Carnival Cruiser trying NCL--your thoughts?

[KKB]

On 10/2/2023 at 7:45 PM, dbrown84 said:

I've sailed NCL exclusively.  I recently received a comp cruise on Carnival and I looked into trying them, especially since they cruise from Baltimore (which is local to me).  I started doing some research on Carnival and I found out about the 15 drink limit.  Well, my two cruises next year will be on NCL 🙂

This is ONLY alcoholic drinks with the limit.

Princess too. 

Let me say in our numerous Princess cruises & 1 Carnival cruise...we only both hit 15 ONE day (and our friends "bought" us a drink at that point).

Trust me--DH starts before lunch & drinks all day on a port day. As I said, only once did we get there...

 

[wolft927]

19 hours ago, MCMC100 said:

I have seen similar posts regarding MSC pricing compared to NCL.  I’m unable to duplicate it. If I could book the MSC Yacht Club (with comparable NCL FAS amenities) for less than an NCL balcony I’d be interested. 
 

I’m not doubting you did it, but how?  Which ship and itinerary?  Do you book years in advance or days before departure?  I’ve looked at a few MSC cruises and always get a Yacht Club quote that is comparable to the Haven. 

Seascape out of Port Canaveral, inside YC with the 10% discount came to $3200. NCL joy in October balcony stateroom came to $3104. Both 7 day cruises, both with 4 ports of call. Both include drink packages. 

[wolft927]

3 minutes ago, wolft927 said:

Seascape out of Port Canaveral, inside YC with the 10% discount came to $3200. NCL joy in October balcony stateroom came to $3104. Both 7 day cruises, both with 4 ports of call. Both include drink packages. 

I forgot to mention these dates are for 2024. I booked over a year out. The inside YC cabins go very fast as there are not that many of them. 

[bruce85]

29 minutes ago, KKB said:

This is ONLY alcoholic drinks with the limit.

Princess too. 

Let me say in our numerous Princess cruises & 1 Carnival cruise...we only both hit 15 ONE day (and our friends "bought" us a drink at that point).

Trust me--DH starts before lunch & drinks all day on a port day. As I said, only once did we get there...

 

This is the reason we stopped sailing Carnival. We seldom hit the 15, but just the fact that you have to count and plans for drinks is the part I don't like. We tried NCL after 4 Carnival and haven't been back. 

[dbrown84]

13 minutes ago, bruce85 said:

This is the reason we stopped sailing Carnival. We seldom hit the 15, but just the fact that you have to count and plans for drinks is the part I don't like. We tried NCL after 4 Carnival and haven't been back. 

same here.  I just don't want to have to "ration" the drinks.  I don't think it would be a problem on port days, but sea days would be an issue, especially since it's counted from midnight to midnight.  At least if it was a rolling 24 hour period I'd have a chance

[dbrown84]

2 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

same here.  I just don't want to have to "ration" the drinks.  I don't think it would be a problem on port days, but sea days would be an issue, especially since it's counted from midnight to midnight.  At least if it was a rolling 24 hour period I'd have a chance

and I'm also a huge fan of the freestyle dining.  I don't want an assigned seating time/table and picking  early vs late (as it looks like Carnival now allows) is not the same as show up whenever you want.  And Carnival still has formal nights.  Also a showstopper for me.

[cyntil8ing]

36 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

and I'm also a huge fan of the freestyle dining.  I don't want an assigned seating time/table and picking  early vs late (as it looks like Carnival now allows) is not the same as show up whenever you want.  And Carnival still has formal nights.  Also a showstopper for me.

I would invite you to re-evaluate your showstoppers. Neither are the case.

 

Carnival's Any Time dining, which has been around since I started cruising with them years ago, seems to me, better than what I experienced on my one NCL cruise where we had to eyeball two lines, and pick whichever one looked shorter like we were in a grocery store.

 

When you're thinking about dinner, you check the app for wait times. I've seen anywhere from no wait to 75 minutes once on lobster night. Ten minutes is most common. When you're ready to go to dinner, you request a table. It defaults to the number in your party (including linked reservations), but if you're feeling social, you can request a shared table. When your table is ready (and the timing is usually slightly less than predicted), you just make your way to the dining room, show the table number from the app, and are seated. No lines.

 

Our usual pattern is the early family comedy show, then we request a table and by the time we arrive, our table is available. Once we found a waitstaff team we really liked, so we stopped at the desk on our way out and requested their section for the rest of the cruise. We were warned it might increase wait time a little, but it never did. So, to me, that was the best of both traditional and anytime, a wait team that gets to know you (our's delivered my Prosecco as soon as they saw us arrive) yet dining whenever you want.

 

Carnival also has not had formal nights for years. They have "Cruise Elegant" nights that most people honestly ignore. Yes, you'll see a some suits, maybe a tux or two, and gowns or sparkly dresses, but it's not required. Guests are "invited" to participate -- "On certain special nights, our main dining rooms celebrate our Cruise Elegant festivities and we invite guests to enjoy a special night out in a sharp and chic way." 

