dolita22

I've called in gifts multiple times and never had a problem as long as I knew their names and their sailing date. Never had a reservation number or even cabin number.

 

Ditto this! We ordered wine and birthday decorations for one of my parents' cruises a year ago and did not have the reservation number. Just name and sailing date. Their room was decorated and the wine was on their vanity no problems. And they were surprised! :-)

I've sailed on two of the three ships you've sailed on. All fun cruises. For my husband and me (early 30s), it comes down to liking Freestyle and it fitting our needs. We recently sailed on Royal's Independence for our honeymoon, having sailed the Epic last year and thoroughly enjoying that cruise. For us, while the Indy cruise was fun and went to some great ports, we felt Royal's MyTime Dining/"freestyle" wasn't as well-honed as NCL's Freestyle. To each their own, but NCL works for us.

 

If there's an NCL itinerary you're curious about, why not check it out! Sure, there are some differences between the lines, but I think they are all more similar than different.

Hello, fellow Wisconsinite!

I would suggest comparing costs of itineraries you're interested in, both during summer and over your Christmas break, and pick the itinerary that best fits your budget.

If all things are equal (costs, itineraries, etc.), and based on how awful and long this past winter was, I would suggest going over your winter break. We've cruised during the last two winters and it is so nice to escape the cold and snow and spend a week in warm weather.

Whatever you choose, don't worry about trying to make it perfect. It will be a perfect vacation because you'll be with your mom and sister making some awesome memories...and maybe planning another cruise for a couple years' out!

People are frustrating. Please enjoy your first-ever cruise and honeymoon! We just got back from our honeymoon cruise a couple months ago and are so glad we chose to cruise to celebrate such an occasion. Ignore the naysayers and have a wonderful time! And congrats on your wedding! :-)

I'm not looking for "what's better or what sucks" but what are the differences in the general sense.

Entertainment

Clientele

Food

Tipping

etc.

 

I'd love to hear from those who have actually cruised both lines, preferably on caribbean itineraries. We've been on a number of RCCL cruises and we love their ships and the guest experience, but I don't want to rule out NCL. BTW, I've heard that they are oriented more towards adults and less towards kids and family (not that they don't have kid's programs, just more oriented one way).

 

Thanks in advance for your info! :)

 

I've sailed NCL twice and RCCL twice - all Caribbean/Bahamas cruises. All good cruises, but no cruise is a bad cruise in my book. :-)

 

Clientele and tipping on both lines were similar. A good mix of people of all ages.

 

We prefer entertainment on NCL more. On our last cruise on RCCL in February, on breaks between shows, we felt like the only other options for entertainment were to go to bars. My husband and I enjoy drinks, but felt entertainment options on RCCL were not as plentiful as on NCL. Maybe it was just us and how we timed going to dinner (MyTime Dining), I'm not sure.

 

Food -- subjective! I haven't liked the food on RCCL as much as NCL. My husband isn't picky at all, but didn't like the food much on RCCL in February -- except for Johnny Rockets and the ice cream on the pool deck. We like NCL's MDR and complimentary food options, and have not yet eaten in a specialty restaurant.

 

For us, it comes down to enjoying NCL's Freestyle concept and not feeling as, for lack of a better term, confined by the more traditional way of cruising on other lines. After our RCCL cruise in February, we decided we prefer NCL's Freestyle of cruising with not getting dressed up for dinner, eating when we want to eat, etc., to RCCL's more traditional style of cruising.

 

Hope that helps some. If you're looking for something new, I'd suggest trying NCL. Can't go wrong with a cruise. :-)

Just sailed RCCL in February and NCL last year. I have sailed both lines twice, and Carnival three times.

 

1. We enjoy the entertainment most on NCL the most. Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soleil, Fat Cats, Howl at the Moon...it seemed like there was always something happening on our NCL cruises! I think Legally Blonde is on the Getaway. On Royal in February, if a show wasn't being presented in the evening, they seemed to push everyone to the bars for entertainment. My husband and I are drinkers, but it seemed strange that we could never find a show that aligned to our (MyTime) dining routine. We did enjoy the ice show, though! Super cool (ha).

