Just off the NCL Star May never sail NCL again

[bitsey66]

We just got off the star yesterday, and we're done with NCL for the time being too.

 

45+ minutes in line for 1 drink is insane. I couldn't believe it. Every excursion, elevator ride, time at dinner all anyone talked about to each other was the horrible service. Rude bartenders (mostly), rude waiters (mostly). Shout out to Horlicks in O'Sheehan's bar who we named our vacation hero for the prompt, friendly bar service. He really impressed us and was happy to recommend drinks and actually seemed to care about quick service.

 

We couldn't believe how rude the servers were at some of the restaurants for basic questions, and seemed almost bothered to have to be serving us. We had a wonderful experience with Samuel in Teppenyaki/ Noodles as our server though. We tipped him $15! He was a really fabulous, personable guy. Sadly, he seemed to be one of the only ones.

 

We were in the elevator with the cruise director and every single person on the elevator was complaining to him about the terrible, terrible service.

 

 

 

We just got off the Star this morning! Not much has changed! This was our first NCL cruise also and definitely did NOT meet our expectations as our past Princess cruises were beyond our expectations. HOWEVER, we don't go looking for problems or nit pick every little detail and we (along with the rest of our group of 25+ people) had a fabulous vacation! As 2 of the group, our complaints were the very slow service in general, especially the bar lines. Pretty non existent wait staff at the pool most of the trip except the last day, all of the MDR food was dried out or over cooked and we personally did not care for most of the menus. The bartenders in 5'o'clock somewhere were just PLAIN RUDE. (In fact, one of our group will be filing a formal complaint), one of the bars not having products available for the drink of the day, ALL DAY (don't advertise it if you don't have it)! Our group plans dinners together and one of our ladies organizes all the details & makes reservations so the MDRs can accommodate us instead of us just showing up. Last night was no exception and they acted like they had no idea what to do with a group of 16 & were pi$$ed of that we wanted seated together. My husbands menu was different than everyone else's and when he went to order, the waiter had a deer in the headlights look and pretty much snatched it from him and told him "no, you can't have that!". That is just our complaints. Now, some of our group had other problems. One of the girls encountered problems at guest service were she basically was told they couldn't help her, one man was told "he could be nicer" as the staff continued to argue with him (just poor BASIC CUSTOMER SERVICE).

Along with bad, comes good. We were pleased with our cabin steward. Our cabin was kept clean and make up & turn down service was prompt everyday. I have 2 simple requests (full ice bucket and 3 bath towels daily) and I asked once and my request was fulfilled each day. Cagneys was delicious, although not as outstanding as Princesses steakhouse, but still delicious. Service was decent as well. We did show up 30 minutes earlier than our reservation, but told the host it was no problem if we had to wait as we knew they're busy and we are early. He had us seated within 10-15 minutes which was very nice. Most of the shows we caught were fabulous! Surprisingly, embarkation was handled well, disembarkation was typical, nothing out of the ordinary. We loved the Java Cafes coffees, and overall mostly everyone was pleasant to us.

As I stated previously we travel annually with a very large group and can tend to be a little rowdy at times but any of us have no problem showing our appreciation with something extra to those who give us excellent customer service! Our demands are pretty simple and reasonable. Good basic customer service is expected no matter if we are on vacation or not!

Some of our group have sailed NCL many times in the past and had wonderful experiences. This being our first time, we've decided NCL deserves a 2nd chance and did a next cruise deposit for next October on Escape with our group!

[samiam0403]

I don't doubt you were told that but that's strange as they have been doing that for at least two years to my knowledge, as we did it in 2013,

 

Actually you could book Tampa round trip, Cozumel round trip, Tampa to Cozumel or Cozumel to Tampa with a stay at both ends.

 

Why choose now to kick off?

