NCL vs Princess (Norwegian Dawn vs Sapphire Princess) and first time cruisers.

[Superpowers810]

Hey everyone, first post here and a virgin to cruising :)

 

Me and my mom have been thinking about taking a 7 day cruise to Mexico for a Xmas cruise in December but I ran into a bit of a conflict now.

 

NCL and Princess are offering the exact same cruise, for nearly identical prices, that leave the same day. Problem is I don't know who to choose :confused: The Sapphire has better reviews but the Norwegian Star has like 1000+ more reviews then the Sapphire does.

 

If anyone could make a recommendation that would be great!

[kitty9]

Princess, by a huge amount. Better food and service, and a bit more in terms of elegance rather than flash.

[Superpowers810]

Princess, by a huge amount. Better food and service, and a bit more in terms of elegance rather than flash.

 

Have you sailed on the Sapphire before? How was it like?

[Keith1010]

Without a doubt I would go with Princess. I have sailed its sister ship and would recommend it.

 

Keith

[poolreader]

The Sapphire is one of my favorite ships. The food is very good and there are many places to eat. The International Cafe is wonderful, and the free pizza restaurant is delicious. They have many places to sit inside and out and view the ocean, the Star has far fewer places to sit and look out. If you go with NCL you need to figure additional money to pay for eating in their specialty restaurants.

The Sapphire has a large covered pool which will probably be welcomed in December.

[Krazy Kruizers]

JMO -- but I would go with Princess.

[NMLady]

The Sapphire is one of my favorite ships. The food is very good and there are many places to eat. The International Cafe is wonderful, and the free pizza restaurant is delicious. They have many places to sit inside and out and view the ocean, the Star has far fewer places to sit and look out. If you go with NCL you need to figure additional money to pay for eating in their specialty restaurants.

The Sapphire has a large covered pool which will probably be welcomed in December.

 

I disagree with your statement about needing additional money for NCL.

The FREE food in MDR, or in buffet or in Blue Lagoon is perfectly fine. No need to eat in specialty restaurants unless preferred.

[Superpowers810]

Thank you all for the advice. Princess it is!

[Cruisin' Chick]

Went on the Sapphire to Alaska and thought it was so beautiful. And since then, there's been many features added such as the Movies Under the Stars, the International Cafe (which many of us talk about so much on the Princess boards -- it's a group of display cases on the Plaza level from which you can get a variety of delicious food and then eat there or take anywhere -- and the food there is all free), a covered pool (which will be nice for the first and last day of your cruise when the weather could be overcast).

 

A great choice!

[crooooze]

I've been on both....

 

I like the Sapphire much better. Larger rooms (ocean view). More dining/food options (that didn't require extra $). More activities (that didn't require extra $). Movies Under The Stars.

 

That said, I had a great time on both and didn't want to disembark either one. But if I had to chose between the two, it would definitely be thee Sapphire.

[cruiseaholic777]

Princess is an easy choice. They are my families favorite cruise line. ;)

[Superpowers810]

Thank you all so much, I have two more small questions to ask :)

 

How about Royal Caribbean compared to Princess? I'm loving all the activities RC has to offer but have heard that it's quite crowded.

 

Last one: Are there typically a lot of children on Princess during the Holidays when they are out of school?

[dorisis]

We prefe Princess to RCI. It does seem like there are more children on RCI during the holidays mainly because of the many activities offered.

[Seago2]

Princess to the first question!! Priiiiincessssss.......

 

As to your last question: I've never sailed RCI but I can say that I loved my Princess cruise, LOVED. Look up at my avatar- that's the aft of the Caribbean Princess. RC can have a lot of kids- doesn't bother me at all but just FYI.

[boulders]

Thank you all so much, I have two more small questions to ask :)

 

How about Royal Caribbean compared to Princess? I'm loving all the activities RC has to offer but have heard that it's quite crowded.

 

Last one: Are there typically a lot of children on Princess during the Holidays when they are out of school?

 

Which ship on Royal? To me, Royal ships feel more spacious than Princess.

[Superpowers810]

Which ship on Royal? To me, Royal ships feel more spacious than Princess.

 

I'm not sure. RC has a lot of cruises around the same time. Freedom of the Seas. Ind

 

ependence of the seas. Those were some.

[wallie5446]

There are a few question's before I throw in our 2 cents. We have been on 7 diff lines, RCCL Freedom Nov 2011, Ruby Princess Nov 2012, back on Celebrity this yr most recient trips.

 

What do you and Mom like to do?

What are your ages? Active crowd, or laid back?

Are you going to mind dressing up, or do you want casual?

Food is going to be good to very good on all the lines for your 1st cruise.

 

Without knowing more,

Celebrity 1st, RCCL 2nd.

