Norwegian vs Carnival ?

[cosmo cruiser]

We are experienced cruisers but only on Carnival line. Our #10 Platinum cruise is in only 22 days. We are looking at the Norwegian Jewel for a 9 day cruise in November of 2008. What types of things will be different on Norwegian? I don't think I really understand the "freestyle" dining concept yet? Do you make reservations for each night and do you have a different table each night? Is it like the Supper Club on Carnival and comes with an additional fee for each night then? We always book a table for two in the main dining room and really enjoy that very much. If that is not an option I'm not sure this is the line for us to venture off too. We really like the idea of a nine day and the route is very appealing but I don't want to go on a different line without knowing a bit more about what to expect. If any of you have sailed both Carnival and Norwegian and would be willing to share your experience and opinions I would greatly appreciate hearing them.

Thanks

[Guest maler]

Unless you are on one of the luxury lines, the differences are mostly personal preference.

 

Freestyle dining is like showing up at any local restaurant and getting seated. First come, first served, whenever you decide to go eat in the main dining room. Sometimes there is a line and sometimes there isn't just like any local restaurant and there is usually a line when it first opens. No reservations in the main dining room and we have always had a table for 2 when we requested one. Premium restaurants require a reservation as well as the extra $20 or so each and they fill up quickly.

 

'Personally' I prefer to get to know the waiter and let them get to know me. With freestyle, you will likely sit at a different table and be served by different waiters each time.

 

My 'personal' experience was that NCL service was not as good as any other line I have sailed on but some people say they have had better service on NCL than anything else. Again, likely personal preference.

 

I also prefer a little more formal atmosphere. I was one of only 2 men in a tux on our last NCL cruise.

You won't see swimsuits in the dining room but NCL cruisers seem to be a bit more relaxed when it comes to clothing.

 

Freestyle is not my style.

[melika091900]

Unless you are on one of the luxury lines, the differences are mostly personal preference.

 

Freestyle dining is like showing up at any local restaurant and getting seated. First come, first served, whenever you decide to go eat in the main dining room. Sometimes there is a line and sometimes there isn't just like any local restaurant and there is usually a line when it first opens. No reservations in the main dining room and we have always had a table for 2 when we requested one. Premium restaurants require a reservation as well as the extra $20 or so each and they fill up quickly.

 

'Personally' I prefer to get to know the waiter and let them get to know me. With freestyle, you will likely sit at a different table and be served by different waiters each time.

 

My 'personal' experience was that NCL service was not as good as any other line I have sailed on but some people say they have had better service on NCL than anything else. Again, likely personal preference.

 

I also prefer a little more formal atmosphere. I was one of only 2 men in a tux on our last NCL cruise.

You won't see swimsuits in the dining room but NCL cruisers seem to be a bit more relaxed when it comes to clothing.

 

Freestyle is not my style.

 

 

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU 100%

freestyle wasnt our style neither, i like going to dinner, same table, same place everynight , not having to worry about reservations,

every time we tried to make reservations on NC L star, it was booked until 9p, so that didnt work , we ate at the buffet every night...tried ginza , YUCK.

but as far as service, it was the same as ive seen on carnival.

the shows, same, bingo, same etc..

 

the main difference to me was the dining, and it didnt go well with us.

but like someone else said thats personal preference,

we did like not having to dress up for formal night , that was a plus..

[slotaddict]

Well I have been on several lines, and when I feel like a relaxing vacation I choose NCL. I think people dress appropriately, alot of people on my last cruise were dressed formally.

 

Myself on Norwegian I stick to capris and sandals. I think you should try it at least once to see if you like the change.

 

I am trying my first Carnival cruise at the end of the year, thought I would never sail Carnival, but never say never.

 

whatever you choose have a wonderful cruise.:D

[chrisbd1]

On the newer ships built for freestyle, the dining is smoother. Our ongest wait was 5 minutes at the main dining room, between 6 and 7 pm. We NEVER had to get up early to make reservations, I made two for the next day (for 6:30 pm) at 4 pm the day before. I've never had bad service or bad food at the main dining room or a specialty resturant.

