First & last NCL cruise

[Obobru]

We are just about to end our first NCL cruise which was 16 day Antarctica and South America. We have traveled with a few cruise lines and are not loyal to any but wouldn't ever travel NCL again, I am wondering what people think is good about them? 

 

Here are a few of the issues which are both ship and head office issues. 

 

Awful food quality akin to prison food some days with horrific meat that was like shoe leather or full of fat. Sausages at breakfast with barely any meat in them they are all filler. Tasteless dry foods.

 

No stocking of the ship over 16 days so ran out of basics like coke zero/diet/Fanta/apple juice and foods such as bananas but we did have banana bread every day as they had a lot of black bananas after a week. 

 

Lack of daytime entertainment that isn't a sales pitch or paid event such as bingo/spa services/foot analysis/shopping event/deal or no deal/art events

 

Absent senior management. All ships I have been on the senior crew would be in the atrium in the evening and the Cruise Director would be ever present but not on this shop as she's only seen when she gets to play a part in the Xmas show the rest of the time she's nowhere to be seen. 

 

Lack of variety in the evening entertainment as it's is all dancing and singing and not a single magician/comedian/ventriloquist

 

Painfully slow main dining room service often taking over 2 hours to have dinner due to 20 min waits for menus, 40 mins to get starters, etc

 

Drills done during lunch instead of between 3-5pm when no food is served and they did it on a sea day. The lunch staff all walked off to their posts which they have to do but no explanation, never known this to happen it's usually done on port days at quiet times. 

 

Awful rude staff. The internet didn't work well and the internet manager was rude to people who were being polite to him. I saw him rolling his eyes at people and throwing his head around in a dramatic fashion. We arrived to our room at 14.30 as a crew manager was opening the doors as we passed down the stairs but the room wasn't vacuumed when we arrived and all the attendants had gone, rang guest services but didn't get "sorry we will send someone to clean it" nope I got "why are you in the room, who let you in, you shouldn't be in the there, it's your own fault" I couldn't believe how rude she was. 

 

Managers on the ship especially in the buffet are rude to staff in front of guests, the work culture here stinks. 

 

Talking of stinks the bathroom smells like a sewer often due to the fact the toilet doesn't always fill with water leaving the pipe open for gas to come it and the drain in the floor under the sink smelling foul, they know this as they took the bin out of its holder and keep it on the floor over the drain. 

 

On the stinky front we can smell rotten waste smells some days on the aft stairs, my partner says it had the smell of a rotting rat (if you keep you know apparently). 

 

NCL still things it's the 90's and allows smoking in the casino which is fine as it stopped me spending a single dollar in there as it seems NCL favour a few smokers using the casino over 95% of the other guests who stayed away. The problem is the smoke floats everywhere as the casino has no doors and to avoid it we had to go up and down stairs. The smoking area outside is next to a main door to thr pool area, it should be miles from kids playing around the pool. 

 

When we had a missed port all other cruise lines give us a letter for our missed port insurance or put a stack of them on the guest services desk but not NCL, this is because NCL don't want to put in writing the missed port as they are keeping the taxes and fees for the port due to a "change in the maritime laws" according to the staff. 

 

NCL can't organise a tender system they give out tickets from 6am with people waiting since 4am! Why not hand them out the night before? Why not run all 6 tenders to the Falkland Islands instead of 3 then later 4 when it became apparent that it would take from 7am to 1pm to get everyone off when the final return tender was to be 4pm which ended up being 6.45pm. Why only arrange to use one dock that holds one boat and not the second dock as the local port agent was saying NCL should have done but didn't (most likely because they didn't give the tickets out the night before so had no clue of how many would go ashore so made no sufficient plans)

 

Some positives about NCL

 

Drinks package offers a good selection of in stock

Paid restaurants are good

The live music was generally good the B12 band are excellent 

 

So why do you sail NCL? Am I missing something? 

 

[schmoopie17]

Probably because most of us have never had the bad experience you did.

 

Just another example of why we say here on CC...YMMV. Sounds like yours varied quite a bit...and not in a good way.

 

Edited January 6 by schmoopie17

[Candy Apple 12]

Which ship? 

 

If you have sewer smells from the bathroom drain, pour water into the drain. 

[Asawi]

I'm also curous about which ship this was. Star? Some (but not all) of the complaints remind me of things I saw/experienced on Star.
Not all ships are the same. I  sailed Spirit, Star and Gem during 2023. Of them Star was my least favourite. Still OK for me, but I'm glad my transatlantic was on Gem. I will sail Star again because she is on some seriously good itineraries. I will come prepared and not with too high expecations. Hoping to be pleasantly surprised. (And having travelled on her before I know what to look for food-wise)

[Greenpea2]

Never had a bad cruise on NCL and have sailed them for 25 years. 

[ColeThornton]

43 minutes ago, Candy Apple 12 said:

Which ship? 

 

If you have sewer smells from the bathroom drain, pour water into the drain. 

 

Their posting history indicates it was the Star.

[julig22]

As a solo traveler, the cost is more affordable.  I cruise for the itinerary, not the shows, food or drink - and NCL offers better itineraries IMHO.

I took a 14-day Antarctica cruise on the Star from Buenos Aires last year - and I am considering a similar cruise in the future. The on-board guides (biologist, geologist & historian) were excellent, with multiple daily programs and play-by-play commentary while we were cruising in Antarctica. I have no idea how other cruiselines would do on the same itinerary.  

 

So to address some of your comments-

No, there probably won't be a comedian on a ship that departs from Buenos Aires, as English isn't the first language for many passengers and comedy shows don't translate well. 

Not sure where in Antarctica the ship could re-provision? WiFi isn't going to be good in remote parts of the world - not sure how much difference the planned upgrade to Starlink will make.

Did it occur to you that the "drill" might not have been a drill? I've been on 20+ NCL cruises and never had a drill while all passengers were onboard (except the old muster drills). You go to your room before you're told it's ready, complain it's not ready and then expect a pleasant response from someone trying to get thousands of passengers onboard? Refunds for missed ports is a much-discussed topic, you are never guaranteed a refund, due to the way they ESTIMATE fees years in advance.

I can't speak to tendering, our stop in Stanley was cancelled at the last minute (tenders went to dock, weren't able to dock due to weather) - but I had a NCL excursion booked, so had no need to wait for tickets.

 

Good luck finding a cruiseline that meets all your requirements. NCL works for me.

[yakcruiser]

Don't judge all the NCL ships by what you experienced on the Star. The Star is developing quite a reputation. I was on a 15 day cruise last April with no sea days but the limited time I was onboard I noticed it wasn't on par with the rest of the fleet. Too bad because it was my favorite ship many years ago.

[julig22]

4 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

Don't judge all the NCL ships by what you experienced on the Star. The Star is developing quite a reputation. I was on a 15 day cruise last April with no sea days but the limited time I was onboard I noticed it wasn't on par with the rest of the fleet. Too bad because it was my favorite ship many years ago.

Is the Star the best representative of the NCL fleet - probably not.  Does it have some of the best itineraries - absolutely!

[david_sobe]

The Star never got great reviews.  An Antartica cruise is not a fair judgment of a cruise line.  The ships are smaller and its expensive.  I am still jealous because I can only dream about sailing to Antartica. 

[Asawi]

4 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Is the Star the best representative of the NCL fleet - probably not.  Does it have some of the best itineraries - absolutely!

Agree! I cruise for the itineraries and unfortunately Star has the best ones as far as I'm concerned. But I do think to myself " such a shame it's Star" when looking at cruises. But, as I said before, it's not so bad that I won't sail on her! 

When I look for cruises NCL is the one that offers the best value for money for me as a  cold weather loving solo traveller. No competition!

(I chuckled a bit reading the original post. The Internet manager on my sailing was by far the least service-minded and grumpiest staff member I've met on a cruise. That and the tender ticket chaos told me what ship it was apart from the itinerary.)

