Pros and Cons for Norwegian

[MNcruisingcouple]

My DH and I have been on 9 cruises with NCL and have 3 more booked this year.  This is our personal experience and recommendations. 

 

Always price out your various options: sail away (no perks, can't chose room), inside with perk(s), balcony (often all the perks) and on up.  Decide for yourself what is the best value for you personally.  For us, the beverage and dining package are often worth the price difference.  For others we travel with, the 3rd and 4th person free is important.  We don't feel like the Haven is worth it for us.  We'd rather take two cruises instead of one in the Haven.  

 

Upon embarkation, go to the dining room that is open for lunch.  It is much more relaxed than the hordes at the buffet.  The staff that greats you upon entering the ship often tries to direct you to the buffet, don't be fooled into thinking that is your only option.  When you are finished with lunch, walk around the ship to understand the layout and "get your bearings".

 

We feel like service in the dining rooms can be slow and disjointed.  Slowness isn't a deal breaker for us but it can really frustrate some people.  We found this especially true at the MDRs on the Breakaway in January.  However, we had a group of nine, so we understand it does take longer with a group.  You may have a different experience with a smaller group.  On this specific cruise, the specialty restaurants were actually quicker than the MDR.  If you do have a group and you didn't pre-book specialty dining, do so as soon as you embark.  Our favorite specialty dining venues are LeBistro, Cagneys and LaCucina.  We've seen an improvement in LaCucina in our last few experiences.  We really like O'Sheehan's for breakfast and snacks. 

 

Make use of the laundry special, fill a bag for $20, offered at least once during the cruise.  Ask you room steward what day it is offered, if you don't receive a flyer. 

 

Any other questions, feel free to ask.  My top recommendation for any travel is always "do your research", which it seems like you are doing!

[graphicguy]

Don’t want to hijack this thread as it is about NCL.  I believe NCL does FreeStyle extremely well....especially compared to Royal’s MyTime.  I know the last 3 cruises I’ve done with Royal, they’ve tried to do the “Freestyle/MyTime” dining thing.

 

But, the first one, my (then) GF and I waited 30 minutes + before we were seated.  Even at that, the service was slow.  The last time we tried MyTime dining, we waited 20 minutes until I went to the hostess to ask how much longer it would be before we were seated.  She curtly informed us that most made reservations.  We were the exception.  And, that we should expect a wait, as a result. 

 

That was all my GF would put up with and she was ready to “inform” the hostess that MyTime was anything but.....

 

I ended up taking the GF to Sorrento’s for pizza instead.  Her reply....”we dressed up for bad pizza?”.

 

Point being, NCL does it better...much better.  But, if you want to make reservations with Royal, according to our Hostess, that’s the way to go.

[GA Dave]

16 hours ago, travelling_txgal said:

Thanks for the responses. We are considering a balcony or a suite. We received a quote on a balcony in the BX category (not sure what that is yet).

Another question, are there any hidden costs we should expect to incur? We know about gratuity, taxes, insurance, etc. I am meaning more along the lines of food and entertainment. Is it all inclusive or will we pay more for specialty restaurants and events?  

As someone with recent experience on the Getaway for a Caribbean cruise, the one thing I can tell you is to watch the prices like a hawk.  We had booked a mini-suite with large balcony (M6) about a year out, and I had bid on several Haven level options when the offer came.  I checked prices everyday on NCL.com, as I noticed that the ship was not selling very quickly.  Just over (60) days out, the prices on the Haven Courtyard Penthouse Suites dropped over $500pp overnight.  I quickly called and re-booked a perfect location on deck 16 for less than I had bid for the room.  Since it was a direct booking, they added the rest of the perks, including additional OBC that reduced the cost even more.  The Haven experience was, in our opinion, absolutely wonderful and we will now only cruise that way in the future.  We even have the same exact cabin on the Getaway booked for our Med cruise next year!

