Which Ship/Line?

[RG306]

Hi everyone!

 

We're planning our 2018 Family Cruise and I'm at a loss :confused:

 

Some background, we have Royal Caribbean (Oasis & Independence), Celebrity (Reflection) and Princess (Caribbean). Everyone loved Oasis, she was magnificent. Independence, the service was amazing, we enjoyed the ports, entertainment felt flat. Caribbean Princess won me on the itinerary, food and service. The Reflection fell flat across the board, we had a great time but the ship just didn't wow us at all. Royal Caribbean seems to be the favourite for our group because of the activities and entertainment.

 

For our next cruise, I was really hoping to do a Southern itinerary mainly because of my love for the ABC islands however I have been outvoted and we're looking at the bigger ships :rolleyes:. The "must haves" are nightly entertainment, good food (options), nursery, and a waterslide :cool:. So we're looking at the Harmony OTS, NCL Escape or Carnival Vista? Has anyone experienced these ships? We've never sailed Carnival or NCL but NCL's promos are appealing. Thoughts? Give me the good, bad, and ugly :p!

 

Thanks in advance :D!

[Eleteace]

I love NCL but haven't been on Carnival so can't comment on them.

 

As nobody else has commented yet just thought I'd put this here to give you a little more info on NCL: http://cruisingisntjustforoldpeople.co.uk/2016/12/04/8-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-cruising-with-ncl/ I love NCL so I'm bias I'm afraid! Ncl definitely have good entertainment food and waterslides!!!

 

 

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[Notnewtoit]

The only answer to this is of course... "it depends"!

 

It depends on what appeals to you!

 

From our perspective we abhor organized group dining, so NCL's Freestyle approach suits us perfectly; we get to eat in a truly great specialty restaurant each night for a small up charge and choose to mingle or not as we desire.

 

BUT... some folks are there to enjoy the socializing and that's fine too...

 

Like I said... "it depends"!:cool:

[brookie848]

I'm concerned about your "nursery" requirement. NCL does have a kids club, but that doesn't really kick in until they are 3 years old.

 

If you are looking to have someone watch over kids younger than that, your options will be pretty limited.

[RG306]

I'm concerned about your "nursery" requirement. NCL does have a kids club, but that doesn't really kick in until they are 3 years old.

 

If you are looking to have someone watch over kids younger than that, your options will be pretty limited.

 

For some reason I thought the Escape had a nursery "guppies". Am I wrong?

[RG306]

The only answer to this is of course... "it depends"!

 

It depends on what appeals to you!

 

From our perspective we abhor organized group dining, so NCL's Freestyle approach suits us perfectly; we get to eat in a truly great specialty restaurant each night for a small up charge and choose to mingle or not as we desire.

 

BUT... some folks are there to enjoy the socializing and that's fine too...

 

Like I said... "it depends"!:cool:

 

We always do my time dining on Royal. The Harmony appeals to me the most because I know what to expect. The Vista has the better itinerary and the Escape has the best value in terms of promotional inclusions which is why I'm so torn. Is the NCL Escape not in the same league as the other 2?

[Notnewtoit]

We always do my time dining on Royal. The Harmony appeals to me the most because I know what to expect. The Vista has the better itinerary and the Escape has the best value in terms of promotional inclusions which is why I'm so torn. Is the NCL Escape not in the same league as the other 2?

 

I'm no expert on the other ships so will hold my tongue and let others fill in those blanks. Escape IS very shiny and new of course which helps... and variety IS the spice of life! Maybe take a punt on Escape and see what you think?

 

There's a saying in the hotel world which I think we all have to take note of... "comment cards reflect the first 5 and last 5 minutes of a guests entire stay"... so maybe go NCL, consider it 'in the round' and see what you think?

 

:cool:

[mjkacmom]

For some reason I thought the Escape had a nursery "guppies". Am I wrong?

 

Yes it does, it's the only NCL ship with this program.

[LakeWobegon]

It depends on what you mean by in the same league. We rebooked Escape for March right after last March's first family cruise on this ship. We found it brand spanking new, beautiful, with very friendly and helpful staff. Almost like they had been trained along the lines of Disneyworld staff. The balcony rooms we had were great and the food and variety of restaurants top notch.

 

The kids LOVED the waterslides as well as the ropes course and other activities. The trade off there is the pool set up, which is tiny because they needed room for all of the rest. So if you like to swim in the pool a lot, you may be disappointed. Still, we never found the kids pool packed. I even swam in it and didn't look creepy.

 

The Eastern cruise is a great itinerary too with St. Thomas, Tortola and even Nassau.

 

We almost booked Harmony instead at the last minute this past month just because I wanted to try something different and prices had come down. But the family persuaded me for one more cruise on the Escape. And I have no problem with that as last year was awesome. But I think the next one will be on the Harmony.