 

Mama's Italian Kitchen -Free, reservations suggested

 

 

Teppanyaki Room Asian $20pp

 

Cagney's Steakhouse steak reservations required, $20pp

 

Chin Chin Asian Restaurant Asian fusion

 

Le Bistro French Restaurant French, reservations required $15pp

 

Garden Café/Kid's Café -free buffet

 

Azura Main Dining Room free, no reservations required

 

Blue Lagoon free, open 24 hours, comfort food

 

Tsar's Palace Main Dining Room -Free, no reservations required

 

Sushi and Sake Bar reservations required $20 pp

 

Tango's Tapas Latin Restaurant -Free, reservations suggested

 

Sky High Bar Free, bar food

[ce2000]

I recommend that you give NCL Freestyle a try. It is not bad, just a little different than the other lines. Freestyle may or may not be your style but it is worth giving it a try.

[Toothfairy754]

We are experienced cruisers but only on Carnival line. Our #10 Platinum cruise is in only 22 days. We are looking at the Norwegian Jewel for a 9 day cruise in November of 2008. What types of things will be different on Norwegian? I don't think I really understand the "freestyle" dining concept yet? Do you make reservations for each night and do you have a different table each night? Is it like the Supper Club on Carnival and comes with an additional fee for each night then? We always book a table for two in the main dining room and really enjoy that very much. If that is not an option I'm not sure this is the line for us to venture off too. We really like the idea of a nine day and the route is very appealing but I don't want to go on a different line without knowing a bit more about what to expect. If any of you have sailed both Carnival and Norwegian and would be willing to share your experience and opinions I would greatly appreciate hearing them.

Thanks

 

I have sailed both CCL and NCL. The differences are you do not sit with the same people every night at dinner on NCL. They had more *pay* restaurants on NCL (the Pride only had one).

As for dressing up... we did one of the two formals nights on the Star (NCL) the other night we did not feel like dressing up so we did not have too.

We never waited more than 5 minutes (if that) to get into any restaurant on NCL.

I found the crew to be friendlier on NCL. We actually had a waiter come over and hug us to say goodbye on disembarkation day even though he had only served us once.

I believe the usual *cruise* things are about the same....shows, contests etc.

The one downside to NCL was that we could not access our account through the TV.

I sailed a balcony room on both ships and there is not a lot of difference in size.... NCL does have glass shower doors that slide.

[cosmo cruiser]

Thank-you so much for the replys. It will give me "food" for thought certainly. I am still not sure if this is the line we should try? We really do not go on our cruises to meet new people or make life long friends as many people do. We have pretty high stress jobs so we go on a cruise to totally un-wind and reconnect with each other. Not being assured a table for two for dining each night or having to make a reservation for dinner each night might be more "thought" than I want to put into an evening meal. We always do the supper club for a special evening but we make our reservation the first day and never give it a second thought. We enjoy dressing for formal night for the most part and totally enjoy getting to know our waiters and servers. I think I would miss that part of dinner.

I will take your comments into consideration and I'm sure they will help us make the correct decision. Thanks for sharing your experiences. :)

[melika091900]

Thank-you so much for the replys. It will give me "food" for thought certainly. I am still not sure if this is the line we should try? We really do not go on our cruises to meet new people or make life long friends as many people do. We have pretty high stress jobs so we go on a cruise to totally un-wind and reconnect with each other. Not being assured a table for two for dining each night or having to make a reservation for dinner each night might be more "thought" than I want to put into an evening meal. We always do the supper club for a special evening but we make our reservation the first day and never give it a second thought. We enjoy dressing for formal night for the most part and totally enjoy getting to know our waiters and servers. I think I would miss that part of dinner.