 

2. We thoroughly enjoy the MDR, buffet, room service, other complimentary restaurants on NCL. I would save the money and not buy the UDP. If you have a little extra in the budget on the cruise, you could always dine at one speciality restaurant one night. We won't buy the UDP on our next NCL cruise and have yet to eat at a speciality restaurant on any cruise, though wished we would have on the Indy in February. Not picky eaters at all, but suffice it to say we did not gain any weight on that cruise. ;-)

 

3. We have never felt nickel & dimed on NCL - or any line, really. We generally buy one or two excursions and a couple drinks each day on every cruise, but don't buy pictures, go to art auctions or spend much else on board. Personally, I don't think one of the mainstream cruiselines nickels and dimes any more than the others.

 

Enjoy your cruise on the Getaway! I've read awesome reviews about that ship. If it wasn't on the same itinerary as we did on the Epic last year, I'd sail the Getaway in a heartbeat!

I love the lemon sorbet with that cookie/wafer-type thing in the MDR! So yummy after a filling dinner. :-) Both my husband and my dad enjoy the chocolate raspberry truffle cake in the MDR and the beef/pork slider -- burger, topped with pulled pork and cheese. They found it the last day of our Epic cruise last year and my husband has been craving it ever since! Good thing we have another cruise booked for next year.

Just spoke to my friends and looks like we're going to be changing our dates to January. Just waiting to hear back from my TA to confirm

Thanks everyone for helping me out. Greatly appreciated.

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

I was going to say to check January! My husband and I (early 30s) have cruised in late January/early February the past couple years and ships have not been over-run with kids at that time. There are a few, but not nearly the number there are during spring break. Plus, January/early February are nice times to escape the cold.

 

Have fun planning!

just remember if you are having breakfast at the airport you will probably need to do that before you collect your luggage? I don't remember seeing any restaurants once you exit security, unless at a hotel maybe?

 

If you're flying into FLL, there are a couple small restaurant kiosks (Chili's To Go, for example) and only one restaurant (Chili's) after you exit security. We had the opposite problem flying home from FLL in February - trying to find a restaurant at FLL before security. The Chili's To Go did not have much of a selection and the only pre-security restaurant was Chili's in Terminal 3 (I believe). So all that said, I would do as you suggested and have breakfast before existing security and collecting luggage.

 

Enjoy your cruise, OP!

We take all reviews with a grain of salt. There are the highest-praise ones and the lowest-low ones. Somewhere in the middle is everything else, and those are the ones we pay attention to.

 

We sailed the Epic last year, and we're sailing again next year. My parents have sailed it twice as well. The Epic is a really great ship! Many shows (Cirque du Soleil, Blue Man Group) and activities and lots of choices for good, complimentary food (MDRs, O'Sheehans, the buffet, room service). I agree with the PP that said you do not have to pay extra for good food.

 

Don't worry. You're on a cruise! Go in with an open mind, research ahead of time, take reviews with a grain of salt, and you will have a great trip!

Not exactly recently...but back in 2011. Loved the Sky! It was my first NCL cruise and my parents' first-ever cruise. Got them hooked on cruising. I'm trying to convince my husband we need to cruise the Sky later this year.

 

It's a great ship! Are you on the 3- or 4-day? We did the 4-day and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was an easy ship to get around, staff were friendly, and the ship itself was in good condition, considering the number of people on board each week/weekend.

 

Can't help with the kids' club...sorry.

 

Looks like the Sky may have gone into drydock in October 2013? Check out this thread: http://messages.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1923924

 

Enjoy your cruise on the Sky!

