NCL Cruise Critic rating is falling.....

[Linda the Book Lover]

I've done HAL quite a bit, Princess once for a Tahiti cruise, and my wife has done RCL. We just like NCL so much because it is something we know, and enjoy it like a comfortable pair of shoes. Right now all the sudden changes make us wonder about the guy running the show, but we still look forward to boarding an NCL ship with rapt anticipation. We see no reason change things that satisfy our needs. The reviews either confirm what I already know or try to convince me to accept someone else's opinion as the absolute truth. I keep having to see for myself.;)

 

I too look forward with rapt anticipation to my next NCL cruise with the DH. No one can please everyone all of the time. I read many reviews for many things and let me tell you sometimes I have to ask myself is this the same hotel I stayed at or book I read. Just opinions...

 

Jim the Lizard, I am happy to have someone hand me a glass of wine that I don't have to get up an open the bottle! Let the UBP begin!:)

[Albert Bell]

I have been reading the reviews of the Jade in the Western Caribbean out of Houston because we will be on her in January. Most of them are pretty negative.

 

They are all from November, when the Jade returned from Europe, and I understand the first cruise after the TA was pretty rocky -- lots of crew, service, bar, tendering, embarkation, disembarkation, etc. issues. It's hard to tell exact dates, but it looks like several are from this initial cruise.

 

I am hoping that they get lots of these things ironed out between now and January.

 

Its bit sad if the Jade is getting bad reviews now we were on her last year and had the best time, every crew member went out of there way to help us.

[Jim The Lizard]

That a girl, Linda!

[fin]

Have cruised NCL since 2004, under three CEOs.

 

My opinion...the line has gotten dramatically worse, to the point where it is no longer one that I will choose, instead of the first (often only) one I look at.

 

Not in the mood to be accused of 'nit picking', so will keep my specifics to myself. They have been articulated very plainly here, over and over and over again by a wide variety of people from differing backgrounds and often with extensive cruising experience.

 

What IS irritating are those self professed experts who believe that truth only comes from a four digit post count, people that respond to valid criticisms with "but all the lines are doing it" and people who continue with the oh so sad refrain "but at least I'm on a cruise" as if that compensates for smelly toilets, dripping ceilings, lying or at least incompetent staff, non responsive headquarters staff and so much more.

 

I am truly glad I had my experiences when I did, including trans oceanic and around the horn. It WAS nice while it lasted, but like so much else today, has turned to a basically mediocre, third rate, borderline experience. Sad.

[fshagan]

I think there were enough changes in a short enough time period that a lot of people are boarding ready for a fight. If you are annoyed at a company before you start using the product, you are not going to enjoy it. Plus, when you get the piling on effect from the professional whiners around here, it just makes the problem worse.

 

I think you may have a good point here. The people who had something changed on them after they booked are still working through the system so the negative reviews partially reflect that. They did have what I consider legitimate grievances over things that they cherished being taken away.

 

The others that complain "about the principle" of something I just ignore. If they want principles, go to church. Companies provide a product, and you judge it based on your consumption of it, not what the CEO said in a conference call.

[monkeybone]

When I read reviews I also look at the date the person joined CC and how many forum posts they have.

 

If you look at that information you will see that most of the poor reviews are from people that joined in 2015 and have zero forum posts.

 

That makes me question their credibility. I get the impression that they just joined CC to bash - no matter what ship or what line.

 

I do that too!

 

The Breakaway has gone down to 61% Thats not good at all. It has been going down.

 

I will write a review after this weekends cruise, Not that you can compare it to a week or more but I will try.

[bonvoyagie]

OK, I only a few cruises under my belt - all with NCL 02,03,12 Alaska, 06 HI.

I have one coming up in 2016 - Canada and New England.

 

I am more of a destination cruiser and view the ship as a moving hotel that takes me to my destination and mega ships don't' appeal to me.

 

I booked this cruise back in Dec of 14 - the day the itineraries were announced - I have the old UDP. UPB, and 600.00 OBC (I booked a suite).

