First NCL cruise and I was a bit disappointed

[Mississippian]

I just took my first NCL cruise, April 20 to May 6 Breakaway transatlantic and was a little disappointed when comparing it to Princess or Celebrity. I took a transatlantic on each of them last year, and they were overall just much better. BUT, before I get into things I didn't like, I'll describe what I did like.

 

1. I paid a low price with no single supplement. It was the same on Princess and Celebrity last year, but this year NCL was the only one offering no supplement. (It can be argued, I got what I paid for).

2. The boarding process was easy. We ended up having to sit around for about an hour, but I wasn't harmed.

3. My stateroom was nice. The shower was plenty big and I liked having a shower door, so no curtain clinging to my legs. The balcony was incredibly small, however.

4. I've read complaints about drink service on Breakaway, but I didn't have a problem. There were a few times when it was difficult to get a drink, such as at the Mix Bar, but it was easy to get to another bar in about 90 seconds. Overall the servers were very nice and friendly. I liked the Shakers bar.

5. I liked the Manhatten Room, with live music during dinner.

6. I liked the Premium Plus drink package, but halfway through the cruise they were suddenly "out" of the nicer champagne. The expensive whiskeys were still available, but I just wanted a single glass of nice champagne at night to start my dinner. If they are going to offer something they ought to make it available.

7. The casino was huge, at least twice as big as those on Celebrity and Princess. Almost all of the machines were newer and in good shape. Oddly enough, the eight or 10 video poker machines at the bar were in terrible condition. A third were completely broken, and another third had sticking or non-functioning buttons (you could still touch the screen, but this increases the chance of mistakes).

 

Now for the bad:

1. I found the food to rarely be good, sometimes fair and often just plain bad. Some examples:

   a. My overcooked filet at Cagney's was almost cold. The big pat of Mâitre d' butter was right-out-of-the-fridge-cold, so not a bit melted on my steak.

   b. I was rarely able to find anything decent on the buffet. The pizza had a floppy crust, but that might be intentional, and it was pretty good. In the mornings I got a couple of pieces of bacon and a sausage link, which were reasonably good. The sliced salami was good. I got some cottage pie from the buffet -- one of my favorite dishes -- and the filling tasted like Manwich. That's right, they used Sloppy Joe filling in cottage pie. It was vile. I tried numerous other things from the buffet and was simply unable to eat them.

   c. There was just a feeling when looking at menus or food that every effort is being made to serve the cheapest food possible. I understand this, but I think they have gone a little far. For example, the gumbo at Ocean Blue was reasonably good, but not great. The smoked sausage was the most thinly sliced I have ever seen, and the shrimp were the most tiny bay shrimp I've encountered as well. They took something that should have been really good and made it just okay. The salads and appetizers are now just listed as appetizers. There's no problem ordering two, but NCL is clearly trying to cut a course out of dinner.

   d. I should note that I am taking tirzepatide. Food tastes good to me but there is a limit to how much I can eat. So I could pick at the not-very-good courses and not go away hungry. I could see how those with heartier appetites might have been quite frustrated.

2. The design of the ship is a bit wonky. On Princess, the Lido deck has a large bar on each side of the pool. On Breakaway, it's just not a great design.  A lot of this seems to be because of the Haven, and NCL is making a huge profit on this program, so I understand. But it makes the top deck less fun. Instead of a view of the ship's wake Spice H2O has a giant TV screen (washed out in the daytime) blocking the view. And they've turned the Atrium area, which ought to be a main social hub of the ship, into something awful, with trivia games and all the guest relations desks. They removed all the bar stools from the bar after a couple of days so that it would just be a service bar, because apparently people were socializing. This doesn't make sense.

3. I'm not a big show person, but I really got to see no entertainment at all. "Six" was sold out on the second day. The comedians performed behind closed doors and often or always required an advance reservation. So you can't just walk along and hear people laughing and snag an empty seat. At any given time Princess has a lot more going on in a lot more venues, and no reservations or long queueing are required. I would much rather pay a cover charge to get into a place like Syd Norman's than have to wait in line for an hour. The need for meticulous, advanced planning just doesn't do it for me.

