New to NCL

[All-ready2cruise]

So, from reading all of these posts and having an opinion of my own as well, I'd say, NCL is doing just fine as far as their MDRs are doing. The majority of these posts seem to indicate that the food and service are good>great.  I've had some great meals in the MDR and some not so great in the specialty restaurants.  Food is food.  Well prepared and presented, most ppl will enjoy it.  Other cruise lines are likely similar, my bet, none are perfect.  

Not sure why anyone would cruise on a line which they feel doesn't offer them the best of what they feel is important to them.  

 

 

[life is to be happy]

On 2/11/2021 at 4:33 PM, graphicguy said:

I like NCL's MDRs.  Matter of fact, there's been times when I dined in them because I was particularly fond of the dish they were having on particular evenings.  Service has always been good.

 

I chuckle sometimes about how people can be so damning of a cruise line that either isn't their favorite, or one that they've never even sailed.

 

Overall, I find NCL to be as good as any other cruise line out there.  I've sailed HAL, RCCL, Carnival, Celebrity, in addition to NCL.  They all have little  differences.  But, none have been bad.  I have had weather affect my cruise (both with NCL).  One cruise our ship was hit with a sudden wind that listed our ship 8º-11º.  The other we had to sail around a hurricane, which still had some rough seas.  Neither were NCL's fault, and considering the circumstances, both were handled well by NCL.

 

Entertainment is where NCL shines.  Their shows are the best at sea.  

 

Celebrity is a different vibe...way more laid back...as is HAL.  If that's what you want, steer towards those cruise lines.

yep I agree about the entertainment on NCL - we loved it. there was something for us to do always throughout the night and we thoroughly enjoyed it all. I would say they are on par with RCI in MDR. They has a few different choices depending on what you fancied. 

[AstoriaPreppy]

3 hours ago, farmersfight said:

Also, I will have to "step up my game" as I have just booked the Celebrity Apex (I'm glad you said Celebrity is "laid back" Not to stodgy, I hope).

I could think of lots of ways to describe Celebrity, but "stodgy" definitely wouldn't be one of them. 

We did the Edge in 2019, and the ship was spectacular. Mind-blowing spaces onboard, and air-conditioned tenders with padded seats and TVs.

[AstoriaPreppy]

1 hour ago, All-ready2cruise said:

Not sure why anyone would cruise on a line which they feel doesn't offer them the best of what they feel is important to them.  

Easy: itinerary and location!

In our case, NCL offers by far the best itineraries from NY, including 10 and 11 day winter trips down to the Caribbean.They also use the west side pier, which is much more convenient for most residents compared to getting to Jersey. 

 

Royal Caribbean/Celebrity tends to be 7 day Bahamas runs for warm-weather trips. If Celebrity/Royal did more interesting voyages in the Winter months, we'd probably bite the bullet and try to get out to Bayonne more. 

[4774Papa]

On 2/4/2021 at 3:41 AM, Ladesign said:

Hi there

We are new to NCL , having sailed on a dozen of so Celebrity.  Our Canadian friend has refused to join us on a 15 night Oanama canal as he says the food & service in the main dining areas is “lousy”

 

I am fairly confident this is a bit of an overstatement and would welcome views from others .  We already have a 5 night spec restaurant package and will upgrade to more if the main dining room isn’t up to our tastes

 

Would also welcome any thoughts /tips on sailing with NCL 

 

Thank you in advance 

 

Chris 

We started cruising on NCL and then added Celebrity and Royal Caribbean.   We cruise all three and compare itineraries and prices before we book.

NCL once was the bargain basement price, no longer, with free at sea (nothing is free) overall prices are up.

We have done 11 Celebrity 7 on NCL and 2 on Royal Caribbean

Here is  how I rate each one:

Dining and service, Celebrity rates (range 1-10) 9.0, Royal Caribbean 8.0 and NCL 7.5

Entertainment Royal C and NCL rate 9.0 and Celebrity 8.0

Itineraries Celebrity and Royal C. rate 9.0 and NCL 8.0

Ship design and layout  Celebrity 9.5, Royal C. 8.0, NCL 7.5

 

NCL does irritate us a bit with its somewhat petty nickel and dimeing, but we can live with it.

We prefer the smaller to mid-sized ships and NCL has plenty of those, but we didn't care for Epic very much. 

What we have found with NCL as well is that the quality of the cruise, dining, entertainment, etc. tends to vary more ship to ship.  We loved the NCL specialty restaurants, but they recently raised the prices again.  Also, we very much dislike  the drink packages and ridiculous service charge on the drink package.

