Highly Disappointed.

[isles1]

I'd find it hard to fault any cruiseline or the like for a dirty public restroom. I mean, in all honesty, you have no idea how long it was dirty for; if the offending party used the facilities 5 minutes before a member of your party attempted to use the facilities, you cannot expect the staff to clean it after each individual use. I'd assume these facilities are cleaned every few hours at most.

 

Now, if this was a recurring issue throughout the trip, then that is a different story.

 

As for the rest of your issues, I am sorry things did not go well overall.

[dbeers2618]

Usually we book our own excursions as well, but we booked this vacation on very short notice because my grandfather is very ill. Therefore we cancelled a vacation to Italy. The tour to Halifax did not really tell you what you would be doing. It gave you some ideas but really just said that it was a tour of historic Halifax and included lunch. I am sure if we questioned it more we could have had the schedule for that day. However, it is a good thing we did not book excursions on our own this time because a few couples that did lost their money and the tour because we did not get off the boat until 10 am on the day we went to Maine and they were suppose to meet at 9am to get their tour. I did hear that people got ship board credit for this because so many people booked this independent tour that none of them got to do.

[kmmal]

I too will never return to NCL Arrived at pier 11:45. Got on the ship at 2 P.M.

"Our group" was shuttled onto chairs and made to sit while folks behind us were allowed to get on the ship. What a nutty way to start a cruise. NCL too expensive- unresponsive to problems. Shows were good. Service and food wasn't. I'll stick with RC.

[newmexicoNita]

I too will never return to NCL Arrived at pier 11:45. Got on the ship at 2 P.M.

"Our group" was shuttled onto chairs and made to sit while folks behind us were allowed to get on the ship. What a nutty way to start a cruise. NCL too expensive- unresponsive to problems. Shows were good. Service and food wasn't. I'll stick with RC.

There are reasons for so many cruise lines, for all those who want to stick with RCI you have your reasons, but the same number are saying they are switching back to NCL because of not being satisfied with RCI. To each his own.

 

I do not know why the people behind you were allowed to get on the ship but I can guess, eithter they were latitude members who do have first options or they were physically challenged. In either case you certainly can understand why they went first I would think. Why were you so late getting on the ship? Obviously there was a problem, yes, you should have been made aware of it. NCL isn't always great with communication. What do you mean, NCL is too expensive? What kind of rates are you accustom to getting?

 

Nita

[PDX2Cruiser]

I am new to NCL and weary of freestyle as I have heard about long waits.

 

Huh? Long waits for what? I just finished my second NCL cruise. I've cruised on Carnival and Princess previously. One of the things I really like about both of my NCL cruises is that I rarely have to wait in any kind of line for anything at all. Food, embarkation, debarkation, shows, excursion desk, or the restaurant reservations desk.

 

The original author did address long waits between portions. That's unfortunate, I've not had that experience on either the NCL Sun or Star. In fact, there were times I was trying to eat within a certain time frame, I'd just tell the waiter what the time frame is what we're working with. I've never seen a waiter who didn't accommodate any reasonable request.

[PDX2Cruiser]

I too will never return to NCL Arrived at pier 11:45. Got on the ship at 2 P.M.

"Our group" was shuttled onto chairs and made to sit while folks behind us were allowed to get on the ship. What a nutty way to start a cruise. NCL too expensive- unresponsive to problems. Shows were good. Service and food wasn't. I'll stick with RC.

 

The people who were allowed to pass you were likely Latitudes members (folks who have cruised on NCL previously). I was envious of the Latitudes members on my first NCL cruise during embarkation. On my recent cruise I was a Latitude member so if felt pretty good zipping through the Latitudes line. Kinda like using the express lane during rush hour on the freeway.

[tommy]

Wow,How dare you to complain on problems you had on a Ncl cruise.What gives you the right to complain about a dirty restroom,dirty cabins,long waiting lines,unresponsive cruise reps,or even when you get your coffee,ect.Thats okay its a good thing there are so many ncl cheerleaders on here to defend this service.

