NCL vs Carnival

[Gregor4500]

I just read on another thread about the NCL Mastercard. At 3% back I'm tempted. So I checked some prices to campare to a cruise I just booked with CCL and they appear to be around $400 more pp on a balcony room. Is that right? If so, why soo much more? What is the big difference?

[marvholly]

I am a repeat traveler on BOTH lines. IMHO the food is better on Carnival (I am a shell fish & beef freak). Also, the cabins are significantly larger on Carnival.

That said and done: I find the staff (excluding cabin steward and wait staff) MUCH better on NCL, more outgoing, less rude, generally nicer and more outgoing. Personally, I also have NO problem w/ freestyle meal seating although many, especially older (although I am 59) cruisers, do prefer having the same tablemates/waitstaff every night. I enjoy meeting a variey of other people. NCL does do a big marketing push in Britain, Germany and Canada. I find this interesting. I do not mind telling a wait person that I want water, really rare meat and decaff coffee night after night due to waitstaff changes from night to night and changing dining venue to dining venue. It is also very easy to have your bottle(s) of wine follow you with NCL. After all, I do this as I rotate favorite resturants around my home too.

[tumeroll]

[What is the big difference?

 

Class (NCL) vs Mass (Carnival)

[adbnva]

tried ncl and carnival this year for virtually 1st time. we had tried ncl about 15 yrs ago. carnival food, service, cabin, bedding, etc. were better. we were so impressed w/carnival we expect to b cruising w/them again. also, think the drinks & bingo were 2 high on ncl.

[Cotton]

[What is the big difference?

 

Class (NCL) vs Mass (Carnival)

 

;) Not necessarily so.

 

I've sailed both lines, and much prefer Carnival. NCL was a great cruise, but Carnival far outshines in entertainment, food, and larger cabins.

 

You just have to keep checking prices. One week can make a lot of difference. Do your homework.

[MSUcruisers]

I just read on another thread about the NCL Mastercard. At 3% back I'm tempted. So I checked some prices to campare to a cruise I just booked with CCL and they appear to be around $400 more pp on a balcony room. Is that right? If so, why soo much more? What is the big difference?

 

We have a NCL credit card. Last winter, we cruised on the NCL Spirit for 9 days. With the credit, we paid only $7 for the cruise including insurance. Of course, tips and onboard expenses were extra.

 

We've cruised 3 times each on NCL and Carnival. We enjoy both cruise lines, although they are very different. We are always looking for a good deal. In January, we will be going on our first Princess cruise down the Mexican Riveria. Of course, I used the NCL card to charge the trip.

 

Check this thread for more information on credit cards. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=256006

[cruzeluver]

Just my opinion, and based on my own experience:

 

Food-NCL is better. Quality and presentation. Although Carnival was quite good.

 

Cabins-Carnivals are larger and better laid out, NCL's have better decor.

 

Entertainment-Carnival is larger, more "showey", whereas NCL is a bit more refined.

 

Service-Carnival's is friendlier, NCL's is of a higher quality.

 

I love both lines. Price difference may be, at least in part, to Carnival having a larger share of the market.

[shvbudman]

I agree with the class vs mass. I have recently cruised both lines. I will be going back to NCL and never looking back at Carnival.

[Luv4dacruise]

I agree with the class vs mass. I have recently cruised both lines. I will be going back to NCL and never looking back at Carnival.

 

 

Get out of my head!!!!!!......I was thinking the same exact thing, hehehe

[MrPete]

I found NCL to be a poor clone. They may have changed, but I've never been tempted to go Back. Until I saw pictures of the Jewel.

 

I may try them again someday. I may not.

[zqvol]

You guys are scaring me. I have yet to cruise Carnival, I have Elation booked, in May, I'll give it a shot but this may be a one time thing, if it is a bad as some of you claim.

[Gregor4500]

zqvol, I'm booked for March and can't wait. You'll have a great time.

[NRWO]

Hold on a sec.. let's make sure you are comparing apples to apples..

 

this $400 difference..

 

same cruise duration?

same general class of ship?

same itinerary?

same date??? (I've never ceased to be amazed at how many people don't realize this makes a big difference)

 

 

both balcony cabins you say but..

 

same general size? category? is the CCL one a suite? a guarentee? both include port charges? air?

 

I am willing to bet there's a major difference somewhere you've overlooked that's dictating the price difference.

[hilltopfamily]

You guys are scaring me. I have yet to cruise Carnival, I have Elation booked, in May, I'll give it a shot but this may be a one time thing, if it is a bad as some of you claim.

 

My 1st NCL cruise is coming up, so I'm not trying to make any comparisons between NCL & CCL as I'm not qualified to do so at this time. Plus, as others will agree, people need to be careful when making comparisons if you're not comparing like items, such as size/class of ships, time of year of sailing, "oldness" or "newness" of ships, etc., so keep that in mind whenever you read sweeping generalizations. I just want to provide some reassurance about the Elation. We found it to be a wonderful ship (although decor we felt was a tiny bit over the top for us) with really incredible food and service with larger-sized rooms. There were plenty of activities and entertainment for us (family of 5) and we had no disappointments FOR US during that cruise (although there is room for improvement in the disembarkation process). I hope you find your cruise to be wonderful as well. Happy sailing!

[Gregor4500]

Hold on a sec.. let's make sure you are comparing apples to apples..

 

this $400 difference..

 

same cruise duration?

same general class of ship?

same itinerary?

same date??? (I've never ceased to be amazed at how many people don't realize this makes a big difference)

 

 

both balcony cabins you say but..

 

same general size? category? is the CCL one a suite? a guarentee? both include port charges? air?

 

I am willing to bet there's a major difference somewhere you've overlooked that's dictating the price difference.

 

You're right NRWO, The CCL I booked is a guarentee. For the NCL price I went to NCL.com picked a 7 day western, balcony, the same date as mine and that was the difference. However, looking at Travelocity to check later on I noticed a substantial difference(lower)than NCL.com

 

In order to book my cruise through my current Rewards credit card I have to go through them. So I pay the price quoted on Carnival.com. That's why I checked NCL.com for prices. I later found out the with the NCL card I can book through anyone. Get the best price out there. That makes a big difference.

[dpalmquist]

I have been on NCL one time and never chose to go back. Service was lousy, the ship stunk....literally stunk and it was brand new. I have been on Carnival 4 times and everything was great. I have been on RCCL, Costa and Princess but I will never go on NCL unless it is the only cruise line left.

[zydecocruiser]

Been on Carnival many, many times. Been on many other lines including some that no longer exist. Took first NCL cruise last month on the Sun and signed up again for next year.

 

Price for me was a dead heat.

 

Carnival has some stuff that can't be beat - 24x7 pizza. And the best pizza hands down. Late night food on NCL can take forever - of course with our group of 500+ I imagine many were ordering at the same time. :D

 

Shower on Carnival seemed to be a little larger. Balcony on NCL was better. NCL cabin had DVD player and Hot Pot.

 

As for shell fish - several times in the regular dining room various erster dishers were served. The oysters rockefeller in the regular dining room i though was great ;)

 

You can't get reuban's all the time on NCL, but when you can - boy howdy. Also Cuban sandwiches. Yum. Liked the hamburgers better on NCL and the hotdogs MUCH better on NCL. The breads are much better on NCL.

 

Carnival gets the nod in the chocolate buffet.

 

Carnival has traditional dining; NCL is eat when you want. I ate when I wanted, never had to wait for a table, and nobody had to wait for me to show up.

 

Coffee and tea stink on both.

 

Carnival has nothing to compare with the tapas that were so tasty one night I decided to make a meal out of them. They were also good enough to take a plate back to stuff in the fridge for instant late night gratification - took care of that late night food issue in a heartbeat. Yummy.

 

Carnival has passenger laundry facilities, the Sun didn't. Who cares? I don't do laundry. Sun had a bigger laundry bag for the midweek special, but said clothes wouldn't be back until Saturday night - just in time to pack? No thanks. Not sure if it really took that long.

 

Both are great in their own ways - just don't go on one expecting the other and vice versa. Huh?

 

As for credit cards, I suspect they both suck.

 

Next up for me is Princess, Carnival, NCL (unless I stick another in between).

[zydecocruiser]

As for shell fish - several times in the regular dining room various erster dishers were served. The oysters rockefeller in the regular dining room i though was great ;)

 

You can't get reuban's all the time on NCL, but when you can - boy howdy. Also Cuban sandwiches. Yum. Liked the hamburgers better on NCL and the hotdogs MUCH better on NCL. The breads are much better on NCL.

quote]

 

Ersters Rockefeller is/are great? Huh? But they only served two per order (appetizer), so order appropriately!

 

Reuban's? very possessive, I suppose... reuben sandwich... looks much mo' bettah.

[zydecocruiser]

As for shell fish - several times in the regular dining room various erster dishers were served. The oysters rockefeller in the regular dining room i though was great ;)

 

You can't get reuban's all the time on NCL, but when you can - boy howdy. Also Cuban sandwiches. Yum. Liked the hamburgers better on NCL and the hotdogs MUCH better on NCL. The breads are much better on NCL.

quote]

 

Ersters Rockefeller is/are great? Huh? But they only served two per order (appetizer), so order appropriately!

 

Reuban's? very possessive, I suppose... reuben sandwich... looks much mo' bettah.

[zydecocruiser]

So much for the board upgrades... :mad:

[caprcorn28]

You guys are scaring me. I have yet to cruise Carnival, I have Elation booked, in May, I'll give it a shot but this may be a one time thing, if it is a bad as some of you claim.

 

Don't let anyone scare you and don't set your self up for disappointment. If you go thinking that this will be your only CCL cruise cuz you're already thinking that it isn't going to be very good - then you will have a terrible time. You don't want that to happen!!! You're paying good money to go on this trip - ENJOY it!!! Make your OWN decision based on your OWN experience.

[zqvol]

If you are booking cruises based on which vanity credit card you are selecting you have way too much money to be on Carnival or NCL.

 

I bet if you take a real good look at those credit cards, unless you pay them in full every month they are costing you 3 or 4 more points in interest than a non vanity card.

 

Those cruises are getting paid for somehow. Those points you are getting are not free. Make sure that your points are not costing you double or even tripple what it would to pay for the cruise.

[MSUcruisers]

If you are booking cruises based on which vanity credit card you are selecting you have way too much money to be on Carnival or NCL.

 

I bet if you take a real good look at those credit cards, unless you pay them in full every month they are costing you 3 or 4 more points in interest than a non vanity card.

 

Those cruises are getting paid for somehow. Those points you are getting are not free. Make sure that your points are not costing you double or even tripple what it would to pay for the cruise.

 

 

We pay off our charge card monthly and avoid interest. This means we can get a free cruise every 2 years. By charging $51,000, I can get a $1,500 credit. Charging $68,000 over 2 years means a $2,000 credit.

 

We charge everything possible--most utility bills, college tuition, the newspaper, groceries, gas, clothes, restaurants, hotels, travel, etc. We are not rich, but are great bargain hunters.

[Cotton]

You guys are scaring me. I have yet to cruise Carnival, I have Elation booked, in May, I'll give it a shot but this may be a one time thing, if it is a bad as some of you claim.

 

:eek: Anybody who would let a couple of comments 'scare' them.....???

 

Think of the THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of folks who cruise Carnival every single day of the year - and are obviously happy cruisers who book repeated voyages. You'll love Carnival! Go with that attitude, and then come back to let us know just what a fabulous cruise you had.:)

[jimc_usa]

My wife and I have been on CCL and NCL and "VIVA LA DIFFERENCE"

The NCL cruise was cheaper and the ship was older, but we really liked the open seating and flexible hours in freestyle dining.

Carnival has a reputation of the "party" ships and they are. We are an older couple so at the time we preferred NCL. However in MArch we are taking our grown-up children( they have never been on a cruise) so we picked Carnival again.