Compare NCL to RCI and Carnival

Need help! Want to surprise my wife for our anniversary. I have been on 4 RCI cruises and 5 Carnival but I have always been intrigued by NCL. Can anyone that has been on al three give me a run down on the difference. I know the obvious NCL has no dress code for dinning and they have more dinning options. My wife and I like the adult only areas and we are foodies so these are very important to us. Also I have heard that NCL main dining room food is not very good if you are going to take an NCL cruise you need to take there specialty dinning package. Any information would be great, thanks.

Need help! Want to surprise my wife for our anniversary. I have been on 4 RCI cruises and 5 Carnival but I have always been intrigued by NCL. Can anyone that has been on al three give me a run down on the difference. I know the obvious NCL has no dress code for dinning and they have more dinning options. My wife and I like the adult only areas and we are foodies so these are very important to us. Also I have heard that NCL main dining room food is not very good if you are going to take an NCL cruise you need to take there specialty dinning package. Any information would be great, thanks.

With NCL choose 2 packages you can get drinks and 3 speciality dining.

Also NCL has what is called Vibe area and H2O which is adults only.

Vibe costs 99.00 per person for the week. H2O is free , adultsonly during the day. Vibe is limited to approx 80 people, H2O hundreds of people. See a post below concerning vibe may be a page or 2 down.

There are more similarities than differences between the lines.

We've been on 2 RCI, 2 Carnival, and about to go in our 8th NCL. We do eat at specialty restaurants on NCL, but we've never had any complaints about the food in the MDR. I do think the food was a little better on RCI, but those cruises were 14 and 15 years ago, so I can't compare to current RCI food, and my palate may have changed since then anyway. I can't say I've found the MDR food on NCL to be any better or worse than on Carnival.

I think there's a perception that the MDR food on NCL is substandard because of all the specialty options because people believe they're trying to push you to the specialties, but I think this perception is unfounded.

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That's such a wonderful gift!

My $0.02 -- more as a wife than as a cruiser. If you are doing this as a surprise gift celebrate a special anniversary, it's better to stay with something you KNOW your wife enjoys. Save the decision to try NCL for a trip when you are choosing a trip together.

Admittedly, I have only 1 trip on each line, but I did find them a somewhat different experience. If you are going to commit this kind of money and time to a trip, probably best to both be in agreement about trying something new.

I have only been on two cruises: Carnival and then NCL. On Carnival, I was really impressed with the MDR food. On NCL, I was very disappointed. The MDR food on NCL was dry and lacking flavor. I had three delicious meals on that cruise. One was a hot dog at their 24 hour restaurant late at night. A hot dog. It had taste and flavor and it was juicy. And the other was at the buffet on my last night. The meats there were tender and succulent. And there was flavor. It was a Thanksgiving week cruise and on Thanksgiving, I had a traditional turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes and gravy meal. It was pretty tasty, but not quite as good as home made.

If I were to sail NCL again, I would likely stick to the buffet.

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With NCL choose 2 packages you can get drinks and 3 speciality dining.

Also NCL has what is called Vibe area and H2O which is adults only.

 

Vibe costs 99.00 per person for the week. H2O is free , adultsonly during the day. Vibe is limited to approx 80 people, H2O hundreds of people. See a post below concerning vibe may be a page or 2 down.

 

 

There are more similarities than differences between the lines.

Note that Vibe @ H20 are only on some ships.

Some ships have adult only areas that are free. Research the ship you're planning to book.

IMO, you really can't compare line to line. There are some similarities, like the menus, but you really have to compare ship to ship. For instance, there's no way NCL Jade is anything compared to RCL Allure of the Seas if you're looking for the grand ship experience. Same as the Escape or Epic aren't comparable to the Enchantment of the Seas, etc. They're all so different.

NCL specialty dining is excellent. NCL Main dining is far superior to Carnival. I haven't been on RCL, but from reading many reviews and friends who've sailed RCL, as well as some cruisers who are platinum on RCL who were on their first NCL cruise on the Gem in October, NCL and RCL are very similar in quality in the main dining and NCL wins at speciality.

NCL's "free" drink package is hard to beat if you're drinkers. You'll pay about $200 in gratuities (depending on length of cruise) and not get a huge bar bill at the end. RCL's drink package can add another $800-900 per couple to the cost of your vacation.

RCL's entertainment is said to be better on some of the larger ships. I've enjoyed the entertainment on all my NCL cruises so far and I'm looking forward to the Epic which is said to have even better shows.

The Thermal Spa Pass if available on your ship on NCL is worth the money. No kids, serene and relaxing. Nice couple time there. Hint, you can bring in cocktails in plastic cups.

Now, for me - any ship, any cruise would be fine by me for a surprise vacation for an anniversary. What would make it special is if my husband would find an itinerary that included some islands we'd been to before that we had really special days at, to try to recreate a little of that magic.

