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Name: Charles Silverman
Email: cruzeluvr@aol.com
Age: 47
Occupation: CPA
NumberOfCruises: 4
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-NorwegianCrown
SailingDate: 08/01/98
Itinerary: Bermuda
FoodDiningRoom: 70
CruiseDirector: 60
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 80
CruiseStaff: 70
CabinAmenities: 75
FoodLidoDeck: 70
DiningRoomService: 70
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 70
CabinSteward: 70
ShoreExcVariety: 80
FoodVariety: 60
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 70
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 80
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 50
LoungeService: 90
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 90
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 80
EntertShowLounge: 75
OverallPortsofCall: 100
BeautySalon: 80
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 40
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 85
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 75
DeckSpace: 40
Stabilization: 75
ShopsOnBoard: 75
SpaceRatio: 75
OverallCruiseValue: 70
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 08 Aug 1998
Time: 21:25:18
Remote Name: 205.188.193.161
Remote User:
Comments
Review of the Norwegian Crown to Bermuda 8/1/98 to 8/8/98
We are in our 40's with a 16-year-old son. This was our first
cruise on NCL and overall we had a good time because we love
cruising. Having cruised to
Bermuda in August 1996 and 1997 on Royal Caribbean's Song of
America, we are in a position to compare the two lines and ships.
Quite frankly, NCL
just doesn't measure up. We felt that NCL was more concerned with
squeezing every last dime out of us, and less concerned with the
quality of the cruise
itself.
First for the ship itself - Cabins - We had a Superior Deluxe
Suite (Cat. S1 - deck #9) which was a great cabin. The cabin
itself is divided into two rooms, a
bedroom and a living room. We had a queen-size bed, fairly
comfortable, and our son slept on a pull down berth in the living
room. The living room also
had a picture window, a sofa and loveseat, 2 armchairs, TV, and
storage space. The cabin actually had more storage space than we
needed. The
bathroom was a good size, with a whirlpool tub and shower. Some
other nice touches- we received complimentary bottles of
champagne and sparkling
mineral water, and a bowl of fruit from NCL. We also got
complimentary bottles of Evian water, which were replaced
whenever we finished one. Guests on
the lower decks had to pay for any of these things they consumed.
They also gave us bathrobes to use (not to keep), although there
were only 2 robes
for 3 people.
Condition of ship - The ship seemed to have an unusual number of
problems. I realize these things happen sometimes, but this trip
seemed to have more
than its share. I can't help but wonder what was going on that we
were not aware of.
To start, on our first night out (approximately 11:45 PM on
8/1/98) the entire ship lost power for about 3 hours. We just
drifted. About a half-hour after
losing power, the captain finally came on the ship intercom to
announce that we had lost power and that it would be fixed in 15
minutes. I'm sure the
captain was preoccupied, but it would have been nice to hear an
'official' voice sooner than that. Although I was not alarmed (as
long as we weren't
sinking or on fire), many passengers were very concerned,
especially after the recent fire on board the Ecstasy. The power
was finally restored and we
were underway again at approximately 2:45 AM. Since there was no
air conditioning and no lights, I stayed out by the pool deck and
talked with some
fellow travelers. It was an interesting way to meet people - we
all had something to talk about. The captain had the crew
awakened and told them to
mingle with the passengers to keep everyone calm. I thought that
overall they handled the situation pretty well.
The next problem was with the plumbing and toilets. Throughout
the ship, and throughout the entire week, there seemed to be a
problem with the toilets
not working. They kept fixing them, but they kept breaking down.
Occasionally, there was no water in the bathrooms. That makes it
kind of difficult to
shower.
Another problem was with the telephones not working for the first
few days. They finally got it fixed while we were in Bermuda. My
only inconvenience was
not being able to call for room service or get a wake up call.
However, there were some older passengers who were concerned that
in case of a medical
emergency in their cabin they would not be able to call for help
and would have to run to the purser's station to get assistance.
Design of Ship - The ship looks very nice, both inside and out,
and with a few exceptions it is fairly easy to get around.
Getting around - In terms of getting around, my main complaint
was that on the penthouse deck, which is the 'sun deck' you
cannot walk from one end to
the other without going inside. The front of the penthouse deck
is the 'observation area' while the aft portion has a few hot
tubs, and a bar and grill.
Amenities - There are hot tubs on the penthouse deck (deck #10)
and on deck #1 near the fitness center. We did not see the hot
tubs on deck #1 get
a lot of use, but on deck #10 they were always crowded. The
fitness center had various fitness equipment - nothing special
about it. If you wanted to
work out it was always available. There was a small indoor pool
on deck #1 and the main pool was aft on deck #7.