[farmersfight]

8 hours ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

I could think of lots of ways to describe Celebrity, but "stodgy" definitely wouldn't be one of them. 

We did the Edge in 2019, and the ship was spectacular. Mind-blowing spaces onboard, and air-conditioned tenders with padded seats and TVs.

 

Thanks. Glad to see you say the Edge was "spectacular". Bodes well for my booked cruise on her new sister the Apex. As a solo cruiser, I was pleased to see that Celebrity put 24 of those Single Infinite Veranda staterooms on Apex, compared to 16 on Edge (16 is still very good). Seems to indicate that Celebrity is increasing its marketing toward solo cruisers.

 

Yeah, I guess you know you are "stepping up your game" when your cruise ship has tenders with AC, padded seats & TV's!

[Biffire]

Brookie848,

I like your strategy of scanning the weeks menus to determine which night to do a specialty dining .

I did not know you get a preview of the weeks MDR menus, who do you ask?

I have often wished to know in advance what they are serving, to determine which nights to do our Spec dining reservations.

[zerooveride]

I have only sailed Carnival and NCL, so I'm a little limited in experience but can speak of mine. I've sailed 3x Carnival and 3x NCL.

 

Service: Hands down Carnival wins this. Great service and I've done the anytime dining option and it was great. To the point I gave extra money to the wait staff.

 

I've had problems on two ships of NCL in the MDR with service. First was the Jewel and it involved lobster tails. We asked for a couple of more (this was before they removed/up-charged them) tails and the waiter refused to give it to us and was very rude. I will say that the Maitre'd made it up to us big time and took care of us the rest of the cruise (probably didn't hurt I was in a Suite). 

 

The second time was on the Pride of America. One day we went to breakfast in the MDR, wife's food comes but my order never came. Mind you my wife was able to eat hers (she is a slow eater) and my food never came. No explanation as to why and the waiter never came back after they brought my wife's food. Never really got a satisfactory resolution to the issue. But then again, this was the Pride of America.

 

As for food quality, Carnival is a bit better, but not by much. The food in the MDR on NCL was more than good. Also the buffet was great. Breakfast in the buffet was quite good. Great selection and a few make to order stations.

 

Except for service issues in the MDR, I've really enjoyed NCL. A lot more relaxed then Carnival and always stuff to do. Loved Great Stirrup Cay the 2x I've been there. 

 

The value compared to other lines that I get with NCL (OBC, ShoreEx credit, Drink Package, Internet, etc.) is so much better that the small shortcomings I've experienced are something I can deal with. Plus the entertainment and bar staff make up for the MDR staff. 

 

Just my opinion . . .

[farmersfight]

2 hours ago, zerooveride said:

The second time was on the Pride of America. One day we went to breakfast in the MDR, wife's food comes but my order never came. Mind you my wife was able to eat hers (she is a slow eater) and my food never came. No explanation as to why and the waiter never came back after they brought my wife's food. Never really got a satisfactory resolution to the issue. But then again, this was the Pride of America.

 

Disappointed to read this about PoA's service in the MDR. Just curious, was there a Maitre'd in this MDR? Did you bring it up to senior management of the MDR and still no resolution?

 

I had read some "horror" stories about the hotel/MDR staff on PoA years back but I also read that NCL had corrected the problems and that there was much improvement. Maybe @chengkp75can weigh in here?

 

I'm booked on PoA as my 1st cruise "right out of the gate" when hopefully, cruising will have resumed (come on vaccines). So, I guess I shall find out first hand (if my cruise is a "go").

 

Thanks for posting your comparisons of NCL vs CCL.

Edited February 20, 2021 by farmersfight

[zerooveride]

2 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

Disappointed to read this about PoA's service in the MDR. Just curious, was there a Maitre'd in this MDR? Did you bring it up to senior management of the MDR and still no resolution?

 

I had read some "horror" stories about the hotel/MDR staff on PoA years back but I also read that NCL had corrected the problems and that there was much improvement. Maybe @chengkp75can weigh in here?

 

I'm booked on PoA as my 1st cruise "right out of the gate" when hopefully, cruising will have resumed (come on vaccines). So, I guess I shall find out first hand (if my cruise is a "go").

 

Thanks for posting your comparisons of NCL vs CCL.

This was July 2017. I got a sorry from the maitre’d not much of a resolution. I will point out though the staff in La Cucina were great and so were the two female bartenders at the John Adam’s bar in the atrium. 
 

