SURVEY: What has kept you, what has lost you, when it comes to NCL

[PartyOwl]

Just looking for honest feedback before we book a cruise on NCL. Lots of information on these boards marred by a few arguments please use the following format:

 

What brought me to NCL:

 

What keeps me with NCL:

 

What has made NCL lose my business: (if applicable)

 

Changes I like:

 

Changes I Dislike:

[Kingmaker_inc]

What brought me to NCL: A deal on an itinerary that interested us.

 

What keeps me with NCL: I'm not an NCL cheerleader, but I've had uniformly great cruises on NCL. I like collecting loyalty points, and consider myself to be "brand loyal" generally. I've enjoyed every cruise (5 in total now), and have found zero reason to change cruise lines.

 

What has made NCL lose my business: Not applicable.

 

Changes I like: I like the various packages to choose from when you book. If you like specialty dining, you get the UDP. If you want to imbibe, you get the UBP. The higher the category, the more packages... It is an attractive model of inventory management/control.

 

Changes I Dislike: I dislike that the Asian Restaurants on the Jewel Class ships are now part of the included dining experience. It devalues my Ultimate Dining Package, as I always go to the Asian places when we cruise and I always get the dining plan.

[BirdTravels]

What brought me to NCL: Freestyle cruising

 

What keeps me with NCL: Constant evolution and changes to improve my cruise experience. I applaud change.

 

What has made NCL lose my business: Cruising even more due to the latest, innovative changes.

 

Changes I like: New experiences on board. a la carte dining and new restaurants like Food Republic and Tapas. New ships and activities on the ship. Evolution from the "old school" cruises of the 80's to the modern, cruise experience of today. Bigger ships. Broadway shows.

 

Changes I Dislike: The loss of lobster night (although we love being able to buy a lobster dinner on demand in MDRs and specialty restaurants) in its place.

[Rosethorn40]

What brought me to NCL: The Freestyle Concept (Husband wears a tie every day for work and wants to relax on vacation, especially in the Caribbean)

 

What keeps me with NCL: I wanted to try the Haven, entertainment is better

 

What has made NCL lose my business: (if applicable) N/A

 

Changes I like: I loved all that was included when I booked our cruise; UDP, UBP, Pre-paid gratuities, and $300 OBC. Sadly, I think that has changed somewhat, but I got to keep my promo.

 

Changes I Dislike: Keeping track of what dining option(s) are included in my cruise fare, what dining options are covered by our dining package, and personally I don't care for the a la carte pricing in dining. I can see where it might be favorable for some, while for others not so good. It's a little confusing and while on vacation I don't want to have to think so hard.

[Epic_Bear]

What brought me to NCL: My parents in 1995!

 

What keeps me with NCL: Love the low key vibe and the ease of Boston-Bermuda on the Dawn.

 

What has made NCL lose my business: Nothing yet.

 

Changes I like: The "included" UBP, ala carte makes meals more affordable as I love eating appetizers for dinner and the new itinerary on the Star to Asia/Australia.

 

Changes I Dislike: The 18% gratuity on meals that we already paying a coverage charge or ala-carte for.

[jkneern]

What brought me to NCL: Freestyle and something new

 

What keeps me with NCL: The old Promo's already booked

What has made NCL lose my business:All the changes made on short or no notice. Happened to us on the March 1 Breakaway cruise and they keep going.....

 

Changes I like: Hmmmmm

Changes I Dislike: To many extra charges

[MaryZ]

What brought me to NCL: Sailing out of my home port - New York

 

What keeps me with NCL: #1 Sailing out of my home port. #2 Large ships. #3 Long Cruise itineraries #4 Reasonable pricing #5 Beverage package & Dining package. #6 enjoyable entertainment

 

What has made NCL lose my business: (if applicable) Well they haven't but if I had to pick a reason, it would be the smoking situation in the casino. I'm not a smoker. My husband is retired FDNY with 9/11 lung issues.

