Terrible Embarkation Experience
Poor NCL customer service
Mismanagement / Inefficient all around GETAWAY (unsure if it is NCL culture or specific to GETAWAY) Not one, I repeat not one such horrible experience on any CARNIVAL / RCL / PRINCESS (25 ships or 15 ports) to this date
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Had been on over 30+ cruises on CARIVAL, RCL, and PRINCESS, but never such a terrible experience. Checkin lines were 8 blocks long in cold, windy weather. Embarkation took us over 6hrs. NoNCL staff in sight to let us know why the delay. Not a single apology for the delay, let alone any compensation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
QUALITY
Overall good experience (food quality & choices)
SERVICE
Unsure if it was a logjam in the kitchen or inefficiency of waiting staff, to even serve appetizers took over 60min, and by the time meal was over it was 95/100min at best
Except for the specialty restaurants, service in main dining room was extremely impersonal border-lining rudeness.
EXPERIENCE
Long lines everywhere (whether it be Main Dining Room or Garden Cafe)
Even with an early reservation, guests asked to stand in line
On every other cruise that we had been over past 15yrs, staff ensured that every guest washed their hands before entering the buffet area, and in case of GETAWAY, no staff really cared
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Due to inclement weather, pools were unusable most of the time, but that's OK
Rest of the onboard activities were good
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Excellent choices
COMEDY SHOWS were the best
MAGIC SHOWS were entertaining
BROADWAY/STAGE SHOW was quite primitive compared to other cruise lines
MUSIC/DJs were good to keep us engaged/entertaining
Service and Staff
1 out of 5
Attitude of the staff all around the ship was terrible. Got the feeling either they were punished or were hell bent on punishing us (need to reiterate never got this feeling on any CARNIVAL / RCL / PRINCESS ships)
Not one ever made an eye contact, smiled, or greeted. Unsure it was the culture on this ship. Of course, we don't know if this is specific to GETAWAY or NCL in general as our 31st was the first on any NCL ship
Lines were quite long at GUEST SERVICES / EXCURSIONS any time of the day, and NCL did nothing to address them
For reasons better known to NCL GETAWAY (that they did not share with guests) this Bermuda cruise left 4.5hrs late for Bermuda, and departed 3hrs early from Bermuda.
Staff were clueless what was happening! We were informed that our shore excursion was cancelled, and after waiting for over 30min at Excursion Desk to explore for alternate option, we were told that all were sold out. Once we were @ the port on our own in Bermuda, we find out that our excursion (CAVES & WAVES) was not cancelled, and we went on it, and to be rank this was the only saving grace of our cruise!
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Layout was good for a ship of this size.
All common areas (except GARDEN CAFE, the buffet area) were well maintained
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
POSITIVE:
Decent size cabin for 2
Loved the body shower. Double sink was a nice touch.
On a side note, our stewardess (Myrna) was the lone exception, and her service was outstanding, always greeted us with a smile, remembered our names, and made sure that everything was done right to the dot!
MISSING
USB slots
Ship tip
Unsure if it was the GETAWAY (or if these are the standards of NCL), but being on 30+ cruises, and our first on NCL it was an utter disappointment.. Sincerely hope others have a better experience on NCL
Space Constraints
Lines 8 blocks long out in cold & wind was not a welcome sign and not the way to start a fun vacation. Took us 6hrs to embark
Unsure if the inefficiency / mismanagement was by Port Authorities or NCL, but as a cruise guest GETAWAY staff should have addressed this.
Unfortunately they did not (not a beep / no apology / care a damn attitude at best)
I have been on 30+ cruises myself but only discovered this website in the past couple of years , so the only cruises I have listed were after I signed up for this site. Maybe some of these aren’t fake reviews but it’s the first time they felt the need to find a site like this and complain. Just saying.
All business are currently facing staffing shortages. We cruised NCL in September and experienced none of these issues. We were haven guests and the service was excellent. You might want to consider paying for the level of service you desire. Be realistic in the current state of the post covid economy.
If it makes the guy feel any better, I had the same experience in LA for the carnival panorama. That one was in the burning Sun with no shade and no water.
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