Most controversial cruise opinion??

[Sailing12Away]

8 hours ago, danny6514 said:

That NCL is quite a huge gap away from being a premium cruise line. Don't get me wrong, I love NCL and cruise with them, but things like dining, entertainment, I find pales in comparison to even RCL, whose not even trying to be premium. RCL's specialty dining gives me the wow factor, from the concepts to the presentation. The shows are over the top like the water show and the ice skating shows. Both of which I feel NCL lacks. That being said, I cruise with NCL for the thermal suite and the overall feeling of not being bounded by a schedule, and absolutely love them for that. 

The RCC experience varies GREATLY based on the ship you're on. Whereas with NCL, it doesn't. All those fancy shows you mentioned are only on their mega huge ships. We sailed on the Jewel of the Seas last fall and there was nothing. We were bored out of our minds with only trivia to entertain us each night.

 

Even on the smaller NCL jewel class ships there's some big shows to catch and things beyond trivia in the atrium to pass the time. And not all of us like foo-foo food. I honestly asked for kids mac & cheese our last night on RCC because the main dining room didn't have many things that peaked my interest or food preferences.

 

Chefs table on RCC was an experience...I'll give them that. I think NCL used to offer something similar back in the day but did away with it. Having said that... our Chef's table dinner on RCC took over 4 hours. So no something we would do more than one time. And even then, I had to get them to customize the menu for me since it was too foo-foo for my tastes anyway, and the concierge convinced us to book anyway promising me they would alter my meals (they did). 

 

Not counting these newest Prima & Viva ships coming out, I don't think NCL has ever once tried to claim themselves as being premium. They have other subsidiaries for that...

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 hours ago, hernando52 said:

The second is pizza....NCL has gotten a little better over the years, but by and large, their pizza is just terrible!

I tend to agree.  I've never had a piece of pizza on a cruise ship that was "good."  I doubt they have the proper kind of oven to make a good pizza.

[graphicguy]

15 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I tend to agree.  I've never had a piece of pizza on a cruise ship that was "good."  I doubt they have the proper kind of oven to make a good pizza.

Totally agree.  Pizza, on any cruise ship, on any cruise line, is at best a step down from DiGiorno frozen pizzas you can get at any grocery store.  They are set up to make pizzas in quantity, not quality.

[BermudaBound2014]

18 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I tend to agree.  I've never had a piece of pizza on a cruise ship that was "good."  I doubt they have the proper kind of oven to make a good pizza.

 

MSC has really good pizza and a brick oven to boot. It's an Italian line gotta expect they do good pizza. 

[complawyer]

i agree, but then i dont ever book a cruise for the quality of their pizza. as a matter of fact, i dont recall eating a piece of pizza on any of my last 4 cruises.

 

the upside,however, is if youre traveling with kids, they will always be happy with a slice of "za"

[cruiseny4life]

3 minutes ago, complawyer said:

i agree, but then i dont ever book a cruise for the quality of their pizza. as a matter of fact, i dont recall eating a piece of pizza on any of my last 4 cruises.

 

the upside,however, is if youre traveling with kids, they will always be happy with a slice of "za"

Or with a drunkie drunk that needs to ward off that hangover with some yummy pizza! 

[The Shrike]

Regarding pizza, can anyone speak to the quality of the ones from La Cucina?  I've been tempted to try one on occasion, but never have.

[hernando52]

Hahaha...I usually don't go for the pizza, but on one cruise I had had an emergency root canal the day before the cruise, and during the procedure I ripped a jaw muscle.  I didn't know what the problem was until after embarkation, because I could still open my mouth.  It got worse after that, and could only open my mouth a sliver.  That entire cruise I lived on soup, coffee, alcohol, and I could suck the cheese topping off of the pizza.  It remains the only cruise I have been on that I lost weight.

[Travelling2Some]

4 hours ago, hernando52 said:

. . . The Central Park concept on Oasis of the Seas was just fabulous for us.  We could just go sit with a glass of wine and barely see a soul.  The second is pizza....NCL has gotten a little better over the years, but by and large, their pizza is just terrible!

