Carnival vs NCL

[curiousdonutcouple]

If you have traveled both can you go into detail about the difference in the cruise line. Married couple with two boys ages 9 and 11. Leaning towards NCL Pearl. :confused:

 

Thank you.

[jlajr]

Hi. In the past year and a half, I've been on both. Last year, I was on Norwegian Epic for an 11-day eastbound transatlantic sailing, and this past summer I was on Carnival Glory for a 7-day New England/Canada sailing.

 

Very similar cruise lines overall, but I have not analyzed any particular aspect of the cruise line too closely. I can't remember any poor experience on either.

 

For example, the food. The no-added-fee food ranged from fine to very good on both ships. The Epic has about 10 "alternative" added-fee options vs the Glory's one, but the Epic is about 50% bigger than the Glory. I think, in general, NCL has been adding more added-fee food options than Carnival. Also, I don't think I would select a cruise line solely based on how much I thought I might like the food - as long as I didn't think it would be horrible.

 

The service from both ships' staff was very good, as I cannot remember anything negative about it.

 

I enjoyed both cabins - a balcony on Epic and a scenic grand ocean view on Glory - although it's kind of like comparing apples and oranges. My traveling companions on the Glory had balconies, and from what I could tell, they were comparable to my balcony on the Epic. The Epic balconies are uniquely shaped and laid out, though. But, this is ship-specific, not line-specific.

 

One thing that I can't help you with is the children's activities. I don't have any, and the child I traveled with on the Glory did not go to any children's activity.

 

If you want more specifics about these cruises, click the links to reviews in my signature.

Edited October 4, 2013 by jlajr

[sparks1093]

If you have traveled both can you go into detail about the difference in the cruise line. Married couple with two boys ages 9 and 11. Leaning towards NCL Pearl. :confused:

 

Thank you.

 

We found both lines to be to our liking and it would all come down to price for us- if the prices are close then we'd probably pick NCL mostly because we do prefer Freestyle. NCL does have more robust entertainment than CCL does (for example, NCL still has a live band on the pool deck, CCL uses a DJ playing music). Our cruises were a few years apart but from what we remembered the food on both was about the same.

[Warm Breezes]

We have been on 6 CCL cruises and 2 NCL cruises with our 3rd coming up in 2 weeks. Both lines have their pros/cons but we like them both and have had a great time on both. The following is my subjective review:

 

Rooms: We have only had inside rooms so far on NCL (our next is a balcony). The insides on NCL are much smaller than the insides on CCL.

 

Service: Both great

 

Food: MDR and Specialty Restuarant quality comparable but NCL has more specialty choices. NCL has the same number of included restaurants (if not more) than CCL does. CCL has better desserts. NCL has a better buffet.

 

Entertainment: NCL wins hands down, but the shows we have seen on our last 2 CCL cruises were better than the shows we saw on our previous CCL cruises. Having said that, we have not been on a ship with the 2.0 upgrades yet so I can't comment on the entertainment on those ships.

 

Freestyle vs Anytime: Very similar except Freestyle gives you more restaurants to choose from. Plus the Aft dining room and LeBistro have a more formal dress code for those who prefer to dress up, while the rest of the restaurants have a more casual dress code for those who don't.

 

We like both lines and while some will say they are as different as night and day, I would say they are more similar than not. Their difference give you a little different experience, but the basics are the same. We like the experience both give us. We are not brand loyal and I would love to try more lines if they met our wants for the vacation we are planning. At the moment though, Carnival and NCL seem to win out most of the time when planning our vacations.

[momofmeg]

I really liked the NCL Pearl. NCL is a good family line and her newer ships are better laid out than her older ships that were not set up for freestyle. She has a great junk food restaurant that serves mac and cheese, chicken fingers, spinach dip,etc. that is 24 hour. She also had pay extra restaurants that were very reasonable in price, that were very good. We liked the Mexican and Italian very well. There are others that cost more, but these would be the ones your kids would enjoy most anyway.

 

I have no young children, but I do know the kid's club is open evenings on NCL and they will serve the kids dinner on top of that, so if you and hubby chose to go to a nicer restaurant like the French, Asian, or steakhouse, you could as a couple.

[#1TravelMom]

I think the mistake is trying to compare line to line. I think it's much more accurate to compare specific ships. Overall, I agree with the above information. We have been on at least 10 NCL and 10 Carnival - all with our girls. We have been cruising for 27 years. Our girls are 9 and 24 years old - so LOTS of experience with kids clubs.

 

Example - If I compare Carnival Imagination to Norwegian Epic - no comparison. The Epic juts outshines most ships with spectacular entertainment and plenty of no-fee eating options. Always something to do. The kids club is massive. Imagination is ok - but nothing special or unique about the ship.