[jhawknj]

Mine is kind of a one sided opinion  I have only cruised NCL starting back in 2001 they were the first with the freestyle concept and that is what hooked me. Now every line is trying to do some form of it. Now my Aunt is a Carnival person and from what I have heard from her and read it is way to much of a party boat for me. I prefer a vacation at my own pace. I even attended the Art Auction and brought a few pieces when it was lower price point. As far as specialty dining I do see the price increase but I still like the deal you can always pick it as your perk if you are in the right level cabin for 3 meals on a 7 day sailing. The food In the MDRs to me was very good and I never seen any wild over the top party people acting out on the cruise. so I like NCL as my Aunt keeps trying to get me to change. 

[travelling_txgal]

I appreciate everyone's feedback. I do have a few more questions (I know, I know but I am really trying to make a smart, informed decision). Can someone explain the "bid" process? I am not too familiar with that. I also don't like the idea of not being able to choose my room (something I have done with Carnival through an agent). 

Also, if I book a balcony, I get all the perks? what does that consist of? 

The things that are most important to us are first of all price (although this trip we have a little wiggle room thanks to some extra funds), room choice (have only balcony rooms and don't really want to get anything smaller), and extras such as onboard credits, priority boarding, etc. 

[MNcruisingcouple]

30 minutes ago, travelling_txgal said:

I appreciate everyone's feedback. I do have a few more questions (I know, I know but I am really trying to make a smart, informed decision). Can someone explain the "bid" process? I am not too familiar with that. I also don't like the idea of not being able to choose my room (something I have done with Carnival through an agent). 

Also, if I book a balcony, I get all the perks? what does that consist of? 

The things that are most important to us are first of all price (although this trip we have a little wiggle room thanks to some extra funds), room choice (have only balcony rooms and don't really want to get anything smaller), and extras such as onboard credits, priority boarding, etc. 

 

Bidding- Several weeks out from your cruise (maybe someone else knows specifically how long), you will get an email from NCL about bidding for an upgraded room.  You can choose how much more you are willing to pay per person on several different categories.  You don't have to bid and there is no guarantee that your bid will be accepted.  You only get the perks you booked with initially.

 

Sail away rate or a guaranteed room are the only options that wouldn't allow you to chose your stateroom.  

 

It depends on the current promo as to how many perks you get with each room category.  Right now, balcony rooms on select sailings receive all the perks.  See this link for more details  https://www.ncl.com/cruise-deals/choice?intcmp=pro_hpb_TAKEALLAIR0719  

[LeesaB]

The bidding process is where people get to "fight" over cabins that are unfilled.  You can place a bid on a cabin up to 2 levels above you (so, balcony can bid on mini-suite or Haven but inside can only bid on oceanview or balcony).  You don't get to choose your room here, and you keep whatever promos you had with your original booking.  I prefer to pick my room because I'm super anal about some things so I'm not overly interested in the bidding process.

 

The perks are whatever promo NCL is running at the moment.  Right now it's "take all AND free airfare"... sometimes.  You'll see what's available if you do a mock booking for when you'd like to travel.  Some promos are better than others.  If you drink alcohol or like the idea of dining in specialty restaurants, then those two promos are good options.  You do have to pay a 20% gratuity for the total value of the package.  So it's roughly $180 for the beverage package or $20 for the 3-meal dining package... not a true amount, just my extremely rough guesstimate based on what I remember the package prices are.  My husband must remain connected to the internet on the regular so the internet package is good for us... we use the value of it to upgrade to an unlimited package.  The shore excursion credit is one that most people "pffft!" at on here because they don't like to do ship excursions.  I happened to book when I got all promotions AND an additional $50 shore excursion credit per port so that makes it more enticing for my upcoming trip.  The airfare I'm sure some people have good experience with but for me it's always been cheaper to get my own than pay their upcharge - what happens when your closest airport is small I suppose.

 

AND MN beat me to it!  Good luck - I really enjoy NCL.