4. The port information provided in the daily newsletter was almost non-existent. In Valencia we were told we could pay $16 on the dock and take a shuttle into town. There were no shuttles. When I asked about the shuttles I was pointed to the exit. What nobody told us is that it was a 2.5-mile walk just to get out of the cruise port, and even then you needed to walk more because there weren't many cabs available. It would have been really easy to inform guests that if they choose to walk it is a 2.5-mile journey. I ended up with blisters on both my feet; there were some folks who really struggled with this walk. There was very little information for any of the ports as to how we could get off the ship and into town.

5. For the last two days people without a drink package couldn't get any drink at all on the ship. I understand this is the case in a lot of European ports, and I suspect it is a matter or not having to pay some type of extra tax. Those with a drink package could get beer and wine. If NCL is going to restrict alcohol in certain ports they need to make it available in advance for people to keep in their cabin.

 

These are just my views. I had enough play in the casino that I might get a free cruise offer, and if so I might take it. But at least I will know what to expect.

[DCGuy64]

Thanks for your review! We are booked on the Breakaway for later this year. Hopefully your next cruise will be better, whether it be on Princess, Celebrity, or some other line.

[Ellipooh]

Really appreciate your balanced review. I’m heading out on my first NCL cruise later this month, I hope I have better luck. 

[jbcallender]

Yes, on Spirit, we loved our suite, loved the bedding, loved the shower, but NCL is not the gastronomic experience pat excellence some of the time.  My expectations in the MDR and buffet are tempered as they should be, Cagney's should be great and Teppanyaki should be great, but for us, Cagneys was about a 6 and Teppanyali about a 5 on a 10 point scale.  The staff and entertainment for us was excellent. 

[Two Wheels Only]

8 hours ago, Mississippian said:

The balcony was incredibly small, however.

 

Breakaway/Getaway are known for their notoriously shallow side balconies. There are larger balconies but most will cost you more. The angled balconies are the same price as standard but they're about 50% larger.  

[DCGuy64]

What cabin were you in, @Mississippian?

[Mississippian]

5 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

What cabin were you in, @Mississippian?

I think 14848.

[Ellipooh]

17 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

The angled balconies are the same price as standard but they're about 50% larger.  

Where does one find these larger/angled balconies?

[KeithJenner]

11 hours ago, Ellipooh said:

Where does one find these larger/angled balconies?

You can see the angled balconies on the deck plans. For example, on the attached picture cabins 12180 and 12780 are angled. It’s best to Google the cabin number to check, as some NCL deck plans aren’t 100% accurate.

 

Large balconies are stated as such on the cabin selection page. There are some on deck 9 and club suites with large balconies on deck 8 (those balconies are huge). You pay a premium for these, but sometimes it isn’t much extra.

 

Finally, aft balconies are bigger than standard.

 

The standard balconies are so small on Breakaway/Getaway that if I can’t get one of the options mentioned above then I would stay in an Oceanview instead. The standard ones offer any benefit at all for us.

 

[jingle5616]

I was on the same cruise and echo many of your thoughts.  The food in the main dining rooms was disappointing in so many ways.  The shore excursions were a mess at many of the ports.  On the flipside, I thought the entertainment was really good and had no problem seeing any of it other than the Syd bar show.  Service in my stateroom was just ok.  Like you, I paid very little so I guess I got what I paid for.

[mking8288]

2 hours ago, jingle5616 said:

... The shore excursions were a mess at many of the ports ... 

We're behind you by about 2 sea days on the Epic TA, not all stops alike but similiar.

 

Did not get a single port map for any of our stops, not even for Bermuda; okay - maybe just 1 that was handed out at the gangways as we go ashore - something we've gotten used to, maybe it's because their partners like Diamonds Int'l do not have a presence and not sponsoring the map printing.  We never bothered to sit thru those port shopping talks, maybe we missed out.  

