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Last night on the Sun 12/28. EVER!!!!!

WK-Orlando

By WK-Orlando,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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WK-Orlando

WK-Orlando

Posted
Posted

Do not even know where to start. The lost reservations, tour bookings, wife's b-day setup...

 

This is our first and last ride on this disaster. Never thought we would find lower, cheaper (not in dollars) and just more 'K-Mart' than carnival...

 

We are frequent cruisers and this is our 4th major line to try. Heard that NCL was comparable to Princesss. Not even close... Would even go so far as to say a half step down from Carnival depending on the ship.

 

The menus were boring and many items not recognizable. They served the same food every morning (water logged eggs and cold everything else). The cruise staff spent the entire ride peddling lottery tickets rather than entertaining. Never saw them do much else. The big scam was pull tab instant tickets that appearently nobody ever wins more than $50 for spending $5 and claims that there are $2000 prizes seem to be unfounded. The casino cashier tells us half the cruises have no real winners....

 

Another sign of being super cheap... They hold up the gangway lines making people sign out forms for towels and then sign them back in again. Lose a towel and it is $25. Damn things cost them less than 25cents.

 

Drinks, pictures, shops, EVERYTHING is more expensive than any other line we have been on for lower quality merchandise and booze...

 

As for food, if you want anything better than low end buffet food (even in the dining rooms) be prepared to pay $20-30 a head as they have moved all of the good food into the specialty restaurants and even with that cover, only tap water is free.

 

Only plus items... Dine whenever, free ice cream, optional formal nights, Park West has taken over the NCL Art Auctions, Colombian Emeralds onboard, good tour selections...

 

Only tour complaint was that they held us on a tender at Cozumel for 45 min waiting for a family that overslept... Two fuddies got sick and barfed from the exhaust fumes and everyone was left sick from the posion air. The Tulum tour barely had time to drive out and back... no beach break and barely the tour... Tour staff was smug and did not give a damn about all the people they made ill...

 

Back to Princess and RCL for us!!! Maybe a Celebrity try next year... NCL not for us... Too expensive for bottom tier experience...

 

Good sailing!!! and Happy New Year!

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salty dingo

salty dingo

Posted
Posted

And what line was it where the buffet had totally different items for breakfast each morning? I have sailed NCL, Celebrity, and Carnival and I can tell you the breakfast buffet on ALL of them are equally poor in selection... but they will fill you up.

 

For a guy who's breakfast usually consists of a couple of energy bars, I really couldn't care less about a breakfast buffet... and I don't think I am alone here.

 

On all of the lines, the one positive at breakfast was fresh fruit. Usually, there was plenty of that, especially grapefruit!

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clerky96

clerky96

Posted
Posted

WK-Orlando, we cruised on the Sun last Feb, and we had a great time. The only other cruise line we have been on was Royal Caribbean, and while I agree that the food was much better on RCI, we thought everything else was pretty comparible. That said, everyone has different likes and dislikes. That is what makes us each unique. Thanks for your review, and I am sorry that you were disappointed with your cruise.

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Don Haynes

Don Haynes

Posted
Posted

Anyone that expects American food at a Continental restaurant is going to have problems with the menu. As far as the buffet, I have not seen any cruise line do much better.

 

As for the Tutum Ruins, I have never seen any literature about it being a beach tour. Its always been a ruin.

 

If you wanted to go to a beach, there are better beaches at Cozumel, tours much cheaper and closer to the ship.

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Toyz711

Toyz711

Posted
Posted

that's the reason i didn't go to tulum, too long of a trip and didn't want to deal with the tenders to the main land. it's a long, long day...if everything goes right you MAY have time for some beach, but it's not a beach excursion. lamanai was long enough, (out of belize city) but i had heard how nice the speed boats were on the river part of the tour. on any of those long tours, you are right, the guides don't care...they know they HAVE to get you back on time and they know it. you would have been ticked if they had made you miss your boat.

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LAURAMC

LAURAMC

Posted
Posted

Back to Princess and RCL for us!!! Maybe a Celebrity try next year... NCL not for us... Too expensive for bottom tier experience...

 

 

If you are looking for great food and the Snooty people who go to bed after lawrence welk goes off the air then celebrity is right up your ally. Went on it for our 10 year anniversary and it was the most BORING cruise and the people on the ship were stuck up. so if that is what you are looking for ,have a chocolate croissant for me. I would rather have less than stellar food but great comapny. I am not the party animal type but when you walk into an elevator and acknowledge another couple by saying hello a responce would be the polite thing to do. all cruise lines have their faults. But I do NOT think that NCL should be compared to K-mart. I would say it was between a wal-mart(carnival) and Target. you are looking for a macy's at k-mart prices and right now we would all like that but are happy with what we pay for.

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zqvol

zqvol

Posted
Posted

As for food, if you want anything better than low end buffet food (even in the dining rooms) be prepared to pay $20-30 a head as they have moved all of the good food into the specialty restaurants and even with that cover, only tap water is free.

 

 

I am not going to cheer lead for NCL, nor am I going to agree with the OP. Each of us has our own versions of what happens on a cruise. When, however I see factual issues, that I KNOW are untrue, I wonder how observant the poster really was on their cruise.

 

Everyone knows that there are beverages other than tap water available without charge at meals. Tea (iced and hot) and coffee are always available, without charge. If this item was missed or unknown how many other objective (factual) items as opposed to subjective (opinion based) items were misreported.

 

I really don't object that the OP did not enjoy themselves and are glad that they took the time to post, I just wish that I could tell was was factual information that was accurately reported and what was subjective, that way I can make informed decisions on my own.

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kittygrace

kittygrace

Posted
Posted

Hmmm. .. I've been on the Sun, and a bunch of others, including Celebrity Infinity. I'm booked the end of January on NCL Jewel. NCL is much more for me than Celebrity, much too snooty. Better than Carnival?... only because of Freestyle dining. Better than Holland America?... only because of Freestyle dining. Better than Royal Caribbean? ... much friendlier and of course the Freestyle dining. But then I try to make the most of my vacations. They are far too few and far between to spend my time trying to find things that are just not perfect. The one thing I have learned from traveling is the nicer you are to people, the nicer they are back to you. As for the quality of food, that's not why I travel or cruise, it's just a bonus. I may be a K-Mart kind of girl (actually Target) but I'll tell you what, I know how to have a good time on vacation, no matter what. My advice, quit your whining or just stay home.

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Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan

Posted
Posted

 

The menus were boring and many items not recognizable.

 

"Not recognizable"..did you ask your waitstaff what they were:confused: Can't ever recall unrecognizable items on the menus.

 

They served the same food every morning (water logged eggs and cold everything else).

 

Was this the buffet? Certainly, it was not a restaurant.

 

 

Another sign of being super cheap... They hold up the gangway lines making people sign out forms for towels and then sign them back in again. Lose a towel and it is $25. Damn things cost them less than 25cents

 

UNTRUE...the importer of the towels pays MORE than .25 per towel and I know that for a FACT;)

Thanks for your review.

NCL is not for everyone and, perhaps someday you will find the cruise line that suits you best:)

 

 

 

 

 

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salty dingo

salty dingo

Posted
Posted
If you are looking for great food and the Snooty people who go to bed after lawrence welk goes off the air then celebrity is right up your ally. Went on it for our 10 year anniversary and it was the most BORING cruise and the people on the ship were stuck up.

 

Our last cruise was on Celebrity - 8 day Mex Riviera out of San Diego. I did not run into any of the stuck-up people - I found the passenger mix to be identical to NCL and Carnival.

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Toyz711

Toyz711

Posted
Posted

towels: if you don't take them off the ship...you don't have to sign the forms. you can bring your own or not use any...it's your choice.

drinks at dinner: ice tea, coffee, tap water,

you can bring your own sodas, if i do that i put it in a glass with ice to look like it came from the bar. also, flavor packets for the water..works great.

pull tabs..don't but them if you don't want them, i have seen people win..most just break even. but one is holding a gun to your head to buy them. as they say "just say no".

cozumel...i suggest for a nice beach you try nachi cocom or paradise beach, both are only 15 mins from the port, taxi ride not tender ride.

in researching this port, i found out that to go to tulum requires a long tender ride across the bay and a even longer bus ride..the tenders are not NCL faults, it's the same tenders the other lines use for the same trips. i suggest no matter which cruiselines you use, if you do this tour again, you will get the same tenders.

