Probably our last NCL cruise

[New2cruise2022]

12 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

reviews (positive or negative) in perspective

It is a balance. It is an effort to compare apples to apples even when you are dealing with apples and oranges. I recently returned from a cruise and I have read people that were upset and didn’t enjoy the offering, where I was more than satisfied with the cumulative value of the cruise. 
Your point about the constraints and limitations of land-based, all-inclusive resorts is not lost on me and shouldn’t be lost on others. I believe in an inflation/recession economy, no offering on land or sea will be perfect. 

[SimplyAlbert]

Honestly, we have two NCL cruises booked for 2023 and nothing beyond that, which is unusual for us.  I've looked at a few for 2024, but prices have definitely risen.  I want to see how two we have booked go before I commit to more in 2024.  I don't mind paying a higher price if the value is still there, but if there are as many cut-backs as I'm reading about, we may explore other options for 2024.

[eileeshb]

4 hours ago, Cruise5life said:

Just off an MSC cruise.  I tried it out because off all the bad reviews and had to see for myself.  
And before that was on NCL thought Panama for 15 days.   

MSC was the worsts cruise I’ve taken ever.    The crew was so uptight and not friendly at all.      
the entertainment was a joke   Nothing more than a high school variety show at best.   
the entertainment on my NCL cruise was some of the best I’ve seen.    

and now I’m on RC and so far the entertainment is amazing.     
after this cruise it will be 29 days at see.   
 

And I would never take another MSC cruise again.  
event for the low price I paid of 900 for a balcony.     
mot just wasn’t worth the bad food. Terrible entertainment and crew.    
 

my 1 Dayton RC blew my 7 days on MSC out of the water  

 

 

MSC can be hit and miss, I met an Italian couple at Costa Maya who were on an MSC ship while I was sailing with NCL. They said the food was terrible on that caribbean cruise but they'd cruised a lot with MSC in Europe and said it was an infinitely better standard on the European itineraries.  

[gmbhardy]

3 hours ago, 7SeasLover said:

Our last two cruises were in Haven 2-bdrm suites. While we love the Haven, we had a sewer door with the last cruise. We had crew in our stateroom on multiple days yet they could not fix this issue. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the 3 Haven decks and the staff and restaurant. 
 

My only complaint is that upon return, I wrote a letter describing our sewer issue. I never received a reply. That is what bothered me the most. Not a single word from NCL.
 

On that same cruise, a couple just a few doors down had standing water in their bathroom for 3 consecutive days. Also with crew working in their Haven suite almost constantly. NCL had some plumbing issues to be sure. 
 

We are cruising with NCL this August (Ireland, England, Scotland), but decided to sail back to NY on the Queen Mary II, just to get a taste of her. I’m not going to say I’m not cruising with NCL again, but I just want to say how disappointed I was to be ignored. Frankly, I love cruising too much to cut out any cruise line. And yes, the spa, while nice, is too pricey. 

What ship?

[life is to be happy]

3 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

The only thing we didn't like about the Epic was the bathroom layout. Otherwise, we were very pleased. It is always better to NOT take ship excursions.

absolutely loved the Epic, we had nothing to complain about .. entertainment was best ever however now that NCL are cutting entertainment I can't do NCL as it was the best entertainment ever imo 

[Tatka]

5 hours ago, Cruise5life said:

And I would never take another MSC cruise again.  

event for the low price I paid of 900 for a balcony.     
mot just wasn’t worth the bad food. Terrible entertainment and crew.   

 

 

 Interesting. I do not think if we will sail with MSC any time soon.. as we sail locally from Northeast now, but we thought entertainment on MSC Divina 2014 and smaller Poelia 2013 was one of the best. Production shows nightly, opera.. and some very authentic Italian stuff.

 

 Food was weak and service too relaxed we thought. Ships were spectacularly beautiful.

