Is cruise burn out possible and can it be cured?

This sounds so bad to complain about but we just returned from a week on the Star and so many small problems annoyed me. This is our third cruise this year and we are going on the Epic in June. I am hoping a new and bigger ship will re-inspire me.

Has anyone else had this happen? This was our 14th NCL cruise and I felt like we knew more than many of the staff. I have expectations of how things should be and usually are.... when they did not happen it started to wear on me.

The things that could be fixed ( such as shampooing filthy carpet) I had done on board. Some things can't be fixed without sounding really spoiled. I am used to NCL staff always welcoming you and using your name at every opportunity. This time every time I approached a hostess even at Cagneys each day I was asked "what is your cabin number?", my name was never used. I would have preferred to hear Good morning or welcome back. The staff seemed inconvenienced even when I was the only table in a restaurant for lunch.

The menu selections at Blue Lagoon are becoming less and less and in the dining rooms smaller and smaller. Perhaps this is good for my waist line.

The menus and ship maps are now printed on copy paper. I was not given a menu all week that did not have food stains on it. There are markings for staff that say "fold here" to put the map together.

The towels, robes and sheets are all past their prime with tears, not comfy etc.

I know all businesses are under pressure to keep saving money and I wonder when it will stop.

Again, these are a few of the small problems and they sound so trite but sometimes you wonder if they are cutting so many things you notice what is happening behind the scenes.

Since I know these sound so silly to complain about I wonder if it is time for me to do an all inclusive and wait a while for my cruise spirit to return. Or, are the new big ships more updated and interesting. I am embarrassed to have noticed so many things but when are cruising more for the ship rather than the destination it seems to jump out at you.

Still enjoyed being a way for a week and being waited on and spending time with my family.

Just want to know if anyone else has felt this way and can it be fixed!!

Each experience can be different. The Hotel Director has a lot to do with all the problems you mentioned. Our cruises on ships with Sean or Prem as HD have been fantastic. They work very hard to make your cruise great. I believe Sean is on the Epic. If he is still on there in June, I think you will see a big difference.

Each experience can be different. The Hotel Director has a lot to do with all the problems you mentioned. Our cruises on ships with Sean or Prem as HD have been fantastic. They work very hard to make your cruise great. I believe Sean is on the Epic. If he is still on there in June, I think you will see a big difference.

Thanks.... we have cruised on ships before with Prem as the hotel director and it has been a great experience....

Hopefully you are right and that is the cure!!

I had a simiar experinece on the Gem a year ago..evrything seemed difficult--staff was reduced etc.

When I mentioned it to the HD, he vehemently denied what I ahd to say.

Maybe it is tome to change cruise lines...Then you can compare--

I would think cruise burn out is absolutely possible with 4 cruises in the first half of the year. It's probably too late to cancel June, but personally, I would switch it up a bit. I find having expectations about an experience usually leads to some level of disappointment so I try to mix it up and keep things fresh. We do love cruising though, but try to have the cruise experiences varied and as only a portion of our vacation plans.

For the June cruise, maybe there are things you have not done, or you could try a different focus, just to mix it up a bit. Different types of shore excursions than you usually take, for example like a culinary focus or culture vs beach break, maybe write a blog or get a new camera and do a photography focused trip. Create a photo book of your adventures in real time. You know, just switch it up from the same old same old.

Good luck!

Perhaps a newer ship such as the Epic, with different layouts and amenities might be the answer. Or try a land vacation for what that might have to offer.

If you had issues on the cruise, sometimes speaking to guest services, while still on board can clear some things up. Consider writing a nice letter outlinng what was bothering you, to Kevin Sheehan. Mention that the cut-backs are detremental to good customer service. Worn-out bed linens should be discarded.

The only problems I have on cruise ships are disembarking from them. I hate having to leave and go home.

:eek: three cruises in the first four months of the year ? really ? :eek:

no offense but that's nuts...

do one of these -

1) do a different type of vacation other than a cruise

2) if you insist on cruising why not change things up and try a different cruise line... maybe Celebrity and see if you notice a difference in food, service ... I like NCL but doesn't hurt to see what else is out there

I hear you & understand - and some of those things are silly & minor but like you, been sailing enough to notice the subtle differences & details.

Just try not to live to cruise every other month, no matter how nice & relaxing they are - free laundry, specialty dining, free wine & bubbling, cocktail receptions with the senior officers, (free) behind the scene tours of the ship and maybe the bridge (a different one, each time - hopefully ;) ) and no cooking and cleaning for the duration. Sailing different lines even if the same destinations do bring new perspectives into how we managed to "spoil" ourselves, etc. and do comparisons.

