Princess v. NCL

[sjbdtz]

As you can see from my signature line, I'm just back from a 22 day sailing with Princess on the Sapphire Princess (same age as the NCL Jewel which I've sailed twice).

 

My experience on Princess was such that I hastily booked an unplanned trip on NCL just to remind myself why I enjoy cruising.

 

Here are the differences I observed:

 

Princess:

- luck of the draw had me in a lumpy bed, and I slept poorly for 22 days despite having a mattress topper pad added.

 

- the buffet had a lot of shrimp and veal, neither of which I eat (allergies & politics) and a lot of food "with other stuff in it" (nothing for the meat & potatoes person. Nothing simple).

 

- You couldn't walk through the buffet seating without running a gauntlet of 50 servers saying "hello sir" with a slightly subservient tone.

 

- Pizza, the food of last resort when the dinner menu was too complex or all about lobster (allergic), closed at 6pm right when you might actually want some.

 

- They pushed REALLY hard on the soda cards. On embarkation day (we had 2 on our trip because it was a 7 & a 15 day smushed together).

 

- Princess claims to have multiple restaurants for Anytime Dining. What they don't tell you is that all the restaurants have the same menu.

 

- The average age on our cruise was 67 (we're mid 30's & early 40's).

 

- Activities included "Grandparents brag about your grandkids", and "Knitting & Crocheting"....and not much else.

 

- Our stateroom steward was new on the job, and worked alone.

 

- The whole ship looked "grungy". Not dirty, just not "fresh". Like black jeans after 30 washes. They're still black, and they're clean...but the color has faded and they start to show their age.

 

 

My impressions of NCL Jewel (which were the same as the Dawn, and more or less the Sky...and we hope...the Gem):

 

- comfy beds each time....from inside cabin, to Suite.

 

- buffet variety, waffle station, sandwich station, hot food, cold food, eggs to order, etc. Lots of variety, nicely arrayed in stations to facilitate traffic flow.

 

- Service was pleasant and cordial without being obsequious.

 

- We were offered soda cards once, declined them and never heard about them again...on each cruise (4 times)

 

- Sushi, Teppanyaki, Steak, Pizza, Sandwich stations, Italian, French, all with different menus, and all in addition to the "main" dining rooms (2) which serve a rotating menu (like Princess does).

 

- The average age on our cruise was in the low 50s (we're mid 30's & early 40's).

 

- Activities were geared toward a younger, more dynamic crowd

 

- Stateroom stewards worked in pairs, were pleasant without sucking up, and left us with cute towel animals (no, they're not the only thing I care about).

 

- The whole ship looked bright & colourful. I'm not sure if they were replacing carpeting & furnishings along the way but everything seems to maintain a certain oomph about it.

 

 

My main conclusion:

 

- NCL had a more familiar feel...meaning that the employees felt more like family, or friends by the time we left. On Princess it felt like they'd been our servants...

 

 

Conclusion...hoping for a nice NCL trip to the Bahamas for New Years, to wash-out the taste of Princess.

 

Now if only NCL would send some of its beautiful ships to some interesting itineraries the way Princess does..... *sigh*

[sackman]

mmmmmm.... veal. Yummmm.

[rdsqrl]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. I had to laugh in disbelief at your comments about the staff on Princess vis-a-vis those on NCL. Personally, I don't WANT the staff to be like my friends and family --- they're there to serve me, not become my BFFs.

 

And veal is indeed yummy. I particularly like to eat it whilst wearing fur.

[yyjguy]

Some folks do like a Chevy, while others a Buick. Personally I love the Buick and would like to upgrade to Caddy; but my Chevy days are long gone!!

[vince_g]

Please don't feed the troll!!!!!!!!!!

 

We all know that 3 week cruises will have an older clientele, and that Princess has eggs made to order and even Pizzeria restaurants on some ships. That comment about the employees feeling like family... anyone exept the OP ever experience this on any cruise line??? Maybe windjammer cruises...

[ldoc31]

Did you have a good time?

[quincytoo]

at the OP comparisons of ncl and Princess.....We have been on two cruises One ncl spirit and the other Diamond Princess.......

 

ncl had me saying "NEVER AGAIN" :(

 

Princess has me saying "again again"!! :) Woo Hoo next Oct Carribbean Princess

 

Oh I also love veal and shrimp :) ...and I already have enough friends and family...that said, the Princess staff were very nice.

[dclark]

I'll gladly take the veal, lobster, shrimp and lobster on princess over any type of meat and potatoes on NCL. Sorrry to hear that you are allergic, but if you can eat beef then you caneat veal. Fact is, Princess serves higher quality food than NCL. Go to their web site and they even say that they serve maine lobster and American grain fed beef. You won't see anything like that in the NCL dining room.

