Thoughts on Norwegian?

[KateDen]

We have sailed twice each on RCCL and NCL and enjoyed all of the cruises. We have just sailed on the smaller ships: Vision and Legend for Royal and Sun and Star for NCL, so I can't comment on the larger vessels. We found both lines to be very clean with comparable services in most cases.

 

The main difference is in the dining. Royal provides a more structured, shall we say, formal cruise, though I hear they are now trying a "dine when you want" on some ships. We had assigned dinner dining times with the same tablemates and servers. The servers usually remembered what you like, such as coffee or iced tea, and it was waiting when you arrived. There are also two or more designated formal nights and other nights with specific dress "suggestions." This all works well when you like your tablemates and your servers -- and you like to dress up. On the larger ships there are other optional dining rooms with a charge, but the ships we were on did not have them (at least not that I recall).

 

NCL's Freestyle does not have assigned dining times or tablemates, although you can actually schedule the same dining time and table if you wish. There are usually two main dining rooms that have good food and no extra charges. There are many tables for two, or you can sit with your own group or with new friends you have made on the cruise. You arrive when you want between around 5 and 9 and there rarely is a wait to be seated. There are also several other restaurants with pp charges ranging from $10 at the TexMex place (including a large margarita), up to $25 pp for Teppanyaki. Most run from $15-$20, but are well worth the cost. You usually make reservations at these restaurants and we never had a problem getting in when and where we wanted. And on NCL formal night is definitely "formal-optional." There are no "smart casual" nights either. Most people dressed nicely, but casually, for dinner. Shorts are not allowed for dinner, except in the buffet (which we never tried), and jeans are not allowed in one of the main dining rooms. We found service to be great at all the restaurants, but unless you reserve the same table every night, you will have different servers. For us it was like visiting a town and trying out different restaurants. However, some people only went to the main dining rooms and were quite happy.

 

I might add that on both RCCL voyages we were travelling with friends or family, so we knew we would like our tablemates. In some cases on Disney and Princess we have had tablemates we had nothing in common with, which definitely detracts from the cruising experience. On NCL we have dined with new friends on some nights and alone on others.

 

We choose our cruises based on itinerary and price rather than loyalty to any particular cruise line. We go with the idea that we will have a wonderful, relaxing time and in most cases we do.

 

Kate

[threeofus]

We sailed on the star some years back....Nice slide in the pool for the kids - the good thing was it emptied into a small pool behind the main pool so there wasn't a lot of screaming and splashing in the main pool. I thought it was a good concept.

 

Yes many of the restaurants are paid venues - but they were great! Well worth it. We never had a problem getting reservations.

 

They had a great BBQ on the pool deck for sail-away - which was great. You got to enjoy the sail-away without rushing to dinner.

 

We had a jr. suite level and were treated as a suite guest.

 

All in all - loved the freestyle and would definitely sail with them again especially now that RCL has changed their loyalty program.

[slotaddict]

Can anyone comment on the Pride of America? They have a cruise doing a 7 day in Hawaii that sounds interesting.

 

 

I have never sailed on the POA - but from all accounts it is not good. I believe the company that owns it is NCLA - whatever that is I am not exactly sure. The main problem with the ship as I have read - again not from personal experience - is the service is terrible - it is fully staffed with americans who by all accounts do not go out of their way to make you happy. If you choose to sail this ship I would suggest doing some research, see what the problems are on the ship and decide if you can live with them. Otherwise I would book another cruiseline to Hawaii.

[debshomespun]

We have mostly RCCL cruises, but like to try the other lines. We did the 9 night Pearl in March/07. It was wonderful. The food was very good. We love the freestyle dining. You can go to dinner when you want to, not when the cruiseline tells you it is time. Makes it much nicer for the days you do port stops. The service was great on NCL. We are doing another NCL 14 night repo on the Dawn this Nov. and really looking forward to it. RC is getting stale with their port stops. We are looking to broaden our horizens, and have to take the other cruise lines to see other places. Well worth it!

[msmarvel]

Let me add that we tended to eat dinner late. We would meet for a drink a the martini bar around 7:00, and always got a seat at the bar. If there was a bigger group, we sat the club chairs right next to the bar.

 

Ate at the steak house, the Teppenyaki hibachi, the MDR a few times and never had to wait for a table - even just walking up to the main dining room. Service was quick, no issues.

 

The only thing I paid for was the martini tasting. A lot of stuff was free. i don't know what the one poster was looking at that all charged fees. Any alcohol tasting (beer, wine, martini) or specialty gym classes will of course cost extra. But there was plenty of free things to see and do.

[Janice M]

I just got off the Norwegian Jewel and it was one of the best cruises I have ever been on. The service was fantastic and the food was the best I have had in a long while.

 

You have nothing to loose by taking NCL. Its a vacation, its still the carribean, and you are still on a beautiful ship. I say try something new...you just might like it.

 

Our daughter and her family just got off the Norweigian Jewel and they loved it. The food was great, good activities for kids. They liked the free style dining. The price was good.

 

Jan

[dmbfiredancer03]

I have to admit I was intrigued by the Pearl when I watched that documentary, but it will be awhile before I can try them. I have a scheduled cruise in July that will make me Platinum (even though that doesn't mean much, I'm still happy to make it to that level) and then I have a NextCruise I need to use and will probably go ahead and go with it to enjoy a cruise knowing that I'm finally Platinum. :)

 

But after that, it's going to be a lot of cruises until I get to Diamond, so I will probably just start shopping around.

[aloha43]

I love the Norwegian Dawn - I would sail her again in a heartbeat. Having no loyalty to any cruiseline has it advantages - I truly enjoy all of my cruises.

 

I do agree that the Dawn is difficult to navigate, but that problem is somewhere in the vicinity of one of main dining rooms, once you figure it out there is no problem.

 

What I think is happening here is that many people now are trying other cruiselines due to price and itinerary and some are finding that they are pleasantly surprised.

 

We have never had a problem with Freestyle cruising - and I believe that if you eat around 5:45 or after 8:30 you will experience no problems whatsoever. We have never had a problem with service onboard NCL - I have read that other people feel differently.

 

Give it a try and enjoy yourself.

 

My mom cruised NCL with a group of about 20 people a couple of years ago.

 

She (and most of the others) were very confused when it came to navigating around the ship. She said that they had to go through the smoky casino anytime that they wanted to go from one end of the ship to the other. I'm sure there was probably a way to avoid the casino, but for the elderly it wasn't very easy.

 

The whole group agreed that the food was cold, and "horrible" was the word they used.

 

That sounds like a terrible outcome....but ships can be different so to make up my own mind, I would someday like to experience it to form my own opinion.

 

They do have some great itineraries, so we may try it someday.

 

But RCL is wonderful, and it is really hard to change when we love them so much! :)

[Ilovecruisin]

Can anyone comment on the Pride of America? They have a cruise doing a 7 day in Hawaii that sounds interesting.

 

My husband and I cruised on the Pride of America a year ago. We enjoyed the ship and the ports. It's a great way to see Hawaii, rent a car and off you go!!! You overnight in port

so that makes it easy to see the area up close and personal. The ship is basically a floating hotel.

 

I think the crew gets a bad rap that's unearned. There are good and bad all over, in all walks of life, on every ship or fast food restaurant. The discussions I have heard are based on the fact that the crew are Americans and perhaps have a different work ethic. We never had a problem in any area of the ship from checking in to dining room service or the cabin. We have sailed both RCL and NCL numerous times.

 

Its also a case of checking your negative attitude at the gate for some people, they can never be happy. IMHO of course.

[CrusinAgain]

I've been on several NCL ships and never had to reserve the day before and never had a fee associated with the Freestyle Dining. We even had a party of 10 on one cruise and never had a problem being seated promptly. I have a January 2010 cruise booked on NCL and a May 2009 booked on RCCL. I like both lines equally for different reasons.

 

Are you saying that all the freestyle dining choices are free? The main dining rooms are included in your fare as well as the buffet but Cagneys, LeBistro, LaCucina, Teppanyaki, Lotus Garden, Sushi Bar, all were fee based in the double digits. And yes we as well as the majority of the posters had to reserve the day before and suites had first choice. I still read where cruisers are paying the fees for these restaurants and having to make reservations. We did cruise before Freestyle 2.0 became effective but the theme restaurants still have fees which means the Steak House, the Italian, the Japanese, the Asian and the French dining rooms. The Mexican Tex-Mex was no fee when we cruised.

[slotaddict]

My husband and I cruised on the Pride of America a year ago. We enjoyed the ship and the ports. It's a great way to see Hawaii, rent a car and off you go!!! You overnight in port

so that makes it easy to see the area up close and personal. The ship is basically a floating hotel.

 

I think the crew gets a bad rap that's unearned. There are good and bad all over, in all walks of life, on every ship or fast food restaurant. The discussions I have heard are based on the fact that the crew are Americans and perhaps have a different work ethic. We never had a problem in any area of the ship from checking in to dining room service or the cabin. We have sailed both RCL and NCL numerous times.

 

Its also a case of checking your negative attitude at the gate for some people, they can never be happy. IMHO of course.

 

Its good to hear someone say something nice about the POA - I think personally that I may have to sail RCL to Hawaii - POA has no casinos. LOL

[neptune18]

Sailed on the Pearl over New Year's after two cruises on Crown Princess. Was somewhat nervous but pleasantly surprised. The Pearl, although very clean and a nice big ship, just seemed to be lacking any "wow" factor. Food was pretty good and we ate in D.R. and several pay restaurants. Service was good but a notch or two below Princess. If you're used to Freedom class, I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself but you definitely will feel the difference.

[CruisinManiac]

My husband and I cruised on the Pride of America a year ago. We enjoyed the ship and the ports. It's a great way to see Hawaii, rent a car and off you go!!! You overnight in port

so that makes it easy to see the area up close and personal. The ship is basically a floating hotel.

 

I think the crew gets a bad rap that's unearned. There are good and bad all over, in all walks of life, on every ship or fast food restaurant. The discussions I have heard are based on the fact that the crew are Americans and perhaps have a different work ethic. We never had a problem in any area of the ship from checking in to dining room service or the cabin. We have sailed both RCL and NCL numerous times.

 

Its also a case of checking your negative attitude at the gate for some people, they can never be happy. IMHO of course.

 

Thank you, it is good to hear this. ;)

 

We have already cruised to Hawaii on the Serenade of the Seas. Great trip! I would like to do it again, and the POA had such a good price and itinerary.

 

Its good to hear someone say something nice about the POA - I think personally that I may have to sail RCL to Hawaii - POA has no casinos. LOL

I would have said the same thing last year, but since the slots have changed over to the electronic system, I am not very thrilled with playing anymore, so having no casino will not bother us.

[Fargo2]

We were on the Norwegian Jewel 2 years ago in March, and on the RC Serenade of the Seas last month. To compare, I thought the Serenade was a more attractive ship, with all the glass and the open centrum area, but neither one was all that difficult to navigate. (unless it was after too much wine...) Regarding food, both were good. NCL had wonderful chilled soups that I remember. We liked the anytime dining on NCL, but also enjoyed having the same wait staff with scheduled dining on the Serenade. Communication with staff was similar on both, just like in 'real life', sometimes some people are easier to understand than others, but everyone appreciates patience, consideration, and a 'thank you'. I think NCL had the edge on entertainment at night, their shows were spectacular! Service was good on both, we did have an issue with our return flights this last time, found out because we used the luggage valet program, and RC assisted us with a courtesy phone call to the airline to clear it up. Fabulous customer service, in my book. However, on our NCL cruise we were celebrating my birthday and our anniversary, and we got an entire cake for each, as well as a complementary bottle of wine and reservation at a specialty restaurant! RC did bring us a piece of cheescake with candles and sang 'Happy Anniversary'. We attended 'meet and mingle/meet and greet' on both, and both had lots that signed up and didn't show, both NCL and RC offered snacks and beverages, but on the NCL Jewel, we got the captain and several of the officers at our gathering! (So there I am, pictured on my 50th, wearing my '50' tiara, with my DH, the captain, and half a dozen of the crew. Awesome.) Both cruises were 7 days, NCL out of Miami, and RC out of San Juan. 3 ports for NCL, 5 ports for RC. We loved both cruises, would go back on either cruise line in a heartbeat.

[petesweet]

For 2010 we are currently deciding on either the Oasis or the new NCL Epic. I am waiting for the prices on the Epic and that will help me decide.

 

Be like us: We're looking at going on Oasis November 13 to Western Caribbean out of Fort Lauderdale and then driving down to Miami upon disembarkation and boarding the Epic for 7 nights to Eastern Caribbean. Or is it the other way? Anyway, the prices aren't bad (we always book an inside cabin), and it will be interesting to compare the two. I don't care about the itineraries since I plan to spend all my time on the ships!! Oasis costs $12 more than Epic, but the difference in tip expenses makes it almost identical in price for the week.

To the OP: To me, the difference is traditional dining or not. We LOVE traditional dining. While you can now get either on RCCL, you cannot get either on NCL--only freestyle.

[Sharonlee912]

[quote name='CruisinManiac']Can anyone comment on the Pride of America? They have a cruise doing a 7 day in Hawaii that sounds interesting.[/quote]
We did the Pride of America last year and the Pride of Aloha the year before. The itinerary is awesome and the price was great. This is an excellent way to see all of the islands and definately a port intensive trip. We loved Freestyle Dining and loved the balcony room. They had small coffee pots in the cabin which was nice also. My husband loves the food on Norwegian. I cannot explain the difference in the two lines except to say on Royal Carribean, you are treated like royalty and everything is perfect and I like them better! The Pride of Aloha (gone) was an American crew. The Pride of America had both American and International crew members. If you go, stay in Waikiki a few days before or after. There is so much to do in Oahu........ Pearl Harbor, North Shore, Diamondhead, or the Circle Island tour. I would do this cruise again in a heartbeat but if RCCL was there, I would pick them over Norwegian!

[GrannyMouse]

[quote name='CrusinAgain']Are you saying that all the freestyle dining choices are free? The main dining rooms are included in your fare as well as the buffet but Cagneys, LeBistro, LaCucina, Teppanyaki, Lotus Garden, Sushi Bar, all were fee based in the double digits. And yes we as well as the majority of the posters had to reserve the day before and suites had first choice. I still read where cruisers are paying the fees for these restaurants and having to make reservations. We did cruise before Freestyle 2.0 became effective but the theme restaurants still have fees which means the Steak House, the Italian, the Japanese, the Asian and the French dining rooms. The Mexican Tex-Mex was no fee when we cruised.[/quote]

I didn't mean to imply that the specialty restaurants were free. I'm not aware of any cruise line where the specialty restaurants are free and in my experience they always require a reservation. That has nothing to do with NCL's Freestyle -that refers to the concept of eating when you want to and not having to dress up for dinner.

[struther1]

Most of our cruises have been with RCCL but we did cruise with Norwegian once, out of New York, several years back, up to Canada. We enjoyed Norwegian and found them to be comparable to RCCL in every way (didn't feel one was any better than the other). One interesting thing for us, we were a party of 9 and Norwegian had freestyle dining but we found ourselves showing up at the same time every night, sitting at the same table every night and having the same waiter (Jersey from Poland) every night because we liked him learning and then anticipating our wants and needs. Norwegian or RCCL ? To me the worst day on any cruise ship is better than the best day at work. :), so you can't go wrong either way.

[scottyo72]

[quote name='slotaddict']I have never sailed on the POA - but from all accounts it is not good.[/quote]

I have sailed POA, and my account is that it was very good.

[quote name='slotaddict']The main problem with the ship as I have read - again not from personal experience - is the service is terrible - it is fully staffed with americans who by all accounts do not go out of their way to make you happy.[/quote]

NCL has gone from three American-staffed ships to one. They essentially took the top 1/3 of the staff from each ship, so the POA has a fine crew. We found the service to be good and friendly. It was not obsequious or pandering like the international crews sometimes lean toward, in my opinion.


[quote name='slotaddict']If you choose to sail this ship I would suggest doing some research, see what the problems are on the ship and decide if you can live with them. Otherwise I would book another cruiseline to Hawaii.[/quote]

Always a good idea. I think you will find POA is garnering generally positive reviews with the occasional "it all totally sucked" comment that you see with reviews of all ships in all lines.

It is also unlike most other cruises. You are in port every day with 2 overnight stops. There are fewer activities, since there's hardly anybody on the ship during day. Most people are too tired at night to do much more than listen to some music. To be honest I was a little disappointed with the main dining rooms, but they weren't bad. The specialty restaurants were all exceptional, and we didn't have a hard time getting reservations.

I certainly don't speak for everyone or gaurantee you will have a similar experience, but for what it's worth, that was my experience.

[halos]

[quote name='bouhunter']We've been on 4 cruises the past 4 winters, all RCCL (Mariner, Navigator, Liberty, Independence). We LOVE RCCL and are hesitant to try something else. Obviously we've only been on the bigger ships and really liked them because we keep going back:) For anyone who's been on Norwegian, considering the RCCL ships we've been on do you think we'd like it? We like the Royal Promenade and have always considered the cleanliness and service on RCCL impeccable. We're only shopping around for two reasons:

1. Price

2. The 9-night caribbean itinerary for Norwegian Dawn is AWESOME. We so wish RCCL went to some of these other ports.

Switching from RCCL next year would be a big decision because we've liked it so much. All thoughts and comments are welcome.

THANKS![/QUOTE]

I tried NCL against my will in Nov of 2007. :p My DH found a deal on a repositioning cruise (15 days!) on the NCL Spirit that was too hard to pass up. Because I had read such negativity on these boards I went along with the booking basically because how could I refuse 15 days on a ship? I figured no matter how bad it was, I'd still be cruising, so what the heck.
Well, we had an amazingly fabulous time. NCL crew are hands down the best...they interact with passengers so much more than on other lines. We partied with the crew in the evenings in Maharini's lounge. The cruise director was all over the ship, you could see him and talk with him all the time. We went with about 100 people from our roll call and made lasting friendships. basically, it was the best cruise I had ever had.
I was so shocked that we enjoyed it and STILL I thought it must be a fluke. After all, people on the other boards are always talking about how awful NCL is. So, I thought we must have just 'been lucky this time'.
So when I booked my second NCL cruise and then my third..and each one was just as great (if not even better) than the one before, I finally realized...HOLY CRAP! This is a great cruise line!!

Little things:
Personally, I think NCL's ships are ugly as all get out (on the outside)...but inside, they are very pretty. BUT not as pretty as RCI ships.
Activities: ENDLESS options. We were never bored for one minute on that 15 day cruise and no activities were repetitive. There was somethign new every day and night.
Entertainment: Top notch

Dining: OK, this is where some people get nervous...NCL has many surcharge eateries. BUT this is in addition to regular dinign rooms and other free venues. The surcharge restaurants run anywhere from $10 to $25 pp and are all excellent...but if you don't want to pay for any meals on a cruise, the free dining is very good as well. The nice thing is that the choices are numerous and if you DO decide to take a nice long cruise, you do not ever get bore with the meals because you have SO many options.

Freestyle: Freestyle (imo) is a little more work. You need to plan your meals around the evenings activities if there is something you don't want to miss. We have never had a logn wait for a table, but we always make resrevations OR choose to eat a little on the late side (after 8PM) to avoid the big 'rush hour' lines that you may find between 6 and 7 PM.

Service: I love all cruise lines, and I have loved all my cruises...but on NCL the crew is just extra special for some reason. If you prefer the way the crew is on Celebrity for instance (very, very formal and makes you feel like a wealthy person being waited on by stuffy 'help') then NCL may displease you...because the crew is more informal, much less stuffy and a lot more fun.

I have another repositioning cruise booked on NCL for this fall. I can NOT wait to get on the ship. I know it's going to be awesome.


I know you feel secure with Royal and seem timid about trying a different line, but please do this for yourself. You are not cheating on a spouse for goodness sake! Expand your horizons a little. Mix it up! Each line has something different to offer. Cruising different lines keeps you from becoming bored. Give them all a shot! You'll be surprised how much fun it is to have some variety. :)

LOL..I'm sure all the varied responses here are no help to you. You won't know until you try it yourself. ;)

[scg1a0]

We have sailed 7 times on Royal in the last 7 years and once on NCL Gem last month.

We found that me much prefer the service, food and ships with Royal. The Gem (NCL's newest ship) had very little public space due to the number of restaurants and what there was seemed oddly laid out. We never found a place where we enjoyed spending time. The food was adequate, at best, and the food in the specialty restaurants was not very good. The service was poor, overall. It seemed as though many waiters did not speak english very well so they would avoid you. The worst was the bar service where I would wait, at an empty bar, for 5 minutes to have them take my order and then would seem frustrated that I was there. (This happened several times)

We had a mini-suite and it was about the size of a superior balcony. I had, incorrectly, thought that it would be closer to a Junior Suite so any cost savings I had, initially, evaporated. The mini-suite bathroom was nice, but I prefer not to spend much time in there on a cruuise!

Overall, if you are happy with Royal, I would recommend staying with them. We made the change based on price and have been regretting it ever since.

[Bold Spirit]

[quote name='CruisinManiac']Can anyone comment on the Pride of America? They have a cruise doing a 7 day in Hawaii that sounds interesting.[/quote]

We had a great time on the Pride of America; it's a beautiful ship and the itinerary can't be beaten! However, the food and service were not as good as others we've been on. The staff is all American and seem to be a little more laid back. However, I would go back on the Pride in a heartbeat!!! We're trying the Norwegian Spirit this fall.

[TexasR&H]

NCL was just okay. We had a smaller ship, pre-freestyle cruising that was very dated in decor (Hello orange laminate counters, mirrors galore). Food wasn't excellent, but wasn't bad. Not enough activities to keep us busy on at sea days - only one cooking demo (and we almost got flambeed due to malfunction of gas tank for stove), bingo was about the only activity every afternoon. Sailing was from Galveston to Mexico/Honduras and it felt like a big frat party - bunch of college kids drinking and rowdy.

Would we try it again? Maybe, but we'd be careful about the itinerary and choice of ship.

[borrowash]

[quote name='PACrew']I just got off the Norwegian Jewel and it was one of the best cruises I have ever been on. The service was fantastic and the food was the best I have had in a long while.

You have nothing to loose by taking NCL. Its a vacation, its still the carribean, and you are still on a beautiful ship. I say try something new...you just might like it.[/quote]

We were on the Jewel Nov 08 NY to Miami. The food in the the main dining room for dinner was terrible. In 12 nights? we went to the MDR 5 times and gave up on it. The last time I sent 2 dinners back, never had to send one back on any other line. Someone had described their food as canteen food. Food elsewhere was a bit better. But other diners,
some repeaters thought it was alright. So I guess it's up to the individual.
Everything else was on par, ship, entertainment, crew etc. I will never go back. Smooth Sailings.

[slotaddict]

Scotty thanks for the info on POA - as I said it was not from personal experience but from what I have read on these very boards, it may be worth considering.


Halos - which NCL ship are you doing for the transatlantic???

Whoever said they were sailing the Spirit - it is a great ship - clean, classy looking with an Asian Flair - and a top notch crew.