Carnival Fan on NCL - A quick review

[okwriter]

I have cruised Carnival 9 times and decided last year to try NCL. My group is all women age 50-ish who usually sail from Galveston on the Magic. Last November, we flew into Houston and sailed from Bayport Terminal in Pasadena (NCL calls it Houston). This was a 7-day cruise November 15-22 on the Jewel with stops in Cozumel, Belize City, and the new (at the time) port in Trujillo, Honduras.

 

It’s been awhile since the cruise, but I wanted to share some observations in hopes it helps someone. I have never had a bad cruise, and most of the things I write about don’t make or break my experience. These are just my observances and opinions based on the Carnival ships I’ve been on (usually the Carnival Magic) compared to my only NCL experience—on the Jewel—and based on the activities we participate in---usually just the casino :). These are in no particular order of importance.

 

COST: This one goes to NCL. We got a guaranteed mini-suite for 4 people for $450 each all in, and a $70 (total for cabin) OBC offset that a little. This was way better than anything I’ve paid for a comparable room on Carnival, and nobody had to climb a ladder to get into bed.

 

EMBARK/DEBARK process: This was a split. Getting on board was easier on NCL (than getting on the Magic in Galveston) due to less people and being the only ship in port. Debark process is much, much easier and faster on Carnival but seemed somewhat of a “cluster” at Bayport.

 

OVERALL CLEANLINESS: This goes to Carnival. It wasn’t that the Jewel was dirty. It was just that Carnival (on the Magic) seems to have people everywhere cleaning everything. I didn’t see that on the Jewel, although the NCL staff is very proactive about squirting your hands with hand sanitizer as you enter and exit places. Our balcony was just plain nasty and wasn’t cleaned all week.

 

ROOM STEWARD: This was a toss-up, with perhaps NCL leading by a nose. (I didn’t ding the room steward for the nasty balcony because I “think” there is a special crew that cleans those.) Our steward was awesome and we tipped him extra accordingly, just as we’ve always done on Carnival. I really liked that he made the sofa bed back up during the daytime, whereas Carnival never has when we’ve been in a room where the sofa doubles as a bed. We also loved having a coffee pot in the room, and he made sure we had all the supplies we needed!

 

BEDS: Carnival definitely wins this one. The beds on the Jewel were really hard, whereas the ones on Carnival always seem so plush!

 

ENTERTAINMENT: Can’t comment. We didn’t participate.

 

KIDS’ STUFF: Can’t comment. The kids on board did seem well behaved, as they are on Carnival.

 

CASINO: Hmmm. This one was a toss-up. We are slot players, and there were always machines available. Overall ($$ won or lost), we didn't fare much better or worse than on the Magic. Bar service seemed equal, too, whether we were paying for drinks or qualified for free drinks (two of us did; two didn’t). We really liked that on NCL they put out a very small “buffet” to snack on at different times of the day in the casino.

 

DINING: The edge goes to Carnival. We only did one paid venue, and that was O’Sheehan’s. It was decent, but as far as free meals in the dining rooms, Carnival wins. Maybe it’s because I’ve been on the Magic so often that I have my favorites…not sure. The buffets were comparable, with the setup perhaps slightly better (rarely any lines) on the Jewel.

 

EXCURSIONS: Toss-up. We don’t do many ship excursions on Carnival, and we only did one ship excursion on NCL: a beach outing in Trujillo. It rained in the mountains all day and began raining on the beach about 30 minutes after we got there. Not sure if anyone on the Cruise Critic NCL board posted about the adventure getting back to the ship. There is only one small road through the town, and several “low water stream crossings” on our way to the beach turned into roaring rivers by the time we headed back to the ship. We were on a bus at one of these crossings for a few hours waiting for the water level to fall (it didn’t), then transferred to a different type of bus that was able to drive through the water. It was scary! We finally got back to the ship about dark, and the crew met us with warm towels, as we were all very wet and very cold. NCL also reimbursed half the cost of the excursion, which was a nice gesture but nothing we’d have asked for.

