Ncl Vs Carnival

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

I have only cruised on Carnival. I have a friend that has VIP status with Carnival so she has been on numerous cruises. Last summer she went to Hawaii withe NCL. She said they couldn't hold a candle to Carnival. That was her quote not mine. I don't want to offend anyone. She said that getting a reservation was very hard and sometimes the wait in the dining rooms could be more than an hour because it seemed everyone wanted to dine at the same time. This was only her experience. There are alot of happy NCL cruisers. I have considered them myself but I am afraid after hearing about her experience. I took pictures of one of the NCL ships leaving Miami and it was absolutely beautiful. The Lido was very impressive. Everyone has different opinions. For now I am going to stick with Carnival. You may have a set dining time but you don't have an hour wait when you go to eat.

NCL & NCLA are different in that the NCLA out of Hawaii are very understaffed. Hopefully that is changing as the Pride of Hawaii is being pulled out of Hawaii leaving just 2 ships doing interisland cruising. I was on Pride of Hawaii and I also read some horror stories about them. I had never been on a cruise before so I really have nothing to compare it to. My Carnival cruise is coming up in April. I thought the food was wonderful. The lido buffet had a great variety of food. What was really nice is my DH & I didn't always want to eat the same things so he could get hand carved beef and baked potato & all the good stuff while I felt more like a cooked to order burger and fries. They even had a pasta station that you could order different types of pasta with choice of meat & vegis with whatever sauce you prefer. I loved it. Their breakfast was awesome.

 

I did have trouble getting dinner reservations. They only allow you to book a restaurant 2 days in advance. So when you board the ship, you can make reservations for that night and the next night. The next day, you can make reservations for the following night & so on. Everytime I tried to make reservations, all the early times were taken so they usually only had real late dining such as 8:45, 9:00 or 9:15. That is too late for me so I usually chose the lido buffet and wasn't at all unhappy. I did eat in 2 of their specialty restaurants where you pay a premium for it. But the food was top notch IMO and well worth the fee. My DH & I ate at Cagneys one night and had prime rib and the cost was $30. Food was awesome. We also ate in another specialty restaurant Le Bistro and it was a bit fancy for me but the food was also great. Chateaubriand for me and rack of lamb for DH. Can't complain at all. I didn't eat in any of the main dining rooms that were free. It was just easier to eat in the buffet where we didn't have to dress up & could wear shorts. People say that NCL allows you to dress like a slob and that just isn't true. They still have a formal night and typically shorts are not allowed in the dining. At least I saw people turned away at Cagneys for wearing shorts. I would sail NCL again in a heartbeat.

[loveshack]

This sounds so great! I am getting excited just thinking about cruising!!! I'm actually kind of excited about trying a new line, something different. Believe me, we don't sweat the small stuff and we can have a good time no matter where we are! No way I'm leaving carnival, but trying something new will be cool.

 

I like the idea of NCL Spirit - N.O. is only down the road a piece, so we can drive! Hubby only flys when he HAS too. Princess is either NY or FT. Lauderdale - so NCL is closer.

 

Thanks to everyone for your help!

[halos]

This sounds so great! I am getting excited just thinking about cruising!!! I'm actually kind of excited about trying a new line, something different. Believe me, we don't sweat the small stuff and we can have a good time no matter where we are! No way I'm leaving carnival, but trying something new will be cool.

 

I like the idea of NCL Spirit - N.O. is only down the road a piece, so we can drive! Hubby only flys when he HAS too. Princess is either NY or FT. Lauderdale - so NCL is closer.

 

Thanks to everyone for your help!

 

If the Spirit is a good choice for you, be sure to look into their relocation cruises...twice a year the ship does a relo (NOLA to NY or vice versa) and you can get a fabulous price. It's great if you can get away for 2 weeks. The itinerary is amazing. :)

Have fun!!