Edited July 9, 2019 by LeesaB

[ppcox]

7 hours ago, Peachypooh said:

We have cruised on HomeLines, (now defunct) Celebrity, Royal and NCL. What makes NCL

stand out is the informality of it. My husband loves that. He says it is similar to a land

based vacation with none of the regimentation of some other lines.

Couldn’t agree more exactly our reasons. Will be our 8th NCL cruise in September can’t see us trying another line again anytime soon.

[Montanagirlalways]

I would recommend checking to make sure the ship isn’t scheduled for dry dock after your cruise. Just another thing I have recently learned about cruising. Because if the ship is scheduled for dry dock overhaul they might start repairs on the last cruise and even decide to cut that cruise short a few days and not tell u till like a week before the cruise-unfortunately I had that experience. Could be standard across the lines but beware. 

[chipmaster]

Recently done NCL first time so Carnival "checked"   Princes "checked"  Disney "checked"      for us all about the Ports first and foremost then cruise line, why is there never an Apple-Apple line up of ports and dates, LOL.

 

Carnival the live up to their marketing, fun and more value focused, found the sell on fun a bit over the top from parties, to entertainment to drinks in your face, you get the fun value seeking crowd on deck, in the buffet, in the bars well everywhere, LOL.

 

Disney: nuf said

 

Princess:  as some mid 50's have found this choice one, better overall experience than all but the Mouse line.  Still hoping to sample RCCL if ports and time match up.  

 

NCL:   We loved what appeared to be the larger cabin, low sell, the option resturants were good, main dining room IMHO the worst of the bunch.   Entertainment average to below average compared to the others we sailed.   

 

Others have said no wait for dining, that only seemed to be at opening, when we left ( we eat early ) the dining hall was full and they were handing out pagers ( overheard 20' or more waiting )    Frankly believe dining seating ratio to passengers is similar on lines, comes down to time and how many are buffet grazers that ease the wait, in the end everyone eats and eats too much!

Edited July 10, 2019 by chipmaster

[tanyaewa]

I have also been fortunate enough to do several cruises on the major lines.

 

One of the things that folks rarely talk about - but is very important to me and one of the reasons I truly loved my NCL cruise and we are booked for another - is the aesthetic.  Decor and furnishings are very important to me.  I prefer new modern decor and modern lighting.  Strangely - even the newest ships of the others lines I’ve sailed are more “stately” and slightly overdone traditional.  I honestly find the older carnival ships laughable in their decor.  I’ve been on 3 Princess ships in the past year and while they aren’t offensive, they are certainly not my style. 

 

So... I choose my cruise based on itinerary, price and the fact that I like to go on different ships for different experiences.  But I’m excited about the NCL design & decor for our October cruise.  They all have a different style.  Sort of like land based hotel chains.

[tap_out]

20 minutes ago, tanyaewa said:

I have also been fortunate enough to do several cruises on the major lines.

 

One of the things that folks rarely talk about - but is very important to me and one of the reasons I truly loved my NCL cruise and we are booked for another - is the aesthetic.  Decor and furnishings are very important to me.  I prefer new modern decor and modern lighting.  Strangely - even the newest ships of the others lines I’ve sailed are more “stately” and slightly overdone traditional.  I honestly find the older carnival ships laughable in their decor.  I’ve been on 3 Princess ships in the past year and while they aren’t offensive, they are certainly not my style. 

 

So... I choose my cruise based on itinerary, price and the fact that I like to go on different ships for different experiences.  But I’m excited about the NCL design & decor for our October cruise.  They all have a different style.  Sort of like land based hotel chains.

Couldn't agree with you more. Been on the newest and biggest on rc and carnival and honestly ncl is the most tasteful decorated of the bunch. Getaway our only ncl sailing and an upcoming on the escape. 

 

Hard to believe but I found ncl a step down on entertainment and food. Honestly carnival works for us and after 13 cruises it's the product I like. Given a good deal I will sail any line, hence our upcoming August cruise on the escape. I Will add I do love howl at the moon and if your a late night drinker ncl is a happening ship after hours. The breakaway class also has the most terribly designed pool deck of any mega ship. 

 

I see allot of people claiming ncl is the only one to really nail down freestyle. I disagree. Carnival in my opinion does it just as good if not better. The implantation of the hub app for atd check in is wonderful. That on top of not having to book shows ahead of time  equals a win. Will agree rc is still geared towards the more traditional cruising. Which I'm sure as we get older we might give another shot. 

 

At 35 with a 3 year old son it comes down to convenience for us and Ncl having a great ship in ny is a huge plus, 

[tanyaewa]

11 minutes ago, tap_out said:

Couldn't agree with you more. Been on the newest and biggest on rc and carnival and honestly ncl is the most tasteful decorated of the bunch. Getaway our only ncl sailing and an upcoming on the escape. 

 

Hard to believe but I found ncl a step down on entertainment and food. Honestly carnival works for us and after 13 cruises it's the product I like. Given a good deal I will sail any line, hence our upcoming August cruise on the escape. I Will add I do love howl at the moon and if your a late night drinker ncl is a happening ship after hours. The breakaway class also has the most terribly designed pool deck of any mega ship. 

 

I see allot of people claiming ncl is the only one to really nail down freestyle. I disagree. Carnival in my opinion does it just as good if not better. The implantation of the hub app for atd check in is wonderful. That on top of not having to book shows ahead of time  equals a win. Will agree rc is still geared towards the more traditional cruising. Which I'm sure as we get older we might give another shot. 

 

At 35 with a 3 year old son it comes down to convenience for us and Ncl having a great ship in ny is a huge plus, 

I really enjoyed Carnival as well.  My husband insists it had the best food and I enjoyed the fun ship aspects but I could NOT get over the tacky decor.  Hoping to try out one of their newest ships soon.

[tap_out]

27 minutes ago, tanyaewa said:

I really enjoyed Carnival as well.  My husband insists it had the best food and I enjoyed the fun ship aspects but I could NOT get over the tacky decor.  Hoping to try out one of their newest ships soon.

Again I'm with you on this. Although one of our best cruises was on the old triumph. Breeze and the new vista classes are much better. If you do vista Havana is a must though

[Nola26]

I have not sailed Carnival and have no thoughts of ever doing so. My research and second hand accounts confirm that it wouldn't be a great fit for me.

 

I have sailed NCL 6 times with two more booked in the next 8 months. I sail solo or with 3 generations of family. NCL works for each scenario and person. 

 

What I we like

Teenager loved the teen club and range of activities. 

Adults love the range of entertainment all over the ship.

We love the variety of main dining room options as well as the pub and Asian options. 

Freestyle works for us, though I make some reservations, holidays, sea days and if we are managing dinner before a booked show.

24hr pub restaurant and late night buffet 

Quality of the ships and crew. My mother recently sailed with Carnival and while she thought the cruise Director was good she thought he didn't have sufficient staff.

Website or app to manage reservations. I primarily manage my account online.

Friendly phone agents. 

NCL excursion options are good and with the shore excursion perk a reasonable choice. 

Getting on and off the ships are generally smooth. Had poor experiences on the Pearl,  but that was an outlier.

Thermal suite tile loungers

Waterfront, made for napping 

 

Hard to pinpoint it but best I can say is I trust NCL. Vacations are pretty worry free. They've tried to make things right or better when really they weren't all that bad, exceed my expectations. 

I am a fair tipper, not big. We generally leave the room attendants extra at the end of the cruise because they have done something extra.

Upgrade bidding process can be a good deal.

 

FYI, I generally sail midship. inside when solo and balcony with family of 3, though we had an inside on the Bliss and it worked. 

 

Good luck with your choice.

[shukapaw]

We used to sail Carnival but did not care for the changes they made to their big showroom production shows. We left and have never looked back. We have sailed most of the major cruise lines and just completed a week on the Breakaway (Getaway's sister ship). Had a great time. In fact, we booked another week on her for next year.

