Coming back to Carnival after NCL

[bakechef]

I had a very nice cruise on their little old Majesty. The one thing that keeps me from going back is that they always seem to have a ship with propulsion problems, even the Majesty had issues a few weeks before our cruise.

 

I know that this can happen on any ship on any line, but it seems to be chronic with NCL, could it be bad luck or poor maintenance? I believe at this time that the Spirit is having issues, and in the last year the Majesty, Crown, Dawn and Spirit have had issues, I think that they identified an issue with the Jewel recently that could cause problems in the future.

 

MAC

[ntune]

I'm so sorry you had a bad cruise on NCL. I'll bet it was a lot better than being at work though. DW and I cruised NCL Star four years ago and although the food was good on the Star, the service was horrible:( . The other passengers were great and the chocolate extravaganza was out of this world. Freestyle cruising sux though, imho. We walked up to a restaurant and they asked if we had reservations, when I said no they wanted to give me reservations for an hour later. I looked at the hostess and laughed because the restaurant was half empty:o . We had problems with our shore excursions, the pursers desk and our room steward, but the food was very good and always hot. The poolside waiter was also fabulous. He got our name and what we drank on the first day of the cruise and we never had to wait or ask for a drink again. Alex was the best poolside waiter we have had so far:) . The service got so bad that my wife and I started laughing half way through the cruise every time they would screw up. We would look at each other and say this is better than being at home or at work. We were always hoping that the crew was just having a bad day, seven days in a row. While we don't rule out NCL for future cruises, we are extremely pleased with Carnival.:D

 

 

That is how we were. It really became humerous after a couple of days. Again, our ports were fantastic and we had a great time, but the ship service was the worst. We are early risers and tend to be back in the cabin by about 7:30 - 8:00 pm. We were leave our cabin at about 4:30, put out the "turn down cabin" thing, and come back to find it had not been touched. On a seven night cruise, we had turn service one time. And rooms were usually not made up until around 11:00 am. We heard others also complaining about this. On Carnival, our steward was in the room doing something even if we left for only 15 minutes. It was amazing.

 

We always had a reservation for the specialty restaurants. One night, at Bamboo, we were waiting on a little seating area outside of the restaurant waiting for our time (when the opened at 5:30) A gentleman, properly dressed, came and asked if his party of five could get in. She said "NO", very directly and told him he "might" be able to get in about 8:30 or maybe tomorrow. Well, we were seated and during our entire meal, the restaurant was half empty, including a table for six right next to it. We went by again an hour after we were finished, and it was still empty. I felt bad for that guy. And since they charge you anyway if you fail to show for your reservation, it is doubtful that they were holding all those tables.

 

Also, at one time, the power went out at our only outlet that the hair dryer was plugged into. We called the reception desk, who said something about sending somebody up to flip the circuit. About 20 minutes later, I called again and explained. She got rude and said "Ma'am, what do you want me to do?" I then got a little testy and said "I want you to get someone up here to get the power back on so we don't miss the dinner reservation we had to make to get a hot meal". Someone showed about five minutes later and power was restored.

 

Again, we laughed about most of this and still do, but can guarantee that NCL will no longer get our hard earned money. We tried it, didn't like it, and don't plan to return.

[trarecar]

Those are some sad reviews. I have been excited about thinking of trying NCL due to the freestyle dining, but now I am not so sure.

[nonna5]

trarecar - If I were you I would not let these reviews stop me from cruising NCL. If you go to the NCL boards you will find lots of people that do not like Carnival. I have cruised both lines many times and there are good and bad with each cruise line but I have never been on either one or any other cruise line that was horrible and we have been on way more than 30 cruises. I also read all the reviews but I take them with a grain of salt. I always go with an open mind and have never been disappointed.

[Socref124]

Those are some sad reviews. I have been excited about thinking of trying NCL due to the freestyle dining, but now I am not so sure.

 

For us it would depend on the itinerary. Hawaii, for example. When we go back we will probably do NCL again. They are the only line that embarks and debarks in the islands. We don't want to be at sea for four or five days. Since NCL is more expensive in the Caribbean, we have stayed away from them. Their ships are beautiful, the entertainment was good and the food, in our case, was good. It just seemed to us that the crew was not trained properly. Now if NCL went to a couple of ports-of-call that we wanted to go to and other lines did not go there, we would go with NCL. My expectations would be very low however. This way, if they did a good job, we would be ecstatic, but if they again did poorly, we would be prepared for it. I do believe that a bad cruise is better than a great day at work. I hope this helps you out in your decision making process. Have a great cruise with whomever you choose.

