So, sell me on NCL

[youngestof9]

We loved the epic. So much that we booked the same room again. Same itinerary. I can't wait to sail her again. Very fun ship. Large but fun.

[gambee]

So why is epic on its own class? I was considering for our next cruise but decided on Breakaway instead. I sure hope that this new class of ships maintains the same positive energy that the rest of NCL ships represent.

 

I really only have the Sky as my NCL experience and other than the food I though it was up to par with rccl. I do have to say that NCL was more energetic. We will see how our next cruise plays out :)

[Cruzface]

Like JuneBug said, it's all about the freestyle cruising.

 

On the NCL ships, there are two main dining rooms that you can choose from, but they basically operate like a standard restaurant. You show up when you like, get a table, and have dinner.

 

We've only cruised on NCL, but that's because I don't think we'd enjoy having a fixed dinner time and fixed dinner guests every night for a many night cruise. Especially with kids, the flexibility that freestyle offers is great.

 

All of a sudden you are an NCL cheerleader! LOL. Amazing what a little alone time will do...;):D

[ksimpso3]

We spent 22 days on the Sapphire Princess in September/October 2007, going from Vancouver to Alaska, to Russia, Japan, Korea & China.

 

Afterwards, we were so negative on cruising, that we hastily booked an NCL Gem cruise for that December, just to finally decide if we were done with it, or if it was the Princess experience which was not for us.

 

The Gem was a delight, as have been the others....so it appears NCL is for us, and Princess is decidely not.

 

The Princess "Anytime Dining" was nothing at all like NCL's Freestyle. You're right.... I don't remember which decks were which, but I think deck 6 was for the traditional dining, and deck 5 was a similarly-sized room with a partition down the middle (I know, I walked through the hallway between the two rooms) essentially breaking-up a big room into 2 smaller rooms. Each had its own decor, but the same (which I hated) menus.

 

The steakhouse was just 8 booths at the back of the buffet, with some curtains. No match whatsoever for our first Le Bistro experience on the Dawn in 2003, surrounded by $200 million of Masters' art-works.

 

We didn't go into Sabatinis, as nearly every item on the menu had some form of shellfish, and I'm allergic.

 

It was a dreary 22 days (other than incredible shore excursions). All the crew happily chirped "hello sir" everytime they saw us. Not one took the time to remember our names, the way everybody does on NCL (from the HD on down).

 

I know from our last cruise when we had a Captain's Table dinner, that the crew who were to meet us at the Reception area and escort us to the dining room all had print-outs in colour with photos from our keycards and associated names, so that they would recognize us (and others in the Captain's Table group).

 

I would be willing to wager that staff are provided photos of certain passengers (:rolleyes:) on each sailing.I remember boarding a ship in New York, and heading to the restaurant reservation desk within 10 mins of boarding...and having the girl there greet me by name. It was borderline spooky.

 

 

That's a big difference in the ambiance.

 

 

.

We just got off the Dawn last Sunday. We stayed in the garden villa!! Awesome. I doubt any cruiseline can match it. Anyways, I had to laugh when I read your line about photos of certain passengers being provided to staff. I told my husband "they must have our pictures posted in the crew areas" because everywhere we went, the crew knew us. The hostess even found us in the back of a line to get into main restaurant one night and said "Sir Don, I have room for you" and we were seated in 5 minutes. I know we were in the most expensive suite on board, but I never expected that level of treatment. We were treated like royalty. I love NCL and don't think I will try any other lines. Why mess with a good thing??;)

[arhillbilly]

So why is epic on its own class? I was considering for our next cruise but decided on Breakaway instead. I sure hope that this new class of ships maintains the same positive energy that the rest of NCL ships represent.

 

I really only have the Sky as my NCL experience and other than the food I though it was up to par with rccl. I do have to say that NCL was more energetic. We will see how our next cruise plays out :)

 

Sorry, guess I should have said more about the Epic. I DID NOT like the Epic...at all....except, for the studio lounge. But it's me, not necessarily the ship. It's WAAAYYYY to big for my preference and waaayyy too many people. I did a TA on it in Oct with 3500 people on board....

