Princess vs Norwegian

[jlawrence01]

The most irritating aspect of NCL is the small size of their entertainment venues   Holding a comedy show on a 4000+ passenger ship in a venue that seats 100 people is terrible.  I do not want to sit in a venue for an hour before the show starts.  Nor do I want to deal with chairhogs who block off 10 seats for their group.

[alwalaska]

14 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

it has been ok for many years. We started sailing on Princess in 2016 and it was ok even then.

We last sailed Princess in 2018 and they were turning people away that did not fit the requirements.  But, it sounds like it still varies by ship too.

[alwalaska]

5 hours ago, jlawrence01 said:

The most irritating aspect of NCL is the small size of their entertainment venues   Holding a comedy show on a 4000+ passenger ship in a venue that seats 100 people is terrible.  I do not want to sit in a venue for an hour before the show starts.  Nor do I want to deal with chairhogs who block off 10 seats for their group.

I realize we all exaggerate when making a point, but that is a huge exaggeration, especially because the ships with 4000+ people have a reservation system for the main theaters.  If you are talking about the "Extra" things that are not in the main theater, then yes, they are small, but they are small on Princess as well. 

 

I've only sailed on the smaller ships on NCL and we typically had to be there 30 minutes to get a seat.  On two of my 3 previous Princess cruises, we had to get there 45-60 minutes before to get seats. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

4 minutes ago, alwalaska said:

I realize we all exaggerate when making a point, but that is a huge exaggeration, especially because the ships with 4000+ people have a reservation system for the main theaters. 

 

this person literally talked about a small venue entertainment:

5 hours ago, jlawrence01 said:

 Holding a comedy show on a 4000+ passenger ship in a venue that seats 100 people is terrible. 

 

not about the main theater.

[alwalaska]

16 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

none of it is really free because you couldn't choose the lowest fare and then add the "free" stuff. You have to purchase higher priced fare first.

I don't usually book guarantee rooms, so that may be true, but I've never had to get a more expensive fare to get the FAS which isn't really free because you pay the taxes and fees, but it is a lot less.

Princess has no dress code either.

Princess says no shorts in dining rooms, even if they don't enforce it on every ship, it seems to be inconsistently implemented, which is even more frustrating. 

Princess has very good entertainment (the newer ships).

I like the older ships, so I don't have a experience there. I do agree that their main entertainment is very good.  In the past, I have found the small bands, piano players, etc to be less entertaining than NCL, but that is a personal preference. 

Princess has Any time dining.

Like I said in another post, I will see if the new any time dining works.  It didn't on our previous Princess cruises.  We ended up spending way more time in the buffet because we weren't going to wait an hour to get into a dining room. 

You are not making a life time commitment by trying out a different cruise line.

I fully agree, but if someone has to save and scrimp to pay for a cruise, going on one that doesn't work well for you can be extremely disappointing.  Up to this point, we've avoided Celebrity and Carnival because they seemed to be too far to the formal or party sides for us. Since NCL has gotten so much more expensive, I'm thinking more about trying them out.

 

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

13 minutes ago, alwalaska said:

Up to this point, we've avoided Celebrity and Carnival because they seemed to be too far to the formal or party sides for us.

we have just tried Celebrity for the first time, and it was the first time I ever saw a person wearing athletic shorts, a neon yellow athletic shirt, and a baseball hat to MDR on a FORMAL night. And no, he wasn't turned away. His family was dressed nicely.

 

We are always casual to business casual. Our kid wears crocs to MDR. We were NEVER turned away.

[nbsjcruiser]

On 9/29/2024 at 9:56 PM, Abiding said:

I’ve always cruised on NCL (1 river cruise on Viking) because when on vacation, we like to “go with the flow” and don’t want to be tied down to a specific time. We’re looking into a TA on Princess because they have self serve laundries.    If anyone has experience with both cruise lines, can I ask you to explain some of the differences?  Thanks!

Food on Princess IMO is a bit better while service in the MDR seems less hurried maybe because we elect the same dining times each night.

