comparing Carnival to Norweigin...need your opinion

[lavelle222]

We have only crused NCL. Love it. Love all the dinning options. i know carnival has traditional dining, with a few other options. Those of you who have cruised on both, what do you think. We are not yell and scream partiers, will Carnival be too rowdie?? We would love to cruise out of baltimore this Dec.

Does the pride have outdoor breakfast on the aft deck with a buffet, do they have smoked salmon, that's our fav. on NCL.

It's a lot of sea days, hows the pool area, is there a quite pool area??

Thanks!

[kcwingwalker]

We have only crused NCL. Love it. Love all the dinning options. i know carnival has traditional dining, with a few other options. Those of you who have cruised on both, what do you think. We are not yell and scream partiers, will Carnival be too rowdie?? We would love to cruise out of baltimore this Dec.

Does the pride have outdoor breakfast on the aft deck with a buffet, do they have smoked salmon, that's our fav. on NCL.

It's a lot of sea days, hows the pool area, is there a quite pool area??

Thanks!

 

I've done both NCL and Carnival. My first choice is NCL because of Freestyle and the great perks with the suites.

 

Carnival and NCL are more alike than different.

 

Change is always good, so why not give it try?

Edited November 8, 2013 by kcwingwalker

[OrlandoGirl57]

I haven't cruised NCL yet, only Carnival, but I can give you my opinions about Carnival.

I totally love Carnival. Every time I have gone service was impeccable. Every cruise i was a bit unhappy about the small children and the parents letting them in the hot tub. We didn't have a lot of rowdy folks though. You can take your breakfast outside, though the buffet is inside. There is salmon on the room service menu, but I never had it.

Here is a link to the menus: http://zydecocruiser.net/menus/CarnivalCruiseLineMenus.htm

Eventually I will venture to other lines, but i only want to sail out of Port Canaveral or Tampa- the drive is short to either of those ports!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

We have only crused NCL. Love it. Love all the dinning options. i know carnival has traditional dining, with a few other options. Those of you who have cruised on both, what do you think. We are not yell and scream partiers, will Carnival be too rowdie?? We would love to cruise out of baltimore this Dec.

Does the pride have outdoor breakfast on the aft deck with a buffet, do they have smoked salmon, that's our fav. on NCL.

It's a lot of sea days, hows the pool area, is there a quite pool area??

Thanks!

 

Too rowdy? CCL isn't what you have been lead to believe.

 

Especially in the winter with a limited amount of families with kids onboard.

 

Not as many options for dinner but during the day there are many options.

 

Everything is comparable to NCL with exception of entertainment and you would see the presence of ship officers as much.

 

Bill

[Twinzma]

I have not done the Pride, but having sailed NCL & Carnival both there are a lot of differences. Personally, I like the food much better on NCL. Yes Carnival has smoked salmon, but it's not as good and their capers are different as well. Carnival has a bad rap as a party ship, but on a 7 day where/when you are sailing from I wouldn't be too worried. Whatever you choose, enjoy and just realize that each line is different as is each and every opinion. I hope too that you posed this question on the NCL board as well......

[Cruisegirl6]

In order for me to answer your question which Carnival ship are you considering what is the name of it?

[Kitt Lady]

I agree - they are more a like then different.

 

I have been in balcony cabins, a Suite once on CCL and a Suite on NCL. There is a BIG difference when it comes to suites (once line vs the other). Total dream on NCL, with the exception of VIP check in. No one at NCL knew what to do with us. That's were CCL excels - they have it down to a science.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

In order for me to answer your question which Carnival ship are you considering what is the name of it?

 

The OP said they would like to cruise on the Pride this December. :)

 

Bill

[rhinomike]

They are pretty similar. Unless you book a suite then I would say NCL is superior. Far more suite perks.

[linga]

I have sailed both. I think the food is better on Carnival. In my humble opinion, I didn't think the food was all that great in the specialty restaurants on the Norwegian Dawn, except for the Teppan and the Main Dining Room was definitely not as good as Carnival. They weren't horrible, just an edge to Carnival.

 

My husband orders room service of smoked salmon, capers and bagel almost every morning and they were equal on both lines.