 

Hope this helps someone. I’d do either again but all things being equal, I’d go back to the Magic. My deciding factor has to the beds.

 

 

One of the low water crossings. Picture taken from inside the bus on the way TO the beach.

 

One crossing on the way back to the ship. This one held us up for two hours.

 

Another crossing on the way back to the ship. Yes, we were scared! We weren't sure if the locals were waiting to cross the "stream" or gathered to watch the silly American tourists float downstream on the bus. :confused:

[Karebear98]

Thank you for the review the washed out streets do look scary glad you were able to make it back to the ship & nice they had towels waiting NCL has very pretty ships maybe one day :)

 

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[turning40withMickey]

Thanks for the comparison!

 

I have sailed NCL three times and Carnival for the first time last summer.

 

I found NCL to be a better price each time, EXCEPT that I got many price drops on Carnival which meant the price was better in the end. So much better we upgraded to a balcony, previously only having oceanview.

 

I found the cabin stewards on NCL Jewel, NCL Gem, and Carnival Pride to be excellent. We never once met the steward on NCL Breakaway. Not even a hello, ever!

 

I have teens, and they preferred the teen clubs on NCL. The leaders on NCL were full of fun and the kids couldn't wait to get back to their activities. The Carnival ones just weren't as engaging (though they still participated)

 

Food, I have to give to Carnival. We never had a bad meal on any ship, but my family thought Carnival won out overall. Maybe it was the warm chocolate melting cake? HA HA

 

Entertainment: NCL wins for me. The theater shows were amazing, the CDs always very enthusiastic, lots of fun. I do have to give Carnival a nod for the solid gold plastic ship on a stick, competing for that was a lot of fun at trivia and game shows. NCL also had prizes, but you had to gain staff signatures at each event and then cash in at the end of the cruise. Playing cards, beach balls, coffee mugs, pens, all with NCL insignia.

 

We have always done all of our excursions on our own, so no comparison there.

 

I definitely agree with you on the beds, Carnival is the hands down winner there!

 

I can't wait to sail with the 2.0 updates.

[Swampbabe]

Just an FYI for anyone reading this review, O'Sheehans is not a pay venue. Perhaps the OP is confused.

[OCruisers]

Thanks for your good comparison.

We've also found Carnival and NCL to be alike in many ways.

LuLu

[happy cruzin]

Wow - those are some SCARY photos....glad it worked out ok! :eek:

 

So Sheehan's is a paid venue on the Jewel class?? :confused: We've never cruised NCL's Jewel class....but on the Epic and the Breakaway O'Sheehan's had some desserts that cost extra. But the food menu - breakfast, munchie snacks and lunch/dinner - was available at no extra cost.

[happy cruzin]

Just an FYI for anyone reading this review, O'Sheehans is not a pay venue. Perhaps the OP is confused.

Perhaps she meant Cagney's?? :o

[okwriter]

Just an FYI for anyone reading this review, O'Sheehans is not a pay venue. Perhaps the OP is confused.

 

You are so right! Sorry! It's been awhile since the cruise, and I stay confused! :D

[turning40withMickey]

nevermind, OP just corrected the O'Sheehans part

it is complimentary

Edited January 5, 2015 by turning40withMickey

[okwriter]

Maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong about this, too. We paid for a mini-suite guarantee, but I noticed when looking at my papers today that our cruise documents said "Please note, in an effort to provide you with the best Freestyle Cruising experience, we have given you a complimentary upgrade to stateroom 11134."

 

Isn't that cabin a mini-suite? Why was it considered an upgrade? None of it matters at this point. We loved the cabin! But it might help someone else -- or me if I ever cruise NCL again. :)

[Swampbabe]

You are so right! Sorry! It's been awhile since the cruise, and I stay confused! :D

 

Sounds like you had fun regardless :D

[mistertoaster]

NCL has different mini suite categories at different prices based on location of the suite in the ship. Generally speaking, the higher decks and mid ship positions cost more than lower decks and front and aft positions. Therefore, if your original room was in one of these positions, it was the change of location that was the upgrade. The rooms, however, are the same.

 

 

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[sparks1093]

Thanks for the comparisons! Well balanced, which is a good thing.:)

[ldlewis45]

I've also cruised with both Carnival and NCL.

 

In terms of food:

 

• MDR: Carnival wins (even as poor as their MDR can be, it was still better than NCL's MDR)
   
  
• Buffet: overall, NCL wins due to more variety, greater number of fresh items, the ethnic food sections, build-your-own soups, hard ice cream, etc.
   
  
• Pay restaurants: Both are generally high quality, but NCL wins from sheer variety (Cagney's, Moderno, Le Bistro, Shanghai, Wasabi, Teppanyaki, Ocean Blu, etc.)
   
  
• Pizza: Carnival by a mile! NCL's pizza was mediocre compared to the greatness that is the new, upgraded Pizza Pirate
  

In terms of ship cleanliness:

 

NCL gets props for the washy-washy happy-happy staff (the ones that spray your hands with sanitizer), but the overall win goes to Carnival.

[okwriter]

NCL has different mini suite categories at different prices based on location of the suite in the ship. Generally speaking, the higher decks and mid ship positions cost more than lower decks and front and aft positions. Therefore, if your original room was in one of these positions, it was the change of location that was the upgrade. The rooms, however, are the same.

 

 

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Thanks! Since this was a "guarantee" booking, I don't know if we were assigned one cabin and then upgraded --- only that our documentation said it was an upgraded. We were very far back, with only one cabin after us before getting to true aft of the ship. We loved it. ;)

[soccersharon]

Good, balanced review. I'll be booking the Dawn for this summer to Bermuda. Will be nice to forego flying and all the hassle and expense that comes with it. I agree with the comparisons to Carnival, and am looking forward to trying a smaller NCL ship.

 

 

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[tkportersat]

Great comparison, glad you had a good time. I loved our trip on NCL and would gladly cruise them again. At the time we went they were only sailing out of New Orleans which I have no desire to do again. Now that they are back out of Houston we will see. Washy Washy...lol

[pinoycruiser1995]

Man, that "washy washy" of NCL really pisses me off. Haha! You should try Royal!

 

 

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[shanet60]

Just an FYI for anyone reading this review, O'Sheehans is not a pay venue. Perhaps the OP is confused.

 

That's what I was thinking I went on the epic in 2013 and it is a 24 hour free restaraunt, burgers, wings, pot pies, etc

[nissach]

Thanks for the comparison!

 

I have sailed NCL three times and Carnival for the first time last summer.

 

I found NCL to be a better price each time, EXCEPT that I got many price drops on Carnival which meant the price was better in the end. So much better we upgraded to a balcony, previously only having oceanview.

 

Wow, really, I have never found NCL or any line cheaper than Carnival. However, we have only sailed at Christmas or NYE, so prices are always high on all lines. :(

I always price compare Royal, NCL, HAL, sometimes Celebrity and Carnival. We booked a HAL cruise once, the price was great for a 10 day cruise and the itinerary clinched it. :)

[CindyLouWho2]

Hi,

I wondered if you could answer a quick question for me, I know it has been quite a while since your cruise but was hoping you might be able to help me sort it out. I have this exact cabin booked (11134) on the jewel for an Alaskan cruise in a month. Do you recall whether the balcony was enclosed at all? I've tried looking at pictures of the aft starboard side but cannot for sure see which one might be ours. Thank you...:)

[okwriter]

Not "enclosed" any more than any other balcony. We were very near the back. I think only one other cabin behind ours and then the corner and the aft cabins.

[CindyLouWho2]

Perfect, thank you very much!