 

Changes I like: They put the Epic back to Europe for Summer of 2017. I just booked the transatlantic for an epic price in an aft balcony and will jump on the europe itinerary the moment they release it.

 

Changes I Dislike:

I hate that they are allowing smoking on the Escape inside the casino.

I dislike they cancelled my original Epic cruise for 2017 because the ship wasn't going to be in Europe...Pissed because I had a 21 night cruise with beverage and dining in an aft balcony for practically free after you computed the packages. With all great ports.

I don't like the fact they made Margaritaville a la carte while I am 6 weeks away from sailing. I think they should have rolled it out as grandfathered in. Or just been upfront that it was going to be a pay for dining.

 

We sail other lines. We have cruises booked for 2016 & 2017 on NCL, RCCL, Carnival and Celebrity. We have platinum or elite status on all of them. And we have sailed other lines also.

We book for time of year, places to go, best price, spur of the moment, cabin availability.

 

We are loyal to our choices, not to cruise lines. So if NCL is providing the best choice, that's who we book. So far, we do really like NCL but if I had to push the word like to love...it would be Celebrity. The no smoking inside the ship will always win out for me. Being able to hang out in the casino and breathe...well that's priceless :) We just save a lot of money sailing on NCL by not being able to hang out in the casino for more than short time. Lots of days, we never even go in.

Edited December 1, 2015 by MaryZ

[49erfan007]

What brought me to NCL: A Thanksgiving cruise out of new York

 

What keeps me with NCL: I am not exclusive to NCL, I just want a good itinerary, but going out on New York in the winter helps keep me interested in NCL. Also I do like the freestyle

 

What has made NCL lose my business: Not applicable.

 

Changes I like: I haven't cruised NCL since 2007, but I am looking forward to trying one of the mega ships and the Haven

 

Changes I Dislike: Personally I liked the old way of tipping, but I get it doesn't really work with freestyle. So I guess nothing as of yet, but like I said it's been a while. I'll let you know after my Gem cruise :D

[Deedee85]

I'm on the Gem as we speak and I would love to answer this!

The ship is lovely, the passengers are wonderful and for the most part, the staff go above and beyond BUT

And this is a big but

I have noticed (and experienced) a few health and safety issues that had the potential to be disastrous.

1. We had one very rocky sea day. I watched an elderly man go tumbling down the stairs in the theater. The staff ran to his aid and the man was unharmed. Staff did escort people down the stairs after that incident until they announced that the all mighty instant win tickets were for sale. Then it was a mad dash to sell those tickets. I noticed a woman with a cane struggling. She was further ahead of me so I tried to motion to a crew member. He ran to me with those tickets. When I told him that the woman needed assistance his response was "did you want to buy tickets?"!

Stop with the sales pitch for 2 minutes and help the lady down the stairs.....

[KeithJenner]

What brought me to NCL:

 

I have no interest in a cruise with formal nights and assigned dining. Back in about 2003, NCL were one of the only lines that avoided those things, so we gave them a go.

 

What keeps me with NCL:

 

I tend to stick with brands I like until I have a reason to change. I have nothing against any other lines, but just haven't yet had the reason to change. Our son loves the kids club. I suspect that we may try another line (probably Royal Caribbean) sometime, but NCL are still offering me enough to stick with them for now.

 

I sometimes see people on here who are planning their first NCL cruise and are comparing everything to their preferred line. Often they seem to view everything that is different as being bad (you can usually predict their reviews before they left). At the moment, I couldn't be confident that I wouldn't do the same to an extent.

 

What has made NCL lose my business: (if applicable)

 

N/A

 

Changes I like:

 

I like the Asian restaurants being included. Also, I seem to be in the minority, but with the beverage package being included, the last few cruises I've booked have been the cheapest I've every booked. Those savings more than outweigh the $50 or so extra we spend onboard because of the additional onboard charges.

 

I think a la carte may work out OK for us, although it does complicate things. However, the change from a cruise long UDP to a select number of nights SDP is a massive plus which makes such a purchase a reasonable option.

