I will NEVER cruise with Norwegian again!

[purpletequila]

Yes, after our first supper I complained and they sent me 4 choc covered strawberries....I'm not going to lie, they were good, but it didn't make up for the poor service we received the rest of the week.

 

4. LOL!!!! So one strawberry each is all your time and money is worth. This is driving me crazy because I am thisclose to trying my first NCL cruise on Escape and I was considering the Getaway too because it has better ratings! Geez..

[broberts]

Sorry you had a bad time, it sounds to me that you must have gone on a particularly crowded sailing. With so many people cruising from all over the country and Western Hemisphere, it's highly likely you could have encountered a spring break crowd as that could happen anywhere from late January to mid April.

 

I do feel that not being served promptly in a restaurant is an issue. But some of the other issues you described (waiting in line at the bar to get a drink at the private island, crowded bungee trampoline, and crowded ropes course) is pretty normal as far as I'm concerned. When you cruise the big ships, you should be prepared to wait for things.

 

We went on Getaway two years ago during a March spring break, and my son probably waited an hour to do the bungee trampoline. That should be normal and expected. Generally I found that going to things right when they opened (especially the ropes course) was advised. I'm not at all surprised that the trampoline closes at times. All of those activities (ropes, rock wall, trampoline) have the same set of staff day in and day out, and they need breaks. They're not going to hire someone to staff the trampoline 12 hours a day every day. They rotate the people around to the different activities, and they make it very clear what activities are open and at what times.

 

Sorry you had a bad cruise, and I guess you are going to give up on Norwegian, but I would expect you to have similar issues on any large ship sailing during Spring Break season.

 

Pretty sad that some consider lines to get bar service normal and expected.

 

Actually I'm surprised that there are those who are apparently quite content with long lines and reduce service times.

 

Most consumer oriented businesses experience busy and less busy periods. Good ones increase staffing during busy periods so that customers can continue to receive a level of service consistent with company standards. Apparently Norwegian is not in that category.

[SJ]

I am not surprised at the issues the op brought up. It's rather consistent with how ncl must do to make up giving away all the free perks. With the free drinks package, even those who don't drink are drinking more and fewer staff means fewer drinks being served. Fewer drinks being served means dollars saved by ncl. With all the service charges ncl is tacking on just about every aspect of cruising, cost of sufficiently staffing their ships shouldn't be a factor.

 

What I am surprised by is how low some of the posters in this thread's expectations have sunked. Cruising has always been about superior service to land vacation at least for me that is. Perhaps those with such low expectations didn't cruise when the business model wasn't about giving away the most lucrative revenue generating onboard spending which is alcohol.

 

It is looking less and less likely I would be using my last cruise reward. Even if I can book a cruise for the right price, I am not the sure the atmosphere on ncl ships is suitable for a family with so many trying to get their money's worth on alcohol.

[karoo]

Good enough reason for me not to sail a mega ship unless it's port intensive. No use having waterparks if you have to line as I know long line means I don't bother. My last cruise was on the Sun in January. Didn't have to line and wait for anything. The only exception was the Sports Bar during the play offs. Certainly made for a great cruise.

Edited March 9, 2016 by karoo

[LrgPizza]

I've only sailed the big ships and never had to wait for a drink, except maybe for one person ahead of me. I don't expect there to be 1 bartender for every passenger, so that certainly doesn't bother me if they fix a drink ahead of mine.

 

It sucks that OP had this bad experience. It certainly doesn't reflect every sailing, thank goodness.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[CasinoCruzGirl]

My husband, my two daughters (age 9 & 6) and myself recently cruised on the Norwegian Getaway (Jan 24-31, 2016). This was our 6th cruise, our 1st on a Norwegian ship.

Our first night on the ship we went to Savour restaurant. We arrived (with my sister and brother-in-law and their two kids) at approximately 7pm, we were seated shortly thereafter. We sat and watched 32 wait staff walk past us without recognizing our arrival. We stopped a few and requested a server, they just said someone will be right with you and walked away. Finally, a waiter by the name of Richard came over and very rudely took our food order. We had 4 kids with us, yet we still had to ask for kids menus (should they not be brought out at the time we are lead to our table)? Richard never did take our drink order, only our food order. We had to ask another waiter to take our drink order, after we ordered our drinks took about 30 min to arrive. Our entire meal took approx. 2.5 hours and our food was mediocre at best. I filled in the comment card that was on our table indicating our dissatisfaction with our meal, the next day, Isaac called and apologized and sent us up some chocolate covered strawberries.

We were on the private island the next day. We got off the ship with anticipation of a great day in our minds. The weather was hot so we wanted to enjoy our unlimited beverage package, unfortunately, the lines were so long that it took an hour to get a drink! To me, this is unacceptable! To stand in line for an hour just to get one drink because Norwegian won’t staff appropriately is offensive, the last thing I want to do on a beach is wait in line for over an hour for a watered down beverage. Also, we didn’t have one person stop by and take our drink order. This was the case for the entire trip…it seems not all bars were open and when you went to the pool bar it was 8 deep with people waiting to get a drink and two bartenders there to serve the 100 people waiting. There was another bar by the pool but it never seemed to be open.

Our next experience was at O’sheenans….we went there 3 times and each time we waited over 20 min for someone to come to our table and take our order. The worst was on Friday night, we went at 10:20 to get something to eat before our comedian show at 11. We sat up right at the front of the restaurant on the high stools. The maitradee came over and gave us menus and said that someone would come and take our order…that NEVER happened. We sat and waited and waited…we saw 3 waiters that just walked on by us, the first one was filling napkin containers so he said he couldn’t help us, the 2nd one was cleaning tables and she too indicated she was too busy to take our order, finally, my sister went and spoke to the 3rd one who was inconvenienced to have to come over and take our order, she showed up at our table and literally said in a very rude tone “what do you want”….wow…I have NEVER had service like that in my life, even at Mcdonald’s! She walked away before we could put in our drink order so I went over to the bar and got drinks for our party.

The final straw was on our last sea day, Saturday, my daughter (6) went to the bungee jumping area to jump on the trampoline and play on the slide. When she arrived it was lined up with kids waiting. I told her we would go back at noon. When we went back it was just closing and I was told they were not letting any more kids jump…I asked if it was opening after lunch and the lady indicated that no, it doesn’t open again until 6pm, I said “Really”, it’s a sea day why isn’t it open all day? She indicated they didn’t have the staff to operate it. I can’t believe on a sea day all activities on the boat aren’t open! The only thing open was the obstacle course and it was so busy it took a 45 min wait to get on. The rock wall opened in the afternoon so that alleviated some of the wait time on the rock wall. I sent my daughter up at 6pm to jump on the trampoline before our 6:45 dinner reservation, well, she waited and waited and at 6:35 we had to leave for our reservation and due to the amount of kids waiting she never did get to jump on the trampoline. As a guest that paid a lot of money for a family of four, I find it hard to believe that activities are not staffed all day for the kids to use.

I do have to say that Splash Academy was a great program for my daughters, they enjoyed it and were treated well while they were there.

I question the tipping process, I feel the staff already know they are getting their tips as we have pre-paid them so they don’t have to do work as hard to earn them.

While we did enjoy our cruise, the service was definitely not like we have received on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean. I have never requested my tips to be refunded, in fact, I have always tipped over and above when on the ship as I received great service with both those cruise lines.

 

Your problem is not inclusive of ncl. I was on Royals Anthem this past weekend and three times at the MDR I was seated with no menus and had to wave down waiters to bring them to me. So you see your menu problem is not only ncl. I have never had that problem with NCL actually just on Royal.

[2ManyCruises]

Pretty sad that some consider lines to get bar service normal and expected.

 

Actually I'm surprised that there are those who are apparently quite content with long lines and reduce service times.

 

Most consumer oriented businesses experience busy and less busy periods. Good ones increase staffing during busy periods so that customers can continue to receive a level of service consistent with company standards. Apparently Norwegian is not in that category.

 

Nor are any main stream cruise lines in that category. Having sailed just about all of them they're cutting back on staff, services and their new menus reflect a budget and not quality. Just peruse any cruise line forum and you'll see the same complaints as you do here.

 

On our last Disney cruise we waited in long lines for drinks especially on their private island. On Royal at the Windjammer no more abundant staff to get you a drink or help you find a seat. I could say the same with Princess and Carnival. You rarely see exceptional service like it use to be a few years ago.

[clarkg]

My husband, my two daughters (age 9 & 6) and myself recently cruised on the Norwegian Getaway (Jan 24-31, 2016). This was our 6th cruise, our 1st on a Norwegian ship..

 

We have said that we'll never sail NCL again, but had a cruise certificate so we tried again and the service was amazing. I do stick to the smaller ships though. It might just be the mega ship that's the problem.

 

Our first night on the ship we went to Savour restaurant. We arrived (with my sister and brother-in-law and their two kids) at approximately 7pm, we were seated shortly thereafter. We sat and watched 32 wait staff walk past us without recognizing our arrival. We stopped a few and requested a server, they just said someone will be right with you and walked away. Finally, a waiter by the name of Richard came over and very rudely took our food order. We had 4 kids with us, yet we still had to ask for kids menus (should they not be brought out at the time we are lead to our table)? Richard never did take our drink order, only our food order. We had to ask another waiter to take our drink order, after we ordered our drinks took about 30 min to arrive. Our entire meal took approx. 2.5 hours and our food was mediocre at best. I filled in the comment card that was on our table indicating our dissatisfaction with our meal, the next day, Isaac called and apologized and sent us up some chocolate covered strawberries..

 

Dining on NCL ships has always taken longer than the other lines. Trying to entertain the kids while waiting is a big problem. I agree that it's not acceptable, but we expect it so it doesn't upset us anymore.

Did you like the chocolate covered strawberries though?

 

We were on the private island the next day. We got off the ship with anticipation of a great day in our minds. The weather was hot so we wanted to enjoy our unlimited beverage package, unfortunately, the lines were so long that it took an hour to get a drink! To me, this is unacceptable! To stand in line for an hour just to get one drink because Norwegian won’t staff appropriately is offensive, the last thing I want to do on a beach is wait in line for over an hour for a watered down beverage. Also, we didn’t have one person stop by and take our drink order. This was the case for the entire trip…it seems not all bars were open and when you went to the pool bar it was 8 deep with people waiting to get a drink and two bartenders there to serve the 100 people waiting. There was another bar by the pool but it never seemed to be open..

 

I hate, hate, hate waiting in lines. I think that all the cruise lines are starting to cut staff. Even on Royal, the room stewards are cleaning a lot more cabins than they used to.

 

 

Our next experience was at O’sheenans….we went there 3 times and each time we waited over 20 min for someone to come to our table and take our order. The worst was on Friday night, we went at 10:20 to get something to eat before our comedian show at 11. We sat up right at the front of the restaurant on the high stools. The maitradee came over and gave us menus and said that someone would come and take our order…that NEVER happened. We sat and waited and waited…we saw 3 waiters that just walked on by us, the first one was filling napkin containers so he said he couldn’t help us, the 2nd one was cleaning tables and she too indicated she was too busy to take our order, finally, my sister went and spoke to the 3rd one who was inconvenienced to have to come over and take our order, she showed up at our table and literally said in a very rude tone “what do you want”….wow…I have NEVER had service like that in my life, even at Mcdonald’s! She walked away before we could put in our drink order so I went over to the bar and got drinks for our party..

 

 

 

The final straw was on our last sea day, Saturday, my daughter (6) went to the bungee jumping area to jump on the trampoline and play on the slide. When she arrived it was lined up with kids waiting. I told her we would go back at noon. When we went back it was just closing and I was told they were not letting any more kids jump…I asked if it was opening after lunch and the lady indicated that no, it doesn’t open again until 6pm, I said “Really”, it’s a sea day why isn’t it open all day? She indicated they didn’t have the staff to operate it. I can’t believe on a sea day all activities on the boat aren’t open! The only thing open was the obstacle course and it was so busy it took a 45 min wait to get on..