NCL... great for those that miss dorm food.

[sjbdtz]

I'll gladly take the veal, lobster, shrimp and lobster on princess over any type of meat and potatoes on NCL. Sorrry to hear that you are allergic, but if you can eat beef then you caneat veal. Fact is, Princess serves higher quality food than NCL. Go to their web site and they even say that they serve maine lobster and American grain fed beef. You won't see anything like that in the NCL dining room.

NCL... great for those that miss dorm food.

 

Yes, I "could" eat veal, but if you research what you're eating....

[sjbdtz]

Did you have a good time?

 

 

Yes. Japan, Russia, South Korea & China were fascinating. Alaska, though previously experienced, had wonderful weather and is stunning.

 

We had a great time, despite the reasons why I'll never cruise Princess again, and why I'm spending unplanned money on an emergency NCL trip to remind myself how cruising SHOULD feel.

 

I'm sure Princess is great for some people, but I found it did not suit my taste. My 3 travel companions all concurred...so it wasn't just me.

 

Enjoy. I'm not coming back to read other replies....I was merely sharing.

[curiouscat]

I'll gladly take the veal, lobster, shrimp and lobster on princess over any type of meat and potatoes on NCL. Sorrry to hear that you are allergic, but if you can eat beef then you caneat veal. Fact is, Princess serves higher quality food than NCL. Go to their web site and they even say that they serve maine lobster and American grain fed beef. You won't see anything like that in the NCL dining room.

NCL... great for those that miss dorm food.

 

 

LOL.... that was great....It was like mystery meat or whatever on NCL. The problem was that my hubby went to Princeton and ate at "eating"clubs and had better food then NCL... I lost weight on my NCL cruise and it was the worst cruising exp after 10 other previous cruises

 

Princess vs NCL... no contest. Should not even be a comparison. Sears vs Macys, Bloomies....:cool:

[zaandam_2]

thanks for your thoughts. this is why there's different lines. something for everyone.

[jrw]

Just off the Crown and can say that I only SAW the soda card table (and ONLY ONCE, near Horizon Court at embarkation) and NOBODY even spoke to us about it! Had we not seen the table & the sign, and had I not heard of the soda cards on these boards, I'd have never known they existed! So...no hard sell whatsoever.

 

My bed was quite comfy and I typically hate any bed but my own. Same goes for hubby.

 

Hubby is 39 and I am 38, and while many pax were older than us, there were quite a few in our age group, and even met some in their 20's. We never felt it was "geriatric"...and this was a Canada/New England itinerary. We loved it! As others have said, WHO would possibly expect a younger crowd on a 22-day cruise (or the 15-day leg)?? How many in the 30's-40's bracket generally have that much time available, be it work or family limitations? Should not have come as a shock. :confused:

 

Food was wonderful and something for everyone -- they will accomodate any special needs as well (allergies, preferences, whatever). I do not eat ANY seafood, just don't like it, and I often had a hard time selecting what to order because there were still plenty of choices for me -- even with Princess being so heavy on seafood selections!

 

Did not encounter any "subservient tones" or any "gauntlet" of crew crushing us with greetings.

 

Lack of activities except grandkid-bragging and knitting?? Definitely not! We had so much to do and STILL did not get to everything there was to see!

 

OH! And as so many will be glad to hear...we got a TOWEL MONKEY! WHOOP-DEE-DO! I could have cared less...and because hubby never heard of these before (was his first cruise), it startled him when we entered the cabin and he saw it hanging from the A/C vent. Comical, yes. Necessary, no. Worth considering when selecting a cruise line, DEFINITELY NOT! :D

 

Hmmm...the OP did not mention the lack of 24/7 ice cream, though! :eek:

[sjbdtz]

Hmmm...the OP did not mention the lack of 24/7 ice cream, though! :eek:

 

 

Wasn't a priority.

[jrw]

Wasn't a priority.

 

 

Enjoy. I'm not coming back to read other replies....I was merely sharing.

 

 

Thought you said you were not coming back for the rest of the replies? :rolleyes:

[wrecks]

We had booked that same cruise so followed the roll call (that you started) for a bit. I read the post (different thread) that was pulled when you stated you could not imagine liking any of your fellow passangers on your upcoming cruise. With all of your rants about Princess this past year, I just can't imagine why you didn't cancel. With your negativity I am so happy we did cancel and booked the Coral Panama Canal transit - we had a grand time with a great CC group.

Wrecks

[born2cruize]

Why is it that people have to respond with negative comments about other cruise lines. Except for the beds I didn't read any negative comments about Princess. The OP stated quite clearly that these were personal impressions/allergies/or her political views. I don't think slamming other cruise lines is the way to get your point across.

