Concerns about trying Norwegian over Carnival

[asalligo]

Hi everyone, I have sailed Carnival four times. Not because of any desire to sail Carnival over other lines, but simply because of price and scheduling as we only have the one week per year we can cruise. Point is, Carnival is all I know.

 

This year I have the option of cruising Norwegian Star for about the same price and itinerary. What will be different on the Star?

 

I have heard (yes, on the Carnival boards) that Norwegian has a lot of for pay things on the ship that make it less all inclusive than Carnival. Are we just talking pay restaurants? How many and is this accurate?

 

I am also a fan of elegant night which all cruise lines appear to be drifting away from, but will I be completely out of place in a tux? I know everyone will say wear what you want, but will I be alone in a sea of shorts and flip flops if I do wear it?

 

How about crowding? I have found that my cruise is much more enjoyable if I have a certain amount of square footage per passenger. I really like boats that I do not have to wait in long lines to do things. Carnivals Spirit class ships, I really like. Norwegian ships look huge, are they crowded and clustered?

 

My last concern is activities. I like to stay busy. Would you say that Norwegian has the same level of activity as Carnival?

 

Thank you for any input you have.

Edited April 2, 2015 by asalligo

[asalligo]

Reading this board, I am starting to get an idea of what some people are referring to.

 

It would appear that there are multiple paid dining options. This is not completely different from Carnival on the larger ships. Can I assume that the buffet and MDR are still fully inclusive?

 

It appears that someone was complaining of a mandatory meal gratuity. Carnival charges a gratuity per person per day. I assume that Norwegian does the same, but is there an additional gratuity for specialty meals?

 

A room service fee? is this 24 hours or only at certain times of the day?

[Va. Plumber]

Not trying to be a smarta** but the major difference will be the name on the hull.

 

Don't know what size ships you have sailed on, but the Star is not one of the mega ships.

 

I would venture to say that the things you paid for on Carnival are probably the same on NCL.

 

As to the tux thing, be prepared to be in the minority, but no one will point and laugh.

 

You can probably find plenty to do onboard

[flipper32]

The room service fee that everyone is endlessly complaining about is being tested with an enhanced room service menu on the Getaway and the Breakaway. Other than that the added expenses are basically the same as other lines. The buffet & main dining room are included as is virtually all the entertainment.

[Va. Plumber]

The room service fee is currently only on two ships.

 

There are several included dining options. I believe NCL does offer more for pay options than Carnival, but no one says you have to eat there.

 

The specialty restaurants apparently now add 18%, just like land-based restaurants. In most cases the quality of the meal is worth more than what they charge. Don't know of too many restaurant where you can get a three-course dinner for $15-30.

[old sole]

You've picked a bad week to ask this question because of some recent and not entirely settled changes in fees & other charges, but I'll give it a go. We've cruised 11 times on Carnival, 4 on NCL. Liked them all, tend to prefer NCL but rethinking that because of the recent changes. We'll see.

 

NCL has at least two main dining rooms and the buffet that are free, just like Carnival. They also have a 24 hr free "comfort food" restaurant, called Blue Lagoon or O'Sheehan's depending on the ship that has no counterpart on Carnival. Also the pool-side grills - all free, like Carnival. In addition, they have multiple for-fee restaurants with specific menus, Steakhouse, Italian, Brazilian-style Churascarria (sp?), Japanese steakhouse (like Benihana), Chinese/Asian (just made free on Star and apparently being converted to free on most or all ships soon), and probably a few I'm forgetting. We really like having all the options on NCL.

 

One NEW charge being tested on NCL is a delivery fee for room service. Currently on two ships (not Star), at either $7.95 or $4.95 per order. Who knows how that will shake out. No hint of that on Carnival so far.

 

NCL also just raised the daily service charge (gratuities) to $12.95 pp in mini-suites and below and $14.95 pp in Suites.

 

NCL also just changed the automatic gratuity on alcoholic drinks from 15% to 18%, and instituted a new automatic gratuity of 18% on specialty dining and other on-board specialty venues, like the coffee bar and bake shop.

 

I don't think there is a lot of difference between the two lines on other extra charge venues, like spas. They both have them (NCL now adds the automatic 18% gratuity there too).

