NCL vs Carnival

[crusinmama22]

We love both lines.

 

Carnival has larger staterooms. Really like the Spirit Class Ships!

 

But, lately NCL has been our choice. The week we travel is specific and we like the mid class ships (2000-2300) Lately NCL has had a better ports for our tasts.

 

I really like the 8 day - 9 day cruises however we travel Presidents week and that just won't work anymore. My husband and daughter are teachers and they can not take off any additional days around vacation weeks.

 

We will be on the NCL Star Feb 2013 and can't wait.

 

My first NCL cruise was on the Dawn 2010 and I really liked it, we liked the ship, food, entertainment, crew everything !

 

Our first cruise was on Carnival Festival 1979.

[nikimouse]

I dont know about income of other cruisers but heard carnival has a younger crowd onboard, however im hopeing its the same make up of passengers on ncl. It is a bit insulting that some people think carnival is for trashier people of walmart lol I thought it was really fun and im sure ncl will be too.

[Nalagh]

;) Going to grab the popcorn...

[emcelh]

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.

 

No. What's your point?

[Psych NP]

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

 

Is it "more trashier" to use proper grammar?

 

A song by Alannis Morrisette comes to mind. "Isn't it ironic? Don't ya think?"

[jonbgd]

Have cruised for years on CCL. Our first NCL cruise was on the POA. We went with our loyal to royal friends

 

The ship is nice and the crew is nice.

 

We had a blacony cabin it was a little smaller than what we are used to on CCL.

 

I find the food and MDR service is better on CCl. If your use to CCL MDR the waiting for a table on NCL can be a pain. We tend to eat first sitting on all cruiselines. It seems on NCL everyone else wanted to eat @ 6pm as well. So we were given one of those pagers that land base restaurants give out. Avg wait time was probably 20-30 min.

 

Concerning other cruisers I didnt notice much difference in demographics of cruisers between the 2 lines.

 

It was a great cruise and the 4 of us are cruising the Epic later this year. I would definantly recommend it

[b00kbug]

I've only been on one Carnival cruise before and had a horrible experience with it (including a medical emergency with one of my cousins and it took carnival's medical staff a half hour to respond) so I will never cruise with Carnival again.

[smilz]

We're platinum on RCCL, Princess, CCL, and have sailed Celebrity, HAL and will be on our 4th NCL this summer. They all have great things and not so great things about them. Boy could we make one great line if we could combine all the great things!!!! A big difference we found between carnival and NCL are the pools. NCL pools are quite small for the # aboard. The entertainment has varied between NCL ships for example the White Hot party on one was was FABULOUS and it was a dud on another. The production shows have been quite good on NCL. The photos are quite immaginative on NCL as well. The kid program on NCL was good but we've only had our grandaughter with us once. NCL has pretzel rolls on their buffet that are to die for:D Like the bars better on NCL but the specialty drinks are cheaper on Carnival. No bringing wine aboard on NCL like on Carnival and Princess but you can bring water and soda. I think NCL has an edge on things to do on sea days that is not your typical hairy leg contest etc. Accept that NO SHIP will deliver 100% of your expectations 100% of the time. Go with the flow... have a great time no matter who you sail with. Bon Voyage!!!!

[Cruzaholic41]

We have been on 10 Carnival Cruises but have decided to give NCL a try next winter on the Pride of America in Hawaii. What is the biggest difference between them ??

 

Based on my experience, I think CCL and NCL are the 2 most similar mass market cruise lines at sea. If you are happy with CCL, you will likely be happy with NCL. Although, even with CCL's recent downgrade of their menus, I still think their free food is better than NCLs. In that area, you may be disappointed.

[laxlove6]

I just found the crowd a little rough around the edges on Carnival. A lot of people wearing clothes with the Carnival emblem on it. They seem similar to the crowd at a 6 flags theme park. People eating massive turkey legs. That type of crowd.

[halos]

We have been on 10 Carnival Cruises but have decided to give NCL a try next winter on the Pride of America in Hawaii. What is the biggest difference between them ??

 

 

:)

 

These are just my opinion and there is no guarantee you'd feel the same.

I used to be pretty much a CCL 'only' cruiser, but then NCL just won me over and continues to with each and every cruise to the point where my next CCL cruise is going to be my last for numerous reasons...least of which are.....

 

NCL: Better crew/officers (my favorite thing about NCL and how they won me over)

 

NCL: More variety in dining options. More free venues plus many more surcharge venues

NCL: Outside grilling lunch on sea days

NCL: Cagney's breakfast and Lunch for suite and VIP passengers

 

NCL: More live music on deck and insdie the ship. Awesome sail away/deck parties.

 

NCL: Far more activities offered to do on board.

 

NCL: Better entertainment

 

 

NCL: More attention to detail. You feel like they are honestly trying to ensure you have a fabulous time and not just going through the motions. They seem to care whether you have a great time and do their best to accomplish that.

 

I don't know how the POA stacks up compared to other NCL ships though. I know it seems to be improving because early on there was a vast difference reported in the sailings due to the POA having an all American crew, now the reviews are coming in much more positive.

[jonbgd]

. People eating massive turkey legs.

 

Where does CCL serve these????

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Where does CCL serve these????

 

Beats me. I eat these all the time at Disneyworld. I guess I'm rough around the edges. Who knew?

