Possibly my first NCL cruise

[vanessa5076]

Hi All 

We are considering our first NCL cruise to Canada and wonder if you could help with a couple of questions. 

Firstly, how does NCL compare to Princess?  We have done 3 Princess cruises but have been a little disappointed with the last one so wonder how NCL would compare. 

 

My other query would be how the dining works with the Free at Sea.  We normally do 1 or 2 of the speciality restaurants on Princess (if we can get in) and are happy to pay but I cannot work out how the promotion works. 

 

Thanks for any assistance.   

[kitkat343]

I was just on the Enchanted Princess.  I've found the food to be stronger on Princess than NCL.  

People seem to really like NCL's drink package, and also some people prefer the lack of set dining times.  NCL has no formal nights, but honestly Princess has relaxed their enforcement of formal night to the point that it isn't an issue for me personally (I take small children on cruises and can't deal with dry clean only clothes because the kids will stain my clothes at some point).  

 

There is a fee for the specialty dining and unlimited drinking Free at Sea promotions.  If you won't drink or don't care about specialty dining, you are welcome to decline the promotions and just pay the base fare (it's confusing because of the name.  Just ignore the free name and understand all the promotions carry a fee but you can easily decline the extras if you won't use them enough.).  

 

If you book specialty dining ahead of time, there is availability on NCL (I know this is an issue on  Princess.)  The absolute most popular restaurants might not have a lot of availability on sea days for dinner, but if you aren't booking last minute, you will be able to use your specialty dining credits, although possibly on port days at the most popular restaurants.  Some reservations open up when you board, so if you didn't get what you wanted ahead of time just make them immediately upon boarding.  

 

 When I first sailed with NCL 10 years ago, MDR food was weak but specialty dining was amazing.  On my last NCL cruise, the specialty dining had issues - cold food, steak restaurant running out of all the sides I wanted to order like mashed potatoes.

 

Please note the big issue with NCL  is NCL potentially

dropping ports for sustainability efforts after final payment (if they drop ports they can sail more slowly to the next port and burn less fuel).  I don't know if the Canada cruises are scheduled to also go to Bar Harbor, but that's been an issue.

 

 

This itinerary change of embarkation port to another country after final payment with only 300 OBC and no opportunity to cancel  is really significant:  

 

And here's the most recent thread overview of the itinerary changes:

  

Edited September 20 by kitkat343

[JandC_Cruising]

4 hours ago, vanessa5076 said:

My other query would be how the dining works with the Free at Sea.  We normally do 1 or 2 of the speciality restaurants on Princess (if we can get in) and are happy to pay but I cannot work out how the promotion works.

The Free at sea specialty dining promo is very simple.  I'll use a 7 day cruise in a balcony stateroom or better as example:

If you select the promotion, you will get 2 specialty meals each for passengers #1 & #2 in the cabin. The promotion will cost you 20% of the value of those meal vouchers as pre-paid gratuity ($21.80 per person), paid as part of the total cruise fare and due at final payment.  Actually a pretty good deal for 2 specialty meals each.

These meals let you go to any of the specialty restaurants on the ship.  A la carte venues will serve you a App, Soup or Salad, Entree, and dessert all at no charge.  Several venues will have an all inclusive experience meal.  Then other venues, such as Sushi bar, will allow you to pick any 4 menu items.

 

Number of meals in the promotion varies by length of cruise and cabin category.

Hope that helps a bit.

[mexicobob]

Not an expert on either cruise line but felt they are about the same. Norwegian seems to be a bit more laid back than Princess. Food and service about the same. On the Norwegian Breakaway some of the specialty restaurants have outside dining which we really enjoyed. Of course, we had nice weather. 

You can purchase additional specialty dining before the cruise and would be cheaper than if you bought it onboard.

We enjoyed a "club balcony suite" (I think that is what it is called) Not a suite but has bigger bathroom and balcony. You also get to make dining reservations 5 days before the rest of the ship which helps.