Princess for older wear formal clothes cruise,

NCL, for laid back more relaxing resort vacation kinda week.

[05mak05]

Thank you all so much, I have two more small questions to ask :)

 

How about Royal Caribbean compared to Princess? I'm loving all the activities RC has to offer but have heard that it's quite crowded.

 

Last one: Are there typically a lot of children on Princess during the Holidays when they are out of school?

Actually Princess ships are much more crowded than RCI. RCI's ships are much wider so the pool decks and other public areas have a spacious feel. I asked lots of questions last year as Princess offered a better itinerary than RCI for a Christmas cruise. (As it turned out, Princess cancelled Costa Maya so we booked the Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas.) I was told that the D1 balconies on RCI are just about the same size as the mini suites on Princess. I'd suggest posting your questions on both the Princess board and the Royal Caribbean board. Since ports are the same, I'd go with Royal Caribbean. Oh, and also, last Christmas there were 1200 kids on the Christmas cruise including our 2 grandchildren. Not once did we see a child misbehaving, being loud, running down the halls or any of that nonsense. Kids really in truly were not a factor.

[Superpowers810]

My mom likes to dance and meet new people (maybe even a boyfriend, shhh!) But she also would enjoy a fair amount of relaxation. She really wants to take a cruise that goes through Christmas day. She is middle aged. As for myself I'm not a very social 16 year old. I love to swim, eat, watch the ocean and ships wake and relax. If it matters. NCL, Princess, and Holland America all have the same cruise for roughly the same price and port. Also please disregard RC now. They have no cruises leaving from a port in our state during my time period (Dec 14 to Dec 29th)

[wallie5446]

OK, you need something from the West coast, not the Gulf or East.

HAL should be crossed off your list, Princess is 50/50, NCL, IMHO, Would be the better overall fit based on your likes.

[Superpowers810]

OK, you need something from the West coast, not the Gulf or East.

HAL should be crossed off your list, Princess is 50/50, NCL, IMHO, Would be the better overall fit based on your likes.

 

Thanks. Why is Princess only 50/50 BTW?.

[wallie5446]

On Princess the pax mix will be older famlies with kids, grand kids, and great grand kids, that have been sailing Princess for many a day. Mom would be hard pressed to find someone 'our' age :D to dance with, yet there would probably be a good number your age to hang with. Passengers dress up on the holiday cruises on Princess way more than they do on NCL. We had our Christmas cards made on the Ruby last yr from one of the pictures they took.

 

Each line has a little something diff to offer in the way they present their product. There are a lot of You Tube video's people have put up on all the cruise lines, go and watch a few, it may help some more with your decission.

 

Remember, there is no question to small to ask on Cruise Critic, no matter how many times some may say 'that has been asked before' :rolleyes:

[barante]

Congratulations on your virgin cruise. You will have a great time. Might even grow into an addiction.

 

In our cruising, we have concluded that more features unite the major cruise lines than separate them. That's why we go by the itinerary, price and the SIZE of the cabin. We take the biggest cabin we can get. If your cabin is roomy, insides are perfectly tolerable. That's why we love the inside category J on many HAL ships (on the MAIN deck, not anywhere else). More recently we have booked three 4Ks on Carnival, obstructed view cabins that have openable French doors and are sold at inside prices.

 

Whatever you do, you will have a great time. Because of the passenger mix -- the average age is deceased -- I too would drop HAL. Those ships are dead after 9:30 p.m.

 

I have had great cruises on Princess as well as on NCL. You cannot go wrong with either of them. We have booked two NCLs for 2014, again on the basis of price and itinerary. We spurged on balconies because the ordinary cabins are very small.

 

BTW, we are booked on the Carnival Miracle out of Long Beach Dec. 1. Six days in the Mexico vicinity. Some of the biggest standard cabins anywhere. 4Ks still available. The price was so good we added this to our 14-day Hawaii itinerary. And, and, and. The Miracle has a water slide!

[Superpowers810]

Thanks to everyone again, you have all been helpful!

 

Can anyone give a rough price on flight for two from California to Florida? We really want to go somewhere other then Mexico but don't want to go over budget which we really want to keep below 3k

 

Which Norwegian ship should we choose? They have a couple (Pearl, Jewel, Dawn, and Epic, but heard that Epic smells of smoke from the casino)

[smeyer418]

Thanks to everyone again, you have all been helpful!

 

Can anyone give a rough price on flight for two from California to Florida? We really want to go somewhere other then Mexico but don't want to go over budget which we really want to keep below 3k

 

Which Norwegian ship should we choose? They have a couple (Pearl, Jewel, Dawn, and Epic, but heard that Epic smells of smoke from the casino)

go to http://www.itasotware.com it will give you exactly what the airfares are available from everyone but Southwest and ATA I believe.