Ncl

[luvmy2kids]

I've been on 3 Carnival cruises (LOVED THEM) and one Disney (LOVED IT). I'm doing some research for my brother and I came up with an awesome deal on Norwegian for a balcony. Have any of my fellow carnival cruisers tried NCL and what did you think? Pros and Cons. Thanks!

[HighSeaslover]

Went January 08 on NCL Jewel for 9days (6th cruise) We were with ds,bil, and two friends all seasoned cruisers and all very dissappointed in the cruise. This was DH and mine first NCL cruise but DS and BIL's 2nd they were not happy with first and I talked them in to giving it a try since the price was good. Well I was sorry for that. Entertainment was lacking, many of nights we were back in our cabin by 9pm due to bordem. Never has happen on RCL, Princess or Carnival. We also were very frustrated by their Freestyle dining... You have to make reservations for the different restaurants and if you don't show they charge you this isn't for the surcharge restaurant but the free ones. You can not make the reservations more than the day before, therefore to get into the one we wanted we got up early for 3 days to get a reservation. It was frustrating and was not what I call Freestyle.

[flipflops78]

I had a BAD time on a NCL.

 

Our room still had peoples clothes in it from the last people. Candy wrappers all over in the closet.

 

One day we were at port and the CD was drinking with the staff. I thought that looked bad because when I returned many hours later he was still there drinking. His eyes were bloodshot. just didnt look perfesional.

 

The entertainment was lacking and felt like it was run by a bunch of frat boys.

 

The freestyle is a joke. Everyone wants to eat at basically the same time and it was so croweded we had to wait an hour in line. Then the food was bad. My sister and I lived on hot dogs and PB&J's.

[redlef]

I've been on 3 Carnival cruises (LOVED THEM) and one Disney (LOVED IT). I'm doing some research for my brother and I came up with an awesome deal on Norwegian for a balcony. Have any of my fellow carnival cruisers tried NCL and what did you think? Pros and Cons. Thanks!

 

Was on the NCL Jewel Oct 26-Nov9 repo and it was great. The ship had about 250 empty cabins, which may have affected restaurant wait times, but the only time we waited to be seated was when we went to the main dining room at 7PM on lobster tail night.

 

The crew was extremely attentive and friendly, the service was great, the food was good and the ship was incredibly clean. I'd go back on NCL again, if the itinerary and price was right. I think NCL vs Carnival is like Toyota vs. Honda. Lots of good in both, some people will have their preferences.

 

And I can't imagine being on a cruise being any worse than having to go to work!

[SweetpeaOne]

We went on NCL in July 2007. We had a great time. The room was clean, food was awesome. Wonderful ship.. Nothing to complain about. Would sail with them again.

[NevadaHiRoller]

I've been on two NCL cruises, both were bad. I do not like NCL at all.

[CrusinAgain]

We went on the Pearl for 9 long days and the service was lousy, the entertainment and lack thereof was extremely disappointing and the looking forward to eating at a bunch of different venues does not pan out as the suites get first dabs and you need to make reservations early the day before. The food in the dining room was sadly lacking in selection and quality. And to top it all off the ship came down with over 10 percent of the passengers with the Noro Virus. Our shower was always plugged up throughout the cruise so we would stand in ankle deep water even after begging management to fix it they said there was nothing wrong. Our room did not get cleaned until late afternoon. I honestly can only say the bowling alley which you pay for extra was the only neat thing.

 

For icing on the cake, they lost my luggage after we docked and they did not care. Luckily I had insurance but that was a huge hassle proving everything and the cost inside the luggage.

 

I would have to think hard about taking a free cruise on NCL - that is what I think of them. They lost our business.

[halos]

I sailed my first NCL last Nov (15 day repo)...had a BLAST!! Really enjoyed NCL and wasn't expecting to.

I have another (7 day) booked fro March as well as another (14 day) booked for Nov. I guess I'll see if my great time was a fluke or not...

 

The only thing that I thought was lacking was the service in the main dining rooms..other than that I loved it. We had no issues getting seated at dinner times. There were 2 nights when the restuarant we wanted to eat in had a wait, so we ate someplace else. There are so many choices!!

The activities were amazing...so many things to do. I hope my next 2 NCL cruises will be that good.

The crew are the friendliest we have come across.

 

You will get so many varied responses on this...the only way to know is to try it yourself.

[Azure Moon]

We've been on NCL once and will be going again in the near future.

 

Our first experience was above average to excellent on an NCLA ship...at a time when NCLA was getting clobbered on the boards about having terrible service. We found the crew to be just as good as the ones we've had on our Carnival cruises.

