We want to try NCL--Which cruise would you choose?

[schlimazel_traveler]

My husband and I are relatively new to cruising. We've done two cruises on Royal Caribbean (on Vision-class ships, the smaller ones, Enchantment and Grandeur) and two on Celebrity (one S-class and one M-class). We don't think either cruise line is perfect for us and we are thinking NCL might be a better fit. We've concluded the following:

 

1. We really prefer a smaller ship. 2000 passengers seems about right. NCL has some of these, right?

2. Some of our favorite things to do on a cruise are the interactive activities, like trivia, karaoke, game shows, lectures, and so forth. We don't much care about the production shows or listening to music, which are the things usually considered "entertainment." Royal had it over Celebrity here; that's why we think we might like Norwegian.

3. We like having food available any time. Not that we eat all the time--just that we sometimes miss the window for a particular meal and want to be able to grab something when we want it. (A problem on Enchantment and Grandeur; not a problem on Celebrity.)

4. We don't much care where the ship is going--we have our fun on the ship.

5. We are much happier if we can drive to the port than if we have to fly. We live about 30 min from Port of Baltimore. The only options from Baltimore are Grandeur of the Seas and Carnival Pride.

 

We're not particularly gourmet foodies; not big drinkers. I like to play the penny slots for fun but we're not gamblers.

 

We're in our 50's and have young adult kids who have, so far, come with us. They may or may not join us for the next cruise.

 

We are looking at cruises the first week of January, after most kids are back in school. These are the ones we are considering:

 

7-day cruises:

Jade from Houston 1/2 visiting Cozumel, Belize, Honduras.

Spirit from Orlando 1/2, visiting Nassau, St. Thomas, Tortola

Star from Tampa 1/3 visiting Honduras, Belize, Costa Maya, and Cozumel

 

we MIGHT be able to swing enough time off from work to try the 10-day cruise out of NY on the Gem, 1/2, visiting San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Tortola.

 

Or maybe we should just sail the Pride out of Baltimore? 1/3 departure, visiting Port Canaveral, Nassau, and Freeport? (I priced the Grandeur--it is astronomically expensive and I'm not considering it.)

 

Which would you choose?

Can anyone compare/contrast these options--ideally including Carnival? What would be the differences in terms of food, service, ambience, activities, fellow passengers?

[marelind]

My thoughts are in red below:

1. We really prefer a smaller ship. 2000 passengers seems about right. NCL has some of these, right?The ships you mentioned are all about that size.

2. Some of our favorite things to do on a cruise are the interactive activities, like trivia, karaoke, game shows, lectures, and so forth. We don't much care about the production shows or listening to music, which are the things usually considered "entertainment." Royal had it over Celebrity here; that's why we think we might like Norwegian.Norwegian has many of these activities, but the difference I've found is that NCL does not have the lectures or classes that many of the other lines have.

3. We like having food available any time. Not that we eat all the time--just that we sometimes miss the window for a particular meal and want to be able to grab something when we want it. (A problem on Enchantment and Grandeur; not a problem on Celebrity.)Norwegian should be perfect for this: O'Shehans is open 24 hours a day and there are many options from 7 am to 10 pm.

4. We don't much care where the ship is going--we have our fun on the ship.

5. We are much happier if we can drive to the port than if we have to fly. We live about 30 min from Port of Baltimore. The only options from Baltimore are Grandeur of the Seas and Carnival Pride.

[Sauer-kraut]

Your general entertainment preferences would be found mostly on the new Mega-ships of the fleet. The smaller ships will have set theater productions and music in the lounges.

 

However, dining options would fit in with what you'd like. Again, the new ships will have an abundance of dining options not available on the 'smaller' ships.

[brookie848]

You might want to check out Mitsugirly's reviews -- she's been on at least three of the ships you are considering (including the Pride). She has a couple of current reviews that are probably on the first page on the Norwegian board (her most recent is there now). Just click on one of those. She has hyperlinked all of her reviews (of ships and ports) in her signature, so you jut need to click on one review to get to all of them.

 

Her reviews are very picture-heavy and will give you a feel of the ship, if nothing else.

