A Carnival Cruiser Goes Norwegian

[Eqty]

My wife and I, along with three other couples sailed on the Norwegian Dawn from Boston (our hometown) to Bermuda. We have been loyal (Platinum) Carnival cruisers for years and decided to peek over the wall to see what the grass looked like on the other side. Following is our opinion and a comparison between the two lines. Please note, it says "opinion" and not "fact."

 

Your mileage may vary.

 

The Norwegian Dawn is an older ship that went through a major refurb in 2009. In size and passenger capacity it would compare to Carnival's Fantasy class ships. I'll try to hit the big differences first and save the minutia for the end.

 

Cabin size and choice: We chose a Standard Midship Balcony on Empress (Deck 7). I found Norwegian's pricing a little confusing., but that may be because I am used to Carnival's pricing, which I find pretty straightforward. With NCL there were 6 or 7 different balcony prices based not only on which deck, but also whether you prefer midship, forward or aft. Our cabin was extremely efficient, but it had to be because it was also somewhat cramped. With regard to cabin and balcony size, I would give Carnival the edge as the cabins are roomier. Where I would give Norwegian the edge is the bathroom and balcony door. On the Dawn the bathroom was divided . A toilet separated from a sink separated from a shower by sliding doors. No pesky shower curtains to assault your ankles. And the door to the balcony was also a slider, so took up no room opening and closing.

 

Ship Layout: No question that Carnival has done a better job here. To be fair, when they refurbed the Dawn, they added a whole new section in the middle of the ship which must have been an engineering nightmare. But the way it was left is that to get from one place to another often means running into a wall and having to go up/down to another deck. We ran into this on Carnival Conquest class ships, but it seemed more frequent on the Dawn.

 

Food: always a subjective subject, but this will depend on where and when you like to eat. NCL had by far the better buffet. Because they have many stations open at the same time the lines were always small and moved quickly. Also, they had a much better variety then CCL. In the main dining room I think both the food and the overall experience favors Carnival. NCL features "Freestyle" dining, which means show up whenever you want. Unfortunately most people show up at the same time so there is often a wait. In fact, we were given a beeper one night and had to wait 35 minutes to be seated. The other problem with the Freestyle model is that the wait staff is slammed from 6:00 - 8:00, so there was often a long delay between courses. Also, as friendly as the wait staff was on the Dawn, it was a different team every night. Of course, this is a personal opinion, but part of our cruise experience is getting to now the our wait staff and being able to interact with them. Freestyle dining doesn't lend itself well to this.

 

Entertainment: NCL had top notch entertainment. Second City Improv, , a first rate comic, edgier production shows, etc. Entertainment was clearly better on NCL. The problem was the room. I now appreciate Carnival's showroom layout with long bench style seating and little two tops to accommodate drinks. The dawn was traditional theater style with not quite enough legroom.

 

On to the minutia.

 

Announcements: This seems to be a big deal on these boards, so here goes. NCL had almost no announcements, and when there were some they were in the public areas only. Not in the rooms.

 

Other passengers: From what we observed, passengers on NCL tended to be a little older then what you find on CCL. This may be due in part to the itinerary (only one port - Bermuda) as opposed to a Caribbean cruise. Not as many kids, but more scooters and walkers. Also, even though Norwegian markets itself as "Freestyle" with no dress code, more people tended to be dressier after dinner.

 

Summary - there's no such thing as a bad cruise, and a lot of the cruise experience revolves around who you go with and your own attitude. We had a ball on the Norwegian Dawn, and fell in love with Bermuda. But, for us, given the choice between the two lines, Carnival is a better fit.

[stacyh270]

We traveled on NCL in January and felt nearly the same as you did in comparing it to Carnival. We definitely preferred the people on NCL better (sailing out of NOLA vs San Juan) because we felt that the group on NCL had basically been taught better manners, except for a couple of grouchy butts that we seemed to run into everywhere!

