Is Ncl cutting back quality and service or what

[smoothdancer]

Back to the food question! It has been a long time since we sailed on NCL, so it will be like a new experience for us. I wonder if any of you found that the specilaty resturants that charge a fee have better service and food than the main dining room. (we will be on the Crown)

 

I also remember the BBQ on our last cruise and I thought it was wonderful. Is it still as good? All the different lines I have been on I never bother with the rolls on the hotdogs and hamb... I think that they get soggy/stale no matter what they do, being at sea and all.... That have always tasted fine to me once I get rid of the bread.

 

One last questions... Do they serve waffles and pancakes in the buffet or is that reserved for the dining room? We went on a Carnival cruise a few months back and they were not served in the buffet... Boy was I disappointed!

 

Thanks

[hods93]

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.

 

 

 

Pardon me for asking, but exactly how long ago were you on Carnival? I did not see you cite it in your post. Your really should give CCL a try. Our last two cruises were on Carnival. I thought the food was just delicious, ships clean and staff attentive. My assumption is that you are a recent CCL cruiser since you state you have a low expectation of it.

 

We work hard to afford vacations and certainly I would never book another cruise with NCL after such a "nightmare".;)

 

We trying the NCL Spirit in June and I cant wait. :)

[Manomet1]

We agree. the quality in the food has gone down, but imagine being on a 15 day cruise with a set dinning time and table. Mother came to the table between 10-15 minutes late every night and said "daughter" was on her way. Try and change a table after 3-4 nights. No matter what the quality one has to always remember the overall experience. The food was probably excellent, the other 2 couples at the table were wonderful. I will always remember the CCL cruise as one of the WORST dining experiences I have ever been subject to.

 

Because of "daughter" (who was over 30) we were always the last to leave the dinning room. Our waiter was wonderful and tried to serve us quickly, but "mother" but a stop to everything.

 

Quality of food has little to do with the overall experience and what memories we bring back with us. HB & HD's do well with ketchup, mustard and there is always room service for a club sandwich.

[bobar]

ok .27 cruises later i find i have gone on ncl 9 times. #10 will be the spirit on 6/3. it seems every dinner menu has always had a chciken,a beef,a pasta,a fish and something exotic. most recent was the sun in nov 05.

their soups are excellent, better than rccl,ccl,holland america,costa,premiere and celebrity. there breads are outstanding. their deserts rank right up there with the best. Their appetizers and entrees are sometimes not perfect but usually good.

They have great deckside grills compared to any other cruiseline. in nov on the sun they had grilled chicken,a full pig, ribs and more and when spending the day by the pool theirs nothing better. With the prices ncl charges i don't see how they manage it all sometimes.I owuld never get on a cruise that i priced cheaper thann everyone else and expect delfrisco or the palms. Just my humble opinion. Can't wait till june 3rd on the spirit to see my 5th ncl ship.:cool:

[smoothdancer]

I have to agree about Carnival. We sailed Carnival in December, one of thier older ships. The dinners were all good, the soups really special. They had good presentation. It was a pleasant surprise. The buffets were average on port days, but they did have good buffets with a lot of variety on the sea days. I found the food comparable with other lines such as RCCL. I would sail Carnival again.

[Another ship trip]

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."

 

Perhaps it is the ship you are on or the timeframe you are booking then. You have probably read the hundreds of comments about the one day sales that are very low, much below what early bookers pay and how prices routinely drop the last month before sailing on most cruises going out now. That is how I have booked several of my most recent NCL cruises. They had way too many rooms left and discounted them tremendously. A cabin going for 999-1099 5 mo. prior to sailing may be 599 by the last month. Many last minute bookings (when full payment will be due) are getting a fantastic bargain! At least I have and we watch the prices about 6-9 months before sailing and wait for the price drop. We are generally looking at a few cruises for the same dates and start the comparison. Look no farther than NCL's own booking engine during the last three weeks of any cruise and print off the price of that trip 6 months prior to that and you will see hundreds slashed off cabins. We booked this most recent cruise after seeing two price drops. Then it dropped two more times again after we paid--once 4 weeks out and the last drop was before NCL pulls them from the booking engine at about 3 weeks out. NCL discounts more than any other major line and yes, sjbdtz, NCL does entice bookings like mine with really low prices! I wait for them and they show up and we cruise again!

