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seafish

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give the OP a chance to log back in and give some information, before all of you want to have him killed for not going into specific details ...

 

By looking at their previous posts before the cruise about NCL, unfortunately I think that they had made up (at least unconsciously) their mind about NCL and hence they found all kinds of problems onboard that others didn't even notice or didn't care - here on the board we saw this happen recently with an another person and their bloated expectations vs actual experience onboard.

 

While I do want to plan some vacation related things very throughly, things onboard (having schedule for each day made up already before boarding) are not amongst them and hence flexibility provided by Freestyle Cruising is our choice - not so good for someone with too high expectations or tendency to OCD or overplanning (by no means am I referring to OP with either, just thinking in general).

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By looking at their previous posts before the cruise about NCL, unfortunately I think that they had made up (at least unconsciously) their mind about NCL and hence they found all kinds of problems onboard that others didn't even notice or didn't care - here on the board we saw this happen recently with an another person and their bloated expectations vs actual experience onboard.

 

While I do want to plan some vacation related things very throughly, things onboard (having schedule for each day made up already before boarding) are not amongst them and hence flexibility provided by Freestyle Cruising is our choice - not so good for someone with too high expectations or tendency to OCD or overplanning (by no means am I referring to OP with either, just thinking in general).

 

You are absolutely correct. There have been countless posts here over the years from various people expressing disappointment with some aspect of their cruise experience.

 

It is quite revealing that a large percentage of those disappointments are not caused so much by the airline/hotel/cruise line/port/excursion being complained about, but instead are simply the result of the unrealistic expectations of the poster.

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Yes ... decided NOT to trot-out all the issues -way too many. But IMO safe to say on NCL you really do ... "Get What You Pay For"!

 

Actually, I'm very glad that the OP has stated the obvious here, "on NCL you really do ... "Get What You Pay For"" because all I want is what I've paid for and in the past it's been fantastic service, great food, loads of fun and wonderful people ending up making for an awesome experience on a fabulous cruise ship with NCL.

So, if the OP would like to dispute any of the above experiences, be my guest!!

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Yes ... decided NOT to trot-out all the issues -way too many. But IMO safe to say on NCL you really do ... "Get What You Pay For"!

That's right Great price ,good food great service on all but 1 of my 26 cruises IMO not bad!

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Recently on NCL Dawn B2B Boston NE/CN 14 day cruise. As expected - itinerary Excellent! - Weather Great! ... not so much Ship & Services - way too many ship board problems. Many cruises over the years but - 1st Time on NCL & Last Time on NCL for us. JMO

 

Just curious.... What other cruise lines have you been on to compare with.

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Why bother ? Its just a drive by .. A Devotee of Princess did not like NCL .

What a revelation ..:rolleyes:

 

Side: Theres only one time (ever) where I had a major issue with a few crew members . Yep , Princess . Go figure ..

 

Even the Titanic had its cheerleaders ..

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Let me see if I have this straight. You didn't get less than you paid for, which would have been unsatisfactory. Nor did you receive more than you paid for, which also makes complete sense. All together this means you received exactly what you expected for the price you paid.

 

This is quite the endorsement. Thanks for your review.

 

Precisely.

 

However, sometimes I do get more than I paid for, which is why I complete STYLE cards, too.

 

 

.

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Well first off, when the OP said "you get what you pay for", I believe they were inferring that NCL is usually a bit cheaper than other lines, so cut rate price = cut rate service.

 

I too would have liked to see some detail. I am doing everything I can to keep a positive mind for my first NCL cruise next Sept. However, I have read some disparaging things about cruise lines in general going downhill since my last experiences in the 90's. Especially the quality of the food in the regular MDR's. When I last cruised there were no "optional, pay extra dining venues" and the MDR's were fantastic, as I recall. One other thing, when I mentioned this cruise to my brother, who has been on many more cruises than me, he said "we usually don't choose NCL" but he didn't elaborate. My choosing NCL for this Alaska cruise was the pp price was about $300 less for almost the same itinerary that Celebrity offered, same dates.

 

So here's to hoping for the best, and settling for just so-so. As long as the food isn't horrible, I'll manage.

