On Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:50:42 -0500, Janet Wilder
wrote:

On 9/17/2010 2:18 PM, peter wrote:

So should we blacklist NCL? Has anyone had a really postive experience on an
NCL ship recently?

I am guessing that there are folks out there who think NCL is fine. They
probably haven't cruised with other lines and this is what they believe
cruising is.

And they're right - that's what cruising is, one kind of cruising
anyway. Not everyone wants the same thing out of a vacation.

I've been on three NCL ships (Pride of Hawaii, Norwegian Sun, and Gem),
and three non-NCL ships (SS Independence, Celebrity Infinity, and
Celebrity Mercury). So I don't have your vast range of experience, but
I do have some basis for comparison.

I never had any problem with cleanliness or service on any NCL trip. NCL
has problems, I think in two areas - food, which declined in quality
from 2007 to 2009, and the constant din of advertising in the public
spaces. What people say here leads me to think that those problems
aren't exclusive to NCL. Or maybe it was just the Gem that had problems
for some reason.

The other problem is that many people want NCL to be something that it
doesn't claim to be. It's not Crystal or Oceania or Celebrity - it's a
lower priced cruise line with relatively informal service.

My impression from your postings is that you have an attitude of
privilege and expect to be catered to. If so, NCL is not the line for
you (maybe the suites would be OK). "Freestyle" is not what you want.