Which are the Best NCL Ships?

[soxfan2013]

Which ships are the best on NCL? Newest, most premium options, best Haven area/Haven Suites, best restaurants, etc.?

 

Also, best water slides or rock climbing, etc for kids?

 

Also, which are the worst?

[soxfan2013]

I'm considering a Deluxe Owners Suite on the Pearl or Gem, but am concerned these might be a bit dated?

[TonyFred]

Been on the Star, Sky, Pride of America, Getaway and going on my 3rd Escape cruise in April. She is hands down my favorite. Great ship!

[soxfan2013]

Been on the Star, Sky, Pride of America, Getaway and going on my 3rd Escape cruise in April. She is hands down my favorite. Great ship!

 

Thanks. Why? And how abt compared to the Gem or Pearl?

[SouthLyonCruiser]

The best way to decide on which ship is the best for you is to go on the "Ship Reviews" section of the CC web site and put in the ship you are considering and read the reviews of those who have sailed. You will get gripes and greats from a variety of reviewers and just look for consistency in the gripes and praises to get a good idea of what the ship is really like.

[roger001]

The best ships is too subjective. Each of us have different type expectations from cruise ships. We like the Jewel class. Perfect for us (older cruisers). The Getaway is a big beautiful ship with much more activity. With kids, would be a good one. But too big for us. You're just going to have to try them all!!!

[CruisinHarvey]

Which ships are the best on NCL? Newest, most premium options, best Haven area/Haven Suites, best restaurants, etc.?

 

Also, best water slides or rock climbing, etc for kids?

 

Also, which are the worst?

 

All the things you asked about are better on the newer ships. The Haven area is much better with it's own restaurant. They have ropes courses, mini golf, giant slides, and most have rock climbing walls. The older ships have none of that.

[ray98]

Escape is wonderful.

[jpcdds6]

Just got off the Pearl. We were in an aft corner suite. Beautiful ship, and I think the Jewel class ships have a great design and are a perfect size. She went through refurb. last spring, so don't worry about it being dated. If you are considering a stay in the Haven, you might like the larger class ships. Haven areas are larger and offer more.

[SuiteTraveler]

I'm considering a Deluxe Owners Suite on the Pearl or Gem, but am concerned these might be a bit dated?

 

This is a video of the Pearl Owner's Suite:

 

The Gem's owner suite would be similar, but...and this is just my opinion, I think you would be better off with a 2 bedroom The Haven Villa because it is in the Haven. The Haven Owner's Suites on these ships are not in the Haven at all so if you are traveling with kids and they wanted to go to the Haven pool or get a snack in The Haven it is several floors away. We also found we just never got to The Haven when we had one of these suites on Jade. The other negative about these Jewel class ships is that there is no Haven restaurant - you go to part of Cagney's or Moderno for breakfast and lunch but there is no Haven dinner served. However, IMO, these ships are best for port intensive cruises such as those in Europe because NCL's mega ships have so much onboard you would never get to use or see most of it on such a port intensive cruise.

 

The newer NCL ships are Epic, Getaway, Breakaway, Escape, Bliss and Joy and have the most up to date decor. Owners suites are furnished in tones of cream and brown and they have a true separate master bedroom and huge bathrooms - nicer than the Jewel class ships in every way. AND these ships have owner's suites that are actually IN The Haven plus a dedicated Haven restaurant and bar. These ships are best if you plan to spend quite a bit of time onboard or have many sea days. The Haven provides a sanctuary away from the madness that is the rest of the ship which can feel really crowded on the non-Haven pool deck and elsewhere.

 

In terms of kids, any of the mega ships (not jewel class) would be best as they offer an incredible number of things for kids to do. However, if your kids are under 5 years old, then much of what is offered on the NCL Mega ships they cannot use as there are height restrictions and at any rate the huge slides would be too much for them. Younger children would probably be very happy to be in the children's clubs on the Jewel class ships instead.

 

Each of the Mega ships has different features and different shows. You should examine each one in detail and think about your children's likes and dislikes in choosing the right ship for your family.

 

The direct competitors to the NCL mega ships are the RCCL's mega ships: Oasis, Allure, Harmony, Symphony and Anthem. What RCCL doesn't have is a Haven. The Owner's suite are midship and do not have a totally separate bedroom - you would be better off in a Royal Family Suite or Aqua Theater suites on these ships or the Ultimate Family Suite on Symphony which is 2 stories and comes with an in room slide, private 3D cinema, spider climb, air hockey table and bumper pool table and a hot tub for the parents - but keep in mind, these suites get few of the perks you get on NCL. No butler, no flowers, they do have a special restaurant and lounge for suite guests and upgraded bathroom amenities, but that's about it. In addition MSC's Seaside will also be a direct competitor mega ship and they actually have something similar to The Haven which is called the Yacht Club and is an all-inclusive experience - even better than that on NCL ships and NCL ships The Haven is pretty awesome but MSC's Yacht Club is heavy on personal service and they really go the extra mile for guests far above and beyond what is done in The Haven.

 

Hope that helps.

Edited January 9, 2018 by SuiteTraveler

[biker@sea]

Dawn / Star class are the worst ship's after the removal of the deck 12 forward viewing lounge, along with No great outdoor's Aft. or a Haven.

 

J.M.H.O.

[dexddd]

I'm considering a Deluxe Owners Suite on the Pearl or Gem, but am concerned these might be a bit dated?

 

We were in the Gem DOS Dec 2016 and the room was in pretty good shape and not dated. Note you access this room via about 14 stairs. The hot tub on the balcony is fill it in the a.m. with hot water and it will cool off during the day - it doesn't have a heater.

[4774Papa]

We have been on the Gem, Jade, Epic, Star and Sun. Our least favorite ship was the Epic. It felt crowded everywhere we went and the pool area was unusable.

 

The Sun was our favorite, since it had the best food (that was our most recent cruise on NCL)

[vince_g]

Just got off the Pearl. We were in an aft corner suite. Beautiful ship, and I think the Jewel class ships have a great design and are a perfect size. She went through refurb. last spring, so don't worry about it being dated. If you are considering a stay in the Haven, you might like the larger class ships. Haven areas are larger and offer more.

 

Our last sailing on BA we met a family of 3 in the haven embarkation lounge, and frequently ran into them throughout the cruise in the lounge and courtyard. They told us they like the Gem better because the haven area is even more exclusive. Guess they don't have issue with not having the restaurant and larger courtyard. Probably since with the 3 or 4 night SDP, platinum passengers end up with 50% or more specialty dinners.

[BostonGal35]

while we sail all sizes in the NCL fleet, our preference is for the smaller ships. we like having a different show every night, at fixed times so we can plan dinners, etc. we have also found service to generally be a bit better on teh smaller ships.

[Georgie562]

Which ships are the best on NCL? Newest, most premium options, best Haven area/Haven Suites, best restaurants, etc.?

 

Also, best water slides or rock climbing, etc for kids?

 

Also, which are the worst?

 

 

There's really no true answer to this.

It depends on your personal liking. Some people like the bigger bells and whistles type of ships, others like the smaller more sedated ships that could visit ports bigger ships can't. For me personally I base my selections on time and itinerary and budget.

[FantasyGoddess]

We have been on the Pearl (twice), Star, Spirit, Dawn and Getaway. I would agree with the comments made previously about all the ships. The Dawn was our least favorite because the common areas were tight. We LOVE the Pearl as the size is right for us. We don't like the mega ships...too big. The Star and the Spirit were ok and really didn't matter as the Star was a Baltic cruise and the Spirit was a Mediterranean cruise, neither of which do you spend much time on the ship.

 

We did stay in the Haven on the Getaway and we have one word for that....AHHHMAZING! What a way to be spoiled and I can tell you that the Getaway is way too big for our liking. The only way we would cruise on the Getaway again would be in the Haven. We basically did not leave the Haven except to go to shows or dine in a specialty restaurant.

 

Hope this helps!

[amarvel]

We love the jewel. And love that sized haven. We like that there's not that many people so it's quiet and my kids can use the pool and usually there's not competition. We also get our breakfast in the courtyard so we don't have to go all the way to Cagney's and we've even had lunch delivered there as well. But I've also not been on the larger ships yet to do a fair comparison. I also thought The Pride of America was much better than I thought it would be and I'm curious to see how the star will be this year :-)

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[KarimaJ]

Like others posted, the newer ships are best for kids. We went on the Getaway and kids had a great time. Waterslides, bungee jump, ropes course, rock wall, sports area, etc... We are trying to Escape in April, can't wait! We sailed the Jewel by ourselves and it was wonderful but I didn't see much for kids.

[BNBR]

The direct competitors to the NCL mega ships are the RCCL's mega ships: Oasis, Allure, Harmony, Symphony and Anthem.

 

Anthem, yes. Oasis/Allure/Harmony/Symphony are in a class of their own and NCL has nothing that competes with them. Freedom and Quantum class are much more similar, comparatively, to NCL's large ships (I don't consider them mega ships).

 

That said, Royal has nothing that compares, truly, with the Haven, as you pointed out. If someone is looking for that experience, NCL wins hands down.

[NLH Arizona]

I like the Jewel Class ships, with the Pearl being my favorite. I like the smaller size and really not looking for all the bells and whistles or a huge amount of other passengers. I never thought I would go on one of the mega ships, but this year's December cruise has been changed to the Breakaway, so I guess I'll find out if I like the bigger ships as much as I like the Jewel Class ships.