 

NCL offers port shuttles for a "nominal" fee of $15 p/p at 2 of the Spain ports, but the 3rd port was a free transfer for similar distance - given the onboard pax age/mix & mobility, walking out of the port into "town" was out of the question for the majority.  To add insult, the $15 transfer was NOT covered by the $50 shorex credit, for whatever reasons - when nicely asked of the shorex staff ... could we've asked possibly about our 10-15-20% Platinum or Sapphire discounts instead, maybe ... But, seeing the lines at Guest Services, CruiseNext and Shorex on most days - I wasn't going to be bothered with a 50:50 odds of successfully getting a $6 chargeback or credit for being "entitled"

 

We aren't buffet people but the few times we had to go up to get water bottles refilled and fresh fruits, etc. - strolling thru the assorted stations ... suffice to say, didn't leave a good impression of the current availabilities vs. last year or pre-Covid NCL days.  

[complawyer]

sorry to disagree with your analysis, but in reality, the only problem i have ever found with ncl shore excursions, was the price. consequently, at most ports we hire a cab 

on  an ncl excursion, you either meet in the stardust theater get a number to designate your bus, or meet on the dock, where someone is holding a sign. you give them your ticket, get  on your assigned bus and after it's filled, off you go. it seems to be a simple well organized procedure. what could be wrong with that. as far as the maps go, it seems to me they are only designed to show you where the tourist traps/shopping areas are.  besides, from many years visiting the carribbean, i have discovered that all the shopkeepers jack up the prices when cruise ships are in port. take 3 ships in port at the same time, and you have between 5-10,000 people descending at any given port.

 

for me,  no thanks!

 

as for the food, while i agree it should be top notch, or very close to it, personally, i dont book a cruise for its culinary delights. i book for an interesting itinerary and a decent price/cabin.

 

by the way, whenever we choose to hire a cab, we show the driver the shore excursion we were interested in,and he stops where we want, as often as we want, and oftentimes, takes us to places we wouldnt have thought about seeing. always better than a bus full of my closest friends stopping for 5 minutes or so  (or at a gift shop for an hour, where im absolutely certain the tour guides getting a kick back

[Oceansaway17]

On 5/11/2023 at 12:31 PM, Mississippian said:

I just took my first NCL cruise, April 20 to May 6 Breakaway 

 

Now for the bad:

1. I found the food to rarely be good, sometimes fair and often just plain bad. Some examples:

   a. My overcooked filet at Cagney's was almost cold. The big pat of Mâitre d' butter was right-out-of-the-fridge-cold, so not a bit melted on my steak.

   

2. The design of the ship is a bit wonky. On Princess, the Lido deck has a large bar on each side of the pool. On Breakaway, it's just not a great design.  A lot of this seems to be because of the Haven, and NCL is making a huge profit on this program, so I understand. But it makes the top deck less fun. Instead of a view of the ship's wake Spice H2O has a giant TV screen (washed out in the daytime) blocking the view. And they've turned the Atrium area, which ought to be a main social hub of the ship, into something awful, with trivia games and all the guest relations desks. They removed all the bar stools from the bar after a couple of days so that it would just be a service bar, because apparently people were socializing. This doesn't make sense.

3. I'm not a big show person, but I really got to see no entertainment at all. "Six" was sold out on the second day. The comedians performed behind closed doors and often or always required an advance reservation. So you can't just walk along and hear people laughing and snag an empty seat.

I have sailed on Breakaway and I agree about big screen in H2O.  Not nice to look at.  I liked Escape better.

I agree on Cagney's as my steak was tough and cold as well.

As for SIX, you could have gone in just before showtime as walkin and stood in the back.  It was a good show

Yes atrium can be a bit too loud and they should block off some of the bar areas so that folks sitting on 2nd level can enjoy the activities.  

And for me in the solo area, My room every night could hear the music coming up through the floors two levels.  I could hear the thumping bass just enough to not enjoy the tv.  

[carohs]

Agree some positives some negatives. For #3-5, definitely negatives in my eyes. One of my reasons for cruising is how very little preplanning and research I really need to do to have a great vacation. If I choose to research that's up to me, but I shouldn't have to, to have the option of enjoying/participating in every aspect of an "all inclusive" vacation. 

