Norwegian vs Just About Every Other Line

[NewlyRetired!]

As my name implies, I have recently retired and have began cruising. Love it! I live in NJ, a short distance from Manhattan, so I have been cruising on Norwegian because it's convenient travel-wise. Haven't tried Royal Caribbean out of Bayonne yet...but booked on the RC Anthem of the Seas in March. Since May of 2015, I have cruised six times...all on NCL (Gem and Breakaway).

But......after being on the Breakaway...and comparing it to videos posted by other cruisers...it seems that NCL tries to squeeze as many cabins as possible into a ship, leaving a lot less open space. Although the gross tonnage is huge, the feeling is somewhat cramped in the public areas.

I'm looking forward to trying other lines with large, open public areas such as RC's Royal Promenades. A lot of lines have very open, spacious, multi-deck atriums and such and it seems to give a much larger feel to the ship.

Not knocking NCL...love the line, the personnel and the service. Just looking to expand. Am I wrong?

Any comments greatly appreciated.

[bitsey66]

Although princess doesn't have a ginormous mega ship like some others, out of the 3 lines I've been on, princess is my favorite! NEVER felt crammed anywhere and beautiful ships. JMHO

[Cruising Golfer]

Depends on what you think cramped is... Every ship gets tight at certain times, even the Royal Promenades get packed. It's just part of sailing large ships. Never has bothered us!!! Just enjoy the fact that you're not working!!! :cool:

[liverpoollad]

Sailed on the Anthem of the Seas in June. We found it very lively, lots to do, the only people that seem to dislike it are the traditional type cruisers. I'm in my 70s & loved it.

[grouchomarx]

I think if you liked Breakaway you would also like Anthem. It has a similar layout of public spaces, in that it's not one giant atrium or promenade space but divided into two or three smaller main areas. The pool deck is much better on Anthem, so many pools and hot tubs unlike Breakaway. That being said I did not feel crowded on either ship except occasionally in the Breakaway main atrium area with the giant screen tv. Princess ships have a more open spacious feeling in the main atrium but you must leave NY/NJ to sail them, too bad.

[sprint180]

I have only been on Princess, NCL, and Carnival. (going on RCI in May)

Princess is my favorite. I liked the calm look and feel on the ship. NCL is my least favorite. I liked my cruise on it just fine. Infact had another booked for may (have to cancel) There was nothing wrong with the cruise it just wasn't for me. I am 45. My kids thought NCL was just like Carnival, so did I.

Vicki

[islandgirl70]

We have only ever sailed RCCL until this year when we tried the Escape. We booked in January of 2015 for a December 2015 sailing. In those months FDR changed more things then Royal had ever changed. For example, increased DSC, room service charge, no taking food out of restaurants which was later reversed, and finally the straw that broke the camels back for me was charging for Margaritaville. I started this cruise with a bad taste in my mouth and was anticipating a horrible time but guess what, we loved it! Loved NCL, they had amazing guest services, excellent food (better desserts than Royal) and just an amazing ship altogether.

 

After coming back from our cruise we had the option with sailing with NCL or RCCL in the spring and we ended up picking the Allure.

 

Although I really enjoyed my NCL cruise I vowed to not cruise with them until they stop changing so much. And I really do prefer the layout of Royals boat anyways. I found the Escape to feel congested in some places whereas Royal has higher ceilings and the promenade.

[Ciara01]

When we first tried freestyle in 2010 on the Jewel, we had very low expectations. We expected poor service & were astounded to receive the amazing service we did. We mistakenly assumed that without the same servers every day, that our service would be poor. We also had our first aft balcony for less than what we had been paying for RCI regular balconies. I loved seeing BMG on the Epic & now my children (age 8 & 12) are hooked on cruising too. I am not opposed to cruising again on Princess or RCI, but we have found better deals, better food, better service & nicer rooms on NCL over the past 10 years. I actually like the smaller venues for dinner & shows better than other lines' 3-story dining rooms and giant theaters. I do miss seeing all the shows & not having to make decisions about where to eat & what to see. Just feed me & entertain me & I am happy.

[Fyruf]

Let me start off by saying that we are Platinum on Carnival,Diamond + on Royal and Platinum on NCL. We like the casinos on Carnival the best the shows on Royal and the food on NCL(speciality res)not MDR never eat in there. Depending on ones age and taste there is options. Kids lean more to Carnival and Royal,non kids NCL and Royal. This is what we have going this year,first two on Royal,Jan and Feb,next three NCL with most likely Oct,Nov Dec best deals on NCL or Royal. We love the freestyle cruising on NCL no formal nights for us anymore and eating dinner out on the water fronts most of all the Haven is very special a cruise within a cruise. We where just on the Escape and had dinner out on the Haven deck several time Nice. So I've got all three booked and being out on the water you can't go wrong. Keep checking the post on there different cruise lines and you'll be ok,remember though some will say it's light out while others will say it's dark out just make the most out of it.

