Carnival Veteran jumping ship to NCL

[SunnydayKim]

Hello Norweign cruisers!

 

We are veteran Carnival cruisers (8 cruises for me, 9 for hubby & 6 for son). We love cruising but are looking for a new itinerary & to try a new cruise line.

 

Summer 2017 we are planning a European cruise! We have it narrowed down to 2 options, a 10 day on Spirit or a 7 day on Epic. Both sets of ports are amazing & of course I would LOVE to spend 3 more days & go to more places, but I am a tad worried about the age of Spirit & what onboard there is to do with my 6 year. There will be a LOT of sightseeing & "not so fun for him" things in port, so on the ship we would love for him to have a great space.

 

A few questions:

 

For those who have been on both ships, is there a noticeable difference in activities? (Spirit v Epic)

 

Is the specialty dining package needed on both of these ships (I have heard that you should get it, but don't know if that just applies to the newer ships or all)?

 

Any tips for a Carnival vet switching over to NCL?

 

We are super excited & plan to book after Christmas!!!

 

Happy Holidays to all & thank you in advance!

 

Kim

[detroitlions]

Hello Norweign cruisers!

 

We are veteran Carnival cruisers (8 cruises for me, 9 for hubby & 6 for son). We love cruising but are looking for a new itinerary & to try a new cruise line.

 

Summer 2017 we are planning a European cruise! We have it narrowed down to 2 options, a 10 day on Spirit or a 7 day on Epic. Both sets of ports are amazing & of course I would LOVE to spend 3 more days & go to more places, but I am a tad worried about the age of Spirit & what onboard there is to do with my 6 year. There will be a LOT of sightseeing & "not so fun for him" things in port, so on the ship we would love for him to have a great space.

 

A few questions:

 

For those who have been on both ships, is there a noticeable difference in activities? (Spirit v Epic)

 

Is the specialty dining package needed on both of these ships (I have heard that you should get it, but don't know if that just applies to the newer ships or all)?

 

Any tips for a Carnival vet switching over to NCL?

 

We are super excited & plan to book after Christmas!!!

 

Happy Holidays to all & thank you in advance!

 

Kim

I have been on the epic and a sister ship like the spirit. There is a lot more to do on the epic for kids and adults

That being said the epic has a lot more passengers so the main areas in the ship get packed kind of like the carnival breeze.

The drink package usually lures the carnival cruisers over because they were sick of getting that bar bill at the end of there trip in most cases you can get it free as a perk.

Dinning package is nice there special restaurants are very good on ncl I would get a 3 or 4 day package for the family to break the monotony of the main dinning rooms. The meals in the main dining get to be repetitive and hit or miss.

[zqvol]

One thing to keep in mind, cruising in Europe is like cruising in Alaska in many ways. It is all about the ports, and no much about the ship. Even with a child you are going to spend a lot of time ashore and not a lot of time on the ship except for sleeping. Chose your cruise based on itinerary, not on the ship.

[Son of a son of a ...]

One thing to keep in mind, cruising in Europe is like cruising in Alaska in many ways. It is all about the ports, and no much about the ship. Even with a child you are going to spend a lot of time ashore and not a lot of time on the ship except for sleeping. Chose your cruise based on itinerary, not on the ship.

 

Could not be said better. We had a 2BR Haven on Epic for Western Med cruise and spent so little time in Haven or other shipboard activities. We mainly ate and slept on the ship, but did little else aboard ... excursions were great and we spent as much time as possible ashore. If we wanted to enjoy ship life, then we would have booked a Caribbean cruise with lots of sea days.

[KeithJenner]

Firstly, the dining package is by no means necessary on either ship.

 

The included food is good on both. I agree that it is nice to have different options, but that doesn't mean that the package is essential.

 

You can just have one meal in a speciality restaurant and just pay for that one. Depending on what you have and how much you eat you may find that two meals are still cheaper than buying the package, so even if you do decide to go to the pay restaurants then the dining package isn't necessarily the way forward.

