NCL Sept 1 to Sept 12 on the Jewel

[polecat1]

Well I was looking forward to this cruise after being on the Crown Odyssey with Orient Lines. I want to tell you don't waste your money and here is why.

 

1) Tips taken out at 10.00 dollars a day per person

2) Food sucks worse food I have every had on a cruise.

3) If you want a good meal you have to pay from 24.00

to 60.00 per couple

4) No personel service as most do not care as they know they are getting tips per day

5) If you want breakfast fast in the garden cafe forget it as everyone goes about the same time.

6) Found alot of rude people on the ship

7) One good point is Shows were very good and we found the person who was in charge of the restaurants on the Crown

so we had a night with Philippine food

 

I could go on and on as this was the first sail on NCL as before I sailed on the Crown ( before NCL got it back)

and on the Marco Polo

 

The Crown was great and food was much better

The Polo ship sucked but the food was much better then Jewel.

 

 

Am I expecting to much after spending 8000 +

and left with a bill of over 1500 ?

 

The extras can place you in the poor house or better yet

the collection

agency

 

I also have someone here at work that did NCL to Hawaii

and it seems that they have some of the same restaurants names ?

 

I missed some other cruise Crtic members as I got e-mail after I got home and that was to bad.

 

:mad:

[newlywedcruisers]

Sorry you had such a bad time, now I do have to ask:

 

1. Why is it NCL's fault that some clientelle were jerkish?

2. Why is it NCL's fault that everyone wanted breakfast at the same time, do you want NCL to create a dining room that can fit the entire guest list at the same time?

 

Yes, many ships do have the restuarants with the same name. One other thing, is you have given no detail about what was wrong, if you can get into more detail we can gleam if there were any problems with the ship/cruise, As for no though, it looks like nothing but personal conjectures that will very from person to person.

[mikedw]

Most of your cruise lines take tips out automatically now. I think Celebrity is one of the few left that give you envelopes so you can go around and have the crew grovel to you on the last night.

[Zeno]

Well I was looking forward to this cruise after being on the Crown Odyssey with Orient Lines. I want to tell you don't waste your money and here is why.

 

1) Tips taken out at 10.00 dollars a day per person

2) Food sucks worse food I have every had on a cruise.

3) If you want a good meal you have to pay from 24.00

to 60.00 per couple

4) No personel service as most do not care as they know they are getting tips per day

5) If you want breakfast fast in the garden cafe forget it as everyone goes about the same time.

6) Found alot of rude people on the ship

7) One good point is Shows were very good and we found the person who was in charge of the restaurants on the Crown

so we had a night with Philippine food

 

I could go on and on as this was the first sail on NCL as before I sailed on the Crown ( before NCL got it back)

and on the Marco Polo

 

The Crown was great and food was much better

The Polo ship sucked but the food was much better then Jewel.

 

 

Am I expecting to much after spending 8000 +

and left with a bill of over 1500 ?

 

The extras can place you in the poor house or better yet

the collection

agency

 

I also have someone here at work that did NCL to Hawaii

and it seems that they have some of the same restaurants names ?

 

I missed some other cruise Crtic members as I got e-mail after I got home and that was to bad.

 

:mad:

 

1) Tips taken out at 10.00 dollars a day per person

 

So I take it you were unaware that there is a $10 service charge

 

2) Food sucks worse food I have every had on a cruise.

 

How about some details - "sucks" is pretty much meaningless as a description

 

3) If you want a good meal you have to pay from 24.00

to 60.00 per couple

 

How would you know this if you were eating "sucky" food in the dining rooms?

I assume that to dismiss all dining room food as "sucky" , you must have eaten there just about every night.

 

4) No personel service as most do not care as they know they are getting tips per day

 

So Itake it your cabin was not cleaned, no-one served you drinks and waiters ignored you in the dining room - wow that must have been terrible!

How odd though. On 3 NCL cruises my cabin was always cleaned, I had no problem getting a drink and the waiters in the dining room were quite efficient.

 

5) If you want breakfast fast in the garden cafe forget it as everyone goes about the same time.

 

Did you try not going at the "same time" as everyone else?

 

6) Found alot of rude people on the ship

 

How awful? What did they do that was so rude?

 

7) One good point is Shows were very good and we found the person who was in charge of the restaurants on the Crown

so we had a night with Philippine food

 

Well I am relieved that you had at least one pleasant experience.

[Host CMLA]

I'm sorry your cruise wasn't want you wanted. That's got to be a disappointment. I'm going to comment on some of the things you said. I'm not saying you're wrong because you're entitled to your opinion. I just don't think most of the things you're complaining about are NCL things.

1) Tips taken out at 10.00 dollars a day per person

These can be adjusted if you don't think the tip is deserved. Or is it that it was automatic that bothered you? If you would tip anyway, having it added is a convenience.

2) Food sucks worse food I have every had on a cruise.

Food is subjective but if you didn't enjoy it, you didn't enjoy it. It happens. People have different tastes. I'd be interested to hear how others review this same week. Maybe it was something really wrong or as I said just something that's subjective.

3) If you want a good meal you have to pay from 24.00 to 60.00 per couple

I believe many would dispute this and say the dining room had great food.

4) No personel service as most do not care as they know they are getting tips per day

This is just not true. Just because the tips are automatic for your convenience doesn't mean the staff can slack off. They have to work for their share and if they didn't do their job, they get a smaller share and the cruise line knows.

5) If you want breakfast fast in the garden cafe forget it as everyone goes about the same time.

6) Found alot of rude people on the ship

Not sure how NCL can control any of this.

7) One good point is Shows were very good and we found the person who was in charge of the restaurants on the Crown

so we had a night with Philippine food

Glad you liked the shows. I think NCL usually does a good job with the shows.

 

Again, I'm sorry the cruise wasn't what you wanted it to be. I hope the next one's better.

[kataiga]

:confused: That weeks cruise was from sept. 2. to sept. 14. not from the 1. to the 12. ????

Last year we had a fantastic cruise on the Jewel and we count the days till we board again for the transatlantic.:D

[Purplepuppy]

Do you mean the Jewel September 3-15? I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy the cruise. I hope that you at least enjoyed the ports. We had a wonderful time on this cruise.

 

1) Tips taken out at 10.00 dollars a day per person

 

We already knew about this so it wasn't a problem for us. In fact, we found it more convenient than trying to find the right cash amount to put in the envelopes and trying to make sure we saw everyone on the last night of the cruise to hand them their tip. Then $10/day is about the same amount as the recommended amount on other cruise lines so we thought it was fair. We actually gave an extra tip to our stateroom attendants because we thought they were so wonderful.

 

2) Food sucks worse food I have every had on a cruise.

3) If you want a good meal you have to pay from 24.00

to 60.00 per couple

 

I did find that the food in the dining room was not as good as the specialty restaurants and not as good as what I've had on RCI. Everyone does have their own taste in food though. We still enjoyed our food and didn't let it spoil our cruise at all.

 

4) No personel service as most do not care as they know they are getting tips per day

 

I found the service to be excellent throughout the cruise.

 

5) If you want breakfast fast in the garden cafe forget it as everyone goes about the same time.

 

We were always able to get a seat in the garden cafe or outside even when it was busy. I never had to wait long to get food as there were so many service stations.

 

6) Found alot of rude people on the ship

 

I think we ran into the odd rude person but in generally, we found the people on this cruise to be very friendly. We met some great people and really enjoyed talking to a lot of different people.

 

7) One good point is Shows were very good and we found the person who was in charge of the restaurants on the Crown

so we had a night with Philippine food

 

I agree. The shows were great.

[Zeno]

purplepuppy:

Thanks for some real, reasonable comments.

 

polecat1:

You seem a little disoriented - I can't imagine not knowing what dates I just cruised on. Perhaps this confusion led to some of your unhappiness with the cruise.

[sjbdtz]

I think we ran into the odd rude person

 

I've been called odd, and I've been called rude....but to be THE odd rude person, catches me off-guard.

