We LOVE Carnival- Would we enjoy NCL?

[carnival lover]

Hey Everyone!!! As my name says we LOVE Carnival.. We have been on four Carnival cruises and loved them all. We recently moved up to Maine (dh is in the navy) and there are less ports to choose from. We saw that NCL has a cruise on the Spirit that leaves from Boston. It is only two and a half hours away.

We are not huge drinkers or gamblers, but we love the fun atmosphere of Carnival. We have three kids 12, 15, and 17 and they love the teen discos and clubs on Carnival.

Do you think it would still be an enjoyable experience for everyone? We are pretty easy to please and can go with the flow.

The only other thing is the itinerary. It goes to Bermuda and stays there for 3 days. I have never done that on a cruise either. Usually we are going from port to port..

I would appreciate any insight and feedback!!!

Thanks and Happy Cruising!!!

PS we were also looking at the Pride out of Baltimore, but it is a 9 plus hour drive and it goes to Nassau and Freeport and we have already been to those spots! Thanks

[MrPete]

We tried our second cruise on NCL

 

WE CAME SCREAMING BACK TO CARNIVAL. :eek:

[carnival lover]

That is what I am afraid of!!!!!!! I do have an open mind, but I am afraid we will be disappointed. Thanks for the input LOL~!~

[steveaaaaa]

Hey Everyone!!! As my name says we LOVE Carnival.. We have been on four Carnival cruises and loved them all. We recently moved up to Maine (dh is in the navy) and there are less ports to choose from. We saw that NCL has a cruise on the Spirit that leaves from Boston. It is only two and a half hours away.

We are not huge drinkers or gamblers, but we love the fun atmosphere of Carnival. We have three kids 12, 15, and 17 and they love the teen discos and clubs on Carnival.

Do you think it would still be an enjoyable experience for everyone? We are pretty easy to please and can go with the flow.

The only other thing is the itinerary. It goes to Bermuda and stays there for 3 days. I have never done that on a cruise either. Usually we are going from port to port..

I would appreciate any insight and feedback!!!

Thanks and Happy Cruising!!!

PS we were also looking at the Pride out of Baltimore, but it is a 9 plus hour drive and it goes to Nassau and Freeport and we have already been to those spots! Thanks

 

I have sailed many CCL,just look at my sig below.My next one is an NCL and I have been on NCL twice before and I think they are pretty good.My favorite is RCCL Voyager class.Your kids would love that!Try it and decide for yourselves.

Steve

[SunnyinMA]

I've never been on NCL so I can't help you there, but what about a Carnival cruise out of NY...closer than Baltimore.

[Cruzman]

Did NCL once; that was enough!

[mj cruiser]

I went on NCL last year with my then 10 yr old. We have been on Carnival and Royal C. So each one has its perks. Royal is expensive but they have amazing ships. I loved the freestyle dining on NCL where you eat when you want at different restaurants on the ship. Some people like to have set dining. I found with our son it was great to go at different times. We are go with the flow people too. I think the kids program was not as good on NCL but we also did a 9 day on a week where kids were in school so it was hard to know if we had gone on a spring break or something if it would have been different. I loved our cruise on NCL but I loved all of our cruises! I have not done the Bermuda but think it sounds awesome! Its always worth a try in my opinion...we like to try different lines and different ships. Have fun!

[yst347]

We will be taking our first NCL cruise Sunday. While I am uncertain how we will like the "freestyle" thing, we are sure we will enjoy our vacation immensely.

 

When comparing lines I think it is important to compare similar ships. It would be unfair to compare Carnival Fantasy with RCCL Freedom of the Seas. Likewise it would be unfair to compare Norwegian Majesty with Carnival Splendor.

 

I'll try to jot down some impressions and contrasts between the two lines during our cruise, and post back here when we return.

[lovesublime]

We've been on two Canival cruises and one NCL. We love both cruise lines and wouldn't hesitate to book either one again. However, we cruised on the NCL Pearl which is their newest jewel class ship. I see you're thinking about taking Spirit which is a not so new ship, however, looking at the reviews-it's seems people really enjoy Spirit.

 

The biggest difference you'll experience is the freestyle dining. You'll have many more options with NCL. There is no such thing as first and second dinner seatings. Also, there is no need to bring dress up clothes if you don't want. Be aware that some of the dining venues require reservations and you'll be charged a fee. We feel the food is pretty good on both lines. If I had the opportunity to drive only 2 1/2 hours for a Bermuda cruise, I would certainly do it.