I will take your comments into consideration and I'm sure they will help us make the correct decision. Thanks for sharing your experiences. :)

 

i know what you mean about having to think about dinner... making the reservations etc. honestly it was a headache for us.

then we went on celebrity right after our NCL cruise and what a difference it made, knowing where we were sitting, and what time, etc..

it made the vacation more relaxing thats for sure

thats just my opinion,

Melissa

[alwayssingin]

We just got off the Carnival Valor and had a great time, but we really missed Freestyle dining and disembarkation. We've never had a problem making a reservation in either Le Bistro or La Trattoria, and made these on embarkation day and again later in the week. We only made reservations on sea days because we don't like being tied down to a certain dining time. We never had to wait more than 5-10 minutes for a seat in one of the main dining rooms (we've waited much, much longer on land!), and were always asked if we wanted to be seated with other people. As for having the same waiter, etc., we don't feel the need for that. After all, we don't have that "on land" either!

 

Oh, NCL doesn't have their wait staff doing a show every night. I know people like this, but we found it degrading as we could tell which staff dreaded it each night (including our head waiter), not to mention it was a waste of time and postponed our dessert every night!

 

Freestyle disembarkation is great. We had to be out of our cabins by 8:30 on our CCL cruise, but were able to wait until 11:00 on our NCL cruises.

 

The games on each were about the same, as were the shows, although I think that NCL's dancers/singers were much better.

 

One thing CCL had that NCL doesn't is High Tea on sea days. We did this on our last sea day and found it to be very nice and relaxing (and no need to dress especially for it, either).

 

These are just our thoughts. I'd go on CCL again if I had a free cruise, but since we use the NCL M/C, that's where our points send us. We traveled with a group of 31 on our CCL line, otherwise we would have been on NCL.

 

Have you looked into Princess? I understand they have both traditional and their own version of freestyle dining.

 

Good luck! I think you'll have a great time no matter what you said on. After all, you're on a cruise! :p

[sun~]

i know what you mean about having to think about dinner... making the reservations etc. honestly it was a headache for us.

then we went on celebrity right after our NCL cruise and what a difference it made, knowing where we were sitting, and what time, etc..

it made the vacation more relaxing thats for sure

thats just my opinion,

Melissa

 

What I am puzzled about is for the thousands of us who have not had any trouble getting reservations and really enjoying the different selections of restaurants on NCL is why you keep posting that YOU didn't like freestyle. Yet you keep posting on this board. The rest of us seemed to figure out how to make reservations or just walking into the main restaurant. No stress, no trouble. Great selection of restaurants. No silly dancing or singing waiters. No having to sit with people I may not be interested in talking with. Not having to sit beside someone who may reek of cigarette smoke or perfume. We had excellent service on NCL. I am sure there are many, many others here who post on this board can tell you the same thing.

[CrusinAgain]

Service is very bad on NCL compared to Carnival. The stewards are overworked and have too many rooms to clean, therefore instead of your room being cleaned when you go have breakfast with Carnival yours will wait hours. Same with the evenings. They even ran out of washcloths one day and the steward said he would bring them when he was able to but that took another day. The servers in the dining room are very slow and the menus are nothing like Carnival. The food is more simple food and if you want lobster you go to the paying restauarant for it at least on the Pearl. Freestyle needs lots of work as those 9 extra restaurants are tiny and only a few get in each night. We were only able to eat at the mexican one during our 9 day cruise.

 

The rooms are smaller and the entertainment is sadly lacking. The activities during the day are not the Carnival and Princess style of fun and game-style. They are lectures and spa stuff and alcohol tastings. You will find most of the activities have a fee attached and even with the free evening shows they will go around with handfulls of pull tabs for $20 insisting everyone is a winner. So you normally get back $5 and donated $15. So if bars, casino, bowling keeps you occupied you will be fine, otherwise like the family who just sat in the atrium and watched the same slides on the big screen, it becomes very boring so go to the game room or bring your own games. I never thought a cruise could be boring but the Pearl was.