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Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan

Posted
Posted
Let's face it -- not every cruise is up to one's expectations. More are, but some are not. Frequent cruisers can be quite jaded -- and I include myself among them.

 

One's man cruise from heaven is another man's cruise from hell!!!

 

WK did not "define" .."frequent cruiser" though he/she stated they have cruised four major lines. In how many years, and on how many cruises?

 

Who, aside from SG and Toyz711 is a "frequent cruiser":)

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DAGVBSB

DAGVBSB

Posted
Posted

I have to agree with Electricron, it was a fair and balanced review and more importantly, he didn't just say: "the food was bad." He gave his opinions as to why he thought the food wasn't up to his standards.

 

These are the kinds of negative reviews that are welcome here...fair, balanced and supported. It is important for all newbies to hear both the good and the bad so that they might be able to adjust their experience to avoid the bad.

 

And now for my comments: (and remember, I'm the picture at the center of Colin's dartboard....not an NCL Cheerleader.....)

 

All food reviews are subjective as to flavor and quality. Now cold food is another matter and should be noted. I have always found NCL's menus to have many choices and the food to be of a good quality for me at least.

 

And actually, only the entree costs in the Specialty restaurants. You can order all the salads, apetizers, sides and desserts you want in the specialty restaurants and not be charged. (done it before....)

 

I agree about the Cruise Staff pushing the "Krack-its" (their proper name). They all but beg you to buy them and I have never seen or heard of anyone win a major prize through them.

 

Also, I too have been stuck on a tender boat waiting for it to fill and suffered from the really awful exhaust fumes. It is really sickening and I too feel that sometimes NCL ships hold tenders too long waiting to fill them. (I couldn't imagine a worst case scenerio where you would have to be stuck in them as a Lifeboat! May survive the ship sinking, but could die from Carbon Monoxide poisoning.....)

 

Finally, as far the cost of the towels.... it is becoming common practice for hotels and other resort facilities to require a deposit for towel and a high price for lost items. In 2004, I stayed in a hotel in Hawaii that had a very similar policy...had to sign out the towels and if you did not return them, you would have a $20 or $25 fee charged to room. (Beach Umbrellas were like $100 if not returned.) So that has become common practice. You set the lost fee so high so that people make sure to return the items.

 

But again, I thought it was a fine review and thanks to the OP for writing it.

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mystic51

mystic51

Posted
Posted

I must say I have never been bored on a Celebrity Cruise. Always wonderful food, fantastic service and extremely friendly and helpful staff. And every night we were going until the wee hours of the morning. I will be on the Sun in about 6 weeks. And altho' I do not expect it to measure up to Celebrity, I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time. This cruise was also about 1/3 of the price we've paid for cruising on Celebrity. I'm sure we can all find something, with every cruise, that we were disappointed with, but all in all it's still the best vacation you can ask for. Once on board, you unpack and for the next 7 days/nights you don't have to worry about anything except to lay back and relax, make new friends and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy....

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halos

halos

Posted
Posted
And what line was it where the buffet had totally different items for breakfast each morning? I have sailed NCL, Celebrity, and Carnival and I can tell you the breakfast buffet on ALL of them are equally poor in selection... but they will fill you up.

 

For a guy who's breakfast usually consists of a couple of energy bars, I really couldn't care less about a breakfast buffet... and I don't think I am alone here.

 

On all of the lines, the one positive at breakfast was fresh fruit. Usually, there was plenty of that, especially grapefruit!

 

I have to ask. I've seen this comment before and I have to wonder, what else is there to offer at breakfast at a buffet?????? :confused: I agree that every line I've sailed thus far (CCL, NCL and Celebrity) all had the same items (although I think Celebrity offered a Belgian Waffle that people raved over but I didn't see what the big deal was) and I can't think of any other breakfast item that could be on a buffet. So, how is the selection poor?

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