Considering “Jumping Ship” to try NCL

[kelkel2]

So, those promotions they keep emailing me look really nice, and they’re very intriguing. So tell me, what is actually included in those unlimited drink plans? What about the dining plan? 
we’re a fun family of 4 with almost 4 yo twins and we’re genuinely interested in something different but want the kids to enjoy it too. 
Carnival is “comfortable” because we know what to expect and what’s included but I know absolutely nothing about NCL. Obviously the buffet is included, what kind of restaurants would be available to us if we got the dining plan? 
Please share anything a potential newbie would need to know! 
 

[cmjars]

I have been on 12 NCL Cruises and loved every one. A few year back tried Royal Caribbean and hated every moment of it. 
 

There is something to be said for sticking with what you know.

[kelkel2]

9 minutes ago, cmjars said:

I have been on 12 NCL Cruises and loved every one. A few year back tried Royal Caribbean and hated every moment of it. 
 

There is something to be said for sticking with what you know.

I do appreciate that and that’s what held me back from booking before. We consider ourselves easy to please and aren’t picky. But it’s really just a fear of the unknown!

[cmjars]

What I do like about NCL is the speciatiy restaurant food (the buffet is I think standard buffet food), the accommodations, depending on the ship you have great kids play area and things for the kids to do. The part that is hard everything and I mean every little thing cost extra and it adds up quick, knowing that I really enjoy the NCL cruises.

 

Having said the above sometimes fear of the unknown and change can be good or at least you figure out what you like about a cruise line or don't.

 

Wish you the best cruise where ever you decide 🙂

[graphicguy]

Beautiful ships…great service.  FREE AT SEA generally speaking..

 

-Free beers, wines, liquors, soft drinks (they do charge 20% of drink package pricing to cover tips)

-Free Specialty Dinners                               “.     “.      “.         “.      “. Dining     “.               “.        “.    :       “

Specialty Dining is very good, BTW

-$50 credit per cabin for each NCL booked excursion

-Some free internet minutes

 

 

 

Edited June 22, 2022 by graphicguy

[complawyer]

for shorter cruises, you get 2 dinners per person specialty restaurants, and can purchase more if you wish. most ncl ships have the following: Cagney's, (traditional steakhouse) teppanyaki (if youre familiar with benihana, same same. moderno (brazilian steakhouse) there is a large selection of food from the salad bar, and  then waiters come around with skewers of different meats. you eat until you're ready to burst, so come hungry , le bistro  (french style restaurant) i dont think young kids would enjoy this, and it's my least favorite, so even free i tend not to go there. It's a little to pretentious for my taste.

la cucina, italian (some people sweat by it, some swear at it ). also not one of my favorites. food is so so, but i think your kids will enjoy. other ncl ships have other specialty restaurants, but the ones listed are the ones with which i am familiar.

 

the beverage package is for the 1st two people in the cabin. if you're not big drinkers, this package is sufficient. you can get  limitless drinks throughout the day, up to anything that would cost $15. or less. any drink above that you pay the difference. it's not totally free, as youre paying so called "gratuities" up front. if you want upper echelon liquors, you can upgrade the drink package, but i'm happy with a glass of chivas, a glass of champagne, a mojito, a cold beer, and a glass of port wine after dinner. 

 

i dont need 15-25 yr old single malt scotch to make me happy. 

 

i dont use the internet while i'm on vacation, so the wi-fi minutes to me are meaningless, although once on board my wife immediately goes to the internet station to pay for the upgrade.

 

lastly, my main gripe is the so-called free shore excursions. regardless of the cost, you only get $50 off each port. imho, that hardly constitutes "free"

 

in the end, everyone has their own criteria for what they want from a cruise vacation.

 

mine is itinerary and price. so far for the past 12 years and 18 cruises later, ncl has met my criteria,

 

never having been on a carnival cruise, while i cant knock it, it just seems that every time something bad happens on a cruise ship, its usually a carnival vessel.

 

whatever you choose, have a great time.. sorry for this lengthy diatribe.

[hallux]

I've sailed Royal and NCL,, and despite being on Royal with my entire family I've thoroughly enjoyed my 3 NCL cruises (one of which I was accompanied by a sibling and their SO).  All of the things mentioned above - beautiful ships, the crew have been amazing, the cruise directors on NCL have all been WAY more engaged in daily activities than I saw on Royal.  I can't speak to the kid's club/activities.

 

As for the dining - I really like the 'freestyle' concept of just showing up at one of the MDR venues when you decide you're ready to eat.  No set time.  I'll counter the Le Bistro comments above, I actually quite liked it.  If you want a "formal night", Le Bistro would be one way to get that as NCL only has a "dress up or not" night.

[phillygwm]

For me, it comes down to value and managing expectations.  There are pros and cons to each cruise line.  I love NCL and find it well worthwhile for what you get.  Other friends prefer a "Viking" experience at NCL prices; that just isn't realistic.  If you're accustomed to Carnival, I think you'll view it as a step up but I couldn't stand Carnival so that may be my personal bias.  

 

As others have stated, "free" isn't always free.  You pay gratuities (~$20/day per person) on the booze package and also on the specialty dining.  You can opt out of either/both, though it's hard to beat all you can drink, even if you only have a few drinks each day.  There's a misconception that you need to be staggering drunk all day to make the bev package worthwhile; you'll "breakeven" or better after 2 drinks. 

 

I love the specialty restaurants and upgrade that package to include it every night...but with kids, you may prefer the buffet or main dining room.  With the possible exception of Italian (La Cucina) or those ships with Q (barbecue) I can't see 4 year olds enjoying the specialties but maybe your kids have upscale tastes 🙂

 

Edited June 22, 2022 by phillygwm

[Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin]

We started cruising on Royal, then moved to NCL.  Have dabbled in Princess, MSC, and now Regents.  I have enjoyed all of them.  I agree with complawyer regarding Carnival....haven't tried, but it seems every time something bad happens on a cruise ship, Carnival is in the middle of it.

Also agree that NCL seems to nickle and dime you, but if you know that going in, then no worries.  We usually opt OUT of the beverage package...the up front charges are more than I spend if I purchase drink by drink.

Love the anytime dining on NCL.  I think most other lines are now adopting this posture.  We dress up for dinner, but it is optional on NCL.  The HAVEN is just wonderful, but the prices have gone up considerably, which is why we are now venturing onto Regents.  And I really appreciate the 2 bedroom suites on NCL!  Great for family vacations!

[peikris]

I also "jumped ship" to NCL...biggest mistake I've made this year. Our cruise has unexplained port cancellations, a new port with an arrival time of 4:00pm-11:00pm and an absolute refusal to return post fees for the cancelled ports. Other ships are docking on the same dates at the same ports and when we booked the Breakaway was the only ship scheduled to be in those ports. So now we basically have 4 sea days which is a cruise to nowhere.

 

Wishing you better luck than we had.

[cruiseny4life]

My husband was pi$$ed with all the nickel and diming even before we got on the ship. You see, we were ignorant and assumed the best (never, ever do that with NCL or any other corporation).

When they said "free at sea" we truly thought it was free, and just built into the price of the cruise. Then we remembered we live in a capitalist society where the only consideration is money, not customer service, and certainly not the truth in marketing!

 

After paying gratuities, drink gratuities, specialty dining gratuities, port fees, taxes, and for the thermal spa he was just done. Done with cruising - I thought I'd never get him on a ship again. Then I told him we had to tip the concierge and butler on the ship. I really thought he'd lose it then. 🙂 

 

Well, on the second day of the cruise, guess who dragged us to the Cruise Next desk for $1,000 in vouchers? Yep, my husband! NCL and the Haven are just that good.

 

I say all that to mention that you too may get frustrated by the nickel and diming (and I understand other cruise lines do the same), but the experience is phenomenal. You'll love NCL - certainly more than Carnival. My Carnival cruise kept me from cruising 13 years (and nothing terrible happened) - just mediocrity. NCL is far from mediocre, though I'll say it again - I felt the buffet was worse than the food in a pig's slop bucket (and yes I know I'll get yelled at for saying that...again). 

 

Enjoy!!!!

[graphicguy]

I do agree about all the “extra” charges.  But, I have also sailed enough to know what to look for.  

 

I always get a little frosted when I book a hotel at one rate and see things like “resort fees”.  Same for airlines….for an industry that’s notorious for dreadful customer service, it galls me that they want to charge more than the fare.

 

If you’re new to cruising, the “extras” might be surprising.  But, I also recognize that there’s a whole lot of extra service from bar staff, wait staff, cabin staff, entertainment, etc that goes into a cruise.  So, I can justify the extra fees (somewhat).

 

As a total cost, I look at the drink package, for example.  It’s free, but you have to pay the gratuities on the package.  That figures to be $20/pp/pd.  That’s way cheaper than buying a drink package on any other cruise line.  Even Carnival would charge $60+18% gratuities pp/pd for their drink package.  Royal’s is roughly $80-$90 pp/pd (although they offer discounts depending on when/where you book it).  Still, way more than NCL.

 

NCL’s free Specialty Dining package is indeed free…except for gratuities…which figures out to be $18 per restaurant.  How many Specialty restaurants are included is based on your Latitudes rung and the cabin you booked (the higher the cabin category, the more Specialty Restaurants diners you get).

 

Royal also has a Specialty Dining package.  But, like their Drink package, they make it difficult to find the cost associated with it pre-booking.  I think that’s intentional so guests can’t make an “apples to apples” comparison to other cruise lines’ charges.  I just sailed on the Ovation of the Seas a few months ago.  And, I had a 3 Specialty Dining package.  I know it was somewhere around $100 pp.  Figure $35 pp/per venue if you go a la carte in picking and choosing your dining venues.

 

I haven’t sailed Carnival in a while, so I can’t find anything on any dining packages they offer.

 

Bottom line, $ for $, I think NCL, which a bit cloak and dagger on their nomenclature and their charges, is still the value leader on these main pachages.

 

Frankly, the only cruise line I found that was pretty up front was Celebrity.  They tell you they’re “all inclusive” sailings have no hidden charges.  And, they’re right.  I didn’t pay a nickel for drinks, they included tips, and they give an OBC to cover some Specialty Dinning venues and perhaps an excursion or two.  They’re fares tend to be higher (except they have a great solo fare sale going on right now).

 

[peikris]

20 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Frankly, the only cruise line I found that was pretty up front was Celebrity.  They tell you they’re “all inclusive” sailings have no hidden charges.  And, they’re right.  I didn’t pay a nickel for drinks, they included tips, and they give an OBC to cover some Specialty Dinning venues and perhaps an excursion or two.  They’re fares tend to be higher (except they have a great solo fare sale going on right now).

 

I absolutely love Celebrity. No hidden charges, port fees returned for missed ports and excellent itineraries and food.

[craig01020]

I've sailed on NCL twice and Carnival once and I have more cruises planned on both. NCL food, entertainment and ship condition were better. Open bar is nice. My fellow passengers on Carnival were the friendliest by far. On one of my NCL cruises, people were downright anti-social, and on the other they were slightly better.

 

Don't sweat it; you won't regret sailing on NCL.

[kayjaypea42]

Yes, what others have said, NCL's "Free at Sea" isn't really free, but it IS a better value than say RCCL.  When I went on RCCL, I got one hell of a deal on the room, but if I wanted a liquor package too, that would have more than negated the deal by adding another $1500 for an adult family of 3.  Add on the 2 or 3-night specialty dining package? I would have been priced out of a cruise.  (We did a Mediterranean cruise on RCCL without the packages...for that kind of cruise, I didn't miss any of that because we were drinking and eating amazing food in port. I feel like I would have missed those packages with a Caribbean cruise.) With NCL, yes, it may look like the price is higher, but if you add in what they're offering to the price of other cruise lines, NCL is a downright bargain (usually... Prima and Viva are exceptions to that rule.)

 

Edited June 22, 2022 by kayjaypea42

[wolft927]

So I have sailed NCL, Princess, Carnival, RCCL and there are pros and cons to all. If only comparing NCL and Carnival I will say unless you go on a newer Carnival Ship, their ships are dated. Food on NCL was much better then Carnival and the specialty dining has always been better. Entertainment on NCL was also better. Carnivals drink package also has a limit of 15 drinks per 24hours. NCL is unlimited, each card can order 2 drinks every 5 minutes. Also NCL has the HAVEN! I have never booked a Haven but have won upgrade bids twice and The Haven is amazing! 

 

Now i would gladly cruise carnival again but would need to be on their newer ships, not one of the Fantasy Class ships.

[trivimp]

Plenty of sound advice here.  I'll just add that I've found Carnival & NCL to be more alike than different. Minor differences in amenities don't change the overall experience that much.