 

Changes I Dislike:

 

Perhaps I'm just lucky, but very few of the changes really bother me. As I said, savings in the cruise fare have made up for the extra charges.

 

Probably the biggest negative is currently only on the Escape, but the price increase for Moderno means it isn't included in the options for the latitudes free meal, which will mean Le Bistro twice and then having to pay for Moderno. Whilst I love Le Bistro, my wife isn't too bothered, so this does devalue the benefit for us.

[49erfan007]

As quoted by MaryZ: We are loyal to our choices, not to cruise lines. So if NCL is providing the best choice, that's who we book. So far, we do really like NCL but if I had to push the word like to love...it would be Celebrity. The no smoking inside the ship will always win out for me. Being able to hang out in the casino and breathe...well that's priceless :) We just save a lot of money sailing on NCL by not being able to hang out in the casino for more than short time. Lots of days, we never even go in.

 

You bring up a great point. I am so worried about my Gem cruise. I love the casino, it's my favorite place on the ship, however, I quit smoking about 12 years ago and I HATE it. I have heard horrible things about the casino on the Gem....I am very worried, if I can't enjoy the casino b/c of the smoke it will be the last time I cruise that ship! No matter how much I like her

Edited December 1, 2015 by 49erfan007

[CruisingOnBy810]

What brought me to NCL: Freestyle cruising concept

 

What keeps me with NCL:

CAS pricing and I have enjoyed all of the cruises we have been on

What has made NCL lose my business: not yet

 

Changes I like:

I like innovative changes even the ala carte dining options

 

Changes I Dislike: not communicating the changes in advance. Making what seems like an increase in fares and fees while devaluing the "perks" given when booked. Loss of the UDP for the new SDP feels like a step in the wrong direction

[Deedee85]

Issue #3 is the biggest for me and what may sway me from ever booking with NCL again.

This is another incident from O'Sheehan's. My, almost 13 year old, son was eating there with some friends and started choking. Right as he put a fry in his mouth, someone said something funny and he laughed. The fry went down wrong and got lodged in his throat. He tried to get attention and so did his friends. Staff pretended they didn't notice. Finally, other passengers stepped in and helped him. The food was dislodged but he was hyperventilating because he was panicked by what had happened. Two passengers came to my room and told me something was wrong and reiterated the point regarding the staff. A nurse was on the scene when I got there (he was OK but still anxious) and the doctor arrived a couple minutes later. By that time he was asking for his food.

He was wheeled to the doctors office, asked some questions, given a throat lozenge and I was charged $184.

I would much rather pay the money to the passengers who stepped up and helped. Thank God for them

I don't blame the crew for not knowing what to do but I do blame the higher ups for not training proper techniques to deal with choking victims.

It has been two days and I haven't even gotten a call to ask how he was feeling. I am very disappointed by the way that NCL has handled the situation.

[49erfan007]

DEEDEE85

Did you go to the casino/and if you did how was the situation with smoke? I have heard many negative reviews about how bad the smoke is in the casino.

[49erfan007]

Issue #3 is the biggest for me and what may sway me from ever booking with NCL again.

This is another incident from O'Sheehan's. My, almost 13 year old, son was eating there with some friends and started choking. Right as he put a fry in his mouth, someone said something funny and he laughed. The fry went down wrong and got lodged in his throat. He tried to get attention and so did his friends. Staff pretended they didn't notice. Finally, other passengers stepped in and helped him. The food was dislodged but he was hyperventilating because he was panicked by what had happened. Two passengers came to my room and told me something was wrong and reiterated the point regarding the staff. A nurse was on the scene when I got there (he was OK but still anxious) and the doctor arrived a couple minutes later. By that time he was asking for his food.

He was wheeled to the doctors office, asked some questions, given a throat lozenge and I was charged $184.

