Best NCL?

[Terrafreaky]

If the Dawn had a Great Outdoors, I'd pick her. I love her atrium with the glass elevators & also having the store at the aft of the ship. I also like the drink station in the Blue Lagoon.

 

I think the Jewel has a couple of advantages over the Pearl (to me) - I like the purple carpet by the elevators, the staircase in the atrium, the store at the aft of the ship, & the slightly different walls in the Great Outdoors.

[cheggy]

Thanks everybody for all your answers. They have really helped me get a good idea of what NCl is compared to other fleets. We are going on NCL jewel in Sept. It will be our 1st with NCl. Hopefully not our last. Really looking forward to our trip.:cool:

[Susie51]

I have been on NCL Southward 1993, Crown 1997, Sky 2000, Sun 2005, and Majesty 2008. It is hard for me to pick the best, because I had a wonderful time on all of the ships.

 

In Sept. I will be on Spirit and in March Jewel. I am certain I will like these ships as well.

 

I have been on 20 cruises with seven different cruise lines. I agree the buffet is poorly planned on Carnival Victory. Carnival is definitely my last choice in deciding on a cruise.

 

After being asked many times about my cruise preferences, I can say HAL is my favorite cruise line and Diamond Princess is my favorite ship. I have sailed most frequently with NCL.

[stegosaurus1]

all have been nice vacations, but none have measured up to our times on NCL. The crews on NCL are more attentive and friendlier and talented (great last day crew shows) then with the other lines. But the pettiest ship and the one with the best outside space (where I stay mostly) is the Spirit...her configuration is old school and her teak deck and Henry's are the best.Barb:D

[Don Haynes]

Speaking frankly, its you that makes a great cruise, not any ship. All of NCL ships are less than twelve years in age, and all now have decks of balconies. The older ships without balconies are no longer in NCL's fleet.

 

While there are different classes of ships, the vast majority have similarly sized cabins. There may be a slight difference in cabin sizes, however, their layout are very similar...

 

The lone exception will be the new Epic, which will soon sail as she is brand new. Her balcony cabins have a different layout from the rest of the fleet..

[intrepid_guy]

Let me start by saying that I believe I make the cruise great/special, or the people I am with do. So I know that can color memories of any trip.

 

But the question is which is my favorite ship. We have sailed on the NORWAY, SKY, SPIRIT & GEM. My favorite is and will always be the venerable NORWAY, sailed her 4 times and never had a bad time. I particularly loved the retro decor of the Windward Dining Room and Club Internationale, I loved the HUGE amounts of open deck, the bow to the floors on the lower decks, Dazzles and the first specialty restaurant ever at sea. I also lucked into one of the Owner Suites up top and out front once... that was an experience. But, the NORWAY is gone, so no one else can experience her...

 

So, of the modern ships, I am stuck between the SPIRIT & GEM. We have been on the SPIRIT twice and I really love that ship. Perfect size, great decor, nice outdoor areas and Maharini's Ultra Lounge. The Asian decor is stunning in areas, even down to the carpeting and artwork. A great crew at the time as well.

 

The GEM wins some votes from me due to the decor and layout of the ship. I particularly enjoyed the Bar Central area (Shakers), the decor of Magenta was tops with me. I LOVED the buffet restaurant on the GEM! So efficient!!! We were also scheduled to sail the GEM a second time back in April until that damn volcano erupted.

 

So, I am going to give it to the .... .... .... .... SPIRIT by a hair.

 

 

~Intrepid <-- got the Spirit!

[Viesczy]

Our last 2 NCL cruises have been on a Dawn & Jewel cruise, so I can only speak on those 2 ships.

 

Both ships have their advantages, I wouldn't have a problem going on either again as each cruise was a great time!

 

Personally I liked the Jewel a little more as I thought its layout was better with the placement of a few things--the 'net cafe was in the upper atrium on the Dawn when were were on her in the spring of '07, which I didn't like as much as the placement on the Jewel which was towards the rear of the ship on deck 7.

 

The Blue Lagoon was in the upper atrium on the Jewel (basic area where Dawn's net cafe was/is), which I liked as the Mexican restaurant was right across the way and you were able to get some wings, hear some tunes if they were being played and enjoy the bustle of the ship w/o being in the bustle of th ship. Now the Dawn's BL was in the rear 1/3rd of ship, which is great as you could always grab some cookies/dessert as you went to buy some gear @ the shop, but if you were eating it always felt like the entire ship was eating with you.

