A Honest Review - Norwegian Crown - Long but informative

[Lisa63]

Excellent reviews! I commend you, Dave, for a thorough, informative review that gave even this seasoned NCL cruiser a few tips. :)

 

As to the ships of which you inquired:

 

SS Norway, as Nita mentioned, has not sailed since the tragic boiler explosion in 2003. She is now, reportedly, in Alang, India awaiting the go-ahead for demolition. :(

 

Skyward -- last I heard, she was operating for a company called Leisure World out of Singapore. I'll try to find some updates on her. She was retired from the NCL fleet in 1991.

 

Starward is now operating as Orient Queen for Greece-based Orient Queen Shipping. She was in the news very recently for transporting people from Lebanon to Cyprus to escape the conflict in that region.

 

Thanks again for a great review!

[cruisingbug]

correct me if i'm wrong, because I have not yet sailed NCL, but can't you arrange to have the same table with the same waiter every night?

 

That is correct.

 

Great reviews - thanks for posting them. I like to hear the good and the bad so I know what to expect. We've done traditional and we've done freestyle and we like each for their positives - made great temporary waiter "friends" but also enjoyed the flexibility offered by NCL and Princess.

 

Also can't believe it's been THREE YEARS since the Norway explosion. Time flies!!

[Got2Cruise]

I have been reading all the replies to my postings and there have been quite a few valid points made by many of you. I knew that some of my opinions on freestyle dining would be disagreed with and that is cool because that is what the purpose of posting threads are all about. For many of you, freestyle cruising meets your needs. For me, it didn't. I still think that NCL should work at coming up with something that fits both worlds. For me, my disliking of freestyle dining will probably make me sail with some other cruise line and I cannot see how this is beneficial to NCL. Not that I am somebody but the fact that there are possibly other people like me that feel the same way. I believe one of the threads made a very good point about how the prices of cruises has not went up substantially in 20 years. Twenty years ago, the money that I saved and spent to take that cruise bought a great deal more than it does today. NCL and practically every other cruise line made the decision that reducing other things was the best way of maintaining cruise costs. I am not against that philosophy because it keeps the base price low and leaves the decision to spend money to the traveler once on board. My concern is that if cruise lines continue to water down the product, the product will no longer be in demand or sustain its value. The Crown is a very grand ship. It has a great deal to offer in regards to intimacy, value, and entertainment. I still disagree with the gratuities up front logic. People are driven by incentives and those who work the hardest should be rewarded the best. The problem I believe was that people weren't rewarding staff effort and that this was the only way to resolve issue. Finally, to the person who knew so much about the future of the ship, do you know what happened to other ships such as the Norway, Skyward, and Starward? If others have comment, please continue this thread. Dave in Houston.....

 

Dave your review was very well thought-out. We were on the 7/9 sailing and I happen to agree with you concerning freestyle. But, I think that the Crown is not a ship meant for freestyle--it is simply too small, and there are not enough options. On the Crown, our large party needed to make reservations in order to eat together, and the choice was either 6:00 or 8:00. Now tell me, how is this different from traditional cruising. In the speciality restaurants our group could not eat together, because all the tables were for four, except one table in LeBistro that fit 6. This is not to say that I think that Freestyle is a bad idea, only that NCL still does not have the concept "down to a science". I would definitely consider another NCL ship, but one that has many restaurants, where I am able to make reservations. I don't care to show up to the dining room and "hope" that we won't have to wait for a table. For me, this is stressful, and I want my vacation to be as stressfree as possible. I did not find the service lacking at all on NCL despite the service charges, in fact, we felt that the waitstaff was over-worked, that the dining room seemed understaffed. One more comment concerning kids clubs. We have been on jumbo ships such as Adventure of the Seas and small ships such as the Crown. When it comes to teens, it really is the luck of the draw, if you happen to be able to find a compatible friend to hang around with, especially girls. (jmo) The activities for the teens are basically "freestyle" on all ships, it is not very structured.

[7SeasLover]

We have enjoyed freestyle for years. One time we sat at a table for 2 in the main dining room and fell in love with our waitress from China. She was so nice and we were two old gals who were cruising to Alaska. We asked if we could reserve that table every night at 6 and we were easily accommodated.

