kudus to NCL!

[ehogan]

I just spoke to an NCL rep re my shore excursions on the NCL Jewel for May. I had reserved my excursions in November and was concerned because all of a sudden I couldn't access my shore excursion itinerary.

 

NCL told me that the site was being revised due to price increases in some excursions and confirmed that my excursions were all still reserved and that I would still be getting them at the old prices ( a 10 to 20% savings over the new prices). I am impressed that they are honouring the original prices - good on you NCL!

[Cameron Lake]

I just spoke to an NCL rep re my shore excursions on the NCL Jewel for May. I had reserved my excursions in November and was concerned because all of a sudden I couldn't access my shore excursion itinerary.

 

NCL told me that the site was being revised due to price increases in some excursions and confirmed that my excursions were all still reserved and that I would still be getting them at the old prices ( a 10 to 20% savings over the new prices). I am impressed that they are honouring the original prices - good on you NCL!

 

Hi: It is nice of them to honor the original price. Just a quick question. I notice you have cruised several times on several cruise lines. We have been with NCL 5 times (Sun - 2, Jewel, Pearl - 2, and soon to be on the Jade - Feb. 16/08) & Costa once. How do you compare all the cruise lines in quality and service compared to NCL. Thanks for your help.:D

[ehogan]

Hi Cameron Lake:

 

They all have their positives and negatives - I'll try to give you some idea of my opinion - just keep in mind that we have never had a bad cruise.

 

In order of favourites (overall experience)

 

RCCL

Carnival

Celebrity

NCL

Princess

Holland America

 

We prefer traditional dining, that is why NCL is a bit lower on our list, but we had an excellent cruise on the Star and I am sure our Jewel cruise will be good as well.

 

Our first criteria is always the ports, after that we choose based on who can give us the best deal - I guess this is why we have sailed on different lines. I think that CARNIVAL does the best job on value for money, we also like their traditional dining and find their food excellent (our cruise on the Pride offered the best food and dining room service we have had on all our cruises), also their production (main) shows are IMHO the best in the industry. Their is no real predominant age group, but generally it tends towards a younger crowd - we are in our fifties and have not had trouble fitting in. Age of passengers is more often determined by the length of the cruise and where the ship sails. DH, who stays up later than I do (loves to play poker), says in the late evenings it can be a bit crazy.

 

RCCL has the most beautiful ships, service is excellent and there is a more refined tone, sometimes they will have fairly! famous entertainers on board, food is also quite good. Cruise prices are higher and they do not seem to offer good deals as often as some of the other lines.

 

Celebrity is a pretty classy outfit - focus on good food and service. We found their cruises a bit dull in the entertainment area however.

 

You know about NCL.

 

Holland America we tend to avoid - I'd never turn down a great deal, but the ship is geared to its main demographic and that is fairly elderly. I know that someday soon it may become our preferred line, but until then we'll sail other ships. They seemed to roll up the sidewalks about 9 P.M.

Good food and service, though.

 

Princess is OK, but we have had several negative billing issues with them (we are Canadian and they charge our U.S. credit card in canadian dollars, so we incur exchange charges two ways), I also find the staff to be a bit unfriendly. Food was not on par with other cruises.

 

 

Hope this helps

[ehogan]

Sorry, Cameron Lake, you asked for a comparison to NCL

 

We have only been on one NCL cruise so I hesitate to compare, especially because we do not like Freestyle cruising.

 

We unfortunately found the dining experience on NCL to be poor, waiters seemed disorganized, food took long in ordering and delivery and orders were often wrong. The waiters could never learn your preferences, e.g. on our Carnival trip our capuccinos were delivered to us even before we received our menus.

 

I don't really remember the entertainment on the Star, but I think it was fine. Carnival is the best in this area though.