After 5 NCL cruises we have stricken NCL from our cruise line list. We cruise fairly frequently, at least 2x per year and have had about 20 cruises. Our NCL ship, the Spirit, was leaving New Orleans the night of Jan 10, 2010 for Western Carribean. Instead of enjoying the exciting night departure, we were below decks standing in line for an hour and then having our suspicious luggage searched for alcohol under the pretense of a security search looking for weapons! Clearly, the crew, who fondled through our clothing and personal items, pulling out clothing, my tuxedo, etc., were searching for alcohol. Their sensor equipment apparently identified container-looking items and the bags, ours and others, were marked with the suspected items -- "alcohol," was marked on bags everywhere. My wife and I always bring fine wines to enjoy with our dining room meals on cruises. We pay the usual corking fee in the dining room, just as we do when we take wine to land-based restaurant. We have collected wine for years and usually look forward to cruising in order to enjoy some special labels at dinner. From my observation watching others' bags being opened, and my own, and rifled through, at least half the suspicious alcohol containers were discovered to be other items. In our case, one of the containers had Zatarins spice purchased in New Orleans. This rather crude welcoming really set the tone for the rest of the trip. After pulling our bag apart, the foreign baggage handler found one bottle of wine and gave me the choice in broken English of paying the corking fee then and there, or having the bottle confiscated, to be picked up at the end of the trip. If there were no corking fee involved, of course, you didn't have the choice. I paid then and there my $15.00. Those many who chose to pick up their bottles of wine or alcohol later, were made to stand in line again at the end of the cruise to pull their bottles from a box and be signed out. After over an hour in line then being searched, missing the sendoff, we were finally left to carry our own baggage up to your room. Just unbelievable! I refused and insisted the ship's personnel bring the bags, for which we had contracted, but they would not do so before 8:00 p.m., I was grudgingly told. (My wife later complained to ships personnel, so we did get our bags earlier than 8:00 p.m. and had time to dress for dinner.)

This episode was fairly typical of the loss of quality experience on this ship that we had previously been accustomed with NCL. It had been one of our favorite lines, but now is crossed off the list. Ships crew were generally unfriendly and seldom a smile or glance when passing in the hallway, quite different from our entire past cruising experiences. It seemed something was amiss. NCL has become the Denny's of cruising, appealing to the less experienced masses; not a way to spend a future vacation when there are other really fine lines available for the same or less cost.

Other observations: no enrichment lectures. All classes and enrichment talks were focused on selling products, and emphasized drinking liquor or wine, or expensive alternative restaurants. Read more