8 time Carnival cruiser tries NCL

Just returned from my first NCL cruise. After 8 Carnival cruises I was tired of the predictability. We kept choosing Carnival for value, but our last cruise was just not good. I got an amazing deal on NCL and decided to give it try. We had a wonderful cruise and while the lines seem to have a somewhat similar demographic our NCL experience showed me that there is more out there than Carnival. I missed my warm chocolate melting cake and friendliness of the staff, but, there were many areas that NCL just excelled-entertainment (real shows with live music, Broadway theater, Cirque de Soleil, etc)-dining options (too many to even eat at all of them), Unlimited Beverage Package as a freebie option...um, yes please! Never saw a dining tray or dirty dishes in our stateroom hallway, never heard running up/down the hall, very clean ship in all areas.

Upon return I opened my cyber Monday deals from Carnival and I found the same tired itineraries and ships. I'm not hating on Carnival, just wanted to share my thoughts as I was very hesitant to try another line. So glad we did!

Happy cruising to all!

Glad to hear you really enjoyed your trip. Which ports did you visit?

My husband and I have also been on a NCL ship (to Hawaii). We didn't love it as much but the freestyle dining was just not our thing. It was also many years ago and I have no idea if they still do that. What was your favourite meal?

They itineraries are really amazing. I definitely love all the unique offerings on NCL.

The beverage program sounds amazing too. I can't remember back to if that was a thing when we were on but I don't think it was. Either way, free pop is a great perk!

Western Med:

Barcelona

Naples

Rome

Florence

Cannes

Palma/Mallorca

We loved Freestyle dining-could eat where we wanted, when we wanted and with no awkward conversations with people we don't know.

Food was okay, not great. No standout meals.

WOW!! I'm completely jealous of your itinerary. I'd love to see Barcelona!

I think when we went in 2007, the freestyle dining was on the newer side. Maybe the kinks weren't worked out yet. We found it difficult to get reservations to any of the restaurants (except for Italian which we had multiple nights). We really wanted to try the Teppanyaki but it was never available. And I'm an early bird and planner so it definitely wasn't a wait till the last minute type of thing. That was a bit disappointing but honestly, the itineraries really make up for it!

You can now reserve your specialty dining before you ever leave home!:)

Just returned from my first NCL cruise. After 8 Carnival cruises I was tired of the predictability. We kept choosing Carnival for value, but our last cruise was just not good. I got an amazing deal on NCL and decided to give it try. We had a wonderful cruise and while the lines seem to have a somewhat similar demographic our NCL experience showed me that there is more out there than Carnival. I missed my warm chocolate melting cake and friendliness of the staff, but, there were many areas that NCL just excelled-entertainment (real shows with live music, Broadway theater, Cirque de Soleil, etc)-dining options (too many to even eat at all of them), Unlimited Beverage Package as a freebie option...um, yes please! Never saw a dining tray or dirty dishes in our stateroom hallway, never heard running up/down the hall, very clean ship in all areas.

 

Upon return I opened my cyber Monday deals from Carnival and I found the same tired itineraries and ships. I'm not hating on Carnival, just wanted to share my thoughts as I was very hesitant to try another line. So glad we did!

Happy cruising to all!

Did you think the Carnival ships would change while you were on your NCL cruise???

No Jimbo, I did not expect Carnival ships to change while I was gone. It just was a reminder of why I was ready to try something new. I also met many NCL cruise critic members while on our trip and none of them were snarky.

:cool:

You can now reserve your specialty dining before you ever leave home!:)

That is great news!! Maybe I will give them another try someday. I really want to try the teppanyaki aboard. Thank you for the info.

Thanks for reporting back!

Glad it was a GREAT cruise for you! :)

It never hurts to give a variety of cruise lines a try!

We've never tried NCL because we didn't think we would like the freestyle dining concept. We have always had 1st seating in MDR and always a table just for whoever in family is traveling.

We had also heard that most restaurants on NCL that serve decent food are pay restaurants. Was this your experience?

I didn't know what I was missing on other lines when I just cruised on Carnival alone. Each line has a different take on cabins, entertainment, food, etc.

Carnival does some stuff well, like cabin size and value, while Disney's deck party is outrageous, Celebrity's food is amazing, NCL's entertainment is special. I usually opt for NCL's specialty restaurants which are varied and as good as Celebrity's and Carnival's one Steakhouse.

How people pay for Cheers on Carnival, in some cases doubling their cruise cost, when they can get a free unlimited beverage package is beyond my comhrehension, but then I stopped drinking decades ago.

I found out that blind loyalty to one cruise line is quite a limiting factor in cruising satisfaction.

OT but Evandbob, it looks like we might be heading out on the same ship in a couple months! :)

No Jimbo, I did not expect Carnival ships to change while I was gone. It just was a reminder of why I was ready to try something new. I also met many NCL cruise critic members while on our trip and none of them were snarky.

 

:cool:

Your word not mine..... Listen, I get your point, you enjoyed your NCL cruise. You reached out to try something new and liked it. Running up and down the hall (you were on a med cruise, right?) and food trays in the hallway (NCL does not allow food taken to rooms) accent your dis-like (or possibly liking) a different cruise experience. I thought it interesting that your expectations of the Carnival product should change because of that. Are you also implying NCL cruisers are nicer as well?;)

On a more serious note, is NCL entertainment different than Carnival, sure it is. You seem to like it better, which is fine.

wanttocruisemore- we only ate in one specialty restaurant and it was good. We had a private dining room option because we stayed in the Haven suite area. So, with that and the 6 other "free" restaurants, we didn't have enough time to eat at the Specialty ones. The steakhouse was popular, teppanyaki and italian were busy. Le Bistro never had anyone in it. We honestly had decent meals at the free choices and didn't want to spend the extra money (I'd rather eat a small bite on shore in a cafe' to taste local flavor). All that being said, having options is a really great thing.

