Ncl?

[cruisemom42]

We are a family of 7, and never waited for a table. Asking to dine with others on NCL is like asking to dine with others on land - most people don't wish to dine with others.

 

 

There are a lot of people on other lines who like to dine with others, as evidenced by the high volume of people requested fixed dining at larger tables.

 

I think NCL's concept attracts those who don't like to dine with others. One more reason why I have no urge to try them again. (And yes, I did sail with them once a long time ago -- it was a disaster.)

 

If, as Suite Traveler says, NCL ships are like Las Vegas, there's another reason I'd have no interest in them. :cool:

 

Perhaps the OP's TA knows her likes and dislikes in these types of areas, and hence is not recommending NCL for her.

[mjkacmom]

Guess our biggest hate is for the freestyle dining. Once we had to wait 40 minutes for a table, twice we asked to share a a table and were given a table for 2 - twice! We don't want to eat at 6 or even 7 so have always had to wait for a table. Then its a new waiter and we have to repeat every night, milk with dinner, need the bar waiter, don't want coffee, etc., etc.

We like eating with the same people every night. We met our cruise buddies on a Princess cruise in 2006. We were table mates. We have cruised together every year since 2006 and they have driven, 3 times, from Flint, MI to our house on the NC coast. Then we drive together to our ship.

We have gone to Clearwater, FL, Lancaster, PA and even Windsor, Ontario, Canada to see tablemates. And we email others. If we had only eaten with them one night we never would have become friends.

Another words, we really hate freestyle dining/any time dining or what ever they call it.

And the crew wasn't great either. We did like NCL before Freestyle though!

 

So you hate freestyle dining - why would you even sail on NCL? Freestyle fining is my favorite thing about NCL, followed by the casual dress code, and dining options. It would be like me complaining about Celebrity for having a dress code and assigned dining.

 

I'm sorry no one wanted to eat with you, but the majority of passengers wish to eat with their party, not with strangers.

[mjkacmom]

There are a lot of people on other lines who like to dine with others, as evidenced by the high volume of people requested fixed dining at larger tables.

 

I think NCL's concept attracts those who don't like to dine with others. One more reason why I have no urge to try them again. (And yes, I did sail with them once a long time ago -- it was a disaster.)

 

If, as Suite Traveler says, NCL ships are like Las Vegas, there's another reason I'd have no interest in them. :cool:

 

Perhaps the OP's TA knows her likes and dislikes in these types of areas, and hence is not recommending NCL for her.

 

I know many people prefer to dine with others, and they probably choose lines that still have traditional dining.

[cruisemom42]

I know many people prefer to dine with others, and they probably choose lines that still have traditional dining.

 

Yes -- that's my point. Not every line is for everyone. And maybe the OP's travel agent knows enough about what she likes to know NCL wouldn't be for her.

 

No point giving her a hard time. We all like different things when we travel. It's good there are lines for virtually all tastes.

[beachgoddess]

Not that I need to reply to the sarcastic remarks to my question, but my TA was unavailable due to her husband being in the hospital.

I just wanted to get some feedback from people on this forum.

I thought anyone could ask a question on here & get some civilized responses. Isn't that what this forum is about? I didn't waste anyone's time. You didn't have to answer.

Thank you to the members who responded politely. I appreciate it!

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Yes -- that's my point. Not every line is for everyone. And maybe the OP's travel agent knows enough about what she likes to know NCL wouldn't be for her.

 

No point giving her a hard time. We all like different things when we travel. It's good there are lines for virtually all tastes.

 

 

The OP is, of course, free to sail whatever line she chooses. I think the issue for most of us is that her TA is saying NCL is a "step down from Carnival" which is a ridiculous statement. It's a statement like that that makes many of us question the judgment of her TA. :rolleyes:

[janetz]

Cruises are subjective. What someone might like, others do not. I imagine if you have used the same TA for may years, she/he knows what you like and hopefully will steer you in the right direction.

 

We have sailed both and for us, one Carnival cruise was enough. Maybe we picked the wrong time and ship.

We have done 3 NCL and all to Bermuda. Not the best line for us but we still had a great time. NCL's newer ships have great reviews.

Are you looking to sail from NY?

What about Celebrity Summit, from NJ? The Anthem from NJ? You have other choices. Princess offers a 10 day repo from NY to FLL at the end of October on the Regal which is a gorgeous ship. The food is so good in the MDR and buffet there is no need to pay extra to dine anywhere else.

Try them all.

Edited April 23, 2016 by janetz

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Not that I need to reply to the sarcastic remarks to my question, but my TA was unavailable due to her husband being in the hospital.

I just wanted to get some feedback from people on this forum.

I thought anyone could ask a question on here & get some civilized responses. Isn't that what this forum is about? I didn't waste anyone's time. You didn't have to answer.

Thank you to the members who responded politely. I appreciate it!

 

Unfortunately, like any public online forum, people will say thing they often wouldn't say without the cloak of anonymity. You can't read tone in text so there's always the risk interpreting tone incorrectly. I was recently called snarky for providing what I thought were helpful links to someone asking a question.

 

I assume you're referring to the questions about why you asked here if you were just going to do whatever your TA suggested. I didn't think that was uncivilized--I think a lot of us reading your question and trying to help wondered why you even asked. And then the characterization of NCL that your TA gave you...I can speak only for myself but having sailed both lines, I found it be absurd. On a public forum people will give you their opinions and often without worrying at all about your feelings or how they may come across.

 

Whatever you choose, I hope you have a great cruise.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Guess our biggest hate is for the freestyle dining. Once we had to wait 40 minutes for a table, twice we asked to share a a table and were given a table for 2 - twice! We don't want to eat at 6 or even 7 so have always had to wait for a table. Then its a new waiter and we have to repeat every night, milk with dinner, need the bar waiter, don't want coffee, etc., etc.

We like eating with the same people every night. We met our cruise buddies on a Princess cruise in 2006. We were table mates. We have cruised together every year since 2006 and they have driven, 3 times, from Flint, MI to our house on the NC coast. Then we drive together to our ship.

We have gone to Clearwater, FL, Lancaster, PA and even Windsor, Ontario, Canada to see tablemates. And we email others. If we had only eaten with them one night we never would have become friends.

Another words, we really hate freestyle dining/any time dining or what ever they call it.

And the crew wasn't great either. We did like NCL before Freestyle though!

 

 

Well, no wonder you don't enjoy NCL--at least the dining situation. I've never had to wait for a table on NCL. Not even once. I don't want to share a table with strangers on land and I don't want to share a table with strangers on a ship. I've also made life-long friends on cruises--just not at dinner. :D I don't like traditional dining, so NCL suits me well. If you like traditional dining, then it makes sense you wouldn't like NCL.

[SuiteTraveler]

For us, we like traditional dining, but we also like Freestyle dining on NCL. We have not experienced any waits for dining on NCL at all. We also dine on RCCL's mega ships by just going to specialty restaurants. We've never actually been in the MDR on the Oasis class ships. We do some traditional late dining on Carnival, but then go to the steakhouse and any other specialty restaurant as well as chef's table if possible. On Celebrity, HAL and Princess, we do late seating and then go to some of their specialty restaurants, too. I guess we prefer to mix it up, try different cruise lines, enjoy different experiences and yes, we've made tons of friends on the various ships. The dining situation doesn't seem to affect our enjoyment of a cruise and ability to meet and make friends with other passengers at all.

[Aquahound]

Never mind. My travel agent just informed me it's a step down from Carnival.

 

Your travel agent told you that ESCAPE is a step down from Carnival? No offense, but you need to find a new travel agent asap. ;)

 

Let me tell you something. I never was a fan of NCL, and I still am not a fan of their pre-Breakaway Class ships due to some awful experiences. However, I just disembarked Escape and it was awesome. I rank that cruise right up their with my RCI Oasis Class cruises. Escape was a faaaaaar cry from the crappy Dawn and Sky I sailed years ago that made me swear off NCL.

 

Their entertainment was quite good. Brat Pack is their main production. Like on RCI's newer ships, it's 90 minutes long and they did a great job bringing us back to the 80s. They have Howl at the Moon dueling pianos, a comedy club, and live entertainment pretty much everywhere.

 

I highly recommend you book that Escape cruise. :)

[navybankerteacher]

It is interesting to see so many posts from people who "...have never had to wait for a table..." on NCL. Virtually EVERY time we went to dinner - on a number of NCL ships - we had to wait: anywhere from five minutes to more than a half hour on the worst occasion. Either NCL has two fleets or a number of their passengers have poor memories.

[Aquahound]

Asking to dine with others on NCL is like asking to dine with others on land - most people don't wish to dine with others.

