Carnival beats out NCL

[CruiseLover824]

So....I have taken 4 Carnival cruises in the past. This year we decided to try out NCL because their price was a bit better than the Splendor's price for the Mexican Riviera Itinerary.

 

After spending a week on the NCL Star, my opinion is that I like Carnival a lot better. Here are some reasons/comparisons:

 

Room Stewards/Rooms: Apparently NCL is saving money somehow by having their room stewards deliver the passengers' luggage. Needless to say, we didn't meet our room steward for awhile. He did pop in quickly to tell us he would be back later to rearrange the beds, as he had them incorrectly set up. We didn't see him for a few hours. Our friends had a different guy, and they didn't meet him until 2 days into the cruise. Our interior cabin was fine, and the bathroom was a bit larger we felt. The shower had a sliding glass door, and not a curtain.

 

Restaurants/Food: I didn't care for the Freestyle Dining. Even though it was Freestyle--we ended up with a beeper every night and had a wait. I also like having the same wait team all week long. The service seems more personal that way. We never had the same waiter twice. They also push the specialty restaurants quite a bit---and they all cost extra. The food was good, but I like Carnival's selection of food just a bit more. As for the main buffet seating area, the Star's was so small, you had to fight to find a seat almost everytime.

 

Shows: The NCL shows have the Carnival ones beat in my opinion. I did not care for The Second City show, but all the others were fantastic. One note though----their seating in the theater stunk!! It is stadium seating which made it hard to get a drink. The chairs were extremely uncomfortable also. Much prefer the sofa/bench seating of the Carnival ships.

 

Overall Impression: I would probably not choose to book another NCL cruise anytime soon. I just like the feel of the Carnival Ships better. I am in no way saying I had a bad time----it was a great cruise. But of course we were comparing everything along the way. Any cruise is a great cruise in my opinion:D

[salty dingo]

I have been on both NCL and Carnival, and I have to say, the biggest difference is that the Carnival board here is more fun. Not so much difference in the ships, though.

[dreamcruiser525]

OP I totally agree. We went on the Sun in March.

Hated the layout,esp. the buffet area.

 

I did like the area that served chicken wings all night.

 

The shows were different and enjoyable but I hated the freestyle service.

The area they held bingo was so small and your right, the theater was dreadful.

 

I did love the deck tiles to protect your feet from burning in the hot sun or slipping when wet

 

Overall I guess I'm a Carnival Girl. :)

[Sauer-kraut]

OP I totally agree. We went on the Sun in March.

Hated the layout,esp. the buffet area.

 

I did like the area that served chicken wings all night.

 

The shows were different and enjoyable but I hated the freestyle service.

The area they held bingo was so small and your right, the theater was dreadful.

 

I did love the deck tiles to protect your feet from burning in the hot sun or slipping when wet

 

Overall I guess I'm a Carnival Girl. :)

 

Our SUN cruise had bingo in the theater every day, not in a small room at all. Sorry you didn't care for the ship.

[CWcruisers]

Very nicely written comparison OP. You gave great insights and confirmed some of my thoughts on the two lines.:)

[wadethegringo]

The Star was my first cruise. A seven day around the Hawaiian islands. We had a wonderful time. Made me fall in love with cruising. Since it has been Carnival all the way with one three day Royal also.. I am sure I would prefer Carnival over NCL. The first time is always one of the best.

 

We are stepping way out of the box in June on Pulmanturs Horizon.. Im sure that will be an interesting cruise..

[LucyR.]

I just remembered that the seats in the theater lean forward instead of being at seat level. The steps are terrible too. Did you all notice how there is large space steps and very small steps going down. I noticed people were tripping and almost falling.

[thescot123]

So....I have taken 4 Carnival cruises in the past. This year we decided to try out NCL because their price was a bit better than the Splendor's price for the Mexican Riviera Itinerary.