 

Personally, I think the Dawn has a curse over it though... it was hit by the Rogue wave, had engine problem on our crusie and we lost the port of Grenada on our cruise, didn't the woman go overboard recenlty on a cruise, and this past year it had to be towed back to port after losing power.

 

Derek

[kikipug]

In your option , what is the best over all ship in the NCL fleet? WHY ? To answer you must have cruised on more than one of their ships. :cool:

 

Any one that has me on its current passenger list!!!!

[julescruisin]

Cheggy, I have been on the Majesty, Dawn, Gem and the Spirit in Aug. Also many other cruise lines, I have cruised only NCL since 2004, 8 times and honestly loved them all for different reasons. The Dawn has the best pool area with the stadium seating, you really can always get a lounger. On the Gem the only day we got a chair was the day we were getting off the ship:D it's the unfortunate truth. The food is always great, it usually is when someone else is making it for me:p The truth is a cruise is what you make it, one of the best cruises we ever took was on the Majesty a beautiful NCL ship that no longer sails, it was older, smaller, not as fancy as the newer ships but my extended family came and we had a ball, we did the exact same cruise the following year:p I truly am a happy cruiser always when at sea and someone is cooking, making my beds, singing and dancing and cleaning my room for me, with a smile. You will have fun on any ship you chhose, Happy Sailing is it August yet:p

[mtwingcpa]

I've been on 4 different NCL ships and I'd rank 'em as follows:

 

1st - Pearl

2nd - Spirit

3rd - Star

Distant 4th - Dawn

 

For me, the high point of the Pearl is its buffet, especially the Great Outdoors section.

 

At the other end, the problems with the Dawn relate not to the ship itself, but to the policies on board: 1) No designated non-smoking areas around the pool, or anywhere on outer decks, and 2) Absolutely NO dress code enforcement. Work overalls and wet t-shirts are appropriate wear in the MDRs at dinner.

[KevinsCruising]

OK.... we have been on the Dawn, Gem and Jewel.

 

Dawn : Out of the three is the only one that has something close to a sports bar in the Pearly Kings Pub. Love the stadium seating by the pool. Great staff. Great Kids pool area.

 

Gem: Had an awesome time bowling. Breakfast in the Great Outdoors was always a great way to start the day. Out of the three, has the best spinaker lounge with automated roulette table and shuffle board and many TV's.

 

Jewel: A little partial here because we had an AB Suite so was very spoiled on this cruise. Best staff ever. VIP treatment all the way. Similar to the Gem but missed the bowling alleys.

 

 

If I had to pick one winner, I would have to say the Gem beats out the Dawn by just a nose.

 

If I could put the Jewel staff on the Gem and add the Pearly Kings Pub to her, add some stadium seating by the pool, and add another deck to accomodate the kids pool, she may be the perfect ship...........so far ;)

[wallaby20]

I think the food is pretty good on NCL considering the price of the cruises. I also think the food is considerably better on NCL than Carnival and much better than Costa.

 

That being said, I don't go on cruises looking for fine dining and the people that do puzzle me. It makes me think they must not dine out very often at anything other than fast food.

 

 

I am quite amused at your quote. Sailed on the Pride of Hawaii a few years back. Remember a Mexican couple have a domestic on the breakfast deck. They had everything your could imagine to eat from the breakfast buffet. It would have taken them from breakfast to lunch to finish all that they had for just the two of them. Anyway, She had the whole table laden with food in the shade, and he wanted to eat on deck in the sun.

 

Anyway finally after a heated argument in mexican, 15 minutes in total. The hot food was by now cold, they finally moved all the food out onto the sundeck. 6 trips in total. We thought it quite amusing anyway. Can't please everyone can you.:D

[Arubamoose]

We sailed the Sun and the Dawn. Of the two - the Dawn wins hands down. Enjoyed the double atrium areas around the restaurants. Would find a nook somewhere to sit above the entertainers and listen to the music wafting up. Love the stadium seating at the pool....not a bad seat in the house. The bar where they have the martini clinic is terrific.

 

The only thing I didn't like about either ship is the fact that you can't get there from here. You have to go up and down to get to the main restaurant. Silly design.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

... You might like Carnival. Your post comes across as kind of pushy.

