Any Carnival Cruisers been on NCL Spirit?

[SunTravels]

I'm looking into going on NCL's Spirit in May 07, and ws wondering what Carnival devotees think are the major differences between the lines. I'm very happy with Carnival, but like the NCL itinerary and it leaves from NYC which is a plus (I looked in Carnival Miracle, but can't do 8-days).

 

I'd appreciate any input.

THANKS!!!!

[Cruise Passenger]

We went on the Spirit out of Alaska a few years back and did not like it as well as the former Carnival ships we have been on. The ship itself was very nice with an Asian theme to it. It was not the ship itself but just the overall experience of NCL that i felt was not as good as Carnivals. Some of the things I did not like was the freestyle dining and the nightly entertainment. I thought I would like this dining better but it felt more like I was just going to a restaraunt instead of being on a cruise. The shows at night were far less superior than Carnivals. I'm in my thirties and not a partier at all but I think I was still looking for a little more interaction and excitement. This was an Alaskan cruise which probably attracts a more subdued crowd. These are just my opinions. NCL seems to be a good line but if I had a choice, Carnival would be mine. P.S.S. We also have two little ones who thought Carnivals kids programs were better.

[mjkcj1]

Hello,

 

I sailed the NCL Spirit last June and I Loved it. I have been on Carnival before as well. I have to say I thought both ships were great. They both carry great food and they both know how to party:) .

The only real difference you will notice is the free style dining. You eat when you want and where you want. Since it was just my sister & I we did not seem to care if we had an set hour to eat. Some people did not care for it, but it worked great for us.

The shows I am going to give to NCL as well. Dont get me wrong, I loved Carnival(my favorite the legend)! I just think NCL had a better well rounded shows. Just stay away from Bingo, they will take your money:eek:

I put a cruise review in last year about NCL under this website, we went June of 2006.

One quick thing about the NCL boat, if the weather is crappy when you go to the private island DO NOT get on the tender, trust me. Between the wind, hard rain & the waves, they lost the ladder to get back on the boat!

It fell in the water, it was NOT fun.

 

All in All you will have a great time, trust me the staff is just as fun on NCL.

[Cruise Passenger]

As you can see from the last poster, we had two opposite opinions on this ship. The food was good, I just missed the interaction of other tablemates. I think you will enjoy yourself no matter which you pick. I would go read the reviews on this ship to get a more diversified opinion.

[curiousl8y]

Hiya,

 

My two experneices were years apart - like 20, but here goes.

 

I did the Carnival Mexican Riviera cruise years ago, and loved every single minute of it! It was my first cruise, so I had no "expectations", and I was certainly not disappointed. I went home with a sign n sail tab larger than my cruise bill but oh well, those were the days.

 

I did the Alaskan cruise on the NCL Spirit in May 2005. I'm older now, with more expectations. I loved it! The ship is just beautiful, and spotlessly gleaming. Lovely. I also very much enjoyed the Freestyle dining. Not only do you have a choice of dining times and places, but you have a choice of how many people you wish to interact with. Some nights, it was a cozy romantic dinner for just the two of us, and some nights we chose a larger table and made new friends. Very nice.

 

I thought the food was better on the Spirit, but maybe that is because I was paying more attention this time, lol.

 

I can't speak to the shows, unfortunately. When I was younger on Carnival, I missed them because I was busy partying with all my new best friends. In 2005 I missed them because I was busy enjoying my balcony and alone time with my partner. :-)

 

I think you'll have a great time no matter which you pick.

 

Linda

 

DOH! I'm sorry! I was on the Norwegian STAR, not the Spirit. The Carnival Spirit is the one we're sailing on in Aug this year, to Alaska again. Never mind my pre-senility ramblings. :-)

[SunTravels]

Thanks for the info :D . I always enjoy hearing opinions on both the positives and negatives to the ships and lines, and I know we'll have a great time either way. It seems from what I've read carnival and ncl have many overlapping things (with an exception of the dining) so I'm looking forward to trying something different.

 

Cruise Passenger: I am interested in seeing how I like the dining on NCL, I enjoy sitting down with the same group, so It will be interesting to see what a difference it is.

[Cruzman]

Tried NCL once; that was enough! Since I am a cruise addict, if NCL was the only cruise line available, I would go again, but as long as I have alternatives, I'll cruise on other lines.

[flipflops78]

if it is freestyle...STAY AWAY!

 

that was the worst cruise ever. freestyle means shortcuts on service.

 

I thought maybe it was just me.. but my friend just back from one and even she hated it and she loves everything.

 

if you have any questions about it send me a message.

 

 

 

if it isnt..... have fun. I liked them before that freestyle joke

[mrleo33]

Every line and ship has its strengths and weaknesses, I like to find out what they are and take full advantage of the strengths and avoid the weaknesses to ensure the very best cruising experiences.

 

I hate to wait in lines to eat, whether its at the buffet, or waiting for a table in the dining room. So the minute we got on the ship we made reservations for the week. I also did my research ahead of time and found out about all of the speciality restaurants on board and booked a different one for each night. I loved Shogun, Teppanyaki, and Le Bistro the most and it was worth the surcharge for the unique dining experiences. We also signed up for the Murder Mystery Dinner which was a fun variation and allowed us some interaction with other guests.

When on Carnival you eat in the dining room at night or at the speciality restaurant or in the buffet, by contrast... it is neither better or worse in my opinion, it is just different. On the Liberty the one thing that really frustrated me was that they had some really great things in the buffet area like the pizza and reubens, but they were never proactive during peak lunch and dinner times and did not have things made in anticipation of all the people who would be ordering, the results were long, slow lines. It definitely didn't work for me with my two small, hungry kids, who thought they were starving to death and wanted food now! Now by comparison the Spirit had an area of the buffet devoted just to Kid's called Kid's Corner that had kid food like pizza, chicken nuggets, hot dogs etc... for them. It was always well stocked. The kids liked it a lot and I liked it because they would eat at about 6:00 in the buffet, then at 7:00 we'd take them to play at the Kid's Club while d/h and I went to a nice romantic dinner just the two of us. We always ate breakfast and lunch in the dining room so we didn't have to be jockeying food around at the buffet, it was much more relaxing that way.

 

I loved the asian decor of the Spirit, the showers were great, the viewing area of the bridge (go see the dragon)and the bridge reproduction in the lounge. Buccaneer Bay on the back of the ship is absolutely wonderful for the kids. Based on one of the previous posts, I am guessing they must have made changes to the staff in the Kid's Club when they changed from the Alaskan Itinerary to NYC because I would rank the kid's club equal or better than that of the Carnival Liberty and I loved the Kid's Club on the Liberty. Not to mention that they have some really neat stuff for the kids I haven't seen on any other ship. Also my kids were 3 and 5 at the time so perhaps its more geared toward their ages.

 

The one thing you will notice right away is that the staterooms are much smaller. I didn't feel it was too much of a problem though because they utilize the space very well.

 

I found that sailing out of NYC was a near religious experience. I loved sailing by the Statue of Liberty and felt very emotional as I looked at my children standing in awe whispering Liberty as we sailed by her. One of the other guests pointed out Ground Zero as we sailed by too.

 

I would love to sail the Spirit again. My biggest issue with sailing NCL has nothing to do with the actual cruising experience, it is related to their lack of customer service and disorganization with their land based operations, specifically the call centers.

 

We have another NCL cruise booked for March out of New Orleans which I am really looking forward to. We will be cruising on the Carnival Freedom at Thanksgiving. So I hope its OK to be a fan of both lines. Because I really don't know if I could choose one over the other, I like them both.