 

NCL does not have formal nights or elegant nights. They do have what they call "dress up or not nights", and while some people do, you will be alone or nearly alone in your Tux. Yes, you will see people in shorts and flip flops on those nights, but you will also see a lot of shirts & ties, blazers & slacks and suits, but almost no tuxes.

 

Space per passenger depends much more on the class of ship than the identity of the cruiseline. We also love the Spirit class Carnival ships. We think Dream class, especially Breeze is even better. Don't care as much for Fantasy class. Our 4 NCL cruises have all been on their Jewel class ships, which we like even better than Carnival Sprit. NCL does have a couple of very large ships but NCL Star (which we have coming up) is a different class, in size pretty similar to Carnival Spirit class but with a different layout. I haven't seen crowding/lines mentioned as a drawback on NCL Star and I'm not expecting that.

 

The range of activities are about the same, but our main beef with Carnival in the past 3-4 years has been a scaling back of evening entertainment. NCL entertainment is much higher quality in my opinion. The daytime activities are pretty similar.

 

I'll admit to being concerned about the rash of new charges and especially how they were rolled out, some with no advance notice at all. People sailing this week only learned about the room service delivery charge after they boarded the ship for instance. Until now, I had no hesitation about recommending NCL, but I'm going to be much more cautious about endorsing them for awhile.

Edited April 2, 2015 by old sole

[Guindalf]

Please remember that what you're seeing on this board are, like on the Carnival forum, the loudest and hardest to satisfy! Some wouldn't be happy if the cruise was free and they got all the perks thrown in. They'd find something else to complain about!

 

In answer to your questions...

 

Yes, the specialty restaurants have just started to add an 18% auto gratuity, but the buffet and MDRs are completely free.

 

"Dress up - or not" nights have a mixture of people wearing anything from shorts to tuxes so no, you would not look out of place. There are less people who dress up than other lines though, because they don't have to. It's a pro for some and a con for others (I'm in the pro category as I hate to dress up!).

 

As with all ships, the most crowded they are is on the first day when people are finding their way around. Generally, once they have spread through the ship, they become manageable. There are areas that will be more crowded at times, like outside the theater after a show, but that's true with all lines I think.

 

As for activities, I found there to be more on NCL than the one cruise I did with CCL, after which I vowed never again. There's certainly plenty of things to keep you entertained almost 24/7.

 

It's my understanding that the room service fee is being tested on the two newest ships. It is for an expanded menu and there are cheaper and even free room service options. We're never ever used room service anyway so this would not bother us.

 

The one thing I would say is your vacation is what you make it as I'm sure you know. Don't let a few complainers put you off. Judge for yourself. We get people on here all the time with stories of how they absolutely love NCL over other lines and also those that would never set foot on an NCL ship again! Again, I say go for it and make up your own mind. For us, we had sailed Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Carnival before trying NCL and we haven't looked back. Our next will be our 13th overall and 7th on NCL.

[chill6x6]

Hi everyone, I have sailed Carnival four times. Not because of any desire to sail Carnival over other lines, but simply because of price and scheduling as we only have the one week per year we can cruise. Point is, Carnival is all I know.

 

This year I have the option of cruising Norwegian Star for about the same price and itinerary. What will be different on the Star?

 

I have heard (yes, on the Carnival boards) that Norwegian has a lot of for pay things on the ship that make it less all inclusive than Carnival. Are we just talking pay restaurants? How many and is this accurate?

 

I am also a fan of elegant night which all cruise lines appear to be drifting away from, but will I be completely out of place in a tux? I know everyone will say wear what you want, but will I be alone in a sea of shorts and flip flops if I do wear it?

 

How about crowding? I have found that my cruise is much more enjoyable if I have a certain amount of square footage per passenger. I really like boats that I do not have to wait in long lines to do things. Carnivals Spirit class ships, I really like. Norwegian ships look huge, are they crowded and clustered?

 

My last concern is activities. I like to stay busy. Would you say that Norwegian has the same level of activity as Carnival?

 

Thank you for any input you have.

 

 

Hi yourself!

 

Just got off NCL Star on Sunday and have been on it previously as well.

