NCL Crown Bermuda 8/26 - 9/1 Review Long

[Hobbsey]

Well, I thought I remembered that we were traveling into NYC at the same time. Maybe we'll see you at the port. We tend to board after the initial excitement, about 1:30ish probably.

 

Where are you staying? We're in the Crowne Plaza in Times Square. Becky's best friend (and her husband) who lives in Allentown are coming into the city for some fun and a sleep over.

 

This one is to celebrate a century of living between us (we're both 50 this year) and we are entering out 10th year of marriage - our ninth anniversary is today.

[op1]

You bet.

OP1 - out of couriosity, what are the terms of use for that future cruise offer? Does it have an expiration date, are there black outs, is it combinable with other offers and promotions, etc...???

 

Oddly enough the details are still forth coming. I'll post them when I get them.

OP1

[smeyer418]

generally they have to be used within 12-18 months. There are rarely any additional restrictions except they can't be cashed in or used for the service charge or at the Casino....but there can always be differences....

nice review BTW and good postings...

[Suesan Jean]

It sounds as if your Crown cruise, even with a few problems, was LOVELY.....:)

 

I am GLAD to hear that....!!! I will be on the Crown next month and I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.....!!!:D

 

I ALWAYS look at the "Bright Side" of things...... Even "land" vacations can have problems........

 

As long as I arrive safely home, I enjoyed making new friends, I had some "quiet" time with my DH, we got some snorkeling in, I didn't have to cook, LIFE IS JUST GREAT....!!!!:D

[Joan G]

Hobbsey, we're staying at the Grand Hyatt, we have 5 others joining us from California. I'll wave to your ship.

[gsc500]

Thanks for the great review, OP1. I really enjoyed reading it.

[drumcruise]

I would have been satisfied with the compensation, had the engine delay been the only problem we had as first time cruisers.

 

1. The service such as room steward and bar staff was not that great.

2. The food was not good at all for the buffet. It would be nice if they labeled the food, especially when you can't tell what it is when you look at it. Some things were labeled. ON the final day I was looking forward to an Omelette and they never opened the Omellette or Waffle Station.

3. The breakfast at the Seven Seas restaraunt was cold and not very good. Waiters were average at best especially for being the main dining room. The lobster tail was good and I can't even remember my other meal because it did not impress me.

4. They posted the wrong menu one night and when we arrived for dinner we were all disappointed that we could not eat the Prime Rib that we were looking forward to.

5. I've never been on a cruise ship before, but on the way back I think they were pushing the speed which caused Sea Spray even up as high as the top deck. It made getting some sun a little uncomfortable. The pool was too small and the two hot tubs were overrun with kids. I know it is an older ship so I will consider this the next time.

6. The Casino dealers were poorly trained and made a huge mistake when I went to cash out my chips. I noticed that they were tired and I understand that crew members perform multiple jobs on a ship, but when people are handling my potential money I don't need them falling to sleep or daydreaming. The problem cost me an hour of sleep when I wanted to go to bed and I ended up waking up a little late on the first day in port.

7. I understand that the cruise line can not control the weather, but the shortened visit gave no oppurtunity to catch up on things we missed when half of the port time was spent in the rain. We had our only planned excursion cancelled.

NOW FOR THE POSITIVE:

 

1. I did think that the entertainment was very good. Dance Team was OK. Comedian Dave Heenan Very good. Juggler Barry John Was very good, and Singer "The Chocolate Goddess of Love" was exceptional.

2. The Pasta Cafe was very good and our waitress was outstanding. I was only disappointed that they used the same menu for both nights, and It was difficult to make a reservation.

IN CLOSING:

The compensation for lost time on the trip was OK , but after this experience, it will take more than a 20 %discount on my next cruise before I will sail Norwegian again. I was with people that have sailed Norwegian in the past and they told us that the overall service has dropped since the company was sold and they apologized for choosing this cruise for us.

[op1]

Drumcruise,

 

Good add ons. I don't do the casinos on boats so I couldn't say. Interesting take on the lobster. I thought mine was way overcooked. I had the prime rib.

You didn't miss anything.

I thought both ocean days were pretty good. I've heard night mares about the seas going to Bermuda. But thats just the luck of the seas.

 

I really disliked the hot tub situation also. I went in when it was empty and next thing you know I was surrounded by little kids. Most of which the parents where on some other deck. I got out quickly. I can easily see this as a major problem. Some kid swims on you then goes tell his parents you touched them. Or worse it's a pedophiles dream. I didn't let my kids go in unsupervised. Whats it going to take for NCL to do something about this.

 

It would have been nice to have one more day in port. Felt like a lot of traveling to leave so quickly. Not sure if I'll be back either.

 

Did any of your fellow travelers go to the Latitudes party. I'd be curious to get their take on it.

 

OP1

[Hobbsey]

OP! that's always been one of my peeves - and it's not an NCL problem, it seems to be all of em. I appreciated Carnvial putting some adult only tubs inside the spa on the Fantasy class ships. We never use them on open decks.

 

In general these cruiselines don't do a good job of policing the rules so deck chair usage, tubs, other other general annoyances don't get well addressed.

 

I'm surprised to hear about the casino staff. I've never known them do double duty in other parts of the ship (except the bar personnel). However, there was crew safety training and they would have to attend, and most likely when most of them would have been sleeping.

