princess or NCL

[cruisemuse13]

Original poster here. thank you all for your comments and suggestions. It sounds like NCL and Princess offer very different options for the Hawaii cruise. we really need to decide what our priorities are regarding time on the ship vs port time, and how much time we want to spend on our vacation.

 

You have given us alot of information to help us make our choice. I really appreciate it. thanks again.

[Grumpy100]

We cruised on NCL in Hawaii and loved it. The American crew were great and we never had any problems with language barriers as you might on other foreign people that work on the ship.

We flew in two days early and climbed Diamond Head, went to Pearl Harbor, took a drive around the island and did some sightseeing. If you want to see the islands NCL is the way. If you want to cruise then it is Princess with alot of sea days and only 4 days in Hawaii.

[Asil65]

Federal law dictates that a foreign flagged/crewed ship sailing to/from an American port has to visit a foreign port. That's why Hawaii round trip cruises from LA have to stop in Ensenada and Seattle round trip cruises to Alaska have to stop in Victoria.

NCLA (a NCL subsidiary) is the only American flagged cruise line/ship, and can sail round trip from Honolulu without visiting a foreign port. No other cruise line has followed NCL's lead and set up an American flagged subsidiary--not exactly sure of what is involved in setting up an American flagged subisidiary, but at least one requirement seems to be that a high percent of crew is American.

We were on a NCL Hawaii cruise pre-NCLA, round trip from Honolulu, when they had to visit a foreign port. There is no foreign port near the Hawaiian Islands. We had to sail about 1 1/2 days each way to Fanning Island. Very undeveloped, but we thought it was very interesting.

From what I understand, NCLA's American crew makes for a different atmosphere/experience. I love Hawaii, and am looking forward to taking one of those cruises with extra time on one/more of the Islands

 

Thank you JFF50, I did not realise that there were regulations like that. I wonder if it has something to do with taxes? Very interesting. Not so much out in the pacific. Your stop in the Fanning Islands must have been interesting.

[mmyorkston]

Unless time is a factor for you, I would not even consider NCLA. Admittedly we are Princess fans, but I was appalled by what passed for a cruise when we did the NCLA Hawaii cruise.

 

When we boarded NCL, we were directed to a public area, where we waited with carry-on baggage for several hours until our room was ready for occupancy. Since we love the sun, we decided to wait near the pool area and grab a bite to eat at the grill area there. While going through the line, someone in front of my dropped their entire meal - I think a burger with ketchup, etc., fries and I don't remember what else. I mentioned it to the people behind the counter with the expectation that someone would soon be there to clean the floor area. Well, after about 45 minutes and several trips back to the counter to ask someone to call for cleanup, a staff member finally showed up to take care of the mess, which by now was much longer. This was our introduction to NCLA and it was a bad first impression.

 

Eventually we were able to go to our stateroom, which was adequate, at best. Throughout the week, we saw our steward one time. To my observation, he never did vacuum the carpet, as there was sand on the floor throughout the week. The bed was made, but I couldn't see that he ever did more than that.

 

Dining was a nightmare. We tried to book reservations for the specialty restaurants, but every morning, as soon as booking opened for the day, there was a woman at the desk booking reservations for her "tour group" of about 60 people. We were never able to secure a reservation prior to about 9:00 p.m. for any of the venues we wanted. So our choice was the MDR or the buffet. Tried the MDR twice, after waiting for a very long time to get in, only to find the food basically inedible. The buffet was the same food every single night. I was able to manage a salad and a few other things, but generally, the quality was poor and selection boring.

 

I'm sorry that all I have to say about that trip is negative. The itinerary was nice and we enjoyed being able to see and do so much on all the islands, but by the 2nd day out we did all we could do to stay off the ship, except for sleeping. I feel sorry for those people whose only cruise experience is NCLA.

 

So for me there is no question which is the better choice. Good luck making your decision and have a great cruise.

[jff50]

Thank you JFF50, I did not realise that there were regulations like that. I wonder if it has something to do with taxes? Very interesting. Not so much out in the pacific. Your stop in the Fanning Islands must have been interesting.

It was. Glad we did it, but it took about 3 days out of our cruise--days that NCLA now puts to good use by allowing more time in the Hawaiian ports.

 

Here is a link to a Cruise Critic page on Fanning Island.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=43

[boating girl]

Don't do NCL. It is not a good cruise line. I have friends who cruised NCL for their first cruise and will never do another cruise. I also would not cruise again if they had been my first cruise. NCL just does not compare to any other cruise line. I would recommend flying to Hawaii and doing

your ports by air instead of NCL.

[centurycruiser]

Hawaii used to have the American Hawaii Line (or Hawaii American Line) which I believe was US flagged. Senator Inouye had the law introduced to require foreign flag ships to visit a foreign port. I believe it is known as the Jones Act.

 

Anytime suggestions were made to change the law, senator inouye prevented it. He wanted to protect the American Hawaii Cruise Line. He became known as "no way" inouye as a result.

[jdavid]

We have only done one NCL and that was the Hawaiin 7day. Since it was our first "real" cruise. We enjoyed it but would not give it great reviews. All our subsequent cruises have been on Princess and far superior. I do wish Holland or RCL did the 7 day island hop type of cruises around Hawaii. Might give them a try but would not do the NCL again for many of the reasons noted in other comments. The12 or 15 day from LA sounds like fun but I think I would prefer the extra week on land on one of the Islands to the sea days.

[Woobstr112G]

I have never sailed on NCL, but those I know who have have all said they were not very happy with the quality of the food.....