 

I've been on 7 Carnival cruises, and have not ever been on a "rowdie" cruise. The closest it ever came was a 3-day cruise that had several bachelor and bachelorette parties. Never seen "rowdie" on a 7 or 8 day cruise.

 

I found the atmosphere on Norwegian and Carnvial to be about the same. I loved my Carnival cruises and I loved my Norwegian and princess cruises. I will continue to cruise on any line that has a good itinerary and good price! :)

[cjknox]

I've been on more Carnival cruises than NCL but I have to say that they are more alike than different with some differences nonetheless.

 

No Carnival is not "rowdy" either, especially on the longer cruises.

[CarolRoy]

Have been on a number of Carnival cruises and just one NCL. See my signature below. We like Carnival over NCL. NCL MDR menu was very repetitious. NCL does not have cold soups. Carnival does have an "anytime dining" option. We always choose it. Menu in the MDR has more variety than NCL. Also Carnival has great cold soups. And Carnival has 24/7 pizza. Pizza is really good-the thin crust type. Carnival also has 24/7 soft serve ice cream and yogurt.

You have too know when to cruise. We never cruise in the summer or during spring breaks (both college and regular schools). Carnival is NOT a young crowd. You will find all ages. Our last cruise there were a mixed age groups. I would say the average age was 55-60.

[Surrealistic]

I only did one NCL cruise and honestly there were more rowdy & drunk people on that ship (it was March and full of spring breakers, tho). Waiting times for MDR were long on NCL, and I didn't like the food as much as Carnival, especially the deserts. Enjoy whatever cruise you pick.

[cruising maniac]

We prefer Norwegian in all aspects except price.:D

[fair-winds39]

We have only crused NCL. Love it. Love all the dinning options. i know carnival has traditional dining, with a few other options. Those of you who have cruised on both, what do you think. We are not yell and scream partiers, will Carnival be too rowdie?? We would love to cruise out of baltimore this Dec.

Does the pride have outdoor breakfast on the aft deck with a buffet, do they have smoked salmon, that's our fav. on NCL.

It's a lot of sea days, hows the pool area, is there a quite pool area??

Thanks!

We have only cruised on NCL once. I think it was somewhere between Feb. 2005 and Feb. 2007. The NCL Spirit had just started to cruise from NY. Before that we sailed with Celebrity, RCCL, Cunard. The NCL Spirit was a beautiful ship, most of the people who worked on the ship were very nice, the cruise itself was okay, but the food, and the food service was not great. We weren't really big fans of "Free Style," and I doubted that we would sail NCL again. Although, if the price was right, we might be open to trying NCL again. After the NCL cruise, my SIL talked us into trying the Carnival Legend. Since then, we've sailed on the Carnival Miracle, Victory and Pride. We will be sailing the Pride again in early 2014.

 

Frankly, cruising today is pretty much the same on NCL & Carnival. We've been cruising for a long time, and since we began cruising, the cruise industry has changed. It's supply and demand these days, and the demographic has changed, so the cruise lines need to cater more to families, etc. The cruise experience has changed with the times, like everything else. They need to make a profit, and they will do what it takes. All of the cruise lines have cut back on certain things, which is fine. They are in the business of making money. We really like Carnival; the price is right, and we have thoroughly enjoyed all of our cruises with Carnival. This, from someone who before

2008, would probably never have tried Carnival. We're glad we did!!

 

Whatever you decide, have a great cruise!

[NYcruzzer]

I am Platinum on both lines and love them both !! Food quality and service is pretty equal on both lines. The biggest differance in my opinion is entertainment. This is where NCL gets the nod. NCL still has live music poolside and bigger/better production shows. When it comes to price Carnival has some pretty sweet deals right now. I was booked on the Breakaway for February to the Bahamas, then decided to switch it to Carnival's Splendor in January. Two of us in an inside for $949.00 (total including port and taxes) for 8 days was a no brainer.

Edited November 8, 2013 by NYcruzzer

[MsTabbyKats]

I liked my last NCL cruise better than Carnival.

 

I found the food (buffet people) much better. The entertainment was much better. I liked "the population" better (it was healthy retirees).

