Carnival or NCL??Help!!

[Nan-L]

Looking for a cruise in western carb. Carnival has 2 ships, Legend or Liberty that we can take but it's been forever since I've cruised on this line.

Then there is NCL Dawn..never been on NCL..we cruise holland Am. or Princess most of the time..

My grandson may be going too so kids factors in to this.

Which would you take and why??

Posting on NCL too..

[ibcnusoon]

Looking for a cruise in western carb. Carnival has 2 ships, Legend or Liberty that we can take but it's been forever since I've cruised on this line.

Then there is NCL Dawn..never been on NCL..we cruise holland Am. or Princess most of the time..

My grandson may be going too so kids factors in to this.

Which would you take and why??

Posting on NCL too..

 

The Dawn and Legend are out of Tampa. The Liberty is out of Miami.

 

The Liberty and Legend stop in Grand Cayman, the Dawn stops at Costa Maya.

 

__

 

I think the kids club is amazing on NCL. The Liberty has the 2.0 upgrades. Because I dislike tendering (after our GC fiasco), I vote for the Dawn and go to Costa Maya instead of Grand Cayman.

 

I also think that departing from Tampa is much easier to get to, places to stay, and more enjoyable than Miami.

 

My vote is NCL Dawn or the Legend.

[Casino Player]

Looking for a cruise in western carb. Carnival has 2 ships, Legend or Liberty that we can take but it's been forever since I've cruised on this line.

Then there is NCL Dawn..never been on NCL..we cruise holland Am. or Princess most of the time..

My grandson may be going too so kids factors in to this.

Which would you take and why??

Posting on NCL too..

 

HHHHHEEEEELLLLLLLLLLOOOOO Nan-L: Go on the one that has the itinerary you like the most. However, I am partial to Carnival. Why? Carnival has a better program for children, Camp Carnival. Carnival has larger staterooms for each category, my travel agent tells me this all the time, Carnival has better food, more availability, 24-hour restaurant (pizzeria), ice cream practically around the clock, more food choices, the best Deli at sea.

 

I am partial to the Carnival Legend because when we went on the Legend my wife had some physical problems that surfaced on that very day. Carnival provided a wheelchair for my wife to get on the ship and once on the ship helped me obtain a wheelchair for her. They also changed our table to one that could accommodate my wife's wheelchair. They were very helpful.

[HarpHarp]

The Dawn is a terrific ship.

As far as Carnival and the 24 hour food thing, The Blue Lagoon has A LOT more than pizza 23 hours a day. Now you've made me hungry:rolleyes: I love the pool deck grill and I found the rest of the food to be accceptable to great.

 

The itineray would be the deciding factor for me. I love Costa Maya & would go back & take the Mayan ruin tour again & the beach at Majhaual is lovely. That said, swimming with the stingrays at gc was marvelous.

 

Look at the port of call board & decide what you would like to do. Talk to your grandson. How old is he? What kinds of things does he like to do? Then you will be able to make your decision.

[Nan-L]

Thanks for the info.

We have been to all the ports on both ships.

So it's the ship we want to know about.

My grandson is 13, went last yr w/ us on princess and thought he would jump ship he was sooo bored!!!!

Leaning towards dawn

Also found a Carnival dream out of pt Can. eastern and again we have been to all the ports..kind of liking that one too!!!

HELP!!!!

[paper1122]

I've never been on NCL but I've been on the Legend out of Tampa twice and both times were fantastic. I will say that I thought the overall experience on CCL was better than my recent RCI experience. Why is that relevant? Well, my coworker just got back from a weekend trip on RCI to the Bahamas, he was also recently on NCL out of Tampa. When he got back he said that the short RCI was way better than the NCL trip. So the way I look at it.

CCL>RCI>NCL, of course this is a scientific study and you can take it for absolute truth (puts on flame retardant suit)

 

Seriously though, NCL I've heard is very nice but they have a lot of $ extras where as most stuff with CCL is included.

[Irishlinny]

We did the Legend Western 3 times and loved it. The ship is a perfect size, staff was great, food was good. Carnival has a great kids program. Liberty has a few more bells and whistles as far as dining is concerned. Carnival has numerous activities to choose from. Have never sailed NCL yet, as we have taken 9 Carnival cruises and loved them all.:)

[dallas52]

have cruised both but like Carnival the best, would cruise NCL again if the price was right but like they have said, the room are smaller and we liked Carnivals food better. NCL had great singers and dancers but the comedy is better on Carnival. chose which ever meets where you want to go and have a great time.

[sparks1093]

I will be in a better position to answer these types of questions in 53 days;).

[dburdan]

I have cruised CCL 5 times, with Legend being 2 of them (This June and last June). The year before that I cruise NCL Dawn. After that cruise I said I would never cruise NCL again.

