On the getaway and not impressed

[Fincherson]

This just reads like an incredibly negative person to me. As if NCL can control the weather.

[Enavigo]

 

You don't like the name? Lol. With no experience, it seems odd you would so aggressively discount other lines. But you are certainly entitled to do so. I mean, I gave NCL shot. It was unquestionably subpar compared to Royal and Carnival. But like I said, if I hadn't sailed other lines and had something to compare, I would think NCL was decent.

 

"Unquestionably subpar" is an opinion, not a fact. I have cruised on Carnival, Royal, Disney, and NCL. Disney Conceirge Class is, hands down, the best. My NCL Haven stays are a solid second. Royal Caribbean Star Class was third and Carnival was a far, far distant fourth. In fact, you could not pay me to sail with Carnival. Absolutely the worst cruise experience I have had. Now, I'll admit that is just my opinion and not an "unquestionable" fact, but just seeing a carnival ship in port makes me look the other way.

[BNBR]

 

"Unquestionably subpar" is an opinion, not a fact. I have cruised on Carnival, Royal, Disney, and NCL. Disney Conceirge Class is, hands down, the best. My NCL Haven stays are a solid second. Royal Caribbean Star Class was third and Carnival was a far, far distant fourth. In fact, you could not pay me to sail with Carnival. Absolutely the worst cruise experience I have had. Now, I'll admit that is just my opinion and not an "unquestionable" fact, but just seeing a carnival ship in port makes me look the other way.

 

I'd rank NCL Haven well below Carnival inside riviera stateroom and I am not a big carnival fan. I would also rank the Haven just below drinking a case of bud light in the bathtub at home. To each their own, I guess.

[L1211]

Sure thing...and NCL overcharges for everything..... Bad enough their UBP pricing is overinflated. Since they throw it in as a perk...you still end up being gouged with higher service charge fees because of the over inflated pricing!! Compare what is included on NCL UBP to Carnival's Cheers program...Then compare the price. No comparison . Also....I feel bad for those passengers who buy single drinks..... drink prices are ridiculously high???? Keep talking up NCL..... but you might want to take off your blinders!

 

 

 

Have my first Carnival sailing tomorrow. I'm a regular NCL cruiser. Sure prefer the service charge on the free drink package as a perk versus paying for Cheers AND the service charge on top of that. I don't understand that comparison...

 

 

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[crazyboutdisney]

I would agree with Kayjay. What ruins a cruise for some may not for others. It’s all an opinion and someone’s expectations which can vary greatly.

We cruise w a group of friends and last year we sailed on the carnival Vista. We loved it. No complaints. Our friends had a list a mile long. Swore off carnival. Which is how we ended up at NCL. Honestly I think they just needed a change. I am fine with either but I tend to be pretty easy going when it comes to service probably because I have worked in grocery retail for over 30 years.

Original poster , I’m sorry to hear you had a bad experience. No one wants to be miserable on their vacation!

[Shidah]

I beg your pardon!!!

 

I have seen You Tube Videes where people show off thier cabin and the mess that they make in it is astounding to me. They even video the bathrooms and they haven even flushed the toilet!

 

Lets say for fun that this guest make the huge mess on the balcony and is now complaining....I asked a simple question, not a stupid one despite your remarks. ;p[/quote

 

I agree with you that some of the messes people make are unbelievable , I would be embarrassed to have my room steward clean it. I also wondered who and why there were potato chips on the balcony and although OP had young children I would have made a effort to clean them up. When a review is this negative I tend to take it with a grain of salt.

 

I wondered this as well. But I see it wasn't answered. I'm one of those people that straightens up the room in preparation for the room steward. We would never make a mess then expect someone else to entirely clean it up. Maybe the OP will answer the question though.

[roxette]

Sounds like a real bummer of an experience.

 

I guess you’ll be trying another line.

 

I suggest Regent or Oceania for the experience you are likely looking for.

