Bye ncl

[william]

Sad to say after sailing over 15yrs with NCl I am done. Sailed on the Dawn out of Boston last month. The service fees had gone up almost $3.00 since my last cruise 3yrs prior. The service fee on the drinks also increased to 18 percent when it use to be 15 percent. Would not mind it but service has dropped and is horrible. No bar service around the pool. Twenty minutes to get a drink at the pool bars. Only good bar service we had all week was at the Gabsy bar. If you did get service was at least half hour for your drink.

When I got home I wish I had taken part of the tips off and gave my room steward the money in cash himself. He was great best one I had in years.

[mobu2015]

Just curious not trying to be snark AT ALL but where are you planning to go? Are you done with cruises in general then? I haven't checked the other lines lately but I would think if their prices aren't similar to NCL'S for the things you list they may fall in line with them soon enough.

[drjochen]

Sad to say after sailing over 15yrs with NCl I am done. Sailed on the Dawn out of Boston last month. The service fees had gone up almost $3.00 since my last cruise 3yrs prior. The service fee on the drinks also increased to 18 percent when it use to be 15 percent. Would not mind it but service has dropped and is horrible. No bar service around the pool. Twenty minutes to get a drink at the pool bars. Only good bar service we had all week was at the Gabsy bar. If you did get service was at least half hour for your drink.

When I got home I wish I had taken part of the tips off and gave my room steward the money in cash himself. He was great best one I had in years.

 

They are saving money wherever they can.

[OCruisers]

It never hurts to give another cruise line a try! :)

 

LuLu

[johnlatte]

Sad to say after sailing over 15yrs with NCl I am done. Sailed on the Dawn out of Boston last month. The service fees had gone up almost $3.00 since my last cruise 3yrs prior. The service fee on the drinks also increased to 18 percent when it use to be 15 percent. Would not mind it but service has dropped and is horrible. No bar service around the pool. Twenty minutes to get a drink at the pool bars. Only good bar service we had all week was at the Gabsy bar. If you did get service was at least half hour for your drink.

When I got home I wish I had taken part of the tips off and gave my room steward the money in cash himself. He was great best one I had in years.

 

Was on tbe Dawn early in June, the service at the bars was just as you described. Gatsby was okay, but the two bartenders there seemed to be quite snarky at people as they left the bar area. Making faces and pointing at folks. They definitely cut the staff around the pool. No one walking around with drinks of the day, no one period. If that's how NCL wants to do things, then I might have to start looking at RCI. Already booked on the Allure next summer but they may get my business more.

[kerryincork]

I recently sailed on MSC (last week :-() I had a great time. It was definetly different from NCL, but i would sail with them again. Though I've sailed the most with NCL i'm not particularly brand loyal. Thinking of trying out Carnival next ;) have fun trying out other cruise lines.

[Cruising Golfer]

You have every right to leave and find another line that you will enjoy.

IMHO all are in the same boat, profits are down, prices are up, and on some ships, service just sucks!!!

We have sailed on 5 different lines and when you compare cost of cruise and what you receive, I feel that NCL is one of the better lines... Just my thoughts...

Best of luck with your next cruise line!!! :cool:

[abe3]

My cable bill has gone up since three years ago. My grocery bill for the same food has gone up from three years ago. My water and electric bills have gone up since three years ago. And you know what they all give the same service I had three years ago. Nothing added just more money

Edited July 15, 2015 by abe3

[CAnative1]

My cable bill has gone up since three years ago. My grocery bill for the same food has gone up from three years ago. My water and electric bills have gone up since three years ago. And you know what they all give the same service I had three years ago. Nothing added just more money

 

 

Don't forget fuel prices.

 

Fuel for my car went up by about a dollar per gallon compared to last week where I am at. :p

[TheDougOut]

IMHO all are in the same boat, profits are down, prices are up, and on some ships, service just sucks!!!

