Why should I switch to Norwegian?

[nycruise]

It makes perfect sense to me. I do get it!!!!! And, I agree 100% :)

 

 

 

NCL does it better than other lines...just the number of dining options alone is far above the rest.

 

Most at an ever increasing additional cost, which wasn't the case when they first started "Freestyle".

[nycruise]

NCL started the move toward "Freestyle". The other cruise lines have had to follow suit out of necessity, not because they wanted to.

 

I have witnessed RCCI's "Anytime Dining" on the Allure. It looked like a madhouse with all the people trying to eat at once. The entrance to the main dining room looked like a run on the bank.

 

I have found "Freestyle" to be very relaxed, just like a restaurant on land.

Walk up and ask for a table for two. I have found that you are usually seated immediately or maybe have a short wait. What is the big deal about immediate seating anyway? You are on vacation. Chill Out!

 

The bigger the ship the crazier the dining rooms. Check out the Breakaway in the Summer and let me know how "chill" it is. :D

[sjbdtz]

I can't understand the big deal about "FREESTYLE", all of the cruise lines offer anytime dining, eat when and with whom you want. RCCL calls it My Time Dining. As to casual dress, no one is required to dress up anymore on any of the lines. The days of suits and tuxedos disappeared a decade ago. If you like, you can dress up on any of the lines including NCL but I just don't see "FREESTYLE" as a reason to book NCL. I book on itinerary, price and ship.

 

I will give NCL credit for beginning the trend 10 years ago, but the other lines quickly followed suit.

 

 

I've only cruised on NCL & Princess. The differences in Freestyle:

 

- NCL had 20 dining options (including surcharge). I have no problem paying surcharges.

 

- Princess had 7 dining options (including surcharge). The surcharge restaurant was a small section of the buffet, curtained-off with...you guessed it... a curtain. No atmosphere, no ambiance.

 

The other options were 4 dining rooms, a seafood/Italian restaurant, and the buffet.

 

The 4 dining rooms were really 2 dining rooms, with a removable partition in the middle.

 

The menus were the same in each, just the décor differed.

 

 

 

As for dress... well I was definitely, personally, advised that I could wear whatever I preferred on Princess as well, so long as I only ate at the buffet on nights when others wanted to dress up.

 

So there are still many differences.

 

 

But for me it's not only about the Freestyle...it's that NCL crew & staff treat you like family (in a good way). On Princess we were treated like customers (respectful, but not friendly).

 

 

.

[punkincc]

I agree with Va Plumber, we have tried the "anytime dining" on at least two other lines and there is no comparison to NCL. 95% of their dining room is set up for fixed dining. You are relegated to your same 5% area every night. Same table for two next to the same people. If we had shown up with some new friends and asked for a table it would have been a huge deal. And you can request "anytime" but that does not mean you'll get it. It is very limited. The last time I cruised another line, on Formal Night, yes, you could choose not to dress up, but if so, you were not allowed to eat with the "grownups". Had to go to the buffet.

 

I might choose another line based on itinerary, but it would not be my choice in how I want to cruise and I will avoid it if I can.

[nycruise]

"The surcharge restaurant was a small section of the buffet, curtained-off with...you guessed it... a curtain. No atmosphere, no ambiance."

 

Did you miss Sabatini's and the Crown Grill??

 

 

"NCL had 20 dining options (including surcharge)"

 

Is that true on all NCL ships??

 

 

 

"As for dress... well I was definitely, personally, advised that I could wear whatever I preferred on Princess as well, so long as I only ate at the buffet on nights when others wanted to dress up."

 

If you are appropriately dressed, not shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops like the Breakaway, you won't have a problem in the Princess dining rooms. :rolleyes:

 

From your signature it seems you haven't been on Princess in 6 years, much has changed since then in the entire cruise industry.

[nycruise]

I agree with Va Plumber, we have tried the "anytime dining" on at least two other lines and there is no comparison to NCL. 95% of their dining room is set up for fixed dining. You are relegated to your same 5% area every night. Same table for two next to the same people. If we had shown up with some new friends and asked for a table it would have been a huge deal. And you can request "anytime" but that does not mean you'll get it. It is very limited. The last time I cruised another line, on Formal Night, yes, you could choose not to dress up, but if so, you were not allowed to eat with the "grownups". Had to go to the buffet.

 

I might choose another line based on itinerary, but it would not be my choice in how I want to cruise and I will avoid it if I can.

 

Haven't seen this to be the case in years on most lines.

[punkincc]

Most at an ever increasing additional cost, which wasn't the case when they first started "Freestyle".