 

So, if you are doing freestyle and want to get to know your wait staff, just ask for set time/table and they will accommodate you.

[sailorsixx]

Very nicely done review. I'm just off the spirit recently & I agree about the room stewards as opposed to the dining room staff (one great, the other mediocre). Wonder if this is common to all their ships?

[Host CMLA]

Thanks for the review. I appreciate you taking the time to write so extensively on every aspect of your cruise. Yours is a valuable review that should help a lot of members. It sounds like the entertainment was top notch. Great! I love hearing about what the cruise line did well. Too often it's nothing but negatives. Thanks for being balanced and fair. I only have a few comments that aren't meant to negate anything that you've said but give a different view.

Freestyle dining concept: I might as well get started, “I hate it”. That part of freestyle dining appeals to many but my biggest problem is that it causes you to lose many benefits associated with assigned dining. One benefit is the loss of establishing a rapport with your wait staff.

I have to say that I'm not bothered by not having to have 30 minute conversations with the wait staff. Maybe that's why so many people take two hours to eat and then complain about the time it took to eat? Why is it important to get to know the wait staff? If you do, that's fine but I never understood why it's such a big deal. I enjoy a good chat as much as the next person. But when I'm on vacation and there are activities to get to, I'd rather have a less personal experience and I don't mind telling the waiter that I want ice tea with lemon.

Gratuities: The worse and best thing that NCL did. The bad part of it is that the staff does not have to work as hard for their money. They are paid either way. I have found that work staff will work a great deal harder if they know that you may or not tip them based on service.

I have to disagree with your assessment of the tipping. The staff doesn't get paid no matter what. You can adjust the tips up or down at any time. You never have to tip for bad service. You do, however, have to give NCL a chance to correct the problem before removing the tips. That sounds fair to me. Also, the tip pool is divided up based on seniority and positive comment card comments. So there is an incentive to work hard. If you get complaints, you certainly won't get a big chunk of the tip pool. You may even lose your job. So the incentive is there even if it doesn't seem that way. Staff that provide bad service will lose their jobs.

 

Thanks again for the review. It's a good one! :)

[shirleygr]

I was also on the Crown 7/23 sailing. I thought it would be useful to supplement Superdave57's comprehensive review with my own impressions. I've lurked these boards for a few years, but only registered for this posting. My wife and I are 50 with two kids, 12 & 18, and this was our 10th cruise...the 5th (or maybe 6th) for the children. Our 3rd on NCL.

. . .

One last item. Both sea days, Monday and Friday, were rough with lots of green people. The reception staff were a bit stingy with the meclazine. If you are prone to motion sickness at all, take your first pill before the ship unmoors.

--

Thanks for commenting on this. I want to do a Bermuda cruise next October and was concerned about movement. I'm used to much larger ships--70,000 gross tons or larger--and am very prone to motion sickness. I think I may rethink this ship, although it seems most of the 7 day Bermuda cruises are on ships around this size ship. :confused:

[Jett456]

Superdave57

I was told by our waiter on the Sun that we could request him any time we were in his dining room. This is something that is commonly done. We enjoyed him and did request his service two more times.

[superdave57]

I tell you what, if you want to learn new things, throw out an opinion. I have heard many good things from many of you. I hope that those who like traditional dining will pick up on some of the suggestions about finding a waiter and requesting the same table for each night. I also have to take some of the blame for accepting bad service instead of correcting it. One thread mentioned that the waiters seemed overworked and overwhelmed at times. I would not disagree with this and my opinion was this was partially due to the constant rotation of diners. I too would warn anyone who is partial to sea sickness to beware of smaller ships. I have never had a problem with seasickness but the first two days on this cruise were rough. Many a green face was seen walking arround. Regarding Kids clubs, my kids have been in many of them. The best we have seen were on RCL but I do believe it is the luck of the draw. On this cruise, there were few girls my daughters age whereas my son's age had plenty. Just my opinion, I would be very cautious if I had a 15 - 17 yr daughter on a ship. They don't call them "Love Boats" for nothing. At that age, there is little guidelines set and many kids just roam the ship. One thing is for sure, I am suffering from Bermuda withdraw. Next to Alaska, it is one of the prettiest placest I have ever been. Whatever your thoughts on anything that I have written, the fact is you will probably fall in love with Bermuda and want to come back. I know I will return shortly and take with me the helpful suggestions that some of you have passed on.

