Differences - Carnival & NCL Quasi Review

[Hobbins]

Ok, to be fair this is a comparison between two ships, because even on the same line there is some difference between ships. In this way, however, I believe one can draw a picture that is somewhat applicable between the lines in general. The Carnival experience is on the Miracle, May 24, 2009 sailing. The NCL experience is on the Dawn, with several sailings.

 

Embarkation

 

Carnival seemed slow and tedious compared to NCL. Perhaps partly because Carnival wants to take your picture right before boarding instead of at registration. Or maybe because they didn’t have a Lattitudes line for me? Who knows.

 

 

Ship

I knew Miracle was only slightly smaller in tonnage but it was noticeable throughout. Ceilings seemed lower and spaces seemed confined/smaller than Dawn. I heard so much about the tall space in the grand atrium but I didn’t recognize it until I went looking for it. Was expecting something more ’open’ than ‘tall’. This tightness was a theme throughout the ship in general. More on this later. The décor is covered elsewhere.

 

One impression I had was that this ship design may result in more apparent wind for strollers on top decks. We were going relatively slow for the wind reported and felt.

 

One great thing about this ship though, they had no ‘naughty room” to my knowledge.

 

Crew

Mostly very nice people. I would have to give the nod to NCL, however, as the apparent attitude of many of the workers was that their activity was more important than the passengers’. I saw it many times here and very rarely on NCL.

 

On the other hand, the drink hawks were not constantly asking if you wanted a drink. Unless you looked at them they never said a thing. And it seemed there was always someone to look at, if you wanted one. This is way more relaxing than on the Dawn.

 

Cabin

First thing noticed was that the doorway was much more narrow on Miracle. Inside, the bed placement on Miracle was toward outside of cabin rather than inside, which made it a squeeze to walk between the curtain and bed. This and the swinging door (as opposed to slider) was annoying when heading out to the balcony. The other thing I missed was the fridge.

 

I have decided that I hate safes that need credit cards to operate. What’s wrong with a secret number like on the Dawn? Who wants to hide their credit card in the room or take it swimming with them? Credit cards should be protected with other valuable. That’s the whole reason for a safe, is it not? And if you want to open the safe you have to locate the credit card. Hide, locate, hide, locate… Folks, it’s a pain in comparison to a touchpad.

 

I have never seen drawer pulls that are loops of cord and I hope I never do again. They looked soiled/filthy and I can’t imagine the attendants sanitizing them for every cruise. Perhaps they do but they still looked disgusting. Hangars, on the other hand, were wonderful, being easy to remove and replace.

 

Needless to say the bathroom was small but it had much less room in the shower than the Dawn (comparing balcony cabins). The Miracle allows a much larger space for the vanity though. And the toilet paper was among the most flimsy I have ever seen.

 

The balcony was pretty much the same except I think the glass does not go all the way to the deck on the Dawn. And the swinging door on the Miracle required a ‘free zone’ on the balcony.

 

Public Areas

Heard much of the décor before boarding. I mean, how bad could it be? Well I don’t mind gaudy, which it was, but when it makes a small space even more confined it becomes counterproductive. If you have never seen the Bacchus dining room you really must. There are 3D grapes on ‘every foot’ of ceiling and wall. It looks like Bacchus might have gotten a little sea-sick at some point. Dawn main dining room is comparatively elegant and much more open.

 

Most everyplace I went (except for gym, see below) the interior was comparatively confining, including the outdoor promenade deck (actually the Atlantic Deck as opposed to the Promenade Deck that was inside). Here there was not enough room for chairs and consequently was usually deserted except as a hangout for the crew. This is a big difference with the Dawn as it allowed peaceful reading in the shade (hard to come by on Miracle, especially since it was hard to get away from the piped-in music), deck games, and strolling all the way around the ship.

 

The gym on the Miracle gets an excellent rating from this cruiser. Even though the views weren’t much the Multi-level design with overhead skylight and glass walled/separated hot tub made for a pleasant and un-crowded experience. They had every weight and machine I needed. For those that need TV monitors at their machines, forget about it.

 

The Miracle has a very nice Lido area at the stern near the Buffet (with some shade) which the Dawn does not. Great access from both sides of Buffet area (and ice cream and yogurt too!).

 

One difference that really surprised me was the amount of photography aboard. I am used to them coming around and taking pictures at different times on the cruise but never expected the virtual ‘Midway’ of ‘booths’ set up on the main deck. It reminded me of a mall.

