No more ncl for us!!!

[#1TravelMom]

I'd like to know what particular NCL ships everyone is raving about. We just returned from the Dawn and the kid's club was awful!!! The staff was all American and Canadian "brats". They were not interested in entertaining the children at all. So many of the parents were extremely upset. Many times I would take my daughter and ask what they would be doing - watching a movie. I don't let her watch that much tv at home. They had a very bad attitude when several of us complained about the amount of tv and lack of activities. The facilities are very nice. It's a shame they aren't better utilized.

 

Also, they had many times that the age groups were joined for "free play". Just a warning. My 4 yr. old got a bloody lip from an 11 yr. practicing Karate kicks. They had 2 yr old and 12 year olds playing together - bad idea, IMO.

 

Also, my little girl is a really cute blond-haired girl(IMHO, of course). The kids club, without my knowledge, took pictures of her and posted them in the photo gallery. I had a really creapy guy come up to me and say -"Your little girl is so, cute. I love little blond girls - I just had to buy a picture of her." :eek:

 

Also, the staff "lost" a 3 yr. old for about 15 minutes. I also only found out after the fact, just at random, when the staff decides, they take the kids marching around the ship. Apparently, this little boy saw his cousin and left the line to join his family at the buffet and no one noticed until they did a count back at the kid's club.

 

I could go on. There were many more things I did not like. I think these are serious flaws in the Dawn's program.

[ugen512]

I'm sorry to hear about the problems. What you really need to do is write a letter to NCL Guest Relations. If you have any contact with other parents from the sailing advise them to do so as well.

 

A few things ...when we were on the Spirit last year there were very few kids onboard so they did combine all ages. This is not an excuse but an opinion of why they were all together. Also not sure about legality of the pictures but I believe when you board you are signing a contract that allows your image to be used at their discretion.

 

The lost 3 y/o is no excuse but like everything a story always has 2 sides.

 

My daughter loved the kids club and they always had activities..no TV time. The staff has no excuse for that.

[Silverspoon]

Norwegian Gem: Last March we took our 10 yr old DD and 2 yr old DS to the kids club. They enjoyed it and asked to go back often. We had to set limits on how much time they could spend there.

 

The only 2 hiccups we had using this service were:

1. DD10 wasn't supposed to be on the "sign-out on their own" list. Somehow she made it on there--I believe it was a mixup with another child with the same name. We brought it to their attention and they fixed it.

 

2. DS2 was playing on the junglegym and landed in a pool of another kids vomit. Horrible--but I'm not sure how it could have been prevented. Kids club called us immediately and asked us to come get our child.

 

Pluses: We felt they gave the kids just the right ratio of free time vs. structured time. DCL was almost too structured--although the activities were fun. NCL was a nice balance. I did notice that the counslers were not as "sunny" as DCL, but everyone knows how much "happy" training one goes through to work for Disney.

 

OP sorry you had such a bad experience!:( I'd imagine that with all lines and all ships, with the rotating contracts of the staff--you never quite know what you'll get. Not an excuse--there isn't one--but it is what it is= someone you do not know is babysitting your child. This should always be considered buyer beware.

[sandytoes03]

I'd like to know what particular NCL ships everyone is raving about. We just returned from the Dawn and the kid's club was awful!!! The staff was all American and Canadian "brats". They were not interested in entertaining the children at all. So many of the parents were extremely upset. Many times I would take my daughter and ask what they would be doing - watching a movie. I don't let her watch that much tv at home. They had a very bad attitude when several of us complained about the amount of tv and lack of activities. The facilities are very nice. It's a shame they aren't better utilized.

 

Also, they had many times that the age groups were joined for "free play". Just a warning. My 4 yr. old got a bloody lip from an 11 yr. practicing Karate kicks. They had 2 yr old and 12 year olds playing together - bad idea, IMO.

 

Also, my little girl is a really cute blond-haired girl(IMHO, of course). The kids club, without my knowledge, took pictures of her and posted them in the photo gallery. I had a really creapy guy come up to me and say -"Your little girl is so, cute. I love little blond girls - I just had to buy a picture of her." :eek:

 

Also, the staff "lost" a 3 yr. old for about 15 minutes. I also only found out after the fact, just at random, when the staff decides, they take the kids marching around the ship. Apparently, this little boy saw his cousin and left the line to join his family at the buffet and no one noticed until they did a count back at the kid's club.

 

I could go on. There were many more things I did not like. I think these are serious flaws in the Dawn's program.

 

Sorry you had a bad tiime. I was a little confused that you said the counselors were American and Canadian brats. I would think you can find inept counselors from any country. :confused:

[crusinmama06]

You won't see me "rave" about NCL...lol. I thought they were horrible too. ;)

 

Write a letter to NCL.

[cruisead]

We're not fans of NCL either--stopped cruising on them a few years ago. My SIL sailed on Gem recently and stopped taking my two nieces after the second day. She said the counselors were indifferent and the kids were bored. One niece is 8 and the other is 12. They also said the food was bad and they would go back to RCI and not return to NCL.

[Nekochan]

My first cruise on the Dawn out of NYC was pretty good. The second cruise (Gem to Bahamas and Florida) was, um, less than sterling. I'm very disappointed it's the only cruise leaving the NYC area Presidents week 2010. I try to get away that week, so now it's between taking a cruise out of Florida or visiting a friend in San Diego.

[quincytoo]

I'd like to know what particular NCL ships everyone is raving about. We just returned from the Dawn and the kid's club was awful!!! The staff was all American and Canadian "brats". They were not interested in entertaining the children at all. So many of the parents were extremely upset. Many times I would take my daughter and ask what they would be doing - watching a movie. I don't let her watch that much tv at home. They had a very bad attitude when several of us complained about the amount of tv and lack of activities. The facilities are very nice. It's a shame they aren't better utilized.

 

Also, they had many times that the age groups were joined for "free play". Just a warning. My 4 yr. old got a bloody lip from an 11 yr. practicing Karate kicks. They had 2 yr old and 12 year olds playing together - bad idea, IMO.

 

Also, my little girl is a really cute blond-haired girl(IMHO, of course). The kids club, without my knowledge, took pictures of her and posted them in the photo gallery. I had a really creapy guy come up to me and say -"Your little girl is so, cute. I love little blond girls - I just had to buy a picture of her." :eek:

 

Also, the staff "lost" a 3 yr. old for about 15 minutes. I also only found out after the fact, just at random, when the staff decides, they take the kids marching around the ship. Apparently, this little boy saw his cousin and left the line to join his family at the buffet and no one noticed until they did a count back at the kid's club.

 

I could go on. There were many more things I did not like. I think these are serious flaws in the Dawn's program.

 

We had a similar experience on NCL Spirit a few years ago minus the creepy guy (EWWWW) and losing a child.

 

Half the time the kids would go to the Kids Clubs and the STAFF were no where to be seen!!!! When they were asked about it they just shrugged and said there weren't many kids also since many of the staff were getting off the ship in Canada you could tell they had lost 150% interest in their jobs. It was so bad it was laughable.

 

The icing on the cake was the last night when the teen staff had planned a late night party from 11 - 2 aas a good bye to the teens. We waited till midnight with many other teens and parents and not on estaff member showed up. Guess they were busy have a good bye party of their own :(

 

It was horrible along with the most of the service and the food (except the surcharge restaurants).

 

I got off that cruise saying never again and then DH talked me into the Diamond Princess and well.....:)

[#1TravelMom]

To reply to the above comment. I guess you can find "Brats" from any country. The week prior we cruised with Carnival. I'm usually not a big fan, but their staff was from the Phillippines. They were very thankful to have their jobs and greatful for the opportunities working on a cruise ship gave them. They were incredible. So many fun activities!

 

In contrast, all I heard is complaints from the NCL staff. They were really awful the day we missed a port - as the kid's club had to open instead of them having the day off to explore. They complained about the pay, the long hours, the food. They did all of this openly. Two of the girls said they only were there because they could get to see the islands free and they were sick of living at home with their parents.

 

I complain very little. I definately try to make the most of any situation and think it's pointless to search for little things to complain about. My concerns were safety related. There were many more things that bothered me.

