Why NCL will be my GO TO Cruise Line!

[Timsierramist]

For the foreseeable future, I have little doubt I will be choosing NCL as my cruise line of choice. Why? Because I cruise Solo (again for the foreseeable future). They appear to give excellent value, (just their specials right now are awesome. Choosing $50 credit towards shore excursions, free wifi, free speciality dining or free beverages), their ships are awesome, perhaps only beat by RCI and I love their style. There is the hi-tech LED vibe, but you are not completely drowned in it across the ship as there seems to be plenty of elegant areas as well.

 

I know a few others have single cabins. I hear RCI has some. But when I plugged and played my "1 guest" option, I didn't really see any difference in price. However, the solo cabins create such a heavy discount on NCL that I can't refuse.

 

I haven't even taken my very first cruise yet, but I am so excited for my little 3 night Carnival cruise down to Ensenada, that I am already planning my January 2017 cruise...to the Caribbean of all places!

 

I have little doubt this whole cruising thing is for me. :D

 

So anyways, guess I should make myself comfortable around this part of the Cruise Critic forums. I intend to be here a lot as I book my Caribbean trip in the coming weeks and prepare for a 2017 sailing.

Edited December 15, 2015 by Timsierramist
typo

[Mandy412]

I'm barely a month out from completing my first cruise on the getaway and I'm dying to find someone to go again like tomorrow. I'm seriously like a two year old saying Again!

 

I'd love to read more solo trip reviews. I need friends with money and no kids lol.

[sparks1093]

Welcome! Once you catch the cruising bug it's hard to get rid of:).

[suron]

For the foreseeable future, I have little doubt I will be choosing NCL as my cruise line of choice. Why? Because I cruise Solo (again for the foreseeable future). They appear to give excellent value, (just their specials right now are awesome. Choosing $50 credit towards shore excursions, free wifi, free speciality dining or free beverages), their ships are awesome, perhaps only beat by RCI and I love their style. There is the hi-tech LED vibe, but you are not completely drowned in it across the ship as there seems to be plenty of elegant areas as well.

 

I know a few others have single cabins. I hear RCI has some. But when I plugged and played my "1 guest" option, I didn't really see any difference in price. However, the solo cabins create such a heavy discount on NCL that I can't refuse.

 

I haven't even taken my very first cruise yet, but I am so excited for my little 3 night Carnival cruise down to Ensenada, that I am already planning my January 2017 cruise...to the Caribbean of all places!

 

I have little doubt this whole cruising thing is for me. :D

 

So anyways, guess I should make myself comfortable around this part of the Cruise Critic forums. I intend to be here a lot as I book my Caribbean trip in the coming weeks and prepare for a 2017 sailing.

 

Go ahead and book that studio cabin on NCL - you will not be disappointed.

I was on Epic as a solo traveller last year and that time had a balcony cabin thanks to a very special offer on at the time. As a solo I was able to access the studio lounge where other solos met each evening and were helped to get to know each by the terrific crew member assigned to the Studio Lounge. We would join together in small groups to go to a show, have dinner together and take shore excursions together. It was great fun and I got to make some good friends with whom I am still in contact.

 

On 19th Dec I am sailing on Epic for a Christmas cruise around the Canaries starting in Barcelona and will be having a studio for this trip. I will pop into the Studio Lounge from time to time to meet up again with friends who were on the Epic with me last year but I will have my son and his family flying in from their home in Dubai to join me for this cruise so will be spending a lot of the time with them - I am so excited to be spending Christmas at sea with family and am looking forward to some fun with my twin grandsons (not on the water slides though I might add - too old for that I am afraid!!).

 

If you want to check out my review of Epic from last year it can be found at

 

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreiews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=257253

 

At the end of my review I did hint that in future I would probably go with my preferred cruise lines and pay the supplements as I felt the ship was too big but since the right itinerary and the right price has come along I have decided to give Epic another go.

 

Once you decide on your cruise, do join the roll call where you can swop ideas. The roll call for our sailing has reached 96 people and we are all meeting up on the first sea day in one of the lounges. We will be having a Secret Santa for both adults and children and later in the afternoon a bar crawl is proposed!!

 

Good Luck with your plans

 

Suzanne

 

P.S. We opted for the Beverage Package (worth some £380 per adult). The speciality dining rooms were, in my opinion, not that special - no complaints about the food in main dining areas. Reception for WiFi not that good so think carefully about which perks you go for.

Edited December 15, 2015 by suron
Additional Information

[cmdchiefthom]

I've been cruising NCL too long to change now. I'm used to the NCL product, the ships, and even Del Rio to an extent. Why risk being disappointed somewhere else.;)

[DMH15]

Welcome aboard. Love your positivity!

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I agree with the OP - right now NCL provides an excellent value for the way I cruise, and the types of cruises I enjoy. When I compare cruises I look at my TOTAL cost - cruise, tips, bev package, specialty dining etc and far and away NCL is currently giving me the best bang for my buck! Are the prices up on NCL year over year - sure, but so are everyone else's. Is NCL charging more for drinks, tips, room service, etc ... yep, but so are most of their competitors. All cruise lines are modifying and adapting their products constantly and there are pros and cons for all of these changes. Right now the pros of sailing NCL still outweigh the cons for me.

 

For the foreseeable future I will be sailing more w/ NCL vs Celebrity, Princess and RCCL.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Me, too. I'm spending five times as much for a Single Outside cabin on P&O Aurora in December 2016 for ten nights as I did for a Studio cabin on Epic last October for seven nights. NCL is still a value proposition and a lot of fun.

[nyc2theworld]

Without the addition of the Solo Cabins by NCL I wouldn't have cruised at all. I've been very lucky to get some good deals on NCL even when booking in a Solo Cabin.

 

Cruise 1 - BOGO on the Getaway - why would I pass that up!

Cruise 2 - BOGO Redemption on the Sky. Nice weekend cruise

Cruise 3 - Thanksgiving weekend special pick TWO Freestyle Choice options! (Got the Beverage Plan AND 4 days of specialty dining)

 

I've constantly looked at RCCL and even when I look the furthest out for their few solo cabins the price difference is not worth it. Maybe if I cruise with someone else eventually I will try them, but NCL and specifically the EPIC, -Away ships, and Escape (for now) are my go to ships.

[Timsierramist]

I'm barely a month out from completing my first cruise on the getaway and I'm dying to find someone to go again like tomorrow. I'm seriously like a two year old saying Again!

 

I'd love to read more solo trip reviews. I need friends with money and no kids lol.

 

That is kind of my problem too. The economy hit my age group pretty hard and many of us are still trying to recover. I am fortunate to be doing well enough for myself that I have enough disposable income so that I can take cruises maybe once a year. Virtually all of my friends and family are not in the same boat. Some really smart guy at NCL must have seen the writing on the wall and got us some single cabins!