Defecting to NCL

[pamwinn]

I wasn't planning to take this Canada/New England cruise but I could not help myself. We have next week off work and I was checking online pricing and I hit upon a C/E cruise on the NCL Dawn in an AFT facing balcony (Can you believe that) for 566 pp! I could not say no. Since that will be our first cruise on this line, we won't be posting a live from but I will try my best to post a comparison. I am really looking forward to seeing what the difference is and you must agree...AFT BA balcony for that price is incredible.

 

I am posting this on the Princess board because I have sailed almost exclusively with them (23 times). I'll let you know what I think.

[chrysalis]

enjoy your aft cabin and the cruise....looking forward to hearing all abou it.

[Toto2Kansas]

I wasn't planning to take this Canada/New England cruise but I could not help myself. We have next week off work and I was checking online pricing and I hit upon a C/E cruise on the NCL Dawn in an AFT facing balcony (Can you believe that) for 566 pp! I could not say no. Since that will be our first cruise on this line, we won't be posting a live from but I will try my best to post a comparison. I am really looking forward to seeing what the difference is and you must agree...AFT BA balcony for that price is incredible.

 

I am posting this on the Princess board because I have sailed almost exclusively with them (23 times). I'll let you know what I think.

 

Oh, PLEASE do when you return. NCL is the one cruise line (mid range) that we have yet to sail on. With the number of Princess cruises you have taken, the comparison will be appreciated. Thanks!

[sultan_sfo]

I am sure you will cruise with an open mind and specifically look for the experiences in NCL in which NCL excels. I hope you read the "positive" NCL reviews before your cruise.

 

I wasn't planning to take this Canada/New England cruise but I could not help myself.

...

I am posting this on the Princess board because I have sailed almost exclusively with them (23 times). I'll let you know what I think.

[pamwinn]

I will cruise with an open mind and would love to take my laptop along to do the cruise journal thing but since I won't have the free internet, I am just going to leave it at home and enjoy myself. If you know us, you know we will have fun and I promise to be completely objective in my comparison.:D

[Giulia]

We have cruised NCL and really enjoyed it. Princess and NCL are our first choices because of anytime dining - don't like traditional dining. Found our experience very similar to Princess. We also like Royal Caribbean, but until they offer different dining choices, we will continue with NCL and Princess.

 

Congratulations on a really good rate - I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

 

G

[WinnieinWA]

I will cruise with an open mind and would love to take my laptop along to do the cruise journal thing but since I won't have the free internet, I am just going to leave it at home and enjoy myself. If you know us, you know we will have fun and I promise to be completely objective in my comparison.:D

 

I have cruised NCL 3 times and RCI once and am now looking forward to cruising Princess next month. I plan on taking notes so I can be completely objective in my comparison of these 3 lines. I cruise Princess Oct. 11 so I promise to come back to give my observations.

 

Can't wait as I've read so many wonderful things about Princess. :)

 

I have enjoyed my past cruises with NCL very much and I especially like their FREESTYLE where you can eat when and where and with whom. I'm not a an of traditional dining.

[DonnaK]

We have cruised NCL and really enjoyed it. Princess and NCL are our first choices because of anytime dining - don't like traditional dining. Found our experience very similar to Princess. We also like Royal Caribbean, but until they offer different dining choices, we will continue with NCL and Princess.

 

Congratulations on a really good rate - I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

 

G

 

Royal Caribbean DOES offer My Time Dining on six of its ships: Brilliance of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas, and Independence of the Seas. It will be available on the new Oasis of the Seas as well.

 

This was originally a trial, and it has been extended through 2009.

[crusdiva]

I wasn't planning to take this Canada/New England cruise but I could not help myself. We have next week off work and I was checking online pricing and I hit upon a C/E cruise on the NCL Dawn in an AFT facing balcony (Can you believe that) for 566 pp! I could not say no. Since that will be our first cruise on this line, we won't be posting a live from but I will try my best to post a comparison. I am really looking forward to seeing what the difference is and you must agree...AFT BA balcony for that price is incredible.

 

I am posting this on the Princess board because I have sailed almost exclusively with them (23 times). I'll let you know what I think.

 

Thanks pamwinn,

I think you'll find it interesting.

DH and I just returned from NCL Boston to Bermuda and booked it for the same reason you mentioned - price point (well, and sailing from our hometown to beautiful Bermuda, of course ;) ). We wanted a completely casual experience this time and NCL provided that. We had a great time.

Have a wonderful cruise.

