Experienced cruiser, 1st time on Norweigian

[Wayfairers]

I've cruised with Holland America, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Princess and Carnival. Just booked my first cruise with Norwegian. Is there anything unique to Norwegian? Is there any Norwegian specific things I need to know?

 

 

Done..

7d Royal Caribbean

7d Celebrity

10d Princess

21d Carnival

75d Holland America

 

Next..

21d Carnival Triumph

[JMHAM1]

I think NCL does the freestyle cruising concept better than anyone. A lot of people cruise NCL for the "Suite Life" experience. I have to agree that NCL has great perks for their suite guests.

 

The overall experience with be comparable with Carnival but with better shows and probably a crowd that is slightly older. You may find it not as plush as Celebrity or Holland.

 

I hope you enjoy it!

[Tee & Chilli]

Lots of activities

Various trivia

Game shows

Glow Party

Fireworks

70s and 80s party

 

Enjoy!

[Wayfairers]

What is freestyle cruising?

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Wayfairers]

Lots of activities

 

Various trivia

 

Game shows

 

Glow Party

 

Fireworks

 

70s and 80s party

 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

I'm used to most of this, but never had fireworks on a ship before!

What is a glow party?

 

 

Done....

7d Royal Caribbean

7d Celebrity

10d Princess

21d Carnival

75d Holland America

 

Next..

18d Holland America

28d Norweigian

21d Carnival Triumph

[C Cruise Dude]

What is freestyle cruising?

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Freestyle is basically, you are not assigned to a MDR or table. You choose the MDR that you want to eat in and go whenever you want from about 5:30p - 9:30p. They have formal dress nights but you don't have to participate and you can still go to the MDR. NCL's disco rocks unlike the other lines. Enjoy

 

White Hot Party

Edited November 23, 2014 by C Cruise Dude
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[Sauer-kraut]

I'm used to most of this, but never had fireworks on a ship before!

What is a glow party?

 

Dance party on deck with glow sticks and glow jewelery.

[herdingdogmom]

I'm used to most of this, but never had fireworks on a ship before! What is a glow party?

Looks like you are sailing on the Spirit. It is one of NCL's older ships. No fireworks or glow party. Those are only on the new mega ships.

[Tee & Chilli]

Glow party used to be called the White Hot Party.

[jkgourmet]

I think NCL does the freestyle cruising concept better than anyone. A lot of people cruise NCL for the "Suite Life" experience. I have to agree that NCL has great perks for their suite guests.

 

The overall experience with be comparable with Carnival but with better shows and probably a crowd that is slightly older. You may find it not as plush as Celebrity or Holland.

 

I hope you enjoy it!

 

I'd agree with this, but will add a few points. For reference, we have sailed 16+ cruises in 22+ years on HAL, Celebrity, MSC, NCL, RCCL,and Carnival. We book inside guaranty cabins.

 

Freestyle cruising allows us to leave our formal wear at home. We never check bags, so that's a plus. The downside is other passengers go too far and dress like slobs and NCL doesn't seem to care. I could do without baseball caps, torn jeans, shorts and flip flops in the MDR for dinner.

 

Freestyle cruising allows us to eat anytime we want. No scheduled seating time or table. On a long cruise, we enjoyed meeting a large number of different people at our shared tables. But we did miss building friendships with our every evening tablemates and having the same waiters every night.

 

Bar service was generally very good, cabin service adequate, MDR and buffet hit and miss. The entertainment was the best we've had at sea (with the possible exception of MSC Divina). The entertainment was a very pleasant surprise!

 

Others will disagree, but we found the food in the MDR and the buffet to be the worst we've ever experienced at sea. Cagney's was great, but we've come to expect better in the included venues. On a 21 day NCL Mediterranean cruise, we supplemented our foodie habit with excellent lunches in port. On a 7 day NCL Caribbean cruise, we were pretty unhappy with the food situation.

 

We would go again with NCL for a specific itinerary at a GREAT price, but I doubt we would ever sail them again without the UDP. If we have to pay for that UDP, the price may not be so great anymore.

