1st and Last Norwegian Cruise

[don't-use-real-name]

Not saying that what happened to the OP did not happen - "BUT" it is almost

like a dark cloud hung over this cruiser with the expectation that the worst

would happen no matter what.

Indeed wonder if the Breakaway was having a shakedown cruise of sorts trying

to iron out all the bugs that bug people but then this sort of invisible cruiser

came along and the forest could not be seen for the trees slipping through the

cracks ?!?

Perhaps after the first few expectations failing to meet the OPs expectations a

visit to the Hotel Director (#2 in the ships crew) would have been in order !

When all is NOT going RIGHT I would not turn the other cheek getting slapped

in the face wave after wave of this incredulous substandard service - but then

to having exceptional par excellence service on another cruise line may have

upped the expectation that all cruise lines fit the mold.

One could expect the universe on Cunard; Regent; Crystal and other notables

but certainly you are not going to get that fare on the likes of NCL and Carnival.

If you did expect that maybe perhaps one is cruising on the wrong boat.

BUT indeed bad service from the get-go is not an excuse !

 

Regarding making the onion complaint to the CEO of NCL - call the Customer

Relations 800 number (someone here at CC should have it) or call the

reservation 800 number and request it or be transferred to that line.

Make the complaint as plain and factual with details of how and what you

did to get the complaint addressed. To be fair if you did not contact anyone

about it offer an explanation as to why. Being spiteful and making threats

is not the atmosphere you want here. Demanding money back or other

compensation is not productive if you are not going to cruise with NCL another

time.

A company worth its salt will listen to your complaint and take note to follow

through with a letter of apology and if the complainant is interested in cruising

NCL in the future perhaps an incentive to do so.

 

On a closing note two other methods of redress are to be mentioned:

 

1) the Better Business Bureau if they handle such issues ?

 

2) an Ombudsman service such as Chris Elliott - LINK:

http://www.chris@elliott.org

Edited May 25, 2015 by don't-use-real-name

[suecruises]

Not saying that what happened to the OP did not happen - "BUT" it is almost

like a dark cloud hung over this cruiser with the expectation that the worst

would happen no matter what.

Indeed wonder if the Breakaway was having a shakedown cruise of sorts trying

to iron out all the bugs that bug people but then this sort of invisible cruiser

came along and the forest could not be seen for the trees slipping through the

cracks ?!?

Perhaps after the first few expectations failing to meet the OPs expectations a

visit to the Hotel Director (#2 in the ships crew) would have been in order !

When all is NOT going RIGHT I would not turn the other cheek getting slapped

in the face wave after wave of this incredulous substandard service - but then

to having exceptional par excellence service on another cruise line may have

upped the expectation that all cruise lines fit the mold.

One could expect the universe on Cunard; Regent; Crystal and other notables

but certainly you are not going to get that fare on the likes of NCL and Carnival.

If you did expect that maybe perhaps one is cruising on the wrong boat.

BUT indeed bad service from the get-go is not an excuse !

 

Regarding making the onion complaint to the CEO of NCL - call the Customer

Relations 800 number (someone here at CC should have it) or call the

reservation 800 number and request it or be transferred to that line.

Make the complaint as plain and factual with details of how and what you

did to get the complaint addressed. To be fair if you did not contact anyone

about it offer an explanation as to why. Being spiteful and making threats

is not the atmosphere you want here. Demanding money back or other

compensation is not productive if you are not going to cruise with NCL another

time.

A company worth its salt will listen to your complaint and take note to follow

through with a letter of apology and if the complainant is interested in cruising

NCL in the future perhaps an incentive to do so.

 

On a closing note two other methods of redress are to be mentioned:

 

1) the Better Business Bureau if they handle such issues ?

 

2) an Ombudsman service such as Chris Elliott - LINK:

http://www.chris@elliott.org

 

First of all, we were on the Getaway - not the Breakaway - second of all - there was no dark cloud hanging over the OP - we just expected superior service and received substandard service - if you don't mind bad service - good for you and have fun on your next Norwegian cruise. As for this "dark cloud cruiser" - we will stick with Royal Caribbean or Princess - just trying to save someone a headache and not have their cruise ruined as our's was - thanks for your comments.