I would much rather pay the money to the passengers who stepped up and helped. Thank God for them

I don't blame the crew for not knowing what to do but I do blame the higher ups for not training proper techniques to deal with choking victims.

It has been two days and I haven't even gotten a call to ask how he was feeling. I am very disappointed by the way that NCL has handled the situation.

 

Crew who work in the dining areas should certainly know how to help a choking victim, shame on NCL for that. Glad your son is OK, thanks passengers

[j-9]

What brought me to NCL: freestyle. Casual and not shared dining. Good value, in the past occasionally ridiculously inexpensive.

 

What keeps me with NCL: interesting itineraries, freestyle, smaller ships, suite life

 

What has made NCL lose my business: hasn't lost my business yet, but until the Canadian dollar recovers I'm not cruising internationally with fare based on US dollars.

 

Changes I like: over the years I like the changes to menus, restaurants, shows, etc. Otherwise it would get boring. Next cruise I have UBP and UDP as perks, neither of which I would feel the need to purchase otherwise, so I am interested to see if I like that change. Smoking restrictions are positive for me. No more lobster night, because the whole ship smelt like lobster...

 

Changes I Dislike: I'm a go with the flow type of cruiser, and none of the changes has been to anything I actually care about, so far so good for me.

[Deedee85]

DEEDEE85

Did you go to the casino/and if you did how was the situation with smoke? I have heard many negative reviews about how bad the smoke is in the casino.

I'm a non smoker but my husband smokes a pack a day. Smoke usually doesn't bother me but I will say that I walked off a hot machine because I couldn't take it anymore. The cigarettes were bad enough but the guy next to me lit up a cheap cigar! Blech!

[NLH Arizona]

What brought me to NCL: Connection with Caesar’s Entertainment. Being Diamond, I got a 20% discount off my first cruise and I wanted to add a less expensive cruise line to the mix of cruise lines that I cruise on.

 

What keeps me with NCL: The Casino At Sea discounts, the casual style, specialty restaurants, great penthouse suites, the staff has always been efficient and gracious, the dining packages, being able to make dinner reservations 100 days in advance, that the ships are very clean and in good order, that they have smaller ships. I especially like that I have the choice how to spend my money, instead of a lot of things being included.

 

 

What has made NCL lose my business: They haven’t lost my business.

 

Changes I like: I like that there is no smoking on balconies (wish the casinos were non-smoking as well), the a la carte pricing in the specialty restaurants, their attempt to clean up the hallways of the dirty dishes, the opportunity to purchase upgraded items in the MDR, new menus that will be rolled out soon.

 

Changes I Dislike: None, they have not reduced what I consider the value of my cruises with NCL.

Edited December 1, 2015 by NLH Arizona

[Deedee85]

Crew who work in the dining areas should certainly know how to help a choking victim, shame on NCL for that. Glad your son is OK, thanks passengers

I'm so greatful to them.

I blame corporate for not training them properly but the fact that not one person knocked on the cabin door to ask if he was OK makes me feel like they could care less.

[MaryZ]

You bring up a great point. I am so worried about my Gem cruise. I love the casino, it's my favorite place on the ship, however, I quit smoking about 12 years ago and I HATE it. I have heard horrible things about the casino on the Gem....I am very worried, if I can't enjoy the casino b/c of the smoke it will be the last time I cruise that ship! No matter how much I like her

 

They just refurbed the Gem. I heard they gutted the casino and changed it all. So it probably won't be as bad as it was this past February.

 

We are sailing the Gem this February. We always hung out at the roulette table up in the lounge. I'm hoping they did not remove it. We'd stay for the entertainment, watch the waves, have drinks and play .25 roulette. No smoking up there.

There were slot machines outside the Bliss lounge too where it was no smoking.

We spent very little time in the casino on the Gem. It's small, dark and smokey. But perhaps now that it has undergone refurb, it might be better.

 

The Gem has the most awesome staff. It feels like old school cruising when you sail her. We loved it.

