Is Ncl cutting back quality and service or what

[newmexicoNita]

If a burger that costs $7.50 is your idea of a top restaurant then I see why you would have no problem with the food. You should always expect quality in your food when you cruise. Just because their are a couple thousand pax to cook for should not excuse ncl from offering a large variety of tasty food. How can you justify serving cheap ramen oodles & noodles on a buffet? I know I'm not the only one who saw this. What an insult. Food is the last thing you should have to worry about when cruising. Also, someone mentioned that the salad bar was good and plentiful. Sorry, but a shaky round table with 10 items and wishbone salad dressing in a bottle for you to pour is not "MY" idea of good. To all that love the food on ncl, I am happy for you. Personally, I feel they should be ashamed. Put two and two together, the prices have dropped to rock bottom recently. That means, corners WILL be cut.

Well I wasn't on your cruise, but I have never been on any cruise where the only choice of dressings was a bottle of Wishbone. On our last NCL cruise we had several choices; the blue cheese was awful. I totally disagree with you on the quality of food versus price. As I said, of course you will not get a top quality burger, but that doesn't mean the burgers are bad. I happen to think Burger King makes a good burger and IN and Out which you probably have never heard makes an awesume burger; neither are in the same catagory as a top restaurant piece of meat. What kind of salad bar did you expect? The type you get at Golden Corral with 25 choices but none with much to offer? Obviously you didn't like your cruise and this is your view which you are entitled to, that is why these boards are so addicting but you too, have to realize your views are not shared by all of us. In fact they are not shared by the majority. They are shared by some.

[newmexicoNita]

I think it would be best if we stopped nitpicking about oxtails and beets and recognized that, as others have pointed out.....if a "night out" involves IHOP or Denny's, then some of the stuff served on the Dawn might constitute "great food". NCL has to get it's act together before we'll sail on it again. Taking a "Pollyanna-ish" attitude about NCL's very evident shortcomings won't help the problem. They've got a good concept (Freestyle) but they've ruined it with substandard cuisine.

So, if I understand you correctly we are supposed to stop defending NCLs choice of cooking whether justified or not and accept what you and a handful of others are saying about the subpar food they are serving? A night out for us is certainly not IHOP, not even a breakfast out; we enjoy a top quality steak, Lobster, good Mexican food etc and yet I do not think NCL serves sub standard food. I do think the quality has gone down but if those of you out there have sailed in the past year on other lines and are honest you will have to admit this is a trend of the cruise industry. I believe it may be called operational cost cut back. How about flying first class? There was a time when we loved the cheese, cracker, lox, champagne etc available during our entire flight or the choice of Filet or shrimp and the wonderful hot fudge Sundays. those days are gone. We now get free alcohol still and snacks a step up from coach, but we don't get or expect 4 star dining anymore. NMNita

[7SeasLover]

I think I'll take digital photos of every menu that is presented to me on my next 2 NCL cruises. That way we can all see what's being offered in the main dining rooms.

 

What the heck are oxtails?

[newmexicoNita]

I think I'll take digital photos of every menu that is presented to me on my next 2 NCL cruises. That way we can all see what's being offered in the main dining rooms.

 

What the heck are oxtails?

That would be great!!! OxTAils are exactly what they sound like, and make great stew or just very tasty braised dinner, like my dad used to make and I still do out of short ribs. They also make fantastic soup...........NMNita

[electricron]

I'll agree hamburgers cooked at the buffet usually tastes terrible, but then again, why not get the burgers fresh off the bar-b-que? Smoked meats always tastes better than those pan fried, just imho.

 

And NCL bar-b-ques almost on every sunny day. If you're late, you'll miss them.

[newmexicoNita]

I'll agree hamburgers cooked at the buffet usually tastes terrible, but then again, why not get the burgers fresh off the bar-b-que? Smoked meats always tastes better than those pan fried, just imho.

 

And NCL bar-b-ques almost on every sunny day. If you're late, you'll miss them.

