NCL Jewel or Carnival Valor for 4.

[FB]

Looking for pros can cons of each. I have cruised both NCL and Carnival before and I do know the differences. I was wondering if people could maybe highlight some advantages of each line for travel with a 4 and 1 year old.

 

Both cruises are basically the same price sailing from the same port the same day with the same itinerary with the Valor going to Cozumel and the Jewel going to Costa Maya. Have been to Cozumel 3 times and have never been to Costa Maya.

 

Valor is Cat 4C for $2097.00

Jewel is Cat K for $2036.00

 

It is my understanding that NCL is now $12/pp/day for tips with Carnival being $10/pp/day. This is not really a big deal.

 

My son (4) has sailed Carnival (Sensation) before and very much enjoyed the kids club. We have never used kids club on NCL (Sun, Aloha).

 

Thanks for your help.

[floridacruiser63]

Looking for pros can cons of each. I have cruised both NCL and Carnival before and I do know the differences. I was wondering if people could maybe highlight some advantages of each line for travel with a 4 and 1 year old.

 

Both cruises are basically the same price sailing from the same port the same day with the same itinerary with the Valor going to Cozumel and the Jewel going to Costa Maya. Have been to Cozumel 3 times and have never been to Costa Maya.

 

Valor is Cat 4C for $2097.00

Jewel is Cat K for $2036.00

 

It is my understanding that NCL is now $12/pp/day for tips with Carnival being $10/pp/day. This is not really a big deal.

 

My son (4) has sailed Carnival (Sensation) before and very much enjoyed the kids club. We have never used kids club on NCL (Sun, Aloha).

 

Thanks for your help.

 

We have sailed in both, the Valor and the Jewel.

 

Cabins are quite a bit more spacious on the Valor, I believe a 4C is an interior cabin, it should be aprox. 185 feet in size vs. aprox. 150 or less on the Jewel for the Cat K cabin. It makes a lot of difference when there is four people in one cabin. The Valor has two uppers and two lowers, as far as I know a cat. K on the Jewel has two lowers, a pull out from the ceiling and a pull out from under one of the beds, making it very, very tight.

Kid Clubs are about the same on both, not much different at all.

Yes, service charges are $12.00 per person, per day on NCL, they are $10.00 per person per day on CCL.

Entertainment for adults is far better (my opinion only), on NCL. Their shows are superb, Carnival's are just ok.

The Buffets are again much better and there is quite a bit more variety on NCL. (Maybe because they have several stations, within the same area, instead of one large one with CCL). Food in general, in the main dining rooms is about the same, maybe a little better on Carnival but not by much. (again, my opinion). Paid Restaurants are much better on NCL as there is a large variety to choose from. Hope this helps!;)

[BikerAl]

Jewel

[FB]

We have sailed in both, the Valor and the Jewel.

 

Cabins are quite a bit more spacious on the Valor, I believe a 4C is an interior cabin, it should be aprox. 185 feet in size vs. aprox. 150 or less on the Jewel for the Cat K cabin. It makes a lot of difference when there is four people in one cabin. The Valor has two uppers and two lowers, as far as I know a cat. K on the Jewel has two lowers, a pull out from the ceiling and a pull out from under one of the beds, making it very, very tight.

Kid Clubs are about the same on both, not much different at all.

Yes, service charges are $12.00 per person, per day on NCL, they are $10.00 per person per day on CCL.

Entertainment for adults is far better (my opinion only), on NCL. Their shows are superb, Carnival's are just ok.

The Buffets are again much better and there is quite a bit more variety on NCL. (Maybe because they have several stations, within the same area, instead of one large one with CCL). Food in general, in the main dining rooms is about the same, maybe a little better on Carnival but not by much. (again, my opinion). Paid Restaurants are much better on NCL as there is a large variety to choose from. Hope this helps!;)

 

Thank you for the very detailed reply it will help greatly in my decision.

 

I had not looked at cabin size that information may be the thing that seals the deal!

 

Thanks

[newmexicoNita]

Jewel: better buffet

great crew

beautiful ship

lots of dining choices and less expensive for the specialty dining rooms than Carnival.

great entertainment

better embarkation and debarkation

freestyle dining which would be the winner for me with 2 very young children

 

Valor: larger cabins

yes, cheaper tipping

more activities like out by the pool

tradtional dining

pool areas

same:

 

kids program, both are good

overall food in main dining rooms, Carnival might be a little better.

 

You will probably be happy with either one.

 

Nita

[jdenn4]

I have sailed on both ..and enjoyed both. I think Carnival has a slight advantage in your situation. The rooms are a bit larger or at least seem to be. Finding food for kids is better on Carnival...there is always something that the kids will like and I can't always say that about NCL. We do not have small children any more ..but we made a note to speak to parents on both cruise lines about the kids programs ( In case we wanted to bring grand kids along)..and we got good replies on both with just an edge to Carnival as they had a wide range of age level activities and took babies in diapers and you could leave them on board when you went ashore...not sure I'd do that ..but some do.

 

That being said....NCL and freestyle is really great for kids...no set dining times etc...so it's really a toss up.