New to NCL from Princess & Carnival

Hello all! Next fall the Hubs and I will be taking our first NCL cruise, on the Dawn from QC to Boston. Looking forward to it! As the title states, we have been on Princess and Carnival in the past and are used to their ships and quirks and this and that. I have read a bit about NCL - know they have more restaurants and all....but wondered from those of you that have done these two different cruise lines in the past what to expect? Things that are different? Same? Things to check out for sure? I'll be glad to check out a new drink list, LOL. Does the Dawn have a good wine bar?

Thanks so much for your help! I've been on those other two message boards for so long I feel like I've wandered into a different community....different lingo and locations.....yikes! So much to learn!

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Can't say I'm in the same boat - lol, we just switched from Carnival to NCL Escape to Bermuda next September. I need to learn all about NCL too and this is a great place to do it! Enjoy your cruise .:)

I have been on a few NCL and Carnival cruises.....never a Princess. My sister has been on NCL and Carnival and her fav was Celebrity but ...we are older and even though an older ship she liked the more intimate upscale (in her opinion) service. My opinion is that it's not just about the line but more what has been going on in any one ship at any given time. I have had fabulous experience on the Breakaway and then another cruise not so much...same with Carnival...some great some not so much. I found equally the food experience to be unequal depending on sailing no matter what ship. I disagree with many others as I have never found Carnival to be "party ship" with drunks and fights but I have only been on 7 and 8 day sailings. My suggestion......relax and go with the flow, nothing is totally perfect or bad....you make of it what you will.......and I can tell you some of my most fun (now) and memorable times are when things went totally of the rails bad :)

I'm not one who complains about butter pats or table clothes lol! Just wondered what was different actually about the ships. Anything specific we should know? It will be fun to actually not know where things are....

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Hello all! Next fall the Hubs and I will be taking our first NCL cruise, on the Dawn from QC to Boston. Looking forward to it! As the title states, we have been on Princess and Carnival in the past and are used to their ships and quirks and this and that. I have read a bit about NCL - know they have more restaurants and all....but wondered from those of you that have done these two different cruise lines in the past what to expect? Things that are different? Same? Things to check out for sure? I'll be glad to check out a new drink list, LOL. Does the Dawn have a good wine bar?

 

Thanks so much for your help! I've been on those other two message boards for so long I feel like I've wandered into a different community....different lingo and locations.....yikes! So much to learn!

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If you're not in the Haven on NCL, you will find the experience to be generally the same - perhaps more like Princess than Carnival, although I have not been on a Princess cruise. I say that because most of the mass-market cruise lines offer the same basic product, and since they all compete with each other, they tend to offer the same perks and features, just with different names.

NCL's claim to fame was "Freestyle" dining...they were the first to start the concept, which was basically no set seating times for meals. All the other lines brought the same concept into their ships pretty quickly. Then came the move into adding many specialty restaurants to ships, and now, with NCL giving away packages of "free" specialty restaurant dinners, "Freestyle" has become much less so with regard to the specialty restaurants. You now have to make reservations for those restaurants (but still not for the Main Dining Rooms, unless you have a large party to seat).

None the less, those specialty restaurants are quite good. And yet, as they multiplied on the ships, we felt like the quality of the "Freestyle" dining options went down.

Dress codes are much less formal than on some other lines. Although there is at least one formal night on each cruise, it's definitely not required that you participate, and you'll see some people who do dress up, but the majority do not. "Cruise casual" is the rule of the day on NCL - you can see what that is on their website.

NCL has a marketing agreement with Mondavi wineries, if I remember correctly. Almost all the ships have some kind of wine bar. On the smaller ships it may be part of another bar, but on the bigger ships, like Escape, it's a separate themed bar. The wine lists in general are heavy on the usual suspects: California wines and their own "branded" wines. Because of current tastes, it's almost impossible to find anything outside of he usual Pinot Noir, Cab, Merlot, and Chardonnay. The only way I can get even a moderately appealing Bordeaux or Beaujolais is to order it off the high $ wine list - it won't be included in the UBP, but you do get a discount on the bottle.

