Norwegian / NCL Charges

[quercus alba]

Yes, Celebrity has a glass of champagne, it is all of about 3 oz. big deal. .

 

Mighty expensive glass of champagne, too, given the relative per-person base fares on Celebrity vs. NCL. :rolleyes:

[davy jones]

I'm late to the dance here, but I don't believe that NCL is significantly different than the other lines in their market segment. They do have more upcharge restaurants because of freestyle, but that is part of the concept and it must work because Royal and Carnival are adding more upcharge facilities on their new mega ships.

 

As far as waiting for tables goes, some complain about long waits on the other lines that offer any time dining as an option. It doesn't seem any different on NCL. If everyone wants to have dinner at the same time, there will be lines. I guess it depends on the time you go to dinner and chance.

 

Most upcharges don't bother me, but a couple do. Here they are:

 

1. Charges to use the locker room at the gym. (I think NCL is the only one here.)

2. Charges for plain black coffee at the coffee bars. You should be able to find plain coffee (not lattes or coffee drinks) on lower decks and not have to go to the buffet, which may not even be open to get coffee. (problem on most, except Royal, who does have coffee and iced tea available in the Cafe Promenade)

 

What does concern me is the trend toward a return to the class system of cruising, where your accommodations get you access to private areas, better complementary food, etc. It's like a return to the Titantic.

[MacGuffin]

I noticed that many of the posts on this thread are from around 2013 so maybe things have changed since then, but I found my 2015 cruise on the Getaway to be the most noticeable (blatant) nickel & dime cruise I've been on yet. What set it apart from recent cruises on Carnival, Princess and Celebrity were the crowds. It seemed that on NCL you have to pay to get away from the hordes, and this was an 'off season' cruise.

 

The basic cruise fare on NCL was not cheap. Carnival fares are cheap but you get what you pay for. Princess was inexpensive for us because as previous cruisers can find good sales & discounts. NCL compared to our Celebrity fare, but that's where the "you get what you pay for" ends.

 

Included dining on NCL was terrible, worse than Carnival. Included dining on Princess & Celebrity were for the most part excellent, including the buffets. They simply do not compare. So on Princess & Celebrity going to an upcharge restaurant felt more like a special occasion, but on Getaway you're paying extra for decent food on top of the already expensive basic cruise fare. The Getaway's plethora of "choices" cost $$ but the quality we experienced in them only equaled what we got for free (I'm sorry, 'included') in our Princess & Celebrity cruises. Now I hear NCL is going the RCCL route and charging for prime rib and lobster in the 'included' dining room?? Yet another fee.

 

Celebrity did have a "cirque-type" show in their large, beautiful main lounge. We saw a fun but tacky magic show with bad food in the Getaway's extra-fee Imaginarium and two good, overlong but free musicals in her smallish Getaway theater. These shows compared well to the free musical "Fiera" on Regal Princess.

 

The Spa on Getaway was usually over sold (i.e. packed.) The Spas on Carnival Breeze, Princess and Celebrity were never crowded. The Spa on Regal Princess was the best I've been to yet.

 

Crowding on the Getaway's pool deck is ridiculous, so the $$ for Vibe was a nice respite. Yes, Princess charges for their Sanctuary, but the Princess ships have so many pools and expansive sun decks that there was never a need for us to try the Sanctuary. And Celebrity has their free adult Solarium which was never full.

 

All lines charge for specialty coffee, but Princess includes excellent free pastries in the International Café, and excellent free pizza in Alfredo's (on the ships that have Alfredo's.)

 

I have to agree with OceanBlue, it seems all of Getaway's public spaces are devoted to revenue generators. Princess, Celebrity and even Carnival ships are stuffed with lounges and free public spaces. This is probably why the Getaway felt so crowded - the minimal free, non-revenue generating public areas were always packed to the gills with people, while none of the space occupied by the specialty restaurants was even open during the day. Princess & Celebrity never feel crowded because the crowds are dispersed over several fee-free decks of pools and lounges.

 

The lone feature that stood out on Getaway were the water slides and ropes course, a little better than the Breeze. However, we missed the Princess & Carnival Movies Under the Stars on both NCL and Celebrity. Getaway did show one cartoon in the poorly designed Spice H2O. We were surprised they didn't show more movies back there.

 

The final deal breaker for us is the Getaway (and I've read the Escape) rocked a lot. Maybe it's the design, but the ship's movement was very noticeable in calm seas compared to almost every other ship we've been on. This alone is reason enough to not repeat.

 

So for all the NCL lovers out there who say that NCL just isn't for me, you're absolutely right! We won't be back on NCL any time soon. The OP asked for opinions, and I have one. Some people tout NCL's 'choices.' But who needs choices when the basic fare on Princess, Celebrity and even Carnival include great food, good shows and freedom from crowds? Some people call it "nickel & diming." I like to think of it as "bang for the buck." When you add up all costs for each cruise, NCL turned out to be the most expensive (and the most crowded.) Next time I want a great water slide I'll go back on Carnival and know that I'm getting what I pay for.

[cruzsnooze]

Room service $7.95

Highest gratuity of any mass market line WITH double dipping. If you buy a specialty diner package and pay 18% and leave your auto grats intact you paid twice.

[mjkacmom]

Why did you feel the need to bump up a 2+ year old zombie thread for this rant? Odd.

[casofilia]

[quote name='OceanBlue123']I think that as long as NCL has dinner time waits of up to an hour just to get a seat in a non-fee dining room, while pushing and pushing you to pay up for their specialty restaurants, then you will hear complaints about nickle and diming. And you should. Those complaints are quite valid.[/QUOTE]

You must be choosing the wrong ships to cruise on or the wrong time to dine!! The longest wait we have ever had outside the door for a table in an MDR has been 10 minutes.
Don't blame NCL if there are 200 people all wanting to dine at the same time and so you have to wait. Turn up to a restaurant on shore without a reservation and see how long you might have to wait.
I would also say "be thankful that many/most cruisers are eating in the buffet or specialty restaurants!!"

Mike Edited January 5, 2016 by casofilia
typo