NCL Vs. other lines drastic changes

[legion3]

Going on the jade out of Houston. Not my favorite port. Miami is my favorite port to get there a few days early to hit our favorite spots. The big ships Breakaway, Epic, and Getaway are fantastic ships. Gong to be an adjustment on the smaller Jade but I have been on the Jewel and Pearl which were great cruises and nice boats.

 

Have you sailed on breakaway or getaway?

[abe3]

Have you sailed on breakaway or getaway?

 

 

Yes I have. Both wonderful ships and in the haven on both.

[sparks1093]

Does NCL offer a good product? Yes. Is NCL perfect? No. Does NCL need to be perfect to book with them? No. Is it unreasonable to criticize NCL in those areas where they can improve? No. Is everyone going to agree on what those areas are? No. Is criticizing NCL the same as complaining? No.

[abe3]

Actually I haven't. My wife has done carnival and RCL and she prefers NCL over those lines. I have looked at both lines before when booking a cruise but the price and what NCL offers is hard to beat in my opinion. Others will think differently, but I like the freestlyle option and the suites. In my opinion NCL offers a great product and until I have a bad experience or I find another option that's suits me and my family better I will stay with NCL.

[maywell]

You must not read the other forums much, but why would you since you are so enamored with NCL.

 

All the forums are pretty much the same as NCL with their cheerleaders and as you like to call the people who don't drink the kool aid, "whiners".

 

Have you taken any other cruises besides the 2 you have listed?

 

Just asking because i am trying to figure out how much validity to put into your comment about NCL being your favorite cruise line.

 

Bill

I research cruise lines that interest me in my spare time - NCL happens to have some things similar to Carnival/Royal/Celebrity/MSC with an added benefit of studio/lounge/solo meets on.their Breakaway-class ship. Matter of fact, I learned more about NCL over in the other forums of CC because people would link up the websites to show the difference in public areas / cabin / food. It was in the NCL forums, I learned about DSC-removing, lobster in the specialty restaurant, grumpyness and dissatisfaction before boarding - almost made me want to cancel my reservation because that miserable this forum was about it. But everytime I looked at photos or youtube videos, I thought "Maybe its not so bad and worst comes to worse, I can always cancel the 2nd reservation and book with another cruise line. Bleep it - its my Birthday present to myself, I've had crappier birthdays experiences than that." Glad I went, I winded up loving it.

 

 

Regarding Carnival, it was a super last minute trip that had the solo supplment waive and 1)to get a feel in case I want do any last minute trips with them and 2) work out the any travel kinks for the schedule NCL trip. Will I ever do Carnival again? Not for the foreseeable future - its just not my cup of tea for variety of reasons and I will leave it at that.

 

And yes, I do read other cruise lines forums just to keep abreast of stuff in case I winded traveling on them for whatever reason. That's why I find the complaining humorous here - the other forums have more valid reasons to get out the pitchforks than here, for example, Carnival passengers are actually being nickel & dime over the new bottle water/soda ban.[emoji21]

 

Assess as much as like - me as a solo traveler have different wants/needs over someone who's going as a couple /family/group. That and I don't have to compromise or deferred decisions to anyone - such what to do for the day or where to go.[emoji1]

 

 

Sent from my SGH-T399 using Tapatalk

Edited August 18, 2015 by maywell

[tarps14]

That because majority of those posters in other forums love/like their lines, warts and all, and don't mind stating all the why's without get attcked. While here, if person even states they like that NCL has Pespi of this forum - they get torn apart for it. If some people didn't know any better, they would think all NCL passengers were miserable, nasty, miserly, horrible people because that how this forum sometimes comes across, sadly. The funny thing is, the actual NCL sailing experience is an complete opposite of what complainers here would lead one to believe - bright, cheerful, spendthrifty, nice.

 

That's why, I don't take the most of complainers seriously -NCL was badmouth last year when I joined, still getting badmouth this, and will get badmouth next year and year after that... And I guess, I will always be attack for being one of my favorite cruise line for my own personal reasons. *shrug*

 

 

 

Sent from my SGH-T399 using Tapatalk

 

Totally agree with this. We recently booked a Celebrity cruise as a b2b with our Escape cruise in Jan. I've been over there reading their board and have been blown away by how they can state their opinions, give reasons for that opinion and not be personally attacked and called various names because of that opinion. This board seems to have evolved into who can hit the lowest in attempting to discredit whomever they don't agree with. Why is this?

 

I don't agree with all that NCL has changed in the last few months. And, even more than that, I certainly don't condone how they have handled publicizing these changes. However, I have two cruises currently scheduled with them and am looking forward to both. Do these changes affect me? Some do, some don't. However, I can certainly empathize with all those who are directly impacted. It wasn't that long ago that we were sailing in insides and oceanviews because that is what the budget allowed. Things have changed for us and so has our style of cruising. However, I can still agree with those whose vacations have been highly impacted by these changes. Empathy works like that, ya know?