 

I didn't realize my reputation preceeded me! ;)

 

 

Actually, everything Purplepuppy says echos are sentiments with regard to this trip.

 

Are you sure it wasn't the RCI ship Jewel of the Seas? :rolleyes:

[newmexicoNita]

Well I was looking forward to this cruise after being on the Crown Odyssey with Orient Lines. I want to tell you don't waste your money and here is why.

 

1) Tips taken out at 10.00 dollars a day per person

2) Food sucks worse food I have every had on a cruise.

3) If you want a good meal you have to pay from 24.00

to 60.00 per couple

4) No personel service as most do not care as they know they are getting tips per day

5) If you want breakfast fast in the garden cafe forget it as everyone goes about the same time.

6) Found alot of rude people on the ship

7) One good point is Shows were very good and we found the person who was in charge of the restaurants on the Crown

so we had a night with Philippine food

 

I could go on and on as this was the first sail on NCL as before I sailed on the Crown ( before NCL got it back)

and on the Marco Polo

 

The Crown was great and food was much better

The Polo ship sucked but the food was much better then Jewel.

 

 

Am I expecting to much after spending 8000 +

and left with a bill of over 1500 ?

 

The extras can place you in the poor house or better yet

the collection

agency

 

I also have someone here at work that did NCL to Hawaii

and it seems that they have some of the same restaurants names ?

 

I missed some other cruise Crtic members as I got e-mail after I got home and that was to bad.

 

:mad:

$10.00 per day, oh my, just like only a little less than other lines are adding now. HAL is $10, Disney is more and puts it on your before sailing bill: $10 is a bargain and if you don't think so, I would suspect you are on the less than generous side. I am being nice here.

If you spent $8000 you must have been in a suite: most say, the suite amenties on NCL are as good if not better than any other mass marketed line: I haven't had one, I don't know.

 

Why sould pay $60.00 when the most expensive meal is $20.00.

 

Best servic we have even had other than I very first cruise was on the Jewel.

 

Everyone goes for breakfast at the same time: what should NCL do about that? Give you information the night before as to what time everyone will be dining so you can get better service?

 

Holy Cow: lots of rude people: shame on NCL for allowing them to cruise!!!

 

You mention Marco Polo and Crown: It has been awhile sinice you have cruised obviously: food quality has gone down, but Marco Polo isn't known for much of anything except great itineraries and is a subsiderary of NCL or Star cruises.

 

Yes, you asked, are you expecting too much and my answer is, probably. What were you doing, if you don't even know the dates of your cruise? Maybe you were waiting to post here. I notice you have just posted for the first time: very interesting. NMnita

[ce2000]

polecat, sorry you didn't enjoy you cruise on the Jewel, whenever it was. I hope you don't give up cruising, NCL may not be your cup of tea, but there are many other cruise lines that you could try.

[refman]

8) i`m glad i was`nt cruising with polecat

[7SeasLover]

Thanks for sharing your views. I know just what to do with the information when I board the Jewel in a few days. It's a shame you weren't well informed before you left. I sure wish NCL would screen those rude folks. Sheesh. Maybe you'd be better suited on a different cruise line, but personally I love not having to worry about tips.

 

Keep posting on this board, you may find helpful information so you can better enjoy future cruises.

[ehyh]

