why am i reading so many awful norwegian reviews?

[gioia73]

so what is with all the negative Norwegian reviews... okay be honest?? how does Norwegian compare to royal Caribbean? how is the food on Norwegian compare??

 

hmmm thinking of doing the mediterrean on Norwegian.. will I regret it.. prices are muchhhhh lower for Europe on ncl vs princess or Norwegian??:confused:

[bingo3]

I don't know. I have been on 5 other cruises and none had the number of negative reviews Breakaway does. I don't buy that only the negative people post a review, because I have seen plenty of good ones in the past on other ships and some for Breakaway (some are Haven or CAS reviews, which I don't really count, since their circumstances are not the same as mine).

 

Some stuff is petty and would not worry me. Some is prevalent or repetitive and may be an issue. I've already booked the cruise, so will go with an open mind and hope for the best! If not, won't cruise them again; thankfully, there are other options out there. Fortunately, mine is to Bermuda, so I can stay off the ship half the time if needed! :)

[computerworks]

 

hmmm thinking of doing the mediterrean on Norwegian.. :confused:

 

The Spirit and the Jade are fantastic ships...

[gioia73]

thanks the Europe cruise is on either the jade or spirit... is spirit not an older ship though? what is the food like in the main dining room compared to rccl?

[beaches&sands]

I've been on Dawn and just booked Epic. I don't let reviews influence me that much, cause I rather experience it for myself and see what the fuss is all about.

Edited February 6, 2014 by beaches&sands

[Shoof]

I just cruised Norwegian for the first time this past weekend. I'll be posting a review shortly when I get around to it. It was a short trip, a cruise to nowhere on Breakaway. I too was a little skeptical about the mixed reviews, but after the cruise, will say I think I know why the reviews are so mixed...Passenger capacity - almost 4,000 passengers on the Epic/Breakaway/Getaway trio. Compare the size of the ship to other competitors and their similar sized ships, you'll see that the passenger capacity is at least 1,000 less...Point is, there's too many people on the ship. I won't spoil the rest of the details, you'll have to read my review... :)

 

Ed

[SissasMomE]

so what is with all the negative Norwegian reviews... okay be honest?? how does Norwegian compare to royal Caribbean? how is the food on Norwegian compare??

 

hmmm thinking of doing the mediterrean on Norwegian.. will I regret it.. prices are muchhhhh lower for Europe on ncl vs princess or Norwegian??:confused:

 

I think it's mainly the Breakaway with the bad reviews.

[ladytravlr2]

I think you will love the Spirit. I have consistently cruised on NCL for the last few years, and have no complaints really. I felt like the Breakaway was a little too large for me, but it's a beautiful ship. I think I am more in favor of the Jewel class of NCL. But, the most beautiful pool area on an NCL ship has to be the Spirit in my opinion.

 

That said, I like the adult pool areas of the Royal C. line that have the adult solarium and the hot tubs jutting out the sides of the ship, and their promendade shopping/restaurant area feature. If NCL could redo parts of their ships, and have exclusive pool areas for adults (not extra pay areas), it would even add to the enjoyment of the ships. Breakaway has one, but not the smaller ships, unless you want to pay extra for Haven.

 

Just my opinion. I would go on the Spirit again in a heartbeat. Food was very good too.

[Ronni G]

I am a huge NCL fan. Have been on several NCL cruises with the most recent one being the Breakaway. We were a party of 4 and everyone loved the ship. Cabins were great (yes, balconies are small but they are adequate), food was good especially in the specialty restaurants we tried, entertainment excellent, service excellent and although a large ship it did not seem crowded.

 

I would definitely cruise the Breakaway again and would not let any negative comments sway me from trying the ship.

[sashabucket]

We have sailed on the Majesty, Jewel, Spirit, Dawn, and Epic. Liked them all, LOVED the Majesty even though she doesn't have balconies. We wish NCL still had her.

