Platinum finally giving up on NCL

Quite interesting, isn't it? People get mad because you are unhappy with a corporation. They act as though they personally have some sort of stake in the company, and your comments will cause them harm. What a nice position for a cruise line to be in. Customers with complete blind loyalty who will hand over their money regardless of how they are treated. It's that mindset that allowed us to get to where we are today with the degradation of service/quality and the nickel and diming.

You hit the nail on the head. Thank you for your well-written opinion.

Quite interesting, isn't it? People get mad because you are unhappy with a corporation. They act as though they personally have some sort of stake in the company, and your comments will cause them harm. What a nice position for a cruise line to be in. Customers with complete blind loyalty who will hand over their money regardless of how they are treated. It's that mindset that allowed us to get to where we are today with the degradation of service/quality and the nickle and diming.

What is the actual point of posting unsolicited negative opinions? It’s one thing to answer another person’s question, but just posting opinions doesn’t really add to the conversation.

Invariably, it’s “NCL blah, blah, blah, I’m so unhappy, it wasn’t like this in 1643, and now I’m only sailing [OtherLine].”

Why not go to the [OtherLine] board and post how happy you are, and what things you enjoy? Then you should be in a group of likeminded people.

I don’t think it’s blind loyalty. Posting negative opinions about something that is a substantial investment for a lot of people is almost always going to cause pushback. I don’t want to know that something to which I’ve committed a bunch of money is going to suck. You’re raining on their parade.

You also have new people here who don’t know what is was like on the Norway and probably don’t care. Their first cruise is what sets their baseline - not something that happened thirty or forty years ago.

I didn’t find CC until after my first cruise and I’m glad, because the ceaseless whining would probably have kept me off a ship. I like cruising. I am willing to pay what NCL charges for what they provide, but I review the T&Cs every time.

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When I posted my feelings, I was bombarded with negative comments to me for criticizing NCL. I just dropped out of the conversation.

I just reviewed the thread you are referring to, and I have to say that I don’t agree that you were “bombarded with negative comments for criticising NCL”.

Your initial post raised a number of questions, as what you say you received didn’t tie up with what you should have received. You didn’t return to clarify this, but the main point of discussion early on was based on whether there had been some sort of error onboard.

I was probably the most critical, but certainly not for your having criticised NCL, in fact I clearly stated that their communication is generally appalling. I did point out that if you don’t check for changes before travelling then you are leaving yourself open for disappointment, but that applies for most, if not all companies.

If you post that you didn’t receive things that you should have done then you are going to be questioned on it. Not because of blindly sticking up for the company, but to try to clarify what actually happened,

What is the actual point of posting unsolicited negative opinions? It’s one thing to answer another person’s question, but just posting opinions doesn’t really add to the conversation.

 

Posting negative opinions about something that is a substantial investment for a lot of people is almost always going to cause pushback. I don’t want to know that something to which I’ve committed a bunch of money is going to suck. You’re raining on their parade.

 

You also have new people here who don’t know what is was like on the Norway and probably don’t care. Their first cruise is what sets their baseline - not something that happened thirty or forty years ago.

I think that's the nature of a website that provides consumer reviews, no? If I'm shopping for a new car and am considering a Dodge, I don't want a bunch of cheerleaders giving me the rah-rah high-five with a fist-pump when I ask a question on a Dodge forum. I want real opinions from real people, both good and bad. Sure, some people nitpick and are negative no matter what the situation, but if you're taking the time to read a website called "cruise CRITIC" you are hopefully wise enough to be able to sort through opinions and identify isolated incidents vs widespread issues and then take those into consideration before making a decision.

I think that's the nature of a website that provides consumer reviews, no? If I'm shopping for a new car and am considering a Dodge, I don't want a bunch of cheerleaders giving me the rah-rah high-five with a fist-pump when I ask a question on a Dodge forum. I want real opinions from real people, both good and bad. Sure, some people nitpick and are negative no matter what the situation, but if you're taking the time to read a website called "cruise CRITIC" you are hopefully wise enough to be able to sort through opinions and identify isolated incidents vs widespread issues and then take those into consideration before making a decision.

This is not the review section. There are hundreds of reviews in the review section. If I wanted to know what people thought about a specific ship, I would look at reviews, not discussions.

This is the discussion section. To follow your example, if someone said, “I’m thinking of buying a 2018 Dodge”, being told how the 1940s Dodges had more powerful engines is completely useless information. It is unlikely they will decide to find a 1940s Dodge instead.

Just announcing, “I’m not buying a Dodge because the 1940s Dodges were better” is not helpful, it’s just complaining.

It is Cruise Critic and it’s all opinions. However, the question I was addressing was, “Why do people react violently to unsolicited negative opinions?”

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I think that's the nature of a website that provides consumer reviews, no? If I'm shopping for a new car and am considering a Dodge, I don't want a bunch of cheerleaders giving me the rah-rah high-five with a fist-pump when I ask a question on a Dodge forum. I want real opinions from real people, both good and bad. Sure, some people nitpick and are negative no matter what the situation, but if you're taking the time to read a website called "cruise CRITIC" you are hopefully wise enough to be able to sort through opinions and identify isolated incidents vs widespread issues and then take those into consideration before making a decision.

I tend to agree with you, but also with the comment after yours.

Yes, this is cruise critic. There is a review section where people can post their reviews free from all comeback, as there is no facility to comment on those reviews.

Meanwhile, this forum serves a number of functions. For me it is principally for people to ask questions, and it is invaluable for that. It also allows discussion on a whole range of cruise related subjects.

In my opinion (and I say this as someone who posts my reviews in the form of live reports in the forum), anyone who posts their reviews or opinion in the forum should expect that it may kick off a discussion.

I don’t agree with blindly defending the company line, which a few people are guilty of, but posting differing opinions, or discussing whether the problems are NCL specific or relate to all cruise lines is quite valid as far as I am concerned. In fact, generally this thread seems to be a fairly rounded discussion with very little blind defence of NCL.

I do believe that some people are overly sensitive to different opinions. I don’t want it to seem as if I am picking on individuals, but if we take the example of the poster who claimed they were bombarded after their post, they stated that as a result of the latitudes changes they were down by 4 meals on a 2 week b2b. That in itself doesn’t make sense, and the main point of initial discussion was whether there was some sort of error or misunderstanding. Unfortunately, they seem to have taken these questions as criticism, so that point was never resolved. As a result, the thread they started is pretty well useless.

OMG I just LOL

Only on CC do folks publically post “Dear John” letters to cruise lines.

Quite interesting, isn't it? People get mad because you are unhappy with a corporation. They act as though they personally have some sort of stake in the company, and your comments will cause them harm. What a nice position for a cruise line to be in. Customers with complete blind loyalty who will hand over their money regardless of how they are treated. It's that mindset that allowed us to get to where we are today with the degradation of service/quality and the nickle and diming.

Exactly this.

It's like people are defending their favorite sports team, and heaven forbid you have a *real* problem where the cruise line screwed up, because posters here will bend over backwards picking apart your story to make it your fault.

It's the kind of social media marketing money can't buy. Unless, of course, it does.

 

It's the kind of social media marketing money can't buy. Unless, of course, it does.

Funny you should say that. I've always felt some of the critic reviews on this site were a little "slanted" towards Royal...I guess at the end of the day, you never know whose pocket the check's going into.

OMG I just LOL

that is pretty funny and the thing is: who wants to read someone else's Dear John letter. Or in this case Dear Jane?

I will add I enjoy reading objective reviews, whether here or anywhere. I know what is good for one is not for another, but I do have a problem when some one decides to let everyone know they are through with whatever.

on had cruised 5 years in a row and then had to take a break because of family issues. Last year was our first cruise in 3 years and we chose Oasis of the Seas. Knowing that food was the same on all the lines we had been on we decided to go first class and booked a room on the Oasis that included a genie. If you are looking for service this is the way to go. Anywhere we went we were treated with respect and people were happy to help us in any way. Food even seemed better when the wait staff knew you by name. I know most people think this is way to expensive but if you are looking for service give the RCCL genie a try. We have since booked the Pinnacle Suite on Eurodam and the H2 Haven on the Breakaway. I guess we became spoiled having Alan on the Oasis but we also are willing to pay the extra cost for the extra service. I know you should be treated like you are first class regardless of what cabin you choose to book but cruising is like flying, first class is different that coach and you get what you pay for.

Being a business woman myself, I always say "you get what you pay for". ;)(y)

pretty sure unsanitary meant that hundreds of people come through the buffer, touch their face, sneeze in their hand, scratch their ass and then grab tongs and spread germs and illness to others etc. Take 5 minutes at any buffet, not necessarily on a cruise and just people watch, it is scary . The food is fine, NCL maintains temp and time controls on all of it, its the guests that are scary

It is always the guests/buffet customers who are the problem! I love buffets (because they offer the large selections/variety I like), but yes, I am quite leery about which buffets I get my food from (when on land) and how I get my food (I always get the items that are in the far back of the pan) ;)

And I plan to either wash my hands after getting the food before eating, or bring my own disposable gloves for handling the tongs and serving spoons.

It is always the guests/buffet customers who are the problem! I love buffets (because they offer the large selections/variety I like), but yes, I am quite leery about which buffets I get my food from (when on land) and how I get my food (I always get the items that are in the far back of the pan) ;)

And I plan to either wash my hands after getting the food before eating, or bring my own disposable gloves for handling the tongs and serving spoons.

Yep I watched a woman pick up a cake with her bare hand, sniff it and put it back. Before I could help myself I said "errr NO lady"... she glared at me and walked off. I took it and put it aside. She was lucky I didn't have my trusty 2x4 with me.

Yep I watched a woman pick up a cake with her bare hand, sniff it and put it back.

Now that's class.

I don’t know if women do this, but I do notice that a lot of men do the “pretend hand washing” in public bathrooms where they turn the water on, rinse their hands for a second or two without soap and leave. Obviously a mediocre attempt at not looking like a total pig, but completely useless.

 

 

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Actually, I've noted from as far as I can remember that it is very common for people to not wash their hands after doing their deed in the bathroom (I live in NYC). I see women doing this (since I use the women's restroom), but I know more men commit this sin (I was tipped off. ;) ) This is why I "take my precautions" in my everyday life.

To answer your question ... if you call what you described as "pretend hand washing”, then yes, many women restroom users do this. I've never thought of it as pretend hand washing; I just thought it careless or lazy hand washing.

Regardless, it is not sufficent for hygienic purposes.

Strange. Our last cruise was fully of friendly and hard working people who served us food and drinks just like we requested.

The crew seemed just as happy as they have any other time over the past 20 years. Much of it depends on the attitude of the person taking the cruise.

I entirely agree! Everyone was very friendly and kind on my last cruise. It is hard to stand and wait for the bartender to get free to make a drink but this was not the fault of the bartender but rather because it’s painful for me to stand due to rheumatoid arthritis. The bartender must have observed my difficulty because for the rest of the evening the waiter showed up with another drink before I was even finished drinking the one in hand!

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