 

Sorry, I guess I didn't clarify that my experience WAS 2 years ago. I had quoted another poster who relayed problems from that port around the same time we did. I may not post a ton here, but I read fanatically on multiple boards, and have sailed a decent amount - I've not experienced or read about as many delays as I have/do from the port of Tampa. That's all. :)

[janymac]

Don't stress, you will have a great cruise....just pack your patience and if they give you a time go then not early!!

We have sailed out of Tampa many times and you may have to wait a few minutes but it has to do with the Port personnel as this was probably the first NCL ship back in for the season....it is not NCL but the one's who say they will not sail again make me happy as that is one more cranky person I will not have to listen to...sorry

janymac:p

 

Do any of you recall who the H.D. And the Concierge were? Does not give we future Star cruisers a warm feeling. So sad for your experience.

[janymac]

It will be great....I think this is the first cruise out of Tampa for the season..always a bit rough...it will be fine..

Have an awesome time, love the Star

janymac:p

 

 

Did I say I was going to cancel??????? We will be on the cruise, trust me. We have the Garden Villa booked and we are going to enjoy!!!!!!:D

[tiggerfan616]

BLAH BLAH SOS DD

How can you be charged for bottled water when you pay for Ultimate Premium beverage package???

 

This was our 1st and LAST cruise on NCL. NCL need to take lesson from Royal how to run a cruise line as far as passenger service. You NEVER hear servers talking in their native language in Royal EVERYTHING is in english. This cruise totally sucked The wear and condition of carpet in public areas was terrible. Lastly even the piano player was 2nd rate missing notes and words.

BEWARE

 

Maybe you should have read the terms for the Ultimate Beverage Package, they are easily found on the NCL Home Page, and actually I copied it for you

The Ultimate Beverage Package does not include room service, package sales, ship specific promotions or beer buckets, designated Super Premium brands (subject to change), bottled wine, mini bar purchases, bottled water

 

Next week we are boarding the Star for our 3rd cruise with the UBP, other 2 were on the Breakaway, and we have never had a problem getting a drink at any bar.

What I really find interesting is the fact that in years past people were complaining about how they felt hounded on the pool decks with servers for drinks, now that they aren't being hounded that's a problem too.

 

Have all my cruises been perfect no, in fact our worst was the Sky and we have never sailed her again, nor do I plan to but others love it. It's all a matter of opinion and NCL isn't for every cruiser but we love it. I've always addressed in writing upon my return any issues we have had and NCL has always responded and done right by me.

 

I leave on the Star next Sunday and cant wait to get onboard, 7 days of no cooking or cleaning!

[janymac]

Have fun Denise, is everyone going?

janymac:p

 

Maybe you should have read the terms for the Ultimate Beverage Package, they are easily found on the NCL Home Page, and actually I copied it for you

The Ultimate Beverage Package does not include room service, package sales, ship specific promotions or beer buckets, designated Super Premium brands (subject to change), bottled wine, mini bar purchases, bottled water

 

Next week we are boarding the Star for our 3rd cruise with the UBP, other 2 were on the Breakaway, and we have never had a problem getting a drink at any bar.

What I really find interesting is the fact that in years past people were complaining about how they felt hounded on the pool decks with servers for drinks, now that they aren't being hounded that's a problem too.

 

Have all my cruises been perfect no, in fact our worst was the Sky and we have never sailed her again, nor do I plan to but others love it. It's all a matter of opinion and NCL isn't for every cruiser but we love it. I've always addressed in writing upon my return any issues we have had and NCL has always responded and done right by me.

 

I leave on the Star next Sunday and cant wait to get onboard, 7 days of no cooking or cleaning!

[phissy]

Our experience was very similar to ma y who have already posted. Our experience on the Star (suite) was so bad, we cancelled our Baltic cruise (also Star) and also Suite. With all the recent changes, we are looking into other cruise lines. We are Platinum with NCL , but the last cruise was really bad. The Hotel Director confirmed that we had every right to be unhappy. He offered us dinner at Cagney's as an apology for such bad service.