[NewlyRetired!]

Thank you all for your comments. I've learned a lot from cruise critic and really enjoy reading fellow cruiser's experiences. I'm doing the RC Allure out of Fort Lauderdale next week and then the RC Anthem out of Bayonne NJ in March. Then back on the newly refurbished NCL Gem in April (absolutely love the Gem!). Then I'll start looking at bookings for Princess, Celebrity and Carnival so I can really make comparisons. I'm very flexible so I can adjust to just about any type of cruising. I'll try them all and see which is the best fit. Thanks, again!

[riclop]

NCL is the worst of any line.

[pspercy]

NCL is the worst of any line.

 

Pretty sweeping statement.

 

I, for one, couldn't disagree more:confused:

Edited December 31, 2015 by pspercy

[Rosethorn40]

I think it depends on what, besides your cabin is important to you. Every line has it's cheerleaders and detractors. You can tell from my signature that we have tried Princess, Holland America, RCCL, Carnival, and NCL.

 

What I liked about NCL was "Freestyle" (No dress up, which we love especially in the Caribbean), entertainment was best of any ship we had been on, food was pretty good. What I disliked was how tiny and uncomfortable our cabin was. It supposedly held 4, there was just us two and we were cramped. Beds were the worst. We are giving NCL another try, but this time I booked us a Haven Suite, but I can't afford to do that very often.

 

Carnival's smaller ships often feel crowded, but their bigger ships (Breeze, Magic) do a good job of spreading people out. Their cabins tend to be a little more spacious. Food is usually better than average. I really like Carnival for the Caribbean.

 

Princess has beautiful, classy ships. Great staff, a good number of pools, including 2 adult only (On most ships). Food IMO is just average in MDR. Cabins are comfortable, showers in bathrooms are very tiny. Lots of entertainment options (MUTS, Shows, piano bar, comedian). Fewer kids than Carnival, NCL or RCCL. more laid back.

 

Holland America is my new favorite. Excellent staff, food was very good on last cruise, very comfortable cabin, some of the best beds at sea. Very good passenger to space ratio, fewer children, fewer people. Fewer entertainment options. Ship can still feel like a ghost town after 9 PM.

 

Tried RCCL once, and it was a nice cruise, but not really for us. Granted an older ship, but entertainment was very poor, food was okay, but at the time we found getting something to eat after 9 to be difficult unless we ordered room service (I don't like room service that much).

 

Having a favorite is good, it's always the tried and true we can fall back on when we don't want any surprises, but I do like "Stepping away" too. When we had gone back to Princess, after several years away is was like coming home.

[TonyFred]

NCL is the worst of any line.

 

Maybe the worst post of any post.

[hansolosmom]

We've done Princess, Disney, RCI & Celebrity. I'm booked on Breakaway in March.

 

The Princess trip we did was out of Brooklyn & did the Canada route. That was a wonderful trip. If you ever get the chance to do it - go for it. It was the Caribbean Princess, lovely ship, good size rooms.

 

We've done different Royal ships, Grandeur (out of Baltimore), Explorer out of NJ & Freedom out of Miami. Again all wonderful trips.

 

The one trip I didn't enjoy was the Celebrity Reflection, the ship is OK, but I didn't like the interior, I like sitting somewhere I can look out to sea and there are several bars on one deck, but they're interior with no windows.

 

I found Princess & RCI's ships to be very similar. I think more than the line itself, it's the ship which makes more of a difference. We did Grandeur in the early 90's and again a couple years ago. It was still a nice ship, but I missed the Promenade which is on the newer ships. Also it had been through a refurb where they added cabins, so I felt it was more crowded.

 

Since I'm not loyal to a line, I'd really like to try the Celebrity Summit out of NJ yes, it's an older ship but I'm ok with that. I also wouldn't mind trying Carnival Pride out of Baltimore. I have a trip booked on Anthem next Oct. I'm interested in seeing how that one will turn out since the ship is so "different" from their other ones.