[NoPiratesPlease]

We had the same experience in June on the Carnivore Victory--from NYC to St. John and Halifax.

 

BTW, I don't appreciate the pomposity of being told I'm SUPPOSED to enjoy being made to wait 3 hours for dinner. I don't enjoy it and never did. Plus, when cruising with children it's intolerable. With a small child, being made to wait so long is downright inconsiderate, both of the parents and the child.

 

Dessert, then coffee is a standard practice, so we just ask (even insist) they bring the coffee with the dessert. I enjoy the black, unsweetened coffee as a chaser for the cloying dessert...except the coffee on the Star was black Drain-o.

[NowVoyager908]

Wow,How dare you to complain on problems you had on a Ncl cruise.What gives you the right to complain about a dirty restroom,dirty cabins,long waiting lines,unresponsive cruise reps,or even when you get your coffee,ect.Thats okay its a good thing there are so many ncl cheerleaders on here to defend this service.

 

I think if you're going to complain about something, you're bound to get cruisers who did not experience the same thing and offer differing opinions. If you want to call it cheerleading, then so be it. But two people will go on the same cruise and come home with opinions so opposite, you wonder if they were on the same ship. It happens all the time.

 

The OP did not like NCL for various reasons and I assume, won't sail with them again. I'm sorry he and his family did not enjoy their cruise. Others like myself have had nothing but great experiences with NCL, and this ship in particular, and would sail with them again in a heartbeat.

[blitheone]

We were on the Spirit on its last Bahamian trip for the summer, and while we enjoyed the cruise in general, we did have a few problems with our cabin and the way it was made up.

 

It kinda freaked me out to find medication from the previous occupant (perhaps had the room been dusted in the first place...). Plus, the way the bed was sheeted (knotted in the upper right hand corner), the sheet would slip and ride down during the night and I'd end up sleeping directly on the not-too-new mattress. Ewwwww. This has never been a problem in our previous sailings, nor had the rolling into Death Valley, the depression down the center of the pushed-together mattresses. The small, thin mattress pad did little to alleviate the problem.

 

Actually, we should have said something, but, shame on us, we didn't. However, it was the first time we didn't leave an extra (decent-sized) tip at the end of the cruise for our room steward, whoever he or she was (we never came across them on our cruise and never got one of those welcome cards with the steward's name in our cabin).

 

However, service otherwise was friendly and attentive, and the food---ah, Le Bistro!!!!---was delish. Plus, it appeared that they greatly appreciated our charitable donations in the casino. Overall, we were treated most hospitably and will continue cruising with NCL.

 

Btw, we usually do our own thing on port days and have had some fabulous adventures. But cruise lines are quite good at making you feel paranoid about being left behind if you're late and not on *their* excursion, so I can't blame those who take the "safe" route.

 

Dbeers2618, I hope your dad is doing okay. Did the ship provide first aid for those who weren't taken to the hospital or were people on their own? (Waitaminute, I was assuming there that your folks were elderly, but looking back...ahem, we have sons your age---good to know your parents are quite young! ;) )

[dadof2]

There was no towel animals though. The little things count to us.

 

Our grown-up children do not travel with us. If/when we do not receive towel animals we assume that the room stewards are busy making them for cabins that have children cruising in them:) Cute, but no big deal for us, better for the cabins w/children.

 

Tuesday: Halifax. Today we took a tour of the Citadel, Maritime Museum, and Public Gardens. It was 98$ for that which we thought by the end of the day was a rip off.

 

Halifax can easily be done on your own. You just need to do your research/homework before you leave home.

Boston - I am looking at the brochure now. It does show "considerable amount of physical activity" for that tour. They, apparently, did not read the "key" applied to the excursion:confused:

Coffee after dessert is the custom in many countries (as listed above) and even here in the US in better dining venues.