The cruise was fun because of the destinations but it was not quite up to the standards on a regular cruise. 

[farmersfight]

15 hours ago, zerooveride said:

This was July 2017. I got a sorry from the maitre’d not much of a resolution. I will point out though the staff in La Cucina were great and so were the two female bartenders at the John Adam’s bar in the atrium. 
 

The cruise was fun because of the destinations but it was not quite up to the standards on a regular cruise. 

 

Yeah, I hear ya. I'm approaching my booked PoA cruise as not your typical "cruise". More like a floating, moving hotel that takes you from island (port) to island (port). But, as with a good hotel, you expect good service (both hotel & MDR/restaurant sides).

 

I am curious how the PoA's U.S. crew stacks up vs the international crew members of foreign flag cruise ship these days.

[zerooveride]

3 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

Yeah, I hear ya. I'm approaching my booked PoA cruise as not your typical "cruise". More like a floating, moving hotel that takes you from island (port) to island (port). But, as with a good hotel, you expect good service (both hotel & MDR/restaurant sides).

 

I am curious how the PoA's U.S. crew stacks up vs the international crew members of foreign flag cruise ship these days.

Well I can only speak to my 2017 cruise but not as good. I feel like they go through the motion of trying to be polite but they don't care one way or the other.

 

I did have a foreign cabin steward and he was great. He had come over from the Epic (I think) and he was really appreciative of being able to make more money for his family because of the wage requirements of a US flagged vessel. 

 

The same could be said of our favorite waitress in La Cochina. I wish I could remember her name, but I remember she had a twin sister also working on the ship. While she wasn't foreign persay, being from Guam, but she treated us great. 

 

It was hit or miss. The Cruise Director was funny.

 

This was a 4th of July cruise and I will say I was a bit disappointed with the festivities. While we did see some lava that night flowing into the ocean, we could have stayed closer to Hilo to see the Hilo Bay fireworks show. Just thought the lava was a bit boring and you could tell the Hawaiian cultural person on the ship was just going through the motions when talking about it. Thought it was very boring, almost a monotone presentation. 

 

Sailing the islands was something that I will never forget. Would I do it again? Absolutely because of the ports. But I would be going in with the knowledge of what to expect from the ship.

[pbenjamin]

We don't cruise often enough to make comparisons, but service in the MDRs on the Jewel was less than stellar.  On a couple of different nights I bought a bottle of San Pellegrino and they managed to "refresh" my glass with tap water from a pitcher.  I think that the service on cruise lines that don't have free style dining is a bit better.

 

Another issue on the Jewel was the bartenders seemed clueless.  The menu clearly displayed Bulleit Rye as one of the choices but when I would order it the bartender would reach for the Bulleit Bourbon bottle.  After a bit of frustration I determined that it didn't exist on the ship.  Please don't give me something else than I ordered if you don't have it.  Give me a choice to order something else.

[farmersfight]

5 hours ago, zerooveride said:

Sailing the islands was something that I will never forget. Would I do it again? Absolutely because of the ports. But I would be going in with the knowledge of what to expect from the ship.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I am going into this cruise realizing that it is more about Hawaii than about the ship. I'll take "hit or miss" since I believe (as others here on CC do) that the PoA is the best way to see Hawaii.

 

NCL and the PoA have somewhat a "monopoly" on cruising Hawaii since the other foreign flag cruise ships that sail the Hawaiian islands have to originate or terminate in a foreign port (usually Vancouver or Ensenada) because of the PVSA. This entails 5 sea days to get to or from Hawaii. I'm surprised no other cruise line (RCL, CCL, HAL, Celebrity, etc) hasn't built one of their new ships in a U.S. shipyard and register it under the U.S. flag, so they could home port the ship in Honolulu and compete against NCL.

 

Perhaps the market doesn't support more than 1 U.S. flag cruise ship operating out of Honolulu? I believe NCL at one time had up to 3 ships in Hawaii (Pride of Hawaii, Pride of Aloha & PoA) but pared it back to just the PoA.

[4774Papa]

I know several people that have done Hawaii on the PoA.   Most were very unhappy with the service.   However, most enjoyed the cruise with its many ports.

[WillCruiseForMoney]

farmersfight,

 

Have sailed on PoA 3 times, 2009, 2017 and 2019.  Service was great all three times, comparable with the rest of the NCL sailings.  Have not experienced any of the issues that others have mentioned. 

