norwegian or carnival?

[babywewe]

Its a toss up right now for me.

Its a choice between norwegian crown 7nights bermuda or carnival 7day bahamas.

 

Someone told me carnival gets a rowdy crowd espeically a rowdy "new york" crowd. I would be sailing early sept and i would hope less crowded ... less rowdy...

 

There seems to be ups and downs to each... any opinions?

[Cotton]

I think it would depend on whether you want go to to Bermuda or the Bahamas.

I've flown to Bermuda once and to the Bahamas many times, and have cruised to the Bahamas a coupla times. I would choose Bermuda, altho I like Nassau and Freeport, I LOVED Bermuda.

Your call.

[cruisinqt]

I don't know why people down Carnival so much. They do have a younger crowd and there is definitely lots more partying going on. But I have never seen it really "rowdy" where things were out of control. In my opinion, the people that put that stuff out are just a little jealous of the fun "party" atmosphere Carnival has. It usually starts out with someone saying that RCCL or Norwegian has an older crowd and you get bored on their ships. Then the people who really like those cruise lines get defensive. They talk about how glad they are to not be in with the "rowdy, drunk" crowd on Carnival. Really neither is true about either cruise line.

 

I don't think Norwegian or RCCL have an older boring crowd. I also don't think Carnival is full of rowdy drunks. It is just a bunch of talk. I wouldn't listen to it. I would make my choice based on price and itinerary. I would also look at the size and age of the ship. The newer, larger ships tend to have more extras to choose from. Some even have ice skating rinks and rock climbing walls.

 

I was just reading a post yesterday where a guy was really putting down Carnival. He said he didn't want to go on Carnival and have drunks like "joe sixpack" pass out on him. He also said he didn't want to eat "hot dogs and sauerkraut" for dinner there every night. He said Carnival was full of drunks that " like to shop at Wal-Mart." What was the most galling was the fact that he admitted that he had never even cruised on Carnival before. So beware of some of the things you hear out there. A lot of people will talk bad about Carnival without any first hand knowledge of them. There are a lot of ignorant people out there.

 

I personally liked RCCL very much and would cruise on them in a heartbeat. Norwegian is nice and has a freestyle cruising that is very appealing to a lot of passengers. I would cruise on them any day of the week. I also like Carnival. I have never seen anyone drunk or out of control. I have seen lots of dancing and parties. Carnival has a young, fun crowd and I think some of the more laid back, sedate crowd has not liked it and complained about it. Personally, I don't agree with the "rowdy crowd" complaints.

 

As for cruising in September, the young ones will be back in school. So there will be less school kids including the college crowd. I have not cruised in September before. I have went in October and there were a few young ones but not many. And it wasn't too crowded either. That's why we always cruise in the fall. It's not as crowded and there are less children on board. I love children, don't get me wrong. I have two young ones myself. It's just that a ship is a little quieter when there are less of them around. And I look forward to a little peace and quiet when I go on vacation.

[Cotton]

Crusin - very well said! I have been on several Carnival cruises, and have yet to see a single rowdy drunk person. People DO party without getting roarin' drunk, y'know. Geez. The image is that of LONG ago Carnival ships, but even back in the late 80s when I first started cruising, I never encountered what I hear about.

Only saw one really, really drunk-out-of-her-mind honeymooner from my very first cruise - and she wasn't on the ship at the time. She was on the Fiesta party boat while we were in St. Thomas. Whoa! She was having some kinda fun. Saw her on deck the next day - ooooooh, not a pretty sight.:eek:

[Stevie17]

You may want to consider whether you will like the concept of NCL's Freestyle cruising vs. Carnival's traditional seating times. We enjoy Freestyle cruising, but I know that it's not for everyone. Just one more thing you may want to consider before making your decision.

[crkdad]

We cruised on the NCL Star last year from Hawaii and the Carnival elation this year from Galveston. I believe both cruise lines attract similar people and I believe how roudy or docile the croud is depends on more on the week that you cruise than any other factor. Comparing our recent experiences between the 2 cruise lines, here is how I would break it down:

 

Food: I would give a slight advantage to Carnival in the quality of food category. I thought i would enjoy the Freestyle cruising, but I decided I am not a big fan after this year. We thoroughly enjoyed having the same waiter every night and having everyone meet for dinner at the same time every night. Freestyle cruising sounds wonderful in the marketing brocures, but the dinner formalities are a big part of what cruising is all about to me.

 

entertainment: Definite advantage to NCL. I thouroughly enjoyed the entertainment/shows each night on out NCL cruise. the dancers and singers were great, comics were funny and we saw a fantastic magician and a Circ de Solei type of show. I was expecting similar experiences and Carnival and I was VERY dissappointed. I napped through 2 of the shows (we would have left, but were were in an awkward spot). The only bright spots for Carnival were the comics-- don't miss these shows. Even the theatre on Carnival was poorly designed with poor seating and support posts blocking the line of sight. The NCL theatre was beautiful with no obstructed views.

