Should you try NCL? (A Princess Perspective)

[Ken the cruiser]

17 minutes ago, Anastas617 said:

Yeah, I don't know. This is what I have on my reservation, so maybe they improved it to 2 or reduced it to 1 at some point. I booked a few months ago. Either way, the Plus is definitely a benefit if you will take advantage of the perks.

I know the FAS and FAS Plus I referenced said in a foot note that it was based on a 7 day cruise.

[BlerkOne]

8 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

True. The additional FAS cost is around $24 pp/day (FAS beverage and dining gratuities) + $20 pp/day (daily service charge) = $44 pp/day. If you add in the $49 pp/day for the FAS Plus, to total works out to $93 pp/day. Princess Plus is $60 pp/day, but with a lot less perks with a tangible monetary value.

With Princess, you also get bottled water, room service, unlimited internet, and more. I do like that on Princess you can get edible food without having to go to a specialty restaurant.

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

I will never cruise on any ship that has any kind of fun ride on deck. Roller coasters, go karts, water slides, all should be in a theme park... not a cruise ship!

 

I do understand that cruising has become much more family focused and so I am not saying that they shouldn't exist. Just that I wouldn't cruise on one. So I think that rules out most of the popular cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean, NCL, Disney and Carnival for me.

 

My fav lines are Princess and P&O.

 

It isn't that I don't enjoy these kinds of things. I love karting (used to race many years ago), love theme parks and big rides (fav is Universal Orlando), I ice skate, love water parks etc. Just not on a cruise holiday. I take a cruise for a different kind of holiday and don't want to mix them up.

 

Personally, I am kinda glad to see cruising being made more attractive to younger cruisers so this isn't me just being stuffy.

[JGmf]

I'm the reverse: I'm an NCL Sapphire-level loyalist who tried Princess the first time this past June and liked it enough to book another on Princess this February.

 

That said, in between, I was back on NCL last month and happy about it.  For us in the NY area, NCL is too tempting given they depart from NYC; and frankly, they are a very fine cruise line - it's a younger demo than Princess (in my limited exposure) with a more upbeat vibe, and more relaxed "free style" for dining.

 

I really liked Princess, however, b/c of the International Cafe; coffee and water included in the Plus package; good free pizza on the Lido deck; more generous comps from the casino; and a larger number of pools and pool lounging areas (including an adult pool!).  Plus, while the quality of entertainment on Princess wasn't as polished or elaborate as NCL, I did appreciate the greater variety of activities on Princess, including the lectures and more innovative cruise-director 'game shows' events.

 

It's nice to have these options.  I need to try Royal Caribbean next.

 

[Paula_MacFan]

9 hours ago, memoak said:

We had looked at Pride of America and the cost is shocking. Way more than I would ever pay

We did the math and found we spent about the same as if we'd done it on our own.  Hawaii is just expensive in general for everything.  Plus you're getting the entire time in the islands, no transit time from the west coast.  That is worth something, or at least it was to us.  I have no interest in a 2 week cruise with only 3 or 4 short port days.  We spent 11 long days on 4 islands and had a great time.  Different strokes for different folks 🙂 

[Steelers0854]

2 hours ago, JGmf said:

I need to try Royal Caribbean next.

 

I think you will like it.  Granted we have just done the one RCL cruise but IMO the specialty restaurants are better on RCL than NCL, but i think the MDR food is better on NCL.  Look into the unlimited dining package if you do RCL, you can generally catch it on sale and I believe it can be an excellent value.  Entertainment is great on the Oasis class ships (thats all we have been on), and plenty of free an open space.  Nothing like sitting in Central Park on a sea day enjoying the beautiful weather!

[BlerkOne]

17 hours ago, Oxo said:

Try any cruise line and then determine if it is for you. It is your money, your likes and dislikes.

 

^^^ This. So much is subjective. Don't pick or avoid a cruise line because of an opinion that is not yours. People can cherry pick what they like or dislike and paint a biased picture.

[karatemom2]

10 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

With Princess, you also get bottled water, room service, unlimited internet, and more. I do like that on Princess you can get edible food without having to go to a specialty restaurant.

The main dining room food is a big factor in our continued preference for Princess. Despite some of the complaints we see here, we have still found the main dining room food to continue to be very good to excellent on our cruises, as well as the service level. While NCL has some fabulous specialty restaurants, we have found the main dining room food to be very disappointing. We try to book a FAS package that gives us the option to eat in a specialty restaurant most nights of our NCL cruise which helps. But the Princess dining experience is still far superior in our estimation. 

