Just returned from NCL cruise

I just returned from an NCL cruise with my parents in a family three room suite. I must say that the suite was very nice for three adults traveling together with two bathrooms and separate bedrooms, however as far as the rest of positives go there were not too many. While I know that cruising has changed somewhat in the last few years I was sadly disappointed in the service, the noise level, the food and the entertainment. My last cruise of many on HAL was two years ago, but I cannot imagine it has slipped to this level. I will be cruising HAL in less than a month, and I need a vacation from my NCL vacation.

So for those of you thinking of trying an NCL cruise and looking for a comparison these are my thoughts:

1. The demographics of the pax were younger

2. The entertainment included a "Mr.Sexy Legs Contest (I could have lived without that)

3. The quality of the food, except for the "paid" restaurants was poor and the service was rushed.

4. All venues were crowded and loud.

5. Our concierge was excellent and very helpful

6. The cruise director was sophomoric and irritating

7. Embarkation and disembarkation were good

8. Did not smell cigarette smoking on our balcony, but it was unbearable by the pool.

Just my thoughts for those of you considering a switch.

Thanks for the review, but no thanks to NCL.

Very interesting and informative.

Did you go to the equivalent of the Pinnacle? Your thoughts. if so would be appreciated.

Thanks for your time to report back! :)

Seems booking a suite and having dinner in a specialty restaurant is the way to do it when cruising NCL.

LuLu

Yes Lulu, if you are going to travel NCL I would think that would be the only way to go. The food in Cagney's which was their equivalent to the Pinnacle was very good, the service much better and the atmosphere much more refined.

Thanks for your review.

Did you eat at any other of the pay restaurants?, how were they? and how much?

Thanks for your review.

What ship were you on and what was the itinerary?

I switched from NCL to Hal 20 years ago because I didn't like the the noise level and the drunk passengers.

Thanks for your review.

Thank you for your review.

When NCL changed to Freestyle dining, etc., we stopped sailing on them.

Thanks for reporting.

Very interesting indeed.

I switched from NCL to Hal 20 years ago because I didn't like the the noise level and the drunk passengers.

Wish I had been warned, but you are so right!

The specialty restaurant was Cagney's a steak house and it was $30.00 pp, and there were other that were a bit less. The Italian I believe was 15.00 pp, and there was also a French restaurant, and a sushi place we did not try those.....

The ship was the Dawn. We were supposed to be going to Bermuda, but were diverted to Nassau because of the hurricane.

I just returned from an NCL cruise with my parents in a family three room suite. I must say that the suite was very nice for three adults traveling together with two bathrooms and separate bedrooms, however as far as the rest of positives go there were not too many. While I know that cruising has changed somewhat in the last few years I was sadly disappointed in the service, the noise level, the food and the entertainment. My last cruise of many on HAL was two years ago, but I cannot imagine it has slipped to this level. I will be cruising HAL in less than a month, and I need a vacation from my NCL vacation.

 

So for those of you thinking of trying an NCL cruise and looking for a comparison these are my thoughts:

 

1. The demographics of the pax were younger

2. The entertainment included a "Mr.Sexy Legs Contest (I could have lived without that)

3. The quality of the food, except for the "paid" restaurants was poor and the service was rushed.

4. All venues were crowded and loud.

5. Our concierge was excellent and very helpful

6. The cruise director was sophomoric and irritating

7. Embarkation and disembarkation were good

8. Did not smell cigarette smoking on our balcony, but it was unbearable by the pool.

 

Just my thoughts for those of you considering a switch.

If you were in a suite wasn't that the haven? heard that area including the restaurant and service are top notch. Please describe your experience at the Haven. Thought that area didn't have the sophomoric activities.The younger crowd is ok as while we are in our 60's enjoy seeing a heterogeneous crowd. Thanks.

I just returned from an NCL cruise with my parents in a family three room suite. I must say that the suite was very nice for three adults traveling together with two bathrooms and separate bedrooms, however as far as the rest of positives go there were not too many. While I know that cruising has changed somewhat in the last few years I was sadly disappointed in the service, the noise level, the food and the entertainment. My last cruise of many on HAL was two years ago, but I cannot imagine it has slipped to this level. I will be cruising HAL in less than a month, and I need a vacation from my NCL vacation.