[muzicgal]

I have never been on NCL but I think I am going to book this cruise for Sept. 20th. I have never been to Bermuda and have heard such great things about it. Is there a formal night in the dining room?

[bragstarr]

Laurie,

 

With freestyle, you have the option of dressing up and going formal on formal night, but you can also dine those nights in the dining rooms in resort casual.

 

Bermuda is great, although I haven't been there since my honeymoon 29 years ago!

 

My question is, though, how can you be considering going on September 20, when I'm leaving the 24th and it's a 7 day cruise??!! Let me know if it is the 24th....

[muzicgal]

I made a mistake. I had the calendar open to August LOL. We are going to go on Sept. 17th. Right now I am looking around for prices. I'm glad we don't have to worry about formal night.

[muzicgal]

I have a couple more questions. I know that other ships that go to Bermuda only stop at one port. I figured it would be better to have other ports but I'm not sure how easy the island is to get around. Is there an advantage to having 3 ports?

 

I am a planner. I usually have all of our excursions figured out months before. On this trip I would like to wing it and just do what we feel like doing at the time. Is it an easy island to navigate so that we can just get off of the ship and wander around on our own?

 

Thanks in advance.

[newmexicoNita]

I made a mistake. I had the calendar open to August LOL. We are going to go on Sept. 17th. Right now I am looking around for prices. I'm glad we don't have to worry about formal night.

We are cruising on a tradtional dining line in November and already dreading th formal nights; so much stuff to lug along; all for a couple hours of wear.NMNita

[hotspur]

We are cruising on a tradtional dining line in November and already dreading th formal nights; so much stuff to lug along; all for a couple hours of wear.NMNita

And really for no good reason.

 

I'd be happy to dress up if the cruise line offered some kind of high-end entertainment (e.g., Tony Bennett, a well-known pianist or chamber orchestra, Met-level singers) or prominent guest speaker (e.g., Madeleine Albright, Brent Scowcroft, Colin Powell, Walter Cronkite) that warranted dressing formally. But when they just say you have to wear a tuxedo tonight to the same dining room where you wore slacks and a shirt the night before just strikes me as some kind of pointless game being played with you.

[bakechef]

We are cruising on a tradtional dining line in November and already dreading th formal nights; so much stuff to lug along; all for a couple hours of wear.NMNita

 

I hear ya! Also on every cruise that I have been on there have been those who go and change into casual clothes directly after dinner, "hello it's formal night, you should dress for shows, dancing etc". I am really looking foreward to freestyle, I am not into dressing in a suit or tuxedo for no real reason, a wedding, funeral, graduation ect... makes sense, to eat food and watch a show, all while being uncomfortable, makes no sense.

 

just my 2 cents!

[muzicgal]

Robin,

 

It looks like we will be on your cruise. We can't get away on the 17th so we are going to book on the 24th.

 

Laurie

[Got2Cruise]

I have a couple more questions. I know that other ships that go to Bermuda only stop at one port. I figured it would be better to have other ports but I'm not sure how easy the island is to get around. Is there an advantage to having 3 ports?

 

I am a planner. I usually have all of our excursions figured out months before. On this trip I would like to wing it and just do what we feel like doing at the time. Is it an easy island to navigate so that we can just get off of the ship and wander around on our own?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Bermuda is the easiest island to get around by yourself. The beauty of three ports is that you walk off the gangway and you are in the center of where you want to be, so there is no wasted time traveling across the island. St. George's, Hamilton, and the Dockyards are each unique and have something different to offer. You will love the ability of using the ship as a hotel, and getting on and off, with no worry of having to rush back before the ship leaves port.

[bermudashorts]

Very nice review

 

The Crown is one of our favorite ships and it will be sad when she leaves the fleet.

