Princess Fan Sails NCL

[pamwinn]

I am Elite with Princess and enjoy all the perks that come along with that. I do not, however, think of myself as a Princess cheerleader. We booked this cruise on the Norwegian Dawn because we were able to snag an aft BA balcony (same as a BA on Princess) for under $600 per person and get onboard credit. We booked 7 days prior to sailing. This was our first experience with NCL.

 

We liked freestyle dining and I am not sure why but it does work better than anytime dining on Princess. We dine late but even so, we had a better seat selection instantaneously on NCL. On the first night in the dining room, the food was so good that I thought we were going to be blown away. However, it declined throughout the cruise. The salads were very good the entire cruise. We only had dinner in the buffet one night after a long day in port and had a hard time with it so went back and ordered room service. Maybe it was an off night, I don’t know. It closes too early. The only place to get food after 10 if you are really late for whatever reason was the Blue Lagoon, a tiny place with an extremely limited selection of bar type food (wings, fish and chips-a couple of soups and the like). We tried it for lunch one day. It was not good and we never returned.

 

The ship's layout was very different, somewhat chopped up but, there are more small areas to hang out in than the typical Princess Ship. The décor was not as elegant but we enjoyed the change. It was fun to experience something different and it made me wish that Princess ships were not so alike.

 

We had some problems, and though I have read of the same problems occurring on Princess ships, they never happened to me so this probably tainted my overall opinion of the cruise.

 

We had an invisible steward. We only saw him 3 times. He never spoke our names. We saw him at 9:30 PM on embarkation day and I think that was only because we called passenger services. We had some requests. There was no little card in the cabin with his name and contact info on it.

 

Though we liked our cabin, we had plumbing problems and that is really unpleasant. Most days there was no hot water. Since it was fairly chilly in the early AM, showers were unpleasant. There was little water pressure and that meant I had to stand under cold water longer to get my hair rinsed. Our toilet did not work for 4 days and overflowed on 2 different days. This is not fun no matter how laid-back you are. We spoke to several other passengers who experienced the same hot water/low pressure issues. The air conditioner was fantastic however. We did not experience the hot cabin on embarkation day as we are accustomed to on Princess.

 

The most annoying issue for us however was consistently being overcharged for drinks. Order one thing and somehow it was named something similar on the ticket and might be a dollar or so more than what we ordered. Though we got what we ordered. I had a hard time convincing my travel companions that this was happening everywhere we went. They did not initially feel it was worth the bother for a dollar or so but it just kept happening over and over. I finally made a stand and when I did, they could see by the bartender’s reaction that it was indeed intentional. We did not purchase another drink, or anything else for that matter, for the rest of the cruise. And, if you want to know how to smuggle booze on NCL, I can tell you how to do it.

 

We are not typically booze smugglers but the situation created a challenge and we met it. Ordering booze from room service was not an option as a liter of Absolute will cost you $80 plus tip. The booze thing is my biggest gripe.

 

If you are a Princess Cruiser who enjoys traditional dining and formal attire, I do not think you will like NCL. Formal night is optional and most people opt out. Now, I enjoy resort casual so I liked this aspect. My resort casual was dressier than a lot of what I saw. It is very, very casual so if that bothers you, then you will not be comfortable. There were jeans and Harley shirts, sweat suits etc in the dining room on optional formal night. Now this did not bother me but it did look strange.

 

Shows, entertainment and activities did not seem to be much different than you would experience on Princess though having more venues made them less crowded. We have to also take into account that the ship was not fully booked (though they posted signs to the contrary). I was told there were 1898 ppl on the ship. There were only 8 children! I could not believe it. I thought it was fantastic though every once in a while I do enjoy seeing a toddler or two stagger walking around. They are kinda cute.

 

I liked disembarkation. You go down and choose your own luggage tags (they are on a shelf…no line to wait in) based on the time you want off the ship. You can stay in your cabin until you get-off. That was nice.

I would book another NCL cruise but I would only do it like I did this one….last minute bargain basement price. It was worth what we paid for it…less than half what we paid for one on the Crown Princess last year atthe same time and it was better than half as good. The plumbing problems could happen to anyone on any ship. That was a "ship happens" sort of thing and instead of it happening to some stranger, it happened to us. We survived it and inspite of the problems had a wonderful time. We laughed alot, saw some beautiful sights, and even enjoyed the bootlegging part.