[Crazy planning mom]

On 1/30/2023 at 2:59 AM, woodley said:

We have just returned from NCL jade South Africa and Namibia cruise.  In October we did the NCL Star cruise which was awful and had we not already booked this one would not have used NCL again.  However the Jade was a lot better, food was good as were the drinks and our cabin was great as were all the staff on board.  The entertainment was ok but nothing really stood out as being great.  

We had one port removed Durban with no explanation or return of port fees which seems to be a pattern with NCL now.  The spa prices which were always more expensive on board ship are now so high priced that I chose not to partake as were the minimums on the gambling tables.  These were two areas that we have always enjoyed but sadly now are out of our price range, the fun has gone and only serious gamblers would partake.

 

Shore excursions.....what can I say except the ones we did through the ship were awful.  One was a bus ride for 90 mins to shop at a gift shop area for one hour then a ride back to the ship 90 mins.  This was described as Kynsa at leisure a total waste of our money and time.  They also advertised one as a safari, snorkel and barbecue $399 each. We decided to get a private guide at this port and for £87.00 each did the exact same trip except we had lunch on our own (restaurant or snacks).  WE know we did the same trip as we followed them around.  We were in a very nice air conditioned van for most of the trip then on a safari jeep and pontoon boat for the rest of the tour.  

I know NCL supporters will jump on me but this post is to help others make informed decisions.  I was a loyal NCL customer but no more.  In my opinion they have cut back so much with all the little extras and priced some things so high, spa, gambling tables, shore excursion, specialty restaurants, drinks etc. that NCL is no longer the cruise line for me.

We also had a good experience on the Jade which it seems like you also did minus the excursions.   Instead of putting NCL on the verboten list, why not keep using non-ship excursions?  Also, it's good to try other lines.

Our next cruise is on Celebrity.  

 

Edited January 31, 2023 by Crazy planning mom

[Buford T Justiice]

42 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

 Interesting. I do not think if we will sail with MSC any time soon.. as we sail locally from Northeast now, but we thought entertainment on MSC Divina 2014 and smaller Poelia 2013 was one of the best. Production shows nightly, opera.. and some very authentic Italian stuff.

 

 Food was weak and service too relaxed we thought. Ships were spectacularly beautiful.

 

I believe MSC is sailing from NYC during the winter 2024.  It seemed to have softened NCL pricing for 2024 in my opinion.

[Tatka]

1 hour ago, Buford T Justiice said:

 

I believe MSC is sailing from NYC during the winter 2024.  It seemed to have softened NCL pricing for 2024 in my opinion.

 

Sailing out of NYC or any northeastern ports without Indoor pool or Solarium is cruel.

This is why we only sail with RCI or Celebrity (when they are present from November to March).

[zqvol]

On 1/30/2023 at 2:59 AM, woodley said:

We have just returned from NCL jade South Africa and Namibia cruise.  In October we did the NCL Star cruise which was awful and had we not already booked this one would not have used NCL again.  However the Jade was a lot better, food was good as were the drinks and our cabin was great as were all the staff on board.  The entertainment was ok but nothing really stood out as being great.  

We had one port removed Durban with no explanation or return of port fees which seems to be a pattern with NCL now.  The spa prices which were always more expensive on board ship are now so high priced that I chose not to partake as were the minimums on the gambling tables.  These were two areas that we have always enjoyed but sadly now are out of our price range, the fun has gone and only serious gamblers would partake.

 

Shore excursions.....what can I say except the ones we did through the ship were awful.  One was a bus ride for 90 mins to shop at a gift shop area for one hour then a ride back to the ship 90 mins.  This was described as Kynsa at leisure a total waste of our money and time.  They also advertised one as a safari, snorkel and barbecue $399 each. We decided to get a private guide at this port and for £87.00 each did the exact same trip except we had lunch on our own (restaurant or snacks).  WE know we did the same trip as we followed them around.  We were in a very nice air conditioned van for most of the trip then on a safari jeep and pontoon boat for the rest of the tour.  

