Carnival vs NCL

[Gaprofitt]

Hey All,

 

In general how does Carnival compare to NCL? Especially in regards to Camp Carnival vs what they offer? My little guy is 3 and enjoyed Camp Carnival but I think I'm ready to try something different than Carnival this time. He loves swimming and waterworks and loves minigolf.

[clcjdn]

Although my kids are older than yours, they insist that NCL's kids club is superior to Carnival. As a parent, I couldn't really tell much of a difference overall........

[Out to sea!]

Very little difference between Carnival and NCL except for the lack of dedicated dining times on NCL. Otherwise, pretty much the same across the board (with some minor variations.....shows better on NCL, pizza better on Carnval.....etc).

[EZ4]

Overall NCL has the youngest fleet on the deep blue seas. If newer ships mean anything to you, it might be a selling point.

[b2dhx]

I have booked in September the 7 day Alaskan Cruise on NCL Pearl followed 2 days later by the 10 Hawaiian cruise on the Carnival Legend. After 18 Carnival cruises I have been reading the NCL reviews. I am totally satisfied with Carnival over the years but was forced into the booking due to logistics. We have never participated in the anytime dinning on Carnival. So this is definitely a first for us. I hope we do not see a lot of change and can enjoy without comparing everything to what we are use too.

[JMHAM1]

I hesitated booking NCL after years of CCL but there was a European sale with airfare and pre-cruise hotel plus OBC that I had to jump on. I was so very impressed.

 

The cabins were smaller but in my opinion, looked much more plush. I like the Freestyle concept especially if you have a port intensive cruise. Sometimes we were tired, didn't want to dress up, wasn't hungry at a particular time, etc.

 

I think that the NCL shows are better overall even on the smaller ships. On NCL's new ships; Epic, Getaway, Breakaway....hands down so much better.

 

We have six kids across all age groups. Some of the kids loved the kids program, others just went the first day to connect with kids their age then did their own thing. I did NOT like that they would not allow the parent to come in to the younger kid group with our toddler to watch for awhile until he felt comfortable. The only way to drop off was to sign him up at the end of a long hallway then they took him back. That did NOT fly with our little one. We specifically took a Nick ship to appeal to him so we could maybe catch a show but that didn't work out. I think if we could have gone back at the beginning and he saw Spongebob and Patrick back there, he would have said..."see ya later".

 

We did go to some of the Nick events. See Pics below.

 

The other PLUS for NCL is they do the "suite life" the best. The perks for their suite guests are just not matched on CCL.

 

Departure ports are limited for NCL. Since they have fewer ships, there is less of a selection. Also there is a limitation on the itineraries. I think Carnival has the largest selection for departure ports and itineraries. Also, Carnival has much better selections of ships that have the big water slides. On NCL, the ships out of the departure cities that we need, don't have slides. That is a NO-NO for our group. Pools, slides and hot tubs is a deciding factor.

 

We go back and forth between the two lines based on date, itinerary and cost. I also typically end up with a LARGE amount of OBC's on NCL and it seems like it is difficult to get any on CCL unless you are a gambler or a shareholder.

 

I don't think you can go wrong with either line. If the price is right, try something new!!

 

 

 

 

 

[laniriveira]

My kids are 8 and 5 and have sailed twice on NCL and numerous times on CCL. They prefer to cruise period, but lean a little more toward NCL. They really enjoy the indoor play gym inside splash academy onboard NCL ships.

[Cruisegirl6]

Gosh I hate NCL you won't find us going on that cruise line ever again, won't get into the details will spare you but I can assure you I been on 53 cruises so far and the Breakway was our least liked ship of them all..and I am speaking for 5 adults!!

[EZ4]

Gosh I hate NCL you won't find us going on that cruise line ever again, won't get into the details will spare you but I can assure you I been on 53 cruises so far and the Breakway was our least liked ship of them all..and I am speaking for 5 adults!!

 

I bet the other 4 really appreciate that. ;)

[Pixelate]

Gosh I hate NCL you won't find us going on that cruise line ever again, won't get into the details will spare you but I can assure you I been on 53 cruises so far and the Breakway was our least liked ship of them all..and I am speaking for 5 adults!!

 

What was so bad about your June 2013 cruise that you keep complaining about? This is the sixth post in the last two days that I read from you with these emotions. Not once have you provide any statistical information or person experiences other than "it was so bad" and you "won't cruise with NCL again." Please, our minds are curious what could have possibly happened. Evidently it was a safe transit that didn't cost your lives, so please elaborate if you will.

 

By the way, you don't need to keep mentioning you sailed 50+ cruises and this was the worst. The number of cruises shouldn't matter. An experience is an experience.

[Cruisegirl6]

It just had too many disappointments, too many issues and problems on the ship that were negative. I do mention I been on 53 cruises to show that I am experienced and able to compare ship to ship cruise line to cruise line and I not just speaking about a cruise line without trying it a number of times.