I am not a big drinker or user of the upcharge restaurants - and the Dawn is more in line with the other ships I have been on (Sky, POA, Pearl) so I am hoping for the same service I have had over the years.

 

Yes I have seen changes in the MDR over the years - in 02 they really gave white glove service and we were treated to dishes from a former White House Chef - by 12 we had the fleet wide menus - but on the Pearl things were still good but not quite as formal.

 

As for the staff - I have never had any problems - every body is warm and friendly Room stewards/ butlers/ concierges/ wait staff/ bartenders - on our last cruise we were in a suite and used Cagney's for our breakfasts - one evening in the MDR we saw a waiter from Cagney's helping out - while we were not in his section - he saw us and came over to make sure we were being treated OK - which by the way we were.

 

I still like Freestyle for their overall cruise experience - I go on vacation to avoid having to dress up for dinner and NCL still gives me that. So until they get too expensive - or my level of service goes down - I will continue to cruise NCL.

 

NCL was one of the last lines to get on the internet and allow you to book a cruise without a real live TA - so perhaps they are still behind the curve with how social media reacts to changes - they can no longer "test" ideas without it being blown out to the world.

 

As for reviews - I try to balance the pros and cons of each - I also look at the credibility and avoid the "one and done" posters. CC and other sites tend to attract both people who want to either praise or vent - very little else.

 

All of this said, I am waiting with baited breath for my next cruise and unless NCL disappoints me I will be back.

[SwissLe]

I think the question is; does it even matter?

 

I certainly do not pay any attention to the percentages or dots that a place gets. I may read a few reviews and look at a few threads on here for the trip reports but I can't really say it influences my cruising choices.

 

The same goes with TripAdvisor, I learnt a long time ago that the #1 rated hotel in an area is far from the best and their 'secret algorithm' is pretty terrible at telling me which one to book.

 

I think NCL will fill the ships even with a rating of 10%, and that a drop in 5-10% region isn't going to harm them or the 000.1% of people that consult CC before placing a booking.

[Cruise a holic]

Cheerleader response: I often wonder if there's an organized effort to slander NCL on cruise critic. I see and read all the negativity, and when I step on board the ships I just don't get it. Some of the negativity is so embellished it's humorous (imho).

 

Have you seen the ratings for RCL Quantum class ships? Very low- IMO very accurate also- so other cruise lines have low ratings also. Not a conspiracy LOL

[newmexicoNita]

here is my opinion for what it is worth and that really isn't much; You have a couple of ships in the fleet who are not getting top reviews: one, of course, right now is the Jade: you have a new ship and new ships take awhile to run smooth, then you have the Breakaway which for whatever reason seems to not be a favorite ship of everyone and add the new changes; I am sure there are a lot of people who can't wait to gripe. Overall these things are bound to affect the reviews. If I read reviews at all and I don't very often, I take them with a grain of salt. We expect to have a good time, so we do not often bother to give great reviews, but when something doesn't meet our expectations we can't wait to let the world know.

 

I haven't seen the line go up or down to be honest. Something have improved and others not so much; The thing we all have to remember is: life changes and that applies to cruising as well.

[abe3]

Very small percentage of cruisers use cruise critic. People are more willing to post negative reviews to vent than post positive reviews. If you dwell on the reviews you read before you cruise it will probably impact your vacation in a more negative way.

[dijid]

Maybe it's that the vacation people are actually getting isn't the one that they booked and it's affecting how they feel about the cruise?

 

Think about all the changes that have been happening, the uncertainty about future changes and the lack of communication from NCL. While some will continue to have a Pollyanna-like positive attitude, others are going to carry a chip on their shoulder, or at least a little grudge into their cruise. It gets harder to brush off a service or other issues if you've already had to brush off an increase in DSC, or an extra 18% gratuity on top of your Specialty Restaurant charge, or facing an overpriced a la carte menu at Margaritaville after it was advertised as free for a year, or....