 

Bob

[Cruisin' Chick]

Hawaii used to have the American Hawaii Line (or Hawaii American Line) which I believe was US flagged. Senator Inouye had the law introduced to require foreign flag ships to visit a foreign port. I believe it is known as the Jones Act.

 

Anytime suggestions were made to change the law, senator inouye prevented it. He wanted to protect the American Hawaii Cruise Line. He became known as "no way" inouye as a result.

 

Actually the Passenger Vessels Service Act was passed in the 19th Century long before Senator Inouye was born. It's mistakenly referred to as the Jones Act. A couple of years ago he and ex-Senator Stevens of Alaska were trying to introduce more restrictive clauses to protect NCLa (the AHL had been long gone by then). Fortunately the governors of Hawaii and California as well as many other politicans and regular people (like me -- I posted my opinion on the Congressional forum) protested it as the restrictions would have caused a financial hardship for the west coast ports.

[ChicagoGoodTimeGirls]

I have been on 10 princess cruises - all wonderful! And one NCL cruise - fantastic! We just booked another NCL cruise this Hallowen on the Pearl.

 

They are two different lines with 2 distinct cruising styles and I think it is unfair to compare them as one being better than the other. Freestyle cruising has its merits as does Princess signature style of elegance.

 

We were exclusive Princess customers for years and decided to try NCL for a quick 3 day trip to the Bahamas. The itinerary and price were perfect!

 

We didn't lower our expectations for the trip but we were aware there would be some amenities including our platinum status that were not available on NCL. We really really enjoyed our cruise. We like to dress for dinner and didn't feel out of place at all on NCL. We ate in specialty DR's twice and the MDR once. Difference in food and service? Yes. But we experienced the same on Princess - Sabatinis and Crown Grill are different than the MDR. However I think the difference is honestly more measurable on NCL.

 

We will return to Princess as well as continue to sail on NCL. Itinerary, price and occasion will dictate which line we choose. For a more casual laid back adventure with lots beach days and easy going atmosphere we will most likely opt for NCL. For an elegant cruise with more personalized service and ammenities Princess will be our choice.

[TracieABD]

I just asked my mom (who has sailed both) and she said "Hands down, Princess".:)

[DaKingfish]

I have only been on two cruises...one with NCL and the latest with Princess. As I have no other lines to compare against, I will say I had the best experience with Princess....food was many times better, and the service was head and shoulders better on Princess.

 

Do not get me wrong....I had a good time with NCL, but I enjoyed Princess much more, and I plan on booking with Princess again in the future.

 

The ships I took was the Norwegian Dawn and the Emerald Princess....both on Eastern Caribbean cruises, so I cannot comment on your agenda or ships you are asking about.....but I would bet money that you will have a better experience with Princess.

 

-DK

[minnesota pam]

I have sailed NCL and Princess with another Princess cruise scheduled for November.

I think the food is equal. We did both anytime dining and traditional dining on NCL. We liked the any time dining better. We even dressed for formal nights as many anytime diners did.

 

NCL by far, has better shows than Princess. On our first Princess cruise, we left the "big shows" as they were so bad. High school dancers could have done better.

 

I also like disembarkment on NCL better than Princess as you can stay in your cabin until your group is called.

 

Princess does have better appointed cabins than NCL.

 

These are just my opinions.

 

I will sail NCL and Princess again.

[luvs2travl]

We would choose Princess over NCL in a heartbeat. Our best friends took the 'Pride of America' last April for their Hawaiian Islands cruise and they said "never again!" We have been on the Norwegian Spirit and feel the same way.

 

There is a world of difference between Princess and NCL, and as a previous poster said, "You will get what you pay for."

[Sparkylok6]

It will be interesteing to compare ship layout, room comfort, food quality, etc between Princess and NCL.

 

Keep in mind that the NCL Spirit was built for Star Cruises for an asian market and alot on that ship resembles it still. The layout of the ship is different than the other ships. The beds are awesome (MUCH better than Princess), and I have never had a bad meal on an NCL ship. I am not one to frequent the specialty Dining Rooms - out of 4 cruises (32 days) with them have only eaten in the Tex Mex DR 3 times (our 1st night tradition), Italian DR 3 times (once prior to the surcharge, once comped and the other my bday) and the Steak House one time (comped). I have never felt a need to eat in the surcharge restaurants because the food in the Dining Rooms has been very good.

 

Aside from the Freestyle Dining you will find that there is more alike on the 2 lines than different. Then again everyone has their own opinions and this is mine. Enjoy your cruise.

[welshcorgie]

We've done both Princess and NCL and enjoyed both. It depends on what age you are, as usually, not always, NCL is a moderately younger crowd. We are mid 40's and early 50's, active, and have not had a bad cruise on either (out of 9 cruises). Princess has better food and adheres more to their dress code, but we enjoy the entertainment more on NCL. Both lines we have found to have awsome service and very clean. You will like either. The only cruiseline that we do not like is Carnival, and we have gone twice as we thought that maybe the first time was just a fluke, but the second cruise was actually worse.

[lovecruise1]

Never will sell princess , Food is no good,

[Clutterlady]

Never will sell princess , Food is no good,

 

Ok.....:confused::confused::confused::confused::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Working 2 Cruise]

I have been on 10 princess cruises - all wonderful! And one NCL cruise - fantastic! We just booked another NCL cruise this Hallowen on the Pearl.

 

We were exclusive Princess customers for years and decided to try NCL for a quick 3 day trip to the Bahamas. The itinerary and price were perfect!

 

 

Problem is that you sailed on NCL for only a three-day trip, which is really not representative... Let's see what you think after 7 days or more of NCL. I would be curious to get your opinion when you return.