NCL Sea Review 6/11/05

[DRA]

First a little background – My wife and I have been on four previous cruises, none with NCL. We have cruised to The Bahamas, St. Thomas, San Juan, Martinique, St. Marten, Barbados and Dominica. We love exploring new places and actually got married on the beach in Eleuthera, Bahamas. The cruise was our 10th anniversary and the first for our four-year-old daughter.

 

We arrived at the terminal around noon and were in our stateroom by 12:30. Embarkation was very simple. I had read on these boards that the area around the terminal was very industrial – they were right. The smell of oil is not very pleasing. I was actually pleasantly surprised with the condition of the ship. After reading some rather poor reviews of the NCL Sea the past few months I was getting a bit worried. While there were a few spots that needed some attention, overall I was quite pleased. We were in a KK stateroom and it was adequate for the three of us. We were even able to fit a full size stroller into the room. My wife was very impressed with the “over-the-door” shoe organizer tip. We loaded it down with every bathroom item known to man. Thanks to whoever on this board that suggested that! We did bring a power strip (another tip from this board) and duct taped it to the wall. It worked out very well. Our dinning habits have changed, since the four year old came along, since the last cruise with Carnival and I don’t think I could give direct comparison. My daughter loved the pizza in the Big Apple Café. My wife and I ate in the Seven Seas twice (good) and Le Bistro once (great). In the La Bistro my wife had a surf and turf dinner with 2 lobster tails and filet mignon. She loved it.

 

Cozumel – I booked a dolphin encounter for my wife and daughter at Chankanaab. They had a special, and my daughter was free. We took a cab to Chankanaab, $10 + $2 tip. We got to Chankanaab about two hours before the dolphin encounter and swam at the little beach area. My daughter loves the water and this was perfect for her. My wife and I took turns snorkeling out in the reef area. We then went over the dolphin area. My wife and daughter were the only ones in the group, lots of contact time with the dolphin. I took video from the upper dock. They had a great time, although my daughter was a little scared. We got a couple of great shots of my daughter hugging the dolphin. Of course we had to buy a picture and the DVD. We then took a cab to Poncho’s Backyard to eat, again $10 + $2 tip. The food was great and had a couple of coupons for a free margarita I found online. We then walked back to the ship, stopping in several shops along the way.

 

Roatan - The plan was to spend a couple of hours at Foster’s at West Bay Beach and then eat and shop at the West End Village before returning to the ship. We took a taxi to the beach, and that’s where the plan went south. The beach was not very big and was dirty. There was garbage floating in the water and it was very murky. We spent two hours at the beach. On a good note, my wife had what she said was the best Banana Colada of her life at Foster’s. We then hopped back into the taxi to head to the village. We were half way back to the ship before we realized the driver was not taking us to the village. We had a bit of a communication issue and I was a little upset, but tried to make the best of it. I ended up paying the driver $40. We then walked around Coxen Hole. This was the most disappointing part of the cruise. I expected some poverty, but not what we saw. The smell of open sewage was too much for me. It looked like trash was thrown into the water. We waited until we returned to the ship to eat. We did purchase a few wood items. The locals were very persistent, past the point of my comfort level.

 

Belize - I had booked the Shark Ray Alley tour with Coral Breezes. We got to the tourism village a little early and noticed there was a pirate museum across the street. Since my daughter LOVES pirates we had to go. It was free and just a couple of rooms. We then walked around the tourism village a purchased a couple of t-shirts. By this time it was ready to meet for the tour. We met Mario and Heini from Coral Breezes. I was a little disappointed the boat only had a small canopy. The website said it would be covered. I was told that since this was a small group, they were taking a smaller boat. We hopped in and took off for Caye Caulker. My daughter loved the ride to the caye. We then went out to the Coral Gardens. Since my daughter was only an observer on this tour, I stayed back with her and swam beside the boat while my wife went through the reef. We then went to see the sharks and rays. I could not get my daughter in the water, so my wife and I both went in. My daughter stayed on the boat and watched, quite content. We were there about 30 minutes and the rays and sharks were everywhere. We got lots of pictures. We then went to Caye Caulker for lunch. We did not eat at the place listed on the website, no reason was given. I had the Belizean chicken (great) and my wife had the fish and chips (not so great). We then rented a golf cart and went around the island. What a great little island. So much different than Roatan. We actually thought we would like to return and stay longer. We then returned to the boat to travel back to Belize City to catch the tender. I disappointed that more people on this tour did not tip. I think only one other person tipped. One word of advice on the tenders - The Kid’s Crew staff work at the tender stations on the ship. Since my daughter was in the Kid’s Crew, we were able to get on one of the first tenders. This was our best day of the cruise.

 

Cancun - Too hot, too crowded, too much. We took the free shuttle to the mall and bought a couple of souvenirs and ate at a place called Mr. Pappas. The food was good but they cheated us on the bill. Oh well. We got back on the ship early.

 

Disembarkation was very easy. We were in our car by 9:30. Overall, I was pleased with the cruise. The cost difference between this cruise and the Elation was about $400. Enough for 4 days at Disney.

 

One final note – The automatic tipping really didn’t work for us. We only ate in the full service restaurant twice (in the La Bistro, we tipped separate). We seemed to be in our stateroom most of the time our room stewards wanted to clean our room. Our stateroom did not get cleaned for 2-3 days. Our auto-tip was $175 for the week ($10/ day for adults & $5/day for our daughter). We decreased the amount by $35 (our daughter’s portion) and tipped her Kid’s Crew counselors that amount.

[ROCruiser]

Thanks for the review. Good to know that the NCL Sea is still in good shape. We will be on her last trip out of Houston July 22. Did they ever explain why the cabin was not cleaned for 2-3 days?

[Host CMLA]

One final note – The automatic tipping really didn’t work for us. We only ate in the full service restaurant twice (in the La Bistro, we tipped separate). We seemed to be in our stateroom most of the time our room stewards wanted to clean our room. Our stateroom did not get cleaned for 2-3 days. Our auto-tip was $175 for the week ($10/ day for adults & $5/day for our daughter). We decreased the amount by $35 (our daughter’s portion) and tipped her Kid’s Crew counselors that amount.

Just an FYI since you've never cruised NCL..the $10 per day per person covers several people on the ship; not just the people you see in the dining room. It covers everyone behind the scenes too like buffet workers, etc. I'm not saying you shouldn't have decreased your tipping amount. I'm just sharing some NCL knowledge with you because NCL does it differently than other cruise lines. Thanks for the review. :)

[georgette923]

Thanks for the review we are looking forward to our cruise. Were you able to see any of the entertainment? How about visiting the lounges? Did you see or use the parking garage, is it covered? Thanks for the information.

[ute_fan]

The parking lot is right next door to the terminal, and it's not covered. We left our rental car there, but it's the same lot where the "drive in" passengers park (I think it's $49 per week). Easiest thing to do is to drive in front of the terminal, drop off your luggage with the porters, and then drive back to the lot.

 

We did see the entertainment, sort of. I have this horrible habit of sitting down to watch the shows and then falling asleep :o . Something about sitting in a dark theatre, with the motion of the ship does it to me every time.

We enjoyed the comedian (Sam Griesbaum) and the magician (Doug Anderson). I thought the NCL production company lead singers were a little bit weaker than usual, which may be part of the reason I feel asleep. One night we were seated over on the right side of the stage, and the mikes weren't working over there very well, which also contributed.

 

We aren't alcohol drinkers, so I can't help you with the lounges.

[georgette923]

Thank you for the information. We will park at the lot, sounds pretty simple.

 

I understand falling asleep being in the dark and the motion it just rocks you to sleep:D , I've done that myself!!

 

Did you got to the casion? We enjoy playing slots, pennys, nickles and quarters. Do they have an assortment of slots?

 

We're not big drinkers either, just curious if they had decent entertainment in the various lounges.

[ute_fan]

We didn't spend much time in the casino, particularly this last trip. My DD was only 19 and couldn't have gone with us, and didn't particularly want to be left on her own. They do have a fairly wide variety of slots -- my DS spent some time playing both nickels and quarters.

 

There was a pretty good pianist in Oscar's. He did one night of Billy Joel songs and another one of Elton John's. We weren't in there listening, but did here him occasionally as we walked by. The band that performs in the Stardust lounge was pretty good and there was dancing available there. That's also where they did the Karaoke, which we quite enjoyed listening to.

[newmexicoNita]

Thanks for a very objective review: this is what we all need to see. Your experience with Roatan and Belize is opposite of ours: Yes, the poverty on both places is truely 3rd World, but we found Belize to be dirty with the water ways discusting and Roatan to be a whole lot better with gorgeous beaches. It must depend on where and what you do on the island. After 3 trips to Belize we don't even get off the ship anymore. I do know that if you get the right tour there are some neat places, we just haven't had good luck and the little shopping area at the dock is outrageously expensive for what they offer. We did find some junky fun stuff at some of the off the beaten path stalls behind the main shopping areas. NMNita

[DRA]

Just an FYI since you've never cruised NCL..the $10 per day per person covers several people on the ship; not just the people you see in the dining room. It covers everyone behind the scenes too like buffet workers, etc. I'm not saying you shouldn't have decreased your tipping amount. I'm just sharing some NCL knowledge with you because NCL does it differently than other cruise lines. Thanks for the review. :)

 

 

I know that. But what I don't know is the formula NCL uses for distributing the tips. Who gets how much and who does not get anything. Do the entertainers get a portion? How about the shore excursion personnel? How about the cruise director? The captain? I know the Kid's Crew staff does not and that was my main concern. I would have liked more information from NCL so I could have adjusted my tips accordingly. I asked about this and I was not given a reply. If for example, I never ate in the full service restaurants, why am I tipping them?

[newmexicoNita]

I know that. But what I don't know is the formula NCL uses for distributing the tips. Who gets how much and who does not get anything. Do the entertainers get a portion? How about the shore excursion personnel? How about the cruise director? The captain? I know the Kid's Crew staff does not and that was my main concern. I would have liked more information from NCL so I could have adjusted my tips accordingly. I asked about this and I was not given a reply. If for example, I never ate in the full service restaurants, why am I tipping them?

As I understand it the tips are pretty much devided between the housekeeping staff and the food serving staff, no the entertainers do not get a portion or the cruise director. They are salaried just like management people in an office. As for not tipping because you only ate in the main dining room on occassion or not at all: what about the buffets? Do you realize the wait staff that worked the dining room one day might be in the buffet on another? It was a nice gesture for you to tip the kids crew, but normally passengers tip the $10 per day and add extra to people who have gone out of their way to help, be it the kids crew, maybe the room steward or any other person for that matter. Even if NCL had given you a complete break down I don't see how this would have made a difference. Tippng is a very personal thing, but if you were to take that daily $10 and figure how much your tips would be on land for the service you get I am sure you would re think this. Your room steward alone, if staying at a hotel that offers turn down service would probably get at least $3 or $4 per day per person. Add to it the wait staff, buffet or otherwise. Don't you leave at least a $1 per person, including the kids when you eat at say, Golden Corral or Sizzler? This is not meant to blast you, but to explain about the tipping process on ships and why some are starting to add a mandatory $10 per day or more. NMnita

[dillardr]

We found Roatan two weeks ago to be the highlight of our NCL Sea Cruise. West bay beach was beautiful and the people of Roatan were very friendly. We loved Roatan. Ask for Alvin, what a nice guy, his taxi # is 305. $15 each to go anywhere, he took us to the beach and picked us up when we were ready and stopped for us to shop.

[DRA]

Tippng is a very personal thing, NMnita

 

Exactly!!!