Any loyal Carnival cruisers tried NCL?

We've done NCL twice, because of itinerary. We much prefer Carnival. I think the service, MDR, service, and room size are better on Carnival. NCL has better entertainment, and food at the buffet. Our last NCL cruise we had 4 in an inside room and it was TIGHT. They had a pull out bed they put between the two main beds, and one pull down. I literally could not sit up or get off the bed sideways. I had to scoot to the foot of the bed and crawl out without hitting my head on the upper bunk. Not what we expected! When our children were young, we had all five in an inside room on Carnival. It was much more room than NCL. Many times on NCL, they had events posted, but when we got there, no NCL employee came to run it. We complained at guest services and were told they were short staffed.

No, we did this last year & the gratuities were $85 per person. And the drinks are unlimited, Carnival has a 15 drink per day limit.

There is a lower restriction on the cost of drinks included, which is $15 per drink. Last I knew NCL raised all of their beverage prices so fewer drinks are actually fully covered under their package. Not a big difference but something to keep in mind. Also passengers aren't allowed to bring on any soda or water, even in cans and if you want to bring on wine you can bring on as much as you want- at $15 a pop. I look at it like this- NCL is like walking through a cow pasture and you have to make sure you're always on the look out for a cow plop.

I am contemplating trying the NCL getaway next spring break. I love Carnival and would definitely book again for our next vacation but there isn't an itinerary on a ship with the amenities our 12 year old adventure loving, thrill seeking DD would enjoy.

 

So, has anyone tried NCL or sailed the Getaway specifically? What are your thoughts on freestyle cruising? It seems like a little work to plan and reserve everything. But I may like the freedom too. What about food? We will not book any specialty dining. We will book an inside cabin for 3, which i know is smaller than Carnival so that concerns me a little. We will take the bar package offered on NCL as our "perk" The price for 3 of us with the alcohol package "perk" is only $150 more than we paid this spring break for just 2 adults when adding on Carnival's cheers package, which we did purchase.

 

Any thoughts, advice or suggestions is welcome.

Not the Getaway but yes, I have sailed NCL 4 times. Don't like them. Did you add in the extra gratuities required for that perk they are giving you? For a 7 night cruise it's almost $100 per person extra so that $150 more just became $450 more. Cabins are smaller to much smaller (Inside cabin on the Epic is 128sf versus Carnival's 150-165sf inside cabins). Personally I don't like freestyle as I like having the same waitstaff every night. I also think the service and food options/quality on NCL is worse in the MDR in an effort to push people to the specialty restaurants. It's your choice though and if you have never sailed NCL I would suggest giving them a try so you can see if the differences between Carnival and NCL matter to you. To me, they do. To you, they may not.

With 21 cruises on Carnival, and #6 coming up on NCL, I can tell you I appreciate switching back and forth between the lines. We have been on Getaway (also Breakaway, Pride of America, Epic, Gem) and enjoyed the waterslides and ropes course and the "away" ships. We found sailing on Carnival was getting "stale" - same food, entertainment, itineraries, etc. The switch to NCL came easily. We love Howl at the Moon (dueling piano bar), O'Sheehan's 24 hour dining, and the different choices at the buffet. We swore we would never "pay" for dining on any ship - but love the pay dining venues on NCL. However, there are plenty of free places to eat on NCL. The dining room menus are definitely different than CCL. We are planners, so we liked the fact that we could book our dining and entertainment in advance. We always found "quiet" places to hang out on the NCL ships.(spice H20 for adults is nice) We are getting the drink package for the first time on our upcoming Med cruise (included perk) so don't know how that compares to Carnival, as we are not big drinkers.If you book the Getaway, make sure your kids "walk the plank" on the ropes course!

:loudcry:We sailed NCL one time, The cruise from HELL enough said.

Ya we tried NCL twice first time was great but we were in the Haven and expected it to be! The second time was hell as well. They messed up our cruise from the get go and their customer service does not help at all. I was excited to come back to Carnival and it was amazing!

Sailed with NCL twice with once being in the Haven on the Getaway. We had a fantastic time and received good service from the moment we arrived in the terminal to check in. The entertainment was excellent and the food was good to us. I had the best waffles almost every morning. The suite experience on this class of ships out does the Carnival suite experience. However, I'm a still a Carnival Girl! Carnival is truly the Fun Ship and Norwegian seemed to be a little more mellow in my opinion. I have two cruises presently book with Carnival and looking forward to them both!