 

The value of the cruise I booked for 2016 has certainly decreased. The change in port times has meant that in one port, we're now arriving so late I can't do the two private tours I had planned and looked forward to the most. I now have to chose between the two. I can "let it go" to a point, but no matter how good a time I have in that port, I will still be reminded of what I'm missing. The lens through which I will evaluate the cruise is not the same lens I had on when I booked, that's for sure.

[lvcrzn]

It appears that much of the NCL "negative de jour" has been that of the originally complimentary Margaritaville on the Escape is now an a la cart restaurant. While this is not any deal breaker for me (booked in January), it certainly has upset some who were taking a number of family members there. I respectfully get it, while expecting this to cost $0 when booking their cruise, this now can become expensive. I've read a comment by a CC : a "bait and switch". Wow, that's intense. This is obviously a business decision not a personal one.

Please make the most of your wonderful vacation.

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I believe few that had a great cruise post a review, most if not all post a terrible review.

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk

 

That line of thought may be true, but it still doesn't change the fact that NCL is getting the worst reviews relative to all the other mainstream cruise lines, even worse than Carnival.

[LrgPizza]

You could have told me that it was always at that level, or that rating, and I wouldn't have known the difference.

[Beaver1975]

Have cruised NCL since 2004, under three CEOs.

 

My opinion...the line has gotten dramatically worse, to the point where it is no longer one that I will choose, instead of the first (often only) one I look at.

 

Not in the mood to be accused of 'nit picking', so will keep my specifics to myself. They have been articulated very plainly here, over and over and over again by a wide variety of people from differing backgrounds and often with extensive cruising experience.

 

What IS irritating are those self professed experts who believe that truth only comes from a four digit post count, people that respond to valid criticisms with "but all the lines are doing it" and people who continue with the oh so sad refrain "but at least I'm on a cruise" as if that compensates for smelly toilets, dripping ceilings, lying or at least incompetent staff, non responsive headquarters staff and so much more.

 

I am truly glad I had my experiences when I did, including trans oceanic and around the horn. It WAS nice while it lasted, but like so much else today, has turned to a basically mediocre, third rate, borderline experience. Sad.

 

What are you talking about? You have been whining about NCL since you got here.

Edited December 8, 2015 by Beaver1975

[rg24601]

NCL's corporate choices leave some cold. Can't make that many changes in 1 year and not expect fall out.

 

The Escape is getting into a pattern of complaints. Soon not only will they not be "ironed out" they will become the standard for the ship. Poor service, poor food, smoke in the 6/7/8, ship of lines, reservations for everything.

 

So much for taking the best of the Epic with the best of the Away's.

 

and now their prices seem in line with Royal - :(

[rg24601]

When I read reviews I also look at the date the person joined CC and how many forum posts they have.

 

If you look at that information you will see that most of the poor reviews are from people that joined in 2015 and have zero forum posts.

 

That makes me question their credibility. I get the impression that they just joined CC to bash - no matter what ship or what line.

 

Does not mean others reading the review questions their credibility.

 

Their review impacts the bottom line and were instrumental in getting our group to change ships.

 

For that I thank them for their reviews.

[dijid]

Does not mean others reading the review questions their credibility.

 

Their review impacts the bottom line and were instrumental in getting our group to change ships.

 

For that I thank them for their reviews.

 

CC reviews have impacted my choice before as well. The first time we sailed on the Jade (in 2011), the food was just lousy. Two years later, we were looking into another Med cruise and weren't going to book the Jade again except we saw more favorable reviews - some explicitly stating that food quality had improved - and decided to give it another try. Both cruises were enjoyable (love the Med!) but the second one got a higher rating from me because the food was much improved.

Edited December 8, 2015 by dijid
typo

[jingle5616]

Interesting. Lots of excuses of why reviews are flawed, worthless or there is a vast conspiracy against poor ol' NCL.