 

The fare you referenced was a BX which is a balcony guarantee. This disqualifies you for the "freebies" which others have explained aren't free. You could pay a couple hundred more per person and choose a cabin and qualify for dining in three specialty restaurants, unlimited booze package, 250 Internet minutes and a pretty useless shore excursion credit. The cost of those "freebies" is $317. So, you'll pay $400 more for the cabin and $317 for the "freebies".

 

If I were you, I'd do that. I would hate to think I'd get assigned a cabin right below the pool deck or ????

 

Things I miss about Carnival:

• Comedy club with a new/different act every night. (NCL has a small club but very few shows and you have to make reservations very early or risk missing out)
• Guy's burgers ROCK! no equivalent on NCL.
• The ability to have assigned mealtime seating with a group of new people. Meeting new people at dinner and sharing daily adventures has always been a plus for me

The only real drawback to the design of ship itself is the lack of pools. Basically one pitifully undersized pool.

 

 

~Brian 

   

[Nola26]

If booking a guaranty cabin you are eligible for the perks. It is Sailaway that is not eligible for the perks. BX is a Sailaway rate. It would not qualify for the complimentary beverage package or any other perk.

 

We are sailing in a Guaranty balcony in 2 months. We have the Take All and the reduced airfare. 

[LUVINMYHUBS]

NCL food is far superior, especially desserts, IMO. We love cruising and like CCL, RCCL, And NCL for different reasone, but the desserts on NCL are pretty awesome!!

[4774Papa]

17 minutes ago, LUVINMYHUBS said:

NCL food is far superior, especially desserts, IMO. We love cruising and like CCL, RCCL, And NCL for different reasone, but the desserts on NCL are pretty awesome!!

We are more fond of the desserts on Celebrity than NCL.  I would rate NCL below both Celebrity and Royal C.

[KateQ22003]

26 minutes ago, LUVINMYHUBS said:

NCL food is far superior, especially desserts, IMO. We love cruising and like CCL, RCCL, And NCL for different reasone, but the desserts on NCL are pretty awesome!!

This is seriously the first time I have seen anyone praise NCL's desserts. To me, they are pretty awful except for a few. They all look good, but are usually tasteless.

[CruisingNole]

56 minutes ago, KateQ22003 said:

This is seriously the first time I have seen anyone praise NCL's desserts. To me, they are pretty awful except for a few. They all look good, but are usually tasteless.

 

I wouldn't say awful (because I have a sweet tooth) but yes, compared to other cruise lines, NCL's desserts are mediocre. 

[LUVINMYHUBS]

9 hours ago, KateQ22003 said:

This is seriously the first time I have seen anyone praise NCL's desserts. To me, they are pretty awful except for a few. They all look good, but are usually tasteless.

That's how I feel about CCL, with the exception of choc. melting cake... 🙂

[4774Papa]

17 hours ago, ronbe65 said:

Hi,

Each ship has its pros and cons. So pros and cons for the Getaway are not the same as for Breakaway or the Bliss.

Getaway pros:

Spa

Promenade decks

Specialty dining options

Water slides

Buffet

Shows

Single cabin option (on condition that prices are reasonable)

Getaway cons:

No free "serene sun deck" 

Narrow cabins

Inadequate pools

Class division in your face (no access to the font, crowded sun deck for a few thousands of non-Haven guests)

MDR food

 

Happy cruising!

Don't try to apply Marxism (Class warfare) to levels of cruising or travel.  It is like flying First Class,  you pay the piper, you get the benefits.  I have never felt like I am in steerage on any cruise ship.  We upgraded to a suite once and it was nice, but frankly, I would never pay for that again.  It just wasn't worth the cost to me.  

 

You mention crowded sun decks, that is one of my beefs about NCL's ship design.  Ships like the Star and Epic have very, very little sun space or space around the pool.  Even on the Sun and Dawn, it is not so great.  We find the ship design for Celebrity and Royal C are better.

 

NCL has just eliminated the benefit of the specialty dining, by jacking up its prices.

 

We still like NCL's entertainment.