 

"For-pay things"- I don't personally KNOW of any more "for-pay things" from NCL to Carnival. If they are referring to "for-pay DINING then YES there are many more. BUT the choice IS yours if you even go to them or not. Personally, I thought the dining room during the evening hours was very good aboard the Star.

 

"Elegant night"- Really no problem here. Two dining rooms aboard the Star…one is more formal(no shorts) than the other. I think you would be fine wearing a Tux to the Versailles dining room.

 

"Crowding"- Not so bad… Buffet area and pool buffet area(grill) are by far the most crowded areas. Mainly because their design is very dated.

 

"Activities"- Well IMO you have ACTIVITIES and then there is ENTERTAINMENT. ACTIVITIES- the Star has dropped off here. Less than my previous trip aboard the Star and less than any Carnival cruise I have been on. Now ENTERTAINMENT- the Star DOES have pretty dang good entertainment in the evenings, a good bit better than Carnival in most instances.

 

So here's my commentary(wasn't asked for, I know)…. I have to say the overall service aboard this last cruise aboard the Star was not what it used to be NOR was it the equal of recent Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruises I've been on. I also thought the crew as a whole was less into it….less friendly…less going out of their way…etc.

The Garden Cafe, the ships buffet dining area…I don't want to use the word pathetic BUT basically in all areas much less appealing than buffet areas aboard the Jewel of the Seas or Breeze/Valor buffet areas. Buffet food and design is substandard in my opinion.

 

Honestly, if the Star is one of the choices I feel you would be as good or even better off with Carnival. I can't believe I'm saying that. I'm so sure of that statement I am about 95% positive I'm going to cancel my November cruise aboard the NCL Dawn, the Stars sister ship even though I have a suite booked with all the perks.

[asalligo]

Thanks Everyone, just what I was looking for, although not making my decision a lot easier.

 

As it has in the past, this may boil down to price.

[kgymn]

I apologize if someone else mentioned it and I missed that part of the post but I saw a lot of replies saying "room service charges are only on certain ships right now" which is only partially true. As another coming from Carnival, there ARE differences in room service on NCL. Carnival has FREE 24/7 room service. NCL has free room service during the day, unless it is pizza. Pizza from room service incurs a fee. There is also a fee for any room service late at night, though I'm not too aware of the hours. But that makes a difference.

 

Carnival room service at 3AM- free.

NCL room service at 3AM- $

 

~Katy

[kgymn]

Honestly if I were you I'd try NCL just for the change. You can always go back to Carnival next time, if you want, it sounds like they consistently have good offerings for when you can go. But maybe next time NCL won't be an option again, and then you would have lost the chance to try it.

 

~Katy

[Jay Sam]

I like Carnival more than NCL. Customer service and MDR food are better on Carnival as well as overall cabin size.

 

Seems like more folks dress on elegant nights on Carnival.

 

I have been on NCL's Star and 2 of Carnival's Spirit class ships. I prefer Spirit class more than Star. Much more.

 

My favorites in this order.

 

Carnival

Royal Caribbean

Celebrity

Holland America

NCL

 

Enjoyed them all though. Still Carnival and Royal win out for me. Almost a tie. Food in the MDR seems a touch better on Carnival, so that's the tie-breaker.

 

Happy sailing.

[zqvol]

Hi everyone, I have sailed Carnival four times. Not because of any desire to sail Carnival over other lines, but simply because of price and scheduling as we only have the one week per year we can cruise. Point is, Carnival is all I know.

 

This year I have the option of cruising Norwegian Star for about the same price and itinerary. What will be different on the Star?

 

I have heard (yes, on the Carnival boards) that Norwegian has a lot of for pay things on the ship that make it less all inclusive than Carnival. Are we just talking pay restaurants? How many and is this accurate?

 

I am also a fan of elegant night which all cruise lines appear to be drifting away from, but will I be completely out of place in a tux? I know everyone will say wear what you want, but will I be alone in a sea of shorts and flip flops if I do wear it?

 

How about crowding? I have found that my cruise is much more enjoyable if I have a certain amount of square footage per passenger. I really like boats that I do not have to wait in long lines to do things. Carnivals Spirit class ships, I really like. Norwegian ships look huge, are they crowded and clustered?

 

My last concern is activities. I like to stay busy. Would you say that Norwegian has the same level of activity as Carnival?