I have only been on two cruises: Carnival and then NCL. On Carnival, I was really impressed with the MDR food. On NCL, I was very disappointed. The MDR food on NCL was dry and lacking flavor. I had three delicious meals on that cruise. One was a hot dog at their 24 hour restaurant late at night. A hot dog. It had taste and flavor and it was juicy.

 

 

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It's always very interesting to hear someone else's opinion and find it so different than your own.

I did the Spirit twice this year, once with my husband and once with my mom. We had the specialty dining package the first cruise and the second only ate in LeBistro once and the MDR the rest of the time. We only had one meal out of 21, (ok, maybe 18, I didn't make it to breakfast every day. ) that I'd say was sub par. It was chicken and it was dry. Everything else was delicious and flavorful. I'd even go as far as to say some things were too spicy for my palate and I had to be careful that I didn't order anything spicy.

Need help! Want to surprise my wife for our anniversary. I have been on 4 RCI cruises and 5 Carnival but I have always been intrigued by NCL. Can anyone that has been on al three give me a run down on the difference. I know the obvious NCL has no dress code for dinning and they have more dinning options. My wife and I like the adult only areas and we are foodies so these are very important to us. Also I have heard that NCL main dining room food is not very good if you are going to take an NCL cruise you need to take there specialty dinning package. Any information would be great, thanks.

With NCL choose 2 packages you can get drinks and 3 speciality dining.

Also NCL has what is called Vibe area and H2O which is adults only.

 

There are more similarities than differences between the lines.

Been on 85 cruises, 4 on NCL, 40 on RCI, and 41 on other cruise lines. We just went on the Epic last month with the UBP and 4 Specialty dining included. Bad news....that cruise spoiled us! My wife got her Grey Goose Cosmos and Mojitos, and I had a huge selection of beers and wine to choose from. Cagney's was my favorite....the Filet Mignon was excellent. In my opinion, the MDR and Buffet food is better on NCL compared to RCI.

We were also impressed with the entertainment on the Epic, the production shows, bands, comedy club, etc. Always something to do.

We're sailing back to back (14 nights) on the Harmony of the Seas this Saturday....I'm really going to miss the NCL free UBP offer, but at least we'll get a few drinks in the D+ Lounge each evening.;)

My wife just booked us on the 4/16/17 Jade out of Tampa, UBP with gratuities, and shipboard gratuities included. I think I'm getting hooked on NCL.:D

Good luck with your decision and have a great anniversary cruise!

I have been on NCL about 6 times and we went on the Anthem of the Seas in September. We were very disappointed with the ship and RC. We ate at specialty dinning almost every night and though the food and service was sub par. When we went for a snack at the pizza parlor most of the tables still had previous peoples trash still sitting on it. we also felt like we were walking around a mall not a cruise ship or hotel. I was surprised because I have been on Celebrity twice and thought hey did a good job. All in all I thought NCL was much better than RC.

Need help! Want to surprise my wife for our anniversary. I have been on 4 RCI cruises and 5 Carnival but I have always been intrigued by NCL. Can anyone that has been on al three give me a run down on the difference. I know the obvious NCL has no dress code for dinning and they have more dinning options. My wife and I like the adult only areas and we are foodies so these are very important to us. Also I have heard that NCL main dining room food is not very good if you are going to take an NCL cruise you need to take there specialty dinning package. Any information would be great, thanks.

You can check out my Getaway review in my signature where I compare my experiences between my one NCL cruise on the Getaway and my two RCI cruises. My wife and I both thought NCL beat RCI in both entertainment quality and food quality, and we only did one speciality dinner at Moderno. Not to say that we wouldn't cruise with RCI again, we certainly will, but I'd give NCL the edge.

Cheers.

I prefer RCI, the service I have always found was great, and I was on Anthem of the Seas earlier this year, and it was the best food I have ever had on a cruise ship! I was NCL Pride of America last year and was very disappointed with the food and beverage. The only cruise I have received horrible food and flat drinks almost every day! I will be taking my first Carnuval cruise later this month, so I can't really speak for them. I have heard good things about NCL's newest ships though. Whatever you choose, have a great time!

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You want to really give her something memorable and that you will definitely NOT get on any RCCL ship (and we've been sailing with RCCL since 1980) : book into a Haven cabin and in one that is located IN the actual Haven area of the ship.

Worth every penny IMO and the service is outstanding.