 

After spending a week on the NCL Star, my opinion is that I like Carnival a lot better. Here are some reasons/comparisons:

 

Room Stewards/Rooms: Apparently NCL is saving money somehow by having their room stewards deliver the passengers' luggage. Needless to say, we didn't meet our room steward for awhile. He did pop in quickly to tell us he would be back later to rearrange the beds, as he had them incorrectly set up. We didn't see him for a few hours. Our friends had a different guy, and they didn't meet him until 2 days into the cruise. Our interior cabin was fine, and the bathroom was a bit larger we felt. The shower had a sliding glass door, and not a curtain.

 

Restaurants/Food: I didn't care for the Freestyle Dining. Even though it was Freestyle--we ended up with a beeper every night and had a wait. I also like having the same wait team all week long. The service seems more personal that way. We never had the same waiter twice. They also push the specialty restaurants quite a bit---and they all cost extra. The food was good, but I like Carnival's selection of food just a bit more. As for the main buffet seating area, the Star's was so small, you had to fight to find a seat almost everytime.

 

Shows: The NCL shows have the Carnival ones beat in my opinion. I did not care for The Second City show, but all the others were fantastic. One note though----their seating in the theater stunk!! It is stadium seating which made it hard to get a drink. The chairs were extremely uncomfortable also. Much prefer the sofa/bench seating of the Carnival ships.

 

Overall Impression: I would probably not choose to book another NCL cruise anytime soon. I just like the feel of the Carnival Ships better. I am in no way saying I had a bad time----it was a great cruise. But of course we were comparing everything along the way. Any cruise is a great cruise in my opinion:D

 

In 5 days, I will be on my first Carnival cruise. Have always cruised NCL and really like the Freestyle, shows and crew especially on the NCL Spirit. Not too sure what to expect on Carnival but will post my findings in two weeks.

[FantasyIsland]

We cruised Carnival 4 times previous to our first Royal cruise - it was aboard the Brilliance - yes, the huge new ship - for 12 nights.

 

Food: I lost weight - 10 lbs. The food was less than acceptable often and I defaulted to salad - and more salad - and some cookies for dessert. The last 5 days were rehashed food. Cottage pie and shepherd's pie the same night. Charge for early morning room service - for the food as well as the service. No food available after dinner until 11 pm and you had to go up and outside to get to this tiny little cafe with a 4 item menu. We had really nasty weather 4 nights (so nasty the pools were emptied) that going up a deck outside was not wise.

 

Entertainment: while the entertainment was generally more professional, there was less entertainment. I much prefer the "amateur" shows we've had on Carnival.

 

Cabins: OMG, the difference in cabin size is incredible. I felt like a sardine on RC. We had to knock to leave the bathroom so that anyone else in the closet or coming in the door didn't get squished with the door. We were, as we usually are, 3 in a cabin.

 

We had decided to give RC a try and the itinerary was more what we wanted. But we won't make that mistake again.

 

Next cruise in 10 days - Yay! Carnival again.

[luckycruzer]

CCL continues to get my cruze dollars. Did NCL in Dec..awful..almost e'thing, w/added elec, $/ and service issues. Food...ehh so so, cabins small..and e'thing seemed to be "NO" problem! forget anytime dining..a joke!. RCL was just a wee bit above Royal. With 7 more CCL's booked, guess who I choose..I've been about 400 days on cruzes so I have alot to compre with.

[jenwales]

I want to try NCL one of these days. I think we would love anytime dining and entertainment is important to us.

 

I could compare Carnival to Disney (I've taken 1 Carnival and 3 DCL cruises).

 

Staff - Carnival's are nice, but Disney's are far better.

 

Dining - Carnival by a sliver. I think Disney tries too hard to appeal to young palates.

 

Entertainment - Disney by about 1000 times.

 

Cabins - Disney by about 1000 times

 

Ships - Disney by a mile

 

I only posted this because I hate when people come in and bash any line that isn't Carnival. If Disney wasn't more than twice as expensive, I'd sail them every time. I can't afford that, though, so Carnival it is.

[Warm Breezes]

I want to try NCL one of these days. I think we would love anytime dining and entertainment is important to us.

