Just returned - Sun repositioning Pacific Coastal

Well, to be fair, this is the first time we have cruised on NCL. We couldn't resist the price for this five day cruise, for the PRICE we paid, we received a five day holiday on a cruise. With that said, we were extremely disappointed in the quality of the food and the cleanliness of this vessel. We were served from chipped glasses, bent sliverware, and had our coffee cream poured out of a carton, a wine glass, and a coffee cup, if you can believe it? in the DINING ROOM?? Cold food, limited choices of food, and were asked to "make up our minds" at the soup and sandwich bar, when we were not accustomed to assuming that we knew what pasta was being served. No visible signs...posted anywhere. The same white threads and empty candy wrappers adorned the stairwell to the Il Daggio restaurant for the entire cruise. My inlaws, who are in their LATE 70's were summoned..literally (by phone,) at 1:30 AM to the front desk to "clear up a signature problem on their travellers cheques". Apparently they had to sign the back of the traveller's cheque they cashed earlier in the day. When my mother in law said they were in bed and could this matter wait until morning.. the reply was NO! They needed the signature tonight to balance their accounting. So then my mother in law asked if they could have someone come up to their stateroom and then they would sign the thing, they said "NO" we couldn't do that...we need you to come down...and my mother in law said, I am sorry, we are not coming down..we will be there first thing in the morning. Unheard of. When we asked for ice to be delivered to our stateroom we were told..oh after six pm you will receive your ice...but you can get some from the Garden Cafe area if you wish. I don't want to go on and on about the details. We thought we would give another cruise line a try...and fully understand that each ship will vary...but the policy and the unprofessionalism on this cruise by a great majority of their staff was certainly not worth $10 per person per day. Comparing this rate being the same as Holland America's, Princess' and Carnival's same rate....NCL is FAR behind in our opinion...what a poor example of service and cleanliness. Yes, this IS comparing apples to apples with regard to the $10 tip charge per person. Put me on another ship, maybe I will change my mind..but there would have to be a very good reason for me to consider sailing this line again. On the brighter side, the shows were fine enough(even though the music productions lacked good acoustics, and there was no live orchestra). The embarkation and debarkation were great! Sorry NCL...Carnival here we come, again!

I'm sorry to see that you had a poor experience. We were on the 17 day Canal cruise that ended just before yours and had a wonderful experience on the Sun.

Sorry about your trip. IM really surprised about the cleanliness and rude behavior.

I sailed the Sun over christmas and it was wonderful both

the cleanliness and service. I wonder if this is typival of

repo cruises. IM on one next week on the Spirit,I hope I

fare better. IM not surprised to hear about the food. Most carnival cruisers dont seem to like the NCL food. Ive been

on both lines and like both. Its very subjective I guess.

I would not have been bothered much by the milk issue but

I would have been pretty irritated about given an ultimatum to come down to settle a bill at 1:30am. Even

if it were the last night of the cruise this was down right rude.

 

HLP

I have to agree with the poster. We, too, sailed on this repositioning cruise and found the staff to be polite. That's it. No extra effort on their part at all to make you feel special. Sure, the odd staff member...but not many...the food was TERRIBLE in the Garden Cafe. Try to find a pickle on the soup and sandwich bar...impossible! We sat down in the Windjammer Bar at 3:45 pm one afternoon and was approached by a bar waiter...when we asked for a drink he told us..oh sorry....we don't open until 4:30 pm. When we asked where we might be able to purchase a drink..he said " oh another bar somewhere?" Okay...now...this is terrible service! Get this...4 pm rolls around (we were playing cards )he comes back over to us and said..would you like a drink now? Yes... this is the truth! What a joke! Oatmeal in the morning in the Garden Cafe was served by a lovely gal with a wonderful smile. Her assistant was busy emptying packets of raw sugar into a little dessert dish. When I asked for some brown sugar on my oatmeal, she sprinkled the raw sugar on it..I said, oh...I meant brown sugar, soft brown sugar, not crystallized raw sugar! Oh boy.. I could go on and on...but running out of goods and food supplies when you begin your cruise in an American port like Los Angeles and debark in Vancouver five days later, there is NO excuse to run out of staples. These coastal cruises are the perfect short cruise for people wanting to taste the flavour of another cruise line..well in our opinion NCL has a LONG way to go before we come back!

I have to agree with the poster. We, too, sailed on this repositioning cruise and found the staff to be polite. That's it. No extra effort on their part at all to make you feel special. Sure, the odd staff member...but not many...the food was TERRIBLE in the Garden Cafe. Try to find a pickle on the soup and sandwich bar...impossible! We sat down in the Windjammer Bar at 3:45 pm one afternoon and was approached by a bar waiter...when we asked for a drink he told us..oh sorry....we don't open until 4:30 pm. When we asked where we might be able to purchase a drink..he said " oh another bar somewhere?" Okay...now...this is terrible service! Get this...4 pm rolls around (we were playing cards )he comes back over to us and said..would you like a drink now? Yes... this is the truth! What a joke! Oatmeal in the morning in the Garden Cafe was served by a lovely gal with a wonderful smile. Her assistant was busy emptying packets of raw sugar into a little dessert dish. When I asked for some brown sugar on my oatmeal, she sprinkled the raw sugar on it..I said, oh...I meant brown sugar, soft brown sugar, not crystallized raw sugar! Oh boy.. I could go on and on...but running out of goods and food supplies when you begin your cruise in an American port like Los Angeles and debark in Vancouver five days later, there is NO excuse to run out of staples.

These coastal cruises are the perfect short cruise for people wanting to taste the flavour of another cruise line..well in our opinion NCL has a LONG way to go before we come back!

 

 

Sorry your trip wasn't what you expected. I really like doing the Coastals. I've done 5 so far on NCL, packed and ready to do another one day after tomorrow, and 2 more coastals planned on The Sun.

The rest of my NCL Cruises have been regular round trips.

My service and food, have always been good. I wouldn't keep going if it wasn't.

For me, it's the best bang for my buck:)

We too were on the repostitioning cruise. We have taken a few of these repositioning cruises on different cruise lines and have enjoyed them all but this was by far our least favorite. The service was fine but not outstanding like we have usually received. The food in the Garden Cafe was not good and in the dining rooms it was only fair. I felt like they didn't offer the same choice and quality in the dining room as I have found on Royal Caribbean, Carnival etc. I felt like they offered lower quality in the dining room so you would choose to go to the pay restaurants. They didn't have lobster or filet in the dining room and we have always had that on all other cruise lines. We were told that if we wanted lobster we needed to go to one of the pay restaurants. Our cabin was not nearly as clean as we have had on other ships. The entertainment was excellent and it was still fun because how can you not enjoy a cruise, but I don't think I would sail Norwegian again.

Well stated. Fun enough for the short duration, not nearly worth the same $10 per day tip charge as Carnival, with regard to quality of food or service! NCL is not for us, either. Dining room experience was like eating at Outback's or similar, at best. I have to agree with the push to the pay restaurants...kind of sad, really...NCL will lose passengers quickly if this keeps up.

I enjoy the Outback - if you are saying the dinning room food and experience was similar to the Outback - What's your problem - I guess you prefer Morton's or Ruth Chris - too snoby for me.

I understand where your coming from, hey its

your money you should sail with whoever pleases

you. I dont agree with you particularly in

regards to carnivals service being better then NCL

but I respect your decision.

 

P.S.

I like outback too.

 

HLP

I'm really sorry you didn't have a good time. It seems that when it rained...it poured. That's terrible. I've done four NCL repos and had a great time on each. I wish you would have had the same experience.

Oh boy.. I could go on and on...but running out of goods and food supplies when you begin your cruise in an American port like Los Angeles and debark in Vancouver five days later, there is NO excuse to run out of staples.

I wanted to make a quick comment on this. I don't mean to say this only to you BCMom. I only quoted your post because you mentioned it but so many others have brought this up before. Unfortunately, there's no way to know for a fact how long supplies will last. When cruise lines restock ships it's probably based on a lot of factors including past history of what's been used, etc. Also, not every port is a restock port for the ship. While talking with an officer on the Wind during a 19 day cruise through Asia and onto Australia he talked about supply problems because NCL has to have set vendors in the port city or they have to ship supplies to the port city. They can't just go to the store or make a quick call and have stuff show up. I'm guessing that because it's a repo cruise NCL was thinking the supplies would last until it's new home port for the season where everything would be restocked with the vendors set up for the season. I've had this happen before. On a 17 day repo from Miami to Rome the Dream ran out of Coors Light on the second day. The Azores was five days away but the Azores wasn't a restock port for a lot of things including the beer. We had to wait until we got to Cannes to get more beer, a full 11 days into the 17 day cruise. It's very inconvenient at times but there are instances where the ship runs out of stuff. Again, just passing on the information I heard from a ship's officer once and what I've personally experienced. It certainly doesn't make up for your experience.