[RalphWiggum]

20 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

DW and I really started our cruise journey with Princess and while we have tried most of the other cruise lines we have consistently found that Princess is our favorite line.  We had the opportunity to book an NCL cruise out of NY at a fantastic price and we have wanted to sail from Manhattan and go to Canada for a while so we went for it.  It’s on the newer NCL Escape (2015).  We had cruised NCL once before back in 2010 and remember it being fine.  Other than Disney, Celebrity has been our second favorite thus far to Princess.  I have to say NCL was a disappointment for the things that we like most about cursing.

 

TL;DR: They don’t cook a lot of their buffet food onboard, and their ship has so many paid restaurants there is no place to sit and relax or enjoy any of the entertainment.  It’s a hard pass for us.

 

1) Food (Free): The food was inconsistent at best.  The buffet didnt have really any variety between each day, it was a lot of the same food with a slightly different version.  The buffet layout was not great which meant a lot of crowding and it wasnt easy to get around and seating was difficult.  I did like that much like Princess the buffet was open all the time, most other lines close their buffets often, which is very frustrating especially when trying to time meals with excursions etc.  The MDR would have some really good dishes and some really not good ones.  I find both the Princess Buffet and MDR to be much much better overall.  Also, the vast majority of their food is NOT made on board in the buffet.  I’ll get into this a little more below in point 3, but this was disappointing as it definitely looked and tasted premade, where Princess makes almost everything onboard.    

 

2) Food (Paid): this has to be a separate category given the sheer number of paid restaurants on board.  We had several specialty dinings included in our cruise fare so we went to 3 of the specialty restaurants.  The best of the bunch was the Brazilian Steakhouse Moderno.  Fantastic food, unlimited, solid price.  The steakhouse was an utter disappointment and the Food Republic was not only the most overly priced dining at seas but the food wasnt good either.  Moderno may give Crown Grill a run for their money, but when you consider to cost Crown Grill wins hands down.

 

3) Food Allergies: DW cant eat gluten, dairy or egg.  Cruising has been the best way for us to travel as she generally is well taken care of and she can relax a little.  That said, NCL ended up being as bad as Carnival at handling her allergies.  Anything that wasnt made on board they wouldn’t serve her, even if it had a label that they or we could read, they refused to let us see the label and refused to serve her anything.  With the vast majority of the buffet being stuff that is premade this meant she could only eat a handful of things each day and they were the exact same day to day.  Also, on night she got sick from food served to her in the MDR and there must have been something in the sauce that was served to her with dinner.  Also NCL lacks complete creativity on dishes and desserts.  We have had such wonderful meals on Princess and Celebrity where the chefs were amazing and created dishes that were absolutely delicious.  On NCL she got a bowl of blueberry pie filling for like 3 nights in a row.  I know they cant make everyone a unique dish, but you know a day in advance, I cant imagine its that difficult since we have had it on other cruises.

 

4) Entertainment: Well the entertainment looked great, but for the majority of it (Live bands, comedian, etc) the venues are so small and uncomfortable if you didn’t get there an hour early you were never going to see anything.  We did see the main production show the Choir of Man and it was one of the best shows we have ever seen, on land or sea.  But for the other shows it was so disappointing to not be able to get in to see any of them.

 

5) The ship: this plays into point 4 above, but because they have a casino that takes up almost an entire deck, and more paid restaurants than cabins on board there are no places to sit, no lounges, no comfortable chairs, nothing.  I have never been in a position on Princess where I couldn’t find a comfortable chair somewhere to sit and read a book, play a card game or enjoy some live music.  It’s impossible to find on NCL.  The one area they have for this, the atrium, is so small that no matter what time of day you went there no seats were available and they had to bring in folding chairs, yup folding chairs, to help add additional seating for some of the planned activities there.  

 

All in all NCL was a disappointment.  In almost every way Princess is superior.  The ONLY thing that was great about NCL was the MDR process.  You could literally walk up at any time you want and wait 5 minutes or less for a table as long as you weren’t a large party.  But, that being said, we much prefer to have the same waitstaff each night, especially with DW’s allergies, and we did try and do this but they wouldn’t honor it and it was basically impossible to do.  Suffice to say NCL wont be on our list to do again, it’s just not for these Princess cruisers.  YMMV.

I was debating between last week’s Manhattan sailing of the Norwegian Escape to Canada and New England, and opted for the Canada and New England sailing on Emerald Princess that sailed a day before out of Brooklyn.  I actually agree with almost all of your points, but, as you noted, my mileage varied and I’d probably not likely sail Princess again. 
 

