Does NCL keep you loyal?

[pog27]

As you can see on my profile I've cruised all major cruise lines other than RCL. I'm at the point now where I'm addicted to the Haven suites NCL offers and no other cruise lines can compare to. It's good in that I know what I like but also limits my options. Are others in the same boat? Am I crazy thinking NCL is way cooler than other lines because you can get an exclusive suite experience but also party with 4k people when you so choose? :cool:

 

I was first in the 'haven' when it was called the courtyard villa in 2006 and have been addicted every since. No other lines compare to the service you get.

[4774Papa]

We cruise on both Celebrity and NCL. We normally do a balcony cabin. We started doing Celebrity when we noticed that NCL did not go to Asia, Australia/NZ, the Black Sea, South America (now NCL is coming back there) and the British Isles (now NCL is back there as well).

 

We like things about each cruise line. Celebrity has overall better food, but NCL has great variety on its specialty restaurants. NCL's excursions tend to be more than Celebrity's, but we usually try to find or organize private tours.

[WildcatRock]

We want to stay loyal to NCL but that might be a challenge in a few years. This Nov will be our 6th cruise, all on NCL, and we have our 7th NCL cruise booked for Dec '15. We LOVE NCL, and we LOVE cruising the Caribbean, unfortunately, we're running out of Caribbean itineraries and may have to jump to another cruise line in '16 if NCL doesn't open up other Caribbean (southern) ports-of-call. That being said, we LOVE the NCL suite life and would have a very difficult time giving it up, and may decide to do an NCL cruise in '16 to ports we've already been to several times because of the suite life. There are soooooooo many experienced cruisers on CC who have been on multiple lines and like several lines. It's hard for us to give up NCL and the suite life since it's all we've ever known.......but it sure would be nice if NCL freshened up their 2016 itineraries.

 

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[puddles99]

I'll "commiserate" (if you can really call a suite life addiction something worth commiserating about! LOL) with you . . . we still have some itineraries unexplored (such as Europe), but we're in the same boat (ha ha ha) in the Caribbean. Here's to hoping for more variety in itineraries in the years ahead!

 

 

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[BrPanthers99]

I got off today and my cabin steward was by far the best ever. Room was constantly done and we had some nice chats all week. I will never dress up for dinner and the freestyle is great. No interest in changing right now

 

 

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[Got Tequila?]

Completely loyal to Norwegian since 2002.....and the addiction continues to get worse each year :D

 

I don't even list the traditional cruises before 2002 with another cruise line in my signature anymore....nothing can compare!

Edited June 28, 2014 by Got Tequila?

[www3traveler]

I just finished my 20th cruise with Norwegian-none in a Haven or Garden Villa. At the moment I have 3 more cruises book with Norwegian. Most of the time, I sail in an inside cabin and this time because I was on The Getaway I had a Studio. I wish ALL Norwegian ships had Studio cabins. I love all that Norwegian has to offer.

[Bars7816]

Started with Norwegian -- never left. Freestyle dining was the major draw. Find it amusing now that most lines have a form of Freestyle dining. Now our favorite thing is the Waterfront concept.:) Love the look of the Disney ships, but not the price, and maybe would be more fun with little children.

[JayinAZ]

As you can see on my profile I've cruised all major cruise lines other than RCL. I'm at the point now where I'm addicted to the Haven suites NCL offers and no other cruise lines can compare to. It's good in that I know what I like but also limits my options. Are others in the same boat? Am I crazy thinking NCL is way cooler than other lines because you can get an exclusive suite experience but also party with 4k people when you so choose? :cool:

 

I was first in the 'haven' when it was called the courtyard villa in 2006 and have been addicted every since. No other lines compare to the service you get.

 

Not sure how you know no other lines compare to the service you get on NCL since you haven't been on all other lines. But if you're happy sticking with one cruise line, then good for you. Have you tried a suite on Royal? Concierge with included drinks and food is pretty enticing, as is the reserved pool seating, private bar deck, and reserved ice skating and show seats on the bigger ships. You will have to unpack your own luggage on Royal though. :rolleyes:

[CasinoCruzGirl]

Just started cruising again after not going on a cruise for 10 years and it was NCL that I went on and that is the only cruise line I will sail with going forward. First is because I really love freestyle hate set dining time and dressing up if I don't feel like it and the other big reason is because of CAS perks they can't be beat on any other line.

[biker@sea]

I'M a Norwegian now . :D

[HokiePoq]

LOVE NCL and the platinum benefits...we always look first for NCL as we like the relaxed style and not being forced to endure certain people at dinner for the entire cruise.

Problem is that itineraries are limited. That's the only reason we've booked other lines for next year. Wish we'd known NCl was going back to South America before we booked elsewhere. Might have been able to put together our own package that would have equaled the one we bought from an online agency...and for less $$$.

[time2cruise1]

I have been very loyal to NCL with 46 cruises. I will note their loyaty program is focused on newer cruisers. There is no benefit for me to stay loyal other then the remarkable onboard staff and service.

[Valen9]

I like the atmosphere and tone of the ship. I like that you never feel like you have to dress up but you can if you want. I like being able to pick my own dinnertime.

 

It also seems to me that NCL is a better value than the other lines... and I like a good value.

[Hikini]

We are loyal to NCL and addicted to the suite life.

[toyotaford]

We have cruised CCL, HAL, RCCL, Princess and NCL. Totally addicted to the NCL suite life.

[Cruisercl]

Not sure how you know no other lines compare to the service you get on NCL since you haven't been on all other lines. But if you're happy sticking with one cruise line, then good for you. Have you tried a suite on Royal? Concierge with included drinks and food is pretty enticing, as is the reserved pool seating, private bar deck, and reserved ice skating and show seats on the bigger ships. You will have to unpack your own luggage on Royal though. :rolleyes:

 

I am a bit confused by your post. It appears that the original poster HAS cruised other major cruise lines, except for RCL. As you know RCL is not much different from most others, IMHO.

Am I misunderstanding your questions?

Happy and safe cruising!! :D

[VegasChic]

I love NCL and been hooked since my Hawaiian Honeymoon Sailing on the star 11 years ago. We had a penthouse with butler and that is when NCl stole my heart! Although today's haven suites cannot compare to that, it was still an amazingly memorable time!! I have never had a suite again on any ship as I prefer to vacation more often. Value, vibe, service and food is why I prefer NCL although, I would love to see more variety of ports so I can cruise more vs. land vacations.

 

I will have a haven suite soon (bucket list)!;)

[newmexicoNita]

Not sure how you know no other lines compare to the service you get on NCL since you haven't been on all other lines. But if you're happy sticking with one cruise line, then good for you. Have you tried a suite on Royal? Concierge with included drinks and food is pretty enticing, as is the reserved pool seating, private bar deck, and reserved ice skating and show seats on the bigger ships. You will have to unpack your own luggage on Royal though. :rolleyes:

 

I would guess, if she has been on all but one major line she has a pretty good idea of what service other lines offer, wouldn't you? Ok, for you, obviously RCI is a winner, for her, it appears she is basing her opinion on a lot of lines, just not RCI. I don't know, maybe she has a reason not to cruise RCI.

[newmexicoNita]

We have cruised all the mass marketed lines and found good and bad in each. But, for us, at this stage of our lives it is NCL> Yes, partly because of the platinum perks, but more because of the friendly crew and relaxed atmosphere. Our second choice is HAL. They are totally different but we like the looks of HAL ships and the cabins a little better. At this stage of our lives we can only cruise about once a year. We have no intentions of giving up our yearly NCL fix. If we were still cruising more than once a year, we might switch, just for variety. We did sail Princess a few years ago: couldn't wait to return to NCL. Even dining choices; we have tried specialty dining on other ships: usually it is more expensive and we haven't found one that is better or maybe even as good as NCL. Certainly we haven't found the dining choices we have on NCL. As for entertainment, the same; NCL wins hands down. If there is one weak spot it might be MDR service and meals, but certainly there isn't enough difference to make us consider leaving, We have never left a dining room feeling hungry or not satisfied. Sometimes more satisfied than other times. I will add, we do not do the suite life; we usually do a balcony and sometimes just an outside cabin. My only complaint about NCL, I wish they would add some new ports. I would love to have one port, on the east coast be Charleston.

Edited June 29, 2014 by newmexicoNita

[KateQ22003]

I love the NCL suite life, but I will admit that we have stayed with NCL due to being the only cruise line sailing for warmer climates out of Boston. I hate to fly and I live in Maine, so I am pretty limited in choices. My favorite line is HAL; I am very excited that they are going to be doing the Bermuda run out of Boston next summer. May have to go back to my favorite!

[biker@sea]

I love the NCL suite life, but I will admit that we have stayed with NCL due to being the only cruise line sailing for warmer climates out of Boston. I hate to fly and I live in Maine, so I am pretty limited in choices. My favorite line is HAL; I am very excited that they are going to be doing the Bermuda run out of Boston next summer. May have to go back to my favorite!

 

I may have to try hal . I don't like dockyard bus service that stops at like 9:30 .

 

We did dock in Hamilton years ago on NCL Dream and loved it .

[cruiser 1613]

We have taken 4 NCL cruises in the past.. This year, wife wanted to try another cruise line.. Went on Princess line up to Alaska..

 

From now on, we will cruise on NCL... We prefer our vacations the NCL way..

Better entertainment, and since we are on vacation, no longer enjoy wearing a tux or suit to dinner, which was twice on Princess cruise..

 

Since we don't like the Formal nights, we went to their buffet, but their pizza place was better, IMHO..

[KateQ22003]

I may have to try hal . I don't like dockyard bus service that stops at like 9:30 .

 

We did dock in Hamilton years ago on NCL Dream and loved it .

 

I am looking forward to docking in Hamilton; it will be something new for us after multiple trips to King's Wharf. I haven't been on HAL in years, so I am pretty excited about going back again. I just love that line.

[JayinAZ]

I am a bit confused by your post. It appears that the original poster HAS cruised other major cruise lines, except for RCL. As you know RCL is not much different from most others, IMHO.

Am I misunderstanding your questions?

Happy and safe cruising!! :D

 

I guess the part where the OP wrote, "No other lines compare to the service you get" threw me off. Sorry to the cheerleaders but that is a very broad statement coming from someone who hasn't even been on one of the biggest major lines out there (RCI) let alone the smaller cruise lines. Sorry for offending anyone by giving a differing opinion. As anyone knows who has sailed major cruiselines, they are all very similar, each has their own "freestyle" concept with anytime/my time dining where you don't have to dress up. The suit/tux post must have come from someone who hasn't sailed in the last 10 years. All major lines also have multiple showtimes and specialty restaurants. NCL is not offering anything unique in those areas.

I have unsubscribed from this thread so you won't get any resistance from a non-NCL worshipper. :p Haha!