Carnival cruiser to try out the NCL Getaway...

After having sailed twice now on Carnivals flagship, the Breeze, I thought it was time to expand my horizons... I looked into the Allure/Oasis, but as a solo traveler, it was just way too much $. NCL is running a promotion that includes the Ultimate Beverage Program with an oceanview or higher category, so jumped on a mid-ship balcony for a 7 day Eastern Caribbean leaving May 30th... I have only ever sailed Carnival, but I love variety, so I'm willing to give anything a try. Is the grass greener on the other side? I'll have to wait 132 more days to find out...

Good for you! I'd like to try the Getaway since it is just like the Breakaway with fewer New Yorkers on board. That might be why it gets better reviews. I have sailed on Carnival and NCL both more than once, and I do prefer NCL quite a bit more, mainly for the entertainment.

We have sailed 3 times are carnival, then last March, we decided to try out NCL. We went on the Epic, and now refuse to ever go back to carnival. In fairness, we never sailed on the new ships of the carnival fleet, and Epic was the newest ship we have ever sailed. Carnival, was definitely more of a party vibe, and worked for us in our twenties. I love that NCL has the freestyle dining. I love all of the entertainment is well. I also found the service to be a lot better, the staff seems happier, and looks like they really love their jobs. We'll be sailing the Getaway on 5/2, cant wait to see what it has to offer.

Just be aware that you won't get the pizza on NCL like on the Breeze. I much prefer O'Sheehan's to Guys Burgers, AND I much prefer Freestyle dining to the assigned and any time dinging on Carnival.

Since you are sailing solo, please attend the evening solo gatherings, they will be listed in the Freestyle Daily. It is there where you can meet the other solos, plan excursions, hang out in the studio cabin "Living Room" and go to the shows as a group.

ALSO, I prefer the entertainment on Norwegian, I really disliked the line up for the comedy club on the Breeze, I thought it was disorganized and since we already had seats during the karaoke, it was really frustrating that we had to leave the club and get at the back of the line for the show.

I hope you enjoy your Getaway cruise, have fun!

I have been on many Carnival cruises and then decided to give NCL a try. To be honest, my nephew and his wife were working on Carnival. He is a DJ and she is a dancer. That is why we had so many family cruises on Carnival. Then they got jobs with Norwegian and I took my first NCL cruise in November 2013 on the Pearl. Next was the Getaway in April 2014. Next will be the Epic in April 2015.

I would sail Carnival again if the price and itinerary and rest of the family were willing. I find that the two lines are more similar then different. However, the one thing I noticed on NCL was a feeling of "welcomeness" as if NCL appreciated the fact that I had chosen to cruise with them. Everyone was so friendly. We all enjoyed trying the different restaurants too but had a very nice meal our first night in the main dining room.

On the Getaway we really enjoyed the glow party and the fireworks. I think NCL does a very good job of creating a festive atmosphere and getting everyone involved. I think I participated in more group activities on the Getaway then I ever did on Carnival.

We ate at Cagneys on the Getaway and recognized someone who had worked on the Pearl. They remembered us and later sent chocolate covered strawberries to our room.

On the Getaway, I purchased the future cruise certificate for $250.00. That turned out to be a real good deal. I was able to use it to book the cruise for our upcoming Epic cruise.

Not a deal breaker for me, but NCL for the most part now no longer serves free lobster tails in the main dining room like Carnival does.

Carnival used to be our go-to cruise line, but since the implementation of the 2.0 downgrades (whoops, upgrades :D ), their product has gone downhill. We love NCL, the crew has been awesome on all our sailings, the entertainment is excellent, the food quite good! NCL is now our first choice!

As a solo traveler I've only cruised NCL because of the studio cabins.

The one thing that struck me as different is what NCL does at every port (well the ones they don't tender at...never been to a tender port). They have popup tents with the cruise director's staff playing music, bins with cold towels, hand sanitizer, cruise director's staff with water guns shooting at people and welcoming you back and both a small alcoholic and non alcoholic drink for coming back onboard.

Compared that to Carnival...there was no one outside the ship to greet you back. Looked like you were boarding a ferry.

It was that little difference that sold me on NCL over Carnival.