NCL does horrible in 2019 Cruise Critic awards

[Beer Belly]

12 hours ago, sandycruzr said:

 

the crew seems really overworked and unhappy compared to other ships.  

Maybe NCL should reconsider the whole mega ship program.  Bigger is not always better!

I am new to cruising.....only one under my belt, and it was NCL, my Wife (Boss Lady) has been on a few. We both noticed the above quote from Sandy, no interaction from the overworked and unhappy crew, although everyone was cordial. We currently booked another NCL in 2020 for the cheap deposit, and are also going to look at RCCL.

[slugg]

7 hours ago, CruisingNole said:

Shhhh: in case you haven't noticed, the "awards" are based on advertising revenue.

 

Anyways, NCL is inferior to other cruise lines, especially RCI. It is what it is.

Finally, someone stated the obvious and correct answer. These “awards” are just paid advertising, just like all other “awards” in other consumer-facing publications for any other industry. 

 

Think about it. How often are people censored when posting actual critical content? And look at the most popular reviews; they hardly even mention the ship! This whole thing is just a controlled media machine, signaled by advertising revenue. 

 

Watch. My post will probably be removed. 

[newmexicoNita]

13 hours ago, Son of a son of a ... said:

I agree ... cruising itself is bubbling.  The growth will soon be unsustainable at current pace.

 

1 hour ago, david_sobe said:

When I first started cruising, I was suggested NCL because they were more "upscale" than Carnival.  NCL was a small cruise line that really catered to guests.  NCL has grown so much since then.  NCL used to be all over these cruise critic awards years ago.  IMHO NCL is suffering from the Epic hangover.  Epic was so innovative with single cabins and entertainment but took such a backlash from design.  NCL probably also probably over spent on entertainment in those days. After the backlash,  NCL over reacted by creating fairly sterile ships. While very nice and modern, the other lines became more innovative.  The Bliss and Encore do have an observation lounge which is a nice feature but the new RCCL and celebrity ships are lightyears ahead of NCL with innovation.  Also, NCL is seeking first time cruisers who may never cruise NCL again.  Those first time cruisers may not leave positive reviews from their onboard experience.  In reality, the bottom dollar rules and as long as the new ships are full and booked with many first timers, that is what really matters.

Let's be real: these awards are simply popularity awards and some take time to vote, others do not. I am guilty of being one that does not. Our travel agent just was awarded the best travel agent in our region 3 years running. She is the first to love to use it as advertising but also admits it is simple a popularity vote and means almost nothing. Obviously RCI and Celebrity cruisers here on CC took the time to vote.   I seriously doubt most first time cruisers pay much attention to these contests. I doubt most people booking travel for the first time run to our travel agent because she is the best of the best either. I used to work for a very well known and well respected hotel chain, thought by many as one  of the best. Never did they get a mention in magazines like Conda Nest as one of the best in anything when it came to public voting. 

 

I will add, I was a bit surprised NCL wasn't mentioned for entertainment if nothing else. 

[thetaro]

It's a popularity contest, people like RCI and celebrity for a reason.

 

NCL would be great when it was affordable. People would be happy when they compare it to Carnival.

 

Not so much when they raise the price and need to compete with RCI and celebrity. 

 

The ship design is just so boring comparing to RCI and the way they nickel and dime you leave a bad taste in my mouth.

[newmexicoNita]

13 hours ago, sandycruzr said:

I was not surprised that NCL did not receive any real

awards this year.  As a longtime. NCL cruiser I can see a big decline in customer satisfaction.   I know some people will be upset with me but I really felt like I was on a

Carnival cruise when I sailed on the Getaway a few weeks ago!  It’s sad really!

the crew seems really overworked and unhappy compared to other ships.  

Maybe NCL should reconsider the whole mega ship program.  Bigger is not always better!

Not upset with you at all: we all have a right to our opinion but  talking with those who are on many of the NCL cruises we have been on in the past few years disagree with you. Most are having a great time and the number of latitude members are growing like crazy. As for the mega ship program most of the ships who did well in the voting were mega ships. 