 

Since we did Hawaii, which is very port intensive, we weren't on the ship during the day, so we have no idea the number or content of activities. In the evenings we enjoyed the performances in the theater and listening to piano playing in a commons area. We went to bed early (except one late night for me when I went to get a snack - everyone seemed to be in bed so ship was quiet).

 

We left that cruise saying we would be happy to cruise NCL again.

 

But time passed, we've since sailed on two Carnival cruises - one excellent and one magical, I've been disappointed by some of the things I've read about NCL, and they've just done away with self-serve laundry rooms (the move gets a big thumbs down from me), so I'm apprehensive about going on the cruise - much to my hubby's displeasure.

 

Oh well, hubby booked it because the fare was cheap, the itinerary is very good, and the ship looks and sounds as good as our last one was, if not better because of the bowling alley :cool:.

 

I'll probably come back from the cruise gushing about how great the ship, crew, and our time was :rolleyes: :D.

 

Go and make up your own mind.

[Cruzman]

Cruised NCL once; never again! 'Nuff said.

[halos]

When reading all the 'never again' comments on NCL, just keep in mind that if you go to any of the other cruise boards, you may (actually you WILL) see that same comment about CCL, and you like CCL, correct???

Thought you might want to consider that.

[MrPete]

We tried NCL almost 20 years ago. They were imitators, and bad at that. Nothing original. We spent the entire week realizing our mistake.

 

We have never been back.

[halos]

We tried NCL almost 20 years ago. They were imitators, and bad at that. Nothing original. We spent the entire week realizing our mistake.

 

We have never been back.

I felt that way the first time I sailed CCL in 1991...fortunately, I tried them again. ;)

[MrPete]

I felt that way the first time I sailed CCL in 1991...fortunately, I tried them again. ;)

 

Well, there you go. :D

[jame_g]

We've been on NCL and Carnival and have enjoyed both. We just completed an NCL cruise and have another Carnival cruise coming up.

 

There were things we loved about both, and things we didn't like about both. However, we do prefer the freestyle dining to traditional cruise dining. Food is very subjective. We've had both great meals and lousy meals on NCL. In general Carnival was more consistent in the main dining room. However we generally prefer the NCL buffet over the food we had in the buffet on Carnival. Sorry, but I think desserts are lousy on both lines, with the exception of the ice cream which was good on both.

[tbogie]

We cruised the Star in March 2008 with another family. Kids ages 9, 10 and 13. Our son, 9yr old, struggled because it was spring break week and there were so many kids they split up the kids club. He was with the 6-9 yr old group and they moved them to a conference room on an upper deck. First night we check him in they had legos and other games to play. This was his 4th cruise so he was expecting the kids club room with the video games. We asked if the age groups would each get some time in the kids club room and we were told no. He mostly hung out with us, played basketball or played the Wii our friends had brought in the cabin. The 10 yr girl in our group loved kids club and kept track of all the activities she wanted to do. 13 yr boy met some kids in the club and participated in a few activities, mostly hung with us or did his own thing. As a whole, we really enjoyed the 8 night cruise, loved the freestyle and had a great experience. We heard alot of negatives about NCL before we cruised, but we think it is probably what you make of it. In my book, there is no bad cruise.

 

When we went to the main dining rooms for dinner we always went about 15 minutes before they opened the doors and got a table right away. We ate at Tepanayakki's and Cagney's and really enjoyed them both and thought the money was worth it. The buffet didn't flow as easy as other ships, but I can't complain as long as I am not cooking and cleaning up. We are not really into the shows so I can't comment on those. The kids went the the Carousel lounge every night for the Wii contest. One hour of playing Wii against other kids on the ship. We love playing trivia and went to that every night-and got beat every time. We mostly hung out in the Red Lion Pub or on our balconies. We did the bar set up through the ships coordinator and that worked out great. There really wasn't alot of shops, which was probably a good thing.

[*Luv2Cruz*]

Loved all my cruises on several cruise lines.:D NCL's FreeStyle is great when going to Bermuda and docked for three days!:cool:

[bilx0424]

Ahoy!

My DH & I had our honeymoon (12-14-08) on the NCL Spirit out of NOLA. We were excited b/c of the ports of call. However, the food YUCK!!!!!! Usually, if I don’t have to cook it I think it taste great….NOT ON NCL…It was like my college dorm food very disgusting... We ended up paying almost every night for the restaurants that charge. Other than the steak house they were not that great either….

Also, the staff was rude and had a bad attitude…None of the special extras like Carnival…we only got one towel animal…

I love to cruise bit NOT WITH NCL!

Hope everyone is having a good day:)

 

The bed...OUCH!!!

