What's wrong with Norwegian Cruise Line?

Question

On peoples answers they are always saying that there is something wrong with NCL.

And another question doesn't the Norwegian cruise lines have Wiis on their ships? Has anyone played them?

Answer 1

First, lets separate Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) from Norwegian Cruise Line - American (NCL-A).  The NCL-A ships are only found in Hawaii.

NCL does things differently.  As a result, those that like the traditional way of doing things are not as happy with NCL's less traditional way of doing things.

NCL-A uses American flagged ships.  Perhaps they started taking paying passengers before they were ready.  The service (from an American crew) suffered because of poor training and inexperience.  Also, Americans are not as service oriented as people from other nations.  

I have cruised with NCL before and I have a cruise coming up with NCL in about five weeks that I am really looking forward to.  I also have seven cruises with other carriers.

In my opinion, NCL is not bad, just different.  As a result, if you like NCL's way of doing things, you will like NCL.  If you don't like NCL's way of doing things, you will not like NCL.

As for NCL-A, I have not cruised on NCL-A.  Based on the research I have done, for the most part NCL-A has solved most of its service problems.  However, as long as NCL-A must use an American service crew, it will not be as service oriented as a crew consisting of people from more service oriented countries.

Here is a link to NCL's description of Freestyle cruising (Freestyle is NCL's name for everything that is different) ...

http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/cruiser/cmsPag...

Answer 2

The Freestyle Cruising leaves a lot to be desired.  In order to dine at the most popular restaurants on the ship, you have to wait in line - sometimes up to an hour.  On other cruise ships, you have a dining time (main or late) and arrive at the appointed time and go to your table.  You will have a wait staff who knows you and your desires. With Freestyle, you have a different wait staff each night and tipping a "general population of waiters" is foolish. You will have a better opportunity to make shipboard friends with the tablemates than with Freestyle.

Answer 3

Nothing, I really like them, and affordable. We have been on Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Celebrity, and Norwegian. We really enjoyed NCL!

Answer 4

I have been on 8 NCL cruises and at one time NCL was my favorite cruise line.  But since they started the Freestyle cruising I just do not like them any more mainly because of that.  I had bad experiences with the freestyle dining where we were standing in line to get a dinner table.  I also do not like the fact that you get a different waiter each and a different table.  So then at the end of the cruise when you pay gratuities who does it go to?  The tip for good service element is no longer there.  The personal relationship you develop with the wait staff when you have them for the 7 days, or however long your crusie is, is lost.  Then the informal nature of the formal nights I do not care for.  On our last cruise they called it "dress up if you want to" night.  And only about 20% of the people dressed up.

Now if you have never cruised before and experienced the traditional type cruise, or if you are one who would just as soon wear jeans to dinner every evening then NCL will fit you fine.  But if you have seen what the other ships offer and you like it then NCL is a step down.  So that's why some people say do not go on NCL.

I did not plan to go on them again but then I saw a cruise itinerary that I liked and could not find on any other line and so we went last October on the new Gem ship.  Again we had problems.  So we wil definately not use NCL again.

Yes they did have the Wii on the Gem but it was available for only about 1 or 2 hours each day.  That was not enough time for a ship with 2,000 plus people.  I saw a demo one day but never had an opportunity to play because it was not available after we finished our tours each day.  So as far as I was concerned it was a useless amenity, kinda like the 4 lane bowling alley that was way overpriced to use at $5.00 a game.

See what I mean????

Answer 5

I love NCL.

Answer 6

I have no problems with NCL.  I just happen to prefer Carnival.

Answer 7

Lies, poor service, and high prices.

NCL purchased the former ships of American Classic Voyages back in 2003 with the purported reason to restore them into service. But, the real reason was to ensure them a virtual monopoly in Hawaii since the Jones Act requires all non-US flagged ships to make a stop in a non-US port. Those classic ships, including the SS United States, will probably never sail again.

They have acquired several friends in Washington who have obtained a number of concessions for them including allowing them to transfer the construction of the partially constructed "Pride of America" to the Lloyd-Werft yard in Bremerhaven and still retain its US flagging.

They irresponsibly handled the boiler explosion incident on the SS Norway in 2003 which resulted in the deaths of several crew members. The ship was sent to Bremerhaven; then, despite repeated promises that they would fix the ship, it was sent to Malasia then Alang, India for scrapping in violation of the Basel Convention. While the ship was not a problem intact, scrapping it poses an environmental nightmare. Little or no effort was made to preserve the artwork and furnishings aboard.

Service on the NCL/America line was and continues to be subpar.

Their Freestyle dining appeals to some but you may experience a considerable wait for a table. People on late seating have reported that they run out of some menu selections.

IMO, the food on their ships is not on par with other lines.

IMO, the price of their trips is high for what you get. Often, you could book a trip on Royal or Princess for less. Both of those lines offer a better experience. IMO, even Carnival or Costa offer a better experience.

Answer 8

NCL is not a step down. All cruise lines as most business are set up a certain way and that is how they are run. Just like some people prefer WalMart and some prefer Target. It is a personal choice. In Todays market all cruise lines try to offer something alittle different than the others that is appealing to customers. It comes down to what you like and are willing to pay for it.

Answer 9

I had fun on our NCL cruise over New Year and they did have Wiis but I didn't get a chance to play...too busy  :-)