 

I'm not a financials guy, but from my inexperienced (and likely incorrect) interpretation of net income, I'd say profits are up:

 

• 2010: 22.62M
  
• 2011: 126.86M
  
• 2012: 168.56M
  
• 2013: 101.71M
  
• 2014: 338.35M
  

 

It's sad to hear about the service on the Dawn. What's funny - my first NCL cruise was on the Dawn a few years back. Guess what the number one complaint was at the time? Getting bombarded by all the pool servers! Every other minute... "Drinks? Can I get you a drink?". My how far we've come...

 

It would appear NCL as a company is thriving. Their stock price, much like others in the industry, have nearly doubled in the past year.

 

From the many comments I've read about the ship I'll be sailing on in a few weeks (BA), the lack of NCL consumers, at least during high-demand periods, is far from an issue. It will be interesting to see how all these changes play out during off-peak periods. Truth be told, while we may all be paying more and more for each new cruise, I'm still amazed at all we get for the price.

 

I'll be the first to admit... in the grand scheme of things, you can see just how spoiled and privileged we are based on the complaints we voice. I'm just as guilty as everyone else.

Edited July 15, 2015 by TheDougOut

[SissasMomE]

You have every right to leave and find another line that you will enjoy.

IMHO all are in the same boat, profits are down, prices are up, and on some ships, service just sucks!!!

We have sailed on 5 different lines and when you compare cost of cruise and what you receive, I feel that NCL is one of the better lines... Just my thoughts...

Best of luck with your next cruise line!!! :cool:

 

I think the ship itself makes a difference as well. It's known that the better crews are on the new ships as part of the start up crew. I think that definitely makes a huge difference in the service received.

[NLH Arizona]

Don't forget fuel prices.

 

Fuel for my car went up by about a dollar per gallon compared to last week where I am at. :p

And don't forget land-based restaurant prices and coffee at Starbucks and nothing added just cost more.

[SissasMomE]

And don't forget land-based restaurant prices and coffee at Starbucks and nothing added just cost more.

 

I'm ok with prices increasing. It's part of an improved economy ... and as consumers, we do have a choice of whether we purchase or do not purchase. I do not see the value in the specialities at these prices so I will not purchase, but plenty of others do! I personally have not had a problem getting service at a bar or on the pool deck, but I do know what that sort of complaint is common with the Dawn, for whatever reason.

[Laszlo]

Sad to say after sailing over 15yrs with NCl I am done. Sailed on the Dawn out of Boston last month. The service fees had gone up almost $3.00 since my last cruise 3yrs prior. The service fee on the drinks also increased to 18 percent when it use to be 15 percent. Would not mind it but service has dropped and is horrible. No bar service around the pool. Twenty minutes to get a drink at the pool bars. Only good bar service we had all week was at the Gabsy bar. If you did get service was at least half hour for your drink.

When I got home I wish I had taken part of the tips off and gave my room steward the money in cash himself. He was great best one I had in years.

 

Cya........... I'm a partner is a large printing company

 

Over the last 3 years the price of aluminum and steel we print on has gone up 27%. The plastics we buy to print on which happen to come from petroleum products has gone up 24%

[luv2cruisecats]

I think the ship itself makes a difference as well. It's known that the better crews are on the new ships as part of the start up crew. I think that definitely makes a huge difference in the service received.

 

We were on the Getaway twice this year and ran into some very outstanding crew members. When we told them we will be doing the Escape T/A in October many mentioned they are being moved there also. Guess it is just a big game of dominos with a trickle down effect.

[NLH Arizona]

I'm ok with prices increasing. It's part of an improved economy ... and as consumers, we do have a choice of whether we purchase or do not purchase. I do not see the value in the specialities at these prices so I will not purchase, but plenty of others do! I personally have not had a problem getting service at a bar or on the pool deck, but I do know what that sort of complaint is common with the Dawn, for whatever reason.

I think folks should look at it like you do; if the value doesn't equate to the cost, then skip it. I'll wait to see the menus and new costs before making a final decision, but will probably just continue purchasing the dining package, as I only eat in the specialty restaurants.

 

I'll be on the Dawn in December, so I'll be interested in seeing for myself. On my cruises, I've never had an issue getting bar service by the pool or anywhere else, let's see if that continues on the Dawn.

