Were these people on the same cruise as me?

[Two Wheels Only]

2 hours ago, dancingfish said:

So many people have decided that cruising is their thing but they don't want to wear pants for dinner or partake in cruise ritual.. then they complain that the cruise isn't like the upscale photos they have seen...

 

In the case of NCL, shorts are allowed in the majority of restaurants. 

[cruiser1961]

9 hours ago, cabogal said:

I think that people are more apt to write about their bad experience than their good experience.

I agree.  Showing my age, but many years ago (before internet took hold) I was guest relations manager for a restaurant chain with over 40 locations.  The negative reviewers, on average, told ~ 20 people about their bad experience, while the positive reviewers told ~ 5 people.  Extrapolate that to the internet.

 

  

Edited November 4, 2023 by cruiser1961

[UKstages]

a lot of people who have posted in this thread seem to be missing the boat. (pun intended.) 

 

yes, different people can have different expectations, different life experiences and different criteria for judging a successful cruise. the main point I was making, however, is that different people can have different things happen to them onboard, can be served by different people and encounter different problems and challenges that others may not have experienced. so others read reports online about these very different experiences and they immediately cast accusations and epithets at the person making these reports. “nothing like that happened to me, so it must not be true! people just like to complain!”

 

yes, some people do.

 

but others had a couple smoking on an adjacent balcony every night, had sewage backing up in their toilet, experienced noise problems that kept them awake for several days and had an unresolved billing problem. their “complaints” are valid and should not be dismissed. they are accurately and honestly portraying their experience and should not be classified as complainers or malcontents with an agenda to bash NCL or any other cruise line. they are in fact providing a valuable service to this community by sharing their experiences, even though many of those experiences are unlikely to happen to you and have never happened to you and were vastly different than your experiences on the very same cruise.

 

 

[Asawi]

It's true that in general people are more inclined to share their bad experiences than the good ones. So the number of bad reviews isn't necessary telling it all. I do however often read bad reviews because they can tell me SOMETHING about whatever it is (book, film, hotel, cruise...). I check out what in particular they are unhappy with to see if these are things I care about or not. The wording can also be a hint to if this is a "complainer"

(In 5-star systems I often find the 3-star revies most informative. Some good and som bad. Like it so often is!)

[Sailing12Away]

People expect to have a great trip without issues, complications, surprises, etc. So why write a review to say 'yup, just as I expected'. That's why there's more negative keyboard warriors, because it was unexpected and not 'normal'. 

 

I've done my fair share of complaining, but I usually reserve it for things that could have either been prevented, or corrected - and the company failed to do either or dismiss it as unimportant to them. Might just be my nature given my job role, but I always look at the 'why'. If you don't dig deep enough into the why you won't ever fix the real problem. So when a company either doesn't acknowledge something as being wrong or unfair or tries to put a band-aid and send you on your way - for me it leaves a bad taste and lowers your confidence in them overall.

 

As for different experiences on the same sailing - we're all in different types of cabins, with different personalities, with different expectations of what 'should' happen, with different preferences for food/drink/entertainment, with different tolerance levels for incompetence/ignorance/stupidity/other passengers.

[Capitan Obvious]

10 hours ago, UKstages said:

a lot of people who have posted in this thread seem to be missing the boat. (pun intended.) 

 

yes, different people can have different expectations, different life experiences and different criteria for judging a successful cruise. the main point I was making, however, is that different people can have different things happen to them onboard, can be served by different people and encounter different problems and challenges that others may not have experienced. so others read reports online about these very different experiences and they immediately cast accusations and epithets at the person making these reports. “nothing like that happened to me, so it must not be true! people just like to complain!”

 

yes, some people do.

 

but others had a couple smoking on an adjacent balcony every night, had sewage backing up in their toilet, experienced noise problems that kept them awake for several days and had an unresolved billing problem. their “complaints” are valid and should not be dismissed. they are accurately and honestly portraying their experience and should not be classified as complainers or malcontents with an agenda to bash NCL or any other cruise line. they are in fact providing a valuable service to this community by sharing their experiences, even though many of those experiences are unlikely to happen to you and have never happened to you and were vastly different than your experiences on the very same cruise.

 

Interesting that you could make a “nothing like that happened to me, so it must not be true!” post just two days after you did this exact thing...

 

 

See how you dismissed smellywax's entire experience by comparing it to your own?

[MaisonRose]

19 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Isn't "not wearing pants for dinner and not partaking in cruise ritual(?!)" part of enjoying every moment?

well, that really comes to searching information that tells you which cruise line is the right fit for you & your companions.