 

In my opinion reviews do matter and do reflect what is going on a particular ship or cruise line. We are talking thousands of reviews over time that constitute these scores. With that in mind it takes a lot of reviews to move 1 percentage point up or down, not to mention 6 points. NCL has lost 6 points in the last year. That isn't a good note. I'll be watching.

 

As to folks who use number of posts on these boards for credibility I have to laugh. I've been around since 2002 and have a grand total of 500 posts (now 501!). Our forum mother, formerly from New Mexico, is closing in on 30,000 and she's been here as long as me!:eek:

[TheDougOut]

In my opinion reviews do matter and do reflect what is going on a particular ship or cruise line.

 

More often than not, a review also reflects on the person writing it.

 

Case in point: the person that wrote the blazing 1-star review because they booked a port-side room but awoke to the port on the opposite side of the ship, resulting in an unusable balcony and a ruined vacation.

[hawk1972]

I take all online reviews with a healthy dose of skepticism -- whether negative or positive -- be they on Yelp, TripAdvisor, Amazon, or Cruise Critic. They are one person's very subjective opinion. Unless I knew the reviewer personally, I wouldn't know if they are a glass half-empty or glass half-full kind of person, which could color their review. For example, we met a group of people from CC on our last cruise and went on a couple of excursions with some of them, so if they posted a review I would know where they were coming from and know it could be trusted.

 

Three of our five cruises (a limited number, I know, compared to others) have been or will have been (in January) on NCL. I have been very pleased with them so far, but had no complaints about RCCL or Princess either. When NCL leaves Houston next year, we will probably move over to RCCL to cruise out of Galveston. Not ready to try Carnival yet. Or we may try NCL out of New Orleans.

 

I read reviews so I can prepare for certain things ahead of time (shows, reservations, excursions, etc.) but I try not to let them prejudice me before I take the cruise myself. I have no idea if NCL is declining overall or not but I will sail them until I know otherwise.

Edited December 8, 2015 by hawk1972

[abe3]

More often than not, a review also reflects on the person writing it.

 

 

 

Case in point: the person that wrote the blazing 1-star review because they booked a port-side room but awoke to the port on the opposite side of the ship, resulting in an unusable balcony and a ruined vacation.

 

 

This is one of the reasons why you don't take ratings/reviews into account.

Edited December 8, 2015 by abe3

[bjlaac]

This is one of the reasons why you don't take ratings/reviews into account.

 

For every one of those bad reviews there are are equal amounts of great reviews by customers who could have spent the entire week in the brig and still give it a 100% rating.

 

The review average is all you need to look at. There's something that's bothering people overall that's lowering the rating. Who knows what it is, but NCL, in fact any line that drops like they have, should be concerned.

 

My personal opinion is the ships are getting too big. They make for great advertising and drawing the first time cruiser but leave something to be desired for the repeaters.

Edited December 8, 2015 by bjlaac

[kerryincork]

I do think first time cruisers are impacting the ratings. I've read many a review where it is obvious that the cruiser didn't do a bit of research and had unrealistic expectations. I've read where cruisers have sat in their cabin all day waiting for their luggage and missed dinner and were starving and then slated the cruise and staff because no one told them the buffet was open? Or where they could go to get food. So many bizarre complaints I couldn't list them all. I will admit bad reviews are my guilty pleasure and I hunt all over for them. Now some of them are genuine, but I wouldn't cancel or change a cruise because of them. Generally I take the 3 star reviews as being most reliable and if what the 3 star reviewers complain about would be something that would bother me, this is when I would worry. Not fussy at all really, I will pretty well eat anything, don't care how long my drink takes to reach me as long as it does ☺ I have never had a problem with getting a deck chair. Noisy neighbours don't bother me (I can't hear them over the snoring going on in my cabin 😉) and on the most part I have met friendly staff.

I will admit too that I have branched out recently and tried other cruise lines, which I enjoyed. I am not enamoured with the recent changes NCL has introduced.