grueling sun to get on board,

You’d think some shade and water they could afford.

Despite an empty air conditioned port terminal with plenty of seats,

A thousand and one excuses from jobs-worth’s we do meet.

Once on board we have our muster drill let’s hope they’ll hack it,

Alas not even a demonstration of how to put on a lifejacket.

The excitement mounts as we dock at our first port,

Queue, queue, queue for 28 minutes by now I’m totally distraught.

We’re not even being tendered off,

But by now I’m totally brassed off.

Staff from all over the World who seem to speak good English,

Pity they don’t understand my wish.

Like talking to an Indian call centre you ask them a simple question,

But from the glazed look in their eyes you just know there’s no comprehension.

No hot water so it’s cold shave, cold shower most nights,

You’d think after complaining 5 times they’d manage to get it right.

Fridge leaks water all over the floor,

Never mind we can soak it up with towels galore.

Now I know it’s only a minor irritation,

But soup spoons for breakfast is just yet another frustration.

Room service is terribly slow I fear,

Takes only an hour for a pot of tea to appear.

Queue, queue, queue is the daily refrain,

Queue to get on, queue to get off, queue for dinner, queue for guest services, queue to queue just drives me insane.

Room service have the memory of a goldfish with Alzheimer’s disease,

They seem to forget your requests with such ease.

We’ll get back to you sir is the constant reply,

Don’t hold you breathe they’ll get back when you see pigs fly.

Plenty of deck chairs they have got,

But the German towel fairies come out every night and nail their towels to “THEIR” favourite chair spot.

A max of 30 minutes towels on chairs is the rule,

It’s not enforced so we don’t get to sit by the pool.

Dinky little security men with shiny sheriff badges make you scoff,

As rather than deal with the problem they fob you off.

Internet manager never there,

Just a vacant desk and chair.

Shower door off its runner results in yet another whinge,

By now it is us that are totally unhinged.

A bill for 7 hours 28 minutes of our time forever lost,

As compensation $836.27 should cover the costs.

So Mr Kevin Sheehan there’s plenty of scope for improvements to make,

May I suggest an undercover cruise you do take.

I wait patiently for your cheque and reply,

Until then farewell and goodbye.

[che5904]

Sorry to hear you were not happy with your cruise.

[Aquahound]

That's one of the most clever complaints I've ever read. :D I'm sure you'll get plenty of flak over it, but not from me. I did the same cruise last year, and it was also wrought with service related problems. I see not much has changed with the Dawn. :(

[KweezyCruiser]

tl;dr

Bye.

[che5904]

That's one of the most clever complaints I've ever read. :D I'm sure you'll get plenty of flak over it, but not from me. I did the same cruise last year, and it was also wrought with service related problems. I see not much has changed with the Dawn. :(

 

Perhaps, but I have a tendency to be wary of a post that the contributor had nothing good to say about their vacation. It's called balanced!

 

I can fully understand things break, I can fully understand small things can add up to be overwhelming.

 

But a person that can find "no good" at all, appears way to negative for me to take seriously.

 

And why ruin your entire vacation like this. After a couple of days of annoying issues, why not contact the hotel director (who I'm sure could speak English and probably very well and could understand the language).

Edited December 10, 2013 by che5904

[ColinIllinois]

I want those two minutes back.

[che5904]

I want those two minutes back.

 

Sorry like the OP's 7 hrs and 28 minutes. Poof they're gone. But if you put the throttle down, maybe you could make them up, but be prepared for a rough ride. :D

[Laszlo]

Excellent - funny

I do happen to agree with about 1/4 of what the OP posted. We were lucky and did not have any chair hogs. But the queuing in Roatan was just ass backwards. Never before did we meet in the theater for an excursion. Brilliant NCL for having over 900 guest meet in one place only to have everyone then meet at their excursion on the pier. They released everyone within a 30 minute time period, it made the stairs and deck 4 look like 95 in DC on a Friday afternoon. I think we could have found our own way to the excursion people on the pier:rolleyes:

Edited December 10, 2013 by Laszlo

[Aquahound]

Perhaps, but I have a tendency to be wary of a post that the contributor had nothing good to say about their vacation. It's called balanced!

 

 

You make a good point. While Dawn ranks as one of my least favorite cruises of all time, I did try to keep my review balanced, and did report the good as well. On the other hand, I can understand how some of these issues, like waiting outside for 3.5 hours, can spoil a mood from the get-go. That particular embarkation problem is something NCL needs to get a round turn on....and hopefully something they figure out before you board in a few months.

[legion3]

Excellent :D very creative.

 

However, I was on the same cruise and mine was apparently better than yours as I suffered few of those issues and did not wait in the sun. Some :( I did suffer. But NCL did us just fine. However I am still waiting for an answer from Alaine the Hotel Manager about something...when do you think I'll get the response? :cool:

 

In all seriousness I did feel that this crew was the least English fluent, the glazed looks and repeat requirements were way more than I encountered on CCL the last two years. Not a complete language issue but just a much harder communication flow. That said, no one was rude or completely ignored me.

[vols_159]

I was on the dawn last march loved it service was excellent. Yes from Tampa best cruise yet Dunno what's wrong now

[che5904]

Excellent - funny

I do happen to agree with about 1/4 of what the OP posted. We were lucky and did not have any chair hogs. But the queuing in Roatan was just ass backwards. Never before did we meet in the theater for an excursion. Brilliant NCL for having over 900 guest meet in one place only to have everyone then meet at their excursion on the pier. They released everyone within a 30 minute time period, it made the stairs and deck 4 look like 95 in DC on a Friday afternoon. I think we could have found our own way to the excursion people on the pier:rolleyes:

 

All of our ship excursions we met in the theatre for in 2009. It was our first cruise, I just assumed that's the way it was done. On the Star we met on the dock, that was more confusing to me, because you had to search everyone holding up little signs to see where you were suppose to meet for your excursion. And passengers had a tendency to gather around right in front of the one with the sign, so the guide would hold the sign in the air for a bit. Must have been quite tiring on their arms. I watched one poor guide while we were waiting for all of guests to come. He would hold his sign in the air, then get tired so he would sort of scoot around to the front of the crowd and the whole crowd moved back in front of him. He must have did this 3 or 4 times before he finally politely said "could you please stand here and I will gather you when I have everyone here" and pointed to spot. :D

[Laszlo]

And passengers had a tendency to gather around right in front of the one with the sign, so the guide would hold the sign in the air for a bit. Must have been quite tiring on their arms. I watched one poor guide while we were waiting for all of guests to come. He would hold his sign in the air, then get tired so he would sort of scoot around to the front of the crowd and the whole crowd moved back in front of him. He must have did this 3 or 4 times before he finally politely said "could you please stand here and I will gather you when I have everyone here" and pointed to spot. :D

 

 

The same thing happened when we finally got to the pier after waiting in the theater. We could have very easily got off the ship an hour before, walked around, gone into some stores and then met at the meeting place. After 4 cruises this was the first time we have ever done that. Not a big deal just frustrating when you have that amount of people headed all at one time thru two scanners, one seemed to be down off and on

[BlueJai]

It is unfortunate that the OP had such a bad time but I am sure there must have been one or two good moments throughout the cruise???

 

There is always something that won't be up to someones personal standards, but geez - everything! Sad sad sad :(

[Beaver1975]

The same thing happened when we finally got to the pier after waiting in the theater. We could have very easily got off the ship an hour before, walked around, gone into some stores and then met at the meeting place. After 4 cruises this was the first time we have ever done that. Not a big deal just frustrating when you have that amount of people headed all at one time thru two scanners, one seemed to be down off and on

 

It seems as though Tony had a similar embarkation experience on Celebrity some 4 years ago. The only difference is that he sounds like he has taken a creative writing course since then.

[polySeraph]

Actually, Laszlo and Legion3, I really appreciate your taking the time and effort to post about your experiences, negatives and all. I have certainly taken heed and feel that now that I have been forewarned, I'll be able to adapt and have a better experience in January. Thanks for the "heads-up"!