 

1.dining room lines were long....

2.had to make reservations for the entertainment (or wait until the last 10 minutes before it started when they released the reservations in order to get in)....same entertainment all week because of the number of people on board.Other NCL ships has something different every night.

3. Elevators are only at each end of the ship, nothing in the middle...long lines at the elevators or full elevators A LOT of the time

4. VERY IMPERSONAL....where as the other NCL ships made me feel like I was part of a family, the Epic did not. Other than a very few members of the crew, none knew my name...not even my room steward. I like the other ships where all the crew knows me. (Trust me, after dancing 1/2 the night and drinking, I get to be known :D)

We just got off the Dawn last Sunday. We stayed in the garden villa!! Awesome. I doubt any cruiseline can match it. Anyways, I had to laugh when I read your line about photos of certain passengers being provided to staff. I told my husband "they must have our pictures posted in the crew areas" because everywhere we went, the crew knew us. The hostess even found us in the back of a line to get into main restaurant one night and said "Sir Don, I have room for you" and we were seated in 5 minutes. I know we were in the most expensive suite on board, but I never expected that level of treatment. We were treated like royalty. I love NCL and don't think I will try any other lines. Why mess with a good thing??;)

 

I am with you....why mess with a good thing. I have ALWAYS been treated like royalty (except for the Epic) and I ALWAYS book an inside cabin I LOVE how when I go on another cruise, I am remembered by crew that I had on a completely different ship

 

Short story....Did a Caribbean cruise in Aug 2011...7 nights turned into 9 nights because tropical storm Lee had the Port of New Orleans closed for 2 days. Fast forward to April 2012...did a transatlantic on the same ship. The 3rd day in the main dining room, "our" waiter came up to me and said "You have cruised with us before" I said "Yes I have" He says "You were on the cruise when we were be bopping around the ocean because the port was closed for 2 days".....Not only did he remember me, he remembered what cruise I was on!! From Aug until April...roughly 69300 passengers and he remembered!! Now THAT'S good customer service!!...and why I LOVE NCL!!

 

 

I have also been on the Pearl (May 2012) where the DJ was the same one from the Spirit(Aug 2011 & April 2012) and he remembered me...

 

I was on the Pearl in May 2012 and then the Star in Dec 2012 and a couple of the entertainment staff remembered me from the Pearl.

 

The Epic (Oct 2012) had 5 crew that had been on the Spirit (April 2012)...I LOVE that they remember me

 

 

[kcdancerkc]

If teen boys don't like more than 15% of the food - that's sad :(

My fifth cruise and I lost a pound!!!! Usually gain 10! :confused:

 

Unless anyone has been on Sky AND another NCL ship - and can tell me the "free" food is better on other NCL ships--- we will sail other lines. You never think food is such a factor until you have very little that is quality. :eek:

 

Even the french dining we paid for was not anything like a fee for dining on carnival /HAL :cool:

 

Not to mention that GSC - hurricaine or not - is the ugliest island I've ever been on.... otherwise most things the same as on other cruise lines for us.

[gambee]

If teen boys don't like more than 15% of the food - that's sad :(

My fifth cruise and I lost a pound!!!! Usually gain 10! :confused:

 

Unless anyone has been on Sky AND another NCL ship - and can tell me the "free" food is better on other NCL ships--- we will sail other lines. You never think food is such a factor until you have very little that is quality. :eek:

 

Even the french dining we paid for was not anything like a fee for dining on carnival /HAL :cool:

 

Not to mention that GSC - hurricaine or not - is the ugliest island I've ever been on.... otherwise most things the same as on other cruise lines for us.

 

 

Maybe it is just the sky?

 

I found the same problem, from the buffet to the MDR. We never went to the specialty restaurants, this time around we plan on going to a few of them. It would of been very frustrating if I paid and the food was the same quality.

 

I am currently following a review on the sky of another cruiser and food was also a factor.

[coffeebean]

Unless I missed something, only one person has touched on entertainment so far. To me, it's the one clear advantage NCL has over the other lines we've sailed. ...

 

Jim

I have cruised on six mass market lines (NCL, RCCL, HAL, Princess, Carnival and Celebrity). By far, entertainment is the best of the bunch on RCCL's Oasis and Allure and NCL's Epic. None of the other ships can compare with these ships, IMHO. These ships make their bread and butter from the entertainment options they offer. Must say, NCL is right up there with the big guns of the Oasis class ships. If you want to be entertained on a completely other level than routine cruise ship fare...cruise on these three ships and be prepared to be WOW'd.

[coffeebean]

 

...I didn't see the Freestyle thing as much more than a marketing scheme. I don't see much more than freedom to dine when you want and to spend extra money. ...

 

Jim

 

The Freedom comes from the choice to dine in several restaurant venues, each with it's own individual menu, ambiance and decor. NCL ships are built FOR Freestyle so the dining experiences can be different every single night. With the exception of the Oasis class ships of RCCL which have many dining venues, all other ships on other lines can not compare with the dining choices NCL offers.

[Tatka]

My question is why do you feel that somebody needs to sell you on NCL, rather than just trying this line. You sailed with RCCL & Carnival right? Try NCL and you might like it or not. We tried almost all massmarket lines and made our opinions. More than that, you might like one NCL ship/cruise, but not another. Overall we had a very good time with NCL, but also found some weak points, just like with most of the lines. Princess is our favorite line and Carnival is least favorite. Everything else was in between. :)

[Aquahound]

I didn't see the Freestyle thing as much more than a marketing scheme. I don't see much more than freedom to dine when you want and to spend extra money. We've been perfectly satisfied with the arrangements on Carnival and Princess where they let you dine when and with whom you want.

 

To be honest, I think Freestyle is a little over hyped both by the cruise line and by folks on these boards. Like you said, a marketing scheme. The lack of a true formal night stands out more, at least to me, than Freestyle which, lets face it, is only a fancy name for open seating.

 

What I do like about NCL is the direction in which they are going. Like what RCI does, I like that they are designing totally new ship classes and there won't be a mundane sameness to all their ships, like Carnival.

[coka]

Ok, so my wife and I have been on a Royal Caribbean cruise and about to leave on a Carnival cruise. For our next cruise, tell me why an NCL cruise will be better..

 

What makes NCL better then RCI or Carnival?

 

I need to know what you liked and did not like on RCI and Carnival before I can sell you on Norwegian. ;)

 

coka

[Tatka]

To be honest, I think Freestyle is a little over hyped both by the cruise line and by folks on these boards. Like you said, a marketing scheme. The lack of a true formal night stands out more, at least to me, than Freestyle which, lets face it, is only a fancy name for open seating. .

 

I think Freestyle is not only about MDRs, but about additional dining venues free and with a charge. Variety of them.

 

For example we love Blue Lagoon. :)

[dongordon]

It's about as CASUAL and RELAXING as you can get. No need to dress up if you don't want to. LOTS of different dining options. and VERY reasonable prices. I have had an absolute BLAST on all of my NCL cruises.

 

But then I also had a BLAST on Carnival as well as Celebrity.

 

Some people will ALWAYS find SOMETHING to complain about no matter what.

 

My carefully considered advice... TRY THEM *A*L*L* !!! :) ;) :D

 

I agree 100% with navyrotorhead!!

 

I have been on Royal Carribbean, Carnival and Celebrity. I never was on a cruise I did not enjoy. It is all about preferences when cruising and what you feel are the important points that make for the most enjoyable cruise experience

And although some other cruise lines may have a better ambiance, I find both the crew and the passengers to be much more friendly and happier that some of the other ships.

For example, last year we went on Celebrity's new Silhouette and it was the most beautiful ship I had ever been on. The Jewel that I just returned form is not half as nice, but the cruise experience is so much better on NCL (IMHO) That being said, our fellow passengers on Silhoutte were not as friendly as the ones on on NCL. We also think the entertainment is better on NCL along with the games and intreaction that takes place with the cruise director and staff....there just seems to be more fun on NCL!!

 

Don