Ncl

[trock]

I think Majarinis is supposed to be a little dark...what other ships clubs have beds for lounges?? LOL!!!!

 

We hung out in there quite a bit because it's where the crew hung out. We had a blast in there!!

 

 

LOL

It was very cool.. but I was kind of having a germophobic attack thinking what goes on in that lounge late at night !LLOLOLO

[halos]

LOL

It was very cool.. but I was kind of having a germophobic attack thinking what goes on in that lounge late at night !LLOLOLO

 

LOL...I didn't think about germs. I was too busy choking on cigarette fumes. :p

...but that's another thread LOL!!!

[Beej29]

We did NCL Jewel last year over the holidays--9 day Southern--I did exactly what I would do on Carnival, but I have to tell you for what we paid, I will take Carnival any day. For one day less this year, I am paying 1/2 of what I paid last year for the 3 of us.

 

Furthermore, the food is better on Carnival and as another poster stated above free style is not all they try to make it. It is anything but freestyle.

I would be open to trying other cruise lines or other Carnival owned lines, but you can keep NCL.

[surrealuv]

I did not see much difference ....Carnival Miracle 6/08 and Norwegian Spirit 10/08........We choose based on itinerary...

 

Great happy service, clean, food was good, beds divine...

 

I liked the different pay restaurants on NCL....never had a problem w/ reservations...they also had sit down breakfast exclusive to balconies...

 

Went to alot of shows on Miracle- Fun ! Casino was smaller on Spirit but never seemed crowded....

 

Loved lounges/bars on both ships....

 

Never waited in line except self disembarkment on Miracle- in response we waited till we were kicked out of room on Spirit at 10:30am...lol

 

Not a big buffet fan...but went mentally prepared when we did....just think like cattle, actually patience is all you need (many people lack that)...still quicker than sit down if that's what you looking for...finding a table....it will eventually happen...I asked/joined strangers if my food was losing heat...

 

Wouldn't hesitate to go back on both lines...

[zeppekitty]

We've sailed both CCL (10? times) and NCL once. Married, no kids, late 40's.

 

NCL Pros- very clean, service was great, I liked that dial thing by the cabin door (do not disturb, clean my cabin, welcome). Just spin to your desire. The 2 pools were designated adults only and kids. The balcony cabins are smaller but they're basically the same. NCL has great $$$ deals. Our March cruise was 1/2 of CCL.

 

NCL Cons- freestyle dining (the reservation hassle), meals consistantly cold and rushed The water slide is right on the pool deck so kids are constantly running around plus it takes up a lot of deck space. Someone is always trying to spray your hands with sanitizer The activities are limited unless you're into bingo, shuffleboard, crafts, or cooking classes.

 

We probably wil not cruise NCL again.

[code_d]

Was on NCL Dawn. The freestyle was great for having what you are in the mood for, though it was a a little bit of a pain to make sure of the reservations. The japanese steak house was well worth the $20 charge, we went three times:D. The main dinning area(venetian I think), or american style what ever it was called we ate lunch in regularly as it was the best food and service. The grill near the main desk was above and beyond in the service and the chicken wings were addicting. They even made me a grilled cheese (after explaining to them what it is) to go with my tomato soup we went there many times and they are open darn near 24 hrs. The decor was very impressive and I think the appeal was better than CCL. The entire ship was spotless. A nice tough were the hand sanitizers. Rooms were kept clean but you never got to know your stewart:(. They were also smaller than on CCL and the beds were actually the worst thing we had ever slept on!! But I thought I read somewhere NCL is changing the beds:confused:. The bathroom was nicely laid out and I like the shower door.The balcony was tiny, you could only sit on the chair at a 45 degree angle. The entertainment options were fewer than CCL as the layout of the ship lends to more dinning areas and leaves less for other things. The cigar lounge doubled as a waiting area for three of the dinning areas and got very crowded! The pool areas is theater style, and it is small. There was rarely a chair in that area, we had to go to the front/side to sit. The buffett is not very good, stay with the dinning room food, much better. Lido food about the same. They ran out of Bud Light:mad:. The overall service in the dinning areas was poor and slow, with only few being very good. Room service took an amazing amount of time and had an even more limited menu than CCL. It was a great time had by both of us. Overall I felt CCL was better overall mainly because the level of service was not the same, other than that they were just different.

[halos]

Was on NCL Dawn. The freestyle was great for having what you are in the mood for, though it was a a little bit of a pain to make sure of the reservations. The japanese steak house was well worth the $20 charge, we went three times:D. The main dinning area(venetian I think), or american style what ever it was called we ate lunch in regularly as it was the best food and service. The grill near the main desk was above and beyond in the service and the chicken wings were addicting. They even made me a grilled cheese (after explaining to them what it is) to go with my tomato soup we went there many times and they are open darn near 24 hrs. The decor was very impressive and I think the appeal was better than CCL. The entire ship was spotless. A nice tough were the hand sanitizers. Rooms were kept clean but you never got to know your stewart:(. They were also smaller than on CCL and the beds were actually the worst thing we had ever slept on!! But I thought I read somewhere NCL is changing the beds:confused:. The bathroom was nicely laid out and I like the shower door.The balcony was tiny, you could only sit on the chair at a 45 degree angle. The entertainment options were fewer than CCL as the layout of the ship lends to more dinning areas and leaves less for other things. The cigar lounge doubled as a waiting area for three of the dinning areas and got very crowded! The pool areas is theater style, and it is small. There was rarely a chair in that area, we had to go to the front/side to sit. The buffett is not very good, stay with the dinning room food, much better. Lido food about the same. They ran out of Bud Light:mad:. The overall service in the dinning areas was poor and slow, with only few being very good. Room service took an amazing amount of time and had an even more limited menu than CCL. It was a great time had by both of us. Overall I felt CCL was better overall mainly because the level of service was not the same, other than that they were just different.

