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NCL vs Carnival 25th anniversary

doitallWMB

By doitallWMB,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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doitallWMB

doitallWMB

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We had the 12/04/2011 Dawn 10 day booked prior to this fiasco, but my employer changed our minds again..................................................

OK. We are down to 4 trips this October and November this year. We will either book the Carnival Dream for a back to back out of Canaveral, The Carnival Freedom back to back out of Fort Lauderdale, The NCL Dawn for 11 days from Miami or the NCL Sun just refurbed out of Canaveral for a back to back. As usual, Carnival is a little less expensive, but very little. We had asked several questions about the Freedom in another post and it is the front runner now. My TA thinks to reserve the current pricing and to make sure we are in the same cabin we should book soon. Help please. What are your opinions? Please no flaming of one line or the other. We did like freestyle on the NCL Jewel a couple years ago, but the Carnival Glory was the most fun...

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samfiremedic

samfiremedic

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Wow, replace the Sun with the NCL Pearl and it sounds like the same four we had narrowed down in November. We went with the Pearl :). Loved it so much, we booked it again for March 27th. We picked NCL based on the freestyle. We are people who constantly change plans during vacations, so I couldn't imagine having to stick to a schedule of any sort.

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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We had the 12/04/2011 Dawn 10 day booked prior to this fiasco, but my employer changed our minds again..................................................

OK. We are down to 4 trips this October and November this year. We will either book the Carnival Dream for a back to back out of Canaveral, The Carnival Freedom back to back out of Fort Lauderdale, The NCL Dawn for 11 days from Miami or the NCL Sun just refurbed out of Canaveral for a back to back. As usual, Carnival is a little less expensive, but very little. We had asked several questions about the Freedom in another post and it is the front runner now. My TA thinks to reserve the current pricing and to make sure we are in the same cabin we should book soon. Help please. What are your opinions? Please no flaming of one line or the other. We did like freestyle on the NCL Jewel a couple years ago, but the Carnival Glory was the most fun...

 

If you prefer Carnival over NCL then you should be down to two choices. I would take the Dream as it is new with all the bells and whistles.

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Sauer-kraut

Sauer-kraut

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The SUN will not have any slides, its a smaller ship but a very nice one with, when I sailed with her, a great crew. If you are looking for WOW factor I don't know if this will have it for you. I have only sailed CCL on the Imagination and the Sun has nothing like that.

 

The NCL ships will have more live music, more venues for live music and a better sail away with band. Food is very personal, but I thought everything I tried was very good, and I did enjoy the buffet on the SUN.

 

Good luck in your choice!

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cherbear4000

cherbear4000

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I took the Carnival Freedom last year on the itinerary that went to Panama and it ended up being my favorite cruise out of the dozen or so I have been on. I have only been on NCL once in June 2006 on the Star to Alaska. I didn't really like NCL or the Star when compared to my other cruises so I am kind of nervous about my upcoming trip on the Gem.

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doitallWMB

doitallWMB

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If you prefer Carnival over NCL then you should be down to two choices. I would take the Dream as it is new with all the bells and whistles.

 

 

We DO NOT prefer Carnival over NCL. We prefer a great cruise. However in reference to a post, we wishe the Pearl did alternating Itens in the fall, but the gods at NCL decided for one season to do the same iten repeating!! :mad: Why??? no one knows. The only back to back is the Sun. The only choice in North America over 7 days other than the Sun is the Dawn... Freestyle is really our cup of tea, but the itens are so important to the dw...

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stlrboo

stlrboo

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I won't be much help either, but here's my 2 cents!!!

 

Have sailed RCL, CCL and Princess, and have had a bit more 'FUN' time on Carnival, tho' our sailing on Princess and RCI were good too..! We are looking for our first "freestyle" on the Star in 2012, and Carnival no longer holds you to 'set' and 'sit-down' seating, so don't use that as a guide...!

 

At this point in our 'sailing quests', we are opting for price/itinerary ... And picking the best cabin we can get for our 'buck'! ;)

 

ps: A GREAT cruise is what you make of it!! A positive attitude almost always results in a great cruise! Have a good time! :)

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kittycrusin08

kittycrusin08

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We have been on several CCL cruises and enjoyed all of them. We are sailing the NCL Dawn because we also enjoyed our cruise several years ago on NCL Sun and the many new ports we will get to visit in Dec. on the 11 day cruise. Since the Dawn will be in drydock in May, the engines will be in good shape and the rest of the ship will be like brand new. We have been on both the Glory and the Liberty and had great times. Really. a cruise is what you make of it. I'm sure you will make the right choice for you. Congrats on the anniversary. :cool:

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S.S.Oceanlover

S.S.Oceanlover

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Congratulations! We just had our 25th with a B2B on NCL Epic. It was glorious! My main question for you would be if you want the freestyle options or do you want to dress up and sit at the same table every night?

 

 

 

what would your answer be if they both had a form of freestyle?

 

Bill

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Medtech2

Medtech2

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what would your answer be if they both had a form of freestyle?

 

Bill

If I could afford a suite with perks, then definitely NCL. Otherwise I would probably pick the newest ship, just for that reason. ( We just booked the Sun so that we can try a "normal" ship to compare to the Epic. After that I would like to try Allure because it also will be different)

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halos

halos

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I have sailed CCL 9 times and NCL 5 times. In looking at your ship/itinerary choices, my pick would be the Dawn hands down without hesitation. I have sailed that ship twice and have a 3rd booked on her. She's my favorite ship. She'll be all fixed up when you are sailing, like brand new :D

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