Goodbye NCL and Possibly Cruising Altogether Rant One

[MajSteve]

Here I sit, 2 days after getting home form my NCL Trans-Atlantic cruise on the Epic, Port Canaveral to Rome. Let’s get to the conclusion first: It was not a totally enjoyable experience. I will go into detail in several posts to follow, breaking down my rants and praises into several subject areas. I will title each of them according to subject. And I will be down to earth about each topic. The opinions expressed are my own and, since I am usually right about everything, some opinions will be quite harsh and possibly cruel. OK, going to get to work on topic number one, soon to follow!

[MajSteve]

Goodbye NCL Rant Two

Things That Went Absolutely Right:

 

                Booking, Payment, On-Board Account and any direct dealings with NCL. All internet, Chat and emails answered promptly and efficiently.

                Buffet Staff extremely efficient, friendly and polite.

                Cabin Attendant efficient and polite.

                Customer Service staff very helpful when asked any questions. The line often was long, but moved quickly.

                The captain was kind enough to slow the ship several miles off shore of Port Canaveral so that we could observe a launch from Kennedy Space Center. Spectacular!

                The captain also positioned the Epic the next day in order for us to observe the Solar Eclipse. Our next opportunity to do so will be in 2045. Don’t think I will be around for that one!

[MajSteve]

Goodbye NCL Rant Three

Things That Went Absolutely Wrong:

The Weather: OK, I am well aware that NCL has no control over the weather.

(I thought the cruisers in the Haven Class did that sort of thing.)

The outdoor areas were closed for 6 out of the 9 Sea Days. Oh, you could sit out there if you enjoyed rain, hail, and 50 mph winds. 

The port stop at Gibraltar was cancelled due to some mysterious engine trouble.

The embarkation at Port Canaveral was a nightmare. 2 hours and 15 minutes in a line, outside just waiting to get into the terminal. Three hours to actually set a foot on the ship and then another hour and a half before the cabins were ready. Pictures attached. No excuse for this NCL; Not even water stations available during the wait. Our supposed "embarkation times" assigned meant nothing.

The gift shop did not contain one item related to our cruise. Only Caribbean items. Who wants to go on a TA cruise and purchase a Virgin Islands T-shirt? Think I am getting snarky? Just wait!

 

Edited April 22 by MajSteve

[MajSteve]

Goodbye NCL Rant Three

Things That Went Absolutely Wrong:

The Weather: OK, I am well aware that NCL has no control over the weather.

(I thought the cruisers in the Haven Class did that sort of thing.)

The outdoor areas were closed for 6 out of the 9 Sea Days. Oh, you could sit out there if you enjoyed rain, hail, and 50 mph winds. 

The port stop at Gibraltar was cancelled due to some mysterious engine trouble.

The embarkation at Port Canaveral was a nightmare. 2 hours and 15 minutes in a line, outside just waiting to get into the terminal. Three hours to actually set a foot on the ship and then another hour and a half before the cabins were ready. Pictures attached. No excuse for this NCL; Not even water stations available during the wait. Our supposed "embarkation times" assigned meant nothing.

The gift shop did not contain one item related to our cruise. Only Caribbean items. Who wants to go on a TA cruise and purchase a Virgin Islands T-shirt? Think I am getting snarky? Just wait!

 

[MajSteve]

Goodbye NCL Rant Four

Food: Overall, the food was excellent. The Angus beef steak in the Taste dining room was possibly the best steak I have ever eaten. (And I'm from Kansas!) The buffet was kept refreshed and hot and tasty. Some of the desserts and "specialties" were a bit exotic, but so were many of the passengers. (More on that in another rant.) Food Score: 95 out of 100.

Edited April 22 by MajSteve
Spelling

[hallux]

25 minutes ago, MajSteve said:

Our supposed "embarkation times" assigned meant nothing.

The time you selected during online check-in?  That's your check-in time at the port, not your embarkation time, though you are correct that in a lot of cases it really doesn't mean much as they don't often check it to be sure you're not too early.  

 

19 minutes ago, MajSteve said:

and then another hour and a half before the cabins were ready.

Par for the course recently with NCL.  Cabins were not ready until 3 PM or later on my cruises the last 2 years.

[MajSteve]

Goodbye NCL Rant Four

Entertainment: Fairly good. Burn The Floor excellent in spite of the rolling ship. Howl at the Moon good. And the Epic Beatles were great especially for a 60's guy like me. (They might want to turn the sound down a bit in the Cavern Club, though.

[graphicguy]

Actually, sounds like a good cruise.

 

Weather....well....it's weather.  Only one entity I know if that can control it....and s/he wasn't Captaining your ship.

 

But, good luck in your vacation searches and experiences going forward.

[MajSteve]

13 minutes ago, hallux said:

The time you selected during online check-in?  That's your check-in time at the port, not your embarkation time, though you are correct that in a lot of cases it really doesn't mean much as they don't often check it to be sure you're not too early.  

 

Par for the course recently with NCL.  Cabins were not ready until 3 PM or later on my cruises the last 2 years.

My selected check in time was 12:30-1:00. Nobody even looked at it.