 

IMO NCL had more hits than misses at a price I am okay paying. Our food was good to actually delicious but I'm not so picky and love trying new things. Plus anything I get on a ship is better than what I can cook myself at home. 

 

For those that say they don't cruise for the food, well no. But also you gotta eat every day and if it's subpar, then it does take away from the overall enjoyment of the cruise. Also, people are always generally in a better mood when they're well fed which adds to the vibe of the whole ship. Happy neighbors or hangry neighbors, where would you like to be?

[mawvkysc]

Just off my first NCL.  Definitely the worst cruise food of any line we’ve been on, and I’ve cruised the other lines more comparable to NCL. (Carnival, RC and MSC) Some of the desserts were just awful. The dessert below was called an English Trifle. It was jello with a frothy whipped substance. The panna cotta was also some sort of whipped substance. Neither were custardy at all. 

It would have to be a pretty good deal for us to cruise them again. 
 

The drinks were good and tasty.  I don’t need a heavy pour, but most often they were.  Service was pretty good.

 

Definitely my favorite bed and linens though. We were on a smaller ship so no reservations for shows required. The BIG ships aren’t for me. 

[Ellipooh]

6 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

And for me in the solo area, My room every night could hear the music coming up through the floors two levels.  I could hear the thumping bass just enough to not enjoy the tv.  

Are you describing the Studio cabins designed for solo travelers?😧

I will be very unhappy if I hear thumping bass from 1-2 stories down in my Studio later this month. 

[Oceansaway17]

14 hours ago, Ellipooh said:

Are you describing the Studio cabins designed for solo travelers?😧

I will be very unhappy if I hear thumping bass from 1-2 stories down in my Studio later this month. 

Yup I was as my room was towards the front of ship.

If I go on Breakaway again I would pick a room up one level and back furthet

[MsTabbyKats]

22 hours ago, mking8288 said:

 

We aren't buffet people but the few times we had to go up to get water bottles refilled and fresh fruits, etc. - strolling thru the assorted stations ... suffice to say, didn't leave a good impression of the current availabilities vs. last year or pre-Covid NCL days.  

Hi Henry-How are you?

I'm getting kind of nervous now.  We have a Sept Escape cruise and we are buffet people.

 

We got back from an MSC Meraviglia sailing in the Yacht Club and absolutely loved it.

 

 The only thing I missed was the NCL buffet and their wide variety of salads.  With your buffet observation, plus cutbacks in entertainment that I've heard about...I have a feeling that my upcoming cruise may be my last NCL cruise.

[styles27]

Yesterday I read a thread on here  from someone cruising NCL and there were signs that alcohol wouldn’t be served while in Southhampton because of local laws. 
It sounds like it’s not just Southhampton after reading your review. 
We don’t buy the drink package as we’re not huge drinkers but we do enjoy getting a drink when we board with our lunch. 
Will have to scratch NCL for our 2024 European cruise as I’m not seeing this mentioned on other line’s boards. 
 

Is this exclusive to NCL and them not wanting to pay a tax?  Seems they could just pass the tax on to the consumer instead of just forgoing it altogether. 
 

Sorry to hear you were disappointed. We’ve enjoyed the food on our last two Pearl cruises. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

It's like the e-Muster.  It makes NCL look really bad when their competition can figure it out and they can't.  I will encourage everybody who sails with these restrictions, and have concerns, to share it on your post-cruise surveys with NCL.  While posting it on CC may catch NCL's eyes, there is no guarantee that it will get to the right people.

[luv2kroooz]

22 hours ago, complawyer said:

you either meet in the stardust theater get a number to designate your bus, or meet on the dock, where someone is holding a sign. you give them your ticket, get  on your assigned bus and after it's filled, off you go. it seems to be a simple well organized procedure. what could be wrong with that. 

Here is how this seemingly simple process can go astray....NCL shortens port calls in the name of unforeseen circumstances, which compresses the time for the shore excursions. As a result, every excursion has to leave as soon as the ship arrives and every excursion returns at all aboard time, creating huge bottlenecks to disembark and embark.

 

NCL sells shore excursions to thousands of people and then asks everyone to meet at the same time in a lounge that holds 900 people. Total chaos. You can't get down to the stage area to get your assigned tour bus and everyone is crowding in the theater waiting to be called ashore by bus. People who can't get into the theater can't get a bus number or hear instructions about which tours are being called. Unsafe, unhealthy, and unprofessional.

 

All the tours end up leaving late and returning late or having excursion time shortened to get back to port on time. This creates huge lines at the shorex guests from unhappy people requesting refunds.

 

Why they can't figure out a better process is amazing. My opinion is that if NCL can't call in a port for at least seven or eight hours, they should cancel the port. We had a shortened 5 hour and a 6 hour port call and it was total chaos. Not the way we want to spend our vacation.

[complawyer]

again! wow. in my 11 years of cruising wih ncl, and after 25cruises, my wife and i have never once experienced any of these situations or problems. Granted, after your tour number is called, it can get pretty crowded trying to get off the ship and onto a waiting bus but we have never been rushed on or back from an excursion, except for one time last  year. we were docked in haifa, waiting for our 12 hr tour of jerusalem. the israeli ministry of health would not allow anyone to disembark, until all covid precautions and protocols  were checked and met. Of course there were a few a**h**le passengers that didnt bother to come down to the assembly area, and held up the entire process for ho

[Bonobochick]

On 5/11/2023 at 8:22 PM, jbcallender said:

Yes, on Spirit, we loved our suite, loved the bedding, loved the shower, but NCL is not the gastronomic experience pat excellence some of the time.  My expectations in the MDR and buffet are tempered as they should be, Cagney's should be great and Teppanyaki should be great, but for us, Cagneys was about a 6 and Teppanyali about a 5 on a 10 point scale.  The staff and entertainment for us was excellent. 

 

I haven't been back at Teppanyaki since they switched from filet (my go-to meat choice there) to sirloin. I've seen a few posts that folks haven't been able to notice a difference so that's promising. My fear is by the time I cruise again and go, the beef option with all the cost cuts will be chuck. 

[mking8288]

4 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

... getting kind of nervous now.  We have a Sept Escape cruise and we are buffet people.

... got back from an MSC Meraviglia sailing in the Yacht Club and absolutely loved it.

The only thing I missed was the NCL buffet and their wide variety of salads ... plus cutbacks in entertainment that I've heard about ...

Hi, Bonnie - bravo & say to hubbie for us, great to stay in touch and know you are back out at sea, enjoying.  We sailed with open mind and much rather not conclude that NCL gave us reasons to abandon, leaping over to Brooklyn or Cape Liberty to board ships.  

 

We just made "Escape" final payment too, LOL - there's a 25% chance we might be sailing together the same week again (1st half for 6 of us)   Just helped SIL/BIL reached out to Special Needs for dis/embarkation assistance & she isn't going ashore with the 2 tender ports, just going to stay onboard - relax, enjoy, eat and what not.  Hopefully, her metal rods aren't going to set off the alarms going thru x-ray/security screening.  

Back on subject, I'm half-way writing up the Epic's food impression, which is always subjective & personal, as I always post the "disclaimer" with YMMV, in all fairness to others.  Ours/yours is a port intensive itinerary so I don't think the cutbacks with major production shows will be a big deal this September for us.  

 

Drop in later tonight or tomorrow as I do have some comments & thoughts about onboard dining.  Our mutual CC friend, Sharon "The P" is guessing on what ship we are going on next, haha - the days of sailing at 50% capacity then ... no lines, no wait, no reservations, we got spoiled.  

[tony s]

52 minutes ago, Bonobochick said:

 

I haven't been back at Teppanyaki since they switched from filet (my go-to meat choice there) to sirloin. I've seen a few posts that folks haven't been able to notice a difference so that's promising. My fear is by the time I cruise again and go, the beef option with all the cost cuts will be chuck. 

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