[mizLORInj]

Thx for your post. Appreciate your candor.

I agree with wanting variety. Next cruise will either be a different type of Princess ship (other than Carib, Crown; Emerald upcoming in 44 days) or Celebrity maybe. Tried RC and it was nice but doesn't have me running back.

Best wishes!

[Toto2Kansas]

Thank you so much for sharing your comparison of the two lines. Very interesting. We have always been 'up in the air' (so to speak) about trying NCL. So many have terrible things to say about it, where as others think it is just the best. Very few inbetween reports as you have stated.

 

Again, thanks for the time to write this up, it gives one something to think about.

[JWJs]

Thanks so much for posting. This is what sticks in my mind:

The most annoying issue for us however was consistently being overcharged for drinks. Order one thing and somehow it was named something similar on the ticket and might be a dollar or so more than what we ordered. Though we got what we ordered. I had a hard time convincing my travel companions that this was happening everywhere we went. They did not initially feel it was worth the bother for a dollar or so but it just kept happening over and over. I finally made a stand and when I did, they could see by the bartender’s reaction that it was indeed intentional.

That's horrible. I'm right there with you in that it's good that you got a bargain price on the cruise. Otherwise, it seems, you would have been crying in your beer or whatever for a lot of reasons in addition to being over charged for drinks. Thanks for taking your time to write and post the comparison. It's very helpful to know some major reasons why NCL would not be suitable for us. No need to waste hard earned money on a cruise that would leave so much to be desired. We have been to a land based travel agency firm's NCL promotion parties that piqued our interest in NCL. Thanks again for posting.

[winesfine]

Appreciate your write up on NCL. We recently tried RCCL for the first time (I'm working on the review now) and found we are still die hard Princess fans.

[cruisenfromjersey]

Thanks for your honest review without all the bashing. I have sailed NCL a few times and really like the whole concept. If you try one of the ships "built" for freestyle you will see a big difference. The ships that had to adapt to the freestyle sometimes struggle to succeed. I think that would include the Dawn, though I 'm not positive of that. We only had to wait for a table one time, on lobster night with a party of 12. Understandable! I have no issues with the food. I can honestly say that I have never had a bad meal on any of the ships. The buffet is just that a buffet. Some stations are better than others. You have rude people on all cruise lines who have no idea how to use a buffet. We usually do not go to the charge restuarants. Plumbing problems, air conditioner problems, are also on all lines. Just look at the issues on the CB right now. Nickel and diming--all lines. For instance Princess wants you to buy a coffee card just to have a decent cup of coffee. How hard is it to make good coffee? Or an ice cream card? My experience with the room stewards has always been good. They introduce themselves ask if we need anything and move on. I can honestly say I have never asked and not received. As for the attire of the others in the dining room, I don't pay attention to that. I am on vacation and that is NOMB. I really am not on a rant, I just believe people should always try something at least once before they condemn to others.

I will be trying Princess in Jan. for the first time and am looking forward to it. I know I will have a great time because I am on vacation.

 

Peggy

[DrivesLikeMario]

If you are a Princess Cruiser who enjoys traditional dining and formal attire, I do not think you will like NCL. Formal night is optional and most people opt out. Now, I enjoy resort casual so I liked this aspect. My resort casual was dressier than a lot of what I saw. It is very, very casual so if that bothers you, then you will not be comfortable. There were jeans and Harley shirts, sweat suits etc in the dining room on optional formal night. Now this did not bother me but it did look strange.

 

That was exactly my point yesterday on another NCL thread here and I was blasted for it. Go figure! :rolleyes:

[jpg1747]

Because I'm still working, I have limited vacation time and am not able to take advantage of last minute cruises at bargain basement prices. So I choose my vacations very carefully to make sure I'm going to get my time and money's worth. However, after I retire and can take last minute trips, I would certainly be willing to try other cruiselines.

[cruisenfromjersey]

That was exactly my point yesterday on another NCL thread here and I was blasted for it. Go figure! :rolleyes:

 

You were blasted because you were rude. Go Figure!

[willysgrandma]

I agree with your assessment - good job.

[Teetype]

Thanks for your honest review without all the bashing. I have sailed NCL a few times and really like the whole concept. If you try one of the ships "built" for freestyle you will see a big difference. The ships that had to adapt to the freestyle sometimes struggle to succeed. I think that would include the Dawn, though I 'm not positive of that.