Those burgers are the ones I am referring to, I don't know why they bother having the ones at the buffet. NMnita

[hawaii here we come ...]

and I have to agree with posters who say food was subpar. I have cruised RCCL and CCL, and very much enjoyed the dining 'experience.'

BUT, we loved the concept of the Freestyle cruising , because it offered flexibility and a more relaxed atmosphere. But there is an expectation that the dining experience on a cruise is supposed to be exceptional.

I will add that we dined in only one extra $$$$ specialty rest, Lazy Js, and the service, food and menu were great. The selections were of a higher "quality" -- jumbo shrimp cocktail, asparagus, excellent cuts of meat, etc. -- that are standard fare in the dining rooms in other cruises. I would assume that the same was true in the Bistro and the East Meets West, but because my husband really isn't into trying anything new, we didn't dine there.

Our experience in the Cadillac Diner was horrible. He wanted something fried, so we went there and ordered the fried chicken. When I attempted to ask the waitress whether the chicken was 'light or dark,' she ignored my question (I'm not sure she knew what I meant, her English wasn't good). We ordered "starters," -- my spinach and artichoke dip and chips arrived 10 minutes after my meal. My husband's chili and chips arrived with his meal. The chicken was the back piece (little meat), and it was greasy. And although we had ordered mashed potatoes as the side, it was also served with french fries. The desserts looked good, but we were so put off by the meal, that we bolted. Others around us were also complaining and shrugging their shoulders as their meals came to the table piecemeal. When I asked the waiter about the situation, he said they were training a new cook. He was very apologetic.

I found the dining room menus to be very similar, ( a striploin steak with gravy is just that, no matter how creative the name may be) and really just a couple of notches above hospital cafeteria food. We only ate in the Skyline and Liberty once each. We ended up eating from the buffet or ashore, only because it was convenient and I knew there would always be a hamburger there if nothing else. What I did see, especially on Thursday night's buffet, were entree trays empty for long periods of time and fewer choices than I have had on previous cruises.

Was it reason not to cruise on NCL again? For this particular cruise and ports, no. If I were to book another cruise in another locale, I'd probably think twice about booking with NCL again.

My observation about PoAM is this, the cruise is second to the ports and shore excursions, and I have nothing but positive things to say about the shore excursions booked through NCL.

I plan on writing a CC review and a letter to NCL to talk about my experience. I don't plan on blasting NCL -- because I still rate the overall experience as VERY GOOD. but I am hopeful that my comments about my experience will help NCL and others wanting info about this cruise.

I think this is the beauty of this forum. I was appreciative of it before I sailed and I hope now I can contribute to it.

[GoHuskies!]

What the heck are oxtails?

 

First, catch an ox. After you've persuaded him to relinquish his tail, you skin the hide off it--cut the tail into sections--carefully, using a boning knife, slice along the vertebral bone to separate the meat, keeping it intact as a ring--slide the bone out of the meat--cut the meat into short sections, forming rings. Now you have just the right meats for a shish kebab, and you can alternate them on the skewer with chitlins.

 

That is how you use them, isn't it?? :eek:

[TrojanCruiser]

 

Perhaps you should cruise HAL or Celebrity and eat where, when, with whom, and wearing what you are told to by the cruise line, and then kid yourself into thinking you're getting better food.

 

I've agonized whether or not to jump into this thread but based on my experience of recent "back-to-back" NCL-HAL cruises earlier this month (3 day Los Angeles to Vancouver on the NCL Star with a transfer to the HAL Ryndam in Vancouver for a 7 day Alaska cruise), here are my own, subjective comments.