[LrgPizza]

I was very sympathetic, even with my reply. At this point though I find it interesting that you won't reply to any of the friendly responses. It's as if you are only here to argue with those that are being confrontational. It kind of makes me sorry I bothered. Not that I cared about getting a reply, but you are making a point of swinging the other way. It's just kind of weird.

[GoAndHaveFun]

I was very sympathetic, even with my reply. At this point though I find it interesting that you won't reply to any of the friendly responses. It's as if you are only here to argue with those that are being confrontational. It kind of makes me sorry I bothered. Not that I cared about getting a reply, but you are making a point of swinging the other way. It's just kind of weird.

 

When I read about OP's experiences, I was sympathetic as I have also received bad service on Getaway, Epic and Jade and I have waited a long time for food as well in either MDR or specialty dining. These are definitely legit complaints. However, what I don't like about OP is that OP is on a little crusade to tell everyone else to stop cruising with NCL just cuz of his/her recent experience on the Getaway. If you don't like NCL, that's fine! But to try to get others to cancel their future cruises with NCL just cuz you had a bad experience on the Getaway, that's just lame.

[grancayman]

I'm really sorry you had such a bad time! I was on what I thought was the same cruise but totally different experience! I've had about a dozen cruises on different lines and the customer service we experienced (group of 19) was beyond fabulous! We ate at Cagney's and LeBistro and had wonderful meals even with a tiny snafu, which was corrected immediately. We had ubp and never waited long to get drinks. Second night at the Tropicana with 19 people at 8 we were in and out in an hour and a half.

In the casino, I had drink servers come and ask on the avg about every 10 mins

Using my name (full disclosure..I'm in the casino a lot)

The manager of Sheehan's went out of his way to make our first night especially festive. Fifteen of us had prime rib that was great and everyone got exactly what they asked for (medium, rare, etc)

Again, I'm not doubting what you experienced, just know mine was very different!

[Granny DI]

Every cruise is a different experience even on the same ship. We left the MDR on the Oasis after the second night. There were 7 of us...all felt the food and service was horrible. On the first night of our cruise on the AOS the butler burst into our locked room at 10:30 PM to clean and he wouldn't leave. The food on our first HAL cruise was not edible...we just had a wonderful cruise on the HAL Ryndam and the food was wonderful. We've never had a perfect cruise nor a terrible one....some are just better than others. We've booked our third cruise on the Breakaway as we think the Haven is probably as close to perfect as we're going to get.

[motleyfan]

yes I am a NCL loyalist, but I have cruised a lot more than you and never had as many complaints on any line as you had with NCL. I don't know how much is nit picking and how much is legit, but I have never experienced a shortness of cocktail staff and never had bad serive on an NCL ship. In fact some of the best service we have had has been on NCl, certainly the firendlist.

 

There is a reason for so many cuirse lines, what one person likes someone else will not.Obviously NCL isn't for you. Now you have done your ranting so it is time for you to return the the cruise lines you enjoy the most. Good luck in the furture. btw, I am glad you love Princess, the worst experiences we have had were on Princess, with totally unfriendly crew, but it certainly wasn't anything like you had on NCL. I do think, telling people to cancel if they can is way over the top. That isn't for any of us to decide. as for contacting the CEO, don't waste your time. Comments like you are making will get you nothing, probably not even a reply and I wouldn't blame him. An objective review can be taken seriously.

 

BTW: do you have any idea how hard it was to read your so called review It you had used paragraphs it would have been a lot easier.

 

Thank you, you made your point beautifully and I completely agree. I've never had bad service on Ncl either, I'm going for my third Cruise in November and I'm very excited. if they ever mess up your order or it's too cold all you gotta do is ask them to fix it and they will. My only food related problem was never making the burgers well done enough

[barnacle_boy]

We stayed on the ship when it docked in St. Thomas - just to be able to get to the pool - tiny in comparison to the amount of people. Be sure you wear your sandals as the deck is hot metal and will melt your feet. The second port - Tortola - beware - we got off and there is nothing there - they are in the middle of building a shopping area but it is far from complete. We attempted to find a drug store to buy some band-aids and after being given strange directions ended up in an alley that had an actual sign that said "Enter at Your Own Risk." Are you kidding me?

