NCL vs Princess

[pmjnh]

I have sailed HAL , Princess and RCCL.

 

Now looking at a Baltic cruise (adults , no kids) . Both NCL and Princess have similar itineraries, but I have read some pretty negative reviews about the NCL Jade.The Princess ship is the Island.

 

Its been 7 years since my last Princess cruise on the Coral . We loved the Coral. 

 

Have you experienced both the Island Princess and the NCL Jade?   Is there a comparison?

Thanks

[Capt_BJ]

hmmmmm

 

Arby's vs Outback Steakhouse is what I'd say ..... NCL vs Princess (today)

[SantaFeFan]

Princess is what I would chose. They are a more sedate and adult orientated cruise experience than NCL. Although NCL can be fun, they cater more to families and have more activities and attractions geared towards kids, plus the food choices and quality are a bit more mainstream and so-so than Princess. NCL does have the edge on entertainment, however. Princess can be fun for families as well, but much of the entertainment and amenity choices would be more enjoyable for adults than kids.  

 

So it depends on what you are wanting with your cruise. If you looking for a more adult focused experience, choose Princess. If you wanting a more family focused experience, choose NCL.

 

Also, NCL promotes themselves as a lower cost choice in cruise lines. In my experience, it shows. As the saying goes, "You get what you pay for". 

Edited February 25, 2019 by SantaFeFan

[Cruisercl]

I have been both cruise lines and both ships.

I would take NCL but that is my preference for type of cruising.

We call Princess the 'vanilla' cruise line. Not much variety in things to do and the last time the quality of food had deteriorated. Now I realize that food is very subjective so my opinion probably shouldn't  matter.  That said the food on NCL is the same as Princess, IMHO.

The cruisers on Princess also tend to be elderly and sedate; not sure what you are looking for.

IMO, in regards to cost, Princess is very over priced to pay for vanilla. 😊

Good luck with your choice.....

 

 

 

 

[PTMary]

1 hour ago, Cruisercl said:

I have been both cruise lines and both ships.

I would take NCL but that is my preference for type of cruising.

We call Princess the 'vanilla' cruise line. Not much variety in things to do and the last time the quality of food had deteriorated. Now I realize that food is very subjective so my opinion probably shouldn't  matter.  That said the food on NCL is the same as Princess, IMHO.

The cruisers on Princess also tend to be elderly and sedate; not sure what you are looking for.

IMO, in regards to cost, Princess is very over priced to pay for vanilla. 😊

Good luck with your choice.....

 

And NCL is also very over priced considering that decent food is only available at up-charge dining venues. What we endured in the buffet and the included-with-base-fare dining venues two years ago was shameful. 

 

If you look up the phrase "nickle and dime" in the dictionary, there is a photo of an NCL ship. 😁

[navybankerteacher]

18 minutes ago, PTMary said:

 

And NCL is also very over priced considering that decent food is only available at up-charge dining venues. What we endured in the buffet and the included-with-base-fare dining venues two years ago was shameful. 

 

If you look up the phrase "nickle and dime" in the dictionary, there is a photo of an NCL ship. 😁

My experience as well.

[Cruisercl]

7 hours ago, PTMary said:

 

And NCL is also very over priced considering that decent food is only available at up-charge dining venues. What we endured in the buffet and the included-with-base-fare dining venues two years ago was shameful. 

 

If you look up the phrase "nickle and dime" in the dictionary, there is a photo of an NCL ship. 😁

I have had 'shameful' food on every cruise line I have been on, even in the up-charge venues; I did say food was subjective. There is always something to eat; we do not expect gourmet level food on a mainstream cruiseline.

The vanilla comment was made because we thought there was not much to do on sea days and what was offered was weak entertainment, again subjective.

ALL mainstream cruise lines charge extra for things. In fact the first up-charge restaurant we ever went to while cruising was on Princess. We had never run across that before.

When we cruise on NCL we usually do not have anything on our ship bill so we do not believe we need to buy extra things to have fun.

Safe sailing!😊

[pmjnh]

Great responses and very helpful, thanks so much. How about customer service? What are your experiences with NCL's customer service? That was mentioned as poor on many reviews. 

 

 

 

 

[Aquahound]

30 minutes ago, pmjnh said:

Great responses and very helpful, thanks so much. How about customer service? What are your experiences with NCL's customer service? That was mentioned as poor on many reviews. 

