can't decide... Carnival Pride or NCL Gem

[lavelle222]

We have been on 4 NCL cruises, love them. but we would like to depart out of Baltimore instead of NY. Would like to hear from people who have done both these lines.

Will we hate Carnival?? Worried about the clientel a bit. we are not big shot drinking, loud, partiers. More martini and fine dining.

Both go in dec 2013, both super low price. Also the Breakaway is in the mix?? HELP

[mizLORInj]

I am not a partier, but I cruise Carnival still too. They offer a good value, however, their theater entertainment has been drastically reduced over the past year. I mean half the shows with half the cast. Yet I can enjoy my balcony and always find something I like to eat. With Half Moon Cay thrown into the mix, I'm in.

Of the 3, Breakaway is the nicest ship with the most entertainment options, but will probably cost the most of the 3.

ALso, I have tried various cruiselines to form my own opinions and I encourage others to do that too. Your experience is truly "yours."

 

I have not had a bad cruise yet.

Edited November 8, 2013 by mizlorinj

[mpk218]

We have been on 4 NCL cruises, love them. but we would like to depart out of Baltimore instead of NY. Would like to hear from people who have done both these lines.

Will we hate Carnival?? Worried about the clientel a bit. we are not big shot drinking, loud, partiers. More martini and fine dining.

Both go in dec 2013, both super low price. Also the Breakaway is in the mix?? HELP

 

Go ahead give it a try , what do you have to lose ?

 

 

I dare ya :D

 

triple dog dare ya..

[drafterdw]

We have been on 4 NCL cruises, love them. but we would like to depart out of Baltimore instead of NY. Would like to hear from people who have done both these lines.

Will we hate Carnival?? Worried about the clientel a bit. we are not big shot drinking, loud, partiers. More martini and fine dining.

Both go in dec 2013, both super low price. Also the Breakaway is in the mix?? HELP

 

Have not been on NCL in many years but did do the Pride out of Baltimore. We loved it, food, room, service all great. Entertainment left something to be desired but would do it again.

[clean1owner]

I have cruised both. To me, everything about NCL is better than Carnival.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent via my carrier pigeon at no charge

[kcwingwalker]

We have been on 4 NCL cruises, love them. but we would like to depart out of Baltimore instead of NY. Would like to hear from people who have done both these lines.

Will we hate Carnival?? Worried about the clientel a bit. we are not big shot drinking, loud, partiers. More martini and fine dining.

Both go in dec 2013, both super low price. Also the Breakaway is in the mix?? HELP

 

It's always fun to try something new, so perhaps you might try the Breakaway.

[Tiggertastic]

positing on an NCL thread, people are going to tell you NCL - If you haven't done so I suggest that you also post on carnival

 

I would go for Gem over carnivl but I would say that having been on NCL many many times

[NH Cruisers]

I personally would rather GEM due the great selection of specialty resturants. Other wise I would have no problem shipping out of Baltimore on the PRIDE. I wish Carnival would home port a longterm ship out of Boston. I would like to mix it up a bit. Though again I would probably stick to NCL because of the Specialty resturants.

[luddite]

I will make a guess as to which direction the responders on a NCL forum are gonna point.

[spacewoman]

Carnival Pride our very first cruise back in 2003. Hooked us on cruising. Back then - set times on dinner, having to dress (slacks, etc) for dinner. We were given a free upgrade to a junior suite so had the biggest cabin we have ever had to date. Food and service great, theater seating very comfortable, shows were awesome back then. Ships decor tends to be on the gaudy side but did not bother us one way or the other. Atrium area is beautiful.

 

Just came off NCL Gem two weeks ago. Did a 9 day Eastern Caribbean. Did Breakaway in June for our 30th anniversary. Gem is sister ship to Jewel that we have sailed twice so ship had very familiar feel for us. Breakaway will be your most expensive sailing. I sprung for a mini suite, cruise to Bermuda, cost was around the $3,500 mark. Our 9 day, mid ship balcony ran just under $2,900.

 

Loved O'Sheehan's on Breakaway. Hated Rock of Ages and hated the fact that we had to book the show (theater only holds 700). Missed the production shows. DH loved the big bathroom we had, I hated the size of our balcony (very small). Very large casino. Thought that would disperse the cigarette smoke - Wrong -- it was terrible. So bad you could smell it well past the casinos to the elevators by O'Sheehan's. Breakaway has the big waterfront area, huge water park. Would I sail it again? Yes.