 

For another example, they took all of the children(2-12yrs. old) out of the kid's club and took them to the shows in the evening. I purposefully took my daughter to the club after they left for the show, because I didn't want her going all over the ship. Besides, if I thought my 4 yr old would sit through an hour-long show, I would have taken her myself. The one staff member came back to get something and asked my daughter if she wanted to come to the show and she said "yes", so she took her. My daughter said she got a time out when they returned because she didn't sit still during the show - the show I specifically told them I didn't want her to go to. She said the one girl yanked her arm really hard and told her to sit still during the show. This happened on the last night. It was the last straw. She wouldn't have gone back if the cruise had been any longer. I'm definately going to write a letter.

 

I know there are those who love NCL and have had great experiences. I just wanted to make new cruisers aware of the "bad procedures"- IMHO.

[sandytoes03]

To reply to the above comment. I guess you can find "Brats" from any country. The week prior we cruised with Carnival. I'm usually not a big fan, but their staff was from the Phillippines. They were very thankful to have their jobs and greatful for the opportunities working on a cruise ship gave them. They were incredible. So many fun activities!

 

In contrast, all I heard is complaints from the NCL staff. They were really awful the day we missed a port - as the kid's club had to open instead of them having the day off to explore. They complained about the pay, the long hours, the food. They did all of this openly. Two of the girls said they only were there because they could get to see the islands free and they were sick of living at home with their parents.

 

I complain very little. I definately try to make the most of any situation and think it's pointless to search for little things to complain about. My concerns were safety related. There were many more things that bothered me.

 

For another example, they took all of the children(2-12yrs. old) out of the kid's club and took them to the shows in the evening. I purposefully took my daughter to the club after they left for the show, because I didn't want her going all over the ship. Besides, if I thought my 4 yr old would sit through an hour-long show, I would have taken her myself. The one staff member came back to get something and asked my daughter if she wanted to come to the show and she said "yes", so she took her. My daughter said she got a time out when they returned because she didn't sit still during the show - the show I specifically told them I didn't want her to go to. She said the one girl yanked her arm really hard and told her to sit still during the show. This happened on the last night. It was the last straw. She wouldn't have gone back if the cruise had been any longer. I'm definately going to write a letter.

 

I know there are those who love NCL and have had great experiences. I just wanted to make new cruisers aware of the "bad procedures"- IMHO.

 

I hear ya, it really stinks when you get bad service and you've paid so much and looked forward to a vacation for so long. :( I hope your next cruise is much better.

[CanadianTwosome]

To reply to the above comment. I guess you can find "Brats" from any country. The week prior we cruised with Carnival. I'm usually not a big fan, but their staff was from the Phillippines. They were very thankful to have their jobs and greatful for the opportunities working on a cruise ship gave them. They were incredible. So many fun activities!

 

In contrast, all I heard is complaints from the NCL staff. They were really awful the day we missed a port - as the kid's club had to open instead of them having the day off to explore. They complained about the pay, the long hours, the food. They did all of this openly. Two of the girls said they only were there because they could get to see the islands free and they were sick of living at home with their parents.

 

I complain very little. I definately try to make the most of any situation and think it's pointless to search for little things to complain about. My concerns were safety related. There were many more things that bothered me.

 

For another example, they took all of the children(2-12yrs. old) out of the kid's club and took them to the shows in the evening. I purposefully took my daughter to the club after they left for the show, because I didn't want her going all over the ship. Besides, if I thought my 4 yr old would sit through an hour-long show, I would have taken her myself. The one staff member came back to get something and asked my daughter if she wanted to come to the show and she said "yes", so she took her. My daughter said she got a time out when they returned because she didn't sit still during the show - the show I specifically told them I didn't want her to go to. She said the one girl yanked her arm really hard and told her to sit still during the show. This happened on the last night. It was the last straw. She wouldn't have gone back if the cruise had been any longer. I'm definately going to write a letter.

 

I know there are those who love NCL and have had great experiences. I just wanted to make new cruisers aware of the "bad procedures"- IMHO.

 

I'm one of those people who loves NCL, but I've never had an experience like this. I hope you did plenty of complaining while you were still on board, as well as your intention to write to NCL now. There is no excuse for what you're describing. We've only been on two NCL cruises so far, but on each, we were given a schedule of activities for the week, and they followed it. My daughter didn't go much on the Dream, but in the eight days we were on the Star, she went every day and tells me that in that entire time they watched one movie. They also had some family events that I and my husband participated in, and all of the counsellors were fantastic and clearly well liked by the kids. We even bumped into some in port and they greeted our daughter by name and made a point of taking the time to actually talk to her, not just wave in passing.

