I thought I knew why I liked NCL...

[Droopy_Sails]

...but I had nothing to compare it with, as we'd only sailed Norwegian (we're not interested in traditional-style cruise dining).

 

Now I do. And boy, oh, boy, do I love NCL even more.

 

My spouse and I took a four-day Carnival cruise to the Bahamas a couple of weeks ago. It wouldn't have been our first choice, but some beloved relatives we rarely get to see were going, and they suggested we come, too. So we booked the cruise knowing full well that a) the Sensation is an older ship by current standards, b) Carnival has a reputation for being more of a party cruiseline than NCL, and c) four-day cruises especially tend to attract a partying crowd. We figured the crowd would be a little louder, liquor-loving and late-night than we are, but no big deal--we'd concentrate on hanging with family and having a good time. And what do you want for $268 a person for an inside guarantee (upgraded to oceanview at no cost)?

 

We did have a good time. As expected, it was a loud and lively crowd, but that was fine except for the fact that everyone seemed to be constantly smoking and the ventilation system in the cabins is absolutely not up to par. What DID throw me was the abysmal condition of the ship. Even on the first evening, floors and decks all over the ship were significantly littered with smashed food, bits of paper, string and other debris. Walls of public rooms were streaked with dirt, and handrails and elevator buttons were sticky. Smells of mildew and sewage pervaded the ship. Throughout the cruise, every public restroom I visited reeked of urine. It was, quite simply, a very dirty vessel.

 

Topping this off, there wasn't a single hand sanitizer on the ship, and nowhere was it suggested, verbally or in the ship's daily, that people remember to wash their hands often. Carnival did offer little containers of paper door handle openers to use when opening restroom doors after washing your hands, but these were almost always empty. The place seemed like a norovirus epidemic waiting to happen.

 

On our only sea day, the only pool was closed most of the day because someone (I pray it was a child) had pooped in it. While having only one pool in a ship of that size does make for disappointed passengers when it has to be put off limits, I'm glad Carnival at least recognizes that e coli is nothing to mess around with.

 

Apart from the general ickiness of the public rooms, we were put off by the chaotic disembarkation process. Now I know why people coming to NCL for the first time rave about its disembarkation policies. On the Sensation, we left our cabin as instructed before 8 a.m. and were finally allowed to leave the ship at 10:30. While express walk-off is allowed for those who can handle their own baggage, you can't go until your group's color tag is called, making it a useless option. We much prefer NCL's practice of letting the express disembarkers go first since they're not waiting for luggage. Also, no info about disembarkation appeared in the last day's newsletter; we had to ask our cabin steward what to do. It turned out that they distribute the info on the last night when they turn down cabins, a little late for people trying to learn what their options are.

 

We were also amused by the complete disorganization of the Carnival safety drill, about which there was, again, zero info in the first day's newsletter. Instead, the cruise director casually mentioned it over the PA about five minutes before it was due to start, and passengers casually wandered to their drill stations over the next 45 minutes to an hour. No headcount was ever taken at our station, but we were told to sign a form on our cabin door (this never appeared) and give it to our steward to let him know we'd attended the drill. Whatever! Glad we can swim!

 

There were several things Carnival did as well as NCL--food was good, entertainment seemed about equally varied, embarkation was smooth and the crew was very nice--and a few that Carnival did better--larger cabins with better storage, complimentary robes, better deck space (at least on this ship) and fewer but higher-quality options in the buffet. Our cabin steward was terrific and kept our room clean and well stocked.

 

But I missed my spotlessly clean, shining, well-organized NCL ships! I really, really appreciate them now!

[Barb Nahoumi]

Hi,

 

I, too, can compare NCL with Carnival. My first cruise, back in 1999, was on the Carnival Triumph. The ship was spotless, service & meals were great. In all, we had a wonderful time.

 

In 2002, was our first NCL experience. We did Alaska, aboard the Sky which is now the Pride of Aloha. At first, I prefered the Traditional cruise, but freestyle grew on me. I love the freedom of eating when I choose to, and not according to schedual. Also, resort casual is a great way to dress for dinner. DH brought a dark suit for "Formal Night."

 

My other NCL cruises were aboard the Majesty, and Pride of Aloha. The Majesty was great, while the Pride of Aloha------just so so.

 

Barb

[samtig]

That's a shame about the Sensation. We went on our first cruise on that ship out of New Orleans 5 or 6 yrs. ago & she was a great ship then. We'll go on Carnival again, but we love NCL too. Nothing like free-style and we also find their ships to be very very clean. We leave on the Sun again next Sunday. Our favorite ship so far.

