Just off the NCL Star May never sail NCL again

That is if my husband has his say we wont be coming back.

We did the Getaway last month. Had a great time Enjoyed everything.

Jumped on the chance to get an aft cabin and a taste of the "suite life". It was anything but sweet from start to finish!

As you begin to read through this you may feel I am being a bit picky. As these things began to transpire we only found them a bit irritating and not what we expected, however as the issues just kept building I decided to TRY to keep track of them.

It began with the propulsion issue. That actually didnt bother us. What bothered us was getting to the pier where the passengers had actually been disembarked the day before and finding a line of passengers waiting to get in that was so long it wrapped around the building. There was no side line for suite passengers. After standing in this line for about 20 minutes and it still not moving I went back to the front of the line and asked if there was another line for Priority Embarkation. He said usually there is but today we are only making a line for handicapped passengers. After waiting for almost 45 minutes they began letting us in. Once finally inside they did have priority lines. However the line again was not moving. Once we got to check in they apologized and said since this was the first day back from overseas they have lots of new employees and also they are having glitches with the system. We stood at the desk over 25 minutes and they were never able to key in our credit card despite having over 8 employees at one time looking at the terminal. We are still smiling at this point and saying its ok and we understand...really we did.

Now off to begin the "suite life" We were led to a small area for suite passengers. There was a buffet table set up with a table cloth and nothing on it. Did we really need anything? Probably not but I actually would have appreciated just a bottle of water but that was not available nor possible as they said they could give us nothing as the health inspectors were still aboard....sigh...We stayed in this room until almost noon.

Then came our lunch at Cagneys.........To be continued......

curious we will be on the star in nov

We were on this cruise too. We will not be sailing NCL again. They did everything in their power to NOT serve cocktails on this cruise. The beverage package is a joke.

Ahhhh don't leave us hanging like that :eek:

This is scaring me. We will be on the Star in 2 weeks. They better get it together!

The saga continues....

But here are my words that should be encouraging to my fellow NCL travelers, especially those going on the Star in the future.

All the issues we had at least on the first day I believe were due to it being the first cruise back from Europe?? I am willing despite most of what happened to give NCL another chance. So let me pick up where I left off..

We are taken up to Cagneys and seated for lunch. We thought that was really nice. But then we sat and sat...finally they took our drink order...YEAH! Lets get this party started.....but they didnt come back with it...then they took our food order...20 minutes later no food...no drink....about another 10 minutes and our appetizer comes, then our lunch, I inquire politely about drinks and they say they have no OK to serve mixed drinks....??? My husband ordered a scotch neat...but they "think" they will be able to serve them soon. Lunch now almost over and when the waiter comes over I inquire about the possibility of a drink. He says mixed drinks not possible but we could always have asked for a glass of wine or beer....really??? I would have asked for a glass of wine with lunch as I usually do but anyway....you get the idea...

So off to our cabin, We are deck 8 aft facing cabin and it is beautiful! No complaints about our room our room steward. I unpack and O Sheehans if just down the hall from our room. Its about 4p and the Captain has said departing to take place at 10p. I was really looking forward to the sail away because I have never left from Tampa before and I couldnt wait to sail under that giant Skyline Bridge. I thought it would be very pretty at night though so we settled in to wait. Back to O'Sheehans. It was a mob scene! Officers had come and asked everyone to form a line to even get near the bar. There were about 25 people in that line besides the packed bar so we gave up. It was no better anywhere else so we headed back to our cabin without drinks.

Dinner was in MDR it was delicious!! I had the grilled shrimp which I remember was just a great on the Getaway last month!

After dinner we were really wishing the Casino was open because that is part of what we look forward to also on that first day...but...ok. We finally got a few drinks up at the Sugar Cane bar. I cannot say enough about Kenneth the bartender there! He is super!! By midnight I was yawning but the captain had said we were leaving at 10p He never came back on and changed the time....we finally gave up and went to bed.

I heard the next day that we actually set sail around 2:30 am

There was never any apology for the delay and that is Ok. What I was surprised by was the port tax for the few drinks we managed to procure. It would seem since we were stuck in port they might have just taken them off as a good will gesture for what was a terrible first day.

We actually heard a passenger in that line at O'Sheehans say they couldnt make any iced drinks because they didnt have a blender. We heard quite a few statements that were hard to believe during the week.

I dont know if anyone really wants to read about the daily issues on this cruise. I am hoping that just the first day would give you some insight into what we went through.

I can tell you that disembarking was not better.

We met in Ginza where we were to be escorted off....well that didnt happen....we were shown the door literally and the concierge went back inside. We joined up with the long line that was currently on deck and made our way down. So, from beginning to the very end...we didnt feel that we got to experience "the suite" life. Most of the people we were in line with were also saying that this was their most disappointing cruise experience ever.

I am hoping that time will fade my husbands impressions because I really did enjoy the Getaway and would love to do the Escape. I am also hoping for some feedback from others that have done a first trip back in the States after a transatlantic crossing. Maybe this is common and people should just know to expect a bit of chaos for that first cruise. But, I really dont know what the slowness and service issues were that remained all week.