 

Carnival definitely won in the food department, in our opinion, except for the Surf and Turf night on the first night of cruise which was steak and lobster. Carnival desserts were definitely better and we couldn't even choke down some of the tasteless desserts featured on NCL's Chocolate night....ugh! But, NCL gets kudos on buffet setup. I, too, did appreciate not having to wait in long lines for breakfast because of the various stations.

 

We also felt that Carnival's balcony room was roomier than NCL.

 

We enjoyed the comedy routines on the Carnival better than NCL but NCL had a hilarious couples game show that brought down the house. I've never laughed so hard in my life!

[SMSACE6]

Thank you for your fair review.

 

Last year I did have a cruise booked on NCL Epic for quite some time, and was eagerly looking forward to it. I have no doubt I would have loved it, but sadly had to cancel because one of my parents was ill, and I didnt know if he would be better by sailing date, so cancelled it before my final payment was due.

 

NCL and freestyle does really appeal to me a lot, just as much as I love your time dining on Carnival. I will never go back to traditional early or late dining again unless I travel with someone who prefers it.

 

I am currently booked on a Carnival cruise for November, great rate, and excellent cabin for that rate, as well as Carnival is what I am used to, so am looking forward to this cruise immensely.

 

However...for 2015...I am still looking to Norwegian for good deals, but since I travel solo now, Carnival still comes up with the best pricing for me. Some day though I will get back on NCL.

 

Still, after Carnival...NCL appeals to me most, and then maybe HAL, yes HAL..then maybe princess.

Edited June 12, 2014 by SMSACE6

[CatlinSTJ]

Interesting! Thank you for sharing your opinions. While we are getting ready to sail the Breeze in just a couple of weeks, we're ready to branch out ourselves so it is nice to read about the experiences of others.

 

 

Next cruise: Carnival Breeze June 2014

[cruisingbandmom]

Thanks for the comparison. We have yet to try NCL and it helps to have a better understanding coming from loyal Carnival cruisers.

[lizjoemom]

We sailed on the Dawn to Bermuda a few years back and I agree with everything you said.

 

The things that really annoyed me on that ship was the odd layout, the, "you cant get there from here" having to go up or down to get across and the other thing that I really didn't like was the "freestyle" dining. We found the food in the main dining rooms to be awful so we ate in the pay restaurants probably 5 out of 7 nights, of course our party of 8 couldn't always eat together because we weren't always able to make reservations for when we wanted, where we wanted and for how many, so "freestyle" is really a misnomer! I too, found the cabin cramped. NCL definitely wins on the entertainment, it was excellent.

 

We had sailed NCL in the past before freestyle and loved it, so we were extremely disappointed when we went on the Dawn, and we were pleasantly surprised when we first booked Carnival, so Carnival is a better choice for us by far.

 

Thanks for posting the review, very fair and balanced and glad to see that others see it the same way.

[jonbgd]

Thanks for the comparison

Original Carnival Platinum(the hard way) and soon to be NCL Platinum(the easy way)

 

Carnival pricing is the same as NCL

if you want a mid ship cabin what ever cat it is will be cheaper fore and aft a deck lower

 

Carnival better MDR food

NCL better buffet food

Ncl better 24hr food

Carnival steakhouse better

Carnival Larger cabins

Ncl better customer service

 

NCL better loyalty perks

 

Carnival best cruiseship layout is Spirit class

[cruizinator]

Thanks for the comparison

Original Carnival Platinum(the hard way) and soon to be NCL Platinum(the easy way)

 

Carnival pricing is the same as NCL

if you want a mid ship cabin what ever cat it is will be cheaper fore and aft a deck lower

 

Carnival better MDR food

NCL better buffet food

Ncl better 24hr food

Carnival steakhouse better

Carnival Larger cabins

Ncl better customer service

 

NCL better loyalty perks

 

Carnival best cruiseship layout is Spirit class

 

Doc.. last month I tried NCL Pearl 10 day to Alaska. As a long time Carnival cruiser...I agree with every point you made. Scary...like you were reading my mind!!