 

We have been on the Epic twice with another scheduled for Thanksgiving. We've been on Carnival Breeze and Carnival Dream. These are the 3 ships that I would say have the most to offer overall in the 2 lines. There is plenty to do for all ages.

 

I can't say there is a marked difference in food or service on either line. Although each line has it's cheerleaders, we are perfectly happy on either.

[momofmeg]

To clarify, I meant the Pearl about the restaurants. I really liked the Pearl. However, I have also been on the Sun and Sky and they were not set up for freetsyle so I did not like them as well. By that I mean the buffet area was halved to add specialty restaurants which in turn caused it to be congested at lunchtime as there was only one side for food stations although you are allowed to take your buffet food to the specialty/lounge side area since the restaurant is only open for dinner and the lounge not busy during the day. So enough seating, the problem is getting your food.

 

Yes the rooms are smaller than Carnival, so if you can try to either get a superior balcony or mini suite. We stayed in a minisuite with our adult daughter and had plenty of room. She slept on a full size futon sofa which your boys could share instead of one or both of them having a berth. I am not sure of the size of the superior balcony on the Pearl but on the Sun it was roomy for 3 people. the Pearl,being a newer ship, I am guessing would be too.

 

Since there are 4 of you, you would want at least 180 square feet, NOT counting balcony to be comfortable, unless you book 2 rooms of course.

[momofmeg]

I think the mistake is trying to compare line to line. I think it's much more accurate to compare specific ships. Overall, I agree with the above information. We have been on at least 10 NCL and 10 Carnival - all with our girls. We have been cruising for 27 years. Our girls are 9 and 24 years old - so LOTS of experience with kids clubs.

 

Example - If I compare Carnival Imagination to Norwegian Epic - no comparison. The Epic juts outshines most ships with spectacular entertainment and plenty of no-fee eating options. Always something to do. The kids club is massive. Imagination is ok - but nothing special or unique about the ship.

 

We have been on the Epic twice with another scheduled for Thanksgiving. We've been on Carnival Breeze and Carnival Dream. These are the 3 ships that I would say have the most to offer overall in the 2 lines. There is plenty to do for all ages.

 

I can't say there is a marked difference in food or service on either line. Although each line has it's cheerleaders, we are perfectly happy on either.

 

and I am sure the Pearl is nothing like the Epic, and the OP is looking at the Pearl.

[marco]

We haven't been on Carnival for a few years, we were on NCL in Feb. I am not a fan of Freestyle and many many up-charge alternative restaurants. The food in the main dining room was good, but selections considerably limited and (I thought) a much lower per diem cost per meal. Many items we've come to expect on a cruise ship were never on the menu, like shrimp cocktail and escargot, for instance. Yet they were always available in the up-charge restaurants after paying an additional $50 a couple for dinner. Service in the main dining room was not so great, though not the servers fault. Way, way to few waiters/waitresses and only one waiting on several tables. I didn't like not having the same server every evening who gets to know your particular likes. Also, we didn't like having to have a beeper and being beeped after a 45 minute wait that your table was ready. The joke in our group got to be that freestyle means they are free to serve you when they are ready. Category per category cabin, we thought the cabins on NCL were much smaller than on "C", however it could have just been the ship(s) we happened to be on. Public rooms, activities, overall ambiance, etc I thought were pretty comparable. I only thought NCL fell way short in the dining experience.

[lor74]

I would agree with what #1TravelMon said....It is better to compare the ships first when it comes to NCL vs Carnival. I cannot comment on the Pearl, but what Carnival ship would you be considering? I can tell you that under the right circumstances I would sail on either line....but I would not go on the Carnival Freedom again.

[kcwingwalker]

Have to say I would chose NCL over Carnival. Simply prefer the atmosphere on NCL.

 

Our first Carnival cruise was chosen because of the itinerary and it was OK. Not wonderful, but not terrible.

 

Our second Carnival cruise was chosen because there was just one week when everyone could go and we could sail from NOLA on Carnival and not have to spend extra $$$ on airfare. By day 3 I just wanted to go home.

 

Many, many people love Carnival and have wonderful vacations, I'm just not one of them. It's pointless to bash a cruise line when you simply have a preference for another so I'm not going do a number on Carnival.

 

All of our NCL cruises have been great and we'll be with NCL again in the Spring.

 

Try monitoring the NCL and Carnival boards here at CC and you'll get a taste of what it might be like from seasoned cruisers and read the CC ship reviews.

[Bonnie J.]

If you haven't booked yet, get connecting cabins. There will be a door between both cabins, each cabin will have two beds and a bathroom. Most ships have these but there are not many so they can go fast so book soon.

You'll hardly see your boys if on a Carnival cruise. There kids program will keep them happy & busy!

