What's your FAVORITE thing about NCL?

Like another poster previously mentioned.. we are not new to cruising but this will be our first cruise with NCL on the Epic next week. I've searched for "tips and secrets" posts, but I didn't think that there was a NCL favorites thread, so I thought that I would start one here.

Favorites can be ship, food, show, music group, location on ship, service,, Haven,,, etc. I'm just trying to get an idea of what we can look forward too.

So, spill the beans and do tell!! What is your absolute favorite thing about NCL?

Happy Sails:)

I really like the fact that we can set our own schedule and not worry about hurrying back from port if we want to have dinner in the dining room. When we sailed cruiselines with set dining times we would miss standing by the railing while leaving port or cut our shopping time short. I know that other cruiselines are introducing this concept but I think NCL has perfected it.

Thanks! I am definitely looking forward to not rushing around at all. For anything!:o:)

I am about to leave for my 23rd Norwegian cruise, for mean it is the staff. No matter which ship you choose to sail, that staff is outstanding.

great to know! :)

The staff. They really know how to make your holiday special.

Best cruises ever.

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

I am about to leave for my 23rd Norwegian cruise, for mean it is the staff. No matter which ship you choose to sail, that staff is outstanding.

As meatball_nyc also says, the staff. I'm always distressed to read when people report negative feedback on staff. I've only had 3 NCL trips, but each time (1 Sun, 2 Epic), every staff member I encountered was pleasant at least. I started NCL for freestyle as we like to do our own thing. A year ago, we tried CCL but returned to NCL. CCL was simply not a good match for us, but the ship (Liberty-really better than Epic, and I'm one of those who love Epic) and her staff were great. My limited experience has been so positive that we're booked for 14 days and 20 days this year and may even pick up another.

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We love the freestyle dining. My husband and I were a little hesitant to take a cruise because we did not want to be at a dinner table with other people each night. It is not that we are anti-social, but for us it was an added stressor that we did not want to have. When we found out about the freestyle dining, my husband said let's give cruising a try. Now we are about to go on our 4th cruise with NCL.

We have found that whether you cruise with just yourself and significant other or a group (which we have done with our family and friends) it is very difficult to not have a good time on NCL. Every staff member is very friendly and helpful.

We are trying Carnival this summer with friends just because of convenient circumstances. It will be our first time on another line so we are a little hesitant but we will have something to compare to NCL now!

As meatball_nyc also says, the staff. I'm always distressed to read when people report negative feedback on staff. I've only had 3 NCL trips, but each time (1 Sun, 2 Epic), every staff member I encountered was pleasant at least. I started NCL for freestyle as we like to do our own thing. A year ago, we tried CCL but returned to NCL. CCL was simply not a good match for us, but the ship (Liberty-really better than Epic, and I'm one of those who love Epic) and her staff were great. My limited experience has been so positive that we're booked for 14 days and 20 days this year and may even pick up another.

 

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That's awesome! I have read quite a bit of negative on the Epic.. and I'm somewhat nervous, but more excited than anything. I truly believe that a cruise is what you make of it, great, bad or indifferent. I know my husband and I have been on Royal and CCL, and have cruised at least 8 different times. We are looking forward to it regardless, I know that the staff all sacrifice and work so hard to try and make our experiences great. I could never be away from my family for months at a time. :(

I will echo those that have said the staff. They are simply the nicest and most considerate folk around. :):)

We love the freestyle dining. My husband and I were a little hesitant to take a cruise because we did not want to be at a dinner table with other people each night. It is not that we are anti-social, but for us it was an added stressor that we did not want to have. When we found out about the freestyle dining, my husband said let's give cruising a try. Now we are about to go on our 4th cruise with NCL.

We have found that whether you cruise with just yourself and significant other or a group (which we have done with our family and friends) it is very difficult to not have a good time on NCL. Every staff member is very friendly and helpful.

We are trying Carnival this summer with friends just because of convenient circumstances. It will be our first time on another line so we are a little hesitant but we will have something to compare to NCL now!

Love it!! I agree about a big table of other people. We've done it before, and it's fun, but can be a little exhausting. :o

My favorite thing about NCL is the "2 bedroom family suite with balcony". We have even booked this suite when cruising alone, just because of the layout. Nothing beats NCL's suites and perks!

Love the suite life on NCL!

True! I've looked into suites on other lines. I just don't think they compare. I also agree with the staff. On my one CCL cruise, the bartenders were snippy or cold, not many staff members seemed to enjoy their job.

On every NCL cruise, the staff is always pleasant. We will chat with those we see regularly and always have a vacation hero!

Hmm... I'm hoping that if we enjoy our time on the Epic, I can twist my hubby's arm for a suite next time. Never had one!!!

We love the staff, we love the freestyle dining, we love the entertainment! Carnival used to be our go-to cruiseline, but not anymore! NCL rocks!!!:)

I'm with put me on a ship with loving the staff, freestyle dining, and entertainment!

I've gone on other cruise lines and had one or more of those items missing, and while the cruises were good to close to excellent, they just weren't like every one of our NCL cruises: out-of-this-world :cool::D!!!

Hope you have a wonderful cruise!

The freestyle dining. I like being able to set our own time for dinner, and not being told what I have to wear on certain nights.

Freestyle Dining and the friendly, casual atmosphere.

We have only done a 3 day weekend cruise on an old ship with NCL - but even that was enough to completely convert us to Freestyle and we have booked our Baltic cruise with them for 2016. I was pleasantly surprised with the entertainment too.

I wasn't expecting much on a 3 day itinerary, which may be why this cruise stands out as being so good. Our expectations were far exceeded.

The Haven.

All cruise lines have great staff. All cruise lines have flexible dining.

Not all cruise lines do the suite life so well. Definitely the Haven.

We were loyal to royal for many years and then tried disney for the kids and hated it. We were hesitant to try another line but price led us to ncl and we loved it!!!!

Freestyle is awesome! But we did find servers we loved on night two and then sat in their section for the remainder. We just made the request whenever we showed up each evening. I think that's something useful to know because it is nice to have servers who learn your preferences for drinks and they really pampered us and our kids. Its part of what i love about cruising. My dd11 is instgram friends with our assistant server still.

I love the overall ambiance and quality of passengers. NCL is very "middle of the road" with everything. In my eyes, they do everything just as well or better than any other line, and they do it in a very unique manner. The sjhips are all modern and fun and the fun is never over the top, insanely drunk college kids style. Haha.......well, maybe the Sky on the weekend cruises;)

Carnival supposedly has the "fun ships" but I find NCL to be the most fun I have ever had on a cruise.

No formal night or dress-up required has to be no.1, then friendliest crew..

We love meeting new people but I find trying to have a 2 hour meal for 7 nights with people I might have nothing in common with to be exhausting so we LOVE freestyle where we can eat by ourselves or with new friends we meet along the way.

We also have very stressful careers so we have no interest in dressing up on a cruise so NCL is perfect for us.