[UnbridledEnthusiasm]

I'm a single person and frugal so I pretty much go on NCL simply due to affordability but yes, it is a you get what you pay for type of experience. Some of the ships had better food than others but while I like to eat, it's not a deal breaker for me. The entertainment on NCL for my taste seems to have gone downhill (completely subjective). On the last NCL sailing I did which was 10 days, there wasn't a single comedian (my favorite evening  entertainment) or actual show that looked worth changing dinner plans for. I'm going on POA in a week and saw dailies people posted and while it looks like on some sailings they got a comedian the rest of the evening entertainment looked zzzzzzzzzzzz. To me it is pretty obvious that they cut back on entertainment as it looks like the majority of it (if not all) are activities that won't involved really skilled/trained people or a small amount of people. I see mainly "game shows" which I don't care about involving married couples or battle of the sexes stuff, karaoke, or a pianist. 

 

The main reason (price aside) I keep sticking with NLC is that for my age group (late 30s), I always meet fun people around my age at the solo meets who are often there traveling alone. I still talk to a couple people I met in them. It's nice having people you meet somewhat "organically" do go have dinner with or to do an activity with.  I went on a Princess Cruise a few years back and did a couple of their solo meets and while everyone was very nice, they seemed more my grandmother would have liked to have spent time with. 

[oteixeira]

Honestly this is like judging RCCL on Grandeur.  You can do it, but you really have no idea what the line is like based on the ship you were on.  Sorry, but the ship does matter.  

[julig22]

16 minutes ago, UnbridledEnthusiasm said:

On the last NCL sailing I did which was 10 days, there wasn't a single comedian (my favorite evening  entertainment) or actual show that looked worth changing dinner plans for

I've been told that NCL does not tend to book comedians on cruises leaving from foreign ports where English isn't the primary language for a significant portion of passengers, since comedy does not translate well.

[yakcruiser]

44 minutes ago, Asawi said:

 

(I chuckled a bit reading the original post. The Internet manager on my sailing was by far the least service-minded and grumpiest staff member I've met on a cruise. That and the tender ticket chaos told me what ship it was apart from the itinerary.)

We had a young lady from Serbia as the internet manager in April. She seemed a little grumpy at first but after using the computer next to her desk for about 30 minutes I understood why. What a bunch of rude, entitled and demanding passengers!

[Panhandle Couple]

No internet satellite company is going to optimize their orbits and antenna directions to cover the Arctic and Antarctic circles, where virtually no one lives. What did people on those cruises do 20 years ago?

 

Bananas are a problem even in the tropics.  They have a limited shelf life, you can't refrigerate them, and bruise easily.  We have run out of them on 7 and 11 day cruises.  We survived by eating oranges, grapefruit, and melons.

 

NCL does leave notices in bathrooms on some cruises (those that are kid intensive) stating what paper products can NOT be flushed.  It is a good list, and they probably need to do it on every ship, with a wall sticker.  Sounds like your fellow passengers decided to ignore common sense and flush the forbidden items, which will back up large portions of the sewer system on board.  

[UKstages]

nearly everything the OP talks about here has happened to me at sometime or another on an NCL ship... but not all of these things on the same cruise. on balance, i think NCL offers a pretty good and  reliable mainstream product.

 

with regard to awful food and inedible meat... if you're talking about the steak in the main dining room, you're spot on. it is awful and inedible. most here would agree. but most here don't order it any longer. NCL generally gets pretty high marks for food. and as you yourself pointed out, the specialty restaurants are pretty darn good.

 

respectfully, some of your concerns here could have been addressed by better researching NCL's ships, restaurants, policies and procedures before sailing with them.

 

the generalization of the staff as "rude" and "awful" is just that... a generalization. any time you get 1000 or more people together on a team in the hospitality industry, there are bound to be some who could benefit from coaching. sounds like you had some bad experiences in the buffet and at the internet cafe. i have, as well.

