The NCL Difference

[mcnabb3801]

I pose the same question to all of you that I did to the NCL Personal Cruise Consultant...What is the NCL difference? Why should we pick NCL over the other cruise lines?

 

 

Stacey

[fiftyguy]

I thought from an earlier thread you had an NCL cruise planned for march 2012?

 

Freestyle is the deciding factor for me.

[Bandit 10/10/09]

I pose the same question to all of you that I did to the NCL Personal Cruise Consultant...What is the NCL difference? Why should we pick NCL over the other cruise lines?

 

 

Stacey

 

do what you want, how you want, for how long as you want, and in what attire that you are comfortable in . not having a set schedule works best for me. example I may want to have dinner at 5:30 or at 9:30. It is always your choice. and on my past cruises when I wanted a speciality restaurant I showed up and asked if there were any cancelations and they always let us in.

Julie

[vols_159]

ive taken 2 NCL cruises.. And had a wonderful time on both!!! ... NCL freestlye is awesome.. I dont like formal.. Wearing kahakis shorts is ok in 1 MDR and thats right up my alley! best value for my buck so far!

[mcnabb3801]

We have not booked yet...we are thinking about the Norwegian Jewel sailing out of NY

 

I love the idea of Freestyle...that was our complaint on our last cruise that because you have a scheduled time sometimes you feel rushed after an excursion

 

 

 

How is the food?

 

Stacey

[emcelh]

Been on the Jewel twice and booked for a 3rd time in September. We've always enjoyed good food.

[gagal10]

We are Disney people, got married at Disney World and always vacationed there at least twice a year, so when we decided to cruise for a portion of our honeymoon, we picked Disney, of course.. :) We were bored.. The food wasn't good, the service was just okay and we felt like we were always rushing to get to dinner from the show.. We thought maybe it was a 4-day cruise issue, so we booked a 7-day the next year.. Same thing.. My husband loved cruising, but not on Disney.... I had done a Carnival years before and even as a high school senior, I found their ships and the 'party,party' atmosphere not for me.. I was happy to never go again. He wanted to cruise so we looked around and discovered exactly how expensive Disney was. We found NCL and the Pearl and our 7-day Cruise on it didn't cost anymore than a 4-day on the Wonder, both with balcony cabins. We went onboard worried that we were going to be disappointed with the service or the ship or something....

 

But, we weren't.. The Pearl was awesome. The food was great, we loved the Speciality Restaurants. Everything was so relaxed. We did what we wanted when we wanted.. And the service was incredible. We had some unique things occur (emergency medical evaq one day and then the next day our trip to the private was delayed because we were in a search for a person who had jumped off another ship) on our Cruise, but even with them the staff was great and we still had fun.. There was no lack of anything for the lessor price, so now we wonder why in the heck anyone would pay the price for Disney?? Yeah, our Disney friends flame us for that one. :)

 

We want to do the Oasis, but truthfully if we have as much fun on the Epic as we did on the Pearl, I'm not sure we'll ever do anything other than NCL.. :)

 

Everybody has different priorities about cruising and you should choose based on that.. :)

[Medtech2]

I pose the same question to all of you that I did to the NCL Personal Cruise Consultant...What is the NCL difference? Why should we pick NCL over the other cruise lines?

 

 

Stacey

The crew we encountered seemed to enjoy their jobs and wanted to be there. The Epic is known for its long cabin hallways and we were midship. Every time we walked that aisle, for or aft, every single steward we passed stopped to smile and say hello. Many of them recognized us on our second week and seemed genuinely happy that we were back. This attitude was everywhere we went. It made us feel welcome and glad to be there. The Epic also had great activities and parties. Our next cruise is on the opposite side of the NCL scale as far as size and age of ship, the Sun. We want to compare and see if it is NCL we have fallen in love with or just the Epic...

You never know until you try it...

[Seago2]

I pose the same question to all of you that I did to the NCL Personal Cruise Consultant...What is the NCL difference? Why should we pick NCL over the other cruise lines?

 

 

Stacey

 

Freestyle, cleanliness... and, let's face it: cost. Very good value!

[London-Calling]

In reality 'Freestyle' dining has its advantages and disadvantages.

