Carnival fan, I want to try NCL, Help

[bills blasters]

Have been on 11 cruises, all Carnival. Now we are thinking of trying NCL next fall. Interested in Breakaway out of Miami.

For all of you who have been on both Carnival and NCL, can you give me some ideas on the difference of the two lines, pros and cons.

We are couple, early 60's, not really in to a lot of partying.

What do you all like best about NCL.

Also, are the rooms about the same size. We are looking at an Aft balcony. That is what we always have on Carnival.

Thanks for any help.

claudia

[ColinIllinois]

There are a ton of "Carnival vs NCL" threads for you to read already that you can find with the search feature.

 

Here is one to get you started that is actually from the Carnival board.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1951917&highlight=carnival+vs+ncl

 

Enjoy.

[Sauer-kraut]

The only real difference is that there is not early/late assigned seating and the waitstaff will not be the same every night.

 

I think NCL entertainment is better, but I don't know what its like on the Breakaway, think more cabaret type shows rather than 'musicals'.

[B6ConMe]

Have been on 11 cruises, all Carnival. Now we are thinking of trying NCL next fall. Interested in Breakaway out of Miami.

For all of you who have been on both Carnival and NCL, can you give me some ideas on the difference of the two lines, pros and cons.

We are couple, early 60's, not really in to a lot of partying.

What do you all like best about NCL.

Also, are the rooms about the same size. We are looking at an Aft balcony. That is what we always have on Carnival.

Thanks for any help.

claudia

 

Just to clarify, if you want to cruise out of Miami on a big ship it would be the GETAWAY, a Breakaway class ship, but brand new and should be fabulous. Getaway as you may already is just doing her sail out now but will be in Miami in February. Breakaway sails out of NYC year round.

 

Enjoy your cruise whatever you decide :D

[bills blasters]

After I posted this, I realized that it is the Getaway out of Miami. Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks for posting the links comparing the two lines. I am still reading it, and it is very interesting to see the differences.

We have always been happy with Carnival, and still are, but sometimes it is fun to try something different. We are platinum now, and it is hard to give up the perks and start all over.

Thanks everyone who posts.

Claudia

[LegallyBlonder]

We loved all of our Carnival Cruises, but have recently been sailing NCL a lot, mostly for the suite life. Since you are not looking for the "party scene" (which admittedly, is better on Carnival), you will find no real differences. In fact, you will probably find a larger number in your age demographic on NCL. I do think that NCL keeps their ships in a little better shape overall. The food is very comparable. Have a great trip!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[DDMau]

We are a couple in our early 60's as well and have cruised NCL 7 times and enjoyed each of them.

 

I agree with what Sauer-kraut said "The only real difference is that there is not early/late assigned seating and the waitstaff will not be the same every night."

 

I think you will like NCL cruising.

Edited January 12, 2014 by DDMau

[Oldgoat61]

We have only sailed on the Legend, and 4 with NCL. The biggest difference is the freestyle experience.

 

The food is very similar, but NCL has a more relaxed feel to it. The rooms are smaller, but not by much if I recall. You will be on a new ship, so some of the differences in the rooms may be a factor.

 

The entertainment is very good, they have a variety of shows, and some night club venues.

 

The dining experience is were it changes. You will have a lot of choices to make. You can eat when you want, where you want, and with anyone you want. It is very much like MTD, only NCL has perfected it. You will not have set tables, or table mates, or times, it's all about choice. You don't have to dress up if you don't want to (most people don't do formal).

 

Hope this helps! Relax, go with an open mind, and enjoy! :)

[mikefox2hotmail.com]

My wife and I have been on 13 Carnival cruises and will be going on our first NCL cruise in April. It also happens to be US flagged so I'm expecting a number differences.

[DISNEY1975]

Have been on 11 cruises, all Carnival. Now we are thinking of trying NCL next fall. Interested in Breakaway out of Miami.

For all of you who have been on both Carnival and NCL, can you give me some ideas on the difference of the two lines, pros and cons.

We are couple, early 60's, not really in to a lot of partying.

What do you all like best about NCL.

Also, are the rooms about the same size. We are looking at an Aft balcony. That is what we always have on Carnival.

Thanks for any help.

claudia

 

Ive been on 3 NCL, one carnival.

My opinion is NCL is much better. (Im mid 40's w/ 3 kids, no drinking or "hot white night" parties for me!)

 

Cabins - Carnivals are larger. This was the only plus. They are not too much larger, but enough to notice.

 

Food - I prefer NCL. I also like the free style dining, but I was able to get that on CCL too. Seemed stranger on CCL though, as it was fairly new and most other passengers were on the scheduled plan.

