NCL, the "Nickel & Dime" cruise line
Norwegian Spirit Cruise Review to Europe - Mediterranean
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 58
12 Night Grand Mediterranean (Barcelona To Venice)
Sail date: April 17, 2013
Ship: Norwegian Spirit
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: 4562
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 11 years ago
Review summary
Here is the exact text of the "comment" I left on NCL's survey site, when they asked me how I liked my just-completed cruise. I decided to let them know in as direct a fashion as possible. Hopefully this will help someone, or at least let them know what they are in for on an NCL cruise. Many of the things that rubbed me the wrong way may be endemic to the entire cruise industry; I don't know. This was my first 'real' cruise; I went on Carnival twice in the 80s, but I don't count them as a real cruise line. :) "Dear NCL: I will never sail with your cruise line again. Your company is the most craven commercial enterprise on the high seas. At every turn, every corner, every MINUTE you are trying to get money out of us! "Buy our photos, buy a bingo card, buy some jewelry, buy excursions, book your next cruise NOW, don't miss out on our art auction where you can BUY something, make sure you book some time in our over-priced spa, don't miss our hideously over-priced sangria drinks at $26 a pitcher, and be sure to get a souvenir glass every day!" It never stops. "Freestyle"? There is nothing FREE about NCL, and when it comes to food, calling the main dining rooms "Complimentary" is insulting. Yes, you've even figured out how to get more money out of us by creating 2nd-rate "specialty" restaurants that feature $20 and $25 "cover charges." Then making us want to try them by supplying lukewarm food and diffident service in the buffet and main dining rooms. And also making sure there isn't enough seating in the buffet area. Further, as the Tech Daddy on the Huffington Post, I know what is possible for a satellite-based Internet connection, even at sea, The ship's Internet service is slower than dial-up at almost $1 a minute -- this is LAUGHABLE and embarassing. But you don't really WANT us using the Net while on board, do you? You want us gambling at the casino, or drinking constantly throughout the ship, or otherwise being out where our wallets are exposed. As for the entertainment, it was strictly third-rate, with the worst collection of Italian and Russian has-beens on the high seas. And I thought Carnival was bad! I suppose your new signature show "Elements" would be considered entertaining if one has never seen a Cirque du Soleil show. For anyone who has, it's a pale knockoff at best. And Grazia Quaranta was so bad, we were both embarrassed for her. Your staff-based entertainers would have all been cut at the first audition round for either American Idol or Britain's Got Talent. Who is booking this stuff… a former KGB agent whose friend are out of work? And who writes the Freestyle Daily that shows up in our cabins each day? Whomever it is, English is not their first language, and it shows. Badly. As for our floor staff, our cabin steward Earlan was either stoned most of the time or is just naturally out of it, the "enforced frivolity" was crazy-making, and the nonstop "party" music -- either live or canned -- in all public areas 24/7 was enough to drive us to hide in a dinghy. Even in your own self-proclaimed QUIET ZONE! (We finally complained loudly enough to get that turned off.) Lest you think I'm just an "upset waiting to happen," let me assure you that is not the case. I do not have overly high standards, am a generally upbeat person, try to see the best in everyone, and am a "team player." I WANT everyone (including myself and my wife) to have fun, and don't expect that everything should be done the way I think they should be done. My complaints and observations are coming from that standpoint. The only saving grace is that the officers were professional, the ship was generally well-run organizationally, and it was clean. And of course the ports of call were the main attraction, and all our days spent in port cities were just AMAZING. But the shipboard noise, the constant nickel-and-diming, the smarmy photographers that would follow you into a restaurant and not leave you alone (at one point I had to threaten possible violence to get him to leave), and just the "canned" nature of all of it were eventually so overwhelming that we mostly stayed in our cabin reading when not on shore. The cherry on top? As soon as our account was closed, we got the "bum's rush" off the ship: no one to help us, advice on taxi's that were completely false, the hot water being turned off and someone banging on the pipes all night long until we left. It was symbolic of everything that is rotten at the heart of NCL, and it is why I will never again sail with you again, and will advise others to do the same."Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Some good, some bad, mostly "meh"
Onboard Activities
All geared to gambling, drinking, and otherwise forking over cash non-stop
Entertainment
REALLY bad. "Duo Platchkov"? Really? "Grazia Quaranta"? "The Ivan Kovalenko Show Band"? Wow.
Children's Programs
N/A
Service and Staff
Officers good, floor staff really bad, other staff who only know their little area and don't know anything else. No one on NCL knows how to say "I don't know" however. They just… make stuff up when you ask them a question outside their area
Ship Quality
It's holding up well, and is clean
Cabin / Stateroom
Actually this was pretty good, surprisingly so. Bigger bathroom than you normally get, and the bed was comfortable
Ports of call
Get their a few days early and enjoy the city. We did!
Thumbs Up
0
Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy
Same for Livorno. Skip the over-priced excursion and just get a cab driver to show you around. It's faster, better and cheaper, and you'll see both Florence and Pisa AND more in the time the tour busses have to go to just 1 place.
Seeing Rome in less than 4 hours is an INSANE idea. Do what we did: go to Tarquinia and the Etruscan Necropolis. Truly inspiring. You need at least a week in Rome.
Surprisingly clean and friendly; not at all what I had imagined. Shows you how our media shapes how we view things.
Athens is just CRAZED. And the cab drivers are the most aggressive possibly in the world. But if you can get up to the top of the Acropolis it'll all be worth it
Or try the gondolas, but beware of high-presdsure gondoliers. See St. Mark's (San Marco) at sunset … the "magic hour" when most of the tourists are gone.
3 Comments
TechCruiser 11 years ago
And sometimes people make assumptions about other people that are WAY off base. We were completely happy before our vacation started, and went on the cruise because life IS short and it was time to get out in the world and see those places we always dreamed of seeing. Which was the main reason to go … and we are glad we did. The ports of call, as I said, were wonderful, and every experience we had we'll remember for the rest of our lives.
I've since heard from other travelers who also have an eye for detail, along with discriminating tastes, that what I've pointed out here does indeed happen on other cruise lines that are on the same level as NCL. To get away from the constant nickel-and-diming you have to pay more upfront; for example, Celebrity Cruise Lines charge substantially more than NCL does, but in return your privacy is respected and you can relax in peace and quiet if you so desire. So that might be something to consider for the next one.
TechCruiser 11 years ago
I forgot to mention one other amazingly egregious oversight on the NCL Spirit: they have the main Guest Services desk located midship on deck 7; this is where you often have to go to get questions answered, settle up accounts, etc. In other words, the hub of anything a guest is likely to want to know or need to ask. And what do you think NCL has RIGHT ABOVE this desk? A lounge on deck 8 that has an overhang right over the desk. And in that lounge, for most of the day and all night long, you'll find a latin band banging out the latest salsa and merengue tunes. They are SO LOUD that the guest services staff literally has to yell at you to be heard, and you have to yell back at them in return. Some of the smarter staffers will come out from behind the desk and stand next to you so they don't have to scream at the top of their lungs to be heard … but not all of them are that smart. Nice planning NCL!