[KKB]

1 hour ago, bruce85 said:

This is the reason we stopped sailing Carnival. We seldom hit the 15, but just the fact that you have to count and plans for drinks is the part I don't like. We tried NCL after 4 Carnival and haven't been back. 

 

1 hour ago, dbrown84 said:

same here.  I just don't want to have to "ration" the drinks.  I don't think it would be a problem on port days, but sea days would be an issue, especially since it's counted from midnight to midnight.  At least if it was a rolling 24 hour period I'd have a chance

Thing is...we never seemed to count!(And trust me...a drink in hand most of the day!)

 

[dbrown84]

47 minutes ago, cyntil8ing said:

I would invite you to re-evaluate your showstoppers. Neither are the case.

 

Carnival's Any Time dining, which has been around since I started cruising with them years ago, seems to me, better than what I experienced on my one NCL cruise where we had to eyeball two lines, and pick whichever one looked shorter like we were in a grocery store.

 

When you're thinking about dinner, you check the app for wait times. I've seen anywhere from no wait to 75 minutes once on lobster night. Ten minutes is most common. When you're ready to go to dinner, you request a table. It defaults to the number in your party (including linked reservations), but if you're feeling social, you can request a shared table. When your table is ready (and the timing is usually slightly less than predicted), you just make your way to the dining room, show the table number from the app, and are seated. No lines.

 

Our usual pattern is the early family comedy show, then we request a table and by the time we arrive, our table is available. Once we found a waitstaff team we really liked, so we stopped at the desk on our way out and requested their section for the rest of the cruise. We were warned it might increase wait time a little, but it never did. So, to me, that was the best of both traditional and anytime, a wait team that gets to know you (our's delivered my Prosecco as soon as they saw us arrive) yet dining whenever you want.

 

Carnival also has not had formal nights for years. They have "Cruise Elegant" nights that most people honestly ignore. Yes, you'll see a some suits, maybe a tux or two, and gowns or sparkly dresses, but it's not required. Guests are "invited" to participate -- "On certain special nights, our main dining rooms celebrate our Cruise Elegant festivities and we invite guests to enjoy a special night out in a sharp and chic way." 

no need for me to re-evaluate.  I'm the only person that can determine what a showstopper is for ME.  and if the elegant (sorry that I used the wrong word if it offended you) is optional, then they should present it differently on their website:

 

 

 

[cyntil8ing]

Gosh, I never want to get into a dress code conversation, but the no-no list for Carnival and NCL are really pretty close. Neither seem to enforce them anyway, so who cares, really? The only dress difference i noticed was the very large number of old guys wearing ball caps in the dining rooms. It used to be the old guys yelling at the teens to remove their caps.

 

My post was that if only those two things were stopping you from considering Carnival, they were no longer an issue. My last four cruises have been on four different lines. I am not a cheerleader for any of them. But I think it’s good to reevaluate occasionally, especially as all the cruise lines’ offerings have changed over the years. Had I not earlier this year, I wouldn’t have booked Escape, and I had a good time.

[JillK]

My family and I have cruised many lines including Carnival, Princess, Celebrity, Royal, NCL and Disney. Our favourite tends to be NCL for a number of reasons but that being said, we were BLOWN AWAY by the Panorama last year and I would not hesitate to book one of their newer ships if I liked the itinerary/price better.

 

NCL does do some things better than Carnival in my opinion.... the shows have always been consistently good on NCL whereas Carnival's productions have been weak in my experience. We love Guy's burgers and the Blue Iguana Cantina but feel that NCL's buffet generally is better than those on Carnival. We had good to excellent meals on both cruise lines in the main dining room last year so feel these are a wash. 

 

For us it comes down to the ship and overall feel/experience which I feel that Carnival is matching better with NCL on their newer ships vs older ones (Paradise and Glory come to mind). 

 

However, NCL's loyalty program is significantly stronger than Carnival's so all things being equal - I price both and tend to book NCL over Carnival if they are equal. There have been times when Carnival comes out on top price wise and other times when I take all things into account they are close/a wash. In those cases, NCL gets the booking because of the loyalty perks.

 

If you like Carnival's bigger ships and amenities, you will be quite comfortable on NCL - there are far more similarities than differences. 

 

Whatever you decide - happy cruising! 

[JillK]

1 hour ago, dbrown84 said:

no need for me to re-evaluate.  I'm the only person that can determine what a showstopper is for ME.  and if the elegant (sorry that I used the wrong word if it offended you) is optional, then they should present it differently on their website:

 

 

 

 

I don't know about you, but I cruised three times last year on three different lines and saw people wearing some of the above at dinner on "elegant" nights on all brands who were not asked to leave. Even though the lines publish these guidelines, I've not seen them enforced recently. 