 

as for smoking in the casino... i spend an inordinate amount of time in the casino and i agree... it's 2024. nobody smokes anymore. get with the program, NCL! (and they have. all of NCL's casinos on its new ships in the past seven or eight years or so are nonsmoking, with purpose built smaller smoking areas contained within a glass enclosure.) to be fair, it's probably more like 14 or 15% of their guests that smoke (not 5%), but the trend is definitely toward nonsmoking gaming. and NCL has addressed that on their newest ships.

 

16 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

What a bunch of rude, entitled and demanding passengers!

 

THIS.

 

a thousand times this.

 

invariably, whenever i see staff behavior that's way out of line, it's in direct response to a particularly challenging customer. that doesn't make it right, but it does make it understandable. 

 

 

 

Edited January 6 by UKstages

[ChiefMateJRK]

10 minutes ago, UKstages said:

as for smoking in the casino... i spend an inordinate amount of time in the casino and i agree... it's 2024. nobody smokes anymore. get with the program, NCL! (and they have. all of NCL's casinos on its new ships in the past seven or eight years or so are nonsmoking, with purpose built smaller smoking areas contained within a glass enclosure.) to be fair, it's probably more like 14 or 15% of their guests that smoke (not 5%), but the trend is definitely toward nonsmoking gaming. and NCL has addressed that on their newest ships.

There are some of us who have never smoked, but aren't in the least bit bothered by cigarette smoke.  I actually like the smell of cigars.  I, like many others in the cruiser age demographic, grew up in a house with a father who smoked.  Didn't bother me then and doesn't bother me now.  Beats a black bannana.....🤣

[UKstages]

oh, i'm not "bothered" by smoke. i'm bothered by death.

 

and so i'm concerned about the 7.000 chemicals in that smoke onboard NCL ships in their cassinos, at least five dozen of which are known cancer causing agents. 

 

there are indeed people who are highly sensitive to or are allergic to cigarette smoke, so i guess these would be the folks who are "bothered" by smoke in NCL casinos.

[UnbridledEnthusiasm]

1 hour ago, julig22 said:

I've been told that NCL does not tend to book comedians on cruises leaving from foreign ports where English isn't the primary language for a significant portion of passengers, since comedy does not translate well.

I could see that but even then I think the significant portion of the passengers were fluent in English and or American, Canadian, British, Australian, and from NZ.

[schmoopie17]

2 hours ago, Panhandle Couple said:

 

Bananas are a problem even in the tropics. 

And in my house. Buying green bananas on Monday ends up with over-ripe and spotted bananas on Friday. It's enough to drive me bananas.

[Panhandle Couple]

As for casinos...

We generally stay away from them because we don't like seeing people feed 3 addictions at the same time.

 

Edited January 6 by Panhandle Couple

[complawyer]

25+ cruises with ncl, and never once experienced anywhere near the problems you listed. i cruise ncl because i am very anal about certain things. to me ncl gives the best bang for the buck, in overall pricing, cabin selection and most importantly itinerary.

 

while i feel bad that you spent all that money and had a lousy time/experience, if you decide never again to sail ncl, while i'm sure they'll be devastated,(sarcasm intentional) im also sure they'll quickly get over it. 

 

personally, i dont care if i ever see a show , any of the officers or even the cruise director while i'm on board. i booked to enjoy the sea, relaxing on my balcony and enjoying the  ports offered.

 

what more could i ask for ?  by the way, even with a $25 upcharge, the lobster thermidor in le bistro is amazing. if you dont like that, and you had just a horrible experience, maybe you should stick to land based vacations

[Greenpea2]

Any cruise I have been on, a few things are not great. I don't think a perfect cruise exists! While I am sympathetic to things that could have been better, it seems to me that the vast majority of complaints here could have been avoided -- or act least expected --by reading these boards BEFORE booking your cruise. 

[graphicguy]

I love these types of threads.  Unless you run aground or have sewage running down the hallway, you’re eating, you’re drinking. you’re sailing in an exotic locale, someone is cleaning your room every day, but who wants any of that?