Princess VS NCL

[ErinsMommy]

We loved the whole idea of dinner where you want, when you want. The whole idea of freestyle is just so casual. We thought that was great. I also don't like trying to decide who/how much to tip. Thank goodness for the auto tipping (which you can always change)

 

Princess seems to be adapting to this also, I have read. Personal Choice dining, and auto tipping are great!

 

I just hope the dinner dress code is fairly relaxed also.

 

The only thing I want to be able to see though, is the kids pool. NCL Dawn was awesome in that department.

 

Does anyone know what kind of service having a mini-suite or greater would have?

 

Thanks

 

Chrissy

[cws]

How can you resist a cruise ship that has 10 different restaurants where you eat at the time of your choosing with the table size of your choice.

 

Well, my wife can resist. She sailed on NCL with her family a few years ago (before we were married) and said dinner was chaotic every night. First, most of the restaurants were a charge or a-la-carte pricing. The cost got to be ridiculous (and if you eat in the main dining room every night, which is free, it defeats the purpose of having so many restaurants). Second, she said a lot of people wanted to eat dinner at the same time causing a wait of about 40 minutes.

 

In a nutshell, the 10 restaurants come at a price and you can't really choose what time you want to eat (unless you take into account waiting).

 

For our honeymoon we took Princess and she felt the fixed dining situation was world's better.

 

Since this is a Princess vs. NCL comparison thread, I'll add that my wife pretty much felt that Princess was better overall than NCL (service, food, ship design, cleanliness of ship, etc.). Of course, this is just her preference.

[Gypsea]

First I have to agree with Dolphins. NCL has innovated many ideas that other cruiselines are running away with. Homeport cruising (the first after 9/11), choice dining, freestyle disembarkation, wireless internet (sure that was coming but they were FIRST)..If you show up at 7pm you will wait for a table but you are wrong about the pay dining rooms. Many more are free, Impressions, Venetian, La Salsa, La Trattoria, Blue Lagoon, Aqua and of course the buffet. Watch what you say because you just might be WRONG!! Bamboo, Le Bistro and Cagneys are not free but many will tell you they are well worth the charge (if you like steak, sushi or dining under $32 million worth of original art). Who doesn't have alternatives? Hmm?

 

Freestyle is all about choice but I personally have never paid extra for a meal on NCL. It is not necessary with so many FREE choices.

 

You site one cruise and have not even experienced the ship or line yourself. Do you show up at the most popular restaurant in town without a reservation at prime time and sit down immediately? I didn't think so. You may have to be a bit savvy and arrive early, a bit later or expect a wait. I, however, never waited 40 minutes but then I didn't arrive at 7-8 pm if time was of the essence.

 

Dolphins..NCL out of NYC is awesome and for us northeastern residents saves time, energy and $$. Many lines should get the clue maybe someday they will even have year round cruising like NCL. I applaud their innovative and courageous ideas and I know I'm not the only one. I am sailing the inauguaral on the Crown so wish us luck!!

 

Erinsmommy..the activities on the Dawn are one of the reasons my family is so happy with them, me included.

 

rgtkkb..Alaska was fine on Princess...just a bit dull at night. You'll be fine.

 

There is room for everyone in this market and each company is unique which is great for cruiselovers everywhere. Bon Voyage!!!

[Marmarjudy]

Let me start off by saying that we LOVE Princess (last six cruises after 16 on other lines) but we are considering NCL just for something different. The reason NCL is the only other line we are considering is because of the dining--no other cruise line offers the anytime/freestyle and when I sail with my husband we can consider nothing else. The anytime dining is the only reason he still cruises (thank you, Princess!!)

 

So, my concerns, based on research, are the much higher price of drinks and wine on NCL as well as the food quality. We are willing to pay for the specialty restaurants if the food is worth it, and we are drinkers. If the drinks are substantially more and the wine with dinner is substantially more and we have to pay for a decent meal, that really makes a financial difference worth considering. But, I also heard that the casino is much more friendly......right or wrong?

