Shall I worry? What should I expect?

[ALKID]

29 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Those are some fighting words. Care to expand? Is the Epic the ship with no real walls, just glass? I quite enjoy peeping on my husband when he's in there so I'm thinking the bathroom setup (if I'm recalling correctly) would be quite delightful to me. 🙂

Whatever your into….LOL

[KKB]

19 hours ago, TopofWorld said:

Hi all again. First time on NCL, found the perfect cruise to celebrate 30 years of marriage (15-day TA from NY on Epic). Price was and still is quite right. However, I keep reading dissatisfied customer comments (especially on customer service, quality of food etc) especially on other sites. Travelled on RCL, Princes and Celebrity ( listed from higher to lowest satisfaction). We are a couple in our early and late fifties, do not drink that much and consider ourselves as foodies. I know it is a general question, but do you really feel that NCL has gone downhill compared to the other mainstream lines (service, entertainment, and food wise)? Is Epic really that old?

P.S searched for alternative cruises but no other cruise offered the interesting ports this one does, at the price we could afford.

 

Thank you all

We are in our early/late 50s & have sailed DCL, NCL, RCCL, Celebrity & Princess.

(interesting that Celebrity was your lowest satisfaction...its our top)

 

We love the entertainment options on NCL.

If you are foodies, I recommend adding specialty dining most nights (buy the package before sailing).

The MDR was better than I thought after so many bad reviews. But honestly nothing memorable.

(PS you won't get lobster in the MDR on NCL)

On our ship one dining room had bands or dancers during dinner--not our usual taste but we truly enjoyed it! See if your ship has it.

 

We find cruise lines to be more alike than different. We have never had a bad cruise with over 20 under our belts in 18 years & would sail any line again.

 

We find that attitude is the key. We expect to have a good time no matter where we are and so we do.

Relax, enjoy your lovely TA & 30 years (we are close on your heels!).

[The Shrike]

I stopped putting stock into the opinions of anyone I don't personally know about the food onboard years ago.  First of all, it's subjective.  Second, read any review on CC for the exact same sailing and this is what you see:
- First review:  the food was wonderful and the portions were just right.
- Second review:  I wouldn't feed the food to my dogs and the portions were tiny.  (Yep, I've read reviews like this.  They didn't get enough of food they didn't like.  🙄)
- Third review:  the buffet and MDR had wonderful selections.
- Fourth review:  Golden Corral would be preferable to the buffet and the MDR would mess up a PBJ.

And on and on and on...
 

[TopofWorld]

2 hours ago, KKB said:

We are in our early/late 50s & have sailed DCL, NCL, RCCL, Celebrity & Princess.

(interesting that Celebrity was your lowest satisfaction...its our top)

 

We love the entertainment options on NCL.

If you are foodies, I recommend adding specialty dining most nights (buy the package before sailing).

The MDR was better than I thought after so many bad reviews. But honestly nothing memorable.

(PS you won't get lobster in the MDR on NCL)

On our ship one dining room had bands or dancers during dinner--not our usual taste but we truly enjoyed it! See if your ship has it.

 

We find cruise lines to be more alike than different. We have never had a bad cruise with over 20 under our belts in 18 years & would sail any line again.

 

We find that attitude is the key. We expect to have a good time no matter where we are and so we do.

Relax, enjoy your lovely TA & 30 years (we are close on your heels!).

Thank you  for your time and reassuring words. Celebrity ranks low in our preference because we felt that we did not exist the whole cruise. Everywhere on the ship we felt like we were burdening them and we did not really appreciate it. RCCL and Princes, based on our experience, were leaps and bounds above. I do realize however that others might have different opinions and certainly accept that.

By "foodie" I tried to convey that as a couple we truly enjoy good quality and well cooked food. During our travels, and cruises, we always try the local cuisine if any, and certainly as many different dishes. We had exquisite dinners at Michelin star restaurants and also many hidden little gems. My point is that we consider food an integral part of cruising and we enjoy the MDR and the specialty restaurants. We also always attend the chef's table, if any. We certainly do not expect the buffet food to be top notch. 

Thank you all once again

[TopofWorld]

15 minutes ago, The Shrike said:

I stopped putting stock into the opinions of anyone I don't personally know about the food onboard years ago.  First of all, it's subjective.  Second, read any review on CC for the exact same sailing and this is what you see:
- First review:  the food was wonderful and the portions were just right.
- Second review:  I wouldn't feed the food to my dogs and the portions were tiny.  (Yep, I've read reviews like this.  They didn't get enough of food they didn't like.  🙄)
- Third review:  the buffet and MDR had wonderful selections.
- Fourth review:  Golden Corral would be preferable to the buffet and the MDR would mess up a PBJ.

