Carnival VS NCL Pride Of America...

[Dirkgun]

We just came home from our cruise in Hawaii on the NCL Pride of America (POA) and while we did have a great time on the islands.... The cruise left us wanting for Carnival. I just don't understand the appeal that NCL has for people, unless the POA is really just that different because of the fact it has to adhere to American labor laws and practices. The cost for the cruise is almost 3+ times higher than any other cruise we have been on. Yes I understand the fact that Hawaii is very expensive but wow.... Now mind you I do think that this is the way to see multiple Hawaiian Islands instead of Island hopping but the ship is almost not a cruise ship. I think the only thing that I would give NCL the nod in is their Cadillac Diner. Which if you have not experienced it... is a restaurant that is open 24 hours for sit down or take out. It has some good things on the menu (the menu never changes other than for breakfast) including hot wings, sandwiches, various appetizer items, various entrees and salads. They also sell milkshakes for $4.50 I think. Carnival would do good to do something similair. I definitely think Carnival wins in the food department.... Main Dining no question goes to carnival, both food quality and service. As you know NCL is all anytime dining and they are not good at it.... they are terribly slow (2 1/2 hours is the quickest dinner we had) and the food is not nearly as good or as creative. It is also like pulling teeth to get a big table... We had 11 in our group you would think it was 200. The buffet's are a push... NCL has decent food and has them set up efficiently so you are not waiting in one continuous line (you can go where you want to get thngs) but their drink stations are not very good. We have tried a specialty restaurant on Carnival yet and we did on NCL but I did not think the Teppanyaki place was worth the extra $25. The food was decent and the chefs were good but the rest of the service was terrible as was the dessert choices.

 

Rooms- Carnival wins easily. We had 9th floor midship balcony rooms on the POA. I dont think I have ever been so claustrophobic :eek: Even with only two in our room it felt like if one of us was up the other had to sit on the bed to get out of the way. Also only one closet and very little drawer space. I do also appreciate Carnivals comfortable bedding more now.

 

Service- Carnivals staff are way more attentive....everywhere, the MDR, Cabin Stewards, Bar Staff etc. I have never seen so many people wanting to take their gratuities off their account... I did not but this was the first time ever I thought about the reasoning.

 

I am not saying we had a bad cruise because we did not.... we had an awesome time. It was certainly not because of NCL though, I feel as though if this would have been the first time we cruised... we would not love it as much. I am hoping NCL's other ships are better. I just wanted to be back on a Carnival ship anywhere instead of this ship. Plus I like this board better the discussions are more fun and lively.:eek::D No Flaming please... just venting:eek::cool:

[Socref124]

If you go on NCL's boards you will see lots of discussion on the service on the POA. Americans just do not want to do what is required for the pay.

When we did Hawaii 10 years ago we were on the NCL Star, a foreign flagged ship with a foreign crew. For the most part the serviced was horrible then as well. We will be going back on POA in 2015 and have already lowered our expectations as far as service.

I thought NCL's food was very good except at the buffet and their chocolate extravaganza was incredible. The rooms on the Star are comparable to Carnival and the decor on the Star was brilliant.

One of the threads on the NCL boards talks about costs. The cost of the cruise today is just a little more than it was 10 years ago but not by much.

Glad you liked the islands.:D

[hill6]

Did NCL POA last fall. Have done nine Carnival and two Princess cruises.

 

I love Carnival but NCL did win on some points. I would sail on either one again.

[Dirkgun]

Yes we were expecting the diminished level of service and amenities because of all the reviews and other discussions, just think they cram too many people on to maximize the profits. I understand it but just appreciate Carnival for what they offer.

[mrgame101]

I agree with most points you made. We went in May of 2012. It was a cruise, it was Hawaii and we had an amazing time. But we did miss Carnival as well.

I agree 100% about the Cadillac Diner, it was great any time of the day!!

We felt the service was great, but it was not what we were used to with Carnival. Not saying we would not try NCL in the future if the price was right.

