Thinking of cheating on NCL

[kelmac]

Trying other lines can hardly be called "cheating" - unless one happens to be a rabid fan. I prefer Cunard, Celebrity and HAL, but every few years will give NCL another try - sadly, each time I do they leave me less impressed.

 

nbt,

 

I'm with you in preferring Cunard, Celebrity and to a lesser degree HAL. Oceania and Azamara are excellent as well.

 

We just put NCL back into our rotation after discovering their UDP (ultimate dining package) and their UBP promotion. We eat every evening meal in one of their alternative restaurants; lunch/breakfast in the MDR; and avoid the buffet completely. Gives you a very "Celebrity" like food experience. The beverage package makes up for the lack of the Elite Lounge on Celebrity/RCL. We find the entertainment to be excellent on NCL and even though much of the service people seemed stretched to the limit, it's not a deal breaker.

Dollar for dollar, it's really hard to beat Celebrity, but NCL is now our go to backup line!:)

 

Enjoy!

Kel:D

[Kruizin'Kath]

We are just off MSC Divina Saturday. A few thoughts: We disliked assigned dining time. Couldn't make it if we were in port. We had terrible port times-they really need to look at their ports of call. Food was mediocre at best. Worst customer service I have encountered in ANY industry:mad:!

On the other hand, the ship was beautiful, aft balconies incredible and the price fantastic. Would not book with them again. Looking forward to the Dawn in October:).

[All-ready2cruise]

We are just off MSC Divina Saturday. A few thoughts: We disliked assigned dining time. Couldn't make it if we were in port. We had terrible port times-they really need to look at their ports of call. Food was mediocre at best. Worst customer service I have encountered in ANY industry:mad:!

On the other hand' date=' the ship was beautiful, aft balconies incredible and the price fantastic. Would not book with them again. Looking forward to the Dawn in October:).[/quote']

 

Thanks for the feedback. I guess in a way, it's a good thing we have so many cruise lines to choose from, the old "you can't please everyone all the time" kind of thing. We're going to try MSC but.... we are choosing the Aurea level which seems to give a few more perks/choices. We've also been "status matched" to Black so that might help too. Not going with the Yacht Club.

 

Our cruise won't be that soon, Feb. 2018, by then,.... things may have changed on both lines, who knows.

[graphicguy]

To me, changing cruise lines is like changing hotels - no big deal.

 

HAL - more sedate and quiet with great cabins. Love that the entry level suites have a separate tub and shower. Food is bland, entertainment is so-so. Not so many amenities as other ships.

 

NCL - lots to do, lots of restaurants, no traditional cruise dining or dressing up - a huge bonus for some. Best spa thermal suite at sea.

 

Carnival - nice spa thermal suite, not at nice as NCL, but nice enough. Plenty to do. MDR food is hit or miss (however the Appetizers and soups tend to be the best of what is offered) but Chef's table is one of the best at sea and the steakhouse is great!

 

Princess - more sedate and low key, shows are mediocre, but overall a nice relaxing cruise.

 

MSC - the Yacht Club is all-inclusive! Live music everywhere. This is probably the nicest suite experience I've ever had as far as amenities go. Even better than NCL. Entertainment was fantastic! Loved the Neapolitan cuisine!

 

Celebrity - ships are rather blah with sedate colors. Nice cruise, but overly sedate. I found myself spending most days at sea reading in the tea shop and most nights reading in bed for lack of things of interest to do. Food in MDR at dinner is better than on other ships - or was last time I was onboard in 2013 - not sure now. Entertainment very lacking.

 

RCCL - lots of activities, nice suites in terms of space, but lacking amenities and level of service found on NCL and MSC. On Oasis class ships, spectacular entertainment. Very good specialty restaurants.

 

Uniworld - small, boutique, all-inclusive great food that fits where you are cruising. Cabins are small, of course - it's a river ship. Overall a very, very nice experience that felt more culturally immersive than an ocean going cruise liner.

 

Thanks. This is a great summation.

 

I'm anxious to try MSC Yacht Club. You just reinforced my desire.

[megansdad1]

as Daniel Tosh once said..."sometimes you have to plow a 3 to appreciate an 8"

 

But all kidding aside. Outside of freestyle dining, I bet you will find more things similar than different between the lines. Both my carnival cruises were awesome. Give them a try. Either you will like them and open your world up to different lines, or you will not like them and appreciate the NCL experience more. But with rare exceptions, it is hard to have a bad cruise as long as you have the right attitude. Enjoy

[NLH Arizona]

In fact, there really are no casino benefits on Celebrity.

 

Actually there are. They have the Blue Chip Club. Even though I use to gamble a lot on Celebrity (I don't gamble as much on them anymore, save it for NCL because of the great CAS offers), I wasn't aware of the club that apparently you have to be asked by the Host to join or you have to ask to be a member. I didn't join, however, after one of my cruises I got an invite for a free cruise from them, which BTW didn't take timing wasn't right.

[rbazor]

Thank all of you for the input. Lot of experience and ideas here. For those of you tied up in knots about the cheating reference I have something for you:

flip·pant

ˈflipənt/Submit

adjective

not showing a serious or respectful attitude.

"a flippant remark"

[3poundpuppies]

After only 2 NCL cruises, we decided to try Carnival last August. Did NOT like the assigned dining thing, but we got past that by doing the Lido. Much prefer Carnivals comedy club over the crap of Second City that NCL does. That is just horrible. I jumped on the RCCL WoW sale and booked Anthem next July. We will see how that goes! I don't think we will be loyal to one brand. As long as I'm on a ship I'm happy!

