Carol Dean Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 Just returned from Breakaway and overcrowded worst service due to staff crew cutbacks. We cancelled our transatlantic cruise because of the poor service and way too many people. We will stay with smaller ships, and heard several other cruisers complain about the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FJB Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 On 2/10/2023 at 5:34 PM, Carol Dean said: Just returned from Breakaway and overcrowded worst service due to staff crew cutbacks. We cancelled our transatlantic cruise because of the poor service and way too many people. We will stay with smaller ships, and heard several other cruisers complain about the same thing. If more people do the same as you, the cruise lines should get the message and make changes for the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulB Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 This is terrible to hear. It goes back to what was discussed on here before in regards to poor customer service and being the norm that we now face. These companies should be ashamed of themselves. Not only going on a cruise should be a treat for people, a lot of expense goes into paying to go onto ships and people deserve and quite rightly expect to be treated right, and unfortunately companies are just cutting costs so that they can make profits and it's the holiday makers or customers that always end up suffering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendall James-Vargas Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 @Carol Dean I'm saddened to hear about this experience. From what I have seen, Norwegian Breakaway is a beautiful ship! Was this your first time cruising onboard this ship? https://www.cruisehive.com/reasons-to-cruise-on-the-norwegian-breakaway-cruise-ship/40240 I'm sure all of the staffing cutbacks are negatively impacting the customer experience. What areas of the ship, in particular, were lacking the most? Norwegian Breakaway has a guest capacity of 3,963 passengers. It's definitely a larger ship, and when a ship it that large, it can get pretty crowded. The elevators always seem troublesome on the larger ships. I usually try for the stairs instead of cramming into one when I can. @FJB That's very true! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptAng Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 Love the Breakaway, sailed her 7 times and never had a bad day. If you sail on a ship that holds 3900 expect there to be 3900 people. Crew handled everything well every sailing, entertainment was off the hook. Do they still do Rock of Ages? If your new to this ship dont be afraid to book it is a beautiful vessel and we only had great service and time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendall James-Vargas Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 @CaptAng That's a great point. Usually, larger ships host larger crowds. But as many say, the more the merrier! That's really why cruising is such a personal experience because everyone wants something different out of their vacation experience. Several cruise lines offer more intimate ships and cruising experiences that would possibly better suit @Carol Dean's expectations. What is Rock of Ages? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulB Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 There is a fine line between having large crowds and staff controlling these amounts to staff cuts and companies still getting these masses of customers in to make money without the added staff, and that will always show up and you can tell the difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Sisters Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 @Carol Dean That's no fun! Crowds are oftentimes a good sign for the cruise industry. It means they are meeting their sales goals and financially recovering from the previous year's losses. I'm not thrilled about the staffing cutbacks, but I really hope it all begins to regulate itself. I'm sure it's not an effective long-term plan. Guests like yourself are going to likely notice diluted customer service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeJ Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 And what happens if you complain.. not a lot. You may get an apology if you're lucky, but an apology does not make up for the bad service etc received during your holiday 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruising Caribbean Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 @LukeJ You had me chuckling. I agree that an apology does not make up for the bad service. I would imagine that the customer service staff is pretty numb to customer complaints and comments. The best way to truly fix bad customer service is either avoiding it if you know it's going to be bad or trying to fix it on the spot. Complaining after the fact usually isn't proactive enough. That passive approach usually gets a passive response, and by the time you get one, it's likely too late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat627 Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 We just came from 12 days on the Getaway. One steward had 24 rooms to clean every day. Ours was done around 3pm There were some done around 6pm The steward worked hard but it was to much. It is the first cruise on Norwegian that we didn't even know the stewards name. I don't mind once a day cleaning but I don't want that to be in the late afternoon. We had a lot of rude passengers that didn't help. You could tell not enough staff because the bartenders weren't slowing down the entire time. Yes Getaway is a big ship but I have been on it before and the Breakaway also with no complaints. The entertainment was scaled down too. I met a lot of great staff but it was a frustrating experience Even though I am platinum, after I use up my cruise next funds I will go to another cruise line. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeJ Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 @Kat627 I'm with you on that, I wouldn't be happy to find my room being cleaned so late in the day. I guess we tend to be familiar with that being done in the mornings. And if customers know that a ship is short staffed, it will make the whole experience deflated as you would know that everything will be done at a slower pace than normal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruising Caribbean Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 @Kat627 This just breaks my heart. I hope that Norwegian Cruise Line changes this and makes things right for its housekeeping staff. I don't think anyone should feel so overworked and exhausted to then have to attend to rude cruise passengers. It's just unfair that the cruise line has decided to make cutbacks that are affecting cruise guests but more importantly the crew and the overall well-being of all staff members onboard. You aren't the only loyal NCL cruise guest that has experienced these sorts of issues. It's evident customer service has declined and it's majorly due to the cutbacks. I'm hoping the new leadership changes positively impact all of these issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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