If you were going to cheat on NCL with another line...

[Catchum]

Princess is our go to if not NCL. No fixed dining, food a little better, entertainment not quite so good and the plus fare includes alcohol, coffee, water, tips and unlimited WiFi. The older ships on both lines are our preference.

[schmoopie17]

If I cheat on NCL, will they have a private detective following me around, taking pictures and reporting back to them?

 

If not, I might give Princess to Hawaii a try. But now that we're Platinum and have future cruise certificates, it would have to be a great itinerary to pass up NCL.

 

Edited January 29 by schmoopie17

[Sailing12Away]

11 hours ago, TwinMamainMN said:

We’re the opposite so far. Several on Royal which we enjoy, one on Celebrity which we enjoyed, and our upcoming one is on Bliss. One thing I already dislike about NCL is no free adults only swimming area. Royal has a Solarium on most ships that is not only free but also includes swimming pools and hot tubs. We will miss that for sure. Will we miss it enough to not sail on NCL if the price and itinerary are right? I can’t say for sure yet.

You just need to research your ships a bit more for NCL if having an adult only area is important to you. If you can swing the price of Haven, their upper sun deck areas are adults only and have hot tubs. The Haven pools are not large, but decent for a soak and to cool off. Children are allowed in them, but I've personally never seen any in them except once on Epic. So they're allowed, but it tends to be a much quieter environment, no splashing or jumping or running around so they don't bother me at all like on the main pool decks.

 

Ships that have a Vibe beach club are also adult only areas with hot tubs, but they have an extra cost. And then there are ships with Spice H2O - that is an adult only pool on several ships (Epic, Escape, Joy.... help me out guys, which other ships?). Free - and adult only pool. 

 

So they do exist, you just need to look around at the deck plans to find the right ship for your needs/wants/wishes. This thread may help you: 

 

[DCGuy64]

20 hours ago, Monica887 said:

What cruise line would you go? Which is your favorite of the mainstream commercial cruise lines, and why? And how do YOU think they compare to NCL when it comes to food and service etc? 

We like MSC. A LOT! If we're looking for a cheaper cruise, we'll do NCL. If we feel like splurging, we'll do MSC in the Yacht Club. We really like NCL for the overall value, because the food (especially in the specialty restaurants) is quite good. I love O'Sheehan's and I really love the various bars due to NCL's interesting cocktail offerings. The Thermal Suite is another plus for us. We've always had great cabin stewards who were friendly and fun to talk to. MSC feels more European to us, which we like. We've never tried Celebrity, but I'd like to. We don't have kids and don't always go to the shows (I'm usually too tired by then, LOL!), but the ones we've seen, have been truly memorable (Priscilla & Six). My only complaint was that our last NCL cruise was extremely crowded and noisy, and the service could be very slow at times. We're booked on the Star next year for a Scandinavian cruise, and I'm looking forward to the smaller ship (and speaking tons of Norwegian!). ☺️

[TwinMamainMN]

@Sailing12Away - thanks for the summary. We booked Bliss based on itinerary. Haven is out of our price range. We like the peace and quiet of a Royal Solarium sometimes. Maybe Spice H20 will be just as good. Either way, we will be on vacation which is better than being at work any day. 😉

[wolft927]

So, We have sailed RCCL, Carnival, Princess, and NCL. The last 4 have been in the Haven with NCL. We are now going to Cheat on NCL with MSC YC only because the YC prices are that much better. We are booked on the Seascape in September in the YC, the cheapest NCL Haven cruise out of Florida that time frame was almost $7400 for two. We go the YC interior for $3200. No brainer for us. As long as we like the YC half as much as the Haven we will be switching to MSC more often. 

[graphicguy]

Interesting people mentioning Virgin.  I keep looking at them, but it's hard to get a feel for what's really different for difference's sake, and what's really good.  I will read a review stating polar opposite opinions with the same demographic.

 

MSC?  Ambivalent.  I sailed their YC.  They were fine.  Not great, not bad.  But, fine!   Had another one scheduled.  This was right after the restart.  They charged me a fare.  Came back a week later stating they made a mistake and wanted to charge me more.  I get it.  Kind of "hey...we don't have our act together yet after COVID".  But, if it had been an error on my end, it would have been "too bad, so sad".

 

When they make the error, their attitude was even worse.  I had to get AMEX to fight for me, which they did.  I ended up getting a full refund.  But, I'm still a little butt hurt about it.  So, unless something comes along that bowls me over, I'm probably not sailing  them any time in the foreseeable future.

 

Princess?  Seems like another line that I'm having a hard time differentiating from the others.

 

Disney....whew boy.  I really don't want to pay a premium to cavort with cartoon characters.  I know some like that.  I'm not one of them.  Plus, they have way more kids on them, for obvious reasons.  And, their fares are way over the top.  I can't even say I'd sail them if their fares were competitive.  Easy to see I'm not their demographic.  But, if you like Mickey, Pluto, Little Mermaid, etc...hey, that means something...maybe worth it.