[4gomez]

Take my word for it.(others have the're own opinion) But the 2 (how do I put this politely?); DO NOT go on the NCL Spirit or the Carnival Pride. Spirit was dirty after we spent our money based on most reviews and a trip on the Dawn(AWSOME) The pride is worse; very dark interior, looks old, and no one was usually in show lounges at night. But they were sure the h**l playin' bingo. We are going on the Gem this Oct. 10 days. 3 sea days, all 4 islands and 2 sea days back. Can't beat it. If you do go on this itinerary; if you want I'll give you my experience on the best way to park and get to the ship easy and reasonable. And if you're beach folk or foodies that like island cuisine I'll give you some of my opinion based experiences.

Joe

[GoAndHaveFun]

 

1. We really prefer a smaller ship. 2000 passengers seems about right. NCL has some of these, right?

2. Some of our favorite things to do on a cruise are the interactive activities, like trivia, karaoke, game shows, lectures, and so forth. We don't much care about the production shows or listening to music, which are the things usually considered "entertainment." Royal had it over Celebrity here; that's why we think we might like Norwegian.

3. We like having food available any time. Not that we eat all the time--just that we sometimes miss the window for a particular meal and want to be able to grab something when we want it. (A problem on Enchantment and Grandeur; not a problem on Celebrity.)

4. We don't much care where the ship is going--we have our fun on the ship.

5. We are much happier if we can drive to the port than if we have to fly. We live about 30 min from Port of Baltimore. The only options from Baltimore are Grandeur of the Seas and Carnival Pride.

 

We're not particularly gourmet foodies; not big drinkers. I like to play the penny slots for fun but we're not gamblers.

 

We're in our 50's and have young adult kids who have, so far, come with us. They may or may not join us for the next cruise.

 

We are looking at cruises the first week of January, after most kids are back in school. These are the ones we are considering:

 

7-day cruises:

Jade from Houston 1/2 visiting Cozumel, Belize, Honduras.

Spirit from Orlando 1/2, visiting Nassau, St. Thomas, Tortola

Star from Tampa 1/3 visiting Honduras, Belize, Costa Maya, and Cozumel

 

we MIGHT be able to swing enough time off from work to try the 10-day cruise out of NY on the Gem, 1/2, visiting San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Tortola.

 

Which would you choose?

Can anyone compare/contrast these options--ideally including Carnival? What would be the differences in terms of food, service, ambience, activities, fellow passengers?

 

1) Majority of the NCL ships are small ships that would fit 2000 people. The smaller ones fit around 1990 people while slightly bigger ones (Jewel class) can fit ~2300 people.

 

2) You are in luck then. They have like 3 trivia events (morning, afternoon and early evening) everyday and they also have karaoke everyday. The cruise director's staffers will also have games (like charades) in the late mornings or in the afternoons as well. On a few nights, they will also have fun family games.

 

3) You can always get some late night food from like 10-11pm in the buffet. The only 24 hour spot on NCL ships is Blue Lagoon or O'Sheehans. The new ships and recently renovated ships will have O'Sheehans. O'Sheehans have comfort food like chicken pot pie, chicken wings, mozzarella sticks (depends on time and ship though), burgers and etc.

[herdingdogmom]

Although I have been on the Norwegian Star 3 times and the ship looks great after it's recent upgrades, I suggest narrowing your NCL ship research to the Gem out of New York or the Jade out of Houston. Both are the same class ship and have a better general lay out than the Star. They both have an Great Outdoors off the buffet, a beautiful forward observation lounge and a great thermal suite spa on deck 11 forward. As others have said there is plenty to do on board. The game shows in the evening are usually pretty fun and a good alternative to the production shows.

[Iluvcruising2]

We have been on the Jade once and it was good.

 

They had this 24 hr food place called Blue Lagoon which was cool.

[YOUTUBE]YgSet_VgHhI[/YOUTUBE]

 

The MDR offerings and buffet lines were also very good, at least they exceeded our expectations.

 

Main Dining Room

[YOUTUBE]xOimIZW3xEw[/YOUTUBE]

 

NCL Jade Buffet Dinner

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We sailed in a 2 bedroom suite, and that experience was fantastic.

