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Hello everyone:

 

I'm a Platinum cruiser on both Royal Caribbean and Carnival, and now I'm looking at taking my first cruise on NCL. The cruise will be a repositioning cruise on the Norwegian Pearl out of Vancouver.

 

I've been tearing the internet apart, looking at Youtube videos, reading reviews, looking at photos, etc, etc, trying to get a feel for what the Norwegian experience will be like. I'm fully aware that the experience can vary greatly from one ship to another, and even from one sailing to another, but I'm just curious what the general vibe is. Things like service, dining options, ship decor, fellow passengers, atmosphere, entertainment, staterooms, and attention to detail are some of the things that play a role in our enjoyment of a cruise

 

I'm positive that NCL has its own personality, but for those who've sailed on multiple cruise lines, are there things about NCL that are more like Carnival or more like Royal? While we have enjoyed tremendously our Carnival sailings, we would prefer that the NCL experience leans more towards the Royal experience. :o

 

Thoughts? Comments? Flames?

We took one NCL cruise. NCL America, Hawaiian Interisland. It was the most horrible cruising experience ever! We had been warned by others but tried since it was the only line with that particular itinerary. Every meal was chaotic. Service poor, shows like high school productions. Kids were in ALL the adult areas and staff NEVER asked them to leave, get diapers or diving kids out of the adult 'only' pools, etc. Our friend's cabin toilet was broken and even after repeated requests, it took 3 days to get fixed. Our thermostat was not working properly and regardless of calls, it went I repaired. The staff had excuses for everything! EVERYTHING!!! I will never sail on a NCL cruise again and after our cruise, I wrote and our friends wrote to corporate and customer relations and public relations and barely got an acknowledgement. I told them that I would share my experience and never recommend them whenever I have the opportunity~ and here I am again. Don't waste your money. Go on Celebrity and get your Platinum benefits or keep earning on RCCL to go higher. We are Diamond on RCCL and have 3 DCL and 3 Carnival cruises, 1 Celebrity and recommend them ALL over and above NCL. Try DISNEY. Great line, great service and kids kept out of adult only areas of which there are many. Choose well!

Born in NYC; live in Texas; traveling the world !

18 cruises~ RCCL, DCL, Carnival, Celebrity, NCL America~ and 4 continents by air land and counting! To travel is to live!

Thanks everyone. We found a line that is new to river cruising, but has been around about 40 yrs-Emerald Waterways. We got brochures from 4 lines and I think we may still be too 'young' for these slow tours and boring evenings! I think we will follow their itineraries and just fly into Amsterdam and then get a Eur-Rail pass to visit the same Christmas Market towns down through Germany, Austria and ending in Budapest before flying home. BTW- Emerald really did look very interesting. When we're ready to slow down, we'll likely check them out first assuming the reviews continue to be as positive as their initial ones.

Born in NYC; live in Texas; traveling the world !

18 cruises~ RCCL, DCL, Carnival, Celebrity, NCL America~ and 4 continents by air land and counting! To travel is to live!

THANK YOU to those with details! That's what I'm looking for. If any of you have more pros and cons it would be greatly appreciated. Things I've heard and read about on other threads, friends, etc:

I've heard Viking cabins are smaller; I've read about service problems on AMA; Uniworld looks and sounds really good and they have pools not just sun decks; but, the cost is generally much higher than the others; Avalon supposedly has the best return /frequent cruiser program and the French Balcony rooms are bigger than Vikings; Viking now also has bigger ships to do some itineraries other than rivers.... just so much info out there!

We won't need a pool for the tentative first one as we plan on a Christmas Markets 'Grand European' (as many lines call it for 4 or 5 countries on 3 rivers) probably late Nov./ early Dec. but if we really like it, then I'm sure we'll do future spring and summer cruises. Argh! Sometimes it easier with less choice!

We've checked itineraries many times and get brochures from many companies (because we are on some universal mailing list) and just like the big cruise ships, many go to the same ports, therefore we're trying to find a line we think we'll really like - and won't 'break the bank' so to speak! Truly, your details and reviews are appreciated.