 

I could compare Carnival to Disney (I've taken 1 Carnival and 3 DCL cruises).

 

Staff - Carnival's are nice, but Disney's are far better.

 

Dining - Carnival by a sliver. I think Disney tries too hard to appeal to young palates.

 

Entertainment - Disney by about 1000 times.

 

Cabins - Disney by about 1000 times

 

Ships - Disney by a mile

 

I only posted this because I hate when people come in and bash any line that isn't Carnival. If Disney wasn't more than twice as expensive, I'd sail them every time. I can't afford that, though, so Carnival it is.

 

I agree. I have sailed Disney, CCL, and NCL. I have cruises booked on CCL and NCL and would sail Disney again in an instant if it were less expensive (or I had Grandkids to splurge on). I personally think NCL and CCL are more similar than they are different. There are advantages/disadvantages to both but not big enough for me to say that one is better than the other. You only pay extra on NCL if you choose to eat at the optional specialty restaurants (just like if you went to Carnival's steak house but with more choices on NCL). Everything else costs virtually the same on the 2 cruiselines. I personnaly like freestyle and have starting doing anytime on CCL which, to me, is very similar. I also had similar service on both lines.

 

If you don't like freestyle and prefer traditional dining, I could see where you might have a preference for CCL. Other than that, I can't see how the differences are enough to choose one over the other....

[Socref124]

So....I have taken 4 Carnival cruises in the past. This year we decided to try out NCL because their price was a bit better than the Splendor's price for the Mexican Riviera Itinerary.

 

After spending a week on the NCL Star, my opinion is that I like Carnival a lot better. Here are some reasons/comparisons:

 

Room Stewards/Rooms: Apparently NCL is saving money somehow by having their room stewards deliver the passengers' luggage. Needless to say, we didn't meet our room steward for awhile. He did pop in quickly to tell us he would be back later to rearrange the beds, as he had them incorrectly set up. We didn't see him for a few hours. Our friends had a different guy, and they didn't meet him until 2 days into the cruise. Our interior cabin was fine, and the bathroom was a bit larger we felt. The shower had a sliding glass door, and not a curtain.

 

Restaurants/Food: I didn't care for the Freestyle Dining. Even though it was Freestyle--we ended up with a beeper every night and had a wait. I also like having the same wait team all week long. The service seems more personal that way. We never had the same waiter twice. They also push the specialty restaurants quite a bit---and they all cost extra. The food was good, but I like Carnival's selection of food just a bit more. As for the main buffet seating area, the Star's was so small, you had to fight to find a seat almost everytime.

 

Shows: The NCL shows have the Carnival ones beat in my opinion. I did not care for The Second City show, but all the others were fantastic. One note though----their seating in the theater stunk!! It is stadium seating which made it hard to get a drink. The chairs were extremely uncomfortable also. Much prefer the sofa/bench seating of the Carnival ships.

 

Overall Impression: I would probably not choose to book another NCL cruise anytime soon. I just like the feel of the Carnival Ships better. I am in no way saying I had a bad time----it was a great cruise. But of course we were comparing everything along the way. Any cruise is a great cruise in my opinion:D

 

How was your overall service? Ours was horrible on the Star. The worst service we have received on any of our cruises. I remember going to one of the specialty restaurants and being told there was a 30 min wait with the dinning room 3/4 empty. Our room steward was also the worst of any that we have had. Funny how eight years later they are still having some of the same problems.

[kikismom88]

We decided to try NCL once about 5 years ago, only thing leaving from NY in January, we would never make that mistake again. Problems boarding, they could not understand a name change on a passport. When we did get on board, yes the rooms were very nice, the bathroom, especially the shower was great, but the rest of the ship lacked space where it should be. Stopping at the one spot to get a quick burger during the day meant grabbing a seat in the hallway were they had a counter on one side of the walkway, and seating on the other, and you got bumped the whole time you sat there to eat. Didn't care for the free-style dining, the service wasn't as good as I was used to from CCL. Everything else on the cruise was somewhat comparable, and we did have a good time, because a bad cruise day is still better than a good work day, but if I have my choice when booking my next cruise it will be CCL, and yes it is, going on the Miracle in May, out of NY.

