Motegi

I've only sailed Oceanview so far

but my next two cruises in April and June will be in Balcony rooms. The April cruise because we are in a family suite. In June there were only balcony rooms left.

Like some of the others who responded above we only go to the room to change or sleep so we didn't really feel the need to pay extra for a balcony.

We like to attend all of the shows and the activities so we spend most of our time outside the cabin.

I'll let you know how I feel after my next two cruises though!

I've been on cruises where they had sections of the pool deck roped off for sanding and refinishing of the flooring. Some access doors to the pool deck were blocked off and it was a little annoying. No tarps. Just some cones and yellow caution tape. But it was nothing compared to this!!!

What a disturbing story.

I'm still concerned about the husband being the culprit. But Pam thinks that maybe she may have committed suicide after an argument with her husband.

I think you have two options here since you seem to have already booked your flight into Tampa

1) Call the airline and switch the destination to Ft Lauderdale or Miami

2). Rent a car in Tampa and drive to Miami yourself. Budget for at least 4 hours to get to the Port of Miami via I-75 south.

I know its a bit off topic but still in a way related.....

 

My step daughter and her cousin have decided to go on a cruise this coming April. They chose a 4-day out of Miami that goes to the Bahamas and Stirrup Cay.

 

Their line of choice? NCL! The major reason why? It has a "free open bar"!! Never mind the fact that they are paying double what a comparable Carnival cruise costs, and even if they bought the CHEERS! the cost of their cruise would still be about $100 less pp. They just want to go on a Booze Cruise.

 

When asked why not Carnival - reply: Its the Walmart of the seas....... Shaking my head.......:rolleyes:

The NCL Sky 3 and 4 day itineraries can usually be booked at under $400 per person. I got an email last week about cabins in March for something like $549 for two! Yep. $275 per person w/ open bar.

The Sky will be shifting to overnights in Cuba for the 4 day itinerary starting in May. These prices are quite a bit higher than the Bahamas 4 day cruises were. This is probably because the Cuba stop is the in demand port right now for many people and NCL is capitalizing on the excitement.

Ok here's my 2 cents... I see many parallels with my experience and your situation.

Pam also I are also frequent NCL cruisers and have enjoyed our vacations with them very much over the years.

However, two weeks ago we were on a full ship charter cruise on the Carnival Victory.

Pam had never been on Carnival before and it had been over two decades since the last CCL cruise for me. This particular cruise was essentially offered to us for free and since we have friends that always rave about Carnival, we were very excited to give the CCL Victory a try.

Overall we had fun but it was definitely different from NCL in many ways.

Embarkation was handled differently than we were used to with a large waiting room/holding area after check in followed by boarding by assigned group numbers. I would budget some extra time for this especially if you want to catch lunch before the safety drill. One thing that was really impressive was that our luggage beat us to our cabin! On NCL it usually doesn't arrive for us until after dinner.

The CCL ship decor was much more vibrant and eclectic than NCL. If one likes eye popping colors then this will suit them just fine.

Our cabin was an "obstructed" ocean view facing forward over the bridge. It actually had huge a semiprivate balcony that was only accessible through a doorway hidden on one end of the hall. There really wasn't any obstruction other than the railing height wall along the front edge. We saw almost nobody else out there during our entire cruise. We had tons of closet space and loved having the mirrored medicine cabinets in the bathroom. The TV was pretty bad though.

We had high hopes for the CCL iPhone app but found it to not be fully up and running and key features only available for an extra charge. I think the NCL app works better. I must say that we really enjoyed the opportunity to purchase an inexpensive social media only WiFi package and used it throughout.

The stand up comedy shows in the comedy club seemed to be the preferred nightly entertainment with very few attending the main theater production shows. The comedians were VERY good but be aware that the majority of the shows were geared toward adults and definitely not family friendly material. They did have a few earlier family friendly shows as well.

The buffet lines on CCL for breakfast and lunch were longer than we were accustomed to but the available seating was much easier to find. The buffet selection didn't seem to be as extensive but we always found something to eat.

Interestingly, we didn't see any staff with antibacterial hand spray at the buffet entrances like on NCL. They did have the self serve automatic dispensers on the side but I noticed that most passengers just walked right by them. I don't know about your past experience but on NCL they pretty much forcibly spray you down as they exclaim "washy! washy!" before you can even walk in. Come to think of it I don't remember seeing anyone spraying hands or being offered moist washcloths when we reboarded the ship in Nassau either...