[freedomrider]

Also, service was really slow. It could just be due to the ship being an American flagged ship.

 

Maybe it's my lack of experience, but I do not understand this statement...

[L2J]

Some like it, some don't. I didn't...thought it sucked...won't go back unless it's free.

[L2J]

Maybe it's my lack of experience, but I do not understand this statement...

 

American flagged ship means American workers. Unlike Babu, Suzie isn't going to break her arse for peanuts...hence one of the reasons NCLA is heading down the crapper.

[halos]

Those are some sad reviews. I have been excited about thinking of trying NCL due to the freestyle dining, but now I am not so sure.

 

I let people's poor opinions of NCL prevent me from booking one of their cruises for years. Then, a great itinerary appeared for a 15 day repo at a great price on the NCL Spirit and my DH talked me into booking it.

I wound up having a blast.

I found the food fine. Buffet is better on CCL, no doubt..as for the dining room, some things were better on NCL (desserts and soups)...everything else may not have been as good as CCL but it was dang close. (My steaks on NCL were better than my past two CCL cruises) Sometimes I think it's just the week you happen to be on (??) Who knows. The crew on my NCL sailing were fabulous (social hosts and cabin stewards) but dining staff was more efficient by far on CCL. BUT, unlike what I see reported here all the time, we never in 15 nights, had to wait longer than 10 minutes for a table when we didn't have a reservation.

Could I be this lucky????? or is everyone else very unlucky?

Anyway, I don't know if my fabulous NCL cruise was a fluke, but it was great enough that I'm booking a RT Barcelona on the Gem for 2009 as soon as they post the fall itineraries.

 

The only way to know is to try it yourself.

 

trarecar - If I were you I would not let these reviews stop me from cruising NCL. If you go to the NCL boards you will find lots of people that do not like Carnival. I have cruised both lines many times and there are good and bad with each cruise line but I have never been on either one or any other cruise line that was horrible and we have been on way more than 30 cruises. I also read all the reviews but I take them with a grain of salt. I always go with an open mind and have never been disappointed.

 

This is the best advice I've seen on these boards.

 

ALSO..NCL is implementing that 2.0 thing...so I'm assuming that things will be even better on their ships. :D

 

Funny, my very first CCL cruise was the worst cruise I've ever had. The food was terrible, the staff was cranky. It didn't stop me fron trying them again, now they're my favorite line.

[Socref124]

American flagged ship means American workers. Unlike Babu, Suzie isn't going to break her arse for peanuts...hence one of the reasons NCLA is heading down the crapper.

 

I loved that movie.(Jungle to Jungle) Tim Allen was a riot. Our cruise was not American flagged. The saddest part was we ordered a honeymoon special massage for two from the Spa. They had me wait in another room while they massaged my wife then my wife waited in the other room while they massaged me. Then, when I complained that it was supposed a massage for two, they told me it was. I tried to tell them that the honeymoon special should have been us in the same room holding hands while two masseuses massaged us, but they insisted that was not the way it is done. I went to the first officer and he explained that the Spa was run by a seperate company. When I told him that NCL was the first to seperate us since we were married, he called the Spa and had them give us a proper massage for two. I still remember his name, Barrett, for doing that for us. Like I said earlier, as screwed up as things were, we just laughed and made the best of it. We still had a good time. I agree with other posters, I wouldn't let a review or two persuade me one way or the other. Just don't have high expectations and you will be OK, or pleasantly surprised.

[linsue1231]

I found a great waitress when we first boarded the ship and went to lunch. I made reservations for the whole trip right there and requested her as our server. We sat at different spots, as she was at different stations each night. In making the reservations in advance we never waited on line...justed walked past everyone to the front and was seated...

 

There was two nights I canceled our reservation and went to the specialty places and also had no wait....

 

I always have an open mind and dont sweat the little things...NCL was great, RCCL was great and I am sure when I sail CCL it will be great.

 

Linda

[jetskier]

I let people's poor opinions of NCL prevent me from booking one of their cruises for years. Then, a great itinerary appeared for a 15 day repo at a great price on the NCL Spirit and my DH talked me into booking it.

I wound up having a blast.

 

And we were the most sociable group of passengers onboard. You were either laughing with us or at us. :eek: I still dont get the hype about all the food. It is cooked for the masses not the individual.

 

Dave