Just returned from norwegian Sea "Texicaribean" cruise. This was our 4th cruise and very first with Norwegian. Overall it was our worse experience.
Positives -
1. Entertainment
2. Embarkation/Disembarkation
3. Friendly enough staff
Negatives
1. Cabins and bunks are very small
2. The ship is dirty - stained carpet thoughout, windows were filthy, could not even see out of our porthole, food on the floor for days
3. Cost - Once on board NCL nickle and dime you to death. Am example it cost 75 cents per mintute for Internet Access!!! Newspapers were $3.75 each! The excursions also seemed overpriced but we only took one and it was "OK".
4. Food was lousy - We only ate the buffett so I can not speak to the restruant experience but the buffett food was just awful. Hamburger and hot dog buns were always stale. Bugers over cooked. Juice was only available during breakfast. The rest of the time it was only coffee and water (unless you wanted to pay $30 additional for a coke card) Ice cream only available 2 hours a day!!!
5. Ship layout - I enjoy sitting on a side deck to get away from the crowd at the pool. Unfortunately this was not possible on the Norwegian Sea. The only side deck was one used for jogging, thus no deck chairs were permitted. There was the top deck but the crew put away the deck chairs at 5:00 PM. So if you wanted to relax and enjoy the stars at night you had to stand. The deck chairs were also the cheap plastic kind you might find at walmart.
If I was grading on a straight curve the Norwegian Sea would get a "F", however being a benifactor myself of social promotion in grade school I will be generous and give it a "D".
Just returned from norwegian Sea "Texicaribean" cruise. This was our 4th cruise and very first with Norwegian. Overall it was our worse experience.
Positives -
1. Entertainment
2. Embarkation/Disembarkation
3. Friendly enough staff
Negatives
1. Cabins and bunks are very small
2. The ship is dirty - stained carpet thoughout, windows were filthy, could not even see out of our porthole, food on the floor for days
3. Cost - Once on board NCL nickle and dime you to death. Am example it cost 75 cents per mintute for Internet Access!!! Newspapers were $3.75 each! The excursions also seemed overpriced but we only took one and it was "OK".
4. Food was lousy - We only ate the buffett so I can not speak to the restruant experience but the buffett food was just awful. Hamburger and hot dog buns were always stale. Bugers over cooked. Juice was only available during breakfast. The rest of the time it was only coffee and water (unless you wanted to pay $30 additional for a coke card) Ice cream only available 2 hours a day!!!
5. Ship layout - I enjoy sitting on a side deck to get away from the crowd at the pool. Unfortunately this was not possible on the Norwegian Sea. The only side deck was one used for jogging, thus no deck chairs were permitted. There was the top deck but the crew put away the deck chairs at 5:00 PM. So if you wanted to relax and enjoy the stars at night you had to stand. The deck chairs were also the cheap plastic kind you might find at walmart.
If I was grading on a straight curve the Norwegian Sea would get a "F", however being a benifactor myself of social promotion in grade school I will be generous and give it a "D".
I agree that the Norwegian Sea is not the best cruise experience. I did however discover on subsequent NCL ships that the Sea is not the best representation for the cruise line.
With that said, I am sorry that you had such a negative experience. Were you able to find ways to have a good time, anyway?
Nancy
Let me ask you this:
Did you pay $950 a person for an inside cabin for a 3 night cruise like we did on the Disney boat?
I think not.
I'm sure you got a 7 night cruise for less money and got to visit some exotic ports of call.
Bottom line is, you get what you pay for. I'd love to sail on the Radisson boat but I can't afford $3,000 a person for a week's cruise.
By-the-way, on the Disney boat, I saw a child urinate on the carpet in one of the elevators. We told a steward, that evening the carpet was still wet and the elevator reeked of urine.
I have not been on the Sea. However I have cruised on the Crown, Wind,Sun, and Sky before its name change. My wife and I enjoyed them all. The food was very good on all of them. Shore excursions were overpriced, but after the first cruise on the Crown we purchased our shore excursions on the dock after leaving the ship. Usually about half the price of the excursions booked through NCL. The deck chaires are put away about 6:00PM though. We are going on the Spirit in Febuary or March. Expect to find it great.
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed so many different NCL ships. I'm sure it all goes back to expectations. I was on the Sea - my only NCL experience so far - 5 years ago, and it wasn't as bad as "tims" reported at that time. The food was ok, in my opinion, though not as good as I had experienced on Carnival on my only prior modern-cruise-line cruise. I wouldn't be surprised that "tims" found the food bad if all they did was eat at the buffet. The dining room was quite a bit better than the buffet on the Sea when I was there as well.
Now you have me worried. I have always cruised on Princess Cruise Lines. This year we have decided to try NCL Sea with my parents. I know already that in my opinion it will be hard to stand up to the excellence of Princess and expect to be slightly disappointed. But this has really got me scared. What happened to all the talk about this ship has been Refurbished? I hate for this to be the first experience on a cruise for my parents. I will never get them to go again. So, do I have to bring my own chairs for star gazing? Why couldn't they have dropped this ship before the end of 2004 and given the Texaribbean a different ship? It's bad enough when the Frommer's book says that the best thing to do in Belize when the plane lands is to board another and leave. So, am I worried for nothing? Please tell me.
thanks
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