Comparing Carnival and Norwegian. Is Norwegian "Fun"?

[Prinycesa07]

Ive been on both lines and IMO, i found the MDR food better on Carnival but the buffet better on NCL. HOWEVER, neither were terrible. The MDR on NCL and the buffet on Carnival were good too.

[RCmommy]

My family is not experienced cruisers and we have never sailed with Carnival. We would in the future, or with any cruise line for that matter.

 

We knew to expect an 'mature' crowd since we were sailing in October and on the Canada/New England itinerary. We did have more mature adults and they were a hoot! Seriously, we had fun the entire week.

 

There were only 39 kids on the entire ship the week we sailed. This didn't stop our two 10 yr olds from having a blast. If fact, they wouldn't leave the kids club. They were noisy, busy, messy....everything a kids club should be.

 

I have heard that Carnival cruises are a lot of fun, and I can tell you that in our experience we had plenty of fun our week on NCL.

 

Enough in fact, that we are booked with them again for October.

 

I would expect to see more of a difference if you were to compare Carnival with HAL.

[funat55]

I sailed on the Carnival Dream. Had a great time. NCL is more like Carnival then different. I had the incomperable John Heald as the CD (Cruise Director) that cruise. No CD on any ship I have sailed has been close to being as good as that guy IMO.

 

We did the dine anytime option. We were sat at our request with the same waitstaff nightly, no waiting too.

 

To answer some of your question, if you are happy with Carnival then you most likely will be happy with NCL.

 

Also... I know you said no specialty resturants, they are what has me choosing NCL over all the other cruiselines at this time. So many great dinning options.

 

I quoted this post because I had to agree with everything they had to say. I have been on quite a few Carnival cruises and I would say that all but one was outstanding. The last cruise I took was with NCL on the Pearl for Thanksgiving and when we did eat in the dining room, the food was good. Anything I don't have to cook is good. But, the steak I had in Cagney's I can still taste. And the food and show in Teppanyaki was better then Benihana's. I really enjoyed the freestyle dining but believe it or not, my kids and grandkids missed the traditional dining with the same waiter every night.

 

The rooms are a little bigger on Carnival but I thought the rooms on NCL were a lot more elegant and classy. Also, on the Pearl, we were approached by staff on many occasions and asked how we were enjoying our cruise. They were very friendly.

 

In the 1980's when we first started cruising, I don't think Carnival was as good as they are now. The cruise lines are all competing for our business and I am sure they know what bells and whistles the others ones have. It seems about the only thing a cruise ship doesn't have now is a lazy river and I'm sure someone will think of a way to build that on a ship.

 

My next cruise will be on the Getaway next month so I must have enjoyed my first NCL experience lol. Your questions have been answered but I just wanted to share my thoughts after also having been an avid Carnival cruiser.

[$hip$hape]

Almost forgot the most important NCL does NOT have "Bacon Police" :)

Oh Brother !

OP stick with Carnival.

NCL will not make you ............. ?