Anyone Ever Sail Norwegian?

[Leo Jay]

Yes, I realize this is the Carnival board, but since I've only ever sailed Carnival Triumph, I thought other perspective of other Carnivallers might be more useful.

 

I just saw a cruise on the Norwegian Crown sailing out of NYC in September that was priced at $949/person for a suite. That just seems way too inexpensive, so I wondered what the catch was -- anyone have a sense? Thanks.

[D4]

We've been on Celebrity, NCL, Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Carnival.

 

We LOVE the freestyle dining on NCL. You can go to dinner whenever you want, sit with who you want, and you don't have to bring formal clothes.

 

I don't think that price is bad for a suite. We have kids and can only cruise in the summer which is peak time and you'd pay at least that for an inside for 7 days.

[SanFranBayCruiser]

Catch is hurricane season!

[Leo Jay]

We've been on Celebrity, NCL, Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Carnival.

 

We LOVE the freestyle dining on NCL. You can go to dinner whenever you want, sit with who you want, and you don't have to bring formal clothes.

 

I don't think that price is bad for a suite. We have kids and can only cruise in the summer which is peak time and you'd pay at least that for an inside for 7 days.

 

No, my point was that that seemed way too CHEAP for a suite. I'm basically wondering if the Crown is a dump.

[SanFranBayCruiser]

Crown is an older ship. I haven't sailed on it but, I'd read some reviews and get opinions on the NCL board.

[beebes]

We have sailed NCL twice in the past two years. The first sailing was great to Alaska. We just came off their Christmas cruise on the new Jewel. Yes you don't have to dress up if you don't want, but also we were a party of 7 trying to make dinner reservations and trying to get in before 9 p.m. at some of the restaurants was darn right difficult. We didn't have this problem on the Alaskan cruise.

 

They have one other neat option that brought us back. Approximately 6 weeks before you cruise you or your travel agent if you used one calls the upsell desk and you can get an upgrade for about 1/2 of the going rate based on availability. We upgraded on both the Alaskan cruise and this past one from balcony to suite for about $1000 total. The Alaskan cruise was great, with the help of a concierge who made you dinner reservations and you also had a butler who brought treats every night, free bottle of champagne on embarkation, flowers and priority tending tickets and debarkation. On the Christmas cruise on the Jewel, the conceriege was of no help because everyone is now able to book for the whole week the first day, on the Alaskan it was only 24 hours before, the rest of the perks were there but even since we have been on people are complaining about how service is going down hill on ncl along with the quality of food. Also the suites are about the size of a hotel room, with bathtub. The Jewel, the newer ship's suite, was smaller than the Alaskan cruise and they were the same category. Seems like NCL is downsizing everything, from room, to service to quality.

 

I am looking forward to our cruise with Carnival to compare the two.

[beebes]

We have sailed NCL twice in the past two years. The first sailing was great to Alaska. We just came off their Christmas cruise on the new Jewel. Yes you don't have to dress up if you don't want, but also we were a party of 7 trying to make dinner reservations and trying to get in before 9 p.m. at some of the restaurants was darn right difficult. We didn't have this problem on the Alaskan cruise.

 

They have one other neat option that brought us back. Approximately 6 weeks before you cruise you or your travel agent if you used one calls the upsell desk and you can get an upgrade for about 1/2 of the going rate based on availability. We upgraded on both the Alaskan cruise and this past one from balcony to suite for about $1000 total. The Alaskan cruise was great, with the help of a concierge who made you dinner reservations and you also had a butler who brought treats every night, free bottle of champagne on embarkation, flowers and priority tending tickets and debarkation. On the Christmas cruise on the Jewel, the conceriege was of no help because everyone is now able to book for the whole week the first day, on the Alaskan it was only 24 hours before, the rest of the perks were there but even since we have been on people are complaining about how service is going down hill on ncl along with the quality of food. Also the suites are about the size of a hotel room, with bathtub. The Jewel, the newer ship's suite, was smaller than the Alaskan cruise and they were the same category. Seems like NCL is downsizing everything, from room, to service to quality.

 

I am looking forward to our cruise with Carnival to compare the two.

[davidt1968]

First of all, it's an old ship on it's last leg. It has has numerous problems this past year and reviews have been negative. All I can say is I've been on NCL 1 time after taking 3 with Carnival. My next one which is 02/28/06 is back with Carnival. Enough Said. Now, a person may assume on NCL that you can wear a nice shirt with a nice pair of jeans to Dinner. This is not the case. You will be turned away if you don't have slacks on. Nothing total choice about it. NCL states that you have so much freedom on the ship, but really, they have more rules then Carnival. Another note is personal attention is not even close compared to Carnival. Quality of food lacks on NCL as well. Bottom line: Would I recommend NCL over Carnival? No I would not. If you may have any other questions regarding NCL, feel free to ask.

David

Carnival Spirit: 8 Day Mexico--02/28/2006 (34 days & counting)

NCL Star: 7 Day Alaska--Sept/2005

Carnival Paradise: 4 Day Baja Mexico--April/2005

Carnival Pride: 7 Day Mexico--Sept/2004

Carnival Elation: 7 Day Mexico--June/2003

[Leafpeeper]

I cruise on NCL, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean. I like different ships on each of these lines--preferably new ships. However, I don't mind the Carnival and RCCL older ships on 4 night cruises. Prefer all the new specialty restaurants on new ships on these lines.

 

I am sailing Carnival Triumph in February, RCCL Explorer in October, and NCL Dawn Jan 2007.

