I have caused Carnival, Royal Caribbean, MSC, and now NCL, just wanted to try a new cruise line to see if I liked it, well I didn't. I did not expect to work my way for dinner, at least on Royal we had set times and once there we were taken to our table, no fuss, no reservations, I'm on vacation and wanted to enjoy my time. NCL does not communicate or share information well, I felt I was in the dark, this was my first time with NCL, maybe they have so many repeat customers they felt no need to inform us.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
We paid extra for Priority boarding, nothing special about boarding
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
First time on NCL, not familiar with free style dining, did not like having to wait for tables in Main dining room, I'm used to assigned seating on Royal Cribbean. Buffet was nice but too crowded, not everyone respected the line que and cut in front of us. Specialty dining required advance reservations which were not available until onboard, we wanted to try the Teppanyaki but only time available was 9 or 9:30 on their app, went to restaurant to see if we can get in sooner, was offered 5pm, it was too early or too late, same for all specialty restaurants, very disappointed
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Only one pool for adults, way crowded. Participated in Deal or no deal, charged for tickets, lacked information on how to claim winning. Played Wheel of Fortune, charged a lot for tickets, no rewards.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
Elements was a disappointment, Magic show was bad, he had a thick accent and we could not understand him. The music in the bars was good.
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
Service in main dining room was slow, expect 1.5 to 2 hours for your meal to finish. Pool & casino, very hard to find waiters and bar was packed. Guest Services, not very helpful, I had $50 credit for spa, spent $417 at spa, was told I didn't qualify for credit, went to guest services,was told to they don't make decisions for spa and told me to speak with the spa. My room steward was great, had room cleaned and towels replenished, most waiters were nice it was the higher staff like guest services, cruise assistants, staff doing games that were flippant and showed no concerns for guests.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship was clean
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The cabin was a little smaller than I thought, the desk area stuck out and was tight to get into that area, but over all it was nice. I loved the shower, very spacious and good pressure
You can make all dining reservations 120 days out, over the phone or the app. When you get your first cruise confirmation email, you scroll to bottom and click on plan. It is so easy to plan any cruise and research online and YouTube.
Thanks for sharing your experience. FYI, even with Free style Dining, you can reserve a set time every day. When I cruise on NCL, I make a reservation for 6:30 pm for the nights I’m dining in the MDR. I can also make reservations at the specialty restaurants in advance, too—if I don’t buy the package! When you buy the specialty dining package on NCL, they make you wait until you’re onboard to book your reservations, and I don’t like that. Except for the spa, try your make all your reservations before the cruise.
Sorry you were not pleased. We prefer NCL. We like the free style dining. That way, we can eat at a time that works for us.
Isn't it wonderful that cruise lines are different so we can select a cruise that best fits our preferences.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy but NCL literally have the words freestyle cruising splashed all over their website and explain the concept of no set dining times etc. You also usually get the chance to book speciality dining and MDR 120 days out, you don’t have to wait until onboard. Obviously not the cruiseline for you anyway but a bit of research may have made it more enjoyable for you. Hope you enjoy future cruises better!
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