RCI's Oasis Class ships were our favorite for years largely because, like you, we enjoyed the quiet atmosphere of Central Park, birdsong, smell of greenery, piped in low key music and the pianist and twinkling lighting in the evening.  However, in May we sailed Oasis out of NYC in a Central Park balcony and the lovely atmosphere was absolutely shattered this time because they have moved to the band on the pool deck to the bridge that hangs directly over Central Park.  We could not enjoy our balcony much at all because of the (horrible BTW) music and screaming D.J. up there.  We were on the lowest deck possible in Central Park and about half way down from the ruckus.  It was bad enough for us to say "never again" to our former favorite! 

 

As for pizza, I have never tried the pizza on any ship (or in other areas of the US - except Chicago).  I'm a bit of a NYC "pizza snob" and can tell it sucks just by looking at it.  For the record, though, I also found the pizza in Rome disappointing  but the pizza in Naples is first rate.  When our kids were young and we would be at Disney I can remember them wanting pizza and I would discourage them from ordering it.  They would insist that they love pizza and I would say, trust me you don't want this pizza, lol.  Whenever we have been away for awhile the first thing we do after we set our suitcases down at home is order pizza.

[hernando52]

2 minutes ago, Travelling2Some said:

RCI's Oasis Class ships were our favorite for years largely because, like you, we enjoyed the quiet atmosphere of Central Park, birdsong, smell of greenery, piped in low key music and the pianist and twinkling lighting in the evening.  However, in May we sailed Oasis out of NYC in a Central Park balcony and the lovely atmosphere was absolutely shattered this time because they have moved to the band on the pool deck to the bridge that hangs directly over Central Park.  We could not enjoy our balcony much at all because of the (horrible BTW) music and screaming D.J. up there.  We were on the lowest deck possible in Central Park and about half way down from the ruckus.  It was bad enough for us to say "never again" to our former favorite! 

 

As for pizza, I have never tried the pizza on any ship (or in other areas of the US - except Chicago).  I'm a bit of a NYC "pizza snob" and can tell it sucks just by looking at it.  For the record, though, I also found the pizza in Rome disappointing  but the pizza in Naples is first rate.  When our kids were young and we would be at Disney I can remember them wanting pizza and I would discourage them from ordering it.  They would insist that they love pizza and I would say, trust me you don't want this pizza, lol.  Whenever we have been away for awhile the first thing we do after we set our suitcases down at home is order pizza.

OMG...thank you for that update on the Oasis class Central Park....Good Lord how could they think this would be a good idea.  Not everyone wants the craziness of the 5th deck (kids place) or the top with all of the games...it was such a quiet refuge in the evening.  People would stroll though and stop by the piano....we saw several couples get engaged in the cozy nooks and crannies...

 

The pizza we had in Naples was the best we have ever eaten, though true NY pizza is right up there.  We too miss our NY style pizza (Arthur Avenue). The pizza in EPCOT at one of the Italy restaurants was good but not great...but we almost fell on the floor with the price (this was a few years back & it was over $50 for a Margherita pizza with buffalo mozz. back then).  Their cafeteria pizza is on par with NCL's.  I don't think I have ever had real Chicago pizza so I can't comment on that, but I'll bet there are opinions out there!!

[Travelling2Some]

I have a little habit that I always enjoy on Royal's ships.  I call it my "sea day museum crawl".  I get a glass of wine and start at the top of each stairwell and just walk down enjoying the interesting art installations.  Then I hide rubber ducks because, apparently, I have an "empty life"?  Jeez, what was THAT about???

[Sue Do-Over]

On 8/19/2022 at 1:43 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Does he play any of those stupid Craps bets?

Neither of us plays the Hop bets, or Fire bets, etc. 

We like a $5 or $10 table... and we like to play alone so it's a fast game.  When the casino is quiet, supervisors are more likely to reduce the minimum... they've got 2 dealers standing there alone otherwise. 

We both play $2 C&E on the come out roll, usually with a field bet.  Love a Yo-Baby-Yo!