 

Princess is aimed at an older crowd - 50's and up who don't want or need water slides, wave runners, bumper cars and so on. You'll find the pool deck a quieter and more relaxing atmosphere compared to NCL where the noise never seems to end. Our last NCL cruise was on the Getaway a few years ago and I hated the pool area. I couldn't find a place where I could just relax without the constant barrage of music or the Big TV blaring.

 

If you like anytime dining, NCL has that down pat. Princess is like a lot of lines in that they try to give all dining options but on some ships my time dining results in hurried dinners and, based on my experience on some ships, quality issues. We stick to the same time each night and have had great food and service. I don't like feeling things are being rushed when I'm eating.

 

If you're in your middle age, I think you'll find Princess quality and service a notch above NCL and will find the atmosphere toned down enough to allow you to have an enjoyable cruise.

[nbsjcruiser]

20 hours ago, JGmf said:

 

@Mississippian Can't comment on wine (don't drink it), but compared to NCL of late, Princess entertainment is marginally better.  NCL turned a corner and dropped the type of production shows that made it distinct.  Their replacement shows, like "The Price is Right", are a cheap substitute that are rather lame.

Kinda where TV in general is going. Much cheaper to make the audience THE show like Big Brother, Survivor, Amazing Race and so on. You don't have to pay stars millions to produce a few shows every season. Looks like some cruise lines have caught on to that. Cruise Director engaging the audience in a show that involves the audience is much much cheaper than paying for a production show. Bean counters are the ones running the show these days.

[alwalaska]

18 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we have just tried Celebrity for the first time, and it was the first time I ever saw a person wearing athletic shorts, a neon yellow athletic shirt, and a baseball hat to MDR on a FORMAL night. And no, he wasn't turned away. His family was dressed nicely.

 

We are always casual to business casual. Our kid wears crocs to MDR. We were NEVER turned away.

That is really good to know.  Thanks for sharing.

[AstoriaPreppy]

On 9/29/2024 at 8:56 PM, Abiding said:

I’ve always cruised on NCL (1 river cruise on Viking) because when on vacation, we like to “go with the flow” and don’t want to be tied down to a specific time. We’re looking into a TA on Princess because they have self serve laundries.    If anyone has experience with both cruise lines, can I ask you to explain some of the differences?  Thanks!

 

A few thoughts on Princess v. NCL in general. For context, we're almost platinum on NCL, and we're ruby on Princess.

 

Princess has done anytime dining for years, and tends to do it quite well. Now with the medallion system and app, it's quite easy to work dining around your schedule, however the Princess MDRs still tend to be a bit more formal feeling than NCL (shorts aren't really a thing on Princess for dinner). It's one of the reasons we enjoy NCL from time to time... it's incredibly casual, and our day wear can often be evening wear with no change needed. Princess will definitely be a more traditional feel, but it's not like you're sailing Cunard. 

That said, we feel the current pricing on NCL has gotten out of hand for the quality of the product delivered across the board. 

 

We've found the food quality on NCL has declined precipitously compared to every other cruise line. People gush about the specialty restaurants on NCL, but we've seen major cuts across the board (quality of proteins, variety of options, more dishes that seem thrown together out of pre-cooked ingredients). A great example would be the inedible wings at O'Sheehans/The Local (if you know, you know).

 

We've seen entertainment cuts on NCL as well... a lot of the money that was spent on entertainment, or broadway production licensing is just gone, with no replacement. On our last NCL cruise (13 day Adriatic, Greece and Italy), we had multiple nights where the theater was dark, or the pool band would put on a "show," or they would show a movie, or a fly on performer would need to do another night of shows. Again, it just reeked of penny-pinching.

 

I'd also note that technologically, the Princess medallion system is exponentially miles beyond anything NCL offers. If you have one of the upgraded packages, you can order drinks/food to be dropped off around the ship as wanted (the servers can find you anywhere), and the system of satellites offers generally fantastic wifi speeds. 

 

Overall, we've while we appreciate NCL, the quality seems to have dropped dramatically while the prices have risen... we've had zero regrets about branching out. 

[WisCruiser2]

@Abiding, search for a recent "Live from" by YVRTeacher here (her cruises on Island & Regal) and her NCL Jewel Live from on that board -- she's a long-time NCL cruiser and these were her first Princess cruises. At the end of each, she does a comparison of the lines from her perspective.

