Thinking about switching cruises

[kathanderik]

Hi,

 

My husband and I are booked on Victory in Jan, 7 days out of San Juan, in a aft view balcony. We well be traveling with our 2 year old son. NCL is having a kids sail free sale, and a 11 day cruise in Nov on the dawn caught my eye. We can book a 10 floor balcony for 400 dollars more. Looking at the air fair from boston for 3 to Mamii vs San Juan, and hotel costs, I think we may be spending about the same for a longer cruise. . I've never sailed NCL, so I would like to hear how people like the line. Also reviews of the kids clubs. I sailed Carnival last about 9 years ago, with a girlfriend. My husband and I have sailed RCL together. thanks, I have to make my mind up in the next day or so.

[golfadj]

Never sailed NCL butwhy not post your question there or at least review the boards in those pages?

[Sherrybaby412]

Why not post it here? She is wanting comparisons between NCL and Carnival.

 

OP I think you might have gotten more helpful responses if you had titled your thread Carnival or NCL or something along those lines.

[Tralynn]

I have never cruised NCL, but several of my friends have and they compare it closest to Carnival. I'd grab a longer cruise in a heartbeat, but you make the choice tougher by having that aft view cabin! Wow, what a decision!

 

I can't imagine you'd have a bad cruise on either choice. But I tend to enjoy whatever ship I'm on at the time. Some are a bit pickier. If you like to see and try new things go for NCL. If you are really worried that you may not enjoy the experience, then you should stick with what you know.

 

Go to the review boards and read up on both of the ships. They may give you an idea of what to expect.

 

Not much help, huh? This is a tough one!

[serene56]

NCL cabins are smaller.

 

But question to ask you= 11 days on a cruise ship with a 2 year old can you do it??

 

Does NCL take 2 year old in a kids program? Do they need to be potty trained.?

 

the price may sound great for a longer cruise-- but we dont always know how the wee ones will deal-

[bethaniesmom]

i'd take the longer cruise. NCL is fine, never had a problem there even though RCI is my all time favorite! But with kids I would do NCL because, as others have said it is closer to Carnival, more casual a trip, most likely more kids (although the longer trips tend to have fewer kids than the seven days). Never used kids clubs but the kids on both lines always seemed to be having a great time! My only concern would be what age the kids club starts at.

San Juan airport is an easy airport coming in, organized for getting cabs (and cheap) to the cruise dock, but sometimes there can be a very long line for security flying out (of course, I have had that happen in Ft Lauderdale too)!

have a great trip!

[98Charlie]

Hi,

 

My husband and I are booked on Victory in Jan, 7 days out of San Juan, in a aft view balcony. We well be traveling with our 2 year old son. NCL is having a kids sail free sale, and a 11 day cruise in Nov on the dawn caught my eye. We can book a 10 floor balcony for 400 dollars more. Looking at the air fair from boston for 3 to Mamii vs San Juan, and hotel costs, I think we may be spending about the same for a longer cruise. . I've never sailed NCL, so I would like to hear how people like the line. Also reviews of the kids clubs. I sailed Carnival last about 9 years ago, with a girlfriend. My husband and I have sailed RCL together. thanks, I have to make my mind up in the next day or so.

 

DH & I have sailed both NCL & Carnival many times each and feel that both lines are great family lines to cruise as both have good kids clubs on board. That said, I think NCL's freestyle cruising concept is better for families with young children.

 

Our DD agrees. She, her DH,and their brood of 3 boys ages 10 and under, love NCL. In fact, DD has said that the boys often don't want to leave the kids club because they are having so much fun.

 

In our opinion, of all the lines we've cruised from NCL to Carnival, Princess to Celebrity and RCL, NCL and Carnival are closest in family entertainment for kids.

 

If you can sail the 11 day Dawn cruise for about the same as the Carnival Victory cruise, I'd do it in a minute.

 

Dianne

[har]

You indicated you will be travelling with a 2-year old, so you may want to do a comparison of the kids programming on both lines if the child will be participating in that. NCL and Carnival both permit children to participate at age 2 and up. I will say both lines have excellent kids programs, but do keep in mind if your child is not potty trained, Carnival will change diapers, while NCL will not. You would be issued a portable ship phone through the kids program on both lines so they could reach you if needed. NCL will call if and when you would need to go change diapers. In this case, you cannot leave a non-potty trained child in the NCL kids program and leave the ship for a tour or anything else. On Carnival, you can leave kids in the kids program if you want when leaving the ship for a tour, or any other reason.

 

The regular program ends nightly at 10pm on Carnival and ends at 10:30pm on NCL. After that, they offer an optional paid late night program and/or group babysitting for the kids for an hourly fee.

 

If these are not major factors for you and if you have the time off available to you, I personally would go for the longer NCL cruise at the same price, with all other factors being about the same. We enjoy cruising on both cruise lines. You will find there are several pros and cons for each line in comparison to the other, but IMO they are minor.

 

Hope this helps.