Carnival Cruiser - What's different about NCL?

Hello! My husband and I would like to go out of New Orleans for our anniversary this year, but we have already been on the Carnival cruise ships out of NOLA so I thought I'd look into NCL. For those of you that have cruised Carnival, what are the differences between the two cruise lines?

Many things are comparable with Carnival getting the edge on deserts and NCL for entertainment. But for me no dancing waiters on NCL is the best:)

Carnival cares about its passengers; they serve coke products. NCL has contempt for their customers. They serve undrinkable pepsi products.

If you want to sail in an inside cabin, then I imagine that they are the same. However, if you sail in a suite (actually in the Haven) then there is no comparison. Carnival give you a fluffy towel in their suites and that's it.

Carnival cares about its passengers; they serve coke products. NCL has contempt for their customers. They serve undrinkable pepsi products.

Thanks for the laugh. We coke drinkers are loyal aren't we! :)

More Pepsi products for me :)

Having sailed both it depends on what you are wanting. I have to agree with kcwingwalker - Carnival hands down the best desserts (over Princess, Royal and Celebrity even) and entertainment on the larger NCL ships is definitely better with a pretty good edge for NCL's small ships. Carnival still has lobster and escargot in the MDR and both were excellent! NCL - nope - have to go to specialty restaurants but still excellent.

Beds on NCL were always better than one on Carnival.

Staff friendliness was equal.

I am currently booked on the Dawn in one of their suites in April 2016. And hands down NCL knows how to do the "suite" life better than any of the other cruise lines I have been on. And with their promotion that they have going on now through the 6th of April you just can't go wrong on that one.

Since Dawn is an older ship your cabins will be a little larger than most of the newer ships but probably comparable to Carnival.

Hopes that helps a little.

Thanks for the comments...as for Pepsi vs Coke...I like Pepsi better so one up for NCL. Do they have comedians on NCL?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Forums mobile app

We just sailed on the Dawn and there were no comedians. They do have a show every night, the ones we saw were good. Their theater has theater style seats not bench seats so not near enough leg room.

We were in a suite and the bed was very hard, even though it had a pillow top. We did enjoy the suite perks. Ours had a wonderful bathroom but the floor to ceiling windows had condensation so couldn't see out of them.

NCL has a lot of specialty restaurants but I think that the one on Carnival was better than all of theirs. JMHO! We had the dining package, we wish we had given the MDR a try one night, we did eat there for lunch one day and enjoyed it.

It's also great if you like ports because there are 4 ports, only 2 sea days. I can highly recommend the Maya Chan beach resort in Costa Maya, it's not a ship excursion but it was the best beach day we've ever had on a cruise. :)

We have previously sailed Carnival Splendor and are taking our first cruise on the Breakaway this June. My first impression is that room sizes for the Breakaway are so much smaller than on the Splendor. We almost always opt for a balcony when we cruise because we love sitting outside the room in the early morning and late evening hours. We didn't do a balcony this time because those on the Breakaway are so tiny and cramped. The Breakaway has no public laundry facilities (don't know about other NCL ships.) This is a minor point, but when we sailed previously, we had a large family group with teens who needed to change clothes several times a day and refused to wear anything twice. It was nice to know we could do a load of laundry. It is very expensive to have laundry done on the ships.

We were disappointed in the overall service by the staff on Splendor (except the dining wait staff, who were wonderful and got a very large extra tip at the end of the cruise). We never saw our room steward and most of the staff we saw were cold to downright rude. Sanitation was not a big priority. Guests were not required or even encouraged to use hand sanitizers before entering the dining room. In fact, most of the hand sanitizing stations were not working. Food was sometimes served on dirty and broken dishes.

The party atmosphere on the Splendor was over the top. For people who like to drink, this is probably the best part of the cruise experience. (We drink, but not that much, so it was a little too much for us.)

I am looking forward to our Breakaway cruise. I've talked to so many people who loved the ship.

The Breakaway has no public laundry facilities (don't know about other NCL ships.) This is a minor point, but when we sailed previously, we had a large family group with teens who needed to change clothes several times a day and refused to wear anything twice. It was nice to know we could do a load of laundry. It is very expensive to have laundry done on the ships..

IIRC there were some Laundry "specials" during our cruise on BA last year. They didn't seem unreasonable, but we didn't need to use them.

I've sailed on Carnival Legend and Glory, and NCL Dawn, Jewel and Star. I have never had a bad cruise and service was always exceptional on both lines. We prefer NCL overall but I'd be willing to consider any of the lines for the right price, itinerary and ship.