Your choice of dining options is the best afloat and it is a very ‘flexible’ system. However, with traditional dining you have a guaranteed seat in the main restaurant, but at a fixed time. With 'Freestyle' you may find yourself in a queue and being sent away with a pager.

With 'freestyle' entertainment (especially onboard Epic) you really need to book the main shows before you even board the ship to ensure a seat. That's not very 'Freestyle' at all. With the 'traditional' system, the main theatre is big enough to accommodate half the ships passengers at once (one sitting) so you should not have to fight for a seat. Epic's Theatre only accommodates one sixth of the passenger capacity.

There have been complaints that NCL's non-surcharge food is 'mediocre' so you need to pay a surcharge to get a good meal.

NCL fares can be good, but they are masters of the ‘surcharge’, in fact they probably have more than any other cruise line.

You might pay a little more for an RCI cruise but I bet your onboard spend would probably be a lot less.

It’s all very subjective!

[trish1c]

Now that every line has some variation of dine when you want with whomever you want the differences are less glaring. There are more food choices on NCL. There were fewer annoying announcements & pleas to join in the fun from the CDs. They actually leave you in peace. The dress code is more laid back.

[halos]

I pose the same question to all of you that I did to the NCL Personal Cruise Consultant...What is the NCL difference? Why should we pick NCL over the other cruise lines?

 

 

Stacey

 

#1 answer: The Crew...just top notch

#2 answer: great entertainment...love the themed parties/deck parties and White Hot night....the musicians all around the inside of ship and the bands at the pool. :)

#3 answer: variety/choices in dining venues and the freedom to dine when you want with who you want

[che5904]

I pose the same question to all of you that I did to the NCL Personal Cruise Consultant...What is the NCL difference? Why should we pick NCL over the other cruise lines?

Stacey

 

Maybe I'm reading this wrong.

Honestly you sound like you wanted the PCC and/or here on CC to give you a sales pitch.

 

You say on here that you have cruised before but had a few issues "have a scheduled time sometimes you feel rushed after an excursion"

Why not make a pro and con list of what you really enjoyed in your last cruise, what you didn't like and find the line that appears to be closest to what you like.

 

No one can sell you on what the great things are about a vacation because everyone has different tastes.

 

I love Freestyle with all it's wonders. Especially freestyle dining and the ability to sit with the party I came with (not strangers, or as some refer new aquaintances). Yes other lines do this with anytime dining. But I don't have to sign up for it ahead of time on NCL, I just do the same as I do on land.

 

Maybe you like champagne on embarkation and that makes your greatest cruise experience then find a line that you pay more for that offers this. Maybe you like to consume lots of adult beverages and want it included in your total price, again then find a line that does this.

 

Regarding food ,which always comes up. It is subjective, I am a picky eater and could always find something I liked in the various complimentary dining venues on NCL. Some will claim they can only get good food in the upcharge restaurants, but had no problem in the complimentary dining on say Princess. In my research Princess was almost double the cost for the same accomodations as NCL, so if I figured in that I may have to pay (which I didn't), it would have either came out the same cost or lower.

[iceman2a]

In reality 'Freestyle' dining has its advantages and disadvantages.

 

Your choice of dining options is the best afloat and it is a very ‘flexible’ system. However, with traditional dining you have a guaranteed seat in the main restaurant, but at a fixed time. With 'Freestyle' you may find yourself in a queue and being sent away with a pager.

Never once happened on any NCL cruise I've taken!

 

With 'freestyle' entertainment (especially onboard Epic) you really need to book the main shows before you even board the ship to ensure a seat.

No other cruise line has the entertainment that EPIC has! You can make reservations before you board but you don't "NEED" to and only for Blue Man & Cirque. You can wait until you board, see what's available, then decide.

The rest of the fleet you need not make reservations at all just like

"traditional" cruise lines!

That's not very 'Freestyle' at all. With the 'traditional' system, the main theatre is big enough to accommodate half the ships passengers at once (one sitting) so you should not have to fight for a seat. Epic's Theatre only accommodates one sixth of the passenger capacity.