I've sailed NCL twice and Royal twice - most recently on Royal on the Independence in February for our honeymoon. While we enjoyed the cruise itself, we walked away from it knowing that NCL is our preferred cruise line, largely in part to Freestyle. Eat when you want, with whom you want, without reservations (except for specialty restaurants) in a casual environment. NCL has Freestyle down, whereas Royal's MyTime Dining was not as streamlined in that we ended up having to make reservations for MyTime Dining in the MDR when we wanted to eat there. We didn't feel like there was as much flexibility on Royal in terms of dining, and not as much variety either. I have read on here that the "vibe" in the Indy is off, so maybe that had something to do with it. Regardless, we didn't enjoy the food on the Indy as much we enjoyed the food on NCL, and we aren't picky!

 

The Freestyle concept aside, NCL and Royal ships seemed to be comparable in amenities, with Royal ships being more understated in decor.

 

We've enjoyed NCL's entertainment more than Royal.

 

Pools were comparable on both, I think. Enough to go around. We absolutely LOVED the cantilevered hot tubs on the Indy!

 

In the end, I do think they're more similar than different, with the exception of NCL being a bit more relaxed and comfortable (for us) than Royal.

 

Really, no cruise is a bad cruise. :-)

I've sailed all three lines, and NCL is my favorite (and now my husband's favorite), mainly because of the Freestyle concept and especially when it comes to Freestyle dining. We sailed the NCL Epic in January 2013 and the RCCL Indy in February of this year. Carnival and Royal's Your Time/MyTime Dining options didn't seem as streamlined as Freestyle dining, at least to us. I can imagine it's challenging with the traditional dining mixed in, but we much prefer Freestyle dining of eating when you want without having to make a reservation at the MDR -- unlike what we had to do with MTD on RCCL in February. I'm not sure why a reservation was needed for MTD, but they had us make them on RCCL. Plus, we like dressing more casual for dinner (shorts/Hawaiian shirt for my husband, sundresses for me), and on RCCL, we felt like that was too casual.

 

Enjoyed the entertainment on NCL more than on Carnival and Royal.

 

Enjoyed the food more on NCL. Subjective, but we aren't picky eaters and for once neither gained weight on our Royal cruise in February. :-)

 

Rooms are comparable in size/amenities on all three, I'd say -- except for the bathroom setup on the Epic, and that didn't bother us. We've been in balconies on Royal and NCL (and I've been in insides and oceanviews on Carnival). Have heard the "suite life" is best on NCL, and we will try it someday!

 

Staff on all three were friendly. Everyone we encountered on cruises has generally been nice and helpful.

 

Hope that helps! Give NCL a try. No cruise is a bad cruise. :-)

Not sure if this is helpful, but here goes! While I haven't sailed the Freedom, we did sail the Freedom's sister ship, Independence of the Seas, in February of this year. From what I understand from talking to people on our sailing who sailed both, Freedom and Indy were comparable in size, amenities, etc., but people seemed to prefer the Freedom.

That said, we sailed the Epic in January 2013, and loved it, so the Indy and RCCL had a lot to live up to. Hands down, we loved the Epic. Maybe it's because we got engaged on that ship, but we felt there were more activities that suited us on NCL, food was better (subjective issue!) on NCL, and that we much prefer the Freestyle concept, especially at dinner, over RCCL's MyTime Dining. We just prefer NCL to RCCL in the end. Loved the Indy's itinerary, though!

I've seen a few RCCL folks refer to the Epic as "fuggly," but it's a beautiful ship once you're on it. Bowling at sea is fun, Blue Man Group was great to see, loved the workout room and ship's pools on the Epic, etc. Even the bathroom setup didn't bother us. It's a really nice ship. We're going back in January of next year and can't wait!

Again, not sure how helpful that was, but I think you'll enjoy the Epic. Research ahead of time, go in with an open mind, and enjoy your cruise!

Not sure about the specific square footage of the balcony, but we had a B5 balcony last year and had plenty of space for two of us to sit. Two chairs and a small table, and we had plenty of space to stretch our legs. My parents and sister had B6s on the Epic and they were much bigger than our balcony -- so much so that, although they only had two chairs and a table, the could have put two loungers and the table out there instead! There is plenty of room on Epic balconies, IMO. I've heard they're much larger than the Getaway balconies.

