It was an okay trip as this was a first time on NCL. May be only time as we were not impressed. I had better on Carnival. Several issues with NCL main especially the Airgroup. The Customer service is pathetic. A huge waste of time as they are to prone to tell you No to everything. They lie to you about everything and are unprofessional But when you as the customer get upset they use it against you to not have to solve any issues which they were not going to anyway. So if you have to deal with customer service don’t expect to get anything resolved Becouse the robots they hire read a script which all lead to “no”, sorry you should have read the terms, nothing we can do, sorry you can’t speak to a manager, we don’t have a Custer Renton or dispute resolution desk etc etc. they lie and are willing to help. I had to email the CEO and VP who runs the customer retention and resolution desk after being lied to that they didn’t have either. Got some resolution but nothing satisfactory to having to call multiple times, being lied to, hung up on and given misinformation.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
In Rome it was smooth, however I was mislead by the NCL main line. I was told that I could only purchase access to the Posh Beach Club at embarkation as I called weeks in advance. NCL Rep said I had to do that at embarkation/check in. That was a lie as I was told it had to have been arranged in advance. But not surprised as this was not the first unprofessional treatment by the NCL staff we experienced. So we weee not able to experience the Posh Beach Club area due to misleading information.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Food was just okay. Overall service with the freestyle dinning was great but there was a few nights you could not get into one or both of the main dinning rooms due to the volume. They would turn you away to some of the other options. The Bistro had excellent food however they have an un advertised dress code as we were turned away as were several others that evening for wearing shorts. Had to remake reservations and go another night. That night they turned away another family for the same thing. Service at the bistro was great. Only tried the noodle bar, as others were raving about the food, but found it lacking in quality. Drink package was great. However it seemed to have shortages of certain items at Carolinas points for example. No mint to make Mojitos more than once. On the cruise. Another time no coconut milk for Pina Coladas or out of Ginger Ale. I was told they had Ginger Beer, but always got Ginger ale. Big difference if you order a Dark and Stormy.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Didn’t participate but everyone seemed to enjoy
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Comedy shows were great however the late night comedy show in the comedy club was always packed turning away many many people. That should always be in the main theater as when it was in that venue it was still full. Bing was great. They had issues with wheel of fortune which everyone said was complete BS. Other performances were very good. However. Daughter won the deal or no deal grand prize. $500.0 certificate. In other games it was a shop credit ect. This was a gift certificate to the jewelry brand on ship. What a waste. No a down right “POS” prize as there wasn’t a single item in the store for $500.00. Nothing short of $1,200.00 and that wasn’t something she would have purchased. Even on the last day of the big 60-70% off everything. Nothing again was less than $1,000.00. She wanted several hours down there trying to find something and in the end gave the certificate to a lady that was on the fence about a purchase.
Children's Programs
No children
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Service was okay. Lots of communication issues with customer service. One of our cabins they cut off the cards due to NCLs error but that was never explained or apologized for. Room service was okay however several issues with shower that never got fixed as the hose connection would pray water everywhere when using shower. TV reception was broken most of the cruise.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Most activity was well placed. Easy to get to and from.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Attendant did good job never got his name but was friendly. Thought toilet shower set was better than most ships.
Ship tip
Didn’t like it had “The Haven”. They had an area cordoned off th themself. Had special elevator passes tha high jacked elevators and then looked down thier noses at you if you tried to get on elevator with them. They had special embarkation and leaving ship etc. I spent too much money to have a vacation away from all the BS of regular life to have to deal with some elitist BS while on vacation . Also stay on schedules as anytime they have to tender you ashore it cuts into you time. When we stopped in Greece some people didn’t get off ship until 3 hours before return time for the fact it was so dis organized with 5 ships in port at same time and where they take you has limited shore space due to having to walk up a donkey trail or wait hours for trolly
What a disaster. You are forced to wait forever to pay for a bus that dumps you in the city center. We had tickets to take train to Florence as all excursions were too expensive. No taxis would take you to train station as they all wanted to take you on a $200 taxi ride to Pisa or Florence. So you get dumped in downtown port city after having to pay to get there even though the cruise announcement said compalementmenty bus ride into town on the PA system. I asked several crew members about the train how to get there and if they weee running as it was Sunday and one of the taxi drivers said no trains today. They asked the bus company who said yes to trains We walk 30 mins to get there to find out they went on strike. So stuck in this port town and had to make the best of it. That sucked.
Great stop. Great boat ride we booked outside of NCL as there wasn’t anything. Which was good as there was some IT dog and piney show going on with every beach venue bought out by tech elites hosting events on all the beaches and all the restaurants etc. it was a crowd of self important tech people fanning about how great they are.
As I understand, most of your complaints are about "elites" on the beach and in The Haven, and the fact that you failed to dress appropriately for the Bistro and to read FAQ before your cruise. No wonder Customer Service couldn't help you.
So you want the sane privileges of repeat cruisers or people who spent 2 or 3 times as much on their cruise that stayed in the Haven and since yiu weren't able to, so mow you are mad and writing a poor review about it, plus your failure to do any extra research or follow through while on ship to make sure all is well is totally on you. Maybe cruising isn't for you, and if you do cruise again, pay more attention to issues you need to take care of before and while on cruise.
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