 

There have been complaints that NCL's non-surcharge food is 'mediocre' so you need to pay a surcharge to get a good meal.

I have had both good and bad meals in the included dinning rooms, food is subjective, most people could be very happy without going to a "specialty"! I go to at least two, my choice!

 

NCL fares can be good, but they are masters of the ‘surcharge’, in fact they probably have more than any other cruise line.

 

The only "surcharge" is the DSC which covers your tips! Don't know of other surcharges that other lines don't charge??????

 

You might pay a little more for an RCI cruise but I bet your onboard spend would probably be a lot less.

 

It’s all very subjective!

 

I chose an EPIC cruise over Oasis because a balcony 50% less! no way did I spend the dif onboard!!!

 

I would like to try RCI someday, but have not yet been given a reason by NCL to try another!!!

[Fishbait17]

NCL Freestyle makes the difference for me. It's a kind of casual, carefree, relaxing, go with the flow, live-and-let-live feeling that I love. One has the ability to make their own choices, pay for what they want, not pay for what they don't want, dress up or dress down - everyone has the chance to tailor their vacation to their own wants and needs.

 

Robin

[che5904]

In reality 'Freestyle' dining has its advantages and disadvantages.

 

#1 Your choice of dining options is the best afloat and it is a very ‘flexible’ system. However, with traditional dining you have a guaranteed seat in the main restaurant, but at a fixed time. With 'Freestyle' you may find yourself in a queue and being sent away with a pager.

 

#2 With 'freestyle' entertainment (especially onboard Epic) you really need to book the main shows before you even board the ship to ensure a seat. That's not very 'Freestyle' at all. With the 'traditional' system, the main theatre is big enough to accommodate half the ships passengers at once (one sitting) so you should not have to fight for a seat. Epic's Theatre only accommodates one sixth of the passenger capacity.

 

#3 There have been complaints that NCL's non-surcharge food is 'mediocre' so you need to pay a surcharge to get a good meal.

 

#4 NCL fares can be good, but they are masters of the ‘surcharge’, in fact they probably have more than any other cruise line.

 

#5 You might pay a little more for an RCI cruise but I bet your onboard spend would probably be a lot less.

 

It’s all very subjective!

 

I disagree with most of your statement above except the fact that "it's all very subjective"

 

So my opinion is as follows

 

#1 We've never waited for dining more than 5 minutes except the night I didn't read my daily and was there before the stated hours the restaurant opened. Once it opened the long line in front of us went down in less than 15 minutes.

 

#2 I can't speak for the Epic as I've never sailed her. Nor do I want to and one of the reasons because I might have to book shows ahead which totally defeats one of the wonderful parts of freestyle I love (do what you want, when you want and don't have to clock watch). As for the rest of the fleet, the theatre is big enough to fit almost 1/2 of the passengers (Star: passenger capacity 2348, stardust theatre 1037).

 

#3 Picky eater and always managed to find something I like in the MDRs. Only went to Cagneys once to celebrate an occasion.

 

#4 I don't consider them "masters of surcharge". I consider them choices a la carte. I don't have to pay for someone wanting filet mignon every night if I'm quite satisfied with a lesser cut of steak. I don't like to pay for someone who likes to drink tons of pop, when I'm quite happy with water and/or mixes I may want to add to my own water.

 

#5 I'm very budget concious and have done the math. For me It is a lot cheaper for me to sail NCL than to sail RCI, with adding the choices I wish to add on. And appreciate they are not shoving down my throat higher costs due to someone else's tastes.

 

This is based on the rest of NCL's fleet except the EPIC which I do find expensive. I think NCL missed the mark on that one.

[Fishbait17]

I disagree with most of your statement above except the fact that "it's all very subjective"

 

So my opinion is as follows

 

#1 We've never waited for dining more than 5 minutes except the night I didn't read my daily and was there before the stated hours the restaurant opened. Once it opened the long line in front of us went down in less than 15 minutes.

 

#2 I can't speak for the Epic as I've never sailed her. Nor do I want to and one of the reasons because I might have to book shows ahead which totally defeats one of the wonderful parts of freestyle I love (do what you want, when you want and don't have to clock watch). As for the rest of the fleet, the theatre is big enough to fit almost 1/2 of the passengers (Star: passenger capacity 2348, stardust theatre 1037).