 

In my experience, the service is much better on Princess.  I can only remember a couple cruises where service was atrocious and both of those cruises happen to be NCL (Dawn and Sky).  

 

I also agree with the earlier comments about food.  In my opinion, NCL has the worst free food in the cruising business.  

[Itchy&Scratchy]

9 hours ago, PTMary said:

 

And NCL is also very over priced considering that decent food is only available at up-charge dining venues. What we endured in the buffet and the included-with-base-fare dining venues two years ago was shameful. 

 

If you look up the phrase "nickle and dime" in the dictionary, there is a photo of an NCL ship. 😁

for us it was much more recent... and I agree. The food was fast food quality. It wasn't even as good as Longhorn steakhouse.

[travelnap]

pmjnh, I would take some of the posts with a grain of salt, as there are a couple of posters who do nothing but slam NCL at every opportunity.  I have sailed on most of the mass market lines and have found them to be more similar than different.  As others have stated food is subjective, so what one person enjoys, another person may not.  I was on the Jade last November and December and I thought the food was some of the best that I had had on any cruise ship, and that was the free food as others call it.  As far as service, I have had excellent service on almost every cruise that I have taken.  Yes, some are better than others, but in my opinion the staff are much friendlier on HAL and NCL than they are on Princess or Celebrity.  There was nothing wrong with the service on Princess of Celebrity, but the staff did not seem overly friendly.  I am not high maintenance or expect a lot, but it is nice when you see a smile and a greeting when you interact with the staff.  I think you will be fine with either ship, I would just pick whichever itinerary seems better to you, and just enjoy the cruise.  Happy Sailing.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We like both and have had good experiences on both.  Really, to us the food is not all that different and we seldom dine in specialty restaurants.  We like the entertainment on NCL much better than most cruise lines, but enjoy Princess offerings too, especially MUTS at night.  IMO saying the food offerings on either cruise line are like fast food is laughable.  Sure, there are always some offerings that are not for us, but that happens everywhere.

 

Our worst MDR food recently was on Celebrity, of all things.

 

We seldom buy any of the extra charge things on any cruise line, so that really doesn't factor in. If we did do the beverage packages, then NCL would not be our pick, due to the service charges for drinks not being included.

 

I have had great and friendly service on both lines.  NCL probably has a younger crowd generally (we are over 70), but in Northern Europe on a longer cruise, maybe not so much.  

[flamomo]

 If you liked the Coral Princess, you should also like the Island, as they are sister ships. I was told long ago that they are what are called Panamax ships, as they were designed to fit thru the original Panama Canal lanes.

I cruise with Princess exclusively (with one brief exception), having fallen in love with how well Princess cares for their passengers back in 2004, with my first ever cruise, which was aboard the Coral Princess. In the intervening years, I have cruise with Princess well over 40 times, and have 3 more cruises booked for this year. 

Edited February 25, 2019 by flamomo

[SantaFeFan]

5 hours ago, travelnap said:

pmjnh, I would take some of the posts with a grain of salt, as there are a couple of posters who do nothing but slam NCL at every opportunity.

 

Sorry that you are so annoyed at people describing their negative experiences with you favorite cruise line. Some of us actually prefer to cruise on lines we like and stay away from those we have had disappointing experiences with. If you can't tolerate people having different opinions than you do, perhaps you should not read these threads? 

Edited February 25, 2019 by SantaFeFan

[travelnap]

23 minutes ago, SantaFeFan said:

 

Sorry that you are so annoyed at people describing their negative experiences with you favorite cruise line. Some of us actually prefer to cruise on lines we like and stay away from those we have had disappointing experiences with. If you can't tolerate people having different opinions than you do, perhaps you should not read these threads? 

I am not annoyed by any cruiser posting to any CC forum, I just try not to be negative about any cruise line.  I was not referring to you with my post, so I am sorry that you took it personal.  If I had to pick a favorite cruise line I would probably go with HAL, so no, I am not an NCL cheer leader.  I just wanted to let the OP know that other people have different opinions and that each line has the cheerleaders and also those who do nothing but trash the line.  I also take the cheer leaders posts with a grain of salt when I read them.  Sorry this upset you so much.

