We had a serious medical emergency on the ship that was well addressed by the medical staff, but the rest of the staff made us feel like the underdog. I want you to know that we are NOT a high maintenance family, but we do appreciate compassion and respect as a paying customer. Again, I understand that the medical emergency was NOT the fault of the ship; however, we should not have been treated any lesser because of it. We should not have had to go through so many inconvenient situations just because the NCL staff is not prepared to handle situations beyond their control. without exaggeration, we had to visit customer service at least 4 times a day due to malfunctioning key cards, unjustified charges to our account, mixed up beverage packages on our accounts, etc. etc. I hope that NCL will seriously take some of these issues into consideration when reassessing their staff and ship conditions.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Even though we choose a specific time for embarkation, and we made plans to arrive on time, we started receiving emails, phone calls and messages telling us that the ship would be late and that everyone was to arrive at noon.
The ship was delayed three hours. Port was a mess and the port staff was very rude. Later in the day the cruise staff told us the ship was late because they were partying too much. We heard that from three different staff members at three different times. I am not opposed to the staff having time off, but after what we pay to cruise, their fun time should not be at my expense.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
One morning I was waiting in the breakfast line for plates at the Garden Cafe. I waited with another family for quite some time. I asked THREE times for plates and by the time they came out, the breakfast foods were gone. I had a very similar experience between lunch and dinner the next day. I was in a lunch line and foods were being removed and I was asked to go to another buffet table. From there I decided just to take a salad for lunch, I asked one of the kitchen staff if there was kale in the salad and she said that there wasn’t any. So I took a plate of salad and told her that I am allergic to kale salad. Then she asked me what kale was; she had no idea what kale is, which is not right for someone in a restaurant service area. At that point I just threw my lunch away.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
POOLS - We couldn't really enjoy the pools because they are not heated and sailing out of NYC in April is quite cold. One afternoon I was sitting by the pool and the staff started removing the lounge chairs. It was around 5:00 PM. Originally I assumed that they were getting ready for an event, but no, they just wanted to empty the lounge section for no apparent reason. I was under the impression that the lounge chairs were always available, at least during the day.
HOT TUB- I went to sit in the hot tub late one night only to be hit in the head with a beach ball, splashed, spit on and yelled at by a young teen. When I asked the staff member who was walking by about this behavoiur he said, "The hot tub is for teens" and he walked away.
ROCK CLIMBING WALL was fun but the top section was closed most of the time due to high winds.
SPA - Massage was excellent
CASINO was open area concept and due to that, there was cigarette smoke everywhere.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The dates of the shows we reserved were cancelled by NCL via email and we had to rebook, but that process was confusing, as our original dates were always on our reservations.
The Choir of Man was free when I reserved and the following day the prices went up to $29.95. It is totally unfair to advertise a free show and then charge for it after it's reserved. The show was amazing, but the dinner was disappointing.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
When I asked my room steward about early morning coffee, delivered by room service, he said that there was a $7.95 charge. I asked about the complimentary breakfast, coffee and danish and he insisted that there would be a service fee of $7.95. So I never ordered it. I have since found out that he was wrong, but it's too late now.
We had a medical emergency on the ship, and the medical staff did their very best, based on their ability on a ship. The head of Customer Service was very compassionate, but his staff was not compassionate or understanding. They always made us feel like we were bothering them.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Design and cleanliness were fine, but I found it more chaotic than other ships. For example, Customer service desk faces the atrium bar and often there is live music or game shows and it's impossible to hear anything when speaking to a customer service rep.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
The cabin was small but not impossible for one adult and two children.
The bathroom had issues with the shower not draining. This lasted all week. The sink was very slow to drain too. The divider on the balcony had something come loose and it rattled all week. We reported it but nothing was done about it. It was an annoying sound, especially since we had so much wind.
Ship tip
If you ask a staff member a question and their answer does not sound right, ask someone else. We had several conflicting answers during our cruise.
It was this ships first time in NYC and due to the 3 hour delay, everyone was cranky, but the port staff was extra miserable, yelling at everyone and telling us to leave for a few hours and come back. Not a great start to the vacation.
We found that there was a lot to do right at the port, which made it nice since we did not have to travel to enjoy the area. Shopping was also very good at the port. Calico Jacks was fun. You could easily spend a day right at the port and not get bored.
So sorry to hear about your experience,that's so disappointing when you look forward to a smooth sailing, hope your next cruise you take will be better.
We sailed on escape out of New York to Bermuda on April 29 and it was great . The staff were friendly and ship was spotless . Food was good too. Bermuda was beautiful for the 3 days we docked there . Only thing didn't like we're the 2 free shows . Not typical cruise shows like on the gem. Bought to week pass for thermal spa and it was well worth it . Very relaxing with view
We have sailed on The Escape and LOVED it. Our friends also said it was the best cruise ever. We did not experience any of the things mention in Djaesmom's post. Cannot wait to go again.
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