 

The decking material on Getaway is the same Bolidt Future Teak that Royal Caribbean uses on their ships. It's a type of synthetic rubber, not metal.

 

NCL might have been one of the primary backers of the Tortola redevelopment project, but they aren't the first company to send a ship to an unfinished port facility. Royal Caribbean's development in Falmouth, Jamaica did not open on time, and even after Oasis started calling there it took another few years for the project to be completed.

 

Actually, the Nassau Port time was changed from 10 to 12 only a few months ago by Del Rio (another cost cut to save on fuel). If he/she booked this cruise more than a few months ago then he/she might not have known how little time he/she was going to have in Nassau.

 

The original schedule for Getaway was to arrive in Nassau at noon, however it was changed by Sheehan to 10am in late 2014 in response to passenger complaints. It was changed back to noon after it became clear that Getaway's relatively slow top speed made it difficult for the ship to consistently meet that 10am arrival time. It had little to do with fuel consumption concerns.

[mostrow]

For many years I was not a NCL fan. But we have been on 6 Norwegian cruises in the past two years. I think these problems is being caused by the FREEBIEs given away over the past few months. Having the drink or dining package included, just clogs the system. We are booked on the Sun for a 11 day cruise in October. We have both. Free drink package, but I paid for the Dining. Bar waiters, maybe are being told to hold back to save money. Not sure. What confuses me was the comment on the staff. We have been on over 110 cruises, and Norwegian staff has always been the best. We are platinum or equal on Princess, Royal, Carnival, Norwegian, and Holland American and as of today, we are booking Norwegian. But, this coming cruise will be our first Del Rio's led cruise.

[Medtech2]

Every meal was cold? I find that hard to believe but I do believe that you didn't enjoy this cruise and for that you have my sympathy.

 

The good news is it looks like you are able to cruise pretty often and have been on other lines you enjoyed.

 

The towel situation would be frustrating. I had steward and towel problems on my last Carnival cruise. That can happen on any line unfortunately.

 

Hope your next cruise is better.

[brantley847]

I returned from the Getaway on 5/16 after a 7-day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. I am just now recovering from the worst cruise ever.

 

I can certainly back up sue's experience.

 

I was also on this cruise the following week (5/16-5/23) and just returned Saturday. I do not have the same amount of cruises under my belt as many of you, but I have been on 5 separate cruises on various lines.

 

I had heard many positives about NCL and noticed on their webpage a promo for $200 on-board credit. When purchasing this promo in late 2014, there was no mention of a stateroom classification requirement. Simply, either $200 on-board credit OR the ultimate dining promo. Our week started with us inquiring as to why we did not have the credit and the staff was extremely rude. My wife and I found this very odd given the fact we didn't expect the credit immediately, just wanted it to post before the end of the cruise. We were told we would be contacted once they received notification on why the credit had not applied. Fast forward three days and still no contact. We requested to speak with anyone who has a supervisory role in guest services. We were flat out told "No, you cannot speak to a supervisor"... What?

 

Not until later in the day did I actually have to track down an officer who would get me in touch with the supervisor of guest services. That supervisor confirmed neither of those promos are eligible for oceanview rooms. Only balcony and suites. The supervisor confirmed they were getting dozens of complaints PER cruise about this issue. While 200 dollars may not be much to some, the fact NCL promotes and distorts this promotion on their own website is very troubling. This is a complaint I have also seen on here now as I go through archived threads.

 

As sue mentioned, Steaks and prime rib were often either overcooked or undercooked. My medium rare prime was always well done (not medium well). While some of you have stated you think Sue is nitpicking, she isn't. I am very understanding with food services as I worked my way through HS and college as a cook. I also hate returning food to those who handle my food.. but I was a bit surprised a cruise line that spends so much promoting their culinary options that the food could be so inconsistent. With that said, I wouldn't classify these dishes as "cold", just poorly prepared or the inability to distinguish how to prepare a particular dish.