 

Tell me what has not gone up in price in the last few years. In the 4 years we have cruised with NCL, we are still paying the same $15 or $20 cover at most of the specialties, which to me is very reasonable. I wish that I could stay at the Hilton and pay that for dinner in a nice restaurant every night. Our bill for that vacation would be much greater than a week on NCL even if we ate at a specialty every night.

[sjbdtz]

"The surcharge restaurant was a small section of the buffet, curtained-off with...you guessed it... a curtain. No atmosphere, no ambiance."

 

Did you miss Sabatini's and the Crown Grill??

 

The Crown Grill is the section of the Buffet. Didn't go to Sabatini's because it seemed everything had shellfish, and I'm allergic.

 

 

 

"NCL had 20 dining options (including surcharge)"

 

Is that true on all NCL ships??

 

 

 

"As for dress... well I was definitely, personally, advised that I could wear whatever I preferred on Princess as well, so long as I only ate at the buffet on nights when others wanted to dress up."

 

If you are appropriately dressed, not shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops like the Breakaway, you won't have a problem in the Princess dining rooms. :rolleyes:

 

My point precisely. What you consider 'appropriate' and what I consider appropriate may differ. I don't own flip-flops, and tend to mostly wear Canali, Zegna or Robert Graham shirts....but I may indeed wish to wear jeans, or if not in a surcharge venue, shorts. Perfectly acceptable with Freestyle.

 

From your signature it seems you haven't been on Princess in 6 years, much has changed since then in the entire cruise industry.

 

You're correct. We sailed 22 days on Princess, and immediately booked an NCL the day after we got home, because we felt so disenchanted with the cruise on Sapphire, that we wanted to be sure we weren't over cruising altogether.

 

I don't expect to be back on Princess anytime soon, and I've gone from once-year on NCL to 3 or 4 times... go figure.

 

 

 

Stephen

 

.

[nycruise]

Tell me what has not gone up in price in the last few years. In the 4 years we have cruised with NCL, we are still paying the same $15 or $20 cover at most of the specialties, which to me is very reasonable. I wish that I could stay at the Hilton and pay that for dinner in a nice restaurant every night. Our bill for that vacation would be much greater than a week on NCL even if we ate at a specialty every night.

 

Don't forget that you already paid for a meal in the main dining room, this is a "supplemental" charge. Did you forget you could eat for free? :rolleyes:

[Sequim88]

Main reason for us to pick a NCL cruise was itinerary - like location is to real estate itinerary is to cruising. If we have a bad experience on a line (none yet) we might weigh that against what itineraries we look at. We are not "switching" to NCL but more "trying" NCL. If we cruise NCL from now on it will be because they deserve it and the itineraries are right. Cruise after next could just as well be Celebrity as RCI, NCL or HAL. Trying a new line does bring back some of the novelty of that first cruise. :)

 

I've been researchig threads like this a lot and really like the Freestyle component of dressing up or not. Expecially "or not". Or next itinerary is another Transatlantic followed by a week of driving around in what will probably be a very small car. No room for the extra luggage required for formal wear. With airline extra charges for every bag it makes it ever more expensive to dress up.

 

We've done MTD on RCI the last two cruises and liked it a lot but agree we were limted to the same small area every night. One downside to Freestyle is apparently the waitstaff moves around so you don't get their familiarity with your preferences. Not that big a deal for us but a difference. The much greater choice of specialty restaurants on NCL is nice.

 

NCL cabins are reputed to be slightly smaller than RCI. Suites are about as expensive but do look like you get a lot more for it. NCL alcohol policies are much less strict and you can actually order a bar setup for the cabin. Also NCL allows bringing on more than two bottles of wine (both charge corkage fees).

[mpk218]

The Big difference I noticed on the other lines when it comes to "Any time " is this .

NCL does Only "anytime " and the other lines do both set and any time.

When we were on Princess it was nothing but wait wait wait.

People would book a set time and if they missed it for what ever reason would then go to Anytime. It just did not work . We would walk up to the MDR and it would be half full but we could not get a table . Very frustrating to say the least. Plus the way they treat there suite passengers compared to NCL is Night and Day . ;)

 

Thank God there are several different cruise lines , keeps everyone happy.:D

[punkincc]

Don't forget that you already paid for a meal in the main dining room, this is a "supplemental" charge. Did you forget you could eat for free? :rolleyes:

 

When I book at a hotel, I get nothing but a place to sleep. Everything else is "supplemental", all food and entertainment.