[9tee2Sea]

1. NCL has a better selection of Indian foods in the buffet vs Princess ( at least they used to).  I only  like 2 specialty dining restaurants on NCL. Le Bistro and Moderno ( not on all ships).  If you dont know what day you want to dine, there is a light up board that tells you how busy a dinning establishment will be on a certain day/time.  Very useful if you just want to walk up and ask for a table. 

[vanessa5076]

Thank you all.  I'm going to wait until RC / Celebrity release their itineries and go from there but NCL will take some beating! 

 

Thanks

[suech1970]

I posted a few weeks ago on both NCL and Princess boards how I’d like a Princess cruise as we are big NCL fans. Came back as a resounding YES, we would on both boards. 
 

We have been tempted by RC several times but the drinks package always prices us out, hence the reason we’ve done 6 NCL  and got 3 booked.  NCL Free at Sea always seems a no brainer on price, when booking from UK at least. Just booked April 2025 while their Free at Sea was on a flash sail, it was about less than £200 pp in an 11 night sailing, so basically less than £20 a day for all inclusive, with some wifi, speciality dining and shore excursion credit. I find them very competitive on price, but we always book for best itinerary, even if they do change it occasionally 🙄

 

 

 

[New2cruise2022]

I like NCL and Princess. I think dollar for dollar I have found the best inclusions with Princess when you do Plus or Premier. I like the food better on Princess over NCL, but I found the drinks are “better” on NCL if you have the upgraded beverage package. I like Cagney’s (NCL steakhouse) better than Crown Grill (Princess steakhouse), and I prefer Sabatinis (Princess Italian restaurant) over La Cucina. The MDR was better on Princess, but the buffet was better on NCL. 
 

That being said, I like both Princess and NCL. Some sailings, some staff, and some ships are better than others. But I think both can offer a great experience. 

[cruiseny4life]

21 hours ago, New2cruise2022 said:

I like NCL and Princess. I think dollar for dollar I have found the best inclusions with Princess when you do Plus or Premier. I like the food better on Princess over NCL, but I found the drinks are “better” on NCL if you have the upgraded beverage package. I like Cagney’s (NCL steakhouse) better than Crown Grill (Princess steakhouse), and I prefer Sabatinis (Princess Italian restaurant) over La Cucina. The MDR was better on Princess, but the buffet was better on NCL. 
 

That being said, I like both Princess and NCL. Some sailings, some staff, and some ships are better than others. But I think both can offer a great experience. 

Pizza man returns!!!! To the food topic, of course. Welcome back...must be planning a cruise, eh? 

 

@vanessa5076 - here is a live (it's a long read) a long time NCL cruiser wrote on her experience with Princess this summer. The Tl:dr is that she had an absolutely delightful time! Especially compared to her most recent NCL experience. You should definitely review at least some of this to see if the NCL "grass" is really greener. I'm still a NCL-only cruiser, but I have very specific reasons for this.

 

 

[New2cruise2022]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Pizza man returns!!!! To the food topic, of course. Welcome back...must be planning a cruise, eh? 

 

@vanessa5076 - here is a live (it's a long read) a long time NCL cruiser wrote on her experience with Princess this summer. The Tl:dr is that she had an absolutely delightful time! Especially compared to her most recent NCL experience. You should definitely review at least some of this to see if the NCL "grass" is really greener. I'm still a NCL-only cruiser, but I have very specific reasons for this.

 

 

Did Princess in February 2024. Headed back to the Bliss for Halloween in a month. 

[schmoopie17]

On 9/22/2024 at 11:25 AM, vanessa5076 said:

NCL will take some beating! 

 

 

NCL has been taking quite a beating on CC lately...NOT deservedly so, in my not so humble opinion. 

[IAcruising]

10 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

NCL has been taking quite a beating on CC lately...NOT deservedly so, in my not so humble opinion. 

 

Agree. Never sailed Princess, but just off Holland America in August.

 

Maybe it's because I've got too many NCL cruises under my belt, but I just couldn't get "into it" like an NCL ship. The whole vibe is completely different. Yes, the food is better, yes you weren't "nickel and dimed" (whatever that is), and yes, the venues seemed less crowded.

 

But we also paid 30% more for the privilege.

 

We'll try HAL again, probably in Alaska, but until then we're NCL fans.