[Aquahound]

7 hours ago, travelnap said:

pmjnh, I would take some of the posts with a grain of salt, as there are a couple of posters who do nothing but slam NCL at every opportunity.  

 

If I'm one of those "couple of posters," let me just say, my comments about NCL are based on my actual experience.  You can see from my signature, I'll cruise just about any line and I have no real loyalty to any of them.  

 

I cruised Sky and it sucked.  One of my all time worst cruises.   I tried it again only because they had an unbelievable deal on balconies...something like $99.  Again, it sucked and I knew never to book that ship again.  But I wasn't totally done with NCL.  I then tried Dawn.  Totally regretted it.  Service was the worst I ever experienced on a cruise, and I did not like the ship.  Add another ship I'll never book again.

 

But because I never totally swear off a line, I later tried Escape.  I really enjoyed that cruise and I would happily book it again....although the free food was still awful.  Good thing I had a dining package.  That said, because of my other experiences, I'll never book a NCL ship older than Breakaway.  

 

Truth be told, I'm not the biggest Princess fan either.  I think their ships are crowded and extremely dated.  But I still recommend them over NCL.  

[pacruise804]

I've only had one Princess cruise (Regal 2017 to Saint John and Halifax) and one NCL (either Breakaway or Getaway - something with "away" in the name - 2016 Western Caribbean), so my opinion might not have much weight.

 

I'm mid 40's and felt slightly on the older end on NCL and definitely younger end on Princess (but tend to fit in better with the older crowd).  We had dining table mates in their 50's/60's that loved how quiet Princess was and another couple in their 60's we met at one of the bars who couldn't wait to get back to Carnival because Princess was too quiet.  We were able to find entertainment when we wanted it, and sometimes NCL was too party of a vibe for us.

 

Overall the service was much better for us on Princess, but NCL did have a few nice touches.  Mostly I felt NCL was disinterested and inconvenienced by us rather than welcoming and wanting to serve us.  Princess had a few misses, but generally were very welcoming.

 

I found food better on Princess.  NCL had many more misses than wins, and Princess had more wins than misses.

 

Either way you are on a cruise, and it sounds like a more port based cruise than ship based so I don't know if there is a truly bad choice.

[PTMary]

13 hours ago, Cruisercl said:

...... we do not expect gourmet level food on a mainstream cruiseline......

 

Well, depends on the cruise line. I have had very good to excellent food in the MDR on several cruise lines, and some gourmet quality meals in some specialty restaurants. But not NCL. Even the up-charge dining was below the quality levels of other lines, even compared to some MDRs.

 

At a minimum, the food should at least be tasteful and worth eating. What we experienced was anything but tasteful and worth eating. I'll eat just about anything, but rarely does my husband send food back or just pushes it away. I lost count how many times he did that on our NCL cruise. And he isn't a gourmet type person. He just likes food to taste decent and be of reasonable quality. We are on vacation after all, not a survival exercise where the taste of the food doesn't matter as much as staying alive. 😁

 

Sorry if this ruffles the feathers of the NCL fans out there, but these were some of our disappointing experiences. We see no reason to repeat them with better cruise line choices out there.

Edited February 26, 2019 by PTMary

[Cruisercl]

No offense, you are only expressing your opinion.

Totally agree, there are cruise lines we will not take and others that are next at the bottom of the list. Princess is that for us, no offense. It isn't  just about the food. The whole thing is not for us. IMHO. ☺

[need2cruisesoon]

13 hours ago, Aquahound said:

 

In my experience, the service is much better on Princess.  I can only remember a couple cruises where service was atrocious and both of those cruises happen to be NCL (Dawn and Sky).  

 

I also agree with the earlier comments about food.  In my opinion, NCL has the worst free food in the cruising business.  

We were on the Bliss (yes new ship) but the MDR dining was very good.

Edited February 26, 2019 by need2cruisesoon

[pris993]

I have cruised both Princess (26 times) and NCL (4) - over 60 cruises on 9 different lines.  I would say no comparison between Princess and NCL.  Unless the fare on the NCL cruises is a lot lower I would go with Princess.  the Island has been remodeled and not the same as the Coral from what I read.  

