So on Thursday we received a letter from the manager apologising and crediting our ship board account $50 and a free meal at one of the restaurants on board that has a cover charge including a free bottle of wine. Well that was quite immpressive considering we thought they may have forgotten. We made a reservation for Le Bistro for Saturday the final evening of our cruise. As we entered the restaurant the hostess was extremely friendly until she read our letter and I'm assuming realized we had complained and lost her smile. We were shown to our table and given the menus, the service was prompt and efficient but I can't say they were friendly. The food was excellent but just proved as a reminder that "Freestyle Crusing" really means if you want quality on this ship it's going to cost you extra.
Your $1500 only entitles you to the less than average fare of the Garden Cafe or the tough as leather steaks in the formal dining rooms. As we finished our meal in Le Bistro we noticed the Maitre'd went to EVERY table except ours to see how everyone enjoyed the meal but that is to be expected as we weren't PAYING customers.
The next day we arrived back in Vancouver....we chose the express checkout where we take our luggage with us as I wanted to be off that ship as soon as possible(and I didn't trust their ability to safely deliver my bags).
The second day we were aboard they sent out leaflets with pictures of lost luggage floating around the ship!! I have cruised with other lines before and loved every moment never would I have believed I would ever have an experience like this. I will cruise again it just won't be with NCL!!
There are many other minor annoying details that added to my service nightmares that would seem petty if I were to mention them all so I will end by saying choose Princess, choose Celebrity, choose Carnival...just don't choose NCL for your next cruise. But if you do I hope you have fun...I did--a trip is always what YOU make it!!
Submitted by: Avid Cruiser