[bccruiser2007]

Just returned a couple of weeks ago from NCL Pride of Hawaii. Previous cruises have been Carnival in 2000, Princess in 2002 and Royal Caribbean 2004.

 

Until our current cruise, Carnival had the best food and service (this was on the Sensation in 2000). However, I do remember the washrooms could have been better kept.

 

I can now say that NCL was equal or better in the quality of the food and the service. We also prefer the freestyle dining. We like the idea of eating when we want. There were many times we had to eat at a scheduled time but not yet hungry or would have preferred to see a show on the ship instead.

Also, we only eat at buffets if we had to. with 10 restaurants on the ship, there was a wide range of selected restaurants to choose from.

We only ate the the buffet on our first afternoon on the ship.

Freestyle dinng may not be for everyone, but for what we are looking for, it was perfect for us.

 

John and Cathy

[gregandamy]

We prefer NCL as well, but have been on 2 Carnival cruises. We encountered none of the dirtiness, but agree about the hand sanitizers, none were around.

 

Sorry to hear it wasn't up to par.

[CruisinMK]

I liked my Carnival cruise, but I would avoid one much shorter than 7 days.

[dianemh]

I uderstand what you're talking about, we were on Sensation last Oct, we had 2 oceon view cabins cant remember which deck. Our cabins were filthy and I mean filthy. Inch thick dust everywhere, unvac'd carpet, dirty bed linen, the mirrors had been cleaned with a wet cloth, etc etc, oh and my daughter had blood on her sheets. We complained loudly, and someone from reception came to see our cabins and agreed they were filthy. They were recleaned for us twice, finally I gave up and did it myself. I used a face washer and soap to wipe things down including spillages down the walls. Luckilly I had antiseptic wipes with me that helped. Carnival gave us a bottle of wine and chocolate strawberries, whoopee. Our daughter arranged to have our cabin decorated for our wedding anniversary, they did a great job except it was a day early. Food was pretty good though, at least they got something right.

[Cosmopolitan]

Droopy_Sails ~

 

Thank you for the review.

I'm of the old "if it ain't broke...don't fix it" mentality;)

 

We took our first cruise 2 1/2 years ago with NCL and 5 cruises later (all NCL) I'm not sure I'll ever try another line...well, unless NCL goes "downhill".

 

Everytime I receive a brochure/email from another line...I debate it for about a minute and then delete/toss it.

 

Cleanliness of the ship, cabins, and restrooms are a major issue with me. I utilize the hand sanitizers all throughout the ship. I thought all cruiselines had them:eek:

 

Your review has reinforced my decision:)

[AnneNchris]

I took my first cruise on RCL and LOVED it....of course I had nothing to compare it to...but heck what could I not love about being on a ship in the ocean....anyway....I was younger...less expectations...and it was a pretty young crowed I found myself in...so it was GREAT...a few years later I went on NCL...wow the food was AMAZING...the rooms were beautiful...the staff so friendly....it gave me something to compare RCL too...well last year I again went on NCL...on the SPIRIT...and it was PERFECT....so perfect that we booked our next cruise the day after we cam home and not only did we stick with NCL but we stuck with the Spirit...I am picky and if you ask my husband I am almost immpossible to please...however....I left the Spirit pleased....beyond please...and I can not wait to do it again...

[firefly333]

Iv noticed that the Carnival ships that do less than 7 days have fewer stars and are lesser ships, whereas some of the 7 day Carnival ships are rated higher than other cruise lines.

 

I liked several things better about Carnival, 24 fat free yogurt ice cream cones and the pizza was better and the sandwichs in the 24 hour deli were wonderfull. The bedding was nice too.

 

Im not ready to confine my cruising to one cruise line, I have mostly been on Princess, but thats only because on the last two I went with groups who picked it. Princess is owned by Carnival so the chances are they will grow more like each other. Hand sanitizers on Carnival are a good idea, they are on Princess.

[Browezilla]

I have noticed that Carnival does not maintain its older ships as well as other lines (I've been on RCCL, Celebrity, Costa, Princess, Carnival), however I've not seen conditions as bad what you encountered. That's unfortunate your experience was so poor. Hand sanitizers seem to come and go on the cruise lines depending on prevalence of illnesses. Also, there are recent reports of children ingesting it and causing problems (it's 130 proof), so who knows what the future holds.

 

I would definitely cruise Carnival again, but I prefer their newer ships and cruises of at least 7 days.

[Droopy_Sails]

Thanks, all, for your feedback! I don't want to give the impression that I thought spending four days on a dirty and disorganized ship is some terrible trauma. It was a cheap cruise and we knew the four-day itineraries tend to be on older vessels that get harder wear for changing passengers twice a week. We just didn't expect everything to be so sticky and smelly--it only made me appreciate more how clean and well run NCL's ships are!