 

Any insight from other food junkies/drinkers/gamblers would be appreciated!

Judy

[Gypsea]

I don't remember that drinks or wine is MUCH higher on NCL compared to Princess. Where did you get that idea? The food is every bit as good though some argue this point.

The casino is happening compared to Princess. I spend alot of time there. You will have a great time, I can almost guarantee it. That said I always think if Princess is your number one then any line following will take a backseat, only natural. IF YOU GO TO HAVE FUN I can't believe you won't.

Cheers!

[ErinsMommy]

I think a pina colada was around 7-8 dollars if I'm not mistaken on the Dawn

[Pacific Sandy]

Sorry - But, ever since the NCL ship off Hawaii stopped to rescue the crew of a sinking ship but left the dog on board to die because it didn't want a dog on its vessel, I swore I would never set foot on an NCL ship.

 

Luckily, a wonderful bunch of people went out to where the ship had last been seen and rescued the dog.

 

Shame on you NCL - YOU SUCK !!!

 

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Bevard]

We've sailed on NCL and Princess several times each and like them both. I won't repeat what's already been said, but we also prefer Princess for a "classier" feel and a little better service. We would sail NCL again in a heartbeat for the right itinerary. I was a little frustrated with our recent March 06 cruise on Golden. They seemed to be trying to sell something ALL the time and I don't think the shows were the greatest. Inside cabins are tiny. That said, we've booked the Crown Princess in July! (Frankly we've cruise 5 different lines and would use them all again with the exception of Carnival). Someone mentioned the formal dress....We went to formal night in a dressy blouse and dress slacks - didn't have to have a formal gown. Go and eat lobster and don't worry so much. Dress up if you want photos taken. It all works! If you want to wear jeans - use the Horizon buffet - often same food as the dining rooms.

[Gypsea]

Just to play devil's advocate...What would Princess have done? We really don't know do we? I'm not saying they did the right thing but other lines may have done the same.

[mariakitty]

We had a wonderful experience on our NCL to Alaska a couple of years ago. My husband is a very picky eater with a limited palate, so the freestyle dining was nice for him. We were treated very well, the ship was beautiful, and I remember saying that the cruise was a significant change for the better from our Carnival cruise the year before. Because he is a UK/NZ citizen, we got to skip the line at embarkation and go straight to the desk for check-in. The cruise only got better from there!

 

That said, when we sailed Princess last year on the CB, we simply fell in love! Embarkation was fairly quick, though even the non-US line was long. While we enjoyed freestyle dining on NCL, we liked the option of having a set table at a set time on Princess, while still having the option of dining elsewhere if we wished. We simply checked the dinner menu in the morning and then decided where we would dine that evening. Princess has tea in the afternoon, which is AWESOME! I definitely think other lines should do this, if they don't already.

 

Since we cruise every year we are remaining loyal to Princess to at least get to Platinum status for the perks. Princess just has that extra "classiness" that isn't quite there on NCL. But it really comes down to the type of vacation you are seeking. I like getting dressed up for dinner, going to night clubs, etc. because we don't get the opportunity to do this at home. If I had a high-stressed job and just wanted to relax then NCL is an excellent option.

 

Maria

[cws]

You site one cruise and have not even experienced the ship or line yourself. Do you show up at the most popular restaurant in town without a reservation at prime time and sit down immediately? I didn't think so. You may have to be a bit savvy and arrive early, a bit later or expect a wait. I, however, never waited 40 minutes but then I didn't arrive at 7-8 pm if time was of the essence.

 

You are right, I did not experience NCL for myself (my wife's experience was based on two NCL cruises - she and her family did not like NCL but actually won a free second cruise during bingo and took that one a year later). But my wife and I have the same tastes, and since she (and her family) didn't like NCL and freestyle I know I wouldn't like it. I would not want to either a.) think about making a reservation or b.) wait 30 mintues to eat dinner on NCL. I liked on Princess how I knew I was eating at 8:15 and that was that.

