Princess Fan Sails NCL

[ancldaca]

Thank you for the candid review. I like Princess a lot and could deal with RCCL better if their food wasn't so lousy. I've often thought of NCL as a possible alternative "just to mix things up".

[OuiOnboard]

Thanks for the review.

We have cruised on NCL ships several times and enjoyed the experiences to varying degrees just as we have on other lines' ships. Indeed, we have sometimes noticed more severely irritating differences between cruises on the same ship as opposed to those on different lines or ships.

Such is the nature of cruising. Perhaps that is what makes cruising so interesting for us.

[dforeigner]

Thank you for taking time to write a review.

[jfv379]

hahahahaha! It's quite simple really. You purchase nothing larger than pints. The bottles must have plastic lids. You put them on your body. Wearing comfortable loose fitting clothes (jeans, chinos, blouses, t-shirts) I could get 2 in my front pockets. Each time we got off the ship, we each got 2 pints. We had leftovers at the end. A pint will also fit in your sock and long slacks will hide it. Others in my party used that method. I have to point out once more, this is not our typical style. It was a game we played in response to the overcharges....and we had fun with it. I much prefer just ordering it from room service, just not at $80/liter.

 

I can just picture this. Loaded down with pint bottles stuffed everywhere.:p

It remined me of 45 years ago when we used to hide our cigarettes in our socks.:D

[rucruizin]

Smuggling Rookies ;) LOL!

 

All you have to do is purchase one bottle that you plan to check. Put anything else you want in your carry on (this is in port of course, not at embarkation) hidden. Run everything through the scanners but, only leave the booze to be checked visable. They will tell you to check you liquor, you walk up, check the box you planned to check and walk away....simple as that.

 

I've walked onto every cruise line listed in my signature, with whatever I wanted.

 

Now, before you all start hating...I don't always use it for personal consumption. I do like to pack it well in my suitcase for the trip home. I hardly feel that I have the time to do that when it's delivered late on the last afternoon.

 

We usually enjoy a glass of wine before dinner, while on our balcony. Sometimes we invite a group to our cabin for drinks, or a get together. That's the only reason I smuggle. I would be very hard pressed to drink an entire liter of anything, even in 10 days...I just don't drink that much.

 

Smuggling beer on for the DH, is usually what I'm doing...he likes micro brews.

[rucruizin]

BTW,

 

Thank you for the review. I've looked at NCL a couple times and I just don't have a good feeling about it, I don't know what it is.

 

After this review... I'm still talked out of it. I know it wasn't bad...it's just not great. Unless I'm paying bargain basement prices? I want great!

 

I've had great on Carnival with great service, great food, great prices.

[lel5344]

We also appreciate the honest review.

 

We've been on 5 NCL cruises (also one Carnival and one Celebrity)and we are about to try Princess for the first time.

 

We were long time boosters of NCL (until a recent extremely bad customer service experience) and have always enjoyed such amenities as freestyle dining. That's a reason we chose Princess as an alternative - we enjoy the flexibility of dining when we wish. If we have to wait a bit, no big deal.

 

In our opinion, there is a major difference between NCL's foreign flagged vessels and its American flagged vessel (although our experience on an American flagged vessel was on the Pride of Aloha, now in its second incarnation as Norwegian Sky). But we sailed that ship for the 11 day Hawai'i itinerary, not for the ship. so our expectations were somewhat diminished.

 

I really can't make any astute comparisons because our one Carnival cruise was our very first cruise, with 2 teenagers. And while Celebrity is a mass market line, I don't think that comparing Celebrity and NCL is apples and apples.

 

We're excited about our first Princess cruise. We'll check out the alternative dining venues, we'll try the International Cafe, we'll see if Princess pizza is as good as some of you think (although that's a tough one - we're from Chicago where you get the world's best pizza). We'll compare the Princess shows to the Jean Ann Ryan shows on NCL. We'll compare the embarking and disembarking procedures. We'll compare staterooms.

 

One thing we won't compare is the buffets. We only have done buffets on embarkation day (Thank you, Princess, for opening the dining room - we'll be there) and for ice cream or a cold drink in the afternoon.

 

I won't promise a review, but you'll eventually see my comments in appropriate threads.

[pamwinn]

I don't know what Chicago pizza is but I have found out what NYC pizza is. Princess pizza is vastly superior to what we had on NCL. That being said, Famiglia pizza at the LGA airport is superior to Princess pizza. I discovered what pizza is in NYC and was flabbergasted to discover that airport pizza was better than anything I had been exposed to. I typically hate airport food. I can't wait to try Chicago pizza. Is the crust thin yet crispy, chewy, and firm?

[cleavesteam]

I don't know what Chicago pizza is but I have found out what NYC pizza is. Princess pizza is vastly superior to what we had on NCL. That being said, Famiglia pizza at the LGA airport is superior to Princess pizza. I discovered what pizza is in NYC and was flabbergasted to discover that airport pizza was better than anything I had been exposed to. I typically hate airport food. I can't wait to try Chicago pizza. Is the crust thin yet crispy, chewy, and firm?

The Chicago pizza I'm familiar with is of the deep dish variety. One slice is like having a whole pie of NY pizza.

 

I prefer the thin, crisp crust myself.

[cleavesteam]

How to sneak booze into a NCL cruise? Very simple, just put it inside a previously used and properly washed 1 liter Listerine bottle! As long as the liquor is out of its original glass container the X rays machines that are used to scan the luggage can't pick it up!

 

Andres

When I was in Puerto Rico I bought a two liter bottle of soda, emptied it out, and replaced it with two bottles of rum.

[cynbar]

We are loyal Princess cruisers who sailed the NCL Gem in June because she had the itinerary we wanted, and I must say that we had a better cruise than the OP. Ship was clean, service everywhere was excellent, excursions were exceptionally well run. Also, the main DRs had multiple great tables for 2, much better than what we found on Princess. However, the food for us was lacking. We're back to Princess for our next cruise in January, but we agreed we would sail NCL again if the price and itinerary are right. It was nowhere near as bad as some of the posters here report.