 

My wife and I have only started cruising within the past few years, but the majority of our cruises have been on NCL. We enjoy the Freestyle concept and as far as NCL meals are concerned have no complaints regarding them- we do have most of our meals in the dining room and also make it a point to visit Le Bistro and Cagneys if we can. However, we did notice a slight "difference" in the food we had on our recent NCL Star cruise (Le Bistro's escargot didn't "Wow" us nor did the Rossini-style filet mignon, the chicken parmigiana in La Trattoria was tough) as compared to our 01/06 NCL Dream cruise- but these were just two meals. Maybe it was because we just had the same things back in Jan as we did in May or it could have been that it was the difference between the cooks on two different ships? However, we still enjoyed our meals!

 

When we were planning this most recent vacation, we decided to try HAL for Alaska. The decision wasn't without doubts- after having experienced Freestyle, would we like having a set time for dinner, who would our tablemates be, and what am I going to wear to formal night (besides my one black sports-jacket that I've worn for all formal nights on all of my NCL cruises), would there be a "generation gap" between us (mid-40's) and the other HAL cruisers? We prefer to eat dinner late, so we requested a table for two at the 8:15PM sitting- guess what? That's what we got- an 8:15PM table for two close to the windows in the Rotterdam Dining Room (all the better to enjoy the Alaskan sunsets)! Each dinner menu- the complete menu from appetizers to desserts- was different each night. There were 4-5 appetizers (I usually chose 2-3 of them, especially the seafood appetizers), 2-3 salads, 2-3 soups (including yummy chilled soups), 5-6 main entrees made up of beef and/or pork, chicken and/or duck, vegetarian, pasta/noodles, and a seafood entree plus 2 different salmon entrees, and 8-9 varied desserts (except on the night when the Parade of the Baked Alaskas was done- that night you had no choice (but I'm sure if you requested something else, it could have been provided)- and as far as I can remember, no dinner menus or recipes were duplicated on our cruise. Both my wife and I enjoy eating a good meal and as I said before, have been satisfied with our NCL meals. However, in my own subjective opinion and without kidding myself, the Ryndam dinners were exceptional - simply stated, the Ryndam food tasted better to me than what I had just experienced a few days earlier on the Star (or even from what I had on the Dream).

 

As far as the other aspects of dinner on HAL- although we didn't have any tablemates, we conversed easily with the other guests seated close to us and even made acquaintances with them to the point of having breakfast and lunch with them or just talking out on the decks. The demographics of the Ryndam ranged from some families to a couple of Australian tour groups to retired folks enjoying their golden years (good for them!) but there were plenty of cruisers in between. Both my wife and I work in the medical field and see a great deal of elderly, infirmed patients so to see "the greatest generation" enjoying a cruise (HAL or NCL), some for the very first time, is both heart-warming and very refreshing.

 

As far as dress is concerned, there were 4 resort-casual nights, 2 formal nights, and 1 informal night. Even after being on excursions (salmon fishing, helicopter ride to a glacier, whale watching) most days, it wasn't that hard to go back to our room, freshen up and throw on some nice, clean resort-casual clothes for dinner in the main dining room. For formal nights, I decided prior to the cruise to buy a tuxedo- I enjoyed wearing it, my wife loved seeing me in it, and we got some great pictures of us in our formal attire out on the deck with a beautiful Inland Passage sunset as background (also, the tux jacket pulled double-duty on informal night when I wore it over one of my Hawaiian shirts- styling...). And you know what the best part was (besides the food and the experience of Alaska with my wife)? I compared the per day price (pre-tax, without gratuity) of the same category cabin (window with an obstructed view, double occupancy) on both HAL Ryndam and NCL Star for this itinerary- the Ryndam was less expensive (by about $35 per day)! Oh, and that tux that I just wore on the Ryndam- I'm going to be wearing it on upcoming formal nights on our NCL Jewel cruise in 01/07 as well as on the HAL 7 night Caribbean cruise that my wife and I won in the Ryndam's cruise lottery!

[sjbdtz]

a striploin steak with gravy is just that, no matter how creative the name may be) and really just a couple of notches above hospital cafeteria food.

 

I had a great striploin steak & gravy last time I was at Morton's.

