My take on the “new NCL”

[Pacclady]

My husband and I just got off the Norwegian Sky. We had read about all the changes going on at NCL and weren’t sure what to expect. We had sailed NCL 5 times before so I guess our take might be appreciated by some. Here are some things we noticed:

 

-The food was a notch down from previous cruises. It wasn’t bad but it definitely had more of a chain restaurant taste. Just not great. We at in the Italian restaurant for one specialty meal and the red sauce tasted like Prego. That said, we still finished our plates.

-The crew was still fantastic. Even with the automatic 18% gratuity on everything, it didn’t lessen their desire to please us.

-There is a room service charge of $7.95 for anything beyond the old continental breakfast option. That was fine with us as all we ever ordered from room service was that, but we didn’t use it on this trip.

-We didn’t notice anyone being stopped for taking food from the restaurants. I did myself once, carried the plate across the ship.

-There were small cuts everywhere. Mostly small things but we noticed them. Like they won’t leave the syrup on the table at breakfast. They pour it on for you. No pen and paper in our cabin. No chocolates on the pillows at turndown. The drinks were almost always served in plastic cups. Every so often we’d get a glass cup but usually it was plastic. And this was also at the inside bars, nowhere near the pools. The pretzel rolls were not available all the time.

-The price of drinks has gone way up. $10.95 for a Tequila Sunrise? I thought that was a misprint at first. It’s possible because we were on the UBP, the bartender automatically put in the best tequila so he’d get the highest possible tip. That actually would make a lot of sense. Still, even the menu drinks seemed more expensive than I remembered. I’d be afraid of the bill if I didn’t have the UBP.

-I still don’t understand the whole “nickel and dime” complaint people give NCL. We were never once encouraged to pay for anything. We for what we wanted and didn’t get what we didn’t want. I would never use the phrase “nickel and dime” to describe any experience on any cruise I’ve ever been on.

-Overall we still had a great cruise. I’ve always been am NCL cheerleader. But I have to admit I am worried about all the changes. None of them affected this cruise directly but I did notice some differences. I used to pretty much only look at NCL when looking for a cruise but I think I will do more looking around and reading the fine print, just to see what else is there.

[mobu2015]

Thanks for posting this. We've never sailed NCL but have sailed several other lines and have been a bit perplexed with all of the posts regarding nickle and diming. This is very helpful in comparing our previous experiences with other cruiselines and tempering our expectations with our upcoming first cruise on NCL. I'm a bit disappointed to hear you found the good quality has decreased but since this will be our first NCL experience I guess we won't know what we will be missing! :)

[coscab]

Thanks for taking the time to let us know how your cruise went, glad the changes didn't impact you much, seems like other lines are making some of the changes also. We are sailing on RCCL in Jan. because we happen to know someone that will be playing in a band on that particular cruise, anxious to see how it compares to NCL.

[mark290]

What you described is pretty much the meaning of nickel and dime.

It doesn't mean your are being forced to buy something. It means things

that didn't cost money before now do or that they cost more now.

[kchiumento]

Thanks for taking the time to post. I am hoping we will be getting more reviews roll in now that these changes have been in effect a few weeks. It sounds encouraging to hear the actual results of the new dining restrictions and hopefully that will quiet down the "sky is falling"- gloom and doom people.

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[rvsullivan]

What you described is pretty much the meaning of nickel and dime.

It doesn't mean your are being forced to buy something. It means things

that didn't cost money before now do or that they cost more now.

 

Here's the definition of nickel and dime: " it refers simply to seemingly hidden ongoing expenses which, over time, add up to a large expense."

In day to day use, many small charges that you were not aware of or were pressured into paying. Over the course of time they add up to a large sum. By the OP's post, this was not the case it would seem.

[blan2]

Thank you for your post. I am looking forward to another NCL cruise next year.....there may be many more changes by then. ;

[hypercafe]

I am surprised about the food. All the FDR cheerleaders have said how the food will improve and how Frank is a foodie. The prices have gone up so "Frank, where is the beef"?

 

Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app

[mking8288]

I am surprised about the food. All the FDR cheerleaders have said how the food will improve and how Frank is a foodie. The prices have gone up so "Frank, where is the beef"?

Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app

Hmmm, you missed "their" talking points :D :rolleyes: To experience that, give them more time to finish making all the changes first (and, keep quiet about it all :p) - note the sarcasm & tongue-in-cheek double talk here - and you also ( check here ) need to be living here

 

Didn't I read the O'Sheehan menu has been changed, oops - "enhanced" so even the beef meatloaf entree selection is gone, imagine that for a moment - no more meatloaf, and the burgers are still free (there's your "beef" answer) - along with the infamous chicken pot pie (meow, had it in March - it was okay, nothing to go nuts over) - also gone, I believed.

 

Extended family & friends were on the Getaway last week; and, they had no major complaints - their hallways & corridors were clean to them (at least to the Haven guests, it seemed) - they didn't order Room Service but managed to keep the butler very busy with food (as they should ... since they paid for the C.A.S. upgrade to move up to Haven) They also got their beverages served in a plastic cup - that's fair, IMO - no preferential treatment over steerage. They ate in Ocean Blue one evening (extra costs) and NOT impressed with the selection, LeBistro to them was okay - CAS ended up wiping off many of their "billable" onboard charges at the end, so to them, not a big deal, yet. Most importantly, the two 6 years old and the 3 years old had a great time, kids club still free. Disclaimers, of course - food opinions are very, very subjective.

[SuiteTraveler]

We were on Getaway last week in a Haven Spa Suite. No plastic cups for any drinks. We had cocktails in The Haven bar and also in the bar across from La Cucina. I can only think the plastic cups were for outdoor bars or by the pool as we never saw any plastic cups, but we also didn't get drinks outside or by the pool. We were not nickel and dimed at all. I cannot think of even one surprise expense. It was a lovely cruise and our onboard account actually came in at the same amount we've paid on any other cruise in the last 15 years despite us using it in the Casino - which we've never done before. Food in Cagneys was outstanding, Le Bistro excellent, Moderno very good, Sushi greatly improved from fair on Epic to very good on Getaway, Haven Restaurant excellent. 2 excellent birthday cakes from Carlo's Bake Shop. I have no complaints about our cruise at all. It was a lovely experience and I plan to cruise NCL again as soon as possible.

Edited May 16, 2015 by SuiteTraveler

[coldflame]

-The food was a notch down from previous cruises. It wasn’t bad but it definitely had more of a chain restaurant taste. Just not great. We at in the Italian restaurant for one specialty meal and the red sauce tasted like Prego. That said, we still finished our plates.

 

 

It probably was Prego. We've been on galley tours several times, the foods and brands they use are pretty much what you can find in your local super market. From the sauce, to the pasta, to the flour, salt and everything in between. Nothing "fancy" or natural or organic or "local" or artisan. Plain old super market stuff.

[mking8288]

It probably was Prego ... Plain old super market stuff.

Ha, so it's not freshly made from raw ingredients of a better grade. I knew there was a reason for skipping the beef meatballs & spaghetti as an entree in the MDR this March (on the Breakaway.)

Well, I could deal with outsourced Pizza Hut or even Papa John's pizza, just not those from Domino's ... but, it seemed to be below those grades, and now at $5 charge for a 10" pie (limit of 2 per delivery ??), not a good value if you asked me.

[mark290]

Here's the definition of nickel and dime: " it refers simply to seemingly hidden ongoing expenses which, over time, add up to a large expense."

In day to day use, many small charges that you were not aware of or were pressured into paying. Over the course of time they add up to a large sum. By the OP's post, this was not the case it would seem.

 

OK, I'll play.

 

nick·el-and-dime (nĭk′əl-ən-dīm′) Informal

adj.

1. Involving or paying only a small amount of money: a nickel-and-dime job.

2. Minor; small-time: "a nickel-and-dime operation run out of a single borrowed room" (New York).

v. nick·el-and-dimed, nick·el-and-dim·ing, nick·el-and-dimes or nick·eled-and-dimed or nick·el·ing-and-dim·ing or nick·els-and-dimes

v.intr.

To spend very little money.

 

nick′el-and-dime′

 

adj., v. nick•el-and-dimed nick•eled-and-dimed, nick•el-and-dim•ing nick•el•ing-and-dim•ing. Informal. adj.

1. insignificant; trivial; petty.

 

Verb 1. nickel-and-dime - spend money frugally; spend as little as possible

penny-pinch

expend, spend, drop - pay out; "spend money"

 

2. nickel-and-dime - accumulate gradually; "she nickeled-and-dimed together a small house for her family"

scrape up, scrape, scratch, come up - gather (money or other resources) together over time; "She had scraped together enough money for college"; "they scratched a meager living"

 

Adj. 1. nickel-and-dime - of minor importance; "a nickel-and-dime operation run out of a single rented room"; "a small-time actor"

small-time

unimportant - not important; "a relatively unimportant feature of the system"; "the question seems unimportant"

 

2. nickel-and-dime - low-paying; "a nickel-and-dime job"

[newmexicoNita]

My husband and I just got off the Norwegian Sky. We had read about all the changes going on at NCL and weren’t sure what to expect. We had sailed NCL 5 times before so I guess our take might be appreciated by some. Here are some things we noticed:

 

-The food was a notch down from previous cruises. It wasn’t bad but it definitely had more of a chain restaurant taste. Just not great. We at in the Italian restaurant for one specialty meal and the red sauce tasted like Prego. That said, we still finished our plates.

-The crew was still fantastic. Even with the automatic 18% gratuity on everything, it didn’t lessen their desire to please us.

-There is a room service charge of $7.95 for anything beyond the old continental breakfast option. That was fine with us as all we ever ordered from room service was that, but we didn’t use it on this trip.

-We didn’t notice anyone being stopped for taking food from the restaurants. I did myself once, carried the plate across the ship.

-There were small cuts everywhere. Mostly small things but we noticed them. Like they won’t leave the syrup on the table at breakfast. They pour it on for you. No pen and paper in our cabin. No chocolates on the pillows at turndown. The drinks were almost always served in plastic cups. Every so often we’d get a glass cup but usually it was plastic. And this was also at the inside bars, nowhere near the pools. The pretzel rolls were not available all the time.

-The price of drinks has gone way up. $10.95 for a Tequila Sunrise? I thought that was a misprint at first. It’s possible because we were on the UBP, the bartender automatically put in the best tequila so he’d get the highest possible tip. That actually would make a lot of sense. Still, even the menu drinks seemed more expensive than I remembered. I’d be afraid of the bill if I didn’t have the UBP.

-I still don’t understand the whole “nickel and dime” complaint people give NCL. We were never once encouraged to pay for anything. We for what we wanted and didn’t get what we didn’t want. I would never use the phrase “nickel and dime” to describe any experience on any cruise I’ve ever been on.

-Overall we still had a great cruise. I’ve always been am NCL cheerleader. But I have to admit I am worried about all the changes. None of them affected this cruise directly but I did notice some differences. I used to pretty much only look at NCL when looking for a cruise but I think I will do more looking around and reading the fine print, just to see what else is there.

 

I am not going to comment on the cost of drinks except to say, overall they are still in line or less expensive than other lines. According to our travel agent, all lines have raised their prices. I will comment about the syrup, lack of pen and paper in cabin and the plastic cups. has to do with sanitation and trying to control the NORO Virus. I am glad they are doing that. We were on the Pearl just after the big NORO virus outbeak last month. We had the same restrictions plus a lot more. I give NCL credit for doing what they do to keep us healthy.

[jennmaybe]

I am not going to comment on the cost of drinks except to say, overall they are still in line or less expensive than other lines. According to our travel agent, all lines have raised their prices. I will comment about the syrup, lack of pen and paper in cabin and the plastic cups. has to do with sanitation and trying to control the NORO Virus. I am glad they are doing that. We were on the Pearl just after the big NORO virus outbeak last month. We had the same restrictions plus a lot more. I give NCL credit for doing what they do to keep us healthy.

 

Mmmm....we have never paid $10.95 for one drink before on RC, Carnival or Princess. The most we have ever paid was $8.95 (that includes gratuity) for a Miami Vice. Everything else we have ever drank was less than $8.95.

