I jumped ship

[Chief93]

So I just booked my first non-Carnival cruise.  Really wanted to do Europe, the cruise I wanted was on the Legend, but the deposit was $800 and non refundable, which I was cool with, but also non transferrable, which I was not cool with.  Also apparently it's special, and your Platinum status doesn't count.  Anyway, I've seen my Platinum benefits watered down enough that that wasn't a consideration.  So I'm gonna try NCL, 9 days, no sea days, two days in Istanbul.  

 

Anyone else sailed NCL and have any suggestions?  Oh, and this isn't a negative thread, I'm doing Carnival in Australia next year.

[slavens_09]

I'm also going to be taking my first non-Carnival cruise in March on the NCL Breakaway. The pricing with free at sea was just too good to pass up.

[kctwinmommy]

We've left Carnival for now as well. Just not enjoying the current product they offer. I'm sure we'll sail them again in the future, because of some good deal or another, but not anytime soon. Enjoy your European cruise! We used RC for our European cruise 7 years ago and loved it!

[pe4all]

We use NCL for our European trips.  We liked the new shows, love the piano bar, O'Sheehans pub, etc.  They just seemed to have better itineraries than CCL in Europe when we booked.  Easier departure ports, which is big for us.  They will nickel and dime you also, but their free at sea can be really worth it if you hit a sale.

[MisterOJ2]

1 hour ago, slavens_09 said:

I'm also going to be taking my first non-Carnival cruise in March on the NCL Breakaway. The pricing with free at sea was just too good to pass up.

 

Every time I've priced out an NCL cruise (with all the Free at Sea add-ons) it's always wound up being more expensive than a similar Carnival cruise with the same services - drink package, WiFi, etc. I see people talk fairly often about how they're getting these good deals on NCL, but I can never seem to find them for myself.

[papajak]

I have taken NCL a few times, and have always had a good experience. Enjoy!

[Joanne G.]

I did 3 Carnival cruises in Europe last summer, and enjoyed them all - not counting a mechanical breakdown in Germany LOL.   But with only one ship in Europe, Carnival's itineraries are limited, so I look at all the other major lines.   And I agree that Carnival's non-refundable or otherwise restricted deposits are unappealing.   

 

I am also doing an NCL cruise in Europe (Scandinavia and other northern ports) this spring, which I booked a long time ago with a refundable $125 deposit.   I pass on the drink package and the air fare benefit, but the $50 credit for excursions is appealing, as I tend to take ship sponsored excursions.   And I was pleased to discover that my seven long ago cruises on NCL gives me enough status for 10% discount on excursions.   I am Platinum on Carnival and that doesn't give me any excursion discounts.

 

The marketing interests me - currently, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity have refundable or restricted deposits, unless you want to pay A LOT more for your cruise fare in order to have a refundable deposit.   NCL and Princess currently have refundable deposits, sometimes as low as $100.   I like to book far in advance, and while the amount of the deposit isn't a major factor, whether or not it's refundable is.  

 

[carohs]

You'd get better suggestions on the NCL board. Some off my head would be to buy a cruise first directly from NCL or cruise next from social media to apply towards your sailing. This can save you a couple hundred $. Look into FAS+ if it's offered if premium drinks interest you. It is Europe so you can bring liquor onboard, I think. Starbucks and bottled water not included with regular FAS. Quick dine options are less but the anytime dining works pretty well. Make specialty dining reservations ahead of time. BOGO air can be hit or miss. If you take it, the consensus is ask for a one or two day deviation to arrive early. You have to do it well in advance, I believe 75 days. 

 

The vibe isn't as much "fun times" but with all port days you probably won't miss it anyway. Have a great cruise!

[Joanne G.]

7 minutes ago, MisterOJ2 said:

 

Every time I've priced out an NCL cruise (with all the Free at Sea add-ons) it's always wound up being more expensive than a similar Carnival cruise with the same services - drink package, WiFi, etc. I see people talk fairly often about how they're getting these good deals on NCL, but I can never seem to find them for myself.

That has been my experience as well.   I have done a lot of research on European cruises on all the major lines except Disney over the last years, and Carnival almost always comes out as the best value.  But they just don't have the number and variety of itineraries. 

 

I do keep the cost of my NCL cruises down somewhat by eliminating the "free" drink package, as I don't drink enough to make even the cost of the gratuities on it to be worth it, and I eliminate any air fare promotion as there is no cost savings that is worth not making my own airline reservations for Europe.  