[newmexicoNita]

Perhaps it is the ship you are on or the timeframe you are booking then. You have probably read the hundreds of comments about the one day sales that are very low, much below what early bookers pay and how prices routinely drop the last month before sailing on most cruises going out now. That is how I have booked several of my most recent NCL cruises. They had way too many rooms left and discounted them tremendously. A cabin going for 999-1099 5 mo. prior to sailing may be 599 by the last month. Many last minute bookings (when full payment will be due) are getting a fantastic bargain! At least I have and we watch the prices about 6-9 months before sailing and wait for the price drop. We are generally looking at a few cruises for the same dates and start the comparison. Look no farther than NCL's own booking engine during the last three weeks of any cruise and print off the price of that trip 6 months prior to that and you will see hundreds slashed off cabins. We booked this most recent cruise after seeing two price drops. Then it dropped two more times again after we paid--once 4 weeks out and the last drop was before NCL pulls them from the booking engine at about 3 weeks out. NCL discounts more than any other major line and yes, sjbdtz, NCL does entice bookings like mine with really low prices! I wait for them and they show up and we cruise again!

I don't want to start anything here, but I am a TA and what you are saying just isn't true in most cases. All lines run their specials close to sailing if space is available; most of the time it is not. During slow seasons what you say is partly true: Of course rates drop the last 4 weeks if the ship needs to be filled: this isn't new to any veteran cruiser, but it isn't just NCL. Again, I am not always referring to the older, less popular ships, I am talking about the newer ones. They are sold out or close to it prior to the last month. You may find a few inside cabins still available at rock bottom prices, just like you will on other lines, especially Carnival and believe it or not, Celebrity. You are generalizing a little too much. NMnita

[seahorse]

I don't want to start anything here, but I am a TA and what you are saying just isn't true in most cases. All lines run their specials close to sailing if space is available; most of the time it is not. During slow seasons what you say is partly true: Of course rates drop the last 4 weeks if the ship needs to be filled: this isn't new to any veteran cruiser, but it isn't just NCL. Again, I am not always referring to the older, less popular ships, I am talking about the newer ones. They are sold out or close to it prior to the last month. You may find a few inside cabins still available at rock bottom prices, just like you will on other lines, especially Carnival and believe it or not, Celebrity. You are generalizing a little too much. NMnita

 

I agree:)

[Another ship trip]

and I am simply sharing that it can be done and that is how I get to sail 2 or 3 times a year rather than just once a year. (for the last 6 years anyway). I sail on the Spirit on 6/3 and got a pretty good deal and several weeks later (just last Friday to be exact), an upsell. Contrary to what you said, there were still many available cabins as of a week ago. Do you consider this an older less desirable ship? Cabin availability was pulled from NCL's site by end of last week. That was 3 weeks prior to sailing.

EX. Paperwork on cabins on this ship several months before sailing for my date had cheapest cabin for 3 going for 2392. And I check about 5 broker sites and NCL for full fare. (I get a discount with broker if I choose to use her.) I am looking at all the prices right now as we print them off and use them for comparison. I would be happy to fax copies as apparently I must be lying. The last price I saw about 3 weeks before sailing (last Tues or Wed.) was 1792. for cheapest--a total drop of 600. for the same cabin if someone wanted to wait until then to book. True, Suites were gone by then but balconies on down were available. June is a great time for me and apparently was still a great time to go out of New York. I imagine schools are still in session up north at this time. The rates seem to climb for this cruise by mid-June. I did the same thing in December the week before Christmas on the Sun. I did the same thing on a Princess cruise. I did the same thing on the Sea (now that was an old ship, but was for a holiday week.) I did the same thing on a Carnival ship. All of these were in the last 18 months. Works for me and bottom line I get prices that I feel are quite good. I have not found this to be the case on the RCCL new ships nor the Princess newer ships. You'll never get a bargain on Disney, but that's a different story. I have already booked my next Princess for Thanksgiving because I'm sure it will sell out just as it did last year and I really want that ship because it is near home.

 

I am not saying it will be true for most people--I am very flexible on cabins and am not so picky on that issue. The cabin is not the be all, end all for us. I shop for itinerary first since we are divers. I am just sharing information about what good deals I have gotten. But if you want to call me a liar for my good fortune and the fact that I research a great deal ahead of time on the couple cruises I am interested in each year, well.....that's okay!