 

Prive/Value- do your homework here. I seems that Carnival is slightly cheaper for the cruise, but I beleive we spent more money on board Carnival, so it worked out to be about the same for us. Carnival seems to go overboard on the photos. Before and after dinner there were photographers with backgrounds set up in about 6 different locations throughout the ship almost every night. These formal shots are 8x10 at $20 each. they will make smaller reprints, but only after you buy the 8x10. I think we spent over $200 on photos on carnival.

 

Hope this helps....

[kkorman]

They are very similar products. SOme differences are that NCL has optional formal and Freestyle cruising which is a big plus for me. YOu do not have set times and people. It is nice, especially with a lot of port time like in Bermuda. Also, NCL gives you vouchers for on-shore restaurants.

The Norwegian Crown is a small intimate ship and will have a nice variety of people. The Carnival ship will hold twice as many people and may have a rowdier crowd, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. You will not be disappointed with either.

[HOSKI]

I like both lines and would cruise NCL more than we do but we are Carnival stockholders and love it as well. The crowd is very similar. Dining is the big difference. NCL is freestyle and Carnival is traditional. NCL also has more sur-charge restaurants. I think NCL has more and different activities for sea days.

 

Neither Bermuda nor Bahamas impressed me but I think with Bermuda is was because we went in Oct and Carnival docked way out at the old Navy yard.

 

Either line is a good choice. NCL tends to cost a little more but they recognize cruisecritic members more than Carnival.

[skitch57]

I have cruised on both lines - Carnival three times and NCL twice as well as HAL, Celebrity, and Raddison. I liked them both but I have to give Carnival the edge on the food. Liked the idea of freestyle cruising, paying your tips up front, but apparently they are still not making enough money because I thought the service was not as good either. I would choose Bermuda over the Bahamas but the Bahamas are nice too. I think you would enjoy either cruise. September should be a nice month. I have cruised twice in October and there were hardly any children on board. Enjoy your cruise, which ever you choose.

[HOSKI]

I have to agree that Carnival's food is much better. I like freestyle (hubby doesn't) but the food just was not as good as on Carnival.

[MartiniMama]

We have sailed on Carnival twice and are sailing on NCL this fall. I would agree that Carnival has very good food but I thought the shows were excellent.... CRKDAD, I guess that means we are really going to enjoy the entertainment on NCL -- something else to look forward to!! (as if just being on a cruise isn't enough, LOL!)

I am looking forward to trying freestyle dining. We had a hard time always being ready for dinner at 6:30 each night with shore excursions, nap time, etc. So I am looking forward to being able to eat anywhere, anytime between 5:30 and 10:30 pm.

Also, in the past, we had some great table mates and I really enjoyed getting to know other passengers but one cruise we had not such great table mates -- nothing horrible but just not very pleasant and dinner became our least favorite time. So it can be a mixed bag when it comes to dining parties. Of course, if it's really terrible you can ask to be switched. When it's good, the new friendships can be great.

I'd have to say my favorite dining experience was on the Disney ship with the rotating restaurants where you eat at a different restaurant each night with your same table mates and the same waiters...it was great!

[halos]

Of course this is just a guess...but I'd wager that a Bahama cruise will attract more older teens/young adults than a Bermuda one...so that may make a difference in your passengers.

As far as NY passengers.....I don't know why people get so intimidated!!

I just got off the Miracle from NY. WE had a great time and I said in my review that it was the best bunch of passengers EVER!!

I must say there is a definite difference in passengers as you sail from diffrent areas. When I sailed from Miami, there were a LOT more languages spoken by passengers on board and there was a more international mix. People came from ALL over....just as in Florida, people are from all over...no one actually comes from Florida, do they?? :D

When I sailed from New Orleans...that was OK. I have to say that the women came to the pool dolled up like Barbie's (all made up, hair bouffed) having that older Jon Bennet Ramsey look and the ship was quieter than on my NY cruise ( but the New Orleans cruise was also a February cruuise as compared to the NY one which was just a few weeks ago)

The NY cruise had a great bunch of fun people...but that is my opinion. One poster reviewed the Miracle a week after I came back and said she hated the passengers...so it depends on your perspective. I grew up in Philly, so New Yorkers seem like 'home' to me....I guess if you have lived your whole life in the middle of nowhere, a NY-er could be intimidating...but don't worry, they don't bite!! ;)

 

I do want to add that I've been to both Bermuda (land vacation) and Bahamas (cruise). The difference between the two is huge. Bermuda is a gem and September is a beautiful month there (that is when I went). I'd do a week on land in Bermuda any time. If I went back to the Bahamas, just the 4 hours off the ship would be more than enough.