[che5904]

I'm sure you'll get plenty of flak over it, but not from me.

 

You of all people may totally change you mind, once you walk over to the other post. :rolleyes: :D

[mjkacmom]

So, he got to the ship too early and had to wait (you would think he learned from a previous cruise he took), his fridge leaked, he missed the lifejacket demonstration at the muster drill (it's only about 15 seconds, easy to miss), room service took an hour (that's how long I expect it to take...), people put towels on chairs (like every single cruise ship and resort), spoons too big at breakfast, not enough hot water (never experienced that on a cruise or at a hotel - oh wait, yes, I have)... The folks on the Titanic had it better!

 

FYI - LOOSE rhymes with MOOSE

LOSE rhymes with CRUISE

[legion3]

Actually, Laszlo and Legion3, I really appreciate your taking the time and effort to post about your experiences, negatives and all. I have certainly taken heed and feel that now that I have been forewarned, I'll be able to adapt and have a better experience in January. Thanks for the "heads-up"!

 

No problem. We had a wonderful cruise and had a great time. We did splurge on this trip so that helped but still...the OP's ode does sound like an awful adventure. Mine was not like that but everyone did not have my experience, nor his.

[Aquahound]

You of all people may totally change you mind, once you walk over to the other post. :rolleyes: :D

 

My goodness. Yep.

[Cruising Latitude]

We just off Dawn recently. We are very easy going people and had a great time but I have to say many things the OP said are true. We certainly don't need any compensation but I hope NCL can address them for future cruisers.

 

A few things NCL might want to change are:

 

1. Embarkation/debarkation. We all know about it by now.

2. Meeting in the theater for an excursion only to be told to meet at the pier again. Waste of time.

3. The buffet setup. Omelet station is a constant and significant bottle neck every morning. Might want to consider moving it to an island.

4. Not a systematic issue, but our cabin steward was a bit lax. By day 2 we were out of shower gel and it was never refilled through the cruise. Only made up room twice despite we putting the "make up room" every day. No clean towels for a few nights. Worst part was we could never find him to bring up these things to him.

 

Mostly small things and hopefully NCL can improve. Lots of great things about the product it would be a pity to let small things damage it.

[kmurph22]

waiting 3.5 hours in the sun to board = legitimate complaint

 

pot of tea takes 1 hour with room service = I've got better things to do with my time than complain about something like that

 

soup soons for breakfast = Now you lost me. The Horror! Soup Spoons are MUCH TOO ROUND for my CEREAL!!!!!!

 

OP, you would get a much better reaction to your (numerous) negative posts if you focused on the truly problematic issues and didn't mingle in nitpicky ones. NCL has some things it should fix/address, no doubt. But when you worry about soup spoons, you dilute the whole point.

 

jmho

[Laszlo]

Meeting in the theater for an excursion only to be told to meet at the pier again. Waste of time.

 

Thank you, glad my wife and I were not the only one's who thought this

[david_sobe]

Everyone that knows me on these boards knows I am the last one to ever flame anyone for posting a negative experience about a cruise. But port issues cannot be blamed on a cruise line. If it was up to a cruise line, we would all board immediately but customs and security add extra burdens.

The Tampa port always delays for fog or other crazy reasons. You cant blame NCL for 4 hours to board at the port. They can only allow boarding when it is safe and cleared by Customs. If some snafu happens with weather or a security issue comes up, you cant blame the cruise line.

[SeaShark]

I'm not sure it is useful advice, but the terminal is not controlled by the ship and/or cruise line. The port authority and CBP are in control there. While I can understand not liking to have to wait, it doesn't make much sense to blame NCL for this...just as it didn't make sense to blame Celebrity when you had to wait in the terminal on your previous cruise.

 

 

Of course, you put 2000+ people on a ship and polite society dictates that some waiting your turn is to be expected. Based on the repeated complaints geared towards having to wait, perhaps a different vacation type where you could always be first and there would never be a line would be more in sync with your expectations. Its never a good idea to enter into a situation where past experience indicates your unhappiness.