Since this is an anniversary, I would make this a very special cruise and book on one of NCL's newer ships:

Epic

Getaway

Breakaway

Escape

I would book a The Haven Spa Suite. This is ideal for an anniversary and will get you into not only the Haven, but the thermal suite which hands down beats the thermal suite on Carnival. In fact it's not even close. This is JMO, but I think that NCL does suites better than any other cruise line. You get:

VIP embarkation and waiting room at the port

Welcome aboard flower arrangement

Welcome aboard sparkling wine and bottled water

Wine and champagne glasses in your stateroom

High end coffee/tea maker with accoutrements

Butler service (room service)

Concierge service (reservations for dinner and shows and tours)

VIP seating at shows (through the concierge)

Pillow menu (through the butler)

The Haven restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner

Access to The Haven pool and sundeck areas

Access to The Haven bar and lounge

Ability to make reservations for any MDR through concierge

Room service included (from any restaurant or bar as long as it is open when you order)

Daily Hors d'ouerves

VIP self-disembarkation - be among the first 20 or so to disembark - makes it easy to take an earlier flight home if desired.

So about The Haven Spa Suite - there is no other cruise line that offers this. You get a room with a king bed, spa tub for 2 in the room and in the bathroom, there is a huge shower - big enough for 2 with water jets and a double trough sink with 2 faucets. In addition, you get access to the thermal suite where you have access to:

Thalisotherapy pool

Water circuit

hot tub

whirlpool

heated tile loungers

padded loungers - all of this is overlooking the bow of the ship

rain showers

sauna

sanarium

steam room

salt room (Getaway, Breakaway and Escape)

snow room (Escape only)

Fruit water and tea

To me, this is perfect for an anniversary. Carnival does not offer anything like this at all. The alternative I would consider for an anniversary would be to go on the Regal Princess or Royal Princess (Princess Cruise lines).

For your anniversary dinner, I recommend you either go to Le Bistro (French restaurant), Ocean Blue (seafood restaurant) or Cagney's (Steakhouse.) If you decide to go on NCL, then make these reservations in advance via the NCL website. In addition to these specialty restaurants, there is also La Cucina (Italian), Teppanyaki (think Benihana), Moderno Churrascaria and then a sushi bar (always good). On Escape there are some other specialty restaurants with Food Republic being very popular. If you are in a suite, the Haven restaurant is excellent and very quiet and romantic and a small venue. So basically you will have the best of everything onboard. My husband and I have eaten in the MDR and in all the specialties and overall, they are all quite good to excellent. NCL also has one of the largest most comprehensive buffets at sea. But if you are in a suite, you might prefer to take breakfast and lunch in The Haven restaurant where the service and food is always outstanding.

NCL has good shows, great bars (including an ice bar on the above ships), there are 3 -5 full size water slides, rock climbing wall, ropes course, mini golf up on the pool deck. Down at O'Sheehan's which is 24x7, you can get pub food, breakfast and they have various games including bowling, and other pub type games. There is a sports court on the top deck. The pool deck is crowded on Epic, Getaway and Breakaway, but there is the free adults only area Spice H2O and then you could also get a pass for Vibe Beach Club - another adults only area. By the time NCL built Escape, they figured out a better configuration for the pool deck and it is not as crowded as the other ships. Again, if you go in a suite, you would probably go to The Haven pool, so the crowding won't matter to you at all. There is a great area on Getaway, Breakaway and Escape called The Waterfront which is mostly shaded. It is here that there is outdoor seating for several specialty restaurants - such as Ocean Blue, Cagney's. There is also a gelato stand ($) and at lunch you can get a Lobster roll ($$) from the window at Ocean Blue - these are great!

Carnival recently changed their MDR menus to pretty average fare and they don't put table cloths on the tables in the MDR anymore - so if we are on a Carnival cruise, we usually go to Chef's table one night and spend most other nights in their steakhouse. We have tried their Italian restaurant and it's mostly inedible. The buffet is good with food stations such as pizza, Indian, burrito, hamburger, Comfort Food, Italian, stir fry. Their suites are just larger cabins but don't come with any special amenities or a butler or concierge or anything. The other thing: Carnival is trying to go to servicing your cabin just once a day. So you have to figure out when you want your towels changed and when you would want ice. I really wouldn't mind the once a day service quite so much, but there is no way to refill your ice bucket without your cabin steward.

In terms of decor, I'm sure you know what Carnival's decor is like. NCL's decor on these newer ships is a lot like the decor of the Aria casino resort in Las Vegas and even the arrangement of these ships will remind you of a new casino resort in Las Vegas with the casino at the heart of the ship surrounded by the restaurants, bars, and shopping. The cabins are beautiful on NCL.

Right now, NCL is offering for suites:

free open bar

free dining package

free WIFI

free $50 shore excursion credit

and free 3rd and 4th guest (should you want to bring your kids - and if so, I recommend you get The Haven 2 bedroom suite)

So there you have it. Go online at NCL.com and see what the suite life is all about. It is a great way to really spoil your wife and make the most of your anniversary!

