What is NCL known for?

[QT911]

Hey all, I just got back from my 1st Celebrity cruise (it was a 5 nighter on Infinity).

Now it got me wanting to explore more cruises with different lines.

What is NCL known for? For those who have cruised with Celebrity, how do they compare?

I enjoyed the service & food very much on Celebrity.

Casino was the least impressive part, and the ship was pretty much dead by midnight.

Is it similar for NCL?

[jskinsd]

Value, itinerary and customer service.  What more can you ask.

[fabby50]

They promote their "freestyle cruising" style.  It can be a very laid back cruise if you choose - no dressing up, no set dining times, etc.  You can schedule your dining and you can dress up, you just don't have to.  

[OCruisers]

Been on both Celebrity & NCL many times.

Later nights and more activity on NCL 

...but better food & service on Celebrity.  

[MusterDrill55]

pretzel rolls

[DaCruiseBug]

What is NCL known for? 

 

Fees for everything imaginable. I’m surprised they haven’t started charging for toilet paper onboard. 

 

Its really sad actually because NCL has a good product and enjoy sailing on NCL but there’s just some things that irritate me and I’m getting to the point where the nuisances are starting to outweigh the positives.

[Cheezus]

Cruises are generally much more similar than different overall.  I'd say NCL is known for their freestyle cruising, where you don't need dinner reservations. They also have the great waterfront on certain ships and a killer spa.  The casinos aren't the greatest and the pool areas are downright lousy/overcrowded.  But overall NCL has a very good product. 

 

I think if you are looking to venture out, check pricing for Royal, NCL, and Carnival for a given time and pick the best deal.  At least start there, then start drilling down the individual ships differences.  This forum is great for getting advice on that.

[newmexicoNita]

13 hours ago, QT911 said:

Hey all, I just got back from my 1st Celebrity cruise (it was a 5 nighter on Infinity).

Now it got me wanting to explore more cruises with different lines.

What is NCL known for? For those who have cruised with Celebrity, how do they compare?

I enjoyed the service & food very much on Celebrity.

Casino was the least impressive part, and the ship was pretty much dead by midnight.

Is it similar for NCL?

When I think of NCL I think of good to outstanding service 90% of the time: Lots of food choices, more than on most ships and great entertainment. As for the night life, I have past the stage in life where it makes much difference to us, so not an issue but certainly it is busier than Celebrity. Most ships have casinos that are not known for being generous with their money if that is what you are talking about. 

 

It is hard to compare Celebrity with NCL. A lot has to do with the individual ship Celebrity is considered a step above some of the cruise lines like NCL and RCI. We have sailed them 3 times: 1 outstanding experience, one, on par with most lines and the third time I can't think of many really positive things to say about the ship. I will add, that ship is long done. 

 

Will add one more thing and of course this is very subjective: Celebrity, though not as many choices does have the reputation as having better food. I do not agree but that is just me. 

[newmexicoNita]

4 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

What is NCL known for? 

 

Fees for everything imaginable. I’m surprised they haven’t started charging for toilet paper onboard. 

 

Its really sad actually because NCL has a good product and enjoy sailing on NCL but there’s just some things that irritate me and I’m getting to the point where the nuisances are starting to outweigh the positives.

Have to disagree with you on this one: what do you have to pay for that other lines do not charge for? We have gotten off the ships with almost not negative balance other than gratuities more times than not. well maybe a few charges, but certainly not many. Our granddaughter and her husband have done RCI twice in the past 2 years and that is their complaint about RCI as well: so don't think it is just one line. 

 

Cheezus: I totally agree about the pool areas. I don't care which NCL ship it is, they are overcrowded and the pools are small. This would be, probably my least favorite thing about NCL compared to most other lines. The service is one of my favorite part of NCL> 

[JamieLogical]

5 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

What is NCL known for? 

 

Fees for everything imaginable. I’m surprised they haven’t started charging for toilet paper onboard. 

 

Its really sad actually because NCL has a good product and enjoy sailing on NCL but there’s just some things that irritate me and I’m getting to the point where the nuisances are starting to outweigh the positives.

 

 

What are there additional fees for that you don't encounter on other lines? If you pre-pay your DSC, you can easily walk off the ship at the end of the cruise with a zero account balance.

[rhblake]

Because of their pool slides and rock climbing walls, NCL has significantly more children on board than Celebrity. Also NCL allows smoking in their casinos and the smoke and smell escapes into other passenger areas.

