Need Your Advice

[qsuzi]

Please give me any feedback you have regarding NCL, preferably comparing and contrasting it with Carnival. We may be trying them for the first time, but wanted to get some feedback before booking. Thank you :)

[Linda the Book Lover]

The DH and I have sailed NCL and Carnival but like anything including cruise line preference an opinion is subjective. We chose based on itinerary, departure city and price. We have chosen to sail more on NCL based on itinerary and we love how they handle anytime dining. If you could give me what you are looking for I may be able to assist you better. That said I have had a good time on both lines over the years. This time I am getting to have fun with my DD on a Carnival 3-day. :D

[KenMo]

I'm interested in the differences as well.

 

I'd like to know if NCL is dressier for dinner.

 

Balcony cabins to stay away from.

 

How's the entertainment?

 

How is tipping done?

 

How does NCL's loyalty program work?

 

Thanks for any help!

[Linda the Book Lover]

I'd like to know if NCL is dressier for dinner.

 

IMHO I think they are about the same as I have seen jeans in the dining room for dinner with the exception of some of the specialty restaurants. You do not have to participate in formal night and I have never been turned away for capri pants or black jeans. I believe both lines are similar in dress code.

 

Balcony cabins to stay away from.

 

This depends on the ship and personal preference. We are "old school sailors" so we love sailing forward and port. We also tend to book higher decks. We have had different size balconies depending on the age of the ship we sailed on. We had friends sail in aft balconies cabins and during visits I can say it was great!

 

How's the entertainment?

 

Entertainment sometimes varies by ship and we loved certain shows more than others. I will admit to jumping, dancing, and singing along during certain shows. Cirque was spectacular especially the quick change act. We never missed Second City as it is always funny since there is active audience participation. Legends was the show my poor DH thought they may ask us to leave becasue I had a really great time on one of my birthdays. I admit for me I prefer NCL entertainment but then in all fairness it has been a long time since I sailed a longer Carnival cruise so it is hard to compare a 3-day to 7+ day cruises. That said..subjective.

 

How is tipping done?

 

The usual with the daily per person tip added to your bill each day. You may add or take away without an issue.

 

How does NCL's loyalty program work?

 

I cheated here and added this: http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/cruiser/cmsPages.html?pageId=MembershipBenefit.

Edited July 11, 2014 by Linda the Book Lover
gremlins would not allow me to use quote

[sgcass123]

I am also interested. Just yesterday, I booked a 14 day cruise on NCL Jade for next summer. It will be our first cruise with NCL.

[gregg204]

I'd like to know if NCL is dressier for dinner.

 

 

 

Balcony cabins to stay away from.

 

 

 

How's the entertainment?

 

 

 

How is tipping done?

 

 

 

How does NCL's loyalty program work?

 

 

 

Thanks for any help!

 

 

Just curios why wouldn't you go to the NCL board for this info? You'll get a lot more answers there.

[ednurseangel]

But you would get a lot of responses from people who have never sailed Carnival. And the OP wanted a comparison.

[pe4all]

After 16 CCL cruises in a row, we tried Breakaway last summer. Granted, it was NCL's newest ship at the time, and was sparkling clean. We had a "large balcony" cabin midship, and loved it! Balcony was a great size for 3 of us - plenty of room. We enjoyed the freestyle concept of dining. At in 3 "paid" restaurants - which is something I swore I would never do! Loved the Garden grill aft, loved O'Sheehans pub (both free). Entertainment was a nice change from CCL, where we had seen all the shows numerous times. (cirque, burn the floor and rock of ages.) Loved Second City and Howl at the Moon piano bar. Found the dress code to be more relaxed than CCL, which surprised us. No formal nights at all on a 7 night cruise. We pre-paid our tips, but they work the same as CCL. I think their loyalty program might be a bit better - not such a big spread of days sailed needed for the upper tiers. Their casino at sea perks are better than CCL's players club perks, which is why we have 2 more NCL cruises booked!

[KenMo]

Just curios why wouldn't you go to the NCL board for this info? You'll get a lot more answers there.

 

I am looking at the NCL board daily.

 

I wanted comparisons, which means opinions from people who have sailed both lines. Seems to be more people on the CCL board have done that.

Edited July 11, 2014 by KenMo

[mizLORInj]

I tried out NCL on a 1 nighter (Gem out of NYC) a few years ago and have been back many times.

Note that NCL cabins are smaller than Carnival's. That was surprising to me at first, but clearly I've gotten over it. Breakaway/Getaway cabins are larger, more comparable to Carnival size, but much more elegant in decor than Carnival.

We don't dress up when cruising on NCL. We dress up for work daily and want a break on a cruise. LOVE NCL food (I suppose it could be said it is more to my tastes than Carnival and others), and their entertainment is better since Carnival has cut back drastically on entertainment.

 

NCL does not have launderettes to do your own laundry.

 

As with any ship, I avoid being under an uncarpeted area, and above a club or the casino.

 

Tipping works the same as Carnival; we let it be added to our onboard account.

 

No set times for dinner on NCL and there are more upcharge restaurant options too.

 

I think it's always best to try out the cruiseline to see for yourself.

Edited July 11, 2014 by mizlorinj

[Dirkgun]

We have sailed the Pride of America (the Hawaii route) and while it is a fantastic way to see Hawaii... did not care for the NCL ship on that cruise. I do know that there are issues with that particular ship and cruise that make it different from most NCL cruises (American ship and workers so labor costs and things are higher) That being said.... the things I thought NCL did good are.... the Cadillac diner, it is a little place to get food like the deli or pizza bar, but the best things are the wings IMHO. They also do not try to get your picture constantly to sell to you. The things we like better on Carnival... Cabin size, our balcony rooms were definitely smaller than any room we have had on Carnival. We did not care for the anytime or your time dining. We had a big (11) group and they would/could not accommodate us for dinner together and were quite nasty about trying. We tried a upcharge restaurant (the benihana type place) and it was ok but not worth the extra $$ IMHO. I would like to try NCL on a different itinerary because I know the Hawaii cruise is not a fair comparison. I think you have good things in all cruise lines.

[winddawn]

Plus: Lots of people report that Norwegian has a better casino comp program.

 

Minuses: Norwegian's cabins are overall smaller than Carnival's and you will have more "pay" eating venues than you do on Carnival.

Edited July 11, 2014 by winddawn

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I'm interested in the differences as well.

 

I'd like to know if NCL is dressier for dinner.

 

Balcony cabins to stay away from.

 

How's the entertainment?

 

How is tipping done?

 

How does NCL's loyalty program work?

 

Thanks for any help!

 

As far as dressier for dinner, shorts and polos for guys is the order of the day except in the one MDR and I believe one other surcharge restaurant.

 

My last 2 cruises have been on NCL, the Star and the Dawn.

 

Loved the entertainment, much better than CCL's and the options for dinner which some are surcharge but minimal.

 

My last cruise i didn't even pack a pair of long pants.

 

Bill

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Plus: Lots of people report that Norwegian has a better casino comp program.

 

Minuses: Norwegian's cabins are overall smaller than Carnival's and you will have more "pay" eating venues than you do on Carnival.

 

Just curious as to why you find that it is a minus because there are more pay restaurants?

 

They still have the same number of free restaurants as CCL just more options if you choose to pay a fee.

 

Love Moderno's, and Cagneys the first time around but our second time at Cagneys the service wasn't so hot but not terrible.

 

Also loved Blue Lagoon, open 24 / 7. Wings are great and breakfast there is good also and it's free.

 

Bill

[RanchoDeluxe]

I've only had one NCL cruise and several Carnival cruises.

 

Food & related

Found it to be failrly equivalent. My mom cruises higher end lines, but we got her to travel with us on one NCL cruise and one Carnival. She thought the Carnval food was better.

My husband and I LOVED having a 24 hour cafe on NCL where we had wait staff at 4 in the afternon and 3 in the morning. It was a great place to stop for a quick snack after an afternoon onshore. I think it was Blue Lagoon on the Star.

We did like Freestyle dining. Made us go to ATD on Carnival.

 

Entertainment

I prefer the shows on NCL

I prefer the comedy on Carnival.

 

Cabins

Carnival definately has larger cabins. The standard inside on CCL has never really felt small. But DH & I felt the size on NCL. However NCL Star had a nice large shower with a door.

Mom's balcony on NCL came with a coffee maker, like you find in hotel rooms. She liked that. I just order a thermos from room service if I want wake up coffee.

 

 

I get to cruise usually because I find bargins, close in to cruise date. For what I pay I get my moneys worth.

Edited July 11, 2014 by kjcccc87

[qsuzi]

Thanks for all the great feedback, learned lots from you guys. We booked the Jewel and are excited for the adventure of sailing a new cruise line. Thanks again everyone.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Have a great time!

[jasbo49]

We've sailed NCL just once, the Jewel to Alaska a couple years ago. As others have said, standard balconies are smaller on NCL. We did get a coffee-tea maker in the room. Possibly the tiniest bathroom we've ever had.

 

I thought the buffet was better on NCL, but we preferred the MDR food on Carnival. I'm not a big fan of the pay restaurants, but we just ignored them and went to the included ones. Someone asked what's the beef about too many pay restaurants. For me, it's the fact that part of the ship is taken up by something that doesn't benefit us (unless we pay extra).

 

The entertainment on the Jewel, at least for this one cruise, was the best we've ever had on a cruise: magician, hypnotist, strong cast for the stage shows and a soul duo -- Fire and Ice -- that was unbelievable.

 

You'll have fun.

 

Jim