Too many bad experiences to describe in detail. In summary, being nickel and dimed on everything, and being told multiple times by Norwegian staff when we tried to get service that "It's not their department". Also having to wait in line for Guest Services and dining venues also contributed to the very bad experiences on the cruise. Norwegian definitely did not earn our business on this cruise, or repeat business from us in the future.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Not Good. It took 2 hours of standing in line in the hot sun. The embarkation was very disorganized. We also missed our scheduled and pre-paid shore excursion in Barcelona due to just trying to get on the boat after waiting in line so long.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
The food was not very flavorful and the specialty dining was overpriced.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We experienced the night club, the hot tub, and movie night in the Epic Theater. There wasn't time for much else as we spent most of our time doing the shore excursions over the 4 days on the cruise.
Entertainment
We didn't attend any shows.
Children's Programs
We didn't have children with us.
Service and Staff
1 out of 5
Too many bad experiences to describe in detail. In summary, being nickel and dimed on everything, and being told multiple times by Norwegian staff when we tried to get service that "It's not their department". Also having to wait in line for Guest Services and dining venues also contributed to the very bad experiences on the cruise.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
It was OK.
Cabin / Stateroom
2 out of 5
It seemed kind of cramped. Also the balcony door leaked air which caused it to have a whistle in the wind. It took until the 3rd day of the cruise for them to finally fix it. We never actually met our housekeeping staff, yet they wanted to charge us $40/day for tips, which we disputed and had removed. Also, there was no daily towel animal.
Ship tip
Don't sail on Norwegian Cruise Lines. It was horrible. We are sailing on Carnival next time.
Don't buy you shore excursion tickets through Norwegian. They are overpriced. Also on this excursion to Cannes, we were delayed by over 2 hours getting off the boat because Norwegian screwed up and didn't even get us our tickets prior to the day of. They blamed it on a "system glitch" which sounded like a flimsy excuse for staff incompetence. We were offered no compensation for Norwegian's screw up.
You might not have met your cabin stewards but they have done their job by cleaning your cabin every day. The gratuities are not just for them but also for all food & beverage staff as well as all those who worked diligently behind the scenes. I would never have removed the gratuities on a cruise ship.
I am not a fan of NCL and it is public information that they asked for $20 pp per day. I’d rather patronize other lines instead. (Many lines are charging $16 pp per day or less.)
NCL is upfront about what your cruise fare includes. You can easily not spend any additional money on board. Also really sad you took away gratuities for the crew members. They rely on those to support their income.
I just got off Norwegian Joy and I don’t see NCL trying to nickel and dime you. I don’t see them charging people for things that were previously free.
Tbh the animal towels are a waste of time and towels, creates extra laundry for nothing. They are alright to do if you have kids as it’s a game and enjoyment for them.
I’m still not understanding the nickel and dime concept people are complaining about on NCL. I was just on Norwegian Encore in April and I knew exactly what I was paying for and what was being charged to me before I even Started my cruise. When I finished my cruise I had not surprises at all. We could not stop at their private island due to weather and was credited $ 80 / pp for missing that port.
I'm really sorry you had such a bad experience. Certainly, it's not a fun way to vacation.
Our cruises have always been top notch with NCL. We do book excursions themrough them as it guarantees they won't sail without you. A relief when things like your bus gets a flat delaying your return!
You can request towel animals. NCL doesn't do them as they increase the laundry loads to near capacity doing towels that weren't used. They really do try to decrease their carbon footprint where possible.
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