corman-cruise

I was on this same cruise, disembarkaction was indeed 2 hour line.

The ship was amazing.

I mentioned the $20, 000 to illustrate its not that we aren't willing to spend money, it's the principle. Princess and other ships, we were given a drink package but never had to pay a 20% on top of a over inflated price. We won't go there, that has been beaten to death. The post was if only it Nickle and dime. We and other fellow cruisers on THIS PARTICULAR sailing loved the ship but did notice a number of issues. Many mention the additional fees and water not included in a drink package, things like that were talking points. I am convinced they were understaffed. The excursions were awful, they were poorly organized, resulting in us leaving the dock 30 to 40 minutes late. Disembarking was a gong show. It took 2 hours in a huge line to clear the customs officer. There was no organization there, no visible signs indicating where the line should start, people cutting inline. People were openly discussing their dissatisfaction towards ncl, a majority claimed they would never sail with them again. These people instigated those sentiments, not me. I told them I was wondering if it was only I who saw the issues. I know there are many who do not like to hear this, but these are real people saying this openly.

Not on this encore ship going through the Panama canal. But there was a fellow singing his washie washie hands giggle at the entrance to the buffet.

Scenic does the alcohol thing differently.

Do you have really want to split hairs over this? Ncl advertises the offer as "free at sea" . So, I echoed it. But yes, nothing in this world is free, I did not anticipate it being an issue when I used ncl own description of free.

Let me put it this way, free as it is included.

Actually, with scenic river cruises, it's included all day long, not just with dinner.

I am always willing to try something new, we have a scenic river cruise coming up, Amsterdam to Budapest, everything is included, it's a very expensive cruise. It will cost us $22, 000 cnd for the two of us. Everything is included. I have always heard it's a different experience and that I should try it at least once. This was my first sailing with ncl, the ship itself is a beautiful ship, being relatively new helps. We have now tried the Ncl product , perhaps in the future I may have a change of heart and give them another shot, you never know. One thing I came across, which other lines also do, which makes me shake my head is they grossly over inflate their merchandise but have a screaming sale on, 75% off. Who doesn't love a sale, right? My son's Birthday is in a few days after we get home and he likes watches. Ncl has the invictus watch line and they happen to have a sale on, how lucky can a guy get. $750, Bwahahaha, ok, whatever, but we can have it for $120, wow what a bargain. A quick google search, same watch with delivery $110. We bought it, poin being, just be upfront with your customers, you never want your customers to have a negative feeling on a purchase , and that applies to every cruise line, every business.

I posted how I felt about the way ncl charged and decided that and other things would cause me not to sail with them in the future. Today, I spoke to a senior server in one of the specialty dining rooms. She told me about how long she worked for company and her jobs over the years working for ncl. I mentioned that I noticed that ncl doesn't have people walking around in the buffet offering coffee, pastries and orange juice like other cruise lines. She seemed puzzled by that comment , she told me that is what one of her jobs when she fist started. She said to best of her knowledge ncl still does that. When I told her that I only saw them once and it's been day 10 on the ship, she urged me to email my feed back to corporate, so much for ncl never offering that. There are things that others in this thread have criticized ncl for that I have also noticed while on the ship. There was no alternative motivation, like someone has posted earlier, it's called cruise critics.

I never considered carnival, the impression that I got was it was a younger crowd, party ship. I may have to look into it. Thank you for your feed back.

It's amazing how upset and defensive some people got. There was more that I didn't mention but I am glad you did. Happy future sailings to you and your family.

If you get a chance to catch Nashville tenors on the ship, don't pass it up. They were very good.

Yes, and I said all the musicians are good.. Choir of man is as close to a Broadway type production as they got. Close but not there. In the past we would have choirs of man shows along with a big production. It seems after covid, cruise Iines cut back on the big productions. I will go one step further, the Nashville tenors blew them away. The choir of men cast sat in the audience in front of us, they were fist pumping and loving the act.

Off the top of my head, Broadway type productions like cats. Dancers, band, singers I have to repeat, all the music acts are very good. The Nashville tenors were fantastic, best show I have ever attended on a ship. The lounge singers are so good that you enjoy having a cocktail and listening into the late night. The comics were forgettable. The magician was good. We have had some awful singers on the other ships, you had to consume large amounts of alcohol to help you survive their performance.

It's simple, With ncl you get free items/included free gratuities, means you still pay a gratuity for the free drink package worth, you still pay gratuities on the free dinner package worth So yes, Nickle and dimes. When I sailed with princess or celebrity they did not charge you a fee/graditude for something that was included.

Nope

How ironic that you mention the hamburger buns falling apart, happened to me at the local during lunch. Said to my wife, I have no idea why this bun is falling apart.

Those are your observations and right now at this moment, on the 14 day Miami to Las Angeles, these are my observations. Yes, nobody forced me to book with ncl, the same way nobody forced me to book my scenic river cruise in 2 months. I am willing to try it once. Ncl did not stand out from the previous cruise ships that we've been on. I highly doubt that we try them again. Many other travellers are saying that same thing at dinner.

1 item right off the bat. I never cared for princess too much in the past but they have figured things out. Their free internet. We have unlimited steaming for 2 devises. I need it for working on the ship. Cost us a good chick of coin on the encore. I found them lacking things that I found on other ships. I stand by my opinions and observations.

This is our first time on Norwegian. The encore is a beautiful ship but after sailing on Royal Carribean, celebrity, princess, oceana this cruise line is all about Nickle and diming you on everything. You get perks, wifi, free gratuities, specialized dinning, even purchased 2 additional days, got charged gratitude fee on top of the free perks and extra dinners. Upgraded to a premium alcohol package because my wife wanted better bottled water, yip you pay a gratuity charge on that. It seems like the service on board has decreased, nobody walking around the buffet offering orange juice, coffee or pastries. No big show productions, but the musicians are amazing. To me, it seems like we are getting less and paying alot. Not sure that I will ever sail with them again. So far, 7 out 10