Considering our first NCL cruise

[Keith Rita]

Hello fellow cruisers. We are considering taking the Norwegian Sun out of New Orleans for New Years. The cruise is 10 days starting 0n 12/29/05. That is a perfect time for us to be able to take an extended cruise. New Years 2004 we took an eleven day cruise from Tampa on the Celebrity Horizon and this past New Years we took another eleven day cruise on the HAL Zaandam out of Port Canaveral. On both cruises we drove to port. We are looking to do the same with a little shorter drive to NO. We have taken a total of twelve cruises on HAL, Carnival, RCL, and Celebrity. We have heard both good things and bad things about Norwegian and free style dining and casual dress. We take what we hear with a grain of salt and we are thinking maybe we should give it a try and judge for ourselves. It would be convenient for us and another cruise couple who would drive in from Texas.

I guess you could call us traditionalists who do not take to change very fast. Our question to the board members are what other differences will we encounter on NCL?

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Also, is anybody else considering this cruise. We love cruising that time of the year.

[hazeleyez3]

First let me say that out of the lines you have mentioned I have only sailed on RCL and Carnival, and both were over 10 years ago. Let me also say that I am stating facts below, not necessarily my opinion. I had a wonderful time on the Crown last year - so much so that I am sailing on the Sea this May.

 

 

• NCL ships tend to be smaller and older.
  
• I don't believe they offer as much - the Crown, for instance, only has 1 pool.
  
• They are not that "extravagant" - the shows are ok, but not the same quality as on larger ships.
  
• Because it is Freestyle you do not have the same waiter every night
  
• I believe that all of the cruise members are from other countries
  
• There was no midnight buffet
  

On the other hand....it offers you:

 

• multiple genres of music to listen to
  
• a few different bars
  
• a kids club (babysitting center)
  
• library
  
• casino
  
• pools
  
• ping pong
  
• some have basketball courts
  
• spa
  
• 24-hr gym
  
• Multiple types of restaurants
  
• jogging tracks (not sure if it is on all ships)
  
• The "typical" cruise activities - bingo, deck party, etc
  
• your choice to "dress up" on formal night
  

etc... etc... etc

 

 

All in all... its a very nice line.

[cmdchiefthom]

Keith and Rita,

 

I think you can tell by my signature block that I have spent more time on HAL than I have on NCL, but I believe that your cruise history and the comment you made on being "traditionalists" might be something we share in common.

 

To come to the point, NCL and HAL are quite different cruise experiences. I kind of compare them to a Days Inn, and a Marriott. Both provide lodging, but are vastly different in amenities. Or perhaps a Ponderosa Steakhouse, and a Steak and Ale. Both provide food, but are lightyears apart in quality. HAL caters to the traditional, NCL to the more casual crowd. HAL's ships have larger staterooms, more personalized service and simply are more elegant. NCL ships are more simple and glitzy, have much smaller cabins, and seem to be more utilitarian and impersonal. As for the food, I find the HAL experience to be superb compared to the chaos of "Freestyle Dining." Again, that's just my opinion. Waiting to be seated is always iffy on NCL, could be two minutes, or thirty minutes. Dinner could be served in forty-five minutes, or two hours, depending on the wait staff. Onboard HAL, your wait staff knows your name, your likes and dislikes, the choice of your wine after your first meal, and they remember it for the rest of the cruise. On NCL, rarely do you have the same table and wait staff on consecutive evenings.

 

As for cruising over New Years, I've done five, and no one aboard a HAL ship would ever dress down to "Resort Casual" on New Years. But, that's what you can encounter onboard NCL. Does that make it a bad experience? No, but if I'm going to wear my tux for a New Years Party, I would expect not to be dancing next to someone in jeans and a polo shirt.

 

The main reason I cruise with NCL is the itinerary. HAL seems to be stuck in the same rut, season after season after season. Lauderdale, to Half Moon Cay, to Nassau, to St. Thomas and back. Or perhaps, Lauderdale, to Key West, to Grand Cayman to Cozumel and back. Always the same offereings with Ocho Rios, or Costa Maya interchanged on occasion. There seems to be little interest by HAL's corporate office in variety.

 

NCL, on the other hand, seems to come up with quite a variety of ports each and every year. Belize, Roatan, Dominica, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Grenada, Antigua, Tortola. These are exciting places to visit, often times with only one or perhaps two cruise ships in port on any single day. If you love to travel and see new things, NCL's got it all over HAL.

 

So there you go. I love HAL's elegance, and I love where NCL goes. For the holidays, its HAL, and the rest of the year, NCL will do nicely.

 

No matter what you decide, a bad day cruising beats and good day working. ;)

[Cruise_More_Often]

Keith and Rita: I've cruised on HAL, RCI and NCL (on the Sun) and absolutely love NCL the best. We're set to embark on our second NCL cruise in May (and can hardly wait) and are waiting for the 2006 schedule to come out so we can sail NCL to Alaska.

 

• NCL ships tend to be smaller and older.
  
• I don't believe they offer as much - the Crown, for instance, only has 1 pool.
  
• They are not that "extravagant" - the shows are ok, but not the same quality as on larger ships.
  

 

The Sun, Dawn and Star (and soon to come Jewel) are newer, larger ships than some of the older ships, such as the Crown, and they have all the amenities you could possibly need or want.

 

The Sun is stunning, the service is excellent, you get to choose from numerous dining venues and you get to choose when you want to eat. Plus, if you want to experience the same type of "traditional dining" you are used to on other lines, simply speak to the maitre'd and ask that you be placed at the same table at the same time and with the same waitstaff for every dinner.

 

We went to the main dining room designated as "formal" for formal night and did not see anyone dressed inappropriately. Most women were either very formally dressed or in cocktail dresses.

 

We ate in Le Bistro, Il Adagio and East Meets West. During each dinner, because the servers are not as busy as they are in the traditional dining rooms, we were able to talk to our servers at length. In fact, the day after we ate in East Meets West, our server, who was working in the Great Outdoors Cafe, saw us and called us by name. It's a friendly ship with a great crew.

 

Go, have fun! Change is good.

[Keith Rita]

You folks are very good at giving precise answers, even repeating them two times! (Just kidding Cruise_More_Often)

Seriously, these are just the kind of responses we were hoping for. Thanks, hazeleyez3, cmdchiefthom, and Cruise_More_Often! Any more comments from you guys and others, just send them our way!

[Zeno]

I have cruised on 2 NCL ships: the Sky and the Sun. I loved the Sun. Friendly, helpful crew. Lots of dining choices. You can request the same waiter every night. You will be asked if you want to share with others but if you want to keep your own company - that is OK too. The longest wait we had to be seated in a dining room was less than 5 minutes. The food was good, mass produced food not gourmet but I have never encountered true gourmet food on any cruiseline. Personally I LOVE freestyle cruising (eating when and where I want and above all with who I want). After one bad experience with assigned tablemates on another cruiseline, I am less than enchanted with "traditional" cruise dining. Also I like to eat when I am hungry rather than at a specific time every night. However if you like "traditional" cruiseship dining, you may have some issues with Freestyle. It is different - much more like restaurant dining. Some people say the service isn't as good but truthfully I have not noticed any difference between the service at NCL and on the 3 traditional cruises I was on. We had one of our best waiters ever on the Sun and one of our best cabin stewards.

I say that as long as you realize it will be a different experience and are ready to adapt a bit, give it a try.

[Joanne G.]

My perspective, after several cruises each on NCL and HAL:

 

As others have said, freestyle dining has its advantages - your dining time is based on your appetite, your mood, and your other activities. And, depending on the ship, you have a number of dining rooms to choose from. With a little bit of planning, I have never had a wait for dinner on 3 freestyle cruises. But that's one of the disadvantages - it takes a bit of planning! There is a comfort factor with traditional dining knowing that you don't have to think about where and when to eat; you just show up at your table at the appropriate time.

 

If you are a fan of the dancing-waiters-with-the-baked-Alaska parade, you'll be disappointed on NCL. With everyone at different stages of their meals, there aren't any "events" like that.

 

Dress is noticeably more casual on NCL. For the most part, people look nice in their casual dress, and packing is easier without the formal duds. But if you choose to dress up for the optional formal nights, you won't be the only ones. However, you will see some, shall I say, interesting, interpretations of "resort casual." It helps to have a sense of humor about these things and not get offended if you see someone whose dress seems inappropriate for the occassion.

 

We encountered many more children on board the NCL cruises compared to HAL - even when the NCL cruises were not at school vacation time. For the most part, the children's behavior was OK, but more kids means more people - more people in the buffet line, more people in seats at the theater, more people lining up for the tenders, more people needing pool lounges, more people on the beach at the private island. All those cabins with 3 or 4 people makes the ship more crowded.

 

I have seen absolutely no difference in service level between the 2 lines. I have received gracious and attentive service on both.

 

As for food, as long as I'm not shopping, cooking, or cleaning up, I'm happy with just about anything on my plate. So I won't try to compare the food on the different lines.

 

I find NCL's entertainment to be more iteresting than HAL's. And that includes the many smaller venues as well as the main show theater.

 

I have found the NCL freestyle experience to be quite different from the HAL traditional experience. But I have enjoyed them both, and I will continue to go back and forth between traditional and freestlye depending on itinerary, price, and other factors. If the traditional dining experience and dressed up passengers are essential to your enjoyment, then NCL isn't the best choice. But if you fully understand what might be different and are willing to try something new, you will probably enjoy the cruise, especially if the itinerary is attractive to you.

[platterb]

Well, if you review my signature you will see that we have sailed several cruise lines but NCL the most. Why, primarily because NCL is like your favorite slippers. We like the casual, comfortable feel of NCL and their cruise staff. So when we're ready to just "lay back", we come back to NCL. We sailed on the Sun when it was introduced as NCL's first freestyle ship (Dec 2001). We next sailed on the Celebrity Millennium (2002), Holland America's Zuiderdam (2003) and most recently the NCL Spirit (2004). With the exception of the Spirit, the other three were the most recent class of ships from their respective cruise lines. We had the same category cabin (balcony) on each and the NCL Sun was actually the largest and I liked it the best. Loved the decor.

 

What I have found over the years is that there are certain aspects of each cruise line or ship that may be better than the other. Of those last four cruises mentioned, we liked the Sun's cabin, decor and production entertainment, the overall service on the Millennium and their speciality restuarant (Olympic Room), the overall food quality and selection on the Zuiderdam and the iteneriary and the entertainment bands on the Spirit. But since I love cruising we always have a good time. It's all about attitude.

 

NCL is the innovator. They were the first to: purchase and offer their own out island; offer diving and snorkeling programs, formalize "children's programs; offer broadway production shows and theater seating, include more exotic islands, offer freestyle cruising; expand port cities beyond the traditional Miami/Ft Lauderdale; and now operate under the American flag out of Hawaii.

 

Just a quick note about freestyle. My husband loves the idea of not having to wear coat and tie. We never had to wait for seating on either the Sun or Spirit. But then again, we didn't go down at 7:00 - 7:30 during the prime dinner time. Most of the people who complained about not being able to be seated right away arrived during those prime times. Well, if you were on any other cruises then you know your selection for assigned seating is either 6:00p and 8:00p. Since we were just on the NCL Spirit a couple of months ago, it is easier to remember the experience. Of the nine nights, we only had one occasion where the service did not meet our expectations. One other advantage of the freestyle concept is when you happen to meet another couple during the cruise who you'd like to have dinner with. It's easy to accomodate in freestyle whereas that option would not be available on the traditional assigned seating scenerio.

 

I'm sure you will have a wonderful time.

[Keith Rita]

That for all the detailed responses. Based on this forum we are ready to try NCL. Now we'll have to talk our cruise friends into joining us. :cool: :cool:

[Clay Clayton]

Keith Rita

Glad to hear that you have decided to give NCL a try so you may not want to waste your time...but if you still want a comparision of Celebrity and NCL, do a search for my NCL Sun Review. I had concerns about Freestylin' and they were all unfounded.

 

Have fun,

Clay

[ron46936]

We've sailed HAL twice, RCCL 7, Carnival 1, Celebrity 3 times, NCL 7. The only advantage to HAL was that they offer more long itineraries. We prefer the Freestyle cruising and the superior entertainment offered by NCL.

 

In particular we like the SUN having sailed on her twice. Our next cruise is again on the Sun Dec 4.

[Keith Rita]

Keith Rita

Glad to hear that you have decided to give NCL a try so you may not want to waste your time...but if you still want a comparision of Celebrity and NCL, do a search for my NCL Sun Review. I had concerns about Freestylin' and they were all unfounded.

 

Have fun,

Clay

 

Very good and detailed review Clay. It was easy to find as it is the Member Review of the Week. Congratulations! It will help us to decide if we are ready to try something different. ;) ;)

[newmexicoNita]

Hello fellow cruisers. We are considering taking the Norwegian Sun out of New Orleans for New Years. The cruise is 10 days starting 0n 12/29/05. That is a perfect time for us to be able to take an extended cruise. New Years 2004 we took an eleven day cruise from Tampa on the Celebrity Horizon and this past New Years we took another eleven day cruise on the HAL Zaandam out of Port Canaveral. On both cruises we drove to port. We are looking to do the same with a little shorter drive to NO. We have taken a total of twelve cruises on HAL, Carnival, RCL, and Celebrity. We have heard both good things and bad things about Norwegian and free style dining and casual dress. We take what we hear with a grain of salt and we are thinking maybe we should give it a try and judge for ourselves. It would be convenient for us and another cruise couple who would drive in from Texas.

I guess you could call us traditionalists who do not take to change very fast. Our question to the board members are what other differences will we encounter on NCL?

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Also, is anybody else considering this cruise. We love cruising that time of the year.

 

 

we have cruised all the lines you have and our preference is NCL, especially the Sun. Next would be Celebrity. To us the freedom of choosing the time we eat is the deciding point. Some think the food on Celebrity is far superior, I do not agree. I think the presentation is a little nicer and the service is a little more posh I would say. Freestyle lends itself to a bit more relaxation, which we happen to love. Some like to have the same table mates the entire cruise: wonderful if you have something in common, a nightmere if not. We like seating with different people each night or by ourselves. The onboard activities are quite similar. Though I don't think any buffets are the goumet treat of a lifetime I do enjoy NCL a bit more. There is a bigger variety, but Celebrity has a better presentation. Hope this is somewhat of a comparison for you. NMNita

[newmexicoNita]

First let me say that out of the lines you have mentioned I have only sailed on RCL and Carnival, and both were over 10 years ago. Let me also say that I am stating facts below, not necessarily my opinion. I had a wonderful time on the Crown last year - so much so that I am sailing on the Sea this May.

 

 

• NCL ships tend to be smaller and older.
  
• I don't believe they offer as much - the Crown, for instance, only has 1 pool.
  
• They are not that "extravagant" - the shows are ok, but not the same quality as on larger ships.
  
• Because it is Freestyle you do not have the same waiter every night
  
• I believe that all of the cruise members are from other countries
  
• There was no midnight buffet
  

On the other hand....it offers you:

 

• multiple genres of music to listen to
  
• a few different bars
  
• a kids club (babysitting center)
  
• library
  
• casino
  
• pools
  
• ping pong
  
• some have basketball courts
  
• spa
  
• 24-hr gym
  
• Multiple types of restaurants
  
• jogging tracks (not sure if it is on all ships)
  
• The "typical" cruise activities - bingo, deck party, etc
  
• your choice to "dress up" on formal night
  

etc... etc... etc

 

 

All in all... its a very nice line.