 

When I pay for a room on a ship, I get all meals if i choose, and passage to beautiful ports and lots of free entertainment. if I choose to "upgrade" my experience with dinner in Le Bistro or any number of other restaurants, I am happy to have the choice and at such a reasonable price. I have paid twice the price I paid at Le Bistro for a nothing special breakfast buffet at Hilton. And again at lunch, and three or four times that for dinner out.

 

My point is that I cannot vacation anywhere else for the same price as my cruise fare plus the options I choose to add on be it specialties, spa, etc. And yes, all NCL ship's have basically the same number of dining venues.

[nycruise]

Many hotels include breakfast in the price of the room. Also the rooms at hotels are usually at least twice as large as the standard cabin on a cruise ship. Hard to compare prices between hotels and cruise ships because there are so many more choices when it comes to selecting a hotel.

 

NCL has raised the prices of supplemental charges as high as $49 per person on the Breakaway, with a minimal tip that comes out to $110 per couple. Pretty much the same price of a restaurant meal on land.

 

I predict that in years to come, cruiselines will start charging $5 per person to eat in the MDR's only including Buffets in the upfront cost. And people will say, "it's worth $5 to eat in the MDR" and once the toehold is established and accepted, they will increase the price to $7.50, and then $10 and so forth.

 

You don't have to convince me of the benefits of cruises but I don't know how much of a savings there is over land vacations unless you are talking about longer cruises (over 7 days) where I believe the saving can become substantial. But of course very few people spend more than 7 days at a hotel.

[HokiePoq]

Hubby and I are thinking or giving Norwegian a try. We have only done 2 previous cruises, both on Royal Caribbean. We did the Liberty back in 2008 and the Explorer in March of this year.

 

Can someone that has done both cruise lines before tell me the pros and cons comparing them?

 

 

We have cruised both lines and prefer NCL.

DH LOVES not having to pack a suit/coat and I love being able to eat with who I want, when I want.

Both lines have good entertainment.

Food is subjective, but in my limited experience with RCCL, the food quality in the main dining room and buffet were not as good as NCL. Neither is gourmet, but never had inedible food on NCL.

[lordchaos]

I thought - why not try NCL even though many reviews not great ....booked and paid and havent even stepped foot on the ship and must say so disappointed in my dealings with NCL. Tried booking others for part of our B2B - basically got the " what for" for booking through the 1800 number - told should have booked with the certain staff however could not reach her - here I'm appolgizing for bringing business to them. Disapponted communications - no one can give you a local to call - outbound lines vs other numbers - staff cant call.out - i have been disconnected - have waited 30 min while staff waiting to talk to help desk. Sent email - that didnt count when huge price drop - but told if i had a called i would have been given a upgrade etc. Poor communications and poor process. If this just a glimpse of what is in store - - i would say stay with what has been a proven positive experience. Holiday dollars ahould not be spent on frustrating and difficult booking experiences . I have cruised close to.20.times with celibrity rcl holland msc and have yet to.feel the need to.react with a negative.post. will move forward with positive and lowered expectations for this cruise to ensure fun times. Holidays are for fun - will not let the ncl.phone systems and staff stand in way

 

contact me if you want excellent service from NCL- I have a personal cruise consultant with NCL and would be more than happy to give you his contact info.

[halos]

Most at an ever increasing additional cost, which wasn't the case when they first started "Freestyle".

Cruises back then cost more per person/per day then than they do now, so I totally accept that I may have to pay a surcharge to 'upgrade' my meals a bit. Having options is a wonderful thing.

[punkincc]

Many hotels include breakfast in the price of the room. Also the rooms at hotels are usually at least twice as large as the standard cabin on a cruise ship. Hard to compare prices between hotels and cruise ships because there are so many more choices when it comes to selecting a hotel.

 

NCL has raised the prices of supplemental charges as high as $49 per person on the Breakaway, with a minimal tip that comes out to $110 per couple. Pretty much the same price of a restaurant meal on land.

 

I predict that in years to come, cruiselines will start charging $5 per person to eat in the MDR's only including Buffets in the upfront cost. And people will say, "it's worth $5 to eat in the MDR" and once the toehold is established and accepted, they will increase the price to $7.50, and then $10 and so forth.

 

You don't have to convince me of the benefits of cruises but I don't know how much of a savings there is over land vacations unless you are talking about longer cruises (over 7 days) where I believe the saving can become substantial. But of course very few people spend more than 7 days at a hotel.

 

The OP's original question was why he should book with NCL and we have gone offtrack here with a land vs cruise vacation debate. We do both, and I can tell you that our land vacations are more expensive by far. You do get a good bang for the buck with a cruise.