[cuccicruisers]

We have had similar experiences on short cruises as well. Ours were on Royal Caribbean and we felt the staff / food / ship was not as good as we had on longer cruises.

[fin]

Before my four ncl trips, I went thru the Panama Canal on the Ecstasy. I surely did love the always available ice cream and pizza in the fantail.

[Browezilla]

Before my four ncl trips, I went thru the Panama Canal on the Ecstasy. I surely did love the always available ice cream and pizza in the fantail.

I really like the Pizza on Carnival as well. Best I've had at sea so far, even better than Costa - an Italian line.

[tinkerbell1951]

I really like the Pizza on Carnival as well. Best I've had at sea so far, even better than Costa - an Italian line.

 

Well, pizza is an American invention so I would hope that our lines would serve it up better ;) .

 

My very first cruise was only 4 days with Carnival and it was so long ago I can't remember but among the lower-priced cruise lines Carnival has it made in the shade (imho) in the food department. I just can't tolerate the over-imbibing and the resultant behavior of the clientele. :(

[ROCruiser]

Loved all our cruises! Don't remember much about the first one (NCL Southward,) except the wonderful food (escargot, lobster, etc.) The second one was on a Princess cruise, don't remember the name. Most everyone got seasick on that cruise but still had a great time (other than the chopped up lobster meat baked in the lobster shell.) Then we had two Alaska cruises with Celebrity--Galaxy and Mercury. Loved them both! Do they pamper you! Great food, classy, and quiet. Missed their tiny sherbert between courses at meals. One Yangtze River cruise with Victori, enjoyed their all inclusive land excursions. Nothing fancy, but well-worth the money. Then we cruised Carnival Elation, a much different experience that our teenagers enjoyed. They went upstairs to have pizza and ice cream whenever they liked. Our last cruise was with NCL Sea--her last sailing out of US water before heading to India. Small, older ship but we had a blast on the 16-day trip through Panama.

[Black Pearl Sailor]

In our view NCL is a very special cruise line; it must be as we have sailed

with NCL on a number of occasions on a number of ships; however the Panama Canal repositioning cruise we took in April 2006 was the best ever!

 

We boarded the beautiful Norwegian Sun in Miami on April 23rd feeling at

home immediately, as we had sailed on her on three previous occasions. As soon as we settled into our suite Mareika Temmen our concierge came to greet us and made us feel very welcome. During the cruise Mareika demonstrated all the skills and capabilities of the very finest concierge; nothing was too much trouble, everything was dealt with in a quiet professional manner, she is a perfect concierge.

 

Next we met our butlers Ruel and Teodoro, who were on call to look after our in suite requirements for breakfast and lunch, and occasionally bringing

some of the speciality restaurants to us when we chose to have dinner in our suite. Again nothing was too much trouble for them, always managing our requests in an efficient and timely manner. Our cabin stewards Alicia and Micheal worked hard and ensured that we were comfortable and the suite was always in a first class condition and a joy to return to at anytime of the day.

 

These are the first line people who represent NCL and helped make our

vacation so special, yet they are only part of the story.

 

The ports we visited were exhilarating, exciting, beautiful, interesting and

hectic; the transit of the Panama Canal was the most fabulous experience not to be missed, and finally an early morning sailing into San Francisco was magical.

 

So the voyage was fantastic, we ate in all the speciality restaurants, when not dining in our suite, the restaurant hosts and managers were attentive and together with the waiting staff, all ensured we had great experiences. The Sushi Chef was entertaining and most knowledgeable, and Connie in Il Adagio was such fun. Teppanyaki as always was something not to be missed, and then there was Pearl the hostess of Le Bistro!!

 

We spent a great deal of time in the casino, not making too much money but definitely making lots of friends with the staff. The Casino team led by Gary made the whole gaming experience such a treat, Grace would keep order with humour, the supervisors would watch over the play, and the dealers helped us enjoy our wins, and laughed with us when we lost. The Executive Casino host Kabus even helped us book our next cruise aboard the Norwegian Pearl, as well as looking after us whilst we played.

 

Then of course there is Captain Vorren, a man of humour, who has a terrific manner with the passengers, who is courteous and gentlemanly, and clearly holds the loyalty and respect of the crew he commands. Together with Chief Engineer Storjord, a man prepared to spend time discussing the ship, demonstrating his justifiable pride in his professional hard working team who ensures that everything runs so smoothly aboard the Norwegian Sun.

 

These two, with the rest of the senior team demonstrate the calm

professional control we have come to expect which generates a feeling of

security and comfort for us during the whole cruise.

 

So does all of this answer the question why is NCL so special? Yes it does, the fantastic experiences we have had with NCL come firstly from the ships but most importantly from the staff that we meet who become friends to us whilst doing such tremendous jobs. However what exemplifies this more than anything is the hostess of Le Bistro... Pearl.

 

Every time we met Pearl whether in the restaurant, on the reservation desk or hosting the midnight chocolate extravaganza she was charming and joyful and caring. On the last evening we chose to dine in Le Bistro and as usual Pearl greeted us. Unfortunately at the beginning of the meal I became slightly unwell as we were in relatively heavy seas at the time;

nevertheless I chose to sit quietly at the table whilst my wife dined.

Pearl came to us on a number of occasions during dinner to make sure all was in order, she does this in a manner that always delights us, we subsequently left the restaurant and after a while I was fine and able to make our final visit to the casino.

 

Subsequently back in our suite later the phone rang and it was Pearl

checking to see if I was fully recovered! This is the perfect example of

why NCL is so special, it's the people, and Pearl is the perfect example

deserving the highest S.T.Y.L.E. award.

 

 

Thank you to all aboard the beautiful Norwegian Sun who made our vacation so magical, and thank you to Pearl for taking the time to care.

 

We subsequently sailed for a month in December on the new Pearl, and as expected the fabulous service delivered by NCL continued.

[mushroom]

I love NCL, but absolutely hate the E-Docs idea. After spending several thousand dollars for a cruise, I think the idea of the cheap paper luggage tags is an insult! NCL never did have the fanciest package as compared to Holland America or RCCL...but what they had was adequate. Now, I think they've gone too far. Printed paper luggage tags is a big turn-off for me. I hope they'll go back to presenting documents they can be proud of!

[hotspur]

I love NCL, but absolutely hate the E-Docs idea. After spending several thousand dollars for a cruise, I think the idea of the cheap paper luggage tags is an insult! NCL never did have the fanciest package as compared to Holland America or RCCL...but what they had was adequate. Now, I think they've gone too far. Printed paper luggage tags is a big turn-off for me. I hope they'll go back to presenting documents they can be proud of!

Please tell me you're being facetious. I mean...you really can't be serious about this.

[greenie]

Droopy Sails, thank you for the interestinng review. I was especially interested because my first cruise--in 1994--was on the Sensation! At the time it was considered one of the biggest cruise ships (if not the biggest). And it was new, although not sure if it was brand new.

 

But it was awesome! The whole cruise was awesome--I was solo and really not at all sure how it would be. But everything was great--friendly people of all ages, the food was terrific, my tablemates were fun, they played good boogying music in the nightclub, my little inside cabin was lovely. Loved the pool and the water slide. What wonderful memories!

 

I'm kind of sad to hear about how rundown and dirty and uncared-for she has become over the years, knowing how purty & sparkling and special she was way back when, 13 years ago.

[tinkerbell1951]

Please tell me you're being facetious. I mean...you really can't be serious about this.

 

oh ummmm . ditto. :eek:

[immargaret]

I love NCL, but absolutely hate the E-Docs idea. After spending several thousand dollars for a cruise, I think the idea of the cheap paper luggage tags is an insult! NCL never did have the fanciest package as compared to Holland America or RCCL...but what they had was adequate. Now, I think they've gone too far. Printed paper luggage tags is a big turn-off for me. I hope they'll go back to presenting documents they can be proud of!

 

I believe NCL will give you the option of regular documents, for an additional $35........:D It's all about options......:)

[tinkerbell1951]

I believe NCL will give you the option of regular documents, for an additional $35........:D It's all about options......:)

 

how 'bout some bananas with the tequila M ? ;) :D

[trailercruiser]

Well, pizza is an American invention so I would hope that our lines would serve it up better ;) .

 

My very first cruise was only 4 days with Carnival and it was so long ago I can't remember but among the lower-priced cruise lines Carnival has it made in the shade (imho) in the food department. I just can't tolerate the over-imbibing and the resultant behavior of the clientele. :(

Surely you are joking. The form of pizza we eat now was started in Naples,Italy . Now other forms of pizza types were eaten before that by the greeks and egyptians.Modern pizza is attributed to Raffaele Esposito of Naples.;) Comparing the 4 day cruise on the sensation is not really fair. My first and only Ncl cruise was on the dream out of Houston. I'm sorry but the Dream is not set up for freestyle and I thought it was a disgusting ship. So I am now back to Carnival where personally I find the food better and the ship cleaner. I also know I will try NCL again on a newer ship as find it unfair to judge NCL by one sailing on an old ship that is leaving the fleet. Hope all your cruises are the best!