boy did I miss NCL

[iluvdoxies]

DW and I are Platinum on CCL and were on this same cruise. Too bad we missed Half Moon Cay due to weather, it is a beautiful beach. You have 2 CCL cruises booked in your signature. Are you planning to cancel these? I agree with some of the comments, especially the time at dinner each evening. Another area lacking was in live entertainment (music) in the public areas. Had to go to a club to dance, and that was with a DJ and a lot of music I don't like.:(

 

too bad we missed you !

 

Yes I canx the Carnival cruises yesterday

[Georgiagolfer]

too bad we missed you !

 

Yes I canx the Carnival cruises yesterday

 

Did you go to the Platinum/Diamond Party? There was a couple in their early 80's dancing to "Staying Alive". We talked to them a lot, and they are super nice. They are Diamond+ on RCI and said they were through with that line. Just CCL and NCL from now on.

 

We have RCI booked for January, but after that no more 5 day cruises. Seems as if the demographics, service, food, etc. is lacking in the shorter cruises.

[mag]

I find that the 2 lines both have their pros/cons, but in the end, are more alike than different. I give the edge to NCL for better buffet, Blue Lagoon/O'sheehans and the entertainment. DH gives the edge CCL for larger rooms, MDR food & desserts, comedy club, ship layout, and usually price. Kids like them both and we have had great vacations on both. You won't know that you won't like it until you actually try it yourself and form your own opinions. Try not let other peoples opinions of food, entertainment or service sway your opinion before you even experience it. Those subjects are all subjective and rely heavily on that persons actual experience, as well as their own likes/dislikes, which may very well be quite different from yours. Go with an open mind and most of all have fun.

 

 

Wow I was going to write a response in this thread but you wrote just about exactly what I would have! Have loved all of my NCL and Carnival cruises...well Royal not so much...but still had fun!

[iluvdoxies]

Did you go to the Platinum/Diamond Party? There was a couple in their early 80's dancing to "Staying Alive". We talked to them a lot, and they are super nice. They are Diamond+ on RCI and said they were through with that line. Just CCL and NCL from now on.

 

We have RCI booked for January, but after that no more 5 day cruises. Seems as if the demographics, service, food, etc. is lacking in the shorter cruises.

 

no, we had early dining and we were not finished until 740 each night, grrrr

[Bmac614]

As being a non experienced cruiser... well one actually, I can't complain about any line. I definitely wouldn't book or cancel a cruise based on someone else's opinion. I read up on experiences for a few lines. All have pros and cons. And most people that do bash carnival basically compare their oldest ships to the newer ones on another. I read a lot of so called horror stories about the Epic a lot and that's not deterring us from looking to book her. Ship looks amazing. Our one cruise was the Allure on RC. It would be like us cruising the ncl sky and comparing it to the Allure. 2 totally different lines, and definitely ships. Then the ncl homers would say its wouldnt be fair to compare those two.

[sharecruises]

I am looking forward to Pearl

 

I have only been on 2 3 nighters with NCL on Sky but was impressed by the service and the washy washy and mostly the music, bands

 

Just had a good cruise on Carnival Freedom

 

one nice thing about Carnival is that everyone 21 and over can carry on a bottle of wine , NO corkage fee

Chocolate melting cake is yum

 

but....service has gotten worse IMHO, the workers are too "stretched"

 

cutbacks...and ...worst of all no good music on the last 2 cruises I was on

 

the production shows on Freedom were great but really miss the Caribbean band on deck, just not enough music. Spirit last May was the same

 

I am excited to try a newer NCL ship (Pearl)

 

I like the washy washy, and the friendly and visable staff that are everywhere on the ship.

[jdvmd]

OP, just had the same experience on the Carnival Liberty, which we disembarked on Saturday. I cannot wait to get back to NCL.

 

And there are TONS of plastic plates all over Carnival.

[jenesaisquoi]

We loved the Miracle, as well, even though we cruised during Hurricane Irene! Some other things to enjoy--the adults only Serenity area, 9-hole miniature golf, and afternoon tea during sea days.

[PCHENG]

I have been on 2 CCL, and I will be going on my first NCL this December.

 

Out of my two CCL cruises, the first one was great, the second one not so much, though it was due to a medical issue with my daughter and by no means the fault of Carnival. I have also heard plenty of horror stories with CCL, but other than the over the top decor, I did not find anything objectionable with either of my cruise experience. The food is good, the room is comfortable, service excellent, entertainment adequate, the ship is clean and well maintained, and the price is usually hundreds cheaper than other cruiselines. All things considered, you get great value for your money.

[klingoncruiser]

Always good to try other cruise lines and find out for yourself. :)

[newmexicoNita]

Plastic plates--wow---no plastic plate on any CCL ship I have been on.

 

When was the last time you were on CCL? Remember these things change monthly.. Just because they didn't have them, even say, last spring does not mean they do not now. All lines are changing constantly and most have gone to plastic but they are not going to announce it. now, in all honestly, I do not think, using plastic plates is something to get all worked over. We all need to chill out a little and realize little things do not make or break a vacation. To us, service and cleanliness are the two factors, that a ship can conrol that will influence the success of a cruise. They certainly are not the only factors. For us, food choices, good entertainment and interesting ports are what will makes us return, as well as, well designed cabins.

