Norwegian Star vs. Carnival Conquest

[2princesses'mommy]

Hello!

 

My family (ME, DH, DD6, & DD4) is looking to book a cruise next year and have narrowed it down to these 2 ships. We are repeat Disney cruisers who are looking to branch out a little bit and try new things! We have also been on Carnival, but never with kids! We need to leave from New Orleans because it is driveable and these ships are sailing during our travel dates. The itenararies on both ships look great to us, with a slight edge going to NCL Star for visiting ports we've not yet been to.

 

Can anyone give me their opinions of which one of these cruises you would do? I am a little unsure of the Freestyle cruising. Give me your opinion of that as well!

 

Any and all advice is very appreciated!

 

Thank you!

[chrisc71]

Going on first NCL this year with children, their first cruise. They are 6 year old twins and a 2 year old. We chose NCL mainly because of the Freestyle dining and not having to worry about formal wear for everyone. We go out to eat with the kids but not sure how they would last through a long dinner seating.

[Mom2B&Z]

We were on the Star in January when our boys were 6.5 and 4 yrs old. The boys loved the ship, the kids area is large and great for kids not quite ready for the big pools. We spent a lot of time at the kids pool area, which is fine with me because it's aft with a great view! I can't say enough about the NCL kids club, staff on the Sun and Star were able to meet the needs of both children extremely well...and I'm really picky ;).

We love freestyle, if we have a long day in port we can eat a bit later, if we want to catch a show we show up when the restaurants open. However, we are a very flexible family, so we want a cruise experience that works with us. NCL does this well.