 

As a disclaimer, I've sailed NCL 4 times, Princess once with a 19 day coming up. I personally have NEVER had a bad cruise just some better than others.

[tnpmac]

That's why there are different cruise lines. Cruise lines for people that like to play dress up and have fancy things and cruise lines for people that want the same old thing. I like the fact that there's different kinds of food, most of which I have no clue what it is...lol. I can eat a boring steak any day at home or at the local steak house. I go on a cruise to have fun, be pampered and eat things I would rarely eat at home. I don't know anything about NCL since I've only been on Princess, but I've had a wonderful time, and the service and food where great. But I also wasn't looking for every bad thing about Princess!

[Cruisin' Chick]

From what I've been reading on this and at least one other cruising site is that basically there are many rabid NCL fans, some who go on many lines, including NCL and then others who've been on NCL and say never again. I've noticed that many of the first group have only been on NCL.

 

Been paying more attention to this the last week after finding my hubby checking out some online photos taken on some NCL ships. But I'm hoping that he's just interested, but only mildly so. If he really wants to try out NCL, I'll go. But after looking at the 2008 brochure and asking questions of some diehard NCLers about the dining situation, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we take another Princess cruise.

 

I, too, am allergic to shrimp and was about to eat some Asian food from the Horizon Court on our last cruise, but fortunately saw the little pink things first. But I usually can find something to eat that's non-fish, and I'm a very picky eater. My little one loved the pizza on the Island Princess.

[bizi]

Based on my only experience with NCL, the main dining room food could have been better, but some of their specialty (pay) restaurants were excellent. Usually NCL price is lower, so if the price difference can pay for dinning in specialty everyday, then the food quality shouldn't be an issue.:cool:

[CrusinAgain]

 

 

My main conclusion:

 

- NCL had a more familiar feel...meaning that the employees felt more like family, or friends by the time we left. On Princess it felt like they'd been our servants...

 

 

Conclusion...hoping for a nice NCL trip to the Bahamas for New Years, to wash-out the taste of Princess.

 

Now if only NCL would send some of its beautiful ships to some interesting itineraries the way Princess does..... *sigh*

 

Super! We are about to embark on our first NCL cruise and have read nothing but praises about their great service, activities, and food for the Pearl.

 

I also recently read their muster drill is the same as Princess which is held inside at various lounges and dining rooms.

 

Coffeemakers in the room, larger showers, comfortable beds, and lots of places to choose to eat from with how I am dressed sounds wonderful and I am hoping this will be another cruiseline to put down for our choices. Princess better hurry up with the beds as the others are passing them up.

 

Wishing you a wonderful cruise on the Gem.

[MrsNoPlea]

I would like to try NCL someday. I saw pictures of the Gem and the use of color is like none that I have seen. I mean BRIGHT, BRIGHT COLOR EVERYWHERE! It looks like it would literally give you a headache.....BUT...they do offset it nicely with lots of dark wood.....and that really "dolls" the ship up. I just could not get over the use of color, especially blues, purples, and pinks. You should hop over to the NCL board and do a search for Gem photos.....I will try and find the exact thread with the photo albums that I browsed through, there were LOTS of pictures. I will say that I was THOROUGHLY impressed with the suites, in particular the bathrooms...they are quite STUNNING!!!! Double sinks...huge rainfall showers....even the bathrooms in the regular cabins looked fantastic. The toilet has its own little space separated from the rest of the bathroom by a glass door. I have to say that the dining areas looked lovely as well....le Bistro was absolutely gorgeous, lush and rich with gorgeous artwork. Oh, and the suites with their own little garden areas with hot tubs and small pools....they were quite interesting as well and had a coziness to them. The pool deck looked completely ridiculous to me....too clownish......like an oversized version of McDonald's Playland or something. I just didn't care for the looks of that area AT ALL. But the other areas of the ship really looked quite nice and appealing....if you can get past the brightness!!!! I'm curious to give it a try. I've never been on NCL and my first Princess cruise will be on the CB in 5 weeks and I can honestly say I've never been more excited. I think I am going to be thoroughly impressed and pleased with Princess!!!!!!!:p

[whale-watcher]

We are trying NCL for our Hawaii cruise this winter....

 

We LOVE anytime dining, and hope that freestyle is similar, although we are a bit worried about the need for reservations (have never done this with anytime on princess...prefer to keep our options open).

 

We do plan to eat at the buffet some nights, as we do on Princess as well. Have always enjoyed the interesting and varied offerings on Princess, and hope that we will find more than "meat and potatoes" on NCL...

[Clutterlady]

As you can see from my signature line, I'm just back from a 22 day sailing with Princess on the Sapphire Princess (same age as the NCL Jewel which I've sailed twice).

 

My experience on Princess was such that I hastily booked an unplanned trip on NCL just to remind myself why I enjoy cruising.

 

Here are the differences I observed:

 

Princess:

- luck of the draw had me in a lumpy bed, and I slept poorly for 22 days despite having a mattress topper pad added.

 

Sorry about that, hopefully all the bedding will be upgraded soon!

 

- the buffet had a lot of shrimp and veal, neither of which I eat (allergies & politics) and a lot of food "with other stuff in it" (nothing for the meat & potatoes person. Nothing simple).

Not a big veal lover, but love the sea food on Princess! No meat and potatoes for me when I'm cruising!

- You couldn't walk through the buffet seating without running a gauntlet of 50 servers saying "hello sir" with a slightly subservient tone.

Your interpretation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

- Pizza, the food of last resort when the dinner menu was too complex or all about lobster (allergic), closed at 6pm right when you might actually want some.

Again, love sea food, thought the Pizza place was open later...I may be mistaken

- They pushed REALLY hard on the soda cards. On embarkation day (we had 2 on our trip because it was a 7 & a 15 day smushed together).

Oh please....last year on NCL I had to get darn right nasty to get them out of my face with the soda cards..........I don't drink soda!!!!!

- Princess claims to have multiple restaurants for Anytime Dining. What they don't tell you is that all the restaurants have the same menu.

You were on the Princess boards before you left......you certainly knew better...bogus

- The average age on our cruise was 67 (we're mid 30's & early 40's).

What did you expect on a long voyage....same with all the lines

- Activities included "Grandparents brag about your grandkids", and "Knitting & Crocheting"....and not much else.

Com-on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Our stateroom steward was new on the job, and worked alone.

And?????????????

- The whole ship looked "grungy". Not dirty, just not "fresh". Like black jeans after 30 washes. They're still black, and they're clean...but the color has faded and they start to show their age.

NCL Dawn would have been a good candidate for an aging Vegas hotel!

 

 

 

My impressions of NCL Jewel (which were the same as the Dawn, and more or less the Sky...and we hope...the Gem):

 

- comfy beds each time....from inside cabin, to Suite.

Woke up with a backache every morning on the Dawn!

 

- buffet variety, waffle station, sandwich station, hot food, cold food, eggs to order, etc. Lots of variety, nicely arrayed in stations to facilitate traffic flow.

You're kidding.....right!

 

- Service was pleasant and cordial without being obsequious.

What service???

 

- We were offered soda cards once, declined them and never heard about them again...on each cruise (4 times)

Ya, right

 

- Sushi, Teppanyaki, Steak, Pizza, Sandwich stations, Italian, French, all with different menus, and all in addition to the "main" dining rooms (2) which serve a rotating menu (like Princess does).

Le Bistro and Cagneys were good

 

- The average age on our cruise was in the low 50s (we're mid 30's & early 40's).

Again, long cruise!

 

- Activities were geared toward a younger, more dynamic crowd

Dynamic.....I say dynamic:confused:

 

- Stateroom stewards worked in pairs, were pleasant without sucking up, and left us with cute towel animals (no, they're not the only thing I care about).

OOO....the dreaded towel animals:rolleyes:

 

- The whole ship looked bright & colourful. I'm not sure if they were replacing carpeting & furnishings along the way but everything seems to maintain a certain oomph about it.

Gaudy is a good word!!

My main conclusion:

 

- NCL had a more familiar feel...meaning that the employees felt more like family, or friends by the time we left. On Princess it felt like they'd been our servants...

Have enough friends.....don't need more:)

 

 

Conclusion...hoping for a nice NCL trip to the Bahamas for New Years, to wash-out the taste of Princess.

I heard Listerene is good:p

 

Now if only NCL would send some of its beautiful ships to some interesting itineraries the way Princess does..... *sigh*

 

Ok:rolleyes:

 

Honestly, hoped your enjoyed the itineraries...would love to hear about them:)

[dclark]

My sister just got off the NCL Spirit today. I told her that NCL dining room food was pig slop but she told me that all cruise lines use the same food, blah blah (She has only sailed RCL and Celebrity).

Well, she told me that she couldn't believe that people actually thought the food was good. She said that she is no snob (she isn't) but some of the food was just down right nasty. For example, they ordered what was called a "steak" and the meat was so thin that it was curling around at the edges (Hubby joked that it was so thin that he could see the plate under it!). Overall dining room food was fair to unedible. The steak house was good, but overall, the cruise was more $ than a Princess cruise. You know the food must be pretty bad when you lose a pound of weight while you are on it!In fact, she was booked for a balcony, but they got porthole room by accident (TA error?) and they were old they will be sent a refund (they paid $819 pp!). She said they want a partial refund as if they were given cruise credit, they would not sail NCL again.