YVRteacher’s dad is on a cruise! Live from the Jewel Aug 19- Sept 2, 2024

[YVRteacher]

Final Sea Day

 

The clocks went forward so we missed breakfast. We just weren’t hungry. I think we have both kind of given up on the food on the Jewel. 

 

We blew bubbles out on the balcony then dad really wanted to go to the Q&A with the officers. He has always loved this and he knows he will enjoy it. He had circled it multiple times in his Freestyle Daily.

 

I ordered us Irish coffees in Spinnaker. While the coffee was weak the whiskey was strong. I did enjoy starting my day with whiskey.

[YVRteacher]

Q and A

 

For the video instead of the regular video with statistics and photos of cabins we were shown the video of the Jewel’s refurbishment during the pandemic. It was interesting but didn’t go with the presentation and left a lot of gaps in information about the Jewel.  At one point the GM asked Tahani, “didn’t you show the video?” and she said no.

 

This week the Jewel has 1031 crew still from 52 countries. 24 new crew members joined in Seward and 16 boarded in Juneau.

 

This was an interesting session. I just listened instead of taking notes. Nothing revolutionary was said or revealed.

[YVRteacher]

We needed a little bit of food so went to Great Outdoors. So did everyone else! People on ships on sunny sea days after a time change like their late brunch!

 

I had a hard boiled egg, one mini chocolate croissant and a piece of honeydew. Weird combination but it was all good to me.  Dad continues on his British Breakfast streak. He was quite impressed today, especially because all his hot food was actually hot. He liked the sausages. He keeps taking those halved grilled tomatoes for breakfast. I can’t stand them and am so surprised he likes them. I haven’t said anything to him but I suspect these are part of his childhood breakfasts along with the baked beans. He also took a bowl of canned peaches today which is another “memory” food since my mom served them. I wouldn’t eat them as a kid but my dad liked them and still does. My dad does so much better with food when he is selecting what he wants so buffet eating gets more calories and nutrition into him than plated food. I think he will like the buffet on Princess and he has agreed to try a Princess cruise with me. 

[YVRteacher]

 

We found sun loungers on deck 13 and simply enjoyed the sun on our faces (yes, sunscreen was applied) and watched the ocean and the airplane contrails.

 

 

 

That one hour out in the sun today just transformed the feeling on the ship. We have been rained on so much this cruise and it has been cold, grey and windy. The sun comes out and so do the bathing suits. 

 

I went to the Pit Stop to order a Painkiller for me and a beer for dad.  These are bartenders I haven’t seen before on this cruise. One of them laughed and said to the other, “oh Painkiller. Better make it properly.” I don’t think this was a dig at me since they don’t know me unless there was a training session where my face was broadcast on a screen and three things were said:

Don’t call her Mrs.

Don’t serve hair in her food

Make her Painkillers correctly 

 

 

[luvcruzing]

8 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

This one flower stopped me. There is a lot going on in this flower. 

Beautiful dahlia.  I’ve never seen one like this.

[YVRteacher]

Back to reality onboard the Jewel since it was lunch time.

Lunch was a horrible experience.

 

We went to Cagney’s because I had preordered a bowl of cauliflower soup for lunch today. This had been prearranged with the Maître d and the Restaurant Manager and I was super specific. One large bowl of soup. I even showed them which size bowl to use. 

 

For my dad I ordered a large bowl of tortilla soup. That was the soup of the day in Cagney’s.

 

Then we waited.

And waited some more.

The minutes turned into an hour.

Still no food.

 

They had failed to make the preordered cauliflower soup. They could have been honest with me 5 minutes in and said “we screwed up again. We do this a lot. We love to get your expectations up and taunt you with the idea of good food but we are unable to deliver. Please go to the Garden Cafe for lunch since we can not successfully feed you here in Cagney’s even though you paid enough for this cruise for Harry Sommer to buy a toupée and yacht.  Yes, you preordered the cauliflower soup and we are operating on a high level of incompetency this cruise and we are not able to make your cauliflower soup.”

 

At 12:45 I told our waiter we were now in a hurry since we wanted to go to Sail and Sustain at 1:00pm.

 

This is what we both received at 12:52pm. Two small bowls of cauliflower soup.

 

The soup was FULL of garlic and I couldn’t eat it. I like garlic, but this was not edible. I ordered cauliflower soup, not garlic soup. Every lump you see is raw garlic. I found out later that they forgot to make the soup so the chef tried to make it quickly while we waited. It is not like I have a cauliflower soup obsession. I can, in fact, function without it. If you don’t have something even though you told the passenger you would have it, try being honest. I would have ordered a plate of crudities and a salad and we would have been in and done in 30 minutes.

 

We walked out at 12:56 with me having eaten one spoonful of disappointment soup.

 

This was their last day to get it right and they couldn’t even get two bowls of soup correct.

The sizes, the types, the flavours, the time. Every aspect of this lunch was a fail. If I had a student who was getting failing grades like this I would have been on it right away and put supports and adaptations in place right away to prevent the failures. NCL does none of that. They just fail then apologize. This is not an effective model. 

 

I was and am disgusted.

 

The maître d came over and started apologizing profusely. I told her to leave us alone. I am no longer getting into a cycle where NCL serves bad food or incorrect food, I say something then end up with a gushing maître d apologizing. I don’t want someone who can apologize well. I want someone who can show leadership by stopping the wrong meals from being served. Catch the problem before it reaches the customer, not after. I want accuracy and care, not apologies and promises that can not be upheld.

[kluv2cruz]

20 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

he has agreed to try a Princess cruise with me

Whoop whoop!

[YVRteacher]

I couldn’t do Sail and Sustain on an empty stomach so got a tiny slice of bread and one piece or spongy white cheese from the Garden Cafe. What a sad lunch.

 

We now have a gorgeous sunny day and they are doing Sail and Sustain inside instead of at the Great Outdoors bar. Once again martini session is scheduled for the same time as Sail and Sustain. Who gets the delightful, experienced, talented and knowledgeable  head mixologist? 

 

The people paying $20 each. 

 

Who gets the inexperienced bartender reading off the sheet word for word (often incorrectly) and barely interacting with the passengers? 

 

Oh, that would just be NCL’s highest latitudes members.  All 3 of us. The other Ambassador on board didn’t come. Too bad!

 

Aan promised me after I told him what a bad experience it was last week that he would be doing Sail and Sustain today. He talked about this with me multiple times this week.  Obviously he knew he would not and that he would be doing martini tasting. He let me down.

 

 

This wasn’t fun but after I told the bartender last week that every one of the drinks was made incorrectly he came to me today all proud that he had followed the recipes correctly and used the correct proportions. Last week not one of the sail and sustain drinks was drinkable because they were made carelessly. This week every drink was better. It’s amazing what following the recipe does. That was sarcasm.

 

 

 

 

I asked the bartender how to spell cheers in Tagalog and he said c-h-e-e-r-s.

 

We each got to choose our favourite full size drink at the end. The bartender remembered that last week I had a passion fruit lime cooler thing and dad had beer.  Had I been smart I would have ordered a chocolate martini. 

 

We really, really enjoyed talked to the other passenger, Larry. My dad said, “that was a nice chap.”

 

Larry showed us a photo in his phone from his cabin the first day of this cruise. He went to use a towel, unfolded it and it was filled with smeared brown poop.  You bet he complained.
 

He got some chocolate covered strawberries.

 

I strongly suspect that room steward did not get a tip from Larry on this cruise.

[YVRteacher]

Me: I’m drunk.

 

Dad: you’re cut off. I’m your father.

 

Me: I’m drunk.

 

Dad: again??

 

Back out on deck we had Painkillers and a dolphin show.

 

The chill rolled in with the afternoon cloud so we transitioned to Maltings with our afternoon butler treats

 

where Margarita tasting was happening. I couldn’t drink a flight so just listened and had water.

 

 

 

 

They had leftover margaritas so I had a strawberry one and a melon one. Both are like sickly sweet like Jolly Ranchers dipped in alcohol.

 

 

Dad had a beer then fell asleep sitting up at the bar. I sent him to the cabin to have a nap. 10 minutes later he was back, saying he got to the cabin and didn’t know why he was there. I ordered him a water. For the next 90 minutes he asked me constantly where we were eating dinner. This is what happens when we don’t get lunch!

Edited September 9 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

Our final dinner was a (insert your favourite and strongest swear word here) because if I write what I want to write I will get censored. 

 

We were seated just after 5:30.

My food came at 6:37. I had preordered a meal and they didn’t have it at all ready.

 

I specifically told the waiter to  bring my dad’s meal at the same time as mine. Do you think they did that.

 

Not even close.

 

The restaurant manager, Wilson, brought my food and said “they made it different from last night.”

 

I had one somewhat nice meal and they couldn’t even replicate it. What I was served tonight was deep fried, greasy, clumpy and gross. Who serves fried cheese in coagulated cheese sauce? Who looks at this

and thinks “gosh, we sure did our best to make a guest happy on her last night of a challenging cruise.”

 

I didn’t eat it. I sent it back.

 

My head hurts from dizziness today because I have barely eaten.  

 

On Princess I looked forward to each meal with joy. On this ship I don’t even want to go for a meal and I have dread in my stomach.

 

My dad had eaten his appetizer, main course and dessert before I received a meal. 
He ordered the Nutella creme brûlée for dessert. The maître d saw it and sent it back to the kitchen. It was soggy and liquid and the  brûlée part had not been brûléed.

 

 

 Just as we were standing up to leave the maître d, Kevon, came out with a plate for me.

It was the same dish but with tofu instead of paneer. Blah, but fine. The yams were gross. Super salty.

 

We missed the final production show since dinner was so drawn out with ineptitude.

 

The Restaurant Manager, Wilson, and the Executive Chef, Perry, came to check in as I was finishing. 

 

Wilson said “I saw what the chef made for you and I knew it was different from what was made yesterday and I knew you wouldn’t like it.”

 

I am done being nice.

 

I inquired, “then why did you serve it to me?”

 

The Restaurant Manager said “I wanted to see if you would like it.” He was serious. I am a human, not an experiment. I am a very, very disgusted passenger and he still served me food he knew I wouldn’t like. He should be fired.

 

I told him it is unacceptable to serve deep fried cheese in cheese sauce that leaks out oil onto the plate. Wilson knows I won’t eat fried food as an entree and he knows I have sent back food for being too oily.

 

Wilson said he watched the chef cook it and told him that is not how to cook paneer and the chef plated it and served it anyhow. The Restaurant Manager saw the food was unacceptable, then brought it to me himself. This is not a joke. I am not making this up.

 

 

Wilson told me that the food they served to me last night in Cagney’s was also the second plate. He tasted the sauce for the first plate and said it was not acceptable and had the chef remake it.

 

I told Wilson the cauliflower soup I was served today at lunch was inedible. He said they threw away the good soup and had to make new soup. I said the chef needs to taste the food before it is served to a customer because that was raw garlic soup.

 

The comment made by the Restaurant Manager, “I knew you wouldn’t like it” was the deal breaker for me.

 

I told Wilson we will NEVER come on the Jewel again.

 

Then we left Tsar’s Palace for the final time.

[YVRteacher]

Fortunately bubbles make things better 

 

 

 

 

[nw gardener]

@YVRteacher, I am so disappointed for you reading about the TOTAL failures with the food service.  I am so appreciative reading your trip report and thank you for doing this. I love reading about your interactions with your dad and so happy for you to be able to spend your time traveling with him. I haven't cruised on NCL since 2019 (started with them in 2006), and have gravitated to using HAL for our AK cruises out of Vancouver.  I hope you try them as well, and don't be for afraid to try other cruise lines that meet your needs better.  May you continue to enjoy cruising with your dad for many more years, no matter the cruise line.

 

[YVRteacher]

Our butler this week has not been good. He smiles a lot and is friendly. That is not enough. I requested a small cheese plate and a small plate of raw vegetables every day. Guess how many plates of vegetables we received? 

 

Zero. Not even a carrot.

 

The one day I ordered room service breakfast he didn’t bring my food. We have barely seen him all week.

 

Today, he magically appeared at lunch.

 

This afternoon he magically appeared at the bar to ask us what time we were leaving and to say he would carry our suitcases off.  I told him we did not need help.

