Hello! Please help choosing b/w Carnival Glory and NCL Spirit? ty!

[StarboardIndigo]

Hello everyone,

This is my husband and I's first time cruising. We are young professionals - I am 28 and he is 32, from MD/DC area (but not really into the heavy drinking scene). We're looking to travel on February 13th for a 7 day trip and trying to decide between 1) Carnival Glory leaving from Miami to eastern caribbean with stops in nassau, san juan, turks. (7 days)

 

and 2) the NCL Spirit leaving from NOLA to Costa Maya Mexico, belize, honduras, consumel. (7 days)

 

We are looking for an elegant, lively ship with lots of good shows, entertainment and ofcourse good, abundant food. I'm a little worried over the bad reviews re: Carnival's food. Although I like the Glory's itinerary and destinations slightly better, if the food on NCL Spirit is way better, I'd definitely do the Spirit.

 

Pros of Glory: adults only pool area, movies under the stars, bigger ship, slightly bigger state rooms, itinerary and the option of spending an extra night in Miami. Water slide :)

 

Cons of Glory: possible college aged drunk fest (e.g, not so elegant), possible poor food, possible poor service, etc.

 

Pros of NCL Spirit: possible better food! possibly fewer rowdy/drunkeness?

 

Cons of NCL Spirit: Smaller ship, fewer pools.

 

Again, the food factor is heavy for me...so please keep that in mind when helping me decide. In an ideal world I'd pick the Pearl or Jewel but alas no dates available. :(

 

Any advice, input is much appreciated. Thank you!!

[beach410]

I have never cruise NCL, but from what I have read, most specialty restaurants have an extra charge. I find the food very adequate and enjoyable and the service exceptional on all my previous cruises, where did you read that Carnival had bad food and service?

 

 

As far as the rowdy college crowd goes, out of the 10 cruises we took, we have only witnessed this a couple of times and most likely was because we sail during spring break and take shorter cruises, and it was only brief moments, not like the cruise a big frat party. Even on our shorter cruises we have found a nice mix of passengers.

 

I think the entertainment is plentiful as well. But I have never sailed on the Glory or NCL, just sharing our positive Carnival cruise experience.

[norcal2]

I prefer NCL food over Carnival or HAL, though we will be on Carnival Spirit again in November. Look up the different optional food sources on any NCL as they have some hidden gems, or they did on NCL Sun and Star and they had an amazing Tapas bar on the Sun for pre-dining or late night delight that does not even have a charge (or didn't 2 years ago.) We lived on the NCL Creme Brulee. But do go to the website of each ship you are considering and look up the dining options.

 

Carnivals food seems to have larger servings and less attractive presentation though it was fine, not great. HAL's food was not fabulous but not bad. NCL for smaller portions, taste, options and presentation made it my favorite.

 

I don't think you can go wrong with any ship so base it on the ports you wish to visit and the ship that sounds yummy to you.

[luv2cruz44]

Hello everyone,

This is my husband and I's first time cruising. We are young professionals - I am 28 and he is 32, from MD/DC area (but not really into the heavy drinking scene). We're looking to travel on February 13th for a 7 day trip and trying to decide between 1) Carnival Glory leaving from Miami to eastern caribbean with stops in nassau, san juan, turks. (7 days)

 

and 2) the NCL Spirit leaving from NOLA to Costa Maya Mexico, belize, honduras, consumel. (7 days)

 

We are looking for an elegant, lively ship with lots of good shows, entertainment and ofcourse good, abundant food. I'm a little worried over the bad reviews re: Carnival's food. Although I like the Glory's itinerary and destinations slightly better, if the food on NCL Spirit is way better, I'd definitely do the Spirit.

 

Pros of Glory: adults only pool area, movies under the stars, bigger ship, slightly bigger state rooms, itinerary and the option of spending an extra night in Miami. Water slide :)

 

Cons of Glory: possible college aged drunk fest (e.g, not so elegant), possible poor food, possible poor service, etc.

 

Pros of NCL Spirit: possible better food! possibly fewer rowdy/drunkeness?

 

Cons of NCL Spirit: Smaller ship, fewer pools.

 

Again, the food factor is heavy for me...so please keep that in mind when helping me decide. In an ideal world I'd pick the Pearl or Jewel but alas no dates available. :(

 

Any advice, input is much appreciated. Thank you!!

 

 

I have only been on 2 NCL cruises but both of them were on the Spirit. If Carnival outshines NCL, which I feel it generally does, it is in the area of food. Granted, we did not do the speciality restaurants but some of the dishes in the dining room were inedible. Other things that appeal to me on Carnival are the complimentary sushi and the cappachino in the dining room, both of which you have to pay extra for on NCL.