[cantwaitt]

Several years ago I was about to book a Royal Caribbean ship several weeks out. I held off calling a travel agent back to provide my credit card number when a second travel agent called me back--yes, I play one vs. the other to get the best deal on the same cabin--and she offered me the same cabin next door for $500 less. She said her firm was offered a one-day sale. So, I took it.

[GOLDENBONNY]

I think the question is,

 

Is it the Star, or is it fleetwide?:confused:

 

FLEETWIDE!!

[newmexicoNita]

and I am simply sharing that it can be done and that is how I get to sail 2 or 3 times a year rather than just once a year. (for the last 6 years anyway). I sail on the Spirit on 6/3 and got a pretty good deal and several weeks later (just last Friday to be exact), an upsell. Contrary to what you said, there were still many available cabins as of a week ago. Do you consider this an older less desirable ship? Cabin availability was pulled from NCL's site by end of last week. That was 3 weeks prior to sailing.

EX. Paperwork on cabins on this ship several months before sailing for my date had cheapest cabin for 3 going for 2392. And I check about 5 broker sites and NCL for full fare. (I get a discount with broker if I choose to use her.) I am looking at all the prices right now as we print them off and use them for comparison. I would be happy to fax copies as apparently I must be lying. The last price I saw about 3 weeks before sailing (last Tues or Wed.) was 1792. for cheapest--a total drop of 600. for the same cabin if someone wanted to wait until then to book. True, Suites were gone by then but balconies on down were available. June is a great time for me and apparently was still a great time to go out of New York. I imagine schools are still in session up north at this time. The rates seem to climb for this cruise by mid-June. I did the same thing in December the week before Christmas on the Sun. I did the same thing on a Princess cruise. I did the same thing on the Sea (now that was an old ship, but was for a holiday week.) I did the same thing on a Carnival ship. All of these were in the last 18 months. Works for me and bottom line I get prices that I feel are quite good. I have not found this to be the case on the RCCL new ships nor the Princess newer ships. You'll never get a bargain on Disney, but that's a different story. I have already booked my next Princess for Thanksgiving because I'm sure it will sell out just as it did last year and I really want that ship because it is near home.

 

I am not saying it will be true for most people--I am very flexible on cabins and am not so picky on that issue. The cabin is not the be all, end all for us. I shop for itinerary first since we are divers. I am just sharing information about what good deals I have gotten. But if you want to call me a liar for my good fortune and the fact that I research a great deal ahead of time on the couple cruises I am interested in each year, well.....that's okay!

,

My oh My, I guess you missed my point completely: I was generalizing, not stating this never happens, at the same time stressing all cruise lines do the same thing. Believe me we get the information via the net or faxes all the time. You are right about Princess for certain, but they often run outstanding discounts for certain groups of travelers; these are prices you would not be aware of. It could be a residency price, an industry discount etc and not all agents sell these. Of course you also hit the nail on the head when you say you are flexible especially if you can be flexible with dates as well. Most travelers can not. BTW, no one is calling you a liar, I am giving a view from a professional stand point. NMNita

[bobar]

The price i pd when i booked the spirit back in november is still 200pp less than if i booked the same balcony today.Im very happy with the rate and

have the satisfaction of having picked my cabin when i booked and i can't remember as a latitudes membeer what else i got. I do agree and i cruise 3-4 times a yr that a lot of the time if you are flexible you get great deals 30 days and less prior to sailing.that is usually how i book.

can't wait for my 6/3 spirit cruise:cool:

[bobar]

hey Another Ship Trip,

since we're on the same spirit cruise what did you

upsell from and to.just curious,because we tried and were told what we wanted was all sold out:cool:

[GoHuskies!]

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

 

-Monte

 

Three words:

Buffet at noon.

:D

[DJSODAL]

We Were Also On The Star April 26 We Had Problems Getting Reservations In The Resturants And When Trying To Get Room Service No Matter What Time Of Day It Was We Were Getting The Same Message Dial 1 For Call Back But We Never Recieved A Call Back So We Went To The Blue Lagoon.

[Zeno]

I've followed this discussion because I truly felt, last February, that the food was absolutely terrible on the Dawn....and the reason I pursue this subject is because I can tell from the postings of those who speak out infrequently, do in fact agree with me. However, my question is for the few that seem to post all day, every day, refuting every criticism....WHERE do you get the TIME to monitor these board so closely??? It seems to me that there should be more to life than spending such a copious amount of time on Cruise Critic. I wish I had the time to sit around and play with the computer all day.....just wondering (Iwouldn't want to spend my retirement this way:eek:

 

An interesting comment coming from someone who previously stated:

 

please lets not get personal...it's against the rules.

