Carnival cruiser looking at trying NCL

[outdrbik]

My husband and I have cruised previously on the Carnival sensation to the bahamas and also on the carnival glory to eastern caribbean. We have another couple that has never cruised before and would like to give it a try. we found the Sky going to the bahamas and stirrup cay for cheap for a 4-5 day. Just wondering if anyone else could tell me the pros and cons of each ship. Not sure about the freestyle dining that NCL has. Room size? Activities? What is there to do in Stirrup Cay also?

 

Thanks!

[Jamrenjer]

Unfortunately, we have never been on Carnival-- nor the Sky.... we have been on several lines-- and NCL ships.... I think you will have a great time! It is nice to be able to eat when you want to etc. I am sure you will get some better advice from those who have been on the Sky and also Carnival... all the best!

[newmexicoNita]

My husband and I have cruised previously on the Carnival sensation to the bahamas and also on the carnival glory to eastern caribbean. We have another couple that has never cruised before and would like to give it a try. we found the Sky going to the bahamas and stirrup cay for cheap for a 4-5 day. Just wondering if anyone else could tell me the pros and cons of each ship. Not sure about the freestyle dining that NCL has. Room size? Activities? What is there to do in Stirrup Cay also?

 

Thanks!

cabins are smaller than on Carnival cruise ships, but who spends much time in the cabin anyway..?? You can't beat the prices the Sky is offering right now and it would be a great way for your friends to try cruising..Though I prefer longer cruises, 4 and 5 days do give a pretty good taste of what it is about..3 day cruises, NO!!

 

Stirrup Cay is like any private island; there is snorkeling, volley ball, laying on the beach, a bar b que and walking paths as well as venders selling good made in Nassau or maybe China, who knows...

 

It is a fun day, but nothing really exciting, just relaxing. If you do take the cruise, make sure you get on an early tender to GSC before it gets too crowded.

 

Nita

[jasmine196]

I'm in the same boat you are, no pun intended. This will be my first cruise on NCL after 2 on Carnival. It was a hard decision to switch but why not try something new. I'm leaving on the 30th, I'll let you know the differences I see when I get back:)

[Mrs. H.]

We swore we would never cruise NCL again, and last week I booked another cruise with them. Hoping that three times a charm.

We prefer RCCL , Carnival & Princess.

I had to settle for NCL since they were the only ones that had a cruise the time I wanted & for the amount of time plus I rather leave out of NY this time. Really looking forward to Bermuda again. Got a penthouse for the first time so I doubt we should encounter another trip from hell with them.

A cruise is a cruise. No matter what someone will complain about something. Just relax, eat, dance, eat some more and sight see.

[TrinaLC]

We swore we would never cruise NCL again, and last week I booked another cruise with them. Hoping that three times a charm.

We prefer RCCL , Carnival & Princess.

I had to settle for NCL since they were the only ones that had a cruise the time I wanted & for the amount of time plus I rather leave out of NY this time. Really looking forward to Bermuda again. Got a penthouse for the first time so I doubt we should encounter another trip from hell with them.

A cruise is a cruise. No matter what someone will complain about something. Just relax, eat, dance, eat some more and sight see.

 

What NCL ship were you on before? Which one now?

[dark star]

done one N.C.L. doing two more as part of a triple up including the four nighter SKY to the bahamas. the other leg is on carnival, should be interesting to compere the two.:)

[coffeebean]

done one N.C.L. doing two more as part of a triple up including the four nighter SKY to the bahamas. the other leg is on carnival, should be interesting to compere the two.:)

 

Keep in mind, the NCL Sky is a smaller, older ship. This ship was not built for Freestyle and doesn't offer the variety of dining venues the newer ships offer. It makes a big difference in the dining experience you will have.

[ce2000]

I think it is good to try different cruiselines, each offers a little different experience. I''m not loyal to any cruiseline, but Carnival is a lot of fun and their food is very good. NCL offers some very good prices, well worth the money. After your cruise please come back here and post your experience with NCL.