 

It was MANY notches above hospital cafeteria food...not that I've ever eaten that.... :rolleyes:

[sjbdtz]

as well as on the HAL 7 night Caribbean cruise that my wife and I won in the Ryndam's cruise lottery!

 

 

I say this in a teasing (not attacking) manner...but there's nothing like winning a free 7 day cruise, to colour the rest of the cruise with rose-coloured glasses! :)

[hotspur]

What the heck are oxtails?

Here they are at about $11/pound:

 

http://www.donaldrussell.com/product.cfm?productid=300&pageid=2

[newmexicoNita]

I've agonized whether or not to jump into this thread but based on my experience of recent "back-to-back" NCL-HAL cruises earlier this month (3 day Los Angeles to Vancouver on the NCL Star with a transfer to the HAL Ryndam in Vancouver for a 7 day Alaska cruise), here are my own, subjective comments.

 

My wife and I have only started cruising within the past few years, but the majority of our cruises have been on NCL. We enjoy the Freestyle concept and as far as NCL meals are concerned have no complaints regarding them- we do have most of our meals in the dining room and also make it a point to visit Le Bistro and Cagneys if we can. However, we did notice a slight "difference" in the food we had on our recent NCL Star cruise (Le Bistro's escargot didn't "Wow" us nor did the Rossini-style filet mignon, the chicken parmigiana in La Trattoria was tough) as compared to our 01/06 NCL Dream cruise- but these were just two meals. Maybe it was because we just had the same things back in Jan as we did in May or it could have been that it was the difference between the cooks on two different ships? However, we still enjoyed our meals!

 

When we were planning this most recent vacation, we decided to try HAL for Alaska. The decision wasn't without doubts- after having experienced Freestyle, would we like having a set time for dinner, who would our tablemates be, and what am I going to wear to formal night (besides my one black sports-jacket that I've worn for all formal nights on all of my NCL cruises), would there be a "generation gap" between us (mid-40's) and the other HAL cruisers? We prefer to eat dinner late, so we requested a table for two at the 8:15PM sitting- guess what? That's what we got- an 8:15PM table for two close to the windows in the Rotterdam Dining Room (all the better to enjoy the Alaskan sunsets)! Each dinner menu- the complete menu from appetizers to desserts- was different each night. There were 4-5 appetizers (I usually chose 2-3 of them, especially the seafood appetizers), 2-3 salads, 2-3 soups (including yummy chilled soups), 5-6 main entrees made up of beef and/or pork, chicken and/or duck, vegetarian, pasta/noodles, and a seafood entree plus 2 different salmon entrees, and 8-9 varied desserts (except on the night when the Parade of the Baked Alaskas was done- that night you had no choice (but I'm sure if you requested something else, it could have been provided)- and as far as I can remember, no dinner menus or recipes were duplicated on our cruise. Both my wife and I enjoy eating a good meal and as I said before, have been satisfied with our NCL meals. However, in my own subjective opinion and without kidding myself, the Ryndam dinners were exceptional - simply stated, the Ryndam food tasted better to me than what I had just experienced a few days earlier on the Star (or even from what I had on the Dream).

 

As far as the other aspects of dinner on HAL- although we didn't have any tablemates, we conversed easily with the other guests seated close to us and even made acquaintances with them to the point of having breakfast and lunch with them or just talking out on the decks. The demographics of the Ryndam ranged from some families to a couple of Australian tour groups to retired folks enjoying their golden years (good for them!) but there were plenty of cruisers in between. Both my wife and I work in the medical field and see a great deal of elderly, infirmed patients so to see "the greatest generation" enjoying a cruise (HAL or NCL), some for the very first time, is both heart-warming and very refreshing.