My Wife And I Just Returned From A 7 Day Cruise In Hawaii On The Aforementioned Cruise Ship. We Sailed The Carribean On Ncl In 2001 And It Was The Best Of 4 Cruises We Had Took (carnival R.c. ) So Naturally We Wanted To Experince The Same Enjoyment With Ncl Again Since It Was The Best One In Our Humble Opinion. Wrong !!!! The 7 Day Cruise In Hawaii On The Pride Of Hawaii Was Nowhere Close To The First Four Cruises We Took. Service Was Terrible . Food Was Only Mediocre If Not Sub Par,. There Was No Midnight Buffets,choclate Buffets,ice Sculptures,fruit /buffet Sculptures.the Food Presentations Were Bland (like The Taste)except For He Evenings There Was Virtually No Entertainment.staff /crew Was 90 % American( They Were Young,lazy,incompetent,inexperinced And Flat Out Not Very Freindly.the Cleaning Service S Were Horrendous. They Were Days When Nobody Even Came To The Room The 'specialty 'resturants Had A $10.00 -$20.00 Cover Charge Per Person To Eat There.they Were Almost Always Booked Solid And We Were Not Ever Able To Go There.the One Time We Did They Charged The Ten Dollar Cover Per Person And Then Had The Nerve To Give Us A Bill With A 'tip' That They Wanted Us To Fill In For Them. The Food Was Mediocre At Best But We Still Paid Out $ 20.00 Just To Eat There. There Was 2 Other Restuarants With A $ 15.00 Cover Per Person And Oe Resturant With A $20.00 Cover Per Person. (insane) I Hate To Say It But Previous Cruise We Took The Staff / Crew Were All International People. This American Crew Was A Joke. What A Difference. I Am Not The Only Person To Feel This Way . We Talked To And Heard Of Dozens Of People With The Same Feeling. Out Of Principle / Spite I Adjusted The Service Charge (tip) To One Dollar A Day For Me And My Wife For A Total Of $ 14.00 Instead Of The Flat Rate Of $ 10.00 A Day (total $ 140.00).i Guess I Was Generous .there Were Six( 6) Cabins That I Know For A Fact They Tipped Absoutely Nothing. This Cruise,staff,crew And Administrators Were A Joke And They They All Need To Be Overhauled,learn Their Job On How To Be A Good Lleader/supervisor Or Replaced. They Did Not Know What They Were Doing.

An Unhappy Cruiser On Ncl For The Last Time

[weary traveler]

hmmmmmm just came off the Majesty for 7 days at 1200 per couple with a 1000 (did some crazy things) ship board bill.. sooooooooo 2200 into 9500 comes to...............4 1/2 cruises? thats 32 days of consecutive misery????? how did i miss that?:D wow i really feel bad he laid that kind of money out and had the experience he did.. imagine having to tip room service.. sighs...:rolleyes:

[7SeasLover]

LeTs SeE, iF i Capitalize EvErY Other lEtTeR, i CaN mAkE iT eVeN mOrE dIfFiCuLt To ReAd.........:)

 

Oh now THAT was clever and I'll bet it wasn't easy to accomplish! I still find OP's post extremely humorous. And I think our illustrious moderator is right in her observation from prior posts that some folks only find their way to this forum post cruse so they can.

 

I can only believe that OP is not a seasoned cruiser and did not research at all otherwise would have known much of what he/she criticized. Nevertheless, I will give the OP this... it's a funny post and very few, if any, will take it seriously.

 

Where are the truly objective negative posts? I really don't mind reading negative posts but they have to accomplish something. They can't all be this humorous! And why can't they stem from seasoned NCL cruisers, or seasoned members of this forum?

 

I'm very excited about boarding the Jewel on 10/9. Should be a totally fun trip!

[newmexicoNita]