[garycarla]

You might want to read some of the reviews that are posted here. The link below should help out a little as well.

 

Carnival has a wide range of ships, from their older smaller ones to newer fancier ones. NCL has a range, but not quite as big a spread. Somebody had a list of them by age a week or so ago here.

[BalconyBumz]

Hello, Carnival is my least favorite line, but NCL is my worst and I think Carnival is much better than NCL. I normally prefer Princess, RCCL, Celebrity and an occasional HAL. Love HAL, but the people are just too old and there are too many walkers and scooters for us, but they are a good line. We only took NCL once and we absolutely could not stand it. It just had too many negatives, when other lines may have a thing here and there that we don't like or other ones are better, NCL had a huge mounting list to us to leave a very bad taste in our mouths compared to the other lines. Our experience on Carnival was truly a much better one than NCL.

[DMH15]

You should give NCL a try. Please note that restaurant reviewers typicaly try a restaurant twice before writing a review. There is a reason for that. Anyone can have an off experience. For that reason I recommend that someone who gives experience from one cruise on NCL may have had an isolated situation. I also think ships within a line can differ greatly. I have only cruised with Carnival once and I did not like the eggs benedict. Maybe on a different Carnival ship I would love them? I have cruised NCL three times (twice in the "modern era") and have booked another. Until they give me a reason to switch, I really like the freestyle concept and I am giving a try to the Penthouse too, as I have read great things about NCL suite perks. That's not to say I won't try other lines. I am looking at Azamara (non-smoking casino looks great).

Your Sky 4/3 seems like a good cruise to try out NCL. I hope you have fun.

[sottovoce]

outdrbik, you might find the first posting in this thread helpful: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=876032

[dark star]

Keep in mind, the NCL Sky is a smaller, older ship. This ship was not built for Freestyle and doesn't offer the variety of dining venues the newer ships offer. It makes a big difference in the dining experience you will have.

 

i'm always up for something different. hear the food is quite good on the sky.

[newmexicoNita]

Keep in mind, the NCL Sky is a smaller, older ship. This ship was not built for Freestyle and doesn't offer the variety of dining venues the newer ships offer. It makes a big difference in the dining experience you will have.

Actually that is only partially true...It was purchased as a shell and re-disigned for freestyle, offering several specialty dining rooms. YOu are right, not he huge selections offered on the ships starting with the the Star, but it doesn't fall into the same catagory as the Dream either. It is an inbetween...

 

NIta

[coffeebean]

Actually that is only partially true...It was purchased as a shell and re-disigned for freestyle, offering several specialty dining rooms. YOu are right, not he huge selections offered on the ships starting with the the Star, but it doesn't fall into the same catagory as the Dream either. It is an inbetween...

 

NIta

 

Hi Nita,

 

DH and I were "looking" at the Sky for a December cruise. This ship only has Cagney's, Le Bistro and the Italian surcharge restaurants. As of our last cruise on Jewel, the Asian restaurant has become one of our favorites on NCL ships, having never tried it before on any of our previous seven NCL cruises. Sky also doesn't have a Tex Mex restaurant or the 24 hour Blue Lagoon. In fact, looking on NCL's website, it looks as though Sky doesn't have a 24 hour dining venue. Maybe I'm wrong about that and someone will correct me.

 

Let me add....I would cruise on the Sky in a heart beat if I was certain Matt Baker was cruise director. He is the best CD we have ever had on all of our 25 cruises. I understand he is CD on Sky as of at least three weeks ago but I couldn't get any information from NCL if he was going to be CD in December.

 

coffeebean

[A Sixth?]

outdrbik, we have cruised a couple of times on Carnival and a couple of times on NCL, as well as almost all the others.(Heck, we even had fun when we cruised Dolphin, Thompson, My Travel and (uggg :() Louis...... On Louis the ship was so badly run it sank a few months after we cruised her (The Sea Diamond) But we always enjoyed our cruises.