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Yesterday we booked our 4th cruise with AMA, Christmas on the Rhine on 11/25/15.

 

We find the overall attention to detail on AMA to be excellent and really enjoy their ships. While itinerary is important, the devil is in the details IMO and IME, and the cost of a river cruise is not insignificant - I urge you to read lots of reviews here and on other forums and see what line offers the features and style that appeals to you most.

 

We have been on 7 river cruises so far and have also visited the Christmas markets in Europe about a dozen times. It is a fabulous time of year to visit! We will combine our trip with time in Europe on our own as we enjoy independent travel as well and the combination is perfect for us!

 

Our Christmas market cruise with AMA two years was our 4th at that season and definitely the best of the rest. The small details and special touches on board, the emphasis on local cuisine and wines, the high quality entertainment and the wide range of shore excursions were differentiators from our previous river cruise experiences. That is what brings us back to AMA again and again.

Thank you. This is what I was looking for- details!

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I always look at itinerary first and try to find one that has most of what I want to see and then find a match with the cruise company.

 

I'd do a search first of the various Christmas markets--are you interested in crafts or food or photographing lights? Does country matter? Then do some research on those ports, then look at which cruise line would best meet your needs.

 

Have fun!

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We are planning a first river cruise for Christmas time next year (2015); which line should we consider~ Viking, Avalon, Uniworld, other? Recommendations, pros and cons, best frequent cruiser program, etc.

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DH and I are booked in an Accessible OV on the Freedom for Apr '14. The room holds 2 according to the chart on the RCI web site.

 

Now DH's adult son would like to join us. Can we get a roll away for that room?

 

Do they even have roll aways on the ships?

 

Anyone have any experience with this.

 

There are no other accessible rooms available for this sailing. And a JS won't work as it has a tub and DH cannot use a tub.

No roll-aways on ships because of safety reasons. You'll need a cabin that has at least 3 berths. Maybe adult son can bring friend and get a separate cabin near you and you won't have to give up accessible cabin~

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Way over 55 and we like almost all cruise ships but I guess i would rate then in this order:

1.Regent Seven Seas ...for the cabin sizes

2. Oceana's R class... for the service and no extra charges on many things.

3. Princess... for the Elite perks and because they allow us to combine all our OBCs. They also give an OBC to veterans.

4. Celebrity...good food and service . Happy hour for Elite with drinks and snacks.

5. Royal Caribbean...For conbining with Celebrity and Azamara to bust our past passenger status. and for their inovations to cruisisng ships.

6. Disney...for families with young children.

7. HAL,,,for traditional type cruising.

 

I could go on but I think you see we really like them all. There is something for everyone.

We've done two, and a 3rd booked, on Disney - all w/o kids. They do a GREAT job of keeping adult and kid areas separate. You don't ever have to be around kids if you don't want to be.

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It depends on itins and a time. Our latest RCCL cruise to Canada had majority of PAX in their 60-70. Many 90+ birthdays. :)

 

Our Caribbean Cruise on HAL was all about families with kids.

 

 

Same on Celebrity. Caribbeans - families. California Coastal - 60-70.

We did Canada a couple of months ago on RCCL and it looked like a lot of 40, 50, 60 somethings. We have a 14n Disney cruise booked. I'm curious to see the ages on that! On the DisBoards, it seems we have all ages represented but very few kids.

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Can I ask what in the world would compel someone to reply, at two o'clock in the morning, to a thread that's been dead for four months, with a comment like this?

 

:confused: :rolleyes:

 

That being said, I see that your cruise was on NCLA in 2005, during a time when the America division was just starting, using an all-American crew (read: completely inexperienced staff). In case you're not aware, that was a completely different experience from any other NCL sailing. Oh, and by the way, the situation back then was truly awful - as you stated. Since then, there've been massive changes and improvements to the NCLA product - which explains why the POA sails full every week. ;)

 

Such a shame that you're missing out on all the great times we're having over here sailing Norwegian ships.