He tends to play the field bet pretty regularly, and plays the inside (5,6,8,9), bumping up to 2x on the place bets, and then holds them steady.

I play the come bet more, and I like the outside (4,5,9,10).   I also like the 10 hard-way, two ways.  (one for me, one for crew).   "Big and hard, baby, big and hard!"  With the come bets, I end up with more on the table by the time I add odds.

It's amazing how fast the chips stack up and then evaporate!

 

[mearsfansinboise]

2 hours ago, The Shrike said:

Regarding pizza, can anyone speak to the quality of the ones from La Cucina?  I've been tempted to try one on occasion, but never have.

 

I am not a fan of La Cucina ... however, when my husband and I sail together, that is one of the specialty restaurants that we do (his choice, not mine) and we always get the Meat Lovers pizza.  He eats some at dinner and then we take the rest to the room for later; it looks good - and it is one of his favorite things to eat onboard.

[PATRLR]

15 hours ago, danny6514 said:

That NCL is quite a huge gap away from being a premium cruise line. 

I think NCL would agree here and acknowledge that is their intention.
 

6 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

I don't think NCL has ever once tried to claim themselves as being premium. They have other subsidiaries for that...

Agreed.
 

4 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I tend to agree.  I've never had a piece of pizza on a cruise ship that was "good."  I doubt they have the proper kind of oven to make a good pizza.

Some people just want their pizza to be edible. 😉

[danny6514]

15 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Some just want their food to taste good.

 

7 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

This is helpful for me. I've always felt that RCL is more about that "ooh" and "ahh" factor. That's not something I enjoy. I know there are plenty millions of people out there that do, and that's great - for them. 

 

If I hear something is "over the top," then I'm more likely to stay away. I appreciate more subdued experiences, which is probably why I enjoy NCL more than you do. I will agree - the thermal suite is freaking amazing! I've never really had time in my life where I could just lay out and relax. The thermal suite lets me do that. 

 

So, thank you! 

I just want some great tasting food! I don't care about the presentation or concept. This is why my husband and I will never be great chefs - we just don't care about the presentation. Our food may look sloppy as hell on the plate, but dang it's yum yum in my tum tum! 

 

7 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

The RCC experience varies GREATLY based on the ship you're on. Whereas with NCL, it doesn't. All those fancy shows you mentioned are only on their mega huge ships. We sailed on the Jewel of the Seas last fall and there was nothing. We were bored out of our minds with only trivia to entertain us each night.

 

Even on the smaller NCL jewel class ships there's some big shows to catch and things beyond trivia in the atrium to pass the time. And not all of us like foo-foo food. I honestly asked for kids mac & cheese our last night on RCC because the main dining room didn't have many things that peaked my interest or food preferences.

 

Chefs table on RCC was an experience...I'll give them that. I think NCL used to offer something similar back in the day but did away with it. Having said that... our Chef's table dinner on RCC took over 4 hours. So no something we would do more than one time. And even then, I had to get them to customize the menu for me since it was too foo-foo for my tastes anyway, and the concierge convinced us to book anyway promising me they would alter my meals (they did). 

 

Not counting these newest Prima & Viva ships coming out, I don't think NCL has ever once tried to claim themselves as being premium. They have other subsidiaries for that...

 

36 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

I think NCL would agree here and acknowledge that is their intention.
 

Agreed.
 

Some people just want their pizza to be edible. 😉

 

Oh don't get me wrong, I simply posted here because it was controversial, not that NCL is bad or anything, if I was to pick between the 2 cruise lines, I would still go with NCL as of now. All cruise lines have their strengths and weaknesses, but if one wants to place themself above others, then it would make sense they would need to do better than others.