 

Frankly, there is no such thing as a Bad cruise line IMHO

 

Personally I LOVE the Freestyle concept NCL and others have adopted.

 

Ships vary within any line, so an experience on an older Carnival ship like the Holiday, won't compare to the Destiny for example. But over all I think the thing you'll like most, is the Freestyle dining option. Dine when you want. If there's a wait, it's not long and who cares, you're on vacation!

[newmexicoNita]

Hi Nita,

 

DH and I were "looking" at the Sky for a December cruise. This ship only has Cagney's, Le Bistro and the Italian surcharge restaurants. As of our last cruise on Jewel, the Asian restaurant has become one of our favorites on NCL ships, having never tried it before on any of our previous seven NCL cruises. Sky also doesn't have a Tex Mex restaurant or the 24 hour Blue Lagoon. In fact, looking on NCL's website, it looks as though Sky doesn't have a 24 hour dining venue. Maybe I'm wrong about that and someone will correct me.

 

Let me add....I would cruise on the Sky in a heart beat if I was certain Matt Baker was cruise director. He is the best CD we have ever had on all of our 25 cruises. I understand he is CD on Sky as of at least three weeks ago but I couldn't get any information from NCL if he was going to be CD in December.

 

coffeebean

You are right, they don't have the variety, but prior to the sky NCL ships, like most lines only offered standard dining, buffet and Le Bistro, the Sky has a few more choices as well, as one of the lounges used to offer tapas, they may not anymore. We cruised them before their Hawaii days. As for 24, not even the Sun has one, but the Sky may offer food in the sports bar up to about midnight, like the Sun. It replaces Blue Lagoon with a similar menu. At least this is the case on the Sun.

 

 

The freestyle development went like this (pretty much) 1st, we had standard cruising like any line except NCL offered Le Bistro, they were the first line, to my knowledge to offer any form of specialized dining. In about 2000 NCL came up with the Freestyle concept, relaxed dress code, open dining and more dining choices, at this time the introduced the Sky. It wasn't truely "freestyle" as we think of it today, but was the first attempt. Then came the Sun and Star, truely freestyle. The Star, particularly was a disaster at first. This is where freestyle got it's bad name. The Sun, always seemed to run a little smoother. From there NCL introduced the Dawn and you know the rest of the story.

 

NIta

[CruisnGram]

Hi Nita,

 

the 24 hour Blue Lagoon. In fact, looking on NCL's website, it looks as though Sky doesn't have a 24 hour dining venue. Maybe I'm wrong about that and someone will correct me.

 

 

I was wondering the same thing and according to some freetyle daily's, posted from September of this year, the sports bar serves food from 5:30 pm till 5:30 am. It might not be 24 hours but it's close.

 

CG

[bucsdave]

Having cruised on both, I can offer this observation. The experience between Carnival and NCL is very different. Carnival has alot of neon, light & activity where NCL has had a "classier" feel to it IMHO. The food on Carnival main dining room seemed to be much better than NCL, but the Carnival ships I've been on, Inspiration, Sensation & Destiny didn't really have speciality restaurants at that time. NCL offerings in their speciality restaurants has been great, but does cost a bit more. Given that, it seems that NCL prices are a bit more reasonable and it's easier to have the type of cruise you want - active & up late or a bit more laid back. The convenience of dining anytime you wish and not having to dine with others if you don't want to is great. I do miss the "act" done by the waiters you get on Carnival - they were always a high point of our cruises with them. Given all that, we leave on the Dawn on 3/7 for the Eastern Caribbean. I've never had a "BAD" cruise, I've just had some better than others!!

[MikeandAmy]

I know I have only been on a few cruises, and only NCL, but I would never go with another cruise line, especialli Carnival. I dont want someone telling what time I have to eat, I dont want to have to dress up, yes I know there are other restaurants, but they dont have a great choice of food selection. Also I especially dont want to sit a table with other people. Whne we go on vacation, its to get away from or daily lives. My wife and I arent anti-social, but with our hetic lives, we want peace and quite to ourselves, and be able to do what we want and when we want. I am not paying someone to tell me what to do. I get anough of that at work.

