Norwegian Newbie! Comparisons, Please

[smellywax]

As someone who worked for Carnival, I can say I am currently on my first NCL cruise and the food and service are a lot better than my most recent Carnival cruises. Carnival has cut back on staff so much that waiters run around like chickens with their head cut off and food sits waiting to be served and cold. I was pleasantly surprised at the choices of food options on board NCL. It’s nice to have something other than pizza available 24hrs. The specialty restaurants are better as well. Lots of kids on this sailing but I don’t see them running everywhere unsupervised. My favorite line to sail is Celebrity but I usually use them for transatlantics or non Caribbean itineraries. I like Princess in Alaska. Hope this helps.

[smellywax]

I do want to add the one thing I prefer carnival has is the adult only sun deck that there is no charge for. NCL charges $249 for theirs and I did not think it was worth it unless you have the drink package and want faster bar service.

[mjkacmom]

7 hours ago, smellywax said:

I do want to add the one thing I prefer carnival has is the adult only sun deck that there is no charge for. NCL charges $249 for theirs and I did not think it was worth it unless you have the drink package and want faster bar service.

Some NCL ships have spice H2O, a free adult only sun deck.

[Liljo22]

9 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

When did they start charging for the Northstar and Ifly?

I don't know when but both have paid and limited free spots.  Northstar is free while in port but its just up and down.  Ifly will open up free spots the night before if the next day isn't selling well but its a shorter experience.  Just like most of their pricing, Royal uses demand pricing for both of these experiences.  Northstar is $20-$40 while Ifly is between $30-$50.  

[happy cruzer]

NCL has a variety of specialty dining that has an charge.  I think many see that is one of the extra charges.  Yet, they still offer the MDRs, the buffet, and the Local (close to 24 hrs.) included which is more that many other lines.

 

I try to focus on what I like vs. what is offered that is an extra charge.  Many get upset about a charge for something that they would never use :).  Some even get upset looking at a crowded pool or hot tub which they never use anyway.   As long as I can get the experience that I like at a good value (whether paid in the fair or extra) then the cruise is a match for me.

[hallux]

1 hour ago, happy cruzer said:

NCL has a variety of specialty dining that has an charge

So do other lines, though maybe not to the extent that NCL does.

[cruiser2015]

1 hour ago, Liljo22 said:

I don't know when but both have paid and limited free spots.  Northstar is free while in port but its just up and down.  Ifly will open up free spots the night before if the next day isn't selling well but its a shorter experience.  Just like most of their pricing, Royal uses demand pricing for both of these experiences.  Northstar is $20-$40 while Ifly is between $30-$50.  

Nasty business.

When we sailed here a few years ago, these attractions were all 100% free.

[Liljo22]

1 hour ago, happy cruzer said:

NCL has a variety of specialty dining that has an charge.  I think many see that is one of the extra charges.  Yet, they still offer the MDRs, the buffet, and the Local (close to 24 hrs.) included which is more that many other lines.

 

I try to focus on what I like vs. what is offered that is an extra charge.  Many get upset about a charge for something that they would never use :).  Some even get upset looking at a crowded pool or hot tub which they never use anyway.   As long as I can get the experience that I like at a good value (whether paid in the fair or extra) then the cruise is a match for me.

I don't see specialty dining as an upcharge since most cruise lines have specialty dining.  Even Disney has it.  

 

I also don't care about the extra charges since you can avoid paying extra if you choose to.  I would be upset if there you were charged a base fee and then everything was extra.  No free dining or entertainment.  

[hallux]

8 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

Nasty business.

Have you seen what Royal does with their 'surge pricing' scheme?  "Excursions" on Coco Cay can be priced different for different ships, even if they're there on the SAME DAY!  Their per-day drink package cost is different depending on the ship and itinerary.

 

People complain about NCL's "nickel and dime" tactics, I'd just LOVE to hear what they say about Royal's pricing for things.

[firstimer2009]

On 10/31/2023 at 10:16 AM, schmoopie17 said:

Whenever this question comes up (and it comes up a lot), I always have two responses:

 

Your deposit on NCL is fully refundable up until final payment. That's a huge advantage.

 

If you or your spouse are veteran's NCL offers a 10% discount off the cabin fare.

I lost $500 on a deposit with RC because I did not know this.  And nowhere was it listed.  I will never sail with them. 

[cruiser2015]

18 minutes ago, hallux said:

Have you seen what Royal does with their 'surge pricing' scheme?  "Excursions" on Coco Cay can be priced different for different ships, even if they're there on the SAME DAY!  Their per-day drink package cost is different depending on the ship and itinerary.

 

People complain about NCL's "nickel and dime" tactics, I'd just LOVE to hear what they say about Royal's pricing for things.

Wow!

Good thing you don't need to call an Uber.

🤯

[D_And_K_gocruising]

43 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

Wow!

Good thing you don't need to call an Uber.

🤯

Apples and oranges.  I was looking at pricing a royal cruise and got so frustrated trying to figure out how much the extra stuff would be, I just gave up.   Drinks packages between 59-109 per day.. Ok.. Fine, what are the prices for this cruise?   Cant find out til you give a deposit.  Want that deposit to be refundable?   Pay an extra $250 or whatever it was.. At least on an Uber if it's right at the end of a big concert or something, I'm expecting to pay more.  On a cruise I'm trying to plan 12 months from now, shouldnt have to wonder how much stuff is going to be.  Much less what ELSE am I not knowing.. At least NCL pretty much straight up front on their pricing. Take it or leave it, there it is.. 

