How does Norwegian Pearl compare to Carnival?

[browneyedwoman]

Hi. We have been on two Carnival cruises on the Pride from NYC and the Glory from Baltimore. We are possibly looking to sail this fall from a Florida port. It will be my husband and I (in our mid 40's) and my parents who are both 76. I am looking into the NCL Pearl that goes from Miami to Great Stirrup Cay, Ochos Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. The other ships that we've been considering are the Carnival Freedom from Fort Lauderdale going to St Thomas, Antigua, Tortola and Nassau or the Carnival Legend from Tampa or Liberty from Miami to Cozumel, Honduras, Grand Cayman and Belize.

I think I'd miss the sing along piano bar on Carnival. My Dad complained about the loud music on the last Carnival ship. I thought that NCL might be more geared towards a slightly more mature crowd.

I'd love to hear some comparisons of the two lines. I looked at the NCL site and the Pearl looks like a nice ship.

[mitsugirly]

I can not tell you anything about the Carnival because I have not cruised with them. I've thought about it, but like you said, it's kind of more rowdy than NCL (just my opinion from what I've heard).

 

I have been on the Pearl (this past March) and did the ports that you are looking at. I can give you the link to my Pearl review (which has tons of pictures from the link at the bottom of the review) if you are interested:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1609108

 

If you read the entire link, you will find a separate post about each port with links to pictures. Let me know if you have any questions. :)

[browneyedwoman]

Thanks for the link to your extensive review. It sounds like a nice ship. I'm sure we would enjoy it. I'm trying to compare ammenities on both lines. I really liked the piano bar on Carnival. Does the Pearl have one on it? What type of music do they have on the ship?

[mitsugirly]

We are not really in to the piano bar scene, but they did have a piano and they were playing music. On most of the NCL ships you'll find a huge variety of different music. There are tons of bars, dance places, entertainment so pretty much a variety for everyone. :)

[kicia]

Don't believe what anyone says if they have not been on the cruise line in question. You can't judge just by someone's opinion of what they have heard.

 

I am more of a Carnival person and have never seen anyone rowdy or drunk on their ships. I've only done one NCL and thought the two lines were more alike than different except that NCL was quite a bit more casual than Carnival. I only saw one couple with the man in a suit and the lady in a dress one time. On Carnival lots of people dress up especially for formal (elegant) night. The last two cruises I thought we must have gotten on Cunard or something because there were so many tuxes, suits and long gowns..

 

Other than the cabins being smaller on NCL a lot of things were similar. Food was good on both lines but a hair better on Carnival. The crew and staff on both were very friendly and efficient. I liked that you could eat in the dining room on embarkation day. That was a much nicer way to start the cruise. NCL's showroom was a mess with the chairs everywhere in no order. The shows on Carnival were better. One consideration is that the NCL cruise was on the oldest and smallest ship, the Sky, so I realize the newer ships would be more comparable to the newer Carnival ships. Embarkation and debarkation on both lines was good with no hassle. We're going to try another NCL on a newer ship and can better compare them.

 

My opinion is that you should try it and see for yourself. The demographics are very similar and every cruise is different because of the different passengers each cruise. The most risqué thing we've ever encountered was on a Disney cruise so you cannot judge by the cruise line.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I can not tell you anything about the Carnival because I have not cruised with them. I've thought about it, but like you said, it's kind of more rowdy than NCL (just my opinion from what I've heard).

 

I have been on the Pearl (this past March) and did the ports that you are looking at. I can give you the link to my Pearl review (which has tons of pictures from the link at the bottom of the review) if you are interested:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1609108

 

If you read the entire link, you will find a separate post about each port with links to pictures. Let me know if you have any questions. :)

 

I have thought about going on NCL but the food on NCL is terrible and the atmosphere is not any more mature than Carnival.

 

Just my opinion from what I've heard.

 

Bill

[reefgirl]

I have thought about going on NCL but the food on NCL is terrible and the atmosphere is not any more mature than Carnival.

 

Just my opinion from what I've heard.

 

Bill

 

An opinion based on what you've heard is useless. I've been on only two NCL cruises but I can tell you the food is quite good.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

An opinion based on what you've heard is useless. I've been on only two NCL cruises but I can tell you the food is quite good.

 

My point exactly, Thank you!

 

Bill

[MSUcruisers]

We like the entertainment on NCL better than Carnival. I think there are Second City and cirque performances on most if not all 7-day or longer cruises.

