Suggestions to NCL on how to enhance/improve cruise experirence

[emcelh]

Get rid of Pepsi and carry coke products like most other cruise lines do.

 

Some people prefer Pepsi products though.

[Medtech2]

My number one suggestion would be to make Charleston a home port. Actually, approach the town of Mount Pleasant across the Cooper River. Then you won't be fighting the anti cruiseship faction in downtown Charleston or Carnival. But seriously, now that DH and I have the cruise bug we would be all over this!

 

Second, and I have actually written this on comment cards, make all serveware on GSC biodegradable. I saw a cup in too deep of water to retrieve. I am hoping this is already being done.

 

Third, make a class of balcony, clustered together as BNS, for nonsmoking. Several decks up and down and several cabins wide. I bet there would be a rush to book the ones dead center!

 

Glass in the casino to stop smoke wafting!

 

Take away the corkage fee for 2 bottles of wine.

 

Have some aspartame-free diet soda options.

 

All gym classes should be free but have prior sign ups. You could then charge for no shows, to prevent abuse.

 

Provide more seating in atriums that have events or movies in them.

 

Have a free Bingo for trinkets. I actually like to play but it is way too expensive.

 

The Epic had a self serve coffee station in the atrium with cocoa, cinnamon, etc, stir ins. Have that on all ships.

 

On the Waterfront ships have very limited lunch from all the specialty restaurants, not just Ocean Blue.

 

Add regular prime time channels to the TV.

 

Provide more comfortable chairs in some of the areas. I am guessing the straightbacked hard wood chairs in places like Fat Cats are to keep people from lingering...

[mjkacmom]

Ability to buy spa pass, posh pass online.

 

The problem is supply and demand. I can see spa passes - they are available to pretty much anyone who wants them on the first day. However, the posh passes would sell out before most folks even booked their cruise.

[SissasMomE]

The problem is supply and demand. I can see spa passes - they are available to pretty much anyone who wants them on the first day. However, the posh passes would sell out before most folks even booked their cruise.

 

Posh passes are not always available. It depends on how many suites are sailing. Even so, it's only a handful ... unlike Vibe.

[Jenjer]

Enforce the pool rules. No chair hogs :)

 

We are early risers. We eat go to the pool around 7ish and no one is there but the chairs are covered in stuff. Annoys me very much.

 

I could drop my stuff off at 6 am but choose to follow the rules and get screwed in the process.:cool:

 

Have the pool monitor have stickers check every 30 min if the stuff has not been moved or the chair occupied then take it to a open "left behind" item area.

 

 

I love the idea of 1/2 the ship nonsmoking balcony's. Luckily we have never had a issue but a heavy smoker would defiantly be a problem for me. We usually book forward cabins to help.

[cruzsnooze]

Ban smoking in all but a few outdoor spaces.

All other cruise lines have restricted smoking on balconies.

This is a major health issue not just an arbitrary thing.

NCL doesn't value the health or comfort of their non smoking majority.

[peg013]

The problem is supply and demand. I can see spa passes - they are available to pretty much anyone who wants them on the first day. However, the posh passes would sell out before most folks even booked their cruise.

 

Would be the same as the cabanas on GSC. Book early or chance getting left out.

[Twiz]

Have the pool monitor have stickers check every 30 min if the stuff has not been moved or the chair occupied then take it to a open "left behind" item area.

 

 

They did this on the Sun in Feb because of all the complaints and a few confrontations , I only saw it 2 days out of the 11 were on the Sun....I am not one to save myself a chair but after 2 times of not getting a chair I am guilty of saving one too, I do use mine for the entire day tho !!!

Edited April 23, 2014 by Twiz

[MMMD]

If I said it once I said it a thousand times

My PCC told me NCL does not offer the best prices when booking

He actually told me to look at a large travel website or one of those bulk retailers but I don't think I can say the name

He was right the cabin I was looking at was cheaper every where except NCL

I found that ludicrous

Shame on NCL

 

This wasn't the case for me when I just booked my Breakaway cruise.

 

I first called my PCC who offered a $200 OBC for an S6. I knew from checking the NCL site for a few weeks that I could get a better deal.

 

I tried a few of those travel sites, the S6 cabin prices were the same & their 'offers' varied, but none were as good as the first $200 OBC my PCC offered.

 

One Sunday I checked the NCL site again & called NCL directly when I saw an OBC of $300 for an S6.

What they offered was even better. I received a $400 OBC, a reduced deposit & a complimentary anniversary cake/chocolate covered strawberries/wine of our choice.

 

For me it shows that in the future, I'll bypass my PCC (who I still haven't heard from) & stick with calling NCL directly.

[newmexicoNita]

Enforce the pool rules. No chair hogs :)

 

We are early risers. We eat go to the pool around 7ish and no one is there but the chairs are covered in stuff. Annoys me very much.

 

I could drop my stuff off at 6 am but choose to follow the rules and get screwed in the process.:cool:

 

Have the pool monitor have stickers check every 30 min if the stuff has not been moved or the chair occupied then take it to a open "left behind" item area.

 

 

I love the idea of 1/2 the ship nonsmoking balcony's. Luckily we have never had a issue but a heavy smoker would defiantly be a problem for me. We usually book forward cabins to help.

I like the idea of 1/2 being non smoking as well. Like you, we have never had a problem and I can't count the number of times we have had balcony cabins. I can't believe we have never had smokers next to us, above of below us. The 1/2 ship non smoking is a lot fairer than the suggestion someone made to almost eliminate smoking altogether. The time will come when no one will smoke I hope, but for now, we all have to find a way to live together and there is no way non smokers should think they should be totally in charge.

[kcwingwalker]

Ban smoking in all but a few outdoor spaces.

All other cruise lines have restricted smoking on balconies.

This is a major health issue not just an arbitrary thing.

NCL doesn't value the health or comfort of their non smoking majority.

 

The last time I checked Carnival still allowed smoking on the balconies.

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

That health form they make you fill out after you go through security.

They should have that available when you download your eDocs so you can fill it out on your way to the port.

 

Harriet

 

This is a good one too!

 

The 4 of us are always caught scrambling to find a pen or a place to fill out the form while we're trying to stay in line to check in!

 

Would be much better to print it out at home and fill it in before we get to the port!

 

GOOD CALL, HARRIET!

[time2cruise1]

This is a good one too!

 

The 4 of us are always caught scrambling to find a pen or a place to fill out the form while we're trying to stay in line to check in!

 

Would be much better to print it out at home and fill it in before we get to the port!

 

GOOD CALL, HARRIET!

 

They could even have it pre-filled out. Everyone just checks no to every question anyway. It is for the most part useless. :eek:

[hbooden]

Ban smoking in all but a few outdoor spaces.

 

All other cruise lines have restricted smoking on balconies.

 

This is a major health issue not just an arbitrary thing.

 

NCL doesn't value the health or comfort of their non smoking majority.

 

 

Without this down grading into the all dreaded smoking debate...one of the reasons I booked ncl vs someone else is their smoking policy. I am guessing I am not the only smoker who checked to see if I could smoke on my balcony before booking;)

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[pokerpro5]

NCL needs:

 

- More organized check-in/embarkation procedure

 

- Pizzeria making custom pizzas (most other mid-level lines have this)

 

- Self-service laundry (this is my biggest complaint about NCL)

 

- Balcony rooms divided into "smoking" and "non smoking" sections

 

- Longer/more convenient/more consistent buffet hours

 

- Fix Moderno so it is actually more like Fogo de Chao. Currently it is difficult to get extra portions of anything.

 

- Change tender ticket policy. Either make it a random lottery (best) or distribute the tickets in the evening when nobody has to wake up ridiculously early to get the good ones. I showed up at 6:55am for the 7am distribution, and they had already opened 30 minutes early and given away all the good spots.

 

- Eliminate ridiculous after-hours room service charge, as well as the pizza room service charge

 

- Give people the ability to buy kid's specialty restaurant reservations in advance without having to pay adult rates and get credited back later

 

- Stop taking over 50% house rake on blackjack tournament. 25-30% is more than enough.

Edited April 23, 2014 by pokerpro5

[TifffanyD]

I wish they did all embarkations like they do for PoA. They had musicians, dancers, a craftsman, etc entertaining us while we waited for boarding. It was great!

[hbooden]

NCL needs:

 

- More organized check-in/embarkation procedure

 

- Pizzeria making custom pizzas (most other mid-level lines have this)

 

- Self-service laundry (this is my biggest complaint about NCL)

 

- Balcony rooms divided into "smoking" and "non smoking" sections

 

- Longer/more convenient/more consistent buffet hours

 

- Fix Moderno so it is actually more like Fogo de Chao. Currently it is difficult to get extra portions of anything.

