Newbie

[Scorpiorose]

I'm not new to cruising but I am new to Norwegian......so how does this line compare to RCCL???? Holland America????

 

I'll be cruising to the Greek Isles....any tips for this cruise line....I'm listening:D

[Ms belp]

More relaxed. I envy you. We lost our cruise to the Greek Islands last year. Enjoy. You can eat when you want, dress less formally; although please everybody use some common sense. Please come back and tell me what I missed.:(

[Scorpiorose]

How did you lose your cruise???

[Scorpiorose]

Well I see you had to rebook or something....but you are clearly a cruiser......

 

are there formal nights? Dress up nights? I'm wondering about the difference between sailing out of a european port vs. a us port/alaska/hawaii?

[Sauer-kraut]

As you are cruising in Europe there will be a larger contingent of European nationals on board, who tend to dress a bit better even though its casual. Having said that, casual and dressy casual are the name of the game. You don't need to worry about bringing elegant clothes with you. NCL has "Dress Up or Not" nights and you will see passengers dressed up and others not so much. Do what you feel is right and comfortable for you, that is the beauty of Freestyle.

[Anginette]

Well I see you had to rebook or something....but you are clearly a cruiser......

 

are there formal nights? Dress up nights? I'm wondering about the difference between sailing out of a european port vs. a us port/alaska/hawaii?

 

There will be an optional formal night, usually the first sea day... I actually find the dress code to be more strictly enforced on European sailings.

[Scorpiorose]

Well I don'd mind dressing up but I will have limit attire with me as I am touring europe and this is only week one of five weeks abroad....I will pack light, 1-2 nicer casual dresses.

 

This help me plan, thanks so much.

 

What about eating, I've never done the free style thing, does that mean you eat with different people every night?

 

Anything else I should know that is different on this line? I usually run ever morning very early...on deck or in the gym, that is possible correct?

[terrymtex01]

OP. welcome to NCL. I hope you love it as much as we have.

 

I will tell you, IMHO, the biggest difference you are going to find is what others have mentioned, Freestyle. Traditional cruise ship dining has its great points.. having the same server every night who knows your food wants and wishes inside and out.. getting to know your service staff, etc. But we LOVE having Freestyle dining where, when we are in port, we don't have to rush back to the ship from the port, hurry and take our showers, rush to get dressed, etc, and then run to the dining room to make it in time to have our dinner. We love being able to eat when we want, where we want.

 

You are going to probably notice a difference in the crew as well. With RCCL, we found the crew to be a bit more "formal". a bit more reserved. With NCL the crew is more friendly. I usually always say when we step on an NCL ship we feel like it is long lost friends welcoming us back for a visit.

 

I do have to say that, IMHO, RCCL ships are just a step up nicer. Like.. more finished details on the ship. Just a bit more pretty. That doesn't by any means mean that NCL ships are not beautiful. It's just hard to put into words.

 

Unless you live for the formality of RCCL and HAL, which some folks do and nothing wrong with that at all, I really believe you will enjoy NCL. When we first sailed NCL we had been on RCCL before that, and I was TERRIFIED that we had booked a "discount" cruise line. Kind of like we were used to shopping in Macy's and now would be shopping in Walmart. I'm glad to report we did not find that to be true and have loved NCL ever since. 8-)

[mellygo]

Totally agree with what has been said, but sometimes more witnesses help to convince the jury :) We were loyal RCCI/Celebrity cruisers before. Celebrity was our favorite - I think because the ratio of crew to passengers was better, and we felt we got better service on Celebrity. I too was afraid to cruise NCL (even though I had a good friend recommend it highly!!) because I thought it might be a step down. Didn't find that to be the case at all!!

We found the crew to be more welcoming and friendly. Even the staff in the bar got to know me well enough (even though I don't drink) to ask if I wanted ginger ale or diet pepsi. That's pretty amazing, I think. John O'Hara is absolutely amazing, and his staff follows his example - not sure if that is the case on every NCL ship, but I certainly hope so!

 

Have a great time on your cruise, and come back and tell us about it!

[Sauer-kraut]

Well I don'd mind dressing up but I will have limit attire with me as I am touring europe and this is only week one of five weeks abroad....I will pack light, 1-2 nicer casual dresses.

 

This help me plan, thanks so much.

 

What about eating, I've never done the free style thing, does that mean you eat with different people every night?

 

Anything else I should know that is different on this line? I usually run ever morning very early...on deck or in the gym, that is possible correct?

 

No, you won't have to eat with anyone else UNLESS YOU REQUEST to share a table. Say for instance you ask for a table for two and they will say that it will have a wait, would you care to share a table. At that point it is up to you if you prefer to wait or be seated with others and possibly meet some nice interesting people. Otherwise think of it as visiting any other restaurant at home, you state the number in your party and you are escorted to a table. There might be a wait time, depending of if you are going at a popular time.

 

As for running, it depends on the ship, I know the SUN had a promenade deck that went all the way around and it was 3.5 laps for a mile. Some of the ships don't have it going a complete circle so you will come to an end and have to double back, there are also great exercise machines in the gym if it is inclement. About the very early part, I can't answer but I do believe there are time constraints as some passengers might get upset at pounding footsteps as they are trying to sleep. But you will get specific information once you board.

 

Have a wonderful time on your month long holiday, you'll be fine when packing, I used quick-dry undies and rinsed them out every night and they were dry the next day. This year I get a washing machine as we are booked on a land vacation for a month, so I really don't have to worry about laundry. :D

[camz]

OP.