 

Food

OK, here is my subjective take. We had the ‘Anytime’ option which I expected to be much like NCL and for the most part was. The difference here was that one could only eat in a small part (upper level starboard) of the main dining room. On the Dawn you have a choice of two dining rooms and you could find a table for two by a window. This made it a bit less interesting for me as we came back to the same area each evening (I know some like that though).

 

Quality was mixed. I believe Carnival puts their money into the evening meal and skimps on buffet items. Don’t get me wrong, they have plenty of food at the buffet but not really much to choose from and not the better quality (compared to NCL). The bread products in particular seemed to be made from the same industrial dough. NCL rolls can be considered ‘gourmet artisan’ in comparison.

 

Especially better than Dawn, Miracle had superior cakes and pastries which I enjoyed in lieu of the rolls. On the Dawn chocolate things had a chocolate look but very little chocolate taste.

 

One big difference for me, one of value lost, was that the Miracle did not open the dining room for lunch on port days. Perhaps not a big deal as lunches had rather simple offerings anyway. On the Dawn we would enjoy fabulous lunches on sea days and port days.

 

Did I mention the only hot served dishes (that were supposed to be hot) on the Miracle were escargot, cappuccino, and chocolate melting cake (all excellent by the way). This was only mildly annoying since the quality of the food was generally very good (could have been excellent hot) not counting the rolls. In contrast, on the Dawn, most items were served hotter except the cappuccino.

 

We tended to use the buffet more on the Miracle in spite of the frustrating four station set-up (five with pizza). Unless you wanted food at only one station there was no chance of eating hot food (sometimes even at one station). Typically I had to stand in two or three lines to get what I wanted. I prefer the more robust lines/stations on the Dawn buffet (and the selection and quality).

 

The Miracle had better lobster but the shrimp (even the ‘tiger shrimp’) were the pre-cooked supermarket quality and the scallops tasted like the fake preformed variety found at some Chinese buffets. Even though most other things were very good I would have to give the Dawn the definite win in the overall food category.

 

While not really food, but related, I have to comment on the maitre d’. I did not appreciate the nightly beckoning for the crowd to say “Hi Frankie” and then being drawn into a show. I prefer to enjoy my meal quietly and not let it get any colder than it already is. There is none of this on NCL.

 

One more thing here. I found it satisfying that there were hand disinfectant stations throughout the eateries but at the same time I was hesitant to use them. Why? Well, the experience was very slimy and long to dry. Even long after dry, once you wet your hands even slightly, they became slimy again! It was nothing like on the Dawn which was a pleasure in comparison.

 

Entertainment

Production shows were very enjoyable. Upper seating area was a bit of a maze to navigate and while no big deal for us, this could be quite troublesome for anyone with walking issues. It was refreshing to see something other than Southbeach Rave and Bollywood and the material is a little better suited to younger tastes. The only really bad show was the ventriloquist. Not that he moved his mouth so much but that the he needs a better writer for his material.

 

Especially superior to the Dawn was the Karaoke. They had a very professional and entertaining master of ceremonies for this and they held it in two large areas making it comfortable and enjoyable. Again, the younger taste thing gets high marks here.

 

The Captain’s Party was kind of hokey, IMO. Maybe it was the venue, the phantom theater, but it seemed awkward for some reason. Or maybe it was because the mixed drinks served were not that good?

 

Debarkation

It was nice to have a final breakfast that morning after which we went up to the room to wait. So here we are waiting for them to call our number expecting something to be announced on the PA or TV. Nothing happens although it seems everyone around us had vacated. Seeing the time was getting late, a short walk to the main deck finds everyone crowded up and waiting. Also, we found out our number had been called, apparently on the PA in that area only. This is different than NCL. On the Dawn, as I recall, it was much more relaxing, with announcements in the room area to keep everyone informed. No problem getting off the ship after that.

 

 

[travelntreats]

Very good comparisons... although both cruiselines are similar in many ways, they both have their strengths and weaknesses.....

 

Enjoyed your review and I too enjoy my NCL cruises as well as my CCL, Princess, RCL, HAL and =x= cruises !

 

To be fortunate enough to cruise is a blessing that many take for granted I think, but I for one am happy that despite the changing economy, I am still able to enjoy the cruise vacation experience regardless of what cruiseline I sail on !

 

Happy Cruising to you.....:cool:

[jpg1747]

I was just on the Elation and at breakfast one morning one of my tablemates mentioned that on NCL [on the cruise he was on] the 2 "free" dining rooms had the exact same menu every night, in order to "encourage" passengers to go to the paying venues. Is this true on all NCL ships/cruises?

