Tell me about Norwegian Cruises

[Susie R]

Can anyone give me a comparison between Norwegian and Carnival? My son is interested in getting married in San Juan and I see that the Jewel will be going in November. I won't suggest Holland, last November on the "O" was just a bore. Is there lively music by the pool? Are there fun things to do on their ships? I would like to be able to give him some sort of info to go on and I know this is the best place to find it.

 

Thanks

Susie R

[newmexicoNita]

Susie, are you planning on a big family get together and all going or is it just your son and his wife doing the cruise? This, I think would make a difference. As we all know Carnival is a very busy ship with so much to do and so many things to see; the ships are also a bit glitzy in my opinion; I don't mean glitzy in a nice way either; maybe gaudy is a better choice of words. I think the crew on NCL is friendlier and the food better with the exception of the pizza on Carnival. Freestyle dining should appeal to the younger set. I agree HAL would not be a good choice. Depending on the ship, you will find Carnival cabins a bit larger I think, but the newer NCL ships have nice cabins and the ships are just really outstanding. Normally the entertainment on NCL will be better, the casinos on Carnival larger. We have always found the itineraries for NCL among the best out there. I guess it depends on what they are looking for: if they are very young, really into the party scene and want to be busy every minute probably Carnival would suit them a little better. If, on the other hand they want to have a great, relaxing experience with plenty to do, but not constant activity NCL would be a good choice. Yes, they both have music by the pool. NMNita

[bfoot34]

I have only been on two NCL ships. The Dream is was a bad experience. If you read the messages about the Dream on this board, you will find that 90% plus have terrible things to say about The Dream.

 

The Pride of Aloha had a terrible start. The POA got well deserved bad knocks. However, the NCL management went to work on the problem. They should be congratulated for the great job they did in correcting all the original problems facing the POA. The cruise in the Hawaiian Islands was a fine experience.

 

If I were to judge the NCL, I would say if you ignore the Dream and consider the POA, it is about the same level as Holland-American or Royal Carribean.

[ute_fan]

The newer NCL ships (Sun in particular, from my experience) are beautiful and we really enjoyed them. We like the freestyle dining and not having to dress up so much. My instinct is that the Jewel will be a great ship -- maybe a few adjustment problems, but that seems to be common. If you want comparisons, you might ask people to compare the Dawn, Sun, Star, etc. to Carnival ships, as I think the Jewel will be in that class, and avoid comparisons to the older ships, like the Sea (which we actually like well enough that we're planning a 2nd trip in May), Dream, Crown, etc.

 

The newer ships are designed for freestyle dining, and it seems to work much better there than on the older ships.

[jeannep]

We have been on NCL 3 times and Carnival once. I really like NCL but Carnival was also good. I think Carnivals food is a bit better but I also like NCL food.

 

I enjoyed NCLs activities and shows better than Carnival. They seemed to have alot more going on than Carnival. That can also have to do with the CD.

 

Freestyle is good but I do miss being seated with other people who you can get to know over an entire week. If you aregoing with a group of people, that would not be a problem because you have your own table mates for freestyle. I do like being able to eat at different places and whenever I want.

 

As you can see, there are good things on all lines. Which ever one you pick I am sure you will enjoy yourself.

 

Enjoy!

Jeanne

[SueSea]

Based on 2 NCL cruises & 4 Carnival cruises, I have found the food to be much better on Carnival in both quality and selection. I give a slight edge in entertainment to NCL for their 'major' shows, although I do love the sing-along piano bar on Carnival ships. I give a slight edge to Carnival in service for their personable, friendly staff. All of my cabins on Carnival were larger than the ones I had on NCL. While I enjoyed eating when I wanted on NCL, the time it took to be seated, served, and finish dinner varied greatly. We missed several shows because dinner took so long. I found the drawbacks to Freestyle to be greater than the benefits. While I enjoyed meeting new folks at every meal, after a while I dreaded having them asking about me--I was sick of hearing myself talk about where I live, what I do, etc.!

[bfoot34]

Try the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. They are pretty active and have better all around accommodations than Carnival.