Pleasant surprise with NCL

[RMS Olympic]

Learning not to say never.....something I said in regards to NCL years ago. After a 10 year gap I sailed the Epic is 2010 and was displeased and felt NCL was just not my cup of tea. Well I sailed the getaway Nov 29th and boarded with little or no expectations.

Well I have to admit is was a completely wonderful experience. Although she is a really big mass market ship I have to say I had a great time. Service was excellent to outstanding......what a change in this company. Food was wonderful, not gormet but better than I have had on Princess the lat couple of cruises. I had the specialty dinning package.......and it was well worth it......especially Cagney's.

Entertainment was fun......burn the Floor dance......hot!

There were little things I noticed that were not seen on other lines like having senior staff in the lobby each day to handle issues, concerns or complaints. Bar service was extremely good.......better than other mass market lines as of late.

Adult areas......not kids, no exceptions like other lines.

All in all, I had a fun experience and really noticed how happy the crew was.

Now booked on the next build.....Escape in November and find myself excited about sailing another NCL ship.......who would have thought:rolleyes:.

The big test will be the onboard experience on the old Star next February. A older ship, a smaller ship without the new amenities......but if the service and food are of equal levels with the new ships.....I could become a regular NCL cruiser once again.

I am still shocked at how good the onboard experience was.....good service, good drinks, good food and nice entertainment. Seabourn it is not....but for mass market, I think the Getaway is a great ship and will challenge her competition.

By the way...lots of family were on board, very visible....no problems. Met many crew members....both family and straight....all so friendly. Only negative were the beyotches running the art auction business. I don't think they are NCL emplyees per se ......oh so much attitude.

Anyone thinking about getaway and have questions....let me know. In the meantime I am hoping I can wait till Nov for the Escape....without getting on the Getaway in August for a second dose.

Tom aka Bertha

[Boytjie]

Hey, who are you and why have you hijacked Tom's id? :)

[PFV]

Tom or should I say Bertha? It's PFV or Helen!

 

Great review! I miss NCL and we're getting really concerned about our upcoming RCCL cruise. I hope we can accompany you on one of your upcoming NCL cruises.

 

I've just read a review in the RCCL board and the writer referred to people below suite class as "steerage", ''Trash", "Should continue to eat at Golden Coral" and on and on and on.... I kept my mouth shut as other poster's climbed in. Going from inside's to suites and everything in between over the years, I was shocked.

 

With attitudes like this, all I hope is that cruise executives are reading cruise critic boards?

 

Had to vent.

 

Paul

[RMS Olympic]

Itsa me.

Fully recovered from my experience on YOUR dream ship MSC Divina. Believe me Getaway was far superior to that MSC ship you love so well.

I am assuming you are on the Regal Princess with RSVP. Hope you have a wonderful time with the entire gang. Imagine a coupls thousand Queens, and a dowager empress or two on a Regal Princess.......the things that make dreams come true.

While on board, talk them into using the Koningsdam in 2017. If I survive my India trip in 2016, I'll join you on the Konimgsdam. Tell Richard I send my best.

In the meantime......its back on NCL and the best Lemon drops I have ever had.:D:D:D

[TxnAquarian]

That's great to hear! We used to sail NCL, but haven't been back in 5 years. We felt that the overall product was a little low-brow, with poor to mediocre food, poor to mediocre (even rude, at times) service and too much of a "sports bar" crowd. The final time we sailed NCL on the Jade, we took deck chairs that had been empty for at least 45 minutes and moved the towels off. About 30 minutes later, the people returned and threatened to beat us up, beat our mother and called us fags. That was it for us on NCL and we moved to higher-end ships. Even though the crowd on Crystal and Azamara have been a little senile (we are in our 30s) we found much more civility than on NCL.

 

Lately, though, I have been intrigued by the Haven Suites on the new builds, as we sailed in suites in the older fleet and found the suite experience lovely. We booked a quick cruise on NCL Escape for June 2016, but cancelled the booking once we realized that will be during school break. We are considering re-booking for an off-season cruise. It looks like the new ships have some amazing facilities, and since you have spoken so highly of the food and service, it sounds like this could work.

 

Thanks for the great report!

 

 

Michael & Omar

[Bloom9]

I had never really heard anything good about NCL but after seeing the Getaway while on the Divina cruise i wanted to try it out, I was pleasantly surprised, I felt the service was great as well as the food, they do nickel and dime ya but that is a cruising trend will most cruise lines now a days. The magic dinner show was cool and I really enjoyed the Burn the Floor show...