[Coral]

I will be interested also! This is one line that I haven't sailed either.

 

I have a friend who has sailed many lines - including luxury lines - and he really enjoyed his Thanksgiving cruise on NCL.

 

Have a great cruise!

[jacketwatch]

I wasn't planning to take this Canada/New England cruise but I could not help myself. We have next week off work and I was checking online pricing and I hit upon a C/E cruise on the NCL Dawn in an AFT facing balcony (Can you believe that) for 566 pp! I could not say no. Since that will be our first cruise on this line, we won't be posting a live from but I will try my best to post a comparison. I am really looking forward to seeing what the difference is and you must agree...AFT BA balcony for that price is incredible.

 

I am posting this on the Princess board because I have sailed almost exclusively with them (23 times). I'll let you know what I think.

I too look forward to your review. I think trying NCl for the 1st providing its a great deal is a good idea. Overall the reviews are improving on NCL though I can recall a time when they were terrible. A friend of mone recently took them in Hawaii and said it was awful, really awful. However I think their Hawaiin cruises aren't reviewed that well. Best of luck! :)

[Clutterlady]

Great price for any aft cabin! We have sailed the NCL Dawn, not our favorite cruise but we had a nice time. Can't wait to read your comparisons! Enjoy:)

[Sea Hag]

There're many negative comments about NCL on these boards, but we like NCL a lot. I hope you have as great a time as we've had on their ships!:)

[NthernLgts]

My first cruise was on NCL (Skyward). I've since come to prefer Princess, but still have great memories of that first one 20 years ago when I still was a 20 something myself. Looking forward to the comparison.

[Woodmnky]

I'm very jealous, an aft for that price is a steal. I can't wait to hear your observations about the cruise.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[Atomica]

For the price & cabin, that's a great deal you got yourself! We love Princess, but have been on two NCL cruises - we've always felt one of the high points of NCL is their entertainment - really, really good. Hope you have a great time!

[pamwinn]

Yes, I was shocked when I saw that cabin available and I was already very happy with the pricing. I know that someone got upgraded out of it. I hope they did it willingly because I am not giving it back.:D A friend booked a BB balcony on thursday for 464. The kicker is there is $75 OBC. What's going on with these prices? I may never book in advance again! My last 2 cruises have been booked within final payment and both times I ended up with a cabin I would have hand picked if I booked a year in advance. The Cruise Fairy GodMother is smiling on us.

[newmexicoNita]

Yes, I was shocked when I saw that cabin available and I was already very happy with the pricing. I know that someone got upgraded out of it. I hope they did it willingly because I am not giving it back.:D A friend booked a BB balcony on thursday for 464. The kicker is there is $75 OBC. What's going on with these prices? I may never book in advance again! My last 2 cruises have been booked within final payment and both times I ended up with a cabin I would have hand picked if I booked a year in advance. The Cruise Fairy GodMother is smiling on us.

You certainly got a good price and a great Itinerary. You can't go wrong. We are NCL loyalist but there are some things we like better about Princess. Though both offer flex dining, we think NCL does it better, but Princess has better entrees. NCL has better dining room breakfasts and better salad choices for dinner. They also have larger showrooms so it is a little easier to find a place to sit. I liked the casino on Princess much better. All in all they are more alike than different..

 

Nita

[pamwinn]

I am an anytime dining fan too so the things you prefer about NCL's flex dining will probably be the same for me. I love salads and the DR just put me on prednisone so I am going to need to eat a lot of those. We aren't big gamblers so the casino will just be entertainment for us once or twice. Maybe we will actually attend a show if we don't have to get there 45 minutes ahead of showtime to get a seat. I am looking forward to experiencing the difference. I'll sure be missing the free laundry though:(

[crusdiva]

I am an anytime dining fan too so the things you prefer about NCL's flex dining will probably be the same for me. I love salads and the DR just put me on prednisone so I am going to need to eat a lot of those. We aren't big gamblers so the casino will just be entertainment for us once or twice. Maybe we will actually attend a show if we don't have to get there 45 minutes ahead of showtime to get a seat. I am looking forward to experiencing the difference. I'll sure be missing the free laundry though:(

Don't miss their chilled soups - absolutely awesome!

[ottawa_001]

We took our very first cruise on the NCL Jewel in April 08 and it was awesome! We are now hooked! We have now booked 3 more cruises, all on Princess, as they had the itineraries we wanted.

 

I think you will enjoy NCL! We sure did! And, we also had an aft balcony.

 

Have a great cruise!