How are these ships flagged.
Is the crew European?
Many commercial vessels are flagged in some country of convenience and go out of their way to recruit low-paid illegal immigrants who cannot (a) understand the officers (b) have no idea what they are doing technically, except to use a cell phone to call Ma in Guatemala.
This is a result of screwy euro-taxation. Fire in the engine spaces? Hmm?
I believe NCL is Bahamian-flagged. All cruise ships, with the exception noted in the next paragraph, are multi-cultural, but I’ve never noticed a language barrier with those that interact with the passengers. Certainly the cooks and below-deck workers would be less multi-lingual. Costa has a particular problem in that most of the passengers are European, and as such don’t “queue-up” well, or follow instructions like us sheeple. This can be a disadvantage in times of emergency.
A very pointed exception is NCL’s Pride of America. This ship is, I believe, US-flagged. Because it only hops the Hawaiian islands, they are required to employ only US citizens. As a rule, the ship employees are rude, unhelpful and unwilling to go an extra mile to get a larger tip. I’ve heard horrible reviews about this ship, and I’d never sail on it.