[gemsm]

I liked Carnival. I love NCL. Carnival seemed to be a lot more fun if you were in a younger age group. I sailed Carnival when in my 20s and I had an absolutely awesome time. I sailed NCL when in my 20s and if it hadn't been my very first cruise I probably wouldn't have tried NCL again.

 

As I get a bit older NCL is much more my style. I like not having to rush to make my dinner "seating" time and instead eating when I feel like it. I like the activity mix that they have on NCL much more now that I am older.

 

Personally I would never say no to trying any line but I really think the 3 mass market lines (namely NCL, RCI, and Carnival) really do cater to different needs/tastes and that personal preferences really have everything to do with which line you would prefer.

[CruizeVirgin]

I have sailed on Carnival and was late for my dinner (15 min) once. The waiter came over to me and informed me to try to make it on time. He told me because I was late it threw off the whole service of the table as he had to go back and forth more than he wanted to. The whole concept of freestyle cruising is great since I can show up when I want. If im running a bit late one night, I wont be chastized like a bad child. Go NCL!!

[klct39lg]

i know what you mean about having to think about dinner... making the reservations etc. honestly it was a headache for us.

then we went on celebrity right after our NCL cruise and what a difference it made, knowing where we were sitting, and what time, etc..

it made the vacation more relaxing thats for sure

thats just my opinion,

Melissa

 

 

Can't one just show up anytime at the main dining rooms, no reservations?

 

Aren't reservations only required for the specialty restaurants?

[nhvacation]

Just to clarify, reservations are not needed for the main dining rooms. You do not have to sit with others. It is your choice. You might have a short wait for a table, depending on the time you go. You do need reservations for the specialty restaurants (some free, some not). You do not sit with others. You do not need reservations for the buffet.

 

We have cruised several lines. I enjoy eating when and where I want. Typically, that means my husband and I eat in a main dining room, by ourselves, during "prime" meal time. However, we have chosen to sit with others at some of our breakfasts and lunches in the dining room.

 

I enjoy the "restaurant" ambiance rather than the "corporate function" ambiance where everyone is eating the same course at the same time.

 

Really though, it's all good!

[juried]

I have sailed both and when the kids were in their teens the choice was Carnival all the way. I find Carnival cruisers more relaxed and fun-loving too. It is almost like a blue collar cruise, and there ain’t nothin’ wrong with that!

We always got the best category cabin available on Carnival but even a 12 or was it 13(?) is just one big room.

The suites on NCL especially the Villa’s are hard to compare too. When you have a suite on NCL you are pampered and catered to with concierge and butler plus tons of special amenities.

If I were just in a balcony cabin on NCL then I might as well go on one of the newer Carnival ships, the cost is much less and besides the Freestyle Dining, most everything else is comparable… they are just really Fun Ships. But be aware that your fellow passengers will be younger, louder and a bit rowdier … and that is fine by me.;)

Juried

[scubacindy]

We found a wait staff that we fell in love with on the Sun, at our table for two and when we wanted that same staff we would tell the Maitre D, the only night we had a longish wait was the Dress up or Not night, I can't remember if it was lobster night. Might have been.

 

Something I have learned from cruising, travel and life in general you will never get what you ask for if you don't ask. Speak up and don't be too afraid to talk to your Maitre D, they just might be able to help.

 

Cindy

[jasoneats]

We have been on NCL three times now (the only line we've ever been on). Each time, we were seated with an awesome waitstaff team on our first night. For the rest of that cruise, we simply asked for those servers every time we went to dinner...and breakfast and lunch as well! They quickly got to know our preferences and took extra-great care of us. In fact, last month on the Dawn we ran into one of our servers from the Sun two years ago and she remembered us immediately. It was great to see a familiar face.

 

My point is that you can have the benefit of the same waitstaff every night without having a set table and time. We ate whenever we liked. The most we ever waited for a table was five minutes. Additionally, we almost always sat at a two top, except when we had dinner with some new-found friends.

[NowVoyager908]

Having sailed on both, I can honestly say that the differences are pretty minimal. Obviously, traditional vs. freestyle dining is the biggie. And of course the option to dress formally . . . or not.

 

On my two NCL cruises, I never felt stressed when it came to dinner. I arrived at the dining room when I felt like eating. And I was able to make reservations for any of the specialty restaurants I wanted to try without any fuss. I found the service to be pretty much what you would get in any good restaurant on land. I'm faintly uncomfortable with all the hovering that the wait staff does on a traditional cruise and as someone else mentioned, I absolutely hate the part where they are forced to parade around the dining room with flaming deserts on their heads. ;)

 

My next cruise is on a ship with traditional dining, so it's not a deal breaker by any means, but it definitely isn't my preferred choice.

[susieque61]

I hear what everyone is saying, however I do not believe one can judge a cruiseline to another by only one or two cruises. CCL, being one of the largest lines has ships from the botton to the top. NCL is the same. I have been on 3 NCL, the first being the Norway many years ago. Since then, two others (neither built for freestyle but offering freestyle) and swore ...never again. HOWEVER, we choose our cruises with the itinerary as our first criteria. We leave Sunday for our 5th NCL Cruise on the Dawn which was designed for freestyle. We'll see. I will look for the positive and regardless..... have a great time. My experience will be filed away for the next cruise choice. We have 8 CCL cruises under our belts and loved each one. We had more fun. Actually the packing list has been similar. I always make a list, keep it on my computer, and edit when I get home to prepare for the next cruise. When I dress up .... it is basic black, easy care fabric with glitzy jewelery. Takes up little space and works for any/all cruises. On NCL, it your choice. Please compare apples to oranges, peaches, and pears instead of bushels of apples to bushels of oranges. The ships in each fleet are not all the same. Keep in mind.... all the fruit is usually tasty. To compare CCL to NCL (or any other line) would take up far too much space, but ship to ship....doable. Does anyone agree?

[salty dingo]

Some people swear by freestyle... others like me simply tolerate it... I am not on a cruise mainly to eat so it really does not matter to me.

 

I think there is more in common than different between Carnival and NCL. I have been on more Carnival cruises than any other line, and I like the product a lot. I don't care for the dining room antics but they do have a good time and you can't knock that.

 

NCL has a good handle on what people want, and you can't knock that either.

[flarad]

Of the two lines we really prefer NCL. Carnival was much rowdier and while we like to have fun I don't particularly care for drunks late at night. We far preferred the service on NCL. Traveling as a family we had a great time deciding where to eat each night and let the kids take turns. We eat around 6 for dinner and never had a problem. Original OP, you might really like Princess. We enjoyed them but my DH prefers the freestyle and Princess is too subdued for him. Service was impeccable on Princess and they have some great itineraries too. Price is pretty comparable. My kids preferred the kids programs on NCL and the counselors were far better than on Princess.

[newmexicoNita]

I hear what everyone is saying, however I do not believe one can judge a cruiseline to another by only one or two cruises. CCL, being one of the largest lines has ships from the botton to the top. NCL is the same. I have been on 3 NCL, the first being the Norway many years ago. Since then, two others (neither built for freestyle but offering freestyle) and swore ...never again. HOWEVER, we choose our cruises with the itinerary as our first criteria. We leave Sunday for our 5th NCL Cruise on the Dawn which was designed for freestyle. We'll see. I will look for the positive and regardless..... have a great time. My experience will be filed away for the next cruise choice. We have 8 CCL cruises under our belts and loved each one. We had more fun. Actually the packing list has been similar. I always make a list, keep it on my computer, and edit when I get home to prepare for the next cruise. When I dress up .... it is basic black, easy care fabric with glitzy jewelery. Takes up little space and works for any/all cruises. On NCL, it your choice. Please compare apples to oranges, peaches, and pears instead of bushels of apples to bushels of oranges. The ships in each fleet are not all the same. Keep in mind.... all the fruit is usually tasty. To compare CCL to NCL (or any other line) would take up far too much space, but ship to ship....doable. Does anyone agree?

Well put.