 

As far as the room goes, my wife had to call 4 times to notify guest services the toilet wasn't flushing and the shower would fill with water up to and past our ankles. I am assuming the prior guest had children (because the fridge was locked) and their children stuffed the plumbing with some type of foreign objects. Nevertheless, not a fault of NCL. However, calling them 4 times absolutely was.... On the 4th time, we asked the maintenance supervisor why we had to keep calling to get this issue resolved and we were told the service tech kept clearing the job as "complete" when the first three times, no one even showed up. He was actually putting in their system he responded and cleared the system each time while never showing up once.

 

I don't consider myself a nitpicker. Human error occurs. Accidents happen. However, I was rather taken back by the unwillingness to offer assistance by the front line personnel of guest services when that is their ONLY job in that capacity.

 

Last, for anyone planning on sailing on the getaway, I suggest you evaluate what you intend to do on this ship. If you want to be on the sports court, slides, or ropes course all week.. great. Otherwise, you will be sharing two very small pools and about 2000 chairs (only 200 in the shade) with 3,500 other guests. If you were to wake up after 0900am on a day at sea, you won't have a chair. However, that again isn't an isolated issue for NCL, but a common theme that seems to be occurring for the mega ships. A fraction of the shade (for those of you who need it) on the lower deck is dedicated to smokers. The odor of cig smoke has never bothered me, but the complaints you have read here regarding deck 6-8 being influenced by it, are very true.

Edited May 25, 2015 by brantley847

[Siora7777]

My group and I had an amazing time on the Getaway. It's my favorite ship and I can't wait to go again. We had times where the service was slow but it didn't ruin our dinner. Our room attendant never introduced herself. Did we care? No. She did a good job. Our room attendant also switched out our beach towel maybe yours didn't like you... But if the room attendant had told me to switch them out myself I would have, I didn't mind. I did switch it out myself a few times. Sometimes you have to just choose to have a good time. It sounds like you were looking for fault wherever you could find it, as you didn't really list anything good but the ship itself. Certainly not everything was horrible. Not everything is going to be perfect but you can choose to have a good attitude. You probably had too many experiences to compare it to and are used to a certain product. But NCL is not Princess or RCCL, it's NCL and things are done differently on this line. I read reviews all the time but in the end I take them with a grain of salt. The ship that had the best reviews I read was the ship I enjoyed the least. Thousands and thousands of people board these ships every week, if you're lucky it might get reviewed twice by a CC member for each week sailed. Most of the time we don't hear about what a wonderful time people are having because the majority do not write reviews. NCL is clearly not for you and that's okay. At least now you know.

[cruzsnooze]

yes I am a NCL loyalist, but I have cruised a lot more than you and never had as many complaints on any line as you had with NCL. I don't know how much is nit picking and how much is legit, but I have never experienced a shortness of cocktail staff and never had bad serive on an NCL ship. In fact some of the best service we have had has been on NCl, certainly the firendlist.

 

There is a reason for so many cuirse lines, what one person likes someone else will not.Obviously NCL isn't for you. Now you have done your ranting so it is time for you to return the the cruise lines you enjoy the most. Good luck in the furture. btw, I am glad you love Princess, the worst experiences we have had were on Princess, with totally unfriendly crew, but it certainly wasn't anything like you had on NCL. I do think, telling people to cancel if they can is way over the top. That isn't for any of us to decide. as for contacting the CEO, don't waste your time. Comments like you are making will get you nothing, probably not even a reply and I wouldn't blame him. An objective review can be taken seriously.

 

BTW: do you have any idea how hard it was to read your so called review It you had used paragraphs it would have been a lot easier.

Hip Hip Horray, NCL can't do anything wrong. Your posts are so biased. The OP had the experience not you so how can anyone negate their experience. Makes you not credible, I can't take you seriously.

[Level six]

hip hip horray, ncl can't do anything wrong. Your posts are so biased. The op had the experience not you so how can anyone negate their experience. Makes you not credible, i can't take you seriously.

 

like!:)

[SissasMomE]

Read the reviews - think twice about Norwegian

 

I never understood these "everything was horrible" reviews. Nothing at all was good? We've never had an issue, thankfully. The crew are what has kept us coming back to NCL. They have gone above and beyond on so many of our cruises. The food issue is unacceptable though. That's a shame, and there's no reason at all for that.