[CruisingNole]

41 minutes ago, slugg said:

Finally, someone stated the obvious and correct answer. These “awards” are just paid advertising, just like all other “awards” in other consumer-facing publications for any other industry. 

 

Think about it. How often are people censored when posting actual critical content? And look at the most popular reviews; they hardly even mention the ship! This whole thing is just a controlled media machine, signaled by advertising revenue. 

 

Watch. My post will probably be removed. 

 

My profession is in marketing and my company has won all kinds of “awards.” But of course, “awards” aren’t just handed out. You have to PAY to enter to win. And then when you do win (which you typically do, since you paid) you then have to pay to have the rights to tell the world you won XYZ “award.” 

 

Lst year, we won an “award” from Forbes, and we didn’t even enter. Awesome, right? Not quite...Forbes wanted $15,000 to give us the rights to use their logo in order to tell our customers that we were winners.

 

As I said, business “awards” are nothing more than advertising revenue for the company who issues them.

 

I’m glad someone else understands how it works.

 

 

[david_sobe]

I did not mean to upset any cheerleaders.  We are on cruise critic after all and its fair to discuss their awards. I am just offering my opinion why NCL has disappeared literally from the awards.  To those that claim some conspiracy of voting due to advertising or other issues, why was NCL included in previous years?  You cant claim to validate the awards in those years and then discredit them in the years NCL is not included.  I don't recall NCL not having a ship in the top 10 before.  Year after year NCL had fewer awards but this year is their worst showing yet. IMHO its not a coincidence the management philosophy these days at NCL can impact cruising experience.

Just like Yelp or TripAdvisor.  Those who had a bad experience and want to complain are usually the ones who are motivated to write a review.  However, when you see a restaurant with an 85% approval rating, there is something reliable to such a strong showing.  Many here are NCL loyalists at any costs. I just thought it was a fair question to discuss why Cruise Critic awards no longer think NCL is deserving of any awards.  IMHO, its a sign NCL has fallen behind the curve.  They rely too much on increasing costs and on board spending rather than creating better cruising value and innovative ships.  Are cruise critic awards 100% accurate or credible?  Not always but I do believe they are tea leaves with some underlying truths.

[CruisingNole]

9 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

I did not mean to upset any cheerleaders.  We are on cruise critic after all and its fair to discuss their awards. I am just offering my opinion why NCL has disappeared literally from the awards.  To those that claim some conspiracy of voting due to advertising or other issues, why was NCL included in previous years?  You cant claim to validate the awards in those years and then discredit them in the years NCL is not included.  I don't recall NCL not having a ship in the top 10 before.  Year after year NCL had fewer awards but this year is their worst showing yet. IMHO its not a coincidence the management philosophy these days at NCL can impact cruising experience.

Just like Yelp or TripAdvisor.  Those who had a bad experience and want to complain are usually the ones who are motivated to write a review.  However, when you see a restaurant with an 85% approval rating, there is something reliable to such a strong showing.  Many here are NCL loyalists at any costs. I just thought it was a fair question to discuss why Cruise Critic awards no longer think NCL is deserving of any awards.  IMHO, its a sign NCL has fallen behind the curve.  They rely too much on increasing costs and on board spending rather than creating better cruising value and innovative ships.  Are cruise critic awards 100% accurate or credible?  Not always but I do believe they are tea leaves with some underlying truths.

 

Fair enough, and the reality is that none of us know the criteria for said awards. I don’t work in the travel industry so it’s unfair for me to make a generalization and I appreciate you calling me out on it. Maybe the awards are in fact legit. But as I said in a previous post, it is true that the NCL product is inferior to the competition. 