There was a movie theater on board if you wanted to go to the
movies. We didn't use it, but thought it was a nice touch. On the
other hand, the space
could probably be put to better use as another show or activity
lounge.
Deck space - The feature that I found the most lacking on this
ship was ample deck space. There were lounge chairs around the
pool on deck #7, but it
was a relatively small area and filled up quickly. Decks 8 and 9
have very little outside deck space overlooking the pool (it's
more like standing room) and
deck #10, where there is plenty of room, is three decks up from
the pool. Although there is plenty of space on deck #10, if you
want to see what is going
on near the pool, you have to stand by the aft rail which doesn't
allow many people to see the poolside entertainment or deck
parties at night. There is
also virtually no shade if you want to get out of the sun for a
while. The sides of the ship have enough space to walk, but not
to stretch out in a lounge
chair. Actually, we did not see any chairs on the sides. Also,
one of the activities supposedly available, shuffleboard, cannot
be played while people are
around the pool since they are sitting on the shuffleboard area.
Basically, there is no shuffleboard available. We thought the
design and layout of the
Song of America was far superior to the Norwegian Crown.
Lounges - The main lounge on the Norwegian Crown is the Stardust
Lounge. That is where they have the shows and bingo. For the more
popular shows,
it fills up very fast. There were a few nights we had to choose
between having dessert or seeing the show. (More about that
later) There was also some
entertainment in the Monte Carlo Court (near the casino) and in
the Yacht Club. Those were nice places to relax for a little
while.
Poolside entertainment - The band by the pool was called Roots
Link. I enjoyed them very much.
Sports Bar - The Lido Bar on deck #8 was the sports bar. Had 4
TV's tuned to ESPN. I was able to get a dose of Yankee baseball,
so I didn't suffer any
withdrawal symptoms during the week.
Stabilization - First day at sea we had rough seas and a lot of
sick passengers. NCL crew put 'Barf Bags' in all the elevators,
by all elevator doors, on
each stairway landing and in all public areas. Enough said?
Embarkation / Disembarkation - Embarkation went smoothly. We had
filled out all forms before arriving at the pier so we checked in
quickly and got on
board. When we boarded, there was a hostess at the gangway who
pointed us in the direction of our cabin. This surprised me a
little, since on Royal
Caribbean we have always been escorted to the cabin by someone on
the bellman staff. We also received little cardboard boarding
passes instead of the
sign and sail cards we were accustomed to from other cruise lines
like RCI and Carnival. When I inquired about how to charge things
to our shipboard
account, they said to just write our name and cabin number on the
bill and sign for it. This doesn't sound like a very secure
system, since anyone who
knows your name and cabin number can seemingly charge things to
your room.
They also served the customary embarkation lunch, and we had the
mandatory lifeboat drill before sailing.
Disembarkation was the usual controlled chaos - but we found our
luggage right away, breezed through customs and were on our way
home (back to
reality).
Activities -
In one word - BORING! The activities on this cruise were sorely
lacking and poorly timed and coordinated. Several times we had to
rush to finish dinner or
skip dessert in order to get to a show or other activity on time.
The evening activities could have been planned much better to
allow adequate time for
eating dinner and also enjoying the few activities available.
Ping-Pong was usually available, kept some of the kids busy; and
shuffleboard was supposedly available except there was no way to
play when the
playing area was alongside the pool where everyone was sitting in
lounge chairs.
The sports afloat program is not nearly as good as Royal
Caribbean's shipshape program. There are not nearly enough
activities for everyone, the timing
is not always convenient and it is difficult to collect enough
points (15) to get a T-shirt at the end of the week. There were
26 activities during the week
where you could earn points. If you eliminate the more strenuous
activities, there were only about 15 or 16 activities to earn
points. Miss one - no T-shirt.
And that is all they have to give away - T-shirts. Our dining
companions, a family of three, started out with a goal of a
T-shirt for each of them, changed to
one T-shirt for all of them combined, and eventually gave up with
nothing. My wife and I got lucky and won a sports trivia contest
(perfect score!) and got
two T-shirts as a prize. Compared to the RCI shipshape program
where we have gotten several T-shirts, beach bags, fanny packs
and sun visors the NCL
sports afloat program looks like a cheap imitation.
Also, conspicuously missing was the 'horse racing' that I have
had on every other cruise, (and look forward to). I promised my
son we would seriously bid
on a horse this year. Needless to say we were very disappointed.
Also looked forward to Novel Quest or Western Quest or whatever
it's called on other
ships. This was another disappointment.