 

As for your analogy to eating dinner at a popular restaurant at home, that's different because I am not on vacation. When I am on vacation I do not want to think about things like making reservations.

 

If you like Freestyle and/or NCL that's great. Based on my experience with Princess and traditional dining I have no desire to try NCL at all. By the way, my wife has also sailed with Royal Caribbean and enjoyed that as well although felt that Princess was a touch better. Both my wife's family and my family are all taking the Crown Princess together later this year.

[custompcsys]

I had a difficult time deciding between NCL and Princess for an upcoming cruise (my first), but chose Princess because of its better Alaska itinerary. After booking and then reading these posts for a few weeks, I think I made a mistake and should have gone withe the more casual atmosphere of NCL. I plan to follow the Princess rules on dress-- I am willing to skip the dining rooms on formal nights and have convinced my husband that he cannot wear jeans at night. However, it appears from the postings on this board that there are higher expectations for dress. These expectations seem to apply to the buffet as well as to PC dining on casual nights.

 

I feel caught between offending or disrespecting those who want everyone to dress in a certain way and having arguments with my husband, who dislikes dressing up on vacations. I now think NCL would have been a better choice. This is in no way meant to be a criticism of those with higher sartorial expectations-- it is just not for us.

If hubby can handle non-jean slacks and a polo (golf) shirt for dinner, he will be just fine in the dining room, either personal choice or traditional. The only night you will have to skip is the formal night, and you can go off to the Horizon Court dressed casually or order from room service that night if you prefer. Personally I think getting dressed up on formal night is part of the fun, but I know that's not for everyone.

 

The bottom line is if you haven't gotten to final payment and you really feel that strongly about it, its not too late to change. I think if you give Princess a chance, though, you might like it :)

[Gypsea]

Your wife and I agree on one thing. RC is not what it's cracked up to be. At least I haven't been impressed. I much prefer Celebrity to RC. I think the ship I sailed on RC is just too big (Explorer)so I will try one of the older, smaller ones and then think again. I thought there were too many people on Explorer with too little crew. Celeb has 2/1 which few lines do. This makes a massive difference. You wouldn't think so but it DOES! Waiters have less diners, stewards have less cabins and down the line meaning you have more attention and service for your buck.

 

As for the dining on NCL, if you are at home with traditional dining than NCL will not work for you. I like either depending on the line. Celebrity has a very elegant dining atmosphere and I love it but I can go either way on that. I also like the opportunity to meet people with traditional assignments. Sometimes you miss alot though. Shows are not scheduled in a way that makes it possible to attend easily and that is my big gripe. With freestyle or choice you can control tht a bit better.

I don't know if you can even make reservations (unless you are talking about pay dining) with freestyle or choice but it is necessary to be a bit early or later if you don't expect to wait at all. I don't think I've ever been told it would be longer than 15 minutes and if so you can put in your name and check on one of the others so it usually worked out for us.

 

I hope you love the Crown. It's a bit large for my taste but I always meant to sail Caribbean Princess and never got there so this is that much better sailing from NYC. I await the inaugural eagerly though not as eagerly as my 15yo twins. Watch out Princess..here we come!

 

rgtkkb..Don't get stuck on one line. Lifes too short. So many ships, so little time.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

We loved the whole idea of dinner where you want, when you want. The whole idea of freestyle is just so casual. We thought that was great. I also don't like trying to decide who/how much to tip. Thank goodness for the auto tipping (which you can always change)

 

Princess seems to be adapting to this also, I have read. Personal Choice dining, and auto tipping are great!

 

I just hope the dinner dress code is fairly relaxed also.

 

The only thing I want to be able to see though, is the kids pool. NCL Dawn was awesome in that department.

