Norwegians shocking demise of quality on all fronts

[UKstages]

people!

 

it's not "all of a sudden."

 

it's the boiling frog syndrome!

 

[bkrickles1]

16 hours ago, JT222 said:

Wow

 

The condescending comments from people like you get to me too. Your “everybody is entitled to their own opinion” but actually they are not because I’m here to tell you you are wrong attitude is  irritating to say the least.

 

Put your dictionary away and start your own thread if you want to bore us people that Were very passionate about this brand. “go find something that better suits YOU”. How patronising are you! If you had a favourite food and they changed the ingredients would you not be disappointed? It tasted cheaper but still cost as much!

 

May I also add FYI that cruisers in Europe pay significantly higher fares for their cruises than those in the North American market and that is not even including the additional costs of paying $2000.00+ to fly 10 hours plus to cross the Atlantic in both directions.

 

So in all politeness set up your own NCL is wonderful for the masses thread so you can all compare dictionaries, quotes, and how else you can string a pile of nonsense together in your search for superiority! You must of been on my recent cruises with me, maybe you were under my bed as you seem to know more about my experience onboard than I do! But we are all entitled to our opinion………unless you disagree!

 

”That NCL is at the hospice care of their existence! Lol!”

That arrogant comment says more about you than it does me oh superior one! That’s the difference between people like you and me. I find a cruise line and product I like. I tell everybody how great they are and spend thousands more because I know what I will experience and receive onboard.(and yes as you seem to know everything you will know how expensive such cruises are from other side of the pond). 
 

But all of a sudden, the food is worse, the entertainment has gone down hill, the choices in buffet are poor, the service has deteriorated….and I dared to make a thread to share my thoughts. To all of you that disagree that’s fine. But don’t belittle my opinion like you are more entitled to a voice than me. Set up your own thread and let us loyal and genuine NCL cruisers share our disappointment in the hope they will take things onboard. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for setting me straight, from the other side of the pond.

You have enlightened me with your kind and inspiring words, from the other side of the pond.

You have convinced me of NCL's shocking demise of quality on all fronts, from the other side of the pond. 

My sincerest apology for sharing an opinion in your thread, from this side of the pond.

Thanks again,

Oh Superior One! (I will be trying to convince my wife and daughter to call me this now)

 

PS I thought the hospice care comment was pretty clever. Maybe it doesn't translate to your side of the pond.

Cheers!

 

[bkrickles1]

duplicate

Edited March 15 by bkrickles1

[Wayward Son]

7 minutes ago, bkrickles1 said:

I thought the hospice care comment was pretty clever.

 

It was.

 

[floor13]

Downhill yes. I’m on a 9 day NCL Mediterranean cruise on Pearl currently and am quite shocked and dismayed. Some things have been inedible. Everything else mediocre at best.  Le Bistro though the menu has cheapened was still pretty close to the quality of several years ago. The staff overall seems to still be great. No complaints there. But certainly food and beverage in all areas has taken a nosedive including specialty restaurants!!!!!! 

[zqvol]

Everyone has an opinion, and the views here are nothing but opinions.  To each his own. 

[Yesimapirate]

1 hour ago, zqvol said:

Everyone has an opinion, and the views here are nothing but opinions.  To each his own. 

Maybe the 'shocking" part is opinion. But the significant cuts are not.  $300 million in cost cuts was litterally included in the presentation for NCLH's investors day.

Edited June 11 by Yesimapirate

[vacation44]

15 hours ago, Yesimapirate said:

Maybe the 'shocking" part is opinion. But the significant cuts are not.  $300 million in cost cuts was litterally included in the presentation for NCLH's investors day.

And the cuts were noticeable to us last week from our cruise four months prior.   

[Panhandle Couple]

16 hours ago, Yesimapirate said:

Maybe the 'shocking" part is opinion. But the significant cuts are not.  $300 million in cost cuts was litterally included in the presentation for NCLH's investors day.

There is another whole thread on this here, so why keep bringing it up?

My 2 cents?

9 days on Escape and we didn't notice any decline.

Food can vary from 1 night to the next on the same cruise, depending on what you order, when you order it and where you sit in the restaurant.

[cruiseny4life]

32 minutes ago, Panhandle Couple said:

There is another whole thread on this here, so why keep bringing it up?

My 2 cents?

9 days on Escape and we didn't notice any decline.

Food can vary from 1 night to the next on the same cruise, depending on what you order, when you order it and where you sit in the restaurant.

Is this acceptable to you? If I go into a restaurant and spend the amounts NCL "charges," you can darn well know that I expect the food to be consistent whether I'm facing a wall column, looking out on a piazza, or in a booth, next to a family seven. I don't understand why anyone would expect anything less than this unless the only dining they enjoy is Chipotle or bankrupt Red Lobster. 

[mking8288]

57 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

And the cuts were noticeable to us last week from our cruise four months prior.   

To us, NCL is no longer competitive vs. other lines' products & offerings, noticeable cuts and changes are being executed on our end.  Cancelled 2 reservations approaching final payment and voted with the wallet, 5 new and last minute reservations elsewhere.  It's not just about food, hash browns and onion rings ... 

 

Perhaps, I would not call the "recent" changes as "shocking demise" and use a more gentle, subtle and more "neutral" descriptive label. Nevertheless, these are NOT moving or going in the right direction for some of us.   

 

When you are onboard and dialed 00 four times in the middle of the sea day and it rang unanswered by Guest Services after 10+ rings each time, then ... Miami, we have a serious problem on hand.  This isn't a joke either. 

 

For others, feel free to ignore and disagree, don't bother to quote here ... posting as a Diamond "critic" and I am, never was, not known to be cheerleading. Calling it out as we see it. 

Edited June 12 by mking8288

[JamieLogical]

17 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Is this acceptable to you? If I go into a restaurant and spend the amounts NCL "charges," you can darn well know that I expect the food to be consistent whether I'm facing a wall column, looking out on a piazza, or in a booth, next to a family seven. I don't understand why anyone would expect anything less than this unless the only dining they enjoy is Chipotle or bankrupt Red Lobster. 

 

I agree. The basis of brand loyalty is having a consistent product. For better or worse, when someone goes to Hong Kong or some other "exotic" local and decides to eat at a McDonald's, it's because they know what they are going to get. Having a consistent product is essential to gaining and retaining customers in pretty much any industry. When I book an NCL cruise (or a cruise with any other line for that matter), I have a certain expectation of what level of food, service, entertainment, general experience, etc. I am going to receive. If NCL is unable to maintain consistency even within different areas of the same dining room on a single ship, that is a BIG issue!

[schmoopie17]

I've learned a few things from reading these 20 pages.

 

The main thing I learned is not to read 20 pages of rehashed dead horse complaints.

 

Okay, everyone get back it. 

[RocketMan275]

Almost all of these complaints can be traced to a single cause.

Inflation, which is also beyond NCL control.

If you want to do something about inflation, feel free to contact the elected representatives who caused it. 

[dexddd]

30 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Almost all of these complaints can be traced to a single cause.

Inflation, which is also beyond NCL control.

If you want to do something about inflation, feel free to contact the elected representatives who caused it. 

Yes, I've noticed the serious inflation with NCL prices which is under their control as their computers come up with the prices.  

[RocketMan275]

1 minute ago, dexddd said:

Yes, I've noticed the serious inflation with NCL prices which is under their control as their computers come up with the prices.  

No, the computers don't 'come up with the prices' in a vaccum.  The computers are only responding to the price increases for those things necessary to operating a cruise line. When the prices for fuel oil, food, etc., increase due to inflation, the computers must take that into account.  Don't blame the 'bean counters' or the business managers who must continue to make a profit.  Blame the causes of the inflation.

[cruiseny4life]

1 minute ago, RocketMan275 said:

No, the computers don't 'come up with the prices' in a vaccum.  The computers are only responding to the price increases for those things necessary to operating a cruise line. When the prices for fuel oil, food, etc., increase due to inflation, the computers must take that into account.  Don't blame the 'bean counters' or the business managers who must continue to make a profit.  Blame the causes of the inflation.

Ok. I blame the C-suite at NCLH. Thanks for helping me understand who to blame! #greedflation FTW!

[Oakman58]

My wife always enjoyed cruising, but I didn’t truly get hooked until we took our first cruise with NCL which was a full transit of the Panama Canal.  Everything, crew, food, service, and entertainment was 5 star in my book.  Then a few years later NCL introduced Free at Sea (perhaps it was called something different back then) which included not only the drinks but also the gratuities.  That got me hooked on NCL.  That was NCL’s peak as far as I’m concerned.  Shortly after that the cutbacks began and continued and continued.

 

After taking an outstanding Alaskan cruise with Holland and we followed that with a less than stellar cruise to the Mexican Riviera on the Bliss in 2021, we decided it was time to try other cruise lines.  We found that currently, we enjoy Royal Caribbean, Holland, and Carnival more than NCL.  Our Hawaiian cruise with Princess sucked and we swore we would never book with Princess again.

 

We do have a New England/Canada cruise booked with the NCL Breakaway this October so this will be their chance to impress us.  The only reason I booked this cruise was the ports of call and the price.

 

After our New England cruise, we have our 50th anniversary cruise in November with Royal Caribbean.  We also have a January Mexican Riviera cruise on Princess.  Our previous cruise with Princess was so lousy we decided to give them a second chance and the price was right to do so.

 

We also have a 15 day Panama Canal cruise in March with Carnival. This should be interesting because Carnival only does PC cruises for repositioning, so they don’t have many port stops.  Not including the day we transit the PC, this cruise will have 10 sea days.

[Yesimapirate]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

Almost all of these complaints can be traced to a single cause.

Inflation, which is also beyond NCL control.

If you want to do something about inflation, feel free to contact the elected representatives who caused it. 

So if we do the math and see that the facts are that the all in cost of the cruise and net revenue per passenger have both increased faster than the rate of inflation is it OK to complain?  Or do we just continue to blindly make excuses?  Ironically,  those excuses are from people here and don't even agree with what NLCH says.  So you aren't even actually being a fan boy but are arguing with the very thing you think you're defending. 

[Panhandle Couple]

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Is this acceptable to you? If I go into a restaurant and spend the amounts NCL "charges," you can darn well know that I expect the food to be consistent whether I'm facing a wall column, looking out on a piazza, or in a booth, next to a family seven. I don't understand why anyone would expect anything less than this unless the only dining they enjoy is Chipotle or bankrupt Red Lobster. 

Because I'm a realist, not an idealist.

The people running the ship are human...surprise!

They have good and bad days.  From the food prep people on the lower decks you never see, to the waiter taking your order and everyone in between.

 

Do I expect the "exact same" level on a Xmas cruise with 4,800 people (110% full), 1,200 below the age of 10, and many multiple family groups of 7 to 16 sitting to eat at the same time, as compared to a PC cruise that is only 90% full, with few children, many much older patrons in small groups?

 

 

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

Almost all of these complaints can be traced to a single cause.

Inflation, which is also beyond NCL control.

If you want to do something about inflation, feel free to contact the elected representatives who caused it. 

 

MSC has managed to keep prices low, still do evening turn down service, still do continental room service breakfast for Fantastica and above, still provide late-night snack in their buffets, keep the cost of a shot of Bailey's under the threshold of their included drinks package, and still serve hash brown hockey pucks in the buffet at breakfast. Theoretically inflation is applying to them as well...

[cruiseny4life]

8 minutes ago, Panhandle Couple said:

Because I'm a realist, not an idealist.

The people running the ship are human...surprise!

They have good and bad days.  From the food prep people on the lower decks you never see, to the waiter taking your order and everyone in between.

 

Do I expect the "exact same" level on a Xmas cruise with 4,800 people (110% full), 1,200 below the age of 10, and many multiple family groups of 7 to 16 sitting to eat at the same time, as compared to a PC cruise that is only 90% full, with few children, many much older patrons in small groups?

 

 

 

 

NCL is large enough to build systems where a few humans having a bad day doesn't impact the guest experience, writ large. If it does, then something is wrong with the system and it needs to be examined. It's called the continuous improvement process. 

 

My experience in Cagney's on Getaway should be extremely similar to that of Pr1ma's Cagney's. The food on Tuesday night should be essentially the same thing on Saturday night. 

 

[Wayward Son]

31 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

MSC has managed to keep prices low, still do evening turn down service, still do continental room service breakfast for Fantastica and above, still provide late-night snack in their buffets, keep the cost of a shot of Bailey's under the threshold of their included drinks package, and still serve hash brown hockey pucks in the buffet at breakfast. Theoretically inflation is applying to them as well...

 

MSC is a privately owned company that doesn't need to satisfy 100's of thousands of investors. MSC is the world leader in global shipping with cash growing on trees.

 

Your comparison is not logical.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 12 by Wayward Son

[cruiseny4life]

1 minute ago, Wayward Son said:

 

MSC is a privately owned company that doesn't need to satisfy 100's of thousands of investors. MSC is the world leader in global shipping with cash growing on trees.

 

Your comparison is not logical.

 

 

 

 

Is inflation not hitting MSC? Is MSC not continuing any of the services @JamieLogical mentioned? 

 

Let us know. I have a feeling her comparison will be found to be logical. 

[Wayward Son]

7 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Is inflation not hitting MSC?

 

Of course it is, but they have a massive, built-in buffer with their shipping business. This allows them to make less profit (or even take a significant loss) while expanding their cruise business. That is a luxury other cruise lines do not have.

 

Also, MSC has minimal debt compared to the huge debt load other cruise lines have. While cruise lines were gasping for air and bleeding money during the pandemic, MSC was sucking in money hand over fist in their shipping business.

 

Jamie's comparison sounds logical, unfortunately, the facts get in the way.