J C.
Yelp
I had a tough time deciding whether to give this a 1 or 2-star rating, as my cruise had its mix of good, bad, and downright awful moments. To provide some context, I've been on numerous cruises with different companies, mostly Carnival out of the U.S. and Costa Cruises in Italy. I was excited to finally try Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), which is often seen as a step above Carnival. While I've always enjoyed Carnival, it's known as the "Motel 6" of cruise lines--not the most luxurious, but not terrible either.
The Good:
My first impression of NCL was fantastic. The booking process was smooth, and their website was user-friendly, immediately giving them an edge over Carnival. When we arrived at the port in Greece, my positive feelings continued. The boarding process was well-organized with friendly, helpful staff. Despite somewhat long lines, the efficiency made it quick, and soon enough, we were sipping drinks on a beautiful deck. The NCL Getaway ship initially impressed me--definitely a step above Carnival, though not quite at the level of Costa. One major highlight was the staff, who were mostly cheerful, helpful, and friendly (though a few exceptions, which I'll discuss later). We also enjoyed the onboard musical, Million Dollar Quartet, which was top-notch, rivaling some of the Broadway shows I've seen.
The Bad:
Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse as the cruise progressed. The dining experience was one area where Carnival outshined NCL. The menu was mediocre, offering limited choices without the creative or gourmet flair I've experienced on other cruises. Carnival often features unique options like escargot, rabbit, or duck, but NCL's daily menu lacked any adventurous or exciting selections. As part of our package, we had reservations at two specialty dining restaurants: Ocean Blue and the onboard steakhouse. Ocean Blue was a major letdown--I ordered a tuna steak that came out overcooked and dry, a huge misstep for a dish that should be served medium-rare. The steakhouse was equally disappointing; it was so average that I had a better steak at one of the complimentary dining spots.
The onboard activities were also subpar, with many being average or even below average compared to what I've experienced on Carnival.
The Ugly:
We had a few extremely poor customer service experiences that I've never encountered on any other cruise line. First, I purchased a communications package for everyone in our group to stay connected through NCL's app during the cruise. The app barely worked, and after waiting over an hour to see the technology manager, he casually told me they were discontinuing the app. He advised me to get a refund (which never happened), and we were left without a way to contact each other for the rest of the trip. This became a major issue when a family member got separated, and it took us hours of frantic searching on the massive ship to find her. My wife was in tears over the situation. Shockingly, the non-functional app package remained available for purchase throughout the cruise. If they knew it wasn't working, why was it even offered?
Midway through the cruise, we were notified of a schedule change due to a marathon at our final port. We were told that if our excursion was impacted, we'd be notified. The change meant we'd leave our second-to-last port earlier to reach Lisbon before the marathon. Since this cut into our free time after an excursion, I went to the excursion desk to cancel, but they refused to refund me, resulting in over $200 wasted on unused excursions.
The final unpleasant experience happened on the last day at the service desk. I requested a printout of our expenses and was met by a staff member in a foul mood. When I scanned my card, he rudely scolded me for "locking up his system." His attitude left me so shaken that I didn't even know how to respond. Looking back, I wish I had demanded a manager, but instead, I walked away feeling humiliated and vowed never to sail with NCL again.