Goodbye NCL and Possibly Cruising Altogether Rant One

[graphicguy]

I understand some people are relatively new cruisers and sometimes don't know what to expect.  We see it all the time in these boards...

 

-"I want to get to the pier as early as possible so I can board early."  The expectation is, you get there early, check in, and walk right on board.  Doesn't work like that.  

 

Regardless of what NCL (or any cruise line) says about arrival times, that has little bearing on when you're allowed to board.  That's determined by your Latitude level, Haven, and if you're immobile (e.g. wheel chair bound).  I always suggest getting to the pier after noon.  That way, you more likely will be able to check in and just walk on board.

 

-Water....unless it's changed, there are vending machines with water and sodas for purchase in the terminals.  Moreover, I always suggest that embarking passengers fill a water "Yeti" type bottle to being with them in case there are unexpected delays.

 

-CROWDS...on board most ships on most cruise lines (save for the high buck lines), there will be lines.  Ships are big, but they also carry about 3K-6K passengers.  Upon embarkation, they all want to eat.  They all want to drink.  You'd think it's simple, but maybe not for the novice cruiser. If you see a line for food and/or drink, there are other avenues you can go to without lines.  Embarkation lunch for example....go to the MDR instead of the Buffet.  No wait in all the cruises I've taken.  Waves Pool bar may be jam packed, but 75 feet away is Spice H20, where there is another bar that might not be crowded.  Mother example (on Epic, but true of other ships), O'Sheehans might be packed, but about 75 feet away is Cascades Bar.

 

Point being, you aren't a tree.  You can leave to find what you want, and you don't have to move that far to find it.

[WilsCM]

4 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Now, why would you think the Haven 'stole' public space?

Those in the Haven are also 'public'.

Do suites 'steal' space from other cabins?

Please explain.

I simply wondered if they repurposed space that wasn't originally Haven space to be Haven space, and made it accessible only to Haven guests.  There are 75 Haven cabins on the Epic, and somewhere around 2000 non-Haven.  It is quite a bit of Haven public space for 75 cabins compared to the public space for 2000 cabins.  Great for Haven guests, who do pay a significant premium. My comment was not intended to offend or imply that NCL shouldn't have Haven spaces.  Only that the ship public space available to non-Haven passengers felt inadequate.

[RocketMan275]

5 minutes ago, WilsCM said:

I simply wondered if they repurposed space that wasn't originally Haven space to be Haven space, and made it accessible only to Haven guests.  There are 75 Haven cabins on the Epic, and somewhere around 2000 non-Haven.  It is quite a bit of Haven public space for 75 cabins compared to the public space for 2000 cabins.  Great for Haven guests, who do pay a significant premium. My comment was not intended to offend or imply that NCL shouldn't have Haven spaces.  Only that the ship public space available to non-Haven passengers felt inadequate.

So, do you think suites are 'stealing' space from non-suite cabins?

[WilsCM]

1 minute ago, RocketMan275 said:

So, do you think suites are 'stealing' space from non-suite cabins?

Wow. Pot-stirring are you?  Did I say anything about suites in my post?  Are you assuming I wasn't in one?

[marrashadow]

If you want low crowds and high end service you can't expect that on a ship that has 3k or above capacity. You best believe their goal is to get as close to 100% occupancy as possible. Just like a hotel. You can find specific ships with lower capacity rates in most areas some may be on older end. You can also look at higher end lines but you pay for that service much like those in a Haven suite pay for those perks.

All the US focused lines are not focused on the older retiree cruisers but really the lines are building bigger ships with more family based amenities or focused on that kid free party experience(VV). There are tons of lines all over the world and they all have niche's. Find one that suites your needs but anticipate there is a fee for that.

I also think travelers in general have to loose their entitlement. As a traveler you can not expect anything to match your home comforts and you have to be flexible. In life we have very little we can control most of all other people.   

[cruiseny4life]

3 minutes ago, marrashadow said:

If you want low crowds and high end service you can't expect that on a ship that has 3k or above capacity. You best believe their goal is to get as close to 100% occupancy as possible. Just like a hotel. You can find specific ships with lower capacity rates in most areas some may be on older end. You can also look at higher end lines but you pay for that service much like those in a Haven suite pay for those perks.

