Warning: Do NOT cruise NCL, pick Princess or RCCL

[Hlitner]

We find the OP's post interesting. Looking at their posting history there is absolutely no hint of them ever taking a NCL Cruise.. But since we do not want to completely dismiss their post we hope the OP comes back and tells us the basis for the rant.

 

Hank

[Aquahound]

Different strokes... : I will never sail anything more than half the size of Breakaway; and have not seen anything built much after 2000 that does not look like an apartment building lying on its side. Why does NCL have to paint their ships like circus clown cars?

 

When I said I wouldn't cruise anything older than Breakaway, I meant just within the NCL fleet. Otherwise, I love small old ships almost as much as big new ships.

[sail7seas]

OP,

 

 

On which NCL ship did you sail and how recent was your cruise?

[sloopsailor]

OP,

 

 

On which NCL ship did you sail and how recent was your cruise?

 

The OP has posted on several Princess, HAL, Carnival and Royal Caribbean threads, but not a single NCL thread. My guess is that he has never set foot on an NCL ship and is talking about something he has absolutely zero experience with. Don't be surprised if he never returns to respond to all the comments made about his "toss them on the wall and see what sticks" opinions that he posted.

[Sue Do-Over]

We've cruised Carnival and Princess for years, and thought we knew what to expect on NCL. We were dismayed to find that most of the restaurants were booked up, making it difficult to use our 'free' dining credits. Also, all the shows were booked up by the time we realized that you need to pre-book.

 

Turns out, some guests book several dinner options for each night at the start of the cruise, so they always have options. There's no penalty for no-shows, so you can book a table in each restaurant if you want to, and then decide when you're hungry. (Perhaps NCL should put a limit on there somehow?)

 

When we (finally) got seated after waiting on stand-by for 45 minutes, half the dining room was empty. The hostess said they had to wait at least 15 minutes for a reservation to no-show before releasing their table.

 

Oh, and the credits aren't transferrable. If your kids go to the buffet, mom and dad can't use their credits instead.

 

So, next trip... we jump on the reservations system immediately and book our whole week. And try not to be the jerks who book the whole place and then never show up. Smile!

[mjkacmom]

We've cruised Carnival and Princess for years, and thought we knew what to expect on NCL. We were dismayed to find that most of the restaurants were booked up, making it difficult to use our 'free' dining credits. Also, all the shows were booked up by the time we realized that you need to pre-book.

 

Turns out, some guests book several dinner options for each night at the start of the cruise, so they always have options. There's no penalty for no-shows, so you can book a table in each restaurant if you want to, and then decide when you're hungry. (Perhaps NCL should put a limit on there somehow?)

 

When we (finally) got seated after waiting on stand-by for 45 minutes, half the dining room was empty. The hostess said they had to wait at least 15 minutes for a reservation to no-show before releasing their table.

 

Oh, and the credits aren't transferrable. If your kids go to the buffet, mom and dad can't use their credits instead.

 

So, next trip... we jump on the reservations system immediately and book our whole week. And try not to be the jerks who book the whole place and then never show up. Smile!

NCL’s system won’t let you book overlapping dining or show reservations. Ever since they started offering the dining perk, it is harder to get reservations. However, they hold more than half back so you can book as soon as you board. It’s rare not to get into a show if you wait on the standby line.

[Nebr.cruiser]

While not our favorite line, we've enjoyed our three cruises on NCL. We even did the same cruise on the Getaway twice, the second time for a big birthday for my sister.

 

We have not booked anything ahead of time either cruise and had zero trouble getting reservations. We either just showed up at the restaurant or show, or on the day of went either to the box office, one of the reservation screens around the ship or booked from our stateroom tv. I think we did book the Cirque show ahead because my sister wanted to do that on her birthday--but only a few days ahead.

 

We do prefer to eat later, so maybe that is why little to no wait. We did book the production shows/ broadway style show ahead of time, but also just walked in once. Loved Million Dollar Quartet so Much!

 

I guess if you are rigid about where or when you eat, it might not work, but we were always able to find somewhere and also enjoyed the MDR.

 

I do wish we could bring water on board, but instead I just brought several empty water bottles and filled them up and kept them in the fridge.