 

Peggy

 

Hi Peggy!

 

Interesting perspective. Thanks for this food for thought. :)

 

Tee

[zacc]

Thanks for your honest review without all the bashing. I have sailed NCL a few times and really like the whole concept. If you try one of the ships "built" for freestyle you will see a big difference. The ships that had to adapt to the freestyle sometimes struggle to succeed. I think that would include the Dawn, though I 'm not positive of that. We only had to wait for a table one time, on lobster night with a party of 12. Understandable! I have no issues with the food. I can honestly say that I have never had a bad meal on any of the ships. The buffet is just that a buffet. Some stations are better than others. You have rude people on all cruise lines who have no idea how to use a buffet. We usually do not go to the charge restuarants. Plumbing problems, air conditioner problems, are also on all lines. Just look at the issues on the CB right now. Nickel and diming--all lines. For instance Princess wants you to buy a coffee card just to have a decent cup of coffee. How hard is it to make good coffee? Or an ice cream card? My experience with the room stewards has always been good. They introduce themselves ask if we need anything and move on. I can honestly say I have never asked and not received. As for the attire of the others in the dining room, I don't pay attention to that. I am on vacation and that is NOMB. I really am not on a rant, I just believe people should always try something at least once before they condemn to others.

I will be trying Princess in Jan. for the first time and am looking forward to it. I know I will have a great time because I am on vacation.

 

Peggy

 

While I definitely agree that these issues can occur on any ship I will add this. We just got off a 7 day cruise on the Caribbean Princess 9/14-9/21. I must tell you that I am unsure how all of these "problems" on the Caribbean keep being posted. While certainly not everything was exactly perfect, we experienced none of the horror stories we had read about. Many of the CC members we shared the cruise with said the exact same thing. And although they are down an engine we still managed to cruise at 20 knots. So I suggest to any newcomer who may read this.......don't take everything you read to heart. Simply go with the idea of enjoying yourself and you will. Go looking for problems and odds are you will find them.

[mafig]

OK, Pamwinn, how do you smuggle booze on NCL?:)

[cruisenfromjersey]

I have not sailed the CB yet so I only know what I read. I know the engine issues and the air conditioning will be fixed at the dry dock. That does not scare me off. I listen and read to what other people say but make my own decisons about what line to cruise. I am willing to try any line if the itinerary and price is right.

In response to the OP about the dining... Freestyle works on NCL because you don't have people running back and forth between traditional and anytime like you see on Princess.

 

 

 

 

While I definitely agree that these issues can occur on any ship I will add this. We just got off a 7 day cruise on the Caribbean Princess 9/14-9/21. I must tell you that I am unsure how all of these "problems" on the Caribbean keep being posted. While certainly not everything was exactly perfect, we experienced none of the horror stories we had read about. Many of the CC members we shared the cruise with said the exact same thing. And although they are down an engine we still managed to cruise at 20 knots. So I suggest to any newcomer who may read this.......don't take everything you read to heart. Simply go with the idea of enjoying yourself and you will. Go looking for problems and odds are you will find them.

[BillyBoat]

Come on Pamwinn, I'm on pins and needles here, how do ya smuggle booze onto NCL ? "Inquiring minds want to know!"

[pamwinn]

OK, Pamwinn, how do you smuggle booze on NCL?:)

 

hahahahaha! It's quite simple really. You purchase nothing larger than pints. The bottles must have plastic lids. You put them on your body. Wearing comfortable loose fitting clothes (jeans, chinos, blouses, t-shirts) I could get 2 in my front pockets. Each time we got off the ship, we each got 2 pints. We had leftovers at the end. A pint will also fit in your sock and long slacks will hide it. Others in my party used that method. I have to point out once more, this is not our typical style. It was a game we played in response to the overcharges....and we had fun with it. I much prefer just ordering it from room service, just not at $80/liter.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review. :)

[blindrid]

Thank you so much for sharing your comparison of the two lines. Very interesting. We have always been 'up in the air' (so to speak) about trying NCL. So many have terrible things to say about it, where as others think it is just the best. Very few inbetween reports as you have stated.

 

Again, thanks for the time to write this up, it gives one something to think about.

 

I actually prefer NCL over Princess.

 

IMO, if you look there are terrible things said about every line and about every ship.