 

#3 Picky eater and always managed to find something I like in the MDRs. Only went to Cagneys once to celebrate an occasion.

 

#4 I don't consider them "masters of surcharge". I consider them choices a la carte. I don't have to pay for someone wanting filet mignon every night if I'm quite satisfied with a lesser cut of steak. I don't like to pay for someone who likes to drink tons of pop, when I'm quite happy with water and/or mixes I may want to add to my own water.

 

#5 I'm very budget concious and have done the math. For me It is a lot cheaper for me to sail NCL than to sail RCI, with adding the choices I wish to add on. And appreciate they are not shoving down my throat higher costs due to someone else's tastes.

 

This is based on the rest of NCL's fleet except the EPIC which I do find expensive. I think NCL missed the mark on that one.

 

I love your a la carte analogy! That's perfect!

 

Robin

[patseacruiser]

I didn't find the Epic any more expensive than any other ship - NCL or otherwise. In fact, I found the food in the Garden Cafe, MDR (Taste and Manhattan Room) and other free venues better than any of the other NCL ships so if you did not want to eat in the MDR or buffet or O'Sheehans you have the choice to pay a modest amount to eat in a specialty restaurant - the same as you do on RCI, Princess, Carnival, Holland America, Celebrity, Cunard and on and on. There are upcharges whatever mass market line you are on.

 

Freestyle is the reason I think NCL beats the rest. Yes I can eat at 9:30 after a show or go to a specialty restaurant and say hey can I get in? Never been turned away. Never waited more than 5 minutes or so to get into the MDR.

 

If you want a sales pitch just go to any line's website and read how wonderful they all are.

[che5904]

I didn't find the Epic any more expensive than any other ship - NCL or otherwise. .

 

Not sure who patseacruiser you were directing this at. The reason I made this statement above with regard to the basic price, not anything on the ship.

Feb sailing Caribbean: 7 day - Pearl BA cabin $879, Epic BA cabin $1099. I have found that right across the board for different sailings I've looked at. That $400 for the two of us, could almost cover our NCL excursions.

[retired rascal]

We sail NCl basically for 2 reasons: #1: We HATE to get all dressed up. We did that for YEARS and no longer choose to look like Ken and Barbie teetering around. We can go anywhere on NCL ships with nice ExOfficio or similar travel clothes...We can not go on HAL, Celebrity, Crystal, etc. dressed that way. #2: we like the NCL suite perks....for the price, too good a deal, much better than other lines.

[geegee1]

1 - good prices

2 - freestyle - hate having to eat at a certain time and get dressed up. If what I wear to a fancy NYC steak house is good enough for there, it should be good enough for a darn cruise ship.

3 - the massages at the spa

4 - freestyle

[mitsugirly]

I like choice...to do what I want, when I want. Eating any time I want. :D I love the staff and haven't had a bad experience. They were all so helpful and friendly. I haven't had a bad experience on NCL yet.

 

I also like being informal when I want. We still semi-dress up for dinner, even if we go to the buffet. It's just our choice, but we don't have to. ;)

[Dolphins]

1. Freestyle Dining at the time and venue of our choice

2. Friendliest crews, talented musicians, something for everyone

3. Best Suite and Platinum Latitude Perks

4. Sails year round out of New York (no more flying for us)

[cruisendave]

We have sailed RCCL, CC, and NCL. NCL is our favorite. The freestyle concept is the best! We also like the contemporary decor of the ships we have sailed so far. Can't wait to see the Jewel in a few weeks.:)

[London-Calling]

With 'Freestyle' you may find yourself in a queue and being sent away with a pager.

 

Never once happened on any NCL cruise I've taken!

You must be very lucky. It has happened to me on all four NCL crises when I have tried to eat in the main dining room at around 8.00pm. The pager has taken upto 30 minutes to sound.

 

With 'freestyle' entertainment (especially onboard Epic) you really need to book the main shows before you even board the ship to ensure a seat.

No other cruise line has the entertainment that EPIC has!

 

Oasis and Allure do! (But yes, it is very subjective)