 

:rolleyes:

 

... And no I hated Carnival. If they were giving cruises away I wouldn't take one.:D

 

I felt that way about a specific ship: Sovereign of the Seas.

 

Even worse: Regal Empress --- I would not go on that ship if it was FREE... AND if you gave me $1,000 to boot. Somewhere around $5,000 I might be talked into it. But that is not going to happen, as it was SCRAPPED! (Ding Dong the witch is dead...):D

 

From Wikipedia :

 

The Regal Empress departed Freeport in early April to sail to her final destination in Alang. Her voyage took over 3 months to complete. During her voyage, she was renamed the Regal Tmpress. She was beached on 24 July 2009.[6] In October, scrapping began starting from the bow of the ship. The demolition of the ship was completed in early 2010. [8]

 

 

Tom

[cheggy]

:rolleyes:

 

 

 

I felt that way about a specific ship: Sovereign of the Seas.

 

Even worse: Regal Empress --- I would not go on that ship if it was FREE... AND if you gave me $1,000 to boot. Somewhere around $5,000 I might be talked into it. But that is not going to happen, as it was SCRAPPED! (Ding Dong the witch is dead...):D

 

From Wikipedia :

 

The Regal Empress departed Freeport in early April to sail to her final destination in Alang. Her voyage took over 3 months to complete. During her voyage, she was renamed the Regal Tmpress. She was beached on 24 July 2009.[6] In October, scrapping began starting from the bow of the ship. The demolition of the ship was completed in early 2010. [8]

 

 

Tom

It's bad when you go home wishing you never left. You just want to demand your hard-earned money back!

Our 1st cruise was the Carnival Fantasy... It wasn't!!!!!!

no fantasy to it. Oh well , live and learn. Maybe because it was just a 4 day cruise that it was trainees? The ship looked like mice had chewed off all the edges on the furnishings:). The food was horrible and the staff was ...on board. Must have been enough just to be there . ( in their eyes) I'm not willing to take a chance and waste my money or my vacation on another CCL cruise. Glad others don't feel the same.:rolleyes:

[newmexicoNita]

:rolleyes:

 

 

 

I felt that way about a specific ship: Sovereign of the Seas.

 

Even worse: Regal Empress --- I would not go on that ship if it was FREE... AND if you gave me $1,000 to boot. Somewhere around $5,000 I might be talked into it. But that is not going to happen, as it was SCRAPPED! (Ding Dong the witch is dead...):D

 

From Wikipedia :

 

The Regal Empress departed Freeport in early April to sail to her final destination in Alang. Her voyage took over 3 months to complete. During her voyage, she was renamed the Regal Tmpress. She was beached on 24 July 2009.[6] In October, scrapping began starting from the bow of the ship. The demolition of the ship was completed in early 2010. [8]

 

 

Tom

 

Tom, and I felt that was about RCIs Majesty of the Sea, Sovereign's sister. As for Regal Empress, I could be wrong, but I think that might have origianlly been part of the Commodore line (way back when) if it was, I have a specail place for the ship as it was our first cruise.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

It's bad when you go home wishing you never left. You just want to demand your hard-earned money back!

Our 1st cruise was the Carnival Fantasy... It wasn't!!!!!!

no fantasy to it. Oh well , live and learn. Maybe because it was just a 4 day cruise that it was trainees? The ship looked like mice had chewed off all the edges on the furnishings:). The food was horrible and the staff was ...on board. Must have been enough just to be there . ( in their eyes) I'm not willing to take a chance and waste my money or my vacation on another CCL cruise. Glad others don't feel the same.:rolleyes:

 

I had clients that did the Fantasy a few years ago, thank goodness it wasn't their first cruise.

 

Nita

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Tom, and I felt that was about RCIs Majesty of the Sea, Sovereign's sister. As for Regal Empress, I could be wrong, but I think that might have origianlly been part of the Commodore line (way back when) if it was, I have a specail place for the ship as it was our first cruise.

 

Nita

 

Apparently the same ship -- from Wikipedia (once again!) :

Following an extended lay-up period and reconstruction into a diesel-engined Caribbean cruise ship, the ship re-emerged in 1983 as MS Caribe I for Commodore Cruise Line.

 

 

Tom