 

Back to the original question, I guess the RCCL ships in the Oasis class are generally more expensive but that doesn't necessarily mean better or a better experience. My wife noted this when I as a relatively new cruise fan observed: I think Carnival is budget, RCCL is somewhat fancy and NCL is middle of the road. She said, I don't know if this is middle of the road, I think this (the Escape) is wonderful. And not to sound snobbish, but we've become pretty picky in our tastes.

 

Whatever you decide, good luck and have fun.

[Kidsgoneletscruise]

Breeze! Carnival Breeze that is. ;) She's a beauty of a ship that will meet all of your family needs. Mostly doing south eastern caribbean including USVI, St Kitts, Puerto Rico, Aruba etc. The breeze is a larger family oriented ship. We jump around from NCL to Carnival and occasionally over to RCCL but honestly Carnival has our hearts. They simply meet all of our need and we have honestly met, lifelong, friends that we stay in contact with to date. Check it out!

[WAHMto5]

We Sailed the Escape this past October with my parents and our two youngest children (12 & 15 yrs) and we all LOVED it! I booked it again for this September and thinking about one more time in January 2018 before it leaves!

[KarimaJ]

Here is my NCL Getaway review. I hear the ship is very similar to the Escape. Its a bit long, I haven't figured out how to create a link to it. We mostly enjoyed it and have been on RC Brilliance and Disney Magic before this cruise.

 

Background info:

I have only been on 2 other cruises (Royal and Disney) so I am certainly not a cruise expert here. We (me, hubby and 11 year old daughter) are not hard to please people, we roll with the punches and expect that things will not be 100% perfect. I did lots of research prior to booking the Getaway, so I was expecting things like small pool, smoky casino, slow service, etc… from other reviews I had read. I booked this ship primarily due to the abundance of kids activities available. This was a Thanksgiving cruise and the ship was full. On to the review.

 

Embarkation:

We arrived from Fort Lauderdale around 11:15am. There was a bit of a line outside the terminal but it moved quickly. Once inside we waited for about 10 minutes to check in. This went smoothly, no issues. We were herded into the big waiting room with our boarding number. We only waited for 5 minutes and our number was called and on we went. This went so smoothly, no chaos or crowded room to wait in. Maybe it was due to the time we arrived? However, once onboard there was no beautiful atrium to walk into. It was literally an area by the stairs and elevator and no one to greet you. This is way different then what I had experienced on other cruises. Then someone appeared and started telling people to go to the buffet to eat, rooms weren’t ready. Well then, that is that, nothing to make you feel special. Rooms were ready around 1:00, but we were bad and went to the room before the official announcement

 

Ship layout:

I read that some people did not like the layout of the ship. It didn’t bother me much, however we did not like that you cannot walk outside from the front to the back of the ship on any deck. We missed this. Also, I don’t believe you can go to the very front of the ship, it looked like it was for staff only.

Now for the casino and smoke, I agree with other reviewers here. They really should not allow smoking since the smoke does travel around Deck 7 and 8 in the open areas. My hubby agrees with this and he is a smoker. Our cabin was on Deck 8 but it did not travel that far. Shanghai Noodle bar is right next to the casino which is weird since it is an open dinner venue, meaning it’s really a bunch of tall tables smack dab next to the slot machines, no walls or anything shielding it. We did eat there and it wasn’t horrible but you could still smell the smoke.

I also agree with other reviewers about the terrible location of guest services. They do many activities in the Atrium area (movies, games, Q&A speeches, singing, kids activities) and it is a challenge to be at guest services, onboard credit, and shore excursion desks and actually hear the person. I did this a few times. The coffee café and another bar are there as well. Some activities should be moved to the theater where there is more room, many times there was not enough seating for everyone. It was nice to sit at O’Sheehans and look down below at the Atrium when activities were going on though.

 

Rooms:

We had a regular balcony room, yes the balcony was tiny. I made due with it but hubby didn’t like it. I mostly used it to hang wet clothes to dry in the breeze. The room was big enough for the 3 of us, lots of storage. We actually didn’t realize there was storage under the couch until the end of the cruise but we didn’t really need it. The bathroom was a nice size and had a good amount of storage as well. The TV channels weren’t great, there was a kids movie channel and regular movie channel with some good movies. They changed them every couple days. I remember seeing the Good Dinosaur, Miracles From Heaven, Rocky 6(?), Sponge Bob. Our room steward Billy was good, we got towel animals every night except the first night. Again, we aren’t hard to please as long as we have towels when we need them. We always re-use them a couple times before trading them in for new. Just leave them on the floor when you want new ones. I brought along these magnetic hooks for the wall, this helped a lot with hanging bathing suits, towels, notices, anything else. I did forget to bring a night light which would have been good. So we just left the bathroom light on and cracked the door. Not a good use of electricity but we needed something.