I know NCL supporters will jump on me but this post is to help others make informed decisions.  I was a loyal NCL customer but no more.  In my opinion they have cut back so much with all the little extras and priced some things so high, spa, gambling tables, shore excursion, specialty restaurants, drinks etc. that NCL is no longer the cruise line for me.

Don’t think you will find pricing better on any other mass market line, especially for excursions, casino, spa services, restaurants or drinks. If that is your criteria you need to explore land based vacations. 

[New2cruise2022]

Just now, zqvol said:

Don’t think you will find pricing better on any other mass market line, especially for excursions, casino, spa services, restaurants or drinks. If that is your criteria you need to explore land based vacations. 

Land based really aren’t any cheaper right now. 

[latebloomer56]

On 1/30/2023 at 1:12 PM, Diver2014 said:

So the OP didn't like the short excursions.  Reason to go to another cruise line?  Lotsa luck on finding something better since shore excursions are thru 3rd party vendors.  

I think NCL has the worse handling of excursions on their end, just my experience. But the sail from the northeast so this line works for us. We like the ships so far and the crew (other than excursion teams) we have always had great service from. We book outside tours if we want to do something.

 

 

[kitkat343]

On 1/30/2023 at 3:23 AM, cruiseat50 said:

So, which line will you try next?  I hope they work out better for you so that you can continue cruising.  If they are please come back here and tell us which line and why they are better.

 

I was on the January 8th Getaway that lost the Dominican Republic and morning in Antigua for what NCL stated were environmental reasons after the final payment.  I tried to cancel but they denied that request.  Prior to covid, we were quite happy with Princess, Cunard, HAL and Carnival and found all the mainstream lines more similar  than different (Carnival being understandably a bit below the others, but still perfectly reasonable option if they had a strong enough itinerary at a reasonable price).  Precovid, Princess was our favorite cruise line, but we haven't sailed with them recently.  We did sail with RC last August and were very happy with that cruise.  RC is very similar to NCL, but they don't make itinerary changes unless they have to.  

 

But given the fact that NCL has been changing itineraries a lot I would now rank NCL dead last in terms of cruise lines I'd want to sail again.  But other people are less concerned about itinerary and therefore they might be happier on NCL.   ( 

)

 

[DorothyB]

Are there other cruise lines where you can wear nice clean jeans to dinner instead of needing to dress more formally??  (serious question!)

[7SeasLover]

11 hours ago, gmbhardy said:

What ship?

Ireland is NCL Dawn. The other haven was out of Los Angeles, ummmm, can’t recall ship… started with a B, I think.

 

 

[7SeasLover]

13 hours ago, vacation44 said:

What NCL ship were you last on?   I agree, you should have had a reply to your letter. After spending $1000s I would not be too happy about the sewer issue.

 I can’t remember the ship, but it was out of Los Angeles. 

[7SeasLover]

It was the NCL Bliss that had a sewer smell in the Haven Suite. Beautiful ship! 
 

[renji]

27 minutes ago, 7SeasLover said:

It was the NCL Bliss that had a sewer smell in the Haven Suite. Beautiful ship! 
 

I just got off the Bliss and definitely noticed a sewage smell in  our 2 bedroom Haven.   There were also banging sounds all night one night.   They ran all the taps for a while which reduced the smell substantially.  So the third night of a 5 night it was ok…

[renji]

15 hours ago, 7SeasLover said:

Our last two cruises were in Haven 2-bdrm suites. While we love the Haven, we had a sewer door with the last cruise. We had crew in our stateroom on multiple days yet they could not fix this issue. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the 3 Haven decks and the staff and restaurant. 
 

My only complaint is that upon return, I wrote a letter describing our sewer issue. I never received a reply. That is what bothered me the most. Not a single word from NCL.
 

On that same cruise, a couple just a few doors down had standing water in their bathroom for 3 consecutive days. Also with crew working in their Haven suite almost constantly. NCL had some plumbing issues to be sure. 
 