13 minutes ago, MajSteve said:

Goodbye NCL Rant Four

Entertainment: Fairly good. Burn The Floor excellent in spite of the rolling ship. Howl at the Moon good. And the Epic Beatles were great especially for a 60's guy like me. (They might want to turn the sound down a bit in the Cavern Club, though.

Comment on entertainment: I heard many comments/complaints regarding the musical entertainment. I realize that the Epic spends a lot of time in the Carribean. So it is generally themed with Latin music. Almost all of the pop-up bands, dance classes and other musical based entertainment was in Spanish. There were many European/Asian cruisers who would have liked a much broader variety of music. I heard one guy mumbling, "Don't they know one damn Polka?" Oldies are good too. Nope, just more Salsa.

Edited April 22 by MajSteve

[MajSteve]

The Epic is horribly understaffed. More bartenders especially. As the ship was fully booked, the lines at the bars could last 15-20 minutes before a bartender randomly noticed you. There needs to be some system of order to the bar service. Many rude and pushy people. I could have gotten a beer quicker by FedEx. Many times I noticed a bartender skip over the next person in line to serve someone he recognized and called by name. Not cool.

Edited April 22 by MajSteve

[rodndonna]

is there a Rant 5 coming/ ... it hasn't sounded all that bad (except for Embarkation).

[MajSteve]

2 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

is there a Rant 5 coming/ ... it hasn't sounded all that bad (except for Embarkation).

Oh yes, it's coming...

[TeresaJ]

The weather would have been the same on another ship. Should not be considered a negative for NCL. They closed areas due to weather, again...same on another ship and/or other cruise line.  Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise.  The other items you stated are not deal breakers IMO.  

[MajSteve]

I did not imply that weather was the fault of NCL.

[TeresaJ]

3 minutes ago, MajSteve said:

I did not imply that weather was the fault of NCL.

You listed The Weather first in your Rant three list. Even though you say you are not blaming NCL, you put it on your list. lol

[JehosaphatTheMongrelCat]

1 hour ago, MajSteve said:

 

Our supposed "embarkation times" assigned meant nothing.

 

 

That is because NCL does not assign boarding times.  They assign CHECK IN times.

[Hadacareer]

Waiting for rant 5

[raitch]

This is fun.

[seemoreroyals]

So far nothing to get rant about.  Except for the bad weather.

 

[BirdTravels]

So far, not having polka music sounds like a plus. 

 

The weather crossing the Atlantic in winter (or at any time) can be hit or miss. During our last TA, we went through a storm and got hit by a rogue wave, causing the ship to roll. All of the glassware in the cabins went flying. The poor cabin stewards spent most of the night cleaning up broken glass. 

 

Embarkation sounded long, but there was no explanation on why it was long. On our cruise last month, there was a full blown coast guard / health inspection of the ship before it when on a 21 day crossing from Miami to Seattle. 

 

Not sure what the shops should have for a TA. T-shirts with pictures of the ocean? You're not going to stock merchandise for a one-off cruise. And the shops are not run by NCL, they are run by a private vendor. 

 

Roast pig being an "exotic dish" tells me a lot. 

[kitkat343]

22 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

 

Embarkation sounded long, but there was no explanation on why it was long. On our cruise last month, there was a full blown coast guard / health inspection of the ship before it when on a 21 day crossing from Miami to Seattle. 

 

 

That is a fair point.  My Alaskan cruise was the first of the season, and the port workers told us the US customs always sent too few agents at the start of the season.  Similarly long lines of 2-3 hours to clear customs, but once you did that the Princess agents were very fast.  So everything Princess controlled was fine.  But it would be helpful if the cruises provided food and water to waiting passengers (on our last cruise Cunard had a table with cookies and drinks in the terminal, and after herding three kids through embarkation it was a huge relief to see snacks even though we were only 5 minutes away from boarding the ship where there was plenty of food.  Occasionally embarkation turns into an absolute disaster on all cruise lines (sometimes the cruise lines fault and sometimes not) and hopefully they will provide food and drinks for the passengers (I don't know if there's enough space to provide seating).

Edited April 23 by kitkat343

[fredflint]

4 hours ago, MajSteve said:

The Epic is horribly understaffed. More bartenders especially. As the ship was fully booked, the lines at the bars could last 15-20 minutes before a bartender randomly noticed you. There needs to be some system of order to the bar service. Many rude and pushy people. I could have gotten a beer quicker by FedEx. Many times I noticed a bartender skip over the next person in line to serve someone he recognized and called by name. Not cool.

Well with everyone having a free drink package having fewer bartenders lowers the cost.  🙂

[DominicAUS]

The horror of not having tee shirts related to your destination……did you demand to see the captain at once? 
 

it’s cruise you’re meant to relax and chill. Enjoy your land base factions and hope there’s never a wait at a bar. 
 

if you can tell me how to get a grey goose and ginger beer from fedex in under 20mins let me know, asking for a friend. 

[CruisingSince1982]

Don't leave us hanging!

[graphicguy]

The Atlantic weather always seems to be a little "rougher" than the Caribbean, for example.  I personally kind of expect it.

 

This is true of ANY cruise ship....if there's a line at one bar, walk 75 feet in either direction, and there will be another bar where there is no line.