[Eqty]

Forgot about the steakhouse. We opted for it the final sea day at $30. I think Carnival is the same price. With CCL , at least the last time we did it, it was an unhurried 2-3 hour experience with complimentary appetizers from the chef. With NCL it was more of a "get em' in, get em' out" vibe.

 

The bone in ribeye was very good and cooked perfectly, but the experience lacked any "wow" factor.

[Luluwa]

NCL does have a great "Bundle" package right now including hotel, transfers, bottle of wine, choc covered strawberries and THREE dinners for 2 in the specialty restaurant to. Great deal!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[vols_159]

Dawn had the best food on any cruise ship I've been on it was amazing! Love freestyle would on sail ccl and choose Atd I do not wanna be told when to eat and who to eat with .. Glad you had a good cruise

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Mparis184]

My wife and I, along with three other couples sailed on the Norwegian Dawn from Boston (our hometown) to Bermuda. We have been loyal (Platinum) Carnival cruisers for years and decided to peek over the wall to see what the grass looked like on the other side. Following is our opinion and a comparison between the two lines. Please note, it says "opinion" and not "fact."

 

Your mileage may vary.

 

The Norwegian Dawn is an older ship that went through a major refurb in 2009. In size and passenger capacity it would compare to Carnival's Fantasy class ships. I'll try to hit the big differences first and save the minutia for the end.

 

Cabin size and choice: We chose a Standard Midship Balcony on Empress (Deck 7). I found Norwegian's pricing a little confusing., but that may be because I am used to Carnival's pricing, which I find pretty straightforward. With NCL there were 6 or 7 different balcony prices based not only on which deck, but also whether you prefer midship, forward or aft. Our cabin was extremely efficient, but it had to be because it was also somewhat cramped. With regard to cabin and balcony size, I would give Carnival the edge as the cabins are roomier. Where I would give Norwegian the edge is the bathroom and balcony door. On the Dawn the bathroom was divided . A toilet separated from a sink separated from a shower by sliding doors. No pesky shower curtains to assault your ankles. And the door to the balcony was also a slider, so took up no room opening and closing.

 

Ship Layout: No question that Carnival has done a better job here. To be fair, when they refurbed the Dawn, they added a whole new section in the middle of the ship which must have been an engineering nightmare. But the way it was left is that to get from one place to another often means running into a wall and having to go up/down to another deck. We ran into this on Carnival Conquest class ships, but it seemed more frequent on the Dawn.

 

Food: always a subjective subject, but this will depend on where and when you like to eat. NCL had by far the better buffet. Because they have many stations open at the same time the lines were always small and moved quickly. Also, they had a much better variety then CCL. In the main dining room I think both the food and the overall experience favors Carnival. NCL features "Freestyle" dining, which means show up whenever you want. Unfortunately most people show up at the same time so there is often a wait. In fact, we were given a beeper one night and had to wait 35 minutes to be seated. The other problem with the Freestyle model is that the wait staff is slammed from 6:00 - 8:00, so there was often a long delay between courses. Also, as friendly as the wait staff was on the Dawn, it was a different team every night. Of course, this is a personal opinion, but part of our cruise experience is getting to now the our wait staff and being able to interact with them. Freestyle dining doesn't lend itself well to this.

 

Entertainment: NCL had top notch entertainment. Second City Improv, , a first rate comic, edgier production shows, etc. Entertainment was clearly better on NCL. The problem was the room. I now appreciate Carnival's showroom layout with long bench style seating and little two tops to accommodate drinks. The dawn was traditional theater style with not quite enough legroom.

 

On to the minutia.

 

Announcements: This seems to be a big deal on these boards, so here goes. NCL had almost no announcements, and when there were some they were in the public areas only. Not in the rooms.