We also discovered that Carnival's cabins are larger, their MDR aren't so bad and the buffet lines are long but have roasted chicken upstairs via the semi-secret stairs, etc.

Ever fly Business-First domestically and look at the costs of those plane tickets and what they served as (reheated) gourmet food, huh! I will gladly join those buffet lines upstairs runned by NCL, really. If you fly coach across the Americas in a shrinking tin-can, like those 737-800's or god forbid - CRJ 200's for a 2.5 hours connection to a "hub" to transfer to MIA or LAX, etc. - you know the "stinking" feeling & smell. Hello, Washy Washy & Happy Happy.

Fact of matters, all of the mass lines are cutting corner while holding costs down for us - OBC's are great, aren't that - you fly these days and considered lucky if they don't charge you for bring any luggage or checked them due to lack of overhead bin space and then lost them -yours, after collecting a $25 fee or $50 for excess weight. Cruiselines still allow us to bring as much as we can pull, drag and push to the curbside dropoff for the porters - only fees are "tipping"

We don't missed those midnight chocoholic (and wasteful) buffet, but surely noticed recently that there're no sailway outdoor/top deck BBQ party onboard (at least on the BA, too cold/winter months ??) But, surely - NCL has trimmed back the Blue Lagoon menu (O'Sheehan's menu is different, of course) - not happy with it, and, MDR daily menu choices have surely shrinked, less options & gone are the Presidential menu choices (or, something like that, gotta look back in the old Dailies) and the Cooking Light menu (remember those :p ) - and, fewer soups & dessert selections, even for a Mega ship like the Breakaway (otherwise, it's nice & new and different, and we found it enjoyable with a changing experience onboard.)

Will these stop us from cruising NCL, most definitely NOT - but it doesn't stop us from expressing our comments & feedbacks with those post-cruise e-Surveys (if & when we get them) and with the officers on the ship IF/when we get the chance.

We are planning to do an Asia cruise soon - let's see how that worked but one thing we've been WARNED, the smoky & crowded casino at sea with high rollers. Oooooookay. :eek:

It is possible to become sick of fillet steak, champagne, and oysters if you have them for every meal.

You're cruising too much - try a different vacation and take a break for a while.

Note - it is not possible to become sick of pretty girls, Ferraris, or huge wads of cash. Just thought I'd point that out.

If you "switch up" cruise lines, or even different class ships on one cruise line, I think that may help with the burned-out feeling. Different shows, activities, foods will help. After 16 in a row on CCL, we switched to Breakaway, then did FOS on RCCL, then went back to CCL on a "different" ship, and it really helped.

Note - it is not possible to become sick of pretty girls, Ferraris, or huge wads of cash. Just thought I'd point that out.

might want to try sitting in a bugatti veyron first

This sounds so bad to complain about but we just returned from a week on the Star and so many small problems annoyed me. This is our third cruise this year and we are going on the Epic in June. I am hoping a new and bigger ship will re-inspire me.

 

Has anyone else had this happen? This was our 14th NCL cruise and I felt like we knew more than many of the staff. I have expectations of how things should be and usually are.... when they did not happen it started to wear on me.

 

The things that could be fixed ( such as shampooing filthy carpet) I had done on board. Some things can't be fixed without sounding really spoiled. I am used to NCL staff always welcoming you and using your name at every opportunity. This time every time I approached a hostess even at Cagneys each day I was asked "what is your cabin number?", my name was never used. I would have preferred to hear Good morning or welcome back. The staff seemed inconvenienced even when I was the only table in a restaurant for lunch.

 

The menu selections at Blue Lagoon are becoming less and less and in the dining rooms smaller and smaller. Perhaps this is good for my waist line.

 

The menus and ship maps are now printed on copy paper. I was not given a menu all week that did not have food stains on it. There are markings for staff that say "fold here" to put the map together.

 

The towels, robes and sheets are all past their prime with tears, not comfy etc.

 

I know all businesses are under pressure to keep saving money and I wonder when it will stop.

 

Again, these are a few of the small problems and they sound so trite but sometimes you wonder if they are cutting so many things you notice what is happening behind the scenes.

 

Since I know these sound so silly to complain about I wonder if it is time for me to do an all inclusive and wait a while for my cruise spirit to return. Or, are the new big ships more updated and interesting. I am embarrassed to have noticed so many things but when are cruising more for the ship rather than the destination it seems to jump out at you.