Need help! Want to surprise my wife for our anniversary. I have been on 4 RCI cruises and 5 Carnival but I have always been intrigued by NCL. Can anyone that has been on al three give me a run down on the difference. I know the obvious NCL has no dress code for dinning and they have more dinning options. My wife and I like the adult only areas and we are foodies so these are very important to us. Also I have heard that NCL main dining room food is not very good if you are going to take an NCL cruise you need to take there specialty dinning package. Any information would be great, thanks.

You would do far better to compare ships and itineraries than cruise lines. Taking advice about a particular cruise company online is like asking a blind man to describe an elephant:

THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT, A HINDOO FABLE.

It was six men of Indostan, to learning much inclined.

Who went to see the Elephant, though all of them were blind.

That each by observation might satisfy his mind.

The First approached the Elephant, and happening to fall

against his broad and sturdy side, and at once began to bawl.

"God bless me!—but the Elephant Is very like a wall!"

The Second, feeling of the tusk, Cried "Ho!—what have we here

So very round and smooth and sharp, To me 't is mighty clear.

This wonder of an Elephant Is very like a spear!"

The Third approached the animal and happening to take.

The squirming trunk within his hands, Thus boldly up and spake.

"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant Is very like a snake!"

The Fourth reached out his eager hand and felt about the knee.

"What most this wondrous beast is like Is mighty plain," quoth he;

" 'T'is clear enough the Elephant Is very like a tree!"

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear, said: "E'en the blindest man

Can tell what this resembles most, deny the fact who can,

This marvel of an Elephant Is very like a fan!"

The Sixth no sooner had begun about the beast to grope,

Than, seizing on the swinging tail that fell within his scope,

"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant iIs very like a rope!"

And so these men of Indostan disputed loud and long,

Each in his own opinion exceeding stiff and strong,

Though each was partly in the right and all were in the wrong!

Also if this is your anniversary and you can spend a little extra, consider the Yacht Club on MSC, much cheaper then the Haven and you get the same amenities I think.

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It's always very interesting to hear someone else's opinion and find it so different than your own.

 

 

 

I did the Spirit twice this year, once with my husband and once with my mom. We had the specialty dining package the first cruise and the second only ate in LeBistro once and the MDR the rest of the time. We only had one meal out of 21, (ok, maybe 18, I didn't make it to breakfast every day. ) that I'd say was sub par. It was chicken and it was dry. Everything else was delicious and flavorful. I'd even go as far as to say some things were too spicy for my palate and I had to be careful that I didn't order anything spicy.

It's interesting for me to hear your experience and that of others who rate NCL's food over Carnival. It certainly could have been a fluke in my situation. Maybe it was specific to the ship I was on or the meals that I ordered. The food was so dry and bland, though, that it really had an impact on me. I remember getting three bites into cheesecake one night and stopping because there really was no reason to continue eating it. Who doesn't finish eating cheesecake?!

I'm cruising Carnival in January, so I'll have another chance to compare and contrast.

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It's interesting for me to hear your experience and that of others who rate NCL's food over Carnival. It certainly could have been a fluke in my situation. Maybe it was specific to the ship I was on or the meals that I ordered. The food was so dry and bland, though, that it really had an impact on me. I remember getting three bites into cheesecake one night and stopping because there really was no reason to continue eating it. Who doesn't finish eating cheesecake?!

 

I'm cruising Carnival in January, so I'll have another chance to compare and contrast.

 

 

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I agree with you on NCL desserts, not very good. The chocolate lava cake in the MDR was very good, other then that, not too good. Pumpkin cheesecake on buffet at Thanksgiving was great. I would say RCL had better desserts. I never cruised Carnival.

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NCL - RCCL - Carnival

Totally depends on which ship on each of these.

Comparing a RCCL Oasis class to a Carnival Fantasy class isn't apples to apples. Some NCL ship are also better than others.

It's interesting for me to hear your experience and that of others who rate NCL's food over Carnival. It certainly could have been a fluke in my situation. Maybe it was specific to the ship I was on or the meals that I ordered. The food was so dry and bland, though, that it really had an impact on me. I remember getting three bites into cheesecake one night and stopping because there really was no reason to continue eating it. Who doesn't finish eating cheesecake?!

 

I'm cruising Carnival in January, so I'll have another chance to compare and contrast.

 

 

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NCL simply doesn't do deserts well. All their other food I have for the most part enjoyed but the desert were hit and miss.

I agree with you on NCL desserts, not very good. The chocolate lava cake in the MDR was very good, other then that, not too good. Pumpkin cheesecake on buffet at Thanksgiving was great. I would say RCL had better desserts. I never cruised Carnival.

 

 

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I too agree on the desserts. They weren't anything to write home about, except the chocolate fondue in LeBistro. I was always too full to care and had a Bailey's or a Port for my dessert most of the time.