 

Other passengers: From what we observed, passengers on NCL tended to be a little older then what you find on CCL. This may be due in part to the itinerary (only one port - Bermuda) as opposed to a Caribbean cruise. Not as many kids, but more scooters and walkers. Also, even though Norwegian markets itself as "Freestyle" with no dress code, more people tended to be dressier after dinner.

 

Summary - there's no such thing as a bad cruise, and a lot of the cruise experience revolves around who you go with and your own attitude. We had a ball on the Norwegian Dawn, and fell in love with Bermuda. But, for us, given the choice between the two lines, Carnival is a better fit.

 

Thanks Bob. As I always say there is no such thing as a bad cruise only a better cruise. Bermuda I a wonderful destination, it has always been one of my favorites. That might be because I took my first cruise in 1963 on the Queen of Bermuda from NYC.

 

We are looking forward to cruising with you again in September.

 

Marion

[tonit964]

NCL does have a great "Bundle" package right now including hotel, transfers, bottle of wine, choc covered strawberries and THREE dinners for 2 in the specialty restaurant to. Great deal!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Great idea, but the prices are :eek::eek:

[djacobson]

Thanks for the comparison

Original Carnival Platinum(the hard way) and soon to be NCL Platinum(the easy way)

 

Carnival pricing is the same as NCL

if you want a mid ship cabin what ever cat it is will be cheaper fore and aft a deck lower

 

Carnival better MDR food

NCL better buffet food

Ncl better 24hr food

Carnival steakhouse better

Carnival Larger cabins

Ncl better customer service

 

NCL better loyalty perks

 

Carnival best cruiseship layout is Spirit class

 

I went on the NCL Jewel in April, my first NCL cruise. I was really impressed with the customer service on NCL, from the moment I got on the ship until I left seven days later.

 

I would say the food on NCL was quite good. I tried only one fee based restaurant, the Asian restaurant. That meal was definitely worth the $15. I thought it was easier to access the buffet on NCL than CCL and the food was equal for the most part. Again, it was the customer service and the little touches that were impressive in the dining room.

 

Entertainment was much better on NCL. Not only the shows in the theatre, but piano bars, comedians and musicians as well. I liked that there were more musicians on board. I liked that one night the guitarist is playing James Taylor songs, another night there is a Sinatra music night, another night the piano player is playing Elton John and Billy Joel songs. The crew talent show was very good and the closing "Fountains" is hilarious! The staff and cruise director were very good, although I did not understand what they had adjectives on their name tags (like Awesome, Super, etc).

 

The cabin was much smaller than CCL, but since I travel solo, there were no major issues. I had an ocean view cabin, but placement of the bed made it difficult to look out the window. I did like the overall look of the cabin.

 

Freestyle dining I did not like in the sense that most of the time I was seated alone and I like assigned seating, but it did allow me some flexibility in planning my schedule and it did allow me to try different places each night.

 

The gym was ok, but I think CCL has a better one. I did not like having to walk through (instead of walking past) the casino on the Jewel to get to the theatre. Just lots of smoke which was a bit much for me.

 

At the end of the week, I came away from this cruise very impressed with NCL and how hard they try (at least in New Orleans) to provide a memorable vacation. I will still continue to cruise on CCL, but will also cruise with NCL again.

 

I would encourage any platinum CCL cruiser to consider NCL. If you book more than nine months in advance, you get double days toward platinum status. I also liked the reduced deposits with NCL and as a solo traveler, I don't have to pay the deposit for two when I book.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

My wife and I, along with three other couples sailed on the Norwegian Dawn from Boston (our hometown) to Bermuda. We have been loyal (Platinum) Carnival cruisers for years and decided to peek over the wall to see what the grass looked like on the other side. Following is our opinion and a comparison between the two lines. Please note, it says "opinion" and not "fact."

 

Your mileage may vary.

 

The Norwegian Dawn is an older ship that went through a major refurb in 2009. In size and passenger capacity it would compare to Carnival's Fantasy class ships. I'll try to hit the big differences first and save the minutia for the end.

 

Cabin size and choice: We chose a Standard Midship Balcony on Empress (Deck 7). I found Norwegian's pricing a little confusing., but that may be because I am used to Carnival's pricing, which I find pretty straightforward. With NCL there were 6 or 7 different balcony prices based not only on which deck, but also whether you prefer midship, forward or aft. Our cabin was extremely efficient, but it had to be because it was also somewhat cramped. With regard to cabin and balcony size, I would give Carnival the edge as the cabins are roomier. Where I would give Norwegian the edge is the bathroom and balcony door. On the Dawn the bathroom was divided . A toilet separated from a sink separated from a shower by sliding doors. No pesky shower curtains to assault your ankles. And the door to the balcony was also a slider, so took up no room opening and closing.

 

Ship Layout: No question that Carnival has done a better job here. To be fair, when they refurbed the Dawn, they added a whole new section in the middle of the ship which must have been an engineering nightmare. But the way it was left is that to get from one place to another often means running into a wall and having to go up/down to another deck. We ran into this on Carnival Conquest class ships, but it seemed more frequent on the Dawn.

 

Food: always a subjective subject, but this will depend on where and when you like to eat. NCL had by far the better buffet. Because they have many stations open at the same time the lines were always small and moved quickly. Also, they had a much better variety then CCL. In the main dining room I think both the food and the overall experience favors Carnival. NCL features "Freestyle" dining, which means show up whenever you want. Unfortunately most people show up at the same time so there is often a wait. In fact, we were given a beeper one night and had to wait 35 minutes to be seated. The other problem with the Freestyle model is that the wait staff is slammed from 6:00 - 8:00, so there was often a long delay between courses. Also, as friendly as the wait staff was on the Dawn, it was a different team every night. Of course, this is a personal opinion, but part of our cruise experience is getting to now the our wait staff and being able to interact with them. Freestyle dining doesn't lend itself well to this.

 

Entertainment: NCL had top notch entertainment. Second City Improv, , a first rate comic, edgier production shows, etc. Entertainment was clearly better on NCL. The problem was the room. I now appreciate Carnival's showroom layout with long bench style seating and little two tops to accommodate drinks. The dawn was traditional theater style with not quite enough legroom.

 

On to the minutia.

 

Announcements: This seems to be a big deal on these boards, so here goes. NCL had almost no announcements, and when there were some they were in the public areas only. Not in the rooms.

 

Other passengers: From what we observed, passengers on NCL tended to be a little older then what you find on CCL. This may be due in part to the itinerary (only one port - Bermuda) as opposed to a Caribbean cruise. Not as many kids, but more scooters and walkers. Also, even though Norwegian markets itself as "Freestyle" with no dress code, more people tended to be dressier after dinner.

 

Summary - there's no such thing as a bad cruise, and a lot of the cruise experience revolves around who you go with and your own attitude. We had a ball on the Norwegian Dawn, and fell in love with Bermuda. But, for us, given the choice between the two lines, Carnival is a better fit.

 

When you say they added a whole new section do you mean they cut the ship in half and added a section like they did to the old Dreamward and Windward or do you mean they gutted the middle of the ship and totally reconfigured it?

 

I think the Dawn at 92550 tons-958 ft in length is more in comparison to the Spirit class ships at 88500 tons-963 ft in length, then to the Fantasy at 70367 tons-855 ft in length.

 

I will say the Spirit class ships are great to navigate compared to the Dawn.

 

Bill

[Love my butler]

When you say they added a whole new section do you mean they cut the ship in half and added a section like they did to the old Dreamward and Windward or do you mean they gutted the middle of the ship and totally reconfigured it?

 

The didn't do either. They simply took the observation lounge on deck 12 and turned it into suites and inside cabins. The did not add a whole new section to the middle of the ship. OP is misinformed.

