Norwegian cruise lines thoughts?

[icat2000]

Looking at some itineraries on Norwegian Dawn later in the year that includes free drinks package, free wifi, speciality dining package, $50 per shore credit per tour.

 

Ive never travel NCL before it’s mainly itinerary that interests me. So what things might not be so great on Norwegian or things I should know before I pull trigger.

[SinbadThePorter]

2 minutes ago, icat2000 said:

So what things might not be so great on Norwegian or things I should know before I pull trigger.

 

Any company that would do this, won't get me on board. ☹️

[icat2000]

2 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

Any company that would do this, won't get me on board. ☹️

Sorry I don’t understand your response. Looking for pros or cons?

[stki]

We like NCL, they have great overseas itineraries. When booking through Australia all the tips for drinks, dining and daily service charge are included in the price 

 

on board will be USD, but last year we were able to buy OBC before we left at a good rate. Any we didn’t use they gave us back in USD on the last night

 

Tanya

Edited March 24, 2023 by stki

[debmm]

I have been on 2 cruises with Norwegian and was very happy with both. 1 was 14 day Panama Canal many many years ago and 10 day Alaska cruise in 2017. Norwegian is very relaxed. No formal nights so if flying with weight restrictions this could cut down on what clothing you take. There is no set dining time. If you prefer set dining that might be an issue to you. As I recall food was pretty good, certainly have no bad memories about the quality or service. We also thought the entertainment was great. Did have a 28 night cruise booked with them from South Africa to Greece however it was canceled 1 week out when Covid hit. Hopefully we will get that opportunity again sometime. 

I would have no problem booking with Norwegian again. 

Cheers

Deb

[LittleFish1976]

29 minutes ago, icat2000 said:

Sorry I don’t understand your response. Looking for pros or cons?

 

Sinbad's word 'this' is an active link.

 

I just read the article - absolutely appalled by the behaviour of NCL.

 

Worth noting that this is the case. A quote from the author of the article.

 

'Unfortunately, many travel advisors have contacted me in the past week to say that this "Auto-cancel"policy is a thing (a written policy) at NCL-- when a traveler puts something in their cart and doesn't pay for it immediately the cruise line allows itself to auto cancel the cruise and keep the fare.'

[Jean C]

33 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

Any company that would do this, won't get me on board. ☹️

Shocking and totally unreasonable!  I personally would never sail NCL again. Apparently items were missing from our mini bar which my partner and I never touched. We were charged $25 after disembarking. You were only allowed one communication to the company and the matter was never resolved. $25 isn't a lot of money but it was the principle of it, they either had lax inventory procedures or a dishonest steward. They'll never get another dollar from me 🥴

[LittleFish1976]

8 minutes ago, Jean C said:

You were only allowed one communication to the company and the matter was never resolved.

 

Only allowed one communication to them? That has 'Dodgy Brothers' written all over it.

[LittleFish1976]

49 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

Any company that would do this, won't get me on board. ☹️

 

Thank you for warning us. These situations with companies aren't a one-off and it's good to know which companies are a bit too keen to take advantage and frankly, to do the wrong thing.

 

I currently have a difficult situation I'm trying to resolve with Cunard; got the staff on board the ship to agree to a resolution but then was told that it was up to me when I disembarked to contact both the Australian and UK offices myself to go through the whole story again and again to get them to implement a resolution. That situation currently is - if there's a way to stuff it up they are going to. And it does involve a cruise cancelled at the last minute by Cunard and thousands of dollars so I'm pretty agitated about it.

 

Puts you off dealing with any of these cruise lines.

 

 

[Aus Traveller]

1 hour ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

Any company that would do this, won't get me on board. ☹️

After reading this story, I was appalled at what happened to that couple. If someone told me this story, I wouldn't be inclined to believe it, but it is clear that it is all true. Eventually with a lot of being going to bat for them, they have a FCC, but it would be hard to fully enjoy that cruise after what happened.

[icat2000]

Thanks for feedback. Especially tips about fees been included if you book in Australian dollars.

[MMDown Under]

1 hour ago, Jean C said:

Shocking and totally unreasonable!  I personally would never sail NCL again. Apparently items were missing from our mini bar which my partner and I never touched. We were charged $25 after disembarking. You were only allowed one communication to the company and the matter was never resolved. $25 isn't a lot of money but it was the principle of it, they either had lax inventory procedures or a dishonest steward. They'll never get another dollar from me 🥴

I agree with your decision to never sail NCL again.  We had something similar happen to us from the mini bar in a reputable hotel in Sydney.  On advice from us that we hadn't used the mini bar, they reversed the charges.  That is what reputable companies do!!  

[MMDown Under]

2 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

Any company that would do this, won't get me on board. ☹️

Thank you for sharing.  Hope NCL reverses their disgraceful decision to automatically cancel the passengers' cruise because they didn't pay for transfers to the fully paid for cruise.  Who owns NCL?