We did notice this on our very first cruise, you just have to request your coffee w/dessert once you notice (on the first evening) that this is being done.

Unkempt cabins is not acceptable.

Public rest rooms..we have seen the staff running from restroom to restroom on "rough sea" evenings. There is always a list in the RR showing when the last attendant was there.

You must also consider some of the ("unkempt passengers", trying to put it nicely) who you see/meet on a ship. Shouldn't they clean-up after themselves? YUK! Can't fault the staff for them:eek:

Hope your future cruises will be more enjoyable (I'm sure the stress of your grandfather being so ill added to the stress of your vacation). Hope your grandfather is feeling better:)

[Grandmaof4]

We were on the same trip and must say that we had a different experience. My husband injured his leg in Halifax and was unable to walk or stand for the rest of the trip so we were basically confined to our cabin. The staff could not have been more helpful. They actually called us at least twice a day to see if we needed anything. I must say that I was not impressed with the food on the cruise. I actually didn't eat a few times because nothing seemed appealing. We were assisted by the staff in disembarking. They got us off first, helped with our luggage and waited for the ambulance to pick us up. I can't speak about any of the shows or anything since we never got to do anything on the ship but our cabin which we spent several days in was clean.

[Down-Unders]

Now read your original statement and read what you have just said: quite different. You now say your cabin was fine but you didn't like you cabin steward: you don't know about the blood< you didn't get towel animals. With the exception of the bad service and there is no excuse for bad dining room service your complaints end up seeming pretty mild compared to your first posting today. Objective reviews which is more like you just gave on one thing, blasting like your first posting will get you nothing but defensive responses. BTW, normally coffee is served during dessert or after dinner unless requested with dinner.

 

I have no doubt you didn't enjoy your cruise as much as others you have taken, I think your overall reaction might be a little bit exagerated.

 

Nita

 

Nita, were you present at that time to make such a patronising statement?

Also what has how many posts got to do with expressing an opinion? some of your comments appear to indicate you may be a major shareholder in NCL. :) :)

[Down-Unders]

Now read your original statement and read what you have just said: quite different. You now say your cabin was fine but you didn't like you cabin steward: you don't know about the blood< you didn't get towel animals. With the exception of the bad service and there is no excuse for bad dining room service your complaints end up seeming pretty mild compared to your first posting today. Objective reviews which is more like you just gave on one thing, blasting like your first posting will get you nothing but defensive responses. BTW, normally coffee is served during dessert or after dinner unless requested with dinner.

 

I have no doubt you didn't enjoy your cruise as much as others you have taken, I think your overall reaction might be a little bit exagerated.

 

Nita

 

 

 

How can you own someone's reality when you were not present, or were you? What has the number of posts got to do with expressing an opinion ? :) :)

[Don Haynes]

I have seen the menus for NCL ships, day by day. Unfortunately, your opinion is different than mine. I thought the menus were great for main dining rooms. How can anyone not like the menus? Do you not enjoy continental food?

[newmexicoNita]

Nita, were you present at that time to make such a patronising statement?

Also what has how many posts got to do with expressing an opinion? some of your comments appear to indicate you may be a major shareholder in NCL. :) :)

Read his first post and then the one above mine: he suddenly is saying "well maybe" That was my point, but I guess you missed that altogether. Like most of us (me included) you read into what I said stuff that wasn't there. Share holder, NCL isn't public, I guess that should answer your rediculous question.

 

I support most all cruise lines, I don't like whiners, and I have learned in my many years on earth to look for the "Silver Lining". does this mean everything is always perfect, NO.

 

As for number of posts, I am not the only one who feels this way, notice those who post often and come back with less than perfect reviews are never questioned, or certainly rarely. It's the one or two time poster who has trouble finding the positive side. We had a lady in our CC group when we sailed the Jewel 2 years ago. She didn't like the size of the rooms in the hotel prior to sailing, didint' like where they sat her in Cagney's the first night, complained about the cost of the tour the first day out, was griping about missing a port because of bad wether, etc. She posted all this when we returned, got on the CC thread and wondered how any of us had time to post reviews, she had to return to work. Guess what, no one ever heard from her again. Example of the complainer.