 

We would

[punkincc]

Freestyle cruising allows us to leave our formal wear at home. We never check bags, so that's a plus. The downside is other passengers go too far and dress like slobs and NCL doesn't seem to care. I could do without baseball caps, torn jeans, shorts and flip flops in the MDR

 

This is not correct. The items you mentioned are prohibited in the aft MDR and Le Bistro specialty restaurant at dinner. While NCL is more casual at dinner than most lines, people for the most part do not dress like slobs. At dinner, slacks, docker style pants for men, or nice jeans, closed toed shoes and nice collared shirts are mainly seen in the evening at dinner, with many people being dressier than that. Shorts are allowed at dinner in the specialties restaurants and MDRs other than the ones I mentioned, but for the most part, most wear long pants. Pretty much what I see at home when going out to a nice steakhouse.

 

In regard to the parties, I believe all NCL ships have either a White Hot or Glow party, not just the new ships. Entertainment is big on NCL and there are activities going on all over the ship at all hours, and therefore you will see people in all types of dress at any time of day or night. Someone in shorts, flip flops and baseball cap seen in the hall while you are on your way to dinner all gussied up is not necessarily on their way to dinner in the MDR, but to any number of other activities elsewhere on the ship.

Edited November 23, 2014 by punkincc

[jkgourmet]

Prohibited by NCL - YES, I agree. But not enforced during the 21 days we spent on the Jade in January 2014. Not in either of the two MDR's. Don't say I'm incorrect - We were there, and I've reported exactly what we saw.

 

Now that i think about it, some of those baseball caps were worn backwards. Does that make any difference? :sly:

 

I cannot comment on Le Bistro as we did not eat there.

[punkincc]

Prohibited by NCL - YES, I agree. But not enforced during the 21 days we spent on the Jade in January 2014. Not in either of the two MDR's. Don't say I'm incorrect - We were there, and I've reported exactly what we saw.

 

Now that i think about it, some of those baseball caps were worn backwards. Does that make any difference? :sly:

 

I cannot comment on Le Bistro as we did not eat there.

 

The majority of reports I have seen regarding dress in the aft MDR, which is the only one prohibiting shorts, is that the dress code is enforced as witness by many who report people being redirected to other dining venues due to their dress. Casual dress is allowed in all venues on embarkation night, although many people are not aware of this and consider it an infringement of the rules.

 

You may have experienced this, for whatever reason, but those who are new to NCL should be aware that there is a dress code for a couple of the dining venues, and while it is much more relaxed than many cruise lines, it is pretty much enforced. In 7 cruises with NCL, I have yet to experience any shorts, baseball caps, backwards or otherwise, or flip flops in the aft MDR or Le Bistro.

[SteveH2508]

Prohibited by NCL - YES, I agree. But not enforced during the 21 days we spent on the Jade in January 2014. Not in either of the two MDR's. Don't say I'm incorrect - We were there, and I've reported exactly what we saw.

 

Now that i think about it, some of those baseball caps were worn backwards. Does that make any difference? :sly:

 

I cannot comment on Le Bistro as we did not eat there.

 

In July 2014 on the Jade I saw someone being turned away from the aft dining room whilst wearing shorts. He whinged about it but eventually complied (considering the dress code was displayed at the door he didn't really have a leg to stand on).

 

Inconsistent enforcement seems to be the common theme (amongst all cruise lines - not just NCL).

Edited November 23, 2014 by SteveH2508

[jkgourmet]

 

Inconsistent enforcement seems to be the common theme (amongst all cruise lines - not just NCL).

 

Yep, I'll agree with that. :thumbdown:

[Wayfairers]

Thanks everyone for the great information!! We always choose anytime dining when it is available so dining on a NCL is perfect for us. I didn't realize that is all freestyle means, thanks for the info.

 

Not having to dress up for dinner is a huge plus, really excited to hear the dress code is relaxed. Don't want to turn this into a discussion on how to dress for dinner, but, neither of us enjoy putting on dress clothes to eat on a cruise ship when we have eaten in very upscale restaurants (much much better than a MDR) in causal clothes. In addition to that this cruise will be the final leg in an extended trip to Europe and we aren't planning to take up luggage space with dress clothes. We are sailing over to Europe on HAL and plan to take advantage of the fact that the same food is served in the Lido as in the MDR so we will eat in Lido on formal nights.