We also expected to see some Broadway revue type shows which NCL
is supposedly known for, but what they performed wasn't even
close. Not bad, but
not Broadway. Maybe that was one we missed when we couldn't get
into the lounge. (See day 6 below)
The teen program was awful! The youth coordinator did her best to
keep them occupied, but there was just nothing for the teens to
do, very few
organized activities, no giveaways (not even a T- Shirt). So many
of them (yes, mine included) out of sheer boredom, just got into
mischief. NCL should
take a few lessons from RCI and Carnival. I won't dwell on this,
my son plans on doing his own review.
Casino - The casino was small but not crowded. A few tables for
blackjack, Caribbean stud poker, let it ride, a roulette wheel
and a craps table. And of
course plenty of slot machines. I had some fun and made a little
profit here. Unfortunately, I gave it back at Bingo.
Bingo - This can be expensive. The jackpot builds up all week and
is given away at the last session if nobody wins it sooner. Also,
depending upon how
much you spend at Bingo, you get raffle tickets for a free
cruise. It's very tempting, but like I said it can get expensive.
If you play for fun, it can be
entertaining for a half-hour or so. If you play to win, or to win
the free cruise, just wait until you get your bill at the end of
he week.
Shopping - There are several on board shops, some with nice stuff
and some with the usual souvenir type items. At various times
during the week, they
list 'demonstrations' under activities in the daily activities.
These are usually nothing more than a sales pitch to get you to
try (and buy) a certain product.
Art auctions - I find these entertaining and sometimes buy a
piece (or two, or three). The auctions on NCL are conducted by
Fine Art Sales, Inc. I bought
a piece at one of the auctions because it complements another
piece I have by the same artist. Since it was already framed I
decided to carry it off the
ship instead of paying $50+ for shipping. When it was handed to
me I asked where the certificate of authenticity was. I was told
that this company does
not issue certificates of authenticity, but would be glad to give
me an appraisal for an additional fee. I pointed out that Park
West Galleries who run the
auctions on the RCI ships have always given certificates of
authenticity with the artwork. The art director/auctioneer gave
me his card and told me I could
call the home office in Miami to see if they could do anything
for me. I took the piece anyway because I liked it and it wasn't
that expensive. Next I asked
him if he could box it or give me some bubble wrap, but he
claimed he ran out of boxes and bubble wrap. I carried it off the
ship anyway, very carefully.
As for shipping, I purchased several framed pieces from the Carol
Holding Studio in Bermuda. Their shipping charge was $5. Why does
NCL charge $50?
Other than the casino, bingo, shopping, art auctions, and
drinking (all designed to separate you from your money) these
were the activities - Day 1 -
leaving NY- Sit in a lounge and listen to music in one of two
lounges (mutually exclusive), nightly entertainment (nothing
special) and disco, cigar bar. Day
2 at sea - same as day 1 plus a few sports afloat activities,
finance lecture, wine tasting -( for a $10 per person fee). Day 3
in Bermuda - same as day 1
plus a dance class and this is 50's & 60's night. Day 4 in
Bermuda - same as day 1 plus a morning stretch, dance classes,
play bridge, rum tasting. This is
Caribbean night with a 'tropical deck party' on the pool deck. If
you have late seating, forget about going to the deck party - its
way too crowded to get
everyone on the pool deck. See previous comments about deck
space. Day 5 in Bermuda - same as day 1 plus a few sports afloat
activities, dance class,
rum tasting; Liars club (one show only at 10:15 PM) - standing
room only. We skipped dessert in order to get in to see this (see
previous comments
about timing and coordination of activities); This is also
Country Western night with a 'country deck party' on the pool
deck. If you have late seating, forget
about going to the deck party - its way too crowded to get
everyone on the pool deck. See previous comments about deck
space. Day 6 leaving Bermuda
- same as day 1 plus a few sports afloat activities. The
entertainment tonight is the 'Showstoppers' revue plus late night
comedy. Times of the
'Showstoppers' are 9:00 PM for the main seating, which is after
their dinner, and 10:45 PM for the late seating. The 10:45 show
is followed by the late
night comedy at 11:30PM. Therefore, the early seating actually
had a choice of two times to see 'Showstoppers' and the majority
went to the 10:45 show
(which was intended for the late seating) and then stayed for the
late night comedy. Quite a few people from the late seating could
not get into the
Stardust lounge to see either 'Showstoppers' or the late night
comedy. It makes you wonder who planned this out. The cruise
director? Day 7 at sea -
same as day 1 plus a debarkation briefing, pool games (see
previous comments about deck space), and a few sports afloat
activities. Tonight is also the
passenger talent show which lasted about 10 minutes (only 2
participants). Many passengers were pretty disappointed and
discouraged with the cruise
by this time.