[Boytjie]

Tom, yes we are boarding a sold-out Regal Princess in 7 days! The biggest RSVP cruise ever and our first time back on Princess since 2007 when we met you on the Caribbean Princess.

 

Koningsdam is surely being looked at for February 2017. We may skip next year but will be back 2017 especially if it is on KDAM.

 

Did you post anything about the Divina? I'd love to hear what you thought of it.

[RMS Olympic]

No I did not post on the Divina experience as it was not good for me. Posting negatives can flavor someone else even before they get on the ship which could negatively impact their opinions.

I am going to try to post observations concerning the Getaway.

As for the Divina:

1. Bar service oh so poor.

2.Design flaws.......public bathrooms without urinals created long lines.

3.Dark tiles surrounding stern pool was burning passengers feet.

Inadequate deck chairs on a full sailing.

4.Eataly....great steaks but the room was like eating in McDonalds and not a specialty restaurant.

5. Galaxy restaurant......wonderful but the bar sat empty. Should have been opened for passengers not dinning. Bar staff just sat there.

6. Ship has potential but crew seemed unhappy and it carried over into the service provided in my opinion.

7. Not sure I would sail MSC again.....lots of sparkle but cheap product.

Note: the fare was so low I cant complain too much as I got what I paid for.

Cant imagine RSVP on that ship. Hope the Regal Princess works better for your charter cruise.

[RMS Olympic]

First, I want to state I am curious as to what the rest of the fleet is like....or is the experience I had on Getaway a one off???????Time will tell when I sail the Star next year.

The following observations are what resulted in a positive opinion on my onboard experience. Keep in mind I dislike big ships and mass market lines. But high end lines like my Regent Seven Seas are just too pricey for a solo traveler. Iam a Princess person......but even Princess isn't what it once was.....

Getaway Observations:

- Music playing when you stepped on the deck, with 4 crew member smiling and saying welcome aboard.Ballons lining the entrance.

- Ship staff in abundance to guide or answer questions....this was also on each deck landing heading to cabins (cabin was available at 11:30 when I boarded.)

-In lobby area, crew serving fruit and cheese skewers....something not expected on this size of ship and price point.

-First night out lots of energy on the part of passengers. Passengers from every age group, socio-economic group. Attire ran the full spectrum.

-Ship very well staffed, crew seemed very happy. I asked about their treatment and found the new changes implemented by Sheehan made for happy crew unlike other lines in the past 2 years.

-Officers very visible. They stated that with the internet they cannot afford bad press and are very serious about handling problems, complaints and gripes as soon as possible. Officers in the lobby each morning to address issues. This I have never seen before on any cruise line.

-Crew member standing out in front of pursers desk/ customer service. This was to direct you to the correct person rather than get in the wrong line......something I have never seen before.

-Cabin, a balcony on deck 12: thought cabin was narrow. Balcony very shallow.

Adequate storage; initially thought the closet was too small as compared to other lines but considering less clothes are needed (less dress clothes) it works out well.

-Shower has a door and not a cling to your bum shower curtain. Shower size was good for bigger passengers.

-Breakfast good. cooking stations were right behind the buffet line. This way the cooks could refill right on the spot rather than go back into the galley and pull replacements from a warming drawer. This is so smart and not seen on other new ships.

-Chocolate milk....yippee...Princess no longer serves it....a cutback.

-Waitstaff constantly policing tables...nice.

-Tables in the café had baskets containing ketchup and mustard as well as silverware in rolled up cloth napkins. Oh so smart, if you needed another fork or spoon you didn't have to pull it off another table or flag down a server....smart.

-Cruise Critic get together......large number of staff and crew participated...more than I have even seen, Gathering was held in Cagneys so there wasn't onlookers walking through. Staff seemed very upbeat and interested in everyone's comments questions and opinions.

-Elevators seemed slow. Interior was lined with mirror...made it appear more roomy.

-Flamingo bar and grill......served Cuban food during the day. Became my fav instead of going into the café/buffet. Pulled pork, lamb shank, plantains, Cuban pastries for desert.......a nice dinning option.

_Garden café......oh so long, but multiple stations, many drink stations and never, repeat never an out of service sign the entire week. more than one self serve ice cream station...enjoyed by both adults and children.

-Adult pools.....no kids allowed. The childrens pool and water park was loaded and kids seemed to be having a blast.

-This ship seems to be more about adults than children which maybe the big difference from Royal Caribbean. If I am right...it would explain the greater profit on NCL as adults spend, children don't.

More observations to follow.

This is still a mass market ship and would probably be a dud for those that prefer Crystal, Cunard, Seabourn or Regent.

If you want to do your own thing, wear what you want, relax or party the Getaway for the price is a great choice. Lots of energy.

Note: if booking a balcony choose the port side. Fireworks are on the port side so you can watch from the comfort of your own balcony.

Still stumped that my high end cruise ship preference did not keep me from finding so much good on this ship. I am actually considering a second cruise on the Getaway...who would have thought.

[need2bespoiled]

Thanks for the review(s). We enjoyed NCL almost 10 years ago, but have not been back. Many of the comments and things you've seen, such as visibility of officers and no kids, where kids don't belong I commonly see on Celebrity. Just a thought. Celebrity has it's own challenges (entertainment?) but has it's up sides as well.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

P.s. I haven't read the thread about the removal of guests from Celebrity, we'll see what that's about.

[Boytjie]

Tom, I am not surprised by your Divina comments; having sailed on her and kinda knowing your preferences. I was surprised that you would even have booked it but then again, it is Italian.

 

Interesting review of Getaway. I must say Pride of America was not a great experience that would make me want to take an NCL cruise.

 

In both cases the RSVP experience made up for the disappointing ships.

[Boytjie]

Itsa me.

Fully recovered from my experience on YOUR dream ship MSC Divina.

 

Never was my dream ship; I went on with low expectations, which it met. ;)

[RMS Olympic]

As far as the Pride of America....

To me it was just a bus that provided transport between islands. It did its job, crew handles our charter nicely considering all the press about American crew. The Islands also overshadowed the cruise experience.

But that was 2010....5 years later the Getaway was like a different company.

NCL is not my idea of a cruise product......but it made me rethink my style of cruising....especially the lack of formality.

I still was pleasantly surprised. Go back on the Pride of America, no.

[Boytjie]

I have no interest in Oasis or Allure but for some reason I wouldn't mind checking out Quantum of the Seas. Go figure.

[shepp]

Food was wonderful, not gormet but better than I have had on Princess the lat couple of cruises. I had the specialty dinning package.......and it was well worth it......especially Cagney's.

 

One question: are you comparing food served fee-free in the MDRs of both Princess and NCL, or do you also tend to stick to upcharge venues on Princess?

 

I'm a Princess loyalist, but not a cheerleader. I will say that I've learned not to generalize from a single cruise. E.g., when I sailed on Star Princess a couple of years ago, I found both the service and food to be notably subpar for Princess, though a month around South America was great nonetheless. Fast forward to this summer, the ship had a new CD and chef, and my Star cruise had some of the best food and service of any cruise I've been on. But then, I've learned that just ordering some items on the Princess menu will disappoint me.

 

I have over the years heard more negative stuff about NCL than any other "American" mass-market line, but your experience on NCL led me to take a second look. (Though I don't book cruises based on the availability of either shirtless dancers or chocolate milk.) Too bad the Getaway itineraries don't thrill me at all.

Edited February 3, 2015 by shepp

[RMS Olympic]

I am a Princess cruiser.....Elite level.

I would say Princess is my line of choice. My cruise on the Coral last year was wonderful, better than the new Royal Princess.

Being old school, I have always preferred traditional dinning, especially when sailing solo. Princess tariff restaurants I have found to be hit and miss but will normally hit the steak restaurant at least once per cruise.

On the Royal Princess I found the non tariff restaurant food to be slipping. Portions much smaller...prime rib dinner very thin. Shrimp cocktail pathetic. Food cutbacks seem to be similar to what is happening on other lines in my opinion.

Now the food on the Getaway was in their tariff restaurants.....and it was very nice....reminded me of what food was like when I started cruising years ago.

I did not eat in the Getaways nontariff restaurants ...but did hear mixed reviews from other passengers.

NCL Getaway café...very good, Flamingo grill (no charge) was a nice change.

If I sail NCL...I will pay the $119 charge for dinning in the tariff restaurants. I never thought I would pay extra, but with the low fares to cruise, I will now pay. I think many have gotten spoiled with these crazy low fares and then expect high end dinning.....Please note I paid for upscale dinning on NCL but the overall cruise cost was less than sailing Princess......so to me its a wash.

Is NCL comparable to Princess....I cant say, two different styles. I did have more fun on the Getaway.....went to more shows, drank more, did more activities (note: learned not to do the water slides after having long island ice teas).:eek:

Will I continue to sail Princess.....yes, NCL, yes. Now would I consider the upcoming Carnival Vista......probably not and choose NCL instead.

Now will the new NCL ESCAPE be as good as the Getaway......November will tell. Again, NCL has come a long way...how consistent across their fleet is a big question...but for now I was pleased (not wowed by pleased enough to sail them again).

[RMS Olympic]

As far as Quantum class....I'd sail it if the third of the series gets based out of Florida. I am not about to fly north to sail south. As for the Oasis and her sister...no thank you. After the Koningsdam , I am going back to small ships starting with Windstar and then back to Star Clipper. I like it small.:p

By the way...Nov 2016 I will be on a small river boat on the Ganges (Haimarks new build). Currently saving money for what will be a break the bank trip with pre and post packages. This will be a gay charter.....operator has not announced the cruise......will do so this spring but we have discussed my booking. Imagine.......India, a 7 night river cruise followed by the Taj Mahal. Now if Jason Statham could only come knocking on my cabin door.....:rolleyes:

[Darrell6t]

A river cruise on the Ganges certainly sounds intriguing. We talk about going to India, but have never quite made to leap to actually going. I hope to hear more about this possibility.

[shepp]

On the Royal Princess I found the non tariff restaurant food to be slipping. Portions much smaller...prime rib dinner very thin. Shrimp cocktail pathetic. Food cutbacks seem to be similar to what is happening on other lines in my opinion.

 

Well, I've only been sailing Princess for eight years, so my memory of the Good Old Days is truncated. Maybe I'm lucky, less than discriminating, or my memory is shot, but I haven't noticed an overall slippage in MDR food. (Or an uptick in the too-often-meh stuff served in the buffet, other than improved desserts.) Food's always a matter of taste, of course, but I never order the prime rib or shrimp cocktail, and many of my favorites - goat cheese soufflé, piña colada soup, escargot - are as good as I remember them ever being. Plus they've added more Asian dishes, always a plus for me. Mmm, chicken korma! Yum, Thai mussels!

 

Having seen the amount of wasted food on a cruise (and the number of pax who would do well to cut back on intake) I really can't complain about portion size. I can always ask for seconds or thirds. Or fourths. Even without the second dessert I used to order but no longer do, I got up from several dinners in December regretting that I'd eaten too much.

 

Like I said, my sailing on the Coral a couple of months ago had lots of food I really liked. (It might have helped that the chef de cuisine for the entire line was aboard.) On the other hand, the food at the Chef's Table was less fabulous than I recall from the Chef's Table on the Royal. On the third hand, the food at the most traveled passenger's luncheon was superb. Luck of the draw.

 

And I've dined enough on Princess to know how to order a meal that will almost certainly disappoint me. Bring on the mediocre luau pork and so-so apple strudel!

 

What concerns me more at this point are Princess' cutbacks in other areas, like entertainment, lecturers, and the like. But since I'm not much of a drinker, and prefer to do my watersliding on dry land, I'm still pretty OK with not going over to NCL…though if they sailed out of SFO - yeah, I'm lazy - to somewhere I wanted to go (right now the only SF sailing is through the Canal, and I've already done three Canal cruises), I'd maybe give it a shot.

Edited February 5, 2015 by shepp

[RMS Olympic]

My post was to note how I was pleasantly surprised with the Getaway. I was not posting to be a cheerleader for NCL, only to note observations that I found an improvement over past NCL experiences.

I do not book passage for shirtless dancers nor chocolate milk; the latter was an example of cut backs on my fav cruise line Princess on which I have 25 cruises.

Me, I prefer to try different cruise lines; being on a ship is my idea of traveling. I have no desire to suggest one line or ship is anothers cup of tea...I can only make obervations on my particular sailing.

As far as changes and cut backs in the industry.....that I feel I can speak on changes having sailed in the good old days (starting in 1979). Good old days when ships were ships and not floating hotels (floating skyscrapers). Where passengers enjoyed simple days at sea with socializing, dining well, visiting ports of call. Now its diversions for the masses that would rather zip line, rock climb, ride ferris wheels, ice skating, and now bumper cars.

