NCL making it hard to sail other cruise lines

[havanadaydreaming]

my wife and i have taken one cruise anually the past 6 or 7 years. i had never cruised before thst (i was an all inclusive resort guy). we started with Carnival the first few years and i loved it.

 

then i won a work contest which encouraged me to book the Norwegian Escape as a surprise, i wanted to see Margaritaville at Sea! prices fell to $599/balcony sail away for 7 days. that was just silly cheap for a new ship. but......we wound up paying more overall due to our drink folio. and we bought three specialty restaurants. live and learn! !!

 

earlier this year we went $199 oceanview 4 day on Sky, all inclusive. loved it. most other options were considerably higher than rates we were used to seeing/considering.

 

i was hoping to book Carnival cruise Q4 since we have $1200 in gift cards saved up the past couple years from holiday gifts, credit card rewards, etc. instead we went with 11 nights on Epic. i expected 2 free at sea (4 nights specialty dining, unlimited drinks) but wound up with all five, and more, due to "distinctive voyage" status. unbelievable!

 

now i see taxes and port fees are included for that cruise albeit at a bit higher rate than we booked.

 

well done NCL. you're making it hard to go elsewhere!!!

 

 

 

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[havanadaydreaming]

whoops. i thought this was in NCL board. i posted via cel app.

 

not trolling. my apologies!

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Forums mobile app

[Mura]

You're forgiven! But I DID think your post was in the wrong place by accident, nothing deliberate! Have a good cruise.

 

Mura

[Shawnino]

Interesting.My much-better-half and I are bailing on NCL, and trying Oceania first, based on the promise of great food.

All we really want from a cruise ship is a quiet room with a proper bed and food equivalent to a mid-range restaurant on land. Last time out, NCL failed on all counts.

So, erm, we're done with NCL and resigned ourselves to actually spending more money to try Oceania.

It's not like they're owned by the same holding compa--

 

 

oh.

[riffatsea]

We sailed once on NCL and disliked the food intensely in the buffet and mdr.

I don't find it relaxing to need to make specialty restaurant reservations for each night to find decent food.

Hopefully Oceania is much better even though they are owned by the same corporation!

[Go-Bucks!]

All we really want from a cruise ship is a quiet room with a proper bed and food equivalent to a mid-range restaurant on land.

You'll find that. The bed is heavenly! Quiet and good food too.

[Caroldoll]

So we are pretty much O, but we have done Norwegian several times. Honestly, if you go in The Haven, you get pretty much like O and maybe a little better. Everyone has to try it and then make a decision.

[Paulchili]

So we are pretty much O, but we have done Norwegian several times. Honestly, if you go in The Haven, you get pretty much like O and maybe a little better.

 

As long as you don’t leave the Haven (if that were possible) and can ignore the decor in the suite :D

You still have to eat and that is where the possible romance ended for me. :)

[Go-Bucks!]

You still have to eat and that is where the possible romance ended for me. :)

My friend stayed in the Haven and had a perk that let them eat at specialty restaurants everyday, at no extra cost, and she said the food was very good. They never tried the MDR or buffet.

[Shawnino]

My friend stayed in the Haven and had a perk that let them eat at specialty restaurants everyday, at no extra cost, and she said the food was very good. They never tried the MDR or buffet.

 

Food is subjective so if your friend thinks it's 'very good' that's great for her, but there is simple, objective stuff NCL couldn't get right on our last two cruises--things like the doneness of meat or fish. If I order a steak rare and it comes medium it may still be tasty, but it's not what I ordered.

 

The other crusher the last time on NCL was that we could not finish a three-course meal in less than two hours and it was usually closer to three. One group of ladies clocked a four course meal at Le Bistro at four hours and five minutes. Whilst I understand it's not supposed to be McDonalds, eating in the NCL Specialties should let a person out in less than two hours if he has somewhere to be.

[Go-Bucks!]

On my one and only (so far) Oceania cruise, I ate in the Polo Grill and ordered a steak done medium....what I got was overly well done shoe leather! I didn't want to stay long enough to have them cook another one, but mistakes happen. It certainly didn't change my view of the cruiseline nor make my cruise any less enjoyable. And I definitely wouldn't go online to whine about it or make the entire cruise line sound awful. Stuff happens...the big picture is that I've been blessed to even be able to cruise/travel! :hearteyes: