Norwegian Food vs. Princess Balcony Furniture

[GrandCanyon2005]

I've made duplicate reservations for Norwegian Sun and Princess Sapphire, for an Alaskan cruise next summer--2013 ... plenty of time before having to cancel one and opt for the other.

 

That said, there is a lot of negative talk over on the Princess board about bad balcony furniture and lack of free internet in the Suites. I've heard Suite amenities are better on Norwegian as well as food, and I'm now bending more toward Norwegian Sun. "Ports are all the same" ... Thoughts, recommendations?

[Alaskanb]

Nothing "bad" about balcony furniture on the Island Princess and the food was delicious. Loved our mini-suite.

[CruiserBruce]

Don't think I would rule out a cruise line on balcony furniture, particularly one who has the large number of ships and experience in Alaska that Princess does.

[DizzyDallasDi]

What an odd comparison....food vs. furniture. You need to rethink why you're going to Alaska because neither of these should have any bearing on your decision. I don't know of any cruise line that provides free internet service no matter what stateroom you're in, including the penthouse. You need to look for long port times and go from there. Personally, I found the food on NCL Sun crappy at best. YMMV.

 

If I had to choose between Princess and NCL it would be a complete no brainer...Princess all the way.

[KAYEF]

You need to do a lot of reading on these boards and make your own decision.

Personally, I probably wouldn't even take another N. cruise if it was given to me free. The food on our ship was horrible and who goes on an 11 day cruise to Alaska and never once has fish on the menu?

A cruise Line that advertises a port clear through August but who has cancelled it as a port on June 3rd is a dishonest business. That happened to us and thousands of othes one year.............they didn't even refund the taxes for that port!

Tiny, bare cabins, awful food, pool with no water in it...........and no Sitka.

Do your research and hav a wonderful time.

[cellyml12]

What an odd comparison....food vs. furniture. You need to rethink why you're going to Alaska because neither of these should have any bearing on your decision. I don't know of any cruise line that provides free internet service no matter what stateroom you're in, including the penthouse. You need to look for long port times and go from there. Personally, I found the food on NCL Sun crappy at best. YMMV.

 

If I had to choose between Princess and NCL it would be a complete no brainer...Princess all the way.

 

Up until the end of June Princess DID provide unlimited free internet to anyone who booked a suite.

[cellyml12]

You really want to research for cruise lines that provide what's most important to you. I researched all the cruise lines (except Carnival) & did A LOT of reading on these threads. In the end we went with Princess Sapphire. We are booked to go next May. The more I read (because I still take a peak at what goes on with the threads to the other lines), the more happy I am about the decision. We're most excited that we get to do Hubbard Glacier & Glacier Bay in the same cruise. Furniture isn't important to us & the food was a marginal concern, because we'll be eating our way through the ports when it comes to seafood. Good luck with your research!

[geoherb]

There was a recent review here from someone who sailed on Norwegian this year. For her, food was not that important and she had a great time. From her review, however, I would not have been happy with the food. Even the restaurants that cost extra did not rate raves from her.

 

We've never sailed in a suite, so I don't know if the perks are worth it. They haven't seemed so to me. I'd rather upgrade my ship than upgrade my cabin. Princess did recently do away with the free Internet for people who sail in a suite. We still receive limited free Internet from having sailed on Princess more than five times. We get 150 minutes each--which is the package that would normally cost $75 each. Anyone paying to sail in a suite should be able to afford paying a little bit extra.

[Budget Queen]

I like NCL and their Alaska itinerary next year, is excellent. I do NOT find their food any better/worse than any other line. ALL have cut back.

 

I feel I am qualified to to comment based on way more than single events, that have been posted above. I have sailed NCL 27 times (I do believe there are a few more unlisted sailings), I am Elite on Princess, I have sailed on 75 cruises (again, I do believe there are a few unaccounted sailings, over the 30 years)

 

These cruiselines are mass markets. None are going to be perfect. I am way past being, impressed by a cruiseship. Some may have that as a priority. For basics it is meals, lodging and transportation. :) They are excellent values for the travel dollar.

 

My end for the comments- I don't get caught up in the food, cabin etc. I look for what's outside the ship, especially in Alaska. They both certainly will offer an excellent Alaska adventure.

[biker1972]

Want free internet then hit free wifi spots in port. (Tablets are easy to carry off the ship) You are getting off the ship, right? Also in Alaska you can make those cell phone calls for free or very cheaply depending on your carrier and plan. Planning on going into the interior of Alaska? If you are not doing a DIY tour then Princess seems to have the most choices of cruisetours. Food is subjective but I have never been on a cruise where, if something was wrong, I couldn't get a replacement rather quickly. In several cases the waiter even suggested it as soon as he saw my face. So never a "bad" meal and I have always gained weight and inches. Now that is bad.:( Veranda furniture and comfort call for opinions and also involve body types and sizes. What I like and what my wife likes are different and nothing is like my "Lazy Boy". I do like a full size table however so that I can eat breakfast in a normal fashion while sitting on the veranda. And when viewing things like glaciers or the Panama Canal, I find myself standing at the rail. Hard to sit down in those spots :D.

[cruiseman40]

Well I just recently got back from N.Bound alaska on the Diamond Princess and was impressed with the food. Don't get me wrong I love NCL too, especially the "freestyle" cruising concept. However, you mentioned ports are the same, but with my NCL's past food experience, and the recent Princess ship, I'd pick Princess over NCL in the food dept(if price isn't a factor as well). Princess Sapphire is a newer ship in comparison to NCL's sun ship. Either cruiseline would fine, but if food is a factor go with Princess and just have fun!

 

 

I've made duplicate reservations for Norwegian Sun and Princess Sapphire, for an Alaskan cruise next summer--2013 ... plenty of time before having to cancel one and opt for the other.

 

That said, there is a lot of negative talk over on the Princess board about bad balcony furniture and lack of free internet in the Suites. I've heard Suite amenities are better on Norwegian as well as food, and I'm now bending more toward Norwegian Sun. "Ports are all the same" ... Thoughts, recommendations?

[KAYEF]

You may want to check cabin sizes as well.............going from a 198 sq. ft to a 142 sq ft is a BIG difference.................those are ocean view cabins I've been in on HAL and NCL.

[Wishing on a star]

You really want to research for cruise lines that provide what's most important to you. I researched all the cruise lines (except Carnival) & did A LOT of reading on these threads. In the end we went with Princess Sapphire. We are booked to go next May. The more I read (because I still take a peak at what goes on with the threads to the other lines), the more happy I am about the decision. We're most excited that we get to do Hubbard Glacier & Glacier Bay in the same cruise. Furniture isn't important to us & the food was a marginal concern, because we'll be eating our way through the ports when it comes to seafood. Good luck with your research!

 

This is the exact cruise I would like to book, but now looking at 2014, as we have another trip planned next year!

 

I can handle the food, as long as it is decent....

 

But, if I am paying that much for a balcony cabin, and all it has is two little impossibly uncomfortable lawn chairs... and no real table. That IS an issue.

 

Apparantly, Princess has been getting quite a bit of feedback on this, if what some posters have said is correct.

 

But, that doesn't tell me if they are willing, or even able, to correct the issue. They are at the bottom of the list in several categories now... from stateroom size, mattress quality, service, etc... They don't seem to give it much thought.

[cellyml12]

This is the exact cruise I would like to book, but now looking at 2014, as we have another trip planned next year!

 

I can handle the food, as long as it is decent....

 

But, if I am paying that much for a balcony cabin, and all it has is two little impossibly uncomfortable lawn chairs... and no real table. That IS an issue.

 

Apparantly, Princess has been getting quite a bit of feedback on this, if what some posters have said is correct.