 

I don't agree with that at all. On Escape, in the Manhattan Dining Room, the majority of the tables were 8-10 tops and unless you request to eat alone, they will sit you with other people.

 

As for the wait times discussion, on Dawn back in 2012, our wait times approached 30 minutes on some nights. It was one of the many reasons we swore off NCL until they made some major changes. On Escape, we only ate in the free venues twice and both times, there was no wait at all. However, there's good reason we only ate twice in the free venues. NCL still has the worst free food in the cruise industry. Although Escape was so much better than the older NCL ships, one thing still remains.....the free food is crap.

 

With one exception though...O'Sheehans was pretty good. Although, it's not a place to go if you prefer to eat somewhat healthy.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

It is interesting to see so many posts from people who "...have never had to wait for a table..." on NCL. Virtually EVERY time we went to dinner - on a number of NCL ships - we had to wait: anywhere from five minutes to more than a half hour on the worst occasion. Either NCL has two fleets or a number of their passengers have poor memories.

 

 

So, since others have had different experiences than you have, they must not remember it correctly? I've been on only two NCL cruises and my memory is very good: I haven't had to wait to be seated. Maybe you go at busier times?

[beachgoddess]

I'm beginning to see more & more reasons why my TA thinks I should stay away from NCL. 😉

[SuiteTraveler]

It is interesting to see so many posts from people who "...have never had to wait for a table..." on NCL. Virtually EVERY time we went to dinner - on a number of NCL ships - we had to wait: anywhere from five minutes to more than a half hour on the worst occasion. Either NCL has two fleets or a number of their passengers have poor memories.

 

OR a number of passengers know to go at off times - not on the half hour - to get into restaurants in a timely manner. If you arrive between the half hour of any hour, usually, there is no wait. BTW, this is also true of land based restaurants. If you want an absolute guarantee of no wait, make a reservation.

[SuiteTraveler]

I don't agree with that at all. On Escape, in the Manhattan Dining Room, the majority of the tables were 8-10 tops and unless you request to eat alone, they will sit you with other people.

 

As for the wait times discussion, on Dawn back in 2012, our wait times approached 30 minutes on some nights. It was one of the many reasons we swore off NCL until they made some major changes. On Escape, we only ate in the free venues twice and both times, there was no wait at all. However, there's good reason we only ate twice in the free venues. NCL still has the worst free food in the cruise industry. Although Escape was so much better than the older NCL ships, one thing still remains.....the free food is crap.

 

With one exception though...O'Sheehans was pretty good. Although, it's not a place to go if you prefer to eat somewhat healthy.

 

I don't think you can compare what happened in 2012 on the Dawn to how things are run nowadays on NCL's newest ships. Dawn is 3 generations back from Escape.

 

Here are the menus from Breakaway:

http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-escape-menus.html

 

Which of these dishes are crap? Just curious, because I had good food on Getaway and I'll be on Breakaway next week.

[Aquahound]

I don't think you can compare what happened in 2012 on the Dawn to how things are run nowadays on NCL's newest ships. Dawn is 3 generations back from Escape.

 

Here are the menus from Breakaway:

http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-escape-menus.html

 

Which of these dishes are crap? Just curious, because I had good food on Getaway and I'll be on Breakaway next week.

 

I think you misunderstood my post. The contrast between Dawn and Escape with regard to waiting for a table was exactly my point.

 

As for my opinion of the free food, the 2 main dishes I had were the Steak Diane and the Lamb Shank. The appetizers I can remember that I had high hopes for, but fell very short were the Dorado Ceviche (what they did to that should be criminal) and the fried brie.

 

Two disappointing nights were all I could take.

[kerryincork]

I've been on 6 of the main cruise lines including NCL & Carnival. I had a great time on both ships. I'm afraid OP I would put carnival at a lower standard in food and definitely entertainment. I found the staff on both ships excellent. The cruise director was better on carnival, the cocktails better on NCL 😉 If you like set dining I would pick carnival, but if you fancy something new I would try NCL. They NCL do have lots of optional extras , some people find this anoying, I like having the option to choose.

 

About the dining situation, there are always multiple dining options include in your fare. So if you are flexible there is not much waiting involved. We like to eat early do again not much waiting. Even when on carnival we would have to que when the MD was opened if you weren't right at the front of the line. It really is not that big a deal.

Have fun what ever you choose.