[winddawn]

We just came home from our cruise in Hawaii on the NCL Pride of America (POA) and while we did have a great time on the islands.... The cruise left us wanting for Carnival. I just don't understand the appeal that NCL has for people, unless the POA is really just that different because of the fact it has to adhere to American labor laws and practices. The cost for the cruise is almost 3+ times higher than any other cruise we have been on. Yes I understand the fact that Hawaii is very expensive but wow.... Now mind you I do think that this is the way to see multiple Hawaiian Islands instead of Island hopping but the ship is almost not a cruise ship. I think the only thing that I would give NCL the nod in is their Cadillac Diner. Which if you have not experienced it... is a restaurant that is open 24 hours for sit down or take out. It has some good things on the menu (the menu never changes other than for breakfast) including hot wings, sandwiches, various appetizer items, various entrees and salads. They also sell milkshakes for $4.50 I think. Carnival would do good to do something similair. I definitely think Carnival wins in the food department.... Main Dining no question goes to carnival, both food quality and service. As you know NCL is all anytime dining and they are not good at it.... they are terribly slow (2 1/2 hours is the quickest dinner we had) and the food is not nearly as good or as creative. It is also like pulling teeth to get a big table... We had 11 in our group you would think it was 200. The buffet's are a push... NCL has decent food and has them set up efficiently so you are not waiting in one continuous line (you can go where you want to get thngs) but their drink stations are not very good. We have tried a specialty restaurant on Carnival yet and we did on NCL but I did not think the Teppanyaki place was worth the extra $25. The food was decent and the chefs were good but the rest of the service was terrible as was the dessert choices.

 

Rooms- Carnival wins easily. We had 9th floor midship balcony rooms on the POA. I dont think I have ever been so claustrophobic :eek: Even with only two in our room it felt like if one of us was up the other had to sit on the bed to get out of the way. Also only one closet and very little drawer space. I do also appreciate Carnivals comfortable bedding more now.

 

Service- Carnivals staff are way more attentive....everywhere, the MDR, Cabin Stewards, Bar Staff etc. I have never seen so many people wanting to take their gratuities off their account... I did not but this was the first time ever I thought about the reasoning.

 

I am not saying we had a bad cruise because we did not.... we had an awesome time. It was certainly not because of NCL though, I feel as though if this would have been the first time we cruised... we would not love it as much. I am hoping NCL's other ships are better. I just wanted to be back on a Carnival ship anywhere instead of this ship. Plus I like this board better the discussions are more fun and lively.:eek::D No Flaming please... just venting:eek::cool:

Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I have sailed several cruise lines and my experience is that Carnival has the largest cabins overall. It's been years since I cruised NCL, and that was in a mini-suite with balcony to Alaska. That cabin was tiny. I did prefer NCL's casino though. I won a progressive quarter jackpot. :-)

 

Glad you a good time.

[vols_159]

Not sure about the POA but the NCL ships ive been on are amazing.. Again People choose the POA not for the cruise but to be able to see Hawaii islands without having to travel 15 days from the west coast..

 

Other NCL ships have freestyle dinning down to a T longest dinner i had last cruise was 45 minutes But its just the 2 of us... If you have a big party you can make reservations for the same time same table ect.. Just ask the Maitre D... I hope you enjoyed the Hawaii Islands

[SJS]

I was also on the Pride of America in May. It was by far the best vacation I have ever taken. The beauty in Hawaii is amazing! We chose the cruise in order to visit four islands instead of one. It really was more of a floating hotel rather than a cruise. Service was okay but lacked the attention you get on CCL or RCI. And the food in the dining room was such a disappointment! There were not good choices and not good quality. I have no interest in taking another cruise with Norwegian. I'll stick with CCI and RCI.

[tallyho8]

I've been on 7 NCL cruises and & 7 Carnival plus some Royal Caribbean and Holland American.

 

The service on the POA using American help is different than that on any other NCL ship and not preferred by some people.

 

The POA has much higher fares than the other ships because it has no casino where cruise lines make a good chunk of their profits. This fact saved me more than enough to pay the higher cruise fare.

 

On most of the itineraries I have taken the NCL fare was cheaper than the Carnival fare though the NCL cabins are usually a little smaller.

 

The food has always been about the same with one line having some food better and the other one having other items better. For example, Carnival's pizza is better but the coffee you get in the buffet from the machine that grinds the beans on some NCL ships is better than Carnival's buffet coffee.

 

All things considered, I believe they are pretty even and I will continue to sail on both of them and I like them better than HAL or Royal Caribbean.

[Dirkgun]

Not sure about the POA but the NCL ships ive been on are amazing.. Again People choose the POA not for the cruise but to be able to see Hawaii islands without having to travel 15 days from the west coast..

 

Other NCL ships have freestyle dinning down to a T longest dinner i had last cruise was 45 minutes But its just the 2 of us... If you have a big party you can make reservations for the same time same table ect.. Just ask the Maitre D... I hope you enjoyed the Hawaii Islands

 

 

That is what we thought also.. but they maitre'D and his staff only had 2 8 person tables available so we made reservations for a couple of nights and just tried to squeeze in... that was not fun. The rest of the time we just ate at different tables or at the buffet etc. They were not happy about us asking for a big table either. Oh well I know I enjoy Carnival.