[Irisheyes61665]

I am just back from a cruise on The Pearl. My cruise was to Alaska, not the Caribbean, but the ship and staff remain the same. I was extremely impressed with The Pearl. The ship is beautiful and the staff were amazing, they always had huge smiles on their faces and made you feel like they truly cared how your day was going. There was a wonderful piano player that played and sang each evening, not sure if it was a true sing along, but I'm sure it could turn into one!

I have sailed with Carnival one time out of San Juan to the Caribbean. In my opinion NCL has Carnival beat in every way...the staff, the cruisers, the food...etc.

So I would say go with The Pearl, you will not be disappointed!! :D

[GrandmaHofmann]

I was on the NCL Pearl last year and then on a 4 day Carnival Imagination with my grandsons. I thought they both had their good points, but I would go with the Pearl even though the food and entertainment and even my cabin was better on the Imagination. Why? I hated all the drunks on the Imagination. That said, it was a 4 day cruise, and the cheaper the cruise, the lower the crowd often. I put a full review of the Imagination at Members Reviews. We are going to go back to Disney next summer with the grandsons, but July 2014 we will try Carnival again with a bigger, newer ship and longer itinerary with them just to try it again.

[GrandmaHofmann]

We were also on Diamond Princess Asia last March, and I preferred that to both NCL and Carnival. Princess is my favorite if it is just me and my husband. Besides, I get free internet on Princess. :)

[iluvdoxies]

I have thought about going on NCL but the food on NCL is terrible and the atmosphere is not any more mature than Carnival.

 

Just my opinion from what I've heard.

 

Bill

 

The food is excellent on NCL, much better than CCL

 

For example, on the LIdo geck they are grilling FRESH burgers, breakfast is much better and a LOT of choices where to eat

[S.S.Oceanlover]

The food is excellent on NCL, much better than CCL

 

For example, on the LIdo geck they are grilling FRESH burgers, breakfast is much better and a LOT of choices where to eat

 

I am sorry I should have put the rolleyes emoticon in my first reply to Mitsusgurly.

 

I was just on NCL in July so I know what kind of food they have.

 

Food is so subjective I will just leave that alone.:)

 

Bill

[GORDONCHICK]

I've sailed several lines, and Carnival & NCL are fairly similar. I don't think the music around the ship in general was as loud on NCL as it was on Carnival. I don't do piano bars so I don't know about those.

 

I have been on the Pearl and she's a wonderful ship. I am not a buffet fan (land or sea) but the Pearl has the best buffet afloat IMO. I would always choose NCL over Carnival for service. Formal is 100% optional, lots of dining choices (some have surcharges). I think Carnival has better desserts in general, and better pizza - if those things are important.

 

Keep in mind, if the winds are very high, you will miss Great Stirrup Cay like we did, but this is possible on any port.

[HarpHarp]

We've sailed on both lines and here is my evaluation.

Food is about equal. I much prefer freestyle/anytime dining. The casual eateries were much better on NCL. Grilled bratwurst on a pretzel roll anyone? Carnival has the edge on desserts but NCL has better coffee. Gordonchick is right!

 

The entertainment is much better on NCL, the louge acts especially. Bernie Martini, Kenny the human jukebox, Vladimir Kriabin, Fabrizio, Fire & Ice, the jazz combos. I couldn't name one entertainer from our CCL cruises. I'm a musician myself & know I can't sing, so a singalong with a bunch of folks who sing no better than I do can be painful. I'd much rather listen to the pros. I also agree with your father, CCL needs to turn down the volume!!

 

There was much more drinking on our Carnival cruises, but I think that was more due to the itinerary & length, rather than the line. It's hard to enjoy the pool when you have to wear earplugs. Edge to NCL.

I likes our cabins on CCL more, but the NCL stewards were better.

I'm sure you will enjoy NCL if you liked Carnival.

[arhillbilly]

Don't believe what anyone says if they have not been on the cruise line in question. I totally agree with this You can't judge just by someone's opinion of what they have heard.