We've sailed Carnival, RCCL, Celebrity and NCL. Carnival ships tend to be party ships, and while we like to party, we don't go on cruises to stay drunk for the whole cruise. Of course, there are cruisers on NCL who do that anyway...particularly now that NCL has moved into the Unlimited Beverage Package era.

I think I agree most with another poster on your thread, who said that a cruise is what you make of it. With all the cruise lines offering the same basic package, it's really up to you to decide if you like a particular cruise line or not.

Now..if you're in the Haven on NCL, that's a whole different ballgame. IMO, NCL does the "suite life" better than any other mass market line. If you are in the suites on your cruise and would like to know more, let us know.

my first cruise was on Carnival. I hated it and said cruising was not for me. Fortunately, i decided to try again on NCL. Now im addicted and i love it!

NCL's food and entertainment is far superior to Carnival IMO. The ships are full of all ages, and the party vibe is perfect for us (not spring break out of control, but not a snooze fest either). Now that weve dabbled in suite life on a couple of occasions we really like waht NCL offers.

We aren't in Haven at the moment... in a mini suite. Need to check into that. Thank you everyone! We will find the wine bar for sure...

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I'm also still trying to get used to their website!! Good thing we have awhile until we go! Should be fun to figure out over these long winter months! Thanks again for your insight.

We sailed on the Dawn last March right before before the complete refurb and loved her. From others that have sailed on her since it seems she is even better after the refurb.

There are two main dining rooms that you can go to with the freestyle concept. The Venetian is bigger and grander and the Reflections is smaller and more intimate. You can make reservations ahead of time if you would like to skip the line but they are not needed. The food is the same for both every night. I know someone else said the food is better than Carnival but I found it the other way for the main dining room. The pay restaurants on NCL are better and more options. From what people say, Los Lobos is a great mexican restaurant that they added with the refurb.

One deck 8 is Cellars Wine Bar to answer your wine question.

The Dawn is not going to have all the bells and whistles that mega ships are going to have be she is a very classic ship.

Don't know anything about Carnival. Have sailed NCL and Princess. They are different. Princess skews older, more homogeneous crowd, refined/elegant, more traditional, fewer dining options. Very classy and can be a bit of a snooze depending on the sailing and ship. NCL has always struck me as having a very diverse crowd in terms of their personal style, age, race, etc, across the board. So it makes for a nice mix of people. It's more casual, more modern, more laid back and they excel in their variety of dining options which is important to me. Overall they're both excellent but NCL would be better for younger people, as they have more fun things to do (depending on ship) like water slides, ropes courses, ice bars, etc.

Overall they're both excellent but NCL would be better for younger people, as they have more fun things to do (depending on ship) like water slides, ropes courses, ice bars, etc.

The Dawn actually has none of those. They have a small kiddie pool area at the back of the ship that has small slides. Even with those items missing, my kids still talk about our Dawn cruise more than our Disney and Carnival one.

Don't know anything about Carnival. Have sailed NCL and Princess. They are different. Princess skews older, more homogeneous crowd, refined/elegant, more traditional, fewer dining options. Very classy and can be a bit of a snooze depending on the sailing and ship. NCL has always struck me as having a very diverse crowd in terms of their personal style, age, race, etc, across the board. So it makes for a nice mix of people. It's more casual, more modern, more laid back and they excel in their variety of dining options which is important to me. Overall they're both excellent but NCL would be better for younger people, as they have more fun things to do (depending on ship) like water slides, ropes courses, ice bars, etc.

We've sailed on the Dawn many times, once on NCL Breakaway, and once on Carnival Glory. One thing I remember is how small the buffet was on Carnival. Maybe 30 ft long, compared to 300+ ft long on the Dawn. Carnival had a separate window for deli sandwiches, and Guy's burgers, and another 1 or 2 windows for specific types of food. I much prefer the huge selection of "serve yourself" buffet foods on NCL, which includes deli, burgers, hot dogs, Asian, Indian, American, and more. The Dawn has also added a burger station in the pool area, next to "Sprinkles" Ice Cream.

As others have said, Carnival had more "party atmosphere" bars onboard, and few quieter bars. The Dawn has "Bliss Lounge", a large club with various party activities day & night (live music, karoke, games, dance contests, etc). The other bars are more subdued at night, with maybe a piano player & singer. There's usually a musical duo playing in the main lobby/atrium at night.