 

Pixielate since your asking what was wrong and why we won't sail NCL I shall let you know, we have cruised NCL in the past and after every cruise we say we not going back but 4-5 years pass and we just assume things have gotten better to only find they didn't. Our last cruise was the Breakaway to Bermuda.

 

Negatives/Dislikes:

 

Too crowded, traffic jams in many places

Crew/staff not friendly, would walk in hallways and pass cabin stewards never got a good morning, how are you, have a good day as we get on other cruise lines.

 

Some staff had difficulty understanding english, a few times my other half ordered a jack and soda water to get a different type of liquor in his soda water, wrong drink.

 

Hallways so narrow, if somebody with a scooter/wheelchair needs to pass by everybody needs to maneuver their bodies to a point where they can get by in the hallways

 

Buffet lunch not that good limited...there was only a meat carving on day one and never had another meat carving (carnival still has meat carvings!)

 

If you have to be gluten free or dairy and gluten free the buffet lunches are so limited....the soups had gluten...the vegetables all had sauces which are gluten on them, there were no gluten free desserts...past 10pm nothing to eat but at O'Sheehans...they have a limited menu past 10pm consisting of 8 items all gluten but the french fries that is all they had for me to eat past 10pm.

 

The ship was the rockiest we ever been on, omgosh especially coming back from Bermuda horrible and we had good weather too!

 

The outdoor deck space is very limited like consisting of "cubby holes" where you have difficulty finding a lounge chair and looking at the sea....the pools were tiny tiny for that amount of people...they were so packed looked like a bunch of sardines in a can.

 

They had another area to lie out in back of the ship no pool or jacuzzi here.

 

The casino is very warm probably due to all the people going through the casino as this was the only way to enter and exit the show/main lounge.

 

You can't use your own blowdryer they provide one to you near the desk, the socket is very low which means to blow dry your hair you have to sit on that stool and bend over you can't stand the cord is too low and if you use your own blowdryer the power goes out in the cabin

 

The pillows were the worst ever, lumpy and flat

 

Balconies were very small

 

The pools were way too small for the amount of people that are on the ship and use them it looked like people in a can of sardines.

 

We made reservations for specialty dining for 6 evenings every one of them we had a long wait, and at Cagneys Steakhouse we waited for 47 minutes for our table.

 

I won't go on....

[cantthinkofanythingfun]

It just had too many disappointments, too many issues and problems on the ship that were negative. I do mention I been on 53 cruises to show that I am experienced and able to compare ship to ship cruise line to cruise line and I not just speaking about a cruise line without trying it a number of times.

 

Pixielate since your asking what was wrong and why we won't sail NCL I shall let you know, we have cruised NCL in the past and after every cruise we say we not going back but 4-5 years pass and we just assume things have gotten better to only find they didn't. Our last cruise was the Breakaway to Bermuda.

 

Negatives/Dislikes:

 

Too crowded, traffic jams in many places

Crew/staff not friendly, would walk in hallways and pass cabin stewards never got a good morning, how are you, have a good day as we get on other cruise lines.

 

Some staff had difficulty understanding english, a few times my other half ordered a jack and soda water to get a different type of liquor in his soda water, wrong drink.

 

Hallways so narrow, if somebody with a scooter/wheelchair needs to pass by everybody needs to maneuver their bodies to a point where they can get by in the hallways

 

Buffet lunch not that good limited...there was only a meat carving on day one and never had another meat carving (carnival still has meat carvings!)

 

If you have to be gluten free or dairy and gluten free the buffet lunches are so limited....the soups had gluten...the vegetables all had sauces which are gluten on them, there were no gluten free desserts...past 10pm nothing to eat but at O'Sheehans...they have a limited menu past 10pm consisting of 8 items all gluten but the french fries that is all they had for me to eat past 10pm.

 

The ship was the rockiest we ever been on, omgosh especially coming back from Bermuda horrible and we had good weather too!

 

The outdoor deck space is very limited like consisting of "cubby holes" where you have difficulty finding a lounge chair and looking at the sea....the pools were tiny tiny for that amount of people...they were so packed looked like a bunch of sardines in a can.

 

They had another area to lie out in back of the ship no pool or jacuzzi here.

 

The casino is very warm probably due to all the people going through the casino as this was the only way to enter and exit the show/main lounge.

 

You can't use your own blowdryer they provide one to you near the desk, the socket is very low which means to blow dry your hair you have to sit on that stool and bend over you can't stand the cord is too low and if you use your own blowdryer the power goes out in the cabin

 

The pillows were the worst ever, lumpy and flat

 

Balconies were very small

 

The pools were way too small for the amount of people that are on the ship and use them it looked like people in a can of sardines.