All the US focused lines are not focused on the older retiree cruisers but really the lines are building bigger ships with more family based amenities or focused on that kid free party experience(VV). There are tons of lines all over the world and they all have niche's. Find one that suites your needs but anticipate there is a fee for that.

I also think travelers in general have to loose their entitlement. As a traveler you can not expect anything to match your home comforts and you have to be flexible. In life we have very little we can control most of all other people.   

Oooooooo! I know who you are. 🙂 

 

A lot of research really needs to be done by travelers now if they want an experience that is favorable to what them. It took a long time for my husband and I to find Norwegian. We almost booked Royal Caribbean for our first cruise and that would have been a travesty! They have formal night. We aren't formal people...like, at all! Norwegian for the win for being freestyle.

 

It sounds like our OP could have done some research and found a better ship with 1,000 people or less. I bet they would have felt better about their cruise if they had. 

 

Oh well - we'll have plenty more OP's who come and go without really finding the type of cruise they were looking for due to a lack of research/too high of expectations.

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, WilsCM said:

Wow. Pot-stirring are you?  Did I say anything about suites in my post?  Are you assuming I wasn't in one?

 Your comment about the Haven stealing space from the rest of the ship was stirring the pot.

 You can make the same point about 'stolen' space with suites.

[Liljo22]

On 4/25/2024 at 11:52 AM, MajSteve said:

This is the OP of the thread. I find it amazing that people are so mundanely satisfied with poor service. Horrible embarkation, passengers passing out from heat in the 2.5 hours in the sun with no water stations provided: no problem. Slow and lackluster service; no problem. Long lines for supposed reservation times: no problem. Poor NCL takes my money and pretends they are doing everything they can to improve the situation but don't, no problem. If you ain't Haven class, you ain't nobody; no problem. If you spent a couple of thousand dollars on anything else that had so many problems, you would be raising hell about it. But folks seem all too ready to forgive a cruise line for a shoddy product. And I am getting tired of being, "classed". From airlines and their "preferred" classes of boarding the plane to seats on the transfer busses. If you do not prefer Salsa dancing and rap music, don't bother to sit out by the pool.  And please: Will passengers begin to show some courtesy and consideration? From the electric scooter drivers who seem to think that the corridors and table seatings were created just for them and their beeping little horns to the pushy people cutting into the buffet lines to the drunks in the hot tubs and the 80 year old men trying to look like Hulk Hogan in their Speedos and muscle shirts to the elderly women wearing thong bathing suits to the "studs" wearing cowboy hats who have never set foot on a farm or ranch. No, you don't look cute; you look silly and out of place. Somewhat like Walmart on Friday night. From now on I am going to rent a nice cabin in a remote state park and relax on my own terms and my own schedule. Goodbye cruising.

The fact that you spent the first 1/4 complaining about the embarkation just proved my point.  After that point, there was nothing that would have saved this cruise for you.  

[Sailing12Away]

19 hours ago, Ellis1138 said:

A long and chaotic embarkation can put a damper on the cruise, especially in the heat. That is shoddy and I would probably be miffed, too. 

 

As someone who experienced probably one of THE worst embarkations ever, without more info it's usually not NCL's fault. My issue was in LA during one of the worst rainstorms ever for the west coast. Original embarkation pier was about 4" deep underwater, so everything had to move to a different building at the last minute. Lines wrapped around the building for hours with folks standing in the rain in February. We had an NCL transfer and they held us on the bus outside the terminal for about 90 mins because there was no where to go except stand in the rain and not move, so at least we were dry. Once on the line in the rain still took 20+ mins to get inside, no priority given for Haven until you made it in there and caught wind of the secret bypass escalator trick. More lines, then new lines for shuttle buses back to where the ship was, and more lines.... we were at the terminal on our bus around 10:30am (would have to check my semi live thread for the full info), didn't get onto the ship until after 5pm I believe for a 4pm sail away. 

 

So yes, I'm sure my embarkation experience was worse. Does it negate theirs and their 'right' to complain, of course not. Was I complaining about it and documenting each phase of chaos along the way, of course I was. The difference is that when I got on board I left that BS behind on the soggy pier and blamed mother nature. This person did not.

[Sailing12Away]

 

5 hours ago, blackwing said:

 However, there was one lady in particular that I came to recognize.  Every time I saw her, her jaw was clenched and set and she had this look in her eyes like she was in the Monaco Grand Prix.  When you see her on the opposite site of the room, watch out.  Because she was going at full speed and didn't care whose toes she was going to run over.  

 

And this is why I continue to lie to my mother and say they are not allowed on board. She would be that person, based on how many feet she ran over in Disney a few years back. Captain Oblivious morphed with Steve Urkel ('Did I do that?'). Funniest (in hindsight, at the time, no) memory we all have of mom was our trip to Bermuda a few years back. She got a scooter for our trip to Atlantis and was going into the elevator one night. She wasn't paying attention, despite being first in for the past 4 days, "oh, do I go in first?" - yes mom, go. Elevator doors start to close, and instead of just sitting there and letting them bounce off and open back up, she guns it and crashes into the back wall of the elevator. The look of horror on all the other guests faces in the elevator hallway waiting with us was unforgettable. My niece (~6 at the time) started crying in hysterics because she thought Nanny went through the wall of the elevator.

 

Oh and the time in Disney a few years before that when her and my dad were trying to get the scooter up onto the transfer bus and drove off the ramp before the bus attendant caught them.... yeah. No. My folks are not allowed to get scooters on a cruise. They'll be the first ones to go scooting overboard with their horrible daughter looking on in shame and laughing rather than throwing them the life ring.

[SeekingKillerWhales!]

On 4/25/2024 at 10:52 AM, MajSteve said:

At least they won't be wearing thongs and driving electric scooters...

Not what I've heard....

 

[icft]

2 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

 Your comment about the Haven stealing space from the rest of the ship was stirring the pot.

 You can make the same point about 'stolen' space with suites.

WilsCM made an innocent, easily understood, rational comment. Why twist it into something nefarious?

[RocketMan275]

32 minutes ago, icft said:

WilsCM made an innocent, easily understood, rational comment. Why twist it into something nefarious?

It was neither  ‘innocent’ nor rational to claim Haven was stealing space. 

[carohs]

On 4/25/2024 at 8:08 AM, Catchum said:

influenza swept through and mortuary vans lined up with the excursion coaches at ports

Yikes!! 😬 

[BirdTravels]

21 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Yeah...the whole..."I heard people muttering they would never sail (pick any cruise line) again" are particularly suspect.

 

The grass is always greener. Then they will go sail on Royal and make the same statement. 

 

We have sailed on a RCCL, NCL, and MSC cruise so far this year. All ships are sailing over capacity. We enjoyed all of the cruises. Personally, after sailing on three different cruise lines in a two month period, I think that we received the best service on NCL, by far (and that is general service across the ship, not special service). 

 

And we know that if one bar/venue is busy, we just move 30 seconds down the hall to another which is not. We don't stand in a line and make victim noises. We have two NCL cruises coming up, then one on the brand new Utopia of the Seas. We'll have to book more later in the year. 

[BirdTravels]

On 4/26/2024 at 7:21 AM, ontheweb said:

As long as it is actually their experience as opposed to I heard that....

 

We once had a cruise with a hurricane that kept us out of Fort Lauderdale for 2 days. I later was in a cruise discussion group and someone posted how he heard that it was awful and people were throwing up all over the place. Well, I was there, and that is not what was happening. There was a rough day when the Captain took us closer to land so passengers could get cell reception to make calls to their families, their airlines, their TAs, etc., but it was never like the person who was not there but only heard said it was.

 

 

You know that over half the posts here are just that. Parrots squawking about something they read on the internet with no factual basis. No personal, first hand experience. 

 

I cruise 5-7 times a year across different cruise lines. And I am very opinionated based on my first hand, current experience (not something for 5-10 years ago). 

 

I was just over on the MSC board reading a comparison between the Yacht Club and the Haven. A few bullets in, I realized that the poster had been on one YC cruise and was parroting what they had read on the internet about the Haven. Pretty negatively spun internet fake news about the Haven. We treat ourselves to a suite from time to time. Haven last December, a RCCL Grand Suite coming up, and a MSC Yacht Club Deluxe Grand Suite after that. NCL and MSC are comparable. RCCL... lags far far behind.  