 

The area where NCL shines, I believe is in the entertainment.

 

As far as rowdy drunkeness, never seen that on either cruiseline.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Hello everyone,

This is my husband and I's first time cruising. We are young professionals - I am 28 and he is 32, from MD/DC area (but not really into the heavy drinking scene). We're looking to travel on February 13th for a 7 day trip and trying to decide between 1) Carnival Glory leaving from Miami to eastern caribbean with stops in nassau, san juan, turks. (7 days)

 

and 2) the NCL Spirit leaving from NOLA to Costa Maya Mexico, belize, honduras, consumel. (7 days)

 

We are looking for an elegant, lively ship with lots of good shows, entertainment and ofcourse good, abundant food. I'm a little worried over the bad reviews re: Carnival's food. Although I like the Glory's itinerary and destinations slightly better, if the food on NCL Spirit is way better, I'd definitely do the Spirit.

 

Pros of Glory: adults only pool area, movies under the stars, bigger ship, slightly bigger state rooms, itinerary and the option of spending an extra night in Miami. Water slide :)

 

Cons of Glory: possible college aged drunk fest (e.g, not so elegant), possible poor food, possible poor service, etc.

 

Pros of NCL Spirit: possible better food! possibly fewer rowdy/drunkeness?

 

Cons of NCL Spirit: Smaller ship, fewer pools.

 

Again, the food factor is heavy for me...so please keep that in mind when helping me decide. In an ideal world I'd pick the Pearl or Jewel but alas no dates available. :(

 

Any advice, input is much appreciated. Thank you!!

 

I guess Carnival is never going to live down the reputation they gained in the 80's.

 

Most people who say the things they do about Carnival have never even set foot on a Carnival ship.

 

Whomever is selling you the bill of goods that NCLs food is way better probably has a bridge to sell you also.

 

NCLs newer ships have about 12 restaurants with about 8-9 of them surcharge restaurants.

 

I hope you posted this also on the NCL board so you can get balanced feedback.

 

If you want elegant and lively I think RCI would be better suited for you.

 

Good luck whatever you choose.

 

Bill

[cruisecrazy82]

Hello everyone,

This is my husband and I's first time cruising. We are young professionals - I am 28 and he is 32, from MD/DC area (but not really into the heavy drinking scene). We're looking to travel on February 13th for a 7 day trip and trying to decide between 1) Carnival Glory leaving from Miami to eastern caribbean with stops in nassau, san juan, turks. (7 days)

 

and 2) the NCL Spirit leaving from NOLA to Costa Maya Mexico, belize, honduras, consumel. (7 days)

 

We are looking for an elegant, lively ship with lots of good shows, entertainment and ofcourse good, abundant food. I'm a little worried over the bad reviews re: Carnival's food. Although I like the Glory's itinerary and destinations slightly better, if the food on NCL Spirit is way better, I'd definitely do the Spirit.

 

Pros of Glory: adults only pool area, movies under the stars, bigger ship, slightly bigger state rooms, itinerary and the option of spending an extra night in Miami. Water slide :)

 

Cons of Glory: possible college aged drunk fest (e.g, not so elegant), possible poor food, possible poor service, etc.

 

Pros of NCL Spirit: possible better food! possibly fewer rowdy/drunkeness?

 

Cons of NCL Spirit: Smaller ship, fewer pools.

 

Again, the food factor is heavy for me...so please keep that in mind when helping me decide. In an ideal world I'd pick the Pearl or Jewel but alas no dates available. :(

 

Any advice, input is much appreciated. Thank you!!

 

Never been on NCL, but have been on CCL & DCL. Food is such a touchy and subjective topic. You'll get answers from every end of the spectrum on that issue! Food is soooooooo overly abundant on CCL, I don't think I was ever actually hungry except for breakfast lol! We went on the Liberty which is the same class ship as the Glory and we LOVED it!. As far as rowdy drunken crowds.....I think that is a stereotype that Carnival has a hard time shaking, but actually couldn't be further from the truth! We saw none of this on our cruise, it was actually pretty tame IMO.

 

I have read that NCL nickel & dimes you to death with all their for fee restaurants. But again I have no personal experience with them, and I wouldn't hesitate to sail with them if the price was right!

 

I would pick whichever itinerary interests you more and personally an extra day in Miami would be a deal maker for me! Good luck in your choice! Have an awesome time!

[estella15]

DH and I are similar to you in terms of age and preferences, and we find the food on Carnival to be much better than that on NCL. We thought the service was much better on Carnival as well.