[Eqty]

When you say they added a whole new section do you mean they cut the ship in half and added a section like they did to the old Dreamward and Windward or do you mean they gutted the middle of the ship and totally reconfigured it?

 

I think the Dawn at 92550 tons-958 ft in length is more in comparison to the Spirit class ships at 88500 tons-963 ft in length, then to the Fantasy at 70367 tons-855 ft in length.

 

I will say the Spirit class ships are great to navigate compared to the Dawn.

 

Bill

 

In 2011 the ship underwent an extensive refurbishment which including a top-to-tail overhaul of the ship and some major layout changes:[9]

Addition of Moderno, a Brazilian restaurant in half of the former "Endless Summer" restaurant.

Relocation of the Blue Lagoon snack bar from deck 7 to deck 8, in half of the former "Endless Summer" restaurant.

Relocation of the photo gallery into the former site of the Blue Lagoon snack bar.

Removal of Dazzles Bar and Dazzles Nightclub.

Relocation of the Tax and Duty Free stores into the former location of Dazzles.

Conversion of the Spinnaker Lounge, Conference Rooms and Card Rooms into suites and staterooms.

Conversion of a cinema into new conference spaces.

Relocation of Spinnaker Lounge into former retail space.

Renaming of Impressions restaurant into La Cucina.

[cv322]

Eqty - thanks for your review! I'm platinum with Carnival, but have been "straying' more & more often lately :o. I like to cruise out of NYC...or if I can't do it there, then someplace I can drive to! I love the NCL Gem, and recently tried the Breakaway for the first time...and I was blown away by the experience on the Breakaway, so much so....that when I got back I booked 3 more on that ship.

 

I totally agree that MDR food is better on Carnival, that their cabins & balconies are bigger...but the restaurant choices & the buffet is much better on NCL. The entertainment is WAY better on NCL....live bands on Lido & other acts all over the ship....NCL is not depending on passenger "acts" to entertain the other passengers :rolleyes:!

 

The level of service on NCL far exceeds that on CCL. This includes everyone you deal with...from guest services to your steward, to the waitstaff & bartenders...absolutely everyone. I've got 6 cruises booked right now ....and 4 of them are NCL.

 

Ironically I had a cruise on the Dawn in 2009 that was probably my worst cruise experience ever...and I was not going to cruise NCL again after that, except that I had one more cruise certificate to use...so I booked the Gem in 2011...and it was the Gem cruise that brought me back ;)

Edited June 13, 2014 by cv322

[NCTribeFan]

I never intended to sail with Carnival so much, but that's how it has worked out. Having ships in ports to which I can drive makes a difference.

 

But I've never really been interested in NCL. Not sure why. DD's BFF was working on Epic for a few years and I still had no interest. I don't care for the Freestyle idea. I tried YTD once on Carnival (as a solo) and didn't like it, so I stick to late dining.

 

I don't go to many variety or comedy shows. The entertainment doesn't matter much to me.

 

I rarely eat from a the buffet (usually have a deli sandwich for lunch) and always eat in the MDR, so buffet food doesn't really matter to me. I get an omelet for breakfast and love them. I rarely eat in the steakhouse, so that doesn't matter to me.

 

Even Carnival's 1A cabins on Fantasy-class ships are roomy enough for a solo. My one RCI cruise (on little, old Empress), with DD when she was about 16, was MINISCULE!! I mean, honestly, there was hardly room to turn around. Normally, cabin size also doesn't matter to me.

 

FTR, Carnival's regular announcements aren't broadcast into the cabins, either. But since I'm not normally in the cabin, but out and about on the ship, I do hear them. What annoys me about them is that they are nothing but sales pitches for all the extra-cost activities. Stop bellowing at me, especially when I'm on the (not very serene) Serenity Deck!

 

Most of Carnival's ship layouts also have dead-ends thanks to the galley and restaurant locations.

