Question for experienced cruisers

[ryan8564]

My wife and I have only cruised on Norwegian, we have always enjoyed our cruises with NCL.

 

We are considering going on a cruise with Carnival in August. What are the biggest differences between Carnival and NCL?

 

What is your favorite cruise line?

 

Thank you

[navybankerteacher]

Carnival offers the option of assigned dining - same table and waiters, no waiting.

 

Otherwise it is pretty similar as they are both budget lines.

 

My favorites are Cunard for service and food, and HAL for ship size, comfort, food and service, and Celebrity also for comfort, food and service.

[OCruisers]

ryan (the OP) .... Think you'll find NCL and Carnival to be very much alike.

[NMLady]

My wife and I have only cruised on Norwegian, we have always enjoyed our cruises with NCL.

 

We are considering going on a cruise with Carnival in August. What are the biggest differences between Carnival and NCL?

 

What is your favorite cruise line?

 

Thank you

 

As the others have stated the two cruise lines are more alike than different.

On Carnival you can choose to have assigned dining and can sit with the same people every night unless you chose table for just two. On NCL there is no assigned dining time.

 

There are no formal nights on NCL.

 

Except for complimentary continental breakfast there is a $7.95 service charge on NCL for delivery to cabin.

 

My favorite cruise line, if we could afford it, is Oceania. More elegant than NCL but has the same unassigned dining, no formal nights. Unlike mass market cruise lines, specialty restaurants are included in fare.

Edited June 19, 2016 by NMLady

[ryan8564]

My understanding is the food is better on Carnival

 

Has anyone every been on Carnival Dream?

[paul929207]

We tried Carnival twice and were not thrilled. Too crowded for us. Princess is our favorite

[Honolulu Blue]

Based on my several cruises on Carnival and research into NCL, these are the differences you're likely to find:

 

* Some Norwegian ships have dedicated cabins for one and solo lounges. Carnival has neither.

* Some Norwegian ships have shows that wouldn't be out of place on Broadway. Carnival's shows, though than can be entertaining, aren't in that class.

* Carnival usually has more comedians and comedy shows

* Norwegian has more restaurants, though Carnival's newer ships are catching up

* I've heard Norwegian's casinos are bigger, if you're into that sort of thing

 

There are no formal nights on NCL.

 

There are, officially, no formal nights on Carnival either. Each cruise offers 1-3 "elegant evenings" where people are encouraged to dress their best, but aren't absolutely required to. The dress code in the MDR on those days is tighter, but not oppressively so (IMHO).

 

My understanding is the food is better on Carnival

 

Has anyone every been on Carnival Dream?

 

My unrefined palate thinks their food is pretty good for what it is. The buffet food is good - for a buffet. Guy's has good burgers & fries, and on down the line.

 

I haven't been on the Dream, but lots of people in the Carnival forum have been on every ship there has been. You can access it here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=215

[bigsky]

Favorite cruise line for us is Royal

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[loubetti]

Favorites for me are Celebrity and Cunard.

[janetz]

My favorite :)

Celebrity

Princess

 

Carnival, not so much

[nolatravelgirl]

You need to be more specific. What Carnival ship are you considering and which NCL ships have you cruised in the past? NCL has a big variety of ships with varying entertainment and amenities. The same can be said for Carnival.

Edited June 19, 2016 by nolatravelgirl

[TeanneTX]

My wife and I have only cruised on Norwegian, we have always enjoyed our cruises with NCL.

 

We are considering going on a cruise with Carnival in August. What are the biggest differences between Carnival and NCL?

 

What is your favorite cruise line?

 

Thank you

 

We have been on Celebrity, RCCL, princess, NCL, Holland America. Our favorite by far is Celebrity. I have no desire to go on Carnival. I know some people love Carnival but its too big, too much boozing and acting stupid, too much partying. They do cater to a certain demographics and if you fall into that group you will probably be happy with Carnival. I've also noticed that the latest episodes of people falling over have been on Carnival. Very young crowd. It just all depends on your expectations.

Teanne

[SuiteTraveler]

My understanding is the food is better on Carnival

 

Has anyone every been on Carnival Dream?

 

I just got off the Carnival Dream today. The decor on that ship is terrible. We had a suite with a orange and red decor and a gold sofa thrown in, just to make sure nothing matches. The lamps - they were like "magic mushrooms" with parts broken off them. Inexplicably the cabinetry was art deco which didn't go with the fabrics chosen for the room. The MDR dining rooms look like it is decorated with these plastic tumblers:

http://www.hubert.com/89465/Carlisle-Plastic-Tumblers-in-Ruby-Red-16-oz-.html?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping%20-%20NLP&utm_term=1100504991255&utm_content=Tableware

 

Seriously, there are huge chandeliers that look like they were made of those tumblers and also sticking down from the ceiling. It's so unattractive and makes the dining room feel really cheap. One wonders what the decorator was thinking. Also, how does the predominant red go with the name "Dream?" It looks more like a nightmare!