Edited July 11, 2015 by Iluvcruising2

[newmexicoNita]

I have been on all three: the Spirit is not dirty in anyway: It is the oldest of the fleet and does have things like, some rust on the balconies, etc, but this is very different from old. They are always working on the ship and it is probably one of the prettiest ships we have cruised, which is saying a lot. The drawback to the Spirit is the size of the cabins; they are very small.

 

The Star: it just isn't my favorite ship and I can't say why. Others love her, the size would be perfect for what you want, but favorite ships are very subjective and it is not at the top of my favorites.

 

Gem: it has everything you like, I think, if it were me, that is the one I would choose. Again, like most NCL ships the cabins are on the small side, but I don't think much different from RCI.

 

The entertainment on NCL is great, there are several trivia games daily, casinos nice and always food available.

[biker@sea]

I would go with the Gem 10 Day.:D

 

.

[4774Papa]

My husband and I are relatively new to cruising. We've done two cruises on Royal Caribbean (on Vision-class ships, the smaller ones, Enchantment and Grandeur) and two on Celebrity (one S-class and one M-class). We don't think either cruise line is perfect for us and we are thinking NCL might be a better fit. We've concluded the following:

 

1. We really prefer a smaller ship. 2000 passengers seems about right. NCL has some of these, right?

2. Some of our favorite things to do on a cruise are the interactive activities, like trivia, karaoke, game shows, lectures, and so forth. We don't much care about the production shows or listening to music, which are the things usually considered "entertainment." Royal had it over Celebrity here; that's why we think we might like Norwegian.

3. We like having food available any time. Not that we eat all the time--just that we sometimes miss the window for a particular meal and want to be able to grab something when we want it. (A problem on Enchantment and Grandeur; not a problem on Celebrity.)

4. We don't much care where the ship is going--we have our fun on the ship.

5. We are much happier if we can drive to the port than if we have to fly. We live about 30 min from Port of Baltimore. The only options from Baltimore are Grandeur of the Seas and Carnival Pride.

 

We're not particularly gourmet foodies; not big drinkers. I like to play the penny slots for fun but we're not gamblers.

 

We're in our 50's and have young adult kids who have, so far, come with us. They may or may not join us for the next cruise.

 

We are looking at cruises the first week of January, after most kids are back in school. These are the ones we are considering:

 

7-day cruises:

Jade from Houston 1/2 visiting Cozumel, Belize, Honduras.

Spirit from Orlando 1/2, visiting Nassau, St. Thomas, Tortola

Star from Tampa 1/3 visiting Honduras, Belize, Costa Maya, and Cozumel

 

we MIGHT be able to swing enough time off from work to try the 10-day cruise out of NY on the Gem, 1/2, visiting San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Tortola.

 

Or maybe we should just sail the Pride out of Baltimore? 1/3 departure, visiting Port Canaveral, Nassau, and Freeport? (I priced the Grandeur--it is astronomically expensive and I'm not considering it.)

 

Which would you choose?

Can anyone compare/contrast these options--ideally including Carnival? What would be the differences in terms of food, service, ambience, activities, fellow passengers?

Regarding your cruise choices, I would not waste my money on going to Nassau. But that is just me.

 

We have done 8 cruises on Celebrity and 5 on NCL. None on Royal. We don't like the huge ships like the NCL Epic.

 

Most of the NCL ships carry a little more than 2000 passengers and are the right size for us as well.

 

NCL's entertainment is excellent, and if you don't want to go to the production shows, there is music several places on the ship.

 

We have done trivia while on NCL, as well as wine tasting. There are other activities, as well.

 

NCL's MDR food is not as good as Celebrity's, but the NCL specialty restaurants are excellent and all ships have several. The upcharge is usually modest.

 

We are booked on the Star out of Tampa for the Western Caribbean, January 10, 2016. Join us.

[fshagan]

1. We really prefer a smaller ship. 2000 passengers seems about right. NCL has some of these, right?

 

NCL's "GEM Class" ships are this size; we love that size too. We have been on the Jade and the Star, but love the layout of the Jade much better.