Hope NCL can get their act together and figure out what cruisers want and,not what Del Rio wants.

[tjt87]

Sorry, I guess I didn't clarify that my experience WAS 2 years ago. I had quoted another poster who relayed problems from that port around the same time we did. I may not post a ton here, but I read fanatically on multiple boards, and have sailed a decent amount - I've not experienced or read about as many delays as I have/do from the port of Tampa. That's all. :)

 

Ahhh! That explains it:D

[Jay Sam]

Sorry for all the problems experienced on Star. Most likely more the exception than the rule. We took Star on a cruise to nowhere and it was nice. We did have a couple glitches in that our key cards didn't work twice. And that was on a 2 day cruise. We weren't the only ones. Maybe a 100 people were down at guest services on the 2nd night getting new key cards.

 

Star is ok, but I will say I am glad we are getting Jade here in Tampa next year. I have heard a much nicer ship.

Edited November 9, 2015 by Jay Sam
addition

[mking8288]

Let me take a quick spin on this one - we sailed the Star twice, a long time ago and clearly, times have changed and so forth, whether the recently reports are the exceptions or the new "norm" - these aren't good indicators for the 1% on CC (haven't look at feedbacks from other social media or online sites, yet) Isn't there another discussion thread about negative reviews on the Breakaway lately too ?

 

There are logical explanation for unhappy customers (cruise passengers) :D - whether it's with getting their free drinks or what not, or not getting off the ship quickly (which are often beyond the control of the cruiseline) ;)

 

There are logical explanation for unhappy staff and crew members :p - the sevice team. etc. and there are subtle ways of expressing it, directly and indirectly. Perhaps, the teams are discovering that they aren't getting their share of the increased DSC and gratuities, etc.

 

Unhappy customers and unhappy crew together is not a good mix, and, if senior management feels indifferent and seen the rest as captive audience while singing something else :mad: - well .... :o Perhaps, it's a sad reflection of the current corporate culture and priorities in running the business. Who's upset ? Consumers have choices, remember - do the right thing and be happy.

[Albert Bell]

We are sailing on the NCL Star next year and hoping things are fixed by then.

 

I wonder if management of NCL read these posts.

 

Last year we were on the NCL Jade and loved it, it was the crew that made it our favourite ship.

[lovemydentist]

Maybe you should have read the terms for the Ultimate Beverage Package, they are easily found on the NCL Home Page, and actually I copied it for you

The Ultimate Beverage Package does not include room service, package sales, ship specific promotions or beer buckets, designated Super Premium brands (subject to change), bottled wine, mini bar purchases, bottled water

 

Next week we are boarding the Star for our 3rd cruise with the UBP, other 2 were on the Breakaway, and we have never had a problem getting a drink at any bar.

What I really find interesting is the fact that in years past people were complaining about how they felt hounded on the pool decks with servers for drinks, now that they aren't being hounded that's a problem too.

 

Have all my cruises been perfect no, in fact our worst was the Sky and we have never sailed her again, nor do I plan to but others love it. It's all a matter of opinion and NCL isn't for every cruiser but we love it. I've always addressed in writing upon my return any issues we have had and NCL has always responded and done right by me.

 

I leave on the Star next Sunday and cant wait to get onboard, 7 days of no cooking or cleaning!

Please post your review of the Star when you get back. I’ll be really interested to hear about your experience. I hope they have done complete turnaround since we disembarked for your sake. Bon Voyage.

[Cruiser42]

We just got off the NCL Star in Tampa 11/15. We had a fantastic cruise ! The food was next level delicious, the service impeccable, the staff cheerful, accommodating and wonderful. (only complaint was bad food/slow service in La Cucina - everything else was fab!).

MDR/Versailles was amazing. The selection, service, presentation, temperature, taste was consistently fantastic. Le Bistro was also very very good. We never experienced any issues with staff, and the ship was beautiful and well maintained. We loved this cruise and would do it again in a heartbeat!