 

I am more of a Carnival person and have never seen anyone rowdy or drunk on their ships. I've only done one NCL and thought the two lines were more alike than different except that NCL was quite a bit more casual than Carnival. I totally DISAGREE with this. I think it's just the opposite with Carnival being the more casual line. I only saw one couple with the man in a suit and the lady in a dress one time. On Carnival lots of people dress up especially for formal (elegant) night. Here again, I disagree....there were more people on the 3 NCL cruises that I have been on dress up than on the 2 Carnival cruises I have been on.The last two cruises I thought we must have gotten on Cunard or something because there were so many tuxes, suits and long gowns..

 

Other than the cabins being smaller on NCL Again I will disagree...felt like the inside cabins were about the same if not a tad bit larger on NCL...a lot of things were similar. Food was good on both lines but a hair better on Carnival. Again, I disagree. The food on all 3 of the NCL cruises has been A LOT better than the 2 Carnival cruises The crew and staff on both were very friendly and efficient. I liked that you could eat in the dining room on embarkation day.You can also eat in the dining room on NCL on embarkation day That was a much nicer way to start the cruise. NCL's showroom was a mess with the chairs everywhere in no order. The shows on Carnival were better.Have never seen a mess in either of the lines showroom. I felt like that NCL shows were A LOT better and a lot more things to do on the ship that Carnival One consideration is that the NCL cruise was on the oldest and smallest ship, the Sky, so I realize the newer ships would be more comparable to the newer Carnival ships. Embarkation and debarkation on both lines was good with no hassle. We're going to try another NCL on a newer ship and can better compare them.

 

My opinion is that you should try it and see for yourself. The demographics are very similar and every cruise is different because of the different passengers each cruise. The most risqué thing we've ever encountered was on a Disney cruise so you cannot judge by the cruise line.

 

 

The above in bold is JMO

[arhillbilly]

I have thought about going on NCL but the food on NCL is terrible and the atmosphere is not any more mature than Carnival.

 

Just my opinion from what I've heard.

 

Bill

 

 

Try it....everyone will have a different opinion from yours. I LOVE NCL. I have NEVER on 3 different cruises had food that was terrible. The atmosphere doesn't even come close to Carnival.....it's upscale where as Carnival is bottom of the barrel

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Try it....everyone will have a different opinion from yours. I LOVE NCL. I have NEVER on 3 different cruises had food that was terrible. The atmosphere doesn't even come close to Carnival.....it's upscale where as Carnival is bottom of the barrel

 

What would you like me to try?

 

Bill

[GrandmaHofmann]

Once again-- you can't take someone else's opinion because they are not coming from the same place as you are, because different things are important to them than what is important to you, because their tastes differ. So nothing can be said that is definitive and who cares? I have been on 25 cruises, including one on Disney and one on Carnival. I find little difference between RCCL, Celebrity, NCL, and Princess. Not enough to make me choose one over the other. Each person needs to fine the line on which he is most comfortable and not worry what anyone else thinks about it one way or the other. What puzzles me, though, is why people come on an NCL board and asks people who obviously sail on NCL if it is really as terrible and awful and stinky as they have been led to believe. It's a dumb question. If we thought so, would we sail NCL? Personally, I like different things about different lines. I choose which ship I am sailing on by itinerary only.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Once again-- you can't take someone else's opinion because they are not coming from the same place as you are, because different things are important to them than what is important to you, because their tastes differ. So nothing can be said that is definitive and who cares? I have been on 25 cruises, including one on Disney and one on Carnival. I find little difference between RCCL, Celebrity, NCL, and Princess. Not enough to make me choose one over the other. Each person needs to fine the line on which he is most comfortable and not worry what anyone else thinks about it one way or the other. What puzzles me, though, is why people come on an NCL board and asks people who obviously sail on NCL if it is really as terrible and awful and stinky as they have been led to believe. It's a dumb question. If we thought so, would we sail NCL? Personally, I like different things about different lines. I choose which ship I am sailing on by itinerary only.

 

are you just speaking in general or is your post directed to a certain individual?

[iluvdoxies]

We've sailed on both lines and here is my evaluation.

Food is about equal. I much prefer freestyle/anytime dining. The casual eateries were much better on NCL. Grilled bratwurst on a pretzel roll anyone? Carnival has the edge on desserts but NCL has better coffee. Gordonchick is right!

 

The entertainment is much better on NCL, the louge acts especially. Bernie Martini, Kenny the human jukebox, Vladimir Kriabin, Fabrizio, Fire & Ice, the jazz combos. I couldn't name one entertainer from our CCL cruises. I'm a musician myself & know I can't sing, so a singalong with a bunch of folks who sing no better than I do can be painful. I'd much rather listen to the pros. I also agree with your father, CCL needs to turn down the volume!!