 

As far as dress is concerned, there were 4 resort-casual nights, 2 formal nights, and 1 informal night. Even after being on excursions (salmon fishing, helicopter ride to a glacier, whale watching) most days, it wasn't that hard to go back to our room, freshen up and throw on some nice, clean resort-casual clothes for dinner in the main dining room. For formal nights, I decided prior to the cruise to buy a tuxedo- I enjoyed wearing it, my wife loved seeing me in it, and we got some great pictures of us in our formal attire out on the deck with a beautiful Inland Passage sunset as background (also, the tux jacket pulled double-duty on informal night when I wore it over one of my Hawaiian shirts- styling...). And you know what the best part was (besides the food and the experience of Alaska with my wife)? I compared the per day price (pre-tax, without gratuity) of the same category cabin (window with an obstructed view, double occupancy) on both HAL Ryndam and NCL Star for this itinerary- the Ryndam was less expensive (by about $35 per day)! Oh, and that tux that I just wore on the Ryndam- I'm going to be wearing it on upcoming formal nights on our NCL Jewel cruise in 01/07 as well as on the HAL 7 night Caribbean cruise that my wife and I won in the Ryndam's cruise lottery!

I think you will love the Jewel. We have only sailed HAL once and though we had a good time we probably won't do it again as, for us, we found the food a little bland and the passengers the same. I think you will find the Jewel different from your previous experience with NCL. The Dream is a wonderful ship but not the same as the newer NCL ships in any way. Although the Star is much like all newer NCL ships a 3 day cruise is nothing like a 7 day or longer one. You have written a very objective review: thanks so much. NMNita

[jennajack]

We took our 3rd NCL cruise in 3 years, and I also noticed the food had slipped from being awesome to being good. By the end of the week, the choices were almost comical. Macarroni and ground beef. A little too Hamburger Helper for us. Still a fun trip, but the food was not as exciting as we expected.

[TrojanCruiser]

I think you will love the Jewel. We have only sailed HAL once and though we had a good time we probably won't do it again as, for us, we found the food a little bland and the passengers the same. I think you will find the Jewel different from your previous experience with NCL. The Dream is a wonderful ship but not the same as the newer NCL ships in any way. Although the Star is much like all newer NCL ships a 3 day cruise is nothing like a 7 day or longer one. You have written a very objective review: thanks so much. NMNita

 

NMNita - We did take a 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise on the Star in 01/05 and thoroughly enjoyed the ship & the experience- that's one of the reasons we did the 3 day Star repo up to Vancouver. Although the Dream is not as new as the Star or the Jewel- it had it's own personality (smaller ship, less passengers, more intimate surroundings) that added to our enjoyment of our 01/06 Western Caribbean cruise. That's where we saw the Jewel in Roatan and decided to try her next year.

 

I love seafood (and "see food") and almost exclusively chose salmon or halibut for my dinner entrees on HAL. Since my wife is allergic to sea food, she was the carnivore on our recent trip. We both found our choices to be full of flavor. The HAL passengers that we did meet were so interesting and friendly, and as I said in my earlier post, we got together for breakfasts and lunch quite often- in fact, I've kept in touch with some of them since our cruise to share pictures and even plan another cruise together. Don't read into this, but I've never done that with any fellow passengers from any of my previous NCL cruises.

 

 

One of the questions asked in the NCL comment card goes something like- Is this cruise better than your last one on NCL? Yes or No- How do I compare our W.Caribbean Dream cruise to the Star's Mexican Riviera or the 3 day Star repo cruise to the W.Caribbean Dream cruise? Unless, I did the same itinerary on the same ship, this is a hard question to answer Yes or No to. I feel each of our cruises have been pleasant, unique, and great vacations/experiences- those of us who cruise should feel blessed to have had our opportunities to enjoy them.

[hotspur]

We took our 3rd NCL cruise in 3 years, and I also noticed the food had slipped from being awesome to being good. By the end of the week, the choices were almost comical. Macarroni and ground beef. A little too Hamburger Helper for us. Still a fun trip, but the food was not as exciting as we expected.

It would be nice when someone cites one item on the menu for ridicule to list what the alternatives were. I suspect no one forced passengers to eat the macaroni and ground beef.

