Potential First time NCL Cruiser!

[*Wink*]

Looking to book first NCL in Jan. Very helpful thread here...couple of questions...do NCL have "formal nights" like other cruise lines? Also, someone mentioned free cappuccino, etc. Is that the Java Cafe?

 

Thanks,

Bill

You can order cappuccinos and espressos in the dining rooms at no charge. Otherwise, you'll have to buy them. The Java Cafe will charge.

[Terpbacker]

I threw on a tie (no jacket). I saw lots of golf shirts, some suits, but I can't remember seeing one stuffy tuxedo. My wife wore a nice sundress. Go with what makes you feel good. I think they billed it as "date night" and had a few extra photographers around for pictures.

[lanabanana]

Great thread. Thanks so much! As someone who has only sailed RCL, I'm considering the Dawn repo next year. Can someone answer these questions....

 

1. Does the Dawn have a basketball court?

2. Indoor pool area? If so, is it adults only?

3.What should one know when choosing a cabin, either balcony or interior? Any decks to stay away from? Any secrets?

 

Thanks!

[Terpbacker]

Great thread. Thanks so much! As someone who has only sailed RCL, I'm considering the Dawn repo next year. Can someone answer these questions....

 

1. Does the Dawn have a basketball court?

2. Indoor pool area? If so, is it adults only?

3.What should one know when choosing a cabin, either balcony or interior? Any decks to stay away from? Any secrets?

 

Thanks!

 

 

1. Basketball/volleyball on deck 14

2. Lap pool deck 11, I must be in the spa (I never went)

3. We had a balcony on 10 midships, loved it, rooms above and below no public space. Deck 9 would probably be OK to just stay forward or aft of the Salsa restaurant.

[peg013]

Great thread. Thanks so much! As someone who has only sailed RCL, I'm considering the Dawn repo next year. Can someone answer these questions....

 

1. Does the Dawn have a basketball court?

2. Indoor pool area? If so, is it adults only?

3.What should one know when choosing a cabin, either balcony or interior? Any decks to stay away from? Any secrets?

 

Thanks!

 

1. Yes the Dawn has a basketball court.

 

2. Indoor pool is in the Spa and you must pay extra for it. (Don't remember prices but I know they have a daily rate, a weekly rate and a couples rate.)

 

3. Just check the decks above and below (mostly above) to see what is there. If you are under the pool area you might hear them scrapping the chairs across the deck early morning. It didn't wake me up but if I woke up I could hear it. It woke DH up most mornings.

[BalconyBumz]

Hope you find better luck than we did with NCL. We prefer all the other lines over them. Not impressed one bit.

[AFAMILY]

Hope you find better luck than we did with NCL. We prefer all the other lines over them. Not impressed one bit.

 

Can you elaborate? Having only sailed NCL so far, what are we missing with NCL that all the other lines offer, do better, etc?

 

We enjoyed our first 2 cruises with NCL and look forward to our third.

 

Happy Cruising! :)

[garycarla]

Hope you find better luck than we did with NCL. We prefer all the other lines over them. Not impressed one bit.

 

Hey, different strokes for different folks, but what did you NOT like. Help others out here.

[paulyjsob]

My first cruise was on Celebrity followed by 2 on NCL. I liked Celebrity because you had the same waiter all week and service was perfect. BUT, I like NCL because I'm not tied into a dinner schedule. I'm not very picky and I'm far from being a snob, so I preferred the whole freestyle dining experience. The food on my past 2 cruises was excellent in my mind. Which is all that matters to me. I would have to say if you're a very picky eater and expect perfection from the wait staff in the free restaurants on NCL, you may be a little disappointed. Other than the dining experience, I'd say NCL is on par with other lines. Good luck!

[DMH15]

Obviously I like NCL, my last 2 and next are on NCL ships.

 

I also liked Celebrity a lot. The SUmmit had a great little spa breakfast and lunch place and thre Normandie (specialty) was great.

 

RCI was fine. I was on Soverign. I would like to try others on the line.

 

I did not care for my one Carnival cruise. Worst eggs benedict ever. And the atmosphere/crowd was not my liking.

 

Again, subjective things on cruises make it a personal choice thing.

[AFAMILY]

Obviously I like NCL, my last 2 and next are on NCL ships.

 

I also liked Celebrity a lot. The SUmmit had a great little spa breakfast and lunch place and thre Normandie (specialty) was great.

 

RCI was fine. I was on Soverign. I would like to try others on the line.

 

I did not care for my one Carnival cruise. Worst eggs benedict ever. And the atmosphere/crowd was not my liking.