[slugg]

30 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

I did not mean to upset any cheerleaders.  We are on cruise critic after all and its fair to discuss their awards. I am just offering my opinion why NCL has disappeared literally from the awards.  To those that claim some conspiracy of voting due to advertising or other issues, why was NCL included in previous years?  You cant claim to validate the awards in those years and then discredit them in the years NCL is not included.  I don't recall NCL not having a ship in the top 10 before.  Year after year NCL had fewer awards but this year is their worst showing yet. IMHO its not a coincidence the management philosophy these days at NCL can impact cruising experience.

Just like Yelp or TripAdvisor.  Those who had a bad experience and want to complain are usually the ones who are motivated to write a review.  However, when you see a restaurant with an 85% approval rating, there is something reliable to such a strong showing.  Many here are NCL loyalists at any costs. I just thought it was a fair question to discuss why Cruise Critic awards no longer think NCL is deserving of any awards.  IMHO, its a sign NCL has fallen behind the curve.  They rely too much on increasing costs and on board spending rather than creating better cruising value and innovative ships.  Are cruise critic awards 100% accurate or credible?  Not always but I do believe they are tea leaves with some underlying truths.

Hey, I never claimed to validate any of the awards. On the contrary, the only thing I said was that they’re just a reflection of advertising revenue. I pretty much completely ignore reviews and awards from mass media. They’re all driven by advertising revenue. Maybe NCL is fantastic, maybe it’s horrible. Who knows. But the awards don’t mean anything, good or bad. 

 

There’s an old saying: if you aren’t paying, then YOU are the product. This is so true; nothing is free and if you’re reading reviews and awards for free, someone has paid for it. Why would they pay for it? Think about it.

 

The only reviews I trust are the opinions of people I actually know. Beyond that, I’ve found that the most truthful source of information on the internet is actually Reddit. You still need to make a judgement call on whoever is posting, but it’s a lot less censored and moderated than other social media, so even controversial comments stick around if they’re valid.

Edited March 7, 2019 by slugg

[tomservo]

Here’s how the awards are determined. Looks like it’s based purely on reviews. 

 

Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards 2019

• Rankings are based on ratings given by our members in published member reviews; awards are based on 2018 cruise reviews.
• Ships must have a minimum number of member reviews and ratings in a particular category in order to be included in that category's top 10 list.
• Ship size is designated as follows:
  • Large ships: 2,000+ passengers (double occupancy)
  • Mid-size ships: 1,200 - 1,999 passengers (double occupancy)
  • Small-mid ships: 400 - 1,199 passengers (double occupancy)
  • Small ships: 399 or fewer passengers (double occupancy)
• Ratings shown have been rounded to the first decimal place, although they are calculated to the 8th decimal place and ordered as such; in the unlikely event of an exact tie, tied ships will instead order by the highest number of records entered, then alphabetically.

[sandycruzr]

Celebrity Equinox won numerous awards and I can tell you from personal experience they EARNED the awards because they put out a great product.  I still like NCL and will sail

NCL again for

the right deal/itinerary but Celebrity is doing a good job of gaining my

business. 

[thistimeplease]

2 minutes ago, tomservo said:

Here’s how the awards are determined. Looks like it’s based purely on reviews. 

 

Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards 2019

• Rankings are based on ratings given by our members in published member reviews; awards are based on 2018 cruise reviews.
• Ships must have a minimum number of member reviews and ratings in a particular category in order to be included in that category's top 10 list.
• Ship size is designated as follows:
  • Large ships: 2,000+ passengers (double occupancy)
  • Mid-size ships: 1,200 - 1,999 passengers (double occupancy)
  • Small-mid ships: 400 - 1,199 passengers (double occupancy)
  • Small ships: 399 or fewer passengers (double occupancy)
• Ratings shown have been rounded to the first decimal place, although they are calculated to the 8th decimal place and ordered as such; in the unlikely event of an exact tie, tied ships will instead order by the highest number of records entered, then alphabetically.

I was just going to ask how the awards are determined.  Another question I have is who votes for the awards?  If it's cc people I have to wonder how many actually knew or cared to vote.  DH and I love NCL and will continue to cruise with them despite them not winning any "awards". 

