How has NCL changed in the past 8 years

[letscruz17]

Hi everyone,

 

Our last NCL cruise was on the Pride of Hawaii in 2006 great itinerary and beautiful ship but the staff and service wasnt the best, nothing compared to how great the staff was on the Dawn. The Dawn was our favorite cruise. We are returning to NCL on the Breakaway in October, what changes have taken place on NCL in the past 8 years?

[garycarla]

Hi everyone,

 

Our last NCL cruise was on the Pride of Hawaii in 2006 great itinerary and beautiful ship but the staff and service wasnt the best, nothing compared to how great the staff was on the Dawn. The Dawn was our favorite cruise. We are returning to NCL on the Breakaway in October, what changes have taken place on NCL in the past 8 years?

 

You have covered a very WIDE range of ships at NCL. Hawaii ships were very challenged back then - American crew, etc.

 

Breakaway is very new, and much bigger.

 

Dawn is right in the middle, and most typical of NCL.

 

Changes? Based on our travels, not much from what you experienced on the Dawn. The others? Hard to say.

[SissasMomE]

Hi everyone,

 

Our last NCL cruise was on the Pride of Hawaii in 2006 great itinerary and beautiful ship but the staff and service wasnt the best, nothing compared to how great the staff was on the Dawn. The Dawn was our favorite cruise. We are returning to NCL on the Breakaway in October, what changes have taken place on NCL in the past 8 years?

 

The welcome aboard glass of champagne. Very classy and probably cost them minimal money. It's a shame they do not do that anymore.

[TrumpyNor]

Hi everyone,

 

Our last NCL cruise was on the Pride of Hawaii in 2006 great itinerary and beautiful ship but the staff and service wasnt the best, nothing compared to how great the staff was on the Dawn. The Dawn was our favorite cruise. We are returning to NCL on the Breakaway in October, what changes have taken place on NCL in the past 8 years?

 

We have done 16 NCL cruises since 2003, and our least favorite one was the Pride of Aloha Hawaiian cruise in 2006 - for the same reasons you are stating. Actually the service was terrible and the crew very rude (but we still had a great cruise, because of the itinerary) - but we didn't give up on NCL because of one bad experience, and we have been happy ever since....! except two cruises on the Epic that we did NOT enjoy - but that was for very subjective reasons, we just found the ship to be too large for our taste. And also that because of the large amount of passengers (and therefore large amount of crew) on board, it was rare to meet anybody "accidentely" twice during a 7 day cruise (both passengers AND crew). But other than that, we have been very happy with the rest of our NCL cruises - the personal favorite being the Jewel class ships.

 

I love the freestyle cruising concept, and we actually have most of our dinners in one of the specialty restaurants on board - and my honest opinion is that the meals they serve in the MDR's now is good, but NOT as great as it used to be 6-7 years ago (or more). And I am not talking about before they started the specialty restaurants - our first NCL cruise was also on the Dawn, and that ship was actually the first ship specially designed for the Freestyle Cruising concept (at least that is how I have understood it....).

Edited July 13, 2014 by TrumpyNor

[Crusinwithfamily]

The biggest change in NCL over the past 8 years has been the food in the main dining rooms. Two simple examples...they no longer offer Shrimp Cocktails or Creme Brûlée. These items are only in the up-charge restaurants. Many of the desserts are gelatin based and just aren't as high a quality. We just retuned from the GEM to the Bahamas and have a wonderful time. Crew was amazing and the ship was beautifully maintained. Cabins are small, but that is no change.

 

We did the Breakaway in November and hated it. Too big, too tight and too many up-charge restaurants.

 

Finally, I believe the shows have suffered as a result of budget cuts. We'll continue to cruise and have a great time. It's still a good value if you don't pay retail on the cabins.

 

Hope this helps.

[karen327]

No more cold fruit soup in the dining rooms either. And I hear they no longer offer the lobster tails in the main dining rooms. Don't have to take your life jacket with you to munster drill. I think the fresh fruit selection use to be much better at the buffet.

[david_sobe]

The welcome aboard glass of champagne. Very classy and probably cost them minimal money. It's a shame they do not do that anymore.

You beat me to the punch :)

Took the words right out of my mouth :eek:

 

Stepping on board a cruise ship is quite the high and rush. The be handed a glass of bubbly just was WOW. So simple but so classy!

Edited July 14, 2014 by david_sobe

[Planmaam]

You beat me to the punch :)

Took the words right out of my mouth :eek:

 

Stepping on board a cruise ship is quite the high and rush. The be handed a glass of bubbly just was WOW. So simple but so classy!