 

 

 

The rock wall opened in the afternoon so that alleviated some of the wait time on the rock wall. I sent my daughter up at 6pm to jump on the trampoline before our 6:45 dinner reservation, well, she waited and waited and at 6:35 we had to leave for our reservation and due to the amount of kids waiting she never did get to jump on the trampoline. As a guest that paid a lot of money for a family of four, I find it hard to believe that activities are not staffed all day for the kids to use.

I do have to say that Splash Academy was a great program for my daughters, they enjoyed it and were treated well while they were there.

I question the tipping process, I feel the staff already know they are getting their tips as we have pre-paid them so they don’t have to do work as hard to earn them..

 

You might be right about the prepaid gratuities.

 

 

While we did enjoy our cruise, the service was definitely not like we have received on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean. I have never requested my tips to be refunded, in fact, I have always tipped over and above when on the ship as I received great service with both those cruise lines.

 

I love cruising, but I loved it more back in the old days when service and food were the envy of any land based vacations. Today, it's not near what it used to be. I think its getting worse too. I miss the good old days.

[pe4all]

We were on Getaway for the NYE cruise- probably one of the most crowdwd times of year. We did see incredibly long lines at Guest Services, with many people complaining of the wait. While we did not have the UBP, we did have the soda card. The lines at the bars were sometimes 2-3 deep, which made it frustrating at times to try to get our soda. Maybe they should go to the free-style self-serve soda machines with chip cups like RCCL has - that would thin out the bar crowds a bit. We experienced speedy/good service at all the restaurants - had no issues there. We are going on the GA again in June, and look forward to another great cruise!

[Donna_In_India]

I'm sorry to say it's no comparison. We were on the Allure last year and it was a much better experience in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, the Escape is nice and you will have fun, but not compared to Oasis class ships.

 

We had the opposite experience. We did both the Getaway and Oasis within a month of each other. Couldn't believe the lines - even for breakfast buffet - have never seen lines just to get a table. Food was probably the worst we've ever had on a cruise and the whole promenade/Central Park, etc. didn't make it feel much like a cruise. Certainly nothing to compare to NCL's waterfront! Other issues as well - enough that we wouldn't go out of our way to sail RCI again.

[newmexicoNita]

I have ready a lot of troll posts. I believe in this OP for some reason

 

I also believe her, but wonder if her story isn't a little one sided due to her frustration. It appears the ship was overcrowded, there is never any reason for dinner taking 2 plus hours, but it has happened to us once or twice. As for the wait on the private island, for a drink, this has always been a problem even before the drink package went into affect.

 

OP, I am sorry you had such lousy service and am sorry you will never return to NCL> That is your choice. I would also suggest you post using paragraphs if you want people to read al you have to say. Like others, I stopped reading about 1/2 down

 

I don't think OP is a troll, I do question some of what she had to say, like waiting 45 minutes in line at guest services unless it was the first day or maybe the first morning when people are having possible problems with keys or cabin concerns.

[samiam0403]

I've only sailed the big ships and never had to wait for a drink, except maybe for one person ahead of me. I don't expect there to be 1 bartender for every passenger, so that certainly doesn't bother me if they fix a drink ahead of mine.

 

It sucks that OP had this bad experience. It certainly doesn't reflect every sailing, thank goodness.

 

Ditto.

 

I sailed the Getaway the week prior to the OP and had the same experience as LrgPizza. I waited for a drink exactly one time - for some reason the casino bar was slammed and I waited for a solid 5 minutes. Other than that, I never had a wait. With the popularity of the UBP perk, I had predicted much worse wait times.

 

I also went to Guest Services once - waited for a few minutes behind one person. I added some tips for the butler and concierge to my account and was done in less than 10 minutes. Had a similar experience with purchasing my future cruise certificates.

 

Sorry the OP had such a bad experience with crowds on the Getaway - we had an amazing time. It was easily in the top 3 of any cruise I've taken to date, and I would sail the Getaway again in a heartbeat. In fact, we liked the megaship experience so much I've already booked a cruise on the Breakaway and the Escape. Considering I was hesitant to book the Getaway having not sailed a mega-ship yet, that is huge! :)

[detroitlions]

I've only sailed the big ships and never had to wait for a drink, except maybe for one person ahead of me. I don't expect there to be 1 bartender for every passenger, so that certainly doesn't bother me if they fix a drink ahead of mine.