[dznymom]

I was just on the Elation and at breakfast one morning one of my tablemates mentioned that on NCL [on the cruise he was on] the 2 "free" dining rooms had the exact same menu every night, in order to "encourage" passengers to go to the paying venues. Is this true on all NCL ships/cruises?

 

That was not true of the 3 NCL ships I have been on. We would check the menu in the main dining room each day and then decide where we wanted to eat that evening. The menus in the Specialty restaurants on NCL do not change much, if at all.

 

Good comparisons, OP. The 2 cruiselines definitely have their own strengths and weaknesses, but lucky for me I enjoy them both :)

[frazzledrazzle16]

Wow-- I was on the same sailing and it seems like we were on 2 different cruises. To each their own, I guess! I have a few questions/comments...

 

- I thought embarkation was the easiest I have ever experienced and we were on the ship within 30 minutes of entering the building

- What exactly is a "naughty room"???

- You said that you missed having a fridge. I believe that all rooms have a minifridge located by the vanity. Since you had a balcony room, yours definately should have had one as we did. You can request to have this emptied by the steward if you want to use it for other items (milk, yogurt, etc)

-It seemed to me that the anytime diners had plenty of space in the dining room (half of the upstairs bacchus). We had a set dining time, but some of the tables around us were used for anytime dining if the table was vacant.

-I agree about Frankie the Matire D'. We've had much better Matire D's on our other cruises. This is our second time with him this year (we were on the Miracle in January), and both times it was the same. Frankie only came around to us once, the day before the last, and it seemed like he was only jonesing for tips. Just our opinion, I'm sure he's a nice guy but he came across in a bad way.

-If the mixed drinks were not to your liking at the Captain's party you could have requested whatever you wanted to the servers and they would have brought it to you.

-I was not aware of any problems with the hand sanitizers. They did their job. If they left your hands slimy, then the bathroom was a few steps away you could have just gone to wash your hands the old fashioned way. My problem was with the massive amount of people who did not use them whatsoever. I saw two people use them in the buffet lines throughout the entire cruise.

 

Sorry you only had a satisfactory/OK time on the Miracle. Hopefully NCL will provide you with a much more gratifying experience in the future.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Wow. Some things ring true but most of this is not my experience which is why I keep going back to Carnival. I haven't sailed on the Miracle so I can't comment completely, but I have sailed on sister ships "Spirit & Pride" and absolutely love this ship design.

 

[quote name='Hobbins;19924855

One great thing about this ship though' date=' they had no ‘naughty room” to my knowledge.[/size']

 

For the other poster, the naughty room is what they call confiscated booze. Many people try to smuggle alcohol onboard and when they find it, they take it to the naughty room and the pax has to report to the naughty room.

 

Crew

Mostly very nice people. I would have to give the nod to NCL, however, as the apparent attitude of many of the workers was that their activity was more important than the passengers’. I saw it many times here and very rarely on NCL.

Completely opposite from my experience. NCL didn't seem to work as hard or be as friendly as the staff on all 3 of my Carnival cruises. Really surprised to hear this.

 

On the other hand, the drink hawks were not constantly asking if you wanted a drink. Unless you looked at them they never said a thing. And it seemed there was always someone to look at, if you wanted one. This is way more relaxing than on the Dawn.

Not a problem for me. Sure they asked but it doesn't seem to bother me much I guess. That goes to the comment above that "apparent attitude of many of the workers was that their activity was more important than the passengers’." Hmmm.

 

Cabin

First thing noticed was that the doorway was much more narrow on Miracle. Inside, the bed placement on Miracle was toward outside of cabin rather than inside, which made it a squeeze to walk between the curtain and bed. This and the swinging door (as opposed to slider) was annoying when heading out to the balcony. The other thing I missed was the fridge.

Miracle has fridges in all their cabins. Fantasy class ships do not. The door was probably locked so you didn't realize it was there. You have to tell the steward to unlock it if it is not open already.

 

I have decided that I hate safes that need credit cards to operate. What’s wrong with a secret number like on the Dawn? Who wants to hide their credit card in the room or take it swimming with them? Credit cards should be protected with other valuable. That’s the whole reason for a safe, is it not? And if you want to open the safe you have to locate the credit card. Hide, locate, hide, locate… Folks, it’s a pain in comparison to a touchpad.

I absolutely agree with this. When you have to use a card, it means that only one person in the cabin has access unless you leave the card in the cabin which defeats the purpose. I really liked having a key pad or combo on NCL that we could enter a code that all of us knew. Gotta give props to NCL here.

