Canada and New England on the Norwegian Sea
By:  Cec724
Carolevelyn@Webtv.net

We recently returned from a cruise with NCL on the Norwegian Sea.  The only comparison I have is that we had sailed on Princess for all our previous cruises. I found a last minute bargain on the net and we decided to try it. 

Well, the ship was old but in pretty good repair, the lounge chairs at poolside were vinyl, no cushions, quite hard and uncomfortable. They had recorded music playing at poolside all day long, most obnoxious sounds, could not concentrate on reading or just sitting still relaxing. The food in the dining rooms was quite good, but the alternative restaurants had a menu that never changed and did not have many selections. 

The personnel were quite accommodating and always tried to help in any way that they could, our room steward was good, although we didn't see him after the first day until we were ready to leave, when he showed up with a big smile on his face and some idle chatter, we presumed he was looking for a tip.  NCL has a policy of including all tipping at a price of $10 per person, per day, added to your shipboard account daily and that is supposed to cover everything.  

One thing I did notice again and again is that they kept everything looking pretty clean and tidy in the main areas, but neglected to clean up in the isolated ones, the observatory lounge on Deck 10 was very nice except the plants were dying from neglect, the Big Apple had artificial greenery under the glass windows which looked like it hadn't been dusted in years.  It was so thick in places you couldn't see the leaves. I am used to seeing everything in tip top order, the Princess Lines are the best, no contest.  I know that the Norwegian Sea was an old boat, but no excuse for not keeping it clean, a little dusting, a little Windex, the glass in most places was full on fingerprints and never cleaned. I think they need someone in charge of the maintenance staff to crack the whip, no excuse for the mess we saw. 

There is one plus on this cruise line, they don't measure the alcohol in your drinks, at $4 a pop, that's very nice. Princess measured each and every shot in your drink, being careful never to give you too much. I think the other cruise lines could learn a lesson from NCL on this point. 

One other thing, my husband is a member of the Rotary and there were no service club meetings, only a Bill W. I don't think we'll be returning to NCL, back to Princess for us.  

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