 

I found it interesting that one of the OP's complaints (I think) was that the cabin steward was invisible. To me, that is a sign of great service - doing your job without any interruptions. I suppose some like to become buddies with their steward, so if that is the case, I apologize but I prefer not being interrupted or some "fishing" for additional gratuities.

 

I'm certainly not a big fan of the CB and even though I would cruise on her again, it would not be high on my list. Any cruise is a good cruise, there are just some better than others.

[vickie_bernie]

thanks for the review, we will be trying our first NCL cruise in 2010 -- I am looking forward to trying another line for comparison too.

 

Issues with overcharging.... ouch that would of got me too. Now we have encountered problems on Princess too with billing. Now they just take your card number and enter in the computer which of course can be entered wrong. Just on the last three day cruise we took last week I was given bills to sign for drinks I ordered that were charged to the wrong cabin - happened twice.

 

We have also ordered drinks asking for the regular size, getting the regular size but being charged for the large size or the drink of the day with the glass.

 

This can happen anywhere, land vacation, different cruise lines, restaurants.

 

I too like the non existent cabin steward, but like to know his name and often leave messages for him for what we need. I swear he is hiding under the bed. :eek:

 

How did you find the getting into the restaurants, did you have to make reservations?

[blindrid]

On the upcharge restaurants, if you are wanting specific times/days, yes. One thing that they do is have meters/digital signs that show you how busy all ofthe restaurants are. We are typically pretty flexible and eat late so freestyle has worked well for us.

[pamwinn]

Getting in the main dining rooms (there are 2 on this ship) was very easy. We just walked up and said we would like a table against a wall or window. I don't like sitting in the middle of large rooms of people for some reason. We never had a problem or a wait. But we did typically choose to dine after 8PM on most nights. We never made reservations and always asked for the same waitress/waiter team. It is easier than it is on Princess in that regard. It worked very smoothly and service was very fast...immediate in fact from one course to the next yet not rushed.

[pamwinn]

I actually prefer NCL over Princess.

 

IMO, if you look there are terrible things said about every line and about every ship.

 

I found it interesting that one of the OP's complaints (I think)....

 

I glad it's hard to determine if I am complaining or not. I'm really describing and not complaining. By invisible, what I mean is by the time he got to our cabin (and we were his last cabin so I forgave him the first night) it was almost time for him to come back for turndown. We always had to go find ice and we usually got it from the Steward of our friend. We could not find ours. I don't know where he was. It's also scary when water is pouring out of the toilet, flooding the bathroom, and you can't find help. We were fortunate in that the flooding was contained in the rather large bathroom and did not make it to the carpet. Did I mention that the showers, though cold were very large?

[PRCruiser]

How to sneak booze into a NCL cruise? Very simple, just put it inside a previously used and properly washed 1 liter Listerine bottle! As long as the liquor is out of its original glass container the X rays machines that are used to scan the luggage can't pick it up!

 

Andres

[blindrid]

I glad it's hard to determine if I am complaining or not. I'm really describing and not complaining. By invisible, what I mean is by the time he got to our cabin (and we were his last cabin so I forgave him the first night) it was almost time for him to come back for turndown. We always had to go find ice and we usually got it from the Steward of our friend. We could not find ours. I don't know where he was. It's also scary when water is pouring out of the toilet, flooding the bathroom, and you can't find help. We were fortunate in that the flooding was contained in the rather large bathroom and did not make it to the carpet. Did I mention that the showers, though cold were very large?

 

Thanks for the clarification, I did not think you were complaining. Now that you exounded on your definition of invisible and totally agree with your opinion now. I thought that just because you didn't seen him, that was an issue as I know some people like to make friends with the steward. I just wanted to make sure you weren't bashing them on not seeing them and still doing their job vs. the incident you mentioned.

 

I'm always surpised when people complain about cold showers as that is certainly not acceptable, regardless of the size.

[ocnlvr3]

I like listening to peoples opinions about different cruise lines and ships.

We have been on a few NCL as well as Princess. I always look at where the cruises are headed etc.. I personally don't like the Mega people Mega ship feel so I have been shying away from RCCI. That being said that doesn't mean I wouldn't try them or any other cruise line. As it turns out I have been leaning towards Princess lately. What a wonderful world we have to be able to have so many choices....

 

 

Andrea