NCL vs Princess - any thoughts?

[tomsafrica]

We just came back from the Jewel sailing in the Med a couple of weeks ago and had such a great time we want to sail again!! Yes - I'm afraid we're hooked - at least until all the money runs out :eek:

 

Our next trip for June 2007 we were looking at either the NCL Dawn out of New York to do Bermuda/Bahamas or The Caribbean Princess out of Ft Lauderdale doing the Eastern Carib. As our first experience we LOVED the Jewel with her bright colors, we enjoyed freestyle dining and we thought the entertainment was excellent. If anyone has any thoughts about the two products good/bad/better etc we'd love to hear about it. The Dawn is very tempting as she seems so similar to the Jewel, but on the other hand The Princess seems like a pretty good product too and the itinerary looks a little more interesting. I'm putting this up on the NCL board because we met you and you were nice people!!:D

[karen2cruz]

Wow, that's a hard one. We love Princess, their mini suites are great, service is great and food is better than NCL(our opinion). But we wont go on the super grand class on Princess (Caribbean, Crown or Emerald Princess), they have an extra deck of passengers-a little more crowded. Princess onbaord activities are fun. Princess does have Anytime dining as well as traditional. So, it compares to Freestyle on NCL.

 

If you have children, both lines have good kid/teen programs. Mine liked NCL more.

 

My husband likes the more casual atmosphere of NCL, optional formal nights (he hates dressing up) and being able to stay in room on disembarking day, as well as the freestyle dining. Main dining food so-so but specialty restaurants were yummy. The std. rooms arent as nice as Princess, in our opinion, until you get to the mini-suite/suite category. NCL outdoes Princess on suite amenities.

 

Have I totally confused you? If all things are equal except pricing - go with the most affordable stateroom. Princess rarely has upgrades unless you get a guarantee. NCL seems to have more upgrades/upsells.

 

We are so hooked on cruising now, we're just happy to be on a ship:D :D As you can see from my signature -we arent completely loyal to any one line - itinerary, pricing, stateroom availability all factor in.

 

Havent had a bad cruise yet, even with hurricanes and missed ports, but we are easy to please.

[newmexicoNita]

Probably a toss up: as much as I am an NCL loyalist from word go, if you think you will like the itinerary better give them a try. The larger ships are not for us, doesn't mean you won't love them. As for food, again food is so subjective it is really hard. The one thing to remember, NCL offers so many dining choices; of course Princess is offering more all the time, but still not up to NCL. You will probably find the cabins very similar. I know this isn't much help but they are so similar in so many ways. True Princess lovers will disagree as many feel Princess is the top of the line. I do not think so. NMNita

[tomsafrica]

Thanks for your input NMNita & karen2cruz. I like your attitude karen - thats WHY you always enjoy your cruises I'm sure! No we don't have kids - just cats 'n dogs :p We were in a mini-suite on the Jewel I can live with anything as long as it has a balcony...

 

We really loved the Jewel and her bright colours, those one the Princess seem a little insipid by comparison. Then again I like the idea of the MUTS :D

 

I an tempted to go with the Dawn as the "safe" option. I know cruise #2 has a lot to live up to and that wide eyed WOW factor isn't there any more so then again with Princess there are going to be more new things to discover. Oh I don't know. I need some time on a ship to think things over:eek: