What's your favorite NCL ship (and/or class of ship)?

[The Traveling Man]

28 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

 

I'm not sure if you have seen this thread, but here it goes ....

 

 

 

Thanks for posting.  I must have missed this when it came out.  We were scheduled to sail on the Spirit in March 2020 from Cape Town to Singapore, then B2B to Tokyo.  Obviously that never happened.  Maybe we'll be able to get into the Spirit of things again someday.

[dexddd]

Definitely NOT Breakaway.  Escape nice.  Jewel Class nice.

 

Probably Spirit would be favorite.

[markwfpb]

I've been on Jewel (loved the ship size - not too small or big) as well as the Breakaway (loved the solo cabin and all the areas to explore in the bigger ship as I was on my own that trip). I've done a couple mid-sized ships on Princess, HAL and MSC.

 

Question on this topic - do the seas feel noticeably calmer/rougher on the various classes?

I'm assuming the bigger the ship, the calmer the ride. Or do the stabilizers even things out across the classes? (I realize the route, season and weather greatly affect this, of course)

[Sailing12Away]

1 hour ago, markwfpb said:

I've been on Jewel (loved the ship size - not too small or big) as well as the Breakaway (loved the solo cabin and all the areas to explore in the bigger ship as I was on my own that trip). I've done a couple mid-sized ships on Princess, HAL and MSC.

 

Question on this topic - do the seas feel noticeably calmer/rougher on the various classes?

I'm assuming the bigger the ship, the calmer the ride. Or do the stabilizers even things out across the classes? (I realize the route, season and weather greatly affect this, of course)

"Worst" trip we had in terms of feeling the motion of the ocean was on the Jade, but we were up high on deck 15. We were literally rolling back and forth in bed at night. That was the one trip where I was feeling a bit sea sick one day, never happened on any other trips.

 

POA we did the drunk walk a few nights, where you think you've had too many cocktails until you see all the other passengers doing the same funny drunk walk as you. But it didn't bother us - just found it silly and funny. Hubby felt sea sick one day on that trip, but that could have also been the 3+ hr long Cagneys dinner that did him in... 

[sverigecruiser]

I prefer the ships with Haven restaurant so Epic or newer.

 

The Haven lounge and restaurant on the Epic is very nice.

[lexxfield]

NCL Escape for multiple reasons.  The only thing missing is a Beatles tribute band.

Edited January 23, 2022 by lexxfield
Capitalization mistake

[ontheweb]

LOL, I hope the new Prima ship class as we have her booked in 2023, London (really Southampton) to Reykjavik). 

 

Of the cruises we have taken, only 2 have been on NCL. The first was on the Crown, which was not set up for freestyle and soon left the fleet. The second was on the Epic, much too large for my taste.

 

I will say for both of them, they both had much better entertainment than any other ship we cruised on.

[havanadaydreaming]

First was Escape, mainly to see Margaritaville At Sea (since removed)

 

Loved the Sky, went when it was all inclusive.  2nd time we sailed her we only had 1 port day (4 nt) and it was a little less exciting.  

 

Love the Epic.  Odd cabin restrooms dont bother us and i absolutely adore the aft tv screen.  I live in that back bar after sunset. 

[weltek]

Classes currently in operation that I've sailed with NCL, ranked favorite to least:

 

Breakaway plus: Escape-Waterfront, Food Republic, Pincho Tapas Bar, Spice H20 and District Brewhouse for the win! They also have some good balcony options between the standard and large aft price points. Even at the standard price point, you can find a few angled balconies that give you a hair more space. Ropes course was also really fun for me. And the Manhattan Dining room is very grand and beautiful with live music. We've been on her 3 times and I've never been bored! But she's big...and if you don't like big, consider looking elsewhere. She also doesn't have a ton of sun deck lounging space. I'm sailing the Encore next, and though it has many of the same things, I'm bummed it doesn't have Pincho or H20 and even less free sundeck space than the Escape.
Breakaway class: Getaway-So pretty and lots of spots to lounge. It was my first exposure to many new NCL spaces (e.g., Waterfront, Spice H20, mojito bar). This was a big ship with an intimate feel to me, but really, the Escape has EVERYTHING I want, so the Getaway is lower on my list.
Dawn class: Dawn & Star-I like the tiered sun decks on these near the pool and the libraries were decent sized, but disliked the Dawn because I never felt I could find a quiet spot to read. My best entertainment memories are on the Star, but nothing special about the ship. They will never be my first choice, but if I love the itinerary, I'll consider sailing them again. 
Spirit (as I understand, it's in a class by itself)-Pretty and elegant, but felt small and it was a bit of a bore to me. I'd recommend it to older folks who may want to limit their walking, and who want a more traditional feeling cruise ship. I don't think I'd sail her again. I like more entertainment and dining options.