Edited May 25, 2015 by SissasMomE

[elruth]

I find the posts that warn people about a cruise and cruise line are bordering on the ridiculous. Why would anyone cancel their scheduled or even not yet scheduled cruise because a poster didn't think the service was good or had other issues?

[Kaboochi]

So sorry to hear of your bad experience. We sailed on Getaway in Feb. Loved the entire experience so much that we are sailing on her for this Christmas. We loved the food, the entertainment and the entire experience, although I must say the coffee was beyond terrible. My only complaint. Again, I wish your experience had been better.

[motleyfan]

So sorry to hear of your bad experience. We sailed on Getaway in Feb. Loved the entire experience so much that we are sailing on her for this Christmas. We loved the food, the entertainment and the entire experience, although I must say the coffee was beyond terrible. My only complaint. Again, I wish your experience had been better.

 

I'm glad you had fun, some people just look for bad experiences lol. Like I said before that person could have easily said something about the cold food

[GoAndHaveFun]

I never understood these "everything was horrible" reviews. Nothing at all was good? We've never had an issue, thankfully. The crew are what has kept us coming back to NCL. They have gone above and beyond on so many of our cruises. The food issue is unacceptable though. That's a shame, and there's no reason at all for that.

 

Yeaaa...I never understood those type of reviews either. Like I have experienced less than stellar service onboard NCL as well and for sure I would bring it up in my cruise review but I also talk about the positives of my cruise trip. I also don't give 1/5 stars just cuz I hated the service or something.

 

I find the posts that warn people about a cruise and cruise line are bordering on the ridiculous. Why would anyone cancel their scheduled or even not yet scheduled cruise because a poster didn't think the service was good or had other issues?

 

Like had the OP just say he/she didn't like NCL and plan on going back to RCL and Princess, then alrighty then! But to warn people about NCL and to tell them to cancel future cruises with NCL is just ridiculous.

[mollyanne]

Our favorite would be Princess - Panama Canal on the Caribbean Princess, second favorite would be Royal Caribbean - Oasis of the Seas - absolutely amazing.

 

I doubt you sailed the Caribbean Princess through the Panama Canal as it's too big to transit the canal! Once it is widened it will fit but not now.

[biker@sea]

I returned from the Getaway on 5/16 after a 7-day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. I am just now recovering from the worst cruise ever. I know a lot of people on here are fans of Norwegian - I am just going by what happened to me and my husband. We have been on a total of 19 cruises - mostly Royal Caribbean, 1 Princess, 2 Holland America, 7 Carnival. I have never seen such lack of customer service as we did on Norwegian. The ship was nice enough, even though the zipline was down for the entire trip. We had an aft-balcony (9920) with a huge balcony - which was the only good thing on the entire trip. Every restaurant we tried -the food was cold, we complained to the maitre d' and she was useless - the other staff on the ship did not even know who she was (Anna Maria). At one point after not getting service after sitting 10 minutes in the Savor restaurant, we chose to leave - and had to walk by 2 men in full HazMat suits cleaning something up - it was disgusting. We had the UBP - the only way you could get a drink was to go to the bar yourself because there were no servers offering drinks (casino and restaurant). Only one server - Elvis - in O'Sheehans ever offered me a drink refill. Our room steward never introduced himself - when I asked for an extra bath towel he said he used one of the towels for the one and only towel animal we received. When we asked for clean pool towels (since they were on the bed when we first arrived) -he said - take the dirty ones to the pool and change them out yourself. Great customer service. We stayed on the ship when it docked in St. Thomas - just to be able to get to the pool - tiny in comparison to the amount of people. Be sure you wear your sandals as the deck is hot metal and will melt your feet. The second port - Tortola - beware - we got off and there is nothing there - they are in the middle of building a shopping area but it is far from complete. We attempted to find a drug store to buy some band-aids and after being given strange directions ended up in an alley that had an actual sign that said "Enter at Your Own Risk." Are you kidding me? Then when we went to the Bahamas where we have been on multiple cruises - we didn't arrive until 12:30 in the afternoon and had to be back on the ship at 6:30 - great planning on Norwegian's part. This was an anniversary trip for us and the only incentive was the UBP - which in no way could make up for the lack of service. At one restaurant, Savor, we had 4 different people introduce themselves as either waiters or assistants, and it took one hour to be served one appetizer and cold Prime Rib with a baked potato that was so hard you couldn't eat it. When served the Prime Rib in O'Sheehan's - it was dropped off by the waiter, no knife to cut it with and again - cold meat, hard potato. We tried the Noodle Bar - cold noodles with cold shrimp - on a dish that was meant to be hot. I know a lot of people will think I am nitpicking but seriously - even after complaining to the maitre d' you would think that the service would improve. Good luck to anyone who is booked on this ship - if you still have time to cancel - do it.