 

Does anyone know what kind of service having a mini-suite or greater would have?

 

Thanks

 

Chrissy

 

The dinner dress code is not relaxed in the anytime dining rooms. It is the same in all dining rooms. The only exception on Princess is the Horizon Court/Caribe Cafe.

 

I believe that in a mini suite you get the following perks:

Complimentary champagne at embarkation

top of the range "Beautyrest" mattresses

Luxury 100 Egyptian cotton, high thread count ivory satin striped bed linens

Fluffy European duvets

Pillow menu

Massage shower heads

Luxury towels

 

Last year we were on the Norwegian Dawn Eastern Carribean. We LOVED the ship, the freestyle choice of deciding when and where to eat. We loved the kids program (we have a 3 year old).

 

Everyone keeps telling me Princess line is much nicer. We were deciding on maybe the brand new crown princess 9 day western carribean this october.

 

Has anyone been on both princess and ncl? How would you compare the two , especially rating the food and kids programs.

 

Thanks!!

 

Chrissy

 

How is the food in the dining rooms where there is no additional fees? I have a lot of NCL reviews where the food was only OK unless you went to the restaurants where you had to pay.

 

Bill

[ErinsMommy]

On NCL Dawn: The food in La Trattoria was very good, the Garden Cafe was your typical buffet, the aqua and venetian were ok..... and Salsa was delicious! We went to the Chinese restaurant (I forgot the name) , and it was just marginal.

 

The pay restaurants are very very good. We went to Cagneys twice, the steak was delicious! El Bistro was wonderful, and exceptional atmosphere and dessert!

 

Room Service on the Dawn was not real good. The coffee was horrible, and the only thing we ended up liking was the Grilled Cheese, and the Caesar Salad!

[mstr824]

The pay restaurants are very very good. We went to Cagneys twice, the steak was delicious! El Bistro was wonderful, and exceptional atmosphere and dessert!

 

Is there a dress code and/or age restrictions for the pay restaurants, or any of the other NCL dining venues?

[Marmarjudy]

I don't remember that drinks or wine is MUCH higher on NCL compared to Princess. Where did you get that idea? The food is every bit as good though some argue this point.

The casino is happening compared to Princess. I spend alot of time there. You will have a great time, I can almost guarantee it. That said I always think if Princess is your number one then any line following will take a backseat, only natural. IF YOU GO TO HAVE FUN I can't believe you won't.

Cheers!

 

 

I've found the info because I've been reading the NCL boards and over the course of the last several weeks when drink/wine prices were quoted they were outrageous compared to Princess. Princess has "buy five get six" for beers to the cabin. We also always take our own wine onto Princess without any problem and also "smuggle" a bottle of vodka in our suitcase for my bloody marys on the balcony. NCL has alcohol police that actually check and then keep your checked luggage if they find anything. Geesh! We get mini suite or higher and spend a lot of time relaxing/reading in our cabin or on the balcony. The cruise line gets a LOT of money from us for our onboard charges and the casino--we aren't cheating anybody by doing this, believe me. Our onboard charges are usually $2K or higher, and we seldom do shore excursions, but do use the card for casino money.

I'm not saying we aren't willing or able to pay the additional charges, just need to take that in consideration when planning the next cruise.

Judy

[WarEagle76]

While we enjoyed the Norway and wished we could have sailed on her again, we were not impressed with the Sun. The layout of the Sun’s deck plan (public areas) seemed very awkward and the experience felt “crowded” compared to other ships. We agree with those who say in a number of threads, that on a Princess ship you can have 2,500+ passengers it never feels crowded. Also find the Princess experience very relaxing and more laid back. On RCI, there are more activities, but we miss the dining options. On RCI we enjoyed the availability of more intimate and comprehensive shore excursion options that we utilized in Florence and Rome. Since we enjoy cruising so much, we're just glad there are a lot of choices available from which to choose.