 

I am so sorry to hear what a horrible situation is happening on the Dawn. I agree that if you are in contact with any of the other parents from the cruise you should urge them to send a letter of complaint as well. It is absolutely unacceptable and needs to be addressed.

 

The only thing I don't think the rotten Kid's Crew staff was responsible for was the freak who bought your daughter's picture. He could just as easily have bought a picture of your whole family and cut the rest of you out of it, or taken his own surreptitiously. We have a fantastic picture of our daughter with the captain's hat on holding the wheel on the bridge of the Dream and I'm awfully glad they took that pic without us there. I actually think we signed something the first day during registration that gave them permission to take pictures... I'll be sure to note that when we're on the Pearl in three weeks. I'll also report back on the Kids Crew, of course. I can only hope I have much better things to say!

[kg66]

Canadiantwosome:

I'd be so happy to read your review on the Kids club on the Pearl as we'll be sailing on her Feb 22/09. Please post it on the Pearl's board so I remember to check it!

 

And to the OP who originally posted , I don't blame you at all for being upset, who spends the $$$$ we spend on a cruise for your children to watch TV/movies....they want to do fun stuff too!! I'd be FURIOUS if any kids counsellor touched my girls.....I hope you get some satisfaction out of NCL....hopefully......

[CanadianTwosome]

Canadiantwosome:

I'd be so happy to read your review on the Kids club on the Pearl as we'll be sailing on her Feb 22/09. Please post it on the Pearl's board so I remember to check it!

 

And to the OP who originally posted , I don't blame you at all for being upset, who spends the $$$$ we spend on a cruise for your children to watch TV/movies....they want to do fun stuff too!! I'd be FURIOUS if any kids counsellor touched my girls.....I hope you get some satisfaction out of NCL....hopefully......

 

No worries, I'll be posting in all appropriate areas when I get back! As I said, I've had only positive experiences with NCL so far, but I think these boards are for sharing experiences, whether good or bad, so that's what I try to do.

 

The counsellor being physical, the lack of activities and discipline - the general laziness of the staff - none of it is acceptable. They're not some 13 year old high school kid that's babysitting for a night!! It's their JOB to follow the schedule set forth by NCL as part of the product that they offer families. #1TravelMom, I hope you will come back and update us once you've contacted NCL.

[CeleBrat]

We too have had good experiences on NCL as well.

 

Really though, it's all hit-or-miss. The staff on cruise ships turn over so frequently (they are only on contract for 6-9 months at a time), that sometimes it is "luck-of-the-draw" as to whether the staff will be good, great, or mediocre.

 

Re: the photos, like CanadianTwosome said, we appreciate the fact that the kids club takes photos during some of the more "cool" activities. And, although that guy was weird to tell you he actually bought your daughter's photo, who here can HONESTLY say they haven't also looked at other people's pic in the gallery and made comments?

 

CeleBrat

[amcess721]

Makes me really glad to know that since my kiddo is under 2 that she won't be allowed in and maybe when we choose our next cruise we'll go with a different line.

[snooksmum]

Hi,

 

My four year old son and I just returned from a Mexican Riviera cruise on the NCL Star. We both liked the kids programmes on board (My son was excited to go every chance he could). I think the jungle gym on the star was a real help -- it enabled to kids to burn off a lot of steam in a small space. As far as I know the 2-5 year olds were never taken from the kids planet area except for the one kids dinner night (which I agreed to ) when they were taken to the kids buffet.

 

I am, however, looking for another line for our next cruise -- not because of the child care, but because of the food. The buffet on the star was so crowded, choatic, noisy, and generally unpleasant that we couldn't stand to eat there. The kids cafe -- a smaller buffet for little ones -- was a great idea in priniciple, but the food (processed burgers and chicken fingers, left out for hours, and no vegetables at all all week) was so bad that most parents ended up foraging their kids' meals from the main buffet anyway. The kids' menu had no vegetables at all either, and when I asked for some (at the dining room) they arrived after we'd finished eating. It's not like we were going to starve or contract scurvy in just a week, but finding half decent food for a kid on board shouldn't have been so hard.

 

I'd love to hear what other parents' experiences have been with food on the other cruise lines. Were there nice casual options? Healthy stuff on the kids menu? Long line ups at the buffet? Thanks.

[ladymonty]

Wow! We just got off the Dawn too and had a totally different experience. My kids are DD6 and DS3 and they loved the Kids Crew. They had so much fun. When we would pick them up they would be totally exhausted from playing hard! I know they watched a couple of movies over the week, but my kiddos were involved in tons of activities too. Every time we checked on them they were doing something. My three year old came back everyday with crafts galore and so did my 6 year old. My daughter is a play by play kid. She tells us every detail of what happens at school and so on. Every day she would go on and on about all the stuff they did, all the friends she met, and so on. We also found the counselors to be extremely nice and caring. They knew our kids names by the second day and gave them hugs every time we dropped them off and even when they saw us around the ship. I am really sorry you had a different experience.

[#1TravelMom]

I think part of the problem was the number of children. There were so few children the week we cruised. They only had 34 children between 2 and 12. Because of the small number, they just kept them together a lot of them time. It seemed like watching movies was an activity that occupied them all. The staff told us there were other "craft and game-type things" they normally do, but they were either to babyish for the older kids or too difficult for the younger children, so they stuck to the things they could all do.

[ladymonty]

That probably had something to do with it. I know when we were on last week, there were 700 children between the ages of 2-17.:eek: Obviously, all of those kiddos did not attend Kids Crew, but each age group had several kids. Once again, I'm sorry you guys didn't have the best experience.

[Cruisin' Chick]

We have a friend who took her two kids on one of the Aloha ships a couple of years ago and the older child (age 9) broke her arm in a pillowfight. The mother was upset because this activity wasn't listed on the program, just a pajama party. It might be a long time until she takes her kids on another cruise.

[CanadianTwosome]

We have a friend who took her two kids on one of the Aloha ships a couple of years ago and the older child (age 9) broke her arm in a pillowfight. The mother was upset because this activity wasn't listed on the program' date=' just a pajama party. It might be a long time until she takes her kids on another cruise.[/quote']

 

Our daughter has attended two of those pj party/pillow fights now, and the kids brought their own pillows to the party, so while it didn't explicitly list the pillow fight portion of the evening on the schedule, the kids certainly knew it was going to happen, and I'm sure it was fairly noticable when the child left the cabin with a pillow in tow. That doesn't make a broken arm any less of a bad experience, I'm just saying that the pillow fight is not a secret. That must have been one heck of a pillow fight!!

[CanadianTwosome]

I think part of the problem was the number of children. There were so few children the week we cruised. They only had 34 children between 2 and 12. Because of the small number, they just kept them together a lot of them time. It seemed like watching movies was an activity that occupied them all. The staff told us there were other "craft and game-type things" they normally do, but they were either to babyish for the older kids or too difficult for the younger children, so they stuck to the things they could all do.

 

I'm very glad to know that Ladymonty had a completely different and positive experience, and I think you're probably correct about the number of children on board being an issue. I do not, however, think that it was a good reason for the problems you listed. Even with that few kids, the counsellors were all available and they could have still separated the age groups and done some more appropriate activities (perhaps not into the usual number, but at least 'little' kids and 'big' kids). Also, there was the issue of a counsellor being abrupt and rough with your child, and there is never an excuse for that. So, while I do agree with your thoughts, I think it's entirely possible that some of your comments were taken seriously as well, and as a result Ladymonty found a different 'attitude' in the club when she was aboard.

[ladymonty]

It appears that the policy regarding the "pillow fight" activity has changed as well. Last week it was stated in the schedule for both the 2-5 group and the 6-9 group that there would be a pillow fight, including the time it would take place. I am guessing they actually put it on the schedule so that parents could opt our their kids if they wanted to.

[#1TravelMom]

I think I forgot to mention the pillow fight in my OP. I was really upset about that too. Who would have a pillow fight with a group of kids 2-12? Most 12 yr. old boys are bigger than I am and I certainly wouldn't take a swing at my 4 year old-even with a pillow. My little girl ended up crying because a "big boy" hit her really hard and knocked her down.

[ladymonty]

I agree that they shouldn't let the kids groups mix for activities like the pillow fight. My kids had a blast at theirs, but once again they were in their separate age appropriate groups.