Curious as to why...

[xop]

some of you don't like NCL? Our first (so far the only) cruise we've done was with NCL, our next is with CCL. I've read some comments on this forum that some of you would never set foot on another Norwegian cruise. I don't have alot to say about our experience, we chose it because it had anytime dining, it sailed out of the least intimidating port close to us, and we liked the itinerary. I stayed mostly in our cabin or wandered the ship, I never went to any of the bars, restaurants, or any of the such, because I'm shy (fearful that I'll be surfing on YouTube and find a video of myself being stupid :o) Hubby ventured out more then me and enjoyed it. It was a nice quiet vacation and I would sail NCL again (then again I haven't done CCL yet). So any of you who did it and hated it...why?

[boaterette]

I have sailed on them twice. We had lousy service twice. We couldn't even get the right amount of towels and washcloths for the number of people in the cabin. Anytime dining was like going to a busy restaurant every night. They didn't have any pool activities which I enjoy. Most of their activities you had to pay to attend. So overall it is my least favorite cruise line.

[wednesday]

I LOVE NCL! :) The best cruise we have taken was on the NCL GEM, the service was fantastic and the food was great. We got an onboard credit when we booked and were able to try most of the restaurants. We loved the anytime concept and I wish I was sailing the GEM this summer :( I had a great time on Carnival too so I will survive :p

 

BTW we made reservations every morning and NEVER had to wait.

[Cricket63]

You will hear 100's of people saying they don't like this cruise or that cruise. It is what you make of it! If something isn't right, get it straightened out. Go to the room steward or to the purser's desk. That is what they are there for.

I have heard so many bad complaints about one ship or another that we were about to go on and had a wonderful time! Happy Sailing!

[comeon530]

I agree with cricket. They all have pros and cons. I had excellent service on NCL. No complaints at all. I didn't think that the food wasn't quite as good as Carnival.

[JLHB]

We really enjoyed our NCL cruise, but had a bit of difficulty scheduling when we should eat dinner in the main dining room, in order to get the the shows on time. We found ourselves eating at the buffet quite a bit on this cruise. On our CCL cruises, there was always a show following your dining time, so it made it very easy to plan your evening. We also thought the food was better on CCL.

[MiddleEarth]

I agree with cricket. They all have pros and cons. I had excellent service on NCL. No complaints at all. I didn't think that the food wasn't quite as good as Carnival.

 

I found Carnival to be a huge disappointment after my experiences with Celebrity and Azamara. NCL was only marginally better than Carnival.

 

Carnival food in main dining room was better than NCL. I suspect that to get good food on NCL, you have to pay to go to the specialty restaurants.

 

Carnival may be a good choice for those who are looking for a party ship and plenty of alcohol. Food in the casual dining areas was (IMHO) of an all you can eat till you puke buffet. Mediocre quality at best. NCL is somewhat better in this respect.

 

NCL pushes much harder (it seemed to me at any rate) on making you spend more on drinks (buy 4 beer get one free) and most annoyingly, we had no less than 4 bar service people ask us if we wanted wine or other beverage with dinner in the 5 minutes before the food service waiter came to the table. Way too in your face if you ask me. Has NCL not thought about assigning waiters a set of tables?

 

Casual dining should not mean "classless". The waiter serving food to your table mate should not reach across in front to you (sweaty armpit in your face) to deliver his food - especially not at a 4 person table with easy access from either side.

 

This kind of nonsense doesn't (or at least hasn't to date) happened on Celebrity, Azamara or our most recent, Royal Caribbean, cruises.

[Cruiser1547228475]

I found Carnival to be a huge disappointment after my experiences with Celebrity and Azamara. NCL was only marginally better than Carnival.

Carnival food in main dining room was better than NCL. I suspect that to get good food on NCL, you have to pay to go to the specialty restaurants.

 

Well, you stubbed me on this one :confused:

 

Reading your post seems to be something I would read twenty years ago.

[DocF]

I have a very good reason to never set foot on a ship operated by Star Travel, the Singapore based, Chinese owned company that controls "Norwegian" Cruise Lines. Our youngest daughter and her husband were on the Norway when the boiler explosion occurred. DD lost her glasses and several other expensive items in the evacuation. NCL and its parents did absolutely nothing to replace or compensate her for her loss. Her glasses cost her over $1,000 (very special prescription) and she could ill afford the loss.

 

I also have read the report about the level of maintenance that led to the explosion. Until I see evidence that this company is on a sound enough financial footing that it no longer cuts corners on safety, I will avoid it.

 

Doc:mad:

[BruceMuzz]

Doc,

 

A few corrections are needed to your post.

 

NCL is owned (49% at least) by Star Cruises (not Star Travel as you posted).

 

It is Singapore-based as you mentioned, but is Malaysian-owned (not Chinese-owned as you posted).

 

The owner of Star Cruises is Tan Sri Lim Kok Tay. When last I looked he was listed as the 8th wealthiest man in the World. Star Cruises is his smallest company. One of his Great Grand Parents came from China in the mid 1800's.

"Tan Sri" is a Malaysian Royal Title, comparable to Duke or Knight in Europe.

 

The other owner of NCL (51%) is Apollo Catering. They are an American company, based in Miami.

 

I read the reports as well. Just a few weeks before the explosion, US Government Inspectors visited the Norway and found the boilers in "Excellent Condition".

 

For a great many other reasons, however, I also would NEVER sail on an NCL Ship.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We've only sailed NCL once (the Jewel) and I was a little worried due to lots of bad press, but we really enjoyed the cruise; the service was good, so was the food, the entertainment was really excellent and there were only a few small negatives.

 

We've cruised five different lines and never had a bad cruise or any major complaints--either we're just lucky or not picky.

[Xokeman]

I love NCL for the awesome theatre plays they have .. the food is great too. the price is not so great. and now that I am paying for my cruises ... well that is how it's gonna be

[Eeyoregon]

some of you don't like NCL? Our first (so far the only) cruise we've done was with NCL, our next is with CCL. I've read some comments on this forum that some of you would never set foot on another Norwegian cruise. I don't have alot to say about our experience, we chose it because it had anytime dining, it sailed out of the least intimidating port close to us, and we liked the itinerary. I stayed mostly in our cabin or wandered the ship, I never went to any of the bars, restaurants, or any of the such, because I'm shy (fearful that I'll be surfing on YouTube and find a video of myself being stupid :o) Hubby ventured out more then me and enjoyed it. It was a nice quiet vacation and I would sail NCL again (then again I haven't done CCL yet). So any of you who did it and hated it...why?

 

Everyone has their opinions. I personally loved our 2 NCL cruises...they were top notch and extremely affordable. But, I go cruises to have a good time, relax, get pampered and enjoy myself, NOT look for every little thing that could possibly be "bad". Your cruise is 100% what you make of it.

 

Happy sailing.

[glrounds]

Our 2nd cruise was on NCL's SEAWARD, but that was over 20 years ago. We had a great time, loved the ship, excellent service. I would just have no reason to give them a try these days with their higher prices and questionable financial viability.

[PROCRUISE]

some of you don't like NCL? Our first (so far the only) cruise we've done was with NCL, our next is with CCL. I've read some comments on this forum that some of you would never set foot on another Norwegian cruise. I don't have alot to say about our experience, we chose it because it had anytime dining, it sailed out of the least intimidating port close to us, and we liked the itinerary. I stayed mostly in our cabin or wandered the ship, I never went to any of the bars, restaurants, or any of the such, because I'm shy (fearful that I'll be surfing on YouTube and find a video of myself being stupid :o) Hubby ventured out more then me and enjoyed it. It was a nice quiet vacation and I would sail NCL again (then again I haven't done CCL yet). So any of you who did it and hated it...why?

 

Only cruised on NCL once. The itinerary was fabulous which is why we went NCL. Service was okay, but the food was really poor-all 17 days!

Perhaps we should give NCL another try someday, but it would take drastic improvement to come up to the CCL and HAL excellence in food that we use to receiving.

[JerseyshoreBruce]

I have never cruised on NCL but my sister has several times.....food is not as good....not much action at night on deck.....mostly older people onboard....I get along with everyone but i am only 52 and mingle with all ages of people so i don't want to feel as if i am in a retirement village. Plus Carnival is a better deal for your money!

[Crystalbast]

I have sailed NCL twice and found the menu offerings in the main dining room really lacking. It just came across to me like NCL was subtly trying to push people to the pay dining venues. As a solo traveler I don't want to feel like I have to pay extra to get a decent meal. I ate all of my meals in the Lido buffet restaurants. When I did the 3 night Bahama Cruise even the Lido deck buffet was horrible and I was starving by the last night. I was so hungry I just about caved in and went to a pay venue. Food was the big "beef" with me for NCL.

 

I will say that on their 11 night Hawaiian cruise that the entertainment at night was really good and they did offer good shore excursions.

[zqvol]

I have sailed them twice. I really like them and will sail with them again in a heartbeat. Superior service, good food, plenty of entertainment. Only down side is cabins are a bit smaller than carnival but make up for it with the great bathroom setup.

[zqvol]

I have never cruised on NCL but my sister has several times.....food is not as good....not much action at night on deck.....mostly older people onboard....I get along with everyone but i am only 52 and mingle with all ages of people so i don't want to feel as if i am in a retirement village. Plus Carnival is a better deal for your money!

 

Funny but my experience on NCL tells me that you would be one of the "older" people on board.

[Sam The Cat]

My GF and mine first cruise together was on Carnival however I broke my ankle and was in a wheel chair after that it was NCL. For NCL for a "few" for dollars I get perks on NCL that is not offered in Carnival. We are sailing on the Miracle this Sanday to give it another try and do to the sailing dates where we can sail for 8 days at take only 7 days of vacation since Monday is Memorial Day.

[azpilot]

We have found NCL, RCI and CCL all in there own ways have little perks and each cruise has always been different. We had good and bad on each cruise and would still sail and still do on each of the lines. Its like everything else, there is nothing perfect!

 

We are driven by what we want to see at that time of year for vacation. Plus we don't cruise all the time, we split between cruising and other vacations. So really for us as each cruise is always an adventure..:)

[shellgoodman]

Love NCL!

 

We went on the Pearl last year and loved everything about it. In fact, it was the best vacation that we have ever had as a family including 12 cruises. We did an Alaskan cruise where I went kicking and screaming (I love the beach!!!). When I first booked, my husband didn't want to spend any more money on specialty restaurants out of principle.

 

First night we went to the Italian restaurant and then we were hooked. We went to all of them for a little extra (not as much as the steakhouse on Carnival). Sometimes you only had to pay $5 more if they had a special running. Anyway, the food was great in the restaurants and not so good in the MDR. It was well worth the extra money and the service was amazing. They kept bringing us more and more food. My husband travels M-F and eats out every week and they even impressed him.

 

I don't love the dancing shows so much anymore but my 10 yr old is a dancer and we went for her. They were good but best show was Sharkbait - they were amazing.

 

Service was fantastic and the cruise director - Julie was calling my kids by name all week long. My then 9 yr old was in the talent show, karoaked, and danced the night away with Aris the dance instructor. It created some lasting memories obviously because I can remember all the staff names that we interacted with. Usually I can't remember anyone!

[maurick]

Love love NCL~ Never had a bad meal. Never waited for a table in MDR. I

wonder what some people eat everyday at home the way they complain

about food.

[Pomcoach]

Very interesting thread. Have always wondered what NCL would be like. Thanks all !!

[SkyMaster]

NCL was once my favorite line, and we've done probably 10 or 15 cruises aboard the old Skyward, Sunward, and Seaward, and frankly the only reason I don't do them anymore is I DON'T like the open seating dining. We did one cruise with them since they went strictly to that concept, and it was O.K., but,,,,,I simply prefer assigned table, waiter, etc. I always found service, food, entertainment and the cruise in general to be at least as good, or better than any of the rest.

 

"SKY"