New to Norwegian

[meanjean80]

Greetings. I'm a Carnival regular about to take my first cruise on Norwegian this summer (Norwegian Star, July 4, Baltic Capitals). I should note I'm not unhappy with Carnival, we chose this cruise for the itinerary.

 

Can the Norwegian regulars offer me any tips/strategies for how to make the most out of my Norwegian cruise? Any suggestions are welcome. :D

[fmigali]

We have also primarily cruised on Carnival and have been happy. We are sailing NCL in November for the first time because of the current value of drink package, dining package AND kids sail free. I will be interested in seeing responses as well.

[4774Papa]

Greetings. I'm a Carnival regular about to take my first cruise on Norwegian this summer (Norwegian Star, July 4, Baltic Capitals). I should note I'm not unhappy with Carnival, we chose this cruise for the itinerary.

 

Can the Norwegian regulars offer me any tips/strategies for how to make the most out of my Norwegian cruise? Any suggestions are welcome. :D

 

You didn't provide any specific items of interest, but I will try to respond in general.

 

We have never cruised Carnival, largely based on what I have read and heard about their cruises. My Son is 40 and enjoyed his Carnival cruise, said the food was good. Others don't like what might be termed juvenile items like dancing and singing waiters. Sill, I am sure Carnival is fine, but probably not my choice, but I am 68.

 

NCL is probably a bit like Carnival, but not as mature as Princess or Celebrity.

 

NCL has excellent entertainment.

It has a great variety of specialty restaurants that serve excellent food, while the MDR can be inconsistent. Still, in the MDR, if you don't like your entree, send it back. They will bring you another.

 

Service can be excellent or average. Sometimes it depends on the ship or where you are on the ship.

 

We don't like the beverage packages promos, since it inflates the price and we would never drink enough alcohol to buy the packages.

 

NCL's excursions can be overpriced, so I generally try to find private tours, sometimes organizing them myself on the roll call for the cruise.

 

We did a cruise on the Star out of Copenhagen B2B with a transatlantic for 28 days. It is an older ship, but we liked it just fine. Only thing that disappointed me was the ship doesn't have a sunset bar aft of the buffet like most NCL ships.

 

The Star has been or soon will be refurbished, so it should be nice.

 

Baltic cruises are great, but Northern Europe is more expensive than the Med. Still, St. Petersburg is wonderful. Private tours are available with Red October or STP and other private tours. They get your visas for you.

 

Enjoy, you should like NCL.

[meanjean80]

You didn't provide any specific items of interest, but I will try to respond in general.

 

Thanks for the response...I've been reading over the board to get a feel for Norwegian.

 

I guess if I had one specific item I was curious about it would be entertainment. On Carnival my sister and I would usually gravitate to the piano bar or to whatever live act might be playing in the lobby lounge. We tended to avoid the big shows, in her case because she's been there, done that, and in my case because I am just not a fan of Vegas styled shows with mega technology and minimal live singing. What is the usual entertainment lineup on Norwegian?

[Mistizoom]

We loved our cruise on Norwegian Dawn, Star's sister ship, three years ago. Be sure to eat the MDR on embarkation day! It's the best tip I have received on Cruise Critic! And take advantage of Freestyle Dining. On the Star you probably don't have to make reservations at all for the MDR unless you have a large group. You may not even need reservations for most specialties except perhaps for some of them like Cagney's or Teppanyaki. If you absolutely must eat at a certain time/location you can make a reservation, but if you are wanting/willing to be flexible you shouldn't need them.

Edited March 23, 2016 by Mistizoom

[beerman2]

Thanks for the response...I've been reading over the board to get a feel for Norwegian.

 

I guess if I had one specific item I was curious about it would be entertainment. On Carnival my sister and I would usually gravitate to the piano bar or to whatever live act might be playing in the lobby lounge. We tended to avoid the big shows, in her case because she's been there, done that, and in my case because I am just not a fan of Vegas styled shows with mega technology and minimal live singing. What is the usual entertainment lineup on Norwegian?

 

If you usually gravitated to piano bar on Carnival , you will probably like Howl at the Moon on NCL.