 

Dining and food:

I like and don’t like the freestyle dining concept. We made some reservations ahead but didn’t always use them since we either weren’t hungry or doing other things. We couldn’t get into Savor one night so we went across to Taste instead. We ate at Tropicana twice, Taste, O’Sheehans and Shanghai noddle bar. We liked Tropicana best due to the entertainment they have there and a fabulous waiter named Orlando. We requested him the second time and gave him some extra $$, he was that good and friendly and attentive. I know some folks were not happy with the food or service but I never had a problem. Food was always warm and the wait staff was always pleasant and friendly. The bread was never warm but we requested it to be warmed and they did. We never had one of those 2.5 hour dining experiences that I heard about so I was pleasantly surprised there. Our longest was maybe at most 1.5 hours at Taste. We were usually done in 1 hour, we also don't eat early, typically around 7:30-8:00. Our ship was full, according to staff it hasn’t been full like that in a while. My hubby thought the Noodle bar wasn’t good, but the beef noodle dish was pretty good and my daughter loved the glass noodle/chicken soup dish. The dessert wasn’t good there. So off to the buffet for some ice cream. The chocolate lava cake was really good in the dining rooms! In general I liked the food better than my hubby did but we always found something we liked. There were a lot of items on the dining room menus that had a hefty upcharge, this was a little over the top.

We were pleased with the buffet. We ate there for every breakfast, lunch and 2 dinners (for Prime Rib). Always something that was good. Hubby was very happy to always have a small selection of Indian food. If he goes more than a couple days with no Indian food he isn’t happy. We found the desserts to be mostly subpar with a few exceptions. On Thanksgiving the pumpkin cheesecake was good, but the apple pie was never good. So I usually grabbed an ice cream cone, they have soft serve machines and scooped hard ice cream. Buffet was usually crowded but that is true of all cruises I think. But there was always somewhere to sit. People generally weren’t rude or pushy so that was good. Also, hated the pizza. Too much cheese and sauce wasn't good.

 

Pool:

As expected they are tiny and inadequate. We didn’t go in the adult pool but I did try the kids pool with my daughter. I wasn’t kicked out by the lifeguard It was so salty that it stung, so we only did it once. The twisty slides were fun and fast, we did those a few times. On the first sea day a lot of people were drinking quite a bit by the adult pool so we steered clear and sat more toward the kids pool area. The music is loud and we aren’t noise people. On the sea day we went to the pool around 9:30am and there were plenty of chairs in the shade for us. Staff came around with fruit kabobs once day and frozen grape kabobs another day, nice touch. Spice H2O is at the back of the ship and we thought it smelled like exhaust so we only went there for the Glow party. I miss having a nice free adult only pool area.

 

Drinks:

We didn’t have the UBP since we aren’t big drinkers, I didn’t think we would spend $180 in drinks to make it worth it. However we spent about $150 in drinks and would probably have had a few more if we got the UBP. The fruity drinks I like are pricy and I found them to be a bit weak. When I ordered a top shelf vodka drink by accident it was really strong, but cost $20, ugh….The auto gratuity that is added on every drink is a bit much. This is why I think just getting the UBP would have been worth it since we conserved a bit there due to cost. There were a few waiters circulating the pool area.

 

Kids Stuff:

We didn’t do the kids club since she hated it on Disney and wouldn’t try it. But she made a friend and the parents switched off keeping an eye on them. They loved the ropes course but were too big for the bungee jump (disappointment). We played mini golf and attended the ice carving, towel animal folding and cupcake decorating. She liked playing Deal or No Deal though I thought it was a pricy ($20) and not much chance of winning anything. She also went to the nice quiet Haven pool with her buddy which she loved of course.

 

Service:

We were very happy with the service. I was expecting unhappy staff according to some review so were pleased that everyone we encountered was upbeat and friendly. Going into the buffet, bartenders, waiters, room steward, all were talkative and happy. A lot of them remembered our names, I have no idea how. We were told that they do get a little lower salary then other cruise lines but it is a more relaxed environment to work in. As I mentioned earlier we gave Orlando and our room steward extra $$ at the end because they were great. And I tipped the bartenders a few times as well, they were busting their butts.

 

Shows:

Burn the Floor was fantastic. The dancers were great and entertaining. There is no plot it is just dancing but we all liked it a lot. The Glow party was a lot of fun (wear your neon or white) but we only stayed an hour, it was pretty loud and like I said it isn’t really our scene. The Farewell show was good, a little too much singing but the Burn the Floor cast comes out again. It’s nice to see the staff come out on stage too. They also show a little movie from people they videoed during the ships events. Glad we missed a couple of those pool games, didn’t seem kid appropriate from what I saw in the movie. Also Howl at the Moon was fun. The sign says adult only after 11:00 but at 10;15 it was getting pretty racy (do people still use that word?) for my daughter so we left.