 

Considering that college will be in session when you are thinking of going, I don't think you need to worry about the rowdy college crowd.

[LRene]

I've been on both ships and have a different opinion about the food. Keep in mind that food is the most subjective thing on a cruise ship.

 

Overall, for main dining room food, buffet, burgers, pizza, deli etc. Carnival is hands-down better food. The food was downright bad in some venues on NCL on a daily basis.

 

That said, NCL Spirit has many alternative dining options. French, steak house, Italian, Asian etc. All of those (except Italian) have an upcharge of between $15 - 30 per person and require reservations. The food in MOST of those venues is very good, the others average.

 

Glory has a steak house with a $30 upcharge as well and it's very good. However, that's usually something that most cruisers do only once or twice in a week. On Carnival you have the option of assigned dining times or anytime dining where you can go when you want. On NCL, you only have the anytime (freestyle) dining option and the specialty restaurants.

 

Both of those itinerarys are good. Cabins on the Glory are much bigger than the Spirit as are the balconies. I would give an edge to NCL for a little better entertainment.

 

In February, I don't think you'll have a spring break crowd on either ship. You may have more kids on both if that's President's Day week. In the south, kids don't have the entire week out of school but in some areas of the country they do.

 

Your opinion that Carnival will have the drunk rowdy crowd and worse food is really way off base. Both lines have pros and cons but your list is somewhat inaccurate. Go with the itinerary you like and your ability to get to those ports and you'll enjoy either one. Have a great cruise!

[98Charlie]

We were on the Glory the week after Thanksgiving and will be on NCL Spirit for the 4th time in just under 2 weeks.

 

For us the food on either ship has been equal. There are items we look forward to when sailing Carnival as well as NCL. With NCL you do have the option of more upcharged dining. Some view this as "nickle-and-diming" but since IMHO the food in the main dining room is equal to other cruise lines it is mearly additional choices. I would give the edge in the food department to NCL just based on the multiple options.

 

And personally I would go for a day in NOLA over Miami. Breakfast at Fluer de Lis (genuine hole-in-the-wall with fried potatoes to die for),beignets at Cafe du Monde, oysters and softshell crab at Acme (washed down with Abita Amber), muffaletta from the Napoleon House (better than Central Grocery's)...... oh yeah:D

 

BTW we've never encountered the "party-til-you-puke" crowd on Carnival or any other cruise line. We've only been on one 5 night. 29 other cruises of 7 or more. And only 1 during spring break. No problems there either.

 

I don't believe that you can make a bad choice with either ship.

 

Charlie

[Kokomo_Man]

I have not been on the Glory, but I have been on the Valor 3 times and just got off the Freedom a few days ago. Both of these ships are sister ships to the Glory. I'm booked on the Glory for the end of Feb. The Freedom and the Valor are sister ships to the Glory, so I can highly recommend them to you. The food and service is great, and my guess is that you will fit in well with the age group.

 

You can read my "Live" report on the Freedom here.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1330342

 

I have also been on the NCL Spirit twice... one 6 day to the Bahamas, and one 16 day repo from Boston to New Orleans with about 10 Caribbean stops. So as you can tell, I like this ship too. We were in a suite, and it's hard to beat the NCL suites with anything on Carnival... but you have to pay the extra bucks for the NCL suite. You really don't know that you are on a smaller ship.

 

So how to choose. Well... here's my opinion. (And opinions are like noses... everyone has one. I'm only comparing NCL Spirit vs the Carnival ships I've been on.

 

Best Food - Carnival (not including extra cost specialty restaurants)

Best Specialty Restaurants - NCL (I loved Le Bistro)

Best Kids programs - Carnival

Best suites - NCL (Carnival Suites are like the "mini suites on the NCL Jewel), but NCL Spirit does not have mini-suites.

Pools - NCL Spirit and Carnival Glory both have adults only pools in the poop deck of the boat.

Gym - The Glory has a much larger area with more equipment and programs

The Spirit has the best "On Deck" hamburgers I've ever had.

Carnival has the best desert I've ever had... Chocolate Melting Cake

Spirit has "any time" dining... but so does Carnival now, but I've grown to the traditional dining where you meet new people. Spirit does not have any traditional dining.

Nightlife - Carnival has a better variety on nightime entertainment from piano bar & "disco" to commedy club.

Production Shows - NCL Spirit had better production shows in the main theater.

 

The bottom line is that it's all good. My main problem is that there are so many islands and so little time. As I said in the heading, it's win - win... either is good.

 

Bob

Memories of Naked Fanny

My "Live from the Carnival Freedom" posts - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1330342

[StarboardIndigo]

Thank you everyone!!!!