I agree that the food is better on Princess and I’m sure Princess pays more per passenger on food and it shows.  Service was better too (although I think Princess like all the other lines are having issues with attracting new employees as I overheard so many crew conversations (both managers scolding servers and servers talking back and inappropriate crew chatter) in the dining room and buffet).  And yes there was so much more seating available - everywhere on the ship.  Loved all the pool areas and just how uncrowded they were. We had nice weather and it was such a pleasure hanging out by the pools, none of which were remotely crowded unlike on NCL. Don’t often spend time indoors but, when I walked through the Emerald I liked the cafe-like atmosphere of decks 5/6/7 by the atrium.  
 

That said, I just couldn’t get over how limited the entertainment options were.  I only tried the first evening performance, which was Rock Opera.  The 7:30 showing was packed so I had to stand in the back, which i didn’t mind because it allowed me to I leave after the third song.  I don’t really care for that type of standard cruise show, although the singers and costumes were fine.  After that I generally watched the first evening showing of MUTS and loved that.  Even if I had seen or did not love the movie, there’s nothing like sitting on those padded benches in the evening, wrapped under a warm blanket or two and nibbling on some popcorn.  That said, I didn’t find much not do afterwards and generally turned in early.  I like NCL because there is so much going on the evenings, and it feels like your exploring an energetic city neighborhood with restaurants, shows, clubs and decent people watching.  I generally don’t ever turn in at 10 on a NCL ship.  
 

The second biggest annoyance with the Emerald Princes was tendering in Bar Harbor and Newport.  NCL was much better at this last year on the Breakaway.  NCL also uses life boats as tenders but their lifeboats are much larger (I believe 200-300 capacity) and they don’t crowd you in each one.  On Princess, it took forever to get on a tender after getting your number and you were expected to wait until your number was called.  On NCL you got a tender ticket first thing in the morning and then could grab breakfast.  I tried going early before the morning rush times or departure rush times as suggested by the cruise director, but I guess so did everyone else. 
 

I liked my Princess cruise.  I picked it over the NCL Escape even though NCL would have been $500 less, because I had already tried NCL last year on the same itinerary, and thought that even with the $500 difference, the Princess cruise was more of a deal because it’s more a premium line, like Celebrity or HAL.  I also knew this was a port intensive cruise so that most of my waking time would be spent in port.  I also love the sea and don’t mind reading a book on a deck chair so knew that there was no way I would have a bad cruise. 

Edited October 9, 2023 by RalphWiggum

[Guest ldtr]

17 hours ago, Oxo said:

The responses above were to be expected since this is the Princess CC.

Post the same question on NCL and you will get a complete reverse.

No 2 people have the same opinion!

Food is subjective.

We are Elite on Princess 55 cruises on Princess 

We are Saphire on NCL 19 cruises 

We have over 150 cruises total 

Try any cruise line and then determine if it is for you. It is your money, your likes and dislikes.

We cruise 9 to 10 times per year and each year go on Celebrity, MSC, NCL, Princess & RCI.

EACH ONE has pluses & minuses.

Only you can decide 

Happy Cruising! 

This year we will sail approximately 120 days on 7 different cruise lines, one line that is not and will not be included in future years is NCL. It is about the only cruise line we will not sail.

[Ken the cruiser]

11 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

With Princess, you also get bottled water, room service, unlimited internet, and more. I do like that on Princess you can get edible food without having to go to a specialty restaurant.

I wouldn't say NCL's MDR food is inedible, but rather less tasty than one would expect when compared to the other lines we cruise with (PCL, HAL, and X). But then I'm guessing NCL does that to create an "air of motivation" for someone to book more of their specialty restaurants, which has always been NCL's claim to fame. That's why NCL gives you 1-2 Specialty Dining dinners for free with FAS (depending on the cruise length), an additional 2 dinners free with FAS Plus, and another 2 free dinners when you make their Platinum loyalty level. They also offer very fair prices on the Specialty Dining packages.

 

But then for us being in our 70s and fully retired, it's first all about finding the target 3-5 week itinerary in a particular time frame and offered by one of the 4 cruise lines we enjoy cruising with. That's when the "booking game" starts, which usually requires a lot more advanced research. And no cruise line's "booking game" is the same. IMHO from over here in the peanut gallery, and these are only the most obvious ones that come to mind,

 

PCL's "game" is targeted towards offering less stress when booking, which older folks appreciate. They currently offer 3 different options, Cruise Only, Princess Plus, and Princess Premium, with a fully refundable deposit (in most cases) if you choose your own cabin rather than a guaranteed cabin. You can also easily book them with $100 FCDs, if you bought some in advance on a previous cruise within the past year (based on a recent rule change).