 

Honestly the more this person post the more they put their foot in their mouth. (IMHO)

 

Bill

 

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

[Nalagh]

Where does CCL serve these????

 

B2B on the Epic...how cool is that!!:D

[jonbgd]

Beats me. I eat these all the time at Disneyworld. I guess I'm rough around the edges. Who knew?

 

Honestly the more this person post the more they put their foot in their mouth. (IMHO)

 

Bill

 

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

Tell me about it. The more i read I have to just shake my head at the comments. I grew up on CCL.

I may be a little rough around the edges but thats because I didnt shave this morning :D

 

B2B on the Epic...how cool is that!!:D

 

Figure such a big ship need 2 weeks to do it all. Besides its cheaper than what I pay for CCl:eek:

[Nalagh]

Tell me about it. The more i read I have to just shake my head at the comments. I grew up on CCL.

I may be a little rough around the edges but thats because I didnt shave this morning :D

 

 

 

Figure such a big ship need 2 weeks to do it all. Besides its cheaper than what I pay for CCl:eek:

 

:confused: I thought CCL would have cost less than the Epic...oh well, live and learn:p

[hues of blue]

Some good answers here-thank you :)

[halos]

I just found the crowd a little rough around the edges on Carnival. A lot of people wearing clothes with the Carnival emblem on it. They seem similar to the crowd at a 6 flags theme park. People eating massive turkey legs. That type of crowd.

 

CC passengers are very diverse. I find this a good thing.

Social status, races, different ages all represented on Carnival. This makes for a very NICE cruise.

If you prefer a cruise where the vast majority of people are alike, it's not a good choice...for instance, we sailed a 14 day itinerary on Celebrity. Almost everyone (other than us and 1 other family) were all over the age of 65...many were celebrating 50 years married and many we spoke with actually paled and groaned when we mentioned we enjoyed CCL...why I have no clue because most admittedly had never sailed the line. This gave us the impression that they were all pretty snooty.

 

The truth is, I don't love CCL anymore, I much prefer NCL but it has nothing to do with fellow passengers. I'd personally much prefer to sail with people that are real and just who they are than folks that like to think of themslves as better. Our experience on X was quite a turn-off...kinda like your post to be honest.

 

To each his own

And fwiw, I have never seen turkey legs on any cruise...then again, I don't sail around Thanksgiving when that might be available....(???????) And if so..so what??? You're not 'acceptable' if you like turkey legs? :rolleyes:

[my_crib_too]

I just found the crowd a little rough around the edges on Carnival. A lot of people wearing clothes with the Carnival emblem on it. They seem similar to the crowd at a 6 flags theme park. People eating massive turkey legs. That type of crowd.

 

I really did "laugh out loud" when I read this...

[nikimouse]

CC passengers are very diverse. I find this a good thing.

Social status, races, different ages all represented on Carnival. This makes for a very NICE cruise.

If you prefer a cruise where the vast majority of people are alike, it's not a good choice...for instance, we sailed a 14 day itinerary on Celebrity. Almost everyone (other than us and 1 other family) were all over the age of 65...many were celebrating 50 years married and many we spoke with actually paled and groaned when we mentioned we enjoyed CCL...why I have no clue because most admittedly had never sailed the line. This gave us the impression that they were all pretty snooty.

 

The truth is, I don't love CCL anymore, I much prefer NCL but it has nothing to do with fellow passengers. I'd personally much prefer to sail with people that are real and just who they are than folks that like to think of themslves as better. Our experience on X was quite a turn-off...kinda like your post to be honest.

 

To each his own

And fwiw, I have never seen turkey legs on any cruise...then again, I don't sail around Thanksgiving when that might be available....(???????) And if so..so what??? You're not 'acceptable' if you like turkey legs? :rolleyes:

 

 

thanks for your post. I liked that there was a good mix of different people on carnival and hoped that it would be the same on ncl. I kinda feel more comfortable being with what has been described as 'trashier people' than I would if most onboard were 'snobby'.... although im sure people from all walks of life are on both lines. Looking foward to the entertainent and to being on a prettier ship with a great spa, and to eating when i want and sitting where i want. Im flying tommorow and cant wait!

[iluvdoxies]

We are milestone on CCL and used to love it ---seems like thay have gone down hill in a lot of areas.

 

Tried NCL and LOVE it -- food is better, sevice is better and the ships are prettier. Also on NCL their suite perks are fablulous ! CCL cant come near waht NCL does.

 

Also if you sign up for your roll call there is a meet and grett with the Capt, staff officers and cd. They provide snacks, coffe tea juice. They give you a card with the phone #'s in case you have a problem.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Just to prove how low class i am I even took a picture before devouring my turkey leg.:D

 

 

Bill

[jonbgd]

Just to prove how low class i am I even took a picture before devouring my turkey leg.:D

 

 

Bill

Oh your so Whiskey Tango:D

 

That looks good. I remember looking forward to that every Thanksgiving as a kid

[laxlove6]

I'm not sure I've seen people with their own NCL towels. Not sure what the point would be since they are free on board.

 

You have to admit, walking around eating a massive turkey leg is a little bit trashy.

[laxlove6]

When I was on Carnival, I couldn't believe the how high people were stacking the plates with food at the buffet. People were carrying 2-3 plates at a time, like it was closing time.