Princess compared to NCL

We’re taking our first NCL cruise on the Sky to Cuba over New Years. It’s a 4 day cruise round trip Miami. How does NCL compare to Princess? Please share any tips you think will make our experience more pleasurable. Thank you :)

 

 

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I found the food to be of lower quality and variety on NCL than Princess. For example, in the afternoons the buffet had french fries, biscuits and whipped cream, about 10 kinds of carbs. The menus in the MDR repeated, two days per and then switched. I went to the MDR once alone and they asked if I'd like to sit with others and I gave it a try and they seated me by myself but then wouldn't serve me because they couldn't find anyone else to sit with me. It was pretty awkward and it took awhile to convince them to just serve me by myself. I enjoy the international diversity of the staff on Princess; as others have said the staff on NCL are almost all from the Philippines. I found the cruise director really irritating as he made loud announcements frequently and his scenic narration sounded like he was reading a script and he didn't know how to pronounce a lot of the words.

All this said, I enjoyed the staff talent show. And the bottom line is that 3 adults went on a 1 week Alaskan cruise for $900 total and I got to visit friends in Ketchikan and Skagway (and go to Hoonah).

We did the 4 day to Cuba on the Sky last October. We had a great time. As others mentioned it is way less elegant than Princess. One thing I missed from Princess is the atrium. On Princess the atrium is like the heart of the ship with continuous activities and entertainment. On the Sky the atrium was just an open space with nothing. I would sail NCL again though, if the itinerary is something I can’t find on Princess.

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We did the 4 day to Cuba on the Sky last October. We had a great time. As others mentioned it is way less elegant than Princess. One thing I missed from Princess is the atrium. On Princess the atrium is like the heart of the ship with continuous activities and entertainment. On the Sky the atrium was just an open space with nothing. I would sail NCL again though, if the itinerary is something I can’t find on Princess.

 

 

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Interesting about Atrium. Because on some ships Atrium is the hub. Something always going on there, especially on the Getaway.

As for the comment by OP about Moderno, I found it opposite. Have eaten there 3 times on 2 different ships and found I had to slow them down. And they were always trying to get us to take more.

Pia, nice to see you back on the Princess boards!!!!

We had sailed 8 times on Princess, 2 on Celebrity, and 2 on Royal Caribbean when we received a "free cruise" offer for Norwegian from Harrahs casino. We upgraded to a balcony on the Breakaway; New York to Bermuda. We then did 3 more NCL's (2 more on Breakaway and 1 on the Pearl) as they were all free balcony cruises based on our play on each previous cruise. As other have said, there are some okay things on NCL, but not many. I cannot understand the small and poorly designed atrium on the Breakaway, and their customer service can't hold a candle to Princess. On our last NCL we decided that we would rather pay for a Princess cruise than take a free one on NCL. Since then, we have done 3 more on Princess (2 on Regal and 1 on Royal) and will stay put.

Interesting about Atrium. Because on some ships Atrium is the hub. Something always going on there, especially on the Getaway.

 

 

 

As for the comment by OP about Moderno, I found it opposite. Have eaten there 3 times on 2 different ships and found I had to slow them down. And they were always trying to get us to take more.

So we are complaining because one goes to a Brazilian steakhouse and they give too much food. As custom at any Brazilian steakhouse all one has to do is turn the medallion to red to stop service. Too little food/too much food, these poor lines can’t win on the Princess board.

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Have a fantastic trip!

You'll be absolutely fine with the food for 4 days, especially if you go to specialty restaurants at night. If you try enough things at the buffet, eventually you'll find a few good options. Generally, both the carving station and the ethnic food was really good (I think that's where the cooks are from so its usually your best bet). It's only 4 nights, and some of your lunches will be in port. I'm sure Cuba will make up for it - the free food in the dining room in the Star was nothing impressive, but we had a wonderful time visiting the Baltics and were very glad to have taken that cruise. Almost all the specialty restaurants were quite good, so most of our dining was a nice experience. And I found butter chicken at the buffet for the first time which was excellent - I picked it for my 3.5 year old and had no idea it was so spicy (it's an Indian dish that I wasn't familiar with)! I took it away from my son and brought it to my husband, who loved it!

we did an ncl cruise a few years back, after not doing a ncl cruise in 10 years... it was an 11 day to Israel.... the price was very cheap compared to Princess or other lines. We had lunch and dinner in the MDR on the first day only, the rest of the cruise we made sandwiches and salads from the salad bar... was fine better than the comfort food items on the buffet and the food and lack of service in the MDR. Cabin fine, we did breakfast by making a buffet run each morning for an omelette which was more than okay. Dress code, what dress code?? LOL Entertainment was probably on a par with Princess. We were satisfied because the price was so cheap... so it was mainly transportation and a place to sleep... so to answer op question no comparison between Princess and NCL. If you go into with these expectations, you will be fine.