 

Yes, you pay gratuities on the beverage package, which seems to always bring out one of two possible responses:

a) They said it's FREE but I have to pay!  It's a ripoff!  Also, they don't include bottled water/fancy coffees/milkshakes/ultra-top-shelf liquors, that's a ripoff too!

b) I can have unlimited drinks for around $20 a day?  No brainer!

(I'm not as much of an imbiber as I used to be, but a couple of drinks by the pool & then a glass with dinner puts me ahead.)

 

Also, NCL's freestyle dining is so much easier than having to plan around set-time dining, especially if kids are busy/cranky/off their schedule or whatever.  

[PTC DAWG]

I've sailed a good bit on Royal, Celebrity and NCL...I prefer Celebrity when the adults are cruising, NCL when the younger family is going, by younger I mean older teens.

 

 I doubt I'll be looking up any Royal ships anytime soon, their drink package has gotten out of hand.  

[HxFx]

OP, I don’t know what features you are looking for but this is my experience. I haven’t cruised that much but have gone on Carnival, Celebrity, and NCL. I tried NCL for the first time last month. For NCL I like how they do the drink package – especially not having to sign for every drink (including non-alcoholic) and being able to get multiple drinks at once. I also liked that if you get the Premium package on NCL, you can order bottles of wine at dinner – and pretty good ones too. I don’t like that bottled water/soda/specialty coffee is not included in NCL’s basic drink package.

 

Carnival has both cruise lines beat for lunch, particularly venues included in the cost of the cruise (Guy’s Burgers and Blue Iguana Cantina). NCL had my least favorite MDR but they have good deals you can get for the specialty restaurants which were very good.

 

NCL also had my least favorite pool/sun deck layout but it could be that NCL’s Breakaway(+) ships are just not for me. I was on the Breakaway and I picked that one because I’m not a fan of a race track taking up so much outdoor space (and I love a good water slide and Carnival Mardi Gras’ roller coaster but they don’t actually take up much deck space). Most of the Haven pool layouts don’t appeal to me (but their new ones do - Prima and forward). I don’t like the idea of the pool being surrounded by several floors of cabins. I am signed up for a Celebrity Retreat cruise next year and the cost was significantly less than a Haven room and I still get the dedicated restaurant and a nice sun deck with Jacuzzi.

 

On my NCL cruise they had awful lines for getting off and on the ship but I think that was mostly because they were trying out a new facial recognition software in lieu of the sea pass card. I would think it would not always be that bad.

 

I really think it just depends on what you have liked/disliked about your other cruises. I am a fan of trying different lines.

[wil e coyote]

We've sailed on Royal, Princess, and NCL. Our last several cruises have been NCL, partly because it is comfortable, but also because we like the combination of itineraries, features, and price the best on the NCL offerings.

 

As others have said - if you're really trying to do an apples to apples price comparison between the lines, you have to do your homework. They all price things differently. I don't know that any of them are wrong, but you can't just take the "per-person cabin price" from the various cruise line websites and get a meaningful comparison. Understand what is included and what is not, and which of the options are worth it for you, and add everything up. For us, the itinerary is most important, so sometimes we pay a little more because one line (or ship) is going where we want to go. But that is just us. Your mileage may vary.

 

One other thing - Carnival is the largest cruise line in the world, so it makes sense that we would hear about more incidents on their ships. We have been on a Princess cruise with a mechanical failure, and NCL has had issues too. Just a side note...

 

Enjoy whatever you choose!

 

[FlGoodShips]

14 hours ago, kelkel2 said:

So, those promotions they keep emailing me look really nice, and they’re very intriguing. So tell me, what is actually included in those unlimited drink plans? What about the dining plan? 
we’re a fun family of 4 with almost 4 yo twins and we’re genuinely interested in something different but want the kids to enjoy it too. 
Carnival is “comfortable” because we know what to expect and what’s included but I know absolutely nothing about NCL. Obviously the buffet is included, what kind of restaurants would be available to us if we got the dining plan? 
Please share anything a potential newbie would need to know! 
 

NCL is great for families. Lots to do for the children, as well as adults. Lots of family activities too. 

Try it. NCL is great.