 

Yes, Ocean Blue on Breakaway is the only NCL restaurant with a $49 cover. All the others charge from $15 to $30. It is a celebrity Chef's restaurant and you pay on a similar scale to what his land based restaurant charges. Only a very small percentage of the Breakaway cruisers will eat there. Most of them will not eat in any specialty restaurant and be quite content. We, on the other hand, love the specialties and will eat there 3 or 4 nights of the cruise. It only adds less than $200 to our bill. Some will spend that in the casino, or the spa, or at bingo, or on excursions. It's nice to have choices.:)

[roe2ship]

I recently returned from my first NCL cruise and overall I feel that Royal Caribbean is a step above NCL in terms of food, service, and entertainment. Although on the Breakaway, the Rock of Ages show is the best show I have seen at sea. You should try NCL for yourself and form your own opinions... there is no such thing as a bad cruise.

I can't understand the big deal about "FREESTYLE", all of the cruise lines offer anytime dining, eat when and with whom you want. RCCL calls it My Time Dining. .

I agree with this, its all the same.

 

I've only cruised on NCL & Princess. The differences in Freestyle:

 

- NCL had 20 dining options (including surcharge). I have no problem paying surcharges.

 

- Princess had 7 dining options (including surcharge). The surcharge restaurant was a small section of the buffet, curtained-off with...you guessed it... a curtain. No atmosphere, no ambiance.

 

The other options were 4 dining rooms, a seafood/Italian restaurant, and the buffet.

 

The 4 dining rooms were really 2 dining rooms, with a removable partition in the middle.

 

The menus were the same in each, just the décor differed.

 

 

 

As for dress... well I was definitely, personally, advised that I could wear whatever I preferred on Princess as well, so long as I only ate at the buffet on nights when others wanted to dress up.

 

So there are still many differences.

 

 

But for me it's not only about the Freestyle...it's that NCL crew & staff treat you like family (in a good way). On Princess we were treated like customers (respectful, but not friendly).

 

 

.

The surcharge restaurant (steakhouse) on Sapphire is very different from the rest of the fleet. The other ships are not set up this way. I felt the opposite with the staff on NCL...at least with the MDR staff, not too friendly at all.

[Lizcourt]

One thing I haven't noticed in the thread is any reference to the "suite" perks on NCL.

 

We are long-time RCCL and Carnival cruisers (have also been on Princess, Celebrity and Cunard) who will be in the Grand Villa on the Gem next March, so I can't really confirm that NCL will excel in this, but the reports about the suite life are what made us decide to try NCL. Our last cruise was on the Oasis of the Seas in the two-story cabin on the ship (yes, the one with the baby grand). We had a fabulous time, and I would recommend the ship to anyone. However, I did notice that other than the amazing cabin itself (and it was amazing), the experience of being in a suite, even the ultimate suite, on an RCCL ship didn't offer anything particularly special. Theoretically, you could get dinner in your stateroom (from the dining room menu, not the specialty restaurants) -- but when we tried, it was difficult to do since when you call the dining room they didn't really seem all that familiar with the process, the menus were all off (they had never been updated in the menus in the cabin and so didn't jibe with what was being served in the dining room on any given night) and the food came ice cold and with the wrong orders. We had wonderful cabin stewards -- but then we've had wonderful cabin stewards even when we sailed in inside cabins on most cruise ships. And when we tried to use the services of the concierge to book one of the specialty restaurants, he wasn't able to help us -- on the first day of the cruise -- because the whole week was sold out.

 

We've decided to give NCL a try because they seem to have made the conscious choice to make sailing in a suite about more than just the great cabin itself. The more I read about the service provided by the butlers and the perks avaialble to suite passengers, the more I think that there will be a significant difference between the suite experience on RCCL and the "suite life" on NCL.

 

[Just re-read this and realized how incredibly snobby its sounds. Don't get me wrong, we've sailed in all classes of cabins, and have had as great a time in an inside as we did in the ultimate cabin on the Oasis. But when we DO spring for the suite, we're doing so as much for a little extra pampering as for the larger cabin and nicer appointments. It appears that NCL delivers a little more in that regard which is why we've decided to give them a try.]

[halos]

[Just re-read this and realized how incredibly snobby its sounds. ]

 

Not at all. :)

[36kruzes]

NYcruise: Meant to add your quote about RCI v. NCL. It's on the first page of this thread. I have not posted in eons so got confused..