 

I believe in their latest call, they did quote on quote call their newest ships "upper-level premium" and "a contemporary category vessel that if I blindfolded you and dropped you in you’d be hard-pressed to know if you were on an Oceania upper-premium ship or on a Regent ultra-luxury ship." The pricing is reflecting their intention to place the Prima and later ships well in the premium category. I did mock bookings of Celebrity Beyond and NCL Prima for a similar Caribbean cruise and NCL came out to be over 300 USD more expensive. (balcony, free drinks, what not, etc)

 

I'm definitely the type to go for value normally, I don't care for presentation as long as it tastes good, and that's also why I don't take premium cruise lines or go to Michelin star restaurants. If NCL wants to tailor the company towards that direction, I was simply stating a point that they would need to do a bit more than just "tasting good". Again, as a mainstream cruise line, there's no argument that NCL is very competitive and does many things right, but if they want to enter the premium market, they still have some work to do.

Edited August 22, 2022 by danny6514

[Tatka]

• I cannot say everyone hates it, but I see people surprised when I say

 

That I exercise at 6 AM.

That I work from time to time.

That I love reading internet.

We cruise a lot so we cannot put our life on hold during our cruises.

I never eat deserts in dining room (just don't have enough space)

 

• What I do not like that other people do?

 

I do not like Bingo,

I do not participate in games.

I do not take ships excursions in many ports. 

[Tatka]

4 hours ago, hernando52 said:

Hahaha...I usually don't go for the pizza, but on one cruise I had had an emergency root canal the day before the cruise, and during the procedure I ripped a jaw muscle.  I didn't know what the problem was until after embarkation, because I could still open my mouth.  It got worse after that, and could only open my mouth a sliver.  That entire cruise I lived on soup, coffee, alcohol, and I could suck the cheese topping off of the pizza.  It remains the only cruise I have been on that I lost weight.

 

We do not normally eat pizza, but on some cruises we eat toppings from it. 🙂

[Travelling2Some]

33 minutes ago, danny6514 said:

Oh don't get me wrong, I simply posted here because it was controversial, not that NCL is bad or anything, if I was to pick between the 2 cruise lines, I would still go with NCL as of now. All cruise lines have their strengths and weaknesses, but if one wants to place themself above others, then it would make sense they would need to do better than others.

 

I believe in their latest call, they did quote on quote call their newest ships "upper-level premium" and "a contemporary category vessel that if I blindfolded you and dropped you in you’d be hard-pressed to know if you were on an Oceania upper-premium ship or on a Regent ultra-luxury ship." The pricing is reflecting their intention to place the Prima and later ships well in the premium category. I did mock bookings of Celebrity Beyond and NCL Prima for a similar Caribbean cruise and NCL came out to be over 300 USD more expensive. (balcony, free drinks, what not, etc)

 

I'm definitely the type to go for value normally, I don't care for presentation as long as it tastes good, and that's also why I don't take premium cruise lines or go to Michelin star restaurants. If NCL wants to tailor the company towards that direction, I was simply stating a point that they would need to do a bit more than just "tasting good". Again, as a mainstream cruise line, there's no argument that NCL is very competitive and does many things right, but if they want to enter the premium market, they still have some work to do.

Agreed and very well said.  I hope NCL will remain mainstream as we are interested in traveling to see places of interest and place only minimal value on luxury.  The Prima pricing did seem over the top but we were surprised to see that we could book Viva at a reasonable price in January 2024.

[Tatka]

7 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

The RCC experience varies GREATLY based on the ship you're on. Whereas with NCL, it doesn't. All those fancy shows you mentioned are only on their mega huge ships. We sailed on the Jewel of the Seas last fall and there was nothing. We were bored out of our minds with only trivia to entertain us each night.

 

Even on the smaller NCL jewel class ships there's some big shows to catch and things beyond trivia in the atrium to pass the time. And not all of us like foo-foo food. I honestly asked for kids mac & cheese our last night on RCC because the main dining room didn't have many things that peaked my interest or food preferences.

 

 

Actually we watched production shows on every class of RCI ships, Not necessarily Broadway show, but shows. On Enchantment or Grandeur (the smallest ships of RCI) in Atrium (Centrum there) there was always either life music or dance class or something

[graphicguy]

6 hours ago, The Shrike said:

Regarding pizza, can anyone speak to the quality of the ones from La Cucina?  I've been tempted to try one on occasion, but never have.