[john91498]

I have 2 RCL cruises this year and zero CCL. Wife just wanted to try another line.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[luv2kroooz]

Not sure which ship OP is on. Breakaway is a nice ship. NCL is usually a decent experience.

 

They are experiencing the same deep cutbacks in entertainment/food/service that we see industry wide. Overall, I think you'll enjoy it if you like Carnival. The lines are more similar than different.

 

Goods ...

Modern, well maintained ships. Food is decent. Live music throughout the ship every night. Decent service in dining room...no assigned dining time, it is open seating. Buffet is decent...not gourmet. NCL has better late night dining option.

 

Not so goods...

Drink package is unlimited but selection is limited and you'll pay extra for grey goose, Baileys, Woodford, specialty coffee, bottled water, etc. Daily service charge is steep..$20pp per day. Frequent itinerary changes a month or so before sailing.

 

Have fun.

 

 

[TeresaJ]

We like both Carnival and Norwegian. I do like that Norwegian includes the drink package and a few other extras.  Nowadays with Carnival's pricing, it is less expensive to sail on Norwegian so we are leaning more towards them.  We are going on our last "great deal" cruise on Carnival this weekend on the Mardi Gras. We booked four cruises back in 2022 when they were begging people to cruise. Now, Carnival's prices are so much higher when you start factoring in Cheers, wifi, specialty dining, etc. Enjoy your cruise! We like their ships!

[maxandmolly]

We’re scheduled on the Bliss for April ‘25 to Alaska. I’m not convinced it’s a better deal but DH was insistent after talking to someone in the hot tub on Mardi Gras who recommended ncl for Alaska. 

[Chief93]

4 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

That has been my experience as well.   I have done a lot of research on European cruises on all the major lines except Disney over the last years, and Carnival almost always comes out as the best value.  But they just don't have the number and variety of itineraries. 

 

I do keep the cost of my NCL cruises down somewhat by eliminating the "free" drink package,

Yes!  My fare included the free drink package, but included $360 in gratuities for the drink package.  I don't want the drink package, its a very port intensive cruise, I wont have time to drink enough.  The agent at NCL was quick to remove it.

[Illbcruzn4life]

6 hours ago, Chief93 said:

So I just booked my first non-Carnival cruise.  Really wanted to do Europe, the cruise I wanted was on the Legend, but the deposit was $800 and non refundable, which I was cool with, but also non transferrable, which I was not cool with.  Also apparently it's special, and your Platinum status doesn't count.  Anyway, I've seen my Platinum benefits watered down enough that that wasn't a consideration.  So I'm gonna try NCL, 9 days, no sea days, two days in Istanbul.  

 

Anyone else sailed NCL and have any suggestions?  Oh, and this isn't a negative thread, I'm doing Carnival in Australia next year.

Cool, have a great cruise! 😀

[wesorbeth]

We cruised NCL for the first time last year and will be cruising them again in April.  The Free at Sea makes it far more affordable than anything I have seen on Carnival for quite some time. 

 

[LatinaInTexas]

My first NCL cruise last year really made a good impression. Other than not liking the limited comedy everything else was great. Booked again for Alaska in May and just today started looking for something for August.

I have Carnival ships I want to sail but just not cost effective lately.

[nybumpkin]

I sailed Norwegian Prima last year - my one and only time on NCL to date. Why? DH wanted to get me a cruise as a retirement present, and Norwegian works for sailing from Manhattan in the off-season. This was a 5-day NYC-Bermuda cruise; I sailed with our daughter-in-law. I liked the ship, but I have to say that if you made me choose between NCL and Carnival, my choice would be - Carnival. I'm not crazy about the "freestyle" sailing that NCL promotes. Instead of "do what you want, when you want,"  I found myself trying to plan meals and activities far in advance - otherwise, you wouldn't get in on NCL because you were expected to make reservations. We never did get to see "Summer," since the show we were able to book ahead of time had to be canceled due to weather. This just wasn't my experience with Carnival. Having said all that, the food on NCL was very good, and we never had difficulty getting seats for meals.