 

It sucks that OP had this bad experience. It certainly doesn't reflect every sailing, thank goodness.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

I do like your positive side of view.

 

The only problems I do see is in the OP post I also see bad or slow service in the free venues. When you go off peak hours the wait time is not as much but who want to eat at 9pm for dinner.

 

I also agree they should staff up a lot better than they have in the most common areas. I mean I am one to go walk around if I need a drink and don't want to stand in line but when you have 3 or 4 bartenders at the pool bar that has 1000 people on it don't you think they would notice this and open the other bar especially between 12 and 3 on a sea day.

 

I leave the pool area at this time and this is when it its the most fun and I have to skip it. No seats no bar service so I am out to another area.

 

I also see that it seem like they have a lot of turnover in there restaurants and bars and the staff looks very thin and stressed.

 

I really like NCL but they need to look real hard into there staffing issues (service, attitude, and quantity).

[riverbeachgirl]

Op has never been to a nyc bar! As far as waiting for drinks and food, if your in a rush I get it. Communicate that to your waiter. Otherwise sit back relax and enjoy your cruise mates company including your children! To say you will never cruise again tells me it either really was the worst experience of your life or you're a very inpatient person. I'll let you decide......

[simplyerica]

The weather was hot so we wanted to enjoy our unlimited beverage package, unfortunately, the lines were so long that it took an hour to get a drink! To me, this is unacceptable! To stand in line for an hour just to get one drink because Norwegian won’t staff appropriately is offensive, the last thing I want to do on a beach is wait in line for over an hour for a watered down beverage.

 

some people just like to complain. help yourself next time! i'm assuming you were on Great Stirrup Cay. If you would have walked just a bit you would have found a few more bars much less crowded. however, it sounds like you didn't explore the island at all and stayed right where everyone else was. if you would have walked to the end of the island you would have found a near private bar to enjoy.

 

truly i don't know how people can complain so much when you're in the beautiful Caribbean.

[david_sobe]

I can seriously see the problems getting a drink at GSC these days. I was waiting to read about this because I knew it was coming. There is nothing better than lying on the beach on a private island with a nice tropical drink. However, NCL raised prices to give out this "free" alcohol package without hiring more bartenders or building more bars at GSC. Is it fair to say that most people on the ship have this drink package? People are on vacation and of course they want their drinks. I can only imagine the mobs at the bars at GSC.

Edited March 9, 2016 by david_sobe

[darrengs]

Did you happen to go to the meet and greet? Usually you get a card with all the manager's direct phone numbers on it. I'd bet a quick call to the Dining Manager or Hotel Director would have rectified your dining issues immediately. As for the long lines, well that comes with the territory of cruising on one of the mega ships.

 

This is the best advice for anyone. Make sure to take the half hour or so and go to the M&G. The officers tell you that they want you to have any issues fixed while on board so that you have a good experience.

[LrgPizza]

I do like your positive side of view.

 

The only problems I do see is in the OP post I also see bad or slow service in the free venues. When you go off peak hours the wait time is not as much but who want to eat at 9pm for dinner.

Again, everyone has different experiences. Almost without exception, the service I've received in the MDR is better than in the specialties. I've never spent more than 90 minutes in an MDR (usually closer to 60), and I've spent almost 3 hours in a specialty before. I absolutely believe others have different experiences, but I'm just saying that experiences can vary greatly. We rarely do specialties any more because we feel we will get better/faster service in the MDR. This was true for us on Getaway, Epic, and Escape. Maybe I am just lucky? (Or unlucky in the specialties?)

[marcar123]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to read and reply, my apologies for the "no paragraph" post, I am relatively new to posting here so thanks for your patience.

 

We always cruise in the January/February time frame, so I don't think that the service was poor due to Spring break.....I truly believe it was due to under-staffing.....I have cruised on the Allure of the Seas and a couple of other larger ships and never experienced wait times like we experienced on the Getaway.

