How does NCL compare to Carnival?

[PROCRUISE]

We have only done Carnival before, 4 times. But had a bad experience with our PVP, so would like to try maybe Norwegian or something else. For those of you who have done both Norwegian and Carnival, how did you think they compared. What things did you like and what did you not like? Thanks so much.

 

Carnival has a sameness on every ship. Most of it is good and of course there will always be a few things that one may not desire.

 

Having only cruised on NCL twice, we found extreme differences. First we cruised on NCL Star: loved the itinerary, naturally, but very much disliked the vessel, food was poor, service was minimal. Most recently we tried NCL again on the Sun. My what a difference! Lovely ship, food was very good, every crew member we came in contact with was pleasant and outstanding.Not really sure what to expect the next time we go with NCL, but the Sun was so outstanding that our cruise on her alone will make us cruise with NCL again. :)

Edited May 20, 2014 by PROCRUISE

[emcelh]

Carnival has a sameness on every ship. Most of it is good and of course there will always be a few things that one may not desire.

 

Having only cruised on NCL twice, we found extreme differences. First we cruised on NCL Star: loved the itinerary, naturally, but very much disliked the vessel, food was poor, service was minimal. Most recently we tried NCL again on the Sun. My what a difference! Lovely ship, food was very good, every crew member we came in contact with was pleasant and outstanding.Not really sure what to expect the next time we go with NCL, but the Sun was so outstanding that our cruise on her alone will make us cruise with NCL again. :)

 

Lots of changes at NCL since your Star cruise in 2005.

[Hendricks Clan]

Until March of last year my wife and I were carnival's biggest boosters. That is until they changed their entertainment policy. We were on the Carnival Breeze January 2013 and the entertainment was bad. The music was for the most part canned. We were talked into doing the NCL Epic in March 2013 and loved it. The entertainment was fantastic. We have since cruised the NCL Getaway, Breakaway and Star. The entertainment on each was fantastic. No more Carnival for us.

Steve from Illinois

 

Same for us...after spending thousands on CCL over the years (Platinum on CCL), I grew tired of their cutbacks, degrading of the product in areas that directly affect a passengers experience. Since 2012 we have sailed exclusively NCL. We tried RCI and NCL and just absolutely fell in love with everything about "Freestyle" cruising. Made the switch to NCL and haven't looked back.

[lettienets]

Love the comedy club on Carnival, family and adult shows. I like the 2 elegant nights, fixed dining, formal afternoon tea on sea days, Latino bands, fun games and trivia, aft adult only pools, serenity adult deck area.

 

The NCL "welcome back to the ship" fun is nice gesture after being in port. Friendly atmosphere with staff, especially senior staff at cruise critic meet and greets, crepes in the buffet every night, indoor movies sometimes, entertainment. Haven't been on a megaship yet. Will decide more after that.

 

I also have never seen people being sick from alcohol on Carnival. Have seen the odd drunk on all cruise lines I have been on. Even HAL.

 

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

[sdmike]

Love the comedy club on Carnival, family and adult shows. I like the 2 elegant nights, fixed dining, formal afternoon tea on sea days, Latino bands, fun games and trivia...

 

opposite of me. :)

[keg01512]

been on both, honestly if you are traveling with kids go with Carnival, they have more options for kids. If you are traveling with adults go with NCL, they are a ton of more options for adults and less for kids. I enjoyed NCL a whole lot better, Carnival just wasn't for us. I like the option to eat dinner whenever I want and NCL provides just that. I noticed that the crew members were a lot nicer on NCL as well.

[Cruzaholic41]

I loved reading every bit of the opinions. You all were so kind to take the time to write! We have decided to take a chance on the NCL cruise. We happen to be in Florida for just 6 days and will try to fit in a 4 day cruise on the Norwegian Sky. Before we book this, I'll read some reviews from everyone about this ship. We are getting excited to try a new cruise line.

Thanks again Everyone!

 

I'm not sure how you feel about the various Carnival ship classes, but I would equate the Sky to CCL's Fantasy Class. The ship looks and feels old, but they do a pretty good job of maintaining the public areas.

 

The Plantation is a very nice lounge. I don't know if they still do the 2-4-1 martinis, but that is a great promo. Le Bistro is excellent if you want to pay extra. The buffet is crap, though, in my opinion. The outside seating is nice though.

 

Unlike CCL, they still have a live band that plays on the Lido. It's not calypso though. It's more of a cover band. Either way, it's not a DJ, thank goodness. The Sky also doesn't have a jumbotron blasting rap music either.