My Wife And I Just Returned From A 7 Day Cruise In Hawaii On The Aforementioned Cruise Ship. We Sailed The Carribean On Ncl In 2001 And It Was The Best Of 4 Cruises We Had Took (carnival R.c. ) So Naturally We Wanted To Experince The Same Enjoyment With Ncl Again Since It Was The Best One In Our Humble Opinion. Wrong !!!! The 7 Day Cruise In Hawaii On The Pride Of Hawaii Was Nowhere Close To The First Four Cruises We Took. Service Was Terrible . Food Was Only Mediocre If Not Sub Par,. There Was No Midnight Buffets,choclate Buffets,ice Sculptures,fruit /buffet Sculptures.the Food Presentations Were Bland (like The Taste)except For He Evenings There Was Virtually No Entertainment.staff /crew Was 90 % American( They Were Young,lazy,incompetent,inexperinced And Flat Out Not Very Freindly.the Cleaning Service S Were Horrendous. They Were Days When Nobody Even Came To The Room The 'specialty 'resturants Had A $10.00 -$20.00 Cover Charge Per Person To Eat There.they Were Almost Always Booked Solid And We Were Not Ever Able To Go There.the One Time We Did They Charged The Ten Dollar Cover Per Person And Then Had The Nerve To Give Us A Bill With A 'tip' That They Wanted Us To Fill In For Them. The Food Was Mediocre At Best But We Still Paid Out $ 20.00 Just To Eat There. There Was 2 Other Restuarants With A $ 15.00 Cover Per Person And Oe Resturant With A $20.00 Cover Per Person. (insane) I Hate To Say It But Previous Cruise We Took The Staff / Crew Were All International People. This American Crew Was A Joke. What A Difference. I Am Not The Only Person To Feel This Way . We Talked To And Heard Of Dozens Of People With The Same Feeling. Out Of Principle / Spite I Adjusted The Service Charge (tip) To One Dollar A Day For Me And My Wife For A Total Of $ 14.00 Instead Of The Flat Rate Of $ 10.00 A Day (total $ 140.00).i Guess I Was Generous .there Were Six( 6) Cabins That I Know For A Fact They Tipped Absoutely Nothing. This Cruise,staff,crew And Administrators Were A Joke And They They All Need To Be Overhauled,learn Their Job On How To Be A Good Lleader/supervisor Or Replaced. They Did Not Know What They Were Doing.

An Unhappy Cruiser On Ncl For The Last Time

you were not on NCL; it is a totally different concept and line, just happens to be owned by the same company. I can't beleive you adjusted your tip to $1 per day. As for not seeing your steward sometimes all day: if your cabin was clean what difference does it make? Did you talk to the staff as soon as you ran into problems? Talking to other cruisers can not solve problems, talking to management often can. If you have been reading these boards the last couple of days you would have known midnight buffets,etc are just about a thing of the past regardless of what line you cruise. Specialty restaurants, extra charge? NCL has the least expensive specialty restaurants at sea. Other lines are charging from $25 to $30 per person. It appears you haven't cruised much in the past 5 or so years or you would know this. NCL added alternative dining about 10 years ago, with all the other lines to follow. Again, you were not cruising NCL but NCLA. NMNita

[newmexicoNita]

Oh now THAT was clever and I'll bet it wasn't easy to accomplish! I still find OP's post extremely humorous. And I think our illustrious moderator is right in her observation from prior posts that some folks only find their way to this forum post cruse so they can.

 

I can only believe that OP is not a seasoned cruiser and did not research at all otherwise would have known much of what he/she criticized. Nevertheless, I will give the OP this... it's a funny post and very few, if any, will take it seriously.

 

Where are the truly objective negative posts? I really don't mind reading negative posts but they have to accomplish something. They can't all be this humorous! And why can't they stem from seasoned NCL cruisers, or seasoned members of this forum?

 

I'm very excited about boarding the Jewel on 10/9. Should be a totally fun trip!

7Seas, you are an experienced cruiser and I am sure you will love the Jewel. Let's face it, 90% or more who have cruised her do: BTW, have we heard from OP since he posted? nope!!!!!!

[dwrist]

My Wife And I Just Returned From A 7 Day Cruise In Hawaii On The Aforementioned Cruise Ship. We Sailed The Carribean On Ncl In 2001 And It Was The Best Of 4 Cruises We Had Took (carnival R.c. ) So Naturally We Wanted To Experince The Same Enjoyment With Ncl Again Since It Was The Best One In Our Humble Opinion. Wrong !!!! The 7 Day Cruise In Hawaii On The Pride Of Hawaii Was Nowhere Close To The First Four Cruises We Took. Service Was Terrible . Food Was Only Mediocre If Not Sub Par,. There Was No Midnight Buffets,choclate Buffets,ice Sculptures,fruit /buffet Sculptures.the Food Presentations Were Bland (like The Taste)except For He Evenings There Was Virtually No Entertainment.staff /crew Was 90 % American( They Were Young,lazy,incompetent,inexperinced And Flat Out Not Very Freindly.the Cleaning Service S Were Horrendous. They Were Days When Nobody Even Came To The Room The 'specialty 'resturants Had A $10.00 -$20.00 Cover Charge Per Person To Eat There.they Were Almost Always Booked Solid And We Were Not Ever Able To Go There.the One Time We Did They Charged The Ten Dollar Cover Per Person And Then Had The Nerve To Give Us A Bill With A 'tip' That They Wanted Us To Fill In For Them. The Food Was Mediocre At Best But We Still Paid Out $ 20.00 Just To Eat There. There Was 2 Other Restuarants With A $ 15.00 Cover Per Person And Oe Resturant With A $20.00 Cover Per Person. (insane) I Hate To Say It But Previous Cruise We Took The Staff / Crew Were All International People. This American Crew Was A Joke. What A Difference. I Am Not The Only Person To Feel This Way . We Talked To And Heard Of Dozens Of People With The Same Feeling. Out Of Principle / Spite I Adjusted The Service Charge (tip) To One Dollar A Day For Me And My Wife For A Total Of $ 14.00 Instead Of The Flat Rate Of $ 10.00 A Day (total $ 140.00).i Guess I Was Generous .there Were Six( 6) Cabins That I Know For A Fact They Tipped Absoutely Nothing. This Cruise,staff,crew And Administrators Were A Joke And They They All Need To Be Overhauled,learn Their Job On How To Be A Good Lleader/supervisor Or Replaced. They Did Not Know What They Were Doing.

An Unhappy Cruiser On Ncl For The Last Time

 

NCL is an international flagged ship requiring that can use an international sailing crew---Pride of Hawaii is NCL of America, an American flagged ship, requiring an American crew. Sorry you were not happy, reseach more in the future or have a better informed TA and maybe your next cruise will be better. Have a great day.:)

[mikedw]

So many people book cruises without doing any sort of research, just looking for the cheapest price and that's the type of experience they get. I will spend a couple hours with a client at my desk going over the various lines and what they offer. I know the one thing I tell my clients is that if they want a Caribbean cruise type experience with all sorts of cheesy games and entertainment, NCLA is not for you. If you want to see Hawaii in a casual, relaxed atmosphere then NCLA is definately for you. I think a lot of experienced cruisers who are used to international crews being subserviant to them dislike NCLA because they are shocked when a 20 something American crew member starts talking to them on an equal footing.

 

On another note, considering the fact that over 90% of the public have never been on a cruise and so are not bound by tradition when it comes to formal nights and set dinner times, with NCL's new advertising campaign they're going to hit a large segment of the population who thought cruising was not for them. If it's successful and I believe it will be, I believe the other lines will have to start loosening some of rules when it comes to formal nights in order to compete.

[Zeno]

My Wife And I Just Returned From A 7 Day Cruise In Hawaii On The Aforementioned Cruise Ship. We Sailed The Carribean On Ncl In 2001 And It Was The Best Of 4 Cruises We Had Took (carnival R.c. ) So Naturally We Wanted To Experince The Same Enjoyment With Ncl Again Since It Was The Best One In Our Humble Opinion. Wrong !!!! The 7 Day Cruise In Hawaii On The Pride Of Hawaii Was Nowhere Close To The First Four Cruises We Took. Service Was Terrible . Food Was Only Mediocre If Not Sub Par,. There Was No Midnight Buffets,choclate Buffets,ice Sculptures,fruit /buffet Sculptures.the Food Presentations Were Bland (like The Taste)except For He Evenings There Was Virtually No Entertainment.staff /crew Was 90 % American( They Were Young,lazy,incompetent,inexperinced And Flat Out Not Very Freindly.the Cleaning Service S Were Horrendous. They Were Days When Nobody Even Came To The Room The 'specialty 'resturants Had A $10.00 -$20.00 Cover Charge Per Person To Eat There.they Were Almost Always Booked Solid And We Were Not Ever Able To Go There.the One Time We Did They Charged The Ten Dollar Cover Per Person And Then Had The Nerve To Give Us A Bill With A 'tip' That They Wanted Us To Fill In For Them. The Food Was Mediocre At Best But We Still Paid Out $ 20.00 Just To Eat There. There Was 2 Other Restuarants With A $ 15.00 Cover Per Person And Oe Resturant With A $20.00 Cover Per Person. (insane) I Hate To Say It But Previous Cruise We Took The Staff / Crew Were All International People. This American Crew Was A Joke. What A Difference. I Am Not The Only Person To Feel This Way . We Talked To And Heard Of Dozens Of People With The Same Feeling. Out Of Principle / Spite I Adjusted The Service Charge (tip) To One Dollar A Day For Me And My Wife For A Total Of $ 14.00 Instead Of The Flat Rate Of $ 10.00 A Day (total $ 140.00).i Guess I Was Generous .there Were Six( 6) Cabins That I Know For A Fact They Tipped Absoutely Nothing. This Cruise,staff,crew And Administrators Were A Joke And They They All Need To Be Overhauled,learn Their Job On How To Be A Good Lleader/supervisor Or Replaced. They Did Not Know What They Were Doing.