And, Carnival has 'babysitting' from, I think, 10pm until 3am for ages 3-11. There is a charge for this and its not in your cabin. Its at the Camp Carnival and is like a slumber party. There is a separate charge for it. And the Camp Carnival staff only get tips if you give them one.

The Statue of Liberty is a ways from the ship leaving the harbor. You also pass Ellis Island. It would be more exciting if you go to NY and go to the Statue of Liberty. If you sail from NY go there a day or two early to go to the statue!

[momofmeg]

We haven't been on Carnival for a few years, we were on NCL in Feb. I am not a fan of Freestyle and many many up-charge alternative restaurants. The food in the main dining room was good, but selections considerably limited and (I thought) a much lower per diem cost per meal. Many items we've come to expect on a cruise ship were never on the menu, like shrimp cocktail and escargot, for instance. Yet they were always available in the up-charge restaurants after paying an additional $50 a couple for dinner. Service in the main dining room was not so great, though not the servers fault. Way, way to few waiters/waitresses and only one waiting on several tables. I didn't like not having the same server every evening who gets to know your particular likes. Also, we didn't like having to have a beeper and being beeped after a 45 minute wait that your table was ready. The joke in our group got to be that freestyle means they are free to serve you when they are ready. Category per category cabin, we thought the cabins on NCL were much smaller than on "C", however it could have just been the ship(s) we happened to be on. Public rooms, activities, overall ambiance, etc I thought were pretty comparable. I only thought NCL fell way short in the dining experience.

 

 

I hear a lot of people saying that but most lines now have at least 2 specialty restaurants. I know the newer Celebrity ships have about as many as NCL. Of course Celebrity still has very good food in their main dining room; so if you go to a specialty it is more for atmosphere than that the food is much better.

 

That said, for the NCL Pearl, I would cruise her again in a heartbeat-for what we saved on cruise fare, it was easy enough to eat in the specialties-we did 4 nights out of the 7 and it was still less than we would have spent on Celebrity or RCI. Heck we even splurged on a mini suite and spent less. Now true, we could have gone on Carnival about as cheaply, but we are too old for Carnival's party hardy atmosphere now. NCL is a bit more family friendly. You see more families than partying singles there.

[momofmeg]

Have to say I would chose NCL over Carnival. Simply prefer the atmosphere on NCL.

 

Our first Carnival cruise was chosen because of the itinerary and it was OK. Not wonderful, but not terrible.

 

Our second Carnival cruise was chosen because there was just one week when everyone could go and we could sail from NOLA on Carnival and not have to spend extra $$$ on airfare. By day 3 I just wanted to go home.

 

Many, many people love Carnival and have wonderful vacations, I'm just not one of them. It's pointless to bash a cruise line when you simply have a preference for another so I'm not going do a number on Carnival.

 

All of our NCL cruises have been great and we'll be with NCL again in the Spring.

 

Try monitoring the NCL and Carnival boards here at CC and you'll get a taste of what it might be like from seasoned cruisers and read the CC ship reviews.

 

I liked Carnival well enough 15 years ago,(I was much younger-lol) but then I tried other lines and found I liked their more subdued atmosphere better. It has been almost 10 years since I was on Carnival. Now, I have never disliked things so much that I wanted to leave a cruise lol! but some I have enjoyed much more than others.

 

I find NCL a "bargain RCI" cruise, as in it is very family friendly, it just does not have all the bells and whistles of RCI. If You want all those choices of entertainment/activities, of course it is going to cost more. NCL also has kid's club that lasts I think until 10 pm/ 11 pm? Now, I am going by what a couple told me who dropped off their kids (about ages 6 and 8) before their 8 pm reservation at Chops. We rode the elevator up to Chops together and saw them drop them off and then get back on the elevator so we asked. Perhaps the OP should check with NCL on that to see if that is correct. Maybe they did not want to say they were paying extra for babysitting.

 

Now for a couple between 25 and 40 and childless, yes they may would prefer Carnival's atmosphere.

[mitsugirly]

I have been a NCL fan for many years and had nothing but great experiences on them. I took my first Carnival cruise a few months ago (even after everyone told me I would have a bad experience and it was not even compatible to NCL) I loved it. We were on the Dream. I have a full review in my signature line that pointed out how I felt about Carnival vs NCL. It's very long and goes in to a lot of details...so have some time on your hands if you are interested in reading it.

 

I would go on either now that I have sailed both and look forward to getting back to Carnival (but, I have a tendency to only want to go on the bigger ships...Magic or Breeze when I do).

 

The food was about the same, but I felt like NCL offers more of a variety (especially with the "after hours" food available). Don't worry, you won't go hungry on either.