It's a shame you didn't realize you could arrange to have the same wait staff every night.

The 2nd night of our cruise last year we found an excellent waitress and requested her table from then on.

All it took was a bit of waiting in case all her tables were taken.

Even though we could go to dinner anytime, we still went about 8:30..lol

 

Bermuda, what can you say one of the best islands to go to, even though it is starting to have problems with violence.

[Jett456]

I am so sorry to hear about the violence in Bermuda. That is terrible. First I've heard of it. I'd like to go again next year. I went on the Horizon the first time. On the subject of Formal night (a little off topic) - I am so happy not to have to dress up. I always wear nice clothing to dinner anyway but would not want to bring the dressy clothes. However, I do feel that one dining room should be set aside for only formal wear. How depressing to be all dressed to the nines only to be sitting next to someone in sweatpants or a tshirt and old beat up khakis. I swear some of the outfits on people are worse than wearing a nice pair of jeans. Formal night should be for those who want to dress up and they should have one of the dining rooms. I just returned from the Sun and it seemed that the dining rooms aren't that busy anyway. I think most of the people seem to eating in the buffet. The specialty restaurants seemed about half occupied when we went.

[muzicgal]

Do you only get one voucher for eating on the island or can you buy more during the cruise?

[hotspur]

Do you only get one voucher for eating on the island or can you buy more during the cruise?

One. $5 for lunch or upgrade to dinner for an additional $5.

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

Bermudashorts: I see that you sailed on the Meridian twice. Don't you miss her? My husband and I sailed on her 3 times. We also sailed on her the last time she went to Bermuda before she was sold. Glad she and instead of being scraped though. As you can can see, all of our cruises have been to Bermuda.

 

Zenith

Pacific Princess

Pacific Princess

Meridian

Meridian

Meridian

Song of America

Regent Sun

Westward

[family cruisers]

Loved your review ! Question about the dining vouchers. I went on the ncl website and looked at the list of restaurants offered and the one you mentioned wasn't on their as are other "popular ones" like the swizzle inn..... Was there more of a list once onboard???

I was also on the Crown 7/23 sailing. I thought it would be useful to supplement Superdave57's comprehensive review with my own impressions. I've lurked these boards for a few years, but only registered for this posting. My wife and I are 50 with two kids, 12 & 18, and this was our 10th cruise...the 5th (or maybe 6th) for the children. Our 3rd on NCL.

 

Embarkation: Arrived at Pier 92 at 11:15 a.m. Boarded a few minutes after 11:30. We travel fairly light with one 21" bag plus a messenger bag per person, so we walked our bags on board straight to our cabin, also an obstructed view on deck 8.

 

Ship: A first class example of an older, smaller ship. Biggest advantage is being able to get to cabin within a couple of minutes from anywhere on board. Biggest disadvantage is no jogging track...it's walking only on both Lido deck and the top. Also, we missed the lack of forward sun deck space.

 

Cabin: Best quad we've been in. Clean and in good repair. No rattles or squeaks. Ample closets. Best water pressure and hand-held shower I've had on a ship. There is 110VAC outlet on the vanity behind the TV. If you forget to bring an extension cord, borrow one at the reception desk. We found safe instructions on the closet door and inside the safe. Other passengers complained about the lack of refridgerators, but we haven't had one on NCL yet (Spirit and Wind). The window was typical of a 1980's ship before the floor to ceiling thing became popular. We had a "40%" obstructed view, but looked over the bow of a lifeboat. It was fine.

 

Dining: Food met our expectations...nothing special. The trick is in ordering smart. Lobster and Chateau Briand were served in the main dining room on Monday night. Lobster was dry but the beef was fine. We didn't eat in Le Bistro. Other specialty resturants were just OK. All the specialty resturants have very limited seating, so make reservations upon embarkation. There appeared to be a lot of no-shows for the early seatings on port days. One good thing to remember if you like your coffee is that you can get cappuccini or espressi in the resturants at meal times on all NCL ships. We don't do soda, but lemonade is always available to kids in the fine resturants at meals (it's on the kid's menu).