 

Last year we sailed NCL Dawn in Dec, RCCL Legend of the Seas in March and Jewel of the Seas in October.

 

I must admit that NCL Dawn is my favorite ship so far. I enjoy all the different restaurants (Italian, Mexican, French, Japanese, American, Chinese/Fast Food, English Pub, Poolside BBQ, Steak House, etc). We never had to wait more than 5 minutes to be seated. We made reservations early on for the specialty restaurants. It made our vacation so much more fun than any other cruise --having a choice of where and when to eat--deciding whether we wanted a table for 2 or dining with other guests. Many people enjoy the idea of freestyle. Two other friends sailing with us decided to eat at the formal Venetian Dining Room--same table--same waiter each night. We ate at a different place each night. Loved the choices, the venues, and the different waiters.

 

I also enjoy sailing various cruiselines because the entertainment changes. Nothing worse than seeing the same shows over and over.

It is fun trying new things.

 

Variety is the spice of life.

[smoothdancer]

Did I miss your sailing date???

 

We are sailing on the Crown to Bermuda - July 4th week, in a suite. This is a non balcony suite, only thing available.

 

We paid $1900. Per person for this suite.(7days) I'd say you found a bargin.

[beasfriend]

The Crown is a smaller ship, built before the advent of "Freestyle". It's still a great ship/concept, but not nearly as nice as say, the Dawn. I think sailing during hurricane season is probably the reason for the lower price.

[CRUISEMAMMA]

Sorry only Carnival, to scared to saill NCL they keep getiing hit by gigantic waves!:D

[cruzeluver]

Don't worry. I've sailed on Carnival and NCL, and loved both. You can find bad reviews of any ship! Each sailing is different. And you know, have a good experience, and tell 5 people. Have a bad experience and tell everyone!! :p

 

NCL is not terrible by any means. Although I really like Carnival, I do like the decor of NCL's ships more. Less flash.

[debkjw]

i have been on 5 carnivals, 2 princess and 1 ncl. Ncl was ok but not my first choice. The frestyle dining is nice for 2 but if you have a group it is hard to get sittings. you have to make reservations to sit together we had a group of 15. That sort of defeats the purpose. Food was as good as the carnival or princess in general.

 

one thing i didnt like was if you didnt like the menu in dining room you couldnt order a steak. They had the option of chicken dish. Also on ncl you cant get lemonade at meal time in DR the kids can but not adults. Also ncl doesnt offer a reg lettuce salad daily in the dining rooms. They do have a ceasars salad available.

 

One plus on ncl was the icecream bar. They had 4 to 6 diff flavors for cones or sundaes and also had soft serve. It was open late at least 10 or 11 pm.

 

I did miss your waiter knowing you liked milk or tea at meals and not having to ask every time. I guess that is a little thing. Personally i would go on ncl again only if price right and if not with group. freestyle works well with 2 to 4 people but was nightmare with 15.

 

debkjw :D

[2Cruise4Ever]

I sailed on both NCL (Dawn) and Carnival (Fascination) last year. I loved both. But, I have to say that I felt the service and food were better on the Dawn. That's not to say that Carnival wasn't good. I just felt that NCL was a step above. We were greeted with smiles and "how can I help you" more on NCL than on Carnival. Granted, this was my one and only Carnival experience. And, we had a blast on Fascination. But, we had more of a blast on NCL. The Crown is a much older ship. But, she has a lot of charm and charisma. You'll love it. The reason for the lower price is that the Crown has fewer numbers of suites than the mega-liners. That, and the fact that it's only one port. The port charges are far less than what you'd pay on a ship that hits 4 or 5 ports in a week.

[Leo Jay]

Thanks, everyone for the specific feedback -- helps me sort out the factors that are most important for me.

 

Freestyle dining should be fine for us -- it's only the two of us, so finding seating shouldn't be an issue. Also, I don't think we care about being waited on by the same waiter every night. It also doesn't bother me that passengers are held to proper dress code for dining rooms -- to me it suggests that perhaps NCL really cares about the overall atmosphere and aren't afraid to hold passengers accountable. (Though of course, the real proof of that will or won't show up in many other areas...)

 

It's also good to know that the suites aren't as sweet as I think a 'suite' normally is. Helps explain the pricing. But even having a tub is a nice bonus that the GF would definitely appreciate.

 

Also hadn't noticed that the cruise I saw had only one destination. Fine with me -- I don't care a whit about ports, frankly -- I'd be content with a 10 day cruise to nowhere; so if that keeps the price down, so much the better... If I want a touristy vacation, I'd just as soon do a conventional air-and-hotel vacation to Europe.

 

Anyway, any other helpful feedback will be appreciated.

[Leo Jay]

Hmm -- just found one innocuous but critical piece of info on the ship overview. No laundry facilities! I did laundry twice on my 5 day to Canada, so going 8 days without laundry facilities means either overpacking or paying through the nose for the ship's service to do it -- which is not good if you need stuff in a pinch, or if you don't trust them to delicately press your expensive formal shirt.... arrgh.

:)

[madelinerose]

Here's my theory...peak hurricane season, the Crown is 18 years old, there are no balconies and I believe this ship was not built with freestyle dining in mind. ;)

 

I just saw a cruise on the Norwegian Crown sailing out of NYC in September that was priced at $949/person for a suite. That just seems way too inexpensive, so I wondered what the catch was -- anyone have a sense? Thanks.