We love cruising even though we haven't done many. Small ships are for us, unless we are with family and kids. However, it is extremely disappointing to see how cheap the cruise lines are becoming. When a drink package that includes water is nearly $100 more a day, you aren't allowed to bring your own water aboard... even while at ports!! NO BEVERAGES ALLOWED FROM OUTSIDE, OPENED OR UNOPENED!! By the third day I was dehydrated and drinking water whenever I could find it. I refused to pay $6 for a $2 bottle of water.
They are getting cheap on the dining experiences too. No more Lobster night in the main dining room. If you want lobster, there was one specialty restaurant where you could get it, the steakhouse. The same with Escargot, only at the French place. These were the fun things people don't necessarily order at home. I applaud them for reducing portion sizes, since the waste was unbelievable before. But nickle and diming beyond the cost of the cruise is something a lot of travelers can not afford.
Word has it cruise lines are pondering 'resort fees' now. If that happens, I'm out.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The food was fine in main dining rooms while the food in the specialty restaurants was excellent. Disappointed in lobster and escargot now only served in certain specialty restaurants.
O’Sheehan’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill
5 out of 5
Our hangout bar! Loved the bartenders! Breakfast was good and the dinner was ok.
Le Bistro
5 out of 5
Very nice! We were treated like royalty and the food was spectacular!
Teppanyaki
5 out of 5
First night on the ship, and the chef we had was fantastic! Funny, great performance, and the food was very good.
Topsiders Bar and Grill
4 out of 5
Good service.
La Cucina Italian Restaurant
4 out of 5
Both service and food were great.
Cagney's Steakhouse
3 out of 5
Food was great but service was horrendous that night.
Aqua Main Dining Room
4 out of 5
Service was great, food pretty good.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We purchased the Thermal Spa package but only used it 3 times. Saunas were in separate rooms, no aromatic steam showers, Thalassotherapy pool was too hot. But we met nice people.
Spa Thermal Suite
3 out of 5
Saunas were in separate locker rooms. No aromatherapy steam showers. Thalassotherapy pool was too hot and very dangerous to get in and out of.
Photo Gallery
1 out of 5
We did not get an Embarkation photo... no photographers present! :(
Colombian Emeralds International
4 out of 5
Got a piece of jewelry :)
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Stunning aerobatic performances, music and choreography.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The chef in Teppanyaki put on a fantastic presentation with song. It was the highlight of the dining experiences!
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
We like the smaller ship and it was clean but the bed cover had seen better days.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Upon walking in to the cabin, my husband and I were shocked to NOT see what we were expecting. The pictures associated with the aft-facing oceanview stateroom with balcony were actually suites that made up the aft-facing cabins, except for 2, one of which was ours. The gentleman at the Purser's desk laughed when I said I expected the room to be the same as in the online pictures. He went on to tell me I shouldn't believe them.
After getting over the disappointment, we truly loved our room. The space was fine for 9 days and our room steward, Dennis, was fabulous. Everything but the piece that lays at the foot of the bed, was in fine condition. The bed was comfortable and bathroom decent sized.
Ship tip
In the cabin corridors, the fish on the carpet swim toward the front of the ship. It helps if you are directionally challenged.
We had 3 days in Quebec City prior to getting on the cruise ship. The city and surrounding areas are beautiful and enriching. We will come back again for a longer stay.
Sweet little port town, very walkable for shopping and eating. We took a bus tour around the city. Next time we will do a tour to Anne of Green Gables.
We have previously vacationed on MDI, and since Bar Harbor is small there isn't much to do, unless you go into the national park, which is beautiful. We took the trolley around town and learned some interesting tidbits and had a scampi lobster roll at Testa's by the wharf.
Upon retrieving our lugguage, we were dumped onto a highway! Hundreds of people exiting and they exit on to a highway. Thankfully, a very helpful policewoman advised us on how to safely get an Uber. The ride through the city was fun though! I looked out of the window only to see the Times Square Ball that drops on New Years Eve, in between two buildings. ;)
We are Platinum, but we have watched a tectonic change in "bean-counters" at NCL. If it makes you feel better, many of the staff and crew, rather than "listen" to guests would be in their own oblivious world discussing "percentages" and "quotas" they had to meet within earshot of guests. Meanwhile, as concerned passengers for our own future with the line we took the time to listen to other guests whenever we had the opportunity. Many of these people hadn't been on a cruise in 10 years, or had never sailed NCL. 100% of them commented they would NOT book another cruise with NCL, citing many of your same comments. If NCL management would actually LISTEN to its clientele they'd begin making changes to areas in which you are not alone in your observation. This new generation of NCL management sees a limitless supply of cruisers behind you and me. They don't need repeat business. In fact, repeat business is costly after a point due to the additional perks, which are modest at best, but nonetheless affect the company's bottom line negatively. I'm sorry for your experience. That's the only apology you'll get, I'll wager. It's highly unlikely they even have a department anymore to read post-cruise reviews, or at least negative ones. Sadly, I was on this very cruise and saw first-hand how NCLs current mismanagement is ruining what use to be a perfectly acceptable cruise line. In my opinion, you should matter, but then so should my wife and I. The reality is we don't - at least not to NCL. There's plenty of fish in the sea. Why just ask the cod fishermen of New England. :^) In time, this generation of management will fail when they've depleted the stocks of passengers who have grown weary of being treated with disdain and the pendulum will swing the other way. Until then we just have to accept what's put on our plate whether we like it or not and make the best of it because it's all we're going to get. Besides, the sun will rise and the sun will set and even on a scow, that's a beautiful thing to see. NCL can treat us as disposable, but they can't take the sunrise away.
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