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NCL vs Carnival

hues of blue

By hues of blue,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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NYcruzzer

NYcruzzer

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I am Platinum on Carnival and NCL. I like both lines equally and choose my cruise based on price and itinerary. I think they are more similar then differant. However I have never sailed on an NCL America ship. This may be an Apples to Oranges comparison. As NCL America is has no casino and is not staffed by an international crew. Hopefully someone who has sailed on the POA can give you some insight. BTW enjoy your cruise.

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Vitality08

Vitality08

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I am Platinum on Carnival and NCL. I like both lines equally and choose my cruise based on price and itinerary. I think they are more similar then differant. However I have never sailed on an NCL America ship. This may be an Apples to Oranges comparison. As NCL America is has no casino and is not staffed by an international crew. Hopefully someone who has sailed on the POA can give you some insight. BTW enjoy your cruise.

 

There's no casino! good thing I found that out before booking.

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NYcruzzer

NYcruzzer

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Isn't the demographic lower on Carnival then it is on NCL. Crowds are a little more trashier on Carnival?

 

Since you are asking if the crowds are a little more trashier on Carnival, are you implying that NCLs crowds are less trashy, but trashy none the less ? Like I said I like both lines and do not consider myself trashy...

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libertyschool

libertyschool

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Isn't the demographic lower on Carnival then it is on NCL. Crowds are a little more trashier on Carnival?

 

Are you referring to an income demographic, an age demographic, an IQ demographic? Just out of curiosity, have you ever sailed Carnival? I'm certainly no expert, but I can say based on my experience that I did not find the crowds to be particularly "trashy". I also do not consider myself or my family to be within the "lower demographic" as you so eloquently put it.

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hues of blue

hues of blue

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Are you referring to an income demographic, an age demographic, an IQ demographic? Just out of curiosity, have you ever sailed Carnival? I'm certainly no expert, but I can say based on my experience that I did not find the crowds to be particularly "trashy". I also do not consider myself or my family to be within the "lower demographic" as you so eloquently put it.

 

Well said- thank you.

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hawaiideb

hawaiideb

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as some people are when they use generalizations like mentioned previously. I have sailed both NCL and Carnival, and find them both equally enjoyable. I really loved both of the Carnival ships we've been on, and we have only cruised NCL more since we have status and lived in/really near port cities. Enjoy POA, I think you will really enjoy the itinerary and be able to find the American Crew very accommodating.

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hues of blue

hues of blue

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as some people are when they use generalizations like mentioned previously. I have sailed both NCL and Carnival, and find them both equally enjoyable. I really loved both of the Carnival ships we've been on, and we have only cruised NCL more since we have status and lived in/really near port cities. Enjoy POA, I think you will really enjoy the itinerary and be able to find the American Crew very accommodating.

 

Thank you. I was mainly curious about food, ship, and rooms. I appreciate your answer and we are looking forward to a new experience in cruising :)

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Warm Breezes

Warm Breezes

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IMHO they both have pro's and con's but in the end relatively the same. We have enjoyed all of cruises but based on our experience and likes/dislikes I would compare the 2 lines as follows:

 

NCL better buffet. CCL better MDR. NCL Blue Lagoon/O'sheehan's and CCL Fish and Chips tied at very good. NCL better Pizza. CCL better deserts. Specialty Dining Rooms a tie but NCL offers more choices.

 

Interior rooms on NCL smaller than CCL but I've heard (not experienced) that the suite life on NCL is much better than CCL.

 

Entertainment was better on NCL but the 2 best CD's we've had were on CCL. Bingo is more affordable on CCL. NCL has better sports decks.

 

Service is a tie. We've had good and not so good on both.

 

We love freestyle and with Carnival doing anytime they are both pretty similar now.

 

These items are all subjective and things that I would not use to decide on which ship to cruise. We base our cruising decisions on value, itinerary, embarkation port, and ship. The priority of these factors depends on what we are looking for out of our vacation. Cruiseline never enters into the decision making process unless we have a FCC to use. My advice is to look for the things you value in a vacation and make a decision based on that and not someone elses subjective opinion. Have fun no matter which ship you pick.

 

FWIW I didn't notice any difference in the demographics between any of cruises on DCL, NCL or CCL. They all seemed to be people enjoying their vacation just like we were.

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A2Mich

A2Mich

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I'm referring to income. I've been on Carnival and felt there were more people eating in the buffet for dinner if you know what I mean.

Saw quite a bit of that on Princess, too. Sorry if Carnival cruisers don't meet the NCL standards, whatever they may be. Some of us have to work hard and save for quite a while to afford any cruise. But, either way, we try to have a great time on what we can afford.

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Hawaiifrank

Hawaiifrank

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as some people are when they use generalizations like mentioned previously. I have sailed both NCL and Carnival, and find them both equally enjoyable. I really loved both of the Carnival ships we've been on, and we have only cruised NCL more since we have status and lived in/really near port cities. Enjoy POA, I think you will really enjoy the itinerary and be able to find the American Crew very accommodating.

 

Cool Screen Name Deb! :D

 

So as to not be totally off-topic...

 

We'll go on our first NCL cruise in April. I fully expect it to be just as relaxing and enjoyable as CCL or RCCL which we have sailed several times each. As they say, "Variety is the spice of life."

 

Each line has minor differences, but I think the quality of food, service and entertainment is generally about the same on all of these (as someone said) "mass-market lines".

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groo

groo

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IMHO they both have pro's and con's but in the end relatively the same. We have enjoyed all of cruises but based on our experience and likes/dislikes I would compare the 2 lines as follows:

 

NCL better buffet. CCL better MDR. NCL Blue Lagoon/O'sheehan's and CCL Fish and Chips tied at very good. NCL better Pizza. CCL better deserts. Specialty Dining Rooms a tie but NCL offers more choices.

 

Interior rooms on NCL smaller than CCL but I've heard (not experienced) that the suite life on NCL is much better than CCL.

 

Entertainment was better on NCL but the 2 best CD's we've had were on CCL. Bingo is more affordable on CCL. NCL has better sports decks.

 

Service is a tie. We've had good and not so good on both.

 

We love freestyle and with Carnival doing anytime they are both pretty similar now.

 

These items are all subjective and things that I would not use to decide on which ship to cruise. We base our cruising decisions on value, itinerary, embarkation port, and ship. The priority of these factors depends on what we are looking for out of our vacation. Cruiseline never enters into the decision making process unless we have a FCC to use. My advice is to look for the things you value in a vacation and make a decision based on that and not someone elses subjective opinion. Have fun no matter which ship you pick.

 

FWIW I didn't notice any difference in the demographics between any of cruises on DCL, NCL or CCL. They all seemed to be people enjoying their vacation just like we were.

 

 

This matches my experiences as well.

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JP4GA

JP4GA

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Some people just prefer to eat at the buffet instead of going to a speciality or MDR. Choosing to eat at the buffet does not mean the person is trashy.

 

I may decide I don't like NCL if everyone who cruises them feels they are above everyone else.

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disfan13

disfan13

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I'm referring to income. I've been on Carnival and felt there were more people eating in the buffet for dinner if you know what I mean.

 

I work with both marketing dept's, online and offline. the demographics are very similar - you would be surprised apparently. I've seen brawls broken out on NCL with the amount of white trash that was on my ship. Never saw that on CCL.

 

That said - I would sail either.

 

to the OP - the main difference is the freestyle dining. Also no casino's in American waters.

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