 

We were on a tour of Thailand having lunch at a floating restaurant in Bangkok with a buffet of wonderful Thai food. One man in our group chose to fill his plate with spaghetti and a vile-looking tomato sauce. Yes, one could say how awful it was to see spaghetti and tomato sauce offered in exotic Bangkok, but the remaining offerings were fabulous.

[andsail]

Well I wasn't on your cruise, but I have never been on any cruise where the only choice of dressings was a bottle of Wishbone. On our last NCL cruise we had several choices; the blue cheese was awful. I totally disagree with you on the quality of food versus price. As I said, of course you will not get a top quality burger, but that doesn't mean the burgers are bad. I happen to think Burger King makes a good burger and IN and Out which you probably have never heard makes an awesume burger; neither are in the same catagory as a top restaurant piece of meat. What kind of salad bar did you expect? The type you get at Golden Corral with 25 choices but none with much to offer? Obviously you didn't like your cruise and this is your view which you are entitled to, that is why these boards are so addicting but you too, have to realize your views are not shared by all of us. In fact they are not shared by the majority. They are shared by some.

THE SHIP WAS VERY NICE AND THE STAFF OVERALL WERE GREAT. BUT I PERSONALLY DID NOT ENJOY THE FOOD. I HAVE IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM TRIED TO IMPOSE MY OPINIONS ON ANYONE ELSE. AS I SAID BEFORE, IF YOU ENJOY NCL'S FOOD THAT IS GOOD FOR YOU. I ALSO SAID THAT YOU SHOULD NOT EXPECT LESS JUST BECAUSE YOUR ON A HUGE CRUISE SHIP.

[mbisson]

Come on, do not knock oxtails if you have not tried them.

 

Just a gourmet cook talking!!!

 

Somehow, I keep picturing a herd of poor, tailless oxen ;)

 

-Monte

[newmexicoNita]

NMNita - We did take a 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise on the Star in 01/05 and thoroughly enjoyed the ship & the experience- that's one of the reasons we did the 3 day Star repo up to Vancouver. Although the Dream is not as new as the Star or the Jewel- it had it's own personality (smaller ship, less passengers, more intimate surroundings) that added to our enjoyment of our 01/06 Western Caribbean cruise. That's where we saw the Jewel in Roatan and decided to try her next year.

 

I love seafood (and "see food") and almost exclusively chose salmon or halibut for my dinner entrees on HAL. Since my wife is allergic to sea food, she was the carnivore on our recent trip. We both found our choices to be full of flavor. The HAL passengers that we did meet were so interesting and friendly, and as I said in my earlier post, we got together for breakfasts and lunch quite often- in fact, I've kept in touch with some of them since our cruise to share pictures and even plan another cruise together. Don't read into this, but I've never done that with any fellow passengers from any of my previous NCL cruises.

 

 

One of the questions asked in the NCL comment card goes something like- Is this cruise better than your last one on NCL? Yes or No- How do I compare our W.Caribbean Dream cruise to the Star's Mexican Riviera or the 3 day Star repo cruise to the W.Caribbean Dream cruise? Unless, I did the same itinerary on the same ship, this is a hard question to answer Yes or No to. I feel each of our cruises have been pleasant, unique, and great vacations/experiences- those of us who cruise should feel blessed to have had our opportunities to enjoy them.

I know what you mean about comparing: we had a similar situration when filling out the comment card on the Sun last month. Cruising on the Jewel last Sept on her first voyage across the Atlantic wasn't anything like cruising on the Sun in the eastern Caribbean. it was almost impossible to compare. We enjoyed both, but the Jewel has the beat CD and assistant I have seen in 20 plus cruises, the itinerary was very unusual and interesting and the people we met through CC and our meet and greet party the first night made so much difference. We have stayed in contact with some of them. NMnita

[taschr]

I agree with you. Their food is something you would expect at a day camp. Our Spirit cruise in Feb 05 almost turned us off to cruising. Some of the meals were horrible -- first time we actually left the restaurant in the middle of the entree. Service stunk -- non-existent in the dining room unless you were paired up with a bunch of people at a table for 8. And the entertainment was something you would expect to see at a pre-scholl play. Booked on the Pearl for 1/19/07, but if I keep reading comments like yours, I'm cancelling.