 

I encourage those who are very disturbed by what's happened at NCL, and haven't tried the other lines, to give 'em a shot. To those who like NCL and have no issues with the current changes, then enjoy your cruise with them. That doesn't make you a cheerleader any more than those who are unhappy with the changes, a hater, whiner or complainer. It's your opinion and all of us are entitled to that. Do you have to agree with me? Heck no. But you also don't have to call me names or try to shame me into going along with yours.

[sparks1093]

Actually I haven't. My wife has done carnival and RCL and she prefers NCL over those lines. I have looked at both lines before when booking a cruise but the price and what NCL offers is hard to beat in my opinion. Others will think differently, but I like the freestlyle option and the suites. In my opinion NCL offers a great product and until I have a bad experience or I find another option that's suits me and my family better I will stay with NCL.

No one does suites like NCL.

[detroitlions]

Who says it get us no where. The reversal of the bringing food to your cabin policy is a perfect example.

 

About 15 years ago, at great expense, McDonalds changed to paper from foam packaging. They did this because of pressure from consumers. People wanted to continue to patronize them, but felt the packaging was against their values.

 

Another example is Walmart's decision to stop using contracted cleaning services. When it was discovered that those services were using illegal labor, people protested and the policy was changed.

 

I am tired of other passengers telling me to like it or lump it. Do you feel the same way about social justice or politics? Should we always just gratefully accept the meager crumbs doled out to us by our post-national corporate overlords? Come on.

 

If the critics on Cruise CRITIC are bothering you, go somewhere else! ;)

Bringing food in the room did not cost NCL a cent so that is not a win. They dont care if some one has to clean it in your room the hall way or in the cafe. Let me know when you get your way with politics I have not seen any of it change in 45 years and I wont in the next 45. No matter how I vote. And none of that has to do with going on a cruise. Most people are mad when the prices go up so they portray that the quality went down. Never happy. Prices will not stay the same forever.

[Hendricks Clan]

No one does suites like NCL.

 

MSC says "Hello!" MSC Yacht Club is right up there with NCL.

Edited August 18, 2015 by Hendricks Clan

[abe3]

No one does suites like NCL.

 

 

You are right about that. Will not ever go back to not being in a suite unless I can't afford it. If I can't I guess I will do another cabin but at least I am on a cruise either way.

[sparks1093]

MSC Yacht Club is right up there with NCL.

MSC is on my bucket list.

Edited August 18, 2015 by sparks1093

[legion3]

No one does suites like NCL.

 

Certainly not at the current prices I'm seeing :eek: big bucks these days it seems.

 

But all NCL prices have seemed to rise.

[Hendricks Clan]

You are right about that. Will not ever go back to not being in a suite unless I can't afford it. If I can't I guess I will do another cabin but at least I am on a cruise either way.

 

Once again that is totally incorrect. To suggest that no one competes with NCL in terms of suites and amenities is laughable. The MSC Yacht Club compares to the Haven in almost every way possible. Other lines here recently have announced huge upgrades and benefits to what they offer suite passengers. MSC has had a comparable product since the introduction in the Yacht Club back in 2008. To say no one does suites like NCL is just totally false.

Edited August 18, 2015 by Hendricks Clan

[Hendricks Clan]

Certainly not at the current prices I'm seeing :eek: big bucks these days it seems.

 

But all NCL prices have seemed to rise.

 

Exactly! My cruise this November on MSC in the Yacht Club was right about the same price NCL was charging for the lowest category Balcony.

[russianmom]

Once again that is totally incorrect. To suggest that no one competes with NCL in terms of suites and amenities is laughable. The MSC Yacht Club compares to the Haven in almost every way possible. Other lines here recently have announced huge upgrades and benefits to what they offer suite passengers. MSC has had a comparable product since the introduction in the Yacht Club back in 2008. To say no one does suites like NCL is just totally false.

 

And RCCL is rolling out a new suite program starting with Harmony of the Seas...

[Jane Don]

Bringing food in the room did not cost NCL a cent so that is not a win. They dont care if some one has to clean it in your room the hall way or in the cafe. Let me know when you get your way with politics I have not seen any of it change in 45 years and I wont in the next 45. No matter how I vote. And none of that has to do with going on a cruise. Most people are mad when the prices go up so they portray that the quality went down. Never happy. Prices will not stay the same forever.