[Terrab]

We have not done a Carnival cruise yet, but I assume they are comparable. If you want to drink something other than tea, water, normal coffee, machine juice then you need a drink package. We always have it because its free and we never had a problem ordering whatever we wanted. We aren't heavy drinkers and we aren't picky bout the quality of alcohol, if you are then you may want to upgrade to the premium. 

 

And yes they nickel and dime you but so does every other cruise line. There is an upgrade for everything if you are willing to pay for it. But you don't need to in order to enjoy the cruise.

 

There are 3 main dining rooms that are solidly good. It's not the best food I have ever had but it's a solid good (and I am picky). We really like the Local, which is like pub type food, your twins would like it and it's also free. We like most of the specialty dining, it's not a must do but it is nice and they do have kid options on all the menus. You can also see the menus from each restaurant in one of the forums here. They are free so you might as well enjoy them. But again the dining room food is solidly good and the service everywhere is outstanding. 

 

We don't have young kids, but I've been told the kids clubs are wonderful and full of fun activities. There is a lot of kid friendly activities and spaces on all their ships. They always look happy!

 

I would tell you to try NCL. You won't know until you do. 

 

~Best of Luck

Terra

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

I love and am pretty loyal to NCL. I have cruised with RCI and Carnival (might be cruising on RCI this fall because NCL doesn't have the itinerary I want. 

 

I know that some people complain about the nickel and diming but to be honest, this happens everywhere, on any sort of vacations. Yes you will have to pay gratuities and extra for specialty dining and extra for some activities, but all in all, it's a very good experience on NCL. 

 

In fact, I am hesitating on booking RCI and just doing an itinerary I don't want to do on NCL because I love having the free at sea perks. and NCL specialty dining is *chefs kiss*. I also prefer the look and layout of NCL's ships vs RCI. 

 

The biggest reason I would say that you should try NCL is to do something do! I love trying different things occasionally, spices things up. 

[kelkel2]

Ok, so as far as the nickeling and diming everyone is talking about, can you guys give examples.

I more than understand paying gratuities for the drink and dining package up front. But what else can I expect to pay for? I usually purchase wifi for the week on Carnival, so I’m also used to paying for that.

We do like carnival as long as you stay away from the short 3-5 day cruises as those tend to very much draw the rowdier crowd. But generally when booking 7 day or more cruises we really haven’t had any issues. Like I said, we’re not hard to please. We don’t need 5 star dining and go in with a pretty open mind. It’s hard to hate a cruise. Even with our Princess cruise that we didn’t love, we still had a great time. It just felt too stuffy for us. (I’d rather have a dj for music than a string quartet that’s all). The food and ship was wonderful. 
but, Carnival’s itineraries all kind of become mundane and there’s some Eastern Caribbean cruises on NCL that go to islands we’ve never been to before. I try to make it my goal that we go somewhere new on every cruise, at least one island, so that’s also a huge draw. 

[graphicguy]

6 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

Ok, so as far as the nickeling and diming everyone is talking about, can you guys give examples.

I more than understand paying gratuities for the drink and dining package up front. But what else can I expect to pay for? I usually purchase wifi for the week on Carnival, so I’m also used to paying for that.

We do like carnival as long as you stay away from the short 3-5 day cruises as those tend to very much draw the rowdier crowd. But generally when booking 7 day or more cruises we really haven’t had any issues. Like I said, we’re not hard to please. We don’t need 5 star dining and go in with a pretty open mind. It’s hard to hate a cruise. Even with our Princess cruise that we didn’t love, we still had a great time. It just felt too stuffy for us. (I’d rather have a dj for music than a string quartet that’s all). The food and ship was wonderful. 
but, Carnival’s itineraries all kind of become mundane and there’s some Eastern Caribbean cruises on NCL that go to islands we’ve never been to before. I try to make it my goal that we go somewhere new on every cruise, at least one island, so that’s also a huge draw. 

You’ve hit most (if not all) of the points about nickels and dimes…tips, service charges, etc.  Those who complain do have a point.  NCL adds tips to the WiFi package.  Really?  Why am I tipping your internet router?

 

Still, all in all, NCL is a good value when comparing packages from other lines, with the possible exception of Celebrity, which was mentioned previously.  But, even with Celebrity, some people complained they didn’t want all the “perks” Celebrity offered in their “INCLUDED” sailings.  So, they offered a “SAIL ONLY’ package with no perks.  Then, people complained about that.  So, no matter what, someone is going to beef.