Not new.. but new

[zaylyn2590]

So I've sailed on carnival and royal Caribbean but will be sailing for the first time on NCL. Any tips on what to expect that is different from the other two lines? 

[mom says]

Perhaps a better place to ask this is the NCL forum  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/64-norwegian-cruise-line/

[Aquahound]

NCL is very much like Carnival and RCI in terms of vibe, atmosphere and entertainment.  Their newer ships are really nice and have a ton to offer.

 

No formal nights and no fixed dining.  Gotta jump on dining reservations early or you'll lose out on premier times and could face lengthy waits if you just show up.  

[lenquixote66]

We have cruised on Norwegian many many times.We tend to meet many of the same people on every cruise.We have neighbors who only cruise on NCL

[TwinMamainMN]

We've sailed several times with Royal and just got back from our first NCL cruise. The biggest difference to us was in entertainment. Lots of game shows on NCL during the day. Our sailing had 2 comedians that alternated. Sometimes in the main theater and sometimes in a smaller venue. Jersey Boys was good, but only offered 2 or 3 days of the 7 day sailing. No creative, unique production shows like we have seen on Royal. No aqua shows like on Royal's big ships. Lots of game shows and trivia on NCL.

 

The best entertainment we had on NCL Bliss (2 weeks ago) was The Beatles Experience. It was phenomenal. 4 men from Argentina. When they sang, you'd have no idea they were another nationality. They did a different show every day they performed, and we saw them 3 times. They perform in the main theater and at the smaller Cavern Club where we were lucky enough to sit in the front row. They were best entertainers on board IMO.

[deelightfull]

We sail Carnival because it's the cheapest we can drive to, on the west coast, and have done a couple NCL cruises that we've flown to and we picked for the ports.  

 

For us, the particular Carnival cruises we take are mostly about the ship and the NCL cruises are more about the ports.

 

Carnival has a much more energetic sail away party than either of the NCL cruises I've been on.  In my experience the cruise director is higher energy on Carnival, classier on NCL.  Carnival does have a exclusive area on its newer ships, similar to the Haven on NCL, but it's only an exclusive pool, no exclusive restaurant.  Oh, and a big one for me, almost all the Carnival ships have guest laundry, where you can do your own laundry for like $7/ wash and dry. (But not on the newest ships) On Norwegian I have to do laundry in my sink 😁.

 

Oh, and NCL doesn't have anything that compares to a Carnival chocolate melting cake😆. (But Carnival doesn't have a gelato station. 🤷‍♀️)