 

Gem - really enjoyed all the shows. We had same CD on both cruises, Julie. She makes it a point to visit with guests throughout the ship. Lovely lady. Gem has the Blue Lagoon. Breakaway it is O'Sheehan's. Menus seemed very close if not like each other.

 

Seems to me that the dining options with NCL are far greater than Carnival. As long as you do not mind the charges, you have so many choices. On Pride you will just have the steakhouse. I have a DH who is so fussy that the only specialty restaurant we do is La Cucina. I do get Sushi for lunch one day on the cruises. Always fantastic.

 

Buffet area on Gem far better than Pride. Stations are well defined by signage on Gem and all together where Pride has all areas spread out over a large area.

 

I asked fellow guests who parked at the NYC pier for 9 days the cost - $315 if this is a factor for you.

 

A martini runs around $10 on the Gem right now (Banana Banchee is $7.75 and included on the UBP). Do not know what they run on Carnival right now.

 

On Gem you are required to wear slacks or good looking jeans in Grand Pacific. In Magenta you may wear shorts. Great if you simply do not feel like changing.

 

We have never had a terrible cruise. There is always something on one cruise you will favor over another but service has always been excellent on all our cruises.

 

NCL was fabulous is assisting us with the DH who tore a ligament in his knee two weeks before we sailed and was on crutches. I called a week before we sailed to arrange assistance. They wheeled him into check in line then up the ramps right onto the ship. In 2004 he broke his foot and was hobbling in the lines. While my fault not to call and ask for assistance, no one bothered to ask him if he needed help until we were almost on the ship.

 

You cannot go wrong with either line

[skiwee]

We have been on 4 NCL cruises, love them. but we would like to depart out of Baltimore instead of NY. Would like to hear from people who have done both these lines.

Will we hate Carnival?? Worried about the clientel a bit. we are not big shot drinking, loud, partiers. More martini and fine dining.

Both go in dec 2013, both super low price. Also the Breakaway is in the mix?? HELP

 

Having done 4 NCL cruises and just coming off our first Carnival cruise, the Pride today I'd say stick with NCL. The Pride was a disappointment and we won't be going on another Carnival cruise.

[Crusin6]

The entertainment and music venues are superior on the gem. Plenty of pool chairs on the upper levels. Plenty of restaurants. Nice overall pax mix.

 

In the last few years I have stated away from ccl. It just sounds like too many cutbacks for me.

 

Not having set table mates on ncl is an incredible perk IMHO

[mickey557]

We cruised the Carnival Pride out of Baltimore a couple years ago. Although I would go on another Carnival cruise again I was not impressed with the Pride. The ship made a humming noise I have never heard on another cruise ship before. It was a very dark ship as well with darker hallways then I had experienced before. The food was very good, we never waited for a table and had anytime dining with a family of 5. Service was just as good in the dining rooms as any other cruise we had gone on but service and staff in the buffet was not great- staff there was unfriendly and spent the time talking to one another and ignoring tables to be cleaned etc. The pools were the best we have ever seen and the closing top for winter made families with kids able to enjoy every moment.

What made the ship a no go for us was the entertainment and the venues for the entertainment. We love going to shows and due to how they set the shows up in this one tiny theater ( not the headliners but comedy etc) we were unable to get seats unless we went way way earlier then the show which we didn't want to do with 2 kids. Also there seemed to be nothing to do at night- It was almost like the ship shut down at night. We joked all week that we seemed to have missed the fun part in the Carnivals fun cruise. We did not run into any hard partiers or anything it was really a dull cruise all around as far as that went.

The Gem is my husbands favorite ship and I love it as well- I don't think I am an NCL cheerleader though LOL. We do not do the specialty restaurants at all but we do buy the spa pass when we cruise without our kids but with them we don't. The pool area is not as nice on the Gem and gets horribly crowded and busy.

Shows are much better and have typically been in large enough area's to accommodate everyone who wanted to be there.

The ship is light and does not make that humming noise.

I would choose the GEM over the Pride but that being said if a cruise on another Carnival ship was available at the same time/price as the GEM I would try another Carnival in a heartbeat.

Oh the dancing/singing waiters in the MDR on Carnival was great.

We are going on the Breakaway in two weeks so I can come back and tell you if I liked it. I think I am going to be overwhelmed- I don't know if I am a mega ship kinda cruiser LOL.

My favorite ship so far is the Dawn :)

Hope I helped some