Was considering cruising with NCL, but not now!  Buyers beware!!

[Rassa]

I have been on 2 NCL cruises in the past.   I cannot complain about food or anything on the ships.

 

However, I don't think NCL are upfront and we are cautious about going with them again.   They recently had a special of 2nd person is free but when you totalled everything up, it was the total for two people cruising and the 'online' connection confirmed the price.   To those who did get free drinks etc., I was under the impression that you still had to pay gratuities on the 'free' drinks package even though a cruise is purchased in Australia.   We just prefer 'no smoke and mirrors' just honesty or forget it.

[RosieCanberra]

We love NCL, have sailed three times with another four booked. Great itineraries, great service, fabulous entertainment. That issue with the cancelled cruise seems really over the top, I doubt it's the whole story. 

[Jean C]

58 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

I agree with your decision to never sail NCL again.  We had something similar happen to us from the mini bar in a reputable hotel in Sydney.  On advice from us that we hadn't used the mini bar, they reversed the charges.  That is what reputable companies do!!  

Thank you. In our innocence, we never received a final account at our door on the final night. We had a nil balance in that we didn't purchase anything on board, no drinks and always did private tours, so we didn't think anything of it. Our mistake. We were told we should have gone to Guest Services on day of disembarkation for a final account - it never occurred to us. Still  you live and learn. We did drink though, we successfully smuggled our own alcohol on board (golden rum), together with Ginger Ale, and had a pre-dinner Caribbean Mule on our balcony every afternoon 🤣

[yarramar]

My first ever cruise was with NCL in the Mediterranean. The ports were great but the cruise line left a bad taste in my mouth ( the food also was pretty ordinary) The whole thing felt like a grab for money and had a Las Vegas/ PT Barnum vibe about it. I was sure that the culture on the ship began at the top and I swore never to cruise with them or any of their affiliate cruise lines.

I have since been on many cruises since and they have all been great. I cruised Oceania before they were bought by NCL, I wouldn't cruise on them now.

That linked article does not surprise me at all and it and many other things I have read vindicates my initial feelings.

[Rassa]

15 hours ago, yarramar said:

My first ever cruise was with NCL in the Mediterranean. The ports were great but the cruise line left a bad taste in my mouth ( the food also was pretty ordinary) The whole thing felt like a grab for money and had a Las Vegas/ PT Barnum vibe about it. I was sure that the culture on the ship began at the top and I swore never to cruise with them or any of their affiliate cruise lines.

 

That is my impression.   My husband won't consider going with them.   It's funny how people have differing views but we have similar views yarramar.

[cruisermsoon]

Also did a Med cruise some years ago with NCL. Great ports, nice ship, but the worst food we have ever had on a cruise, and half the main dining room closed off, so had to dine very late every night. The impression was that NCL wants you to go to one of their many pay restaurants.

The pool area was crowded and bombarded with loud music. A large slice of the ship was reserved for "suite people" which cut down the areas available for the rest of us.

[arxcards]

We have done both local and Alaskan cruises on NCL, and they were great. I felt their mini suites (Jewel & Pearl) were not much bigger than regular balconies on other ships, but we enjoyed the food, entertainment and general vibe of their ships. The "pub" was a great spot for a light lunch and a couple of drinks. We hope to get around to a lap of Hawaii on Pride of America someday.

[Jean C]

On 3/25/2023 at 12:52 PM, LittleFish1976 said:

 

Only allowed one communication to them? That has 'Dodgy Brothers' written all over it.

Yes, only one email was allowed. We then made a long distance toll call to their customer service number only to be put on hold and then told it was our responsibility as we hadn't sorted it out before disembarking (we were unaware the charge was there). We also found the MDR food hit and miss, some meals were good, some very average.

[lissie]

On 3/25/2023 at 12:04 PM, SinbadThePorter said:

 

Any company that would do this, won't get me on board. ☹️

That's absolutely horrifying - plus illegal I'm pretty sure in NZ.  This is one reason I always use a CC to purchase cruises - you can file a claim with them for non-delivery of service 

[seashell77]

End of the day, everyone's cruise experience is different and you'll usually find those that review are the ones that had a negative experience over a positive one.

Me- I've cruised NCL 5 times on both big and small ships and never had a bad experience

Be mindful that Dawn is one of the smaller, older NCL ships so doesn't have all the 'bells and whistles' and entertainment that the newer, bigger ships do.

Also- the older ships do tend to have smaller cabins so another thing to take into consideration.

We've never had a bad cruise with NCL and enjoy the laid-back freestyle dining. If you're someone who enjoys formal dining and dressing up every night then this may not be a cruise line for you (though you still can if you want- it's freestyle).

I personally find the drink packages great even though I'm not really a drinker- no need to sign for every drink or worry about a large bill at the end.

Have most recently been on NCL Spirit and definitely notice fewer staff than before the restart, but this seems to be same across all cruise-lines from others I have spoken to.