And on and on and on...
 

LOL. Point, game match. Best comment so far. Thank you

[nferr]

11 hours ago, TopofWorld said:

Thank you  for your time and reassuring words. Celebrity ranks low in our preference because we felt that we did not exist the whole cruise. Everywhere on the ship we felt like we were burdening them and we did not really appreciate it. RCCL and Princes, based on our experience, were leaps and bounds above. I do realize however that others might have different opinions and certainly accept that.

By "foodie" I tried to convey that as a couple we truly enjoy good quality and well cooked food. During our travels, and cruises, we always try the local cuisine if any, and certainly as many different dishes. We had exquisite dinners at Michelin star restaurants and also many hidden little gems. My point is that we consider food an integral part of cruising and we enjoy the MDR and the specialty restaurants. We also always attend the chef's table, if any. We certainly do not expect the buffet food to be top notch. 

Thank you all once again

 

Cruise food in general is not like local cuisine or Michelin quality IMO. It's cooking for thousands and overall is pretty decent in my experience. From reading what you just posted i would invest in extra nights in the specialty restaurants. They're definitely a step above the main dining room. The Epic doesn't have that many specialty restaurants. On my 15 night cruise I did Cagney's twice, LeBistro twice and Moderno once. There's also La Cucina, Teppanyaki and Wasabi.  Having said that, the prime rib I had in the MDR was really good and a couple of the other meals were quite enjoyable. 

Edited August 5, 2022 by nferr

[Sherrica]

As others have mentioned, food is very subjective (and can vary restaurant to restaurant, ship to ship).  I've enjoyed 13 cruises on NCL so far (twice on the Epic) and only recall two MDR meals that were sub par.  Not awful, just not great.  Part of that was me trying something "new".  There have been far more MDR dinners that were fantastic.  It's a great opportunity to find out what you might like!  Before our first cruise on the Pride of America we read a lot of reviews and there were so many complaints about the food (with comparisons to Applebees, etc.). We were also worried. After the cruise, I remember thinking "I wonder what the heck that guy has been ordering at Applebees that can even compare to this!"  We loved it all!

 

That said, have there been changes?  As far as I can tell from Youtube and CC, YES -- there have been changes on every line!  There have been complaints about fewer options being offered in the MDR, but that is the exact same thing we experienced on the Discovery Princess last month.  Folks get very nostalgic about certain things, but that's true of everything.

 

A few years back I decided to reduce my sugar intake and that has limited my options for dessert.  Some of the sugar free desserts are better than others (but hey, maybe my scale won't protest so much when I get home). There aren't any sugar free dessert options advertised in the specialty dining restaurants, so I do usually splurge there.

 

I love NCL and can't wait for my next cruise in 3.5 weeks!

 

Have a fantastic time! 

[MaryZ]

On 8/4/2022 at 12:21 PM, TopofWorld said:

Thank you  for your time and reassuring words. Celebrity ranks low in our preference because we felt that we did not exist the whole cruise. Everywhere on the ship we felt like we were burdening them and we did not really appreciate it. RCCL and Princes, based on our experience, were leaps and bounds above. I do realize however that others might have different opinions and certainly accept that.

By "foodie" I tried to convey that as a couple we truly enjoy good quality and well cooked food. During our travels, and cruises, we always try the local cuisine if any, and certainly as many different dishes. We had exquisite dinners at Michelin star restaurants and also many hidden little gems. My point is that we consider food an integral part of cruising and we enjoy the MDR and the specialty restaurants. We also always attend the chef's table, if any. We certainly do not expect the buffet food to be top notch. 

Thank you all once again

If you didn't think the food on Celebrity was good, you're going to be fairly miserable on NCL. 
At the very least, stay in Haven so you have the private dining.   The specialty restaurants are an absolute necessity on NCL
 

[mooshipalmdale]

We love NCL, Celebrity, RCC, Princess and Carnival in that order! People complain way too much! I am so happy that someone else is cooking and cleaning and I’m gazing at the beautiful ocean, all cruises lines are better than home! We’ve been on 6 NCL cruises and enjoyed all the speciality restaurants and the complementary restaurants were good to me! We love the entertainment on Norwegian, it’s the best of all the lines. I was very disappointed with Princess dining, very boring and I think Celebrity is the best, most creative! Enjoy, you will have a fabulous time! 

[wintertexancruiser]

NO WORRIES unless you are very picky and complain over everything

[genealogyfan]

I agree with others. Everyone has a different view on everything. When my friend and I took Pride of America in Hawaii, we loved it, liked the freestyle dining, didn't have any issues with the ship or the crew, etc..  Our expectations of the food was pretty low, so we didn't expect 5 star dining.