[Socref124]

I want to try NCL one of these days. I think we would love anytime dining and entertainment is important to us.

 

I could compare Carnival to Disney (I've taken 1 Carnival and 3 DCL cruises).

 

Staff - Carnival's are nice, but Disney's are far better.

 

Dining - Carnival by a sliver. I think Disney tries too hard to appeal to young palates.

 

Entertainment - Disney by about 1000 times.

 

Cabins - Disney by about 1000 times

 

Ships - Disney by a mile

 

I only posted this because I hate when people come in and bash any line that isn't Carnival. If Disney wasn't more than twice as expensive, I'd sail them every time. I can't afford that, though, so Carnival it is.

 

I would hope Disney's entertainment was better. Try one of Carnivals newer ships and maybe Disney would only be better by a nose. I would love to try a Disney ship but will never pay that much for a cruise. I can go on two or three cruises for what they charge for one. Carnival, RCL, NCL and Princess are for us I guess. Those are the four lines we have been on and they are all very similar with each having an area where they are better than the other three. We usualy go with Carnival because of price and haven't been disappointed with them yet. Some people bash because they really love their line so much and they get tired of Carnival being bashed by other lines loyal cruisers. We were on a competitor of Carnivals once and the CD was bashing Carnival at one of the shows. He was saying how Carnival was the party ship not really the fun ship. We felt that he was out of line but he did get an ovation after the comment.

People are different and that is why there are different lines with different styles and different itineraries. Hopefully something out there for everyone.:)

[pcrum]

So....I have taken 4 Carnival cruises in the past. This year we decided to try out NCL because their price was a bit better than the Splendor's price for the Mexican Riviera Itinerary.

 

After spending a week on the NCL Star, my opinion is that I like Carnival a lot better. Here are some reasons/comparisons:

 

Room Stewards/Rooms: Apparently NCL is saving money somehow by having their room stewards deliver the passengers' luggage. Needless to say, we didn't meet our room steward for awhile. He did pop in quickly to tell us he would be back later to rearrange the beds, as he had them incorrectly set up. We didn't see him for a few hours. Our friends had a different guy, and they didn't meet him until 2 days into the cruise. Our interior cabin was fine, and the bathroom was a bit larger we felt. The shower had a sliding glass door, and not a curtain.

 

Restaurants/Food: I didn't care for the Freestyle Dining. Even though it was Freestyle--we ended up with a beeper every night and had a wait. I also like having the same wait team all week long. The service seems more personal that way. We never had the same waiter twice. They also push the specialty restaurants quite a bit---and they all cost extra. The food was good, but I like Carnival's selection of food just a bit more. As for the main buffet seating area, the Star's was so small, you had to fight to find a seat almost everytime.

 

Shows: The NCL shows have the Carnival ones beat in my opinion. I did not care for The Second City show, but all the others were fantastic. One note though----their seating in the theater stunk!! It is stadium seating which made it hard to get a drink. The chairs were extremely uncomfortable also. Much prefer the sofa/bench seating of the Carnival ships.

 

Overall Impression: I would probably not choose to book another NCL cruise anytime soon. I just like the feel of the Carnival Ships better. I am in no way saying I had a bad time----it was a great cruise. But of course we were comparing everything along the way. Any cruise is a great cruise in my opinion:D

 

I agree entirely. After trying NCL for an Alaskan cruise, we haven't been in a hurry to book with NCL again. We felt the food in the MDR was very subpar compared to Carnival. In order to get a decent meal, we felt you had to go to one of the restaurants that charge a surcharge, which greatly increases the sail and sign account! We also didn't like the long industrial tables in the Lido Buffet area. We prefer to sit just with our family and not at a table that resembles a school lunch table. I will say that the breakfasts in the buffet area were very good though.