All of the issues I read you having weren't actually NCL issues. The people who work to check you in, take your luggage, etc, don't actually work for NCL. They are contracted people. With an exception of in the VIP lounge where the concierge should have been to check you in - if they do that in Tampa.

Second, as for serving mixed drinks and charging of tax is Florida state law. They can't just not charge you for it or serve them anyway. I'm sure it was connected to the late departure as well. The casino cannot be opened until you are so many miles (I cannot remember the exact number) out. That is standard.

While I understand your frustration, these particular issues were no fault of NCL. This also means that they can and do also happen on other cruise lines. However, the disembarkation was the fault of the concierge on board. You should have been escorted off the ship by either the concierge or crew working with the concierge. That is the lone thing in your list of complaints that NCL was actually responsible for, and should have done correctly.

Oh, I almost forgot about the slow service in Cagney's on boarding day. We've had that experience as well. It doesn't necessarily have to do with it being the first cruise back in the US. Every cruise has crew and officers leaving and boarding each week. I always look at it as we are on the ship and sitting in a restaurant being served instead of being in the madhouse of the buffet. I'm on vacation, and if it takes a little longer, I'm good with that. I may ask a question or so, but I'm still good.

This is scaring me. We will be on the Star in 2 weeks. They better get it together!

Little late to cancel if they don't get it together by then ?

Our part of the Star Story

Let me just list the issues we had on Star last week

Pool bar didnt open until almost 1pm on boarding day ( last monday)

No drink mixes margarita etc until almost 5 pm

2 bars open after life boat drill on pool deck VERY VERY VERY long lines

No service people for drink orders

No service people to clean pool area

Suit cases didnt make it to cabin until 830 pm we checked in at 1100 am

Day 2

No Grey Goose vodka

No Strawberry daiquiri mix

No Coors light beer

Talked to beverage manager DEAF EARS

At Cagney steak house server could not understand plain English

Day 3

Returned to ship after day on shore Room was same way we left it early no clean towels NO NOTHING

Pool bar closed at 800pm Told to go to another bar for drinks

LONG WAITING LINES AT POOL BAR

Day 4

Spoke to head Hotel director on ship about service and drink issues DEAF EARS

Pool bar started to close at 745pm went to bar to get wife a Margarita was told by bartender "Ive already put mixes away You have to go to another bar"

Still no servers or cleaning people on pool deck

VERY LONG LINES AT POOL BAR

Day 5

BLAH BLAH SOS DD

How can you be charged for bottled water when you pay for Ultimate Premium beverage package???

This was our 1st and LAST cruise on NCL. NCL need to take lesson from Royal how to run a cruise line as far as passenger service. You NEVER hear servers talking in their native language in Royal EVERYTHING is in english. This cruise totally sucked The wear and condition of carpet in public areas was terrible. Lastly even the piano player was 2nd rate missing notes and words.

BEWARE

We've done the first cruise after a repositioning cruise and embarkation was a challenge. Lol The ship left late but I don't remember when because like the OP we gave up on sail away. There are usually a lot of new crew members coming onboard after repos and I think this makes things a bit trying.

Our part of the Star Story

 

Let me just list the issues we had on Star last week

 

Pool bar didnt open until almost 1pm on boarding day ( last monday)

No drink mixes margarita etc until almost 5 pm

2 bars open after life boat drill on pool deck VERY VERY VERY long lines

No service people for drink orders

No service people to clean pool area

Suit cases didnt make it to cabin until 830 pm we checked in at 1100 am

 

Day 2

No Grey Goose vodka

No Strawberry daiquiri mix

No Coors light beer

Talked to beverage manager DEAF EARS

At Cagney steak house server could not understand plain English

 

Day 3

 

Returned to ship after day on shore Room was same way we left it early no clean towels NO NOTHING

Pool bar closed at 800pm Told to go to another bar for drinks

 

Day 4

 

Spoke to head Hotel director on ship about service and drink issues DEAF EARS

Pool bar started to close at 745pm went to bar to get wife a Margarita was told by bartender "Ive already put mixes away You have to go to another bar"

Still no servers or cleaning people on pool deck

 

Day 5

 

BLAH BLAH SOS DD

 

This was our 1st and LAST cruise on NCL. NCL need to take lesson from Royal how to run a cruise line as far as passenger service. You NEVER hear servers talking in their native language in Royal EVERYTHING is in english. This cruise totally sucked The wear and condition of carpet in public areas was terrible. Lastly even the piano player was 2nd rate missing notes and words.

 

BEWARE

Yikes! Wow.... wonder what's up with that ship! (Did the provisioners not get their bills paid?)

Do any of you recall who the H.D. And the Concierge were? Does not give we future Star cruisers a warm feeling. So sad for your experience.

Little late to cancel if they don't get it together by then ?

Did I say I was going to cancel??????? We will be on the cruise, trust me. We have the Garden Villa booked and we are going to enjoy!!!!!!:D

Just my .02¢ but there are a lot of unhappy people on that boat. More than 1 server mentioned that they are shorthanded, have gone weeks without a day off and has been working 70+ hour weeks.

