First & last NCL cruise

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Me neither.  I do understand that there are some who love to spend their time on the ship looking for things to complain about.  Some folks have strange hobbies.

You shouldn't be surprised.  It's a game (Games People Play-Eric Berne) called "Ain't it awful" where people playing the game compete by piling one 'awful' thing atop another.  

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

You shouldn't be surprised.  It's a game (Games People Play-Eric Berne) called "Ain't it awful" where people playing the game compete by piling one 'awful' thing atop another.  

I would be AWFUL at that game. 🤣

[ChiefMateJRK]

5 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

We have been on a dozen NCL cruises and have never had any negatives.

 

4 hours ago, UKstages said:

wow. a dozen cruises and nothing ever went wrong? nothing? wow.

 

i'll have what you're having.

I guess it's semantics here.   Valued fellow poster @lenquixote66mentioned "never had any negatives."  I agreed.  I guess it depends how one defines a "negative."  Things go wrong?  Sure.  It's not a perfect world.  Most of us just brush minor "wrongs" off as a nuisance.  A part of regular life.

 

OTOH: some inflate them into NEGATIVES.😬

 

I'm not an expert on "negative," and I can prove it.  Others here are much better at negative than I'll ever be (thank God).😇

[julig22]

4 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

 

I guess it's semantics here.   Valued fellow poster @lenquixote66mentioned "never had any negatives."  I agreed.  I guess it depends how one defines a "negative."  Things go wrong?  Sure.  It's not a perfect world.  Most of us just brush minor "wrongs" off as a nuisance.  A part of regular life.

[Fishboy1947]

As someone looking forward to their first NCL cruise in June, this post hasn’t been a ringing endorsement of NCL. Seems like NCL sucks in many areas but be happy you’re on vacation. 

My prior 9 cruises on Princess & Celebrity have been great with minor problems. 

 

I expect that I’ll feel the same about my NCL cruise. Great itinerary on Escape with grandkids.

[luv2kroooz]

13 minutes ago, Fishboy1947 said:

As someone looking forward to their first NCL cruise in June, this post hasn’t been a ringing endorsement of NCL. Seems like NCL sucks in many areas but be happy you’re on vacation. 

My prior 9 cruises on Princess & Celebrity have been great with minor problems. 

 

I expect that I’ll feel the same about my NCL cruise. Great itinerary on Escape with grandkids.

You should be fine. Escape is a fabulous ship!! Have fun.

[lenquixote66]

5 hours ago, luv2kroooz said:

Oh my, how boring to literally not be able to be honestly critical or identify one constructive thing that the cruise line could improve upon......I couldn't imagine sailing any cruise line for 12 times and not be able to constructively suggest one of two things that could be improved upon. 

Okay ,here is one thing.I wrote a book in 1988 and never found a copy in any ships library.Aside from that there were no negatives.

[luv2kroooz]

2 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

Okay ,here is one thing.I wrote a book in 1988 and never found a copy in any ships library.Aside from that there were no negatives.

LOL, only that in 12 cruises? How lucky you are.

 

Edited January 13 by luv2kroooz

[lenquixote66]

5 hours ago, UKstages said:

wow. a dozen cruises and nothing ever went wrong? nothing? wow.

 

i'll have what you're having.

 

i enjoy cruising on NCL, but things go wrong all the time, as they do on most cruise lines.

 

shows get canceled, ports get canceled, steaks get served at the wrong temperature, steaks are inedible, there's a 45-minute wait for a table at the MDR, the ship arrives into port early, the ship arrives into port late, they've run out of [insert your favorite food item here], bartender puts vodka in your mocktail, staff is surly, rude, absent, lacks empathy, doesn't listen or spills a hot beverage on your freshly laundered shirt, room service is late, room wasn't made up, housekeeper failed to bring extra towels, as requested.

 

nothing ever went wrong?

 

you are truly blessed with great good fortune.

 

 

When you are born in Brooklyn  nothing negative phases you.

[lenquixote66]

1 minute ago, luv2kroooz said:

LOL, only that in 12 cruises? How lucky you are.

 

Yes,I am.

[UKstages]

2 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I guess it depends how one defines a "negative." 

 

it sure does depend on one's perspective.

 

it's a reasonable assumption that in order for something to be classified as a "negative" then one perceives that something has gone "wrong." semantics indeed. 

 

there is a recurring theme in many of these threads that people who voice legitimate concerns about NCL are somehow constant complainers whose opinions aren't valid. it gets tired quite quickly. 

 

these folks are just expressing their opinions based on their personal experiences. read what they have to say, read their next post and the post after that. then read their following post. and the one after that. if they are truly aways negative and never have anything nice to say or can't propel the conversation forward in a positive direction, then, by all means, discount their contributions. but this constant dismissal of anybody who says something negative about our beloved NCL is not really very helpful. let's stop pretending as if there is an imaginary community of NCL haters who only post to express negative opinions.

 

i find many of these negative tales farfetched and don't always agree with them, but i don't doubt for a second the legitimacy of the opinions, even when different from my own.

 

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

When you are born in Brooklyn  nothing negative phases you.

 

wait till someone serves you an egg cream made with hershey's syrup.

 

that's sacrilege!

Edited January 13 by UKstages

[SeaShark]

33 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

it sure does depend on one's perspective.

 

it's a reasonable assumption that in order for something to be classified as a "negative" then one perceives that something has gone "wrong." semantics indeed. 

 

there is a recurring theme in many of these threads that people who voice legitimate concerns about NCL are somehow constant complainers whose opinions aren't valid. it gets tired quite quickly. 

 

these folks are just expressing their opinions based on their personal experiences. read what they have to say, read their next post and the post after that. then read their following post. and the one after that. if they are truly aways negative and never have anything nice to say or can't propel the conversation forward in a positive direction, then, by all means, discount their contributions. but this constant dismissal of anybody who says something negative about our beloved NCL is not really very helpful. let's stop pretending as if there is an imaginary community of NCL haters who only post to express negative opinions.

 

i find many of these negative tales farfetched and don't always agree with them, but i don't doubt for a second the legitimacy of the opinions, even when different from my own.

 

 

What an interesting take. 

 

Could we not say the exact same things about what happens when people are happy and content? Is there not a tendency on these boards to dismiss them as "cheerleaders" whose opinions aren't valid? Are they not simply called "cheerleaders" as a way to dismiss their opinions as somehow invalid simply because they aren't joining the mob in bashing?

 

Are these folks not simply expressing their opinions based on their personal experiences? Should we not stop pretending as if there is an imaginary community of NCL lovers who only post to express positive opinions?

 

Is there any doubt, even for a second, that the positive opinions expressed aren't legitimate?

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, UKstages said:

read what they have to say, read their next post and the post after that. then read their following post. and the one after that. if they are truly aways negative and never have anything nice to say or can't propel the conversation forward in a positive direction, then, by all means, discount their contributions.

I'm going to need a flowchart.🤣

[Obobru]

On 1/12/2024 at 9:37 AM, dshefter said:

Never have had a bad experience on NCL. Never really have a bad experience on any cruise. Are they perfect? No. But I also don't expect everything to be perfect.

I didn't say expect perfection and I wouldn't class having food that isn't prison grade as wanting perfection just wanting something that isn't gross. 

Edited January 13 by Obobru

[Obobru]

13 hours ago, Fishboy1947 said:

As someone looking forward to their first NCL cruise in June, this post hasn’t been a ringing endorsement of NCL. Seems like NCL sucks in many areas but be happy you’re on vacation. 

My prior 9 cruises on Princess & Celebrity have been great with minor problems. 

 

I expect that I’ll feel the same about my NCL cruise. Great itinerary on Escape with grandkids.

Love to hear your feedback in June when you have sailed NCL, as people say it seems to be ship dependent so I hope you are on a better one. Celebrity were in a different league for us and have booked 2 more with them.

[schmoopie17]

I have heard consistently negative things about the Star. It seems to be the poor stepchild of the NCL fleet. As a result, I would never want my first experience/exposure to NCL to be on that ship. Nor would I ever consider cruising on her, regardless of itinerary.

 

On the other side of the coin, we have had great experiences on the Bliss, Escape and Encore. Would sail on any of them in a heartbeat...and will do so again in September.

 

The middle of the pack (for us, at least, was Prima). There was both good and bad about that cruise...more than any other we have been on.

 

What I am trying to say in a very long-winded post is that as time goes on, things tend to even out.

 

As always...YMMV. And how much YM will V is very much dependent on the ship.

[fmrlkr]

My husband would tell a story of two salesmen in a new town.  The first went to the local diner and asked the waitress what the people in town were like.  She asked him what the people in his town were like, he replied that they were lying backstabbing thieves.  She said YOU will find the people here are the same.  The second salesman went in the diner and asked the waitress what the people in town were like.  She asked him what the people in his town were like.  He replied, they are the kindest, honest, generous people.  She told him, YOU will find that they are the same here.

 

I have been 35 cruises, never had a bad one.  Bad weather, bad food, missed ports, norovirus once, and, I was on one of the last sailings of the Carnival Holiday! Each one of them had positives to make up for the negatives. My least favorite cruise was a Panama Canal on Princess.  I still enjoyed it.

 

When I feel the cruise is not worth the money I spent, I will consider it not a good cruise.  Hasn't happened yet.

 

Now ask me how I feel about Disney World, That is a waste of money (for me).  

 

It's why there is chocolate AND vanilla.  To each his own.  I like vanilla, but if you like chocolate, I'm happy for you.  If you don't like ice cream there is something wrong with you.

[Asawi]

17 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

I have heard consistently negative things about the Star. It seems to be the poor stepchild of the NCL fleet. As a result, I would never want my first experience/exposure to NCL to be on that ship. Nor would I ever consider cruising on her, regardless of itinerary.

 

Yeah... It¨s a shame NCL's worst (?) ship has the best itineraries. Itineraries are my main priority. And, like I said before, it's not so bad that I wouldn't cruise on Star again. I'm pretty easy-going and as long as I'm fed and caffienated I'm fine. Even if food isn't the best, there is enough to choose from to find something edible or maybe even nice!

[lenquixote66]

13 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

it sure does depend on one's perspective.

 

it's a reasonable assumption that in order for something to be classified as a "negative" then one perceives that something has gone "wrong." semantics indeed. 

 

there is a recurring theme in many of these threads that people who voice legitimate concerns about NCL are somehow constant complainers whose opinions aren't valid. it gets tired quite quickly. 

 

these folks are just expressing their opinions based on their personal experiences. read what they have to say, read their next post and the post after that. then read their following post. and the one after that. if they are truly aways negative and never have anything nice to say or can't propel the conversation forward in a positive direction, then, by all means, discount their contributions. but this constant dismissal of anybody who says something negative about our beloved NCL is not really very helpful. let's stop pretending as if there is an imaginary community of NCL haters who only post to express negative opinions.

 

i find many of these negative tales farfetched and don't always agree with them, but i don't doubt for a second the legitimacy of the opinions, even when different from my own.

 

 

wait till someone serves you an egg cream made with hershey's syrup.

 

that's sacrilege!

My egg creams were only with Snaider’s Chocolate Syrup because the Snaider’s grew up in Brooklyn.

[dexddd]

16 hours ago, Fishboy1947 said:

As someone looking forward to their first NCL cruise in June, this post hasn’t been a ringing endorsement of NCL. Seems like NCL sucks in many areas but be happy you’re on vacation. 

My prior 9 cruises on Princess & Celebrity have been great with minor problems. 

 

I expect that I’ll feel the same about my NCL cruise. Great itinerary on Escape with grandkids.

Escape generally gets good reviews.  We sailed pre shutdown on Escape and it was a good experience.

 

The feedback on Star does not surprise me based on other reports here.  It's been a long time since we sailed Star twice but those were both good too.  A couple minor service issues.

 

I'd probably book the Star if the route and price were right.

[UKstages]

11 hours ago, fmrlkr said:

It's why there is chocolate AND vanilla.  To each his own.  I like vanilla, but if you like chocolate, I'm happy for you. 

 

respectfully, you've established a false equivalency.

 

this isn't about liking one ship or the other or one cruise lime or another.

 

it's about saying that people have no right to comment on the chocolate that they've just eaten, simply because they prefer the vanilla. i prefer vanilla, too, but i'm fully capable of making a. determination as to whether the chocolate is any good and if it's just as good as the chocolate they used to serve and it's perfectly OK for me to wax nostalgic about the chocolate they used to serve and lament its passing.

 

so, too, all opinions on NCL ships are valid, regardless of whether one had a grand time or a horrible time. if somebody had a great time and they want to disagree with somebody who didn't, that's swell... they should share their experience and not brand that person as a negative nelly who constantly complains.

 

10 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

My egg creams were only with Snaider’s Chocolate Syrup...

 

fox's u-bet is traditional and is still made.

 

it's also a born-in-brooklyn product.

[mugtech]

On 1/12/2024 at 9:18 PM, lenquixote66 said:

Okay ,here is one thing.I wrote a book in 1988 and never found a copy in any ships library.Aside from that there were no negatives.

Perhaps you could have donated a copy to each ship on which you sailed, forgoing the royalties for those books.

[ontheweb]

8 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

 

 

fox's u-bet is traditional and is still made.

 

it's also a born-in-brooklyn product.

Yes, yes, yes, to Fox's U-bet.

 

Once while filling in at a soda fountain, I made a lime egg cream.

 

You had to drink it real fast before it curdled. 🤣

[lenquixote66]

13 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

respectfully, you've established a false equivalency.

 

this isn't about liking one ship or the other or one cruise lime or another.

 

it's about saying that people have no right to comment on the chocolate that they've just eaten, simply because they prefer the vanilla. i prefer vanilla, too, but i'm fully capable of making a. determination as to whether the chocolate is any good and if it's just as good as the chocolate they used to serve and it's perfectly OK for me to wax nostalgic about the chocolate they used to serve and lament its passing.

 

so, too, all opinions on NCL ships are valid, regardless of whether one had a grand time or a horrible time. if somebody had a great time and they want to disagree with somebody who didn't, that's swell... they should share their experience and not brand that person as a negative nelly who constantly complains.

 

 

fox's u-bet is traditional and is still made.

 

it's also a born-in-brooklyn product.

Perhaps but I knew Bobby Snaider and got free syrup.

[lenquixote66]

11 hours ago, mugtech said:

Perhaps you could have donated a copy to each ship on which you sailed, forgoing the royalties for those books.

I brought copies on many cruises and gave free copies to everyone who wanted one.I signed every copy.A Rare Book dealer in NY is currently selling signed copies for $27.00 .I wonder if perhaps the books came from people who I gave copies to.