Which One

[silentkink]

I am going on a cruise for spring break and wanted to know which one you recommend. I know your answers might be biased because i am posting on a ncl board but i wanted to know which cruise to choose. I have a choice of the carnival freedom and the Norwegian pearl. I am a middle aged mother of a 14 year old who is very friendly and also i have the same aged husband he is in his forties. I was also wondering will there be a lot of college kids on the cruise it leaves on April Th and returns on April Th. Thanks for any help.

[pengu1n]

If you go to the site below it lists by week how many college students are on break:

 

http://www.tripsmarter.com/panamacity/springbreak/sbcalendar.htm

 

Others have said that the college students more tend to take the shorter cruises (less than 7 days) and tend more toward Carnival. I would think also they would tend toward the cheapest & they do have a week off, so that doesn't rule out week long cruises.

 

It looks like most colleges have their break in March.

[garycarla]

What you will find is that the biggest reason people here pick NCL is because you do NOT have a set time for dinner each day or a set table. For some this is great. For others, they prefer the set table and time.

 

Other factors such as departure port, dates and ports visited might have a bigger bearing other than the dining thing. I would agree that Carnival will have more college kids and be a party boat which may not be good for a 14 year old.

[Ms belp]

We went to our travel agent's grand opening (they recently moved) this past week and picked up lots of brochures on the major lines. One thing that struck us is that Carnival does not offer as many port calls as does NCL. We just like NCL, and freestyle is the best. I prefer more ports of call than sea days.

 

I also agree that spring break on Carnival might not be a good influence for a 14 year old boy; just my opinion.

[gleuny]

Had a real bad experience with them. My wife broke her toe because of the poor accomidations. The staff could care less and wanted to chrage me for the wheel chair I needed to push her around.

Aside from that bias, there is no entertainment, and far from 'young' things to d No clubs or Night shows, just a hack comedian from Sascatchuwan on NCL. However,I had a great time on Carnival. That is your best choice for Younger people. Had a great time. The food was better on NCL, but I think the food on Carnival was fine. I'm sure that's going to be the furthest thing on your mind. Young people, singles traveling with friends, Carniaval!

[johnritt]

We were on the Pearl last April. Haven't been on Carnival for about 3 years so any comparison would not be fair.

 

The Pearl is a fairly new ship, in very good shape. I thought she was fun, informal, happy, and we found plenty to do. There were alot of shows, including Second City, which few would consider hacks. The pools were nice, the nightclubs were nice and hardly got going untill 10:00 PM. Never stayed up late enough to see when they closed. There was bowling, which was a hoot, rock climbing and basketball.

 

Our Carnival cruises were fun too, but the lack of a set schedule on NCL has made it our first choice in cruise lines, price, ship, and itinerary being similer.

 

My daughters, 15 and 17, thought that this was their favorite cruise. It was however 9 days, and that will make anyone happy, though 14 or more would be better.:)

[familyof4cruising]

I have sailed on both ships. They are both new - I think the Freedom is newer then the Pearl, BUT The Pearl is a nicer ship. The Freedom is very gaudy ( very surprised considering its their newest ship). Decor wise the Pearl wins. I did like the movie screen outside and Carnivals desserts, but all in all my Pearl cruise stands out more. I have sailed NCL ( 15 times)as much as Carnival ( 12), and in my unbiased opinion go on the Pearl. Are the itineraries the same? That is a big factor also for me.

[lhall85917]

You will probably find more similarities than differences between the 2 lines, the biggest difference will be freestyle dining vs traditional. I would recommend booking what you like best as far as itinerary and price.

[CruisnGram]

Had a real bad experience with them. My wife broke her toe because of the poor accomidations. The staff could care less and wanted to chrage me for the wheel chair I needed to push her around.

 

Oh brother...I'd love to hear more about this one! LOL

Aside from that bias, there is no entertainment, and far from 'young' things to d No clubs or Night shows, just a hack comedian from Sascatchuwan on NCL.

 

Uh, did you read the OP's post? Her child is FOURTEEN. I doubt if nightclubs and such is what he is interested in. Well, he may be, but I doubt if that's what his mom is looking for in the way of activities for him. LOL

However,I had a great time on Carnival. That is your best choice for Younger people. Had a great time. The food was better on NCL, but I think the food on Carnival was fine. I'm sure that's going to be the furthest thing on your mind. Young people, singles traveling with friends, Carniaval!

 

Again, read what the OP wrote. Your post actually confirms that perhaps NCL is the best choice for her with a 14 year old. Good food, shows, and not the entire party atmosphere that will most likely be present on a Carnival ship during spring break.