 

NCL's "game" is a little more of a "said the spider to the fly" approach where there are a variety of options, some of which are not easy to find, except for their default Free At Sea (FAS) booking package, where all you have to do is optionally pay the gratuities for the FAS Unlimited Open Bar and/or FAS Specialty Dining package, and you get either/both of those packages for "free". Mind you the FAS Unlimited Open Bar does not include bottled water, Starbuck drinks, and many other non-alcoholic beverages. But with FAS you do also get (some) Free Wi-Fi, Free Excursions, and sometimes Free AirFare at no additional charge. You just need to read the fine print to know how much "free" you get. But they do offer a very respectable 10% Military Appreciation cruise fare discount, which they just started last November and is far better than any other cruise line's military offering we cruise with, and their cruise fares are very competitively priced as well.

 

HAL's "game" definitely offers more advantages IF you book early. For example, if you have cruised with HAL before, you can get the Mariner Early Booking Bonus if you book within 90-days of the release of an itinerary. You can also get the Have It All Early Booking Bonus if you book a cruise usually more than one year in most cases from embarkation day.

 

Celebrity's new "game" is a little different and in my case a little annoying. You get penalized, usually around 20%, if you book with a refundable deposit. And just recently their new All Included package does not include daily gratuities.

 

But in most cases folks who are just starting to cruise are unaware of most of these cruise line "game strategies" as well as for the simple fact you can refare a cruise with a refundable deposit to take advantage of price drops before the final payment. It took us 5 HAL cruises before we learned that little fact, and it was only because I joined CC and discovered it in a thread on the HAL forum. I know, who knew! 🤣

Edited October 9, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[KKB]

Agree w/ some & not others.

 

Food: small edge to Princess dining room. We find NCL MDR to always be solid. 

I agree NCL specialty dining is much better than Princess.

Ocean Blue & Cagneys r our must do spots.

 

Space: the lack of an Observation Lounge on a cool weather itinerary could be a BIG problem.

We LOVE the Waterfront--but really only a warm weather perk.

 

Entertainment: I concur that space is an issue. 

I think they truly thought people would evenly disperse themselves throughout all venues, not taking popularity into account at all!

Choir of Man is one of the best shows at sea, imo.

Syd Norman's (also on Escape I believe) is my FAVORITE show at sea. Yes, we are at the nearby bar an hour early. Grab a drink & relax....as soon as even one person is in line, we get in line. For EVERY show.

But I'm fine with that as I KNOW what I have to do. We have a drink, get to know people in line or just chat together. But for first timers who don't know...frustration.

 

I would put NCL slightly below Princess, but production shows are MUCH better & Waterfront is unrivaled on any line. 

We generally find the mainstream lines more alike than different; each line or ship has things they do better (or worse) than other lines. 

 

But things can be situational. I try not to pass judgement after 1 experience.

Did MSC for 12 days in Feb. MEH...didn't love it.

DId 21 days in May...MEH STILL didn't love it.

Other than the price (and the crew, as on every cruise we have taken), there was nothing particular making me want to sail them again.

 

I will happily sail Celebrity, Princess, Carnival, RCCL, & NCL again. 

 

 

 

Edited October 9, 2023 by KKB

[BlerkOne]

39 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

NCL's "game" is a little more of a "said the spider to the fly" approach where there are a variety of options, some of which are not easy to find, except for their default Free At Sea (FAS) booking package, where all you have to do is optionally pay the gratuities for the FAS Unlimited Open Bar and/or FAS Specialty Dining package, and you get either/both of those packages for "free". Mind you the FAS Unlimited Open Bar does not include bottled water, Starbuck drinks, and many other non-alcoholic beverages. But with FAS you do also get (some) Free Wi-Fi, Free Excursions, and sometimes Free AirFare at no additional charge. You just need to read the fine print to know how much "free" you get. But they do offer a very respectable 10% Military Appreciation cruise fare discount, which they just started last November and is far better than any other cruise line's military offering we cruise with, and their cruise fares are very competitively priced as well.

 

 🤣

All cruise lines sell illusions. But to belabor a little more - the FAS is "optional", but it is still built into the price many pay. You can get a better price.