 

When I first started cruising as a teen with my folks back in the 1990's, this was strictly enforced.... now not so much. I personally do like that I don't have to pack fancy clothes if I don't want to. I think most of us feel that having to haul a dress/suit and shoes for one or two "formal" nights doesn't jive with being on vacation any longer. That being said, I don't show up for dinner in a bathing suit and baseball hat, but that's just me 😉

[dbrown84]

1 hour ago, JillK said:

 

I don't know about you, but I cruised three times last year on three different lines and saw people wearing some of the above at dinner on "elegant" nights on all brands who were not asked to leave. Even though the lines publish these guidelines, I've not seen them enforced recently. 

 

When I first started cruising as a teen with my folks back in the 1990's, this was strictly enforced.... now not so much. I personally do like that I don't have to pack fancy clothes if I don't want to. I think most of us feel that having to haul a dress/suit and shoes for one or two "formal" nights doesn't jive with being on vacation any longer. That being said, I don't show up for dinner in a bathing suit and baseball hat, but that's just me 😉

That's nice.  I've never been on Carnival, so I only have what they post on their website to go by.  Nice to hear that it's not really enforced.  They are not doing themselves any favors by advertising it this way.   Now, there is still the 15 drink limit.......

[SoloAlaska]

Pretty much get dressed like you were going to any restaurant on land and your good. You wouldn’t wear a swimsuit to a restaurant for example. Have some basic manners and your set for an enjoyable cruise.

[aggie311]

15 hours ago, dbrown84 said:

no need for me to re-evaluate.  I'm the only person that can determine what a showstopper is for ME.  and if the elegant (sorry that I used the wrong word if it offended you) is optional, then they should present it differently on their website:

 

 

 

is this really that different from what NCL lists as their dress code?

 

[dbrown84]

4 hours ago, aggie311 said:

is this really that different from what NCL lists as their dress code?

 

yes, it is.  If it looks the same to you, then so be it.  I'm not hear to convince folks to do something they don't want to do.  But it seems like everyone is focused on trying to convince me otherwise.  Now, others have said that the Carnival dress code is rarely enforced, which I believe to be true.  But to post this dress code and suggest they are both the same is wild to me.  Besides, you're posting NCL's general dress code vs Carnivals dress code for Elegant night.  My point was that they still have elegant nights, which have those restrictions to eat in the dining rooms (one again, more restrictive than NCL's general policy).

[allie3490]

On 10/2/2023 at 8:45 PM, dbrown84 said:

I've sailed NCL exclusively.  I recently received a comp cruise on Carnival and I looked into trying them, especially since they cruise from Baltimore (which is local to me).  I started doing some research on Carnival and I found out about the 15 drink limit.  Well, my two cruises next year will be on NCL 🙂

Its 15 a day right? That’s not enough for you 😬

[PATRLR]

On 10/7/2023 at 6:53 AM, aggie311 said:

is this really that different from what NCL lists as their dress code?

 

Well, for one, men can wear shorts on any given night.  For many people that's huge, especially on a warm weather cruise.  

The "Smart Casual" applies to only certain restaurants and is very, very easy to avoid.

[cruiser2015]

About the drink limit issue.

 

Posts on this board have indicated how fabulous the FAS drink package is compared to the other cruise lines. So, if you get nailed for an extra charge here or there, seems like it's still a great bargain compared to purchasing the package at full rate elsewhere.

 

However, sorry to say, but, for folks that can't get by on less than 16 alcoholic drinks per day there is another option: join AA.

[hallux]

4 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

However, sorry to say, but, for folks that can't get by on less than 16 alcoholic drinks per day there is another option: join AA.

I might be inclined to agree.  I can have tons of fun on a cruise and never drink a drop of alcohol.  Of course - some of that fun IS at the expense of those who have consumed those 15+ drinks by 3 PM, after only getting up at noon...

[SoloAlaska]

If 15 drinks isn’t enough then drink something other than light beer.

[IAcruising]

4 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

However, sorry to say, but, for folks that can't get by on less than 16 alcoholic drinks per day there is another option: join AA.

 

15 isn't hard at all to hit when you drink double shots of Scotch w/ an ice cube. I rarely drink before 3-4 pm, but at only 1 per hour, I'm done at 10-11.

 

[cruiser2015]

2 hours ago, hallux said:

I might be inclined to agree.  I can have tons of fun on a cruise and never drink a drop of alcohol.  Of course - some of that fun IS at the expense of those who have consumed those 15+ drinks by 3 PM, after only getting up at noon...

Yikes!

Sounds like one of that group is one who might fall overboard.  😵

[cruiser2015]

1 hour ago, IAcruising said:

 

15 isn't hard at all to hit when you drink double shots of Scotch w/ an ice cube. I rarely drink before 3-4 pm, but at only 1 per hour, I'm done at 10-11.

 

To each his (or her) own.

That just gets you drunk twice as fast.

But I'm going to guess that your metabolism is a beast on alcohol.

[IAcruising]

58 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

 

 

But I'm going to guess that your metabolism is a beast on alcohol.

 

My body would consider only 1 double-shot per hour a silly joke. That's why I cruise NCL.