 

BTW, I always do the smaller ships (Pearl, Jewell, etc.) and have always found the crews to be exceptional.

Edited July 15, 2015 by NLH Arizona

[LrgPizza]

Prices are always increasing everywhere and we won't stop that. I personally didn't have a problem with the drink gratuity going from 15% to 18% simply because it had been the same for many years, so it was probably due. However, I have also been seeing a lot of stuff lately about poor service on the Dawn. I wonder what's up? Hopefully when the natural changes in shifts occur this will get better. I know years ago we had extremely crappy service on the Spirit, and these days it seems to have gotten better. Maybe crap goes in cycles, and the Dawn will rebound? :D

[OCruisers]

We've found bar service around the pools and at the pool bars to still be good on Princess, HAL, and Celebrity. In fact, all service was very good on those three. :)

Unfortunately, on RCCL the open deck bar service was awful. :(

It's not easy to pick another cruise line after many years of loyalty.

Hope this is a bit of help to you.

LuLu

Edited July 15, 2015 by OCruisers

[TheDougOut]

I personally didn't have a problem with the drink gratuity going from 15% to 18% simply because it had been the same for many years, so it was probably due.

 

I agree - I see no issue with an 18% auto-gratuity (or even 20%) while on a service-oriented cruise or resort vacation. If there wasn't an auto-gratuity, I suspect many of us would be tipping beyond 20% without any complaints.

 

Being that it's a percentage, however - has me thinking we shouldn't expect it to go up periodically other than to mirror a changing norm elsewhere. But I believe this to be the case here - a 15% gratuity is somewhat outdated, and 18% is closer to the new norm.

[biker@sea]

Sad to say after sailing over 15yrs with NCl I am done. Sailed on the Dawn out of Boston last month. The service fees had gone up almost $3.00 since my last cruise 3yrs prior. The service fee on the drinks also increased to 18 percent when it use to be 15 percent. Would not mind it but service has dropped and is horrible. No bar service around the pool. Twenty minutes to get a drink at the pool bars. Only good bar service we had all week was at the Gabsy bar. If you did get service was at least half hour for your drink.

When I got home I wish I had taken part of the tips off and gave my room steward the money in cash himself. He was great best one I had in years.

 

I can't argue with that. :(

 

Dawn has been on a down hill slid the last few season's. :eek:

 

.

[Cruising Golfer]

I think the ship itself makes a difference as well. It's known that the better crews are on the new ships as part of the start up crew. I think that definitely makes a huge difference in the service received.

 

So not true... We are just off the Jade and the crew was the best I've seen in years... :cool:

[Ilovesailing]

My cable bill has gone up since three years ago. My grocery bill for the same food has gone up from three years ago. My water and electric bills have gone up since three years ago. And you know what they all give the same service I had three years ago. Nothing added just more money

 

At least my alimony payments have stayed the same and will forever.:D

[Demonyte]

Prices are always increasing everywhere and we won't stop that. I personally didn't have a problem with the drink gratuity going from 15% to 18% simply because it had been the same for many years, so it was probably due.

 

 

This is something I can not fathom. Since the prices keep rising, the dollar amount of percentage based auto-gratuity raises with them automatically. There is no need to raise both drink prices and the gratuity percentage in order for the workers to get their raises.

[RuthlessBoss]

Sad to say after sailing over 15yrs with NCl I am done. Sailed on the Dawn out of Boston last month. The service fees had gone up almost $3.00 since my last cruise 3yrs prior. The service fee on the drinks also increased to 18 percent when it use to be 15 percent. Would not mind it but service has dropped and is horrible. No bar service around the pool. Twenty minutes to get a drink at the pool bars. Only good bar service we had all week was at the Gabsy bar. If you did get service was at least half hour for your drink.

When I got home I wish I had taken part of the tips off and gave my room steward the money in cash himself. He was great best one I had in years.

 

Do you think a server takes 1 order at a time (yours), runs directly to the bar where the bartender is making no drinks except yours, then the server runs back to you avoiding all other potential orders? Now you've used up the next person's ordering.

[mcatmcat]

The circle of life, after sailing 7 years exclusively with royal now I go back to NCL