We are cruising with NCL this August (Ireland, England, Scotland), but decided to sail back to NY on the Queen Mary II, just to get a taste of her. I’m not going to say I’m not cruising with NCL again, but I just want to say how disappointed I was to be ignored. Frankly, I love cruising too much to cut out any cruise line. And yes, the spa, while nice, is too pricey. 

I was just in 17100 on the Bliss. Definitely a sewage smell. They ran the traps which reduced but didn’t eliminate it.  

[njkate]

13 hours ago, DorothyB said:

Are there other cruise lines where you can wear nice clean jeans to dinner instead of needing to dress more formally??  (serious question!)

Royal Caribbean 

[cruiseny4life]

14 hours ago, DorothyB said:

Are there other cruise lines where you can wear nice clean jeans to dinner instead of needing to dress more formally??  (serious question!)

I've done a lot of research on not-so needy dress codes. I've found NCL is about the only one that gets it right, with the exception of Ocean Blue, Le Bistro, the aft main dining room, and probably a restaurant or two on pr1ma. I've also come to the unfortunate conclusion that NCL is about the only line my husband and I can sail due to the dress code.

 

As to your question, most lines will allow you into the main dining room with clean, no designer torn or stained jeans. Cunard is the obvious exception. Stay very, very, very far away from that curmudgeonly cruise line unless you wish to be banished to the buffet.

 

NCL's only requirement (in the above-mentioned restaurants) is that you need to wear a collared shirt, pants, and closed-toe shoes. Not too bad, but still more than we want to do on vacation which is to luxuriate in flippie floppies, t-shirts, and shorts. I've not found another line that allows this in the evening. If you do, please, please let me know!

[kitkat343]

10 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

I've done a lot of research on not-so needy dress codes. I've found NCL is about the only one that gets it right, with the exception of Ocean Blue, Le Bistro, the aft main dining room, and probably a restaurant or two on pr1ma. I've also come to the unfortunate conclusion that NCL is about the only line my husband and I can sail due to the dress code.

 

As to your question, most lines will allow you into the main dining room with clean, no designer torn or stained jeans. Cunard is the obvious exception. Stay very, very, very far away from that curmudgeonly cruise line unless you wish to be banished to the buffet.

 

NCL's only requirement (in the above-mentioned restaurants) is that you need to wear a collared shirt, pants, and closed-toe shoes. Not too bad, but still more than we want to do on vacation which is to luxuriate in flippie floppies, t-shirts, and shorts. I've not found another line that allows this in the evening. If you do, please, please let me know!

You are absolutely correct about cunards dress code.  They are - for reasons I don’t understand- one of the few lines that let 2 year olds into drop off care at the kids club, so we had to sail them to Norway.  They very kindly overlooked the fact that I wore a very ordinary day dress to formal night, but the dress code applies to most of the ship on formal night, and there were even women in formal gowns at the Buffett (not required, just their choice).  We had a lovely cruise to Norway, but if you hate formalwear you might feel a bit left out.  

[styles27]

15 hours ago, DorothyB said:

Are there other cruise lines where you can wear nice clean jeans to dinner instead of needing to dress more formally??  (serious question!)

Saw lots of that on MSC earlier this month.  Have seen it on Carnival, Royal and Princess as well. 

[New2cruise2022]

Just now, styles27 said:

Saw lots of that on MSC earlier this month.  Have seen it on Carnival, Royal and Princess as well. 

This may be a product of “we will take whoever wants to cruise”. Revenue is king right now. 

[styles27]

16 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

This may be a product of “we will take whoever wants to cruise”. Revenue is king right now. 

Completely agree. These companies are trying to bring in as much revenue as they can to make up for the Covid loss. 

On Divina our dining table was near one entrance of the main dining room so it was quite interesting to people watch lol

 

More than a few times an evening at our seating the hostess didn’t want to let people in who were dressed like they had just come from the pool in shorts, flip flops and beach type hats.
 

She would get the dining room manager who would speak to them for a while but in the end they seated all but one group the entire 14 nts