Sun class: Sky-Loved the 2 for 1 martini bar specials, but otherwise, meh on the ship itself.

Somehow in 20 years of sailing NCL, I've never been on a Jewel class ship, but think I'd like it probably just below the Breakaway and Breakaway Plus classes. Layout seems good, but I'd miss some of the newer dining and activity choices. They seem the best choice for people who don't care about all the things I listed on my Breakaway Plus favorites, but still want a reasonably newer ship.

Ships I'm most interested in trying: Pearl or Gem (seems like favorites of the Jewel class) and Joy. Kind of bummed that our next sailing is on the Encore instead of the Joy.  And I will always remember the Gem was being launched to much excitement when I first discovered Cruise Critic!



 

[ChiefMateJRK]

 

On 1/21/2022 at 1:26 PM, IrieBajan54 said:

When I am looking for a cruise, I check the itineraries for the 4 Jewel Class ships. That determines where I will cruise. Love the Great Outdoors,

 

On 1/21/2022 at 2:00 PM, MBMGWM said:

Each class has their charms, but my preference is for the Jewel class.  The Great Outdoors overlooking the wake makes the difference for me. 

 

On 1/21/2022 at 2:01 PM, SplashOfWater said:

Our favorite is the Jewel class. We love the size (not too big) and the public spaces like the Observation Lounge and Great Outdoors. 

 

I'll join the chorus.  These smaller ships both observation lounge and great outdoors make them winners!

 

On 1/21/2022 at 3:25 PM, ClevelandCruisin said:

Escape-  Plus it has everything

 

On 1/21/2022 at 3:25 PM, ClevelandCruisin said:

Breakaway- It has everything

Do either of those have an observation lounge?  

[SplashOfWater]

2 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

 

On 1/21/2022 at 5:25 PM, ClevelandCruisin said:

Escape-  Plus it has everything

 

On 1/21/2022 at 5:25 PM, ClevelandCruisin said:

Breakaway- It has everything

Do either of those have an observation lounge?  

No, they don't have an observation lounge. The Getaway and Epic don't either. The Dawn and Star used to (a long time ago) but that space was repurposed for suites.

[ChiefMateJRK]

6 minutes ago, SplashOfWater said:

No, they don't have an observation lounge. The Getaway and Epic don't either. The Dawn and Star used to (a long time ago) but that space was repurposed for suites.

I'm showing Spirit, Sky, Sun, Jewel, Jade, Pearl, Gem, Joy, Bliss and Encore as the current NCL ships with observation lounges.  A nice observation lounge is high on my list of priorities, especially on a cruise with some cooler weather.

[SplashOfWater]

12 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I'm showing Spirit, Sky, Sun, Jewel, Jade, Pearl, Gem, Joy, Bliss and Encore as the current NCL ships with observation lounges.  A nice observation lounge is high on my list of priorities, especially on a cruise with some cooler weather.

We did a British Isles cruise on the Jade in September 2018. It was definitely long pants and jackets weather the entire trip. The observation lounge was the perfect place to be on a sea day or to relax after a long excursion.

 

Same for Alaska at the end of the season. We were on the Joy in September 2019, which has a huge observation lounge (as does the Bliss and Encore). We grabbed a window seat and watched most of Glacier Bay from inside. I went outside for a bit. It was chilly. A crew member was walking around the waterfront deck with cups of hot chicken broth for the passengers. It was SO good!

[bluesea777]

2 hours ago, weltek said:

Spirit (as I understand, it's in a class by itself)-Pretty and elegant, but felt small and it was a bit of a bore to me. I'd recommend it to older folks who may want to limit their walking, and who want a more traditional feeling cruise ship. I don't think I'd sail her again. I like more entertainment and dining options.

 

 

Spirit underwent a $100m refurbishment in Jan/Feb 2020 and she is hardly traditional anymore. But us oldie goldies folks would still love and appreciate more the new her. She has very good number of dining options for her size of ship, including an Asian one that is missing on some of the larger ships!! Her aft (from deck 10 up to 13) is a clear winner (to us) over the other ships. She has the new Onda restaurant with views and some tables outside! Her Spinnaker lounge is still there.

 

Give her a try.

 

See post # 24 with link to the pictures of the new Spirit. 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by bluesea777

[roger001]

Jewel class, then Dawn class, then the Sun.  The big ships are big and beautiful.  But just don't need all of that.