Should I Cancel my Upcoming Cruise and Set My Money on Fire Instead

[allyfrizzle]

I love the Escape. It's my favorite ship so far, especially the District Brew House.

[Sailing12Away]

More people will take the time to vent, rant and complain when they feel cheated or wronged of something they felt they deserved, than people who had a wonderful time and choose to write about it. The folks in category A are either hoping for sympathy or some type of handout for free, and it's 50/50 how many of those complaints are truly valid and justified as opposed to entitled incorrect expectations.

 

Your vacation is what you make of it. My last cruise started off on possibly the worst foot ever with us nearly missing the ship, and continued with unpleasant things due to a bad butler in our first ever Haven experience. Overall though I still have more positive things to say, simply for the mere fact that I wasn't at work dealing with drama there. I'll take vacation drama over real life drama any day.

 

Just take things in stride, go in with realistic expectations, and speak up to the correct crew members if problems do arise during your journey. Don't wait until you get home and come here being the next person to bash their trip without taking any proactive measures to correct the situation while it was happening. 

[Nic6318]

Hi Twipenne

 

I there. This is a unique site in the amount of information you can find on the site. Certainly go on the cruise and enjoy. Be sure to ask any kind of question on the NCL threads. If you have found the "port of call" threads, be sure to look at all you cruise stops. Again, you will find lots of information.

 

About the complaints, many have said it often enough, but the longer you visit the more you will see how it's a favorite pastime. In fact today I saw a thread that not only had people complaining, but it also had people complaining about the people complaining, and then someone complained about the people complaining about the people who complain. 😃

 

So it really is not unheard of and you definitely need to take a lot with a grain of salt.

 

have a great cruise 

[marynjohn]

OK.  So most of what people before me have said I believe to be true. 

You'll probably have a great time,

people complain (some simply because they wanted to pay less)...

 

BUT, NCl has in our opinion, dropped a couple of notches.  Because they're a little too aggressive trying to squeeze every nickel out of you.  We went on a cruise every year for almost 10 years.  This year, meh...  We've been on NCL, Celebrity, and Carnival (twice - the first time and the last time).

We just got an offer for a FREE cruise but we're probably not going to take it.

We also have a cruise credit voucher.

Just not feeling it.

 

[tomk3212]

As a LOT of posters have previously opined DON'T always make your judgement based on what you read here on CC.

 

As an example; many years ago someone here posted a review (it wasn't NCL, btw...lol) with the word "Disaster" in their post's title.  Someone answered back, "Unless you were on the 'Titanic' or the 'Lusitania' (or maybe now the 'Costa Concordia') your cruise was NOT a "disaster".  So take what you read here with a grain of salt and enjoy YOUR upcoming cruise and always remember that ANY day on ANY cruise ship going ANYwhere is better than a day at home or work.

[SailBreakaway]

Go and enjoy, please. escape is a magnificent ship, NCL provides a quality product and they are SAFE. I enjoy debating the issues in this industry but I live to cruise.  They are the best days of my life. The best days of the year are the day we walk up that gangway.

 

The worst day on sea, is better than the best day on land. 

[jmh3791]

Every line has good reviews and bad reviews.   Since you're already booked, quit reading them.  I just finished my first cruise with Norwegian and was very pleased.   The food could have been better (it wasn't bad,) but with so many choices, if you couldn't find something you liked, you just wanted to be a miserable person. Pretty sure my dad had ice cream for or with every meal. The service/crew were phenomenal, and my dad and I really enjoyed the entertainment on board.  As we talked with others who had cruised a lot, it seems each line has it's pros and cons.  

 

Don't set your expectations for "ultimate luxury," and you'll have a fantastic time.  Consider getting a drink package. The bartenders are a hoot, and a few martinis make everything better. 

Edited June 28, 2019 by jmh3791

[R'man]

Cruising is what it is.  Go and have fun. 

[allygory]

I just recently took my first cruise.. on the Escape, to Bermuda.  I was where you were. I booked and then the comments I saw had me worried that I'd booked the wrong ship, the wrong type of vacation the wrong everything.  I too considered cancelling.  I'm glad I didn't.

 

I had, and I'm not exaggerating, a spectacular time.

 

Its a lovely ship.  I got to do everything that interested me, and I found the food ranging from "fine"  to "excellent" and only ate one meal that I was meh on and it wasn't one I was expecting much from.