 

So for those of you thinking of trying an NCL cruise and looking for a comparison these are my thoughts:

 

1. The demographics of the pax were younger

2. The entertainment included a "Mr.Sexy Legs Contest (I could have lived without that)

3. The quality of the food, except for the "paid" restaurants was poor and the service was rushed.

4. All venues were crowded and loud.

5. Our concierge was excellent and very helpful

6. The cruise director was sophomoric and irritating

7. Embarkation and disembarkation were good

8. Did not smell cigarette smoking on our balcony, but it was unbearable by the pool.

 

Just my thoughts for those of you considering a switch.

Thanks for sharing your review about NCL. Have a nice day

Thanks for the review.

If you were in a suite wasn't that the haven? heard that area including the restaurant and service are top notch. Please describe your experience at the Haven. Thought that area didn't have the sophomoric activities.The younger crowd is ok as while we are in our 60's enjoy seeing a heterogeneous crowd. Thanks.

No it was not the Haven. It was a three room, two bath family suite. We had a butler and the concierge and as I said the room was nice but it did not make up for the rest of the experience. The ship was NCL Dawn.

Thanks for the info. Ncl is a cruise line I have considered.

No it was not the Haven. It was a three room, two bath family suite. We had a butler and the concierge and as I said the room was nice but it did not make up for the rest of the experience. The ship was NCL Dawn.

We are booking the Breakaway for next August. We have sailed on the Summit a few times, and while we truly had great experiences, we want to try another ship and after doing some research, felt the Haven in the Breakaway best meets our needs.

I think you will like Celebrity, especially the Solstice Class ships. Or we also love RC the Oasis Class or new Quantum class (supposed to Be) are great!

Thanks for sharing your information.

I was on the Spirit several years ago and I agree about the any time dining. I could not stand it, service was bad and rushed. We only did it twice the rest of the time we just ate at the buffet. I'm a younger cruiser but love the meals in the MDR and the service you get at your set times. There where quite a few drunk people, including me but because it was a younger crowd and sailing out of New Orleans that was to be expected.

I switched from NCL to Hal 20 years ago because I didn't like the the noise level and the drunk passengers.

Wish I had been warned, but you are so right!

I did not experience noise and drunks on my 2 NCL cruises, but these were longer cruises in Europe. Perhaps that made a difference. We also don't sail on the mega ships, but I think the Dawn is one of their mid-size ships, at ~2200 passengers.

Thank you so much for posting this review. We were considering a Haven Spa suite on the Breakaway for Thanksgiving but after 2 conversations with the NCL agent and perusing the posts and pictures I knew it would not be a good match for us. Cruising with 4,000+ others just isn't my cup of tea.:eek:

Yes, you can have your meals in the Haven Restaurant but for all 7 days??? We were told that we could also have breakfast and lunch in Cagney's or have it delivered to the room. Essentially I was told that to avoid the crowds I could stay in my 309' (including verandah) "suite" for the duration of the cruise.

For $200 more (including air) we can get a superior verandah suite on the civilized sized Zuiderdam, nice OBC and enjoy 7 warm days in the Caribbean over Christmas.:cool:

but their ships are no longer for us. We'll stick with HAL.

The ship was the Dawn.

The Dawn was also the last NCL ship I sailed and it left a long-lasting sour taste in my mouth for NCL. I'm not one to swear off a cruise line forever, but I will swear off a ship. I will never sail Dawn again, nor will I ever book her twin sister, Star. There were too many problems and even if service improved...which apparently it hasn't...the awful design of the ship will still remain.

I'm considering the NCL Pride of America in 2016, which is the only game in town when it comes to an inter-island Hawaiian cruise. I've heard mixed things about the POA. Some bring up the points the OP mentioned. Others think it's fine. If HAL were an option I'd choose it over NCL.

I have been on the POA. That ship is run under NCLA, which is a different part of NCL. I absolutely loved it! Of course, that cruise was more about the destination than the ship. My next NCL cruise was on the Dawn out of Tampa. The first day of the cruise was good, then downhill from there.

I have been on five different cruise lines. We're trying HAL next. Hope we like it!