 

 

OH and one of the things that I absolutely loved about NCL was the ability to stay in your stateroom until you debark. Man, this was HEAVEN!! Now, this does have it's downside, because it means that you really can not EMbark until after 1:00 (give or take) unlike CCL where you can literally start to board at 11:45 am....but I think it's better.

jmo.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Also, the beds on the NCL Pride of Hawaii (being renamed the Jade) were WONDERFUL. If Carnival is better which it sounds like it might be based on comments, then I'm in for a real treat. My bed, sheets, duvet, pillows all were so comfy and with the ship rocking as we sailed at night I slept like a baby. I was really worried about it because I have a bad back and suffer from back pain when I sleep in hotel beds. The bed on the NCL POH didn't cause me any discomfort with my back. I loved it.

[halos]

Also, the beds on the NCL Pride of Hawaii (being renamed the Jade) were WONDERFUL. If Carnival is better which it sounds like it might be based on comments, then I'm in for a real treat. My bed, sheets, duvet, pillows all were so comfy and with the ship rocking as we sailed at night I slept like a baby. I was really worried about it because I have a bad back and suffer from back pain when I sleep in hotel beds. The bed on the NCL POH didn't cause me any discomfort with my back. I loved it.

 

 

:eek: The beds on the Spirit were hard as rocks BUT they are being replaced , thank GOD!!!!!! :)

[angelsx4]

One thing I forgot to mention before, the sail away party on NCL Rocked! It was hot, tasty, didn't take too long at all considering how many people were on board. The bartenders were not walking around and pushing their drinks, instead they were coming around with glasses of ice water, iced tea, lemonade, etc... And if you wanted to order you could of course, but us non-drinkers didn't feel like we were ignored because we didn't order something. The drill I believe happened before we even set sail if I remember right, so everyone could gather up top and wave goodbye to the docks, and then we had time to wander a few minutes before the sail away started. They do this in every port too, so we had a sail away 5 times on our 8 day cruise with the kids. I don't remember the sail away on the Elation in '03, at least not to the extent that NCL does. The Elation was still a blast though, don't get me wrong, just another difference and that would in no way make or break a decision to cruise either one, or whether we had a good time or not.

[mfs2k]

My wife and I had been on 8 Carnival Cruises and really enjoyed them, and decided, last year to try NCL Dawn out of New York, close to home.....

 

We were completely dissatisfied with the cruise..... We thought the service was poor compared to Carnivals, we thought the food was inferior, the cabins or public spaces were not maintained as well as on the Carnival ships we have been on. (for example: rust in shower, decaying balcony, dirty public hallways, smaller cabins and balcony, refusal to give us bathrobes on request because were in a balcony cabin, and not a suite, inferior quality towels, linens and amenities, lesser quality deck chairs) and the list can go on and on) We found free-style dining to be a total pain in the butt, and way too much focus on whether we will get into a restaurant of our choice because we felt the food and service in the main dining room wasnt very good. It actually was stressful, trying to make it in time to the lobby to get reservations for the restaurants you wanted to go to at a normal time (between 7 and 930 is a big enough window for 2 people, i think) ... I don't need added stress on vacation. Most of the food and service in the Pay extra Dining rooms was excellent (we ate in the french and the steak restaurants twice each) but it ended up adding a lot to the cost of our vacation to get food we wanted. The asian restaurant was a complete disappointment. We were sat in a table in a back corner alcove (because that was all they had) and was served an appetizer of asian chicken (i think) lettuce wraps that, a year later, we still describe as like eating cold dog food wrapped in iceberg lettuce. It was gross. so bad, that i mentioned our disappointment in the dish (in nicer terms - yes, i can display tact) to the chef when he introduced himself a few days later in the french restaurant). The nothing extra Italian restaurant was ok.... Some people raved..... it was like eating in a curtained off section of the Lido deck dining room, with a server bringing you pasta from the buffet. That didnt thrill me. The promenade snack bar restaurant which everyone walked through was like walking through a deep fat fryer. It smelled nasty..... Im not bitter :) I just wouldnt do it again.

 

Are preset dining times for everyone? No. of course not. Its personal choice. We've had better Carnival experiences on some trips more than others. What usually makes the difference is the people you travel with or meet. My worst trips are the ones in which we didnt really have an opportunity to connect with anyone. Sitting at a large table with other couples of approx the same age, is a nice way to connect, that we missed out on on NCL. For groups or large families travelling together, this is less important. For us, it is important.

