Loyal Royals Try Norwegian

[rncruiser]

 

Food, drinks, service and entertainment were mediocre compared to Royal. But show me a Royal sailing in June for 2 adults with open bar for $700 out the door, including taxes, fees and gratuities. Not going to happen

 

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Your lucky that’s all you paid. Maybe if that was my cost I wouldn’t have been so upset. While we only paid $110 plus taxes and gratuities for our cabin because of our credit from our cancelled cruise, our kids cabin was over $2000 for 4 nights. While we might have gotten what we paid for our cabin, we certainly did not get what we paid for the second cabin. It was only the discounted price that made the cost bearable. I can’t imagine paying over $4000 for the value that we got.

 

 

 

 

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[centurycruiser]

We have not cruised NCL since they switched from cruises to nights cruised and took away two cruises (14nights) and I couldn't convince them to put them back.

I don't think I ever experienced the problems you experienced. In fact I used to believe NCL offered the best 24 hour cafe? restaurant? fare.

Since that time we've achieved Elite on Princess and Celebrity, Diamond on Carnival and recently Pinnacle on Royal. I thought it might be interesting to try NCL again. (They had good cookies when we cruised NCL.)

I planned on calling NCL to see if they would give me credit for the two cruises they took away. But, I checked some fares and decided why give up the amenities I earned on the other lines just to sail NCL. Your review gives me confidence I made the correct decision.

[RunBikeCruiseDC]

My D+ daughter went on the NCL Bliss to Alaska early this summer. From her report, they've figured out how to do things right on their newest ship. She was quite impressed. I think she even bought a couple of future cruise certificates. I will tell her not to use one on the Sky.

My husband and I love NCL but would like to try RC. We went on the Sun (Sky's sister ship) many years ago but have been on the Breakaway/Breakaway Plus class ships over the past few years. We've decided we would have to go on something comparable on RC like Oasis class or newer to make a a fair comparison. Going from NCL Bliss to Grandeur of the Seas would be comparing apples to oranges...

[CruiseGal999]

Our first two family cruises were on the Sky and it sounds like she's really gone down hill. While there is no way to compare a 4 day cruise to a 7 day one would expect that they would at least get the food right.

 

No, not on NCL Sky. My cruise to Cuba in 2017 on Sky, the food was HORRIBLE. But I was on the cruise for the itinerary (Cuba) and NOT the food. Good thing. They advertised 'Cheesecake' for dessert but what was served was a custard on a graham crust. And dinners were inedible.

 

But I found the employees (mostly) to be fine and helpful. My cabin steward was the worst I have EVER encountered. Oh well ... it was a quick 4 day cruise and Cuba was AMAZING.

[Cuizer2]

First I would like to say that your review was well written. However, your experience on Royal seems limited to its biggest ships, which of course offer more. It is not fair to compare the Sky to ships that are twice its size.

 

I am D+ on Royal Caribbean. I have been unhappy with the reduction in the quality of Royal Caribbean's product of late. I've taken three cruises so far on NCL and have three more booked. Royal Caribbean's smaller ships don't have a Royal Promenade either. Yes the food should be edible, but food is very subjective. There is a clear difference between Royal Caribbean and NCL. You should stick to the cruise line that best fits your needs. I have been very happy with my NCL cruises even though I don't like Freestyle Dining. If the next three cruises work out, I'll probable switch to NCL. One of my favorite features of some of the NCL ships is the forward facing balcony cabins, which I have enjoyed on two of my cruises through the Panama Canal.

 

Yes, NCL has some issues, but so does Royal Caribbean.

[sparks1093]

First I would like to say that your review was well written. However, your experience on Royal seems limited to its biggest ships, which of course offer more. It is not fair to compare the Sky to ships that are twice its size.

 

I am D+ on Royal Caribbean. I have been unhappy with the reduction in the quality of Royal Caribbean's product of late. I've taken three cruises so far on NCL and have three more booked. Royal Caribbean's smaller ships don't have a Royal Promenade either. Yes the food should be edible, but food is very subjective. There is a clear difference between Royal Caribbean and NCL. You should stick to the cruise line that best fits your needs. I have been very happy with my NCL cruises even though I don't like Freestyle Dining. If the next three cruises work out, I'll probable switch to NCL. One of my favorite features of some of the NCL ships is the forward facing balcony cabins, which I have enjoyed on two of my cruises through the Panama Canal.

