How does NCL compare to Carnival? What's different?

[DaveNetMan]

Almost all our cruises have been on Carnival, with a couple on Celebrity. We just booked for the NCL Pearl (December 2013), and was wondering what kind of differences we'll find between cruising on NCL and cruising on Carnival? For example, how many formal nights? Do they have food available 24/7? How are gratuities handled? Does NCL have on-line check-in like Carnival? Any other differences we should be aware of?

 

Thanks in advance!

Dave

[SMSACE6]

Almost all our cruises have been on Carnival, with a couple on Celebrity. We just booked for the NCL Pearl (December 2013), and was wondering what kind of differences we'll find between cruising on NCL and cruising on Carnival? For example, how many formal nights? Do they have food available 24/7? How are gratuities handled? Does NCL have on-line check-in like Carnival? Any other differences we should be aware of?

 

Thanks in advance!

Dave

 

I cant answer most of your questions yet, as Im like you, most cruises on Carnival with one on the Norway back in 1999, and one Celebrity, but one thing I know is that with "freestyle" cruising, you dont have to dress up formal any night if you dont want to. There are basic guidelines but no formal nights, and if you are inclined to dress up a bit or a lot, you can do that too. As for gratuities, I know that you can prepay them, as they asked me if I wanted to, and I will do this a little closer to my cruise date which is Nov 2013. Have a great cruise. The Pearl sounds like a really nice ship.

[sparks1093]

Almost all our cruises have been on Carnival, with a couple on Celebrity. We just booked for the NCL Pearl (December 2013), and was wondering what kind of differences we'll find between cruising on NCL and cruising on Carnival? For example, how many formal nights? Do they have food available 24/7? How are gratuities handled? Does NCL have on-line check-in like Carnival? Any other differences we should be aware of?

 

Thanks in advance!

Dave

 

No formal nights, NCL has "dress up or not nights". We liked the photographers on CCL better. NCL's entertainment is more robust. Food is available 24/7. NCL charges a $12 pp/pd service charge and with their Freestyle concept this works best- you will have a different waitstaff every night. We liked the food on both lines.

[spacepotatoes]

This comes up every couple of days so have a look at any of these threads:

 

http://forums.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=36165014

 

Lots of good info there.

 

Our experience is similar to Sparks - we like NCL's entertainment and photographers better. We also like the specialty restaurant options and Freestyle. NCL's crew was friendlier as well.

[travelnap]

Almost all our cruises have been on Carnival, with a couple on Celebrity. We just booked for the NCL Pearl (December 2013), and was wondering what kind of differences we'll find between cruising on NCL and cruising on Carnival? For example, how many formal nights? Do they have food available 24/7? How are gratuities handled? Does NCL have on-line check-in like Carnival? Any other differences we should be aware of?

 

Thanks in advance!

Dave

 

Dave, I think you will find NCL more similar to Carnival than different. As others have mentioned they do not have a set formal night, they have a dress up or not night, which gives you the option of doing either. The dining room is open seating as there are no assigned seating times. If you prefer a specific dining time and table area, you can talk to the dining room staff and arrange a standing reservation for the same time for your entire trip. The cabins on Carnival are slightly larger than NCL's but NCL's are set up well. NCL does have a very friendly staff that is hard to beat. On entertainment I would give the nod to NCL. The daily service charge is $12 and is added to your statement daily. As far as food availability, NCL does have the Blue Lagoon which is a 24 hour restaurant that you can eat at any time. They serve light snacks and other lighter meals than the main dining rooms or the buffet.

 

NCL does have the on line check in and it works fine. NCL will also have more pay dining options available than Carnival does and they vary by ship. Prices for the pay dining vary from $10 to $30 for most ships. If you enjoy Carnival I think you will be fine on NCL. Happy Sailing.

[jdvmd]

Almost all our cruises have been on Carnival, with a couple on Celebrity. We just booked for the NCL Pearl (December 2013), and was wondering what kind of differences we'll find between cruising on NCL and cruising on Carnival? For example, how many formal nights? Do they have food available 24/7? How are gratuities handled? Does NCL have on-line check-in like Carnival? Any other differences we should be aware of?

 

Thanks in advance!

Dave

 

Dave, you might want to search the boards for several other threads as this question gets asked several times a week.

In a nutshell, NCL does have online check-in. Room service is 24 hours a day though there is a charge for it from midnight to 5 a.m. Pizza is available 24 hours a day and will be delivered anywhere on the ship for a $5 charge (it is a large 16-inch pie). NCL has Dress Up or Not night. You can wear what you want whenever you like. Think you will find entertainment to be much better than on Carnival. Just came off the Liberty in October and thought I was going to starve on that cruise the food was horrible except for Guy's Burgers and the pizza place but after eating a lot of that during the cruise, it got old real quick.

[newmexicoNita]

Most mass marketed lines are more alike than different::RCI, NCL and Carnaval are on an even keel I would say. We prefer NCL because of the true anytime dining. The others offer it, but NCL offers only it so it seems to work better. We also like the casual dressing. Yes, again, all lines have gone more casual but NCL is the first to do so and there are really no dress up nights. On the other lines you will still see many people dressed more formally a couple of nights, only a handful on NCL. We also enjoy the dining choices and the shows better. Carnival has larger cabins..