 

We went on the Jade a few years back, did an 11 day Mediterranean... eat in the MDR only on the first day, the service so was bad we never went back... the food was so so, so did not motivate us to eat in the extra  fee dining rooms on board... we elected to stick with buffet, we actually went and made our own salad and sandwich from the salad bar each day... that was fine by us... other hot buffet items were more like comfort food items.    Cabins were nice, entertain okay... the price was cheat so we felt we got what we paid for... 

[Cruzaholic41]

I recently completed my 200th cruise. I don’t even know how many lines I’ve sailed. I say that not to brag but only to emphasize my experience on various lines. Princess was my favorite line for a long time and is still a line I enjoy.  They are a solid product in the mass market industry. 

 

NCL is like 2 different lines - pre Breakaway and post Breakaway. I don’t recommend pre Breakaway ships. 

 

I’ve cruised Island and Jade. While Island is not my favorite Princess ship, she is a sister to Coral, which you enjoyed. 

 

I did not like Jade. Those older NCL ships look and feel cheap. As others said, NCL has a reputation for bad service and bad food. I can’t argue it. I happen to agree. 

 

All things considered, I think you should book Island. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

12 hours ago, PTMary said:

 

Well, depends on the cruise line. I have had very good to excellent food in the MDR on several cruise lines, and some gourmet quality meals in some specialty restaurants. But not NCL. Even the up-charge dining was below the quality levels of other lines, even compared to some MDRs.

 

At a minimum, the food should at least be tasteful and worth eating. What we experienced was anything but tasteful and worth eating. I'll eat just about anything, but rarely does my husband send food back or just pushes it away. I lost count how many times he did that on our NCL cruise. And he isn't a gourmet type person. He just likes food to taste decent and be of reasonable quality. We are on vacation after all, not a survival exercise where the taste of the food doesn't matter as much as staying alive. 😁

 

Sorry if this ruffles the feathers of the NCL fans out there, but these were some of our disappointing experiences. We see no reason to repeat them with better cruise line choices out there.

that's exactly what our experience with food was on NCL. Add to that excruciatingly s----l----o----w MDR service, and boom - we are off to the buffet. Not that it had great or good food in it, except for desserts. Our Getaway cruise was the very first cruise in our cruising history when we actually went to the buffet instead of MDR for dinner. We'd never done that prior to sailing on Norwegian... That's how bad MDR food was - cold, oversalted, dry, tasteless, sauce-less, wilted, etc. There were only a few items we enjoyed... For goodness sake, we ate a ton of french fries at the buffet, because most other items were so-so. But I gotta give them props for their french and curly fries - they were the best. But I don't cruise to eat french fries - that was our lowest point in terms of dining...

 

Princess food is by far more superior. And so far we've only had impeccable service in MDR.

 

But in terms of nightly entertainment NCL was top notch, while Princess was lacking and somewhat boring.

And in terms of family activities Norwegian Getaway shined quite brightly compared to Princess ships AND Norwegian Jade.

 

The smoke smell on both Norwegian ships was overwhelming - even outside of smoking areas. We couldn't enjoy any of the free specialty restaurants because the area was stinky.

 

So, you lose some, you get some.... We like Princess for food and smoke-free common areas and the beautiful ships, but we enjoyed Norwegian's and RCI's entertainment and family activities a lot more. We were extremely disappointed when Jade broke down on day 3 of our cruise, because we were looking forward to a fabulous itinerary (we are tired of Princess's same old ports of call)....

Edited February 26, 2019 by Itchy&Scratchy

[EasyGoingGuy]

FWIW... as you can see by my signature I've sailed on NCL more than any other line, not a lot, just more. That said, of the ones I've sailed, NCL is the one I won't use again. In 1994 on our 1st cruise the food, service and amenities (midnight buffets every night...) were top notch. So, for over 20+ years, I've seen 1st hand the progression of NCL...down in all categories.  As always you get what you pay for but I believe NCL is one of the worst at the old nickle-and-diming thing coupled with a poor product. I've never sailed on Princess so I really can't fairly answer your question, but hope this helps some.  As an aside, you would shudder now for what we paid for a porthole cabin (in 1994 dollars) then for 4 nights vs. a nice cabin now on say Celebrity for a week.  

[marco]

21 cruises on Princess, 1 on NCL.  My biggest disappoint with NCL is the "anytime dining", and that being the only  option.  No matter what time we wanted to go to dinner, we always got a beeper and a couple of times the wait was 45 minutes.