 

The Epic has slightly better included options in my opinion. As well as the MDR's and buffet, there is o'Sheehans, whereas the Spirit has Blue Lagoon. The food is similar, but o.Sheehans is a far nicer place to sit and have a meal.

 

Both have Asian options included at no extra cost for most items (sushi is chargeable I think). However, on the Epic you have a restaurant and a noodle bar.

 

You can only use included venues for all your evening meals on a 7 day cruise on the Epic and only have to repeat one place, if you count the Asian restaurant and Noodle Bar as two venues.

 

However, the Epic also has more options if you are willing to pay more. It has Moderno as well as the dinner show, neither of which are on the Spirit. It's worth remembering that if you do go for the dining package on the Spirit then you are slightly more limited as to the choice of places to use it.

 

As for which ship is best with kids, that does depend a bit on what they like. The Epic has more obvious options like the water slides, but that doesn't mean it is better for all. The theatre shows are arguably better for kids on the Spirit (magicians etc) and our son found that the smaller numbers in the kids club make the smaller ships better from that perspective. Many kids really enjoy the kids pool at the aft of the Spirit, and it can be a great place for adults to enjoy a drink whilst keeping an eye on them.

 

Personally, I would give more weight to which looks the better itinerary and if you can swing 10 days then that will almost always beat 7 days for me.

Edited December 23, 2016 by KeithJenner

[dallas16]

Hello Norweign cruisers!

 

We are veteran Carnival cruisers (8 cruises for me, 9 for hubby & 6 for son). We love cruising but are looking for a new itinerary & to try a new cruise line.

 

Summer 2017 we are planning a European cruise! We have it narrowed down to 2 options, a 10 day on Spirit or a 7 day on Epic. Both sets of ports are amazing & of course I would LOVE to spend 3 more days & go to more places, but I am a tad worried about the age of Spirit & what onboard there is to do with my 6 year. There will be a LOT of sightseeing & "not so fun for him" things in port, so on the ship we would love for him to have a great space.

Kim

 

 

I have never done carnival before but I have done the Spirit before and it is a great ship with a fabulous itinerary. With Europe, there are ports almost every day and a lot of the ports have things to do that appeal to all ages. The Spirit is an older ship but it is in great condition and is going for dry dock next year so should look like a new ship by the time it reaches Europe

 

 

 

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[KeithJenner]

The Spirit is an older ship but it is in great condition and is going for dry dock next year so should look like a new ship by the time it reaches Europe

 

 

 

Unfortunately, the dry dock scheduled for next year has been cut right back and is now just a few days. I understand that the full refurb has been put back and this will be a very limited dry dock now.

[BirdTravels]

One thing to keep in mind, cruising in Europe is like cruising in Alaska in many ways. It is all about the ports, and no much about the ship. Even with a child you are going to spend a lot of time ashore and not a lot of time on the ship except for sleeping. Chose your cruise based on itinerary, not on the ship.

 

While ports are important,,, the ship is very important to us. We have sailed on both the Spirit and Epic in the past year. The Epic was the first of the NCL mega ships. There is a lot to do for young and mature.

 

The Spirit is the oldest ship in the NCL fleet and has less to do for kids. She's showing her age and there is a debate on what will happen during her upcoming dry dock.

 

The Epic completed an extensive dry dock in October 2015 where all of the public areas were gutted and rebuilt from the sheet metal. Looking young and fresh.

[LrgPizza]

I've been on both ships. The Spirit was my least favorite ship I've ever sailed. The Epic was 2nd favorite. There are lots more options for evening fun on Epic, including Howl at the Moon dueling pianos and the blues club. The water slides are a big hit, too. Neither require specialty dining. We used to eat in the specialty places, but no longer will. The included options are plenty good.

[bonniboo1]

I sailed the Spirit 6 years ago. Vaguely I remember a pirate ship with water spraying out of it in the kids pool area. I recall thinking that my grandkids would have liked it. I believe that if you go to the NCL site that they will show you the kids area.

 

I loved the Spirit. I can't speak about the Epic as I have never sailed her. I mostly stick to ships no larger than the Gem.

 

Have a great time with your little one.