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Who Would You Cruise With if NCL Doesn't Pull Through


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Celebrity, definitely. And perhaps MSC, Royal.

 

And maybe Azamara, Viking Ocean or Virgin on occasion but that might take a  long while, I don't see myself taking more than one cruise a year at the moment.. if at all/when this all is over sometime!

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We would probably go back to sailing mostly on Disney, though we'd only be able to take about half as many cruises 🤑.   I'm still hopeful that NCL will make it through in some form, though.  While we adore sailing on the Mickey boats, we really enjoy the more adult atmosphere (and better pricing!) of NCL as well.  We enjoy mixing it up between the two lines. 

 

I could  possibly see giving RCCL at try, but for some reason every time I check out their website I get turned off and never book anything.  No real reason that I can point to, but there is just nothing that gets me to pull the trigger with them.  

 

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  1. Our first NCL cruise was supposed to be to Alaska this June with my granddaughter and her Mom. I have cruised Princess, Royal, Carnival, Disney and Celebrity. My choice is usually Celebrity if they have the itinerary and the price. Disney was fun but way over priced. Now trying to decide whether to book another NCL cruise with my cruise credit or take my refund.
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I would like to look at Virgin Voyages. They do not have a MDR, no buffet but offer 20 dining venues.

Branson has produced some quality in past adventures so we will look at Virgin as an alternative.

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Having taken several cruises on NCL, RCI and CCL, Royal’s Oasis class ships blow NCL and Carnival out of the water (pun intended).

 

Carnival is terrible.

 

NCL is middle of the road between the two, it’s the poor man’s last minute cruise. It serves its purpose. 

 

Both Royal and Carnival typically charge a much higher fare if you book less than 30 days...because they use a pricing strategy to fill their ships early. Best rate is 1+ years out. There are exceptions to the rule, especially for the older ships. But with NCL, you’re a fool if you book early.

 

The audacity of this guy to claim otherwise makes him come off as a shady used car salesman, at best.

 

Again, every cruise line serves its purpose, and I hope NCL stays afloat (another pun intended).

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9 hours ago, cruiser4801 said:

After seeing that HAL is also mismanaging refunds like NCL, I won't cruise with NCL or HAL again.

Then you won't want to sail RCI either.  Royal apparently has had similar complaints about refund delays.  On top of that, there was a thread about Royal requiring a cash deposit BEFORE being allowed to use the FCC issued for cancelled cruises to pay for a new cruise.

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If I am able to go again- NCL or nothing. I enjoyed my time on their ships, they always let me play piano with various groups. I did get sick on my last two cruises and I am going to take repsonsibility for that- UBP + lack of sleep + UBP + changes in weather. 

 

Although I don't agree with how they handled certain things the last few years- this current situation wasn't their fault.

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We did NCL once on Pearl Alaska Adventure 2009.

We've been Viking River/Ocean since.

Have Viking River cruises # 6, 7 & 8 booked for 2021, 22 & 23. 

Last two on the Mississippi River.

We enjoy Tauck for our land trips.

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We have 4 cruise next certificates but NCL's prices are ridiculous right now.  We were booked on Holland but cancelled until the cruise lines get straightened out.  We are booked on the Celebrity Edge for December 2021.  We love MSC and would sail them again in a heart beat but they really need to change the itineraries in the Caribbean.  Same old ports week after week.  Have sailed Carnival, NCL, Celebrity, Princess and MSC. 

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Our second choice would have to be Celebrity. We like NCL because of the Haven Suites and their private areas. We have sailed on these cruise lines: NCL-10, Celebrity-3, Royal Caribbean-3, Carnival-3, and Princess-1. Celebrity also has their private dining room, private bars, and lounge for suite guests. When we were on the Celebrity Summit 4-1/2 years ago, we got their free drink and specialty dining, (with no charge for gratuities like NCL). Bottled water  was also included. The free internet was unlimited, free service charges, and a $200 OBC were all included in their promotion. That sure beat NCL'S "4-Free Promotion" that was going on with the Gem out of San Juan, P.R., on the same 7-Day Southern Caribbean Cruise. The Celebrity price was also cheaper. It was a great deal!

 

We are still waiting for our refund from NCL, for a 10-Day Southern Caribbean Cruise out of San Juan that they canceled. The refund is supposed to arrive by June 23? Chose not to rebook a similar 7-Day Cruise in March 2021 with NCL, because the 7-Day was priced higher than the 10-Day, for the same 4 of us in the 2 BR H-6 Haven Suite. Found a similar 7-Day Southern Caribbean Cruise on the Summit out of San Juan in April 2021. Celebrity Cruises is starting to look like a much better option. NCL please send our money back ASAP!          

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Did someone start one for Royal also?  From scanning their board it seems the situation there is almost as bad  - even worse when you consider Royal wants a cash deposit for a cruise on which you'll use the FCC granted for the cancelled cruise (last I saw anyway).

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Anyone BUT Carnival.   They have nasty dirty rusty ships and run down casinos.  Average food even in the pay places.  No late night food at all unless you enjoy half way raw pizza that has grease pooled up on top of it.  Crew was great but that is where it ends.

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Easy Princess they generally go where I want when I want. We cruise NCL out of Boston or NYC, though really liked POA due to time spent at each port. NCL is our home port cruise line so guess for these would need to look at other lines. We already have 2 booked cruises with them from Boston 2021 & 2022 so hope all is well come the new year.

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18 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

Anyone BUT Carnival.   They have nasty dirty rusty ships and run down casinos.  Average food even in the pay places.  No late night food at all unless you enjoy half way raw pizza that has grease pooled up on top of it.  Crew was great but that is where it ends.

 

Wow, that hasn't been our experience.  We were only on one ship that seemed tired & that was a long time ago, so I'm sure there's been a refurb since then.  We found the Italian pay restaurant to be very good on the two ships we were on - have never tried any of the others.  I will agree that there's not much to be found late at night, but I thought the pizza was good.  I suppose it just depends on who is cooking.

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I'm not loyal to any cruise line. I've only been on 4 cruises. Two NCL and two RC. I did prefer RC to NCL but both RC ships were newer (bigger and better IMO). When we booked each cruise our choices were 100% based on dates available (when our 3 college kids were able to get away). I looked at NCL, RCI, Carnival, and Princess. Our last cruise was the week before Christmas last year and the weather was awful and I can honestly say finally getting off that ships was the highlight. It was the NCL Pearl. I found the ship drab, small and boring (except for the Summer Palace MDR which was gorgeous). I'm sure the bad weather clouded my experience tho. For future cruises I will not go with the older and smaller again; regardless of cruise line. It's just not worth it to me.I would rather fly to a resort and vacation that way as much as I do love to cruise. My dream is a Viking cruise for just me and my husband! 

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On 5/20/2020 at 9:26 PM, MoCruiseFan said:

Anyone BUT Carnival.   They have nasty dirty rusty ships and run down casinos.  Average food even in the pay places.  No late night food at all unless you enjoy half way raw pizza that has grease pooled up on top of it.  Crew was great but that is where it ends.

It's hard to make a blanket statement like that.  I was on the Vista right before all the COVID 19 thing hit.  It was a very nice ship.  Clean, well taken care of, good staff.  Was on the Conquest a few years ago, too.  Yes, it was an older ship.  But, still was well cared for.  

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