Cruise From Hell

[darlong]

Absolutely hysterical, Gadget...and oh so sad. When I was at the reception desk on the SUN on embarkation day (WE were on board early...they were not scheduled to start boarding until 1 but at 12:55 we were in our cabins) when I heard the lady in front of me shouting in disgust "No kids program until you sail? What am I supposed to do with them until then? As though NCL were responsible for her kids andshe had not planed on looking after them. ; )

[patandcd]

Cute Gadget, very entertaining!

[smudge's mom]

Teacup - we were on the Sea Sept 02 - cruised from Montreal to NYC. Yes, the Sea is an older ship and she shows her age, but when we were on her, she was kept very clean, the crew was nice, and we had a good time.

 

DH had won our "free cruise" at the BJ table on the Sun - we were limited to which ships, which itineraries we could choose. Wasn't exactly "free" - we had to pay port fees and air fare, but we evaluated the cost and decided to take the smallest inside cabin - which was the "free" part of our trip and not even bother to upgrade.

 

The cabin had an upper bunk that could be lowered for a third person in the room. A third person? - that would've been interesting. As it was, DH and I had to "dance" whenever we wanted to maneuver around the room. When one dressed, the other had to sit on the bed.

 

The buffet area creaked, the dining room shuddered - but these things were all easy to put up with because we knew ahead of time, we weren't sailing the QE2.

 

IT IS ALWAYS ABOUT ATTITUDE.

[gardencat]

Smudge's mom

 

but these things were all easy to put up with because we knew ahead of time, we weren't sailing the QE2.

 

IT IS ALWAYS ABOUT ATTITUDE.

It's about attitude and expectations. If you had been sailing on the QE2 and had paid tousands of dollars for the cruise, would you still have been pleased with those accomodations? If you weren't pleased and felt what you had paid entilted you to more, would that have meant you must have had a bad attitude?

[hello]

Great, Gadget!!

[bragstarr]

Gadget, that was really funny. Scary thing is, if someone has not been a member of these boards, and was to read it, they might take it seriously. Then again, there are people who WOULD be serious about those complaints. Very tongue in cheek, gave me a good laugh. Glad you really enjoyed yourself!

 

People really do need to keep things in perspective about what would truly be the cruise from hell. I might say it jokingly about my cruise home from Canada in Hurricane Juan, but not really mean it, just use it as a joke for effect (the rest of the cruise was GREAT!). Like people have said, "hell" would be serious illness, the ship sinking, being boarded by mad terrorists, or something of the sort. Remember the Achille Lauro in 1985 and poor Leon Klinghoffer?

[patandcd]

Thanks for your input leenie29!

We were on a cruise last year with a very young couple ...almost looked like they were on their honeymoon and may very well have been. They caught my attention because he was a quadraplegic, which means he has no use of his lower body and limited use of his arms. They were a very handsome young couple and we seemed to see them often, dining, shows etc. At the sail away, we were standing aft (front??) on the ship and he was sitting there in his wheelchair, watching, as we all were. She was not with him so I started looking around for her and she was asleep on one of those plastic seats on the promenade deck. In a sound and deep sleep, knowing he was safe and ok, I guess.

I knew she had a long "row to hoe" ( Southern for hard time) with that situation. Most wives only last about 5 to 10 years with a "quad" . So Bless You and your attitude! Have a sister who has been a caretaker for over 30 years and never been on a vacation, much less a cruise. So for me, there is no cruise from hell and nerver will be!

[romy]

Very good example CD and Pat! Brings to mind: "just look past your nose"!

 

Happy Sailing!!!!

Romy

[newmexicoNita]

great Gidget, and Smudgesmom, you are so right, it's about attitude and expectations. We were on the old Star (not the one NCL has now) about 6 years ago from the Houston to Roatan. This was the original Texaribbean cruise. We did have an outside cabin, the cruise was cheap, cheap and really only had 2 ports. There was a third, but it wasn't anything to talk about. We didn't expect much and got more than expected. We are about to sail with 2 other couples. One did the same cruise and said the same: like gardencat said, know what to expect. They, like us had a great time. We will have the smallest outside cabin on th Sea, but know we will have a great time for the money. NMNita

[darlong]

Interesting point by Gardencat (Hello Oakville) and NMNita about price. Since every cruise booked here in Can. dollars seems frightfully expensive, I was wondering how does the AVERAGE cruise price of the AVERAGE NCL cruise compare with Celebrity/RCCL and HAL? Not interested in the bargains and super sales people may get...but if you bought the cruise from your TA and got the usual discounts for early booking and the usual marketing stuff...how does the NCL cruise compare? When I read comments about people negatively comparing the cuisine of NCL to that of Celebrity etc. I wonder...I had assumed Celebrity was aimed at a higher price point than an NCL cruise...but perhaps I am wrong.

 

Anyone have any ideas on this? And as the thread starter, can I just say I'm really enjoying this exchange and various opinions and the fact that people can disagree without being disagreeable. You guys rock. : )

[smudge's mom]

[QUOTE]how does the AVERAGE cruise price of the AVERAGE NCL cruise compare with Celebrity/RCCL and HAL? Not interested in the bargains and super sales people may get...but if you bought the cruise from your TA and got the usual discounts for early booking and the usual marketing stuff...how does the NCL cruise compare?

 

 

I guess we are good for answering this question - we never seem to find those bargains everyone talks about.

 

We have been on three NCL trips and the experience depends upon which ship you are on.

 

We have cruised with Celebrity once - on the Summit.

 

The Sun was very comparable in amenities, cabin size/layout, veranda size, attractiveness - as the Celebrity Summit.

 

The Sea was an older ship - we never travel older ships but we made an exception because this was a "free" cruise. I found the Sea to be in good condition for a ship that age.

 

The Sky - right before refurbishing for Hawaii - was a nice ship, in pretty good condition for a ship that was older than the Sun, nice layout, good room and veranda.

 

I think the Celebrity experience was slightly better - in some ways. The buffet was the major difference in quality between the lines. I found the Celebrity Summit's food and ambience in the buffet area to be very nice - unlike the NCL experience - which tends to be just OK.

 

As far as staff goes - we've always had good staff on all our cruises. Yes, there are always "things" that can be better - staff that can smile more - but, overall - we've never left a ship saying - "that was a bad cruise."

 

The food in the dining rooms really vary. The Sun was very good, the Sea was good, the Sky was hit or miss. Some meats were cooked well, some OK, some were dry. The companion courses were pretty good, but I think the desserts were better on the Sun and Sea. So, I am assuming it depends upon who is running the kitchen as to what kind of dining experience you will have.

 

I can't really compare our serving experiences between the Sun/Sea and the Sky - because on the first two cruises we were alone - on the Sky we were a group of 12.

 

Overall, the dining rooms are hit or miss depending upon who your servers are - just like any restaurant on land. However, if you make your needs known at the beginning of your dining experience, I find they usually follow through.

 

Our dining experience on Celebrity Summit could only be described as two hour ordeals of butt numbing length. We had a server, that while very nice - must have had a feud going on with the kitchen because we could never get out of there in less than two hours and there were long waits between courses. Add to that, a fellow diner who monopolized the conversation with his negativity and know-it-all attitude and that makes things even worse.

 

The dining room food on Celebrity was only marginally better that NCL. Their desserts were inferior to the Sun's - but maybe superior to the Sky's. The meat was typical - some cooked expertly, some OK, some dried out.

 

Remember - we always try to cruise on the mega ships and your dining experience when sharing the time/space with over 2,000 other pax, just has to be equivalent to a wedding banquet hall. When trying to get 1,000 meals out in a 2 hour time period - somethings gotta give.

 

For me, NCL is a better choice because of Freestyle. I really enjoy being able to choose-- when-where-with whom-served by whom-- something you cannot do on Celebrity. I like staying in my cabin until my luggage tag color is called.

 

So which cruise line is best? It depends upon what you are looking for.

 

Our next two cruises are on Celebrity and Princess (we've never tried Princess before, but are looking forward to experiencing "personal choice" dining.)

 

As for entertainment - I thought Celebrity's wasn't anything special. I did think their troupe was "better looking" - by that, I mean they seemed to choose dancers that were equal in height and in production numbers that seemed to make things look nicer. And, if I remember correctly, Celebrity seemed to let each of their performers "shine" one night. I think that's better for the audience then seeing the same two performers as lead in each production.

 

No cruise line is a "never again" for us - We've sailed RCCL, Carnival, NCL, Celebrity - and, again, I am betting the experience you will have on any of these lines will depend upon which chef is manning the kitchen, which person is running the show, which ship you are on, when you are on it.

[gardencat]

Smudge's mom

 

You have brought up another good point about freestyle vs traditional.

 

If you go traditional, you not only eat same seating every night but you have the same wait staff so, if you luck out and get excellent ones, your perception of the whole cruise is likely to be a lot better than someone who happened to get the porest serving team and be stuck with them for the whole cruise.

On freestyle you will probable move around and have a better chance of getting a more varied experience. Not as good as the traditional with great staff but better than getting stuck with poor service all through the cruise.

[smudge's mom]

Like I said - it depends upon what your are looking for in your cruise. If dining at the same table with the wait staff learning your desires is topmost in your cruising experience and you don't wish to go through the introduction stage of conversing with fellow cruisers day after day, you will not be happy with freestyle/personal choice. You just won't.

But food/dining is down further on our list of reasons we cruise than it is for most people.

 

We cruise: to unpack once; to wake up in a new vacation spot each day; to have no monetary decisions to make regarding food and entertainment; to have others make our excursion plans, etc. The dining room is more a place to eat than a place to "experience." Do I want to get wonderful service every time I sit down? Of course I do. Does it make or break a cruise for me? No. And for us, being able to eat when we are hungry and dress more casually than Celebrity requests are big pluses, also.