But...this year, we go to Vegas the day after we get off the ship :) We go home, unpack, wash clothes, repack and then get up in the morning and off to hang with a group of 50 of our friends.

So no gambling on the cruise ship. But I hope the roulette table is still up in the Spinnaker lounge

Have a great cruise!

[49erfan007]

Thanks I will have a great cruise, smoke or no. I will do a review when I get back, enjoy your cruise and trip to Vegas, win big :)

[weltek]

What brought me to NCL: Freestyle dining, a younger client base without being the crazy "fun ship."

 

What keeps me with NCL: Loyalty program, familiarity with product, decent entertainment (lounge musicians, Howl, Supper Club concept), great opportunities to meet ship managers/directors, free beverage package!

 

What has made NCL lose my business: (if applicable) I'll be topping out the loyalty program, and there's little added benefit at this point. The recent attitude of corporate management seems like they don't care about the passengers. A lot of quick changes very recently that aren't in favor of customers, missed opportunities by corporate management to positively interact with cruisers, etc. It's similar to how the airlines are making me feel. Not valued. A "screw them, they'll keep paying" attitude. Funny enough, the addition of a crappy chain (Margaritaville) to the Escape also made me raise my eyebrows. I always thought Johnny Rockets was a crappy idea on RCCL.

 

Changes I like: Partnering with fun, modern entertainment options or musicals (e.g., Blue Man Group, Legally Blonde, Rock of Ages, Howl at the Moon, etc.), Bringing more craft beer on board, more tasteful (not neon) decor, adding beverage and dining package options, more places to watch sports on tv, adult only areas, prime rib in O'Sheehans, waterfront, ropes course, addition of a place like Food Republic, getting rid of the dancing waitstaff/kitchen crew parade.

 

Changes I Dislike: I'm moderately dissatisfied with ala carte vs. flat fee specialty arrangement, fewer lounge musicians on the newer ships, no more cheese at lunch in the buffet (at least on my last sailing), lobster night disappearing (was nice to have the option), casino in center of major open walkway with smoking, slight dumbing down of MDR menu, removal of spinnaker observation area on many ships.

Edited December 1, 2015 by weltek

[MaryZ]

DeeDee85,

I'm so glad your son is ok. That is the scariest thing to be choking on food.

Thank goodness nearby passengers knew what to do.

 

We have found it is not good to depend on crew members to know what to do.

[Deedee85]

DeeDee85,

I'm so glad your son is ok. That is the scariest thing to be choking on food.

Thank goodness nearby passengers knew what to do.

 

We have found it is not good to depend on crew members to know what to do.

Thank You.

I don't want to sound like a complainer because it is a great ship and we are having a great time. I just noticed that there were a few safety issues on board. Luckily everything worked out for the best but what if things went the other way? NCL really needs to address these issues before something tragic happens and they find themselves with a publicity nightmare on their hands.

[Moby0215]

What brought me to NCL: A deal on an itinerary that interested us.

 

What keeps me with NCL: I'm not an NCL cheerleader, but I've had uniformly great cruises on NCL. I like collecting loyalty points, and consider myself to be "brand loyal" generally. I've enjoyed every cruise (5 in total now), and have found zero reason to change cruise lines.

 

What has made NCL lose my business: Not applicable.

 

Changes I like: I like the various packages to choose from when you book. If you like specialty dining, you get the UDP. If you want to imbibe, you get the UBP. The higher the category, the more packages... It is an attractive model of inventory management/control.

 

Changes I Dislike: I dislike that the Asian Restaurants on the Jewel Class ships are now part of the included dining experience. It devalues my Ultimate Dining Package, as I always go to the Asian places when we cruise and I always get the dining plan.

 

 

I like your answers except for the change that you dislike. If you get the SDP as a promo then you still have some days that are not covered by dining plan that you could go to the Asian place. And if you are buying the SDP just buy it for the number of days you will use it. It doesn't have to be for all 7 days. No need for it to devalue your dining package.

 

 

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