[Saint Greg]

10 hours ago, Chief93 said:

So I just booked my first non-Carnival cruise.  Really wanted to do Europe, the cruise I wanted was on the Legend, but the deposit was $800 and non refundable, which I was cool with, but also non transferrable, which I was not cool with.  Also apparently it's special, and your Platinum status doesn't count.  Anyway, I've seen my Platinum benefits watered down enough that that wasn't a consideration.  So I'm gonna try NCL, 9 days, no sea days, two days in Istanbul.  

 

Anyone else sailed NCL and have any suggestions?  Oh, and this isn't a negative thread, I'm doing Carnival in Australia next year.

 

I did my first NCL cruise in Alaska over the summer. I have Encore and Epic booked now. I really save a lot with them. They have better deals for solos. Or I guess I should say they have deals for solos. Free at sea saves a lot over the Carnival drink package. No drink limit. I ordered two drinks at a time. Some beers they had in bottles which I like a lot better than cans. They have biodegradable straws which beat the heck out of the paper ones princess has and the candy ones carnival has. Starbucks coffee shop with a 20oz coffee option I liked. A lot of specialty dining. Some included in free at sea. Never had to wait for the MDR. Love their MDR breakfast. 

 

One thing you definitely should definitely look into is if they have the $50 off excursions on your deal. Check those out. I used it 7 times in Alaska. There are some where you can get $50 tickets for free. So like in Juneau where I had the dog sled excursion. In addition to getting $50 off of that, I also got a free ticket on the Goldbelt Tram which is normally $50. It's a great benefit if they have it for your cruise.

[Saint Greg]

10 hours ago, Chief93 said:

So I just booked my first non-Carnival cruise.  Really wanted to do Europe, the cruise I wanted was on the Legend, but the deposit was $800 and non refundable, which I was cool with, but also non transferrable, which I was not cool with.  Also apparently it's special, and your Platinum status doesn't count.  Anyway, I've seen my Platinum benefits watered down enough that that wasn't a consideration.  So I'm gonna try NCL, 9 days, no sea days, two days in Istanbul.  

 

Anyone else sailed NCL and have any suggestions?  Oh, and this isn't a negative thread, I'm doing Carnival in Australia next year.

 

Oh hopefully you did cruise first. I'm not sure if you have to use it for the deposit or if you can use it after the deposit. Maybe a more seasoned NCL person can answer that. But with cruise first you can pay $150 for a $300 certificate. When I booked Epic last month they were offering $500 certificates for $250 so that's what I did on that one. I think occasionally they do deals where you can combine two certificates in one booking. Also check into the cruise next while you're onboard if you're interesting in sailing with them again. With those I believe you can get the $500 certificates for $250 and get OBC on your current cruise.

 

[Saint Greg]

One more thing that seems to be unique to NCL. I don't know if it's on all of the ships or not. It was on Jewel. They have a bridge viewing area. Right behind the bridge there's a room that has some of the bridge displays in it you can look at. And there's a window into the bridge so you can see what's going on. They have it closed during sail away and docking. But on sea days you can go up there and have a look. I haven't seen that on Princess or Carnival.

[CoasterGuy]

not sure why you're asking for NCL advice on in the carnival section. But I hope you enjoy your cruise.

[luv2kroooz]

1 hour ago, CoasterGuy said:

not sure why you're asking for NCL advice on in the carnival section. But I hope you enjoy your cruise.

Recommended to ask on both forums to get a good mix of opinions. NCL boards filled with NCL loyalists who may find it challenging to be objective. Carnival boards filled with Carnival loyalists who may find it challenging to be objective. 

[tw67]

I have a transatlantic booked on Holland America for 2025. I just got off my first NCL, and we had the worse service experience on ship ever. While reading the reviews, especially from those who cruise NCL often, this was an unusual cruise. Food was cold, and service was very slow. Not getting water and specialty coffee with the drink package was something we really missed. I think one of the reasons we picked Holland America for our 2025 cruise was because it being a Carnival brand, it seemed much more like the ship experiences we are used to. I do have a Virgin planned for January of 2025, and I am really looking forward to trying them.

[Joebucks]

19 hours ago, MisterOJ2 said:

 

Every time I've priced out an NCL cruise (with all the Free at Sea add-ons) it's always wound up being more expensive than a similar Carnival cruise with the same services - drink package, WiFi, etc. I see people talk fairly often about how they're getting these good deals on NCL, but I can never seem to find them for myself.

 

I had a friend just sail them recently. So I had to endure how a $3500, 7 day, mass market cruise was the best deal because everything was free.