 

There was much more drinking on our Carnival cruises, but I think that was more due to the itinerary & length, rather than the line. It's hard to enjoy the pool when you have to wear earplugs. Edge to NCL.

I likes our cabins on CCL more, but the NCL stewards were better.

I'm sure you will enjoy NCL if you liked Carnival.

 

I agree !

[Vyhanek]

I've sailed on both many times. First it's important to compare apples to apples. So compare a 7 night NCL cruise to a 7 night Carnival cruise.

 

Because the 3 or 4 night Carnival cruises will attract a beer belly, wife beater, heavy smoker, heavy drinking crowd. Yes, that Carnival cruise would be bottom of the barrel.

 

But compare a 7 day Carnival cruise on a newer ship with a 7 day NCL cruise and you will find the demographics much more similar. Carnival will have more kids in general and NCL in general will have more old people. But basically the clientele is a wash.

 

The food. Carnival wins all the way around. NCL doesn't have the reputation as the worst food at sea for no reason. Carnival has some ships they do "anytime dining". Both NCL and Carnival have dress codes and these days there is no need to dress formal on any evening. Many people don't. If you like to get to know your wait staff go to Carnival. If you like the dining room organized and the food to flow at a nice pace go Carnival. In all 15 cruises, NCL just can't get the dining room service organized for crap. Dinner will take 2 plus hours and even then you might have to leave before dessert to make it to the show. This will not happen on Carnival. If you like dessert, choose Carnival - NCL's desserts are the worst of the worst and you will hear over and over that the desserts have no flavor. There's a reason for all those similar complaints. But perhaps you like bland chocolate?

 

Entertainment: NCL wins. The broadway style productions seem professionally done. Carnival entertainment is weak.

 

Suites: NCL wins. Not only because of the lovely cabins but more because of the wonderful suite perks. Breakfast and lunch in Cagney's is upscale. Priority tender tickets, reserved theater tickets, special snacks delivered to your cabin, private cocktail hour with the captain and crew. This is all NCL. With Carnival if you book a suite that's all you get. Literally a nicer cabin and no extra perks that I can remember at all.

 

Kids Club: Basically equal as far as programming and the "fun" factor. The main difference is that Carnival will take your kids to dinner every night of the week if that's what you want. NCL takes kids only one evening for dinner and then it's an extremely limited number of kids. In all 15 cruises I've been on I think we were able to make the cut maybe 2 or 3 times. Also, when the ship is in port, NCL seems to think that it's acceptable for the Kids Club to be closed....If you want to pay for babysitting you can at $10 an hour but there is no guarantee that the kids will do anything other than watch a Disney movie. It depends on the whim of the camp counselor that day. On Carnival every single day is a day for Kids Club - at sea or at port it's all the same with with regular Kids Club programing.

 

Disembarkation: On the last day of the cruise, getting off the ship, NCL has this organized very well. Carnival not so much. Plan to wait and wait and wait to get off the ship. With NCL I can make it from our room to the airport check in at Ft. Lauderdale in less than 45 minutes usually! They have the disembarkation together and that I appreciate when faced with a long day of air travel.

[browneyedwoman]

Thanks for all of your input. I was really looking forward to taking my parents on another cruise. This time my husband was going to be able to come along too. Unfortunately I don't think the trip is going to happen now but I appreciate everyone's feedback although I don't understand what Grandma Hoffman is talking about. I never said anything bad about NCL. I was just curious to get a direct comparison from people that have actually sailed on each of the lines.

[iluvdoxies]

I am just back from a cruise on The Pearl. My cruise was to Alaska, not the Caribbean, but the ship and staff remain the same. I was extremely impressed with The Pearl. The ship is beautiful and the staff were amazing, they always had huge smiles on their faces and made you feel like they truly cared how your day was going. There was a wonderful piano player that played and sang each evening, not sure if it was a true sing along, but I'm sure it could turn into one!

I have sailed with Carnival one time out of San Juan to the Caribbean. In my opinion NCL has Carnival beat in every way...the staff, the cruisers, the food...etc.

So I would say go with The Pearl, you will not be disappointed!! :D

 

yes they do !

 

And on CCL on formal night, they let peeps in with baseball caps and torn jeans, real classy