 

I have never seen drawer pulls that are loops of cord and I hope I never do again. They looked soiled/filthy and I can’t imagine the attendants sanitizing them for every cruise. Perhaps they do but they still looked disgusting. Hangars, on the other hand, were wonderful, being easy to remove and replace.

I agree with this too. And many are broken too which makes it hard to open.

 

Needless to say the bathroom was small but it had much less room in the shower than the Dawn (comparing balcony cabins). The Miracle allows a much larger space for the vanity though. And the toilet paper was among the most flimsy I have ever seen.

True. I loved my shower on NCL and it had real shower doors too.:) I could bend over & shave my legs with no problem on NCL where CCL was a workout.

 

The balcony was pretty much the same except I think the glass does not go all the way to the deck on the Dawn. And the swinging door on the Miracle required a ‘free zone’ on the balcony.

Agree.

 

One difference that really surprised me was the amount of photography aboard. I am used to them coming around and taking pictures at different times on the cruise but never expected the virtual ‘Midway’ of ‘booths’ set up on the main deck. It reminded me of a mall.

My experience was the same on all ships. Even NCL had the booth set ups especially in the atrium.

 

Food

OK, here is my subjective take. We had the ‘Anytime’ option which I expected to be much like NCL and for the most part was. The difference here was that one could only eat in a small part (upper level starboard) of the main dining room. On the Dawn you have a choice of two dining rooms and you could find a table for two by a window. This made it a bit less interesting for me as we came back to the same area each evening (I know some like that though).

On NCL, I had to eat at the buffet. Even when I wanted to go to a specialty restaurant, the only time available was after 9pm which is much too late for me. I like karaoke so I have to eat early. CCL works better for me in having early dining with the same table, same waiter/waitress every night. I prefer CCL here.

 

Quality was mixed. I believe Carnival puts their money into the evening meal and skimps on buffet items. Don’t get me wrong, they have plenty of food at the buffet but not really much to choose from and not the better quality (compared to NCL). The bread products in particular seemed to be made from the same industrial dough. NCL rolls can be considered ‘gourmet artisan’ in comparison.

The food in the dining room is wonderful on all my CCL cruises. Buffet I have to give to NCL though. NCL has a better buffet IMO.

 

Did I mention the only hot served dishes (that were supposed to be hot) on the Miracle were escargot, cappuccino, and chocolate melting cake (all excellent by the way). This was only mildly annoying since the quality of the food was generally very good (could have been excellent hot) not counting the rolls. In contrast, on the Dawn, most items were served hotter except the cappuccino.

Not in my experience. Food was hot for me most times.

 

We tended to use the buffet more on the Miracle in spite of the frustrating four station set-up (five with pizza). Unless you wanted food at only one station there was no chance of eating hot food (sometimes even at one station). Typically I had to stand in two or three lines to get what I wanted. I prefer the more robust lines/stations on the Dawn buffet (and the selection and quality).

Maybe your food wasn't hot because you had to stand in multiple buffet lines. One thing I didn't like about the Elation was that their omelet station was not located where the rest of the breakfast food was. So you either got your bacon, sausage and potatoes at the buffet then waited in line to get your omelet or vise versa. Something got cold for sure.

The Miracle had better lobster but the shrimp (even the ‘tiger shrimp’) were the pre-cooked supermarket quality and the scallops tasted like the fake preformed variety found at some Chinese buffets. Even though most other things were very good I would have to give the Dawn the definite win in the overall food category.

I loved CCL shrimp. Had their shrimp cocktail every night. Yum!

 

While not really food, but related, I have to comment on the maitre d’. I did not appreciate the nightly beckoning for the crowd to say “Hi Frankie” and then being drawn into a show. I prefer to enjoy my meal quietly and not let it get any colder than it already is. There is none of this on NCL.

I dislike the maitre d beckoning tips. This irritates me.

 

One more thing here. I found it satisfying that there were hand disinfectant stations throughout the eateries but at the same time I was hesitant to use them. Why? Well, the experience was very slimy and long to dry. Even long after dry, once you wet your hands even slightly, they became slimy again! It was nothing like on the Dawn which was a pleasure in comparison.

I agree 100%. We commented a lot about the "requirement" on NCL to use their disinfectant. Everytime you got on the ship, you had to. They were located at all entrances to the buffets and restaurants etc. And I also like NCL's brand. It is more like rubbing alcohol that evaporates quickly. CCL has the slime that you have to rub in and it always leaves an icky feel to my skin. Smells like alcohol but has other additives that I don't like.