An Unhappy Cruiser On Ncl For The Last Time

 

I Find This Post Just Too Hard To Read!

[newlywedcruisers]

I Find This Post Just Too Hard To Read!

 

You Think That Typing Like This Is Hard. TrY tYpInG lIkE tHiS.

[Zeno]

You Think That Typing Like This Is Hard. TrY tYpInG lIkE tHiS.

YeS tHaT Is EveN wOrsE.

[2inTul]

So many people book cruises without doing any sort of research, just looking for the cheapest price and that's the type of experience they get. I will spend a couple hours with a client at my desk going over the various lines and what they offer. I know the one thing I tell my clients is that if they want a Caribbean cruise type experience with all sorts of cheesy games and entertainment, NCLA is not for you. If you want to see Hawaii in a casual, relaxed atmosphere then NCLA is definately for you. I think a lot of experienced cruisers who are used to international crews being subserviant to them dislike NCLA because they are shocked when a 20 something American crew member starts talking to them on an equal footing.

 

On another note, considering the fact that over 90% of the public have never been on a cruise and so are not bound by tradition when it comes to formal nights and set dinner times, with NCL's new advertising campaign they're going to hit a large segment of the population who thought cruising was not for them. If it's successful and I believe it will be, I believe the other lines will have to start loosening some of rules when it comes to formal nights in order to compete.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head with this comment. I was on the Sky on its next to last Caribbean cruise before she became the Pride of Aloha. About half of the crew was international and the rest were American. There was a distinct difference in the way the crew interacted with the passengers. The American crew would speak to you as an equal while the international crew approached passengers with much more deference. I was not offended by either but it was quite remarkable to see the difference side by side.

[newmexicoNita]

So many people book cruises without doing any sort of research, just looking for the cheapest price and that's the type of experience they get. I will spend a couple hours with a client at my desk going over the various lines and what they offer. I know the one thing I tell my clients is that if they want a Caribbean cruise type experience with all sorts of cheesy games and entertainment, NCLA is not for you. If you want to see Hawaii in a casual, relaxed atmosphere then NCLA is definately for you. I think a lot of experienced cruisers who are used to international crews being subserviant to them dislike NCLA because they are shocked when a 20 something American crew member starts talking to them on an equal footing.

 

On another note, considering the fact that over 90% of the public have never been on a cruise and so are not bound by tradition when it comes to formal nights and set dinner times, with NCL's new advertising campaign they're going to hit a large segment of the population who thought cruising was not for them. If it's successful and I believe it will be, I believe the other lines will have to start loosening some of rules when it comes to formal nights in order to compete.

My younger daughter is a perfect example: she took a drunken 3 day cruise while in college about 20 years ago and a 5 day one with her sister and me about 10 years ago. She and her husband are very laid back, live in Florida, think dressing up means putting on khakis and polos, own their own, very successful business and love to vacation, but don't want restrictions put on them. So far they haven't taken a real cruise because of the lack of flexibility but I think they are about to enbark on an NCL cruise or will in the next year. The entire idea of eating when and where they want and dressing casual is appealing to them. NMnita