There is a nice wine bar (new last year) on deck 7.

The NCL stage shows were much better, and more professional than Carnival.

The free restaurant food was comparable on both lines. The upcharge restaurants on Dawn are very good, but don't please everyone. It's subjective.

Cabins/pool area & activities/public areas were pretty similar on both lines, although I did like the separate "adult pool" on Carnival.

These are just some of my observations from my one trip on Carnival Glory (comparable size to the Dawn). I don't know how other Carnival ships would compare.

You all are so helpful!! Thank you!

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I'm not one who complains about butter pats or table clothes lol! Just wondered what was different actually about the ships. Anything specific we should know? It will be fun to actually not know where things are....

 

 

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Haha! You have to be a Carnival & Princess insider to get that! I'll be on NCL for the first time in 16 years next month, with only Princess & Carnival in between.

I cruise mostly on NCL, but have done one Princess cruise. I would sail Princess again, but usually look at NCL first.

I'm not a "foodie," but I enjoyed the food on both (although Princess' Italian food and pizza are much better).

NCL restaurants have many more tables for two, which I like. On Princess, we were seated immediately if we wanted to share a table for 6 or 8, but had a lengthy wait for a table for two. (We did the anytime dining.)

I like that NCL doesn't really have formal nights. We actually skipped one of the formal nights on Princess, and went to the buffet!

I prefer NCL's shows and entertainment (although I did enjoy Princess' Movies Under the Stars!).

Hope this helps...

my first cruise was on Carnival. I hated it and said cruising was not for me. Fortunately, i decided to try again on NCL. Now im addicted and i love it!

NCL's food and entertainment is far superior to Carnival IMO. The ships are full of all ages, and the party vibe is perfect for us (not spring break out of control, but not a snooze fest either). Now that weve dabbled in suite life on a couple of occasions we really like waht NCL offers.

This x1000000

I HATE the entertainment on CCL. garbage unfunny comedians that couldn't hack it on land. For me the ship is the destination as I like to catch up w/ the people i am sailing w/. CCL's ships leave much to be desired. I haven't been on the magic ship or w/e it's called. I sail CCL only when my friends drag me as they refuse to go on NCL b/c of the minor price difference.

We have cruised Carnival and NCL. In my opinion, the food on Carnival is better. The pizza on NCL is inedible, and I miss the deli and Guys burgers when cruising on NCL. The drink prices on Carnival are cheaper. However with UBP, NCL wins there. The entertainment on NCL is far superior. The shows are really well done. The live music (everywhere) is fantastic. While the food may not be as good, you can always find something you like. NCL ships are easy to maneuver(even the giant ones!). Service on both lines have been excellent. I'm sure you will have a great time on NCL

We have cruised Carnival and NCL. In my opinion, the food on Carnival is better. The pizza on NCL is inedible, and I miss the deli and Guys burgers when cruising on NCL. The drink prices on Carnival are cheaper. However with UBP, NCL wins there. The entertainment on NCL is far superior. The shows are really well done. The live music (everywhere) is fantastic. While the food may not be as good, you can always find something you like. NCL ships are easy to maneuver(even the giant ones!). Service on both lines have been excellent. I'm sure you will have a great time on NCL

Food is subjective. I make a B line for the steak in the MDR. I cannot eat the steaks on CCL...and this was before the change to american top or w/e they call it.

I have cruised mostly on Princess. As someone else stated I also really enjoy the Movies under the stars. Princess also has the Princess Air option. They offer reduced air fares for most US based airlines and they are refundable and/or payable by the due date of air fare. Does NCL have anything like this? I know RCL does. Thanks

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Have cruised with both Carnival (3X) and NCL (1X). Our cruise with NCL was on the Dawn about 3 years ago out of Boston. We found the Dawn to be lacking in space at night. There wasn't much public space and the pub did Karaoke every night. The MDR and Buffet food was much better on Carnival as was the service in the MDR.

Didn't find the Carnival cruises to have any more partiers than NCL or Disney for that matter. The shows weren't any better or worse on either. NCL at the time had a contract with Second City and they did have some funny shows. As for stand-up, the CCL comedians were better.

The Dawn was pretty easy to get around and the cabins were pretty close to the CCL cabins.