The main dining room seating times for our cruise were pressigned and not "freestyle" like on NCL. The plus is that you may be dining with many of the same passengers each night. We struck up a conversation with the couple that were sitting at an adjacent table on the first night. By the last night we were all sitting at a big table together. It was quite nice. The dining room staff does a nightly dance performance that we found to be very amusing. The menu selection was similar in variety to NCL but Pam and I prefer the presentation and taste of NCLs offerings. However, I could understand how others would prefer CCL.

We had dinner in the main dining room every night and didn't try any upcharge restaurants. We did have dessert and coffee at the cafe which was very reasonably priced and quite delicious.

Our cabin steward on CCL was excellent and made sure to learn our names on the first day. Every time we would leave our cabin he would make sure to greet us each by name in the hall and ask if we were enjoying our day and if there was anything he could do. He was truly outstanding and we made sure to tip him very well.

Another big difference that I noted was that on CCL Victory there were less game shows, trivia, scavenger hunts scheduled each day than we were used to on NCL. Those that they did have were more relaxed/subdued than the often high energy/hyperactive activities we have seen on NCL. The cruise director was an extremely nice guy and also more low key than the boisterous ones that we have had on NCL. I was told that this CCL experience may not be the norm as it was a full ship charter cruise. Pam and I prefer having an abundance of activities each day on NCL and prefer the high energy atmosphere when we are there. But if one doesn't particularly like the organized group activities and game shows then this may not matter.

Something that I missed was that we never saw the Captain while we were on board and didn't have an opportunity to get a photo with the Captain like we have had on our past cruises. On NCL we've had the Captains come through the dining rooms and chat with us at our tables and even sit down next to us in the atriums during the live band performances. They've all been very friendly and engaging. Perhaps we just overlooked it or it was omitted from our chartered ship itinerary but we missed not having the opportunity.

Despite the differences, like I said in the beginning we still had a good time on our CCL cruise. I think as long as you are aware of the differences and not expecting a carbon copy of NCL then you'll be just fine.

Best wishes on your upcoming cruise.

I love the shows too. But I can't imagine the dance crew being so concerned with audience reaction that it would affect their ability to perform. Certainly not on a cruise. That's what I was commenting on.

I wasn't referring to the audience reaction... but rather the total lack of an audience.

I'm sure that performers would rather be in front of a packed house with an enthusiastic audience rather than the leftovers from a bingo game...

But who knows, perhaps my reasoning is incorrect, and the performers were just not very energetic and the sparsely attended theater had nothing to do with it... This would be worse in my opinion.

I was just trying to give them the benefit of the doubt.

My comments are in red :D

Summersigh,

Thanks for your comments! We figured that some of the differences we noticed may have been due to the fact that we were on a full ship charter. However the company that chartered the ship didn't really have that many things on the schedule either. We attended most of them and still had gaps where we just wandered around or went back to the cabin.

And like I said the feature stage performances had less attendance than I've seen even at nightly karaoke on NCL. It was quite sad and unfortunate since it seems to have affected the enthusiasm of the dancers and singers.

We've been on the Miami to Bahamas itinerary many times before on NCL and know what it is like even in inclement conditions which this cruise certainly was not. Like I said even other seasoned cruisers commented on the rocking that first night. Maybe we just needed to be a little more inebriated to balance it out! LOL!

For this cruise we were not offered anytime dining. It was just early or late. We chose late seating since we thought we would be so busy with activities in the afternoons. So much for that!

One thing I forgot to mention was that the embarkation process was a complete abomination. Perhaps the slowest we have ever encountered and well exceeds our previous worst of boarding the NCL Star out of Tampa. All of our other cruises from Miami have been very quick to board. To recap, we dropped off our bags and parked at the onsite terminal garage. Then we lined up outside the terminal between the ropes. Once we got inside we saw that there were 4 or 5 X-ray machines that were staffed but nobody was being let through. They said that the upstairs was backed up. About thirty minutes went by before anyone else was allowed through. Then we went upstairs and were put into another big line to check in. After checking in we were then crammed into the standing room only waiting area with everyone else as we waited for our group numbers to be called over the PA system. Hundreds and hundreds of people were filling up the seats, standing in the aisles, and sitting on the ground. Each step took longer than the previous. In fact it took so long that by the time we finally boarded our bags were at the room before us!

