NCL Review after 10 Carnival Cruises

[Martini Mom]

We have cruised with Carnival 10 times and decided to give NCL a try. My husband wasn’t happy with the downward trend in Carnival’s food and service over the years. This review is just our nitpicking opinion of how we view the two companies. Take it or leave it.

 

Rooms/Cabins: NCL has much prettier rooms, but Carnival wins on size. We prefer NCL’s color palate, solid shower doors, and sliding balcony doors, but Carnival’s cabin size. We also miss Carnival’s loaner bathrobes. Slight win for NCL in this category.

 

Food: Both companies fall short on vegan food for us, but we expect that, so we aren’t expecting much. NCL has better food as a whole and good vegan options in the buffet (especially daily curry options). They will also provide almond milk upon request. Our ship, the Star, offers 24/7 food from O’Sheehans. The options are definitely more than Carnival’s pizza and salad, but you have to wait to be seated and it’s like a casual dining experience. If you are hungry after drinking at 1 am, you miss grabbing a slice of Carnival’s pizza and heading out to an open deck. No fuss, no muss. It’s more laid back and we missed that. That said, my young adult boys loved getting a late night shepherd’s pie. I’d call the food category a tie. I could go on and on about the food, so if you have questions, just message me.

 

Service: I’d say that NCL provides better service as a whole, but not dramatically. Both lines have international employees that do their very best to provide excellent service. The one are that Carnival definitely wins is on debarkation. They have clear instructions, printed info and plenty of staff guiding your way. I felt as lost as a newbie on NCL. We weren’t sure what to do. The process was SUPER fast, but we felt lost. One or two staff members guiding the way would’ve been perfect.

 

Entertainment: This is a very mixed bag for us. The stage shows on NCL were FAR better than Carnival. The dancers, singers, and acrobats were way above the entertainers that Carnival provides. They were EXCELLENT! BUT…. We missed a few things with NCL and now see why Carnival is called the Fun Ships. We LOOOOVE comedy! NCL had the comedian aboard the whole cruise, but only had him perform the last night of the 7 day cruise. Not only that, but it was a family show only, so he was censored and limited (thus not that funny). Our favorite ship entertainment is the stand up comedy, so this was a HIGE let down. There is no piano bar. There is a very small karaoke bar (the 5o’clock bar) that we kind of turned into a sing-a-long bar out of necessity. My 18 and 21 yr old sons missed the late night Carnival entertainment and so did we. Also… the sail way party was pitiful. Basically non-existent. They really are missing the Fun.

 

Misc: NCL is excellent at tendering! They get you on and off the ship with precision. No joke! Embarkation, debarkation, tendering, they have it down! The fastest we’ve ever seen! Full win for NCL. Also, their Unlimited Beverage Program is awesome! No daily limits, no slips to sign, and offered as a perk when you book. We are sold on that perk!

 

Final: After all is said and done. My husband is 100% ready to go back to Carnival. He’ll still complain to me about things, but not about the things that really matter to us. J

 

Edited January 10, 2019 by Martini Mom

[bostongal965]

Thanks for your review! I'm almost in the opposite camp - 7 NCL cruises, and I'm about to do my first Carnival cruise next month. The biggest reason for the switch is that Carnival does short cruises from Jacksonville, which is only a half day drive for us. However, I really am looking forward to trying something new.  Your review is helpful on some of the differences I might see!

[bury me at sea]

Thanks for the comparison.  I think you really nailed the bottom line -- what is important to you!

[Martini Mom]

8 minutes ago, bury me at sea said:

Thanks for the comparison.  I think you really nailed the bottom line -- what is important to you!

Exactly! We all have a list of things that matter to us.The trick is to find the ship that  matches the most of those requirements.

[Joebucks]

It's great to branch out and try new things. Experience helps us understand that there are pros and cons to nearly every decision. The grass isn't always greener on the other side. Find what is important!

[Mikew0805]

Thanks for the comparison. We found the Star to be a floating rust bucket, and it turned me off of NCL... at the time permanently. However, never say never... these Breakaway class ships and newer have me intrigued.

 

 

[PTC DAWG]

6 minutes ago, Mikew0805 said:

Thanks for the comparison. We found the Star to be a floating rust bucket, and it turned me off of NCL... at the time permanently. However, never say never... these Breakaway class ships and newer have me intrigued.

 

 

I have been on the Escape and the Getaway...both very nice,  but I enjoyed the Escape the best..

[KarimaJ]

We feel like you have NCL down pretty good. We love the curry/Indian options on NCL buffet too and think they have a great buffet in general. They did have buffet around 11:00pm with pizza, a few entrees, crepes, etc is that late night venue.

All the cruises I took they had a family comedy show and late night show a few times per week but it was more then once. And yes the shows are good with NCL. 

And the almost free drink perk is great!

Now going on my first Carnival cruise next month woo-hoo!!!

[runner15km]

Thanks for the review, we enjoy both lines. 

[sanmarcosman]

I've followed your reports and threads over the years and I trust your opinion. Thanks for confirming what I suspected. I enjoyed my 1993 cruise on NCL but I haven't felt the need to return.

[mpcaruth]

I have sailed 9 Carnival cruises, 3 Royal, and 3 NCL.  I always caution comparing cruiselines base on a single sailing.  Especially comparing the older smaller ships to another cruisline's bells & whistles modern ships.  For my family of four (cruising with two kids since the now 16 yr old was five), we unanimously prefer Carnival.  Our top reasons are: comedy club, cabin size (important with 4 in a cabin), the vibe/FUN-ness, and price.  NCL is unanimously  our least favorite for a few reasons: the Jewel was literally boring for all (they cancelled many of the kids activities throughout the week due to only 200 kids onboard), the Getaway required us to make reservations for everything, only to find all the good times booked... which made us dub the line "Not-So-Freestyle" as we had to constantly watch the clock and rush or wait around all the time.  Royal Caribbean is really nice, but typically extremely expensive.  I loved the Explorer of the Seas.  The Anthem of the Seas had so many amenities, but again, you had to make reservations for everything, and things frequently got cancelled.

 

My daughter and I enjoyed NCL's and Royal's stage shows much better than Carnival, but the guys couldn't care less.  We all LOVE the comedy club and the various other non-dancing shows on Carnival.  As far as the food:  quality is often a hit or miss on each ship/cruiseline in the dining rooms and buffet. Where Carnival wins is the multitude of options of free places to eat. Carnival also seems to be the only line that has the buffett  and/or other food options available when we return to the ship from a port day.  Numerous times on the other lines we get back to ship around 3:00 or 4:00 starving and the only thing available on NCL and Royal is pizza (which gets old after 3 to 4 days). Carnival will typically keep Guys Burgers, Mexican, Deli, and pizza open on port days.

[jimbo5544]

Nice review and comparison, thanks for doing it.

[CaneDawg]

Thanks for the update. I enjoy the comedy also. I did notice on my NCL the Casino table minimums where twice what Carnival was. Is it still $10 minimums? I enjoy Carnivals $5, I can ride a bad run longer on the craps table.

[cathyoo]

Thanks for the review and the comparison.  We have 1 RCL, 9 Carnival and 1 NCL.  My Dh hated NCL.  Too crowded and narrow for him (Getaway).  The one thing I loved was the entertainment during dinner.  We really were Carnival fans but the entertainment on our last 3 cruises has been a major disappointment.  Booked for an Alaskan Carnival Cruise in May but I might go back to RCL.  Sad.

 

[ProgRockCruiser]

Thanks for the review/comparison!  I've only ever sailed Carnival (not counting P&O back in the early 70s...), and I haven't yet been drawn to another line for any particular feature.  Right now Carnival ticks all my boxes.

 

Should my preferences change (or Carnival's offerings vs other lines), then I will re-evaluate.

[trippingpara]

Thank you for this excellent comparison from your experiences with Carnival and NCL.  We have always sailed on Carnival but we have just booked our first cruise with NCL on their Escape to the Baltic next year.  We wanted to go on Carnival but their Baltic options were few and far between and NCL had a nice offering so we jumped.  Thanks for taking the time to write this up.

[AmberTeka]

On ‎1‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 9:39 PM, bostongal965 said:

Thanks for your review! I'm almost in the opposite camp - 7 NCL cruises, and I'm about to do my first Carnival cruise next month. The biggest reason for the switch is that Carnival does short cruises from Jacksonville, which is only a half day drive for us. However, I really am looking forward to trying something new.  Your review is helpful on some of the differences I might see!

 

 

We live in JAX.  We will be on the Elation  during Spring Break for Florida  schools. I know. Groan. But  three  teachers, and 1 teacher's aide will be in our group. We sailed the Fascination  when it was in JAX Port. .  Loved it. Did not expect to do so.  I really enjoyed   the ride  down the River  to Mayport.   The Elation gets some seriously good   reviews. I hope you find time   to share your experience with us when you are back.  Have a great cruise!

Edited January 12, 2019 by AmberTeka

[evandbob]

I sailed exclusively with Carnival for several years, maybe 25 cruises, before I branched out and started sailing different lines.  Now I've tried NCL maybe 5 or 6 times, Disney, MSC, Princess 2x and Celebrity 2x.  

 

Guess what?  They are all good!  The biggest difference I've found is that some lines limit the length and frequency of the CD announcements.  Carnival has the most annoying shills among the bunch.

 

[quickrate]

We also sailed on the Star for a Transatlantic last spring. There were a few things I liked better about NCL. I loved having a coffee pot in the room. We aren't breakfast eaters but love our coffee when we first wake up. I also enjoyed the all inclusive drink package as well as the specialty dining package. Loved sliding balcony door. Room was smaller than Carnival rooms but adequate. I must say we had the worst embarkation we have ever had on a ship! Not sure what the issue was but from getting in line outside for security to reaching check in was 2.5 hours! Heard it was worse for those that arrived a little later than us. 