 

Yes, NCL has some issues, but so does Royal Caribbean.

 

It may not be fair to compare, but it's going to happen. One would expect that things that should be standard fleetwide are going to be standard fleetwide and those are things such as food, service, staff and to a degree entertainment. If those things are wanting on the smaller ship who in their right mind would be in a hurry to spend more to give a bigger ship a try, especially if one's vacation budget is limited? Personally we get one cruise a year and if a cruise left such a bad taste in our mouth we wouldn't be in a hurry to give that cruise line another chance.

 

We started off on NCL Dream on a 2 night CTN. It was horrific in many ways and even long time NCL cruisers were saying so. But our attitude was "if this is NCL at it's worst then we can't wait to see the best, because this isn't so bad". The only shortcoming of Sky when we sailed on her was the 4 day itinerary. Everything else was nicely done and made us want more. It doesn't sound like that is the case any longer.

[drsel]

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Wow, what a detailed report!

What did the hotel director do after you showed him the photos/ proof of the "stained" towel?

And OMG, what happened in the hot tub? Why didn't you take photos/ videos and complain about that also?

Edited August 15, 2018 by drsel

[mugtech]

And dinners were inedible.

 

Another person not knowing the meaning of inedible.

[cb at sea]

Re: loungers being so close together.....simply move them! They aren't attached to the ground!

[sparks1093]

Re: loungers being so close together.....simply move them! They aren't attached to the ground!

 

If they were attached to the ground you'd be at a land resort and not on a cruise ship:').

[rncruiser]

drsel, the hotel director appeared shocked and mortified. He simply apologized and asked for my cabin number. What I didn’t mention in my report is that I also showed him a picture of one of the toilets in the bathroom by the buffet. I am not one for taking pictures, but after I used it for the second time in 3 hours and still found it ringed in grey, I felt compelled to take the picture. While he certainly did not make light of the towel incident, he tried to put off the toilet as normal wear and it would be replaced at the next refurbishment. I’m not sure that I agree with him, as it was the only such toilet I encountered.

As to the hot tub, I will admit I didn’t actually see anything. It was my daughter who noticed his right hand disappear under the water and the absurd smile on his face as he looked at her. She just left the hot tub and I left with her. It was after we were out that she told me about it.

 

cb at sea, the lingers weren’t moved because there was no room to move them.

 

 

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[rncruiser]

Cuizer2, my experience on Royal is definitely not limited to the big ships. In fact I first fell in love with cruising many years ago on a non-Royal ship that was only 19,000 tons. My subsequent cruises were on Song of Norway, Song of America, and Sovereign of the Seas before I took a long break from cruising because we couldn’t afford it. To this day my husband and I still recall the wonderful entertainment on board those ships, particularly a late night act that appeared on Song of America each night of the cruise. The singers were fantastic and did a different routine each night, unlike the piano lounge singer who did the same routine for 4 nights straight. I said from the start that I did not expect entertainment like in the mega ships, but I was hoping for something at least comparable to what I enjoyed on the smaller ships 30 years ago.

 

 

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[ShipsInBergen]

Thanks OP for the nicely written viewpoint/comparison.

 

The thing about the whole discussion of people being loyal to one cruise line that gets me is...why does anyone care :confused:?! Personally I like trying out different lines and seem to enjoy them all. But if someone really loves the product offered by one line, and choses to enjoy all their cruises with that one line, what impact does that have on anyone else? Why try to convince them otherwise?

 

I guess I just don't see the problem that gets people so defensive/riled up :halo:

 

Happy cruising to the OP and everyone else :)

[MJSailors]

Hello mcruiser-

I read your review of the Sky and would like to share a bit of our experience with NCL.

My DH and I sailed on the Breakaway - NYC to Bermuda twice.

We chose these cruises because of the convenience of the port as we live on LI.

The first cruise (2015) was ok, the second (2016) made us realize that NCL was not for us.

We have taken many cruises on Princess and could not help compare the two cruise lines while on the Breakaway.

While that ship is so much larger than the Sky and the length of the cruises were seven days as opposed to the four days of your cruise, we had some of the same reactions/experiences as you.

We thought the food and ship layout were mediocre. The ship felt crowded and the staff, while they did their jobs,were not engaging or friendly except for our room steward.

Someone has posted a review of the Escape on the NCL board. Some aspects that person discussed about their recent cruise echoes your experiences.