 

I did not have a drink package (I'm not a big drinker), but even with the ostensible nickel and diming my onboard account really didn't rack up much in the way of charges.  

 

I really need not have worried, and you don't need to either.  Its really very very nice.

Edited June 28, 2019 by allygory

[beerman2]

5 hours ago, allygory said:

I just recently took my first cruise.. on the Escape, to Bermuda.  I was where you were. I booked and then the comments I saw had me worried that I'd booked the wrong ship, the wrong type of vacation the wrong everything.  I too considered cancelling.  I'm glad I didn't.

 

I had, and I'm not exaggerating, a spectacular time.

 

Its a lovely ship.  I got to do everything that interested me, and I found the food ranging from "fine"  to "excellent" and only ate one meal that I was meh on and it wasn't one I was expecting much from.

 

I did not have a drink package (I'm not a big drinker), but even with the ostensible nickel and diming my onboard account really didn't rack up much in the way of charges.  

 

I really need not have worried, and you don't need to either.  Its really very very nice.

You recently took your first cruise and it's fascinating you've bought in to the "nickel and diming" concept/myth.

 

Good insight for OP up until then. One can only be "nickel and dined" if they choose to.

[allygory]

1 hour ago, beerman2 said:

You recently took your first cruise and it's fascinating you've bought in to the "nickel and diming" concept/myth.

  

Good insight for OP up until then. One can only be "nickel and dined" if they choose to.

Not what i meant.. I meant that  people's perception of things being that way did not bear out.

I was already pretty sure that wasn't the case going in.  I get that you either pay up front or you pay later for things and i'd much rather the model where you don't pay up front. There was very little that I thought "gee I wish this were included."

[Julslea]

Just got off my first cruise on the NCL Joy and we had a great time. If you go into the cruise with a positive attitude and don't expect everything to be perfect you will be fine. Some people just like to complain about everything and are never happy. 

[Son of a son of a ...]

Try NCL.  If you hate it, then try something else, but at least sample what was offered.  I feel we are nearing our end of cruising in the not too distant future.  We have been on many cruises, but there are several land-locked areas of this world  that we want to visit and the vacation time budget is finite because we both work fulltime.  

[electro]

"Should I Cancel my Upcoming Cruise and Set My Money on Fire Instead"

To answer this question, No, you should cancel your cruise and give the money to me.

Same net result to you, great benefit for me!😀😉

[OBSESSIVEWORLDTRAVELER]

Just remember people are more likely to complain than compliment. 

[Maya1234]

I find the complaints to be very helpful to set expectations. Thank you to the people who complained about the fact that kids run wild in the Haven Pool area. I woukd have been very upset by this if I hadn’t known in advance. Instead I got to weight this as a factor when making my decision about choosing the Haven. I also had expectations set about crowds and elevator wait times, the never changing Haven menu, chair hogs etc....

 

As a person who never ever woukd think that any day in a cruise is better than a day at home ( love being at home) I am very grateful to those who tell it like it is from their perspective and weren’t all “ who cares about this problem or that”. The information I got from the complainers helped this homebody enjoy her cruise. 

Edited June 29, 2019 by Maya1234

[SouthLyonCruiser]

On 6/27/2019 at 8:28 AM, Twipenne said:

Let's start with the fact that I've never taken a cruise in my life, though it's been on my bucket list for about three years. After doing some research, I booked the Norwegian Escape for Jan 25th because between the solo cabins, the no set dining time, the fact that with free at sea I only have to spend $139 on drinks for the week, the water slides and ropes course, it seemed like a ship I would want to try. But then I found CC after I placed my deposit and all I've seen are posts saying that the line is going down hill and they've been miserable on their cruises. And when I look into RCL and Carnival, I find complaints there as well.

 

So, I ask, should I even bother trying cruising?

When going through the reviews there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

1. How many reviews has the reviewer written? If they claim to have been on many cruises and only written one review, disregard.

2. "Experienced" cruisers who complain about their cabins but don't mention whether they chose the cabin or let the cruise line do it for them. 

3. Look for consistent complaints or compliments about items. If there are many complaints about the same thing it is more likely true. Same goes for compliments. And, sometimes, the consistent items may be things that don't bother or impress you one way or the other. For instance; if the entertainment is not something that is a big part of your reason for cruising and it has consistent complaints, no problem. 