 

I've looked at Oceania a couple of times.  People have told me to compare their fares with NCL's Haven.  I've always been able to find deals on Haven cabins.  Oceania has always been 3x+ those fares.  And, I can't figure out what the higher fares net me...at least make it worthwhile for me to consider them.

[schmoopie17]

54 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

 

Disney....whew boy.  I really don't want to pay a premium to cavort with cartoon characters.  

I would only do Disney if Mickey could reprise Steamboat Willie and pilot the ship.

Of course, that would be the very definition of a Mickey Mouse operation.

[graphicguy]

2 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

I would only do Disney if Mickey could reprise Steamboat Willie and pilot the ship.

Of course, that would be the very definition of a Mickey Mouse operation.

GROAN!  LOL!

[JGmf]

Regularly cheating, call it an 'affair', with Princess. 

 

(Er, "Princess" could make be a plausible side partner name....)

 

Pros: Princess has more generous and transparent casino comps, broader range of alcohol brands included in their base drink package, coffee/water included in drink package, excellent pizza on Lido deck, better and longer hours operating buffet, includes the International Cafe for snacks, and have more, deeper and bigger pools.  There are generally fewer kids b/c no go-karts or waterslides.  The Medallion RFID thing app eliminates need to carry key card...and the adult crowd is not much older than NCL.

 

Cons:staged entertainment a smidge not as good at NCL (but NCL falling off the cliff lately anyway); website booking not as easy as NCL; fewer sailing options out of NYC.

[bkrickles1]

We've sailed Celebrity, RCCL and NCL.

Our last 4 have been on NCL and our next one in April is also NCL.

With that being said, we have no allegiance to any one cruiseline.

I do the same thing every time. My girls will let me know that they're interested in going on a cruise and they'll give me a time frame. I will then look for sailings that meet the date requirements and then drill down on the value for us. What's included, do we have to fly, deals, etc.

We've loved all of our cruises so I'd go on any of the three I mentioned, if it's the value winner.

For our most recent sailings, NCL has won out. Before that, we sailed on a lot of RCCL ships.

I've wanted to sail MSC and should have booked something when YC was super cheap, but I didn't. And now, I'm not so sure. I've had 2 sets of friends sail MSC and neither was overwhelmed.

I think I'll probably check out the YC on MSC when it's just my wife and I sailing.

Anyway, 81 days until Getaway!!

[Seminole1975]

The Windstar ship with the sails. My fav cruise of all time was on a Windstar ship from Istanbul to Athens. 

[jimsig]

20 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

I have zero desire to sail on Carnival, and hubby has zero desire to try out Princess. He claims that any cruise line that had a documentary made about them for not good reasons is a cruise line he wants to avoid.

 

 

Might want to keep him away form the TV show "Mighty Cruise Ships" on the Smithsonian Channel then.  They have pretty much covered every cruise line including NCL.  

[oteixeira]

1 hour ago, jimsig said:

 

Might want to keep him away form the TV show "Mighty Cruise Ships" on the Smithsonian Channel then.  They have pretty much covered every cruise line including NCL.  

Those are happy documentaries, I think she mentioned "for not good reasons" as part of the documentary she was referring to.

[carohs]

So far I haven't found the one cruise line I'm committed to. So far sailed on DCL, CCL and NCL.

DCL I can get an inside room and fit four people comfortably with a split bathroom. There's a sofa that gets turned into a bed in the evening and back to a sofa during the day. The pullman bed isn't over my head in an inside room on DCL. Yes the price is higher on DCL, but to get a comparable layout and size stateroom on NCL I'm also paying more. The kids club is a mile above on DCL too. 

CCL the kids liked a lot too but weren't too happy with NCL programming in the kids clubs. I thought CCL lacked family friendly activities (all trivia, sales pitches, and comedy). I generally didn't like CCL because of the casino and smoking section locations, but I'm giving them another chance on a different ship in a few days. I did enjoy their quick eats options and since I don't drink much, I don't need to buy drink package.

NCL doesn't offer 3 night sailings from the west coast so I need to find something else that works for us for a weekend getaway. We really enjoyed our cruises on NCL, so if something else pops up that works for us schedule wise we'd likely book again. There's been Pros and Cons on all three, but still looking for "the one"

[Joesantos]

On 1/28/2024 at 1:46 PM, Monica887 said:

What cruise line would you go? Which is your favorite of the mainstream commercial cruise lines, and why? And how do YOU think they compare to NCL when it comes to food and service etc? 

 

The more recent Carnival ones I did I didn't care for at all. Newer ships but I hated the layout. Didn't care for the service or food. Didn't like how over the top the cruise directors are. 

 

Only one recent one on Royal and it was an older ship. I would like to try one of their newer ships again but the service was excellent. The food was comparable to NCL (which I think is mediocre to good). 

 

Planning an extended family trip and trying to decide or see if there's anything I'm missing before I go back to NCL as my default. Youngest kid is 11 up to grandparents. Warm weather, easy to get to from the east coast. Christmas week. (We're stuck with school schedules...)