[CRUZERWANNABE]

I have not sailed NCL...yet, but have my first cruise booked on the Escape. I have however sailed on Carnival, HA, Princess and Celebrity and also have a RCI cruise booked. I have NEVER had a horrbile cruise, every cruise line has had some things that I find outstanding and then there are some things I didn't care for. We all have different wants and expectations for our cruises, what I wnat, someone else may not. That is why there are so many cruise lines that offer a different experiences. My HA cruise was probably the most sedate cruise I have ever taken, it seems like everything is shut down early, average age is much older, BUT there is so much else they do superbly. When I am older, this may be my line of choice. When we booked our NCL cruise and I started researching, I too was a bit taken aback that the specialty coffees and water were not included in the beverage package, but I did a little math and figured what I would spend , and even having to pay for them, my cruise was comparable in price or even less than other cruise lines I priced out for similar sailings. Why bash a cruise line? Just admit that line isn't for you and try another.

[Tatka]

Cruised with all mentioned lines. Princess is premium massmarket, and very nice.

Other two lines are very enjoyable too.

Try and decide for yourself.

[gwsster]

OP hasn't been back on, just a controversial subject to start a discussion. Most cruise lines are more alike than different. I have had good and a little less than good experiences on 4 different cruise lines. Each cruise is unique and you could take the same cruise twice and have totally different experiences. I personally have had mostly good experience with NCL but there have been a few clunkers. I can say there was bad dining experiences on my one Celebrity cruise. Princess was good and Disney the Best. It is all subjective. Go and find out for yourself and make the best of any situation.

[navybankerteacher]

One of the many elements contributing to an enjoyable cruise is the compatibility of the passenger mix. Of course, you might interact with just a dozen or so of other passengers on a cruise, but the odds of finding compatibility are slanted (one way or the other) depending upon the itinerary and the “typical” demographic attracted to the line.

 

I took one four day cruise on Carnival : never again! I have found the most interesting and engaging fellow passengers on Cunard trans-Atlantics and longer HAL itineraries - and the least on NCL - where I suppose the Free-style approach draws a different type.

 

What I find unfortunate is the present trend which seems aimed towards making all mass market lines more similar than individually distinct. At the end of the day, if all offer the same experience, there only needs to be one line - offering just huge ships.

[Donder1]

We have sailed on Princess(Platinum level),HAL, RCL,Viking. We went on our first NCL cruise on the Dawn out of Boston to Bermuda and was pleasantly surprised. Cabin was quite nice, great package deal with beverages, spec. restaurants, etc. Food and entertainment was a big surprise. Very nice, indeed.

Every ship has its positives and negatives. And, IMHO, Princess, HAL and NCL are comparable.

Viking Ocean and River are at a higher level, but so is the price tag :)

 

 

All and all, we liked NCL. However, the casino smoke and the "smoking lounge" right next to the casino made Deck 6 disgusting. For that reason alone, we would not likely choose NCL again unless they change their smoking policy.

[Wpooh1968]

I think we all have our own opinions and preferences. We have cruised on NCL 12 times and never problems with food quality, service or ANYTHING! That is why we prefer them. On the other hand, I would never cruise on Carnival because I'm not looking for a drunken frat party every day (my opinion). We are going on our first Princess cruise next Saturday.

Cruise comparisons are like comparing Saks to Wal-Mart....people want choices and choose what fits their style and/or budget.

[gooch47]

We have kinda crossed Royal Caribbean off our list. We are in our 70's and it seems more like an amusement park than a cruise ship to us.

 

Still love Princess especially with the perks we get by being Elite.

 

NCL is OK. Not anything we'd brag about. But we are going on the Breakaway this fall and that might change our perspective. We've only gone on the older, smaller NCL ships.

[bandjwayne]

We dislike traditional dining, one of the reasons we love NCL. We tried traditional on DCL, not our thing, we’ve never had to wait for a table of 7 on NCL no matter when we show up.

 

 

Funny, because we don't sail NCL for this reason. And the fact that we are comfortable on RCL and CCL. With that said, we by no means think they are inferior or not of the same quality, we just like our set dinning schedule. And we will always include NCL in our searches for any upcoming cruise. And this is the reason why they are all still in business, your preference may be different than mine, but we BOTH can chose the company of our choice, for our own reasons and we will BOTH have a wonderful time!!!

[mjkacmom]

Funny, because we don't sail NCL for this reason. And the fact that we are comfortable on RCL and CCL. With that said, we by no means think they are inferior or not of the same quality, we just like our set dinning schedule. And we will always include NCL in our searches for any upcoming cruise. And this is the reason why they are all still in business, your preference may be different than mine, but we BOTH can chose the company of our choice, for our own reasons and we will BOTH have a wonderful time!!!

And now that my kids are almost all grown, my feelings might change. I just remember how hard it was to get 5 young children ready for the first seating on port days, it was rough!