Decide for yourself about what type of cruise experience you want. Relaxing on NCL or getting in a lot of Fun on Carnival.

I am contemplating trying the NCL getaway next spring break. I love Carnival and would definitely book again for our next vacation but there isn't an itinerary on a ship with the amenities our 12 year old adventure loving, thrill seeking DD would enjoy.

 

So, has anyone tried NCL or sailed the Getaway specifically? What are your thoughts on freestyle cruising? It seems like a little work to plan and reserve everything. But I may like the freedom too. What about food? We will not book any specialty dining. We will book an inside cabin for 3, which i know is smaller than Carnival so that concerns me a little. We will take the bar package offered on NCL as our "perk" The price for 3 of us with the alcohol package "perk" is only $150 more than we paid this spring break for just 2 adults when adding on Carnival's cheers package, which we did purchase.

 

Any thoughts, advice or suggestions is welcome.

We've sailed on Celebrity, RCCL, NCL and our most recent cruises have been with Carnival. I know it was 2000 something when we sailed on the Norwegian Spirit from NY. The ship had been sailing in the Orient, I believe, and was then back sailing from NY. We wanted to try a Feb. cruise from the NE that year, so we figured, "how bad could it be?" NCL had just started the FREESTYLE cruising idea and that wasn't what we were used to. The crew was confused about everything, and it showed. The Spirit was a beautiful ship, that being said though, the cabins were very small. We had a mini-suite, but a large man would have had a difficult time in the bathroom...the smallest I've ever seen. I think the "mini-suite" was smaller than the balcony cabins that we get on the Carnival Pride.

The dining...not good, shows not good. I could go on and on, but that was a while ago. NCL seems to have changed for the better, although that hasn't changed our feelings about NCL. We booked the NCL Breakaway a few years ago, but we canceled it for a Carnival cruise. My nephew was on the NCL Getaway two years ago and he and his girlfriend liked it. It was their 3rd or 4th cruise. So, cruising is much different today, than it was when we started cruising. It depends what's important to you too...what one cruiseline has vs. the others; itinerary, activities, etc., etc. Our first cruise on NCL was not good and that experience turned us off of NCL. Your experience could be completely the opposite. Have fun, whatever you decide.

The Ultimate Beverage Package on NCL is $79/day. 18% is $14.22/day so for a 7 day cruise, the gratuity is $99.54.

We were on the Jane 12-5-15 and paid $85.00 Could have been a price increase since then. But the beauty part was the drink package was free. On some cruises if you book an oceanview or better, the drink package is included.

Unfortunately, there is no single answer to your question. Since everyone looks for different things on a cruise, you'll need to weigh the differences for your own personal preferences.

We used to sail Carnival almost exclusively. Here are some of the strengths we found:

Our perceived weaknesses:

Ever since Carnival did away with the large production shows with live music, we've jumped ship (pun intended)

Here are our thoughts on the Getaway:

Anyway, we'd pick the Getaway over any Carnival ship at this point.

Hope this helps,

~Brian

I am platinum on Carnival and been on Holland America a few times. Just saying that to show I have been on Carnival more than a few times. I just booked NCL Bliss for Alaska next year.

I cruise a lot by myself and Carnival continues to ignore solo cruisers. As a solo the same cruise on NCL is $700 less plus a $200 shore excursion credit. Also cruising on the Bliss a brand new ship designed for sailing Alaska instead of Carnival Legend an older ship. The solo studio room will be a little smaller than an inside on Carnival but I don't spend much time in my room and they have a lounge for those rooms.

Looking forward to something different.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

:loudcry:We sailed NCL one time, The cruise from HELL enough said.

Ditto! Food was inedible.

Also there were 2 of us in an inside room and there wasn't enough room for 2, let alone 3.

I am platinum on Carnival and been on Holland America a few times. Just saying that to show I have been on Carnival more than a few times. I just booked NCL Bliss for Alaska next year.

 

I cruise a lot by myself and Carnival continues to ignore solo cruisers. As a solo the same cruise on NCL is $700 less plus a $200 shore excursion credit. Also cruising on the Bliss a brand new ship designed for sailing Alaska instead of Carnival Legend an older ship. The solo studio room will be a little smaller than an inside on Carnival but I don't spend much time in my room and they have a lounge for those rooms.

