NCL Getaway experience compared to DCL

[bfamily4]

We are a family of 4, my DW is 38 and i'm 42. We have DD6 and DS5.We've never cruised outside of Disney but wanted to try the Getaway since its a newer ship that's supposed to be fun for the kids + kids sale free helps too. We had room 9734 (B6)

 

What we loved:

 

-Cruise staff were great and friendly like DCL!

-Cruise price was very reasonable

- Ship was clean (but not DCL clean lol!)

-Kids loved the Splash Academy

-Surprisingly, the buffet was great in terms of selection and taste (especially breakfast) and we are picky eaters. Bacon here was better (thicker) than DCL lol!

-Room was great with lots of storage space.

-Burn the Floor was good

-Shopping (a bit chaotic but its tolerable!)

-Layout of the ship, couldn't tell that there were 4,000+ people on board.

-Information Technology on the ship and stateroom TV; you can check everything, from your account to booking excursions.

-Casino smoke is not as bothersome as others described and my DW is a non smoker.

-I'm an avid boxer and Fight Klub was a nice program although i was the only one that showed up.

-There were only a handful of children using the kiddie pools and slides! at one time, i counted only 6 kids ! this would never happen at DCL! lol!

 

 

Disappointments:

 

-Sail away party was a dud.

-OBC mix up ($1K) that didn't get fixed until 3rd day. We are Canadian and bought OBC at a favorable rate. They charged everything but $.01 on my cc. DW called NCl about the penny and they said not to worry. They couldn't charge my cc for a penny even if they wanted to. When we boarded we were expecting the obc certificate to be waiting for us in the stateroom. Went to OBC desk and inquired about it. They said it wasn't in the system yet...for 3 days! DW had to show her amenity invoice.This stressed out the DW given the feedback she read from previous posts about the timeliness of processing the OBC.

 

-This was the biggest for us...lack of family entertainment at night. We basically were just milling around most of the time looking for something to do that was family oriented. No shows or movies that we can all watch. I think that's why the kids wanted to go to Kids club instead.

-There were too many people leaving their empty beer bottles and cups everywhere; not enough garbage cans.

 

-If you are a soda drinker, you can only get this at the bar and you'd have to wait a long time for a Pepsi.

 

-You get charged for pool towels if you do not keep track of it. we're on vacation, i shouldn't have to worry about towels! hahahaha!

 

-Photos. On DCL they allow you to take photos with your own camera after the professional photographers are done taking pictures. We were disappointed that we couldn't take photos with our own camera in front of the photo booths.

 

- Cruise felt like it was nickel and diming operation lol!

 

Nevertheless, we had a great time ! Ultimately, A vacation really is what you make of it. No amount of "disappointments" will ruin it for us. We are not gonna beat up ourselves up or feel slighted when things don't go exactly as planned or expected. We still feel very blessed to be able to do this every year as a family.

 

This cruise, albeit fun and great, had a totally different feel in terms of the ambiance... For us personally, something was lacking. I remember we weren't as "sad" leaving the Getaway compared to everyone feeling " totally depressed" when we left DCL .. perhaps its the "pixie dust" lol!

 

The question DW had was if we would go back. If there is a really good promotional offer we would go in a heartbeat otherwise, its DCL for us.:)

[Peg_S]

Great info. Thanks for posting.

 

Question: I've read the main dining on their other ships is lacking, driving guests to frequent the extra fee restaurants. Where did you end up for dinners?

 

Peg

[moki'smommy]

I think you hit it with NCL feeling like a nickel and dime operation. THey get you on the ship with low fares, but after that everything is an "extra."

[Keith1010]

Thanks for putting this together.

 

Keith

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[fshagan]

- Cruise felt like it was nickel and diming operation lol!

 

Can you explain why?

 

I see this about NCL pretty often, and we've cruised both NCL and DCL multiple times. I pretty much agree with all of what you said about the differences in style and entertainment, but I have never felt the "nickle and dime" thing on NCL that people often state. To me, nickle and diming would be that things you expect to be free have a surprise charge attached and I didn't see any of that in your review (other than a charge if you lose a towel).

[bfamily4]

Great info. Thanks for posting.

 

Question: I've read the main dining on their other ships is lacking, driving guests to frequent the extra fee restaurants. Where did you end up for dinners?

 

Peg

 

The MDRs were actually not that bad. Tropicana and O'Shehan's were very good, both food and service. Savor was ok, the food was really salty and a bit of a wait to be attended to. Shanghai is overrated IMO, food was just ok and to get a table is difficult due to the very limited space they have. Also had dinner at the buffet for seafood night and that was good.

