NCL Carnival

[jcool]

I love Carnival. I am thinking about taking NCL. Tell me about NCL do they nickel and dime you on NCL. I am thinking about letting NCL pick my cabin what do you think about that is that a good idea or a bad idea? How is the food? I have a kid's appetite. My love one love filet mignon. 

[shof515]

i switch between carnival and ncl all the time and i do not notice the nickel and dime that much compare to carnival.

[Cruzaholic41]

Well I do notice it. In fact, I think NCL is the worst at nickel and diming. NCL blows Carnival away in some areas like entertainment, but I find them severely lacking in the dining room. It’s basically a line where specialty dining is a necessity. 

[BlerkOne]

NCL is the worst for nickle and diming.

[Illbcruzn4life]

48 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

NCL is the worst for nickle and diming.

 

I'm surprised you would say that. You always seem unbiased when comparing cruise lines.😏

[beerman2]

Have done 6 or 7 Carnival and 3 NCL. 

Carnival has more option for lunch ( Guy's, Blue Iquana, Pigs and Anchor).

Buffet lunches are what they are, very similar.

NCL has more options for Specialty Dining.

If you plan on drinking 5 or 6 drinks a day booking a cabin on NCL and paying the fee on the drink package is better than "paying" for Cheers.

The Waterfront on NCL is amazing IMO. 

You can only be " nickel and dimed" if you want, all cruise lines have added expenses. 

MDR are very similar, and rotate nightly. NCL like Carnival has 4-5 everyday entrees.

 

Food IS SO subjective, everyone's tastes varies.

[riffatsea]

Has NCL changed these days?? On our one and only NCL cruise the MDR food was terrible and the buffet felt like the cafeteria in my high school! The only good food was at the extra pay specialty restaurants where you had to make reservations each night.

We never tried NCL again after that cruise!

[sparks1093]

We would pick NCL only if the price were comparable to what CCL was charging. We think CCL's food is a little better but the entertainment is better on NCL. The last time we compared the two CCL was $2200 and NCL was $3600 for the same itinerary (and Royal was $1880 which is why we went with them😀.)

[elcuchio24]

We cruise both, like both. I agree you only get nickle and dimed if you want to be, which we usually dont. We eat at the MDR/Buffett for the most part and the food is great. Ships are beautiful. We cruise on NCL because they have better/more itineraries out of NYC. Also, when they have their 'specials' where you can get 3/4th passenger for free and free cocktails, etc, its a good value. We did an 8 night roundtrip balcony for 4, unlimited cocktails, out of NYC for $2600 last year. At that price, for me, paying for a specialty restaurant a couple times during the week is no different than going to the steakhouse on CCL.

 

OP--we did the balcony garantee on the sail I mentioned above---ended up with a very nice mid-ship on a middle deck.

[beerman2]

3 hours ago, riffatsea said:

Has NCL changed these days?? On our one and only NCL cruise the MDR food was terrible and the buffet felt like the cafeteria in my high school! The only good food was at the extra pay specialty restaurants where you had to make reservations each night.

We never tried NCL again after that cruise!

1 cruise on NCL? I've only been on 3 NCL but our MDR food has been good to very good. Same as our 6 Carnival cruises. There isn't /wasn't a whole lot of difference.

 

Our last cruise on the Bliss the MDR food/ Choices were very good.

 

All cruiselines buffets are what they are massed produced items and hit or miss. However there IS always something that tastes good. I will admit the lunch choices are Carnival are MUCH better.

[Cruzaholic41]

3 hours ago, riffatsea said:

Has NCL changed these days?? On our one and only NCL cruise the MDR food was terrible and the buffet felt like the cafeteria in my high school! The only good food was at the extra pay specialty restaurants where you had to make reservations each night.

We never tried NCL again after that cruise!

 

Nope. You are spot on.  I like cruising new ships, so I just returned from Bliss. As I said earlier, the entertainment blows Carnival away. But the food - it’s terrible. Worst in the business. 

[mizLORInj]

OP I suggest trying NCL out for yourself.   The couple times we did balcony guarantee we ended up in the front of the ship.   

 

I prefer NCL's food and entertainment over Carnival, but as you can see by the various opinions, it is subjective.   We have never gone hungry on a cruise.  😁

[jenmarie820]

We cruise NCL and Carnival. We just went on the NCL Getaway in February and had a wonderful trip. The ship was beautiful, we got the perk of free specialty dining and free drinks and had great meals and wonderful drinks all week. We love Carnival too. Honestly, for us, I find Carnival to be more expensive in the end. You may pay more upfront when it comes to adding the drink package fees and whatnot on NCL but we didn't have to worry about having a big bill at the end of our cruise which I really enjoy. I don't think you can go wrong either way. 