[jkgourmet]

Go and read the reviews for the ship you are sailing, which will be the Jade or the Epic. The breakaway reviews have NO RELEVANCE to the Med cruises on these ships.

 

We just did a 21 day on the Jade in January 2014. It WAS inexpensive compared to Celebrity and HAL. We got what we paid for - and more. The entertainment and the comfort of the ship and inside cabin exceeded what we paid for. The service and the food (excluding speciality restaurants) was poor to average, which was what we expected considering what we paid. (Truly, our ONLY complaint was the MDR and buffet food. Nothing was bad or inedible - but very little exceeded the category of 'fine' or 'okay' )

 

Loved not dressing up or keeping a schedule for meals, but that did make the holiday less special.

 

It's a matter of priorities. DON'T compare cruise lines. Instead, may I suggest you decide exactly what YOU want and YOUR priorities, then fit that criterion to a cruise brand?

 

And, yes, we absolutely would do ncl again, given the right price and itinerary.

Edited February 6, 2014 by jkgourmet

[milolii]

We cruised the Spirit on August. We had a fabulous time. We formed private tours in most all of the ports with fellow CCers. The food in the MDR is ok. Service was very slow. This was apparent even when the dinning room was almost empty. We dined in the speciality restaurants many nights and Cagneys for breakfast. The speciality restaurants were very good. The cruise is very port intensive. We were often exhausted at the end of our days.

 

 

Enjoy you cruise

[biker@sea]

thanks the Europe cruise is on either the jade or spirit... is spirit not an older ship though? what is the food like in the main dining room compared to rccl?

 

Spirit is my favorite ship in the fleet. :)

 

I find the asian theme is classy but relaxing .

[mugtech]

I just cruised Norwegian for the first time this past weekend. I'll be posting a review shortly when I get around to it. It was a short trip, a cruise to nowhere on Breakaway. I too was a little skeptical about the mixed reviews, but after the cruise, will say I think I know why the reviews are so mixed...Passenger capacity - almost 4,000 passengers on the Epic/Breakaway/Getaway trio. Compare the size of the ship to other competitors and their similar sized ships, you'll see that the passenger capacity is at least 1,000 less...Point is, there's too many people on the ship. I won't spoil the rest of the details, you'll have to read my review... :)

 

Ed

 

Royal Caribbean has ships that are bigger, have more capacity, and are more expensive.

[mugtech]

thanks the Europe cruise is on either the jade or spirit... is spirit not an older ship though? what is the food like in the main dining room compared to rccl?

 

Spirit hitting the dry docks, should be ready to go soon. The only difference I found between NCL and RCCL was the great soup on RCCL, otherwise it was very similar.

[sparks1093]

I have found that if a bad review is being written that they are generally written by passengers who have sailed other lines and are trying NCL for the first time and usually their complaints revolve around Freestyle (it took an hour and a half for dinner, on our line it only takes 90 minutes), the quality of the food as compared to "their" line, and the lack of friendliness in the staff (or a combination of the three).

[Froggitt]

thanks the Europe cruise is on either the jade or spirit... is spirit not an older ship though? what is the food like in the main dining room compared to rccl?

Having sailed Spirit and Allure in the past six months, there is no comparison in the MDR food and service.......Allure is so much better. Consistently every evening.

[negc]

Royal Caribbean has ships that are bigger, have more capacity, and are more expensive.

 

True, but compare the passenger/space ratios and I think you will find that RCI comes out well ahead and it is those ratios, along with traffic pattern design that pretty much determine whether or not a ship feels crowded As far as their being more expensive, the lines can only charge as much as the traffic will bear. Royal Caribbean's clientele apparently feel that any added expense is worth it.

Edited February 6, 2014 by negc

[Bocadude85]

Having sailed Spirit and Allure in the past six months, there is no comparison in the MDR food and service.......Allure is so much better. Consistently every evening.

 

Food is very subjective, my last cruise was on a Royal Caribbean ship and I thought the food & service were horrible.