[taschr]

A cruise has a captive audience for dining. To have unacceptable or tasteless food and slow service in the idning rooms is one reason not to book a particular ship or line. We had an excellent cruise on the Dream in July 94, but our Sky Jun 03 cruise wasn't up to par with that and our Feb 05 Spirit cruise was a nightmare except for the nice itinerary. We're giving NCL one more chnace in Jan 07 on the New Pearl. If that's below expectations, which I translate into something better than I would expect from Carnival, then tata NCL. I see where they had a net loss of $28.6 million in the first quarter of 06, compared to a net profit of $9.2 million for all of 05. That type of turn around doesn't come just from higher fuel prices. It comes from having to discount prices to get people to book or come back. We have a nice price for an outside guarantee in Jan 07 on Pearl, but I don't think I'd want to risk a third disappointing 9 day cruise on NCL if that one flops. It's a new ship, and they should be putting out their best.

[newmexicoNita]

I agree with you. Their food is something you would expect at a day camp. Our Spirit cruise in Feb 05 almost turned us off to cruising. Some of the meals were horrible -- first time we actually left the restaurant in the middle of the entree. Service stunk -- non-existent in the dining room unless you were paired up with a bunch of people at a table for 8. And the entertainment was something you would expect to see at a pre-scholl play. Booked on the Pearl for 1/19/07, but if I keep reading comments like yours, I'm cancelling.

I have read your past comments, why, when you found almost nothing acceptable on NCL would you book again? As for the entertainment, which has nothing to do with food, very few complain about it: normally it is thought to be as good if not better than any at sea including Celebrity. As for service, anyone can hit a bad group of wait people, we had a wait person on our Dec cruise that didn't even give my husband a menu 2 out of 5 nights and rushed us through our meal every night so he could tell us what a wonderful job he was doing for us. Was this on NCL? Nope. The funny thing, the following week someone wrote a review and bragged about the same wait person. It is all in how we, as individuals see things or the mood of the person at the time. We were on the Sky in Jan of 2003: everything about the cruise was outstanding in our estimation as well as the views of all who we got to know. I think we heard one person who didn't feel the ship was as nice as some they had cruised. NMnita

[sjbdtz]

I see where they had a net loss of $28.6 million in the first quarter of 06, compared to a net profit of $9.2 million for all of 05. That type of turn around doesn't come just from higher fuel prices. It comes from having to discount prices to get people to book or come back

 

Did you read the report? A large part of it came from training & staffing the new Hawaii ship, without getting any revenue from it.

 

 

I know that the price I've paid for my next cruise definately wouldn't be considered "discount prices"...and the price has gone up $600 since I booked... I guess what I'm saying is that I'd like to see some substance for your claim that "it comes from having to discount prices to get people to book."

[seahorse]

Somehow, I keep picturing a herd of poor, tailless oxen ;)

 

-Monte

 

:eek: :D

[newmexicoNita]

Did you read the report? A large part of it came from training & staffing the new Hawaii ship, without getting any revenue from it.

 

 

I know that the price I've paid for my next cruise definately wouldn't be considered "discount prices"...and the price has gone up $600 since I booked... I guess what I'm saying is that I'd like to see some substance for your claim that "it comes from having to discount prices to get people to book."

sjbdtz, you always do your homework; good for you.

With the exception of some of the older ships, I agree, the prices we are paying for NCL at this time could not be considered discounted. We paid $300 a person more for a 10 day NCL cruise on the lowest deck than we were about to pay for a 14 day Celebrity cruise on deck 9. NCL is lossing money right now; of course it isn't all fuel, it is the cost of operating the US based vessels and training the staff as you mentioned. I guess some need to read the entire article huh?