We barely had time to make it to lunch before the muster drill.

My comments are in red :D

Summersigh,

Thanks for your comments! We figured that some of the differences we noticed may have been due to the fact that we were on a full ship charter. However the company that chartered the ship didn't really have that many things on the schedule either. We attended most of them and still had gaps where we just wandered around or went back to the cabin.

And like I said the feature stage performances had less attendance than I've seen even at nightly karaoke on NCL. It was quite sad and unfortunate since it seems to have affected the enthusiasm of the dancers and singers.

We've been on the Miami to Bahamas itinerary many times before on NCL and know what it is like even in inclement conditions which this cruise certainly was not. Like I said even other seasoned cruisers commented on the rocking that first night. Maybe we just needed to be a little more inebriated to balance it out! LOL!

For this cruise we were not offered anytime dining. It was just early or late. We chose late seating since we thought we would be so busy with activities in the afternoons. So much for that!

One thing I forgot to mention was that the embarkation process was a complete abomination. Perhaps the slowest we have ever encountered and well exceeds our previous worst of boarding the NCL Star out of Tampa. All of our other cruises from Miami have been very quick to board. To recap, we dropped off our bags and parked at the onsite terminal garage. Then we lined up outside the terminal between the ropes. Once we got inside we saw that there were 4 or 5 X-ray machines that were staffed but nobody was being let through. They said that the upstairs was backed up. About thirty minutes went by before we started moving at all. Then we went upstairs and were put into another line to check in. After checking in we were then crammed into the standing room only waiting area with everyone else as we waited for our group numbers to be called over the PA system. Each step took longer than the previous. In fact it took so long that by the time we finally boarded our bags were at the room before us!

We barely had time to make it to lunch before the muster drill.

Hey everyone!

Pam and I just completed a full ship charter cruise on the Victory two weeks ago. It was a short 3 night cruise to the Bahamas.

It was Pam's first cruise on CCL and my first time back on in 20+ years. We usually sail with NCL. We got free vouchers for this cruise so we couldn't turn down the opportunity to try CCL especially after hearing some of our friends rave about Carnival so much.

Unfortunately, the ship was much rockier leaving from the port of Miami. Almost all of the seasoned cruisers on board said the same thing. The ship staff said that it is always rocky on the first night leaving Miami but we've sailed from Miami many times and not felt the waves quite as much. The weather was clear with some wind. I remember on my last CCL cruise (2 decades ago) it was extremely rocky as well with so many people getting motion sick everywhere. The staff at the time on the Jubillee blamed a malfunction of the stabilization system as the cause. Luckily Pam and I don't suffer from motion sickness onboard so it didn't affect us as much as it did the others. Things did smooth out considerably after the first night though (2nd night was spent docked in Nassau).

Next we found the choreographed stage performances to be lacking. The evening shows were so poorly attended it was staggering especially considering the usual standing room only theaters we encounter on NCL for their shows. For the welcome aboard show on Victory we went in 15 minutes ahead to "make sure" that we got a decent seat. There were maybe only 40-50 people seated in the entire theater playing bingo which lasted until about 10 minutes past the scheduled showtime. When the bingo ended and the cruise director came on stage to start the show several groups got up and left making the theater even emptier. We ended up sitting front row center which was great for us but I think the dancers and singers must've noticed the poor attendance and we could tell they were not as enthusiastic in their performance which only made things worse. In our past experience I n NCL and RCI all of the seating for the evening shows have been packed to the gills and we enjoyed the performances more than CCL.

On the other hand we did notice that the stand up comedy shows in the comedy lounge were much better attended than the main stage productions. But even still it wasn't difficult at all to walk in late and get a decent seat. The comedians were quite crude but it was still very enjoyable.

Being used to freestyle dining on NCL it was a little different to go back to the assigned dining times on CCL. We found the MDR service to be very pleasant if a little on the slow side. Perhaps because they had to serve each course to every table at around the same time. One night we didn't even get a bread basket. The food quality was good but I think Pam and I prefer the taste and choices of the MDR options on NCL more.

The buffet lines on the Victory for lunch and breakfast were much longer/slower than we were used to on NCL. I will say that the Victory's buffet bacon was far superior than the burnt ends we've seen too often on NCL. But the eggs benedict was not something I would try again. And the burgers were quite overdone and dry. Overall I found the offerings to be a little more limited on the Victory than NCL.

