Inclusive Tip effects Service
Written: Aug 23 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Many meal choices, spacious room, great views
Cons: Poor service, 50/50 chance at good food
The Bottom Line: This trip was a gift, I would not pay to go on this cruise again, but I would like to go Freestyle again.
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| ceebz76's Full Review: Norwegian Sky |
We were given a cruise to Alaska aboard NCL’s Norweigan Star in August of 2005. My expectations were very low because my one prior experience with cruising taught me not to expect much from cruise service or dining. NCL made sure that my low expectations were met.
There seemed to be a chip on the shoulder of most of the staff on the ship that was evident before we even boarded. During the “greeting” process of boarding the ship we were asked to apply a liquid alcohol to our hands before being aloud to board. I asked the young woman who was standing there paying little to no attention to what was going on why we were being asked to do this, to which she replied, “Because we don’t know what you got and we don’t want what you got on our ship.” I certainly did not feel welcome. But it was my honeymoon and very little was going to kill my good mood.
We got to our room and found that the two beds had not been pushed together. Being a person relatively new to cruising, I don’t know if this is protocol, but the ship new it was our honeymoon, so I sort of assumed they would have known that we would be sleeping in the same bed. In the same phone call that I called to ask for the beds to be pushed together that first day, I also asked to have extra towels delivered. Now, although I am new to cruising, I travel all the time and am in hotel rooms more than fifteen days a year. And in my experience, if you need an extra towel the first day, the housekeeping staff will replace the same number of towels they remove. We had to call to get an extra towel every day, for seven days even though we had the same room steward.
As for the room steward, on a regular cruise would be working toward the tip the last day but on a freestyle cruise is guaranteed a small tip everyday regardless of how good or how poor his job is that is added in to your daily bill. My husband and I travel often enough to know how a room should be left by us so that the housekeeping staff can do their job. Our steward would take any of our personal items and stuff them into a cubby hole, and I use the word “stuff” to express the condition of papers and magazines when removed from said cubby hole as compressed and wrinkled. He also left room service plates in the room for three of his visits. The room stank of rotten food.
As for the food, we had every culinary experience ranging from amazing to so bad we just got up and left. We had servers that were dedicated and friendly, although their English was not good enough to explain the menu, they were friendly and well meaning. We also had a server who laughed under his breath when my husband asked an innocent question about the menu because the answer to the question was on the menu. We work in the computer business and understand that client questions can be frustrating, but we also understand the total lack of professionalism that it takes to actually laugh at a customer when they ask if an appetizer is included because they missed that line on the menu after a ten hour day of site seeing. That is more of the “chip” on the shoulder of many, not all, but many of the staff that was felt.
The entertainment was varied as well. Bingo was fun, but after the first time you have heard all the cheesy jokes that are the same cheesy jokes, I mean verbatim that they say every other game. I made it to one of the musical revues that was so bad I left after twenty minutes, and I am not hard to amuse when it comes to musical theatre. What I did absolutely love was a lecture series on Alaska done by a professor from Washington State University. I went the first day of the cruise and the last day, and apparently they had a series of other lectures but they never listed them in the “Freestyle” daily schedule so I had no way of knowing when they were. So I was disappointed I missed those.
Onshore Excursions:
Juneau: We did the Mendenhall Glacier by bus followed by a Salmon Bake. It was a blast and a great way to start a quiet laid back cruise experience. We personally were coming off a week long party with family and friends for our wedding so this was the peaceful start we needed. But, we do wish we had done something with flying! I thought the salmon bake would be boring, but it was delicious home cooked taste with a friendly non toursity feel with some of the most breath taking scenery around. Juneau was not the best shopping, but a fun walk with decent shops.
Skagway: We opted for the short Whitehall Railway tour. Now, our tour was a little tainted by the fact that it was very warm the day that we went. The tour was very interesting and informational. Our tour guide was a hoot, a teacher from Massachusetts and it showed, he knew his history of the gold rush and taught us all about it. I was terrified of the rickety railway, but if you are up for a slow moving thrill ride with awe inspiring views this is the way to go. But again, we sort of wish we had gotten a chance to see some wild life and some flying. Skagway’s shops were very good I thought. Lots of native art as well as the usually kitch kept our eyes busy for the morning before the tour. I am glad we had time to walk around the town.
Ketchican: We were all set to get in both our wildlife and flying here, but due to fog, it was canceled. (very sad face!!!) We would have taken the Neet’s Bay Sea Plane Bear Watching Tour, but alas, the weather had other plans. Ketchican is the town that was built on docks. There was more to see than we saw, we were on our honeymoon afterall!!!
Victoria, B.C.: What a lovely town! We did the Haunted Graveyard and Ghost Tour. It was very informative and a really good way to see a lot of the town and get a brief history of it. If I can just say, if you enjoyed any tour your take, tip your guide. Just think how much energy they put into it!
Well, I think that sums up our honeymoon cruise to Alaska. Overall, it was a good time. I know it seems I complained a lot, we also commended and tipped the staff that were really good to us. I just really think that for all the good things that Freestyle Cruising offers, and I really do like it better than traditional cruising, the automatic tipping, combined with the fact that this cruise staff was in month seven of their eight month contract made them put very little effort forth.
Recommended:
No
Best Suited For: Couples
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Epinions.com ID:
ceebz76
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Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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