 

One word of caution - avoid connecting rooms. Sound insulation is not Sky's strong point.

[sdmike]

I've been on 2 CCL cruises and 1 NCL cruises. the NCL Jewel last year was terrible in almost every way possible. The buffet for breakfast was below average, CCL is much better. the MDR was terrible at lunch and dinner, I was served things like burned toast on my club sandwich, well done and rare steaks when i ordered Medium and cold french fries. Teppanyaki was the only place where the food was exceptional as well as the service. There was one other little restaurant that had good food (forgot the name) .. the service was always sooooo slow.

 

Service in all areas was bad, I only saw my steward once. The wait staff in the MDR didn't seem to really give a damn... that is until the last 36 hours or so, then suddenly everything (except the food) got better!

 

So, I'm giving NCL another chance on the Getaway in January, only because some friends are going.. and because I've read some good things about the Getaway.

 

I'm paying about $350 more per person than I would for a similar balcony cabin on CCL, so I am going in with high expectations and hope they are met!

I sure hope the food is better in the MDR and buffet this time, because I'm not going to eat in a specialty restaurant more than twice.. oh and it won't be Cagney's!!! The CCL steakhouse blows NCLs out of the water. Cagney's is about the same as MDR on CCL in my opinion.

 

This time, I'll mention any issues as they happen. Last time, i completed their survey and sent an email, never got any type of apology or response from NCL.

 

Interesting. My experiences between NCL and CCL are almost the complete opposite. I thought the food on my Epic and Jewel trips was far better, with a much larger variety, than I got on my CCL cruise. Maybe it was the ship, but having to revert to salad bar or a sandwich in the buffet on CCL because the other choices were so unappetizing was the low point of my trip with them. I laughed when I ordered eggs, hash browns and yogurt in the MDR and I was brought what looked like tater tots and a Danon yogurt along with runny eggs. It was laughable.

[Hondu]

I think it is the shout "fire" mentality that some folks connect Carnival and drunks. I have been on 9 cruises with Carnival and have not seen a drunk. However, out of my 26 cruises so far, I have definitely seen drunks on other lines and yet they don't get branded as a cruise line of drunks.

I am going on NCL for the first time in November so I will experience it for myself. I have enjoyed my dinners in the MDR on Princess, RCI, HAL and Celebrity. I expect to eat in the MDR on the Epic but some of the threads on this board leaves me cautiously optimistic at best.

Edited May 21, 2014 by Hondu

[Cruzaholic41]

I have been on 9 cruises with Carnival and have not seen a drunk.

 

What??!! :eek: Did you never leave your room? Sorry, but it is not possible to go on 9 cruise with any line and not see a drunk, especially any of the major lines like Carnival or NCL. I have to call shananigans on that one.

[sdmike]

I think it is the shout "fire" mentality that some folks connect Carnival and drunks. I have been on 9 cruises with Carnival and have not seen a drunk. However, out of my 26 cruises so far, I have definitely seen drunks on other lines and yet they don't get branded as a cruise line of drunks.

I am going on NCL for the first time in November so I will experience it for myself. I have enjoyed my dinners in the MDR on Princess, RCI, HAL and Celebrity. I expect to eat in the MDR on the Epic but some of the threads on this board leaves me cautiously optimistic at best.

 

Well, there were plenty of drunken loud folks on my CCL cruise, but with a 3-nighter it's probably what they are there for. The "booze tasting" event pretty much tanked up 100 folks to stagger around the ship the rest of the night. I admit, I was one of them (we started with martini tasting). The folks in the room next to us (20 somethings) definitely had more than their share. Nobody was misbehaving, just having fun and doing normal drunk things...staggering, talking too loudly, etc.. I don't remember noticing any drunks on my other cruises other than one guy that fell asleep (passed out) at a blackjack table on the Epic.

Edited May 21, 2014 by sdmike

[sdmike]

What??!! :eek: Did you never leave your room? Sorry, but it is not possible to go on 9 cruise with any line and not see a drunk, especially any of the major lines like Carnival or NCL. I have to call shananigans on that one.

 

well, there's a difference between not seeing a drunk and not noticing one. We see drunks every day, we just don't notice them because they're not misbehaving. :)

[judipa]

We have only done Carnival before, 4 times. But had a bad experience with our PVP, so would like to try maybe Norwegian or something else. For those of you who have done both Norwegian and Carnival, how did you think they compared. What things did you like and what did you not like? Thanks so much.

