Transatlantic ...Cunard v NCL

[Mrs Harley]

I hope I am posting this is the right place.

Jut wondered if anyone can give me any feedback on the better of the 2 lines for a transatlantic crossing.

Our first cruise was on the QM2 last year from NY to Southampton. Next year we are booked for a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise with NCL on the Star. We received our brochure from NCL today and I noticed that the Star sails from NOLA to Dover ... which would be great for us as we live 6 hours drive from NOLA and Dover is right between where our families live in Kent. This would save us so much time..my question is has anyone done this route with both cruise lines and can you tell me how they compared with regard to handling the weather conditions and sea swells...

Thanks

[Keith1010]

The QM2 handles a crossing better than most any ship afloat so it will be much better than NCL in that regard and it is a much different experience in terms of the on board feel.

Keith

[Starbright]

The QM2 is an ocean liner rather than a cruise ship, so will always handle bad weather better.

[CaveDiving]

IMHO, comparing Cunard to NCL is kind of like comparing Ruth's Chris to McDonald's.

Scott & Karen

[rdsqrl]

Well, you've already done the TA on the Queen Mary, so you have a good idea of what that's like. Even ocean liners can run into rough weather and rough seas -- we had 1.5 days of extremely rough (as in, nobody allowed out on the open decks) seas even on the QE2. That said, certainly a liner like the QM is going to handle seas better than a cruise ship.

The onboard experience, however, will be polar opposite in tone. Really. You can just literally imagine the exact opposite of everything you experienced onboard the QM and that's pretty much how your NCL experience will be. If the timing works, wait until after your Caribbean NCL cruise and you'll have a better feel for whether that atmosphere is something you care to experience for an entire TA.

[CruiserBruce]

Originally Posted by CaveDiving

IMHO, comparing Cunard to NCL is kind of like comparing Ruth's Chris to McDonald's.

Scott & Karen

No kidding Not sure there could be a much different set of things to compare!

[Mrs Harley]

Thanks for your replies... we obviously know the on board experience will be very different and the difference in the type of ship.

On the QM2 we were in a force 9 gale and the only discomfort we had was the heat as the outside doors were closed off... luckily we had a balcony and were able to get some air. My question was really ( and maybe I didnt word it too well) about how the different ships handle the weather...is the roll and swell very noticeable....

[Mrs Harley]

Originally Posted by CaveDiving

IMHO, comparing Cunard to NCL is kind of like comparing Ruth's Chris to McDonald's.

Scott & Karen

I actually think your response was kind of rude...we are not idiots and were not asking for comparison of the cruise experience which even to novice cruisers like ourselves would be noticeably different.... but on the difference in the way the ships handle.

[kitty9]

The handling of the seas will be much better on a Cunard ship that's built specifically for trans Atlantic crossings. If you're in a storm on NCL, you will definitely feel it much more. I know I did when we were on NCL Dream. She did not take the swells very well at all. And it was only 15 ft waves. On the QM2, we had 25ft seas and hardly felt a thing on her.

[Mrs Harley]

Originally Posted by kitty9

The handling of the seas will be much better on a Cunard ship that's built specifically for trans Atlantic crossings. If you're in a storm on NCL, you will definitely feel it much more. I know I did when we were on NCL Dream. She did not take the swells very well at all. And it was only 15 ft waves. On the QM2, we had 25ft seas and hardly felt a thing on her.

Thank you

[loubetti]

Originally Posted by CaveDiving

IMHO, comparing Cunard to NCL is kind of like comparing Ruth's Chris to McDonald's.

Scott & Karen

Bingo!

Rude or not, QM2 is an ocean liner, as stated above, and you know this already. Now, granted, the cruise ships take a southerly route, which can be smoother, maybe. But for me, if I want to cross the Atlantic on a ship, it will be QM2 and nothing else. I've been on force 12 seas on QE2 and QM2, and I would NOT want to be on any ordinary cruise ship in those conditions, regardless of it's size.

I recall when QE2 got hit by a rogue wave, almost 100' high, and she just went about her business, and they did not repair the dented forecastle plating for almost a year! If that wave had hit a cruise ship, you would be talking major structural damage, injuries, and potential loss of life.

[LadyShiva]

Mrs. Harley, you might get a wider range of people who've actually crossed the Atlantic on NCL ships here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=107

I don't have an opinion of how well NCL ships fare on the Atlantic because I haven't yet crossed the Atlantic on Cunard or NCL.

I've heard the crossing can have dramatically different weather, between "sea of glass" and "oh my GOSH, that's a big wave!" I'm looking forward to your review, if you post one!