[Jeremiah1212]

I haven't been on an NCL ship yet but will be on Escape at the end of the month. Based on pictures alone, the -away's and Escape definitely look more confined and claustrophobic. The low ceilings and emphasis on more smaller spaces opposed to larger open area is definitely different. I'm used to the big open grand MDR's on RCL and X and the Promenade/Centrum areas. More smaller venues can make the ship feel less crowded because of the reduced number of people in one given space. In areas like the Royal Promenade on RC, there are sometimes several hundred people within your line of sight so you get the impression the ship is busy and crowded.

 

What I don't get at all is the "Freestyle" hype. Nearly every mainstream line has their own version of the dine anytime you want concept. Especially on Escape, reservations are encouraged at multiple venues. Sure the dress code is a little more lax but that's about it. I think eventually NCL will need to ditch the Freestyle catchphrase and market something else to separate them from the pack. Maybe so when Freestyle was introduced, but now there really isn't anything unique about their product offering.

[Mac4YYZ]

As my name implies, I have recently retired and have began cruising. Love it! I live in NJ, a short distance from Manhattan, so I have been cruising on Norwegian because it's convenient travel-wise. Haven't tried Royal Caribbean out of Bayonne yet...but booked on the RC Anthem of the Seas in March. Since May of 2015, I have cruised six times...all on NCL (Gem and Breakaway).

But......after being on the Breakaway...and comparing it to videos posted by other cruisers...it seems that NCL tries to squeeze as many cabins as possible into a ship, leaving a lot less open space. Although the gross tonnage is huge, the feeling is somewhat cramped in the public areas.

I'm looking forward to trying other lines with large, open public areas such as RC's Royal Promenades. A lot of lines have very open, spacious, multi-deck atriums and such and it seems to give a much larger feel to the ship.

Not knocking NCL...love the line, the personnel and the service. Just looking to expand. Am I wrong?

Any comments greatly appreciated.

 

Try Celebrity to Bermuda from New York. A little more refined. Great food. And the ships are beautiful. Lots of large spaces and they house a large art collection on each ship. I think it is Summit that they use for Bermuda. I've been on her sister ship Constellation and loved it. We had a corner aft balcony and it was enormous. And their beverage package is miles better.

[thatjoeguy]

What I don't get at all is the "Freestyle" hype. Nearly every mainstream line has their own version of the dine anytime you want concept. Especially on Escape, reservations are encouraged at multiple venues. Sure the dress code is a little more lax but that's about it. I think eventually NCL will need to ditch the Freestyle catchphrase and market something else to separate them from the pack. Maybe so when Freestyle was introduced, but now there really isn't anything unique about their product offering.

 

We were on the Regal Princess in the summer of '14. Excluding the buffet, their anytime dining meant that you had one standard dining room you could go to anytime, and two specialties. We the sailed on the Getaway in winter of '15. There, the anytime dining gave us a choice of 4 complimentary restaurants excluding the buffet, as well as at least 6 specialty restaurants and several lunch and dinner shows. Other lines have tried to imitate Freestyle, but none do it as well.

[comcox]

As you can see from the list below I've sailed with several different U.S. and British cruise lines and they are all quite different both in facilities and "personalities." It really depends on what's important to you.

 

Personally I class NCL along with RCCL and Princess (I've not sailed Carnival) as more activity based ships with lots of things for kids to do and lots of entertainment and what I personally consider "silly" games for adults. But I do like the NCL Freestyle dining and no dress-up rules. There is little, if any, intellectual component offered here. Although my last Princess cruise did offer a few great photography workshops.

 

For me the best cabins are on Holland America with much more space. These are cabins you want to spend time in. Their passengers are more reserved and often older. And they offer the wonderful Microsoft computer classes as well as educational lectures. Their food offerings are much better than the three cruise lines mentioned above.

 

I thought Azamara was the best cruise line with really unique and longer itineraries until they got a new CEO a few years ago and he ruined things by switching to mostly 7 day sailings. Such a shame as they had no dress-up nights, good lectures, and catered to well-travelled passengers.

 

Oceania is more upscale but a decent cruise line. I've only been on their older ships and their cabins were small. Their food is excellent.

 

The two British lines I've sailed, Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery, each only have one older small ship with small, plain cabins. These are cruise lines for serious travelers who care about the itinerary and learning something along with way rather than having elegant ships. Both ships offer limited facilities but great libraries. Their lecturers are top notch. The food, though, is very British.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited January 2, 2016 by comcox

[Barb Nahoumi]

I would like to see NCL develop some workshops and lectures for their cruises. We have attended programs led by guest lecturers on RCL, and found them quite interesting.