 

I hated the free style dining on NCL. The food and service in the MDR (which is included in your price) were so bad that it almost forced us to spend more at the Up Charge Restaurants. Those were pretty good, but I don't cruise to spend more after I already paid. I did like the pool deck of Dawn, and NCL by far has better entertainment.

 

Legend is just a wonderful ship. Right size, easy to navigate and the staff and food were fantastic.

 

Legend all the way.

[judatt]

We have only cruised NCL (Norway) once and it was 20 years ago - totally different cruise line than the NCL of today from what I understand. We are getting ready for our second Carnival cruise (Pride) this weekend and certainly enjoyed our first one on Valor. We have been on Celebrity several times and have enjoyed each of them.

 

I can only comment on what I have heard about NCL. One of my favorite parts of cruising is going to the MDR each evening and sitting at a nice table and getting to know your table mates over dinner conversation. From what I gather on NCL you don't get an opportunity to get to know people with anytime dining for everybody. Maybe you get more than I think - but it seems like you would be with different people each evening.

 

Last year we were in Bermuda and parked next to an NCL ship (we were on Celebrity Summitt). We rode the ferry's a lot to Hamilton (we were there for 3 days) so often sat with people on the NCL ship. The common theme of conversation was love the ship - don't love the dining options. As I say, all anecdotal but it was what we heard from the people on NCL.

 

As others have said, look at the itinerary and give that the most weight and then factor in the other considerations.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

HHHHHEEEEELLLLLLLLLLOOOOO Nan-L: Go on the one that has the itinerary you like the most. However, I am partial to Carnival. Why? Carnival has a better program for children, Camp Carnival. Carnival has larger staterooms for each category, my travel agent tells me this all the time, Carnival has better food, more availability, 24-hour restaurant (pizzeria), ice cream practically around the clock, more food choices, the best Deli at sea.

 

I am partial to the Carnival Legend because when we went on the Legend my wife had some physical problems that surfaced on that very day. Carnival provided a wheelchair for my wife to get on the ship and once on the ship helped me obtain a wheelchair for her. They also changed our table to one that could accommodate my wife's wheelchair. They were very helpful.

 

We just came back from an NCL cruise. The Blue Lagoon on NCL is open 24 hours. The menu there is much better than 24 hour pizza and ice cream.

 

Blue Lagoon menu

 

Bill

[HarpHarp]

We just came back from an NCL cruise. The Blue Lagoon on NCL is open 24 hours. The menu there is much better than 24 hour pizza and ice cream.

 

Blue Lagoon menu

 

Bill

 

Bill

Now you've done it.:D At least I didn't post the menu. I want the panini NOW.

I also understand the brought back the brownie sundae.

I must quit reading this thread, it's bad for my diet.

 

To the OP,

I haven't seen the teen clubs on the Carnival ships, but the one on the Dawn is very nice. The place was always filled with dancers in the evening and it was pertty active on sea days with foosball & game players.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Bill

Now you've done it.:D At least I didn't post the menu. I want the panini NOW.

I also understand the brought back the brownie sundae.

I must quit reading this thread, it's bad for my diet.

 

To the OP,

I haven't seen the teen clubs on the Carnival ships, but the one on the Dawn is very nice. The place was always filled with dancers in the evening and it was pertty active on sea days with foosball & game players.

 

Sorry about that!;)

 

I never tried the panini but it looked good. Those wings were some of the best wings I have ever eaten.

 

On most cruise lines the wings are soggy and not crispy.

 

These were excellent as well as the fish and chips. My buddy went there for breakfast one day and said it was really good. I didn't get up early enough for breakfast.:D

 

We also frequented the Red Lion pub a lot and they had free hot dogs in there and popcorn.

 

I bought a future cruise credit while on that cruise too. Pay $250 for it and get an instant $100 OBC. Works for me.:)

 

looking to book the Dawn next.

 

Bill

[snewton7200]

Looking for a cruise in western carb. Carnival has 2 ships, Legend or Liberty that we can take but it's been forever since I've cruised on this line.

Then there is NCL Dawn..never been on NCL..we cruise holland Am. or Princess most of the time..

My grandson may be going too so kids factors in to this.

Which would you take and why??

Posting on NCL too..

 

 

Been on the Liberty twice and Legend twice. I personally prefer the Liberty. Just like the layout of the conquest class ships better. I would do either over the Dawn. It doesnt get great reviews overall.

[popsec]

We've done both NCL and Carnival to the western ports and either will be good. Some things I like better on Carnival and some things better on NCL. I like Carnival's dining room food better, NCL's buffet and Blue Lagoon. Carnival's steakhouse is better (but costs more). NCL has better bands and entertainment. I like the layout of the pool decks better on NCL. Either one is great and we're doing that itinerary on the Dawn in Jan.

