How does Norwegian compare to Carnival and Royal?

[CruiseTeacher7]

Hello everyone,

We are thinking about giving Norwegian a try for our next cruise.  How does Norwegian compare to Carnival and Royal?  We are platinum Carnvial cruisers--have been on Breeze/Vista and have been on RCL Freedom of the Seas.   

[WendyVF]

I am also platinum on Carnival and have sailed RCL.  I decided to try NCL again (had done them 20 years ago) last year on the Breakaway and really enjoyed it.  I thought the experience was fairly similar and liked learning a new ship style and the different activities.  I'm sailing again on the Breakaway in a few weeks.  

 

I'm happy to answer any specific questions you may have.

[ashleyriley]

Thanks for offering to answer questions. I have read many complaints about smoke from the casino going all over decks 7 and 8. How bad is it really? 

[Two Wheels Only]

To narrow it down, which NCL ship are you considering and what stateroom type (interior....Haven suite)?

 

 

[teesmc]

High-level- we thought NCL food was worst of RCC and Carnival.  Everyone has the drink package so takes forever to get drinks.  Layout of Epic ship odd/crowded.  We loved the Breeze.  I would sail NCL again for the right price/date/ports.  But my experience had them in thrid place of the 3.

[fsa1155]

We tried Norwegian Haven for the first time.  We loved loved loved the Haven.   We decided that the buffet was better on Carnival than it was on Norwegian.  We thought Carnival had a better selection of food on the buffet.  The only other thing I didn't care for on Norwegian Getaway was the location of all the activities such as the Newlywed game and those types of things.  They had all these activities in the Atrium and there simply were not enough seats.  There was no getting a seat unless you camped out for 2 hours.  We prefer Carnival where all those activities were in the theater.  Other than that, we had a wonderful time on both.   Its been years since I was on Royal Caribbean so I can't comment on that line.  

[CruiseTeacher7]

2 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

To narrow it down, which NCL ship are you considering and what stateroom type (interior....Haven suite)?

 

 

Not sure what specific NCL ship---probably something out of Miami or Cape Canaveral for a 7 day cruise next summer.  

[CruiseTeacher7]

1 hour ago, teesmc said:

High-level- we thought NCL food was worst of RCC and Carnival.  Everyone has the drink package so takes forever to get drinks.  Layout of Epic ship odd/crowded.  We loved the Breeze.  I would sail NCL again for the right price/date/ports.  But my experience had them in thrid place of the 3.

I'm surprised to hear that about the food, I thought NCL would beat out Carnival.  Yeah that would be a problem with the drink package.  

I'm a big fan of the Breeze.  We did Vista last summer and I prefer the Breeze to the Vista.  

How is the entertainment on NCL?

[CruiseTeacher7]

33 minutes ago, fsa1155 said:

We tried Norwegian Haven for the first time.  We loved loved loved the Haven.   We decided that the buffet was better on Carnival than it was on Norwegian.  We thought Carnival had a better selection of food on the buffet.  The only other thing I didn't care for on Norwegian Getaway was the location of all the activities such as the Newlywed game and those types of things.  They had all these activities in the Atrium and there simply were not enough seats.  There was no getting a seat unless you camped out for 2 hours.  We prefer Carnival where all those activities were in the theater.  Other than that, we had a wonderful time on both.   Its been years since I was on Royal Caribbean so I can't comment on that line.  

How is the food in the MDR on NCL vs Carnival?  Do they have anything similar to the adults only Serenity area?

[Two Wheels Only]

7 minutes ago, CruiseTeacher7 said:

Not sure what specific NCL ship---probably something out of Miami or Cape Canaveral for a 7 day cruise next summer.  

 

You would probably be looking at Breakaway for Western Caribbean itinerary.

 

Here is a review of Breakaway (Haven) with a different itinerary but also shows some MDR and Specialty menus/items....

 

 

 

[CruiseTeacher7]

12 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

You would probably be looking at Breakaway for Western Caribbean itinerary.

 

Here is a review of Breakaway (Haven) with a different itinerary but also shows some MDR and Specialty menus/items....

 

 

 

Thank you @Two Wheels Only---where are you in Central Florida?  

[Cruiser_1977]

In the past 12 months, I have sailed both NCL (Sky to Cuba) and Carnival (Fantasy to Cozumel). They are more similar than they are different. I have reviews of each linked in my signature.

[slugg]

I cruise for the first time with NCL in two weeks. The biggest difference I’ve experienced thus far, prior to getting on the ship, is the constant changes to policies and/or amenities for the cruise I already paid for. If you keep an eye on this stuff, it makes for a stressful time leading up to the cruise date. 

