Disney VS NCL

[mew1]

Has anyone traveled on both of these lines, traveled Disney and was very spoiled have a Nov Jewel planned. Want to compare, so far I know the rooms are a lot smaller and info appreciated

Thanks, Mary

[Kuffam]

We were just on the Pride of Aloha this January. Before that we did a 3-day Disney cruise. Overall I prefer the Disney cruise, but since they only goto the Bahamas, I'll do NCL for onything else.

 

Disney

:) Children's programs from infants to teens.

Broadway style shows.

Current Disney movies in Theater, others on TV.

Castaway Cay for a great beach day.

Good size rooms

:eek: $$$

:( limited destinations.

poor shore excursions

 

NCL- Hawaii

:) freestyle dining.

good childrens programs for children >3.

Good shore excursions

:( poor shows (more Vegas style)

no movies theater

no babysitting

[mew1]

Thanks for your reply, on the 7 day Disney goes Easter Car.

I thing Disney has me spoiled, I have been comparing too. Disney really treats you great, making special occasions really special. We even got an upgrade!! To aBalcony from oceanview. Thanks again, Mary:)

[mrsfuzzmo]

I've done both and I much prefer NCL. Much more for adults to do. The word that DCL cabins are so much larger than other lines are a complete falicy. NCL has some wonderful rooms and though you don't get the split bathroom, they are extremely comparable. Sure there are tiny cabins on both and suites on both, but in general, the same. I would do NCL over DCL in a second.

[JDMOR]

Haven't been on DCL yet (Scheduled Nov '05). Been on NCL a couple of times. The ships are great, crews very good, entertainment the best, etc - overall the cruise itself is excellent. The only problem is if something goes wrong. We were booked on the original Pride of America when it sunk at the fitting out dock a couple of years ago. Ensuing rebooking, refunds, and compensation evolved into chaos. The company stone-walled everything and dragged their feet. Never did get any compensation at all when a subsequent booking was cancelled before we were able to depart. Understand they had a lot of trouble starting up the American crewed ships in Hawaii. Don't know how they are doing now, since I wont go near them again. Keep hearing the company attitude toward customer service is still bad. If you book, keep your fingers crossed.

[mew1]

Thanks and sorry you have problems with the customer service, that seems to be the only negative I have seen with NCL, Have a great day and thanks again

Mew1

[LisaRae]

Dear Mew1,

 

We have been on Disney twice, RCCL, NCL, about to go on Carnival in October, and Disney again in November. We love Disney! We are early 40's, no children, not gamblers, but we really enjoy visiting with people, playing the games, dancing, socializing, etc. We don't absolutely adore children, but we don't hate them either. We much prefer them when they are well behaved, but that appears to be fewer and fewer of them these days. All the ships do a pretty good job keeping the kids entertained, but Disney does an especially good job, and you don't ever feel overwhelmed by kids. Plus, they have the adult only restaurant, adult only pool, adult only part of their island.

 

Anyway, NCL is our second favorite so far. We went on the NCL Spirit on a 10 day to the Southern Caribbean last year, and it was great. Their entertainment is no where near as good as Disney's (or even RCCL's for that matter, or maybe even your local high school drama team!!) But, their Crew was almost as great as Disney's. The food was excellent, although we did not care for free-style dining. We went to all the extra-pay restaurants, mostly to avoid the long lines and wait for dinner in the regular dining room. The food in those restaurants was fantastic!

 

The cabins on NCL are much, much smaller. We got a balcony cabin on both, and it was around 185 sq ft on NCL as opposed to 200+ on Disney. And I really like the split bathroom on Disney.

 

The crew on Disney really spoiled us. The crew on NCL did too, but we set up a meeting for a bunch of us who met online from Cruise Critic and I think that's part of why they were so nice to us. We might feel differently after this November cruise on Disney. It has been a couple years since we cruised with them, but I will let you know.

 

Hope this helps.

LisaRae

[NCmom]

We enjoyed our recent NCL cruise on the Wind around Hawaii. In fact, we have booked another NCL cruise for next spring.

 

I think our trip was so successful because our expectations weren't so high on NCL. We were on an older ship, so the rooms were smaller than what we were used to on DCL. The bathrooms were considerable smaller. The use of space was much better in DCL than the cabins in NCL. The furniture, bedding and towels, etc weren't as plush on NCL.

 

I thought the staff on our NCL cruise was great and enjoyed freestyle dining, although I did miss getting to know the servers. We were lucky in that we had the same waitress the first three nights of the cruise on NCL so we did get to know her.

 

I thought the food was very good on NCL, much better than on our RCCL cruise, and very comparable to what I had on DCL. I missed the rotation that they do on DCL. They served hand packed ice cream on NCL, but not all the time like on DCL. I missed the soda station.

 

Entertainment and child care were not as good as on DCL. My DD didn't participate at all in the NCL program--she thought it looked to juvenile, and she would have had to be signed in and out at almost 13--she was used to more freedom on our prior cruises. The shows were OK, but they were performed in a lounge, rather than a theatre--very small stage, and it was difficult to see from several places.

 

On the whole, it was a good cruise, and I will certainly try NCL until DCL reduces their prices, or changes itineraries.

[Jsme]

Our first cruise was NCL our next cruise was DCL then RCCL/RCI and then two more DCL's. It has been 14 years since I have been on NCL. I love DCL and will be cruising the RCI new FOS a year from November. I have thought about the NCL so if anyone has crusied the Charleston departure please let me know how they felt about it.