Sailing on the Queen Mary, for example, won’t work for a “flip flop & bermudas all voyage” kind of person and yet if a passenger brings along a flexible attitude just about every cruise line can cater to their needs.

Thank goodness that CC gives us a chance to ferret out the Vibe on a cruise.

[ChiefMateJRK]

22 minutes ago, MaisonRose said:

Sailing on the Queen Mary, for example, won’t work for a “flip flop & bermudas all voyage” kind of person and yet if a passenger brings along a flexible attitude just about every cruise line can cater to their needs.

Thank goodness that CC gives us a chance to ferret out the Vibe on a cruise.

You botched the quote there, but no harm.  I have a totally inflexible attitude.  I'm going to be comfortable on my holiday and nobody is going to make me wear pants, shoes, etc.  Sweats and slippers gets me into any venue on the ship.  That said, NCL meets my needs just fine, so that's why I sail on NCL.😎

[MaisonRose]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

You botched the quote there, but no harm.  I have a totally inflexible attitude.  I'm going to be comfortable on my holiday and nobody is going to make me wear pants, shoes, etc.  Sweats and slippers gets me into any venue on the ship.  That said, NCL meets my needs just fine, so that's why I sail on NCL.😎

I discovered a magic finger at the end of my arm! It was an attempt to move a sentence in my paragraph and it slipped into your comments. I was  wondering how to fix it, so apologies are given.

[UKstages]

7 hours ago, Capitan Obvious said:

See how you dismissed smellywax's entire experience by comparing it to your own?

no, i don’t. not at all. i think you’re barking up the wrong tree. in fact, i don’t think there is any tree there at all. 
 

i made a comment. i said that the experience the poster related was “interesting.” that’s not dismissive at all. in fact, it acknowledges the poster’s comments as a valid contribution. it doesn’t dismiss them in any way nor does it imply that the poster was somehow not accurately describing his experience. and that is indeed the point… different people can have different experiences.
 

i then went on to share my contemporary experience after purchasing the same services. my experience was very different that this particular poster’s experience. i essentially said that my experience was that NCL’s advertised services were delivered as promised. i didn’t doubt the validity of that poster’s experience, however.
 

see the difference?
 

it should be obvious, whether one is a captain, a first mate, a gunner or a boatswain.

[uneamie]

On 11/2/2023 at 7:12 PM, CruisingAlong4Now said:

People sue (and are very rewarded) for their coffee being too hot.  So why not soup?

Well they didn't say they got burned by it....they just didn't like it that hot. Ridiculous....the time it took to go get another one that soup would have been just the right temp. 

[Capitan Obvious]

3 hours ago, UKstages said:

no, i don’t. not at all. i think you’re barking up the wrong tree. in fact, i don’t think there is any tree there at all. 
 

i made a comment. i said that the experience the poster related was “interesting.” that’s not dismissive at all. in fact, it acknowledges the poster’s comments as a valid contribution. it doesn’t dismiss them in any way nor does it imply that the poster was somehow not accurately describing his experience. and that is indeed the point… different people can have different experiences.

 

Of course they can, however that doesn't negate your sad attempt at the "nothing like that happened to me" retort. The exact behavior you claim to be against. Projection at its finest.

 

3 hours ago, UKstages said:

it should be obvious, whether one is a captain, a first mate, a gunner or a boatswain.

 

Cool. You've learned some nautical terms from TV. Perhaps you should read my user name a little closer...it doesn't say "Captain".

 

Obviously.

[European_CruiseGirl]

It is very normal that different people perceive the same cruise very differently. We recently returned from a RCI Symphony of the Seas cruise with my HD and his extended family. I simply loved it, the shows, Boardwalk, Central Park, restaurants etc etc. It was my first RCI cruise and based on it I’d very much like to go on a RCI Oasis class cruise again. My husband on the other hand hated every minute of the cruise (his own words): the shows were too loud and hence torture from beginning to end (his exact words again), the ship was too busy, restaurants meh etc etc. So here we are: we had 100% same cruise experience (cabin, restaurants, shows attended etc) and I loved it. He hated it. Go figure 🤷‍♀️

Edited November 5, 2023 by European_CruiseGirl

[Smitheroo]

On 11/2/2023 at 2:56 PM, Elvis1209 said:

I've been reading the "members reviews" to see if my review has been posted. (It hasn't)  It seems that 9 out of 10 reviews are negative.  I have no complaints.  Of those complaints that were cited, I just didn't see it.  Now, we were in the Haven so we got exceptional service to begin with.  But, when we were at the bars and restaurants, we got nothing but good service.  This was before anyone ever saw our Haven sea pass.  I guess some folks are just impossible to satisfy!  

my very positive review was posted so if yours wasnt it wasnt because it was positive (or negative) Probably just a delay.   Like you, I was dismayed by the negative reviews.  While I might have a few issues with the way NCL does *some* things, my experience on the Encore was perfect. Oh there were a few points like I wish the photographers werent always in your face.

[ElizaSTN]

On 11/2/2023 at 3:23 PM, UKstages said:

this notion that people who "complain" are negative naysayers who can't be pleased is a nonstarter. these folks are, by and large, good people who are sharing their honest opinions.

 

I agree that different people can have different experiences on the same cruise, but many of the complaints on here are so over the top that there is literally a subreddit dedicated to making fun of it.  

[RedwingHockeyFan]

Another observation from my years reading these boards and watching cruisers, some people have a hard time letting a bad experience not affect the rest of their cruise.  They get in a bad mood and let every other thing bother them.  And not only does it seem to cause them to have negative reviews of the cruise, but they sour on NCL as a whole.

 

They are easy to spot too.  Watch for the grumpy people that are impatient in lines at the bars and the buffet and refuse to be cordial to other passengers. 

[DCGuy64]

I always say that a cruise is what you make of it. We just returned from our cruise aboard the Norwegian Breakaway. Was it perfect? Nope, there were definitely a few snafus along the way, but we still had a great time. There were two missed ports, and the line at Guest Services the final night was insane (we weren't in it). They also closed the Thermal Spa for the last 3 days, which was a bummer. But the food and drink were generally very good, and we saw some amazing places (especially Mykonos, Santorini, Positano and Sorrento). I can tell from the FB group that there are plenty of people with an ax to grind, but I'm not one of them.

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

I always say that a cruise is what you make of it. We just returned from our cruise aboard the Norwegian Breakaway. Was it perfect? Nope, there were definitely a few snafus along the way, but we still had a great time. There were two missed ports, and the line at Guest Services the final night was insane (we weren't in it). They also closed the Thermal Spa for the last 3 days, which was a bummer. But the food and drink were generally very good, and we saw some amazing places (especially Mykonos, Santorini, Positano and Sorrento). I can tell from the FB group that there are plenty of people with an ax to grind, but I'm not one of them.

But the real question is....were you impacted by the VAT or no boozy drinks allowed at certain ports?🤡

 

In all seriousness, I'm glad it sounds like the cruise went well overall...every cruise has elements that just stink. Some folks fixate on those. Others focus on what went well and what was fun....why was the thermal spa closed? Rough seas? 

[DCGuy64]

Just now, cruiseny4life said:

But the real question is....were you impacted by the VAT or no boozy drinks allowed at certain ports?🤡

 

In all seriousness, I'm glad it sounds like the cruise went well overall...every cruise has elements that just stink. Some folks fixate on those. Others focus on what went well and what was fun....why was the thermal spa closed? Rough seas? 

LOL, no, there were no issues with getting drinks from a VAT perspective, or regulations on what we could order. The bars were often very busy, however. The Thermal Spa was closed early for maintenance (or so we were told). One of our gripes was that we were only offered a $30 onboard credit to compensate. Their reasoning was that there's only a $30 difference between the 7-day and the 10-day Thermal Spa pass (allegedly). However, since we paid $329 each, we should have received close to $100 each since the per-day charge works out to $32.90. Another issue: when we went to Santorini, they cancelled all of the NCL excursions due to rough seas at the new port, which made lots of people take the tender to the old port (where my wife and I had an independent excursion booked). We waited in line for the cable cars for 2 hours, forcing us to miss more than an hour of our tour. The ship seemed very full. We only ate at O'Sheehan's once because it was usually overflowing with people, with long, long lines and extremely loud. We were turned away at Shanghai Noodle bar one night because the wait at 8:30 was more than an hour, and they closed at 9:30 that night. But we always found stuff to eat and drink, and we didn't complain about the missed ports, because the captain always has the safety of the passengers as his first priority. Plus, we got OBC for the missed ports, and already had $100 OBC courtesy of our TA. We had a wonderful time.

[skittl1321]

On 11/4/2023 at 9:23 PM, uneamie said:

Well they didn't say they got burned by it....they just didn't like it that hot. Ridiculous....the time it took to go get another one that soup would have been just the right temp. 

 

I think that poster was trying to reference the McDonald's coffee lawsuit as a whiny complaint and frivolous lawsuit, rather than corporate gross negligence; and somehow connect that to people complaining about minor things inconviences. 

Edited November 15, 2023 by skittl1321