 

Ports:

Roatan: We went to Little French Key and loved it! Going outside the gates was not as bad as I thought. Sure, people were trying to flag you over to sell excursions but they directed us to Larry when we told them we were going to LFK. On the ride over you can tell it’s a poor island especially near the port area. At LFK my daughter loved jumping off the platform into the ocean and swimming around in the clear blue water.

 

Harvest Kay: The weather was not great but we went over and got a spot by the enormous pool. The pool bartenders couldn’t keep up with demand, but they are prob still working out the kinks. You can use your room card to charge things. We didn’t enjoy the beach, it was coarse sand with broken shells throughout. Not like Roatan beaches at all. Due to the rain we left after a couple hours. Glad we didn’t spend money on a cabana. I would do something different next time we go there.

 

Cozumel: We took a taxi to Paradise beach. This was a highlight, my daughter loved the inflatables in the ocean and the big pool. The place was super clean and wait staff was great. The food was alright and the drinks were good quality. We stayed for about 3.5 hours and it only ended up costing us about $100 total. The shopping in Cozumel is pretty good and they have a nice shopping area. My daughter got her hair braided for $30.

 

Costa Maya: We liked this port. We spent about 3 hours at the Lost Maya Water Park. There were hardly any lines so we did everything except the big zip line, I don’t like heights. The park is clean and they are very safety conscious. The face first racing slides were our favorite. We liked the Costa Maya port even though it is fake and manufactured. We did some shopping there.

 

Disembark:

We had a late flight so we took a later disembark tag. This did not go smoothly. We sat in a lounge area for quite a while and the lines looked miserable. They kept announcing that the terminal was at capacity and please be patient. I don’t remember it this bad on previous cruises. I think the early walk off with your own bags is a better bet. Finally around 9:45 we decided to get up and the lines were moving at least. Found our bags and customs was quick.

 

Conclusion:

We had a great cruise overall and would possibly do the Getaway again, however I think we would try another ship first. The pool was disappointing and I miss having a quiet free adult pool area like on Royal. Spice didn’t cut it for us because we thought it smelled bad. Loved the service! Bon Voyage!

[fshagan]

So we're looking at the Harmony OTS, NCL Escape or Carnival Vista? Has anyone experienced these ships? We've never sailed Carnival or NCL but NCL's promos are appealing.

 

Looks like you have gotten some great comparative reviews of the three! There are some differences in the promos with RCCL, Carnival and NCL.

 

For the beverage plan and dining plan NCL charges the gratuity/service charge on the value of the package. The drink plan is about $93 per day ($79 plus $14 for 18% gratuity). When NCL provides the perk they charge you the $14 per day. That ~$100 per adult should be added to the NCL fare if you are looking at the same perk on RCL and Carnival who don't charge the gratuity.

 

The drink plan is generous on NCL, allowing up to $15 drinks to be covered. If the drink costs more, NCL just charges you the difference between the cost rather than the full, non-covered price.

 

The NCL drink plan does not include bottled water. I believe both the RCL and Carnival drink plans include bottled water.

 

NCL and Carnival no longer allow you to bring any bottled water on board. Carnival offers a case of bottled water in half liter bottles for $3.99. NCL has a bottled water package you can pre-order but it is 1 liter Aquafina water that works out to about $4.50 per bottle. For most people this isn't an issue, but for bottled water drinkers it can be a significant cost difference, adding another $30 or so to the cruise for the smallest 12 pack.

 

I believe a three night dining plan will cost you about $13 per person for the week if they include it "free". Not a bad value, of course, but a consideration if you are comparing cruise prices that are within a couple of hundred dollars of each other.

 

These small pricing differences can add up; if a similar cruise with a beverage promo is within $100 per person of NCL, the other line is actually the same price. If you like bottled water, then NCL is more. If specialty dining is your thing, then NCL is $13 per person more for a three night package.

 

Disclaimer: I have rounded these numbers and present them to the best of my recollection in the spirit of being helpful. I am not bashing NCL, RCL, Carnival or Julio, my neighbor. I have no intention of offending or misleading any human of any race, creed, color or cruise line preference. No animals, vegetables or minerals have been intentionally harmed in this cost comparison. If I have hurt your feelings with anything I have written, I sincerely apologize and believe, with all sincerity, that you will get over it in time.

[LakeWobegon]

I love the disclaimer. I will add that you probably couldn't go wrong with either of the three. I considered the Vista too but it was actually about $1,500 more than Escape, but an 8 night versus a 7 night. And it didn't have the promos. We could afford to do any of the three, but as my our very wise CEO at work once said to me, I'm not cheap but it pains me to part with my money if unnecessary. Ha. Point being, Escape was great, though cheaper. I wouldn't sail on her though if it wasn't so. I would pay the extra $$$. Again, good luck.