   Our favorite tradition on Carnival is after we get on the ship, we go to Atrium bar, get a bloody mary and mingle with guests. So, we were so looking forward to that first drink on Star only to find there is no atrium bar, it's a coffee bar. Also, no music playing when we entered, very low key. So, not a good start! Things did get better after first day and we enjoyed the cruise. I really missed the fun ship atmosphere and vibe so for us, Carnival is still our go to but we will cruise NCL again.

Pat

[Tongiejayhawk]

We had also cruised with Carnival ten times before our first NCL cruise (Breakaway) to the Baltics last year.  The pros for NCL were the decor was much nicer, the entertainment was better, I like the idea of bidding for an upgrade (someone in our group paid very little to move to Haven) and O'Sheehans was such a wonderful alternative - it even had a couple of bowling lanes.  The cons were that all of the main daytime entertainment was done in the Atrium - very noisy and crowded, they didn't have a traditional promenade so many of us who like to play cards/games had to squat at restaurants to nab a table, and with a large group of us, trying to coordinate dinner was problematic - we either ate really early or really late.

 

In the end, we prefer Carnival with one feature tipping the scales for me - laundry.  We spent two and a half weeks in Europe and needed to wash our clothes at least once.  You can pay to have NCL launder your clothes, which we did for our whites.  But I am very picky about my coloreds and there was not an option to chose "gentle" or "cold" on the laundry form.  I ended up washing my jeans and shirts in the bathroom sink.  I truly don't mind using the laundry facilities on CCL - we have met some very nice people while ironing or changing machines.  So for this reason, I prefer CCL but if a good deal was available on NCL, we would consider it.

[trex-de]

We sail both and prefer NCL.   We have sailed out of NY and the East Coast in general and the itineraries of NCL suit us better.  Nassau on NCL is better for us than Freeport.  Both being staples for each line for the Bahamas cruises. 

 

We prefer also the food options on NCL.  We are platinum and the specialty restaurant perk is nice as well.  NCL seems to treat their repeat cruisers a bit better with a party where the captain and staff attends and free drinks. Carnival gives you a drink coupon. 

 

None of these are big deals and we have and will cruise interchangeably. 

[SRQbeachgirl]

Thank you for this review! I have debated trying NCL, but have a hard time passing up Carnival. We have also cruised twice with RCI, but we hate scheduling things and much prefer Carnival's casual eating options, late night pizza (I hate RCI's pizza!), and the open decks of Carnival's ships. I like being able to "feel" like I'm at sea, but RCI's newer ships seem to be designed to make you forget that you are actually in the middle of the ocean.  

[KarimaJ]

18 hours ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

Thank you for this review! I have debated trying NCL, but have a hard time passing up Carnival. We have also cruised twice with RCI, but we hate scheduling things and much prefer Carnival's casual eating options, late night pizza (I hate RCI's pizza!), and the open decks of Carnival's ships. I like being able to "feel" like I'm at sea, but RCI's newer ships seem to be designed to make you forget that you are actually in the middle of the ocean.  

I really like NCL but their newer ships also lack some of this openness on the decks. They do have the waterfront deck which goes around most of the ship, but not the front! But it is nice to sit there for drinks or just chill out watching the sea go by.

[Martini Dad]

Sorry but i have to speak up. Service on the ship was not great. If i sit in your dinning room and nicely order the "chicken and Pasta dish" and I ask, please leave off the chicken. I should not have chicken on my plate. We even took the time to talk with the Maitre D' / Restaurant Manager, off hours.  We asked what can we do to help, I know we are not the normal. He said not a problem, this happens all the time, we can make you lots of options, just ask for me. At dinner time he was no where to be found. The staff had no idea what he was talking about.  The staff needs to listen to the guest and bring then what they order. Happened many of times, not just food. I felt like a bother, not a guest.

 

As far as it being due to a small ship, a company is only good as it weakest link. fyi; Martini Mom, i don't like Curry for 3 meals a day. NOT GOING BACK TO NCL!

[grandmarnnurse]

Thank you for the review and comparison. We sailed 5 Carnival cruises before we ventured out to RCCL and NCL. We were floored by the WOW factor on our RCCL ships (Indy and Oasis), and then we sailed NCL on the Getaway, twice. We fell in love with NCL’s Freestyle Cruising concept. And their food?? Without a doubt, hands down, the best! The best buffet, best MDRs, best late night and 24 hour offerings. With that said, we are returning to Carnival on March 2 for a cruise on the Breeze and have booked our 50th Anniversary cruise in 2020 on the Magic. The reason? That good old “fun factor”. We just always had more fun on Carnival. Can’t wait! 🛳🏖🌴🍸🍹🍷