Platinum finally giving up on NCL

If you are looking for good food, you won't get it on MSC.

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

Breaking up is hard to do. :loudcry:

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

LOL, I wanted to mention a door and a body part, but decided not to go there.

Wife and I are in our mid 50s and have been cruising for over 30 years. Most of our cruises have been on NCL (fondly remember the Norway!) and we've cruised most of the other lines. IMHO NCL has unfortunately gone downhill over the past 5 years or so. We just returned from our 2nd cruise on the Epic (we've been on the other NCL ships, Jewel class are our favorites). The staffing levels are down and most of the staff clearly are not the cheerful enthusiastic folks we saw in past years. They are now tasked with more work than ever. They also don't have the same incentives they had to promote up that they had in the past. I spoke with 2 different crew members who related that NCL now hires people into positions from outside more often. That takes away the incentive to move up from busing tables to waiting tables in the MDR to waiting tables in the specialty restaurants to becoming a maitre d'. We've also noticed that while the cost of specialty dining has gone up, the quality and quantity has gone down. On this last cruise, Our steaks were not cooked as ordered in two different specialty restaurants. On one occasion, after I sent both of them back and one came back even more well done that the previous (I ordered medium). I asked to speak with the maitre d'. I was told he was in a meeting and was not available. Rather than send it back a 2nd time, I ate the steak. Aside from the specialty restaurants, there were often lines at the bars due to the fact that most only had one or two bartenders working. They were working very hard, but just had trouble keeping up. I know this sounds like a lot of whining, but with over 30 cruises, we miss the exceptional service that we had come to expect from NCL. I spoke with several other couples and the general consensus was that NCL service is declining while they continue to find ways to charge for everything they can think of. I'm gonna miss NCL but I've had enough.

I have cruised on Royal Caribbean, NCL, Carnival, and Princess cruise lines and in every instance I have encountered people reporting the same thing.. Unless you’re ready to give up on cruising or cruise only with the very expensive lines you are probably going to continue to encounter this.

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Unfortunately, your post has become a common topic concerning all major cruise lines. Go to any board on Cruise Critic and replace NCL for any other cruise line’s name.

 

I’ve also been cruising for over 30 years on most major cruise lines, and I had also reached Platinum level on another line. Instead of sailing frequently on one cruise line, I made the decision a few years back to sail on as many cruise lines as possible and to never repeat the same one two times in a row. This approach has restored some of the excitement that I once felt as a new cruiser. Every time I set foot on a new cruise line, everything feels new and fresh. In the last 5 years I’ve jumped from Carnival to Royal Caribbean to Holland America to Princess to MSC to Disney and we are booked on another MSC cruise later this year followed by Carnival and Princess. I encourage you to do the same.

 

While all cruise lines do continue to adjust their products and come up with new ways to cut costs to maintain prices competitive, there’s something that you can do to continue experiencing what you once loved about NCL. And that’s to move up to the next tier of cruise lines in the premium segment. Yes, you will pay more than what NCL currently charges, but the prices (adjusted for inflation), level of service, quality, and even ship size will be in tune with what cruising used to be 30 years ago aboard the mainstream cruise lines.

 

 

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very good post. We always jumped around until the past few years. do to a lot of issues we do not cruise as often as in years past, so we stick with NCL because mostly the perks. We have friends who do the same with Princess. They do not feel it is the best line, but because they do not cruise often they have picked the line where they like the perks best.

On the other hand our daughter and her husband can cruise several time a year. The split it up between mass marketed lines and more upscale lines. Just a few weeks ago they did Oceana. It was a great experience, everything was luxury, but as they said: they paid a price for that luxury. Their next cruise will be Alaska with a land tour on NCL>

very good post. We always jumped around until the past few years. do to a lot of issues we do not cruise as often as in years past, so we stick with NCL because mostly the perks. We have friends who do the same with Princess. They do not feel it is the best line, but because they do not cruise often they have picked the line where they like the perks best.

 

On the other hand our daughter and her husband can cruise several time a year. The split it up between mass marketed lines and more upscale lines. Just a few weeks ago they did Oceana. It was a great experience, everything was luxury, but as they said: they paid a price for that luxury. Their next cruise will be Alaska with a land tour on NCL>

I see no mention of HAL on this thread and picking up from other threads seems that NCL best crew are going there.

Interesting about New Hires. This is so true.

The truth is NCL is a public company and all they are interested in profit profit and profit and the shareholders. Being generous and nice to crew and guest is an aside if they can keep filling the ships at the right price. You think about you cut one member of staff from each department across 16 ships look atthe extra profit. No flights no staff cost but still same top line.

Forget the halcyon days of the family they are gone FOREVER and those of us who miss these can vote with our feet if we want. Will they care?

IMHO, if crew members are complaining about their jobs to the passengers, they should be fired.

Jertom,

My reply was accidentally sent. We were also on the same cruise and experienced the same things.

Happy cruising.

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If you are looking for good food, you won't get it on MSC.

We cruised on MSC a couple years ago, and it was the best food ever. Fresh donuts, pizza better than any other cruise line I ever had. I have been wanting to cruise again with them, just cause of the food. But that was two years ago and things do change.. I wil sail again with them, but will remember what you wrote.

Jertom,

My reply was accidentally sent. We were also on the same cruise and experienced the same things.

Happy cruising.

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Glad to hear that you also enjoyed the cruise !

We cruised on MSC a couple years ago, and it was the best food ever. Fresh donuts, pizza better than any other cruise line I ever had. I have been wanting to cruise again with them, just cause of the food.

Even though we enjoyed sailing on MSC and we are booked on them again in a few months, I must say that the food was the absolute low point of our cruise on them. Yes, the pizzas are good, but we found everything else bland, repetitive, and unimaginative. We found plenty to eat, but nothing was memorable or worth repeating. There were a few times when we ate pizza simply because nothing looked more appealing.

But with all of that said, the food may not be great, but MSC has plenty of other superlatives to balance things out.

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If you are looking for good food, you won't get it on MSC.

This is certainly a matter of opinion. I have sailed on MCS 5 times, all in Europe, and have loved the food every time. I have found it much better than NCL.

I have not sailed them in the Caribbean so can't speak to that. I am afraid they have tried to Americanize for the US market and have suffered because of it, so I will stay away.

Any cruise in Europe though, MSC is my first choice.

YMMV

Lois

This is certainly a matter of opinion. I have sailed on MCS 5 times, all in Europe, and have loved the food every time. I have found it much better than NCL.

I have not sailed them in the Caribbean so can't speak to that. I am afraid they have tried to Americanize for the US market and have suffered because of it, so I will stay away.

Any cruise in Europe though, MSC is my first choice.

YMMV

Lois

It definitely is a bone of contention, that is for sure. My late DH and I loved the food on our MSC Divina New years' Eve cruise 2016/2017 (and found the food to be very good). I wasn't fond of the food in the Steak House Eataly but I'm pretty fussy. DH loved it and all the other restaurants were wonderful. We'd planned 2 other cruises on MSC before he'd passed away.

Food is very subjective and one person's opinion is not always that of others.

MSC would not survive if everyone felt the food was substandard. I found our cruise to be very good and would happily cruise MSC again.

Charters are always an option. I had exceptional food, service and attitude on a charter out of St. Thomas. However, it was $18,000 for a week on a small 45' sailboat with a captain and first mate, both of whom served in every capacity to the highest standard. You're on NCL - even its Haven is mass market. NCL is, as it should be, beholden to its owners and stock holders. Smiles, attitude, ability and graciousness are no longer given unknowingly by the workers.

I see no mention of HAL on this thread and picking up from other threads seems that NCL best crew are going there.

 

Interesting about New Hires. This is so true.

 

The truth is NCL is a public company and all they are interested in profit profit and profit and the shareholders. Being generous and nice to crew and guest is an aside if they can keep filling the ships at the right price. You think about you cut one member of staff from each department across 16 ships look atthe extra profit. No flights no staff cost but still same top line.

 

Forget the halcyon days of the family they are gone FOREVER and those of us who miss these can vote with our feet if we want. Will they care?

this is your opinion and we all have them. My point simply is: the days of cruising as we remember them 20 or so years ago are gone. Everything in life changes. We used to cruise because we enjoyed feeling special, the midnight buffets, the combination of fun and formality, etc. Now, people seem to be cruising for other reasons. We love a lot of dining choices which didn't use to exist. Most love the freedom of eating when and where we want and care more about the itinerary then some other aspects. It is now a family vacation, not a once in awhile special time. As for so many new crew members, have you cruised NCL recently? We have,many of the crew have been with the line 10 of more years. We have only encountered a few truely new enployees.

BTW: most cruise lines are public companies and most are in the business to make a profit. That should not be a surprise to anyone.

IMHO, if crew members are complaining about their jobs to the passengers, they should be fired.

I totally agree.I have never experienced a crew member complaining. I question how many really have complained.

Aha.....memories of those midnight buffets! Loved them, but realise they are no longer viable with the ensuing waste. Chocolate buffets as well. Yummmmm....

We now cruise Azamara as well, and thoroughly enjoy the quality and service. Agreed it is at a price, but a price we feel is well worth it. In between times, we cruise NCL (and find they think they are better than they are, but enjoyable enough), and Celebrity (who NCL aspires to).

As the second poster said, mix up the various cruise lines now and then for new experiences. Variety is the spice of life.

Well I have been on 1000's of cruises

Just kidding, but like how people use that as their intro

Sat next to a couple in Osheans on the Escape last week and as soon as she saw my wife look her way, she could not stop talking about how many cruise she has been on and has been on the Escape 13 times.

I found the Escape to be a great ship, very friendly crew. food was good, ate in the main dining room more this time than before. We are a fan of the buffet, but did hear of people complaining about the stupidest things

Found ourselves a little bored. I had 3 sea days in a row (I cannot tender) not a big drinker, gambler or a fan of Broadway type shows or sitting out in the sun. Next time I need a more ports to keep me busy

Having been on Oasis recently and was really struck by how bad the buffet was (with extremely limited hours), I have to ask ... was the buffet on RC's megaships ever truly 'good'?