 

Nita

[dbeers2618]

Blith, My dad is fine, Thank you for asking. He cut his head but it did not require any stitches. The other people I do not know how they made out. I know that the one man was having severe stomach pain. He was actually one of the ones waiting for the tenders the day in Bar Harbor. They had an ambulance waiting for him. Another elderly women fainted I heard and we just pulled out maybe 20 minutes prior so they put her on a boat and got back to the shore. I don't know about the third person. For the 2nd person they did cause a little bit of an uproar though because they came over the announcements saying Code Alpha and most people did not know what that meant and all of a sudden we saw all these people running all over the place. We honestly thought that someone went overboard. :eek:

[janabelle61]

We were on the same trip and must say that we had a different experience. My husband injured his leg in Halifax and was unable to walk or stand for the rest of the trip so we were basically confined to our cabin. The staff could not have been more helpful. They actually called us at least twice a day to see if we needed anything. I must say that I was not impressed with the food on the cruise. I actually didn't eat a few times because nothing seemed appealing. We were assisted by the staff in disembarking. They got us off first, helped with our luggage and waited for the ambulance to pick us up. I can't speak about any of the shows or anything since we never got to do anything on the ship but our cabin which we spent several days in was clean.

 

GrandmaOf4,

 

Nice to see you posting here! We met, briefly, in the elevator after you had made arrangements for ambulance pick-up of your husband on the final morning. I hope he's doing well now that you're home.

 

Janabelle

[NoPiratesPlease]

We've been on NCL 15 times and are booked ahead for more cruises. Yet when someone's FIRST experience is a disaster, we fully understand that they are not giving NCL a second chance. Why should they?

 

We have had similar experiences to the OP on our first (and last) cruises on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and Carnivore.

 

Remember the ad campaign "You only have one chance to make a first impression"? So when other people who are happy with Celeb, RCl or Carny tell me that we need to try them again, I say "Why should I? They had their chance and blew it!"

 

NCL blew it with this OP. If I were in their shoes I'd never sail NCL again. But I'm not in their shoes and neither are any of you.

[nets33]

There was no towel animals though. The little things count to us.

Princess does not do towel animals either - don't expect them on Princess if you decide to cruise.

 

I have always though the towel animals to be cute but never felt them to be an important part of my cruise. I prefer to see my bed turned down and chocolates waiting on my pillow. That is a nice service. :)

 

I too will never return to NCL Arrived at pier 11:45. Got on the ship at 2 P.M.

"Our group" was shuttled onto chairs and made to sit while folks behind us were allowed to get on the ship. What a nutty way to start a cruise. NCL too expensive- unresponsive to problems. Shows were good. Service and food wasn't. I'll stick with RC.

 

Funny.... that sounds like a cruise that I took on RCI. Although I would give them another chance - I don't rate my cruise on the embarkation or disembarkation because it's never fun.

 

I've had good and bad on RCI, Carnival, Princess and NCL but nothing has made me say that I'd never go back. If I found something not to my liking (i.e my room wasn't clean) a short, pleasant conversation with housekeeping usually worked wonders.

 

I hope you both enjoy your next vacations more.

[OhioGirl]

I posted a note a little while ago..guess I shouldn't have named my TA..

anyway..I'm booked on the Crown, 9/23/07....and after we made our final payment, I found that the price had gone down...I contacted myTA and she was told in many attempted phone calls to NCL that nothing could or would be changed....but she kept pushing...and after 5 or 6 calls to NCL..she was able to get someone on the phone that gave us an upgrade, to the highest outside cabin available on the Crown...CC and refunded money back to our Credit cards....so don't give up..so with that being said....don't give ups!

 

Good luck...