Overall we were very disappointed with the activities. Instead of
having to decide between activities which conflict or overlap,
most of the time we were
looking for something to do.
Food - Well, there was plenty of food. However quantity cannot
make up for quality. Quite frankly the food was not very good.
Not terrible, just not good.
Lunch We had lunch in the dining room only once and generally ate
at the buffet in the Yacht Club. The lunch buffets were not very
impressive (my wife
thought they were terrible). They occasionally ran out of coffee
and it took a while until someone in the crew replaced it. It
took us 3 days to discover that
there were burgers and hot dogs (but no fries) on the penthouse
deck. They don't go out of their way to let you know.
Dinner For dinner, the appetizers and desserts were usually good,
and I enjoyed the chilled soups. However, the entree selection
for dinner was not
very good. Instead of deciding between entrees, I was often
looking for just one that I might enjoy. The entrees were not
very tasty and I confess, I
started ordering pizza from room service before dinner so I
wouldn't be hungry. I was looking forward to the night they had
lobster tails, but even that
they messed up. I ordered two, and ate just one. The only night I
really enjoyed dinner was Friday, which was Italian night. I had
the chicken cutlet
parmigiana which was excellent.
The best meal my son had all week was at the harbor night street
fair in Hamilton. He found a vendor selling Chinese food and he
filled up on that. (Claims
his nose led him to it!) NCL certainly has no idea what teenagers
like to eat.
Midnight buffets - nothing special. The Chocoholic Buffet looks
very impressive but is overrated. I'll take Godiva (or even
Hershey's) and one of my local
bakeries over what NCL put out. The Caribbean Night and Country
Night buffets are outside on the pool deck, and you can't get
near the food. (See
comments above regarding deck space.) As for the Italian Night
Buffet - I'm still looking for the pasta.
Room Service - We ordered several breakfasts from room service by
placing the order outside our door the night before. Service was
good, very
courteous and quick. One of the waiters almost ran out of the
room before we could tip him. The only problem was timing on two
mornings, when they
arrived about a half-hour earlier than we requested. We were
still sleeping when they knocked. The second time it happened I
pointed it out to the waiter
and he said he was concerned that the food would get cold. I
appreciated his concern, but suggested that whoever organizes
room service for breakfast
should coordinate better with the galley.
I also used room service to order pizza before dinner. The pizza
was pretty good for cruise ship pizza. You have a choice of plain
cheese, pepperoni or
veggie.
There were other offerings available from room service, generally
the standard fare. However, there were several other 'fancier'
items available at an
additional charge. I thought this was a rip off. All food on the
cruise should be included in the price or shouldn't be made
available at all.
Service - The service was satisfactory, but barely.
The cabin steward worked very hard, kept the cabin neat and
clean, but never left a fresh bar of soap unless the old bar was
not in sight. I mean how
cheap can you get when you have to start skimping on the soap.
The waiter and busboy also worked very hard but dining room
service was often slow and not coordinated. The busboy could only
serve iced tea or water
when we sat down. The bar waiter or wine steward had to get soda
for us (yes, we had to pay-even at dinner). Unfortunately, the
bar waiter/wine
steward was difficult to find. Quite a few times we went to the
Maitre D' to get a bar waiter to request a soda. When the waiter
brought our salads, we
sometimes waited another 10 minutes for the busboy to bring the
dressing. Coffee and dessert generally did not arrive at the same
time. We got the
impression that they were understaffed and had too many tables to
handle. You could see how hard they were trying. I blame this on
the Maitre D' who is
supposed to make sure things go smoothly. All he did for us was
offer to make cherries jubilee one night (with an attitude like
he was doing us a favor)
and take a picture of our table with our camera. On the last
morning, we went to the dining room for breakfast at the
specified time. I'm still waiting for my
bacon & eggs.
Bar service, other than in the dining room, was excellent. The
bar waiters were always around whenever you wanted a drink.
Concierge service - what a joke! They will be glad to do anything
for you that you can do for yourself. I spoke with the concierge
about getting some
cardboard, or a box, or some bubble wrap for the artwork I wanted
to carry off the ship. I told her what the art director had said.
She got back to me,
and told me that she spoke to the art director and he had no more
boxes or bubble wrap. She told me I could have it shipped for an
additional charge.
Summary Overall we had a nice time but found many things about
the ship and NCL that need some serious improvement compared to
other lines like
RCI. I would not rule out ever sailing with NCL again, but not in
the foreseeable future.
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