 

Kids Club: For the first time ever, we didn't use the club.

 

Entertainment: Superdave was on the money with his overall assessment. The comedian was rather embarassing sometimes, but it's a Tri-state crowd and he was well received on the whole. Rudi Macaggi was amazing. We'd seen Jane L Powell on a previous cruise, and she was great. No bingo for us and the casino was pretty lousy. Cruise Director Clint did a great job with the resources at hand.

 

Ports: Thank goodness the Crown Princess had an itinerary change that put her at King's Wharf so we could stay at Hamilton an extra day and 1/2. We weren't stuck at the dockyard a whole day and got an extra 1/2 day in Bermuda. We bought bus passes for two days in Hamilton ($20, $10 under 15) and made the loop on the Number 7 bus to the beaches, Sandy, and Dockyard with the Ferry back to the Ship on both Wed. and Th. Well worth the price and lack of hassle. Free ferry rides between Hamilton and the dockyard were available until 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Re. Mopeds: We saw folks riding on the right-hand side of the road several times. All your instincts are to move to the right in an emergency... especially if you've been drinking. I'm surprised there aren't more disasters.

 

Dining Vouchers: We used all four of our vouchers for lunch at the Salt Rock Grill in Sommerset Village (Sandys) and got more than our money's worth. The resturant is on a bluff overlooking Mangrove Bay and the patio is delightful under the shade of an umbrella. In hindsight we could have used two on Wednesday and two on Thursday at the same resturant and had plenty to eat both times. Each meal came with an appetizer and entree plus a nonalcoholic beverage. The best calamari I've had since Turkey. And that tall glass of cold Carlsberg beer was the cheapest drink I had all cruise! If you're looking for fine resturant atmosphere and your fellow shipmates, go with the Carriage House, otherwise, head for the country.

 

Gratuities: System works fine for me with extra rewards where appropriate (room service comes to mind). I tipped the lounge barman a buck for ice water the first couple of days, and he automatically got it ready for me the rest of the trip when I walked up during showtimes. Very important is to get names of those who gave you great service and note them in your comment card at the end of the cruise or send a note to the Hotel Director during the cruise.

 

Portraits: We've always taken advantage of the portrait sittings in the past in hopes of getting one good shot, but they've gotten so cheesy and expensive that we didn't even bother. $15 for a 5x7 that's essentially an advertisement for NCL is a bit high for me.

 

Spa: New spa is first class for such a small ship. Added during it's recent overhaul. Standard NCL port day specials available.

 

Art: Don't bother unless you know your prices.

 

Disembarkation: A breeze, if slightly delayed for some reason this trip. Express walk off is great for independent guests who can haul their own luggage. Next best is the "red tag" you can get from registration desk. On this voyage all tags were called at once after the express walk off, so you might want to camp out near the lobby and post a spy near the gangway.

 

Other: Cellular at Sea is available on the Crown (and all NCL ships). $2.49/minute for Cingular customers. Cheaper than the alternatives. Cingular roaming in Bermuda is $1.99/minute

 

Latitudes: Crummy 11:30 a.m. reception on Monday (after loosing an hour sleep)

 

Overall: A great cruise. Overall service and friendliness below expectations, but we will cruise NCL again because we love the flexibility of Freestyle...especially when in port.

 

One last item. Both sea days, Monday and Friday, were rough with lots of green people. The reception staff were a bit stingy with the meclazine. If you are prone to motion sickness at all, take your first pill before the ship unmoors.

 

 

 

--

[bermudashorts]

Bermudashorts: I see that you sailed on the Meridian twice. Don't you miss her? My husband and I sailed on her 3 times. We also sailed on her the last time she went to Bermuda before she was sold. Glad she and instead of being scraped though. As you can can see, all of our cruises have been to Bermuda.

 

I do miss her, as she was also my first cruise as the Galileo.

I was just saying the other day I am happy that she sunk instead of going to the scrapyard.

That is terrible what they are doing to the Norway.

 

They are slowly taking all my little ships away from Bermuda.

All but 1 of my cruises was to Bermuda.. and the hurricane trip north.(i try to not count that)