[richsea]

In our experience, NCL is a big step down from Princess, Celebrity, & Royal Caribbean in everything but entertainment, & they are the king of the nickel & dime.  We’ll only sail them with the grandkids.

[Ken the cruiser]

12 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

All cruise lines sell illusions. But to belabor a little more - the FAS is "optional", but it is still built into the price many pay. You can get a better price.

You've got my curiosity up. How do you book an NCL cruise where the FAS package is completely eliminated, to include the "free" Wi-Fi, excursions and airfare? I don't see this option anywhere when booking a cruise on the NCL website?

[RalphWiggum]

I have booked directly online and on third party sites linked to the big box member stores.  In all sites you can see a Sailaway fare for each category and that fare is generally 100$ less than the cheapest Free At Sea fare.  If you select a FAS fare, you are usually brought to another screen, and you will also see the four components of FAS and that you also will be charged for drinks package tips and tips for dining at the specialty restaurants but on that same screen you can deselect the dining package and/or the drinks package, and the tips will be deleted from the price. 
 

I don’t need airfare but I’m pretty sure that’s a separate offering than the four components of FAS (drinks, specialty restos, Wi-Fi and 50$ per excursion per cabin credit).   The Sailaway fare is just the cabin and no extras. 

Edited October 9, 2023 by RalphWiggum

[Ken the cruiser]

34 minutes ago, RalphWiggum said:

I have booked directly online and on third party sites linked to the big box member stores.  In all sites you can see a Sailaway fare for each category and that fare is generally 100$ less than the cheapest Free At Sea fare.  If you select a FAS fare, you are usually brought to another screen, and you will also see the four components of FAS and that you also will be charged for drinks package tips and tips for dining at the specialty restaurants but on that same screen you can deselect the dining package and/or the drinks package, and the tips will be deleted from the price. 
 

I don’t need airfare but I’m pretty sure that’s a separate offering than the four components of FAS (drinks, specialty restos, Wi-Fi and 50$ per excursion per cabin credit).   The Sailaway fare is just the cabin and no extras. 

Thanks! One more piece to the "booking game" puzzle found. 😉

 

I always wondered the purpose of the Sail Away offerings that are present under each meta category except for The Haven.

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

You've got my curiosity up. How do you book an NCL cruise where the FAS package is completely eliminated, to include the "free" Wi-Fi, excursions and airfare? I don't see this option anywhere when booking a cruise on the NCL website?

One way is to book Sail Away cabins which don't offer FAS.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Good to know

[Steelers0854]

4 hours ago, RalphWiggum said:

That said, I just couldn’t get over how limited the entertainment options were.

 

This is one area where Princess lags far behind the rest.  They focus on the main Theatre and small musical acts in various lounges but thats about it.  I love the dueling pianos on some other lines (NCL included) and comedy shows outside the main theatre, and Princess definitely falls short in those areas.  

3 hours ago, KKB said:

I would put NCL slightly below Princess, but production shows are MUCH better & Waterfront is unrivaled on any line. 

Completely agree.  Maybe RCL’s Central Park gives it a run for this money but for a different reason (no ocean view but I mean a real park at sea and often very peaceful, just wonderful).

 

3 hours ago, KKB said:

We LOVE the Waterfront--but really only a warm weather perk.

This was a wonderful area that we enjoyed using, and we had beautiful weather for it, the issue is its small, so when you have a sea day itcan be very difficult to find a spot.  

 

 

[KKB]

3 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

 

This is one area where Princess lags far behind the rest.  They focus on the main Theatre and small musical acts in various lounges but thats about it.  I love the dueling pianos on some other lines (NCL included) and comedy shows outside the main theatre, and Princess definitely falls short in those areas.  

Completely agree.  Maybe RCL’s Central Park gives it a run for this money but for a different reason (no ocean view but I mean a real park at sea and often very peaceful, just wonderful).

 

This was a wonderful area that we enjoyed using, and we had beautiful weather for it, the issue is its small, so when you have a sea day itcan be very difficult to find a spot.  

 

 

Princess "production" shows are the worst of mainstream lines (uh, Carnival, too)--seriously, I've seen better high school productions...

 

Central Park cannot compare, imo. Yes, a peaceful spot, but no ocean view kills the comparison.

 

Yes, even on the Getaway in August sea days could take a bit to find a spot...but I think we always managed to find SOMETHING (bar, some less comfy chairs)

Edited October 9, 2023 by KKB

[Oxo]

Again, opinions are free! Everyone has their own. It only counts for you and those who accept your opinion.

 

We think the RCI Central Park cabins are fabulous! We don't need to sit on our balcony to see the sea as we can see it all over the ship.

To sit on the balcony at night and look at the sea maybe for some. Not for us. We like to see the lights, people, foliage, entertainment and more from our Central Park cabin.

 

We cruise RCI at least 2 times a year and always select a CP balcony.

 

Nickle and diming applies to all cruise lines. What has happened to Princess recently? Princess Plus & Princess Premium. Different names used by each cruise line.

 

The cruise lines will come up with all kinds of ways to make it better for us as long as they make more money for them.

 

What was free in some venues is now only free if you buy one of the Princess PP plans. Of pay as you go.

 

It will only get worse as we have seen over the years. Chief Tables, 360, Ship tours, cut backs on perks.

 

It's your choice. Pay for what you want. Cruise on the line you want.

They are there to make a profit. We help in one way or another to help them make that profit.

 

Happy Cruising! 

 

[memoak]

15 minutes ago, Oxo said:

Again, opinions are free! Everyone has their own. It only counts for you and those who accept your opinion.

 

We think the RCI Central Park cabins are fabulous! We don't need to sit on our balcony to see the sea as we can see it all over the ship.

To sit on the balcony at night and look at the sea maybe for some. Not for us. We like to see the lights, people, foliage, entertainment and more from our Central Park cabin.

 

We cruise RCI at least 2 times a year and always select a CP balcony.

 

Nickle and diming applies to all cruise lines. What has happened to Princess recently? Princess Plus & Princess Premium. Different names used by each cruise line.

 

The cruise lines will come up with all kinds of ways to make it better for us as long as they make more money for them.

 

What was free in some venues is now only free if you buy one of the Princess PP plans. Of pay as you go.

 

It will only get worse as we have seen over the years. Chief Tables, 360, Ship tours, cut backs on perks.

 

It's your choice. Pay for what you want. Cruise on the line you want.

They are there to make a profit. We help in one way or another to help them make that profit.

 

Happy Cruising! 

 

The only casual restaurants on Princess that were free are the sit down pizza restaurant that are not in all ships. All other casual restaurants already had a fee 

[cruisinsince75]

This has been a very interesting thread.  It has made me think through all of my own sailing experiences and how that has evolved over the years.  Let me set the backdrop.

 

Our very first cruise was on the Carnival ship Mardi Gras.  My wife and I were 22 years old and had never flown, let alone been on a cruise.  I saw an advertisement for a 7 day Caribbean Cruise including RT airfare from LAX to MIA for $399.  

 

It was a red-eye flight with a day room before boarding the ship.  Our cabin was an inside stateroom with a lower berth and a folding upper berth.  Our bathroom had a toilet with a shower head directly above it, and you had to go to a separate room if you needed to use a hairdryer.  Our at sea activities included a golf ball driving contest off the back of the ship as well as skeet shooting off of the side.  There wasn't an outside pool, but there was a small one inside.  The itinerary was Nassau, San Juan, St.Thomas.  We didn't have anything else to compare it to and loved every minute of it.

 

We have had quite a few cruises since then and our tastes have completely changed over the years.  Been on a couple NCL cruises early, another Carnival, and a few RCL cruises on the smaller Vision Class ships.

 

Our favorite top 2 cruises out of 40 are vastly different from each other .  The Seabourn Legend 7 day Caribbean for our 25th anniversary.  A 10,000 ton ship with a max 212 passengers.  The other one was an 18 day TA on the Ruby Princess for our 40th anniversary with a large group of friends that we met on CC.  113,300 tons and 3000 pax.  It was a blast.

 

Two worst cruises.  Trip that I won on the NCL Southward.  3 day Mexico cruise in an inside cabin.  Too short and not the best time to discover I had claustrophobia.  The other Celebrity Infinity 7 day Caribbean cruise, balcony cabin, but 30 days post 9/11.  Everything in a bit of disarray. 

 

Favorite premium larger ship lines are Princess followed closely by HAL.  I would try Celebrity again.  

Favorite premium smaller ship line is Azamara.  Would like to try Oceania but pricing has always been a bit high,

Favorite luxury line.  For me it is Seabourn over Silversea and Regent.  It is still elegant, but less formal than Silversea and a better value IMHO than Regent.

 

       

[Oxo]

32 minutes ago, memoak said:

The only casual restaurants on Princess that were free are the sit down pizza restaurant that are not in all ships. All other casual restaurants already had a fee 

Thanks for added info on changing from Free to Charges. I never been on a ship that had a drive through. They only had Sit Down Restaurants.