 

 

I do have to say that, IMHO, RCCL ships are just a step up nicer. Like.. more finished details on the ship. Just a bit more pretty. That doesn't by any means mean that NCL ships are not beautiful. It's just hard to put into words.

 

Unless you live for the formality of RCCL and HAL, which some folks do and nothing wrong with that at all, I really believe you will enjoy NCL. When we first sailed NCL we had been on RCCL before that, and I was TERRIFIED that we had booked a "discount" cruise line. Kind of like we were used to shopping in Macy's and now would be shopping in Walmart. I'm glad to report we did not find that to be true and have loved NCL ever since. 8-)

 

 

NCL ships at first glance, scream excitement. The hull art work on each ship is different and very beautiful. This makes for a very fun atmosphere.

I am sorry, however, I cannot in any way shape or form compare Walmart with NCL. Sorry, but this is just an insult to NCL. In my opinion, the analogy best describes shopping at Macy's vs shopping at JC Penney's (which I also love). :)

[Scorpiorose]

OP. welcome to NCL. I hope you love it as much as we have.

 

I will tell you, IMHO, the biggest difference you are going to find is what others have mentioned, Freestyle. Traditional cruise ship dining has its great points.. having the same server every night who knows your food wants and wishes inside and out.. getting to know your service staff, etc. But we LOVE having Freestyle dining where, when we are in port, we don't have to rush back to the ship from the port, hurry and take our showers, rush to get dressed, etc, and then run to the dining room to make it in time to have our dinner. We love being able to eat when we want, where we want.

 

You are going to probably notice a difference in the crew as well. With RCCL, we found the crew to be a bit more "formal". a bit more reserved. With NCL the crew is more friendly. I usually always say when we step on an NCL ship we feel like it is long lost friends welcoming us back for a visit.

 

I do have to say that, IMHO, RCCL ships are just a step up nicer. Like.. more finished details on the ship. Just a bit more pretty. That doesn't by any means mean that NCL ships are not beautiful. It's just hard to put into words.

 

Unless you live for the formality of RCCL and HAL, which some folks do and nothing wrong with that at all, I really believe you will enjoy NCL. When we first sailed NCL we had been on RCCL before that, and I was TERRIFIED that we had booked a "discount" cruise line. Kind of like we were used to shopping in Macy's and now would be shopping in Walmart. I'm glad to report we did not find that to be true and have loved NCL ever since. 8-)

 

 

Thanks so much. I think I will be fine, I do love Holland and RCCL but this is a girlfriend "Eat Love Pray" Trip for myself and a GF....we will be less formal all the way around!!! I'm so excited!!!

[Scorpiorose]

NCL ships at first glance, scream excitement. The hull art work on each ship is different and very beautiful. This makes for a very fun atmosphere.

I am sorry, however, I cannot in any way shape or form compare Walmart with NCL. Sorry, but this is just an insult to NCL. In my opinion, the analogy best describes shopping at Macy's vs shopping at JC Penney's (which I also love). :)

 

I can do Penny's, even though I love Macy's. I can't do Walmart though....so glad you cleared that up!

[phillygirl63]

We were on the Jade this past July, which was our first with NCL. We had been on RCCL in the past. The Jade is a very nice ship, though not as grand as some other lines. It had been in Hawaii prior to its repositioning to Europe, and they still had some of the Hawaiian decor, which the crew had explained they were gradually changing. Hopefully, they have completed the changes, but it really didn't bother us as much.

 

Here's what I like better about NCL compared to RCCL:

 

1. Not having to dress up AT ALL. Leave your formal clothes behind and bring a few pairs of nice slacks and tops for dinner.

 

2. Being able to eat in any restaurant at any time, although you do have to make reservations for the specialty restaurants, especially Tappanyaki (very limited seating).

 

3. Having the choice of eating alone or sharing a table with others.

 

Finally, AND THIS IS NO 1 FOR ME: Not having to hand out the gratuity envelopes on the last night of the cruise. I always thought this was so tacky, and I'm glad NCL has the automatic $12 per day charge to cover most of the tipping. Of course, butlers, concierge, bartenders (and probably some others that I am forgetting) are not included in the tipping pool.

 

I hope to read your review when you get back.

[phillygirl63]

Oh, I forgot to add that we loved our cruise with NCL so much that we are now booked on NCL's Pride of America for Hawaii sailing April 30th!

[Anginette]

NCL ships at first glance, scream excitement. The hull art work on each ship is different and very beautiful. This makes for a very fun atmosphere.

I am sorry, however, I cannot in any way shape or form compare Walmart with NCL. Sorry, but this is just an insult to NCL. In my opinion, the analogy best describes shopping at Macy's vs shopping at JC Penney's (which I also love). :)

 

I agree... I enjoyed cruising on JCPenney just as much as I enjoyed cruising on Macy's and Bloomingdale's :p

 

I'd say Carnival would be the Walmart of cruising, not NCL.

[Scorpiorose]

Thanks for all of your help.....is your cabin stewart included in the tipping pool? Hope so!

 

Cruise Critic members are amazingly helpful!!!

 

I will post a reveiw......:p

[phillygirl63]

Yes, the cabin steward, cleaning staff, waitstaff are all included. The only ones that I know of that are not are the butlers, concierge, and bartenders (but gratuity is automatically added to bar bills for the bartenders).