 

As far as Noro, if they really wanted to prevent it, they would make everyone wear plastic gloves when getting food from the buffet. Everyone touching the same handles? Yuck. Not us, we always use a napkin and then wash our hands. :p

[Granny DI]

Please stop the nickel and dime conversation. We get off the Breakaway tomorrow. We have the same cabin as last year. We ate in the same restaurants, and drank the same booze. We also used a lot of Internet.

Cabin is still awesome and booked the same one next year. Butler and cabin girl just as good as last year's. Food has been awesome. The Chef's Table was Amazing....3.5 hours of food and wine! My sangrias were cheaper this year$5.95. No increase in price for DH's scotch or wine.

I still have Meg's left on my plan. I NEVER have minutes left the last day of the cruise. The staff has been wonderful and the passengers have been a delight.

I saw people taking food to their rooms last night. I personally would never do it. There were no food police but a lot of passengers gave them the evil eye as it is not fun stepping over dirty dishes going to our cabins.

The best advice I can give you is to reserve your restaurants in advance. Everything has been sold out since Thursday night. We will eat in the Haven or Osheehans tonight.

[swedish weave]

Please stop the nickel and dime conversation. We get off the Breakaway tomorrow. We have the same cabin as last year. We ate in the same restaurants, and drank the same booze. We also used a lot of Internet.

Cabin is still awesome and booked the same one next year. Butler and cabin girl just as good as last year's. Food has been awesome. The Chef's Table was Amazing....3.5 hours of food and wine! My sangrias were cheaper this year$5.95. No increase in price for DH's scotch or wine.

I still have Meg's left on my plan. I NEVER have minutes left the last day of the cruise. The staff has been wonderful and the passengers have been a delight.

I saw people taking food to their rooms last night. I personally would never do it. There were no food police but a lot of passengers gave them the evil eye as it is not fun stepping over dirty dishes going to our cabins.

The best advice I can give you is to reserve your restaurants in advance. Everything has been sold out since Thursday night. We will eat in the Haven or Osheehans tonight.

 

We will stop with the nickel and dime stuff if you will stop with the dirty dishes stuff. Deal or no deal ??

[RuthlessBoss]

We will stop with the nickel and dime stuff if you will stop with the dirty dishes stuff. Deal or no deal ??

 

Those room service trays take up much more room than a dirty dish only. So. blame room service.

[russianmom]

Please stop the nickel and dime conversation.

 

The next nickel and dime talk will stop when the blind cheerleading stops

[DMH15]

The next nickel and dime talk will stop when the blind cheerleading stops

 

 

Cheerleaders are entitled to their opinions as much as the constant complainers. An intelligent person reads all and then makes up their own minds.

 

The cruising experience, (preferences, budgets, etc.), varies. So, it is important to give everyone a voice

[russianmom]

Cheerleaders are entitled to their opinions as much as the constant complainers. An intelligent person reads all and then makes up their own minds.

 

The cruising experience, (preferences, budgets, etc.), varies. So, it is important to give everyone a voice

 

That's my point. The cheerleaders have no more right to ask the complainers to stop complaining than the complainers have to ask the cheerleaders to stop cheering....

[kdzkatz]

We just got off the Jewel yesterday from a very enjoyable 9 day Alaska cruise. This was our 7th NCL cruise to Alaska in 8 years. We did enjoy the food on this cruise but we did see a step down on many dishes. The chicken pot pie was amazing last year and this year I ordered it once (my DW ordered it 2 more times during the cruise and it was the same, ok, but not great) The mozzarella sticks weren't as good as last year either. They were good but not great. Bread pudding is something we only eat when we cruise and we tried it twice on this cruise. It may have been the chefs recipe but it was a bunch of slices of bread laid in the pan and not the usual bread pudding we have camped out for on many previous cruises.

 

I was fine with the pizza in La Cucina but I would imagine many many people would have sent it back. It would have been ok for an inclusive item but not for a specialty restaurant. Tiramisu and cheesecake in La Cucina has less flavor so only had once during cruise. Our favorite dessert on the ship is in Moderno, the Coconut Flan. It was still very good but was a step down from what we received last year.