The overall decor of the Victory was very vibrant with emerald green dominating the main atrium and colorful Spanish tiles up on the walls around the pool deck. There was certainly nothing subdued about it. The main lobby at the base of the atrium was quite crowded with the bar taking up a significant amount of space. And the photo setups at night only made the clutter worse. We did really miss having the schools of fish carpeting on the floor of the passenger cabin halls that would help orient us fore and aft on NCL. Overall I think I like the more elegant decore of NCL over the eclectic eye popping colors of CCL.

We did notice that on the Victory there were not as many daily activities listed on the schedule as on NCL. We are used to having so many things like scavenger hunts, trivia, game shows that our afternoons and nights would be fully booked on NCL. On many occasions with NCL we would have to choose between attending one activity or another because they would overlap. It was not this way on the Victory with large gaps on our schedule. Maybe it was because it was a full ship charter or maybe because CCL guests prefer to just hang out by the pool. We live in Florida and have a pool at home so when we cruise we really prefer to enjoy the group activities onboard. We were honestly surprised at the slow pace after hearing so much about the "fun ships". Even the cruise director staff didn't seem very enthusiastic for any of the events which kept the energy level low for the attendees as well.

The one thing that redeemed the entire experience for us was the fact that the full ship charter meant that almost everyone in board had a common interest and it was very easy to strike up conversations with other passengers. We met so many people in person who I've only ever conversed with online and our group excursion on Nassau was more fun than I've ever had on an excursion before. And I've been to Nassau at least 10 times so it certainly wasn't the stops but rather the enthusiasm of our fellow passengers on the bus that made the trip most memorable for us.

Overall I would say that I liked the Victory more than my last trip on CCL but I think Pam and I will stick with NCL in the future. We are already booked on the NCL Pride of America in April for its 7-day Hawaii itinerary. And this weekend we signed up for the MSC Divina in June and are very excited to see what MSC Cruises has to offer.

As a footnote to prove that we aren't "cruise snobs" we have some good friends who will be getting married on the CCL Splendor in May and are hoping to attend if we can fit it into our schedule. Perhaps the third time on CCL will be the charm for me. We shall see!

Pete,

Thanks so much for the info! We are all looking forward to our trip!

Koji

Just booked a block of 4 cabins on the Divina for Pam, myself, and 6 family members. For three of them it will be their first cruise vacation! They're so excited!

The rest of us are seasoned cruisers but MSC will be a new experience for all of us.

The MSC telephone agent assigned us cabins 9129, 9131, 9135, and 9137.

I know it is tucked in the concave portion of the ship but is is several decks down from the overhang so will the view be OK?

Also, 9135 and 9137 are three rooms away from the atrium so hopefully it won't be too noisy.

Kroozen,

Thanks so much for the quick reply!

We will try to board around noon based on your experience.

I really appreciate your info about the theme nights so that we can prepare our outfits.

I can understand the feeling of being buried in all the papers and handouts every day. In your opinion based on your prior cruises with NCL would you say the number of activities offered onboard the Divina each day was comparable? Things like trivia, game shows, scavenger hunts, etc?

We just got off the CCL Victory two weeks ago. It had been over 2 decades since my last cruise with them. Even though it is supposed to be the "fun ship" I found the activity schedule to be lacking in number and quality. On NCL it seems that there are so many activities that overlap that we cannot possibly do everything that we want. Which is a good thing!

Very glad to hear that you enjoyed your cruise.

I just booked for 4 rooms in June for Pam and myself and some relatives that will be visiting us from Japan. It will be their very first cruise.

You said the boarding process was very smooth. I've read reviews from others that said it was standing room only. Any pointers on embarkation times? Should we try to board right at the beginning or wait until later?

How many formal nights were there? Other than the white party were there any other theme nights?

Also do you have any of the daily schedules to post here? I'd love to see what kinds of activities that they have around the ship.

I anxiously await your full review!

Thanks in advance,

Koji

I was planning to take a group of 8 relatives on the NCL Sky in May/June 2017. I already bought the Cruise Next deposits when I was on board the Sky last week. They made no mention that the itinerary was going to change.

I really hope that they will still offer the current itinerary next year and not just the Cuba overnight cruise.