 

I have heard the Spirit is an older ship and not a mega ship. We actually prefer smaller ships so no problem there, even if they don't have fireworks and a glow party.

 

 

Done....

7d Royal Caribbean

7d Celebrity

10d Princess

21d Carnival

75d Holland America

 

Next..

18d Holland America Veendam 07/15

28d Norweigian Spirit 10/15

21d Carnival Triumph 01/16

Edited November 23, 2014 by Wayfairers

[Chelly]

Thanks to the OP for starting this thread. I am a solo woman cruiser who has been cruising for 35 years on RCI, Princess, Celebrity and HAL, with HAL being my favorite. I have never been on Carnival and NCL.

 

In recent years, HAL has lost its luster for me. So, after researching NCL, I have booked the Jade for December 2015. I enjoy socializing and meeting new friends, I love good shows at sea, dining whenever I want, and dressing casual. My concern: Will I be able to find quiet areas on the ship? Constant noise and crowding tend to overwhelm me and I need quiet time to recharge. Are there areas on the ship to retreat from the action or will I have to rely on my balcony?

 

Thanks so much in advance.

C.

[jkgourmet]

Thanks to the OP for starting this thread. I am a solo woman cruiser who has been cruising for 35 years on RCI, Princess, Celebrity and HAL, with HAL being my favorite. I have never been on Carnival and NCL.

 

In recent years, HAL has lost its luster for me. So, after researching NCL, I have booked the Jade for December 2015. I enjoy socializing and meeting new friends, I love good shows at sea, dining whenever I want, and dressing casual. My concern: Will I be able to find quiet areas on the ship? Constant noise and crowding tend to overwhelm me and I need quiet time to recharge. Are there areas on the ship to retreat from the action or will I have to rely on my balcony?

 

Thanks so much in advance.

C.

 

There definitely are quiet areas of the ship. Many, including a better than average library. Several of the bars were also quiet during the day. The Jade was full when we sailed in January 2014 (because they dropped prices so much at the last minute), but rarely felt crowded.

 

Really, we DID enjoy the ship and NCL - except for the food.

[Chelly]

There definitely are quiet areas of the ship. Many, including a better than average library. Several of the bars were also quiet during the day. The Jade was full when we sailed in January 2014 (because they dropped prices so much at the last minute), but rarely felt crowded.

 

Really, we DID enjoy the ship and NCL - except for the food.

 

Thanks jkgourmet. Oh Oh on the food. Was there any restaurant you enjoyed better than the others?

[fergusonvt]

I think you will find them comparable to RCI and CCL. We did. MDR food was very similar. The steakhouse on both CCL and RCI were better than NCL's in my opinion.

[QuattroRomeo]

We just returned from a Med cruise on the Jade; because it was very port intensive, the ship amenities weren't the most important thing . However, the flexible dining was very convenient since we returned from ports at various times and were pretty tired, so we could just go and eat whenever we were ready. We go to the specialty restaurants and found it very easy to walk right in, no reservation, at most of them between 530-730.

 

We find the fares on NCL to be very good and so even with specialty dining, we still come out ahead. The entertainment is better than other lines we've been on, and there are still real live musicians in various bars and venues. There are quiet areas of the ship to retreat to as well.

The decor was less refined and less understated than say a HAL or Celebrity ship, but nothing wrong with it either. And we find NCL customer service orientation and the types of food available, much more to our liking than Carnival, but of course everyone has different ideas of good and bad when it comes to those things! For the cruise you have planned, I think NCL will serve you well!

[Chelly]

Thank you QuarttroRomeo for sharing your experience on the Jade. I'm glad to find out that if I go to a specialty restaurant by 7:30, there should be no wait and no reservation required.

[QuattroRomeo]

Thank you QuattroRomeo for sharing your experience on the Jade. I'm glad to find out that if I go to a specialty restaurant by 7:30, there should be no wait and no reservation required.

 

Yes Chelly, that was our experience on the Jade this month and the Sun last December. The exception is the Teppanyaki restaurant, which has fewer seats and is more of an event dinner, being one where the food is chopped and cooked in front of you.

 

If you like special meals, the Jazz brunch on a sea day, and the Chef's Table gourmet dining event, are very nice. You will need to reserve those as soon as you get on board.