 

We made reservations for specialty dining for 6 evenings every one of them we had a long wait, and at Cagneys Steakhouse we waited for 47 minutes for our table.

 

I won't go on....

 

I've commented on this list before and said that I had the exact opposite experience, but now you have added some extra complaints. The area in the back of the boat actually has two hot tubs and a water feature. I thought the pillows were fine. The ones in the Haven were amazing, but I thought the ones in the standard balcony room were great too. I haven't been on 53 cruises, but have probably stayed in over 1000 hotel rooms. You absolutely can use your own hairdryer. They provide one, but my girlfriend used her own.

 

Did NCL refuse to offer you some money and you swore you would trash them every chance you get on the internet.

 

As to the OP's concerns. My son was 4 on our last cruise, and he loved Splash Academy. I thought the counselors were great. They actually let the kids do a show one night in the main theater. They will march them through the ship singing pirate songs. It was really cute.

[emm126]

I cruise a lot with my sister and her 3 children. My 1st cruise with them was on the Dawn from NY in 2007. Since then we have been on 1 other NCL, the Gem in Europe. 2 Royal Caribbean and 8 Carnival cruises. Speaking for her kids, overall they have liked Carnival's kids club the most although the Allure of the Seas was probably their favorite cruise, because of the ship. Speaking for me? I was in the pool, slides, playing games, etc with the kids more on NCL over the other 2 which leads me to believe the clubs were not as good. However I do believe it also depends on the kids that happen to be in the clubs the week you travel.

 

If your child meets friends the 1st day, they will go back no matter what cruise they are on.

 

Enjoy!

[TIMMYJAM]

I've commented on this list before and said that I had the exact opposite experience, but now you have added some extra complaints. The area in the back of the boat actually has two hot tubs and a water feature. I thought the pillows were fine. The ones in the Haven were amazing, but I thought the ones in the standard balcony room were great too. I haven't been on 53 cruises, but have probably stayed in over 1000 hotel rooms. You absolutely can use your own hairdryer. They provide one, but my girlfriend used her own.

 

Did NCL refuse to offer you some money and you swore you would trash them every chance you get on the internet.

 

As to the OP's concerns. My son was 4 on our last cruise, and he loved Splash Academy. I thought the counselors were great. They actually let the kids do a show one night in the main theater. They will march them through the ship singing pirate songs. It was really cute.

 

I think everyone is entitled to their opinion and I for one like to hear what people had issues with on a trip. It is nice to get possitives and negatives in order to make a decision if I ever want to try something. Instead of thinking this person didnt get something and is trashing them, maybe they had such a bad time they want to warn everyone they can.

[Cruzaholic41]

Hey All,

 

In general how does Carnival compare to NCL? Especially in regards to Camp Carnival vs what they offer? My little guy is 3 and enjoyed Camp Carnival but I think I'm ready to try something different than Carnival this time. He loves swimming and waterworks and loves minigolf.

 

Let me be totally honest with you. I think NCL is a step down from Carnival. On NCL, I have consistently had the worst service, cleanliness issues with staterooms, poor food quality, and longest wait times for dinner. 30+ minute waits for a table between 6 and 8 is very common on NCL. Some people worship Freestyle, but I find it annoying. Carnival's Your Time Dining works better than Freestyle, mostly because the entire ship isn't doing it. And don't even get me started on the new Breakaway Class balconies.

 

If you're looking for a cruise line/ship with an excellent kids program/facilities while still having a lot for you to do, I recommend trying one of Royal Caribbean's larger ships. In my opinion, that's a step up from Carnival (or step sideways depending on who you ask), not a step down like NCL.

Edited January 21, 2015 by Cruzaholic41

[ldlewis45]

I've found that Carnival and NCL are more alike than different. The biggest difference I've seen was in dining and entertainment. Otherwise, pretty much the same (other than a lower number of announcements on NCL).

 

Dining: Carnival's MDR is better than NCL's, but NCL's buffet is SO much better than Carnival's, in both selection and quality, especially on the big ships. Pizza and omelets are better on the 2.0 Carnival ships, though. Carnival's steakhouse is very good, but NCL's variety of pay restaurants beats them (steakhouse, Brazilian, French, Italian, sushi bar, Asian, noodle bar, etc.).

 

Entertainment: Carnival's entertainment is laughable and horrid, especially compared to NCL's.

 

I would much rather be on an NCL ship for long voyages (I just did the transatlantic on the Epic in October), since I think there's more to do, better entertainment, and you aren't being harassed by announcements all day. Plus, NCL's deposit policy on long voyages is much better for a solo cruiser than Carnival's policy. Carnival requires an $800 deposit for longer cruises, but NCL only requires $250. For a shorter cruise (7 days or less), I go with whichever is cheapest, since I don't plan on doing much beyond sitting on the deck and relaxing.

Edited January 21, 2015 by ldlewis45