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On December 6, we returned from an 11-day NCL cruise from Miami to Panama City, Panama. It was heavenly! ....
Great post. We did an NCL cruise about 1989, on the legendary SS Norway which started life as the SS France, a trans-Atlantic screamer that once held the speed record for crossings between Europe and NYC. The poor naval architect who designed the SS France made a math error in his work and the ship was one foot too wide to transit the Panama Canal; he was so distraught he committed suicide. Ships like the SS France were built for the Atlantic crossing trade and as such the ships of that pre-jet-travel era had deep drafts for smoother sailing; the France sat 35 feet deep in the water.
When re-incarnated as the SS Norway for the Caribbean cruise market the 35-foot draft made it too deep to use the docks in many Caribbean ports, so the ship carried two 400-person tenders to ferry people to shore. They simply lowered these over the sides of the ship as if they were just extra big lifeboats. We rode those into several ports and into NCL's private island.
The cruise was memorable, our first of two, and the SS Norway spoiled us. There was a Captain's dinner one night, with a requirement for formal wear, yes formal. At that time I had a tuxedo with all the trimmings and I wore it to dinner. Hopefully this link will get you some pix of the ship. It was fabulous. Too bad that society has gotten away from dressing up for special occasions. The Norway was later upgraded with added decks which increased the ship to about 95,000 tons, huge at the time. It was sold for scrap years ago and hammered into pieces by ship breakers on a beach in India, a disgusting end to a great ship.
Among the things we learned about cruising from a wonderful book called "Liners to the Sun," were various cruise industry beliefs. Two of those beliefs were that cruises were mostly taken by the "newly wed or nearly dead" and that Carnival Cruise Lines was the K-Mart of the Caribbean for running low cost alcohol-soaked party boats. No doubt those old beliefs are now passe. But I don't want to be on a boat with 5000 people; I'd be happier going to Las Vegas for a week.
We took another cruise a couple of years later about 1991. IIRC it was the SS Westerdam of the Holland-America Line. It was okay but not a great experience. It was an older ship, smaller than the Norway and not as deep in the water, so we got a lot of up and down motion with the wave action. I can't imagine that ship is still around, since there is a big new ship by that name built in 2003.
So we haven't cruised in 30 years and probably won't do that again. At 75 I'd rather sit home and read a book, or write one here on City-Data.
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Last edited by Mike from back east; 12-24-2023 at 10:25 AM..
I don't like cruise ships that accommodate thousands of people, the noise, the crowds, the mingling, entertainments and socializing with masses. I like quiet, relaxing atmosphere, few people around, no schedules, spending the time my ways, planning the trip on my own. Definitely not into guided tourism and going anywhere with a group of strangers. Like to spend the time with locals, learn about their customs and eat their food. Explore things on my own. The cruise ships attractions doesn't interest me.
Loved to travel by cargo ships, though. Been on several where I was the only passenger
Mike fbe, thanks for sharing info re: the Norway. I just looked at a bunch of photos and watched a video re: her history and ultimate demise after the boiler explosion. It's a remarkable story.
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I think I would have to be dragged kicking and screaming onto a large cruise ship. The first Alaska cruise we did was on a vessel that had 55 passenger capacity and the last was on a chartered yacht for eight passengers. Both were relaxing and a lot of fun and hassle free.
I totally agree with you! This year is our 50th anniversary and we were hoping to take a cruise to Alaska with one of the smaller lines. Unfortunately their pricing is ridiculous. We are both retired and not swimming in money. But neither one of us like crowds or rampaging kids and teens We want to peacefully enjoy our trip. My hope to get to Alaska (the final state I have never visited) is getting dimmer. Since it is once in a lifetime I also wanted to take a several day land tour, but even those are expensive. I am now trying to find a B&B in New England, but since we would be going in August those are turning out to be $400-500/night.