 

By the way, to the OP: I have only cruised Carnival once and it was during spring break. And, one of my NCL cruises was actually during spring break too. Both were Carribbean cruises. I enjoyed my Carnival cruise and had good food and accomodations. Same goes for NCL. I will have to say though that there were a LOT more college spring breakers on my Carnival cruise then on my NCL cruise. Lot's of partying and drinking going on. Some even encouraged by Carnival such as a beer guzzling contest by the pool. It didn't bother us so I'm not complaining, just informing. Don't really know why there were more college kids on Carnival, but there were....in case that makes a difference to you.

CG

[silentkink]

thank you everyone who replied and it helped a lot i think i am going to go with pearl because i like the ports better.

[familyof4cruising]

thank you everyone who replied and it helped a lot i think i am going to go with pearl because i like the ports better.

 

Like I said in my previous post itinerary is very important ( one of my big decision makers). You will love the Pearl, she is a great ship! Good choice!

[B & C]

thank you everyone who replied and it helped a lot i think i am going to go with pearl because i like the ports better.

Hi - we are sailing on the Oasis this 12/11 with friends and have booked these 2 Central Park cabins which are connecting rooms. Hoping you can help us with some info on the cabins like where is the door that connects the rooms, where is the closet and is there a sofa or just a chair? If you have any info we would appreciate it. Also did you bring a laptop and any info on that along with pictures would we wonderful. Do hope you see this and can get back with anything that you would like to share on your cruise experience. Thank you very much! We are getting very excited.

 

B & C

[Fishbait17]

Had a real bad experience with them. My wife broke her toe because of the poor accomidations. The staff could care less and wanted to chrage me for the wheel chair I needed to push her around.

Aside from that bias, there is no entertainment, and far from 'young' things to d No clubs or Night shows, just a hack comedian from Sascatchuwan on NCL. However,I had a great time on Carnival. That is your best choice for Younger people. Had a great time. The food was better on NCL, but I think the food on Carnival was fine. I'm sure that's going to be the furthest thing on your mind. Young people, singles traveling with friends, Carniaval!

 

This is an interesting post. I injured my ankle on an NCL cruise (not sure if on ship or in port, long story) and found them to be very accomodating - except they didn't have a wheelchair available (perhaps all were taken by people with broken toes? ;) I used crutches at no charge). Yes, aside from THAT bias, the OP is asking about the Pearl, which has Bliss nightclub (so much for no clubs) and generally at least 3 shows a night (2 in the theater, and a show after hours in Spinnaker), not just a "hack" comic, plus late night DJ dancing for the teen set... I generally just let these bashing critiques go by, but when one contains such blatant lies, I cannot let the OP take it seriously.

 

Sorry, can't really help the OP decide, I have only cruised on the Peaqrl during Spring Break, so cannot compare.. My girls (20 and 18 at the time) had a fantastic time. Have fun in whichever cruise you choose OP!

 

Edited to add: Sorry, didn't see original dates of this thread - hope you had a great time on the Pearl!

 

Robin

[sjbdtz]

Hi - we are sailing on the Oasis this 12/11 with friends and have booked these 2 Central Park cabins which are connecting rooms. Hoping you can help us with some info on the cabins like where is the door that connects the rooms, where is the closet and is there a sofa or just a chair? If you have any info we would appreciate it. Also did you bring a laptop and any info on that along with pictures would we wonderful. Do hope you see this and can get back with anything that you would like to share on your cruise experience. Thank you very much! We are getting very excited.

 

B & C

 

 

This IS a great post.

 

 

It's quoting a post from almost 2 years ago, asking about either the Pearl or the Carnival Freedom.

 

Yet, this post is about Oasis.

 

Posted on the NCL board.

 

 

Is technology REALLY that hard to understand?

[camz]

We were on the New Year's Eve cruise out of NY to the Bahamas last year. Although there were numerous young adults doing their thing, my 15 year-old son had an awesome time with the NCL Teen Club. We were on the Gem, which is the Pearl's sister ship. Needless to say, this cruise had a party atmosphere, however, my son was kept very busy with his own peers. There were over 300 teenagers in his age category. I was not at all concerned about my son, in fact, we hardly saw him during sea days. Traveling with teens can be stressful as they get bored easily, however, with NCL's Freestyle Concept and the NCL Teen Club, it's the only way to travel with a teen! :)

[karen327]

we cruised on the pearl during my college aged sons spring break in 2009. he had a hard time finding any other college aged passengers to hang out with. definately was not a college party ship. but loved the pearl so much we turned around and booked her again right away.

[Ms belp]

This IS a great post.

 

 

It's quoting a post from almost 2 years ago, asking about either the Pearl or the Carnival Freedom.

 

Yet, this post is about Oasis.

 

Posted on the NCL board.

 

 

Is technology REALLY that hard to understand?

 

I was wondering myself why this old, outdated post showed up.