 

I've never had any problem with Carnival's customer service, but I've rarely had any need to use them.

 

Bermuda cruises are fairly expensive, so having an older pax load doesn't surprise me. I sailed Glory to Bermuda from Norfolk and don't remember seeing a lot of kids, but it was in October. I'll be on Splendor to Bermuda in 2015, so don't expect too many kids or college students, either.

 

I guess it's apparent that I typically sail for the ports. All the "on-the-ship" things just aren't what matters to me very much. And since I've never had any major issues with anything involving Carnival, I've never felt the need to branch out.

 

What I am having an issue with is their giving away all these free cruises to people (I do so wish they'd stop coming to the boards to brag about it), while I continue to pay (often 200%) to cruise. If they keep this up, I'm bolting as soon as I reach my 25th Milestone cruise. I don't appreciate their lack of appreciation of my loyalty!

 

Anyway, thanks for the comparison!

[saxgirl84]

I'm pretty new to cruising, only been on 2 NCL cruises so far, but we are going with a group of people from my sisters church in Sept on Carnival Splendor from NYC to Canada, so this is kind of helpful to me, from the "other" perspective. As others stated, I'm not sure there is such thing as a bad cruise, like most of life, it is what you make of it.

I have thoroughly enjoyed both cruises so far, our first was a 4 day on the smaller Sky last year to "get a taste" and I was hooked. We went on the Getaway in May and LOVED everything about it!

I'm curious to see the difference between NCL and Carnival myself, and will be sure to do a comparison report when we return. I'm truly excited to sail out of NYC, and although we aren't going somewhere warm, I'm still excited to just be going on a cruise! I'll be stopping by the Carnival board as the date gets closer to ask questions about different things. I'm kind of apprehensive about the set dining time (we booked the late times) simply because even at home, I don't eat at the same time every night, but that's not going to ruin my cruise and I understand there are other options. If the entertainment on board the Splendor is 1/2 as fun as on the 2 NCL ships I've been on, I'll be all set in that category!

 

Thanks so much for this thread, and I'll be sure to create my own when I return in Sept (probably with LOTS of pictures since I'm addicted to taking them :-) )

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

[Love my butler]

In 2011 the ship underwent an extensive refurbishment which including a top-to-tail overhaul of the ship and some major layout changes:[9]

Addition of Moderno, a Brazilian restaurant in half of the former "Endless Summer" restaurant.

Relocation of the Blue Lagoon snack bar from deck 7 to deck 8, in half of the former "Endless Summer" restaurant.

Relocation of the photo gallery into the former site of the Blue Lagoon snack bar.

Removal of Dazzles Bar and Dazzles Nightclub.

Relocation of the Tax and Duty Free stores into the former location of Dazzles.

Conversion of the Spinnaker Lounge, Conference Rooms and Card Rooms into suites and staterooms.

Conversion of a cinema into new conference spaces.

Relocation of Spinnaker Lounge into former retail space.

Renaming of Impressions restaurant into La Cucina.

 

Moving around those venues and changing names did not add 'a whole new section in the middle of the ship'. It was not an engineering nightmare and did not change how passengers move about on the ship. Basically movement was the same before and after the refurb. Your original statement is inaccurate.

[Eqty]

Thank you for your fair review.

 

Last year I did have a cruise booked on NCL Epic for quite some time, and was eagerly looking forward to it. I have no doubt I would have loved it, but sadly had to cancel because one of my parents was ill, and I didnt know if he would be better by sailing date, so cancelled it before my final payment was due.

 

NCL and freestyle does really appeal to me a lot, just as much as I love your time dining on Carnival. I will never go back to traditional early or late dining again unless I travel with someone who prefers it.

 

I am currently booked on a Carnival cruise for November, great rate, and excellent cabin for that rate, as well as Carnival is what I am used to, so am looking forward to this cruise immensely.