 

Still enjoyed being a way for a week and being waited on and spending time with my family.

 

Just want to know if anyone else has felt this way and can it be fixed!!

Yes, burnout can happen and it sounds like it might be the case with you, but the bigger, newer ships might be just what the doctor ordered.

We had this happen with Las Vegas. We took a couple year's break and are limiting our visits to one every year or two: now we really look forward to them.

As for cruising, our only real complaint is the lack of new ports, so now, what we do, if we have visited a port a few times we choose to stay on the ship, let the rest of the passengers fight the crowds and we enjoy the pool area or the spa.

BTW, don't be embarrassed to voice your opinion. I am sure some of your observations are correct, others might seem nit picking or overly critical to some, but you have every right to voice your views.

I will finish by saying, I think so many cruises in such a short time might not be something most of us would even consider and if you war anxious to continue cruising maybe a different line might give you a new perspective.

This sounds so bad to complain about but we just returned from a week on the Star and so many small problems annoyed me. This is our third cruise this year and we are going on the Epic in June. I am hoping a new and bigger ship will re-inspire me.

 

Has anyone else had this happen? This was our 14th NCL cruise and I felt like we knew more than many of the staff. I have expectations of how things should be and usually are.... when they did not happen it started to wear on me.

 

The things that could be fixed ( such as shampooing filthy carpet) I had done on board. Some things can't be fixed without sounding really spoiled. I am used to NCL staff always welcoming you and using your name at every opportunity. This time every time I approached a hostess even at Cagneys each day I was asked "what is your cabin number?", my name was never used. I would have preferred to hear Good morning or welcome back. The staff seemed inconvenienced even when I was the only table in a restaurant for lunch.

 

The menu selections at Blue Lagoon are becoming less and less and in the dining rooms smaller and smaller. Perhaps this is good for my waist line.

 

The menus and ship maps are now printed on copy paper. I was not given a menu all week that did not have food stains on it. There are markings for staff that say "fold here" to put the map together.

 

The towels, robes and sheets are all past their prime with tears, not comfy etc.

 

I know all businesses are under pressure to keep saving money and I wonder when it will stop.

 

Again, these are a few of the small problems and they sound so trite but sometimes you wonder if they are cutting so many things you notice what is happening behind the scenes.

 

Since I know these sound so silly to complain about I wonder if it is time for me to do an all inclusive and wait a while for my cruise spirit to return. Or, are the new big ships more updated and interesting. I am embarrassed to have noticed so many things but when are cruising more for the ship rather than the destination it seems to jump out at you.

 

Still enjoyed being a way for a week and being waited on and spending time with my family.

 

Just want to know if anyone else has felt this way and can it be fixed!!

Burnout isn't the problem you experienced, its more a matter of familiarity. This is an older post from another thread, but I think it can apply...

Just some food for thought....

Well, I kinda know what you're saying. I take it you're an NCL fan based on your 14 NCL cruises. We are RCL fans and a few years back after our 4th consecutive RCI cruise I felt I needed a bit of a change. Same menus and similar shows and so on. So we decided to spread out a bit. We did a Princess cruise (awesome food) and 3 Carnival cruises and one cruise on the Pearl. After our 3rd Carnival cruise we managed to snag a tour on the Enchantment of the Seas when she was in our home port. As soon as I walked on board I knew it was time to get back to RCI and as a result when we did get back on RCI we felt "renewed" a bit and rediscovered what makes RCI our favourite line.

So my advice would be, spread your wings a bit. Try different lines. Not having certain expectations will be good for you and you never know, you may discover that other lines are as pleasing as NCL. I know that after our Pearl cruise we were impressed and felt NCL was on the same level as RCI and we'll happily cruise on either line.

We were on the Star a while back. We noted then that the ship needed some tender love and care. We then went on a CCL trip, and now have a trip planned on the GetAway. I am hoping we like "bigger" because that seems to be where all the money is going lately.

Having done lots of ncl cruises we find that mixing in a celebrityvcruise very now and again leave us rejuvenated

We still do ncl but find a good mix works well

Sailed on the gem January 2013 and the whole cruise was off or at least felt that way to us.

Staff un informed, seemed like they did not know what they were doing

Just felt weird.

However our January 2014 sailing was Great with a capital G

This sounds so bad to complain about but we just returned from a week on the Star and so many small problems annoyed me. This is our third cruise this year and we are going on the Epic in June. I am hoping a new and bigger ship will re-inspire me.

