Not new to cruising, new to NCL

[RedSox5]

Hi-

 

Haven't booked yet, but are most likely going on our first NCL cruise in April.

 

Sailed Royal Caribbean and Celebrity in the past.

 

What's better on NCL than RC & Celebrity? What's worse? How do they compare?

 

Thanks!

[cortcase]

Hi there. I've never been on Celebrity, but I've been on NCL three times and am about to go on my fourth. Love, love, love NCL. Liked it better so far than my one Royal Caribbean experience. Expect to get "nickeled and dimed" a bit more, but I like the option to go to more specialty restaurants and the fact that the buffet and main dining rooms are almost as good (IMHO) as the specialty restaurants. Love the ships and the atmosphere. Would definitely recommend NCL —*I'd sail them again in a heartbeat!

[STARFISH*4]

having cruised other lines and my last 8 cruises 9 next month and 10 and 11 booked for December i prefer NCL...LOVE LOVE LOVE FREE~STYLE and i havent ever paid "extra" for the food on NCL--plenty of GOOD food to satisfy hubby and i and we dont feel we are nickle-or-dimed....JMHO

read reviews and other experiences here on NCL go with an OPEN MIND and make up your own whether NCL is for YOU or not!!

there are alot of CCers here that LOVE NCL-maybe you will too;)

[terrymtex01]

RedSox..

I will tell you right up front.. I LOVE NCL. However I will tell you that from my point of view I don't think we felt quite as pampered on NCL as we did on RCCL, and that is just because of Freestyle dining. Don't take that the wrong way.. Freestyle is for us. We love it and it would be our choice, it's just that with Freestyle you don't get the personalized diner service that you get with traditional dining. In other words you don't have the same wait staff every night who by the second night knows your likes and dislikes inside and out. To have the freedom to eat when we want where we want, we gladly give that up. That doesn't mean that the wait staff on NCL are not excellent.. it's just different.

Also, if I am to be honest, I feel like RCCL ships are just one notch nicer. It's like they look more.. "finished", if you will. Again, that isn't to say NCL ships are not beautiful, it's just the details of the ship, etc.

And I do have to disagree with the first person who responded to your posting. I have never understood why people say they were more nickeled and dimed on NCL than other mainstream cruise lines. When asked about what they specifically they had to pay for on NCL that they did not on other lines, I have been told a daily newspaper and a steamroom or something like that. courcase may have had a completely different experience and had a lot more included on RCCL, but that wasn't our experience at all.

Cruising on RCCL just feels more structured to me and we like Freestyle so much. We have enough structure in our lives when we are not on vacation, so NCL is the first choice for us.

[uncleboo]

Hi i have been on rccl ncl carnival msc cunard celebrity and holland american

and princess

 

all have pros and cons. Food is aklways great on celebrity shows are okay. where RCCL has better shows and food not so good in my opionon

 

MSC will never go on again./ Food was awful. Had better food at boot camp.

 

holland america and Princess were nice too.

 

Carnival food is alot btter than it used to be.

 

 

this will be my 3rd ncl cruise i hope it lives up to my expectations

[GORDONCHICK]

Hi-

 

Haven't booked yet, but are most likely going on our first NCL cruise in April.

 

Sailed Royal Caribbean and Celebrity in the past.

 

What's better on NCL than RC & Celebrity? What's worse? How do they compare?

 

Thanks!

 

I've been on X and NCL, but not RCCL. But I will say that X and NCL are my favorites for completely different reasons. X wowed us with the understated elegance, exceptional service, and great food (especially the Belgian waffles and almond croissants). But their fleet is small, therefore the itineraries and opportunities are fewer than other lines. We liked traditional dining and didn't mind dressing up for formal nights.

 

NCL on the other hand has great service too, but it's not as formal. X and NCL crews are both very friendly, but NCL's seems a bit more casual. There are tons of dining options on NCL, and while many complain about the food in the MDRs, we ate there almost every night and only one time was I not impressed with what I ordered. One of the famed food items on NCL is the pretzel roll - they can be found in the buffet area in the bread section. There are small round rolls and long, fat-looking breadsticks (which cut lengthwise, add mustard and hot dog - and that's just a very good thing!). The decor is bright, and there are more activities than X has. Of course, you already know you can eat when ever you wish and casual attire is the norm.

 

If you will mention the specific ship, I'm sure you'll get more info than you can imagine.

[RedSox5]

Hi there. I've never been on Celebrity, but I've been on NCL three times and am about to go on my fourth. Love, love, love NCL. Liked it better so far than my one Royal Caribbean experience. Expect to get "nickeled and dimed" a bit more, but I like the option to go to more specialty restaurants and the fact that the buffet and main dining rooms are almost as good (IMHO) as the specialty restaurants. Love the ships and the atmosphere. Would definitely recommend NCL —*I'd sail them again in a heartbeat!

 

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "getting nickle and dimed"?

 

Thank you everyone for your feedback. Like many of you suggested, we are going into this knowing and accepting that it will be different than what we're used to, but looking forward to that! I think it's going to be really neat to experience something different :)

 

Thanks again for the replies.

[GORDONCHICK]

I've not cruised on any of the luxury lines, but I've been on 4 of the mass-marketed lines (with the 5th booked and coming up - for specifics, check my signature), and honestly, they all do about the same about selling their wares. The thing about it is - JUST SAY NO if you want to. I've never had any of them not accept "no" as an answer. All of the extra charges are at your discretion. We've gone an entire week without eating in an upcharge restaurant, getting sucked into the port shopping talks, walked right by the "gold" by the inch and big t-shirt sales, etc. All optional. It's kinda like going to the mall - just because you walk into a store, you aren't obligated to buy anything.