[Kellismom]

We have done the spirit twice (both out of New York) and twice done the boston - bermuda and loved them all. Another option would be to do the carnival miracle out of New York (doing that in sept)

[gibsones175]

Hey Everyone!!! As my name says we LOVE Carnival.. We have been on four Carnival cruises and loved them all. We recently moved up to Maine (dh is in the navy) and there are less ports to choose from. We saw that NCL has a cruise on the Spirit that leaves from Boston. It is only two and a half hours away.

We are not huge drinkers or gamblers, but we love the fun atmosphere of Carnival. We have three kids 12, 15, and 17 and they love the teen discos and clubs on Carnival.

Do you think it would still be an enjoyable experience for everyone? We are pretty easy to please and can go with the flow.

The only other thing is the itinerary. It goes to Bermuda and stays there for 3 days. I have never done that on a cruise either. Usually we are going from port to port..

I would appreciate any insight and feedback!!!

Thanks and Happy Cruising!!!

PS we were also looking at the Pride out of Baltimore, but it is a 9 plus hour drive and it goes to Nassau and Freeport and we have already been to those spots! Thanks

I have cruised on NCL once and Carnival once. NCL Sun, although a larger ship left allot to be desired. I like the open dining idea , your own table eat anytime you fell like within the alotted times. The food was not very good, of course I live in New Orleans, we know food. I found they had a hard time keeping their food warm when served, also, it was not very tasty. They emphasized gourmet cuisine, I prefer food with out all the fru-fru. I have never had a bad meal on Carnival, very tasty and hot, their selections were much better also.

[Casino Player]

Hey Everyone!!! As my name says we LOVE Carnival.. We have been on four Carnival cruises and loved them all. We recently moved up to Maine (dh is in the navy) and there are less ports to choose from. We saw that NCL has a cruise on the Spirit that leaves from Boston. It is only two and a half hours away.

We are not huge drinkers or gamblers, but we love the fun atmosphere of Carnival. We have three kids 12, 15, and 17 and they love the teen discos and clubs on Carnival.

Do you think it would still be an enjoyable experience for everyone? We are pretty easy to please and can go with the flow.

The only other thing is the itinerary. It goes to Bermuda and stays there for 3 days. I have never done that on a cruise either. Usually we are going from port to port..

I would appreciate any insight and feedback!!!

Thanks and Happy Cruising!!!

PS we were also looking at the Pride out of Baltimore, but it is a 9 plus hour drive and it goes to Nassau and Freeport and we have already been to those spots! Thanks

 

I've been on both NCL and Carnival. I have done many cruises on Carnival and one was enough on NCL. If you are pretty easy to please and want to go somplace else then try NCL. Be forwarned though. The staterooms were nice. The anytime dining is not true. Sometimes you have to wait on a line for a long time. The food isn't as good as Carnival. Go to a place where you have some choices on shore. If you go on NCL it might not be an enjoyable experience for all.

Have you been to New England/Canada? Come down to NYC and go on the Triumph to New England/Canada. Halifax is my favorite place to go to. Too bad they aren't going to Sydney on Cape Breton.

[2Ports]

if you like to eat...:eek:

[lfresa]

Hi, I live in Connecticut and will be driving down to Baltimore this summer to cruise on the Carnival Pride. We have the NCL Dawn in New York and NCL Spirit in Boston but prefer Carnival. A co-worker just tried the NCL Dawn and was not happy at all. Sure they had a couple of places you can eat for free but seeing all the others and having to pay was crazy. He was not happy when he came back and said never again. Drive on down and go on the Pride!!! Lisa

[lfresa]

One more thing, we loved Half Moon Cay it makes going to the same ports that we did last summer worth it. We picked 8/14 so it stops at Freeport. We want to do the Swim with the Dolphins there. Come join us!! I have a 17 year old son and a 14 year old son.

[LemurCat]

I've done both and I can say I prefer Carnival, but I wouldn't turn my nose up at NCL. I'm not a fan of their dining rooms, but their buffet and specialty options are very good. I can't comment on the kid's events. I will say I prefer Carnival's casinos though.

[sun~]

I just got back from my first Carnival cruise on the Conquest, and I have been on the NCL Spirit.

 

The NCL Spirit is a much, much prettier ship. Windows is a gorgeous dining room (sorry the Monet on Conquest was just butt ugly with horrid pink table clothes and ugly chairs you would see in a meeting room). For the main dining for food, both ships were about the same. With my teens, we absolutely prefer freestyle. The teens on the ncl spirit have the disco at the top of the ship, so private and a bit of a hang out. The one on the conquest was in the hallway to the casino - very smoky area.

 

As for service, I would say about the same. Excellent. Stewarts, waiters and other staff really work their butts off.

 

I really missed the speciality restaurants of ncl. I was with a group (on course) so we always sat together. I have to say though, we always drifted in from 8:15 to 8:45 - drove the waiters a bit crazy. With freestyle it doesn't matter at all. We never, ever had any trouble getting into any restaurant on the ncl spirit (we tried them all).

 

Too bad your kids are too old to hang out at the buccaneer pool on the spirit - it is wayyyyy cool.

 

I thought the cabins were supposed to be big on Carnival, but my 8E balcony cabin was only a foot or so larger than the balcony cabin on the spirit. The bathroom was much nicer on the spirit.

 

I think you will like ncl, some of it is similar to carnival. Some differences, like no dancing waiters. The biggest differences I saw were that the ncl Spirit has a wonderful promenade deck (you can even get a beer at Henry's pub), the spinnaker lounge (front top of the ship with windows on three sides - I really missed that on the conquest). One thing I liked on the conquest was karoke (I actually can't stand it - but it was fun with the host!).

 

I think it is wonderful to leave from Boston!

[zqvol]

Hey Everyone!!! As my name says we LOVE Carnival.. We have been on four Carnival cruises and loved them all. We recently moved up to Maine (dh is in the navy) and there are less ports to choose from. We saw that NCL has a cruise on the Spirit that leaves from Boston. It is only two and a half hours away.

We are not huge drinkers or gamblers, but we love the fun atmosphere of Carnival. We have three kids 12, 15, and 17 and they love the teen discos and clubs on Carnival.

Do you think it would still be an enjoyable experience for everyone? We are pretty easy to please and can go with the flow.

The only other thing is the itinerary. It goes to Bermuda and stays there for 3 days. I have never done that on a cruise either. Usually we are going from port to port..

I would appreciate any insight and feedback!!!

Thanks and Happy Cruising!!!

PS we were also looking at the Pride out of Baltimore, but it is a 9 plus hour drive and it goes to Nassau and Freeport and we have already been to those spots! Thanks

 

I have cruised both and they are much more alike than different IMO. The main difference is the way dinner is handled. NCL uses anytime dining which I prefer. I feel like that the food in the dining rooms is much better with a wider variety on NCL than it is on Carnival.

 

I find that NCL has better entertainment. The shipboard activities are about the same, though NCL does not have the 24 hour soft serve or 24 hour pizza.

 

NCLs cabins are a tiny bit smaller but not so much that it matters and NCLs bathrooms are laid out much better than Carnival's.

 

If you are happy going to Bermuda I think that you will like NCL and have a good time.

[yashualie]

My boyfriend and I took our first cruise together - on the NCL Majesty out of Charleston, SC - and I can honestly say WE HAD A FABULOUS TIME!!! Fun is what you make of it! There were plenty of people complaining...but then there were plenty of people complaining on the last Carnival cruise we took, too. Overall, I find both cruise lines to be very similar. Great staff, dining, shows, etc. I really like the freestyle dining option on NCL - I wish Carnival would adopt this approach. Our next cruise (on April 5, 2009 - can't wait!!!!!) is on Carnival...but only because that worked best with our schedule. I wouldn't hesitate to cruse with NCL again! I think you'll have a blast!!!! Happy cruising! Michelle:p

[ehogan]

We have been on both lines and we prefer Carnival because they still have set dining - I feel you get better service with traditional dining. I know the trend is to anytime dining, but I think food and service suffer.

 

I also think that Carnival's entertainment is the best of all the lines.

 

There are prettier ships, RCCL in particular, and NCL's ships have nicer decor than the flashy decor of Carnival.

 

Having said that, I think that that NCL is worth a try, especially if you like the itinerary.

[klfhngr]

I sent my mother with my aunt on NCL after cruising on RCI and Carnival, they said NEVER, EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!! They 'hated' it!