The biggest difference for us was the dining - I think the food quality was comparable but we are not big on formal sit down dinners that are 2 hours long with entertainment from the servers. And with our kids being young, they didn't care for a 2 hr dinner either. I know carnival now has a more flexible dining plan from a seating time perspective and on our last carnival cruise, we requested it but were assigned a regular seating time. I prefer time flexibility to eat when suits our schedule, appetite, or kids that day. We also felt we had more flexibility in seating arrangements on NCL. When traveling with a group, some days we chose to all eat together, some days we split up, sometimes we met new friends on board and would like to have a meal together. I felt that was better accommodated on NCL. You also have more choices for different cuisines on NCL in specialty restaurants though there is a fee for them. Chocolate melting cake on Carnival wins for best dessert though! And we did the chef's table on both lines and while both were amazing meals with generous wine pours, I think I preferred Carnival's. Buffet set up varies by ship. I like the ones on NCL where there are multiple counters and action stations rather than the cafeteria style line, and the outdoor buffet areas that NCL has on some ships.

I found overall the onboard activities to be comparable on all of my cruises. We encountered chair hogs on every ship, we have never had any problems getting pool towels on any ship, we've always still be able to find some quieter spaces to relax. I haven't been able to make use of the night-time entertainment as much as we've been sailing with a toddler who goes to bed early but I liked that NCL often has 2 show times each night of the same show which again gives more flexibility. I think their shows are a little better than Carnival's.

We aren't smokers and have always avoided the casinos and bars in which smoking is allowed as I have asthma and second-hand smoke is a trigger. We found NCL to be more comfortable as public area smoking seemed more restricted and the casinos on the ships we were on were not in the center of the ship where it is open to other decks or have to cross through to get to other areas. However, I understand the newest NCL ships (breakaway/getaway/escape) have a central casino and the concerns we had with second-hand smoke on Carnival ships may be an issue on these ships as well.

Cabins - For regular cabins, I felt like Carnivals were just a tad bigger. We sailed in balcony cabins on every cruise except our last on the Star where we had a suite. NCL's cabin always just felt a little more cramped. I like the bathroom set up on NCL though where the toilet was a separate stall with a door and the shower had a door as well instead of a curtain. However, NCL's suite perks can't be beat. One point in favor of Carnival is access to laundry facilities - DH usually prefers to pack lighter and throw in a load when we have some down time, rather than have to pay more for them to pick up and deliver laundry on their schedule. That helps a lot too when traveling with young children as we do.

Kids programs - both have good kids programs. I can appreciate that Camp carnival takes 2 yr olds and sometimes offers for fee babysitting in the mornings for infants under 2. NCL revamped their program 2 yrs ago raising the age to 3, but adding more parent-baby programs for the 2 and under set. My son had fun in both kids programs but I think he enjoyed NCL's more.

NCL also has historically been very responsive to the cruise critic groups. I've participated in roll calls on both carnival and ncl and NCL seems to really go above and beyond for the cruise critic meet and greets. Carnival at the time indicated that they don't do anything for our group and we would have to have an informal M&G on our own. NCL reserved a time and space for us, provided snacks and coffee/juice, and always have a few ship officers, the cruise director, and some entertainers there for the group to be introduced to and for Q&A. I felt in general the executive staff on NCL were more available to us for feedback or problem resolution as we usually leave the M&G with their business cards and direct phone extensions.

For us, we just are more comfortable ultimately with the dining concept on NCL. If you prefer traditional dining with the same server every night, which there is nothing wrong with that, you can certainly ask to be seated in a favorite server's section, and make reservations for the same time. If you're sailing in a suite, NCL wins hands down. Otherwise, we have an enjoyable cruise regardless of which line we're sailing.

Thanks for the comments...as for Pepsi vs Coke...I like Pepsi better so one up for NCL. Do they have comedians on NCL?

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Forums mobile app

There's a huge thread on Coke/Pepsi if you really want to debate ;) As for comedians, on all three of my NCL cruises, we have had them, plus Second City productions on our past two in addition to a one man act. NCL has a partnership with Second City, so they are expanding across the fleet. Last spring, the cast did a regular show, an adult one in a lounge, an improv show, and a cool history session on the company. They were all fabulous!

My last 2 cruises were on the Breeze & the Breakaway & I've also sailed on the Dawn. Here's my 2 cents worth.

The entertainment is much better on NCL. Carnival seems to equate volume with quality when it comes to their music. There was no venue to sit & listen to music and carry on a conversation. There were comedians on both the Breeze & Breakaway, & there will probably be some comedy shows on the Dawn.

I was also firmly in the "Carnival has better Desserts" camp until the new menus on NCL. There were some days I was tempted to have a dessert for all 3 courses.

The Dawn is a beautiful, midsize ship. Our balcony cabin on the dawn was our favorite.