[Lovefuninthesun]

I would choose departure from Tampa or Port Canaveral hands down over Miami!!!! Both ports are so easy to get in and out of.

And, if you are flying, the Tampa airport is fabulous. (I would rather poke needles in my eyes than fly in/out of Miami -- yikes)

[snewton7200]

We live in Tampa, so its easy. We fly Southwest into FLL then shuttle down.

[Nan-L]

someone said there are a lot of extra charges..for entertainment?? Food? etc

[MidtheNight]

The Dawn and Legend are out of Tampa. The Liberty is out of Miami.

 

The Liberty and Legend stop in Grand Cayman, the Dawn stops at Costa Maya.

 

__

 

I think the kids club is amazing on NCL. The Liberty has the 2.0 upgrades. Because I dislike tendering (after our GC fiasco), I vote for the Dawn and go to Costa Maya instead of Grand Cayman.

 

I also think that departing from Tampa is much easier to get to, places to stay, and more enjoyable than Miami.

 

My vote is NCL Dawn or the Legend.

 

Belize is still an tender port if nothing has changed from my last cruise there (it's been a few years) and it's a llllooooonnnnnnggggg tender ride too. Tendering in the Cayman Islands is much closer.

 

Been on both NCL and Carnival and I've loved them both. I love the newer NCL ships where there's 20 different restaurants to choose from but then again it's not just food that makes the ship. We've had great staff on the majority of trips. If there's kids involved I would suggest Carnival hands down...my youngest has been cruising since age 6 and my oldest since 10 and they both liked the Carnival Kids Program better but they both agree that they've had fun on both. The Dawn was just revamped in 2011 so she shouldn't look her age either.

 

We're booked on NCL Dawn on 11/18/12 and can't wait to get away.

[glorialagos]

HHHHHEEEEELLLLLLLLLLOOOOO Nan-L: Go on the one that has the itinerary you like the most. However, I am partial to Carnival. Why? Carnival has a better program for children, Camp Carnival. Carnival has larger staterooms for each category, my travel agent tells me this all the time, Carnival has better food, more availability, 24-hour restaurant (pizzeria), ice cream practically around the clock, more food choices, the best Deli at sea.

 

.

 

This is certainly an opinion given as fact and I totally disagree. I prefer everything of NCL of Carnival even though we cruise on both. As you have been told, the Blue Lagoon is wonderful, open 24 hours, and is so much better than the pizza on Carnival. We have NEVER paid extra for food on NCL and enjoyed it more than Carnival's. NCL's buffet is so much better and laid out so well so that there are not endless lines. The shows and entertainment are better on NCL.

 

There aren't that many differences but the few that there are, my nod goes to NCL!

[snewton7200]

someone said there are a lot of extra charges..for entertainment?? Food? etc

 

yes, there are extra charges for some of their free style dining choices. Anywhere from $10-$30 pp

 

 

Speciality Dining

When you want an even more memorable experience, our ships' specialty restaurants provide refined choices for a cover charge ($10 to $30 per person). Experience a Brazilian Churrascaria, dine on expertly prepared sushi, or savor traditional French bistro, Italian trattoria or Chicago steakhouse fare — it's all on board. And it's all delicious.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

someone said there are a lot of extra charges..for entertainment?? Food? etc

 

On our recent star cruise their were I think 12 restaurants. 10 of which you pay for.

 

We ate in one of the pay ones 2 nights and in the free dining room the rest of the time.

 

There is no need to pay extra for any food unless you choose to.

 

On the star we saw seven shows I'm like carnival where there were only three real shows and the rest where audience shows like newlywed game.

 

We did not pay anything to see any shows.

 

Bill

[fergusonvt]

Did the Star out of Tampa (sister ship to the Dawn) in Jan. Nice ship and a great itinerary, doing it again in 2014 on a different ship. Love NCL, hope I love Carnival too. The pay restaurants are good but you don't need to pay to eat well. Check out pics from Jan. In my signature.

 

Sent from my LePanII using Tapatalk 2

[chill6x6]

Outside of cabin size, alcohol price, and itinerary choices NCL beats CCL.... Eat when you want WHERE you want. A MULTITUDE of eating choices both included and pay. Friendliest and most helpful crew ever from the pursers/excursion desk, to the cabin steward, to the entertainers. Honestly, the crew seem to actually ENJOY their work! Ships officers are visible and readily available. The ship's officers even attend the shows. By the end of the cruise, you will be DYING to book another cruise with NCL! I was the worlds biggest skeptic, but look what I have booked April 2013!