Edited February 6, 2014 by Bocadude85

[pj17]

Just got back from the Breakaway 12 night cruise and felt the need to reply. Yes, there are negatives about the ship - size, # of people, etc. HOWEVER - we had a great cruise. Wonderful cabin with a large balcony, great food, fantastic crew! I am truly under the impression that people love to complain. A vacation is what you make it....

[LrgPizza]

...(it took an hour and a half for dinner, on our line it only takes 90 minutes)....

 

ROFL! :D:D I don't know if you meant that as a joke, but that's beautiful.

[sparks1093]

ROFL! :D:D I don't know if you meant that as a joke, but that's beautiful.

 

I did mean it as a joke but some of the distinctions that I have seen in reviews amount to that type of reasoning:).

[newmexicoNita]

so what is with all the negative Norwegian reviews... okay be honest?? how does Norwegian compare to royal Caribbean? how is the food on Norwegian compare??

 

hmmm thinking of doing the mediterrean on Norwegian.. will I regret it.. prices are muchhhhh lower for Europe on ncl vs princess or Norwegian??:confused:

 

where are you reading all these horrible reviews? I have checked the latest reviews on CC and the reports on the NCL board right here and there are very few really negative reviews. No cruise line is perfect and some are better for some people than others, but overall the reviews are anything but bad. The Breakaway seems to have had a run of bad reviews, but even they are getting more positive.

 

You can't compare RCI Allure for example with the Spirit. They are in different classes and yes, much different pricing. The Spirit is older, that has nothing to do with the quality of service or the quality of food. It doesn't have the bells and whistles, and the cabins are very small, as the ship was designed for the Asian market. It is still an unusually pretty ship and for many, their favorite. For us, we prefer some of the jewel class ships.

 

As for food, as someone has said, food is way to subjective. We are satisfied with the food on NCL ships, especially the buffets for breakfast and lunch. For dinner we do split the cruise between the MDRs and specialty dining rooms.

 

If you are going with the idea of perhaps not be satisfied, you will probably spend a good part of your cruise doing comparisons and end up not having a positive experience because you will be looking for the negatives. if you forget the reviews, understand no two ships are alike and look for the positives, you will love NCL. It appears you have only cruised RCI: were you on one of the larger, newer RCI ships or one of the smaller, older ones? When you compare prices you have to look at the class of ship as well. Of course the Allure is going to be a lot more expensive than the Spirit; at the same time the Breakaway or Getaway is going to be more expensive than some of the really older ships RCI is still putting in the water, like the Majesty of the Sea.

Edited February 6, 2014 by newmexicoNita

[johnsak123]

There are billions of people in the world and everyone has on opinion

Some good some bad

I think you have to make up your own mind and create your own happiness

I have sailed NCL 7 times

Was everything perfect... No

Was it worth complaining about .. NO

Did I mention it in a previous post... Yes

Sometimes people state facts as opinions and the negative usually get more play then the positive

Either way you should make up your own mind

Enjoy!!

[Winston Wolf]

Compare the size of the ship to other competitors and their similar sized ships, you'll see that the passenger capacity is at least 1,000 less

 

Other than the QM2, I think this is a little misleading. The number is probably closer to 500 pax. Now if you go up a bit in GT, the RCCL Liberty/Freedom/Independence OTS ships are larger with fewer passengers. Certainly a little more elbow room.

 

I wonder if part of Breakaway's problem with "crowds" is are in part due to:

1 - Specialty restaurants. They accomodate eating space to passengers on board. Which means the MDR can't seat everyone that they want when the want. Without driving enough pax to the Specialties, it can become a problem in the MDR

 

2 - 678 Ocean Place - All the nighlife seems to be crowded into the same central area of the ship driving everyone there in the evening. Had they spread venues throughout the ship, I wonder if this could have been alieviated. Of course...the more you decentralize, staffing needs are increase...so it's probably more fiancially prudent to have it the way it is.

 

Just my opinions. I guess I'll find out for myself in May.