If you didn't cruise with NCL who would you chose next?

[Cruisin&Relaxin]

Seabourn. We cruise Haven rooms exclusively. Seabourn would be a nice step up from the Haven.

[kaylasnana]

thank you all so much. I also am considering a European River cruise but my husband is choking on the airfares.

[sunshine nana]

We had a great time overall on our 3 NCL cruises (the last two in a suite), but by the third, we found the food and service in the MDR poor. We have been on 5 Princess (2 in Europe) and one Celebrity. Both Princess and Celebrity HAVE "anytime or select " dining. The food and service in the MDR have been much better than NCL. The price is higher though.

[Turtles06]

We've taken 5 cruises with NCL and enjoyed them all; lots of fun and good energy, and we particularly love Freestyle dining. However, the food on our last NCL cruise (aboard the Gem) was pretty bad, and there's an awful lot of smoking on NCL ships.

 

We've taken two Celebrity cruises in the last two years (and have a third booked for next year), and really loved them. The S-class ships are stunning, and Celebrity's more restrictive smoking policy is a breath of fresh air (literally). It is wonderful not to have someone smoking on the balcony next to you, and it's amazing to be in a smoke-free casino. The food in the *buffet* on the Eclipse was better than the MDR food on NCL. But, as noted above, Celebrity is pricier (and there are those formal nights...). We haven't ruled out NCL for the future, and we'd gladly do another Bermuda run out of NY but have no interest in the Breakaway.

 

I want to second the advice from NLH Arizona above -- if you have any interest in Antarctica and have the resources, take a small-ship expedition so you can actually land on the Continent and get up close and personal with the wildlife and zip around icebergs in a Zodiac, rather than doing a "drive by" on a large cruise ship. It will be, hands down, THE trip of a lifetime. My detailed account of ours earlier this year is at this link (and here are a few photos):

 

http://antarcticjourney.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

 

(photos by turtles06)

[RikkuCat]

We're still new to cruising (anxiously awaiting our second cruise) and in addition to NCL, we have seriously considered Celebrity and RCCL. Celebrity's Solstice class ships look gorgeous and they sometimes run a promotion that includes a free drink package, which is tempting - if they're running that sometime when we want to book a cruise and the itinerary and ship look good, they'll probably get us! RCCL has been recommended by a lot of people we know, and they sail out of Baltimore, which would be really convenient for us, so I'm sure we'll do that at some point as well.

 

However, the thing we liked best about NCL on our previous cruise was all the dining options. I went into our first cruise with a "we've already paid for our meals, so I don't want to spend extra for speciality restaurants" mentality, but changed my opinion by the second day! We enjoyed having multiple options, and now I'm worried about cruising on a line that doesn't have as much variety! :rolleyes:

[buckirj1]

I'm pretty flexible; the only lines I don't have much interest in are RCCL and Celebrity. I'd love to try HAL (the bigger newer ships) and Princess (the newest build seems to have a decent shower and bathroom---finally!), and probably will eventually. Disney might be an option if I could combine it with a WDW visit at the right price. I wouldn't rule out a return to Carnival, either.

 

For now, though, there are a lot of NCL ships to take.

[insidecabin]

One thing not to worry about too much if looking beyond NCL is the dress codes, most cruise lines(maybe except P&O and Cunard) can be done just "smart" even though some have dress police that will tell you otherwise..

 

As long as you are ok with being smart, even good jeans and a decent shirt you can move to Princess, RCI or Celebrity, and quite a few other lines.

 

Even for formal nights, plenty of alternative places(not just the buffet) to eat that don't require the TUX.

 

Once you start cruising more than twice a year I would say always make one an experiment, itinerary, cruise line, time of year or all three.

 

off season unpopular itinerary is a great way to try out something new without breaking the bank, with the main risk being time.

 

Another option is to look at the next level up and something more inclusive, you may find that the service and facilities and included features means you can drop a grade of cabin and still get what you want from a cruise within budget, we found that on Azamara an OV did fine, small ship so easy to get round and loads included(even more now) so it was hard to spend money. I understand Oceania is also a popular choice.

 

I have to say having come off a Solstice class recently I did like it a lot, our Princess last year was great, new itinerary as well(we had done princess a few years earlier), RCI Transatlantic a while back was a bit mixed some things great but the main dining room experience was poor so we have not been back yet although have a few on the short list.

 

 

If any doubt about a new ship go for the itinerary and research that in fine detail, it takes a really bad ship to spoil ports.

[bostongal965]

It was a happy accident that our first cruise was on NCL - we were looking for a Sat-Sat out of a port that was within a day's driving distance...the Sun leaving out of Pt. Canaveral fit the bill, and cruising addicts we became, lol. :D

 

Once you are with a cruise line, it's nice to stay as you earn more amenities - we're just a cruise away from gold, now, so that's a little incentive to stick with NCL. However, we miss leaving from Pt. Canaveral - Tampa and New Orleans are about the same distance, but it's the same western Caribbean itinerary we've done once (and are about to do again next Thanksgiving on the Sun again).

 

We also took our first 4 day cruise out of Miami on the Sky - very fun, but Miami is a 3 - 4 hour longer drive, and we found it a bit much. As a result, we booked a Royal Caribbean 3 day out of Canaveral - really looking forward to it (we went with mytime dining, although I already know we're skipping formal night, and I was a little disappointed that they only have one specialty restaurant on the ship we'll be on).

 

Like others here, I really want to do a European river cruise someday, and Viking or AMA look intriguing. HAL and Celebrity would be options for the right price, itinerary, or ship. I've checked out both Nat Geo and Celebrity Xpeditions for either Galapagos or Antarctica. Disney looks beautiful - the price is just a little scary, lol. And someday, I'd really like to splurge and do a luxury cruise on Regents or Silverseas. If I could turn back time, I'd do a Windjammer cruise - we were looking to try them right when the company went under. :(

[VideoTech]

Thanks for the recommendations on Antarctic cruises. If we were to do one, it would definitely be on one of the smaller expedition ships. Can't see much reason for a "drive by" when you've gone to all the trouble to get to the bottom of the planet!

[andilynnwright]

Going on my first NCL this coming Saturday. Yahoo! Hope I love it. I was on HAL for Thanksgiving and did one two years ago. Not my favorite. If you like to have lots of choices for meals and entertainment HAL is probably not for you. I enjoyed Royal Caribbean and Disney way better and I don't even have kids. It's to bad because HAL has some good deals.

[dark star]

we are trying costa next for something different. no particular reason other than it fits the bill time wise.NCL are still our fist choice and go-to line.

[NH Cruisers]

If I were not going on a NCL cruise for my next (which I am), I would be checking out the new Royal Princess. That looks to be a very beautiful ship. If only Princess would have Boston or Portland, Maine as a home port. I wish some more cruise lines would home port Boston or Portland.

Air fares and pre cruise hotels up the price of our cruises by 50% or so.

 

I am too interested in RCCL's Quantum of the Seas that is yet to be launched.

 

I am up in the air about the Oasis type ships, I want to check them out, just not anytime soon.

 

Jon

[xenagurl]

Freestyle dining is a make or break for me, so until other lines smoothly integrated this into their service, I'd probably just stop cruising and go back to land only vacations.

[DDMau]

Very happy with my 7 NCL - 2 Princess and 2 Holland they give me everything I need, no reason to look elsewhere.

[Heytoots]

Adore NCL, but would really like to try out Oceana.......They say the food is wonderful.....wanna find out for myself!!! :rolleyes:

[insidecabin]

Freestyle dining is a make or break for me, so until other lines smoothly integrated this into their service, I'd probably just stop cruising and go back to land only vacations.

 

Princess have it nailed

 

with a dedicated freestyle room on the bigger ships and a second room that goes freestyle after an extra 5:30 sitting.

 

Celebrity do a great job

 

with section of the dinning room set aside for freestyle

 

Azamara open seating.

 

...

[sunshine nana]

I agree. We took our first Princess "freestyle" cruise in 2004. Some people who have never been on Princess or Celebrity still don't realize they have "freestyle" dining for dinner in the MDR. Both worked very well for us.The food and service are much better than NCL and you do not have to have assigned seating or wear a suit!

[Bostonjetset]

In realistic terms, at this point in my life: Cunard. I am planning a QM2 crossing for 2015 [once the voyage schedule is posted].

 

If money is ever no object, I would love to try a suite on Crystal. :)

[xenagurl]

Princess have it nailed

 

with a dedicated freestyle room on the bigger ships and a second room that goes freestyle after an extra 5:30 sitting.

 

Celebrity do a great job

 

with section of the dinning room set aside for freestyle

 

Azamara open seating.

 

...

 

I didn't know that. Thanks for the info! (DH will be interested to know that as well. Dining seating was why he picked NCL.) :)

[NH Cruisers]

I agree. We took our first Princess "freestyle" cruise in 2004. Some people who have never been on Princess or Celebrity still don't realize they have "freestyle" dining for dinner in the MDR. Both worked very well for us.The food and service are much better than NCL and you do not have to have assigned seating or wear a suit!

My three Princess cruises, I have yet to experience the much better food and service in the MDR. Perhaps I am the lucky one on my NCL cruises. Though I do not dine often in the MDR. I perfer the specialties, no matter the line I sail.

[HokiePoq]

I've only been on 3 cruises (2 ncl and 1 Holland). I love NCL and would like nothing more than to just cruise with them but for our next cruise I can't find what I want. Due to amount of time we can take off and some other factors, I think I need to look at another cruiseline for our cruise. I don't think I want to go with Carnival or Celebrity. Looking at RCCL maybe. If you love NCL but had to pick a 2nd cruise line, what might that be and why? Little background: my husband and I are seniors and all other cruises were to the Carribean. I'm thinking Europe or Panama.

 

Our second choice is Holland America. We just got off a short cruise and they are doing much better with the anytime dining than they were several years ago when they first started it. We could make reservations to suit the activities or stand in line without reservations. Food, service, and entertainment were great. The Caribbean itinerary had a good mix of all ages of people, not just the very elderly.

We choose based on price and itinerary. Of the four lines we've sailed, RCCL is our least favorite but will consider any line which goes somewhere we haven't been at a reasonable price.

[4774Papa]

Celebrity has great cruises in Asia, Australia/NZ, South America, British Isles and the Black Sea that NCL doesn't have.

[biker@sea]

I cruise N.C.L. or on my Harley Davidson . No other cruise line or M/C will do .

[nbsjcruiser]

I've only been on 3 cruises (2 ncl and 1 Holland). I love NCL and would like nothing more than to just cruise with them but for our next cruise I can't find what I want. Due to amount of time we can take off and some other factors, I think I need to look at another cruiseline for our cruise. I don't think I want to go with Carnival or Celebrity. Looking at RCCL maybe. If you love NCL but had to pick a 2nd cruise line, what might that be and why? Little background: my husband and I are seniors and all other cruises were to the Carribean. I'm thinking Europe or Panama.

 

We're big RCI fans and they're our go to cruise line for sure. A close second for us is NCL though. The service is excellent on NCL I find and the multiple restaurants are nice. I like that you can hit the dining room on embarkation day too. Anyway, RCI, NCL for us. Princess would be right in there too if they weren't so expensive. Best food I've ever had was on a Princess ship.

 

Regarding RCI, try out one of their Liberty Class ships (Liberty, Independence, Freedom) - you'll be blown away with the Royal Promenade, 3 level dining room, Flowrider as well as the service. As you can see from my sig, we're booked on the Independence for February and this will be two years in a row for us on this beautiful ship.

Edited December 16, 2013 by nbsjcruiser

[CruisinMaterial]

If you have your heart set on Antarctica like I did just be prepared for the chance, strong one, that the excursion can get cancelled, even at the last minute. We were told before our excursion that 50% go and 50% don't go... But later told it's closer to 30% that go. You might have fog and the small plane lands on a gravel runway with no lights except handheld and out buildings. It was an incredible experience, I wouldn't have missed it, but I learned how incredibly lucky I was that the stars aligned for me that day. The three cruises before mine and a few after were not so lucky.

 

And if that $1500 AL cruise gets cancelled they sub an $800 one to Tierra del Fuego... At least that is what they did on ours.

 

Also, we shadowd X Infinity most of our cruise but I do not believe they offered an AL and they did not go to the Falklands like we did.

 

Thanks for the information. I know the Antarctica excursion offered by the main stream cruise lines is hit or miss and if it's miss you still get whacked with a hefty shore excursion price to go elsewhere. :cool: I would be willing to take that chance though!

 

If I truly had my heart set on Antarctica I know Hurtigen sails down there as well. I always see their brochures at the travel expo but the price is a little hard to swallow. The mainstream lines at least keep the cost lower so that the excursion price isn't as bad. Not to mention the single supplement sometimes... :eek:

 

Thanks for your input on that and the note about Celebrity not including it in their shore excursion offerings.