 

Sorry to have to say this but: people who post frequently are just as entitled to post as you are- so coments of this nature are truly not appreciated.

[wizard-of-roz]

One of the reasons we love cruising is the "food experience"! We eat, enjoy and don't worry about the calorie intake! However, the food MUST be palatable.

We are taking our first NCL Star (freestyle) cruise in November, precisely 173 days to go!

We've sailed before on Carnival, RCCL, and Celebrity.

• Will we hate the food on the Star?
  
• How's the room service? I love room service! Expecially for Breakfast.
  
• What's your favorite restaurant?
  
• What's your favorite dish? And where?
  
• Can we dine (the entire 8 day cruise) in restaurants that don't have an added charge?
  
• I won't eat snails and he won't eat shellfish. Makes life pretty simple!
  
• We've NEVER dined at Denny's but we both like hamburgers!
  
• We both like most foods (italians our favorite)!
  
• We like to have dinner between 5:00 and 6:00pm. Breakfast is simple and lunch usually is light fair!
  
• We don't mind buffets, if the selection is varied.

I've read so many negative things about the food, I'm ready to start cooking, freezing and storing for the trip! (Just kidding)! The food is pretty important to both of us!

Since I've already seen the worst reports. Can the positives reply?

My theory: Eat Out! It's so much more fun than cooking, setting up and cleaning up!

Happy Sails to You!:p

Roz

[Zeno]

One of the reasons we love cruising is the "food experience"! We eat, enjoy and don't worry about the calorie intake! However, the food MUST be palatable.

We are taking our first NCL Star (freestyle) cruise in November, precisely 173 days to go!

We've sailed before on Carnival, RCCL, and Celebrity.

• Will we hate the food on the Star?
  
• How's the room service? I love room service! Expecially for Breakfast.
  
• What's your favorite restaurant?
  
• What's your favorite dish? And where?
  
• Can we dine (the entire 8 day cruise) in restaurants that don't have an added charge?
  
• I won't eat snails and he won't eat shellfish. Makes life pretty simple!
  
• We've NEVER dined at Denny's but we both like hamburgers!
  
• We both like most foods (italians our favorite)!
  
• We like to have dinner between 5:00 and 6:00pm. Breakfast is simple and lunch usually is light fair!
  
• We don't mind buffets, if the selection is varied.

I've read so many negative things about the food, I'm ready to start cooking, freezing and storing for the trip! (Just kidding)! The food is pretty important to both of us!

Since I've already seen the worst reports. Can the positives reply?

My theory: Eat Out! It's so much more fun than cooking, setting up and cleaning up!

Happy Sails to You!:p

Roz

 

Have not been on the Star but I would assume

the food on it is of similar variety and quality to other NCL ships.

1. No idea - but assuming you are not looking for gourmet food on a cruiseship, you will probably find it acceptable. Strictly in my personal opinion, NCL food ranges from OK to quite good. I have had very few things that I did not find acceptable.

2. Unless you are in one of the higher end suites, room service is limited - mostly snacky things - like pizza, cookies, continental type breakfast.

3. On other NCL ships it has been Le Bistro

4. There is an amazing chocolate dessert (whose name I can't remember unfortunately) in the Italian pay-extra restaurant.

 

5.. Yes you can but I recommend trying a least one of the pay-extras. On our 2nd cruise, we did not bother with any of the pay-extras.

6. There is an amazing chocolate dessert (whose name I can't remember unfortunately) in the Italian pay-extra restaurant.

6. Too bad the escargot are quite acceptable in Le Bistro - not the best I have had but pretty good.

7. No problem with liking hamburgers

8. We liked Italian night in the dining room BUT EXCEPT for the incredible dessert I prefered the food at the Le Bistro pay-extra over the Italian pay extra.

9. The dining rooms usually open at 5:30PM - I can't remember what time the pay-extras open probably 5PM or 5:30PM.

Breakfast - lots of choice at the buffet . Lunch - I prefer the dining rooms but there is the buffet and usually some sort of Deck BBQ. The Sun (the last ship I was on), also had a pasta bar and a sandwich bar and pizzas.

10. The buffet is OK but nothing special. I found the selection at breakfast with the various extra stations (omlettes, waffles) quite good. For lunch

the selection is adequate but I prefer to eat lunch in the dining room or at the sandwich bar. For dinner, I have only eaten at the buffet a couple of times - there was a decent carving station and various other items. I had no trouble finding something to eat.

I hope you find the food to your taste. We have never had any problems finding food we liked on NCL but I have not been on the Star - so I can't make any direct comments about it. Have a nice cruise.

[wizard-of-roz]

:) "Zeno", Thanks for the help. I will definitely take all that you suggested into consideration and most importantly, I'll stop cooking!

Roz

[DJSODAL]

LaTrattoria has the best Italian food!!!!!!! make sure to get your reservation early!!

[fdk71265]

Thanks for all the great feedback. It has become obvious that the change of food menu and the new VP of Food and Beverage has not been good for Ncl. I don't know when the changed occurred but last year on the spirit everything was Fantastic. Your not going to starve on the cruise (The Star) was my last cruise 4/26/2006. But it reminded of lunchtime at work when on the road what do I do today sandwich, hamburger, pizza or so sit in franchise restaurant. That's How my wife and felt on this cruise and talking to others we met on the cruise just confirmed our feelings. Also reading all of your post there definitely seems to be a change and not for the best. It's not the Ncl is bad or horrible its just that they need to listen and change or people will be jumping ship. We did have other situations arise and are in the process of talking with Ncl reps. about them. I love the freestyle concept and that is a (winner) but I won't sacrifice service very slow waiting for things, including room service not existent on our cruise, food choice and quality and variety, and saving a few bucks for just the freestyle concept. Thanks for all your repiles to my post. Lets hope things change for the better.

[GoHuskies!]

We just get too jaded during a cruise to enjoy on the seventh day what we raved about on the first day.

Several decades ago, when I had my first two-week training class at IBM, the company gathered 24 new salesmen from around the country and installed us for two weeks at a really fine new hotel in Ohio--at an intersection of two new freeways, with NO other businesses within miles. Just the hotel, and its really fine restaurant where we were expected to eat all our meals. We weren't allowed rental cars; we were to spend all our waking hours in study and classes. Nearest town, a very small one, it turns out, was 15 miles away; the rest was all cornfields. The restaurant (no coffee shop or other casual dining venue) served wonderful food--top chefs, superb dishes--except after a few days we started to long for a cheese sandwich.

So go figure--why do you think the food reports on the ship talk about quality going downhill during the week?? I doubt seriously that with each cruise the quality suddenly shoots up so that it can decline again, each and every week.

[Another ship trip]

hey Another Ship Trip,

since we're on the same spirit cruise what did you

upsell from and to.just curious,because we tried and were told what we wanted was all sold out:cool:

 

I had mentioned on another thread, that when we book late, we take advantage of the whatever the best price is--in this case inside rates and then try for an upsell. We have a balcony now. My TA was supposed to do this but she apparently fell down on the job. Emailed me and said for me to call NCL!--that she would be gone from Thursday till Monday. I called Friday. I am sure nothing would have been left if I had waited until Monday. She was working on an upgrade and upsell but then never finished the transaction and left. I may need to pull my future booking from her. If I had not gotten the balcony it would not have been that terrible because these balcony cabins are only 12 feet bigger than inside cabins (I don't consider the balcony as part of the livable cabin space since--it is outside-). I really like getting the actual living space but on this trip the balcony will be nice at sailing so I can see Statue of Liberty from my starboard cabin down the Hudson.

 

When did you call and they told you they were out? Or what were you trying to get?

[fdk71265]

Thanks for all the great feedback. It has become obvious that the change of food menu and the new VP of Food and Beverage has not been good for Ncl. I don't know when the changed occurred but last year on the spirit everything was Fantastic. Your not going to starve on the cruise (The Star) was my last cruise 4/26/2006. But it reminded of lunchtime at work when on the road what do I do today sandwich, hamburger, pizza or so sit in franchise restaurant. That's How my wife and felt on this cruise and talking to others we met on the cruise just confirmed our feelings. Also reading all of your post there definitely seems to be a change and not for the best. It's not the Ncl is bad or horrible its just that they need to listen and change or people will be jumping ship. We did have other situations arise and are in the process of talking with Ncl reps. about them. I love the freestyle concept and that is a (winner) but I won't sacrifice service very slow waiting for things, including room service not existent on our cruise, food choice and quality and variety, and saving a few bucks for just the freestyle concept. Thanks for all your repiles to my post. Lets hope things change for the better.