Princess vs NCL

[Luke gs Daddy]

IYO. For $ 1200.00 more why would you choose Princess over a similar cruise W/ NCL. Considering everything is Apples to Apples.

[cynbar]

For cruises that I have priced, there is not a huge difference between NCL and Princess for similar cabins. Sometimes this does vary on certain weeks. however. There must be some other variable here, such as a new ship vs. an older, smaller ship. But if the ships and itineraries and amenities are really similar, I would choose the cheaper cruise. We generally prefer Princess but had a lovely cruise last summer on the Norwegian Gem, and we would gladly cruise NCL again for the right deal. Food in the main DRs is better on Princess, in our opinion, but you can pay a lot of surcharges for the specialty restaurants with $1200.

[Luke gs Daddy]

For cruises that I have priced, there is not a huge difference between NCL and Princess for similar cabins. Sometimes this does vary on certain weeks. however. There must be some other variable here, such as a new ship vs. an older, smaller ship. But if the ships and itineraries and amenities are really similar, I would choose the cheaper cruise. We generally prefer Princess but had a lovely cruise last summer on the Norwegian Gem, and we would gladly cruise NCL again for the right deal. Food in the main DRs is better on Princess, in our opinion, but you can pay a lot of surcharges for the specialty restaurants with $1200.

 

 

That's what I do not understand. Everything is similar, room, time of year, etc. Ship, Norwegian Dawn vs Crown Princess.

[heisnuts]

When comparing NCL to Princess you have to add the specialty restaurants to the price of the cruise. We found that we went to a specialty restaurant almost every night (which was well worth the price to us) on NCL and only a night or two on Princess. We enjoy the newer ships on both Princess and NCL and enjoy sailing on both.

 

For us it really comes down to the location and time of the cruise rather than just how much the cruise costs. Now, if both NCL and Princess were going to the same place at the same time on the same type of ship and one was cheaper than the other then I would go with the cheaper cruise. However, how often does this really happen?

[wizard-of-roz]

NCL v. PRINCESS: Absolutely no comparison!

NCL:

The decor is not pleasing (both in the public spaces and in the cabins). The food is not as good.

The ship always felt crowded! Layout is not as good!

The buffet area is like a school cafeteria, with cheap tables and chairs and the drink station looks like a "soup kitchen", in the worst sense. There was a "black water" smell on the lower level that stayed with the ship the entire cruise. (NCL Star)

The staff was "hit & miss" when it came to service.

The entertainment and activities were not as good.

The cleanliness of the ship was not as good.

Anytime dining was a "joke" to say the least! There were lines around the corner and the wait was very long. (I hope they've improved on this!)

The commercials on T.V. lead you to believe that other ships force you to eat when and where and with whom and you have nothing to say about it. NOT TRUE!!!! Princess allows all kinds of variables when it comes to dining. When, where, with whom, etc. etc. And, if you're not happy the Matre'd will go out of his/her way to please you!

 

Overall impression; Princess is a better cruiseline - IMHO!!!!

[mmceachn]

NCL v. PRINCESS: Absolutely no comparison!

NCL:

The decor is not pleasing (both in the public spaces and in the cabins). The food is not as good.

The ship always felt crowded! Layout is not as good!

The buffet area is like a school cafeteria, with cheap tables and chairs and the drink station looks like a "soup kitchen", in the worst sense. There was a "black water" smell on the lower level that stayed with the ship the entire cruise. (NCL Star)

The staff was "hit & miss" when it came to service.

The entertainment and activities were not as good.

The cleanliness of the ship was not as good.

Anytime dining was a "joke" to say the least! There were lines around the corner and the wait was very long. (I hope they've improved on this!)

The commercials on T.V. lead you to believe that other ships force you to eat when and where and with whom and you have nothing to say about it. NOT TRUE!!!! Princess allows all kinds of variables when it comes to dining. When, where, with whom, etc. etc. And, if you're not happy the Matre'd will go out of his/her way to please you!

 

Overall impression; Princess is a better cruiseline - IMHO!!!!

 

 

Wow....I love the NCL ships. The NCL Dawn cabins are very nice. In seven NCL cruises I have never had a problem with eating when I want or where I want. Table for 2 or sharing with others..requests were met most of the time.

 

I also liked the buffet on the NCL Dawn and didn't find it high school at all.

When I sailed on the Dawn, the ship was spotless.

I have a winter cruise booked on the Dawn.

 

I'm looking forward to trying Princess in November, and expect to find that some things will be better on Princess and some things will be more to my liking on NCL.

 

I know that cappuchino is free on NCL and Princess charges for it but other than that I expect to enjoy the cruise and not let small things annoy me.

[Ron n Jon]

IYO. For $ 1200.00 more why would you choose Princess over a similar cruise W/ NCL. Considering everything is Apples to Apples.

 

If you have to ask then we cannot help you...

[wizard-of-roz]

Sammy: Thank you for sharing your NCL experience. I have not tried the Dawn but I'm always open to enjoy a new ship. Maybe it was an "off" week for the Star!

I have ALWAYS been pleased by my Princess cruises, on many different ships.

I've read and heard some negative things about CCL and, yet, we had a wonderful time onboard the Pride.

Tis why there are so many choices out there for our varied appetites and desires! ;)

[Sea Hag]

If it's truly apples to apples and truly that big a price difference, then it's a no-brainer for me. NCL! Definitely. I like Princess best, but I like NCL just fine. The sailings we've been on with NCL were great. Not all the food was outstanding, but a lot of it was. Don't much care about the cabin decor. And, a big plus here, the Panama Canal cruise we did on the NCL Dream had the happiest, most cheerful crew we've ever seen. No idea why, but it was a very happy crew, and that adds a lot.

[willysgrandma]

That's what I do not understand. Everything is similar, room, time of year, etc. Ship, Norwegian Dawn vs Crown Princess.

 

Comparing those two ships, I would go with the Crown. You can't compare the ships. NCL has small rooms, very little storage space in the cabins, the food is not very good, the service is not as good as Princess and there are often long waits at popular times for dinner in any of their restaurants.

 

Also, if you like dressing up for formal nights, this isn't the cruise line for you. NCL is VERY casual - they actually have one dining room they dedicate to those who want to dress up on formal night, because the cruise line allows casual dress every night.

 

As long as you know what to expect, NCL isn't a bad line, but it is extremely casual. To me, it is nothing lke Princess.

[mmceachn]

Sammy: Thank you for sharing your NCL experience. I have not tried the Dawn but I'm always open to enjoy a new ship. Maybe it was an "off" week for the Star!

I have ALWAYS been pleased by my Princess cruises, on many different ships.

I've read and heard some negative things about CCL and, yet, we had a wonderful time onboard the Pride.

Tis why there are so many choices out there for our varied appetites and desires! ;)

 

Wizard-of-Roz,

 

You are so right...I tried a Costa cruise last year (Mediterranea) and enjoyed it very much, and am very much looking forward to trying Princess next month.

[Tatka]

I guess it depends on a ship.

 

We sailed on NCL Spirit and Sun(DH) and Caribbean Princess.. and found Princess cruise more enjoyable.. But NCL was very nice.. including decor (Spirit I guess is not a regular NCL ship.. Asian flavor).

 

However Princess has bigger cabins, better service, much biger pool selection ( I can't forget fights for lounge chairs on Spirit.. although pool area was very very nice).

 

Also lunch buffets were much much better on Princess.

 

I am not sure we'd pay $1200 more for a similar cruise though.. We'll better spend these money on excursions.

 

I would pay this difference if I had to chose between Princess and Carnival.

[sonnenschein]

NCL :eek: :mad:

 

Princess :D :)

[cmarshall9]

NCL v. PRINCESS: Absolutely no comparison!

 

NCL:

The decor is not pleasing (both in the public spaces and in the cabins). The food is not as good.

The ship always felt crowded! Layout is not as good!

The buffet area is like a school cafeteria, with cheap tables and chairs and the drink station looks like a "soup kitchen", in the worst sense. There was a "black water" smell on the lower level that stayed with the ship the entire cruise. (NCL Star)

The staff was "hit & miss" when it came to service.

The entertainment and activities were not as good.

The cleanliness of the ship was not as good.

Anytime dining was a "joke" to say the least! There were lines around the corner and the wait was very long. (I hope they've improved on this!)

 

The commercials on T.V. lead you to believe that other ships force you to eat when and where and with whom and you have nothing to say about it. NOT TRUE!!!! Princess allows all kinds of variables when it comes to dining. When, where, with whom, etc. etc. And, if you're not happy the Matre'd will go out of his/her way to please you!

 

Overall impression; Princess is a better cruiseline - IMHO!!!!

I totally agree with Wizard of Roz!

[hubofhockey]

I will be booking a Med cruise in April for 2010. I want to do a 7-day cruise and Princess doesn't offer one and Carnival stopped Med cruises in July :mad: . So, I'm between RCI's Voyager and NCL's new Gem. RCI will cost a total of $800 more for my wife and I. I admit that I am a bit nervous about NCL and feel RCI is more of a safe bet.

[Umbarger]

Comparing those two ships, I would go with the Crown. You can't compare the ships. NCL has small rooms, very little storage space in the cabins, the food is not very good, the service is not as good as Princess and there are often long waits at popular times for dinner in any of their restaurants.

 

Also, if you like dressing up for formal nights, this isn't the cruise line for you. NCL is VERY casual - they actually have one dining room they dedicate to those who want to dress up on formal night, because the cruise line allows casual dress every night.

 

As long as you know what to expect, NCL isn't a bad line, but it is extremely casual. To me, it is nothing lke Princess.

 

Willysgrandma,

 

On your list of completed cruises I don't see the NCL Dawn. You can't possibly compare Princess to your NCLA cruise. :eek: The Hawaii NCL cruises are nothing like NCL cruises. I also went on a NCLA Hawaii cruise and it was different. Yes is was casual but Hawaii is a casuel place.

 

You can't judge NCL by only being on NCLA. In fact you havent even been on a NCL cruise yet.

 

I was on the Dawn last year and had a great cruise. We loved the Dawn. We also took the Crown Princess and actually enjoyed the Dawn better. It was the best NCL cruise we had ever been on.

 

I would say our cabin was the same size as Princess. We also had plenty of storage space.

 

Food was excellent. Dawn has a Mexican and Italian restaurant for free and they are both great. We never had a wait to be seated in the dining room however we generally ate early most times but sometimes we ate late and still didn't have to wait.

 

Service was the same as Princess. We were treated like Queens on the Dawn. Everyone was great to us.

 

I'd save the $1200 and go with NCL Dawn. That is alot of money. Think of all the shore excursions and shopping you can do with that $1200.

 

Beside variety is the spice of life. Try NCL if you haven't tried them before.

 

Linda

[Umbarger]

I will be booking a Med cruise in April for 2010. I want to do a 7-day cruise and Princess doesn't offer one and Carnival stopped Med cruises in July :mad: . So, I'm between RCI's Voyager and NCL's new Gem. RCI will cost a total of $800 more for my wife and I. I admit that I am a bit nervous about NCL and feel RCI is more of a safe bet.

 

Don't be nervous about NCL. The Gem is a brand new ship. NCL, Carnival, RCI, Princess are all major cruise lines. There is an NCL board and it is a popular cruise line just like Princess.

 

Try something new. You never know you might love NCL.

 

Besides how bad can it be....its still a cruise and there is no such thing as a bad cruise.

 

OP,

 

I would also post this on the NCL board to get a more even comparison.

[Tatka]

I will be booking a Med cruise in April for 2010. I want to do a 7-day cruise and Princess doesn't offer one and Carnival stopped Med cruises in July :mad: . So, I'm between RCI's Voyager and NCL's new Gem. RCI will cost a total of $800 more for my wife and I. I admit that I am a bit nervous about NCL and feel RCI is more of a safe bet.

 

Ok.. as a former Easton resident to current Easton resident. :D

 

Cruising in Med is very different than cruising in Caribbeans.. Ships matter less than ports. I would chose the cheapest possible option, but spend money on better tours.

[cynbar]

I will be booking a Med cruise in April for 2010. I want to do a 7-day cruise and Princess doesn't offer one and Carnival stopped Med cruises in July :mad: . So, I'm between RCI's Voyager and NCL's new Gem. RCI will cost a total of $800 more for my wife and I. I admit that I am a bit nervous about NCL and feel RCI is more of a safe bet.

 

We are Princess loyalists but had the same dilemma last summer. We only wanted a 7 day cruise with time for 2 days in Barcelona, so Princess was out. We decided on the NCL Gem largely because we thought freestyle dining would be a big plus on this itinerary, and it was. We had a great cruise, although the food in the main DRs was in our opinion a step below Princess. We ate a few nights in the surcharge restaurants , working our reservations around our port plans, and the food there was much better. We would do the same ship and itinerary again.