 

Entertainment - I prefer NCL. There are more shows and "gameshows". During the day they have more to do than just trivia and sales seminars!

 

Staff is the same Awesome on both lines.

 

With all that said, I will have to say I like the Carnival Itineraries a little bit more, especially the CCL Valor. We went left SJ, PR and went to 5 different ports. That cant be beat! And the hours at each port were fantastic. Spent the whole day at each one. The downside to my particular trip was that it rained some days, so we got back to the ship early to find nothing going on. I went on an NCL trip when it rained 5 of 7 days. Not a problem...plenty to do inside, onboard.

 

Have fun with whichever you choose! All of the above is my opinion only. We could be completely different people!

[mrobstad]

I really think the difference is between old ship, new ship. The newer ships keep trying to top themselves. The specialty restaurants and entertainment are far support to older ships, no matter what cruise line you go on....IMHO...

[disfan13]

Sailed on both - love both. We enjoy CCL and the service. The food is good. We just sailed them in October and tried the anytime dining. Had no issues.

 

We also love NCL - The service is also great. The rooms are a bit smaller, but well laid out. If you could afford the haven on NCL you will not miss being platinum on Carnival LOL.

 

The biggest difference with NCL that we saw - you have many specialty restaurants to choose from. The MDR food is OK - but the specialty restaurants are pretty much all fantastic. One personal note, that my partner and I agree with - the steakhouse on Carnival is better than Cagney's. Other than that NCL has more variety of entertainment and you will have the new mega ship feel with the Getaway.

 

You will enjoy your selves!

[samiam0403]

If you could afford the haven on NCL you will not miss being platinum on Carnival LOL.

 

This is exactly what I was thinking!

 

I've sailed 18 times with Carnival and have 2 NCL sailings under my belt in the last year. Planning another with NCL already. I thought I would miss the platinum perks with Carnival, but having booked suites with NCL, all I can think is how much I'm going to miss my suite perks when I sail with Carnival again this spring. If you can afford a suite, DO IT! :D

 

As far as the differences, I thought the quality and quantity of entertainment was much better on NCL. Where CCL has the half a page tear out list of the day's activities, NCL's is a whole page. There were multiple times where we split up or had to make a hard choice on which activity to attend since there was so much to choose from. Beyond that, you'll find amazingly friendly crew and staff, clean, well-maintained ships, and tasty food. I also loved the little things like cold wash clothes, ice water and cookies outside the gangway when you return to the ship. I was hooked after my first NCL sailing. :) As a long-time Carnival girl, I would definitely recommend giving NCL a shot.

[halos]

OP:

I was a huge CCL fan. In 2007, we took our first NCL cruise. We enjoyed it, but went back to CCL.

In 2008, CCL started what I consider a decline. In the mean time, Kevin Sheehan had taken the reigns at NCL and started improving the line.

 

We had our 11th CCL cruise in April of 2012. It was a nice cruise. It in NO way could compare to how much better our NCL cruises are.

 

On CCL, the crew is amazing. On every cruise we have taken, the crew is amazing, but on NCL it is just a notch or two better in our experience.

 

Entertainment??? NCL blows Carnival away. Live music around the entire ship and more a feel of 'fun' than any 'fun ship Carnival' I have ever been on.

 

The only thing that was weird at first to us was not having the same wait staff every night...then we got used to freestyel dining and wonder now why we ever had a hard time with it.

 

 

NCL officers are also awesome because they are available. You will see them out and about on the ship, getting feedback from passengers.

 

I just think the NCL experience is a lot different and unlike people who say they are more alike than different, I think there is a great difference. THAT difference is good for us, although not for everyone. Only you can judge the differences, but it is good you are branching out so you can make an informed decision based on your own experience.

 

One thing I must admit to, is that I haven't sailed any of NCL's (OR any line's for that matter) newest/big ships. I prefer small. :)

 

I wish you blue skies and calm seas :)

Edited January 12, 2014 by halos

[mizLORInj]

Best to try it out for yourself to see. I'm glad I gave NCL a try.

 

If you're looking at the new ship Getaway, the cabins are a little larger than on the other NCL ships--about the same size as Carnival cabins I think.

 

Food is good on both lines, NCL slight edge. NCL entertainment is better since Carnival has had major cutbacks in this department in the past few years. The show (yes ONE production show on a 5 nighter) on my last Carnival cruise was pitiful. There is lots to do on the larger NCL ships; Breakaway had so much we sometimes couldn't decide.

 

Freestyle dining is different but we don't mind it at all.

 

Hope you enjoy NCL!

Edited January 12, 2014 by mizlorinj

[bills blasters]

Thanks so much for all the replies. I will start looking seriously now at NCL.

Sounds like I won't be sorry.

Claudia