 

However...for 2015...I am still looking to Norwegian for good deals, but since I travel solo now, Carnival still comes up with the best pricing for me. Some day though I will get back on NCL.

 

Still, after Carnival...NCL appeals to me most, and then maybe HAL, yes HAL..then maybe princess.

 

And isn't that the crux of it? Different cruise lines will appeal to different people. We've tried CCL, HAL, RCI and now NCL and have never had a bad cruise. (Fortunately we have never been on a cruise that caught fire, lost power, had a large noro outbreak or some other newspaper headline event.) And I can pick out things that really resonated with me on each ship. Looking forward to trying Princess, Celebrity, MSC and Cunard at some point in the future. And I'll probably write comparisons for each one. Thanks to everyone for reading and thanks for your responses.

[samzing]

Just got back from a cruise on NCL Getaway last week and went to Bermuda last year on NCL Breakaway. Loved them both. We have a "free" cruise certificate on Carnival from Trump Plaza casino. Its free so we are going to give it a try and I am concerned if I will like Carnival after cruising NCL. You're posts have been helpful. I think it will be fun to try something different since Breakaway and Getaway are almost identical. Still trying to make the final decision. We were awarded an inside cabin and were wondering if we should upgrade since the past two we had balcony cabins. Are inside cabins much smaller? What about oceanview? Any thoughts on CCL Breeze vs Sunshine vs Glory? I really appreciate any suggestions from those who have experienced any of them. Thanks!

[Eqty]

Just got back from a cruise on NCL Getaway last week and went to Bermuda last year on NCL Breakaway. Loved them both. We have a "free" cruise certificate on Carnival from Trump Plaza casino. Its free so we are going to give it a try and I am concerned if I will like Carnival after cruising NCL. You're posts have been helpful. I think it will be fun to try something different since Breakaway and Getaway are almost identical. Still trying to make the final decision. We were awarded an inside cabin and were wondering if we should upgrade since the past two we had balcony cabins. Are inside cabins much smaller? What about oceanview? Any thoughts on CCL Breeze vs Sunshine vs Glory? I really appreciate any suggestions from those who have experienced any of them. Thanks!

 

I have heard from others that both the Breakaway and the Getaway are fabulous and look forward to trying them someday. I've been lucky enough to have been on the Breeze, Glory and Sunshine (when it was the Destiny.) My personal favorite was the Breeze. Even though it carries more pax then the other two, it never seemed overly crowded except at the buffet during breakfast. The Glory is a nice ship also, and I wouldn't hesitate to book it. I haven't been on the Sunshine since it's conversion, so I'll leave it to others to speak for it.

 

In general, inside cabins and ocean view cabins are the same size. The biggest difference between the two is the view. Balcony cabin is also the same size with the additional space the balcony provides. FWIW, we normally let the itinerary of the ship determine what type of cabin we choose. If there are a lot of sea days we will lean towards a balcony because it's a nice place to spend some quiet time with a book and a drink. If it's a port intensive cruise we will usually opt for an inside or an ocean view as we probably won't be spending much time in the room.

 

Two "secrets" I can share with you regarding the cabin selection - take a close look at the deck plans. On the Glory (and probably on the other two) there are cabins all the way forward on decks 6 & 7 that Carnival prices as inside cabins, but actually have windows that face forward. We call the "Captain View" cabins as you get the same view that the Captain gets.

 

If you are considering a balcony, on some of the higher decks toward the aft of the ship you will find a couple of odd shaped rooms that double the balcony space. Unless Carnival has adjusted their pricing, these are normally sold as regular balcony cabins.

 

On our Breeze cruise we had a friend that got a Cove Balcony. Closer to the waterline and a little less expensive then the full balcony.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

[wajowander2011]

Bottom line Carnival and NCL both have their good points and bad(mostly good for both), personally I've never had a bad day at sea. Never tried any other cruise line, but might enjoy them too.