Never sailed NCL

[aml3679]

We have never sailed on Norwegian before. We have done a carnival cruise and have an upcoming on a carnival on October.  We have a 10 day southern Caribbean coming up next November our first time in a suite to celebrate our retirement. My husband wants to try Norwegian. Just curious how is the food, and how is the entertainment on the board.

[YVRteacher]

Depends on the ship.  
Which ship are you considering?

[aml3679]

We do know what ship yet

[complawyer]

never sailed with carnival, but 18 sailings on ncl within the past 12 years.

 

i would consider, however, that when a cruise ship gets bad press, it's usually a carnival vessel 

 

as a practical matter, i choose my cruise (hah ha! i made a rhyme) based on price and itinerary. i'm anal doing research and i find that ncl usually gives me the best bang for my buck.

 

on most of my cruises i find the food generally good, not overwhelmingly so, however, and sometimes i forget to even check out the shows

[disneylover89]

Specialty restaurants were delicious, not a fan of their free restaurants.  Shows were good, loved the Beatles but activities were lacking if you did not go to a show. We were on the Encore which went to Alaska so there were no outdoor pool and activities to take up your time.

[Robkat]

We have over 65 cruises on all the major lines.   We've been on 5 cruises since the restart, 2 on Celebrity, 2 on NCL, and 1 on MSC, so we do get to compare cruise lines quite often.

 

We had booked onto the Norwegian Escape in February and went on expecting good service and good food, as had been the norm for us with NCL.  The service was so good, and the food was so excellent, we returned 3 weeks later to sail on her again.

We are not finicky regarding our meals, but we know the difference between merely OK meals and very good to excellent ones.  We were impressed by the quality and consistency of the two NCLs we took in Feb.

 

We also thought the entertainment was good to very good, and since all the shows were the same on our 2nd cruise within a few weeks, we found plenty of other activities to keep us entertained if we decided to skip the show.  

 

As someone's else recommended though, once you have a ship and a sailing in mind, do you own research and read lots of reviews to see if it sounds like something you would enjoy. 

[Lineaway]

Carnival gives you the basic cruise experience for a good price.  NCL is a step up but your paying for it.  For instance, Carnival will do a lunch buffet by the pool.  Its a Salad Bar, basic, with Hamburgers and Hotdogs.  NCL will add chicken patties, maybe fish and chips or some other condiment like Chili for the Hotdogs.  Salad bar will be a bit more expanded.  Still an inexpensive buffet just a bit more over what Carnival does.  Same with entertainment, and food in the main dinning room. 

 

Nothing wrong with Carnival, been on 3 and was happy with them.   Both cater to families but I thought the entertainment on NCL was alot more adult oriented.  NCL also has more gimmics, take the sales and all the perks that are "free but really aren't."  Hence they are known to nickle and dime you.  NCL was our first cruise in 97.  We decided after that to try as many as we could then we could decide which one we liked the best.  Been on 8 different lines.   You should try NCL at least once.  FWIW, Celebrity is our favorite.  Fits us better.  Just trying to use up our cancelled cruise credits on NCL now.  

[CaptainBazz]

Sailed RCI...Carnival...NCL...and NCL is our favourite...great food and entertainment...fabulous ships.

 

Just sailed the RCI Wonder and much preferred NCL ships.

 

But then again everyone has their preferences otherwise there wouldn't be so many cruise lines and ships.

 

Give NCL a try...you never know.

[aml3679]

We will give Norwegian a try, thanks

[bluebelt]

I have been on carnival, RCCL, NCL, and one Princess.  We gravitate back and forth between NCL and RCCL.  We were not impressed with the Carnival cruise we went on after cruising for so long with NCL and RCCL.  Our favorite ship overall was the NCL Escape.  Princess was my first cruise 18+ years ago (time flies) and I had a good time and would cruise them again.  You can’t go wrong with any of the major lines.  You will find what you like about each of them and will make future decisions from there.

[Purple_Pig]

Depends on the ship and your tolerance for just ok food.

 

My perspective:  I will only book Carnival if the price, date and itinerary are the best option.  They are not my first choice by any means.  After my first NCL cruise they will be my first choice especially if I can book in the Haven, knocking out Princess from my top spot.

 

I've done 3 or 4 Carnival and just got off my first NCL.  Buffet was equal from what I could see.

 

NCL easily won on specialty.

 

Free restaurants were on a ship by ship basis.  

Carnival wins on soft serve ice cream.  No contest.  NCL's ice cream was dismal and the machine was often out of service.  Yes, soft serve ice cream is a priority.

NCL wins on service across the board.  Hands down, no contest.

 

NCL wins on suite perks. No contest.

 

NCL had the best shower of any cruise ship I've ever been on.

 

Carnival wins for Alchemy bar.  The NCL bars did not have any great personalities or themes.

 

Carnival wins on the comedy club.

 

I would not sail NCL without specialty dining because I'm not eating in their main dining room. I can tolerate Carnival's if I have to.  This could have been a bad ship for main dining - I only gave it one chance at lunch and said nope, never ever again.

[DrSea]

On 8/4/2022 at 10:50 AM, aml3679 said:

We have never sailed on Norwegian before. We have done a carnival cruise and have an upcoming on a carnival on October.  We have a 10 day southern Caribbean coming up next November our first time in a suite to celebrate our retirement. My husband wants to try Norwegian. Just curious how is the food, and how is the entertainment on the board.

Food is very subjective. 

 

I find that CCL and NCL food to be within the same ball park and not significantly different. I prefer NCL over CCL for food bc they have more ethnic options. The indian food selection on NCL is probably the best Indian food at sea imho. Pretty authentic and very delicious. CCL has more options/slightly better burgers, pizza, tacos, and Americana. Not my favorite but it's ok. Again, all subjective and they are more similar than different. 

[DrSea]

13 minutes ago, Purple_Pig said:

Depends on the ship and your tolerance for just ok food.

 

My perspective:  I will only book Carnival if the price, date and itinerary are the best option.  They are not my first choice by any means.  After my first NCL cruise they will be my first choice especially if I can book in the Haven, knocking out Princess from my top spot.

 

I've done 3 or 4 Carnival and just got off my first NCL.  Buffet was equal from what I could see.

 

NCL easily won on specialty.

 

Free restaurants were on a ship by ship basis.  

Carnival wins on soft serve ice cream.  No contest.  NCL's ice cream was dismal and the machine was often out of service.  Yes, soft serve ice cream is a priority.

NCL wins on service across the board.  Hands down, no contest.

 

NCL wins on suite perks. No contest.

 

NCL had the best shower of any cruise ship I've ever been on.

 

Carnival wins for Alchemy bar.  The NCL bars did not have any great personalities or themes.

 

Carnival wins on the comedy club.

 

I would not sail NCL without specialty dining because I'm not eating in their main dining room. I can tolerate Carnival's if I have to.  This could have been a bad ship for main dining - I only gave it one chance at lunch and said nope, never ever again.

I prefer the hand scooped ice cream on NCL bc you have more flavors than vanilla and chocolate. And the soft serve is not always completely frozen by the afternoon, which is the peak of when I want ice cream. 

 

NCL buffet has more options than CCL. 

[Purple_Pig]

1 minute ago, DrSea said:

I prefer the hand scooped ice cream on NCL bc you have more flavors than vanilla and chocolate. And the soft serve is not always completely frozen by the afternoon, which is the peak of when I want ice cream. 

 

NCL buffet has more options than CCL. 

But the hand scooped is still too soft for regular ice cream.

 

Carnival's soft serve has a unique flavor and is available 24 HOURS A DAY.  I never knew I needed that in my life.

 

Soft serve availability was a priority for all future bookings once we found it on Carnival, lol.  *only kind of kidding*

[Purple_Pig]

7 minutes ago, DrSea said:

Food is very subjective. 

 

I find that CCL and NCL food to be within the same ball park and not significantly different. I prefer NCL over CCL for food bc they have more ethnic options. The indian food selection on NCL is probably the best Indian food at sea imho. Pretty authentic and very delicious. CCL has more options/slightly better burgers, pizza, tacos, and Americana. Not my favorite but it's ok. Again, all subjective and they are more similar than different. 

 

I never found Indian options - probably because we skipped the main dining room on NCL.

 

On Carnival's Dream they have a dedicated Indian buffet - small and easy to overlook on the aft deck - but it was so good.

[DrSea]

Just now, Purple_Pig said:

But the hand scooped is still too soft for regular ice cream.

 

Carnival's soft serve has a unique flavor and is available 24 HOURS A DAY.  I never knew I needed that in my life.

 

Soft serve availability was a priority for all future bookings once we found it on Carnival, lol.  *only kind of kidding*

too soft for regular ice cream? I don't understand?

 

Haha i am glad you like soft serve and found something that you like. I just like flavors other than vanilla and chocolate. Like strawberry, mint chocolate chip, cookie dough, etc. Plus NCL has toppings like caramel and chocolate sauce IIRC. 

[DrSea]

1 minute ago, Purple_Pig said:

 

I never found Indian options - probably because we skipped the main dining room on NCL.

 

On Carnival's Dream they have a dedicated Indian buffet - small and easy to overlook on the aft deck - but it was so good.

There is daily rotating options for Indian food in the buffet at NCL. It's usually 1-2 different types of curries though. It's fleet wide and not limited to one or 2 ships. 

 

The beef curry is so delicious. My favorite by far. 

[Purple_Pig]

3 minutes ago, DrSea said:

too soft for regular ice cream? I don't understand?

 

Haha i am glad you like soft serve and found something that you like. I just like flavors other than vanilla and chocolate. Like strawberry, mint chocolate chip, cookie dough, etc. Plus NCL has toppings like caramel and chocolate sauce IIRC. 

 

We had it twice and both times it was partially melted - not fully frozen.  

[DrSea]

Just now, Purple_Pig said:

 

We had it twice and both times it was partially melted - not fully frozen.  

Oh. It happens. Just ask them for some that isn't melted. They complied without any hesitations to my request. 

 

Another option is to use it for root bear floats.

[DrSea]

1 hour ago, DrSea said:

Food is very subjective. 

 

I find that CCL and NCL food to be within the same ball park and not significantly different. I prefer NCL over CCL for food bc they have more ethnic options. The indian food selection on NCL is probably the best Indian food at sea imho. Pretty authentic and very delicious. CCL has more options/slightly better burgers, pizza, tacos, and Americana. Not my favorite but it's ok. Again, all subjective and they are more similar than different. 

I have to retract this statement. NCL/RCL food is better than CCL. 

 

What happened was that CCL has removed the fillet mignon from the brunch menu on sea days for the foreseeable future. It was removed in March. I thought it was just my cruise but I just found out that it is fleet wide. That one cut of steak included in the fare was the saving grace for CCL's food and kept me full on sea days. It's what I looked forward to as I would literally eat 10 of those for breakfast and lunch per sea day. If you're not a big red meat eater, then it doesn't affect you. But for me, it makes a huge difference.