[zerooveride]

1 hour ago, 4774Papa said:

I know several people that have done Hawaii on the PoA.   Most were very unhappy with the service.   However, most enjoyed the cruise with its many ports.

Exactly my sentiment. 

 

I will add, this was my wife's first cruise so she didn't know exactly what to expect from a "normal" cruise. While things would annoy me they didn't bother her because she wasn't expecting anything more. I had the prior knowledge of 5 other cruises to compare it to. The service wasn't bad enough that it dissuaded her from cruising again and I hope she is in for a big surprise when we're on the Encore in December. (yes we will be on it, I'm being hopeful!)

[MNcruisingcouple]

On 2/21/2021 at 5:56 PM, farmersfight said:

 

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I am going into this cruise realizing that it is more about Hawaii than about the ship. I'll take "hit or miss" since I believe (as others here on CC do) that the PoA is the best way to see Hawaii.

 

NCL and the PoA have somewhat a "monopoly" on cruising Hawaii since the other foreign flag cruise ships that sail the Hawaiian islands have to originate or terminate in a foreign port (usually Vancouver or Ensenada) because of the PVSA. This entails 5 sea days to get to or from Hawaii. I'm surprised no other cruise line (RCL, CCL, HAL, Celebrity, etc) hasn't built one of their new ships in a U.S. shipyard and register it under the U.S. flag, so they could home port the ship in Honolulu and compete against NCL.

 

Perhaps the market doesn't support more than 1 U.S. flag cruise ship operating out of Honolulu? I believe NCL at one time had up to 3 ships in Hawaii (Pride of Hawaii, Pride of Aloha & PoA) but pared it back to just the PoA.

 

We were on the POA in December 2019.  We went into it concerned about the service because of the horror stories on CC.  The service was as good as or better than any other NCL ship we've been on.  The only exception was one bartender at the atrium bar.  But the two bartenders at Pink's Champagne Bar more than made up for it.  They were amazing.  

[zerooveride]

1 hour ago, MNcruisingcouple said:

 

We were on the POA in December 2019.  We went into it concerned about the service because of the horror stories on CC.  The service was as good as or better than any other NCL ship we've been on.  The only exception was one bartender at the atrium bar.  But the two bartenders at Pink's Champagne Bar more than made up for it.  They were amazing.  

 

Wow. Surprised to hear about the Atrium Bar. There were two VERY nice female bartenders there (can't remember their names. We would see them every morning when we went and got our Latte and would spend our drinking time there. They would throw in a free drink for almost every one I bought (this was before POA had the beverage package) by like the 3rd or 4th day. I know I saved a couple fo hundred bucks. We tipped each one an extra $50 at the end of the cruise.

[farmersfight]

9 hours ago, MNcruisingcouple said:

 

We were on the POA in December 2019.  We went into it concerned about the service because of the horror stories on CC.  The service was as good as or better than any other NCL ship we've been on.  The only exception was one bartender at the atrium bar.  But the two bartenders at Pink's Champagne Bar more than made up for it.  They were amazing.  

 

Thanks, I'm really glad to read your post (since I'm booked on PoA in Oct 2021). I think I read somewhere (maybe here on CC) that early on, there were service complaints/issues but that NCL addressed and corrected them.

 

I guess you could have 1 or 2 "bad" service staff members (bartenders, waiters, etc.) on any cruise/cruise ship. But, I am very encouraged by your report of the service you got on PoA. Makes me look forward to my cruise on her in Oct even more! Thanks again.

Edited February 23, 2021 by farmersfight

[farmersfight]

8 hours ago, zerooveride said:

They would throw in a free drink for almost every one I bought (this was before POA had the beverage package) by like the 3rd or 4th day. I know I saved a couple fo hundred bucks.

 

That's great! Yeah, hard to beat a continual "2-for-1 special". I'm sure they appreciated your generous tip.

Edited February 23, 2021 by farmersfight

[zerooveride]

2 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

That's great! Yeah, hard to beat a continual "2-for-1 special". I'm sure they appreciated your generous tip.

Yeah I always prepay my usual gratuities but if I encounter someone who goes above and beyond for me throughout the week I'll throw some extra cash at them.

 

The one time I stayed in a Penthouse on the Jewel (non-Haven) and had a butler, he was mad at the end of the cruise and actually confronted me the morning of getting off the ship about why I didn't give him a tip. I told him the only thing you have done for me this entire week was get me room service for dinner one night, any other time I needed something he would tell me he was busy or I couldn't reach him. So why would I give him a tip.