 

The entertainment (shows)-NCL hands down. Bigger variety, better shows. We did enjoy the first few on Carnival and then they got repetitive.

 

The friendliness of the staff-both were friendly and we had a great experience. If I had to pick, NCL would have the edge on this one.

 

Cleanliness-both lines do a good job of keeping things in tip top shape. However, I did notice that Carnival is a little slower on the clean up after someone leaves than NCL is.

 

We enjoyed the water area of the Dream better than any of the NCL ships (other than the Epic...which you know what that is like). I don't know what type of water/pool area the Carnival ship you are considering is like to compare. The Pearl just has a small slide that doesn't go fast. Not very fun. (For a kiddie pool area on an older NCL ship, the Spirit is the fun one).

 

The kids club-NCL hands down. They have the most awesome kids program ever. My daughter begs to go and begs to stay. She loves it there and the staff is amazing. They are not just people they hire off the street that applied for the job. They have an education/degree related to children. The activities they do with the children and also involving the ship is also amazing. Carnival was boring, the counselors were not great and we had a bad experience with 2 of them. My daughter and grandson actually begged not to go back at times.

 

We LOVE the freestyle concept and the only thing that had been keeping us from trying Carnival was the dreadful (for us) dining. Then we discovered the anytime dining. It worked for us and will never worry about that again.

 

We have also been on the Pearl. So, if you are interested in reading my Pearl review, it's also located in my signature line. I have tons of pictures in my reviews. :)

[curiousdonutcouple]

Thank you everyone! Great tips and reviews. Husband and I have narrowed it down to RCL Explorer of the Seas 3/21/14. 8 nights. Departing from Cape Liberty, Jersey.

The other is Carnival Pride 3/23/14. Departing from Baltimore Maryland. 7 nights.

Have decided to go basic with inside staterooms as this is out first cruise and we are bringing our children. Decided we can save the balcony for when it us just us. I like the rcl's itinerary. But carnival is $1100 cheaper. Is it true you get what you pay for? Anyone have any thoughts?

[Warm Breezes]

Thank you everyone! Great tips and reviews. Husband and I have narrowed it down to RCL Explorer of the Seas 3/21/14. 8 nights. Departing from Cape Liberty, Jersey.

The other is Carnival Pride 3/23/14. Departing from Baltimore Maryland. 7 nights.

Have decided to go basic with inside staterooms as this is out first cruise and we are bringing our children. Decided we can save the balcony for when it us just us. I like the rcl's itinerary. But carnival is $1100 cheaper. Is it true you get what you pay for? Anyone have any thoughts?

I think it all depends how much the extra day, itinerary, and difference between the 2 ships are worth to you. If it is worth around $1100 to YOU then go for it. I, personally, would have a hard time paying that much more for the options you are comparing. But I'm not you and only you know exactly what you want out of this vacation.

[anastasia3939]

Yeah, my thought is i'd go with the Carnival cruise and put that $1100 towards another cruise! That's a HUGE price difference!

[sparks1093]

Thank you everyone! Great tips and reviews. Husband and I have narrowed it down to RCL Explorer of the Seas 3/21/14. 8 nights. Departing from Cape Liberty, Jersey.

The other is Carnival Pride 3/23/14. Departing from Baltimore Maryland. 7 nights.

Have decided to go basic with inside staterooms as this is out first cruise and we are bringing our children. Decided we can save the balcony for when it us just us. I like the rcl's itinerary. But carnival is $1100 cheaper. Is it true you get what you pay for? Anyone have any thoughts?

 

I would go on the Pride again in a minute, especially if I were saving $1100 (that's sort of the situation for the cruise we are looking at for 2015- CCL comes in at $2000 less than NCL). There are some that feel NCL is worth $1100 more than CCL and there is nothing wrong with that feeling, I just don't happen to share it. To me the cruise is the backdrop to spending time with my wife or my family and we always have a great time together no matter where we are.

[CruisinMom!]

Travel Mom,

 

I just joined cruise critic and I've already come across 2 of your postings that I can relate to. So, first of all, I too agree it's about comparing a variety of factors from Cruise Line to specific ships to dates you travel. Being that you and I seem to be stuck with the school schedule & fighting the crowds (next trip Spring Break), I ask in your opinion, do you prefer Breeze or Epic? I've been on both CL and NCL (& others), so I know what to expect with food, service, rooms, etc., so this is strictly comparing your experience on these 2 ships. BTW: I've got 2 girls (11 & 14).

 

Thanks!

Edited January 22, 2014 by CruisinMom!

[Karysa]

NCL has live bands at the pool and more specialty restaurants and more live music to dance to and therefore would be my choice. MDR was similar to me and nightly entertainment has decreased a little over the years on NCL IMO so in that department they are tied.