I sailed the NCL Sky a couple years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a small ship with a friendly crew. Rooms are small, but with being in port each day, you'll likely be out and about anyway. We enjoyed the food on NCL and the Freestyle concept suits us well. Sailed RCCL about a month ago and decided we'll stick with NCL for the time being, unless an RCCL itinerary appeals to us in a few years.

 

Enjoy the Sky! Can't go wrong with any cruise. :-)

I'm not even sailing the Breakaway, but am enjoying your review and writing style! Glad you had what sounds like a good cruise and a happy birthday!

Bummer! It's a beautiful island; my husband loves St. Maarten. Glad we've gotten to visit twice, and it will be fun to visit Tortola eventually, but like another poster, we may have to check out different lines if we want to go back to St. Maarten.

Glad you had a good time, despite the queasiness! Another seasickness remedy: green apples from the buffet. They help with nausea as well.

 

Have fun on your next cruise!

We did this Sky itinerary a couple years ago. Here are my suggestions:

 

On Grand Bahama Island (Freeport), go snorkeling. We did a snorkeling excursion through NCL and enjoyed it. I don't think we would have enjoyed Freeport as much as we did if we hadn't done the excursion. There's a little shopping area off the port as well.

 

Nassau - if you haven't been, take the water taxi to Atlantis. Or do a walking tour of the island. I've also heard that Junkanoo Beach (about a 15-minute walk from the ship?) is a good beach with beautiful water.

 

Great Stirrup Cay - Beach day! Put your chair in the water, order a drink, and soak up the sun.

 

Check out the ports of call board for more details, and enjoy your cruise!

We brought both on a couple weeks ago with no problems! Taped a luggage tag on and it was delivered to our stateroom. Not until near the end of the day, but still delivered!

10) When you go to a fancy dinner party you ask if there's a surcharge

 

9) Your kids refer to you as the purser

 

8) When you hear "Love Me Tender" on the radio you think how much easier it is to dock

 

7) You consider breastfeeding "My Time Dining"

 

6) You call Best Buy's "Geek Squad" for fear your PC has the NoroVirus

 

5) You sing "O Sole Mio" at the top of your lungs whenever serving spaghetti

 

4) When you go to the liquor store you ask for red, red wine

 

3) You tell the waitress at Denny's you have pre-paid gratuities

 

2) You think "Love Boat" reruns should air on The History Channel

 

1) When you see old Village People videos you wonder which one is the cruise director

 

;)

 

Hahahahaha! You're killing me! Awesome lists!

We used Bernards a few years ago, well worth it. Was a great day and they will tailor the day to match what the group would like to do. Hopefully you will get a good group of people if you aren't going by yourselves. We had one other family with us and luckily we all had the same thoughts in mind.

 

We used Bernard's last year and did the St. Maarten highlights tour, and we used him again a couple weeks ago for the Maho tour. While there was no rum punch, Coke or water on the Maho tour, we did have a private driver to take us to/from Maho. It was worth the $5 extra (vs. the taxi), we thought, especially since we found our driver when we were ready to leave. Love Bernard's tours!

 

Enjoy Maho! We've seen the KLM flight take off (last year) and land (this year) and it's quite an awesome sight. If I recall, it lands around 12:15 and takes off after 1. Quick turnaround for such a huge plane!

Hope you are escaping Wisconsin soon! It's been a brutal winter here.

 

We did the same itinerary in early February and docked on the starboard side as well.

We ordered room service breakfast nearly every day on the Indy a couple weeks ago. The menu was limited, so we ordered the same thing every day. Near the end of the week, it seemed like pickings got slim for the "plate of pastries" option, because we were given 3 rolls from the MDR dinner the night before instead of the fruit-filled pastries and croissants that were the norm the other days. :eek: We also tried to order a yogurt that was anything but strawberry and banana...guess what kind we were given? (I hate bananas.)

 

My husband enjoys having coffee on our balcony as we're sailing, which is why we always order room service breakfast. We never order room service in hotels, so we enjoy it on a cruise. Plus, we tried the WJ one day and it was a zoo!

 

Have a good cruise!