[cruiser2015]

11 minutes ago, D_And_K_gocruising said:

Apples and oranges.  I was looking at pricing a royal cruise and got so frustrated trying to figure out how much the extra stuff would be, I just gave up.   Drinks packages between 59-109 per day.. Ok.. Fine, what are the prices for this cruise?   Cant find out til you give a deposit.  Want that deposit to be refundable?   Pay an extra $250 or whatever it was.. At least on an Uber if it's right at the end of a big concert or something, I'm expecting to pay more.  On a cruise I'm trying to plan 12 months from now, shouldnt have to wonder how much stuff is going to be.  Much less what ELSE am I not knowing.. At least NCL pretty much straight up front on their pricing. Take it or leave it, there it is.. 

Gee whiz, some of you folks on here are SO serious.

I was only making a small joke in reference to "demand pricing".

It's a phrase that frequently comes up with ride services.

I was making no comments on NCL vs. RCCL pricing methods.

[D_And_K_gocruising]

2 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

Gee whiz, some of you folks on here are SO serious.

I was only making a small joke in reference to "demand pricing".

It's a phrase that frequently comes up with ride services.

I was making no comments on NCL vs. RCCL pricing methods.

And I was expressing my frustration with RCI seeming to hide their real pricing.. Seems simple enough.. 

[cruiser2015]

1 minute ago, D_And_K_gocruising said:

And I was expressing my frustration with RCI seeming to hide their real pricing.. Seems simple enough.. 

That's quite fine. Your complaint against RCCL is totally valid.

I wrote back because you opened with "apples and oranges" which is a criticism of my writing.

I did not think that was warranted when I was simply making what was supposed to be a whimsical remark - no comparison of anything intended.

[hallux]

1 hour ago, cruiser2015 said:

Wow!

Good thing you don't need to call an Uber.

🤯

Uber's surge pricing is up-front, and I've dealt with it for a cruise (and will again in January).  Royal HIDES their pricing - you don't know what the excursion prices will be until after you've booked (ok, same with NCL's) but you don't know what the drink package cost will be either.

 

There's a YouTube video about that pricing structure for visits to Coco Cay.

[cruiser2015]

5 minutes ago, hallux said:

Uber's surge pricing is up-front, and I've dealt with it for a cruise (and will again in January).  Royal HIDES their pricing - you don't know what the excursion prices will be until after you've booked (ok, same with NCL's) but you don't know what the drink package cost will be either.

 

There's a YouTube video about that pricing structure for visits to Coco Cay.

It was a joke hallux...a bloody stupid joke!!

[D_And_K_gocruising]

7 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

It was a joke hallux...a bloody stupid joke!!

something we can agree on.. 😕

 

[Russiamomm]

I’ve never done Celebrity, but would love to try it someday.  Did Princess many years ago for Alaska, but I don’t think I remember enough to compare.  Did a few Carnivals and RCL when the kids were little, as well as one Carnival this past August and a short RCCL trip last November. We’ve also done a couple of Virgin trips in the last 18 months.  Otherwise, we’ve stuck with NCL.  Just a bit of background.

 

NCL vs. Carnival:  We will never get back on a Carnival ship.  Mostly we didn’t like the crowd.  We did like the fact that the drink package included specialty coffee and bottled water, but didn’t like that we could only get one drink at a time and had to sign for each one.  It was also much more expensive than NCLs FAS, which I don’t think can be beat price wise.  We also thought the food was much better on NCL, with more variety and more complimentary food options.  The buffet alone was light years ahead of Carnival.  The main dining room was ok, but again we found NCL just a notch above.  And no free specialty dining as you get with NCL’s FAS.  (Yes, I know you pay the gratuity, but it works out to about $10 a meal.  You can’t get that on Carnival.)

 

RCCL:  we loved it when the kids were little.  We did not enjoy the short trip we did last year on the Independence.  Echoing what has been said earlier, we found the pricing for things like the drink package to not be transparent.  Any option is also much more expensive.  We opted not to get the drink package. On the first day I ordered a basic frozen drink on the pool deck.  It was almost $18.  Not much less than we pay on NCL for an entire day!  Needless to say, we didn’t drink much that trip.  😂. Also, no included Specialty dining.  We found the complimentary options limited.  The MDR was on par with NCL.  The buffet was better than Carnival, but not as good as NCLs.  We also missed the Freestyle dining.  We booked it late and couldn’t get the Anytime dining.  Our only option was the early sitting.  I’d forgotten how much I hated the old way of doing dinner.  😃

 

It wasn’t mentioned in the OP, but I have to say something about Virgin.  Assuming you are not traveling with children, it might be a great option.  They have sailing to the Southern Caribbean out of San Juan.  Trying to compare Virgin to any other mainstream lime really isn’t fair.  It’s a totally different experience that we really love. No water slides, go-carts, laser tag, etc.  No loud announcements unless it’s an emergency.  No buffet.  They have a food court where someone takes your order for casual food.  The restaurants are all fantastic.  Equal to or better than any specialty restaurant on any of the other lines.  The fare includes gratuities and no gratuities are expected anywhere.  Sodas are included, as is the internet.  There are no alcoholic drink packages.  You pay by the drink, but can buy a bar tab ahead of time and get a bonus.  Like I said, it’s a completely different experience and it’s not for everyone, but would strongly encourage you to look into it.