[JenaMH]

I know I have only been on a few cruises, and only NCL, but I would never go with another cruise line, especialli Carnival. I dont want someone telling what time I have to eat, I dont want to have to dress up, yes I know there are other restaurants, but they dont have a great choice of food selection. Also I especially dont want to sit a table with other people. Whne we go on vacation, its to get away from or daily lives. My wife and I arent anti-social, but with our hetic lives, we want peace and quite to ourselves, and be able to do what we want and when we want. I am not paying someone to tell me what to do. I get anough of that at work.

 

I will cruise with NCL for the first time over Thanksgiving, but have cruised with Carnival, and thus far, it is my favorite line. We have never had the sense that we were being told what to do and when like the NCL commercials lead one to believe. Then again, we always eat at the buffet because we don't like to wait on the food to come out like you do at the restaurants. Don't rule out carnival just yet. Give them a chance before you say never. Think about all the neat things in life you'd miss out on if you'd said that to things you'd never tried in the past! :)

[ce2000]

I know I have only been on a few cruises, and only NCL, but I would never go with another cruise line, especialli Carnival. I dont want someone telling what time I have to eat, I dont want to have to dress up, yes I know there are other restaurants, but they dont have a great choice of food selection. Also I especially dont want to sit a table with other people. Whne we go on vacation, its to get away from or daily lives. My wife and I arent anti-social, but with our hetic lives, we want peace and quite to ourselves, and be able to do what we want and when we want. I am not paying someone to tell me what to do. I get anough of that at work.

 

MikeandAmy, I kind of like your style. You know what you want and NCL does that very well for you. However, if you never try a different cruiseline you may be missing out on something very special. If you try another cruiseline and are disappointed with it then I would stay strictly with NCL.

Give it a try, live on the edge, I don't think that you will be disappointed.

[nunuc2000]

MikeandAmy, I kind of like your style. You know what you want and NCL does that very well for you. However, if you never try a different cruiseline you may be missing out on something very special. If you try another cruiseline and are disappointed with it then I would stay strictly with NCL.

Give it a try, live on the edge, I don't think that you will be disappointed.

 

Though I'm still very new to cruising, I agree with the idea of trying diffferent cruise lines and making my own decision about what suits me best. I COMPLETELY ignore posts from people who make generalizations like "stay away from that cruiseline, they're the worst ever!!" and "don't ever cruise with them - nothing will be done right". If those comments were based on FACT instead of personal opinion, then there wouldn't be any cruise ships sailing the ocean these days!! There's got to be some good to all of them in order for them to be staying business. Which means it's all very subjective, and because of that, I'm going to cruise different ones and make my own decisons based on my own experiences, not he experiences of others. Then I can offer suggestions or advice based on my own personal opinons.. and that's the type of posting I pay VERY close attention to.. the ones where people are very clear in being as objective as they can be, but still recognize that their experience is still unique to them - everyone's personal experience will be unique to them.

 

Besides... it's a cruise... and any day on a cruise ship has got to beat a day on land... but that's just my personal opinon. ;)

[mpk218]

I have sailed both NCL and Carnival plus afew others and will be trying Princess next summer. Without getting graphic , I will not sail Carnival again even if it were a free cruise. We are trying Princess for the sole reason that I believe one should try the product before commenting on what they may have heard third party . I was over at the Princess board and you would think NCL was spawned from the bowels of hell.... NCL is by far my prefered cruise line ( so far ). But I want to see this incredible WOW I keep hearing about.

Its simple , if you like to cruise try several lines and settle into the ones YOU like best . Because if all the ships with all the lines were 120k tons and played calypso music non stop we would all get bored .

Just my .02 ;)

 

mpk