 

- Change tender ticket policy. Either make it a random lottery (best) or distribute the tickets in the evening when nobody has to wake up ridiculously early to get the good ones. I showed up at 6:55am for the 7am distribution, and they had already opened 30 minutes early and given away all the good spots.

 

- Eliminate ridiculous after-hours room service charge, as well as the pizza room service charge

 

- Give people the ability to buy kid's specialty restaurant reservations in advance without having to pay adult rates and get credited back later

 

- Stop taking over 50% house rake on blackjack tournament. 25-30% is more than enough.

 

 

Sorry to quote all but "like!"

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[barnacle_boy]

One of NCL's board members used to be a senior executive at PepsiCo. Probably just a coincidence, but maybe not :eek: Better get used to Pepsi onboard :rolleyes:

[kcwingwalker]

One of NCL's board members used to be a senior executive at PepsiCo. Probably just a coincidence, but maybe not :eek: Better get used to Pepsi onboard :rolleyes:

 

Ya think:eek:

[nanagirl]

I am going to ignore the nay-sayers and stick with the OP: A Coffee Card available for purchase would be great. I wonder how much revenue they get from the Atrium Cafe? How much would their sale revenue increase with a coffee card with a set price for a set number of coffee drinks? Bottom line' date=' I bet MANY more people would buy and net profit would increase. Worth a try, NCL?????

 

Also, in the pre-boarding suite area they could have sampling plates of the afternoon suite treats. You could then better decide and let the butler know what you would like to be delivered each afternoon. That as opposed to him figuring out mid-week what you were eating and just bring that. Sometimes people who are new to the suites have no idea what is available so don't ask. They could be to taste or just to view. They could have cards to fill in what you would like to be delivered, with your name and cabin, that could then be passed to the butler. This would 1) give you what you like/want 2) save NCL $ on less wasted food that is not eaten 3) truly enhance the suite experience 4) Increase your desire to tip the butler. Who wouldn't win in this situation???!!!

 

[/size']

Great idea!

[perkydebrajean]

I'm another one for a Coffee Card. My husband doesn't drink alcohol but drinks flavored coffees from the time he wakes up until he goes to bed.

 

I would love to have an NCL ship in Charleston!

[NLH Arizona]

I also have asthma. It is really a sad day when I want to be out on my balcony and can't because someone else is smoking.

 

If NCL decides to do something like this, please PLEASE put the non-smoking cabins forward of or below the smoking ones. Or at least consult SOME kind of engineer who can show you what direction smoke moves in. Back in the days before all restaurants became non-smoking, I would have to evaluate each restaurant to see if the non-smoking areas actually had clear air... because nobody bothered to figure out how smoke moves around in the room. A port/starboard thing would probably be the most effective but hey, maybe something else will work.

I would wonder how putting smokers on one floor or the other or on one side of the ship or the other, would be effective in solving the problem logically without causing more problems for them. Being a non-smoker, I certainly wouldn't book one of the cabins in a smoking section, if the non-smoking side was all booked, so what does NCL do with the empty cabins, in that the smoking population is a small percentage of the overall cruisers, if non-smokers won't want to be near them. Not to mention, they would probably have more complaints because someone only wanted that cabin and now it is smoking or I wanted that side of the ship and now it is smoking.

 

I don't think there is a cost effective solution for NCL other than what they are currently doing.

Edited April 24, 2014 by NLH Arizona

[Educators2]

We always ask about a coffee card. It would be great. Had it once on the Jewel.

 

I would love enrichment activities, guest speakers, self-improvement, etc. have enjoyed computer classes, water color and other classes on other lines.

[hpecorari]

Please everyone......

Let's not make this thread into a 'smoking' battle.

 

Suggestions were made re: smoking.

 

That's enough, please.

 

Harriet

[NLH Arizona]

Please everyone......

Let's not make this thread into a 'smoking' battle.

 

Suggestions were made re: smoking.

 

That's enough, please.

 

Harriet

No one is making it a smoking battle, as you say, just commenting on a post as to the logistics of the suggestion.

 

That's enough, please.

Edited April 24, 2014 by NLH Arizona