Why try NCL?

[atfreud17]

I have cruised with Carnival and RCI and I am wondering why I should try NCL>

[champagne123]

Because I did.......and regret not trying it sooner...:D

[johnsak123]

Why not

Unless you are head over heals madly in love with the other two lines you mentioned

[ChiMimi69]

I have cruised with Carnival and RCI and I am wondering why I should try NCL>

 

I've done the same lines along with Cunard and Princess. My draw-in was the freestyle dining. It's nice NOT to have to really dress up for dinner or have to meet a dining schedule. I'm looking for laid back and casual and this was the way to go for me. I'm sailing in July. :D

[atfreud17]

Why not

Unless you are head over heals madly in love with the other two lines you mentioned

 

I have been on 3 cruises. Carnival Dream, Carnival Inspiration, and Royals Independence. Each one is a bit different it seems like and each cruise was equally as fun. But I also have seen the different types of ships. Worried my girlfriend (1st cruise was on Independence) will have a bar set too high.

[luddite]

Well, NCL isn't a step down from the Carnival experience.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[Warm Breezes]

I have cruised with Carnival and RCI and I am wondering why I should try NCL>

 

Why shouldn't you? You will never know if you like it or not unless you try it yourself. I personally would choose the ship that best fits our vacation wants at a price we are willing to pay....no matter what cruise line it is.

[newmexicoNita]

Are you thinking for some reason NCL is a step down from the other 2 lines you have cruised? If so, you are wrong. All 3 are pretty equal, depending on the class you take. No, the Sun will not be like the Independence anymore than the Ecstasy is like the Getaway. All mass marketed lines have a lot in common, but they all have a personality a bit different from one another. We have cruised them all, most more than once and have chosen NCL as our line of choice because we love freestyle. We also love NCL service, it is fresh, helpful and very friendly and we love the specialty dining rooms as well as the entertainment. For others, there are things about Carnival, Celebrity, RCi, Princess or whatever that they prefer

[pirateprincessinco]

I've cruised on all 3 lines, plus a couple more including Princess and Celebrity. I still come back to NCL and generally choose it over other lines for a few reasons:

 

1. Freestyle - I love the freestyle concept and having experienced it makes it hard for me to go back to "traditional" cruising styles. I haven't tried RCI's most recent version, but previously, I still didn't feel I had near the flexibility as I do on NCL - and I love that.

 

2. Service - I personally feel (again, this is my PERSONAL opinion/experience) that NCL's service is a significant step up from Carnival. Of course every ship/crew is different and can affect that, but I do feel it's better.

 

3. Price - Especially as regards newer ships, I feel NCL frequently offers more, for a lower cost than RCI. We never run out of things to do and the entertainment is top quality.

 

I think if you're considering NCL - it's most definitely worth a shot. You never know - she may love it as well!

[dolita22]

I've sailed on two of the three ships you've sailed on. All fun cruises. For my husband and me (early 30s), it comes down to liking Freestyle and it fitting our needs. We recently sailed on Royal's Independence for our honeymoon, having sailed the Epic last year and thoroughly enjoying that cruise. For us, while the Indy cruise was fun and went to some great ports, we felt Royal's MyTime Dining/"freestyle" wasn't as well-honed as NCL's Freestyle. To each their own, but NCL works for us.

 

If there's an NCL itinerary you're curious about, why not check it out! Sure, there are some differences between the lines, but I think they are all more similar than different.

[Traveller20074]

I always got a kick out of the Freestyle Daily, and what it says at the bottom.

 

 

"this might look like a schedule (GASP!) but, you're free to do..whatever.

 

 

so true.

[jmcookiemonster25]

We sail on NCL because the prices are cheap, we like the freestyle dining, and they sail out of Boston or NYC so we don't have to fly.

 

The cruises are really nice. I do want to try other cruise lines, but we like what we have!

[Medtech2]

I have been on 3 cruises. Carnival Dream, Carnival Inspiration, and Royals Independence. Each one is a bit different it seems like and each cruise was equally as fun. But I also have seen the different types of ships. Worried my girlfriend (1st cruise was on Independence) will have a bar set too high.

I have been on NCL and Carnival. For me, NCL just "fits."

If you haven't found a cruise line that just says, "Yes, this is it" to you, then try it and see.

Maybe other people don't get this but for me it works. The vibe, the pax, the crew, the amenities. I love the entertainment much more so than CCL. The food is on a par with Carnival, some great, some not so great. But the overall crew and ship vibe is way past Carnival, for me IMO.

I am working to Platinum, and maybe after that I will try X or RCL but for now, NCL fits...

[Oldgoat61]

My wife and I chose NCL because we didn't want to be restricted to set eating times, and table mates. It was the best decision we ever made....for us "freestyle" was the way to go. We have tried CCL, but it wasn't NCL.

 

I recently took my son on a cruise on the Liberty. I sailed Carnival because of the itinerary. I enjoyed the cruise, but I see no reason to go back to them. It wasn't freestyle.

 

The freestyle concept permeates the entire ship, as one poster mentioned, it's a relaxed fit.

 

Give NCL a try, you really have nothing to lose. They may even make a convert out of you.:)

[GORDONCHICK]

I have been on 3 cruises. Carnival Dream, Carnival Inspiration, and Royals Independence. Each one is a bit different it seems like and each cruise was equally as fun. But I also have seen the different types of ships. Worried my girlfriend (1st cruise was on Independence) will have a bar set too high.

 

It really depends on what you/she loved about Independence. The key is going into each cruise (even if you've been on the ship before) with a good attitude and flexibility. They you should be set for almost anything.

[graphicguy]

Curious as to what the GF thought about Independence that she found to be better than your Carnival cruise?

[JP4GA]

We have only sailed NCL and Carnival. We typically do NCL wiht the kids, and carnival without the kids. We just feel the kids programing is better on NCL.

 

We love the "freestyle" dining, but also like meeting other couples on assigned dining.

 

One day we will try some other lines, but our next trip is on the Getaway because we just had to try a new big ship.

 

I also agree with GORDONCHICK that all trips should be gone into with a great attitude and flexibility.

[sparks1093]

I have cruised with Carnival and RCI and I am wondering why I should try NCL>

 

We have a 5 year old with us today and at lunch he asked what was for lunch. I told him "Crocodile toes." He immediately said "But I don't like Crocodile toes." "Have you ever tried Crocodile toes before?" "No." "Then how do you know that you don't like them?"

 

So if the price is right try it, you may like it:).

 

(And for the record "Crocodile toes" were actually ham.)

Edited April 22, 2014 by sparks1093

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

You should try NCL because "knowing first hand" is way better "not knowing third hand"! HAHA!

 

Nobody knows what you like or dislike more then YOU, so all the reasons in the world that can be offered to sail NCL does not guarantee YOU will have an enjoyable cruise.

 

One way to help, though, is to select an NCL cruise that goes to some destinations you liked on your other cruises. Then you can compare apples to apples and make an informed choice.

 

We have tried Royal Caribbean, Princess, Carnival, Disney, and NCL and have LOVED each of them -- for their own reasons!

 

Good Luck!

:)

[fridaythe13th]

I also depends on what ship you want to compare the Indy to. If you decide to go with RC, don't go on the same ship as I found the WOW factor just wasn't there when I went on the same ship for the second time. Some people prefer assigned dining and sitting with the same people all week. You don't have to rush to get back for early seating as there is always a place to get food!! I find the staff on NCL to be the most friendly though.

[pe4all]

I never thought I would stray from CCL. However, even with their 2.0 upgrades and new shows, I soon got "bored" of the same old, same old. So we tried NCL Breakaway, and really enjoyed it! I found I liked the freestyle way of cruising, and most of all - the new shows and entertainment onboard. We then tried RCCL, and found it okay. Back to CCL for this past Feb., and then two more NCL's booked for August and December. At this point in my cruising career I am now open to try new lines and ships.

[LegallyBlonder]

I have cruised those three as well as Princess, and for me, it really comes down to itinerary, departure port and my desired dates/timing. For instance, we have lately been cruising mostly on ships departing from NYC metro area, and in winter it is essential to us that they are at least 9 days long. A side benefit of NCL for us lately is that we like the Specialty restaurant model and find that dining exactly when we want to each day is a little bit easier with our very young children. We love to dress up at night, so the casual thing is not a factor for us- we dress up anyway.

 

 

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[LegallyBlonder]

So is this free UDP deal relating to specific ships, or specific dates? Or both? Trying to determine if our Dawn Bermuda cruise in June will be affected?

 

 

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[pandacruisin30]

Thanks for this topic. I was having the same thought and now I am glad I booked a NCL cruise for next year. I wanted to cruise on my birthday in March but CCL and Disney were either the wrong dates or too long (I work in a grocery store where the bosses dont like long vacations) so I found a quick four day cruise on the Sky on my birthday. Yes it does go to Bahamas where I have been many times but this time I can go to Great Stirrup Cay which I am hoping is like Disney's Castaway Cay which I really enjoyed on that cruise. The freestyle sounds fun and I am glad I do not have to dress up if I don't want to. Right now I am solo but trying to get my mom to come along to make it a girls only cruise.

Thanks again

Pam;)

[Truluv]

I also appreciated the topic. We started with Carnival, and had so many cruises with them that we knew all of the Cruise Directors' "spontaneous" jokes by heart (and yes, they all had the same script). We then tried a Celebrity and NCL cruise, before switching to RCL for years. We got caught up in the perks of RCL's loyalty point program. Last year we cruised on Allure to bury DH's ashes per his wishes. This year we didn't have much time for vacation between two kids' graduations from grad school and college and their first jobs. I wanted to avoid the time needed for getting through airports on the morning of a cruise, along with the extra cost of airfare. We've decided to try NCL again since we can drive to NY, and wanted to go back to Bermuda. The price was certainly good.

 

Unless you want every cruise to count towards a particular loyalty program, trying a new cruise line just means that you might find a new favorite. It's a chance to try new shows, different food, etc. It's all about attitude and finding the positives on a vacation experience anyway.