Hubby trying to be helpful contacted a local TA and asked for cruises that would allow us to be on ship the day of our anniversary. She came up with 2 to Bermuda on RCL and 1 to Nassau on Celebrity. No thank you. Been to Nassau and will never go back and I have no want to spend 2-3 days in Bermuda as the only port stop.
I totally agree with you! This year is our 50th anniversary and we were hoping to take a cruise to Alaska with one of the smaller lines. Unfortunately their pricing is ridiculous. We are both retired and not swimming in money. But neither one of us like crowds or rampaging kids and teens We want to peacefully enjoy our trip. My hope to get to Alaska (the final state I have never visited) is getting dimmer. Since it is once in a lifetime I also wanted to take a several day land tour, but even those are expensive. I am now trying to find a B&B in New England, but since we would be going in August those are turning out to be $400-500/night.
Go in September. I am on a 14 day Holland America cruise out of Vancouver to Seward, Alaska and back for $760 pp plus taxes and gratuities for an oceanview room. The ship has 2000 passengers and will likely have 30 or fewer children as school has resumed after Labor Day.
I've long known that some people love cruises and others hate it. Haters sometimes act like no one in their right mind would ever go on a cruise, and I never understood that. I did not understand the level of hatred toward cruising. Until now.
I've been on about a dozen cruises, mostly Holland America, but also one or two on Carnival, Princess, Celebrity, and we just back last week from our first cruise on Norwegian's new ship, the Prima.
I have LOVED every cruise we have ever gone on, until this one. I have never had one significant complaint. I am not a whiner. I am not high maintenance. I have had fabulous times in numerous parts of the world on many different cruise ships.
Until this one. I realize now that, unlike other kinds of vacations, when a cruise ship vacation goes wrong, things can start to domino, everything is outside of your control, and it can truly be a horrible waste of time and money. We were completely at the mercy of the cruise ship. Various problems collided, causing the itinerary to change significantly. We missed multiple tours we had been so looking forward to. We ended up with extra sea days, and found that this ship had very little to do on it compared to other ships. Granted we were north of Europe (Norway and Iceland) so the ship's pools weren't open, but indoor entertainment/activities were severely lacking. Too few seats in the limited indoor lounges, the Observation Lounge was mysteriously closed the entire trip, while the vast expanse of outdoor spaces went to waste in that cold climate. We spent many, many hours in our cabin reading books. Pleasant, but not what we had in mind, especially for the cost.
The Prima Class ships are loved by some and disliked by others.
I cruised on the Prima in it's inaugural year and enjoyed the Observation Lounge for viewing, reading and snacks. Especially for your itinerary, I'm stumped as to why such a beautiful viewing area would be closed.
We were on the NCL Prima May 7th to Bermuda. The problem here was not "Cruising", it was the NCL Prima. The ship has a terrible layout and is lacking in everything other ships have. We were on a 7 day cruise, and had no pool till day 5, entertainment on the Lido was a video DJ near the pool bar, no stage or live band. One very quick Waterslide, and Dry Slides people get stuck in. Food, even at the costly specialty restaurants was terrible. Then started running out of ours (and others) favorite beverages.....it was a total shipshow. Popular venues were too small, and required a two hour wait for standing room only. I had told my wife "If this was my first ever cruise, it would be my last". We also did an all inclusive to Aruba just prior to our sailing......gotta tell ya, it may just tip the scale on where my vacation dollar will be spent. We did book a bucket list cruise to Alaska though on the NCL Encore, fingers crossed it goes well. NCL supposedly has 4 more ships identical to the Prima lined up, so be forewarned.
I agree on lack of live band entertainment at the Lido pool area. That area was poorly designed. Maybe it was intentional so NCL can save money with one less band.
NCL is doing a lot of cutbacks and food is one area. Mind you, all cruise lines are cutting cost. I've found that specialty dining is better than the MDR and the buffet. However, there are hits and misses day to day or cruise to cruise.
ETA: Ha Ha! I did not even realized until commenting again that this was a resurrected thread from last year.
Last edited by Rastafellow; Today at 12:29 PM..
Reason: change text
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