 

Thank you for any input you have.

 

 

Haing sailed both CCL and NCL, even with the changes that everyone seems to be griping about, the only real difference is that room service is not free on NCL.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Hi everyone, I have sailed Carnival four times. Not because of any desire to sail Carnival over other lines, but simply because of price and scheduling as we only have the one week per year we can cruise. Point is, Carnival is all I know.

 

This year I have the option of cruising Norwegian Star for about the same price and itinerary. What will be different on the Star?

 

I have heard (yes, on the Carnival boards) that Norwegian has a lot of for pay things on the ship that make it less all inclusive than Carnival. Are we just talking pay restaurants? How many and is this accurate?

 

I am also a fan of elegant night which all cruise lines appear to be drifting away from, but will I be completely out of place in a tux? I know everyone will say wear what you want, but will I be alone in a sea of shorts and flip flops if I do wear it?

 

How about crowding? I have found that my cruise is much more enjoyable if I have a certain amount of square footage per passenger. I really like boats that I do not have to wait in long lines to do things. Carnivals Spirit class ships, I really like. Norwegian ships look huge, are they crowded and clustered?

 

My last concern is activities. I like to stay busy. Would you say that Norwegian has the same level of activity as Carnival?

 

Thank you for any input you have.

 

Hello. I would encourage you to give the Star a try. She just came back from dry dock, so she should be in really good shape. Because you like to dress up, I will mention that the aft MDR is particularly elegant, and you would feel right in place if you wanted to dress up every night. There isn't a formal night per se, but NCL has "Norwegian's Night Out", which is your best opportunity to dress up.

 

Star is one of NCL's medium size ships. Its best feature is Bar City, which is an active evening hang out area.

 

If you want to eat for free, you have your choice of two main dining rooms; you have an Asian restaurant, which up until last month used to charge a fee; you have the popular O'Sheehan's Pub which is open 24 hours and has great breakfasts and special dinners like prime rib; plus you have the buffet and Topsider's grill by the pool; finally Norwegian does really great pool-side BBQ with burgers, chicken, and usually a huge paella. Room service is also free on Star, but it has a limited menu. Plus for $5 you can have a 16-inch pizza delivered anywhere on the ship around the clock.

 

The main pool area has two pools and four hot tubs. There is a terraced seating arrangement that I like a lot because a lot of folks have a pool view without immediately surrounding the pool. Also, NCL has live music and entertainment by the pool most afternoons.

 

If the price is right, I would encourage you to give NCL a try. I just did my first Princess cruise and I'm doing my first Celebrity cruise in March. But I love NCL.

 

If I can ask, what itinerary are you doing? Good luck with your choice. :)

[Cruise-Crazy]

As you can see from my signature I have been on Carnival a few times :)

I just booked NCL for the end of May. It has been a few years but nothing wrong with NCL, you will have a great time on there.

[mizLORInj]

I prefer to try the cruise lines for myself (and I have!) to form my own opinions.

 

I have gotten (and I hope given!) valuable info on cruise critic. :cool:

[Love2Cruz2015]

I'm a frequent on Carnival and am really starting to regret my decision to book NCL with all the drama going on. I can get a balcony on the Glory for the same price I am paying for an OV on the Getaway....and Glory has a better itinerary, Eastern with a stop at Half Moon Cay.

 

I think I'm calling them tomorrow and cancelling. I also got the "included UDP" special, but now I would still need to pay almost 20% for tips on top of the bundled tip that we pay at the end. That and having to pay room service every time I order a carafe of coffee seems to elevate the initial cost substantially. Yes, Getaway is a newer ship but Glory has all the 2.0 upgrades and I never had an issue with CCL service or food..so I think I'll be making a phone call tomorrow and staying with the line that I call "home".

[Cruise-Crazy]

I'm a frequent on Carnival and am really starting to regret my decision to book NCL with all the drama going on. I can get a balcony on the Glory for the same price I am paying for an OV on the Getaway....and Glory has a better itinerary, Eastern with a stop at Half Moon Cay.