 

Also, before getting on the ship, I already feel very nickel-and-dimed. For example, I paid for a Haven Spa suite and you can request all sorts of things for the butler to do to prepare the room. They can give you a bottle of sparkling wine, rose petals all over the room, unpack and hang your clothing, bring food from a restaurant into the room, and even run the hot tub with the jets going, all for free. But they want to charge $4.99 for chocolate covered strawberries. Stupid, just stupid.

 

Apparently, they also upcharge you, in addition to your specialty dining package, to get 3 shrimp.

 

The drink package, which is the most expensive out of all the major cruise lines, does not include specialty coffee or bottled water. Those are upcharged. 

 

Most cruise lines allow you to bring a bottle of wine on board for free. Not NCL - that’s an upcharge.

 

Many more I don’t care to get into, but I think you get the point. 

 

I never felt like I was getting nickeled and dimed with Royal Caribbean, or even Carnival. Both RCL and CCL would try to upsell from time to time, but I thought all of it was pretty reasonable. I haven’t even gotten onto the NCL ship and I’m already annoyed. 

 

That all said, I also knew about the “upcharge culture” of NCL well before booking, so I accounted for it in my budgeting. So as long as you’re ready for it, I’d say it’s fine. Just keep in mind that it’s a moving target; packages, policies, and upcharge items seem to change every week, in some way or another. And they pretty much never get better, only worse, for the consumer. NCL has already stated in shareholder meetings that they are inching up the prices, strategically and deliberately, as far as the market will withstand it. 

 

I would suggest planning for these upcharges and building in a healthy margin into your budget to deal with current and future tacked-on costs. In the end, the total sum still comes out to something comparable to what you’d get with Royal Caribbean; it’s just billed more “creatively.”

[cincicruisers]

We have sailed many times (diamond) on RCCL.  We tried NCL a couple of years ago and had a wonderful time.  I think RC and NCL are more alike than different.  The only  cons I have for NCL are the extra additional  costs  and shows being held in the Atrium versus the theater.  (Too crowded)

 

RCCL does not have good options for late night snacking.  NCL has a 24 hour eating Venue.

Edited April 8, 2019 by cincicruisers

[tallnthensome]

I’m on the Bliss right now ..... sailed NCL before and Carnival before and am sailing Carnival again this August. The food on NCL in the MDR and buffet have been excellent every day. The food on Carnival is by far the worst all around of any cruise line .......  Not even close to NCL and Royal .... Carnival is the cheapest cruise line offering the cheapest and worst food and I say that even with one coming up in August. The bar service aboard the Bliss has also been instant and plenty of servers taking orders on lido deck. Never waited more than 2 minutes for  a drink at a bar on board here so far.

Edited April 8, 2019 by tallnthensome

[graphicguy]

@CruiseTeacher7......if you’re going out of FL, you’re likely to be on one of the “-Away” ships.  They’re quite nice, and relatively new ships for NCL.  

 

I’ve sailed CCL, NCL and RCCL.  But, sailed NCL the most.

 

FOOD is subjective.  But, the free restaurants are all quite good (and plentiful).  The Buffet, I have found to be fresh with good variety and well cooked.  RCCL is good, too.  I do have some issues with their My Tme Dining....which isn’t as good as NCL’s.  Specialty Restaurants are good on both RCCL and NCL.  For some reason, I find Carnival to be a little less tasty than NCL and RCCL.  Not bad, just not as good.

 

SERVICE....never had bad service on any NCL or RCCL ship.  Service on my CCL cruises seemed slow in comparison.

 

ENETERTAINMENT.....hands down...NCL has the best entertainment at sea.  The shows they put on are Vegas and Broadway caliber.  The performers are all top notch.  And, they are all really super talented.  Just saw Choir of Man on the ESCAPE a few weeks ago.  I don’t know if I could have been more entertained if I had spent $250 for a show on Broadway.  The WaterFront is unique as you can dine, drink, or just chill al fresco.  Hard to find that on the other lines.

 

RCCL shows are good, especially the Aqua Shows and the shows in the 270 Theater.  They’re still not as good as NCL.

 

CCL is a bit different.  They have smaller, shorter, less sophisticated shows, but more of them.

 

VALUE...most of how pricing works is a bit different on each line.  NCL has a bottom dollar rate (GTY or SAILAWAY), where you pay as you go for drinks, internet, excursions, specialty dinner, etc.  Or, you can get a rate (usually a few hundred higher) where you get to pick your own cabin, get perks...where you only pay for the tips and get the drinks and dinners for free. So, they’re have a wide range of pricing options.  NCL pricing is similar to the other lines priced like-for-like.

 

As you can tell, I like NCL.  That’s why I keep sailing them.  But, I have no problem sailing different lines if I find a better value somewhere else for the same itinerary.  Haven’t found that in a year or so, though.

 

I think you’ll like NCL.

 

 

[linga]

I'm about to go on my 3rd NCL cruise, I've cruised about 15 times mostly on Carnival and Princess.  I've never had a bad time on a cruise, so I'm sure you'll enjoy! 

 

my thoughts... 

 

FOOD: The food and service in the main dining rooms and in the steakhouse on Carnival and Princess are hands down better than NCL.   The specialty (pay) restaurants on NCL are quite good, like Le Bistro, the Italian restaurant, Teppanyaki, etc..  So take advantage of the variety, if you get the dining package or don't mind paying.   The buffets on all three lines seemed about the same to me. 

 

Entertainment:  I found that the shows on all of the lines were basically the same caliber and very good!   

 

NOTE: I did find that shows are harder to get in to on NCL.  Most people book them prior to leaving, whereas that's not something you have to worry about on the other lines.  If we weren't Haven on the last cruise, we probably wouldn't have gotten in to any of the shows because we didn't realize that everyone pre-booked prior to the cruise.  The standby line to try to get in was amazingly long.  I never made it in to a single piano bar show or comedy show (no reservation show) because you had to get so early to get a seat.

 

Same with dinner reservations at the specialty restaurants.  All of the good times were booked, we again got in anytime we wanted because we were Haven.  If you know these things in advance and plan your reservations you'll be ok.  

 

SERENITY:  NCL has something similar to Carnival Serenity, adult only, but you have to pay.  I think it's $99 for the week or $29 for a single day.  Also, they only sell a limited amount, so as soon as you get on the ship, go and purchase it if you're interested.  

 

I'll keep sailing NCL (they keep sending me really good deals), and like I said, I've enjoyed every cruise I've ever been on, but I'm partial to Carnival and Princess for the food, service and larger size of of the rooms and balconies.  

Edited April 9, 2019 by linga

[slugg]

6 minutes ago, linga said:

SERENITY:  NCL has something similar to Carnival Serenity, adult only, but you have to pay.  I think it's $99 for the week or $29 for a single day.  Also, they only sell a limited amount, so as soon as you get on the ship, go and purchase it if you're interested. 

The adult only area on NCL used to be $99 per person, but is now $199 per person. But of course, everything is subject to change after booking and the price may increase. 

[linga]

1 minute ago, slugg said:

The adult only area on NCL used to be $99 per person, but is now $199 per person. But of course, everything is subject to change after booking and the price may increase. 

Wow!  That's a lot for going to that area!   My really good deal they gave me actually went out the window early, as I've already paid to upgrade and paid for a bunch of other stuff 🙂 . 

 

When you first look at NCL, they seem like they're by far the cheapest cruise line around, but then things quickly add up with all of the additional charges for most things.  A different way of doing business, but it's working for them...

[Two Wheels Only]

42 minutes ago, slugg said:

The adult only area on NCL used to be $99 per person, but is now $199 per person. But of course, everything is subject to change after booking and the price may increase. 

 

There is also the much larger adult-only area during the day (Spice H2O) which is no charge.

[Two Wheels Only]

45 minutes ago, linga said:

Wow!  That's a lot for going to that area!

 

That (VIBE) is an exclusive sundeck area which sells passes to less than 80 people. It is currently about the same price as passes to the the adult-only spa.

Edited April 9, 2019 by Two Wheels Only

[slugg]

27 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

There is also the much larger adult-only area during the day (Spice H2O) which is no charge.

Do you happen to know what times are adult only?

[Two Wheels Only]

13 minutes ago, slugg said:

Do you happen to know what times are adult only?

 

From the top of my head, I believe it is up to 7pm. 

If I'm wrong, someone will give the correct time. 

[linga]

43 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

That (VIBE) is an exclusive sundeck area which sells passes to less than 80 people. It is currently about the same price as passes to the the adult-only spa.

 yes, same as Posh on Epic.   

 

[fsa1155]

16 hours ago, CruiseTeacher7 said:

How is the food in the MDR on NCL vs Carnival?  Do they have anything similar to the adults only Serenity area?

We did not use the MDR since we were in the Haven.  The Haven had their own private restaurant.  I'm not much help on the Serenity area either because the Haven has their own private pool area.  However, I do believe there is an adults only area.  Looks like some others have commented above.  🙂

Edited April 9, 2019 by fsa1155