 

[graphicguy]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

The grass is always greener. Then they will go sail on Royal and make the same statement. 

 

We have sailed on a RCCL, NCL, and MSC cruise so far this year. All ships are sailing over capacity. We enjoyed all of the cruises. Personally, after sailing on three different cruise lines in a two month period, I think that we received the best service on NCL, by far (and that is general service across the ship, not special service). 

 

And we know that if one bar/venue is busy, we just move 30 seconds down the hall to another which is not. We don't stand in a line and make victim noises. We have two NCL cruises coming up, then one on the brand new Utopia of the Seas. We'll have to book more later in the year. 

I'm ICON OF THE SEA curious.  Won't touch a booking because the fares right now are crazy.  I can sail in the Haven for what I'm seeing to book a balcony cabin on Icon.

 

UTOPIA is sailing this summer, right?

Talk about number of passengers, ICON sails with 7,600 of them.

[ontheweb]

22 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

I'm ICON OF THE SEA curious.  Won't touch a booking because the fares right now are crazy.  I can sail in the Haven for what I'm seeing to book a balcony cabin on Icon.

 

UTOPIA is sailing this summer, right?

Talk about number of passengers, ICON sails with 7,600 of them.

7600 passengers, YIKES! But I guess there are people who want that experience as the ship seems to sell out. But definitely not me.

[SeekingKillerWhales!]

18 hours ago, SeekingKillerWhales! said:

Not what I've heard....

 

Did my picture turn into text for everyone, or just me?

[graphicguy]

I used to quote Thoreau to my son when he was a teen and bent on whinging about how terrible his life was (it wasn't...actually, his life has always been quite good)...

 

"The fault-finder will find fault even in paradise".

 

It reminds me of this thread and many posts in ALL the cruise line threads.

 

You're on a cruise, fer cryin' out loud!!!!!!!!

[The Traveling Man]

8 minutes ago, SeekingKillerWhales! said:

Did my picture turn into text for everyone, or just me?

I thought it was supposed to be a word picture.  Who knew?

[MajSteve]

Text here too...

 

[erisajd]

19 hours ago, icft said:

WilsCM made an innocent, easily understood, rational comment. Why twist it into something nefarious?

Because it’s the internet and that’s what happens when you don’t have to risk getting punched by the person whom you are insulting. 

[pcrum]

On 4/22/2024 at 5:29 PM, MajSteve said:

Goodbye NCL Rant Three

Things That Went Absolutely Wrong:

The Weather: OK, I am well aware that NCL has no control over the weather.

(I thought the cruisers in the Haven Class did that sort of thing.)

The outdoor areas were closed for 6 out of the 9 Sea Days. Oh, you could sit out there if you enjoyed rain, hail, and 50 mph winds. 

The port stop at Gibraltar was cancelled due to some mysterious engine trouble.

The embarkation at Port Canaveral was a nightmare. 2 hours and 15 minutes in a line, outside just waiting to get into the terminal. Three hours to actually set a foot on the ship and then another hour and a half before the cabins were ready. Pictures attached. No excuse for this NCL; Not even water stations available during the wait. Our supposed "embarkation times" assigned meant nothing.

The gift shop did not contain one item related to our cruise. Only Caribbean items. Who wants to go on a TA cruise and purchase a Virgin Islands T-shirt? Think I am getting snarky? Just wait!

 

We were on the same cruise. The key is to arrive to the port early. We arrived shortly before 10 am.  Had a short wait until we were let inside at 10 am. No lines at all to check in. I always try to arrive as early as possible before the lines form. 

[pcrum]

On 4/22/2024 at 6:30 PM, MajSteve said:

The Epic is horribly understaffed. More bartenders especially. As the ship was fully booked, the lines at the bars could last 15-20 minutes before a bartender randomly noticed you. There needs to be some system of order to the bar service. Many rude and pushy people. I could have gotten a beer quicker by FedEx. Many times I noticed a bartender skip over the next person in line to serve someone he recognized and called by name. Not cool.

Not our experience at all.  We frequented Maltings and Shakers and never had more than a couple of minutes wait for a drink. The pool bars were crowded, so we tended to avoid those, but inside the ship, no problem at all getting a drink.