We sail on the Star in one week. Hoping for little issues to be worked out. Three years ago we went on a Princess cruise right after it came from Europe. What a nightmare. We stood outside the terminal for 3 1/2 hours in the heat waiting to have the ship clear customs. I felt so sorry for anyone who was elderly or disabled. I understand how frustrating it can be, that is why we make sure we don't book that first cruise after repositioning. So I guess these kinds of problems happen on all lines. Btw, Princess never offered anything for our trouble. A free drink would have done wonders for their PR!!

To the OP and the other poster who had a lot of issues, I would write a letter to NCL corporate outlining all the issues.

Very frustrating. Having been on the Star years ago doing the Median Riv. Still one of your favorite cruises. I know this is no consolation for you but, sounds like they just had a really bad off week.

We had a similar experience 2 years ago on Princess. Like your Star cruise. Our cruise just sucked. On that cruise 2 of the 7 days the steward never even cleaned the room. And there was no reason for it.

But, you need to make sure you follow up with the cruise line. Also keep in mind what was posted by GORDONCHICK, what happens at the pier is not really under the cruise lines control.

Sorry to hear about the problems, I hope all of you who were impacted contact NCL corporate via email, letter, or better yet facebook to bring attention to the problems so they can be fixed. Good luck, all of us cruising in the near future on the Star thank you for speaking up!

. . . I am also hoping for some feedback from others that have done a first trip back in the States after a transatlantic crossing. Maybe this is common and people should just know to expect a bit of chaos for that first cruise. But, I really dont know what the slowness and service issues were that remained all week.

Did it once on Carnival . . . more challenges than are 'normal' . . . and I swore never again.

Then did it once on Norwegian . . . more challenges than are 'normal' . . . and I swore never again.

:o You know, that whole "Fool me once shame on you; Fool me twice . . ." thing. :o

I still enjoyed both of those sailings quite a bit, but they certainly did have their awkward beginnings.

There is a higher percentage of crew turnover after a major repositioning, and some of the new faces are not at all familiar with their new 'home'.

Well, not only didn't I fully learn my lesson from those experiences . . . I've booked the first sailing of Norwegian Epic when it returns next year to the new home port (Canaveral). But I'll be fully prepared for it to be bumpy, 'cause it's happened before, and it was my decision to book it. ;)

.

Second, as for serving mixed drinks and charging of tax is Florida state law. They can't just not charge you for it or serve them anyway.

Second, of course it is not NCL's fault that Florida collects sales tax while the ship is in port, or doesn't allow the casino to open. But maybe it is NCL's fault that the ship stayed in port an extra 10 hours past the originally scheduled departure time…

To the OP, I believe it is illegal in Florida for NCL to pay the sales tax on your behalf, or to reimburse it to you directly, but they could have given you some OBC as a goodwill gesture.

Did I say I was going to cancel??????? We will be on the cruise, trust me. We have the Garden Villa booked and we are going to enjoy!!!!!!:D

Yes, I saw your signature indicating you are booked in the Garden Villa. Enjoy !

Yes, I saw your signature indicating you are booked in the Garden Villa. Enjoy !

Thanks! I know we will enjoy no matter what! Plus, I would think of all rooms on board, they will take care of the Garden Villa! :)

It really sucks that your vacation wasn't up to par. I hope your husband will give it another chance if you're up for it! :)

All of the issues I read you having weren't actually NCL issues.

I don't know about that. The NCL staff taking the drink orders in Cagney's and then not delivering...the reason that they couldn't serve drinks may be out of their control, but I think it's on the NCL staff to keep the passengers updated. A simple, "We can't serve mixed drinks right now, but we hope to be able to by the end of your meal. Would you like a glass of beer or wine in the meantime?" said at the beginning when they placed their orders could have gone a long way. As it was, the OP and her husband waited and waited for something that they expected but wasn't ever going to come--with no explanation. That seems to be an NCL service issue to me. OP seems to have a really good attitude despite everything, and such an explanation--and the offer of an acceptable alternate--really could have made the difference in her and her husband's experience.

I have been sailing NCL since 1997. I have never had a problem with service or with the sailing itself. We always sail suites and we have always received service in line with the extra charges. Butlers and concierges have been fantastic. This January will be our first cruise with the unlimited beverage plan, and I have to admit I am a little worried. Unlike previous cruises I expect it to be a lot harder to get a drink, because MORE people will be drinking than on previous cruises and those people will be drinking a lot MORE often. Like an HMO health plan, the providers show more of a profit for the least amount of services rendered. In this case, NCL will make less money the more drinks that are served. I remember sitting on the pool deck and hearing the servers calling out every couple of minutes. I believe that will be a thing of the past. I am also concerned about a lot of short tempers on board, by both crew and passengers.

We too were on this cruise & experienced all the issues the OP did. The lack of service & blatant discontent of almost the entire crew were almost too hard to believe. We kept thinking we would wake up from a bad dream but that bad dream lasted until we were in our car heading home. Don't think we'll ever sail NCL again.