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I'm glad to see a few of you coming to NCL's defense. We are cruising with them in November. it will be our first time cruising with them and I'm nervous as it is. Not because I've heard anything bad about them, just because I've never cruised with them. We have cruised on RCCL and CCL and I have nothing bad to say about either. I've had a few people tell me they weren't a fan of carnival but personally, we love carnival. feels like home to me! I try not to read too much into negative reviews because I think we're pretty easy to please people and my guess is our experience will be good regardless of the cruise line because we're going to be on a CRUISE! And we love cruising!

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I have cruised Carnival, Princess and NCL...and my current choice is NCL. In fact after doing a Thnaksgiving Cruise last year, I just booked another Western Caribbean for Nov/Dec 2014 on the Dawn.

 

Every line has a certain personality and coupled with the fact that we live 30 miles from the Port of New Orleans, NCL is the hands down choice.

 

Don't let a post like this one discourage you. Our NCL experience was fantastic and we are NOT an easy family to deal with.

 

On the fence - check multiple reviews (especially ones that actually provide details) and enjoy your amazing vacation!!!

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I'm glad to see a few of you coming to NCL's defense. We are cruising with them in November. it will be our first time cruising with them and I'm nervous as it is. Not because I've heard anything bad about them, just because I've never cruised with them. We have cruised on RCCL and CCL and I have nothing bad to say about either. I've had a few people tell me they weren't a fan of carnival but personally, we love carnival. feels like home to me! I try not to read too much into negative reviews because I think we're pretty easy to please people and my guess is our experience will be good regardless of the cruise line because we're going to be on a CRUISE! And we love cruising!

I went into my first NCL cruise with a very neagtive attitude (because of what I read on other boards here :rolleyes:...my mistake)

Anyway, NCL is now my favorite line.

I can't promise you that it will be yours as well, but I can tell you that it has been better for us than anything CCL does (and I am platinum on carnival) or from my one experience with RCI....which has only been one experience thus far because I wasn't wowed like I thought I would be (again, because of what I read on these boards...again, big mistake, but I am going to give them a second chance after many years of not even considering them)

Moral of the story...it doesn't matter what people say on these boards. You won't know if you'll like something until you try it yourself :)

 

Oh and my personal experience with the Dawn is that I have had some of my best cruises on that ship. I have sailed her 3x

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Thanks for the responses. We are going on the Pearl in November. DH keeps saying that he thinks we're going to like this cruise line. Personally, I haven't found a cruise I didn't like. We don't even care about the ports, lol. We just want to cruise. HAHA

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About getting what you pay for....I beg to differ.

 

I was on the Gem last week, and I got a lot more than what I paid for.

 

I was so pleasantly surprised by the quality of entertainment and the quality of food in the buffet. I don't think I ever waited on a line more than 30 seconds. And the desserts.....OMG....the improvement since my last NCL cruise (2010 I think, on the Jewel).....OMG

 

Being frugal, I cannot imagine spending "big bucks" if I can get this quality for "moderate bucks".

 

Now, if only the casino had been kinder...........:)

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About getting what you pay for....I beg to differ.

 

I was on the Gem last week, and I got a lot more than what I paid for.

 

I was so pleasantly surprised by the quality of entertainment and the quality of food in the buffet. I don't think I ever waited on a line more than 30 seconds. And the desserts.....OMG....the improvement since my last NCL cruise (2010 I think, on the Jewel).....OMG

 

Being frugal, I cannot imagine spending "big bucks" if I can get this quality for "moderate bucks".

 

Now, if only the casino had been kinder...........:)

 

Thank you for your donation. Wink wink.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

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I have a couple NCL cruises under my belt and I am more than happy that I got what if not more than I paid for.

 

For comparison...

 

My 10th wedding anniversary cruise (1st on a cruise ship), we had a standard balcony stateroom on the Explorer of the Seas.

 

Upcoming NCL Dawn cruise for our 20th wedding anniversary, we have a forward facing Penthouse Suite on deck 10 for the exact same price. And I am including eating at specialty resturants every night but one.

 

I love NCL!

 

Jon

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