 

Defeatist much? I have personally had a hand in changing laws. Everyday I try to do at least one thing to make the world a better place. Very few days is it grand and most days it is as simple as picking up litter. Apathy is not for me. I would rather take action and fight a good fight, win or lose. Sure, this is not as important or as rewarding as advocating for homeless shelters, but my values require that I take a stand when I see injustice. My vacation time and resources are quite limited and retroactively changing policy is an injustice that eats in to my family's enjoyment. I make great sacrifices all year long to provide an annual trip.

 

Interestingly, I had a Disney World vacation booked for this Christmas. When Disney laid off 250 IT people and told them they were to work through their severance to train the temporary foreign workers replacing them, I cancelled - and I explained why. I then booked yet another NCL cruise. A week later, Disney cancelled their new IT program. I know my actions matter. And thanks to people with values like mine, 250 people in the Orlando area still have jobs and can pay their mortgage and feed their families. I will vote with my wallet and I will express why. It certainly can't hurt and on rare occasions, it evokes change.

[legion3]

Actually I haven't. My wife has done carnival and RCL and she prefers NCL over those lines. I have looked at both lines before when booking a cruise but the price and what NCL offers is hard to beat in my opinion. Others will think differently, but I like the freestlyle option and the suites. In my opinion NCL offers a great product and until I have a bad experience or I find another option that's suits me and my family better I will stay with NCL.

 

See I don't see the freestyle option as being useful at all. We have had to book everything in advance if we really wanted something on NCL. Often a sea of red lights at every specialty, especially later in the voyage when every one tires of waiting for a table at the MDR or are fully uninspired by the MDR menu.

 

All lines have buffet's so nothing free style there at all.

 

And the prices on NCL have gone way, way up recently. Wouldn't even consider NCL again at the current rates.

 

I get the suites, loved ours, but the prices on them are sky high too.

 

Except for the extra specialty restaurants and some of the entertainment, I just don't see the difference between Carnival and NCL. Except I like the MDR on Carnival better. and the kids club too, at least its policies.

[legion3]

I research cruise lines that interest me in my spare time - NCL happens to have some things similar to Carnival/Royal/Celebrity/MSC with an added benefit of studio/lounge/solo meets on.their Breakaway-class ship. Matter of fact, I learned more about NCL over in the other forums of CC because people would link up the websites to show the difference in public areas / cabin / food. It was in the NCL forums, I learned about DSC-removing, lobster in the specialty restaurant, grumpyness and dissatisfaction before boarding - almost made me want to cancel my reservation because that miserable this forum was about it. But everytime I looked at photos or youtube videos, I thought "Maybe its not so bad and worst comes to worse, I can always cancel the 2nd reservation and book with another cruise line. Bleep it - its my Birthday present to myself, I've had crappier birthdays experiences than that." Glad I went, I winded up loving it.

 

 

Regarding Carnival, it was a super last minute trip that had the solo supplment waive and 1)to get a feel in case I want do any last minute trips with them and 2) work out the any travel kinks for the schedule NCL trip. Will I ever do Carnival again? Not for the foreseeable future - its just not my cup of tea for variety of reasons and I will leave it at that.

 

And yes, I do read other cruise lines forums just to keep abreast of stuff in case I winded traveling on them for whatever reason. That's why I find the complaining humorous here - the other forums have more valid reasons to get out the pitchforks than here, for example, Carnival passengers are actually being nickel & dime over the new bottle water/soda ban.[emoji21]

 

Assess as much as like - me as a solo traveler have different wants/needs over someone who's going as a couple /family/group. That and I don't have to compromise or deferred decisions to anyone - such what to do for the day or where to go.[emoji1]

 

 

Sent from my SGH-T399 using Tapatalk

 

if I were a solo then NCL makes sense.

 

also the Carnival people are pretty pleased with the pre-order price of bottled water, many pay CCL now, instead of lugging them aboard now.

[Hendricks Clan]

See I don't see the freestyle option as being useful at all. We have had to book everything in advance if we really wanted something on NCL. Often a sea of red lights at every specialty, especially later in the voyage when every one tires of waiting for a table at the MDR or are fully uninspired by the MDR menu.

 

All lines have buffet's so nothing free style there at all.

 

And the prices on NCL have gone way, way up recently. Wouldn't even consider NCL again at the current rates.

 

I get the suites, loved ours, but the prices on them are sky high too.

 

Except for the extra specialty restaurants and some of the entertainment, I just don't see the difference between Carnival and NCL. Except I like the MDR on Carnival better. and the kids club too, at least its policies.

 

Agree 100%. NCL prices have doubled and tripled for me with the scaled back/elimination of almost all interline rates once the new management took over. For those of us in the airline business who are offered those rates, it makes NCL vastly uncompetitive now and not to mention the UDB and UBP promos (which aren't free btw, your paying for them in a higher cruise fare now). Why would I choose to cruise on NCL when I can get a similar or almost identical experience on another line? I get it the promo's are a huge deal to most. For us its not. We eat in one or two specialty restaurants a cruise thats it. Were also not big drinkers, so the UBP is no benefit to us. Our bar bill usually runs us anywhere from $50-$100...thats it.