BCmom:

Re: brown sugar - there are actually TWO types of brown sugar. What the waiter offered you WAS brown sugar - just the darker variety. I know because my husband prefers this to the lighter more golden coloured type.

BTW - BOTH types are made from raw sugar - the only difference is the amount of molasses added. I am sorry that apparently they did not have the type that your prefer but I imagine that ships cannot forsee every passengers preference.

Brown sugar aside...I agree...the oatmeal was fine! Thanks for the heads up! However, when we booked this cruise...we assumed it was a 5 Day Pacific Coastal cruise...not a hop on hop off cruise extension of the Panama Canal cruise. I suppose my point is that NCL advertises this as a 5 Day Pacific Coastal cruise...."to get a taste of the Pacific Coast ports." There were a lot of passengers that purchased this cruise as such...my point being, NCL knew ahead of time how many passengers were to be added to their "repositioning Panama Canal" cruise, in Los Angeles...I still think it doesn't account for much dollar for dollar when you compare the amount charged for your tips compared to the other lines. But who knows...I may be back, as I am one to give it another go...under different circumstances. Thanks for the input!

BCmom:

It is too bad that your cruise was not what you expected it to be. I am glad that you are keeping an open mind. We were on the Sun's Western caribbean itinerary and had no significant issues. The service we received was very good to excellent. The food was as expected (not gourmet but for the most part - good and occasionally very good). The ship was very clean and well organized.

BCmom:

Re: brown sugar - there are actually TWO types of brown sugar. What the waiter offered you WAS brown sugar - just the darker variety. I know because my husband prefers this to the lighter more golden coloured type.

BTW - BOTH types are made from raw sugar - the only difference is the amount of molasses added. I am sorry that apparently they did not have the type that your prefer but I imagine that ships cannot forsee every passengers preference.

 

Zeno, what BCMom was referring to was not light or dark brown sugar. She was referring to "sugar in the raw" which is an unrefined granular sugar. The color of these granules is slightly brown, but it is in no way anywhere close to brown sugar. I can understand her disappointment - and am happy that she was able to make light of the misunderstanding. These things definately happen with so many languages onboard. ;)

Thanks WaldosPepper, that is exactly what I was referring to!

BCmom:

Re: brown sugar - there are actually TWO types of brown sugar. What the waiter offered you WAS brown sugar - just the darker variety. I know because my husband prefers this to the lighter more golden coloured type.

BTW - BOTH types are made from raw sugar - the only difference is the amount of molasses added. I am sorry that apparently they did not have the type that your prefer but I imagine that ships cannot forsee every passengers preference.

 

Sorry, need to clarify this (silly issue to jump on but...) There are two types of brown sugar commonly available, light and dark. What the OP was talking about RE: raw sugar, isn't brown sugar, it's raw sugar, i.e. turbinado sugar, sugar not fully processed or refined...

 

the "brown sugar" that is commonly available in light and dark is NOT raw sugar, it's refined white sugar that has had molasses added to it.

 

The turbinado that was being sprinkled on the OP's oatmeal is more akin to the large crystal decorator sugar used on danish butter cookies (odd reference but it's the only thiing I can think of), only a pale gold color

When will I learn to read all the posts before responding??? Thanks Waldospepper :-)

Just returned from the 5/3 Sailing of the NCL Sun. The food was disappointing--breakfast best meal of the day and the lunch time pizza was serviceable. Tough to find something decent to eat at dinner, although we did not try any of the speciality restaurants. The staff did their jobs, but no one went the extra mile. The Food and Beverage Manager was not interested in any feedback--only wanted to hear that everything was great--so smile alot, but don't waste your time trying to effecutate change.

 

My 8 year old tried the Kids Korner (supervised (?) childcare) twice and then refused to go back. Said the games were "babyish"---board games and tossing the beach ball up in the air. There are no video games in Kids Korner and the Video Zone (arcade) is dark and smelly with no place for adults to sit and supervise their children--games are .50-.75 a piece. In Kids Korner, all of the kids 6 to 12 yoa were lumped together and I spoke with other families whose children also did not want to attend. In addition, the Kids Korner is located in the front of the ship and that part of the boat rocks more; so my son also felt queasy when he was there--bring children's motion sickness pills if you intend to use Kids Korner on the Sun.

 

Getting on and off the ship was very easy and quick. Better than my two Carnival and one RCC experience.

 

Ports were enjoyable and the ship was on time for both arrivals and depatures. Cruise staff did not know that there is a wonderful baggage storage and transfer service at Vancouver Cruise Terminal.