[Barb Nahoumi]

With the onset of the beverage and dining promos, you'd think that NCL would hire more staff to accommodate the higher demand.

 

OP, I have never sailed on a mega ship yet, but I have always enjoyed my cruises on the Jewel Class ships. Lesser crowds, and the service was always good. We will be on the Gem next month, and are looking forward to it.

 

Read the reviews of the Jewel class ships and compare them to those of the megas. See what you think of them. Some will be great, others-----not so. The reviews are the opinions of the individuals.

[SuiteCruiser]

Again, everyone has different experiences. Almost without exception, the service I've received in the MDR is better than in the specialties. I've never spent more than 90 minutes in an MDR (usually closer to 60), and I've spent almost 3 hours in a specialty before. I absolutely believe others have different experiences, but I'm just saying that experiences can vary greatly. We rarely do specialties any more because we feel we will get better/faster service in the MDR. This was true for us on Getaway, Epic, and Escape. Maybe I am just lucky? (Or unlucky in the specialties?)

 

Looking at your signature, it seems you cruise mostly in November and May which are quiet times. Likely the ship isn't at full capacity. Even the TA was listed as close to full, but many of those were cabins with one person in each. In my group who travelled together - 6 people, 6 cabins. It does make a huge difference.

 

I've been on much busier sailings and you don't just walk up to the bar and get a drink, it's a 15 minute ordeal at the pool every time. One or two waiters now instead of the dozen that were selling their drinks, not sure where they've put them all?

Edited March 9, 2016 by SuiteCruiser

[marcar123]

I can seriously see the problems getting a drink at GSC these days. I was waiting to read about this because I knew it was coming. There is nothing better than lying on the beach on a private island with a nice tropical drink. However, NCL raised prices to give out this "free" alcohol package without hiring more bartenders or building more bars at GSC. Is it fair to say that most people on the ship have this drink package? People are on vacation and of course they want their drinks. I can only imagine the mobs at the bars at GSC.

 

Yes, I would say most of the people on board had the Unlimited beverage package, we too, received it for "free" when we booked....we have been to Royal Caribbean's private Island in Labadee and LOVED it, so to say we were disappointed with Norwegian's private Island is an understatement.

[NLH Arizona]

With the onset of the beverage and dining promos, you'd think that NCL would hire more staff to accommodate the higher demand.

 

OP, I have never sailed on a mega ship yet, but I have always enjoyed my cruises on the Jewel Class ships. Lesser crowds, and the service was always good. We will be on the Gem next month, and are looking forward to it.

 

Read the reviews of the Jewel class ships and compare them to those of the megas. See what you think of them. Some will be great, others-----not so. The reviews are the opinions of the individuals.

It is easy to say that NCL should hire more staff, but are there cabins to accommodate them on the ships? If not, do they take passenger cabins to house them?

 

I also sail mostly on the Jewel Class ships and love them. The service has always been tremendous, with one exception and that is the service in Blue Lagoon/O'Sheehans which has never been stellar.

Edited March 9, 2016 by NLH Arizona

[marcar123]

Op has never been to a nyc bar! As far as waiting for drinks and food, if your in a rush I get it. Communicate that to your waiter. Otherwise sit back relax and enjoy your cruise mates company including your children! To say you will never cruise again tells me it either really was the worst experience of your life or you're a very inpatient person. I'll let you decide......

 

If a waiter would have stopped by I would have communicated that him/her.....2.5 hours for supper with 4 kids is a little long......and I didn't say I wouldn't cruise again as I love to cruise (already booked my cruise out of San Juan for next year), I said I would never cruise Norwegian again....

[stleda124]

Thank you for your review. Although I do understand going in with low expectations and always have, I do believe in customer service. And it is my one expectation always. I do not care if I have to wait a long time for anything, but I do expect for someone to come over every 10 minutes to communicate that something is being done. This is the very reason I cancelled our NCL cruise in July and switched to CCL. With the included Beverage Package I felt there would be long waits for drinks. I am excited for our newly booked cruise. I hope your next experience is better with whomever you sail with.