 

The MDR food is OK - definitely NOT better than the food in the specialty restaurants on NCL. Breakfast is the better meal in the MDR. The steakhouse is far better and costs $35 pp. Buffet was OK. There is an Italian restaurant onboard but other passengers told me it was absolutely awful - I didn't even ask them about it, they told me this voluntarily just in passing conversation. As a result, we ate most of our meals in the steakhouse, 1 dinner at the chef's table and 2 in the MDR - never all that good. In the buffet, the burrito station and deli station are the better ones on this ship. Entertainment was sorely lacking unless you count movies under the stars. Comedy shows were overrun. Piano bar was mostly empty most of the time. Having heard the entertainer while passing by, I can understand why this was so. Half the time my husband would go to where live music was listed and it was cancelled. But if it was anything like the young woman singing in the casino last night - just as well. Overall, no activities and shows lacking. Slots too tight in the casino. Overall lacking in fun or a wow factor. Even the spa was in sad shape - floor in the thermal suite was light yellow tile but looked dirty and faux bamboo ceiling on mirror paint was peeling off. Lots of areas onboard in need of maintenance, such as the steps to hot tubs, missing parts of lighting fixtures, paint peeling off of lighting fixtures, broken light in an elevator, broken elevator that never ran for the duration of our cruise, floor in thalisotherapy pool room replaced with something other than original flooring. Then there are the cabin stewards, who now have 35 rooms to clean so they want to know if you want morning or afternoon service as it is only once a day. UGH! We need ice ALL day as we use it all day and all evening. Also we need clean towels at least twice a day. This would not be a problem if Carnival put ice machines and extra towels in a guest accessible area, but they don't. So, they are offering half the service and if you need anything they want you to call your cabin steward. Overall just not that great of a ship. Wish I could recommend it, but I just can't.

 

I wish that Carnival would let me redecorate the ship. It needs it badly. Just unbelievable how unattractive the ship's interior is. Mostly it is red. The steakhouse is gold and purple - yuck! Also the designer was apparently trying to follow the rose gold trend that was popular 8 years ago, which really winds up being a mish mash of metals with a lot of the rose gold peeling off.

 

IMO, if you want to go on Carnival, go on Magic, Breeze or Vista. These are the newest 3 ships and much more attractive.

[cantwaitt]

NCL charges for a lot of things that are including in the price of just about every other cruise line. Very annoying.

 

My favorite part of NCL is not bringing a suit and tie. Otherwise, there is nothing better about NCL than Carnival except for one or two shows for which there is no extra charge. But you need to get tickets in advance and time it with dinner. Hopefully that night there is no wait for the dining room.

 

Just writing this irks me about NCL.

[SuiteTraveler]

NCL has a lot of specialty restaurants - usually 5 or more. Carnival has maybe 1 or 2 on most ships.

 

You might want to consider MSC.

[Loving My Life]

I found the food in the main dining room on Carnival to be far superior to NCL, the food in the specialty restaurants were comparable, and the food in the buffets was better on NCL, but the variety better on Carnival.

 

In terms of entertainment, keep in mind we were on the oldest NCL ship, without any bells and whistles and without any premium shows. On our 12 night NCL cruise, there were NO comedians, which we missed. There were 2 shows in the main theater that were pretty good, probably equal to the shows on Carnival. The rest of the shows were pretty bad.

 

I found the 2 lines to be quite similar. I enjoyed all of my cruises on both lines. Unlike some people, I don't find Carnival to be the rowdy booze cruise line that many describe (with the exception of my 4 night Coz & KW cruise, which I expected). The key is when you cruise. I avoid the summer when school is out, spring break, and holidays, choosing rather Nov, Jan, and May when it is mostly couples sailing. With that said, I'm looking forward to trying Celebrity for the Baltics cruise we are planning in 2018.

 

Enjoy whichever cruise you take!

Edited June 21, 2016 by Loving My Life

[tamc321]

My wife and I have only cruised on Norwegian, we have always enjoyed our cruises with NCL.

 

We are considering going on a cruise with Carnival in August. What are the biggest differences between Carnival and NCL?

 

What is your favorite cruise line?

 

Thank you

 

I really like Carnival , I have only cruised the Breakaway with NCL and I hated it. terrible service and unless you are in the specialty venues for dinner the food is really sub par.

RCI is really nice too

[Dunnik]

NCL has a well-deserved reputation for nickle-and-dimeing.

 

CCL has a well-deserved reputation for being a party ship.

 

This doesn't mean, of course, that CCL never nickles-and-dimes, and that NCL can't have lively nightlife.

[GoVikes]

Carnival's decor seems super tacky to me. Their menu choices always seem lacking as well. I agree with previous posters that NCL has better shows and less of a party ship atmosphere.

[DIAMONDRCL]

My wife and I have only cruised on Norwegian, we have always enjoyed our cruises with NCL.

 

We are considering going on a cruise with Carnival in August. What are the biggest differences between Carnival and NCL?

 

What is your favorite cruise line?

 

Thank you

 

Budget lines, but most people consider Carnival to be the "Walmart of the High Seas". NCL would be considered a tad better

 

but it depends on your purpose for cruising -- relaxation and some nice extra touches, or party party party with the sorts of people who you see in Walmart? Which is fine for lots of people. We tend to peg our ship (and destination) choices based on what it is we are envisioning -- is it all about the ship? Or the destinations/excursions? Or do we want to drink ourselves into oblivion daily and nightly with lots of other fun partiers? It tends to focus our choices

Edited June 27, 2016 by DIAMONDRCL

[Texas Tillie]

Budget lines, but most people consider Carnival to be the "Walmart of the High Seas". NCL would be considered a tad better

 

but it depends on your purpose for cruising -- relaxation and some nice extra touches, or party party party with the sorts of people who you see in Walmart? Which is fine for lots of people. We tend to peg our ship (and destination) choices based on what it is we are envisioning -- is it all about the ship? Or the destinations/excursions? Or do we want to drink ourselves into oblivion daily and nightly with lots of other fun partiers? It tends to focus our choices

 

I thought it was NCL is Walmart and Carnival is the Goodwill Store! :D:eek::p

(Or is it the other way around??)

Edited June 27, 2016 by Texas Tillie

[DIAMONDRCL]

I thought it was NCL is Walmart and Carnival is the Goodwill Store! :D:eek::p

(Or is it the other way around??)

 

ROFL

 

I almost spit out my lunch...