 

Also a pain to get a drink in the theater with the movie theater type seating. A waiter would literally pass a drink down to those in the middle by handing the drink to passengers on the end and having the drink passed by passengers. I'm not a germ freak, but having a bunch of passengers handle my drink before it reaches me is not a practice that would encourage me to buy a lot of drinks in the theater.

 

We were on a special broadway themed cruise, so I cannot comment on the regular entertainment on NCL as compared to Carnival.

 

Perks on NCL were having a coffee maker in the room, which was nice when sitting on the balcony enjoying the amazing Alaskan views. It was nice to be able to make a hot drink in the room. We were also given a welcome aboard glass of champagne (or mimosa) upon boarding. Other than those two things, we greatly prefer Carnival.

[MotoRacer598]

I agree! We sailed NCL for the 1st time last Sept to Alaska and the food sucked except in the pay restaurants. We had other issues but didn't let that ruin our vacation.

[bruce282]

My thoughts on our cruises, CCL Pride last week vs NCL Pearl in 2008.

 

Rooms - Can't compare as we had an OV on the Pearl and a VS wrap-around on the Pride. (I'll never sail without a balcony again:D)

 

Staff - To me a toss up, except for our room steward. The 6th deck on the Pride tends to have the best, as there are more suites on 6 than any other deck. I will say that I woke at AM the first night and wandered around. Not a lot of staff out, and those that were were very busy. I sort of got the feeling of "Why are out here at 3, let us do jobs in peace". Just my opinion.

 

Food - With 2 years between sailings I'm not to compare the except to say Carnival's MDR reminded me of a French restaurant, big on presentation, not so big on amounts. BUT the Chocolate Melting Cake and ice cream wins desserts hands down.

 

Anytime Dining - We did each lines version of anytime dining. There are 2 of us, we've never had to wait. The Pearl has 2 MDR's one big one smaller. The big one is designed to handle 2's and 4's real well. The smaller one have very few small tables, so if you like to share dinner with others that where you would go. On the pride we had the same waitstaff every night because the hostess knew we like Thomas and his crew. Since the barman was the same each night he'd just ask "the usual" after I order a Long Island Ice tea two nights in a row. Hard to do on NCL, as others have said, the staff move around.

 

Steak Houses - Food was great in both, cost about the same $25 on NCL 2 years ago, $30 on Pride last week. Just an FYI, the cheesecake dessert on the Pride was enough to feed a table of 4. It was huge.

 

Shows and such - NCL. The Pearl always had 2 shows every night, with the early show at 7:30, when there was an early show on the Pride it was 8:30.

 

Ships - Hard to compare the ships over all, the Pride is 10 years and it shows in places. There were plate sized areas of rust on our balcony where the water tended to set. Did it bother me, not really, I had a great view and a place to enjoy my cigars. The safety drills on NCL were a much more elaborate and took longer, however you musted in inside areas (ours was the French restaurant) and had there been an emergency we would have moved through emergency doors to the deck right outside.

 

Lido deck - On the pearl it was laid out on the port side of the ship. You walked in and turned right. Most of the stations were there, including the made to order pasta station. The big complaint was there were no trays. I couldn't understand why last week when a 20 something had a tray pilled high and wasn't paying any attention to where he was going. The coffee was good. The eating areas continued out the back deck where was another grill area, with burgers and dogs and fries. I just didn't like the the layout on the Pride, you sort of had to circle around the area twice to see all your choices. I'm not a coffee snob, but the Lido deck coffee just the last 2 days was rank:eek:. I did like the hot chocolate machines on the Pride.

 

Websites - NCL by a mile. Before I set foot on the ship I knew my Blue Label was going to be $16 a shot in the steakhouse.

 

Of course if we want to talk great time I can review our Costa cruise from the early 80's. Great time, pain to get dressed for dinner every night.:cool:

 

We will sail both lines again, each has there pluses.

 

Remember, YMMV.

 

Bruce

[elcuchio24]

So....I have taken 4 Carnival cruises in the past. This year we decided to try out NCL because their price was a bit better than the Splendor's price for the Mexican Riviera Itinerary.

 

After spending a week on the NCL Star, my opinion is that I like Carnival a lot better. Here are some reasons/comparisons:

 

Room Stewards/Rooms: Apparently NCL is saving money somehow by having their room stewards deliver the passengers' luggage. Needless to say, we didn't meet our room steward for awhile. He did pop in quickly to tell us he would be back later to rearrange the beds, as he had them incorrectly set up. We didn't see him for a few hours. Our friends had a different guy, and they didn't meet him until 2 days into the cruise. Our interior cabin was fine, and the bathroom was a bit larger we felt. The shower had a sliding glass door, and not a curtain.

 

Restaurants/Food: I didn't care for the Freestyle Dining. Even though it was Freestyle--we ended up with a beeper every night and had a wait. I also like having the same wait team all week long. The service seems more personal that way. We never had the same waiter twice. They also push the specialty restaurants quite a bit---and they all cost extra. The food was good, but I like Carnival's selection of food just a bit more. As for the main buffet seating area, the Star's was so small, you had to fight to find a seat almost everytime.

 

Shows: The NCL shows have the Carnival ones beat in my opinion. I did not care for The Second City show, but all the others were fantastic. One note though----their seating in the theater stunk!! It is stadium seating which made it hard to get a drink. The chairs were extremely uncomfortable also. Much prefer the sofa/bench seating of the Carnival ships.

 

Overall Impression: I would probably not choose to book another NCL cruise anytime soon. I just like the feel of the Carnival Ships better. I am in no way saying I had a bad time----it was a great cruise. But of course we were comparing everything along the way. Any cruise is a great cruise in my opinion:D

 

 

I agree and disagree with you! I wouldn't take the whole of NCL on only one ship, just like any other line. We went on Pearl and it was beautiful. I think thats' one thing NCL has going for it in general, nicer decorated and appointed ships (but not in every case). I agree about the food, although I don't mind going to the specialty restaurants. I don't quite get why people get bent out of shape paying $12pp to eat at a specialty restaurant on NCL for three nights, but then can't wait to plop down $30pp for the CCL steakhouse?

 

We've had stewards we didn't meet for days on CCL as well. I find anytime dining and freestyle dining to be about the same. I do love Blue Lagoon on NCL though.

 

I do think in general CCL food is way better, especially in the MDR. Shows way better on NCL for sure. I like the rooms/balconies better on CCL. Drink selection is better on NCL.

 

Overall it's pretty much a tossup for us. But the price is usually better with CCL so that's who we choose.

[Brighton Line]

I'll compare the two in two months.

NCL Jewel we had no issue with anytime dining but it was just the two of us. We had fantastic service in the pay restaurants, Cagney's service was outstanding. The shrimp cocktail glass actually broke, it was like one of us had been attacked in the restaurant. They even called the restaurant manager, all that happened we took the cocktail fork it banged against the side of the glass and the glass cracked.

We pointed out to the waiter when he cleared so he would not cut himself and them all heck broke loose. They gave us two more, three different people came over to make sure we were ok and not injured.

 

The Balcony room was small and I'm 6'8", but found it liveable for the 7 days. You can't beat the Great Outdoors on the aft end of the ship. I buffet line with seating outdoors watching the wake of the ship. We even sat there looking at NJ waiting to get off the ship.

 

Food in MDR was fine for me, nothing to complain. Service was the same, no issue.

Like I said, I'll do a real compare after my July 5 days on the Glory.

[DGP1111]

I would hope Disney's entertainment was better. Try one of Carnivals newer ships and maybe Disney would only be better by a nose.

 

Well, perhaps if the nose in question belongs to Pinocchio or Cyrano de Bergerac. :p

 

Yep, I've been on both (cruise lines, not noses) multiple times, so comparison is rather easy. :)

.

.

