How not to be introduced to a new market

[dfishner]

I saw this on the NCL board about the NCL sky, I have read other reviews about this ship that have been horrid. I know it was their shakedown cruise but they had to many problems and I am sure it soured many new customers from ever sailing on their ships. Not a good way to introduce a ship into a new market place. Note to self pass on this ship.

 

First off… let me say I LOVE NCL and will certainly cruise with them again. Sadly I must say the Norwegian Sky is not ready to handle cruisers and because I can overlook a lot of things and am laid back, I was still able to have a good time. However I can see how many who were on NCL for the first time will not come back! I met some and tried to explain this is not the typical NCL experience! The a/c was broken on the aft of the ship on Friday… to repair this on Saturday they shut off the a/c on the WHOLE ship for hours… it was VERY hot onboard and not comfortable… especially in our suite!

 

We stayed onboard in Nassau as we have been there many times and this trip was a chemo break weekend for my Dad where we thought we would just hang out… however the heat because of the no air did not make it fun or relaxing and the front desk could care less about the complaint, saying the air would be on soon…

 

customer service has never been a strong point onboard the ships! The buffets were not stocked well and they are not the nice action stations like on the Pearl. Drink stations were often out of order/not filled and your only option for lunch/dinner cold drinks was iced tea or iced tea! There was no lemonade or fruit punch as on other cruises. Frustrated from going to drink station to drink station to find one filled, I notified the NCL person who said iced tea right over here and I said NO it is empty and he followed me and saw and then kindly brought me a glass to the table… I went over to see if it was refilled to see only two of the four were refilled… did they not have enough iced tea onboard????

 

Restaurant service was VERY slow and in the main dining room my husband and Dad were given dinner… mine followed 20 minutes later! Again, luckily I am pretty forgiving and laid back… many would have been steamed… I was not pleased, but went with the flow…. The pork entrée was delicious. We dined at Cagneys as well… it was good, but not the normal WOW great I have had on other NCL ships. I really enjoyed the Pasta for lunch, made to order… but a long wait with only one person at the counter. My husband said the pizza was delicious as well. The staff was friendly, but not very good, they were new and you could tell.

 

Staff was in my suite (Owner’s Suite 8001) several times during the cruise to repair, to paint… it was a three day cruise, I wanted to enjoy my cabin with my family, not maintenance… but again we took it in stride! The shower door was broken upon arrival… we did not report it and my husband fixed it… but Sunday maintenance stopped by to repair it… just getting around to the maintenance order from the previous cruise…LOL. They did still provide three bottles of liquor for the owner’s suite for a three day cruise… I thought it would be less… it certainly could have been.. too much liquor for three days!

 

Since we were in the suite we had Cagney’s available to us for breakfast and lunch… we went there for one breakfast… they now offer a cold breakfast buffet in addition to the hot menu items to help with the LONG wait for your food. We liked that, but it did take a way long time for French toast! Alex is the concierge for the next three weeks before returning to the Jewel and Matt Baker is the cruise director.

 

The ship was held to 80% occupancy while they are still getting it ready and was not crowded at all. The ship is still pretty much all Hawaii oriented in décor. This was my third time on the NCL Sky and you can tell it has been around the block! I don’t think NCL should be charging for these cruises yet, the product was way below NCL standards and there were many issues around…and there were MANY unhappy cruisers onboard.

 

I have been on nearly 30 cruises, this one really was not great service or product… but again it was better than being at work and home and I was with my Dad and husband relaxing… so I still enjoyed myself, it just was not worth the price paid! We were provided a $50 onboard credit and 20% off our next cruise… but again we certainly did not get what we paid for this cruise. Would I cruise the Sky again… possibly, but in the three day market I have been on RCCL, NCL and Carnival and I must report Carnival had the best short cruise market in this instance.

 

There was not a lot of onboard activity, no Margarita tasting, etc. They expected you to be off the ship. The show was awful, amateur, embarrassing! However I do so LOVE my NCL and am looking forward to my next NCL cruise… I have 12 months to use my discount certificate… so I must plan!!!!!!! If you have any questions let me know and I will do my best to answer.

[Cruising89143]

I read about the issues the Sky was having. Hopefully they will get those issues resolved soon. I would not be a happy cruiser if I had a cabin with no air or working toilet.

 

Not sure how long NCL will keep this ship as parent company Star still has her up for sale.

http://www.fraseryachts.com/Purchase/main.asp?-vessel_basic_info.asp-&vessels_id=78685&curr_id=7#

 

With the asking price, I don't see the ship being purchased anytime soon but when it does sell, it will once again take NCL out of the three and four day market unless they move another ship to take it's place which I highly doubt happens.

 

Out of Carnival and RCI for the three and four day cruises, I give the nod to RCI due to Coco Cay and the RCI service.

[dfishner]

Hey Gordon any you heard any word yet if they are working on the new dock for Oasis? I was out at the port a few weeks ago and I saw many cranes out there but was not sure what they were working on.

[Cruising89143]

I haven't heard anything. I'm sure by now they have to be building the new terminal and parking garage if they are going to be ready for December of next year.

[mgmigs]

my one and only experience on NCL was like this. there was a/c but my room was dusty and fithly, our balcony was dirty and the glass was completely clouded with salt-water stains the entire trip. the dining room service was horrid, we also had the issue of meals being brought out at different times and there was no waiter around to ask for assistnce if something was sent out wrong or missing. the buffet was not edible and i was shocked at the foods they were trying to pass off on the buffet. customer service was also really bad, we could not get into our room, we kept going back and forth to custdomer service who kept making us a new room key, after the 5th new room key i insisted someone come take a look at the door......when they did, they found the battery on the sensor needed replacing.

[yogimax]

We've sailed NCL once and had a great experience.

 

I'm not sure why a topic that leads to bashing NCL is on the RCCL board.

[Cruising89143]

We've sailed NCL once and had a great experience.

 

I'm not sure why a topic that leads to bashing NCL is on the RCCL board.

 

Once again, someone makes a negative comment about another cruise line and automatically it becomes "bashing". You sound like those folks over on one of the other boards. It's very simple, why not just skip over it if you do not like the topic?

[dfishner]

We've sailed NCL once and had a great experience.

 

I'm not sure why a topic that leads to bashing NCL is on the RCCL board.

 

Was not bashing at all in fact if you read the post it was from someone who loves NCL. It also was not intended to be a bash on the whole NCL line just the ship and how not to do a shakedown cruise. Your free to express your opinion as I am free to express mine. If you had not notice the site is call" Cruise Critic "any topic is fair game as long as it is not a personal attack.

[Happy ks]

I remember when NCL Star was first cruising, her first two months in Hawaii were horrid with many complaints about everything and anything a cruiser could complain about. This was before NCL America and the service issues they have and continue to have.

 

We sailed on her (Hawaii/Fanning Island) about 8 months after the inaugural and had a great time. The food was not great, probably the worst we've had on a cruise ship, but the ship itself looked beautiful and the staff were wonderful.

 

Fast forward a few years, we cruised on her again just for a short run from LA to Vancouver. It was probably one of the most fun cruises we've taken, because we are able to take things in stride. The ship was worn out, the food pretty much the same, the crew was still wonderful.

 

We've taken several short cruises on RCI Monarch, a ship that is at least 5 years older and the maintenance is a whole lot better.

 

But you always have to put things into perspective. What some may like, others may not like at all. I can only give my personal opinion and...we'll probably not ever sail NCL again, but we say the same thing about Carnival. We're not loyalists to RCI, but they put out a great product at a decent price point.

[wrp96]

I think this is definitely an example of how not to launch a ship. The problems have been continuing but it seems like, from reading the NCL boards, that they have been trying to improve the issues.

 

One thing we can all take from this though is that there may be issues on an inagural - whether it be a brand new ship or a ship refurbished and placed back into service.

 

If you read reviews on the HAL board from the first sailing of the brand new Eurodam, they had issues as well - with service, with toilets, etc.

 

I know that even RCCL has had issues with launches of new ships or launching ships into new areas (look at some of the initial reports from Rhapsody's Asia cruises).

[dfishner]

Once again, someone makes a negative comment about another cruise line and automatically it becomes "bashing". You sound like those folks over on one of the other boards. It's very simple, why not just skip over it if you do not like the topic?

 

Thanks Gordon! :-)

[yogimax]

 

It's very simple, why not just skip over it if you do not like the topic?

 

 

Simple answer to your simplistic question...

 

The thread title was "How not to be introduced to a new market."

 

Since it was on the RCCL Board, one would assume it referred to RCCL introducing a new market.

 

Lo and behold, the thread has nothing whatsoever to do with RCCL.

 

Have a nice day!

[mckinna]

Once again, someone makes a negative comment about another cruise line and automatically it becomes "bashing". You sound like those folks over on one of the other boards. It's very simple, why not just skip over it if you do not like the topic?

 

I don't think the OP is "bashing" at all, but why not post this on the NCL board? That's where it belongs.

[yogimax]

but why not post this on the NCL board? That's where it belongs.

 

Precisely!

[Cruising89143]

I don't think the OP is "bashing" at all, but why not post this on the NCL board? That's where it belongs.

 

Because this person also cruises on RCI and was giving his opinion of a cruise on a different cruise line. No law says that it has to be posted on the NCL board. I too have posted reviews here of other cruise lines.

[temple1]

It was posted on the NCL board and one of the RCCL members shared it.

 

Maybe for the folks who are always complaining about every little thing that goes wrong on a cruise - they wanted to share that other cruise lines also has their problems.

[TEXASMUNK]

The poster KNOWs how to roll with the punches!

 

No demands for a refund, a free cruise, a 50% discount, etc.

 

They stated their point of view, with what appears to be a pretty darn objective eye, and was merely expanding our cruise horizons with a few opinions and thoughts.

 

Those that have been sworn in as the CC Cops will take a shot, but I, for one, truly hating the NCL product of today, thank the OP for taking the time.