[Son of a son of a ...]

There can still be love for NCL, but no doubt it’s product quality has declined.  It’s like being married for 20 years.

[tomservo]

19 minutes ago, thistimeplease said:

I was just going to ask how the awards are determined.  Another question I have is who votes for the awards?  If it's cc people I have to wonder how many actually knew or cared to vote.  DH and I love NCL and will continue to cruise with them despite them not winning any "awards". 

It doesn’t look like it’s based on votes, it’s just a pure top 10 ranking in each category based on member reviews. When you submit a review you’re asked to rate each category along with an overall rating. Here’s an example of the category ratings from a recent review:

 

Just like Iike yelp and rotten tomatoes reviews, I think it’s a good aggregate of overall reviewer sentiment. 

Edited March 7, 2019 by tomservo

[WVU_Neal]

One area that I found excellent about NCL was their program for solo travelers. Although this is based upon only one cruise, other solo travelers in my group recommended NCL. We had a hosted gathering every evening of the cruise that was attended by 10-15 regularly. Dinners were arranged and seats at the shows were saved for us. A smaller group of us got together for taxi tours of several Caribbean islands visited.

 

That cruise was several months after my wife died. The group made for an enjoyable vacation for me.

 

Neal

[Sam Ting]

1 hour ago, CruisingNole said:

 

My profession is in marketing and my company has won all kinds of “awards.” But of course, “awards” aren’t just handed out. You have to PAY to enter to win. And then when you do win (which you typically do, since you paid) you then have to pay to have the rights to tell the world you won XYZ “award.” 

 

Lst year, we won an “award” from Forbes, and we didn’t even enter. Awesome, right? Not quite...Forbes wanted $15,000 to give us the rights to use their logo in order to tell our customers that we were winners.

 

As I said, business “awards” are nothing more than advertising revenue for the company who issues them.

 

I’m glad someone else understands how it works.

 

 

How could you possibly win if you didn’t even enter. You did say you have to PAY to enter and win.  So what part of that are you mistaken?

[Stealthdog]

I think the awards are fairly accurate.  If you are a foodie or want good service go on Celebrity.  If you want entertainment options go on Royal.  My upcoming cruise this summer will be my last on NCL for a while.  Main dining quality has been going down, and with the constant "free" at sea promotions, prices have been going up.  I'm ok with average across the board (though I think the entertainment on NCL is better than average) if the cost of the cruise meets the value and its an itinerary I like.  Our next few cruises will be on cruise lines we haven't been on yet - maybe we will look back at NCL in 3-4 years. 

[willsears94]

1 hour ago, CruisingNole said:

 

My profession is in marketing and my company has won all kinds of “awards.” But of course, “awards” aren’t just handed out. You have to PAY to enter to win. And then when you do win (which you typically do, since you paid) you then have to pay to have the rights to tell the world you won XYZ “award.” 

 

Lst year, we won an “award” from Forbes, and we didn’t even enter. Awesome, right? Not quite...Forbes wanted $15,000 to give us the rights to use their logo in order to tell our customers that we were winners.

 

As I said, business “awards” are nothing more than advertising revenue for the company who issues them.

 

I’m glad someone else understands how it works.

 

 

 

These guys get it. 

 

As a 30-year-old millennial, the reason I sail/ed NCL is/was a competitive pricing structure and lower children count on board, with a touch of innovation and elevated food design. Recently, I have ventured into booking with Celebrity and soon-to-be Virgin.

 

After several cruises on RCL in my teens and adulthood, I most likely won't go back due to the large number of children, mediocre food, and glitz-and-glammered circus- affaire. What some describe as bells-and-whistles (FlowRider, Abyss, etc.), is just a painted-over spectacle for the masses.  Unfortunately, this seems to be the direction NCL is going given their Encore design. I am happy to hold my breath for the Leonardo class. 