We are experienced cruisers, Elite on Princess and Celebrity, cruise HAL, Cunard and 6 other lines over the years... so we went on this cruise knowing NCL is not Princess.

On our last NCL we decided that we would rather pay for a Princess cruise than take a free one on NCL.

Wow!

Thank you so much for all the great responses. It seems like the buffet is best for lunch. Is there a grill for hamburgers and hot dogs like on Princess? I love the cookies at the Princess buffet. I usually gain weight on cruises but maybe not this time. That’s a good thing lol.

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Pia, nice to see you back on the Princess boards!!!!

Thanks Carolyn :)

We have been on several NCL cruises in the past few years and have lots of experience with Princess. No, NCL is not Princess, but I find it much better than some of the comments posted here would indicate. We've not done a short cruise on NCL, and I know that can be a much different environment. One thing we have found to be superior on NCL is the entertainment. Highly recommend taking in the shows. Our experience with the food has been okay. As previously mentioned, Le Bistro and Cagney's can be very good. Personally, we prefer the dining room with the smart attire dress code, more in line with the atmosphere we're used to on other lines. We did a 12-day Med cruise on NCL, couldn't beat the price. There were things about the layout of the ship, etc. that we did not care for, but overall it was a great trip. Go with a positive attitude and all will be well.

You can also get burgers out by the pool. At least on Jade you could. By the pool they had burgers/hotdogs/fries

I have been thinking of trying NCL again as it has been 11 years. But seeing these comments maybe not.

 

We did have a good time as it was my parents 50th anniversary and there were 15 of us.

 

Somehow my only real memory was a night in the MDR ordering spaghetti carbonara (my favorite ). I stuck a fork in it and lifted the entire mess up in one clump.

 

Worst ship food I have ever experienced.

 

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My clearest memory from an NCL cruise was ordering meatloaf and getting something that looked more like canned dog food than any meatloaf I have ever eaten.

my wife's "fondest memory" or our one and only, so far, on NCL - NCL Sky - open bar - she ordered a mojito - it came out of one of those large pre-mixers you see going around...looked like a ---- green color - she handed it back to them as she is a nurse and had seen that 'color' many times before...not a pretty sight..:eek:

problem solved when we would go to a slower bar and they would make her a proper mojito - with mint and limes...couple of $$ tip goes a long way...:cocktail:

Princess and NCL in the same sentence. Really! Unless you are in The Haven.

My son cruises NCL every year and loves it. According to him, the passengers are mostly 20s and 30s, the entertainment is great, the music is loud and contemporary, and people drink from the time they get up until well after midnight. He is not a big fan of the food, and wouldn't eat in the buffet due to "gross people who obviously didn't wash." I guess it depends upon what you're looking for. For him, a boatload of Millennials is great. For me, not really my style.

We did 32 days on the Sun around South America and had a fabulous time. If you decide before not to have a good time, you won't but if you go with an open heart and mind I think you will find the cruise enjoyable (although I haven't personally been on the Star), the staff was great but we get tired of prepared food and eating in the dining room etc. so we often just grabbed wing or something in the bar. Also, over the years I have noticed that many things people complain about really aren't that importune to us. We usually book based on itinerary rather then ship amenities. Have fun.

That’s what I figured. We just took a regular balcony cabin. There aren’t any sea days. We have one night of specialty dining. Any suggestions as to which restaurant?

 

 

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It's been a while since we sailed on NCL, but I always like Le Bistro the best of the specialty restaurants. Murano is really good, too, but I don't think the Sky has one.

Thank you so much. This was very helpful. Did you try the Italian restaurant?

 

 

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We've tried the Italian restaurant 2 or 3 times, and my suggestion would be to stay away from it. We were really unimpressed with it on every ship that we tried. The food was usually lukewarm, and sometimes very salty. Just not at all enjoyable.

Thank you so much for all the great responses. It seems like the buffet is best for lunch. Is there a grill for hamburgers and hot dogs like on Princess? I love the cookies at the Princess buffet. I usually gain weight on cruises but maybe not this time. That’s a good thing lol.

 

 

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There is a grill, food isn't great there though, either.

my wife's "fondest memory" or our one and only, so far, on NCL - NCL Sky - open bar - she ordered a mojito - it came out of one of those large pre-mixers you see going around...looked like a ---- green color - she handed it back to them as she is a nurse and had seen that 'color' many times before...not a pretty sight..:eek:

 

problem solved when we would go to a slower bar and they would make her a proper mojito - with mint and limes...couple of $$ tip goes a long way...:cocktail:

Many NCL ships have a Sugarcane Mojito bar outside Cagney's. Had my first mojito there, and thought it was pretty good. They have flights of their various specialty mojitos - the spicy one is really spicy.