 

 

2. Some of our favorite things to do on a cruise are the interactive activities, like trivia, karaoke, game shows, lectures, and so forth. We don't much care about the production shows or listening to music, which are the things usually considered "entertainment." Royal had it over Celebrity here; that's why we think we might like Norwegian.

 

We have found NCL to have the most of the interactive things like trivia and game shows of the lines we have sailed. There is karaoke every night, usually a game show such as "Newlyweds" (usually pretty funny), trivia contests, etc. The one thing we haven't seen are lectures from naturalists, etc. They usually have a couple of "behind the scenes" or crew productions; there is usually an "Ask the Ship's Officers" Q&A session with the hotel, food, security, etc. departments represented. They have a crew talent show which we find charming because it isn't a production show, and the talent is what you would expect from a talent show ... actually pretty good. I think you would find the entertainment offerings pretty good on NCL.

 

 

3. We like having food available any time. Not that we eat all the time--just that we sometimes miss the window for a particular meal and want to be able to grab something when we want it. (A problem on Enchantment and Grandeur; not a problem on Celebrity.)

 

The GEM now has O'Sheehans, a 24 hour complementary restaurant that replaced Blue Lagoon. I never liked Blue Lagoon very much, but I love O'Sheehans. It's "pub style" and the menu at midnight is more limited than dinner time, but you can usually get things like wings, burgers, fish and chips, etc. at any time.

 

We are looking at cruises the first week of January, after most kids are back in school. These are the ones we are considering:

 

7-day cruises:

Jade from Houston 1/2 visiting Cozumel, Belize, Honduras.

Spirit from Orlando 1/2, visiting Nassau, St. Thomas, Tortola

Star from Tampa 1/3 visiting Honduras, Belize, Costa Maya, and Cozumel

 

we MIGHT be able to swing enough time off from work to try the 10-day cruise out of NY on the Gem, 1/2, visiting San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Tortola.

 

I would try for the GEM out of Manhattan. You can fly into Newark, JFK or La Gaurdia pretty inexpensively. If four of you are going it's about a 4 - 5 hour drive, right? You might be able to save some money driving, even with a hotel stay the night before (hotels and parking are cheaper in Jersey City, across the river from Manhattan). This cruise would also sail out of NY Harbor past the Statue of Liberty (we are looking forward to this on our upcoming cruise).

 

What would be the differences in terms of food, service, ambience, activities, fellow passengers?

 

We haven't cruised either RCI or Celebrity, but among the lines we have sailed, we like NCL better overall. We find that the food is good in the free food venues like the main dining room and places like O'Sheehan's and the buffet. But the main thing we like on NCL is that there is never, ever a "formal night" where you have to worry about what you are wearing. Every night you can wear almost whatever you like to any dining room, and not be relegated to the buffet or room service for one or two nights. And rather than having a set dining time you can get seated at a table for two (or four if your kids come) anytime between 5:30 or so and 9 PM in the main dining rooms. You may have a different server every night, so it is a bit different than what you had on RCI and Celebrity.

 

NCL is less "formal" than what I've heard about RCI or Celebrity. It is less formal than either Disney or Princess, which both have formal nights and set dining times.

 

The passenger mix on a longer cruise when most kids are in school is going to trend older on all lines. NCL usually has a good mix of young singles, young married, boomers and a few older passengers. My guess is that it would look more like RCI than Celebrity, but that's only a guess.

[newmexicoNita]

NCL's "GEM Class" ships are this size; we love that size too. We have been on the Jade and the Star, but love the layout of the Jade much better.

 

 

 

 

We have found NCL to have the most of the interactive things like trivia and game shows of the lines we have sailed. There is karaoke every night, usually a game show such as "Newlyweds" (usually pretty funny), trivia contests, etc. The one thing we haven't seen are lectures from naturalists, etc. They usually have a couple of "behind the scenes" or crew productions; there is usually an "Ask the Ship's Officers" Q&A session with the hotel, food, security, etc. departments represented. They have a crew talent show which we find charming because it isn't a production show, and the talent is what you would expect from a talent show ... actually pretty good. I think you would find the entertainment offerings pretty good on NCL.

