Don't book 4 people in an NCL cabin!!

We learned the hard way on our recent Norwegian Pearl cruise the reason why NCL.com is so vague about bedding configuration in their cabins. If they were clear, nobody would likely book 4 people in a cabin on their ships!

Video showing the terrible website and even more terrible sleeping configuration:

http://youtu.be/dShDdN9aibE

Be warned if you plan to cruise on NCL with 4 people in a stateroom!

We sailed with four and did not have a problem. A lot of the cabins have the 3d & 4th as pull down beds that resemble top bunk beds. We had no problem with them at all.

That is too broad a brush you are painting with. Can you imagine how many configurations there are on NCL's fleet that sleeps four? It comes down to doing your research before YOUR cruise. Might I recommend cruisedeckplans.com's subscriber site? It is cruise staterooms,com. I think a lifetime subscription is now only $20. Well worth it.

Many people book 4 to a room on NCL and are satisfied with it.

Sorry your experience was not everything you hoped for.

We have sailed in interiors a lot of times and we have the steward make up the beds every day and then pull them back out at night. We only spent time in the rooms to sleep. Did you have them put your beds back together during the day? Then the room would be back to looking just like the picture shows. If it's a trundle bed (like one of them shown in the picture), it store right under the bed (we have had one of those too). :confused:

As others have stated, DO YOUR RESEARCH. Look at the deck plans and notice the key to what the different symbols mean. NCL has some of the biggest staterooms out of most other cruise lines. My Family and I have gone on 29 cruises. The last seven in a row have been on NCL. THis is due to the fact that NCL has 2 bedroom suites that sleep 6.

As others have stated, DO YOUR RESEARCH. Look at the deck plans and notice the key to what the different symbols mean. NCL has some of the biggest staterooms out of most other cruise lines. My Family and I have gone on 29 cruises. The last seven in a row have been on NCL. THis is due to the fact that NCL has 2 bedroom suites that sleep 6.

The op was not in a 2 bedroom suite but an interior, thanks for sharing the the video op..

We have cruised over 30 times and have very little expectation or need for cabin space. We are out cruising and enjoying. Yes we have the beds put away during the day. However, never have we been on a cruise where a "hospital stretcher" is placed between two other beds with no warning from the website we booked on. A reasonable assumption we made was that they would warn us about this "non-standard" bedding arrangement.

Maybe we have been spoiled cruising on Carnival (never thought I would say that about carnival :-) ), Princess, RCCL, Disney, etc. where you are clearly told what the cabin sleeping arrangement will be so you can make an educated choice about cabin type.

The rest of the cruise was fine.

Like someone else said, on the deck plans you can see all the symbols that tell if the room has pulls downs or a couch bed. I personally would never try to fit 4 people in any room unless it was the larger sized rooms.

Sorry OP you were not satisfied with the layout of your cabin with the 4 person configuration.

I don't quite understand your warning, since a lot of people book this type cabin, knowing the configuration and are quite satisfied with it. And since all NCL ships don't have this configuration for cabins that sleep 4, some have 2 bunk beds, and depending on your category some have pull out sofa beds. Your warning is not even accurate with the blanket statement you used.

I think if you felt caught off guard it is worth posting on CC but...

I think a more appropriate warning would be. "Do your research prior to booking your cruise if you are not absolutely sure what your cabin bed configuration is, don't just assume. We assumed and were quite disappointed in what we found".

NCL.com is the website we booked on. Maybe for other classes of ships their descriptions are clear. However, for the Pearl...below is all you get.

NCL.com is the website we booked on. Maybe for other classes of ships their descriptions are clear. However, for the Pearl...below is all you get.

 

[ATTACH]306900[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH]306901[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH]306902[/ATTACH]

It isn't "all you get" you do get more going to the "stateroom" tab

Although, you are very right that the descriptions are not clear on any of their ships on the configurations of the sleeping configuration of the maximum persons per room. I agree completely. I also think NCL could improve on that.

However, in seeing the photos on the NCL site (under staterooms), that would have probably been the first question that I ask someone, either on CC or on the phone to NCL. Is where is the 4th person suppose to sleep? Because the photos on their website clearly shows only one bunk bed and not much room for another bed.

I sympathize with the OP. I've taken 25 cruises, many with my children, and have never experienced a "hospital stretcher" type bed. I agree that "multiple places to sleep" is a vague description. Should this (and the photo on the NCL web page showing only one upper berth) have raised questions in the OP's mind? In my opinion, yes. But should NCL be more specific in its description of the quad bed configuration? The answer to that question is also yes. Clearly the "stretcher bed" is small for an adult or teen and takes the idea of family closeness to a new level. It would be very difficult for cruisers with mobility issues to climb out of any of the three lower berths when all are occupied. Thankfully this doesn't seem to have been an issue for the OP, but could certainly affect other passengers.

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You're very stuck on "multiple places to sleep" Thats exactly what you had. Some rooms have 2 bunks, some 1 bunk and 1 trundle ( which is what you had except you think it was a hospital stretcher), some have a sofa bed.

A little research beforehand on this board may have made it a little more clear. I stayed in an OV my first time on the Jewel and we had that trundle bed. We left it in the low to floor configuration it wasn't wall to wall beds. We had no problem.

I sympathize with the OP. I've taken 25 cruises, many with my children, and have never experienced a "hospital stretcher" type bed. I agree that "multiple places to sleep" is a vague description. Should this (and the photo on the NCL web page showing only one upper berth) have raised questions in the OP's mind? In my opinion, yes. But should NCL be more specific in its description of the quad bed configuration? The answer to that question is also yes. Clearly the "stretcher bed" is small for an adult or teen and takes the idea of family closeness to a new level. It would be very difficult for cruisers with mobility issues to climb out of any of the three lower berths when all are occupied. Thankfully this doesn't seem to have been an issue for the OP, but could certainly affect other passengers.

 

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I stated above that I also feel NCL should improve the clarity. Then again I think they could improve a lot of things on their web site. But I can't say I've had any more complaints about theirs than I did in my research of CCL or HAL.

I also would never book this configuration.

My only point is the "warning" #1 is inaccurate since not all ships have this configuration. #2 some people actually don't have an issue with this configuration.

Here is a thread not that long ago on the exact same topic and a clear picture of the configuration.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1996957&highlight=cabin+sleeps

We learned the hard way on our recent Norwegian Pearl cruise the reason why NCL.com is so vague about bedding configuration in their cabins. If they were clear, nobody would likely book 4 people in a cabin on their ships!

 

Video showing the terrible website and even more terrible sleeping configuration:

http://youtu.be/dShDdN9aibE

 

Be warned if you plan to cruise on NCL with 4 people in a stateroom!

Was it 2 adults and 2 of your kids? If so, why were you, the adult, sleeping on the 'cot' instead of one of the kids?

But yes, I can see how this would be a surprise if 'homework' wasn't done before hand. I always get photos of my cabin prior to booking.

Harriet

I must admit I was taken by surprise when I entered our stateroom on the Gem. I had thought there were going to be two pullmans, and instead we had one pullman and the trundle.

We had the two singles pushed together and pushed up against the wall (to make a queen, and the trundle set up under the pullman next to the queen, so it was like a bunkbed. It actually worked out really well!! Had my son and daughter in the "bunk beds" and hubby and I had the regular "queen". We told our steward to just leave the beds set up so we could come back and nap if we wanted. I thought the space was utilized really well and would book one again!

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No standard cabin, especially and inside cabin is good for 4 people IMHO. The bathroom situation alone makes it problematic. Many people choose to tolerate 4 in a cabin for economic reasons or they have small children. Next time consider getting adjoining cabins.

I did Carnival in the fall with 3 adults. Everything said that the 3rd person would sleep on a trundle...the steward made up the couch instead. And it wasn't a pull out sofabed. They just put bedding on the couch cushions. I never saw the room steward.

Also, I'm sorry you had to deal with this unexpectedinconvenience. As others have said your statement of not sailing NCL with 4 people in a room is wrong. A little research goes a long way. NCL has other categories of rooms which are great for 4 people - they do have rooms with 2 drop down beds. Also, I've seen pictures of the beds set up in a U-shape so at least there is some space in between & it isn't like 1 large bed.

We have cruised over 30 times and have very little expectation or need for cabin space. We are out cruising and enjoying. Yes we have the beds put away during the day. However, never have we been on a cruise where a "hospital stretcher" is placed between two other beds with no warning from the website we booked on. A reasonable assumption we made was that they would warn us about this "non-standard" bedding arrangement.

. . .

The rest of the cruise was fine.

That is not a hospital stretcher. It is a trundle bed that comes out from underneath one of the beds. There have been photos of that configuration here on CC. I am sorry you did not ask on CC first about what could be expected since as others have said it varies.

At least the rest of your cruise was fine.

Next time you will know to do research and find out which cabins have beds that aren't trundle beds.

No standard cabin, especially and inside cabin is good for 4 people IMHO. The bathroom situation alone makes it problematic. Many people choose to tolerate 4 in a cabin for economic reasons or they have small children. Next time consider getting adjoining cabins.

+1

Would not consider it a vacation with 4 in a standard cabin.. :D

We always do 4 people in interior and have no problem. Maybe we like being close to each other LOL!

We always do 4 people in interior and have no problem. Maybe we like being close to each other LOL!

I snore.. ;)

I snore.. ;)

Lol! Yeah that could be a problem ;)

As others have stated, DO YOUR RESEARCH. Look at the deck plans and notice the key to what the different symbols mean. NCL has some of the biggest staterooms out of most other cruise lines. My Family and I have gone on 29 cruises. The last seven in a row have been on NCL. THis is due to the fact that NCL has 2 bedroom suites that sleep 6.

Unless you get that suite, the insides, OV's and regular balconies are VERY small. I believe Carnival has the largest cabins overall.