 

Much more upbeat and entertaining . IMO

[4774Papa]

NCL has entertainment like a piano bar. Howl at the Moon is excellent. There are more bar scene type shows. As for the big shows. I encourage you to check them out. NCL will have a variety of shows, including comedians, magicians, acrobatics, shows focusing on one artist, and of course, the production shows with dancing and singing.

 

NCL puts out a daily newsletter that tells you what the shows are for each night.

[OneWord]

Greetings. I'm a Carnival regular about to take my first cruise on Norwegian this summer (Norwegian Star, July 4, Baltic Capitals). I should note I'm not unhappy with Carnival, we chose this cruise for the itinerary.

 

Can the Norwegian regulars offer me any tips/strategies for how to make the most out of my Norwegian cruise? Any suggestions are welcome. :D

 

Welcome.

[coolcruiser86]

Welcome! We were primarily Royal Caribbean and then we made our way to NCL for a couple cruises. We just returned from an RCCL cruise and can say we are firmly in the NCL corner! They're entertainment is great, food is consistent and the activities on board are amazing.

 

Hope you have a great cruise!

[CP3o]

Why eat at MDR first night?

 

 

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[BlueHonu]

After 8 Carnival cruises, we went on NCL Escape in February.

Some observations.

Dining was really good. The food comes out fresh like a restaurant. No piles of plates with cafeteria covers to keep them warm. We ate at both specialty and complimentary, and both were great. The buffet had a lot of variety. Not the same thing every time.

Shows.

Live music and singing. Even better than the old Carnival shows b4 they took away the live music and added the spinning lights that blind u.

U can reserve dining and entertainment 90 days prior to sail.

We also loved Howl at the moon dueling piano. Very talented. There is also live music in other areas.

The other thing we noticed. Lack of servers on the sun deck during the day.

Obviously with many having the drinks package, they don't have to push drinks.

We just went to the bar and ordered.

Overall, we had a great time. We sail on NCL Getaway in May.

2 other Carnival couples have booked NCL cruises due to our experience.

 

 

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[MagnusMichael]

I cruise with my wife and we are 27 years old. We cruised the star out of Tampa in November and we love the ship. It just had a refresh and we loved the decor and venues.

 

Plan your excursions before your trip and when you're on board, read your freestyle dailies every day and plan around your excursions. The Baltic cruises go to some beautiful places, take advantage of those ports!

 

I'm not sure if you have any promos but NCL has been getting a lot of flack on these boards for the drink package, offered as a "free" package, for which gratuities are imposed. If you drink 2-3 drinks per person a day or more, these gratuities more than pay for itself. If you don't drink that much call and switch to a different promo. I hope you have a great trip!!

[j-9]

If you usually gravitated to piano bar on Carnival , you will probably like Howl at the Moon on NCL.

 

 

 

Much more upbeat and entertaining . IMO

 

 

Can someone confirm Howl at the Moon is on the Star? I really hope so!

 

 

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[4774Papa]

Can someone confirm Howl at the Moon is on the Star? I really hope so!

 

 

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In 2014 we were on the Star and there was no Howl at the Moon then. Not sure now.

[cruiserssandr]

Why eat at MDR first night?

 

 

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We eat in the dining room for lunch the first day. As you embark the crew seems to try and direct you to the buffet. It tends to be a bit crazy and crowded. The dining room is much for relaxed

[Mistizoom]

Why eat at MDR first night?

 

 

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We eat in the dining room for lunch the first day. As you embark the crew seems to try and direct you to the buffet. It tends to be a bit crazy and crowded. The dining room is much for relaxed

 

Right, I meant eat at the MDR for lunch on embarkation day. Much nicer atmosphere than the zoo that will be the buffet. You can eat wherever you like for dinner. ;)

[meanjean80]

Right, I meant eat at the MDR for lunch on embarkation day. Much nicer atmosphere than the zoo that will be the buffet. You can eat wherever you like for dinner. ;)

This is really good to know since Carnival does not have any alternative dining options for embarkation day; it's lido or bust.