 

Found a much rowdier crowd on Carnival and thought food was much better on NCL, especially desserts! Shows very much better on NCL. I would choose NCL over Carnival any day. Have cruised Carnival just because i was going with others that had made the choice but my first choice would be NCL.

[Hondu]

What??!! :eek: Did you never leave your room? Sorry, but it is not possible to go on 9 cruise with any line and not see a drunk, especially any of the major lines like Carnival or NCL. I have to call shananigans on that one.

 

Let me help you. One time I was on a boat tour in the Caribbean. Don't remember the island now. It was one of those where the rum punch is unlimited. There was a young woman who I believe was someplace in her mid to upper twenties. She was so smashed on the boat back to the ship, that many of us taught she was going to bare all on the mini dance floor as the raggae music was playing and the rum punch was still flowing. Drinking and misbehaving is drunk. On the other hand, someone who has had several drinks but not bothering anybody or not walking and swaying from side to side is what I am talking about.

[PDIDDYwife]

When CCL offers large suites as does NCL, and a Havenesque area, then perhaps we could see ourselves cruising CCL.

 

Did it once before kids. Never again. It was one of those experiences burned in to our brains-we now have Garcia conditioning.

[GreyingJay]

I have now cruised on Carnival Glory (Caribbean) and Norwegian Spirit (Mediterranean). As I understand it both of these ships are on the smaller, older end of the two fleets.

 

In my opinion they were generally very similar, and differences were more subtle than not. I wasn't really expecting them to be very different.

 

I think I liked the variety in the NCL buffet better, but I remember being "wowed" that much more from Carnival's MDR. NCL's MDR was OK, but not spectacular. Both buffets had food that I considered often soggy and way too salty.

 

Carnival has more/better free dining choices. For example, Guy's Burgers blow away any of the burgers I ever tried from an NCL buffet, as did their fish & chips and seafood options.

 

NCL seems to appeal to a slightly older, maybe more multicultural, crowd. I tend to agree with the assessment that Carnival cruises feel more like frat party cruises. Our NCL cruise director repeated all his announcements in English and Spanish, but didn't get on the PA that often. Our Carnival cruise directory was constantly on the PA telling us to be sure to get here for this party and then go there for that party. Don't miss it! Party, party, party, party!

 

NCL had live bands on sailaway. Carnival did not.

 

NCL had better shows, in my opinion. My experience with Carnival shows were they were hokey, although I did like the Hasbro game show. Maybe Carnival is better for families with kids? NCL offered opera singers, pop singers, magician, aerial/acrobatic stunts, and variety shows.

 

Both ships seemed to have cheerful, enthusiastic crew, though once you got to know them and talk to them, they would admit that they were not really enjoying their jobs. Both lines seem to employ crew from the same nationalities.

 

NCL seemed not to try to nickel-and-dime you as much as Carnival did. Although NCL does have the Freestyle dining options so one could argue that they do, just in different ways. On my Carnival cruise, for example, in the MDR the waiter asked if we wanted water to drink, but she was holding a 1.5 L bottle. If we had said "yes please" she would have opened the bottle and charged us $4.50. We had to be sure to say "yes, but tap water, not bottled". NCL never tried that. Also, Glory always had people standing around trying to sell you on their steakhouse.

 

Speaking of steakhouse, I tried the one on NCL (Cagney's) -- it was good, but I was expecting so much more. Apparently Carnival's steakhouse is amazing. I'll have to try it sometime.

 

I kind of like the traditional set dining times better than Freestyle. I enjoyed having a consistent dinner time with the same wait staff who would get to know you by name. With NCL Freestyle there was often waiting to get a table, you never knew who was serving you, and the service wait times seemed much longer in general.

 

My room steward on Carnival was better than the one on NCL. But that's not a judgement of the whole company.

 

Bottom line, in the end I think they're both very similar. For my next cruise I'd like to continue trying different lines -- maybe Royal Caribbean or Princess next?

Edited May 21, 2014 by GreyingJay

[crusinpsychRN]

I'm not sure how you feel about the various Carnival ship classes, but I would equate the Sky to CCL's Fantasy Class. The ship looks and feels old, but they do a pretty good job of maintaining the public areas.

 

The Plantation is a very nice lounge. I don't know if they still do the 2-4-1 martinis, but that is a great promo. Le Bistro is excellent if you want to pay extra. The buffet is crap, though, in my opinion. The outside seating is nice though.

 

Unlike CCL, they still have a live band that plays on the Lido. It's not calypso though. It's more of a cover band. Either way, it's not a DJ, thank goodness. The Sky also doesn't have a jumbotron blasting rap music either.