I was also an "all Carnival cruiser" until I tried out the NCL Getaway earlier this year. I now have 3 more booked, and will only try out Carnival again when the Vista comes out. Their included Ultimate Beverage Package far surpasses the Cheers program in every way, and with much more variety...

OT but Evandbob, it looks like we might be heading out on the same ship in a couple months! :)

Ah, beachgirl, you'll be debarking on 1/23 as I am embarking on the Glory. We can wave in passing, eh?

If you are doing a B2B, then it's a different story.......I'll be on the Glory until Feb 13.

Ah, beachgirl, you'll be debarking on 1/23 as I am embarking on the Glory. We can wave in passing, eh?

 

If you are doing a B2B, then it's a different story.......I'll be on the Glory until Feb 13.

I'll be the one screaming and clinging to the ship while be hauled off. You can't miss me. :p

Hope you have a blast!!

I'll be the one screaming and clinging to the ship while be hauled off. You can't miss me. :p

 

Hope you have a blast!!

I'll wave to you - enjoy!

We tried NCL once and didn't like it all, it could have been the itinerary. We tried Celebrity and loved it. However, we also love Carnival...as far as the itinerary goes...we have an upcoming Carnival cruise with this itinerary

Barcelona

Marsaille

Piza/Florence

Rome

Naples

Crete

Rhodes

Ephisus

Athens

so Carnival definitely has a comparable itinerary. As for the running up and down the halls, I really haven't ever had that problem on Carnival and we take a lot booze cruises since we live in California and when we want a quick get away, Long Beach is our choice.

Our only complaint about Carnival is the entertainment really is lacking in the theater...their new shows (I forget what they call them) are pretty pathetic. But I'd rather cruise 2 Carnival cruises with subpar entertainment than 1 from another line with better shows and that really is the bottom line (unless you get a killer deal like we did on Celebrity and apparently you did on NCL).

Just returned from my first NCL cruise. After 8 Carnival cruises I was tired of the predictability. We kept choosing Carnival for value, but our last cruise was just not good. I got an amazing deal on NCL and decided to give it try. We had a wonderful cruise and while the lines seem to have a somewhat similar demographic our NCL experience showed me that there is more out there than Carnival. I missed my warm chocolate melting cake and friendliness of the staff, but, there were many areas that NCL just excelled-entertainment (real shows with live music, Broadway theater, Cirque de Soleil, etc)-dining options (too many to even eat at all of them), Unlimited Beverage Package as a freebie option...um, yes please! Never saw a dining tray or dirty dishes in our stateroom hallway, never heard running up/down the hall, very clean ship in all areas.

 

Upon return I opened my cyber Monday deals from Carnival and I found the same tired itineraries and ships. I'm not hating on Carnival, just wanted to share my thoughts as I was very hesitant to try another line. So glad we did!

Happy cruising to all!

My youngest son, who also has only ever sailed Carnivel 8 times cruised NCL this past summer and did NOT like it at all.

Pros - unlimited drinks meant exactly that (not 15 but unlimited)

Cons - food was awful, passengers and staff were not as fun

My youngest son, who also has only ever sailed Carnivel 8 times cruised NCL this past summer and did NOT like it at all.

Pros - unlimited drinks meant exactly that (not 15 but unlimited)

Cons - food was awful, passengers and staff were not as fun

So, you've not sailed NCL? I've sailed Carnival, NCL, Royal, and I'm taking my first Celebrity in March. I've found the food to be about the same on all, with NCL's buffet far superior. I have had issues on Carnival with children running the halls and being generally obnoxious. I'm a teacher so my timeframe is what it is.

It's interesting when posters say "passengers and staff not as fun." What does that even mean, anyway? What you think is fun I might think is ridiculous. Hairy leg contest? No, thanks. My Breeze cruise this past summer was pretty much overrun with folks that were very rough around the edges. Not the type of folks I care to be around. On the other hand, you might like that type of fun. People should cruise on a ship that fits their "personality" I will probably cruise on Carnival again but only if it's a good deal.

BTW, my Celebrity cruise costs about the same as the Breeze and it includes a beverage package. A much better deal.

I can afford the cheers package because carnival gave me a free cruise, 11 night journeys that cost us 200 bucks total

I can afford the cheers package because carnival gave me a free cruise, 11 night journeys that cost us 200 bucks total

That is a good value for you. For someone else, maybe not so much.

No Jimbo, I did not expect Carnival ships to change while I was gone. It just was a reminder of why I was ready to try something new. I also met many NCL cruise critic members while on our trip and none of them were snarky.

 

Bazinga!

No Jimbo, I did not expect Carnival ships to change while I was gone. It just was a reminder of why I was ready to try something new. I also met many NCL cruise critic members while on our trip and none of them were snarky.

 

:cool:

Not to be snarky, but have you spent any time on the NCL boards? They are WAY snarkier and complain more than here, IMO.

I've cruised both, 4 on NCL and 20 or so on CCL. I like them both in different ways and would go on either. For me, it comes down to the fact that I can take a lot of cruises from here because I can jump on the short ones. No short NCL ones offered from TX.

Actually, I give CCL the slight edge for preference. Food is slightly better to me and I like the ambience at CCL better. I like the "fun" atmosphere. FWIW, I took my kids on a NCL and they prefer CCL. I booked whatever the new NCL ship is...I CANNOT come up with the NAME!!! And I"m going to cancel because the ninos say they are not interested. :eek: Yes, I know, I am raising little weirdos. But they said the same thing, Carnival is just more "fun" to them.