[TNcruising02]

I've cruised both.  I think NCL's theater shows are much better than Carnival's.  Also, I like their free perks (like beverage package, internet, etc) with the purchase of certain cabins.  Of course, they will add gratuity to the "free" beverage package, but it still ends up being a nice perk.  I like their grotto area.  It's a nice place to lounge.  Their deck parties are fun.  As far as nickel and diming, yes I feel like they do that.  If you want a case of water, internet, drinks or anything, it's VERY expensive.  Their game shows are usually in the middle of the ship on a lower deck and it gets packed.  At times we had to stand, which was no fun.

 

I think the food options on Carnival are much better.  Carnival's comedy shows are better.

[Stick93]

Chose the ship based on your schedule, length of cruise desired, ports and most importantly PRICE including the perks you get on NCL. You will be entertained, wined and dined on both - not to worry!

I used to search out Carnival and in the last year and then next two years it seems the other lines may be my vacation destination with a sprinkle of Carnival.

I have never been upset on a cruise!

[jcool]

Thanks everyone for your help. The ship we are thinking about is the Breakaway. I do not mind any cabin the only thing I am scared of is being over under the night club.  

[Aquahound]

16 hours ago, jcool said:

Thanks everyone for your help. The ship we are thinking about is the Breakaway. I do not mind any cabin the only thing I am scared of is being over under the night club.  

 

My most recent NCL cruise was on Breakaway's newer sister, Escape.  I think you'll love it. 

 

If your room is directly below Spice H2O, yes, you might hear some noise.  I've read several complaints from folks in those rooms.  Otherwise, Breakaway is a really nice class of ships.  The entertainment is much better than what I saw on Carnival. 

 

I do agree with some of the other sentiments expressed in this thread though.  I had the 3 night specialty dining plan and I pre-booked those restaurants.  The Waterfront is a pretty awesome venue.  But when we ate in the MDR, we immediately decided to eat specialty for the rest of the cruise.  It was horrible.  I can say with confidence it was the worst MDR meal I've ever had.  Booking specialty while on board is very problematic because it fills fast.  I recommend booking as much specialty as you're willing to pay for ahead of time. 

[buddylover]

23 hours ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

 

Nope. You are spot on.  I like cruising new ships, so I just returned from Bliss. As I said earlier, the entertainment blows Carnival away. But the food - it’s terrible. Worst in the business. 

I agree completely with your assessment.  Not only is NCL's food the worst in the few 'free' venues, but it is awful in their upcharge  restaurants which are plentiful.  NCL most certainly 'nickels and dimes' the pax far more than CCL.....it's why they call themselves "Freestyle".....meaning you can pick many different food venues, but at an extra fee/cost.....not our favorite cruise line.

[BlerkOne]

On 5/7/2019 at 1:08 AM, Illbcruzn4life said:

 

I'm surprised you would say that. You always seem unbiased when comparing cruise lines.😏

 

I am the epitome of an unbiased cruiser.

[InitialD]

After doing 10 Carnival cruises we did a 7 night on NCL and I don't think we will do another on NCL. It was good but it wasn't any better than Carnival, at a higher price too. I'm surprised you don't have to swipe a credit card to use the elevators on NCL tbh.

[Illbcruzn4life]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

 

I am the epitome of an unbiased cruiser.

In your eyes I am sure you believe that.

 

Have a great weekend.🙂👍

[sparks1093]

27 minutes ago, InitialD said:

I'm surprised you don't have to swipe a credit card to use the elevators on NCL tbh.

Oh geez, don't give Del Rio any ideas!🤣

[gilboman]

On 5/7/2019 at 1:18 AM, BlerkOne said:

NCL is the worst for nickle and diming.

you haven't been on Royal Caribbean lately have you?  everything is extra, at least NCL MDR and free food options are not bad and actually quite plentiful unlike RC.  popcorn for movie on deck? $5, not a single movie channel, even more limited TV options, everything is pay pay pay

 

 

Edited May 10, 2019 by gilboman

[Aquahound]

1 hour ago, gilboman said:

you haven't been on Royal Caribbean lately have you?  everything is extra, at least NCL MDR and free food options are not bad and actually quite plentiful unlike RC.  popcorn for movie on deck? $5, not a single movie channel, even more limited TV options, everything is pay pay pay

 

I've cruised RCI numerous times.  I'm still confident in saying NCL is the leader when it comes to NiCkeL and diming.  

[beerman2]

On 5/7/2019 at 1:18 AM, BlerkOne said:

NCL is the worst for nickle and diming.

Only if "you" allow it!

You can be nickel and dimed on all cruise lines!

 

The " nickel and dimed"  is an easy card to play, if you choose.