 

We met a family who cruised alot, on other cruise lines. They missed dressing up for dinner, they missed the same waiter every night, eating at a set time. They thought the ship was crowded (we didn't think so), they thought the food was horrible, we didn't think so. They thought the way the ship was set up, it was confusing, crowded in certain areas, we didn't think so.

I've seen better entertainment on one ship and horrible entertainment on another ship. The bathroom setup also didn't bother us on the Epic, where other people have an issue with it.

 

It's all your perspective.

[7tacosdown]

On 8/3/2022 at 5:02 PM, Wedgie23 said:

Yes I got off the Joy this past Sunday. It was my first cruise since covid, my last one before that was in November 2019 so I'd say a pretty direct bookend of pre and 'post'. Pre it wasn't like every single meal was unbelievable but there were definitely some wows and interesting options to try, this time it kinda just felt like Dennys quality with a quarter of the variety and a lot more, this is just plain bad, which, apart from some undercooked bacon or being extra adventurous in the buffet (my choice), I never would have described NCL food as bad or overall underwhelming before and I'm not a foodie or picky eater.

 

I should preface this with due to how crowded the buffet was and covid I stayed out of there apart from once where I am sure you would find the widest variety. Haven restaurant is notoriously lacking in variety but what was surprising was the lacking of quality. Overcooked tough meats, 'fishy' fish, bland as all get out etc. They seemed to be trying to compensate by massive portions. Meals on this trip felt more like something you needed to have in order to sustain yourself, not something to enjoy like past cruises. Best meal was actually at Taste and it was just one.

Hi Wedgie23 on another post you had said you were going on the Joy and staying in room 15130 with the angled balcony.  At that time you were looking for information on the room.  Two years later and it is still hard to find information on this room.  Do you have any updates you can share on Joy's 15130 and the angled balcony?

[ChiefMateJRK]

On 8/4/2022 at 9:21 AM, TopofWorld said:

By "foodie" I tried to convey that as a couple we truly enjoy good quality and well cooked food.

You've just described every person who eats.🤣

[DAKing240]

1 minute ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

You've just described every person who eats.🤣

Guess I'm a foodie too!

[spanishguy1970]

On 8/3/2022 at 2:01 PM, TopofWorld said:

Hi all again. First time on NCL, found the perfect cruise to celebrate 30 years of marriage (15-day TA from NY on Epic). Price was and still is quite right. However, I keep reading dissatisfied customer comments (especially on customer service, quality of food etc) especially on other sites. Travelled on RCL, Princes and Celebrity ( listed from higher to lowest satisfaction). We are a couple in our early and late fifties, do not drink that much and consider ourselves as foodies. I know it is a general question, but do you really feel that NCL has gone downhill compared to the other mainstream lines (service, entertainment, and food wise)? Is Epic really that old?

P.S searched for alternative cruises but no other cruise offered the interesting ports this one does, at the price we could afford.

 

Thank you all

when people complain we book anyway. We take people reviews and complaints with a grain of salt. We have only booked NCL for the past 13 years and only a couple of times have we found some things subpar but at the end of the day we enjoy all our cruises.

[complawyer]

i have taken about 19 cruises with ncl since 2010. if i have had any complaints, they were by and large very minor. to use a bad sports analogy, you cant expect a home run, or a touchdown every  time the home team is up.

 

i have stated before that my main criteria for a cruise are price and itinerary. ncl scores points on both.

 

i am also anal about following different lines to see if there are better deals out there.i have noticed (although i concede i havent checked each ship per line) that the suite cabins on celebrity are much more expensive and about similar size to the club balcony on ncl. i have found the size of regular cabins on rcl to be smaller than ncl.

 

so "dont worry be happy! book the cruise and the ship you want. with all the choices you get on an ncl ship, youre bound to be satisfied in general, and maybe slightly disappointed (but i think only slightly) on some. dont let bad reviews on cruise critic alarm you or influence your opinion in any way

 

i have commented before opinions are like (parts of the body that cruise critic will not allow me to type) everybody has one

[The Shrike]

2 hours ago, complawyer said:

i have commented before opinions are like (parts of the body that cruise critic will not allow me to type) everybody has one

Yeah, they're real anal about that.  😄

[complawyer]

touche! Not tushie!

[gabbygal99]

On 8/3/2022 at 2:01 PM, TopofWorld said:

Hi all again. First time on NCL, found the perfect cruise to celebrate 30 years of marriage (15-day TA from NY on Epic). Price was and still is quite right. However, I keep reading dissatisfied customer comments (especially on customer service, quality of food etc) especially on other sites. Travelled on RCL, Princes and Celebrity ( listed from higher to lowest satisfaction). We are a couple in our early and late fifties, do not drink that much and consider ourselves as foodies. I know it is a general question, but do you really feel that NCL has gone downhill compared to the other mainstream lines (service, entertainment, and food wise)? Is Epic really that old?

