What ship to look at?

[skittl1321]

My husband and I have cruised twice on Carnival and have a third planned. After that, we'd like to try another line. NCL is one of our top choices, but so much of what I read about is Epic, and it isn't a ship I'll cruise on (it is just too big for me. Even the Carnival Dream is too big. I have irrational fears of crowds, number of people- not crowding, and spaces I can't get out of. I can't even go to football games anymore...)

 

Could you recommend a ship or two that I should research further?

 

We are not party people- DH enjoys a glass of wine every night, but I don't drink at all. We don't use the dance clubs and don't really lay out at the pool (though DH enjoys Carnival's slide). We don't gamble, and prefer a restrictive smoking policy. We won't be able to splurge on "the suite life".

We love trivia on the ships, love productions shows and comedians. We love to eat good food on cruises. We like to relax on a balcony if we have one, or find a quite spot on the ship to read (hopefully with an ocean view). We love ports that give us a mix of history and beach days.

[che5904]

I would recommend the Dawn or Jewel class ships. They would be about the size of ships that you are accustom to. about 92000-93500GT, about 965ft in length.

 

The Dawn does not have a slide but the Star does

Sorry you would have to investigate to see which Jewel class have slides. I know the Pearl does, but not sure about the Jewel, Gem or Jade.

 

The smoking on all NCL ships is the same.

"public areas throughout all our ships are smoke-free. If you smoke cigarettes, you can do so on your balcony, in the casino or in the Cigar Bar (where available). If you prefer pipes or cigars, you can smoke in the Cigar Bar or designated smoking lounge. Also, you can smoke cigarettes, pipes and cigars outside on open decks (just not around food venues, sports decks, kids’ pool areas and other designated nonsmoking areas"

[mizLORInj]

The only NCL ship with a comparable waterslide is Epic; Gem & Jewel have them but they're tiny. Glad I'm not the only adult who enjoys Carnival's waterslides!

Where do you want to sail from?

[skittl1321]

The slide isn't a deal breaker :)

 

I will look at the Dawn and Jewel class. Thanks!

 

Would love to hear any other recommendations.

[che5904]

The slide isn't a deal breaker :)

 

I will look at the Dawn and Jewel class. Thanks!

 

Would love to hear any other recommendations.

 

If you go to the NCL website under "learn about our cruises". Choose the ship, choose the tab "whats on board" "entertainment". It will give you the shows that are on that ship.

[jdvmd]

Would recommend the Sun for a longer cruise like a week or the Sky, which does three and four-night cruises. Love the full promenade on both ships. Great spots for just the two of you. Lots of trivia games.

[phillygirl63]

You don't say where you would like to go, but from what you have described, you might want to look at NCL's Pride of America in Hawaii. The size of the ship was perfect -- not too big and not too small. There is no casino on the ship, so no smoky smell anywhere inside. Smoking is permitted on balconies, but the designated outside areas on the ship are very limited. The itinerary is such that people are so busy during the day that they don't have the energy to party till all hours of the night (at least it was that way when we took this cruise).

 

We had a great time and would definitely do it again.

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

My husband and I have cruised twice on Carnival and have a third planned. After that, we'd like to try another line. NCL is one of our top choices, but so much of what I read about is Epic, and it isn't a ship I'll cruise on (it is just too big for me. Even the Carnival Dream is too big. I have irrational fears of crowds, number of people- not crowding, and spaces I can't get out of. I can't even go to football games anymore...)

 

Could you recommend a ship or two that I should research further?

 

We are not party people- DH enjoys a glass of wine every night, but I don't drink at all. We don't use the dance clubs and don't really lay out at the pool (though DH enjoys Carnival's slide). We don't gamble, and prefer a restrictive smoking policy. We won't be able to splurge on "the suite life".

We love trivia on the ships, love productions shows and comedians. We love to eat good food on cruises. We like to relax on a balcony if we have one, or find a quite spot on the ship to read (hopefully with an ocean view). We love ports that give us a mix of history and beach days.

 

If you liked the Spirit on Carnival, then I would suggest the Jewel or Gem. They flow more like the spirit class ships and don't feel as crowded as others.

[skittl1321]

Would recommend the Sun for a longer cruise like a week or the Sky, which does three and four-night cruises. Love the full promenade on both ships. Great spots for just the two of you. Lots of trivia games.

 

We have never done a cruise less than 8 nights yet...we have a 5-nighter booked soon and are a bit nervous.

 

Does the crowd on NCL's 3/4 nighter's get the same wild (insane?) party reputation that Carnival has?

[skittl1321]

You don't say where you would like to go,

 

 

It's safe to say I want to go everywhere :)

I've read about Pride of America before- it sounds unique for sure!

[portagyplaya12]

As others have mentioned, I'd definitely check out the Jewel/Gem class ships, or maybe even the Dawn/Star which are a little older and smaller. They're big but not too big, similar in size to what you're used to. Check out cruise-ships (dot) com, it gives comparisons of all of the different cruise ships so you can get an idea of how big they are.