[fshagan]

We've only taken one cruise on X, on the Infinity, and it compares in size to the Jewel class ships on NCL. Overall, we prefer NCL for entertainment and dining convenience, but that one cruise was better than some of the cruises we've had on NCL. If price and itinerary are right we would take another X cruise.

 

NCL has the anytime / freestyle dining down pat, and does the best at it of any line we have been on. It was a mess on the Infinity, with at least 15 minute waits each time (and often 30 - 45 minutes). The dining room was crowded, with tables laid out in a cramped manner (waiters had to swing trays of food over your head to serve people in the table next to us). Breakfast was atrocious in the dining room on X, where it's always been acceptable on NCL, and we quit going after the second morning. For our one cruise, I would definitely give NCL the edge on the main dining room food and service. But that will vary from cruise to cruise.

 

On embarkation day, you have a choice of a main dining room, a pub-style restaurant called O'Sheehans, the buffet or the pool grill for lunch. X had the buffet and very poorly equipped pool grill (no water or coffee available; you had to get it from the buffet). I really missed having a sit down lunch to start our cruise, but as far as I know, NCL is one of the only lines to offer that much variety for the embarkation day lunch. 

 

NCL has a sail away party that is a lot of fun. Music and dancing on the pool deck. We find the night life much more active and with many more young people ("young" being the under 40's). 

[Trimone]

18 hours ago, QT911 said:

Hey all, I just got back from my 1st Celebrity cruise (it was a 5 nighter on Infinity).

Now it got me wanting to explore more cruises with different lines.

What is NCL known for? For those who have cruised with Celebrity, how do they compare?

I enjoyed the service & food very much on Celebrity.

Casino was the least impressive part, and the ship was pretty much dead by midnight.

Is it similar for NCL?

After celebrity you will very disappointed, if you want lively go to Carnival. NCL lets it’s self down with dress codes, it’s casual but some people take it to the extreme, and I’m afraid it lowers the standard. 

[bob brown]

Besides all that other's have already mentioned, I think NCL has some of the best entertainment at sea...full Broadway shows on larger ships, great music and comedy venues throughout, 'theme' parties every night...probably only RCi compares in this area...

 

In addition, for solo traveler's, no one else even comes close to NCL...besides the 'Studio' single cabins with their exclusive lounge on larger ships, they often will not charge a single supplement for any cabin, close to sailing date.

And every night at around 5:30 PM, they have a hosted solo get-together in a lounge, where a member of the cruise activites staff will make introduction's, conduct party games, provide signup sheets for group shore excursion's, sports activites, specialty dinner's, and other events.    At the end of the meeting...usually about a half hour or so, they will invite all not having other arrangements to join together for dinner in one of the main dining rooms, where they have some large tables reserved....

 

I have met so many new friends at these events....

 

 

[Cheezus]

1 hour ago, rhblake said:

Because of their pool slides and rock climbing walls, NCL has significantly more children on board than Celebrity. Also NCL allows smoking in their casinos and the smoke and smell escapes into other passenger areas.

 

Which NCL ship has a rock climbing wall? 

[AdGuyMG]

19 minutes ago, Cheezus said:

 

Which NCL ship has a rock climbing wall? 

Epic, Pearl, Gem, Getaway

[bob brown]

17 minutes ago, AdGuyMG said:

Epic, Pearl, Gem, Getaway

Breakaway, also....

[texastennis]

I'll second the person who said that having several restaurant options on embarkation day definitely sets NCL apart. Also, NCL's Jewel class ships have very nice spas, and wonderful garden cafes located aft on deck 12. This is one of my favorite locations for having a nice light meal while watching the wake. Additionally, passengers who do not have aft balconies can enjoy beautiful, unobstructed panoramic views of sunrises and sunsets from here.

[Barb Nahoumi]

6 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

 

What are there additional fees for that you don't encounter on other lines? If you pre-pay your DSC, you can easily walk off the ship at the end of the cruise with a zero account balance.

Especially on a Bermuda cruise, where you don't need to book excursions.   We are docked for 2 1/2 days, with plenty of time to tour on your own, using public transportation.

[cathi007]

2 hours ago, Trimone said:

After celebrity you will very disappointed, if you want lively go to Carnival. NCL lets it’s self down with dress codes, it’s casual but some people take it to the extreme, and I’m afraid it lowers the standard. 