[spanishguy1970]

After only 2 NCL cruises, we decided to try Carnival last August. Did NOT like the assigned dining thing, but we got past that by doing the Lido. Much prefer Carnivals comedy club over the crap of Second City that NCL does. That is just horrible. I jumped on the RCCL WoW sale and booked Anthem next July. We will see how that goes! I don't think we will be loyal to one brand. As long as I'm on a ship I'm happy!

 

 

Oh My gosh i totally agree with you about Second city, we went to one show and we left 10 minutes later. I believe being loyal to a line is all about what you prefer if you just like casual clothes and freestyle then stick with NCL.

[Warm Breezes]

I don't understand the concept of being loyal to a cruise line. I am loyal to my family's wants and my budget. We have sailed 14 times on 4 different cruise lines with 2 future cruises booked...1 on CCL and 1 on NCL. We have sailed 2x out of NOLA. Once on CCL Dream and once on NCL Jewel. We loved both cruises. A synopsis of both:

 

CCL Dream 5/2016 Family Cruise celebrating DS(22) graduation from college. Booked a Balcony with an inside across hall. This was the largest and newest CCL ship we have sailed. We enjoyed the layout and did not find it crowded at all. Serenity was great. Room was large. There were a lot of families celebrating graduations on our cruise. There was live music throughout the ship and the shows were some of the best we have seen on Carnival but not as good as NCL. Food is subjective. Having said that we loved the deli, Italian restaurant, seaday brunch, and pizza. The MDR and buffet were ok but not great. Our room Steward was one of the best we have had. the MDR service was slightly slow but very good. Carnival is pretty casual with the exception of 2 formal nights where the dress code is slightly higher than the rest of the week. Your time dining is your best match to free-style dining.

 

NCL Jewel 10/2013 Adult Cruise celebrating our 25th Anniversary. Booked a cove balcony. This was our 2nd time on NCL Jewel. Still didn't like the layout with the narrow and twisting hallways and smaller rooms. There were a lot of couples in their late 40's and early 50's on this ship with few kids. The shows were excellent. Again food is subjective. We loved Blue Lagoon, the Brazilian Steakhouse, and the buffet. The MDR was ok. We did not like the Italian restaurant. I can't remember our room steward but I don't recall any issues with any service. NCL is extremely casual every night with just the Aft MDR and the French restaurant with a slightly higher dress code.

[VideoTech]

Actually there are. They have the Blue Chip Club. Even though I use to gamble a lot on Celebrity (I don't gamble as much on them anymore, save it for NCL because of the great CAS offers), I wasn't aware of the club that apparently you have to be asked by the Host to join or you have to ask to be a member. I didn't join, however, after one of my cruises I got an invite for a free cruise from them, which BTW didn't take timing wasn't right.

 

I'm aware of the Celebrity casino club, and was a member through MGM M-life at the time of the cruise. My points were applied to my MGM account, but my wife, who had no MGM account, had to have her points applied to her Celebrity Casino account.

 

What I really meant by that statement was to compare the wonderful way we've been treated by NCL casinos on every one of our trips, with the attitude on the Celebrity casino.

 

On every one of our NCL trips, you only have to be gambling a short while before you receive a visit from a casino host, introducing themselves and asking if you need anything. As you play (and obviously this assumes your play rates this) you get (or used to get) offers of comp'd dinners, spa treatments, etc. In general, NCL's casinos have always treated us well, up to and including good discounts against our final bill at the end of the cruise.

 

On our Celebrity cruise, with the same level of play that would have merited the attention on NCL, we got....nothing. One visit from a casino host. No offers of any kind on the ship. Nothing delivered to the room courtesy of the casino. I had to seek out the casino manager with questions about our accounts and he was mostly uninterested in helping.

 

Yes, since the cruise we have received one or two offers for cruises from Celebrity casinos. But given their general lack of interest in their gambling customers, we don't feel compelled to give them another chance.

 

We're just hoping that what we've been hearing about NCL casinos cutting back on the wonderful on board treatment isn't true.

[NLH Arizona]

 

 

On our Celebrity cruise, with the same level of play that would have merited the attention on NCL, we got....nothing. One visit from a casino host. No offers of any kind on the ship. Nothing delivered to the room courtesy of the casino. I had to seek out the casino manager with questions about our accounts and he was mostly uninterested in helping.

 

We're just hoping that what we've been hearing about NCL casinos cutting back on the wonderful on board treatment isn't true.

Totally agree with you regarding the Hosts on Celebrity....I get the feeling that they want the passenger to kiss up to them to get anything (which I would never do), where NCL is great about offering dinners, etc.

 

I personally haven't noticed any cutbacks by CAS. I usually get offers for dinners, but since I purchase, or get as a perk, the dining package, I decline. Still get all the treats and actually on one of my latest cruises I asked the Butler not to bring them and he asked that I let the casino know why, because they were concerned. Also, they give a spa credit for Golden and I went over the amount and they covered the entire amount.

[Chanman76]

We loved Celebrity on out 1st cruise and being honest couldn't really fault them in anyway. The boat was fantastic, Staff were friendly and food was amazing and a great time was had by all.

 

We are currently booked with with NCL after we originally booked with Celebrity for our Honeymoon as returning customers until it got royally messed up (very long story but there is a post dedicated to the sorry tale). After that mistake we felt being on ANY Celebrity boat for our Honeymoon would just bring back memories of the entire fiasco and stress we had with the booking and trying to sort it all out. I am sure it is not a common occurrence, however at the moment we are not feeling the love for Celebrity as a company.