 

So did ya liked the big balcony ??

[GEORGET]

How do I contact the new CEO - do you know?

 

Mr Andrew Stuart

President & Chief Operations Officer NCL.

7665 Corporate Centre Drive

Miami

Florida 33126

 

 

Mr F J Del Rio

President & Chief Executive Officer NCL ( HOLDING) LTD.

7665 Corporate Centre Drive

Miami

Florida 33126

 

write to both.

hope it helps j

[cayugashue]

I returned from the Getaway on 5/16 after a 7-day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. I am just now recovering from the worst cruise ever. I know a lot of people on here are fans of Norwegian - I am just going by what happened to me and my husband. We have been on a total of 19 cruises - mostly Royal Caribbean, 1 Princess, 2 Holland America, 7 Carnival. I have never seen such lack of customer service as we did on Norwegian. The ship was nice enough, even though the zipline was down for the entire trip. We had an aft-balcony (9920) with a huge balcony - which was the only good thing on the entire trip. Every restaurant we tried -the food was cold, we complained to the maitre d' and she was useless - the other staff on the ship did not even know who she was (Anna Maria). At one point after not getting service after sitting 10 minutes in the Savor restaurant, we chose to leave - and had to walk by 2 men in full HazMat suits cleaning something up - it was disgusting. We had the UBP - the only way you could get a drink was to go to the bar yourself because there were no servers offering drinks (casino and restaurant). Only one server - Elvis - in O'Sheehans ever offered me a drink refill. Our room steward never introduced himself - when I asked for an extra bath towel he said he used one of the towels for the one and only towel animal we received. When we asked for clean pool towels (since they were on the bed when we first arrived) -he said - take the dirty ones to the pool and change them out yourself. Great customer service. We stayed on the ship when it docked in St. Thomas - just to be able to get to the pool - tiny in comparison to the amount of people. Be sure you wear your sandals as the deck is hot metal and will melt your feet. The second port - Tortola - beware - we got off and there is nothing there - they are in the middle of building a shopping area but it is far from complete. We attempted to find a drug store to buy some band-aids and after being given strange directions ended up in an alley that had an actual sign that said "Enter at Your Own Risk." Are you kidding me? Then when we went to the Bahamas where we have been on multiple cruises - we didn't arrive until 12:30 in the afternoon and had to be back on the ship at 6:30 - great planning on Norwegian's part. This was an anniversary trip for us and the only incentive was the UBP - which in no way could make up for the lack of service. At one restaurant, Savor, we had 4 different people introduce themselves as either waiters or assistants, and it took one hour to be served one appetizer and cold Prime Rib with a baked potato that was so hard you couldn't eat it. When served the Prime Rib in O'Sheehan's - it was dropped off by the waiter, no knife to cut it with and again - cold meat, hard potato. We tried the Noodle Bar - cold noodles with cold shrimp - on a dish that was meant to be hot. I know a lot of people will think I am nitpicking but seriously - even after complaining to the maitre d' you would think that the service would improve. Good luck to anyone who is booked on this ship - if you still have time to cancel - do it.

 

"The ship was nice enough, even though the zipline was down for the entire trip."

 

Is there a zip line on this ship?

[legion3]

"The ship was nice enough, even though the zipline was down for the entire trip."

 

Is there a zip line on this ship?

 

Yes in the ropes course, but it didn't work, so in reality no.

[RuthlessBoss]

Yes in the ropes course, but it didn't work, so in reality no.

 

Well, that's enough to ruin a cruise:eek: