Just back from NCL Spirit... will quickly return to Royal Caribbean

[Cruisedeacon]

Just back today from NCL Spirit cruise out of NOLA... Freestyle... Hmmmm

Not happy with the quality of the food nor the variety... have ventured out and will now return to Royal Caribbean... (Nothing beats RCL):rolleyes:

[mandaleigh]

We went on NCL Dream a couple of years ago and had it been DH first cruise we never would've gone on another one. It was the Dream's last cruise, so maybe it could've been better. They ran out of certain kinds of food, like mozzerella for pizza, so the pizza was made with cheddar cheese after day 3. The staff didn't care and the areas were poorly kept.

 

My MIL sailed on the NCL Spirit the next year out of Boston on her first cruise. She loved it and thought it was great, until she joined us on the Liberty this year and had something to compare it to. Now, she is amazed at the higher class, better service, food on RCL.

 

Would I cruise on NCL again? Maybe, if it was between cruising or staying home. Next year, we decided to fly to St Martin and stay in a condo for a week rather that cruise on the Dawn out of Boston.

 

The one thing Royal could do for me is to bring a ship to Boston for Bermuda summers. or.... bring a Freedom class to New Jersey. That would be worth the drive!

 

Welcome back to Royal!!!

[Aquahound]

My MIL sailed on the NCL Spirit the next year out of Boston on her first cruise. She loved it and thought it was great, until she joined us on the Liberty this year and had something to compare it to. Now, she is amazed at the higher class, better service, food on RCL.

 

Up through 2001, I exclusively cruised NCL. Our last cruise with them was under their new Freestyle concept. Like your SIL, I had nothing to compare it to. When we were docked in Nassau, DW said she wanted to cruise on the ship with pretty turquoise blue glass. She was looking at Monarch of the Seas. Next year, we booked Monarch and never looked back. Everything, and I do mean everything was better.

[alphakitty]

I loved our cruise this summer on NCL Spirit. We thought everything was really wonderful, including the food. We had one dinner in Cagney's and the rest in the dining rooms. I didn't think Royal was all that much better in food. Carnival wins hands down for me on the food with the exception of Oasis. Goes to show how subjective the food issue is. :)

[quincytoo]

NCL Spirit was our first cruise together as a family....I got off that ship saying NEVER AGAIN for the above reasons already stated by other posters. Mr.QT talked me into the Diamond Princess and we have been cruising ever since. Really looking forward to trying Royal out now :)

[Merion_Mom]

Up through 2001, I exclusively cruised NCL. Our last cruise with them was under their new Freestyle concept. Like your SIL, I had nothing to compare it to. When we were docked in Nassau, DW said she wanted to cruise on the ship with pretty turquoise blue glass. She was looking at Monarch of the Seas. Next year, we booked Monarch and never looked back. Everything, and I do mean everything was better.

 

Oh, I love a story with a happy ending!! ;)

[Cruising89143]

Last year on the Star to Alaska, the food in the MDR and lido was not good and NCL's lido has to be the worst excuse for food that I have ever come across. The specialty dining was very good but after six nights, it can add up quickly.

[Kellie Poodle]

We cruised with NCL in the late 80's and early 90's. Did a freestyle cruise to Alaska in 2005 and it was horrible. Dirty ship, bad food, terrible dining room service, cabin attendant who didn't know it was his job to clean the cabin, constant blaring of things they were selling on the PA. I felt as though I was being nickle and dimed to death.

 

I wouldn't go back on one of their ships if they gave me a free ticket. Misery at sea isn't something I'd want to participate in.

[mandaleigh]

Misery at sea isn't something I'd want to participate in.

 

So I guess you won't be cruising on the Carnival Splendor anytime soon? :D

[CruiseVacationQueen]

Just back today from NCL Spirit cruise out of NOLA... Freestyle... Hmmmm

Not happy with the quality of the food nor the variety... have ventured out and will now return to Royal Caribbean... (Nothing beats RCL):rolleyes:

 

I hear ya! We don't plan on sailing NCL ever again, for the same reason you mentioned. I see it's been a while since you've sailed Carnival... maybe give them a try, too? We have been very pleased with the food and service since we "came back" to CCL two years ago. BTW ~ Disney is our most favorite cruise line... but we can only afford to sail DCL every 5 years! LOL! :) Happy sailing!

[coaster]

We cruised exclusively on NCL in the 90's. It only took one freestyle cruise in '03 and NCL was not a consideration anymore. Eating in the MDR was so impersonal. I believe NCL picked up some business with freestyle, however I tend to believe they lost quite a bit also.

[FLACRUISER99]

Just back today from NCL Spirit cruise out of NOLA... Freestyle... Hmmmm

Not happy with the quality of the food nor the variety... have ventured out and will now return to Royal Caribbean... (Nothing beats RCL):rolleyes:

I just returned from the NCL Sun and thought the food was great. However I think I stick with RCCL & Princess, just a much better overall experience.

[tonit964]

We did our first NCL cruise last summer, it was comped through Casinos at Sea. Not impressed. It wasn't bad, we just didn't care for the food, variety, ship not in great shape.

We were walking around the deck and there was a staff member walking in front of us with his paint bucket and roller brush going over the rusty spots as he walked. It was a joke, he was just killing time. We were laughing so hard everytime he would swipe a spot because he missed every time.

 

The only reason we have another one booked for next spring is it was comped again. My DH just got another offer from CAS and we turned it down. We are going to go to Lake Tahoe next summer instead.

 

I never thought I would turn down any cruise, ever!

 

Toni

[Cruisedeacon]

For those wanting a better review of the week on the Spirit go to the NCL cruise critic board....

 

All I got to say hear is... we are now with RCI...

 

(though I might try Disney just to see what they have to offer)...

 

Carnival and NCL are out for us... just my opinion folks... not trying to sway anyone else...:)

[CruiseVacationQueen]

For those wanting a better review of the week on the Spirit go to the NCL cruise critic board....

 

All I got to say hear is... we are now with RCI...

 

(though I might try Disney just to see what they have to offer)...

 

Carnival and NCL are out for us... just my opinion folks... not trying to sway anyone else...:)

 

I wish there was a way I could "sway" you to try Carnival again someday! :rolleyes: You may just like the newer ships... the Liberty and Freedom are gorgeous! :) Happy sailing!!!

[LoyaltoRoyal]

Just back today from NCL Spirit cruise out of NOLA... Freestyle... Hmmmm

Not happy with the quality of the food nor the variety... have ventured out and will now return to Royal Caribbean... (Nothing beats RCL):rolleyes:

 

I won a free cruise on NCL Pearl. I completely agree with you. I would never sail them again.

[The-Dude]

A group of us sailed on the Norwegian Sky last month. It was a short 4-day Bahamas cruise. It was my first time sailing with NCL and Freestyle cruising.

 

The treatment we received from the crew was inconsistent. Since freestyle cruising doesn't restrict you to timetables, the level of service ranged from exceptional to horrible. In the main dining room, we were treated like Royalty by the dining staff. But the next evening, a different dining staff gave us bad service.

 

However, the Entertainment crew on the ship was pretty good. The band, DJ's and show performers tried hard to to keep passengers entertained and happy.

 

I will not comment about food, since this is very subjective as people have different expectations and tastes.

 

All of us had a pretty good time on the Norwegian Sky. Freestyle cruising has a lot of benefits but also plenty of pitfalls. The good part is you're not restricted to timetables, formal clothing, etc. But the negative part of freestyle cruising is the impersonal relationships you can develop with the staff, especially in the main dining room. Freestyle cruising is not for everyone.

 

Since we got a good deal on this cruise, our group didn't expect a lot as the Norwegian Sky is the smallest ship on the NCL fleet. My wife and I originally booked an ocean view cabin but NCL upgraded us to a balcony cabin for free!

 

I am willing to try NCL again but on a bigger ship. And no, I refuse to go on that over-bloated Casino ship filled with cigarette smoke....the Norwegian Epic.

[ribarfly]

Hmm……..I guess it is very subjective but for us after 27 RCCL cruises we cruised NCL Spirit out of Boston back in September and thought the ship, crew & food were great :D We have had our share of RCCL cruise where the food was pretty bad so NCL was a nice change & we will sail with them again. With that said we still love RCCL and will be on the Liberty in less than 3-weeks ;)

Ron :)

[mikenhe]

Umm – just read your thread on the NCL board. You seem a lot more positive about the cruise on that thread in the NCL forum than in this threads.

I agree with you about the spices in the food – even the Indian food in the buffet was very tame. However I expect that on cruise ships – any spice and most of their customer bases won’t touch it or starts complaining. The cruise lines really can’t win on that one. Be nice if they offered a few spicier dishes those of us that do like it.

I have to disagree with you on the desserts though – I though that was the weakest part of the NCL food offerings – and on a 12 night cruise it got old really quick. Luckily the blue lagoon café came to the rescue with a great cheesecake.

Re the smoking issue you had – there is no smoking at any indoor venue on the spirit – with the exception of the cigar room and that is ventilated extremely well. On the pool deck area we found it to be very well controlled and enforced that only one side of the ship could be used for smoking. As you stated that there wasn’t any trouble finding room to sit on that deck I don’t understand why you didn’t just move to the non smoking side.

Every ship has shortcomings if you look for them.

The spirit is a great ship and I’d have no hesitation in sailing on her again. Great crew and attitude and the right balance between space and number of pax.

Saying that – my next sailing is on RCI and I’m looking forward to that in the same way I did the Spirit.

[seaofwonder]

My first cruise was NCL and we were miserable. I actually thought the buffet was better on NCL and the rooms had better storage; however, the activities on board were just atrocious.

I had to plead with DH to try one more cruise....we saw Samantha Brown on the Freedom and so we booked a Liberty cruise and LOVED it. Now we have multiple cruises booked and are addicted cruisers (we love land vacations too...so we have to balance them).