 

One word of caution - avoid connecting rooms. Sound insulation is not Sky's strong point.

 

Which NCL ship would be in CCL Spirit class?

I see lots of complaints about the food in the MDR. Do you have to pay extra to get something good to eat?

[ShelleyQT]

Having sailed Carnival 13 times, we finally made the switch to NCL after Carnival cut back so many of the things we loved, and then reduced evening entertainment so much that we actually spent several evenings of our last Carnival cruise feeling BORED.

 

We have now sailed NCL twice and are sailing again next week. We LOVE the Bermuda itinerary, which Carnival doesn't have. Plus, the entertainment is much better than Carnival--in quality and quantity.

 

Other comparisons:

Basic balcony rooms: Much bigger and laid out better on Carnival, with more storage and bigger bathrooms. But, NCL has nicer showers that are bigger with glass doors instead of a sticky shower curtain. NCL also has a sliding balcony door which is nicer than Carnival's slam-o-rama swinging balcony doors that you have to prop if you want them to stay open.

 

Public spaces: Better layout on Carnival pool decks, a nice indoor promenade on Carnival ships (so much space on NCL is unused most of the day because it's dedicated to pay restaurants). Main show lounge better on Carnival (but as I said the shows are not as good nor as plentiful)

 

Buffet: Much better layout on NCL in terms of efficiency (though not always in an attractive space), but the buffet food is better on Carnival, and most CCL ships have buffet specialties like made to order Chinese food, burrito bar, fish and chips, and deli.

 

Main dining room: Both lines have very similar MDR food quality, with slight edge to Carnival. We find service better on NCL with wait times (once you're seated) shorter. We never wait in line to get in because we go at 6:00, but people who try to go at 7:00 or later can have a long wait to get in.

 

Overall service: Definitely give this to NCL. Super friendly crew that greet you everywhere you go, and always seem to be happy to see you. You feel appreciated for sailing with them. This, plus the entertainment, is what sent us to NCL and I doubt we'll ever sail Carnival again.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Which NCL ship would be in CCL Spirit class?

I see lots of complaints about the food in the MDR. Do you have to pay extra to get something good to eat?

 

It appears the Spirit is in a class by itself when you look at the webpage. She has been around for awhile.

 

http://www.ncl.com/cruise-ships

 

From my personal experience (keep in mind IMHO) the food has been fine in the MDR. If I tried something new and didn't care for it the wait person immediately removed the plate and gave suggestions for substitutions. I do not believe you need to at a specialty restaurant to get a good meal. We usually enjoy Le Bistro and recently tried Cagneys. Room service was always prompt and the food tray always had everything we asked for including the ice cold ice tea.

[All-ready2cruise]

Which NCL ship would be in CCL Spirit class?

I see lots of complaints about the food in the MDR. Do you have to pay extra to get something good to eat?

 

Spirit Class Carnival ships I was looking at the Pride but there are a few others. Legend, Spirit and Miracle are all Spirit class and seem to be close in size to the Sun, Star, and Dawn. I have no idea regarding the available amenities though since I'm just looking as well, sorry.

 

Happy Cruising.

[crusinpsychRN]

Spirit Class Carnival ships I was looking at the Pride but there are a few others. Legend, Spirit and Miracle are all Spirit class and seem to be close in size to the Sun, Star, and Dawn. I have no idea regarding the available amenities though since I'm just looking as well, sorry.

 

Happy Cruising.

 

I read a post comparing Sun to Fantasy which is one of Carnival's oldest at this point. I'm hoping it's more like Legend or Pride.

[declansdad]

We just got off the Dawn yesterday and we had a very good cruise and did enjoy it. That being said I think if we had to pick one, we would go with Carnival over NCL.

 

We found the food much better on Carnival, even the buffet. The Dawn's buffet lacked variety and didn't change much at all. I wasn't a big fan of the Freestyle Dining concept with NCL. The confusion that allowing reservations in the MDRs and the lack of space to wait outside the MDRs was annoying

 

The cabin was much smaller on the Dawn than the Carnival ships we have sailed on. If our 13 year old son had traveled with us, the cabin (Deck 10 with a balcony) would have been very cramped. I did like the bathroom set up though.

 

I thought the Carnival shows were better and comedians were about equal but Second City on the Dawn was great. The drawback was there was really only two places to go at night and they were both rather small.

 

The crews were very good on all the ships we were on so there was no real advantage for either line.