They’re actually quite good.  

[rj59]

I love to experience different cruise lines and try to find the best in each one. So this summer I've gone to Alaska on Carnival, Princess, and Celebrity, and I've written a serious post praising aspects of Carnival food. That's not popular for those loyal to certain lines and a tendency to find the negative in a ship or line or passengers instead of the positive. For me it's all about being at sea, not faux luxury or spending a lot of money to enhance one's status. That's why I also rise at 5 usually on cruises, both to enjoy the peace and quiet of a ship without noise and passengers and the sell!sell!sell! mentality, and because sunrises are just as spectacular as sunsets on cruises. There's also the excitement of sailing into a port in the early morning, if getting a wifi signal, of sailing under the Golden Gate or Lion's Gate bridges, or of sailing into a spectacular fjord in Alaska or the amazing Stockholm Archipelago, brilliant and beautiful at 5 am. 

[jsn55]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

They’re actually quite good.  

Good to hear.  I've never met a pizza I didn't love.  When you grow up in northern Minnesota and your homemade pizza has Campbell's Tomato Soup as the sauce, you appreciate almost all pizza for the rest of your life.  My idea of gourmet heaven is a big salad and pizza.  My NYC-born husband is scandalized because I like garlic-chicken-broccoli pizza with white sauce (which I first tasted on Long Island) ... but he bravely shares a table with me. 

[Sailing12Away]

19 hours ago, The Shrike said:

Regarding pizza, can anyone speak to the quality of the ones from La Cucina?  I've been tempted to try one on occasion, but never have.

As others have said, it's pretty decent. I usually order the pesto gnocchi and a pizza for my meal there and have leftovers to share with my table mates or bring back to the room.

 

19 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

 I'm a bit of a NYC "pizza snob" and can tell it sucks just by looking at it.  For the record, though, I also found the pizza in Rome disappointing  but the pizza in Naples is first rate.  

Same here... our 'pizza' in Rome was bare edible. When you picked up the triangle the tip fell straight down and everything fell off the top. First pizza I had to knife & fork that didn't have mountains of toppings on it (there was just cheese... so why could the crust not even support cheese?).

 

Naples... OMG that mozzarella cheese platter we had as an appetizer. It was fresh made cheese like 5 ways (smoked, burrata, etc) and we still talk about it to this day.

 

15 hours ago, Tatka said:

 

Actually we watched production shows on every class of RCI ships, Not necessarily Broadway show, but shows. On Enchantment or Grandeur (the smallest ships of RCI) in Atrium (Centrum there) there was always either life music or dance class or something

Sorry, but there's a big difference between seeing a performance and seeing a lounge singer with a piano in an atrium. Our sailing was shortly after the restart so I'm sure that had something to do with it... but beyond trivia every night there was nothing. They tried to do the perfect couple game show and had one contestant that dropped out midway through the game it was so bad. The other couple 'won' by default as no one else was willing to even try.

[BamaCruiser39]

NCL still is (and has been) my preferred cruise line, but they are simply no longer worth the hefty premium over other similar lines (RCCL/Celebrity) given their current product - even after CAS comps. 

[Tatka]

2 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

Sorry, but there's a big difference between seeing a performance and seeing a lounge singer with a piano in an atrium. Our sailing was shortly after the restart so I'm sure that had something to do with it... but beyond trivia every night there was nothing. They tried to do the perfect couple game show and had one contestant that dropped out midway through the game it was so bad. The other couple 'won' by default as no one else was willing to even try.

 

I am talking about lounge singers with both companies. I sailed 8 out of 10 times with NCL on Jewel and Star class ships. I have not noticed a difference in quality of entertainers with RCI. They vary on both ships.

 

 Also both have performers in theater. Production shows with dancers and singers, individual performers (pianist, singers, ventriloquist, magician).

 

Maybe problems on your sailings were connected to pandemics although in our experience cruises on RCI & Celebrity last and this year (7 in total) were full of entertainment.