NCL v. Carnival and RCCL

[jetski217]

Hi everyone,

 

How does NCL stackup against Carnival and RCCL. I frequently cruise RCCL with my family but I am going on the Pearl this year. We generally like RCCL a lot...foodwise, entertainment, ages, service.

 

I've been on 2 carnival cruises and well: Sorry charlie, those were horrible. Disgusting rooms, food, service, people, bad drinks, and poor managment.

 

Where does NCL fit in? Thanks

[Planer's Edge]

Your question is a little too general to answer intelligently. You will get a lot of emotional answers without asking more specific questions.

 

That being said, I have enjoyed all of my cruises on all of the different lines. Each line has it's own personality which can be affected by the sailing date. I would compare NCL favorably with both RCI and Carnival.

 

If you have specific quetions you will get a lot of information that will help you with whatever you are trying to find out.

 

PE

[lhall85917]

We have done both NCL and Carnival and like them both for different reasons. We love Freestyle on NCL and have the NCL MasterCard which allows us to save substantially on our cruises. Carnival seems to offer itineraries which we prefer when we are free to cruise (NCL doesn't offer much in the Caribbean during the summer, and being a teacher - that is when I can go). We also thought Carnival's food was slightly better.

 

Overall, we thought both lines were comparable and wouldn't put one in a higher category than another.

[KeystoneCruiser]

The biggest difference between RCCL/Carnival and NCL is the Freestyle Dining.

 

Here is a brief synopsis of Freestyle. I love Freestyle and that is reason why I only cruise NCL.

 

1.) No set dining times. The dining rooms are open from 5:30 p.m to 9:30 p.m. and you can dine anytime during that period. (see #2)

2.) There are two types of restaurants on NCL ships: Main & Specialty.

A.) The Main restaurants do not accept reservations and do not have a cover charge. These serve the traditional cruise meals and have many choices every night. (the buffet would also be included in this list.) You simply walk up to these like a shoreside restaurantand tell the maitre'd how many of you there are and you will be seated. Obviously if you try to dine during the prime time of 6:30-8:00, there could be a short wait. We have always arrived at dinner between 5:30 and 6:15 and have never had to wait for a table.

B.) The Specialty restaurants each serve a special type of meal. (Cagney's = steak, LaTrattatoria = Italian, Bamboo = Asian, LeBistro = European, etc.) These restaurants require reservations which can be made for the whole week on boarding day. Sometimes these reservations go fast and they are full for the entire week by the second or third day and sometimes there are a few left. Again, with eating at 5:30-6:30, we have never had problems making reservations. Most of these restaurants also charge a "cover charge" of between $12.50 and $20 per person. (Cagney's is at the high end of $20.) LaTrattatoria is free however but requires reservations.

For my first couple of NCL cruises, I was against the idea of paying extra for any meals and wouldn't go, but I tried Cagney's on this past cruise and found the quality of food and service to be well worth it. (in fact we went twice!)

C.) Room service is also free and always available.

 

3.) Another part of Freestyle is that you can eat with who you want. Unlike RCCL and others, you are not forced to dine with others. You can ask for a table for 4 (or two if you want a quiet evening) or you can be asked to be seated with others. If you meet new friends during the week, you can dine with them if you wish!

 

4.) The best part of Freestyle is the fact that you do not have to dress up, even on the formal nights. Formal Nights are OPTIONAL on all NCL cruises in ALL dining rooms. Only about 40% of the passengers will dress up on formal night and that will range from tuxes/long dresses to shirt/tie & pant suits. Resort casual is allowed at all times and in fact you must dress in at least resort casual every evening in all the dining rooms. (buffet not included) Resort Casual means no jeans, tank tops, t-shirts, shorts. I have never worn more than a polo shirt, dockes/kahki pants and sneakers to any dinner on any NCL ship. The joy of Freestyle, to dress as you want!!

 

5.) On disembarkation day, you can stay in your cabin until your luggage color is called, no being herded like cattle into public rooms to wait. You can also take advantage of "express disembarkation" where you can be the first off if you are willing to carry all of your own luggage off.

 

6.) Tipping is also automatic. $10 per person per day for the adults and $5 per person per day for children is automatically added to your bill for the general tip pool of the ship that most crew members share in. No need to run around the last day with envelopes to give to the crew. You are allowed to tip any crew member additionally if you desire. (I always gave a little directly to our cabin stewards.) Since you most likely will not have the same waiters each night, this system makes it much simpler. Bar and Spa service tabs have a 15% service charge added to them automatically.

[Brenda33]

I have been on both Carnival and NCL. That being said, it depends on what is important to you on a cruise. I loved the freestyle dining on NCL but hated the food.....on the Dawn....... I hated set dining times on Carnival (Valor) but loved the food!! The pool and entertainment were comparable. Carnival rooms (at least mine) were alot cleaner. On NCL I found a ton of garbage under the beds, old socks too, etc. So, I have chosen to deal with the set dining times on my next cruise and I choose Carnival.......but again, its a matter of opinion.....:D

[7SeasLover]

I've sailed all three lines more than once. My least favorite is Carnival. I enjoyed RCCL very much, but my favorite is NCL.