[bfamily4]

Can you explain why?

 

I see this about NCL pretty often, and we've cruised both NCL and DCL multiple times. I pretty much agree with all of what you said about the differences in style and entertainment, but I have never felt the "nickle and dime" thing on NCL that people often state. To me, nickle and diming would be that things you expect to be free have a surprise charge attached and I didn't see any of that in your review (other than a charge if you lose a towel).

 

Paying $80 CDN /week for soda and of course the towels. It was also as simple as wanting to eat a plain cupcake after dinner, we had to go the bakery and purchase one. Having to pay for Orange juice or Apple juice for the kids at GSC. Then there's the lobster tails at the MDR and the extra charge for the Kids Club after 10:30pm. Also, some of the shows you have to pay for and then there's the room service fee of $8. Charging $8 for the IConcierge app which barely worked:(

[fshagan]

Paying $80 CDN /week for soda and of course the towels. It was also as simple as wanting to eat a plain cupcake after dinner, we had to go the bakery and purchase one. Having to pay for Orange juice or Apple juice for the kids at GSC. Then there's the lobster tails at the MDR and the extra charge for the Kids Club after 10:30pm. Also, some of the shows you have to pay for and then there's the room service fee of $8. Charging $8 for the IConcierge app which barely worked:(

 

Yeah, all things we don't experience; so that's why we haven't noticed that as a difference. We've always found the desserts at the buffet to be fine for us and, for all the times we've been on NCL, we have yet been able to tender into GSC so we can't compare the private island experience. We really did enjoy Castaway Cay.

 

I don't recall any shows being extra charge except for a murder mystery show and a circ-d-solel type of show that are both also "dinner shows" ... a meal is served with the show. We always found the free dining options on NCL better suited to us anyway, and have never paid for any of the dinner shows and rarely for any of the specialty restaurants. NCL usually runs a promo now that includes them, and to be honest, I don't see why I would ever purchase an extra charge meal on a cruise.

 

For us the cost differential between the two is usually greater than the value Disney gives us but that wasn't always the case. Having children with you certainly makes DCL a more compelling choice.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I think you hit it with NCL feeling like a nickel and dime operation. THey get you on the ship with low fares' date=' but after that everything is an "extra."[/quote']

 

 

I guess when you compare ncl rates with DCL's rates they are low. Compared to other mass market lines I wouldn't call them low.

 

I guess it's all a matter of perspective.

 

Bill

[moki'smommy]

I just looked up a few dates/rates. Some were seriously low--I found a 7 night Caribbean out of Houston for $500 per person in a balcony! On the other hand, I also found 7 nights out of Port Canaveral for a bit over $1000 per person in a balcony which is comparable to Princess or Celebrity.

 

Guess it might depend on what cruise you chose and when you booked.

 

The soda package never bothered me. But the additional charge for a good steak at dinner, the room service fee, the cost for apple juice does...and what really frosted me was when they came out with the rule about not removing any food from the eating areas. I do understand that they have now eliminated that bad ruling, but it was wrong to start it.

 

I found the $3 charge for room service pizza on Princess to be irritating, but then they explained that they had teens ordering multiple pizzas and not eating them; the charge eliminated silly orders. And we always had the option of walking upstairs and getting pizza, so it wasn't a big deal. Somehow, $8 on Norwegian takes it from a "eliminate a problem" charge to a money making deal.

 

Sorry, my perception was the nickel and dime mentality, and I did feel our cruise fare was lower than what I'd seen on Princess and Celebrity...again, it could have been date related.

[fshagan]

I just looked up a few dates/rates. Some were seriously low--I found a 7 night Caribbean out of Houston for $500 per person in a balcony! On the other hand' date=' I also found 7 nights out of Port Canaveral for a bit over $1000 per person in a balcony which is comparable to Princess or Celebrity.

 

Guess it might depend on what cruise you chose and when you booked.

[/quote']

 

 

We usually follow the deals on our preferred lines, so our experience is similar to yours. We found a killer deal on a DCL Med cruise that is similar to one we took on NCL a few years back. But alas, I can't commit to a Euro cruise due to a lingering health issue that we hope resolves itself.

 

I like DCL a lot, then NCL is our favorite in terms of price and convenience. We also sail Princess (although their beds are still terrible and have not rolled out the new beds on every ship).

 

The soda package never bothered me. But the additional charge for a good steak at dinner' date=' the room service fee, the cost for apple juice does...and what really frosted me was when they came out with the rule about not removing any food from the eating areas. I do understand that they have now eliminated that bad ruling, but it was wrong to start it.

[/quote']

 

The "no take out" rule didn't last very long. Maybe a week or two? And even then it was not enforced very well. I'm not sure how this short lived policy affected the cruise you were on. If I'm reading it right, you were upset with NCL before you cruised and were probably in that large group of people that had booked, could not cancel without a charge, and saw a number of changes happen in a short period of time. In that environment, a change to something that doesn't even affect you becomes irritating. I never use room service, so the room service fee doesn't bother me. But it might bother me if I had booked a cruise and now knew I couldn't order a turkey sandwich at 10 PM. Even if I never did. I can understand that feeling completely.

 

Sorry' date=' my perception was the nickel and dime mentality, and I did feel our cruise fare was lower than what I'd seen on Princess and Celebrity...again, it could have been date related.[/quote']

 

There's no reason to apologize! I just wondered about the perception of the "nickle and dime" thing and wanted to discuss it without rancor with someone who seemed reasonable and probably wouldn't misquote something from a conference call with investors or descend into rhetoric about evil corporations, etc. I can absolutely see why you felt that way.

 

It's all about the value you get, right? "Value" for us with DCL includes those intangible things like no casino, less second hand smoke, less obnoxious drunks, less blue humor and more family activities. The cost always plays a big part for me, but there is a premium that I think DCL can charge based on the rest of the "value" they give.

[moki'smommy]

We usually follow the deals on our preferred lines, so our experience is similar to yours. We found a killer deal on a DCL Med cruise that is similar to one we took on NCL a few years back. But alas, I can't commit to a Euro cruise due to a lingering health issue that we hope resolves itself.

 

I like DCL a lot, then NCL is our favorite in terms of price and convenience. We also sail Princess (although their beds are still terrible and have not rolled out the new beds on every ship).

 

 

 

The "no take out" rule didn't last very long. Maybe a week or two? And even then it was not enforced very well. I'm not sure how this short lived policy affected the cruise you were on. If I'm reading it right, you were upset with NCL before you cruised and were probably in that large group of people that had booked, could not cancel without a charge, and saw a number of changes happen in a short period of time. In that environment, a change to something that doesn't even affect you becomes irritating. I never use room service, so the room service fee doesn't bother me. But it might bother me if I had booked a cruise and now knew I couldn't order a turkey sandwich at 10 PM. Even if I never did. I can understand that feeling completely.

 

 

 

There's no reason to apologize! I just wondered about the perception of the "nickle and dime" thing and wanted to discuss it without rancor with someone who seemed reasonable and probably wouldn't misquote something from a conference call with investors or descend into rhetoric about evil corporations, etc. I can absolutely see why you felt that way.

 

It's all about the value you get, right? "Value" for us with DCL includes those intangible things like no casino, less second hand smoke, less obnoxious drunks, less blue humor and more family activities. The cost always plays a big part for me, but there is a premium that I think DCL can charge based on the rest of the "value" they give.

 

I can see how relating to things you use certainly affects perception. My adult daughter is mobility impaired, so ordering room service or taking a milk from the buffet for later is something she might opt for rather than making another trip for food. Thus, that $8 charge for room service can add up. And you read me right--changes after booking are not a good thing!

 

The casino thing (for us) depends on how it is located within the ship. Many years ago, we were on a ship where it seemed you couldn't get anywhere without walking thru a smoky casino. Within the last few months we cruised on a Princess ship where it was easy to totally avoid the casino. Also, their smoking policy is very similar to DCL's, so no problems there. Honestly, I was very pleased with Princess--wide age range of cruisers, no obnoxious drunks. THey need better mattresses (I understand they are coming) and better entertainment (also being rolled out).

 

I could rank lines several different lines, depending on what was being evaluated. Overall, I still put the Disney Magic first. But DCL falls short on price, variety of locations available, and food quality. They are best on cabin size and attractiveness, internet cost and function, and entertainment. Princess and Celebrity are fairly similar. I think Princess gets the edge on the cabin and Celebrity is a small bit better on food. Celebrity had excellent guest service. Cost is similar between these two; specials are available if you watch dates. NCL was in that "everything is OK and nothing is outstanding" category. I wouldn't rank them first in anything except price if you shop selectively. I don't mean that they were bad, just that they weren't amazing to us in any aspect. And the towel thing is just a pain.

Edited March 26, 2016 by moki'smommy