 

I don't mean to sound so negative. This was what we noticed in comparison to our previous cruises with NCL. The crew was wonderful and the officers seemed to mingle more than we had noticed on previous cruises.

 

I know they are in the process of changes and things are far from where they want them to be. I hope their end goal will be in a positive direction for passengers and not just for NCL's bottom line. We are booked for next year and we are curious about how the changes are affecting the NCL experience by then.

 

Our total experience on this cruise did put it on top as our favorite cruise to Alaska. The areas that were a step down were a small step in our book. All the other wonderful things we experienced and the great people we met more than made up for them. It was a special cruise :D:D

Edited May 17, 2015 by kdzkatz

[Tiggertastic]

Thanks to all of you for the updates and your experience. Same here last month on Gem, never felt Nickel and dimed

[Medtech2]

Food is SO subjective. Everyone seems to rave about that pot pie and I ordered it once and it was a watery tasteless blech to me. Chocolates on the pillow? Weren't they just those little rectangles? Not a fan. Syrup? Don't care but I sure don't want anyone pouring it on for me. My husband cannot tell the difference between butter and margarine or canned biscuits and real ones. I cannot fathom how he is that taste blind and yet most syrups taste the same to me. Of course if someone would point me to an actual real nationally available brand I'll give it a try, lol.

 

We are not cruising until February but cutbacks I would be most concerned about would be cleanliness and service. I don't feel the need to make the crew my friend but I do expect a smile and a greeting. I also want to enjoy food I would not make at home, so not a fan of meatloaf, spaghetti, sandwiches etc.

 

I have done the math comparing cruising to us using our timeshare points and paying for food and entertainment and the cruise usually wins, as long as we are in a balcony or below.

 

I do love to read everyone's take on their cruise experiences, though. Somewhere between the extremes of "I hated it" and "I loved it" is the truth. Can't wait for February!

[toyotaford]

We just got off the Jewel yesterday from a very enjoyable 9 day Alaska cruise. This was our 7th NCL cruise to Alaska in 8 years. We did enjoy the food on this cruise but we did see a step down on many dishes. The chicken pot pie was amazing last year and this year I ordered it once (my DW ordered it 2 more times during the cruise and it was the same, ok, but not great) The mozzarella sticks weren't as good as last year either. They were good but not great. Bread pudding is something we only eat when we cruise and we tried it twice on this cruise. It may have been the chefs recipe but it was a bunch of slices of bread laid in the pan and not the usual bread pudding we have camped out for on many previous cruises.

 

I was fine with the pizza in La Cucina but I would imagine many many people would have sent it back. It would have been ok for an inclusive item but not for a specialty restaurant. Tiramisu and cheesecake in La Cucina has less flavor so only had once during cruise. Our favorite dessert on the ship is in Moderno, the Coconut Flan. It was still very good but was a step down from what we received last year.

 

I don't mean to sound so negative. This was what we noticed in comparison to our previous cruises with NCL. The crew was wonderful and the officers seemed to mingle more than we had noticed on previous cruises.

 

I know they are in the process of changes and things are far from where they want them to be. I hope their end goal will be in a positive direction for passengers and not just for NCL's bottom line. We are booked for next year and we are curious about how the changes are affecting the NCL experience by then.

 

Our total experience on this cruise did put it on top as our favorite cruise to Alaska. The areas that were a step down were a small step in our book. All the other wonderful things we experienced and the great people we met more than made up for them. It was a special cruise :D:D

 

We were on the Jewel right before you for the 19 day Panama Canal. I do believe the officers were out and about more so than on any cruise we have been on. We even saw the hotel director swiping people back on the boat one day. The whole crew was friendly and helpful as they always are. We didn't notice any changes other than the higher DSC and the 18% gratuity at the specialty restaurant. We had the UDP and the 18% gratuity caused some confusion. It was printed on each of our invoices that an 18% gratuity would be added. We realized after several days that the gratuity wasn't showing up on our bill. We had assumed it would. We saw one of our waiters from Cagney's the next morning at breakfast. We asked him if they were in fact getting additional tips. He looked kind of uncomfortable and finally said, "We are supposed to say yes." It was just confusing. After that we started tipping the waiters directly. No additional tips ever showed up on our bill.