 

But there are things on Carnival that you don't get on NCL (spa included & tea time for example)

 

Of course....each ship and each cruise is different.

[Cruisegirl6]

I been on 3 NCL cruises in the past prior to this year and said we did not care for NCL...the Breakaway came out and this past June figured lets give NCL another try, it was the worst ship we ever been on with so many negatives we said never again.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I been on 3 NCL cruises in the past prior to this year and said we did not care for NCL...the Breakaway came out and this past June figured lets give NCL another try, it was the worst ship we ever been on with so many negatives we said never again.

 

I have read that the balconys are tiny on the Breakaway.

 

What other negatives did you encounter. We had that ship in the running for our next cruise in March.

 

Bill

[bankofdad]

We have cruised quite a bit on both, as well as other cruise lines too (DW more than I). On the food topic, just read the other posts to see how that varies amongst everyone....bottom line on food is that we always left our cruise satisfied, but for the most part, I would not consider the standard dining or buffet options on either line to be gourmet, and that's okay! Specialty restaurants offer an upgrade if you are interested.

 

Like several others, I think the lines are more alike that different. The one difference I've noticed in the last few NCL cruises is the Upsell pressure. EVERYWHERE we went everything was an upsell. Now, in fairness, I haven't sailed Carnival in a while and maybe it's the same, but it got to be incredibly ridiculous on NCL.....from bottle water to beer to dining to you name it....

 

But in the end, we love to cruise and enjoy all the lines we have sailed! Plan your trip according to destination and onboard preferences and either line will suit you well :)

[HarpHarp]

We have only crused NCL. Love it. Love all the dinning options. i know carnival has traditional dining, with a few other options. Those of you who have cruised on both, what do you think. We are not yell and scream partiers, will Carnival be too rowdie?? We would love to cruise out of baltimore this Dec.

Does the pride have outdoor breakfast on the aft deck with a buffet, do they have smoked salmon, that's our fav. on NCL.

It's a lot of sea days, hows the pool area, is there a quite pool area??

Thanks!

 

I've cruised both lines. My last cruise was on the Breeze & we sail on the Breakaway next week.

There are more food choices at more times on Norwegian. The Blue Lagoon/ O'Sheehans is great for breakfast, lunch or a late night snack. There is no dining room lunch on Carnival, only a brunch on sea days. We did anytime dining on Carnival & it worked pretty well. We are, however in the "Dislike the dancing waiters" camp, so we tried to avoid them.

The entertainment & on board activities are much better on NCL. The entertainment on Carnival is loud to the point of pain in most venues. No place to sit & have a drink & listen to some music on CCL.

The service was good on both lines, with more exceptional service on NCL

[davy jones]

You will have a good time on either one.

 

Carnival has larger standard cabins. NCL has better suites.

 

Service is good on both lines.

 

Food is subjective, but I find NCL and Carnival to be very close. You won't go hungry on either one.

 

The biggest difference is entertainment. Carnival's entertainment cutbacks give NCL a huge edge.

[Darthdaddy]

We've cruised Dsney, NCL, Carnival and RCCL We have Carnival booked for Jan '14.

We've had inside, outside, balcony and suite accommodations. We've been to Bermuda, Bahamas , E Carib, W. Carib, Hawaii, Canada and Baltic.

Each cruise and each ship has been quite distinct, yet we have enjoyed them all.

Edge in total quality goes to Disney, but the price premium in waaaay too much. Entertainment on NCL has been the best by far. RCCL entertainment was actually just plain bad. Overall, RCCL was weakest, yet the. Baltic itinerary was great.

 

Compare a Ford to a Chevy and they are pretty similar. Compare either to a Ferrari and there will be a world of difference. Same thing with cruises...mass market lines will be more alike than not. Find a time, place and price and enjoy!

[Khloella]

I've only sailed on Carnival, but my mother in law has cruised on both. She is 60 years old to give you a frame of reference. She prefers Carnival over NCL. She said Carnival is much more fun and the food is better.

 

I've been on 4 cruises and while Carnival is fun, it isn't some wild crazy party all the time. The wildest parts are at the midship Lido pool. We tend to not spend a ton of time there. We usually go to the Aft pool or Serenity.