 

 

 

 

 

[CruisingNole]

19 minutes ago, Sam Ting said:

How could you possibly win if you didn’t even enter. You did say you have to PAY to enter and win.  So what part of that are you mistaken?

 

Forbes has an interesting scheme, one we hadn’t encountered. You know how they publish those “top 10 XYZ businesses in 2019” lists? So here’s how it works. They conduct a poll with a very small sample size. Something that’s cheap for them to do, and completely unreliable. They then contact your business and say “congratulations, you’ve been named #1 in XYZ and will be published next month.” But, it doesn’t end there. You want to tell your customers you’re #1, right? Of course! Then comes the sales pitch where you have to pay $15k for the license to use their logo and name to announce to your customers that you’re #1. 

 

The schemes I described are just a few I’ve encountered throughout my professional career. Believe me or not, I don’t particularly care. But think about it like this: what does a website like Cruise Critic stand to gain by handing out “awards.” It’s a for profit business, not a feel good pat on the back.

Edited March 7, 2019 by CruisingNole

[Sam Ting]

52 minutes ago, CruisingNole said:

 

Forbes has an interesting scheme, one we hadn’t encountered. You know how they publish those “top 10 XYZ businesses in 2019” lists? So here’s how it works. They conduct a poll with a very small sample size. Something that’s cheap for them to do, and completely unreliable. They then contact your business and say “congratulations, you’ve been named #1 in XYZ and will be published next month.” But, it doesn’t end there. You want to tell your customers you’re #1, right? Of course! Then comes the sales pitch where you have to pay $15k for the license to use their logo and name to announce to your customers that you’re #1. 

 

The schemes I described are just a few I’ve encountered throughout my professional career. Believe me or not, I don’t particularly care. But think about it like this: what does a website like Cruise Critic stand to gain by handing out “awards.” It’s a for profit business, not a feel good pat on the back.

Understood thank you. 

[Sam Ting]

52 minutes ago, CruisingNole said:

 

Forbes has an interesting scheme, one we hadn’t encountered. You know how they publish those “top 10 XYZ businesses in 2019” lists? So here’s how it works. They conduct a poll with a very small sample size. Something that’s cheap for them to do, and completely unreliable. They then contact your business and say “congratulations, you’ve been named #1 in XYZ and will be published next month.” But, it doesn’t end there. You want to tell your customers you’re #1, right? Of course! Then comes the sales pitch where you have to pay $15k for the license to use their logo and name to announce to your customers that you’re #1. 

 

The schemes I described are just a few I’ve encountered throughout my professional career. Believe me or not, I don’t particularly care. But think about it like this: what does a website like Cruise Critic stand to gain by handing out “awards.” It’s a for profit business, not a feel good pat on the back.

Understood thank you. 

[NLH Arizona]

Since there are some on here touting how much better MSC is, how did they do?  How many awards did they win?

[klfhngr]

We've cruised almost 20 times and never tried NCL because of all the negative things that we've heard in the past. Well, we tried her this last Oct for the first time just to give them a chance, and we LOVED NCL!!!! Food much better than Royal, service was GREAT, cabins are awesome, entertainment top notch!

 

We're so glad that we gave NCL a chance! We sailed on the Escape and will be going on the Bliss this coming Oct. (after our Symphony cruise in May).

 

People, IGNORE these stupid 'awards' and go off of the REAL reviews! That is why we tried NCL, because of the reviews that are posted by real cruisers!

[Two Wheels Only]

30 minutes ago, NLH Arizona said:

Since there are some on here touting how much better MSC is, how did they do?  How many awards did they win?

 

 

Don't let it get to you. MSC was great for us but too many people choose the wrong "experience" then complain about that experience's shortcomings.

[NLH Arizona]

9 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

 

Don't let it get to you. MSC was great for us but too many people choose the wrong "experience" then complain about that experience's shortcomings.

Thanks.  I wondered because my friend tried them, they usually sale on Royal Caribbean and btw, they don't like NCL, and hated the experience with regard to food and service.