 

Again, subjective things on cruises make it a personal choice thing.

 

What? Bad Eggs Benedict? :eek: I have now ruled out Carnival for any future cruise. I NEED my Eggs Benedict every morning, with some breakfast sausage on the side of course! The Venetian on the NCL Dawn really makes them to perfection! :D

 

Happy Cruising! :)

[chrisbd1]

Looking to book first NCL in Jan. Very helpful thread here...couple of questions...do NCL have "formal nights" like other cruise lines? Also, someone mentioned free cappuccino, etc. Is that the Java Cafe?

 

Thanks,

Bill

The Jewel class ships(Jewel, Pearl/Jade/Gem) have free cappuccino/espresso/latte machines in the Garden Cafe

[BalconyBumz]

Hey, different strokes for different folks, but what did you NOT like. Help others out here.

 

Hi, well there were a lot of things we didn't like, but since my post will be jumped on as negative and removed because of a bunch of whiners that can't handle the good and the bad, I'll try to make it short..We've taken all the lines and have been pretty much pleased with them all, even Carnival wasn't too shabby believe it or not. Each line attracts different people and classes of people. Each line has things you like better versus another line, but with NCL, there were so many things that we did not like, it just all added up and we were disgusted with them basically. We thought the ship we went on was very dirty, the balcony outside had water and mold everywhere, our room attendants were snotty as all get out, our coffee pot and room was dusty and filthy. There was some snot or "something" on our bed skirt, we couldn't get dirty glasses removed from our cabin or any coffee the entire week (brought my own thank goodness). The people we were with couldn't get coffee either, we shared ours, the dining room food was the worst we have ever had on any line, it was cold, shoe leather dried up steak, and slow service. The alternative no charge restaurants were not great either. The only extra pay one we did was the Teppiyaki and it was the best meal we had the whole cruise. The buffet area was like a cold cafeteria with tacky cheap chairs. The beds were also harder than a rock sitting on some sort of a wood frame. We just were not pleased at all with NCL and because of that experience, we have opted to never take them again. Will stick to Princess, Celebrity, HAL, and RCCL. Maybe an occasional Carnival here and there. I just feel that the other lines are all way above NCL in pretty much every aspect from food to service, cabins, and crew.

[oz cleopatra]

I threw on a tie (no jacket). I saw lots of golf shirts, some suits, but I can't remember seeing one stuffy tuxedo. My wife wore a nice sundress. Go with what makes you feel good. I think they billed it as "date night" and had a few extra photographers around for pictures.

 

 

Stuffy tuxedo? I feel the same about khakis and those damn DENIM SHORTS all Americans are addicted too!!:mad:

[islandgirlejfan]

I'm certainly not saying you didn't have a bad time and there were many things you were unhappy with, but everytime I read one of your posts, you seem to have NCL cruisers in lumped into a *trailer trash* category and I find it totally offensive! If you choose not to use them, write your review stating your grievances and leave it at that. You seem to get angry when others don't agree with you and it has become very personal to jump into other threads with what *you* didn't care for and then call everyone a bunch of *whiners* because they don't share your sentiment or *cheerleaders* because they have had a good experience. I could afford to cruise on just about any cruise line at this time in my life...I am one of those people that Celebrity markets to every evening while watching my HD flat screen TV...the 40ish and above who has made it in life...but I personally like NCL for a lot of reasons, not to mention that *your* experience has not been *my* experience with them.

 

Just using your quote here "The alternative no charge restaurants were not great either. The only extra pay one we did was the Teppiyaki and it was the best meal we had the whole cruise." and what I want to know is how do you know the other alternative restaurants were bad? You state yourself that you only dined at the Teppanyaki grill. If you didn't eat at any of the others, is it fair to lump them all together and say they were all bad? In my opinion you can't fairly assess the any of the other ones if you did not dine in them.

 

I just met up with a friend of mine from school at department store and we spent a little time catching up. We both discovered we loved cruising and I mentioned to her that hubby and I were booked on NCL in December and were possibly considering Princess for the Panama Canal in 2011. My gosh, she stopped me mid conversation and she exclaimed "I would take anyone but them!" She went on to relate her experiences. Much like yours, she was unhappy with a number of things and because they were not resolved, Princess has lost a customer. *You* are saying that you're happy with them. What I am trying to say is just because one person has a bad experience, doesn't mean another person will. Her experience is probably not going to stop us from booking on Princess for that itinerary because they have a lot more options than NCL. If we don't like it, we won't go on it again. I will write a review and that will be it.