 

I will add CCL is my least favorite line other than maybe, Costa, but I haven't cruised either for quite a while. I hear pros and cons about Carnival. I think it depends on the personality of the cruiser and what they are looking for. I will say, like NCL it seems CCl is a love/hate line.

Nita

[soccersharon]

When was the last time you were on CCL? Remember these things change monthly.. Just because they didn't have them, even say, last spring does not mean they do not now. All lines are changing constantly and most have gone to plastic but they are not going to announce it. now, in all honestly, I do not think, using plastic plates is something to get all worked over. We all need to chill out a little and realize little things do not make or break a vacation. To us, service and cleanliness are the two factors, that a ship can conrol that will influence the success of a cruise. They certainly are not the only factors. For us, food choices, good entertainment and interesting ports are what will makes us return, as well as, well designed cabins.

 

I will add CCL is my least favorite line other than maybe, Costa, but I haven't cruised either for quite a while. I hear pros and cons about Carnival. I think it depends on the personality of the cruiser and what they are looking for. I will say, like NCL it seems CCl is a love/hate line.

Nita

 

 

I would also say that plastic plates are used for safety. How many times do folks drop a plate? Worst thing that has to be cleaned up is lunch - not a broken plate :)

[riddle]

Have only cruised once on CCL and once on Princess...the rest have been NCL. We got hooked on NCL as it was our first cruise and we loved freestyle. On the one CCL cruise we ended up with very incompatible tablemates (I know we could have asked to change) so did not eat that many meals in the dining room. Not a problem with NCL.

 

We did love our Princess cruise. There were features we would have liked to see come to NCL.

 

But now that we are Gold on NCL it hard to pass it by for another line. We will enjoy the perks. My DH is also hooked on the spa package and really misses it if we cruise on an NCL ship that is older and does not have the spa package.

 

That being said, we are limited to 7 day cruises currently because of job restraints. I wish we could find a few more options on NCL as we have done the same itineraries again and again. We used to love cruising the Majesty out of Charleston as it was an easy one day drive. We did try NYC but were not crazy about cruising out of there.

 

We now have a son in CA so we may look at visiting them and combining a cruise with a trip out there that leaves from a CA port.

[slotaddict]

My personal opinion is that you will have a wonderful time...I prefer NCL and it is my cruiseline of choice...however I have have sailed Carnival and my one cruise on the Pride was probably one of the best cruises I have ever taken....was it the actual cruiseline? probably not, but our room was lovely, the food was very good, the people we were with were great and the itinerary was wonderful....

 

Go with your friends...have a great time....the only thing you will miss is the freestyle dining....and by all means eat the chocolate melting cake.....

[slotaddict]

We have a similar situation...My wife and I are having pre-cruise anxiety....we really prefer crusing with NCL and have had a great time during all of our NCL cruises. However, our friends really like Carnival and asked us to go with them on the Miracle. We gently tried to persuade them to book an NCL Gem or Jewel cruise leaving around the same date, but they really wanted to book Carnival. We said "OK"...since we have never cruised Carnival we decided to try something different.

 

Of course, we have made our final payment. We're wondering if we made a big mistake.

 

Sorry I answered this without quoting it first, duh....

[LuckyStar]

I have done two Carnival cruises. First one was a blast. It was out of TX and crowds were great. Second was out of Miami and we had an OK time. The crowd was less fun. Food was good and service was a well, so I think it just depends on who you are with. :)

 

Needless to say, I'd do another CCL out of TX in a heartbeat. I'd make sure I went with a fun crowd of my own before I'd take another out of Miami.

 

Jenny

[Caliber1]

As long as you go in with the right attitude you'll have a blast. We've taken two cruise on Carnival and had fun both times. Even our two day cruise out of NY when the weather was horrible. The ship was rolling and it rained the whole time.

 

Did we go to the art auction and sip champagne in our fluffy bathrobes cause it was freezing, absolutely! Did we make it a point to eat as much food (and get our money's worth) as possible? Absolutely! We had soft-serve ice cream morning, noon and night, we had sushi before going to the MDR, and routinely stopped at the buffet for a second helping of dessert. We also decided to have a contest between ourselves and the other couple. We competed mercilessly, in battleship, trivia games, air hockey in the arcade, and anything else we could find, and fought and gloated over each and every victory. We had a little plastic ship trophy that we won at one of the trivia games that we passed back and forth to whomever won the latest game, that might have well been an Olympic gold medal given how much we coveted it.

 

Honestly I have more fond memories of that cruise than any of our previous ones. It had nothing to do with the quality of food, size of our room, or the service we received, and everything to do with our own determination to have a good time. As long as you're willing to have fun, you'll enjoy yourself.

 

Well said.

 

It is nice to see all of the positivity about NCL, without tearing down other lines. My wife and I booked the Epic for Nov. 10 this year after only cruising on Carnival. We have never had a bad cruise, there have been some that were better, and the Epic looks amazing.

 

I noticed this as well.

[04cruises]

The hardest thing for us when we do different lines is not to compare.It becomes the thing we talk about. We only remember the good of our favorite line not the bad.So, when you go,pretend it is your first cruise and you will enjoy yourself much better.

[Peelboy]

I love Carnival, Princess and even Costa. I will try NCL Pearl in a few weeks. The only disappointment is with HAL, which is not bad and actually better than Carnival. However, I pay a lot more. For that price, I expect more.