Edited August 18, 2015 by Hendricks Clan

[swedish weave]

I have a cruise booked on NCL and one on Carnival.

 

Since I booked, NCL has increased some prices and cancelled a port plus other changes.

 

Carnival has made no changes that I am aware of.

 

I am getting what I paid for on Carnival and not on NCL.

 

I also learned that MSC is doing a status match on their loyalty program, so will look into that.

 

The other lines are offering up challanges to NCL that may make it difficult for NCL to stay competitive with them. Time will tell

[legion3]

Agree 100%. NCL prices have doubled and tripled for me with the scaled back/elimination of almost all interline rates once the new management took over. For those of us in the airline business who are offered those rates, it makes NCL vastly uncompetitive now and not to mention the UDB and UBP promos (which aren't free btw, your paying for them in a higher cruise fare now). Why would I choose to cruise on NCL when I can get a similar or almost identical experience on another line? I get it the promo's are a huge deal to most. For us its not. We eat in one or two specialty restaurants a cruise thats it. Were also not big drinkers, so the UBP is no benefit to us. Our bar bill usually runs us anywhere from $50-$100...thats it.

 

See for us the UDP free promo was enough to get us to book. I don't do buffets except now and then for Breakfast and as I said I have no real interest in NCL's MDR's, we would likely eat at the specialty places every night anyway, that's what we did last time, with no UDP even in existence.

 

hopefully we can get through this cruise with no real issues and then see what happens next. but NCL will not be in the plans at current rates.

[abe3]

I haven't seen the prices increase that much as people say on here and I look at prices all the time in NCL. People say it's double and triple what it used to be and that is exaggeration on their part. I am always looking for my next cruise and the fares and though j have seen the prices rise a little they are not out of line what they used to be.

 

And with the suites I can't compare with other lines. I don't knock other lines because I can't compare except what I see on their websites but once I was in the haven on NCL I was hooked from that moment on.

Edited August 18, 2015 by abe3

[legion3]

I haven't seen the prices increase that much as people say on here and I look at prices all the time in NCL. People say it's double and triple what it used to be and that is exaggeration on their part. I am always looking for my next cruise and the fares and though j have seen the prices rise a little they are not out of line what they used to be.

 

And with the suites I can't compare with other lines. I don't knock other lines because I can't compare except what I see on their websites but once I was in the haven on NCL I was hooked from that moment on.

 

My price has not doubled but it has gone up beyond anything I have encountered on any other line.

 

The Haven is way to expensive IMO, but I would do it if I could at a reasonable price point. The SJ family suite on the Dawn was affordable.

The Escape has added more cabins to the Haven but it doesn't seem like its added any extra public area's in the Haven are over the GA/BA.

 

When MSC Seaside comes over that might be the ship to do the YC on.

[swedish weave]

I haven't seen the prices increase that much as people say on here and I look at prices all the time in NCL. People say it's double and triple what it used to be and that is exaggeration on their part. I am always looking for my next cruise and the fares and though j have seen the prices rise a little they are not out of line what they used to be.

 

And with the suites I can't compare with other lines. I don't knock other lines because I can't compare except what I see on their websites but once I was in the haven on NCL I was hooked from that moment on.

 

Perhaps you failed to compare the interline rates with regular rates. The poster who stated that the rates were DOUBLE OR TRIPLE for them was referring to NCL eliminating the interline rates.

 

Myopinion of suites is that they are a gross waste of money. I can get 21 to 28 days cruising in an inside for the same price as 7 days in a suite, so I see absolutely no value in booking a suite. That is my decision, and has no bearing on how others choose to allocate their vacation funds.

Edited August 18, 2015 by swedish weave

[abe3]

Perhaps you failed to compare the interline rates with regular rates. The poster who stated that the rates were DOUBLE OR TRIPLE for them was referring to NCL eliminating the interline rates.

 

 

 

Myopinion of suites is that they are a gross waste of money. I can get 21 to 28 days cruising in an inside for the same price as 7 days in a suite, so I see absolutely no value in booking a suite. That is my decision, and has no bearing on how others choose to allocate their vacation funds.

 

 

That's right. It is how you want to spend your money in a vacation. I can't cruise 3 or 4 times a year mostly 1 to 2 times because of work. For me a suite is worth it for others maybe not. If I was cruising 4 or 5 times a year then maybe a suite is not worth it unless I have lots and lots of money and lots and lots of time to cruise. But for me and maybe others we find that the suites are worth what you spend.

Edited August 18, 2015 by abe3