The new age of cruisers like the changes, and I try to adjust seeing what I fell in love with disappear. Starting in 2017 I may just sail really small ships, but even then I wont beable to avoid people on their cell phones during dinner as I experienced on Regent Seven Seas.

To each his or her own....there are enough products to go around, although differences seem to be fading.

Is NCL fantastic......not for me. Was it a pleasant surprise....yes. For the money I had a fun cruise and I will give them another try. Shoot, I may even give the Carnival Vista a try when she arrives. I am learning not to use the word never.:rolleyes:

[CruisinMaterial]

Norwegian has come a long way back from the brink a few years ago. I have to say the last two cruises I took, even a full boat music charter (Groove Cruise) on the Norwegian Pearl, I was astounded by the new menu and how good it was. The food was great! The menu seemed very updated. The service on both ships was amazing. Some of the crew didn’t know what to make of us on Groove Cruise but they quickly joined the party (or wanted us gone) but the ones who were doing bar service at the pool – LOVED – the music and were dancing through the crowd getting their drink orders. The more who had fun, the better off their working time was because people sought them out for their drink orders! Glad OP you’ve decided to return to Norwegian. The Star is an older ship but I know some of the crew since I sailed with her last January and they are very well cared for and looked after. You’ll love her! :)

[RMS Olympic]

Sailing the Star after the inaugural 7 day Escape cruise should prove to be interesting. As service and food is important to me, and a smaller ship is my preference it will allow me to see if NCL is keeping things consistent regardless of ship hardware.

NCL has had a lot of negative comments...I too was negative. I started with NCL and got disgusted back in 2000 when they were on a downward spiral. In 2010 I did the Epic (not thrilled) and the next month the Pride with RSVP. The Pride, not impressed but had a great time in Hawaii and was pleased with the service. Now the Getaway.......very pleased....thank you Mr. Sheehan. You took the company public and really improved the product on the latest ship. I hope you enjoy your retirement.....you deserve it.

If Escape and Star are also a positive experience I will become a regular. Right now I find the Escape has too much onboard to experience in a week. So to prevent having to choose what to do and what to miss I have now booked a second cruise. Imagine booking a second cruise on a ship not even in service yet.....blame it on Getaway. So now I will return to the Escape next May....deal was too go to pass up.......right before the summer rates and crowds increase.

To mix it up...the next cruise will be HAL on the Koningsdam in Feb 2017. If RSVP charters her I'll sail with RSVP.....it would be nice to see familiar faces again.

In the meantime I am getting my NCL fix. If NCL is reading this thread....thank you.

PS...Boytjie.....bon voyage on the Regal Princess.

[shepp]

As far as changes and cut backs in the industry.....that I feel I can speak on changes having sailed in the good old days (starting in 1979). Good old days when ships were ships and not floating hotels (floating skyscrapers). Where passengers enjoyed simple days at sea with socializing, dining well, visiting ports of call. Now its diversions for the masses that would rather zip line, rock climb, ride ferris wheels, ice skating, and now bumper cars.

 

I wasn't suggesting that you were cheerleading or anything of the sort, simply noting that I haven't perceived an overall decline in MDR food on Princess (with the sad exception of the Love Boat Dream). In fact, the new Chocolate Journeys desserts are better than most anything that's usually offered.

 

I guess that, beyond issues of pricing, convenience, and that wonderful free laundry, I continue to sail Princess in part because of what you said: the ships still aren't theme parks at sea. (And I love theme parks - I'm prefacing my Japan cruise with a day at Tokyo DisneySea.) The scale of the interior spaces seems comfortable, the general tenor is relaxed, even pokey. No rah-rah is fine with me, though occasionally I do wonder about whether I'd have fun on the Behemoth of the Seas.

 

Princess' Royal class is more about revenue producing, and more about looking inward than being at sea, than earlier builds. But it's still an actual ship-seeming ship, not a mall with rides.

[Boytjie]

 

PS...Boytjie.....bon voyage on the Regal Princess.

 

 

Thanks!

[Bocadude85]

We love NCL. We have never had a problem with the food or service. We usually sail in the suites so perhaps that makes the experience some what different. We sailed on the NCL Spirit last April and loved everything about the ship even though it is the oldest ship in the fleet. We have tried RCCL twice and have decided not to sail on them again. Have yet to try Princess or Celebrity, but that may change soon as they offer more variation in itinerary then NCL does.