 

During dinner he magically appeared yet again. He asked us what time we were coming for breakfast, what time we were leaving and told us he would help us with our suitcases.

 

I told him we would eat breakfast when we were hungry, we would leave when we were ready and that we do not need help with our suitcases.

 

He wants a tip.

For what?

 

He did NOTHING to earn or deserve a tip.

 

Our concierge is by far the worst ever and she should be fired. She did NOTHING to make our cruise special or easier. She actually inconvenienced us by failing to do the one thing I asked (help find the shore excursion tickets that were delivered to the previous cabin) and she had no idea how to escort us through the terminal as requested. 

 

My one word for this cruise? 

 

Disgusted.

 

 

[YVRteacher]

After dinner and balcony bubbles we packed.  I packed dad’s suitcase first then I went to pack my own clothes and when I came out of my room dad had unpacked everything I just packed for him.

 

I repacked his suitcase then put his suitcase out in the hall so he wouldn’t do that again. 

 

He then unpacked his whole backpack and lined all his shoes up neatly on the floor. I nicely had to tell dad to go to bed. He did. I think today was too much drinking and not enough food. I put his backpack on the couch in the living room so he wouldn’t be hyper-focused on it.  

 

Psyching myself up, I made the trek down to Guest Services to get our final statement. The $500 compensation had been credited to our account. 

 

I went through that statement line by line, cross matching my cruise documents which I had printed out and brought along to ensure all credits were applied.

 

Since we had prepaid gratuities (no, we did not remove any gratuities) our only expenses were the 4 spa passes (1 each for the first week and 1 each for the second week) plus my $12 sushi roll and our martini tasting. The $500 in compensation brought our final bill to zero but we still had $50 nonrefundable credit. Emil was kind and converted some of the specialty dining credit I had but could not use to regular onboard credit.

 

Off to the gift shop!  I chose chocolate bars for dad and a nice set of pencil crayons for me. When I was on the Princess cruises earlier this summer I noticed several people brought their own art supplies and I now have a set of cruising pencil crayons. I also got us each a package of Nutter Butters as we can’t get these in Canada.

 

Back in the cabin I checked in on dad (he’s fine) and since I didn’t have dessert I had some M&Ms. I don’t like M&Ms but I needed something more to eat other than tofu and salty yams. Just writing that makes me sink with sadness with what NCL has become.

 

With an alarm set for 7:30am, I went to bed feeling angry, dissatisfied and again disgusted.

 

I wrote a bit and tried repeatedly to get wifi to post or connect with friends through text and What’s App but couldn’t. I really missed being in touch with all my friends these last two weeks. I know people don’t go on cruises to spend time on their phones, but talking with my friends matters to me. My friends are like family (the kind you like and want to be around, not the ones you tolerate once a year for Christmas dinner while they open your fridge and drink directly from the milk carton and fall asleep on the couch after dinner. Oh wait. That’s Uncle Doug.)

[YVRteacher]

The alarm fully woke me up but the loud early morning arrival announcement had already jarred me out of any peaceful sleep.

 

Dad and I both got ready. 

I asked he if wanted food or to just get off the ship. He, like me, just wants to be done with this ship so he said “get off this ship.” Except he didn’t say ship. He said other words.

 

We picked up our stuff, walked out of the cabin, walked down the stairs to deck 7, walked out the door near Stardust Theatre, walked along the outside deck to the final key card scan with security and I promptly threw my key card in the garbage.

 

I took the step from the Jewel onto the gangway, threw my arms up in the air in pure relief and belted with gusto and glee “I am never coming on this ship again!!!!”

 

Then I kept on walking, breathing in the air of my home city, breathing out the stress, frustration, incompetence and mostly disappointment of the last 14 days that had settled into my body the way the grease coagulated in my bowl of gnocchi. 

 

That felt great. It’s the end of an era. We will never set foot on the Jewel again. Ever.

 

The current management team has no integrity;  they are not putting in the time to train staff, the chefs are incompetent, the current General Manger shirks all responsibility and this ship that once held my heart has now hardened it into ice as solid as a glacier. I am resolute that this is no longer the ship for me or for us. Never, ever will I even look at a Jewel itinerary.  I am done with this ship. 