[dbogusch]

Hey Everyone!!! As my name says we LOVE Carnival.. We have been on four Carnival cruises and loved them all. We recently moved up to Maine (dh is in the navy) and there are less ports to choose from. We saw that NCL has a cruise on the Spirit that leaves from Boston. It is only two and a half hours away.

We are not huge drinkers or gamblers, but we love the fun atmosphere of Carnival. We have three kids 12, 15, and 17 and they love the teen discos and clubs on Carnival.

Do you think it would still be an enjoyable experience for everyone? We are pretty easy to please and can go with the flow.

The only other thing is the itinerary. It goes to Bermuda and stays there for 3 days. I have never done that on a cruise either. Usually we are going from port to port..

I would appreciate any insight and feedback!!!

Thanks and Happy Cruising!!!

PS we were also looking at the Pride out of Baltimore, but it is a 9 plus hour drive and it goes to Nassau and Freeport and we have already been to those spots! Thanks

 

I've sailed both and with family I enjoyed Carnival more but for just a couple's cruise I enjoyed NCL more. It depends alot on the ports and the ship. Cruising is what you make of it.

[scottyo72]

A co-worker just tried the NCL Dawn and was not happy at all. Sure they had a couple of places you can eat for free but seeing all the others and having to pay was crazy. He was not happy when he came back and said never again.

 

Everyone has his or her favorite line, and that's great, but I have to confess I really don't understand why putting extra restaurants on board would bother someone. Was he really bothered by the presence of upcharge restaurants? It seems to me the included dining options are very similar.

 

Carnival: one or two main dining rooms with fixed seating

NCL: Two main dining rooms with open seating

 

Carnival: buffet

NCL: buffet

 

Carnival: venue with fast food/ pub grub, deli

NCL: venue with fast food/ pub grub

 

Carnival: poolside grille

NCL: poolside grille

 

Carnival: room service

NCL: room service

 

Carnival: 0 or 1 upcharge specialty restaurant

NLC: 3 - 5 upcharge restaurants

 

Freestyle doesn't take away any included venues compared to other lines. It adds more specialty venues with charges generally lower than Carnival's supper clubs. I'm sure the main dining rooms sometimes get crowded, but in 14 days on NCL, we never waited more than 5 minutes, and we never had trouble getting reservations in the specialty restaurants when we felt like it.

 

I like that NCL doesn't have dancing waiters. I like that NCL doesn't have loud pool games. I like that the waiters don't "know" me so well they bring things I don't order (especially things with extra charges.) I like eating with the party I choose when I want to eat. I like trying specialty restaurants a few times during the week. I like a laid back casual atmosphere. I don't care how entertaining the cruise director is.

 

Having said all of that, I would love to try one of Carnival's New Orleans itineraries once they start to offer their version of open dining.

[KatWag]

DH and I enjoy both lines. Each has pros and cons.

 

Rooms - if you book suites you will like NCL better. The Carnival Suite perks are pretty much limited to room size and occasional VIP boarding (depends on which port).

 

Buffets - in my opinion, Carnival does this much better than NCL. Better seating layout, more choices....

 

Lounges - depends on your smoking preference. If you are a non-smoker you'll like NCL since they don't allow smoking in the lounge. If you're a smoker you'll prefer Carnival since you can smoke and drink.

 

Shows - edge to Carnival

 

Ships decor - Edge to NCL. Carnival can get a little carried away sometimes in the decor line.

 

Dining - For me, edge to NCL because I am not a fan of "traditional" cruise dining. I prefer to eat at the time of my choice and with the tablemates of my choice. If you like traditional dining, you'll prefer Carnival.

 

Not sure where one of the other posters is coming from on paid restaurants on NCL. Both lines have specialty restaurants. Both lines charge extra. To me, getting upset about seeing other folks take advantage of a pay restaurant is like getting upset because my neighbor drives a BMW and I drive a Toyota. If I wanted to pay for the BMW I'd be driving that. I choose not to. But it doesn't upset me to see him get in his car......:)

[pj7262]

The very first cruise I ever went on was the NCL from Boston to Bermuda. It is different staying at one port for three days - but I loved it. It allowed me time to really explore. The Grotto Bay Tour was awesome - and so was the beach with the old fort.

I have only been on Carnival and NCL - and I had a great time on both! (but I liked Carnival better)

 

Hope this helps!