I 100% disagree. I sailed Celebrity, RCI, CCL, and NCL. I enjoyed all of the cruises, but Celebrity was my least favorite. I was very bored, as the entertainment was not up to par with the other ships. The food was amazing, but the last NCL cruise I was on, the Gem, the food was equally amazing. I don't feel like the "standard" is lower on any cruise I have been on, cruises are costly, a lot of people can't afford cruises, or vacations for that matter. My only complaint about NCL is smoking in the casino, and I know they are working on that (Bliss). As far as people dressing "down" for dinner, I haven't seen anything crazy. Give another line a chance, NCL is the cruise line I sail most. Of course I am from Greenwich CT, so it's hard to beat the NYC port 🙂

[Kosi]

Lines! 

 

[cathi007]

2 minutes ago, Kosi said:

Lines! 

 

Knock on wood, I never waited in a line for anything on an NCL cruise....Although in Jan I will go on my forst mega ship, so that may change 🙂

[Cheezus]

8 minutes ago, cathi007 said:

Knock on wood, I never waited in a line for anything on an NCL cruise....Although in Jan I will go on my forst mega ship, so that may change 🙂

 

The big NCL ships have reservations. So still no lines. 

[Nola26]

NCL is known to have something for everyone and can be pretty laid back cruising experience:

• Kids & Teen clubs are loved by their audience, so much so I will have the family cruise talk with my nephew, he has to spend  some time with us not all at the teen club.
• Music especially on the larger ships there is live music performances in many places onboard, atrium, brew pub, wine bar, etc. some also love the dueling piano nights
• Cabins are not the largest, but are well thought out and very livable. The walk in showers with sliding doors seem to set NCL apart from some other lines
• Buffet quality of food, variety of food and set up for a pretty quick and clean dining experience, self serve soft ice cream
• Main dining rooms - different decors/ambiance, nice variety on the menu, we tend to put on a dress for dinner and since we eat as our party of 2-3 we aren't too impacted by how others dress for dinner
• Complimentary - apart form the MDRs and buffets NCL usually has an Asian and 24hr pub options too
• Specialty coffee, bakery and gelato places are usually for a fee, but some version of those items are at the buffet
• Specialty restaurants - many love and even rave about them, I like MDRs and spend my budget elsewhere
• Excursions - seems NCL may charge more for them, I usually take the ShorEx perk so mine cost less; when I sail solo this is worth $200-300 as I take and NCL excursion at each port and as my airport transfer; with my family of 3 I will likely book a cost effective excursion in a port, a more expensive treat and we'll do our own thing in another to help manage the costs (
• Service I have had really good customer service onboard NCL, even being surprised by a bottle of wine or chocolate covered strawberries in my cabin when I gave an opinion, not registering a complaint. A meal was different than I expected, not bad nothing done wrong so no need to complain, just go to the buffet and get something else, easy
• Casino - I always enjoy my time in the casino, but wished I'd win more, however I did win a $500 progressive and over 400 free games on two machines on the Escape so woo hoo; denominations usually have machines that you can play $0.30 a spin into the dollars, so from that standpoint you can manage a budget and still play. There were also hot seat promotions or just random free play awards too. 

As for fees that is one travelers view of their experience, I do not feel nickel and dimed by NCL.. I pay for my cruise in full before the trip, I even prepay my service charges. With the ShorEx promotion I pay for the excursions onboard after the credit is applied, but I know that amount and have that in my budget. The only other things I have on my bill are for onboard purchases at the stores, photos, games like Bingo (which I think is overpriced, but usually participate in once/cruise). We don't choose the drink package and sometimes my mother will have a glass of wine with our meal or selects a baked treat from the atrium cafe while participating in an activity there, both probably cost us $25 tops for the whole cruise.  There has been a time or two we decide to go to the casino before heading back to the room for cash so I charge $50 to the room and pay a $1.50 fee. We have used the complimentary continental breakfast feature but haven't paid the $7.95 for other room service meals or menu items (one fee per order, not pp). It's my vacation if I want to skip extras like Specialties that's my choice. If I'm OK paying $1.50 to avoid walking back to the cabin in the moment, that too is my choice and I love the Freestyle of NCL.

 

We are big fans of NCL and that's even from my mother who has sailed other lines. We have had balcony cabins on Getaway and Escape and insides on Sky and Dawn and soon the Pearl (unless my bid for an Oceanview is accepted).

 

Welcome Aboard NCL!

[PhillyTravelBug]

12 hours ago, newmexicoNita said:

 

Cheezus: I totally agree about the pool areas. I don't care which NCL ship it is, they are overcrowded and the pools are small. This would be, probably my least favorite thing about NCL compared to most other lines. The service is one of my favorite part of NCL> 

 

One thing that interests me about Celebrity is the real  grass lawns.  I am disappointed they are taking the lawn section away from the Joy.