 

I love that your lengthy cruise ship list includes Chandris ships from the good old days -------I sailed on Amerikanis around 1990 and she was certainly ancient THEN. LOVED the old ships -- my NCL cruises were all on ships that are no more --- Skyward, Starward, Southward, Seaward, Windward...... sailed some of them multiple times. I have also sailed Carnival, Princess and lines that are defunct, like Admiral. Wish I knew what happened to the old Azure Seas out of L.A., seventies/eighties.

 

Not a fan of the newer, mega ships, or even those that aren't quite 'mega' -- I want to feel the motion of the ocean or at least know I'm at sea. On some ships you can't often see the SEA!

 

For the person who wonders about NCL v. RCI, I say, give NCL a try. It's a bit more casual, very friendly, I think the entertainment is better than on RCI and food is comparable. Being of Norwegian descent, I always loved that the crew on NCL was totally Norwegian though I'm sure that has changed.............

Trying the Sun this fall after many years of sailing mostly Royal Caribbean. Got so tired of RCI's 'routine' that I took a long break from cruising. Always liked NCL so I'm going back now! Hope I'll love it and am sure I will!

[36kruzes]

We enjoy the freestyle concept of NCL. Dine when we're hungry, and with whom we choose. As a group of 3 couples, we usually have our own table.

 

Also the resort casual dress codes are fine for us. There is no checking for the "suggested or required" costume of the evening. Formal night is listed as Dress up or Not Night, meaning you can leave the suite,tux and gown at home if you so choose.

 

We do try other lines but NCL is our fave.

 

 

LOVE the sound of this -- last time cruising NCL was years ago and it was the standard two seatings plus one specialty restaurant, The Bistro. Can't wait for our 10 nite cruise on the Sun in a few months...

[36kruzes]

NCL started the move toward "Freestyle". The other cruise lines have had to follow suit out of necessity, not because they wanted to.

 

I have witnessed RCCI's "Anytime Dining" on the Allure. It looked like a madhouse with all the people trying to eat at once. The entrance to the main dining room looked like a run on the bank.

 

I have found "Freestyle" to be very relaxed, just like a restaurant on land.

Walk up and ask for a table for two. I have found that you are usually seated immediately or maybe have a short wait. What is the big deal about immediate seating anyway? You are on vacation. Chill Out!

 

 

I totally agree re RCI's anytime dining -- looks like a cattle call, same as before. Guess I'm just sick of RCI after many (too many) of their ships.

[funat55]

I am getting ready for my first NCL cruise in November after numerous Carnival cruises and RCCL here and there. I can tell you exactly what made me decide to give NCL a try. It was the documentary "Big Money on the High Seas." It profiled the Pearl and to me, gave a candid and honest insight on the business of cruising.

 

Kevin Sheehan was interviewed quite a bit as well as several other important NCL employees. After watching the show, and acknowledging the fact that the cruise lines are in business to make money and to show a profit, I was left with the impression that NCL really cared about their passengers and wanted them to get their moneys worth. They didn't hide the fact that they have their little ways to get you to spend more money while on board, but they want you to enjoy your experience and tell your friends how much you enjoyed your cruise.

 

The fact that NCL has several "pay" restaurants doesn't bother me. It means more choices and the free options are just as plentiful as other cruise lines.

 

And finally, when Kevin Sheehan appeared on Undercover Boss and ended up doing so many nice things for his employees, I was sold.

 

I don't know if I will ever be Diamond or Platinum with any cruise line because switch around, but I can tell you this. I am very excited about my first NCL. cruise on the Pearl this November and have already booked the Getaway for next

April.

[pe4all]

Having started out cruising with dh "alone", then moving to 3 Disney sailings with kids, then on to 16 CCL sailings in a row, we took a break on the Breakaway this past August. It was refreshing seeing a different line, different shows, different food. We loved the experience, and would not hesitate to cruise NCL again. We are "wandering" a bit more for Christmas, where we splurged for a Grand Suite on RCCL Freedom. (we usually book our Christmas cruises a year out, but dd just graduated college in May, so we had to wait to see what her work status was. Luckily, she landed a job in NYC and then we had to wait to see if they would give her that week off- so only booked this cruise 4 months out) We could have sailed Carnival for literally 1/3 the price, but decided to jump lines again and try RCCL, as this will probably be the last time dd sails with us. If NCL had a ship that matched the date we could sail, we would have booked that. I have decided that variety IS the spice of life, and will now start trying other ships on NCL. I had my Feb. CCL cruise booked for a year at a fantastic casino rate, so this may be my last CCL cruise for a long while!:)