[Umbarger]

Havent been on RCCL yet but have been on both Carnival and NCL. We enjoy all our cruises but some are better than others.

 

We really enjoyed freestyle dining but also enjoyed traditional dining on Carnival. Customer service at the pursers desk on both were poor.

Love the 24 hour ice cream on Carnival and the bigger staterooms they provide. Entertainment on both were excellent.

 

No such thing as a bad cruise.

[ShadowCat]

Beyond what everyone else has shared, I would add that each ship has its own personality. So you really can't judge by the cruise line as much as the ship and itinerary itself. Granted, there are some universal things that the cruise line does to make a trip enjoyable, but the ship, its crew, and the itinerary plays a key role in the overall enjoyment of the trip.

 

And as mentioned before, it also depends on what you expect from a cruise. For example, some people may like assigned seating in the dining room because they make new friends that they can chat with every evening (and have the same wait staff). Others may prefer the Freestyle concept and just show up whenever and sit with whomever. One is not necessarily better than the other... it's just up to what you are more interested in.

 

My wife and I will be going on our first NCL cruise this March (on the Sun). Up to this point, we've sailed on RCCL and Carnival. I think we liked how RCCL handled some of the little details, but have to admit that the Carnival Conquest was an excellent ship and we had no complaints (even though we initially were guarded about taking our first Carnival cruise due to people's experiences on other CCL ships). So, again, it was the ship and the itinerary that became the biggest factor of our enjoyment, not the cruise line. And, of course, it helps to pick a time of year when the weather is good (i.e. sailing in the Caribbean during hurricane season increases the risk that the trip may have some unforseen downsides).

[ce2000]

Jetski, give NCL a try. You will have a good time on the Pearl. NCL is different than RCCL and Carnival, Freestyle dinning makes it difficult to compare the different lines. Some people love Freestyle and some don't, the only way for you to know for sure is to give it a try. NCL is not my favorite, Freestyle just doesn't work for me at this time, but I like the idea that this option is available. As far as dinning goes, you will have a lot more restaurants to choose from on the Pearl than you will have with RCCL or Carnival. I was dissapointed with the quality of food served in the main dinning rooms, the food served in the specialty dinning rooms were good.

[sneakerstud]

I compare Carnival to a Trailer Park against NCL! Would never ever put a foot on them, actually walked off once! Especially the Pearl is a inovative ship...maybe even will be one of the best in the market! You can always have everywhere (Not just on NCL) a bad meal or bad service...it can happen, but at least NCL is the safest cruise line out there. RCCL is very nice too, but crew is not as friendly. I would put NCL between Celebity and RCCL!

 

I have sailed as well on Silversea and Seabourn...I'm always happy to go back on a NCL ship! Try to go on a new one and you will be more then fine!

[familyof4cruising]

I have been on all three. I agree you can not compare for varies reasons. That fact that you are sailing on the Pearl , I would say you will have a great time. It is new they have the best staff on board. I also enjoy RCCL very much and Carnival it all depends on the ship I was on. I was on the Miracle the year it was built and it was on of my favorite vacations. It has alot to do with the all round experience. I sailed on Carnival from NYC and it was my worst cruise experience. So sail on the Pearl with no regrets it will be a great vacation. NCL is a great line.

[mkk]

Just my $.02..Have been on all three...All cruises have their good and bad.

We are just off NCL and found the entertainment to be superior..food quality poor, but staff friendliness incredible! RCCL has prettier ships..more to do but the entertainment (shows) lacking..food was good not extraordinary.

Carnival surprised us last year with it's larger staterooms and bedding to die for! The food was good,shows were not. Have fun on NCL...!

[jetski217]

Thanks for all your responses. I fully understand that cruises can each have their ups and downs.

 

My experiences with RCCL: Average/Good/Excellent food, depending on the ship. Dining areas got busy, but never experienced very long waits in line at the buffets.

 

Princess: I didn't particularly like princess although I found it comparable in many ways to RCCL. I think what put me off was the food quality and the fact that I got the norovirus on it and they didn't really do much besides give me a shot and lock me in my darn room.

 

Carnival: Oh boy. I waited at least 30 minutes each time I went to the buffet area for lunch. It was always packed and slow. The lines would wrap outside of the doors towards the pool area and elevators. This was on the Liberty. Also, I found there to be a lack of variety on here from the limited room service to the same generic items on the buffet. Also, in between meal times, the only thing available was pizza 24 hrs, which tasted horrible.

 

The ship in particular also felt very cramped. There were no open areas to walk through. Even the atrium felt tiny and claustrophobic (spelling?).

 

Anyways,

 

thanks for your comments. I really appreciate them and Im excited to go on the Pearl soon.