 

I just booked a cruise for this year. NCL wasnt even considered. I briefly considered Royal Caribbean and Princess, but when i compare prices, i always come back to Carnival. Why mess with success. I rebooked on Carnival Miracle, Southern Caribbean. Carnival was my first choice. price was my reason for selecting the week I did, itinerary was third priority (2 new ports for me: St. Lucia and St. Kitts) and this will be my 9th Carnival cruise, so next time I will achieve Platinum status. Too bad i didnt stick with Carnival last time. This could have been my 10th.

 

Please dont attack too hard. These are MY personal opinions I am sharing. Others will say how great NCL is and Im totally wrong. Whatever.

 

M

[melika091900]

NCL & NCLA are different in that the NCLA out of Hawaii are very understaffed. Hopefully that is changing as the Pride of Hawaii is being pulled out of Hawaii leaving just 2 ships doing interisland cruising. I was on Pride of Hawaii and I also read some horror stories about them. I had never been on a cruise before so I really have nothing to compare it to. My Carnival cruise is coming up in April. I thought the food was wonderful. The lido buffet had a great variety of food. What was really nice is my DH & I didn't always want to eat the same things so he could get hand carved beef and baked potato & all the good stuff while I felt more like a cooked to order burger and fries. They even had a pasta station that you could order different types of pasta with choice of meat & vegis with whatever sauce you prefer. I loved it. Their breakfast was awesome.

 

I did have trouble getting dinner reservations. They only allow you to book a restaurant 2 days in advance. So when you board the ship, you can make reservations for that night and the next night. The next day, you can make reservations for the following night & so on. Everytime I tried to make reservations, all the early times were taken so they usually only had real late dining such as 8:45, 9:00 or 9:15. That is too late for me so I usually chose the lido buffet and wasn't at all unhappy. I did eat in 2 of their specialty restaurants where you pay a premium for it. But the food was top notch IMO and well worth the fee. My DH & I ate at Cagneys one night and had prime rib and the cost was $30. Food was awesome. We also ate in another specialty restaurant Le Bistro and it was a bit fancy for me but the food was also great. Chateaubriand for me and rack of lamb for DH. Can't complain at all. I didn't eat in any of the main dining rooms that were free. It was just easier to eat in the buffet where we didn't have to dress up & could wear shorts. People say that NCL allows you to dress like a slob and that just isn't true. They still have a formal night and typically shorts are not allowed in the dining. At least I saw people turned away at Cagneys for wearing shorts. I would sail NCL again in a heartbeat.

 

 

the same thing happened to us on NCL, couldnt book the times we wanted for the resturants.. it really put a damper on things

[ECP]

Does Princess offer the Past guest discount from carnival?

 

My TA says since they both are owned by the same company, promotions and past trips count towards them both. This means your past trips also count if you consider Holland America or Cunard.

 

So get out there and cruise your heart out.

[alwayssingin]

Since this will be our first CCL Cruise, I can't make any comparisons. (We are traveling with a group, so we had no choice this time.) Not looking forward to the scheduled dining and the rush to disembark, but we'll get over it...

 

Have said that, we love NCL and Freestyle! We've never made a reservation (other than the Specialty Restaurants) and never had more than a 15 minute wait. Everything and everyone has always been top notch on our NCL cruises. And yes, being allowed to have a leisurely breakfast and wait in your cabin on the last morning is wonderful! We wouldn't be opposed to trying Princess, or other lines for that matter, but our M/C is through NCL and we already have enough Compass Points to book a balcony on our next cruise.

 

I don't really understand why people book NCL and then want to make reservations for dinner.

 

BTW, the Specialty Restaurants normally offer 2-for1 deals once or twice during the cruise if reservations are booked between 5-6. Also, not all Specialty Restaurants have a charge, but reservations do have to be made in advance.

 

[Kurbanfan]

I don't really understand why people book NCL and then want to make reservations for dinner.

 

 

 

I totally don't get that either. Some will do that on the Princess "anytime" dining also. Reservations is a set time just like traditional. You still have to be there at a certain time. The reason we like it is because we can go at anytime.....