 

Yes, NCL is changing the beds...They implemented Freestyle 2.0 last year (??) and have made quite a few changes, including a glass of champagne upon arrival and better foods in the surcharge restaurants.

The surcharge restaurants on NCL are worth the money (as they are on CCL as well) only NCL's cost less. We paid between $15 and $25 pp in the surcharge restaurants on NCL...CCL's are $30pp

NCL gives so many choices in dining as well...because we eat late (after 8pm) we never had a hard time getting a table and I have to say for a longer cruise, Freestyle is GREAT!! We became friends with many people on the ship and if we ran into them on the way to the dining room, we'd just hook up for dinner. It was very nice.

I've had a 2 week cruise on a traditional line (Celebrity) and when you cruise long like that, Freestyle keeps things from getting boring. eating in the same dining room for 2 weeks straight got very old.

On a shorter cruise it makes no difference to me, but on a long cruise I prefer NCL.

[Vanessa L]

I can't speak to recent NCL cruises as I haven't been on them since the early 90s. However, DH and I were recently checking out cruises on the Pearl. Prices are insanely low. I did a quick check of reviews on CC and you guessed it--you get what you pay for. I think the thing that turns me off about NCL that I have read in the reviews, and seems to be pretty consistent across the board, is that the rooms are smaller than Carnival's and the food in the dining room is fair to horrible. According to several of the reviews I read, to get decent food one has to go to one of the many for-a-fee restaurants on board. Of course, reviews are opinions ONLY and you know what they say about opinions. Speaking only for me, I can typically take a bad review or 2 as a fluke or just from someone who is never happy. But when a ship gets fair to bad reviews fairly consistently, I move on, not willing to risk that, that many people are "wrong".

[trock]

I have found that pricing for NCL out of NYC is 'cheaper' than Carnival...

 

A couple of months ago we did the cruise to nowhere on NCl out of NYC.. I paid $99 for a balcony on the Spirit on one of those travel auctions site.. Amazing!

[Barnes1234]

I did both this past year for the first time on each line. At the time, we thought Carnival was not for us until we tried NCL. Freestyle can get out of hand if you are not carefull. We somehow managed to spend $950 on board on NCL and only $600 on Carnival where we did so much more and drank considerably more.

 

The Dawn was a very nice ship and laid out much better than the Liberty.

 

The crew were either ridiculously nice and helpful or ridiculously surly and/or rude.

 

The food was much better in Carnival's main dining but NCL had a better buffet.

 

Cabins bigger on Carnival.

 

I wouldn't seek out a NCL trip for our next vacation but wouldn't turn one down if it was right. The price shouldn't be a primary decision factor unless you take into account your onboard spending will be considerably higher on NCL.

[code_d]

The crew were either ridiculously nice and helpful or ridiculously surly and/or rude.

 

That's a good way to put it. We had the same service experience.

[spikester]

I have done 2 NCL cruises. One was Alaska out of Seattle on the SUN (I think or the SKY) It was the last week of Aug, and literally PACKED with children.

And of course the weather in Alaska wasn't great, so people were packed in the front panoramic lounge, and actually at every window. If you didn't get up by 6am you couldn't get get a seat to see anything. (which is probably typical)

 

There were virtually NO children's programs. Kids were all over the spa, in the lounges, running rampant all over the ship. They even took over the disco at night.

The only place I found to get away from them was the cigar/martini bar. Which was actually a blast.

 

My other one was western Carib with my mom. That one was fun too.

I didn't mind the freestyle dining. I just wish they had more of a variety of tables. I didn't like being seated with other people that were at a different point of their dinner.

I was also very disappointed in that alaska cruise.

 

I am thinking I want to try them again, especially now that the prices are pretty similar to Carnival. They also have a few different ports that look good.

[kgm0612]

I have cruised Carnival, RC & NCL and loved them all.

IMO.......it's all in what you make of it. Go with an open mind and have a fantastic time!

 

Karen

[manmtnmike]

Sailed NCL Majesty out of Baltimore...Small or cozy depending on your attitude.

 

Tired old ship, but great transportation to BERMUDA ....

nothing like 3 days in BERMUDA!

 

Did I mention BERMUDA?!:rolleyes:

 

 

Mike

[LemurCat]

Sailed NCL Majesty out of Baltimore...Small or cozy depending on your attitude.

 

Tired old ship, but great transportation to BERMUDA ....

nothing like 3 days in BERMUDA!

 

Did I mention BERMUDA?!:rolleyes:

 

 

Mike

 

I was on the Norwegian Sea out of NYC for Bermuda. We had a fantastic time on a tired old ship. She was sent to the Breaker's Yard the next year. Bermuda is freakin' awesome.

 

I was on the NCL Gem last year. We had a good time, but I hated the casino on that ship. The service was pretty good, and they have a great "beer and whiskey" bar. I enjoyed the food on Carnival more though. I'm not a fan of freestyle dining, even if you can go to the steak house or hibachi grill for a bit extra.