 

I think it would take a lot for me honestly to have a bad cruise....it certainly beats a great day at the office!:D

 

 

Hi, well there were a lot of things we didn't like, but since my post will be jumped on as negative and removed because of a bunch of whiners that can't handle the good and the bad, I'll try to make it short..We've taken all the lines and have been pretty much pleased with them all, even Carnival wasn't too shabby believe it or not. Each line attracts different people and classes of people. Each line has things you like better versus another line, but with NCL, there were so many things that we did not like, it just all added up and we were disgusted with them basically. We thought the ship we went on was very dirty, the balcony outside had water and mold everywhere, our room attendants were snotty as all get out, our coffee pot and room was dusty and filthy. There was some snot or "something" on our bed skirt, we couldn't get dirty glasses removed from our cabin or any coffee the entire week (brought my own thank goodness). The people we were with couldn't get coffee either, we shared ours, the dining room food was the worst we have ever had on any line, it was cold, shoe leather dried up steak, and slow service. The alternative no charge restaurants were not great either. The only extra pay one we did was the Teppiyaki and it was the best meal we had the whole cruise. The buffet area was like a cold cafeteria with tacky cheap chairs. The beds were also harder than a rock sitting on some sort of a wood frame. We just were not pleased at all with NCL and because of that experience, we have opted to never take them again. Will stick to Princess, Celebrity, HAL, and RCCL. Maybe an occasional Carnival here and there. I just feel that the other lines are all way above NCL in pretty much every aspect from food to service, cabins, and crew.

[BalconyBumz]

Blah blah blah. I never once said I had a bad cruise. I have been on 18 cruises. I wouldn't be cruising so often if I had bad cruises. I said I absolutely HATED NCL and my experience and would never take them again. I do NOT recommend them.

[islandgirlejfan]

Well at least I am not shocked!:p

Blah blah blah. I never once said I had a bad cruise. I have been on 18 cruises. I wouldn't be cruising so often if I had bad cruises. I said I absolutely HATED NCL and my experience and would never take them again. I do NOT recommend them.

[lvz2cruz]

Cot427,

We love Celebrity which is run like RCCL. I think the food is better there. The staff works for their tip and bend over backwards to please. I have only been on one NCL cruise but felt the crew was less friendly and did not perform as well--ie, our room was not serviced many times, breakfast trays were still left on the pool decks when we went in to dinner, many times the buffet was out of silverware, glasses, and food. I think the autotip does not motivate good service, but I only have sailed once.

 

Freestyle dining is not a problem. We never waited more than 5 minutes for a table. We did find that if we wanted to go to the show, we were still "stuck" eating at a certain time to make the show, much like you do on Royal with assigned seating.

 

NCL has much lower prices. It seems they go to islands off the beaten path, not the usual Cozumel/St. Thomas.

I really liked the pool band on our cruise, but have read here they have scaled back music at the pool.

 

The people on NCL are very friendly and casual--I like it that they don't let what someone else wears to dinner ruin their cruise.

 

You might want to consider the 9 night Jewel. It goes to islands further south not accessible on a 7 night cruise out ot Florida and is not a lot more money than the Pearl or Dawn.

 

Good luck and let us know your decision.

[BalconyBumz]

Just using your quote here "The alternative no charge restaurants were not great either. The only extra pay one we did was the Teppiyaki and it was the best meal we had the whole cruise." and what I want to know is how do you know the other alternative restaurants were bad? You state yourself that you only dined at the Teppanyaki grill. If you didn't eat at any of the others, is it fair to lump them all together and say they were all bad? In my opinion you can't fairly assess the any of the other ones if you did not dine in them.

 

Reading comprehension skills gone bad? Did I say anything about the other pay restaurants? I said the main dining room was bad, the no charge alternative restaurants were bad. I said we only at at ONE pay restaurant Teppeyaki and it was good. What don't you comprehend? :rolleyes:

[windycruiser]

We usually do NCL, we went on RCCL one time and although the cruise itself was comparable what you get for your money isn't.

 

We generally get one of the upper suites or owners suites and spend a lot of time on our balcony. So when I booked our RCCL cruise I sought out a comparable suite.

 

The size was similar and that was about it. On NCL the separate shower is a plus, didn't have it in our suite on RCCL. But what really stunk was on RCCL, there was no mini fridge, coffee or tea pot, no cups or glasses. Why they bothered putting in sort of an island with granite on it and no glassware, is beyond me.

 

In the NCL suites I believe anything above what's called a "mini" suite, you get a mini refrigerator, coffee pot, tea pot, glasses, yes wine, champange the whole complement of glasses. Other perks were they bring you little snacks and so on. On RCCL you had to use your key to go to a special room that had little snacks and an expresso/latte machine. Sure it was free, but now NCL has it in your room.

 

NCL price points are better too, we love not rushing back from a port to have dinner. We hated that., at times we ate in port because we were hungry, so when we got back then we were'nt, we would pick at our food, then later be hungry. :mad: Not a relaxing time.

 

We'll never take a cruise that doesn't have a flexible dining option again. I heard Princess does personal choice, not sure how theirs works.

[CruisnGram]

NCL has much lower prices. It seems they go to islands off the beaten path, not the usual Cozumel/St. Thomas.

.

 

From the NCL website:

 

Dawn-Eastern Caribbean

 

Sat Miami -4:00 PM, Sun At Sea, Mon Samana 10:00 AM7:00 PMTue St. Thomas 9:00 AM6:00 PMWed Tortola 8:00 AM4:00 PMThu At Sea--Fri Great Stirrup Cay 10:00 AM6:00 PMSat Miami 8:00 AM-

 

********************

Pearl-Western Caribbean

 

DayPortArriveDepartSun Miami -4:00 PMMon At Sea--Tue Roatan 8:00 AM5:00 PMWed Belize City 8:00 AM5:00 PMThu Cozumel 8:00 AM5:00 PMFri At Sea--Sat Great Stirrup Cay 9:00 AM6:00 PMSun Miami 8:00 AM-

[CruisnGram]

Here's what I don't get. The OP plus 2 or so other posters have come on this thread saying that they are going to book an NCL cruise. They are asking which ships, etc. No where did ANY of them ask IF they should cruise NCL, yet all of the naysayers have to jump in with their reasons why they shouldn't sail NCL.

 

I just don't understand people. If you hated NCL fine. You are entitled to your opinion. Don't sail them again. And if someone asks if they should sail NCL and what opinions are out there, by all means, share your opinion. But to jump onto a thread like this one is uncalled for. Why not spend time on the board of your preferred cruise line, talking with fellow cruisers who have the same beliefs about that cruise line as you? I think there are a lot of miserable individuals out there who would rather talk negative about things then spend time talking positively. Very sad.

 

CG

[lvz2cruz]

From the NCL website:

 

Dawn-Eastern Caribbean

 

Sat Miami -4:00 PM, Sun At Sea, Mon Samana 10:00 AM7:00 PMTue St. Thomas 9:00 AM6:00 PMWed Tortola 8:00 AM4:00 PMThu At Sea--Fri Great Stirrup Cay 10:00 AM6:00 PMSat Miami 8:00 AM-

 

********************

Pearl-Western Caribbean

 

DayPortArriveDepartSun Miami -4:00 PMMon At Sea--Tue Roatan 8:00 AM5:00 PMWed Belize City 8:00 AM5:00 PMThu Cozumel 8:00 AM5:00 PMFri At Sea--Sat Great Stirrup Cay 9:00 AM6:00 PMSun Miami 8:00 AM-

 

I find it a plus that NCL does not go only to the crowded, overvisited ports I mentioned. Some lines seem to only do 1)San Juan/St. Thomas/maybe Nassau or St. Maarten or 2)Cozumel/Jamaica/Grand Cayman. I like it that NCL offers so many other options like Belize, Roatan, Tortola, and those on the Jewel cruise I mentioned. I know some ships go there, but they also offer many other choices and that is one of the key reasons we chose our next cruise on NCL.

[CruisnGram]

I find it a plus that NCL does not go only to the crowded, overvisited ports I mentioned. Some lines seem to only do 1)San Juan/St. Thomas/maybe Nassau or St. Maarten or 2)Cozumel/Jamaica/Grand Cayman. I like it that NCL offers so many other options like Belize, Roatan, Tortola, and those on the Jewel cruise I mentioned. I know some ships go there, but they also offer many other choices and that is one of the key reasons we chose our next cruise on NCL.

 

Sorry, I misunderstood. The way I read it was that NCL cruises were cheaper because they didn't go to popular ports like St. Thomas and Cozumel.

 

I'm with you though ..I love the less visited ports!

 

CG

[cot427]

Wow. Thanks everybody for the great information. It looks like though, that we won't be able to go on the Dawn. I cannot get decent airfare anywhere for the Dawn, but I can get okay airfare for the Pearl the same week, going to the Western Caribbean. Right now, its down to the Pearl, or the Jewel, the 5 night cruise. We definitly can get airfare on the Jewel, and Pearl will be cutting it close, but Dawn, unfortunetly no matter how much I love the itinerary, is out of the question. But I am looking forward to going on the Pearl or Jewel.