 

Wow. Does that ever feel good. I feel like I’ve just been released from prison that served cruise ship food.

 

We walked off at 8:00am with no farewells. Normally crew line the departure deck and the GM and Cruise Director are there to say good bye. This tradition departed when Steven Jacobsen did.  It was the saddest, lamest ship leaving ever. Essentially, it completely reflects our experience on and opinion of the Jewel. There is no longer anything special about this ship.

 

At the port of Vancouver we did facial recognition, headed to the taxi stand and were at my dad’s place at 8:25am.

 

For the first taxi we got into, the driver said it would be a flat rate of $44. I said “you can’t charge a flat rate.” I got out of the taxi and asked the woman directing the taxi line if it was a flat rate. She said it was to the airport or downtown but not elsewhere.

I got back in the taxi and told the taxi driver he couldn’t charge a flat rate. He told me he didn’t like me arguing with him.

 

I got us both out of that taxi faster than you can say “corrupt driver” and into a different taxi.

 

It was a quick trip to dad’s place since Labour Day is a holiday here and there was minimal traffic. 

The final charge using the taxi meter? $21.00 plus I tipped him. He was honest and a keen conversationalist. 

 

Be a smart consumer and know your rights. 

 

After my dad and I said good bye I drove to the grocery store to get some vegetables, tofu and fruit for the week then bought a Starbucks cold brew vanilla sweet cream. 

 

That first sip was coffee nirvana. I wished for a Venti instead of my tiny tall. I also really miss my honey lavender lattes on Princess. Only 12 weeks until I get one (or 20!)

 

Laundry was done, folded and put away by 11:00am.

 

I am so glad to be home where the wifi and the coffee is strong, a bra and a plumbing engineer are unnecessary, the label on the ketchup says Heinz and my bed doesn’t have a crack in the middle.

 

 

 

[YVRteacher]

Who did it better, Princess or NCL?

 

Embarkation: Princess

 

Food (quality, taste, presentation, variety) by far Princess and it puts NCL to shame

 

Vegetarian food/ease of eating a vegetarian diet/availability of protein for vegetarians: Princess

 

Snack availability and selection: Princess

 

Pizza: Princess

 

Desserts: Princess

 

Drinks: Princess

 

Variety of drinks at different bars: Princess shines here

 

Willingness of bartenders to make a drink that is not on the menu: Princess

 

Buffet hours: Princess

 

Cookies: Princess

 

Soft ice cream: a win for NCL

 

Hashbrowns: Princess

 

Coffee: Princess

 

Comfort of beds: Princess

 

Modern decor in cabins: NCL

 

Showers: NCL

 

Soap and shower products: Princess

 

Cleanliness: Princess

 

Production Shows: Princess

 

Other theatre evening entertainment: both cruise lines need improvement

 

Evening entertainment that is not in the theatre: Princess

 

Volume of shows and music around the ship: too loud on both cruise lines. I’ve heard Holland America may be quieter!

 

Daytime activities: NCL has more to offer but that doesn’t mean I enjoy what is offered 

 

Public spaces, places to sit: by far Princess

 

Lounges with an ocean view: NCL

 

Library: Princess.

Princess libraries are open all the time and usage is on an honour system. NCL locks up their books and has staffed sign out two hours a day. Some ships no longer have libraries.

 

Medallion or key card: does not make a difference to me

 

Communication while onboard: Princess

 

Shore excursion write ups: Princess

 

Variety of shore excursions: Princess

 

Value of shore excursions: Princess

 

Allowing passengers and crew to take food off the ship and bring food and drinks back onto the ship: Princess

 

Freestyle Daily or Princess Patter: NCL’s Freestyle Daily

 

Problem solving/making it right: Princess but it depends on the ship

 

Overall experience on board: Princess 

 

Disembarkation information and experience: Princess

 

Loyalty Program and tier benefits for what you get as an individual: NCL

 

Loyalty program once onboard and what is offered onboard to people with status (parties, events, lounges): Princess

 

Special touches: Princess

 

App: NCL but both need improvement

 

Pre-cruise communication: NCL

 

Atmosphere on board: I like both but so strongly dislike the formal nights on Princess that this one goes to NCL

 

Visibility of officers and management: varies by ship

 

Sailaway party: they are both fun

 

Selection of movies on the tv: 100% Princess

 

Internet: 100% Princess  

 

Ease of website: NCL

 

Prices for solo cruisers: NCL

 

Tender operations: by far NCL

 

Most importantly, who has the softest toilet paper?

Princess

 

51 categories.

Tie: 2

Inconsequential: 1

NCL: 15

Princess:33

 

We have a clear winner.

[YVRteacher]

Weather report

 

Monday August 19

Vancouver

sunny, cloudy, heavy rainy then windy

Bubble blowing rating 7/10

 

Tuesday August 20

Sea Day/Inside Passage

Grey, drizzly, foggy, cold, windy

Cleared up for sunset

Bubble blowing rating 6/10 (the wind whisked them away too quickly)

 

Wednesday August 21

Ketchikan

sunshine all day and evening

-dressed in layers and took them all off except for light shirt

Bubble blowing rating 8/10

 

Thursday August 22

Juneau

Light rain, heavy rain, pouring rain, soaking rain, brief moment of no rain, more grey drizzle

-dressed in layers with a wool toque and winter jacket and was so cold

Bubble blowing rating 4/10 (they got too wet)

 

Friday August 23

Skagway

gorgeous sunshine with a short drizzle, needed a jacket

Bubble blowing rating 8/10

 

Saturday August 24

Icy Strait Point

Morning: cloudy and crisp

Noon: sunny and hot

Early afternoon: light drizzle

Evening: pouring rain, grey 

Bubble blowing rating at 10:00am 10/10

 

Sunday August 25

Sea Day/Hubbard Glacier

 

Morning: total downpour and grey skies

 

Mid morning: more heavy rain, grey skies, very windy

 

Late morning: still raining

 

Lunch time: slightly less rain, still cold and windy

 

1:00pm: rain stopped and there are delicate hints of blue sky.

 

Afternoon: so grey there is no discernible horizon line. Rain on and off.

 

Bubble blowing rating 0/10 I tried with no success. So windy the liquid was whooshed away before it had time to even think about becoming a bubble.

 

Monday August 26

Seward

Morning: crisp, clear, some sun

Afternoon: cold, windy, cloudy

Evening: cold, windy, rainy, perfect for the spa 

Bubble blowing rating: I forgot!

 

Tuesday August 27

Sea Day/Hubbard Glacier

All day: cold, drizzly, grey, cloudy

Not good glacier viewing weather so that makes 0/2 for glaciers on this cruise. I heard some people from last week’s cruise saying how disappointed they were that we didn’t really get to see Hubbard. I can imagine that if you only had one shot at a glacier and the weather wasn’t in your favour that the disappointment would be strong.

Bubble blowing rating: 2/10

 

Wednesday August 28

Icy Strait Point

So. Much. Rain.

Then more rain.

Brief pause for fog with no rain.

So damn cold.

4:30pm onward cloudy with tiny rays of sunlight breaking through. Beautiful. Evening clouds were stunning.

 

Bubble blowing rating 10/10

So good I did it twice!

 

Thursday August 29

Juneau

Morning: grey

Rest of the day: soaking rain, cold, grey

Morning bubble blowing rating 7/10 due to wind

 

Friday August 30

Skagway

Morning: cold, cloudy, a little drizzle

Rest of the day: not sunny but not raining. Cloudy but not dismal. Crisp. A shoreside worker told me there have been rainbows most days this week. 

 

Bubble blowing rating: epic!

 

Saturday August 31

Ketchikan

 

Early morning: rain, fogged in

Mid morning: rain, slightly less foggy

The Cruise Next lady said the weather is “gloomy, dark, cloudy, foggy.” Accurate summation.

Noon: rain stopped, clouds cleared, we rounded the bend into Ward Cove at 12:21pm then the sun was shining

 

4:45pm big rain

 

Evening: big, big rain

 

Bubble blowing rating  6/10

 

Sunday September 1

Sea Day

Morning: blue skies, clear

 

Noon: sunshine, pool weather 

 

Afternoon: what happened to the sun? Now it’s cold, grey, cloudy and foggy. I had to get blankets so we could sit outside 

 

Evening: shrouded in fog

 

This is the worst weather we have had not just in Alaska but in all our cruises. Did we let it spoil our cruise or bring us down or stop us from enjoying Alaska? No!

 

Bubble blowing rating 7/10

[YVRteacher]

4 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Q and A

 

For the video instead of the regular video with statistics and photos of cabins we were shown the video of the Jewel’s refurbishment during the pandemic. It was interesting but didn’t go with the presentation and left a lot of gaps in information about the Jewel.  At one point the GM asked Tahani, “didn’t you show the video?” and she said no.

 

This week the Jewel has 1031 crew still from 52 countries. 24 new crew members joined in Seward and 16 boarded in Juneau.

 

This was an interesting session. I just listened instead of taking notes. Nothing revolutionary was said or revealed.

Oh wait! I just thought of something interesting! The cabin said that the bigger the ships the smaller the cabin for captain is. He also explained that the uniforms stay on the ship and there are two alternating captains. So whichever captain is on board, he is sharing the clothes closet with the uniform of the other captain who is on vacation.

[QuattroRomeo]

 

 Softest toilet paper for the win!!

 

Seriously though, I don't believe you asked for anything difficult:

 

Don’t call her Mrs.

Don’t serve hair in her food

Make her Painkillers correctly 

Serve tasty food in a timely manner

Clean the bathroom

Fix the toilet

Provide services that were paid for

Listen to customers' requests

 

I am happy to hear that your Dad will try Princess with you.

We haven't been on NCL since 2018. We have been on HAL several times since then, and while certainly not perfect, their staff are wonderful, the food is good, and the beds are comfortable! (although no separate bedrooms). Might be another option for you, and they are great in Alaska.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Hope your next cruise is a much happier time!!

 

[AlexandNessa]

Thank you for your review. We are just off the Joy and had it not been for the Haven restaurant and making friends in the Haven, we'd have had very little fun at all.

 

We're not vegetarian, but, like you,  struggled with Cagney's as well. We went one night, and i wish I'd taken a pic. No way were my lamb chops 12 oz like the menu says. It was more like 4.... these 2 teeny medallions .... thankfully i wasn't hungry.  We decided on a do-over another night where i ordered something else and regretted it because i saw someone else order the lamb chops and they looked all their advertised 12 oz. Probably because they were going to a very healthy looking gentleman and not petite me.  We don't really eat until dinner so dinner is a big deal. On the 2nd try, i decided on the fisherman's Platter where the shrimp was too salty. I gave hubs my crab cake as i don't like breaded seafood and he said it was gross. All our sides were served stone cold. Had anyone come by to check on us, I'd have told them, but alas no one did.  After we were done, finally someone came to check on us and i explained the situation. No apology. A simple, "thank you. I'll let the chef know." We're not Ambassadors like you, but we're well into Sapphire territory. We should not have wasted a dining credit. I was disappointed in the response. 

 

I could go on (and on). The cruise was far from perfect, but we made our own fun. We had to. The entertainment was terrible at night. And if it wasn't terrible, it was at a bad time or in too small a venue, so you had to go super early to get a seat. Cruise Next desk was another story. Worst we'd ever dealt with. 

 

In the post cruise survey, i told NCL that it seemed like they were relying heavily on new cruisers who didn't know any better, and i wished them well with that. Those of us who've been around (us 10+ years with NCL) know what it can be. I told NCL i know they can do better. We do have more NCL cruises booked, but the next one is a full year away. We'll be watching reviews and canceling if things don't improve (i told them this; they won't care). Our next cruise isn't with NCL at all, and we let them know that too. NCL isn't cheap booking the Haven outright. I also said for what they were providing at that price point, the opportunity cost was too high for us. They really need a wake up call. Sadly, i don't think people like you or me sounding the alarm will do it. 

[AlexandNessa]

P.S. i forgot to say that we were lucky ... we did have functioning toilets, but most of the time there was an anxiety-ridden 5 to a full 10 minute delay between pressing the flush button and the actual flush ....

 

I completely agree your meager $500 OBC was inadequate. I hope you get better results shoreside and they don't claim that your acceptance of the $500 negates any further claims.

 

Thank you again for sharing. 

[njkate]

6 hours ago, AlexandNessa said:

Thank you for your review. We are just off the Joy and had it not been for the Haven restaurant and making friends in the Haven, we'd have had very little fun at all.

 

We're not vegetarian, but, like you,  struggled with Cagney's as well. We went one night, and i wish I'd taken a pic. No way were my lamb chops 12 oz like the menu says. It was more like 4.... these 2 teeny medallions .... thankfully i wasn't hungry.  We decided on a do-over another night where i ordered something else and regretted it because i saw someone else order the lamb chops and they looked all their advertised 12 oz. Probably because they were going to a very healthy looking gentleman and not petite me.  We don't really eat until dinner so dinner is a big deal. On the 2nd try, i decided on the fisherman's Platter where the shrimp was too salty. I gave hubs my crab cake as i don't like breaded seafood and he said it was gross. All our sides were served stone cold. Had anyone come by to check on us, I'd have told them, but alas no one did.  After we were done, finally someone came to check on us and i explained the situation. No apology. A simple, "thank you. I'll let the chef know." We're not Ambassadors like you, but we're well into Sapphire territory. We should not have wasted a dining credit. I was disappointed in the response. 

 

I could go on (and on). The cruise was far from perfect, but we made our own fun. We had to. The entertainment was terrible at night. And if it wasn't terrible, it was at a bad time or in too small a venue, so you had to go super early to get a seat. Cruise Next desk was another story. Worst we'd ever dealt with. 

 

In the post cruise survey, i told NCL that it seemed like they were relying heavily on new cruisers who didn't know any better, and i wished them well with that. Those of us who've been around (us 10+ years with NCL) know what it can be. I told NCL i know they can do better. We do have more NCL cruises booked, but the next one is a full year away. We'll be watching reviews and canceling if things don't improve (i told them this; they won't care). Our next cruise isn't with NCL at all, and we let them know that too. NCL isn't cheap booking the Haven outright. I also said for what they were providing at that price point, the opportunity cost was too high for us. They really need a wake up call. Sadly, i don't think people like you or me sounding the alarm will do it. 

I think you hit the nail on the head!! NCL target audience is new cruisers that have nothing to compare it too!!

 

Like Yvonne I had a favorite ship, the Jade and I sailed on her this past June and August. The decline in food, entertainment and service was noticeable!

Even marketing materials I use to get them several times a month and have not received one piece in the last 8-9 months, not that I miss junk mail it’s just noticeable.

 

Between the current pricing, decline in food, service, entertainment and for Europe the cancellations of ports willy nilly I’ve opted for a land vaca in France next year!

 

My 10 year old grandson loves cruising and wants to go to Ireland and Scotland next summer but the pricing on Dawn the only ship that does that itinerary are insane!

 

Im looking at Princess but concerned there isn’t many kid friendly options, I’ll have to ask Yvonne if she noticed when she was on Princess Regal

[graphicguy]

Yvonne....again, thank you for the review.  I wish your 2nd leg of the journey would have been so much better.  You are a good person and I love how you interface with your Dad.  All of your reviews that I've read have been reasonable and enjoyable.

 

I wish you could print out this entire review and send it to Katy Byrd and she would actually read it.  Everything....all of it....was a complete failure.  More concerning is the fact that managemen didn't care enough from the "get go" to do it right and didn't care enough to make it right, which is even worse.

 

I wonder if you contested the charges on your credit for the entire cruise if NCL would actually read your experiences as the reason.  Or, would they summarily dismiss them and say, once again, "we don't care"?

[Happy fool]

It is a shame that there has been such a decline in NCL. Five days without a working toilet in your cabin is unacceptable. I hope NCL will read this and make needed improvements. 

[kribar]

Love reading your reviews, Yvonne!  Your relationship with your Dad is so sweet.  I've cruised 2 times with my Dad alone & it's so special, He's 83 & still very active.

 

Cruising the Jewel for the 1st time one week from today.  Praying we get better food and service. Your experience made me so sad for you both.  Can someone please clarify if there is a White Night or Glow Party & also, which pages were the Freestyle Daily's posted on?  Thank you so much.