[Abiding]

7 minutes ago, WisCruiser2 said:

@Abiding, search for a recent "Live from" by YVRTeacher here (her cruises on Island & Regal) and her NCL Jewel Live from on that board -- she's a long-time NCL cruiser and these were her first Princess cruises. At the end of each, she does a comparison of the lines from her perspective.

 

[Abiding]

Thanks everyone!  A lot of good info!  I wish I was able to cruise like so many of you!  I was especially concerned/confused about the dining options and the dress code. Those were 2 of the things we really like about NCL. It’s got a really relaxed atmosphere. Thanks again!

[ldubs]

On 9/29/2024 at 7:45 PM, Mississippian said:

 Princess never gives customers the opportunity to order wine in the MDR unless they beg and plead for a wine list, which is very, very time consuming.

 

I assume this is based on a bad experience or maybe just don't like Princess.  Either way, this is inaccurate and will be misleading to those who don't know better.  

[Mississippian]

14 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

I assume this is based on a bad experience or maybe just don't like Princess.  Either way, this is inaccurate and will be misleading to those who don't know better.  

Not once on my last two Princess cruises, 14-16 nights each, have I gotten a wine list with the menu. I always have to ask. And people on the basic package aren't given a full wine list, on the assumption they won't want to pay extra for decent wine. I like Princess, but this is dumb.

[ldubs]

1 minute ago, Mississippian said:

Not once on my last two Princess cruises, 14-16 nights each, have I gotten a wine list with the menu. I always have to ask. And people on the basic package aren't given a full wine list, on the assumption they won't want to pay extra for decent wine. I like Princess, but this is dumb.

 

Well, this comment is a little different than the previous one where you had were "never given the opportunity" and had to "beg and plead".  Twice apparently.  We have many cruises on Princess and members of our group always order wine with dinner.  Your original comment is definitely not representative and misleading as heck to claim it is the norm.  Especially to someone trying to learn about the cruise line.  

[Mississippian]

6 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

Well, this comment is a little different than the previous one where you had were "never given the opportunity" and had to "beg and plead".  Twice apparently.  We have many cruises on Princess and members of our group always order wine with dinner.  Your original comment is definitely not representative and misleading as heck to claim it is the norm.  Especially to someone trying to learn about the cruise line.  

It's a matter of time. It adds several needless minutes to the ordering process for no reason.

[sanger727]

Thanks for the feedback.  We don't cruise or even vacation every year.  So we put a lot of time and thought into planning the trips we do take. 

[moviegal]

I am a frequent cruiser on both Princess and NCL (with a higher status on Princess since that's the line I travel most often). Lots of good advice given already, but my two cents:

 

Princess has a far superior Plus and Premium package, especially with the horrible changes that NCL announced this morning. Princess is probably the best value line around, especially if you get one of the Plus or Premier packages because just about everything is included (gratuities, wifi, drinks, coffee, soda, etc.) and there are no surprise charges at the end of your cruise!

 

NCL wins entertainment hands-down, with more youthful and fun activities. Princess has a lot of ballroom dancing and trivia, and their shows are quite boring (especially after you've seen them multiple times).

 

The main dining rooms and buffets are a draw, but NCL has far better specialty restaurants and food variety. Princess is also a bit more formal, but that's been changing over the years (hooray)!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, moviegal said:

NCL wins entertainment hands-down, with more youthful and fun activities.

imho, they did in 2018. Not anymore.

 

1 hour ago, moviegal said:

Princess has a lot of ballroom dancing

I wish.

[Oceansaway17]

On 9/30/2024 at 11:59 AM, Tak8 said:

Princess is my preferred line, but I've done Norwegian twice including this summer for an Ireland cruise.  I thought NCL had less variety on their main dining room menus.  Appetizers and soups repeated a lot. I found more dishes to my liking on Princess.

I will agree for the most part

But I found on NCL the dessert in buffet were really good and tasted great like grandma would make.

[9tee2Sea]

I think Princess has a much nicer Atrium area ( main deck lobby). The difference is basically the feeling you get while on board.  most mid budget  cruise lines are pretty much the same, in my opinion.