Favorite part of cruising with NCL?

[Sotermarler]

The sort of free Drink package! It’s probably the one thing that keeps us coming back.

[All-ready2cruise]

The way they treat their loyal pax and solo/single/ LGBTQ groups.  Been such a wonderful experience, having met so many great people. The hosts, for the most part, have been really great, ensuring we're able to have nice gettogethers and arranging many events for the groups. 

[dbrown84]

freestyle dining 

[Zippeedee]

I cruise solo in balconies.  I prefer the service of specialty dining and the generally casual atmosphere. Crew is top notch and never make me feel out of place for dining alone. RCL was terrible for a solo but that was a few years ago so it may be better. I also like having choices so I only pay for what I want. 

[reveur15]

FIRST BEER after check-in 🍺

[OHRiverRats]

We're not crazy about Carnival.  Prefer Royal Caribbean as it feels a little more upscale and the service is excellent. But that being said, 4 of our last 5 cruises have been on Norwegian.  Love the southern Caribbean and Panama Canal itineraries and longer cruises. We have found our bottom line (fare, drinks, tips, etc) to be lower on Norwegian in the past, but I'm not sure that's the case anymore.  Still up the air about our next cruise. 

[tanyaewa]

We have sailed Disney,carnival, princess, royal and Norwegian.  I liked them all for their own reasons but I loved the NCL Getaway ship the most. It was very modern style.

i liked all the food venues, especially the Cuban one up top, and the buffet was our favourite of any we have ever had. 

My kids loved the water slide and the ropes course and climbing wall.

 

Edited March 23, 2019 by tanyaewa

[mugtech]

The loyalty rewards work best for us on NCL, back in the day we were platinum after 4 cruises.  Hawaii was our first cruise with NCL, and still the best way to cruise the islands is POA.  We have enjoyed RCI quantum class ships recently, doing a  9 day Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines to Singapore next year on Quantum.  As for design and staff, our recent Jewel cruise was great, reminded us of our favorite, the Gem.  Princess and Carnival came up short on entertainment on cruises with many sea days, will not be sailing either one again unless there is a great, cheap itinerary.

[slugg]

“Freestyle dining” keeps being cited as, seemingly, the most popular reason to cruise with NCL. Are people not aware that the concept is not unique to NCL?

 

I was on RCCL Oasis of the Seas and not once, ever, did I have to make a reservation for dining. I just had to wait about 5 minutes before being seated, except for one of the nights. That night, we had to wait 10 minutes,  but they let us order drinks while waiting. Specialty restaurants had no wait whatsoever.

 

As far as dress code, I wore jeans, a button down shirt, and no tie to the formal night. Honestly, I blended in just fine; it seems like the younger the cruiser, the less formal they dress. 

 

There’s plenty to like about NCL, but if freestyle dining is your top reason, you should know that other cruise lines are doing the same thing, but without the marketing term. 

[newmexicoNita]

4 hours ago, slugg said:

“Freestyle dining” keeps being cited as, seemingly, the most popular reason to cruise with NCL. Are people not aware that the concept is not unique to NCL?

 

I was on RCCL Oasis of the Seas and not once, ever, did I have to make a reservation for dining. I just had to wait about 5 minutes before being seated, except for one of the nights. That night, we had to wait 10 minutes,  but they let us order drinks while waiting. Specialty restaurants had no wait whatsoever.

 

As far as dress code, I wore jeans, a button down shirt, and no tie to the formal night. Honestly, I blended in just fine; it seems like the younger the cruiser, the less formal they dress. 

 

There’s plenty to like about NCL, but if freestyle dining is your top reason, you should know that other cruise lines are doing the same thing, but without the marketing term. 

You are right most lines have adopted some form of "freestyle" but NCL got the ball rolling and when you compare the freestyle they still seem to do a better job plus they have a such as selection on dining options.. We have been on 2 other lines where we felt out of place on formal nights not choosing to dress up. 

[latebloomer56]

On 3/19/2019 at 12:49 PM, SailorMan20 said:

Favorite american port to cruise out of?

Northeast is easiest but.

Toss up between Seattle and Honolulu for beauty.

For boarding sailing from San Pedro.

Favorite coming home from anyway is hands down NYC. Seeing Lady Liberty early in the AM is hard to put into words.

 

[Barb Nahoumi]

We like NCL's freedom to dine anytime and anywhere we wish, the friendly crew & staff, and the casual dress code.

[graphicguy]

Have sailed Carnival, Royal, MSC, HAL and Celebrity.  I seem to always come back to NCL.

 

-best entertainment out of all the other cruise lines

-dining and drink packages are great

-WaterFront on the “-Away” class ships and above

-Freestyle....eat when, where how I want.  Other lines try it, but NCL seems to do it best

-I’m Latitudes Platinum so they usually give me a free dinner, some free laundry, free early embarkation, etc

-None of the other lines do Suites (Haven and Full Suites) like NCL.  MSC comes close, but they aren’t quite there, yet (Yacht Club)

-Great service and staff

-Food is generally quite good, regardless of where/when you dine

Edited March 23, 2019 by graphicguy

[worktocruise610]

I like the casual, never feel out of place whether dressed up or down. When I'm on vacation I don't want to stress about what I wear & don't want to feel like I stick out. I also like the places like O'Sheehan's where I can get something to eat whenever I want & doesn't have to be buffet. Sometimes, after a night of drinking, I need something to eat before I sleep. I also love the crew, can always find more than a few staff that I look forward to seeing & having a chat with them.

[jasperess]

I've sailed on Princess, Royal, and Norwegian.  I keep coming back to NCL because of the following reasons:

 

- Freestyle dining and freestyle cruising: they invented it and they perfected it.  The other lines may do it, but it just feels more natural and more relaxing on NCL

- Haven and suites: We don't always sail in these, but when we do, NCL really kicks it up a notch in the service and food department

 

Otherwise, although we found Princess skewed to a more older crowd, the lines were more similar than different.

Edited March 23, 2019 by jasperess

[AdoraBelle]

Almost 100% due to their solo studios and lounge.

 

I also Iike their thermal suites on bigger ships, and the ability to mostly get away from the crowds there.

 

Finally, I like their all day/late night buffet on the bigger ships, although Bliss in Dec 2018 was a big step down from Escape in Feb 2018. 

[CruisingNole]

22 hours ago, slugg said:

“Freestyle dining” keeps being cited as, seemingly, the most popular reason to cruise with NCL. Are people not aware that the concept is not unique to NCL?

 

I was on RCCL Oasis of the Seas and not once, ever, did I have to make a reservation for dining. I just had to wait about 5 minutes before being seated, except for one of the nights. That night, we had to wait 10 minutes,  but they let us order drinks while waiting. Specialty restaurants had no wait whatsoever.

 

As far as dress code, I wore jeans, a button down shirt, and no tie to the formal night. Honestly, I blended in just fine; it seems like the younger the cruiser, the less formal they dress. 

 

There’s plenty to like about NCL, but if freestyle dining is your top reason, you should know that other cruise lines are doing the same thing, but without the marketing term. 

 

It seems as though a lot of NCL enthusiasts have no idea what happens outside of their bubble.  😉

[newmexicoNita]

7 hours ago, CruisingNole said:

 

It seems as though a lot of NCL enthusiasts have no idea what happens outside of their bubble.  😉

What do you mean by that? Many of us have sailed several times on several lines. In fact the majority who post here have sailed more than one line or one ship. could you explain your comment? 

[newmexicoNita]

23 hours ago, latebloomer56 said:

Northeast is easiest but.

Toss up between Seattle and Honolulu for beauty.

For boarding sailing from San Pedro.

Favorite coming home from anyway is hands down NYC. Seeing Lady Liberty early in the AM is hard to put into words.

 

not only is NYC fun to come home to but to sail out of of. I will never forget seeing the lady from the ship and just the entire experience. My least favorite has to be NOLA even though the river is a fun experience. If I remember but it has been years, sailing out of Vancouver was a fun experience and pretty easy. Boston was also a fun place and easy, plus spending a few days in Boston ahead of the cruise was great. 

[vpearlkc]

Leaving the sports coat at home.

[RealSoxFan]

Free style dining, resort casual dress code and NCL mid size ships.

[1stTIMECRUZER]

Prefer NCL's freestyle dining & all of the choices that are included beyond the dining rooms.

[TonyB17]

On ‎3‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 5:29 PM, SailorMan20 said:

What's Your favorite part of cruising with Norwegian over Carnival or Royal Caribbean? Also what's Your favorite ship in Norwegian current lineup?

Thank you for asking a question that getting mostly positive replies. 

[FLConnie]

The Haven And the European itenararies fit our needs for the price. We can both do an Owners Suite for what one pays on high end ships with the same ports. And they don’t have 24/7 bars😁

[CruzinfromFL]

On 3/23/2019 at 2:14 AM, slugg said:

“Freestyle dining” keeps being cited as, seemingly, the most popular reason to cruise with NCL. Are people not aware that the concept is not unique to NCL?

 

I was on RCCL Oasis of the Seas and not once, ever, did I have to make a reservation for dining. I just had to wait about 5 minutes before being seated, except for one of the nights. That night, we had to wait 10 minutes,  but they let us order drinks while waiting. Specialty restaurants had no wait whatsoever.

 

As far as dress code, I wore jeans, a button down shirt, and no tie to the formal night. Honestly, I blended in just fine; it seems like the younger the cruiser, the less formal they dress. 

 

There’s plenty to like about NCL, but if freestyle dining is your top reason, you should know that other cruise lines are doing the same thing, but without the marketing term. 

 

Yes, you can eat when you want on Royal IF you get MyTime dining. The last cruise we took we were wait listed for MyTime and never got off the wait list So we only made it to dinner in the MDR twice during our cruise because our assigned time didn't work for us. We will be sailing on NCL for the first time and are really looking forward to really being able to eat what we want/when we want.