 

[Twipenne]

On 6/28/2019 at 7:28 PM, ronbe65 said:

 

1. Always ask questions like this one before you a cruise. 🙂

 

 

Just to clarify, I did ask these questions before I cruised. But, there seems to be a major disconnect between what my friends and family, along with other websites I've read  and YouTube videos over seen had to say about NCL and what CC seems to think of the line. It almost fathoms me how large the disconnect is and I'm trying to figure out what cruisers on here are seeing that other people aren't.

[zqvol]

On 6/27/2019 at 8:28 AM, Twipenne said:

Let's start with the fact that I've never taken a cruise in my life, though it's been on my bucket list for about three years. After doing some research, I booked the Norwegian Escape for Jan 25th because between the solo cabins, the no set dining time, the fact that with free at sea I only have to spend $139 on drinks for the week, the water slides and ropes course, it seemed like a ship I would want to try. But then I found CC after I placed my deposit and all I've seen are posts saying that the line is going down hill and they've been miserable on their cruises. And when I look into RCL and Carnival, I find complaints there as well.

 

So, I ask, should I even bother trying cruising?

 

Ignore the complaints. The vast majority of them are from the miserable few who can never be happy. You are not going to know what it is like until you try it yourself.

[Wedgie23]

19 hours ago, Twipenne said:

Just to clarify, I did ask these questions before I cruised. But, there seems to be a major disconnect between what my friends and family, along with other websites I've read  and YouTube videos over seen had to say about NCL and what CC seems to think of the line. It almost fathoms me how large the disconnect is and I'm trying to figure out what cruisers on here are seeing that other people aren't.

Hardcore NCL people may be distraught about the direction the line is going but I don't think many of them would say they had absolutely horrible times on their vacations even if they may be looking towards other lines. 

 

Perhaps if you gave some specifics of things you've read that are concerning you about your vacation people can tell you the realities of what those issues are like/how often they occur and how possibly to mitigate or avoid them completely. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

We’ve cruised with 4 different cruise lines and NCL was one of our favorites. We are trying yet another line this fall, and just booked another with NCL one for next summer. We’ve never had a bad cruise. Only problem is, once you try cruising you will probably get hooked. 

[Homosassa]

Everyone who cruises started with a first cruise.

 

Go, enjoy yourself, and pay attention to the onboard experiences that you like or dislike such as the type of entertainment, the number of passengers on board and the quality of the food.

 

You may find that you liked cruising, but NCL does not offer the type of cruise experience that you want.

 

That is okay. There are lots of cruise lines offering different cruise experiences and the fun will be finding the right fit for you.

[vwlmember]

I have always had good experiences on the ships. There are the occasional issues but they have been minor and did not affect the overall quality of the vacation.  On the other hand, when it comes to customer service on the corporate level, NCL is the worst. 

[GA Dave]

On ‎6‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 11:48 AM, Twipenne said:

 

Just to clarify, I did ask these questions before I cruised. But, there seems to be a major disconnect between what my friends and family, along with other websites I've read  and YouTube videos over seen had to say about NCL and what CC seems to think of the line. It almost fathoms me how large the disconnect is and I'm trying to figure out what cruisers on here are seeing that other people aren't.

Someone has already mentioned that this is most likely due to the fact that the majority of CCers are long-time cruisers who are unhappy with the changes taking place.  This can easily be explained by reading the book "Who Moved My Cheese" by Dr. Spencer Johnson.  Many people absolutely hate any change in their lives.  If someone moves their computer mouse a few inches, they get crazy.  So, any time things change on the cruise lines, these people hate it and come on here to vent. It is a natural reaction for many people.  As a first-timer, you should go on with an open mind, as you have no previous experience with which to view any of the "changes".  You will most likely love it (otherwise the numbers of passengers would not be skyrocketing), and come home a happy cruiser.

[iaswam]

We cruised on the Escape in March of 2017. It was our first cruise and we didn't really know what to expect. The first two days the weather was pretty rough and quite a few people got sick (thankfully we didn't), shows were cancelled due to rough seas and there wasn't much to do on deck. By the third day the weather improved and only got better as our trip progressed. The Escape is a great ship with lots to do and, despite the weather, we had a fantastic time. So much so, we are booked to sail on the Encore in January. Don't let the naysayers discourage you. Go, have fun, and enjoy the moment.