We returned to Princes shortly after the last cruise on the Breakaway. For us, that cruise felt welcoming and familiar. We certainly appreciated being on the Regal Princess.

You ,most likely, will feel that way when you return to Royal Caribbean for future cruises.

As a side note, I noticed that you are from Forest Hills. I grew up there and experienced a wonderful childhood there.

My DH and I moved to eastern LI 34 years ago. I have fond memories of Forest Hills and am still a Queens girl at heart ! 🙂

Wishing you and your family many Bon voyages in the future ! 🚢

[Cuizer2]

The only shortcoming of Sky when we sailed on her was the 4 day itinerary. Everything else was nicely done and made us want more. It doesn't sound like that is the case any longer.

 

I am not going to rate a ship or a cruise line based on the experience of one person. Just before my first cruise with NCL someone posted a review of the very ship I was about to board. The bottom line was, even if it was free he would not cruise on NCL again. I had a good time. Good enough to pay $8,000 for my next NCL cruise which ended up being one of my two favorite cruises (I have taken over thirty cruises).

 

As I pointed out, I am comparing lots of cruise lines because Royal Caribbean's product has gone downhill since there was a change in senior management. I like longer cruises (10+ nights) and Carnival doesn't offer many of those. Princess is okay, but the ships lack the energy I like. So, even though I don't like Freestyle Dining, I have enjoyed my past NCL cruises and I've got a 5, 7, and 14 night cruises booked for 2019 & 2020. One is in a Haven suite and two are in balcony cabins. Later this year I'll be in a suite on the Oasis of the Seas for a week. I still want to try out HAL, Celebrity, and Costa.

[Cuizer2]

Cuizer2, my experience on Royal is definitely not limited to the big ships. In fact I first fell in love with cruising many years ago on a non-Royal ship that was only 19,000 tons. My subsequent cruises were on Song of Norway, Song of America, and Sovereign of the Seas before I took a long break from cruising because we couldn’t afford it. To this day my husband and I still recall the wonderful entertainment on board those ships, particularly a late night act that appeared on Song of America each night of the cruise. The singers were fantastic and did a different routine each night, unlike the piano lounge singer who did the same routine for 4 nights straight. I said from the start that I did not expect entertainment like in the mega ships, but I was hoping for something at least comparable to what I enjoyed on the smaller ships 30 years ago.

 

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There are a lot of things from 1988 that I prefer over what we have now. Things change, not always for the better.

[CruisingNole]

Some closing thoughts:

 

Sail on NCL Sun or Sky in 2018 and then sail on RCCL Majesty or anything Vision class in 2018. That's as close to a "fair" comparison you're going to get.

 

You can't compare an experience on a small ship 20 years ago to an experience on a small ship today, regardless of the cruise line.

 

You can't compare a mega-ship to a 2000 passenger ship, regardless of the cruise line.

 

Different strokes for different folks.

[Cuizer2]

Another person not knowing the meaning of inedible.

 

I find that hard to swallow.

[sparks1093]

I am not going to rate a ship or a cruise line based on the experience of one person. Just before my first cruise with NCL someone posted a review of the very ship I was about to board. The bottom line was, even if it was free he would not cruise on NCL again. I had a good time. Good enough to pay $8,000 for my next NCL cruise which ended up being one of my two favorite cruises (I have taken over thirty cruises).

 

As I pointed out, I am comparing lots of cruise lines because Royal Caribbean's product has gone downhill since there was a change in senior management. I like longer cruises (10+ nights) and Carnival doesn't offer many of those. Princess is okay, but the ships lack the energy I like. So, even though I don't like Freestyle Dining, I have enjoyed my past NCL cruises and I've got a 5, 7, and 14 night cruises booked for 2019 & 2020. One is in a Haven suite and two are in balcony cabins. Later this year I'll be in a suite on the Oasis of the Seas for a week. I still want to try out HAL, Celebrity, and Costa.

 

I don't think anyone is asking you to rate anything, if your experience is acceptable to you than that is all that matters. I know that I feel the same way about NCL as you feel about Royal- since they got a new CEO they've made many changes that don't sit well with me. I will still book at least one more cruise with them, but the price will need to be close to the competition. I'm paying $1770 to sail on Anthem and NCL wanted $3600 for a similar sailing out of NYC. Once we've picked an itinerary we will typically book with the line with the lowest price, so we are only loyal to our wallets.

[CruiseGal999]

I find that hard to swallow.

 

 

:'):')