 

I think I'm calling them tomorrow and cancelling. I also got the "included UDP" special, but now I would still need to pay almost 20% for tips on top of the bundled tip that we pay at the end. That and having to pay room service every time I order a carafe of coffee seems to elevate the initial cost substantially. Yes, Getaway is a newer ship but Glory has all the 2.0 upgrades and I never had an issue with CCL service or food..so I think I'll be making a phone call tomorrow and staying with the line that I call "home".

 

Glory is a great ship.

 

My main reason for booking Getaway is because a friend will be working on there and I can hang out with her for the week. :D

 

Not looking forward to the room service fee just for some coffee or a late nite snack... Maybe they will feel the backlash and drop that. :eek:

[Love2Cruz2015]

 

.. Maybe they will feel the backlash and drop that. :eek:

 

Yes, or better yet, the current CEO gets fired. Since I have till January 2016 before final payment, part of me just wants to wait to see what happens.....if the fees continue to get piled on, I will surely cancel...but I have time to play this out for a little while...so I need to just "chill"...

 

I really want my DD to enjoy their Nickelodeon theme at the pools as well as the slides...it seems like it will be something she will really enjoy.

Edited April 3, 2015 by Love2Cruz2015

[luddite]

NCL isn't a step down from the Carnival experience.

Enjoy the cruise.

[Cruise-Crazy]

Ah, I just read else where on here that the room service fee is only for the new "expanded" menu. Things like coffee are still free. Not sure if that is correct but it would make more sense.

[cruisebie]

I'm a frequent on Carnival and am really starting to regret my decision to book NCL with all the drama going on. I can get a balcony on the Glory for the same price I am paying for an OV on the Getaway....and Glory has a better itinerary, Eastern with a stop at Half Moon Cay.

 

I think I'm calling them tomorrow and cancelling. I also got the "included UDP" special, but now I would still need to pay almost 20% for tips on top of the bundled tip that we pay at the end. That and having to pay room service every time I order a carafe of coffee seems to elevate the initial cost substantially. Yes, Getaway is a newer ship but Glory has all the 2.0 upgrades and I never had an issue with CCL service or food..so I think I'll be making a phone call tomorrow and staying with the line that I call "home".

 

The Glory was the first Carnival ship I cruised. I agree she Is a great ship. The Getaway is great also. I sailed the Getaway last October and recently booked again for this year. The crew on the Getaway was top notch. I don't think you will regret sailing on her.

 

If you have the included UDP, you won't be hit with the additional 18% gratuity in the specialty restaurants. It does stink about the RS charge. If you have a balcony or higher room, you should have a coffee maker in your cabin. Some have said you can ask your steward for one If you are in an ov or is.

 

Whichever ship you end up on, have a great cruise!

 

 

Sent from my SM-T330NU using Forums mobile app

Edited April 3, 2015 by cruisebie

[nbsjcruiser]

Entertainment will be much, much better. Carnival's entertainment is like a high school musical or a comedian - that's pretty much it. NCL is like RCI in that they'll bring in top notch entertainment. We've seen "Oh What a Night" - tribute to Frankie Vallie and the 4 seasons - these guys were good, very good. I've also seen too many Vegas entertainers to count. You don't get this on Carnival - at least my last 4 Carnival cruises didn't have things like that. Food choices will be more varied and IMO, better. You'll have several different restaurants to pick from.

 

Don't be timid to try NCL. You'll be glad you did.

[nbsjcruiser]

Please remember that what you're seeing on this board are, like on the Carnival forum, the loudest and hardest to satisfy! Some wouldn't be happy if the cruise was free and they got all the perks thrown in. They'd find something else to complain about!

.

 

Quite true but don't forget the cheerleaders. If they started serving hot dogs in the MDR and said you had to clean your own room, they'd justify it as keeping cruising affordable.

 

hmmmm, hope I didn't give NCL any new ideas. ;)

Edited April 3, 2015 by nbsjcruiser

[pe4all]

We have sailed NCL 3x, with a 4th coming up for NYE. We have sailed Carnival 18x, with #19 and 20 upcoming. We enjoyed the differences in NCL - the dining options, and especially the entertainment on the larger, newer ships. We have been on Glory, and like that class of ship very much. It never hurts to try something new. Go with an open mind, don't sweat the small glitches that might happen. It seems the cruising industry is putting in more service charges now- charging more for the same product. (or less product, sometimes!)