 

Looking forward to something different.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I'm a solo cruiser as well and will never cruise NCL again. Not even for free. :eek:

I am contemplating trying the NCL getaway next spring break. I love Carnival and would definitely book again for our next vacation but there isn't an itinerary on a ship with the amenities our 12 year old adventure loving, thrill seeking DD would enjoy.

 

So, has anyone tried NCL or sailed the Getaway specifically? What are your thoughts on freestyle cruising? It seems like a little work to plan and reserve everything. But I may like the freedom too. What about food? We will not book any specialty dining. We will book an inside cabin for 3, which i know is smaller than Carnival so that concerns me a little. We will take the bar package offered on NCL as our "perk" The price for 3 of us with the alcohol package "perk" is only $150 more than we paid this spring break for just 2 adults when adding on Carnival's cheers package, which we did purchase.

 

Any thoughts, advice or suggestions is welcome.

Love NCL but the only cruise I went on was on the EPIC when it first came out and it was a blast and a full on ship experience-shows and activities-and the buffets were excellent. I heard they have changed it since. Carnival with recent changes looks to be becoming more kid friendly. Most likely cruising more NCL as the variety of carnival itineraries are waning and prices on rare itineraries are going through the roof without the perks ncl offers! Doing a full panama canal transit on the star end of next year with $50/per excursion and free drink package! The drink and excursion or food packages on ncl are certainly weening me away although I love sailing carnival ive always sailed for price/itinerary/value and like the ships under 110k tonnage.

This September will be cruise #30 for me, with 18 of those bring on Carnival. September's cruise will also be my third time sailing the Escape. It's a fantastic ship and the first ship that I will have done 3 cruises on. Lunch time options and the Alchemy Bar are the only things that Carnival has done better than the Escape. Comedy was better because you can reserve your seat ahead of time instead of wasting 30 minutes in line. Howl at the Moon blows away the piano bar. And play list productions doesn't compare to the NCL product.

And finally, the main pool on the Escape is adult only till 500 pm and Spice H2O is better than Serenity.

Sent from my XT1254 using Forums mobile app

Upcoming cruise will be my 70th NCL is the worst, we never will cruise NCL ever again, the list of negatives are too great to list here, will take too long...freestyle cruising bull....all cruise lines have chose your dining time they just call it something different, like Anytime dining or My time dining etc. Hate NCL I cringing here.

RC is the way to go!

My two cents as a Platinum Carnival cruiser.....

Tried the Getaway. Buffet was much better. O'Sheenan's was awesome!!! Entertainment parties were more energetic. Dining room food was comparable. Pools were much smaller on NCL. Drink package was a smash for Norwegian, unlimited vs. 15 total for Carnival. Rooms much larger for Carnival.

I enjoy both lines, and wouldn't hesitate booking either. Have fun no matter what:)

My two cents as a Platinum Carnival cruiser.....

 

Tried the Getaway. Buffet was much better. O'Sheenan's was awesome!!! Entertainment parties were more energetic. Dining room food was comparable. Pools were much smaller on NCL. Drink package was a smash for Norwegian, unlimited vs. 15 total for Carnival. Rooms much larger for Carnival.

 

I enjoy both lines, and wouldn't hesitate booking either. Have fun no matter what:)

We are long time Platinum on Carnival also, have sailed on both & they are about the same. Carnival has cut back so much, they are nothing like they used to be. Only thing I really like better on Carnival is the comedy shows that they have almost every night. Food on NCL is just as good as Carnival & service is probably a little better.

We sail with both CCL and NCL...

Carnival has larger cabins (185 sf standard) vs NCL (145-161 sf standard)

Norwegian wins hands down with the entertainment....especially on the newer ships

NCL has finally gotten 'onboard' (no pun intended) with cabin sizes...an oceanview cabin on a newer ship is now approx 175sf...(oceanview 161/inside 135) My very first cruise was on the Norwegian Majesty...and our oceanview cabin was a tiny 104sf....

Carnival's entertainment in the show room is usually song and dance by the same crew almost every night...and alot of their other entertainment seems to be 'passenger dependent' such as trivia and karaoke...Norwegian seems to have better shows, especially the newer ships have a broadway style show...