 

 

 

 

The GEM now has O'Sheehans, a 24 hour complementary restaurant that replaced Blue Lagoon. I never liked Blue Lagoon very much, but I love O'Sheehans. It's "pub style" and the menu at midnight is more limited than dinner time, but you can usually get things like wings, burgers, fish and chips, etc. at any time.

 

 

 

I would try for the GEM out of Manhattan. You can fly into Newark, JFK or La Gaurdia pretty inexpensively. If four of you are going it's about a 4 - 5 hour drive, right? You might be able to save some money driving, even with a hotel stay the night before (hotels and parking are cheaper in Jersey City, across the river from Manhattan). This cruise would also sail out of NY Harbor past the Statue of Liberty (we are looking forward to this on our upcoming cruise).

 

 

 

We haven't cruised either RCI or Celebrity, but among the lines we have sailed, we like NCL better overall. We find that the food is good in the free food venues like the main dining room and places like O'Sheehan's and the buffet. But the main thing we like on NCL is that there is never, ever a "formal night" where you have to worry about what you are wearing. Every night you can wear almost whatever you like to any dining room, and not be relegated to the buffet or room service for one or two nights. And rather than having a set dining time you can get seated at a table for two (or four if your kids come) anytime between 5:30 or so and 9 PM in the main dining rooms. You may have a different server every night, so it is a bit different than what you had on RCI and Celebrity.

 

NCL is less "formal" than what I've heard about RCI or Celebrity. It is less formal than either Disney or Princess, which both have formal nights and set dining times.

 

The passenger mix on a longer cruise when most kids are in school is going to trend older on all lines. NCL usually has a good mix of young singles, young married, boomers and a few older passengers. My guess is that it would look more like RCI than Celebrity, but that's only a guess.

 

I agree the "Jewel"class ships are more like RCI than Celebrity. Oh and someone mentioned the entertainment if you choose not to do the showroom. I agree there as well. We will go to a couple of shows, but we love the entertainment in the various bars. We order a glass or two of wine and enjoy the music. This goes for the atrium as well.

[Barb Nahoumi]

There is the NCL Dawn which winter ports in New Orleans, and does a Western Caribbean itinerary.

 

Size-wise this ship fits your criteria, the food and service are very good. We were recently aboard her for a Boston to Bermuda cruise, and loved every minute of this cruise. Our balcony cabin was small, but functional. With the luggage stowed beneath our queen sized bed, we managed.

 

The Dawn is scheduled for a multi-million dollar dry-dock in 2016, but work has begun with fresh carpeting. The ship is very clean, and the crew works hard to keep it that way.

 

Let us know which cruise you choose.

[schlimazel_traveler]

Thank you for all the input!

I will take this under advisement.

I definitely want to try the Gem eventually but I'm not sure we can fit it in.

[justcake]

Thank you for all the input!

I will take this under advisement.

I definitely want to try the Gem eventually but I'm not sure we can fit it in.

 

 

The Gem is a favourite but I 100% vote for the Spirit. She is older but it a gorgeous ship. The rooms are small but I don't need a big cabin. If you do the Spirit would not be your best choice. We have been on the Carnival Fantasy and the cruise was very good but the food was no where near the quality of the other lines you mentioned. We did have way more fun playing trivia on Carnival though. There were always a lot people there and it was all for fun!

[Jay Sam]

Have been on 5 Carnival cruises and 3 NCL as well as others. Overall I find the food better on Carnival than NCL, both in the dining room and the buffet.

 

Cabins are bigger on Carnival.

 

I like Spirit class ships which Pride is part of.

 

Similar lines. A casual customer service friendly experience on both.

 

Star would be my choice from Tampa as it is easy to and from the port. You can park at Park Doctors for about 8.00 per day with a free shuttle to and from the port. The lot is fenced.

 

I hear great things about Jade but never sailed on her.

 

Would be cautious about leaving from a northern port in the winter months. It will be a while before you reach a warmer climate.

 

As time goes on you may find other ships of NCL that you may want to think about.

 

Happy sailing on whichever one you choose.

[calmpets]

I vote for the Star out of Tampa. I've done that itinerary twice (once on the Star and once on the Dawn) and it is one of my favorite routes.