[DocJohnB]

Normally ship excursions are a rip off, that is why most of us who are seasoned cruisers have learned to book our tours privately.

 

Ahhh yes, Nita, most of us experienced cruisers do know that. But, if I read correctly, most cruisers out there are new or relatively new. A fact you probably already know. But how would these new cruisers know . . . . would their T/A tell them. Would/do you as an experienced T/A inform your new clients of the ripoffs . . . . .no, didn't think so. That may turn the potential cruiser away from a cruise.

[newmexicoNita]

Ahhh yes, Nita, most of us experienced cruisers do know that. But, if I read correctly, most cruisers out there are new or relatively new. A fact you probably already know. But how would these new cruisers know . . . . would their T/A tell them. Would/do you as an experienced T/A inform your new clients of the ripoffs . . . . .no, didn't think so. That may turn the potential cruiser away from a cruise.

Actually I do quite often tell my clients about booking privately. Certainly I don't use the word "rip off". In this case I was more responding to the OP, who isn't a new cruiser. Of course if someone came on the boards, new to cruising, had a bad experience with a ships tour I would probably sympathize with them rather than question them.

 

Nita

[DocJohnB]

We've been on NCL 15 times and are booked ahead for more cruises. Yet when someone's FIRST experience is a disaster, we fully understand that they are not giving NCL a second chance. Why should they?

 

We have had similar experiences to the OP on our first (and last) cruises on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and Carnivore.

 

Remember the ad campaign "You only have one chance to make a first impression"? So when other people who are happy with Celeb, RCl or Carny tell me that we need to try them again, I say "Why should I? They had their chance and blew it!"

 

NCL blew it with this OP. If I were in their shoes I'd never sail NCL again. But I'm not in their shoes and neither are any of you.

 

Finally, a voice of reason.

 

No Pirates Please point is well taken. If I receive a bad first impression, it is usually that impression that sticks with me. Conversely, the same is true of a good impression. It is that first impression that sticks. The same can be said of a last impression.

 

Too often on ALL of the cruise boards, including NCL, a new cruiser will post a review. They may have lurked on these boards, never heard of them until someone told them about them while they were cruising, or have posted previous to their cruise. They have a negative experience (in their eyes), they write about it and they get slammed by the so called experts of whatever line they are posting on. And usually, in the first page or two, there is the dreaded "oh look, his/her first post and nothing but negatives, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm".

 

They get blasted for only reviewing negative things. However, human nature is what it is. If their first impressions of the ship were a dirty room, or lousy service, or whatever, that is what they are going to write about. Negative things.

 

Sometimes, I think too many of the "experienced cruisers" wear rose-colored glasses when cruising . . . . . and that is fine. However to view someone else's experience through those glasses doesn't do anybody any good.

 

I am an experienced cruiser (20 cruises), but I am also a perceptive consumer. I have written more than a handful of reviews. I am able to balance the good with the bad . . . . it is a review. Not all is going to be good and certainly not all is going to be bad.

 

I have been on all the mass market cruise lines, and on all more than once. I certainly have my favorite and my least favorite. NCL falls into neither category. However, I have sailed with NCL 3 times. Two of those cruises were excellent, the last was just above horrid . . . . . guess which one sticks out in my mind. That cruise was almost 8 years ago. Have not been back on NCL since. But, in less than two weeks my wife and I will be doing a 11 day NE/Canada cruise. I am going because of a great itinerary at a super price. I am going even though I am am leery of free style cruising (well actually dining). With that one exception, I am going without any expectations . . none. I will be looking at this cruise harder than all others we have been on, because I am giving NCL that "second chance". It is up to them, if they want me to be a repeat consumer.

 

I will let you all know how it turns out when we get back. GOOD, BAD OR INDIFFERENT.

[Dunder]

We did the Spirit on Sept 1. It shows its age but the ship overall was very clean. We were on Deck 10 and the stewards were very nice. Windows and the wait staff were good, not excellent but good.