Or maybe try NCL Sun or Spirit.

 

I agree with the OP. The Breakaway class is not an success, att least not to me. Standing in line seems to be THE norm. I really look forward to the Bliss in two months, though.

[zqvol]

This would be my 7th Cruise and first on ncl. Mini suite is nice, food pretty good but that’s about it.

Bar service...awful. Lines, being ignored. one time I was sittings at bar and was told to get in line if I wanted a drink. Really? WTH. Waiters by the pool? Nonexistent. Lost laundry. Ncl booked excursion Jeep tour with beach...no actually just an hour and a half in a sandbox because you can’t go in the water it’s not safe...

rude staff everywhere. Guest services not really helpful. We’ll get back to you...no they won’t.

I’m pretty sure the slow bar service is because of the UBP I believe they are trained to slow it down. None of them would survive a Friday night even at a local small bar. I feel sorry for people that didn’t get the UBP because they had to wait as well. I’m pretty sure there’s no way I spent even close to the cost of the package, I’ll know tomorrow if they itemized all the drinks on the final bill. Many times I just gave up.

Dinner in the MDR was a 2.5-3hr endeavor. I carried my daughter back asleep a couple times. Didn’t matter when you went it was slow, this was also a way to push you to the pay restaurants. Some odd things, at one bar a drink could be 13.95 and 17.95 at another. Or one thing was covered the next day it wasn’t.

Balcony never got cleaned from day one and had potato chips scattered about even after it was requested to be cleaned.

That’s what immediately comes to mind. Let’s see how they can botch up disembarkation....

 

 

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Just got off the Getaway today (well since it is Monday as I type this I guess yesterday is more accurate) and was on with OP. I know exactly what he is talking about concerning the lines at the bars. It happens at two bars only and happened three days out of the cruise - embarkation day, and both sea days. The bars were the ones by the pools. The rest of the bars were quick and had no lines. Bar servers were plentiful, except around the pools which were so crowded you couldn't move. There was no way any server could effectively take care of any of that area.

 

I dined in the main dining room four nights. I found the service to be exceptional. Everything was quick and I was in and out in less than an hour every time. To a large extent dining room speed depends on the size of your party, and whether you are ready when the waiter is ready or if they have to come back two or three times to get your order. I personally do not believe that OP ever had a 2.5 hour dinner in any of the main dining rooms, unless he drug it out on purpose.

 

 

I am guessing that his jeep tour was Friday in Cozumel. He was taken to the east side of the island where swimming is unsafe. That is a known condition. He also fails to mentioned that it rained so hard that day that at times you could not see 100 feet ahead. I was on a snorkel boat during that mess, Water was calm as glass when we went out and by the time we returned 2.5 hours or so later it was so rough you couldn't stand up. Mother nature at her finest.

 

 

The staff as the nicest that I have found on any NCL cruise. I did not find or see one staff member that was rude or unfriendly, in fact they all went out of their way being nice.

 

 

BTW OP's drinks were not itemized on his final bill, in fact they are nto mentioned unless you had something over the cost of the UBP.

 

 

I am sure that he is going to complain about disembarkation. It was typical, and to a large extent is 100% controlled by NCL and the passengers. The mess occurs because people line up and cause congestion. Within 45 minutes of beginning the process the lines was moving quickly and was only about half as long as originally. Part of the delay is the way NCL scans cruise cards and then compares you to the photo. It takes too much time. Another problem that is completely within the passengers control is a lot of people have put their cruise cards away and hold up the line digging for them.

 

 

Once you actually leave the ship the delays are caused by security keeping the lines reasonable on the escalators and steps. They limit people instead of allowing them to bunch up. Immigration is really quick, you pretty much walk up, hand them a passport, say good morning and you are gone. The line at immigration was three people deep.

 

 

I don't know that I will do a full review but I will tell you that my experience on the same cruise was very different than what OP deat with this past week.

[BNBR]

Have my first Carnival sailing tomorrow. I'm a regular NCL cruiser. Sure prefer the service charge on the free drink package as a perk versus paying for Cheers AND the service charge on top of that. I don't understand that comparison...

 

 

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You pay for the drink package... Nothing is free.

 

I did a mock booking for January on a similar NCL and Carnival itinerary. NCL was $2619.56 and Carnival was $1688.80. Same dates, both Western 7 day cruises in similar balcony stateroom. Cheers would be $955.88 giving a total for Carnival as $2644.68. In other words, about the same price IF the couple thinks they will drink $1000 in alcohol and wants the package. The prices are so close, you would almost think it wasn't free on NCL at all and planned out this way... ;)

 

Of course, it depends on the cruiser. Adding a 3rd and 4th on NCL, factoring in a drink package as well (you get 2 free at sea), you would come out ahead on NCL by a decent amount. If you don't really want a drink package, you would come out way ahead on Carnival.

[Lord Reaper of Pyke]

Corporations and stores staff seasonally all the time all across the world. Until there's actual proof they couldn't fit them in quarters on ship there's no reason to believe they couldn't do it.

[Lord Reaper of Pyke]

Or rearrange your staff to alleviate hot spots. Its definitely a management issue on that ship. The rank n file staff are wonderful.

[BNBR]

Corporations and stores staff seasonally all the time all across the world. Until there's actual proof they couldn't fit them in quarters on ship there's no reason to believe they couldn't do it.

 

They could easily staff more during the season. These are contract workers as it is. It may have more to do with limits on space for them to sleep, etc.

[flcraigs5]

Classic

 

You have a potato chip phobia and rather than talking with your room steward about your fears, you flame the spud on cruise critic.

 

Then a kind bartender allows an over price drink to slide by, rather than saying “thank you”, flaming away again when the next bartender charges you correctly.

 

We have been in the GA and sister NCL mega ships 16 times (soon to be 18) and have rarely had a problem getting a drink within a minute or two. We are smart enough to look at a bar, it is busy, walk 30 seconds down to the next bar. We don’t look for and stand in the longest line and then complain about it.

 

AMEN!! Was on the Escape March 2017 during Spring Break and headed out on the Getaway in 6 days. I have never had issues on Spring Break cruises. Yes it may take a bit longer if the bar is swamped but hey I am on vacation... NO WORRIES :)

[helensobol]

Classic

 

You have a potato chip phobia and rather than talking with your room steward about your fears, you flame the spud on cruise critic.

 

Then a kind bartender allows an over price drink to slide by, rather than saying “thank you”, flaming away again when the next bartender charges you correctly.

 

We have been in the GA and sister NCL mega ships 16 times (soon to be 18) and have rarely had a problem getting a drink within a minute or two. We are smart enough to look at a bar, it is busy, walk 30 seconds down to the next bar. We don’t look for and stand in the longest line and then complain about it.

\:hearteyes::hearteyes::hearteyes:

You are the best!!!! :hearteyes:

:hearteyes:

[Notnewtoit]

I'm struggling to see why "forming a line" at an uber-busy bar is considered unacceptable by OP (if that is the crux of that particular displeasure). Pit Stop was operating a line on Jade last week and for the most part it worked very well, folks in line just chatted to one another as the line advanced. The only people that got upset were those people who somehow thought they were 'special' and could walk up, plonk themselves down and totally ignore the 8 laughing/dancing people patiently and politely waiting in line to be served. In those cases the bar staff just smiled big cheesy grins and pointed to the back of the line.

 

Now that said... if it's more "there were long lines at the bars"...because they were under or slow staffed... yup that sucks and can be addressed by NCL but IMHO is somewhat hard to avoid at those pool bars on the megaships at peaks times; and one of the reasons I love the Jewels (more).

 

That said... we don't have kids and the megas' are especially great for kids. Each to their own.