CCL Freedom or NCL Pearl which one to choose

[amistad]

I have been trying to decide on a fall cruise to take with two other couples. I have been looking at the 8 day CCL Freedom Eastern itenerary out of Ft. Lauderdale, and the 7 day NCL Pearl Eastern itenerary out of Miami. Both cruises include Tortola, which we have only been to once and it rained out our excursion the the Baths so that is one of the reasons I am looking at these two ships. The price isn't much different, both cruise lines offer a casual dress code, anytime dining, the entertainment to me is not too important, because we spend our evenings in the casino and only go to one or two shows. I posted this on the NCL board and everyone that replied pretty much felt I could not go wrong with either. I am looking fo opinions good or bad, thank you in advance.

[cschultz]

If the price was about the same, I would take the 8 day cruise without a second thought.

We just got off the Freedom, but did the Cozumel, Panama, Costa Rica Itinerary. We had a great time. It was our first time on the Freedom. Like you, I spend a lot of time in the Casino in the evenings, so I didn't go to too many shows. The cruise director was OK, and the food was very good.

[amistad]

I was originally leaning toward the 8 day just because a few years ago we did an 8 day on the Jewel of the Seas and it was one of my favorite cruises I have been on, but then the comments on the Carnival board recently for the Freedom haven't been real complementary so I was kind of having second thoughts. Thanks for your input.

[cruisinsly]

If the price was about the same, I would take the 8 day cruise without a second thought.

 

I second this opinion. If it is not much more, then one extra day would be very nice.

[postalgrrl]

We are booked on the Carnival Freedom on Oct. 9, 2010. You should join us. We are really excited about the itenerary. We have not been to any of the ports before. There is also a roll call

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1086233

[The forever cruiser]

We just got off the freedom and had a great time. The food and service was very good. 8 days was great. Entertainment was good. We did the Pearl to Alaska this past August and were not pleased at all. The ship was beautiful but the service and food were terrible. We'll never do NCL again. We're thinking of doing the freedom again next February.

[Mary Ellen1]

Have not been on either ship, but we've got the Freedom booked for Thanksgiving week, and are looking forward to it. And as others have said, if the 8-day price is close to the 7-day price, definitely go for the longer cruise.

 

We've sailed Norwegian (the Spirit) once before, and once was more than enough. The food was awful (which may have been specific to that ship), but the bigger problem was with the all-anytime dining. At least with Carnival, half of the passengers have scheduled, Traditional early or late seating dining. Leaving the other half to stand around waiting for a table with Anytime Dining every night. But on NCL, everyone has anytime dining, meaning everyone seems to want a table at the same time, and we found the waits for a table to be awful. Every night.

[Kstofflet]

We did the Pearl in 07 and had an upsell to the Owner's Suite. This was such a treat. The ship was absolutely gorgeous. We've done the Glory in 08 and did not like the layout of the ship.

 

We are scheduled to do the Freedom on May 2 for the 6 day Western Itinerary. My only critique of NCL is the food quality. Even with the Owner's Suite and the option to eat at Cagney's and private dining, the food was awful. Plus the anytime dining was always filled when trying to select a restaurant. We ended up in the MDR because of this most nights. The one restaurant (Italian) was TERRIBLE and the service was slow. Now I'm not going to state Carnival's food is equivalent to a Morton's steakhouse ... (more on the par of an Applebees) but NCL's food is more in line with hospital grub... just my opinion. Basically, if you want to go on a cruise and not gain any weight select NCL. :)

[skittl1321]

Is it true that Freedom has only 1 show each night? I read this complaint in only one review- that the late dinner seating was expected to go to the show BEFORE dinner.

 

We enjoy both the late seating AND shows... we are looking to book Freedom for the Eastern Carribean itinerary, which seems fantastic.

[amistad]

We are booked on the Carnival Freedom on Oct. 9, 2010. You should join us. We are really excited about the itenerary. We have not been to any of the ports before. There is also a roll call

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1086233

That is the date we are looking at. We have been to all the ports before, but got rained out in Tortola and only once to Antigua and it was beautiful.

[amistad]

Thanks everyone for all the good replies, I really enjoyed the 8 day itenerary we went on before, that extra day seemed to add to the cruise experience (probably all in my mind).

[kenrod]

Is it true that Freedom has only 1 show each night? I read this complaint in only one review- that the late dinner seating was expected to go to the show BEFORE dinner.

 

We enjoy both the late seating AND shows... we are looking to book Freedom for the Eastern Carribean itinerary, which seems fantastic.

The Carnival Freedom has two shows nightly. This accomodates both the early and late seating diners.

 

My experience on the Norwegian Pearl is that there is only one show per night. The restaurants and dining rooms are a free-for-all, because everyone wants to eat at the same time, then the same crowds all try to go to the show at the same time.

 

Either way, I still had a good time on both the Freedom and the Pearl.

[PROCRUISE]

I have been trying to decide on a fall cruise to take with two other couples. I have been looking at the 8 day CCL Freedom Eastern itenerary out of Ft. Lauderdale, and the 7 day NCL Pearl Eastern itenerary out of Miami. Both cruises include Tortola, which we have only been to once and it rained out our excursion the the Baths so that is one of the reasons I am looking at these two ships. The price isn't much different, both cruise lines offer a casual dress code, anytime dining, the entertainment to me is not too important, because we spend our evenings in the casino and only go to one or two shows. I posted this on the NCL board and everyone that replied pretty much felt I could not go wrong with either. I am looking fo opinions good or bad, thank you in advance.

 

The Baths Excursion is a must, so you're covered either way. For us, it is much cheaper to fly to FLL than MIA, but don't know how that effects you. NCL has had a somewhat bad reputation regarding food but I understand it is getting better. The food really was poor the one and only time we cruised with NCL.

 

I would imagine that both ships are fairly nice. Carnival still has several elegant nights in their MDR, not sure about NCL. If the basic cruise price is the same, I'm also guessing you'd have a good time on either ship, but one extra day is always better on a cruise!

[doodlefan]

I've been on both ships. I was on the Freedom for 12 nights in Europe and on the Pearl for 7 nights in Alaska. Freedom wins hands down.

 

I am not completely loyal to any line. I love Carnival and Princess but must say the food was okay on the Pearl but great on the Freedom. The service and staff on the Pearl were the only staff I have ever seen that we definitely not a happy group. This really put a damper on the cruise. The Freedom is our favorite ship to date.

 

I would also go for the extra day anytime.

 

Have fun whichever to choose.