We love activities on NCL but are diamond on RCL land elite on celebrity plus platinum on NCL and upper tier on Princess. Used to love celebrity but it boring and quiet. Rcl is decent but sometimes not as much fun. Holland America definitely later in life as they get the closest port spot and cater to the elderly. Did carnival a lot when younger. So now it’s NCL or Rcl depending on price 

Never understood the loyalty thing but love ito try Virgin sooo

[Swells1]

I cheated on NCL for the first time a few weeks ago with Virgin. I missed the Broadway-style production shows, and I don't see myself leaving NCL completely. However...

• It was nice having a 100% child-free environment. 
• There were no "bing-bong" announcements after the safety drill.
• No photographers interrupting dinner.
• All (included) specialty dining- no buffet or MDR.
• Free wifi.
• No gratuities.
• Included sodas.
• No one pushing raffle tickets or art auction.

 

[Travelling2Some]

Apparently, I am quite the philanderer.  I'm happy to sail on pretty much any ship that is going to places I want to go.  We currently have one each booked on Celebrity, Carnival, Royal and NCL.  Also looking at Princess for Japan and Alaska but will add land trips to those two.  Got to step up the retirement recovery that was short circuited by the shut down.

[Panhandle Couple]

We sailed on Discovery Princess in fall 2022.  I have listed a few times what we did and didn't like.

 

Dislike:

As a new ship, it was more like a Jewel class, no outdoor deck space.

Buffet seating area was cramped and intruded on walkway from aft elevators.

Food overall was worse, specialty restaurants we tried were not good at all.

MDR service was bad, 2 hour dinners every time.

Very narrow balcony.

Very small bathroom.

 

Like:

Small jazz club

Dual meeting/small stage areas, removing trivia, etc from atrium.

Alaska itinerary.

Excursions were very good.

New large TV w/music selections in rooms.

 

Medallion was OK, but didn't live up to advertisement.

 

If we were to try another line, probably Virgin, maybe Celebrity, with a unique itinerary.  

 

Not going there:

Disney

MSC

RCL

Carnival (unless w/large group)

 

 

 

[nhtravels]

Our last 7 cruises were with NCL and we are still very happy with their Haven. We have 2 more booked for 2025 (and maybe one more this year, if I can squeeze it in between our land trips).  

 

But if we are going to "cheat", we'll look at MSC YC or Celebrity.  Price looks good on MSC, but the itinerary we liked for next year was already sold out of the cabins we would like.  

 

For now, we'll stick with our tried and true! 

[dexddd]

13 hours ago, oteixeira said:

Those are happy documentaries, I think she mentioned "for not good reasons" as part of the documentary she was referring to.

But all episodes introduce drama one way or another.

[Sailing12Away]

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

But all episodes introduce drama one way or another.

This documentary highlighted the fact that despite Covid hitting everyone like a mac truck to the face if you happened to be on a cruise when it broke out, this particular cruise line for whatever reason was by far one the worst hit and affected. There were other cruise ships sailing globally at that time, and they didn't warrant a documentary being made because of the magnitude # of their passengers getting ill.

 

They had 3 different ships with >1600 passengers being positive. The only other cruise line with numbers that high were a single Celebrity ship (224 passengers) and a single Disney ship (200 passenger). So yeah, something was askew in their sanitation protocols I would say, unless there was a single typhoid Mary on board kissing passengers as they embarked for their trips.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_on_cruise_ships

[moto_italia]

We'll be cheating on NCL this summer on a Crystal Alaska 7-day cruise from Seward to Vancouver.

 

When we total up all of the NCL add-on line items (Govt Tax/Port Fees, Bev Svc Charge, Din Svc Charge, Prepaid Svc Charge) and the items we choose to upgrade (NCL Premium Plus Beverage Package), the cost came out to be about $1K more per person for the week on Crystal.

 

Being a 740-passenger ship and offering a reputed higher level of service and dining, we're gonna try it out. Crystal is now owned by Abercrombie & Kent.

 

In looking at Crystal's South Caribbean cruise, it's about $750 more for a 7-day cruise in Dec '24 when you toss in that we normally add-on Vibe Beach Club to NCL.

[oteixeira]

8 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

This documentary highlighted the fact that despite Covid hitting everyone like a mac truck to the face if you happened to be on a cruise when it broke out, this particular cruise line for whatever reason was by far one the worst hit and affected. There were other cruise ships sailing globally at that time, and they didn't warrant a documentary being made because of the magnitude # of their passengers getting ill.

 

They had 3 different ships with >1600 passengers being positive. The only other cruise line with numbers that high were a single Celebrity ship (224 passengers) and a single Disney ship (200 passenger). So yeah, something was askew in their sanitation protocols I would say, unless there was a single typhoid Mary on board kissing passengers as they embarked for their trips.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_on_cruise_ships

Was this "Mary" cute, and did she have an upside down pineapple on her door?  LOL

[destar]

We love NCL, have 3 upcoming cruises, but have sailed on Celebrity Apex and just got off the Ascent this past Sunday. Already booked their newest ship the Xcel. Really like Celebrity.

Edited January 30 by destar