 

I third this. Does anyone know why it was discontinued ?

[more cruises]

Wasn't that part of their 2.0 upgrades? Most of those amenities are gone. I loved the champagne but didn't care one way or the other about the fruit bowl in the room, the fresh flowers and the coffee pots. Pillow chocolates - aren't they part of the loyalty program now?

[Azure Moon]

more cruises, I think you are correct about the chocolates being part of loyalty program (Latitudes).

 

*****

 

I agree with all of you who liked, and miss, the champagne welcome. I still think they threw out the baby with the bathwater on that one.

 

*****

 

So many years, so many changes...

 

Loyalty program (Latitudes) has undergone some changes.

 

You can call the main phone number to order alcohol for your cabin, rather than going through the group event coordinator.

 

Ship pins for past guests went away, but are back - with new looks. Now they are of the ship's hull art.

 

Lobster may be a thing of the past...or maybe not :confused:. Seems pieces of and thumbnail specimens are still being sighted.

 

Ships got bigger.

 

New specialty restaurants. Mexican one is gone. Churriscaria (sp?) is in.

 

Jean Ann Ryan production is out, Norwegian's entertainment department is in.

 

Bingo costs more :eek:.

 

Slides are all the rage - for kids and adults!

 

Walk the plank is not just a saying anymore. :D

 

Sadly for those of us who loved them, Spinnaker Lounges were removed from a couple of ships. One, maybe both, now have a windowless cave called Spinnaker. It's just not the same :(.

 

Self-serve laundry rooms are gone. Now there is a special price sale day for a bag of laundry that you send out for the crew to launder for you.

 

The Norwegian officers, crew, and staff, in my opinion, are still the best there is! We lucked out with the crew we had during our 2007 Pride of Hawaii cruise in Hawaii. We found them to be very good to excellent :cool:

 

Welcome back to NCL, who now wants to go by Norwegian. For me, NCL seems more endearing - kind of like a nickname of a loved one.

Edited July 14, 2014 by Azure Moon

[fishin' musician]

Did they even do the welcome aboard champagne 8 years ago? I recall it being offered during a relatively short window (maybe 2 years?) and I'm guessing it was after the OP last sailed.

 

It was a short window, but not as short as the free drinks in the casino.

Edited July 14, 2014 by fishin' musician

[Beaver1975]

I third this. Does anyone know why it was discontinued ?

 

Could it have been the hundreds of glasses sitting around that people did not drink?;)

[mizLORInj]

Yes, being handed the glass of bubbly (however cheap it was) when we boarded our first NCL ship, the Gem in 2009, was very nice. Don't remember the last time I received it on a Norwegian ship--it's been years.

Celebrity still does this if I recall correctly from last year.

 

I figure all cruiselines have had cutbacks which I just have to deal with since I love to cruise! :p

Edited July 14, 2014 by mizlorinj

[TrumpyNor]

The NCL 2.0 campaign was launched in March 2008, and it might have lasted a year or two....? Here is a link to the press release regarding NCL 2.0 - and even though I have done around 10 NCL cruises since March 2008, there are quite many items on that list that I can absolutely NOT remember to have ever received on board..... But I DO remember the bubbly on embarkation... :P

 

http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/pressroom/pressRelease.html?storyCode=PR_031208_Freestyle2.0

Edited July 14, 2014 by TrumpyNor

[Parr1sh]

We haven't been on NCL in a while, but last time we did, it was starting to feel as if every time you turned around there was a hand out asking for money. I felt like they were trying to nickel and dime you for everything. I like the freestyle dining, but just couldn't shake that feeling. Maybe we'll try them again in the future?

[Hikini]

I third this. Does anyone know why it was discontinued ?

 

My guess is that there was so much waste. We always saw so many full or half full glasses left on the garbage cans in the elevator lobbies, along the hallways on deck 7, etc. It was a real shame. Not to mention unsightly and messy.

[Hikini]

To answer the OP's original question - we have cruised with NCL since 2003 and there have been some small changes along the way.

 

No Andes mints (or other candies) left on the pillows at night. (However if you request them from your butler or room steward they will usually give you some.)

 

The lunch menu in the MDR's used to change every day and now it is the same every day. Which is fine with me because it gives you a chance to try everything throughout your cruise, however for the real picky eaters, they may find less and less they want to eat.

 

We have no complaints about the small changes we've seen. And I know there are more but right now I'm not remembering them.

[happy cruzin]

....and now they seem to be limiting smoking!

[luvtheships]

Could it have been the hundreds of glasses sitting around that people did not drink?;)

 

Serving a sparkling cider would have saved that problem. Lol

 

 

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