 

Has anyone else had this happen? This was our 14th NCL cruise and I felt like we knew more than many of the staff. I have expectations of how things should be and usually are.... when they did not happen it started to wear on me.

 

The things that could be fixed ( such as shampooing filthy carpet) I had done on board. Some things can't be fixed without sounding really spoiled. I am used to NCL staff always welcoming you and using your name at every opportunity. This time every time I approached a hostess even at Cagneys each day I was asked "what is your cabin number?", my name was never used. I would have preferred to hear Good morning or welcome back. The staff seemed inconvenienced even when I was the only table in a restaurant for lunch.

 

The menu selections at Blue Lagoon are becoming less and less and in the dining rooms smaller and smaller. Perhaps this is good for my waist line.

 

The menus and ship maps are now printed on copy paper. I was not given a menu all week that did not have food stains on it. There are markings for staff that say "fold here" to put the map together.

 

The towels, robes and sheets are all past their prime with tears, not comfy etc.

 

I know all businesses are under pressure to keep saving money and I wonder when it will stop.

 

Again, these are a few of the small problems and they sound so trite but sometimes you wonder if they are cutting so many things you notice what is happening behind the scenes.

 

Since I know these sound so silly to complain about I wonder if it is time for me to do an all inclusive and wait a while for my cruise spirit to return. Or, are the new big ships more updated and interesting. I am embarrassed to have noticed so many things but when are cruising more for the ship rather than the destination it seems to jump out at you.

 

Still enjoyed being a way for a week and being waited on and spending time with my family.

 

Just want to know if anyone else has felt this way and can it be fixed!!

since you are cruising for the ship, then only stick with new ships and ships you recently enjoyed. I also suggest you might want to try an upscale all inclusive somewhere.

I've gone on 5 cruises already this year. My priority is for where the cruise takes me, and I couldn't care less about a ship.

You are fortunate to know- what you do and don't prefer. Stick with the selections that offer those, and don't compromise.

Thanks everyone for your input..... I guess I did not explain... it is 3 cruises in 12 months, not in 2014.

I live and breathe cruises and my friends and family laugh that I am always planning something. They are going to be surprised that I am thinking about changing it up for a while.

Thanks for some suggestions and support..... I am sure I can get back in my cruise groove soon... perhaps this afternoon when I have done all the laundry and am thinking about cooking dinner.

I believe the comment about familiarity is right on. I am surprised how often we know the "rules" etc better than the staff.

My husband and I definitely started to suffer burn out. We changed it up with the Breakaway,,,and decided never to do the Florida/Nassau trip again. ...and tried two CTN. My husband is tired of the same shows over and over on the Gem. ...and on the Breakaway we have seen ROA twice already. We will continue to sail NCL cuz we love the whole freestyle thing & CAS & the good outweighs the bad.....especially living in NY

Safe Sailing

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

I would think that your next cruise being a European cruise would help alleviate some of the familiarity.

I know I am going into "our" cruise looking at the ports as the star attractions and looking at the ship as a kind of floating hotel. It is going to be very hard for me to be disappointed by the cruise because I have virtually no expectations to begin with.

Another thing that helps is that the cruise is only a fraction of the overall vacation and not the vacation itself.

I also know that you (and I) are research junkies and I can tell you that I have done next to no planning about the ship itself (outside of checking for price drops) and almost all of my planning on all of the different places I am visiting.

It can definitely happen. Im there now....I could run the NCL games and half the shows ar this point. Love NcL, but probably time to try RCCL...

There are a heck of a lot of awesome places to travel in the world, and the majority are not cruise ports. I say you shake it up a bit and do some land vacations.

I did a lot of cruises and also felt 'cruise burn out' so I've mixed it up. I've taken a few land based holidays (Orlando, Rome, Vegas, Barcelona and the Algarve) and mixed up the cruise companies I've been on.

I sort of feel rejuvenated. I did two cruises (one was won on the first cruise) last year and got an amazing one booked for this summer. I think one quality cruise a year for me going forward will keep me keen and enthusiastic. That said my parent cruise on Princess 3 or 4 times a year and love every second.

I'd like to think that this is one of the reasons why the mega-ships are so popular, they are almost a vacation in and of themselves. I'm not saying you never get off the boat, but there is something to be said for staying on board at those dicier ports.

I've been cruising for almost 20 years (wife nearly that long) and any more all I do is beach days or scuba diving. When I want variety, I do southern routes (or routes that at least visit at least one southern port, like St. Kitts. Flying to San Juan to cruise ups the price a bit, but the lower cruise fares (it seems) makes up for some of the added cost.