P.S searched for alternative cruises but no other cruise offered the interesting ports this one does, at the price we could afford.

 

Thank you all

If you are a “foodie” then you are going to be disappointed, unless you are staying in Haven. Since you cited money as a prohibitive factor, I’ll assume you aren’t staying in Haven.
 

Try Virgin Voyages - the food is head and shoulders above Norwegian and the price is significantly better than Norwegian too (and WiFi is included, and staff gratuity is already included, for good measure!)

 

They offer Transatlantic's with very similar itineraries - every cruiseline offers basically the same itineraries LOL

[alysonofagun]

1 hour ago, gabbygal99 said:

Try Virgin Voyages - the food is head and shoulders above Norwegian and the price is significantly better than Norwegian too (and WiFi is included, and staff gratuity is already included, for good measure!)

 

Can I ask where you're finding better prices on Virgin? I'd love to try them but every cruise I have looked at costs more for 4-5 days (without alcohol) as 7+ (with 🍸🥂🍷) would on NCL. 

Edited September 6, 2022 by alysonofagun

[DCGuy64]

On 8/4/2022 at 12:07 PM, The Shrike said:

I stopped putting stock into the opinions of anyone I don't personally know about the food onboard years ago.  First of all, it's subjective.  Second, read any review on CC for the exact same sailing and this is what you see:
- First review:  the food was wonderful and the portions were just right.
- Second review:  I wouldn't feed the food to my dogs and the portions were tiny.  (Yep, I've read reviews like this.  They didn't get enough of food they didn't like.  🙄)
- Third review:  the buffet and MDR had wonderful selections.
- Fourth review:  Golden Corral would be preferable to the buffet and the MDR would mess up a PBJ.

And on and on and on...
 

^^^ this and nuff said.

[TopofWorld]

Thank you all for contributing to this discussion. When everything is factored in (itinerary, cost, duration) along with some of the useful input here, the negative reviews on NCL, and Epic become quite less significant. Thank you.

[VV2022]

10 hours ago, alysonofagun said:

 

Can I ask where you're finding better prices on Virgin? I'd love to try them but every cruise I have looked at costs more for 4-5 days (without alcohol) as 7+ (with 🍸🥂🍷) would on NCL. 

Just for laughs I just did some quick math on a typical Caribbean balcony cruise with 2 guests. (NCL Encore / Nov 2022.)

Basic balcony, plus taxes and fees, plus drink package and dinner package gratuities, plus daily gratuity charge on two people = $3390 for 7 days, or about $484 / day.

On Virgin, similar cruise in Oct 2022, balcony for two people = $2295 for 5 days, or $268 / day. 

That's leaving aside all the other stuff that's included on Virgin (wifi, soda, all gratuities, etc).

So I guess it's a matter of whether you spend that $200+ extra per day on alcohol. Which I realize some people definitely do. 

(I don't drink so I'm not sure, but I think you can pre-pay your Virgin bar tab for like $300 and get an extra $100 off.) 
 

Edited September 6, 2022 by VV2022

[gabbygal99]

11 hours ago, alysonofagun said:

 

Can I ask where you're finding better prices on Virgin? I'd love to try them but every cruise I have looked at costs more for 4-5 days (without alcohol) as 7+ (with 🍸🥂🍷) would on NCL. 

On their website. Here are some examples:
 

15-night transatlantic, in a balcony, for $2600 for 2 people (not each person). Includes WiFi, specialty dining, and tips.

 

7-night Greek Isles during peak season for less than $3400, again in a balcony for 2 people, WiFi, specialty dining, and tips included. I just got off the Escape a few weeks ago and paid $8k for each of our balconies (10-night sailing, but I can guarantee those extra 3 nights and alcohol were not worth the extra $4600 we paid!)

 

[graphicguy]

I see these topics come up regularly here.

 

Bottom line, anyone can pick a date and itinerary and make a price comparison if you look enough.

 

Someone was looking at October Mediterranean/Greece sailings.

 

Here's what I just found...7 nights, balcony cabin for similar itineraries for October.

 

Virgin-$~2,200 (no alcohol but free wifi) balcony cabin

NCL-$1,483 with tips, service charges and alcohol included in a Club Balcony (bigger bathroom)

 

So yeah, you can look and see pricing discrepancies/perks looking at either cruise line.

 

 

EDIT...above fares are for solos, so double them for couples.

Edited September 6, 2022 by graphicguy