 

I'm not a big user in there either. I lose $20 and then I leave. LOL

[tomk3212]

Oddly enough on our first day before it was announced that we would not be leaving till the next day, while we were at lunch the news broke out. A lady at the next table started sobbing. She had been saving for a long time and had always wanted to go to Bermuda. I went over and consoled her. At this point we also found out we would be getting a 50% refund so I explained she would get a taste of Bermuda and use the 50% refund as being half way to her next cruise.

 

As far as making lemonade yes in deed. I didn't mention that by the time I actually got to Bermuda I had a terrible cold! I hadn't traveled this for not to go to the beach though. That night I skipped dinner. If you knew me and heard I skipped dinner you'd be dialing 911. Ok I did eventually call room service.

 

OP1

 

OP1,

 

ROFL!!!:p

 

If I skipped ANY meal my wife would also be calling 911!!!

 

Tom & Eileen

[beachin']

I would have been satisfied with the compensation, had the engine delay been the only problem we had as first time cruisers.

 

 

4. They posted the wrong menu one night and when we arrived for dinner we were all disappointed that we could not eat the Prime Rib that we were looking forward to.

 

Yes, but they "re-posted" that menu on the following night, so hopefully you were able to enjoy it then.

[drumcruise]

Did any of your fellow travelers go to the Latitudes party. I'd be curious to get their take on it.

 

OP1

My parents went to the Latitudes party and I don't think they were overly impressed with it.

[johnE]

We had 2 cabins on the Crown and were due to sail to Bermuda on 8/26. We drove up from VA with a plan to go to Bermuda and have a great time. Of course we were disappointed to leave 2 days late. However, after the second (increased offer) or compensation that we received in the form of a letter from the Capitain, we decided to stay. Rather than take the offer of a full refund and leave, we used the Crown as a high-class hotel in NYC and explored a bit. Then we left and went to Bermuda on the Crown. We had a nice time (our 2nd cruise on NCL and the 4th in our life). We never groused about it to anyone. We evaluated the offer, wanted a vacation and accepted the deal as an excellent gesture from NCL.

 

However, now we find that NCL is not willing to live up to their offer! I've had our travel agent contact NCL to be sure and memorialize how the offered deal would apply to us, before they lost any memory of a shipload of inconvenienced passengers. Also, we took advantage of the $250 per cabin future booking credit deal offered on board and I wanted all of the details finalized. I knew at the time that we wouldn't book until next Spring or summer, for the following summer (2009). We are getting together a group of 6-8 cabins for then, I think. Of course, I told the nice lady on board who sold us the future cruise credits (Maddy) about our timing. She was also the poor person tasked by NCL with dealing with passengers about the compensation for the shortened Bernmuda cruise of 8/26 (in addition to her other duties). She was in communication with the NCL home office about it.

 

The second letter from the Captain offered a 50% refund of the cruise costs for the 8/26 cruise. [We have already received that credit on our credit card. Thanks NCL!] The letter also offered (I quote) "a 20% future cruise credit (based on the fare paid for this cruise) toward a future cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line."

 

Being an accountant, I asked Maddy to check with the home office and let me know whether the 20% was based on the fare we had originally paid, or whether it was going to be based on the 50% that we actually paid in the end(net of the refund). She checked and the next day told me that it was off of the full fare I had paid and NOT net of the discount. She said a letter with the discount info would be sent to all passengers shortly after the cruise. So far, no letter.

 

So after a month had passed, I got my agent to call NCL and they said that there was a note in my record showing $190 per stateroom credit toward a future cruise. Well, not counting things like taxes and port fees, I had actually paid right at $1900 per stateroom for the Crown cruise. So it looked like NCL was crediting only 10% and not 20%. The NCL rep told my agent it was, in fact 10% and that we weren't due a 20% credit. Given 2 staterooms, I am talking about either $380 credit or $760 credit toward a future cruise for my family.

 

So I .pdf my second letter from the Captain and my agent gets it to NCL. Now they say it is a credit that is worth $380 per stateroom BUT it must be used within 6 months from 8/26!

 

As we NEVER planned on cruising within 6 months AND the Captain's letter only mentioned a future cruise (without time limitation) AND Maddy knew when we bought the future cruise credits and discussed this applying this 20% discount to that future cruise while on the ship, I am certainly surprised that NCL is sneaking in a time limitation now. So now I am looking at what I thought was $760 credit toward the future cruise that I had been planning with Maddy going to a zero dollar credit!

 

Had this truly been their plan when the Captain's letter went out and had this been communicated, we would likely have left the ship. A refund now and the prospect of good times at a good cost in teh future sold us on staying. We certainly would not have booked the 2 cruise deposits knowing that the anticipated 20% future cruise credit was worth not $780, but rather worth zero!

 

My agent is trying to get NCL to allow me to use the 20% ($780) credit within the 30 month timeframe that applies to my $250/cabin future cruise credits I bought while on ship. We'll see.

 

But for all of you out there who happily accepted NCL's 'compensation offer', please be warned that it might not be so easy to actually get. So if you really want to take advantage of it, maybe you should start down the path I've been down. If you call them 12 months from now in the hopes they will make good on their offer, you might be out of luck, if they really take 'this use within 6 months' position.

 

Sorry for the long post. If you made it to the end, I congratulate you. I just thought I should share this with my fellow passengers in case someone else could be helped by it.

 

I like NCL and we had a good cruise. We thought their compensation offer was really a great gesture and would like to use them again. However, I wouldn't have rushed to set up my next cruise on their line had I known that I would have such a hassle receiving the credit so clearly and simply promised to me onboard.