[ErinsMommy]

Is there a dress code and/or age restrictions for the pay restaurants, or any of the other NCL dining venues?

 

Usually casual dress is accepted at every restaurant including the pay ones. This means relaxed casual, but no sneakers,jeans, etc.

 

There is no age limit on the Dawn for any restaurant. We took our 3 year old to the steak house, and Le Bistro.

[ndavis7515]

I prefer NCL. Been on Golden twice & NCL 6 & going again in July. NCL has butlers. The personality of the NCL staff is a lot more laid back and friendly. I found Princess staff to be snooty.

 

Food to me is better choice wise on NCL. The buffet is much better on NCL.

[flvol77]

This thread is just what I needed....I have been looking at NCL for about two hours this morning...and something keeps bringing me back to princess...while I haven't cruised another line I like the "class" that princess brings.

 

A cruise imo is what you make of it.....

 

I have been on only two princess cruises and have never found the staff or anyone else to be snooty....I try to always remember a lot of them are working seven days and week and a lot of hours....that is why I go out of my way to be nice to the staff...its amazing what a smile and a thank you can get you.

 

Dining on princess is awesome....I took my mom and dad with us on our last cruise and my dad has not stop talking how great the food was.....

 

One thing I can tell you is the NCL website is horrible....I know that sounds funny, but that is how I do a lot of my research, and their site lacks a lot of info. Princess website is one of best....easy to use and you can find the answers to your questions in a snap.

[LonghornKJK]

Sorry - But, ever since the NCL ship off Hawaii stopped to rescue the crew of a sinking ship but left the dog on board to die because it didn't want a dog on its vessel, I swore I would never set foot on an NCL ship.

 

Luckily, a wonderful bunch of people went out to where the ship had last been seen and rescued the dog.

 

Shame on you NCL - YOU SUCK !!!

 

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

 

I've only been on one cruise, the Grand Princess, so I have no opinion about which is better. But when I read about a dog not being rescued, I was as incensed as you and googled the story to find out more about it. Everything I found about the 2002 incident says that the NCL captain did not know there was a dog onboard until it was too late (the cruise ship had pulled away from the burning cargo ship.)

 

In the aftermath, NCL president and CEO Colin Veitch issued a statement refuting any blame for the dog's abandonment, stating: "It is unfortunate that the heroism of the crew onboard Norwegian Star has been overshadowed by false allegations that we deliberately and maliciously left an animal behind. It is simply untrue."

http://www.dogsinthenews.com/issues/0204/articles/020408a.htm

 

The spokesperson for the Honolulu Humane Society, which spent about $50,000 trying to find and rescue the dog, said she believes the captain did not know about the dog.

"I don't doubt that the captain of the Norwegian Star is being truthful when he said he didn't know about the dog being on the tanker," Holt said. http://starbulletin.com/2002/04/10/business/story2.html

 

The owner of the dog said he tried to tell his rescuers about the dog, who was not present at the time of the rescue (though he could be heard barking later on,) but that he believes his broken English was not understood. Mr Chung, who has returned to his home in the southern city of Kaohsiung, feared that maybe his rescuers did not understand his broken English, the paper reported. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/04/25/1019441285370.html

 

So from what I could find, it now appears that it was a miscommunication as to why the dog was left behind. The good news is that the Coast Guard found the ship about 20 days later and the dog was still alive, though it took another few days to actually rescue the dog as he was somewhat antisocial by then. The latest report I found said that the owner of the dog did not want him because he had two dogs at home and didn't think they would get along.

 

Hokget will be taken to the Kauai Humane Society on Oahu (a satellite facility of the HHS) for treatment and quarantine. After a mandatory 120-day quarantine, the 2-year-old dog will most likely be adopted by Honolulu resident Michael Kuo, a friend of Captain Chung Chin-po, the dog's original guardian. http://www.dogsinthenews.com/issues/0205/articles/020502a.htm