[blindrid]

After spending a week on the NCL Star, my opinion is that I like Carnival a lot better. Here are some reasons/comparisons:

 

Room Stewards/Rooms: Apparently NCL is saving money somehow by having their room stewards deliver the passengers' luggage. Needless to say, we didn't meet our room steward for awhile. He did pop in quickly to tell us he would be back later to rearrange the beds, as he had them incorrectly set up. We didn't see him for a few hours. Our friends had a different guy, and they didn't meet him until 2 days into the cruise. Our interior cabin was fine, and the bathroom was a bit larger we felt. The shower had a sliding glass door, and not a curtain.

 

Restaurants/Food: I didn't care for the Freestyle Dining. Even though it was Freestyle--we ended up with a beeper every night and had a wait. I also like having the same wait team all week long. The service seems more personal that way. We never had the same waiter twice. They also push the specialty restaurants quite a bit---and they all cost extra. The food was good, but I like Carnival's selection of food just a bit more. As for the main buffet seating area, the Star's was so small, you had to fight to find a seat almost everytime.

 

Shows: The NCL shows have the Carnival ones beat in my opinion. I did not care for The Second City show, but all the others were fantastic. One note though----their seating in the theater stunk!! It is stadium seating which made it hard to get a drink. The chairs were extremely uncomfortable also. Much prefer the sofa/bench seating of the Carnival ships.

 

Overall Impression: I would probably not choose to book another NCL cruise anytime soon. I just like the feel of the Carnival Ships better. I am in no way saying I had a bad time----it was a great cruise. But of course we were comparing everything along the way. Any cruise is a great cruise in my opinion:D

 

Couple of things as I've been on the Star:

1) The Star is on my "OK" list as I've been on better with NCL. Now in saying that I prefer the Star over CCL's Liberty as to layout.

2) IMHO, NCL's food is better than CCL's but truly more the same than anything - and we do only cruises that do Freestyle / Your time. I avoid set seating like the plague. I guess it was no difference if I got a pager and could go have a drink before dinner. I also like the dining room monitors they use to estimate waiting times so you can go somewhere else.

3) I guess I've only had theatre seating in theatres on both NCL and CCL (makes sense to me as it is a theatre). Unless you count upstairs on a few of CCL's.

4) Room Stewards: I prefer actually not meeting them as I don't need to make buddies with the steward. I was alwasy taught that the best service were the people you didn't see, not the one's diving for tips. If I meet them fine, if not, no big deal so to me that is a non-issue.

 

To me they're still pretty much the same even though after being on the Liberty last time, I'm probably going NCL as I mentioned the Liberty didn't do much for me.

[Socref124]

Well, perhaps if the nose in question belongs to Pinocchio or Cyrano de Bergerac. :p

 

Yep, I've been on both (cruise lines, not noses) multiple times, so comparison is rather easy. :)

.

.

 

 

LOL, I appreciate your sense of humor.:D

[CruiseLover824]

I just remembered that the seats in the theater lean forward instead of being at seat level. The steps are terrible too. Did you all notice how there is large space steps and very small steps going down. I noticed people were tripping and almost falling.

 

 

Yes...I thought the steps were terrible as well. It made it difficult for older people who had mobility issues. There were a few seats across the center at the same level as the entry on deck 6, but those filled up quickly!

 

 

 

 

How was your overall service? Ours was horrible on the Star. The worst service we have received on any of our cruises. I remember going to one of the specialty restaurants and being told there was a 30 min wait with the dinning room 3/4 empty. Our room steward was also the worst of any that we have had. Funny how eight years later they are still having some of the same problems.

 

I thought the overall service was good. I definitely had a good time, and was happy with the cruise.....My overall impression was that Carnival just fits our group of cruisers a bit better. :D

[Socref124]

I thought the overall service was good. I definitely had a good time, and was happy with the cruise.....My overall impression was that Carnival just fits our group of cruisers a bit better. :D

 

We decided to just laugh everytime something went wrong. We laughed a lot on that cruise. We want to go back to Hawaii in 2013 and will do NCL again because you get more island time with them. Hopefully they will do a better job this time, but our expectations will not be very high at all. Like you, we enjoy Carnival. We saw some things that were better on Royal, Princess and NCL; but we are pleased with Carnival for the most part.:D