Just my opinion....we like them both....it just depends on which ship fits our vacation schedule...

After 8 Carnival Cruises in a row we cruised on the NCL Escape last May. Overall the Escape was was a much better experience than Carnival. Our last few cruises on Carnival we have notice a slight decline in service , food and entertainment. NCL on the other hand exceeded our expectations in all facets of the cruise. Our cruise this year will be on Celebrity Silhouette. Will be interesting to see how this stacks up ????

I am contemplating trying the NCL getaway next spring break. I love Carnival and would definitely book again for our next vacation but there isn't an itinerary on a ship with the amenities our 12 year old adventure loving, thrill seeking DD would enjoy.

 

So, has anyone tried NCL or sailed the Getaway specifically? What are your thoughts on freestyle cruising? It seems like a little work to plan and reserve everything. But I may like the freedom too. What about food? We will not book any specialty dining. We will book an inside cabin for 3, which i know is smaller than Carnival so that concerns me a little. We will take the bar package offered on NCL as our "perk" The price for 3 of us with the alcohol package "perk" is only $150 more than we paid this spring break for just 2 adults when adding on Carnival's cheers package, which we did purchase.

 

Any thoughts, advice or suggestions is welcome.

We have been on both and prefer Carnival. The food was better, but other than that, I really can't put my finger on the differences - it's just an overall vibe. We just prefer Carnival.

We sailed on the Sky back in 2011 and haven't ben back to NCL. They would have to offer some serious perks to get us to try them again.

The food was meh compared to Carnival. The service was meh. Overall, it paled in comparison to Carnival.

Caveat: it was a spring break cruise filled with crazy stupid drunk college kids. (Even though we were college kids too- we found them to be absolutely ridiculous!)

We have thought about trying them again, but we have lots of past guest with Carnival and have always enjoyed the Carnival experience, where we didn't the NCL one.

:loudcry:We sailed NCL one time, The cruise from HELL enough said.

I second that. We went on the Getaway last year. Never again. It didn't even feel like a cruise ship to us. it felt crowded and smokey when you walk through the main area. Hallways super narrow, food was no where near as good as Carnival and other cruise lines.

We sailed on the Sky back in 2011 and haven't ben back to NCL. They would have to offer some serious perks to get us to try them again.

And I thoroughly enjoyed the Epic and Breakaway. I didn't notice that NCL's hallways were narrow, but I did notice that the fish designs in the hallway carpeting were always swimming towards the front of the ship.

Entertainment on these NCL ships was far superior to Carnival's with Cirque dinner theater, Blue Man Group on Epic, dueling pianos, the Blues Club, and 2nd city comedy. Versus Carnival's karoake, hasbro game, comedy shows (some of the adult ones are quite good) and playlist productions.

Food in the MDR's was comparable, NCL had an edge in buffet layout, Carnival now adding BBQ, but NCL's variety of specialty restaurants gives way more choice than just Carnival's excellent Steakhouse.

I have 2 more Carnival cruises booked, inc. the Horizon, as well as the totally refurbished NCL Dawn. Maybe it'll be time for me to do another Celebrity cruise after these?

I would imagine that, having posted the question in April, the OP has already made her decision. :D That being said, given the choice as a platinum cruiser on both lines, I would pick NCL. Booked my first sailing with them in 2013 (in a suite), and they have gotten most of my travel dollars ever since (including Getaway). Their entertainment is incredible (Legally Blonde, Howl at the Moon, Priscilla Queen of the Desert etc), staff and crew has always been extraordinary, and their ships have no shortage of things to do! Also love the boarding parties at the last port of each cruise. :) My last NCL cruise was on Epic in January - I paid $1000 for 7 nights solo with a drink package included. Loved the ship so much that we're spending 2 weeks on her on a Transatlantic next year.

Carnival puts out a fine product, but it just seems a little bare bones to me after sailing NCL for the past few years. It seems they've cut cabin/dining room crew to the minimum, and dining quality has also fallen. We've got 2 Carnival cruises booked, one that lines up perfectly with the date and port we needed for a combo land/sea vacation, and one that was a decent offer from the casino (a Premier cruise). So obviously we still like Carnival, we just fell a little out of love with them. Good thing there are a multitude of cruise lines for everyone's different tastes!