Norwegian VS Carnival ?

[scperk]

Now I'm an older person my self, but I don't consider myself old...LOL...We were on the Pearl for 14 days and lots of time there was nothing going on to interest me..I did the rock-climb everyday and also went bowling several times...But I have been on around 14 Carnival cruises and there is always something going on...Not many people in the casinos late at night and nothing like the deck parties they have on Carnival...The service I got in most of the restaurants was lacking(I was told they had transferred many people from the Pearl to the Jewel)..Overall it was just not as much fun as I have on Carnival cruises...Dennis

[terri910]

WARNING!

Once you cruise NCL you may never want to go back to Carnival. The difference is like day & night. Carnival is like the KMart of cruise lines....no...make that Bill's Dollar Store instead. :D

Actually, for my husband and I, the opposite was true.

 

We have cruised NCL, and decided we preferred Carnival for it's fun and liveliness. For us the analogy wasn't so much "The Dollar Store vs. Macy's" but "Disneyland vs. a convalescent hospital."

[lunyma]

Thanks for the reply, Dennis, and LOL terri! I guess maybe the median age onn our NCL cruise was younger because it was only a 5 night cruise. Doesn't much matter to me either way, although I do like some late night casino action :).

I'll still keep cruising Carnival (planning on taking my DD for her 21st bday this summer) but I would like to do NCL again, just hubby and me... As I said before... I book my cruises based on my mood... and of course, the price ;)

[lunyma]

Thanks for the reply, Dennis, and LOL terri! I guess maybe the median age on our NCL cruise was younger because it was only a 5 night cruise. Doesn't much matter to me either way, although I do like some late night casino action :).

I'll still keep cruising Carnival (planning on taking my DD for her 21st bday this summer) but I would like to do NCL again, just hubby and me... As I said before... I book my cruises based on my mood... and of course, the price ;)

[bmacri]

I think if we spend too much time comparing cruiselines it can drive us crazy.

 

Please remember if they were all the same we would quickly become bored.

 

Think of a new ship or a new cruiseline as an adventure.

 

I've done Carnival and Norweigan in the past year.

I like the set dining times and having the same wait staff on Carnival.

I like choosing from a stack of menus making a reservation at one of them on Norweigan.

Or if I was too lazy to look at menu's, I'd just go to the main dining room on Norweigan.

 

Both are great. Both are good.

Remember, it's an adventure.

[lunyma]

I think if we spend too much time comparing cruiselines it can drive us crazy.

 

Please remember if they were all the same we would quickly become bored.

 

Think of a new ship or a new cruiseline as an adventure.

 

I've done Carnival and Norweigan in the past year.

I like the set dining times and having the same wait staff on Carnival.

I like choosing from a stack of menus making a reservation at one of them on Norweigan.

Or if I was too lazy to look at menu's, I'd just go to the main dining room on Norweigan.

 

Both are great. Both are good.

Remember, it's an adventure.

 

Well said :)

[cruisingadoptionworker]

Of the positives of NCL I will say this: I liked the fact that their pool was freshwater and not saltwater, and that their hottub was actually hot. And that's about it.

 

I hated freestyle- everyone wants to eat at the same time, so we ended standing in line for 45 minutes waiting to eat. And ladies, in heels, that's disaster!

I didn't like the shows, and it didn't feel very fun, and the crowd was significantly older (which isn't inviting when you are a young family.)

 

And the food wasn't great.

 

Carnival wins hands down.

[F5Loar]

NCL Older crowd? Never felt that ever on some 8 of them. What I do know is you can pick the ship , pick where to go, pick the price, but you will never be able to pick the other 2000+/- people going with you. Your week might be packed full of college spring breakers, or it could be packed full of the Senior Citizen's Annual Cruise to Nowhere Cruise. You won't find that out until you board about those other passengers. I just hope I don't pick Rosie O'Donnels week!

[halos]

I've sailed both

I love both

:D

 

There are some differences, and most of that is in the Freestyle..other than that we had more to do on our NCL cruise than we ever had on CCL and I couldn't believe it to be honest. We were on a 15 day repo and there was something new to do every day/night.

Carnival's food was better and I like traditional dining BUT there is a lot to be said about Freestyle. We were with a large group from these boards...so if we ran into people on the way to one of the dining rooms, we'd hook up for dinner. This was really enjoyable and you can't do this on a traditional ship. On the nights we just wanted to be alone, we were able to easily get a table for two..another thing you can't do when dining tradtionally.

 

I enjoyed NCL the way it was enough to know that I'd cruise them again in a heartbeat...but it seems I may have more reason to like them in the future. If you haven't read this, please do so. It seems NCL is stepping it up a notch. If I enjoyed the line before, I expect to enjoy it even more after these changes are implemented.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=2325

 

Also...we have also sailed Celebrity...now THAT has an older passenger demographic. NCL is the same as CCL...there is a huge mix of ages on the ship. I enjoy that very much. There was even a good mix on this repo cruise that was 15 days and that usually draws an old crowd.

 

My review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=665663

[letmetellya]

Hey , its Debbie from the victory cruise . I have some good pics to send you . email me and I will attach them , we had a good time you guys on new years eve . heres my email

letmetellya3@comcast.net

[beachbrat]

I just got off NCL Pearl a few days ago. I have sailed Carnival 7 times and RCCL once.

 

Food: NCL hands down. I find the food on Carnival to be way too greasy. I don't like my veggies swimming in butter. The selection on NCL is bigger and better. NCL has real ice cream that is scooped (baskin robbins type). I loved the Mexican and Italian restaurants. I liked exploring the different restaurants. The vegetarian selection on Carnival is better. The NCL buffet has stations which makes for a smoother experience.

 

Entertainment: About the same.

 

Nighttime activities: Carnival. NCL was pretty much dead after 10 p.m. I did however love the disco decor at the Bliss...very sexy. Live music goes to Carnival. NCL was aweful.

 

Decor: Same...very bright, very loud.

 

Cruisers: NCL significantly older and slower. I only have two speeds...fast and faster so this tried my patience. I did find the NCL crowd to be less noisy. I did miss the Carnival crowd energy.

 

I have been on a couple of Carnival cruises where fights have broken out...none on NCL. LOL

 

All in all, I would cruise both again though I am inclined more towards NCL now because of the food quality and freestyle dining.