 

But, that doesn't tell me if they are willing, or even able, to correct the issue. They are at the bottom of the list in several categories now... from stateroom size, mattress quality, service, etc... They don't seem to give it much thought.

 

It's a hard decision all the way around. While Budget Queen makes a good point about the cruise being about what's outside the ship, my soon to be DH & I were also concerned with the cruise line itself. We wanted a decor we could look at & live with, because there was no way I wanted to be on some gaudy looking ship. I am active on the Princess thread & yes people do talk about the balcony furniture & the mattresses (although it seems that those seem to be getting replaced slowly). I've never heard too much negativity in the service though. I spent several months lurking on the threads to various cruise lines & in the end, we decided Princess was the best fit for us. We plan on making Alaska a yearly adventure, whether we try another cruise line...I don't know. We'll see how the first one goes & go from there.

 

One thing I have noticed though, if you lurk on threads to try & get an inside scoop, try to pay attention to those who post a lot & have a lot of cruises with the particular line under their belt. I've noticed a lot of negative comments for the various lines come from people who have gone one time & seem to want to do nothing but belittle the cruise line. That's not too fair. We're lucky in the fact that there are a lot of choices though. I think there is a special cruise home for everyone. :)

[pmjnh]

This photo is from Coral Princess. You can see the balcony furniture. I realize you plan on the Saphire..don't know if it is the same or not but you can get an idea.

[cellyml12]

This photo is from Coral Princess. You can see the balcony furniture. I realize you plan on the Saphire..don't know if it is the same or not but you can get an idea.

 

I tried not to comment on balconies or room size, because we're doing a mini suite. The balcony for us is more about fresh air then hanging out a whole bunch, because we are smokers so we'll be up on public decks a lot with the smoking policy. I understand it being a concern for people who plan on using the balcony a lot though. We might feel different about balcony furniture if we planned on spending a lot of time out there.

 

By the way, I meant I heard that the mattresses are being slowly replaced, not furniture. Sorry about any confusion I caused.

[capriccio]

Just back from the Coral Princess. No complaints with the bedding in 4 mini-suites. We had the same pillow top that we had in a full suite on the Sapphire Princess in May. Very comfy.

[fleeflicker]

I have been tryingto decide on NCL Pearl or the Princess Star. It is a pretty good difference in cost. I keep hearing all this negative reports about food on NCL. Just trying to decide if princess is worth the money difference.

[chipmaster]

I'd make the choice based on the service, food etc. but balcony furniture:confused: , I guess if I was every to splurge for a suite maybe it would bother me if they had less than the highest quality outdoor teak furniture afterall its a suite :D

 

Internet, that is so slow, who cares if it is free...

 

I've made duplicate reservations for Norwegian Sun and Princess Sapphire, for an Alaskan cruise next summer--2013 ... plenty of time before having to cancel one and opt for the other.

 

That said, there is a lot of negative talk over on the Princess board about bad balcony furniture and lack of free internet in the Suites. I've heard Suite amenities are better on Norwegian as well as food, and I'm now bending more toward Norwegian Sun. "Ports are all the same" ... Thoughts, recommendations?

[margincall]

we are sailing on the Sun next August northbound because it was the only one we found that went to both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier and that was what sold us

[rjm11]

I have sailed Princess, Royal Caribbean, and NCL, and did not find the food on NCL to be any worse than the other two (actually my least favorite was RCCL). The real benefit to NCL in my opinion is their perfection of the "freestyle" concept- absolutely no dining times, or eating with strangers (if you don't want to), or any hassle in that regard. This was especially useful in Alaska when you'll want to spend as much time as you can OFF the ship, not worrying about getting back in time for a set dining hour. I know Princess has their Anytime Dining too, but it works much better on NCL as the whole ship is committed to it.

The other benefit of NCL in Alaska (again in my opinion) was that there were no formal nights.... with all the warm weather clothing and camera equipment, the last thing I wanted to drag along was formalwear!