Here is a link to the dailies on another thread. Second city does shows & it looks like there is/was a magician on board.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2160699&highlight=dawn+dailies

Hello! My husband and I would like to go out of New Orleans for our anniversary this year, but we have already been on the Carnival cruise ships out of NOLA so I thought I'd look into NCL. For those of you that have cruised Carnival, what are the differences between the two cruise lines?

I've been on ten Carnival cruises and two NCL cruises (totaling 21 nights) and have another ten nighter book on the Pearl for January 2017.

The passenger mix and activities on each ship is very similar.

The main difference is dinner time. All formal nights are optional (I wore a Hawaiian shirt). There is no set dining time or place. There are ten or more restaurants on the ship, of which at least four are free. The extra cost restaurants do offer better food and service, but that is to be expected (or why would you pay extra for it). Comparing the free food, I think Carnival's food is better, but I haven't been on NCL since February 2008.

If you are in a suite, there is a huge difference. NCL is far and away much better. A suite on Carnival is basically just a larger cabin. On NCL there are more perks, a butler and a concierge. Basically on NCL, if you are in a suite you are treated like royalty.

IIRC there were some Laundry "specials" during our cruise on BA last year. They didn't seem unreasonable, but we didn't need to use them.

Carnival and RC both ran laundry "specials" about half-way through the cruises. It was $15.00 per bag for wash, dry, press and folding. Not a bad deal, until I looked at the bag and found I couldn't fit more than one pair of pants or a couple of shirts in it!

You roll the clothes. You'd be amazed what you can fit in the bag when you stuff and roll.

Platinum carnival cruiser going on our first Ncl.. Hope it measures up. Never had a bad carnival cruise. Not excited about having to plan my dining times ahead on Ncl tho. But, will be a nice change to try something different

Hello! My husband and I would like to go out of New Orleans for our anniversary this year, but we have already been on the Carnival cruise ships out of NOLA so I thought I'd look into NCL. For those of you that have cruised Carnival, what are the differences between the two cruise lines?

There are two big difference s IMO

1. Food choices. On ncl you'll find so many options and they're all good. You don't get this option on carnival.

2. While food may be subjective, entertainment isn't. The entertainment on ncl is very professional and quite good. I've never seen what I would call headliner entertainment on carnival.

Platinum carnival cruiser going on our first Ncl.. Hope it measures up. Never had a bad carnival cruise. Not excited about having to plan my dining times ahead on Ncl tho. But, will be a nice change to try something different

You don't have to plan your dinner times ahead of time. It's Freestyle! You can make a reservation and should for teppanyaki because of the very limited seating and maybe le bistro, or if for some reason you know you will have limited time, but generally you can eat when you feel like it. Most of the restaurants will have seating with little to no wait.

We never had to wait for a table except for OSheehan's on our last cruise on the Epic. Also it seemed like they limited the number of reservations they would make. For example, I tried to reserve Moderno for a specific time, but was told that time was not available. But the person taking the reservation told me to just show up at the time I wanted and there would likely be a seat. We did and there was. In fact, there were many empty tables.

There should be electronic boards around letting you know of wait times and availability of tables the various restaurants. Not sure how the UDP will effect the availability, but it does seem like many are opting for the UBP because they see it as a better value and sometimes you just don't feel like eating that much.

Carnival = [emoji90]. NCL = [emoji106][emoji568][emoji482][emoji486]

*Living large one week at a time*

That's good to hear. Was afraid if we didn't sign up ahead we would be in for long waits.

Hello! My husband and I would like to go out of New Orleans for our anniversary this year, but we have already been on the Carnival cruise ships out of NOLA so I thought I'd look into NCL. For those of you that have cruised Carnival, what are the differences between the two cruise lines?

Most mass marketed lines are similar but each with their own personality: NCL has the total free style dining which is different and many specialty dining rooms which is different from all other lines. I think the crew is better on NCL and the entertainment superior, but this is opinion only.

Carnival has larger cabins for sure. Carnival also appeals to a little younger crown. NCL is a bigger mixture of of ages, but out of NOLA you will find the passengers very similar.

You roll the clothes. You'd be amazed what you can fit in the bag when you stuff and roll.

Thanks so much for the tip! My husband and I both laughed when we saw the size the small laundry bag.

That's good to hear. Was afraid if we didn't sign up ahead we would be in for long waits.

If you want to eat at the most popular time, then there is likely to be a wait. In that case a reservation should be made. However, if all the reservation slots are full, then you can expect that there will be a wait. This is one of the weaknesses of Freestyle.

One time I went to one of the free restaurants directly after the show ended. So did many other people. Once I arrived at the restaurant I realized my mistake. So instead of wasting my time in line, I did something else. When I returned, no line and immediate seating.