 

 

haxel, The Sun, Star, Dawn, Spirit and soon to be launched Jewel are older and smaller than what? Yes, some of RCI and CArnival ships sail full with 3000 passengers, but Celebrity and NCL newer ships hold 2200, certainly big enough to have great shows, several choices in dining, great casinos and yes, with the exception of POA staff from other coutries, just like all cruise lines. The Crown, though it may have some wonderful features, isn't representative of most NCL ships. I am not trying to pick your remarks apart, just pointing out the Sun and the Crown are like comparing apples and mangos. NMNita

[hazeleyez3]

haxel, The Sun, Star, Dawn, Spirit and soon to be launched Jewel are older and smaller than what? Yes, some of RCI and CArnival ships sail full with 3000 passengers, but Celebrity and NCL newer ships hold 2200, certainly big enough to have great shows, several choices in dining, great casinos and yes, with the exception of POA staff from other coutries, just like all cruise lines. The Crown, though it may have some wonderful features, isn't representative of most NCL ships. I am not trying to pick your remarks apart, just pointing out the Sun and the Crown are like comparing apples and mangos. NMNita

 

NMNita,

 

NCL also has older ships - The Sea, The Crown, and a few others. These ships tend to be smaller, and do not have the "extravagant" shows that I recall from Carnival or Royal Carribean... so how about a split? Some of the older ships are smaller with not as much glitz and glamour, while their newer ships are similar to other lines' current ships?

 

As for the staff members - I mentioned that because I met a few people on the cruise to Bermuda who were upset that there was no crew member from the United States.

 

 

I might not have made it clear on my previous post... I found nothing wrong with the casinos and dining. I cannot comment about the specialty restaurants because I typically avoid them; however, I think it gives the guests a wonderful selection of dinner menus.

[newmexicoNita]

NMNita,

 

NCL also has older ships - The Sea, The Crown, and a few others. These ships tend to be smaller, and do not have the "extravagant" shows that I recall from Carnival or Royal Carribean... so how about a split? Some of the older ships are smaller with not as much glitz and glamour, while their newer ships are similar to other lines' current ships?

 

As for the staff members - I mentioned that because I met a few people on the cruise to Bermuda who were upset that there was no crew member from the United States.

 

 

I might not have made it clear on my previous post... I found nothing wrong with the casinos and dining. I cannot comment about the specialty restaurants because I typically avoid them; however, I think it gives the guests a wonderful selection of dinner menus.

 

Hazel, I understand what you are saying and I have cruised on all but one mass marketed line, not to mention almost every NCL ship. Each line has smaller, older ships and newer ships both small and mega. I think that was my point. It is very hard to compare lines without comparing like products. I am rather surprised the passengers would remark about the lack of American crew. Obviously they had not cruised often as almost all crew members are from other countries. NMNita

[RammerJammerBama]

First let me say that out of the lines you have mentioned I have only sailed on RCL and Carnival, and both were over 10 years ago. Let me also say that I am stating facts below, not necessarily my opinion. I had a wonderful time on the Crown last year - so much so that I am sailing on the Sea this May.

• NCL ships tend to be smaller and older.
  
• I don't believe they offer as much - the Crown, for instance, only has 1 pool.
  

The NCL Sun had its maiden voyage in September 2001. As to its features, the following website provides a marvelous six-page tour of the Sun:

 

http://home.tiscali.nl/t411310/nos/nsun1.htm

 

In essence, the six pages provide you with the equivalent of a guided tour of the Sun. On each page there are about 15 or so photos. Along with the photos are narratives that describe what you see in the photos. Other than the photo of the ship in the upper-left corner of each page, you can see an enlarged version of a photo by clicking on it. There are at least one photo and narrative for each public room on the ship and for several of the cabins.

 

Roll Tide!