 

Ship was clean, but not spotless. Sun staff is militant about guests using the hand sanitizer.

 

It was worth what I paid--but not much more. I'd go on another repo cruise again, but probably would try another cruise line. :rolleyes:

Sorry to hear about the bad cruise....I haven't heard much anything good about the food on NCL. We are trying NCL in June '06, and am worried about all the negativity about NCL......We will go with a positive outlook though. :)

 

Carnival ROCKS in my opinion....and am hoping that our NCL experience will be as good...:)

We just returned from the Sun yesterday. We did the 17 day Panama and the 5 day coastal as a back to back. We had a mini suite on the stern.

 

I have to agree with the OP. The tone and tempo of the ship changed drastically for the coastal cruise. I think the weather and itinerary had a lot to do with it. The first day was the worst. Every venue was just swamped with people! The buffet was a nightmare. Several food stations were removed and tables added to help seat everyone. Even the Captain remarked about the buffet and it's problems. It calmed down once everyone got into the swing of things but we considered just hiding in our stateroom for the balance of the cruise!

 

I will add that the 17 canal cruise was great. It really exceeded our expectations. We have cruised on RCCL 15+ times and I have never had a buffet server carry my tray to the table or a cabin attendant fold my clothes (even in an owners suite). We had exceptional service and I never felt the ship was dirty. We enjoyed several great meals in the dining rooms. Il Adagio was okay but I won't pay to eat there again.

 

The 5 day was a great value and I completely enjoyed it but would never book it unless it was part of a b2b.

From what I've read elsewhere on this board, the staff on these ships change every 6 to 9 months. Does anyone know when the staff changes for the Sun?

 

If it changes for example in Vancouver (right after this repo) then that would mean that for the staff that did the repo, this was their last itinerary before the Alaska cruises. I'm venturing a guess here. But I know from personal experience that some people don't work too hard if they know they aren't working for your company next week. Am I all wet?

From what I've read elsewhere on this board, the staff on these ships change every 6 to 9 months. Does anyone know when the staff changes for the Sun?

Staff turnover is constant. It's not the whole ship staff for a whole new ship staff. Every week a dozen or so staff members leave for vacations or other ships and new people come on. I've actually found outgoing staff to be the best. They are the cheeriest because they know they're leaving in a few days. ;)

 

BCMom...glad to hear you may give NCL another try. Great attitude to have.

Sorry, need to clarify this (silly issue to jump on but...) There are two types of brown sugar commonly available, light and dark. What the OP was talking about RE: raw sugar, isn't brown sugar, it's raw sugar, i.e. turbinado sugar, sugar not fully processed or refined...

 

the "brown sugar" that is commonly available in light and dark is NOT raw sugar, it's refined white sugar that has had molasses added to it.

 

The turbinado that was being sprinkled on the OP's oatmeal is more akin to the large crystal decorator sugar used on danish butter cookies (odd reference but it's the only thiing I can think of), only a pale gold color

 

This sugar thing is actually beginning to fascinate me - the sugar I get for my husband is called "brown" sugar but it does have large crystals and a roughter appearance. It is not the light golden "soft" brown sugar I remember from my childhood. Can anyone who REALLY knows sugar (maybe someone who works in the business?) clarify - are there now 3 different types of brown coloured sugar? I will get quite a laugh if I tell my husband what he thinks is brown sugar is actually "raw" sugar. You learn something new every day.

OMG - I found this website - there are so MANY different types of sugar

http://www.joyofbaking.com/sugar.html

 

I still don't know what my husband has been eating - because I don't have the bag - just some in a container - I will have to check next time I buy some.

The "brown sugar" you are speaking of is also called "Tubinado Sugar"

Well stated. Fun enough for the short duration, not nearly worth the same $10 per day tip charge as Carnival, with regard to quality of food or service! NCL is not for us, either. Dining room experience was like eating at Outback's or similar, at best. I have to agree with the push to the pay restaurants...kind of sad, really...NCL will lose passengers quickly if this keeps up.

What did you except? Mortons? It's a cruise and most lines (we have cruised all but one mass marketed line) offers similar food. The shorter the cruise the less service, why I do not know, but it is pretty true and most repo cruises are not as nice as regular ones. Again, I do not know why. As for the Sun being dirty as the OP stated, I can almost not believe that. I am not meaning to downgrade anyone but this is a complaint I have never heard from anyone. It is always amazing how several people can report on the same vacation experience and each has a different view. NMNita