 

:)

Maybe it wasn't 2 am where I was. Maybe I work night shifts? Maybe I couldn't sleep. Lots of reasons why someone might post at 2:00 am your time.

OMG- you NCL cruisers really get your panties in a bunch, don't you? Comment as you like as I won't see any additional comments. Lots of other things to do.

FTR: the OP requested info and opinions and I gave mine. Sorry if my disagreeing with you got you upset. Life is way too short to get upset about someone's opinion about a cruise line.

Now, try to have a good day. You never know which one is you last!

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Why do ask if any body is over 55 and then say you must prove it by I'd or you will pay the full price,celebrity cruises, well I'm 57 and my wife is 52 but we are both paying the same price.......what is the point of this?

 

 

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Sometimes they have reduced rates on special sailings for us older folks. I'd gladly pay a fortune more if I could be 25 again!

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I live in Texas so no need to get a 'base' tan when living here. We almost always have some sort of base tan.

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No cruises specifically designated for "seniors" out of Galveston although you can get some reduced rates for seniors on low(er) occupancy cruises. Check Carnival and RCCL websites for specs.

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All your responses are really interesting. I hadn't really considered HAL. I'll have a look.:)

I've heard that HAL cruisers tend to much older and not nearly as lively as cruisers on RCCL, Celebrity, and of course, Carnival. DCL has ALL ages and lots of activities for everyone plus new theater releases and Broadway quality shows.

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We like the bigger ships with more activities. Love DCL and have done 2 sans kids- still great; RCCL comes in next because of activities, service. Celebrity is WAY to quiet for us but had great service; Carnival has been ok and we are booked on another. HATED NCL for a variety of reasons- chaos with freestyle dining, poor service, terrible shows.

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Things have changed quite a bit in the last 7 years since your last NCL cruise - just saying...

It couldn't have changed enough to make it worth paying any $$$ for. It was the worst of ALL our cruises, and you can see that we are not newbies. They would have to pay me to even think about a cruise on their line!

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NCL was WORST of all cruise lines we've been on - Disney, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival, NCL. Hated NCL: poor service, chaos in dining. Rooms, terrible shows, kids not restricted from adult areas, maintenance issues....

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Do you remember the cost of the taxi to Magen's Bay? Do have any of the funtimes you could post?

I can't remember exactly, but it wasn't much.

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Temp has to be on 70-72 for me to sleep comfortably. We set our thermostat on those temps at home. When we visit the inlaws I lose weight from sweating as they like the house temp at 78 degrees, winter or summer...

If that's the secret to losing weight, I think I'll go up the thermostat!

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~~~ re-posted with quote~~

This stuff comes with the territory, and the crowd, when you cruise on Carnival. Expect it.

Tacky behavior can be found everywhere now-a-days. It's a sad commentary on society.

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Is this true? Our five year old always joins us in the hot tub, he loves them. In fact, back in June he and his two nieces (7 and 4) wanted to swim there exclusively due to the pools being too crowded and too salty. We never used the ones on the lido deck near the pools, would always find an empty one on 4.

 

Never knew it was against the rules. We typically tried to avoid times that there were adults there already.

First, please read up on hot tub dangers for children; secondly: As a nurse, I can tell you hot tubs are DANGEROUS for children for many reasons including possible sterilization ( I'm sure you would like GK someday! ) and sudden temp spikes which can cause seizures. Thirdly: most lines do not allow children in hot tubs for a variety of other safety reasons.

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My daughter's in laws sail the same ship and same itinerary EVERY year. Personally, I think that would be boring. We've been to many countries in the Caribbean,Bahamas, Baltic, Russia, Alaska, Hawaii, Australia/New Zealand, New England, Europe, Canada, Panama Canal is booked, Galapagos is on the horizon as are a TA, river cruise and - fingers crossed- the Antarctic, and more. Finding the right ship is important but , IMHO, find the world is even more so!!! We only live once!

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