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Having been on Oasis recently and was really struck by how bad the buffet was (with extremely limited hours), I have to ask ... was the buffet on RC's megaships ever truly 'good'?

 

 

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I was on Oasis last year and didn't touch the buffet. I don't eat at buffets while on land, so I'm not going to on a ship. Hate to sound like a snob, but buffets are incredibly unsanitary (that goes for any and all buffets, simply given the logistics of how food goes from pan to plate) and typically focus on quantity over quality.

Wife and I are in our mid 50s and have been cruising for over 30 years. Most of our cruises have been on NCL (fondly remember the Norway!) and we've cruised most of the other lines. IMHO NCL has unfortunately gone downhill over the past 5 years or so. We just returned from our 2nd cruise on the Epic (we've been on the other NCL ships, Jewel class are our favorites). The staffing levels are down and most of the staff clearly are not the cheerful enthusiastic folks we saw in past years. They are now tasked with more work than ever. They also don't have the same incentives they had to promote up that they had in the past. I spoke with 2 different crew members who related that NCL now hires people into positions from outside more often. That takes away the incentive to move up from busing tables to waiting tables in the MDR to waiting tables in the specialty restaurants to becoming a maitre d'. We've also noticed that while the cost of specialty dining has gone up, the quality and quantity has gone down. On this last cruise, Our steaks were not cooked as ordered in two different specialty restaurants. On one occasion, after I sent both of them back and one came back even more well done that the previous (I ordered medium). I asked to speak with the maitre d'. I was told he was in a meeting and was not available. Rather than send it back a 2nd time, I ate the steak. Aside from the specialty restaurants, there were often lines at the bars due to the fact that most only had one or two bartenders working. They were working very hard, but just had trouble keeping up. I know this sounds like a lot of whining, but with over 30 cruises, we miss the exceptional service that we had come to expect from NCL. I spoke with several other couples and the general consensus was that NCL service is declining while they continue to find ways to charge for everything they can think of. I'm gonna miss NCL but I've had enough.

I agree 100% with you. With over 11 cruises with Norwegian we are done with them as well.

I remember my first cruis ever in the esrly 90s on the carnival Holiday We paid almost 2000 usd pp for an inside cabin for a 7 day Caribbean cruise. Sure cruising has changed but co,pared with inside cabin pricing now I will take the current situation any day

Having been on Oasis recently and was really struck by how bad the buffet was (with extremely limited hours), I have to ask ... was the buffet on RC's megaships ever truly 'good'?

 

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I personally enjoyed the buffet on the Allure because I found the variety quite extensive and because the layout (with islands rather than one long line) to be much easier to navigate. But with that said, we didn’t visit the buffet too often on that sailing and preferred to eat at other venues around the ship since there were so many of them, and because I’ve become leery of buffets in general because of poor hygiene practices that we’ve witnessed over the years, not only on Royal but in general. The electronic signage around the ship helped us avoid places that were too busy and we focused instead on places that had minimal wait. It seems like the buffet

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Having been on Oasis recently and was really struck by how bad the buffet was (with extremely limited hours), I have to ask ... was the buffet on RC's megaships ever truly 'good'?

I cannot agree with you more regarding the low quality of the buffet on the Oasis. That was my only RCI megaship experience but I can tell you our previous experiences at the Windjammer aboard both the Grandeur and the Enchantment were positive. At least our displeasure with the buffet on Oasis led us to discovering the Central Park cafe early in the week. We really enjoyed the fresh salads and sandwiches here.

Curious to see what the experience will be like aboard the Brilliance in the UK in a few months... we do prefer to eat in the dining room when we aren't cruising with our kids, but with the number of excursions upcoming, we will likely find ourselves there a few times for breakfast and lunch and hope it is a better experience than on Oasis.

Cruising certainly has changed significantly since I first cruised (also aboard the Norway!) but I still find it a wonderful vacation. We have cruised aboard many different lines have have to agree with the posters who have said that each has its strength and weaknesses. Regardless of which line I am cruising with, I don't have to cook and clean for a week so it's always a nice break for me.

I remember my first cruis ever in the esrly 90s on the carnival Holiday We paid almost 2000 usd pp for an inside cabin for a 7 day Caribbean cruise. Sure cruising has changed but co,pared with inside cabin pricing now I will take the current situation any day

We last sailed on the Holiday when it was the resident ship in Mobile before Carnival sold her. It was a cheap weekend getaway and we had a lot of fun (we had lowered our expectations considerably to start with), but that cruise made me realize how much cruise ships have changed over the years and how much better modern cruise ships are today. I believe that a lot of people look back at how cruising used to be 20-30 years ago with rose colored glasses and don’t realize how limited cuisine, entertainment and accommodations used to be, not to mention how exorbitant fares used to be like for a product that today would be considered subpar.

We paid luxury cruise line prices to sail on Carnival’s Tropicale back in 1994. Looking back now, that was insane, but back then we were happy to do so.

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