[estella15]

I've been on NCL twice, once before they switched to freestyle cruising and once after. My first cruise on NCL (the SS Norway, a very long time ago) was great; it was actually one of my favorites!

 

My second cruise on NCL, after they started the whole freestyle thing, was no where near as good as the first. For me, the freestyle cruising has completely turned me off from NCL. I felt like in order to get any decent food on the ship, you had to eat in one of the specialty restaurants. Not only do you have to pay extra for that, we couldn't even get a reservation. Plus, there was always a long wait to eat dinner in the dining room (over 2 hours one night), although my TA says they've gotten better with that. I also felt like service wasn't as good.

[zqvol]

I've been on 3 Carnival cruises (LOVED THEM) and one Disney (LOVED IT). I'm doing some research for my brother and I came up with an awesome deal on Norwegian for a balcony. Have any of my fellow carnival cruisers tried NCL and what did you think? Pros and Cons. Thanks!

 

Very similar to Carnival. I like the food better, anytime dining is great!.

 

NCLs entertainment is some of, if not the best afloat.

 

Cabins are a tiny bit smaller but not much.

 

All in all they are more alike than different.

 

If I have the choice between two ships sailing the identical itinerary, the choice is easy, which ever is the least expensive, becasue honestly, CCL, RCCL, and NCL are more alike than they are different and they all do a good job of providing a mass market cruise experience.

[mafig]

Went January 08 on NCL Jewel for 9days (6th cruise) You have to make reservations for the different restaurants and if you don't show they charge you this isn't for the surcharge restaurant but the free ones.

 

 

Really???Really? How can they charge you for a free restaurant?

 

We've been on two NCL cruises and have another planned for March. We like to try all the lines, and they all have plusses and minuses.

 

I would not hesitate to go on Carnival again or Norwegian.

 

Actually, the only line I'd think long and hard about going on again is Costa.

[H82seaUgo]

Instead of having all these different restaurants taking up all these public spaces, why can't you have one large menu?

 

Why is the good food just not just served centrally?

 

Makes no sense to me.

[CrusinAgain]

Instead of having all these different restaurants taking up all these public spaces, why can't you have one large menu?

 

Why is the good food just not just served centrally?

 

Makes no sense to me.

 

On the Pearl the different restaurants only sat 25 people which is why it was hard to get in to one. The main dining was easy to get into but the menu is very different than Carnival or Princess. Like they serve macaroni and cheese and meatloaf in the main dining room. I expect a higher food menu offering than that when I cruise. Never see that on Princess or Carnival.

 

There was absolutely no organized games throughout the day on the Pearl leaving the casino and the pool or Bingo to entertain you. If you enjoy just these then go for it. They seem to offer only paid entertainment except for the nightly shows which were pale in comparison to Carnival and Princess. Even the atrium was boring with the big screen as all they showed were the same advertisements except for one hour of Wii each afternoon.

[Hebejeebe]

I've been on 3 Carnival cruises (LOVED THEM) and one Disney (LOVED IT). I'm doing some research for my brother and I came up with an awesome deal on Norwegian for a balcony. Have any of my fellow carnival cruisers tried NCL and what did you think? Pros and Cons. Thanks!

 

If you are travelling with your 2 kids I would not recommend NCL based upon my kids' experiences. In the opinion of my 9, 12 and 14 year olds the kid's amenitities on Carnival are far far better than NCL. But we only sailed on the NCL Sun so the other ships may be better.

 

The decor on some of the NCL ships (like the Sun) is very sedate compared to Carnival. If you can picture a Marriott convention center hotel you would be pretty close. The newest NCL ships have added some whimsy to their decor.

 

Personally, I found the food on Carnival to be far superior to NCL. The entertainment outside of the production shows was pitiful. I thought, however, that the production shows were far superior to Carnival. The NCL Sun was just ok and I would not do it again regardless of the price.

[sun~]

I have been on three ncl cruises, the most recent the ncl spirit and gem.

 

All cruises were excellent. Great staff - top notch service. The choice of restaurants is fantastic (it is very easy to make reservations, some people just can't seem to figure out it works the same as a land based restaurant) and the food was always good. The main dining rooms were very nicely decorated (gorgeous on the Gem!). The bathrooms were very smartly laid out with compartments and no stupid shower curtains.

 

The kids program was very good and the teen program...was a place for the kids to hang out and have a good time. Good choice of entertainment.

GREAT casinos.

 

I would HIGHLY recommend a NCL cruise.

 

I have an upcoming conquest cruise, which I am sure will be great, but I really don't like the idea of going back to one main dining venue (I hate buffets) - boring!!! I also don't like the idea of having to sit with people I don't want to - but I will and I will be polite about it LOL