 

I submitted my review about 10 minutes ago, so it should be out soon.

 

This was a great cruise!!!!!

 

Lisa

[Callimero]

Just arrived here in Belize, second stop on our cruise with the wonderful Norwegian Star. I've read all the critics regarding the service and the staff on board but I've made much better ones over the last couple of days. Never met such an helpful and frienly crew before, it's amazing. Joey, Ricardo, Rene, Chadney, just to name a few of them, did an excellent job so far so really nothing to complain. If you're going on a cruise in the near future a very helpful team is waiting for you trying to give all the best you could expect.

Okay let's visit Belize now, ready for the second half of our cruise.

 

Cheers Callimero

[Ron_L]

Just arrived here in Belize, second stop on our cruise with the wonderful Norwegian Star. I've read all the critics regarding the service and the staff on board but I've made much better ones over the last couple of days. Never met such an helpful and frienly crew before, it's amazing. Joey, Ricardo, Rene, Chadney, just to name a few of them, did an excellent job so far so really nothing to complain. If you're going on a cruise in the near future a very helpful team is waiting for you trying to give all the best you could expect.

Okay let's visit Belize now, ready for the second half of our cruise.

 

Cheers Callimero

 

That was our experience last week, too! Everyone went out of their way to make sure that we were taken care of!

 

Enjoy Belize and the rest of your cruise!

[MiniJeffrey]

Hi

 

I would advise you to contact the NCL customer care. They are very helpful and always looking to please you. They will be happy to help you out and offer you some sort of compensation. It would be a shame that after your first great trip, you'd step away completely from NCL. Maybe give them another chance?

 

I've once had some minor issues too but after adressing the problems to the NCL HQ I got a very nice reduction on my next cruise and everything went smoothly.

[Smcclain152]

My girlfriend and I were on the Vision of the Seas last year. The service was not great, mostly because the staff was not very friendly. We decided to give Norwegian a shot this year, especially with the drink package promotion. After reading all of the posts here we went back to Royal Caribbean for our cruise in February. We don't want to drink all day, but when we want a drink we don't want to have to wait 30 minutes. Thanks to who started this thread, and all who commented. We were sold on NCL for our next cruise until we read this.

[denas]

My girlfriend and I were on the Vision of the Seas last year. The service was not great, mostly because the staff was not very friendly. We decided to give Norwegian a shot this year, especially with the drink package promotion. After reading all of the posts here we went back to Royal Caribbean for our cruise in February. We don't want to drink all day, but when we want a drink we don't want to have to wait 30 minutes. Thanks to who started this thread, and all who commented. We were sold on NCL for our next cruise until we read this.

 

We sailed Liberty of the Seas last summer and only drank a few drinks. Waited in line 15-25 minutes for all of them. Had to go to three different bars once just to find a beer. The only time the bartenders are out in force is when they are trying to sell the packages on the first days of the cruise! I think the drink packages have ruined bar service on every line because it is not in the line's best interest to make drinks easy to get if you already paid for a package.

[kateg]

Just off the star on today. We had a great trip. I never saw lines at the bars. Maybe a few people deep by the pool once or twice but the rest of the time it was walk up. The staff were amazing and everything exceeded my expectations.

[Guta]

Just off the star on today. We had a great trip. I never saw lines at the bars. Maybe a few people deep by the pool once or twice but the rest of the time it was walk up. The staff were amazing and everything exceeded my expectations.

 

Thank you, I am going on the 20th of December from Tampa.

[CruisinHarvey]

Sounds like most of your problems were due to the cruise being the first back from a TA. Everything you mentioned was related to that(Tired crew, short on supplies, bad service the first day). Everything other than the disembarkation, should be expected for the first cruise back. I know someone will point out a cruise that wasn't, but why risk it. We've experienced it twice, on the different cruise lines. We're a little slow, so we didn't learn the first time. That's why I suggest staying away from those cruises, just like staying away from a new ship for a bit. Let the ship and crew get settled in before you cruise it.

 

To the OP mentioning crew saying no days off and 70 hours per week. That's in a lot of their contracts. So that's nothing unusual.

[bsblindab]

We were on the Star to Bermuda in 2012 and enjoyed it immensely. that being said, we also did the GEM from NYC to Bahamas,,it was the first cruise after a trans back in 2010..After being on the Pearl a few months prior,,I was not very thrilled with the Gem..It had a new crew,,health inspections, delays etc. So possibly your issue with the Star was due to it being in the States first time

[cruisersMandW]

To the OP: I totally understand your feelings. My first NCL cruise was on the Wind in 1999. We had many similar issues, including crew morale & attitude, a mechanical issue that caused us to miss Puerta Villarta (that a fellow passenger told who claimed to have expertise in that area told us was an issue when we left port). I could go on... and on....

 

In fact I sent a 4 page letter to NCL afterward. We swore we'd never return.

 

Well, a very cold NY winter and a great last minute deal brought us back.

 

Needless to say we have never had a repeat of that experience. In fact we just got off the Getaway Sunday and met some of the best crew members we've ever experienced.

 

Whether or not you choose to give NCL another chance is, of course your choice. But I do want to assure you that your experience is not the norm.

[dinkydee718]

This was our 1st and LAST cruise on NCL. NCL need to take lesson from Royal how to run a cruise line as far as passenger service. You NEVER hear servers talking in their native language in Royal EVERYTHING is in english. This cruise totally sucked.

 

I really hope this has gotten better because we will be on the Star in April and if it's still terrible my husband will never take another cruise with me again! We had this exact thing happen on our RCCL Quantum cruise and, despite everyone saying that cruise is nothing like the other RCCL cruises, my husband refuses to sail RCCL ever again. I can attest that your experience on Star is not indicative of my experience on Breakaway at all! I hope you will not be as stubborn as my husband and will give a different ship on NCL a chance. I am still trying to convince my husband to take me on Oasis.

[Visigoth]

That is if my husband has his say we wont be coming back.

We did the Getaway last month. Had a great time Enjoyed everything.

 

Jumped on the chance to get an aft cabin and a taste of the "suite life". It was anything but sweet from start to finish!

 

As you begin to read through this you may feel I am being a bit picky. As these things began to transpire we only found them a bit irritating and not what we expected, however as the issues just kept building I decided to TRY to keep track of them.

 

It began with the propulsion issue. That actually didnt bother us. What bothered us was getting to the pier where the passengers had actually been disembarked the day before and finding a line of passengers waiting to get in that was so long it wrapped around the building. There was no side line for suite passengers. After standing in this line for about 20 minutes and it still not moving I went back to the front of the line and asked if there was another line for Priority Embarkation. He said usually there is but today we are only making a line for handicapped passengers. After waiting for almost 45 minutes they began letting us in. Once finally inside they did have priority lines. However the line again was not moving. Once we got to check in they apologized and said since this was the first day back from overseas they have lots of new employees and also they are having glitches with the system. We stood at the desk over 25 minutes and they were never able to key in our credit card despite having over 8 employees at one time looking at the terminal. We are still smiling at this point and saying its ok and we understand...really we did.

 

Now off to begin the "suite life" We were led to a small area for suite passengers. There was a buffet table set up with a table cloth and nothing on it. Did we really need anything? Probably not but I actually would have appreciated just a bottle of water but that was not available nor possible as they said they could give us nothing as the health inspectors were still aboard....sigh...We stayed in this room until almost noon.

 

Then came our lunch at Cagneys.........To be continued......

Why would you arrive hours before scheduled 1 pm boarding? I did that on my first cruise (on Royal Caribbean) and I realized that I would have to wait until BOARDING TIME. As a suite passenger you will be one of the first on-board AFTER BOARDING BEGINS. If you wanted to wait even longer you could have arrived the night before.