 

Especially superior to the Dawn was the Karaoke. They had a very professional and entertaining master of ceremonies for this and they held it in two large areas making it comfortable and enjoyable. Again, the younger taste thing gets high marks here.

This is definately by ship not by line. Karaoke on NCL was horrible. The person didn't have a clue how to use the equipment. But I also experienced similar on the Elation cruise where the dingbat was not a good host. My other CCL cruises were fabulous and so much fun.

 

The Captain’s Party was kind of hokey, IMO. Maybe it was the venue, the phantom theater, but it seemed awkward for some reason. Or maybe it was because the mixed drinks served were not that good?

Our were good. Even though I read you could ask for a special drink, it would take a while to get it cuz the waiters were really busy. I found that we could down 2 of their drinks quickly and they were fine.

 

[/font]

[*Mach*]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your Carnival cruise.

I'm sure that NCL will be happy to welcome you back.

I wish you all the best on the cruises in your future.

:)

[cruzeluver]

Funny, but the thing that jumped out at me (probably because I've never seen it addressed in a review before) was in regards to the drawer pulls. I know, I know, very minor thing, but man they are gross! And even if they are spotless, the look tacky and cheap as all get out.

 

Guess that's my biggest complaint with Carnival! ;)

[figs]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your Carnival cruise.

 

I'm sure that NCL will be happy to welcome you back.

 

I wish you all the best on the cruises in your future.

 

:)

 

Did I miss where the OP said he didn't like his/her cruise? Seemed a pretty balanced review (Karaoke better, lobster better, cabin worse, hand sanitizer worse, etc). What am I missing?

[steveNcindy]

 

One great thing about this ship though, they had no ‘naughty room” to my knowledge.

 

 

What is a naughty room?

[Kurbanfan]

Nice review! Makes me even more eager to book our next cruise with NCL:)

[cruzeluver]

What is a naughty room?

 

 

On NCL its where you are called if they find (or suspect that there is) booze in your luggage.

[Warm Breezes]

I was just on the Elation and at breakfast one morning one of my tablemates mentioned that on NCL [on the cruise he was on] the 2 "free" dining rooms had the exact same menu every night, in order to "encourage" passengers to go to the paying venues. Is this true on all NCL ships/cruises?

Both dining rooms have the same menu but there is a different menu every night.

[Kurbanfan]

Both dining rooms have the same menu but there is a different menu every night.

 

Just like Carnival......

[steveNcindy]

On NCL its where you are called if they find (or suspect that there is) booze in your luggage.

 

Thanks.

 

Sadly though not near as exciting as I had hoped.

[Traveler353]

Over all not a bad comparison review. A bit slanted to one side, IMHO. Hard to read the way it was laid out, but that is just my eyes. It was better not knowing what a "naughty room" was. More exciting that way.

[OV8]

Did I miss where the OP said he didn't like his/her cruise? Seemed a pretty balanced review (Karaoke better, lobster better, cabin worse, hand sanitizer worse, etc). What am I missing?

 

Yeah same here - thought the OP was very complimentary to both lines.

The ole CCL complex is @ play me thinks.

[Drew B]

Overall, the OP showed a pretty clear preference for the NCL experience, but there is nothing wrong with that. We're allowed to have preferences. I appreciate the detail that went into the comparison. That makes it much more useful to those of us who haven't [yet] sailed both lines...

[GottaLuvCruising]

What a great review! Thank you!

 

As someone who has sailed Carnival 12 times and NCL four times (five if you count a B2B as two), many (maybe most) of your points were very familiar to me. As I was reading, I thought "that's really true" or "great observation" as you pointed out things I just hadn't thought of.

 

The difference for me is that I just love the fun, upbeat relaxing atmosphere on Carnival. So some of the little things you mentioned were just not important to me (or I prefer otherwise). It's interesting how people prefer different aspects of different lines.

 

It was nice to see another point of view and I appreciate you sharing it.

[cathyoo]

Thanks for your review. I agree with the drawer pulls. I thought they were tacky but we loved Frankie. He stopped at our table quite often and I thought he had a great voice. I'm a fan of corny.

[ntune]

We were on the Carnival Liberty in 2007 and on the NCL Dawn in 2008. I will agree that embarkation was faster on NCL. We had inside cabins on both. NCL's was definitely smaller, or maybe set up differently. We just felt very closed in on NCL. We felt the staff on Carnival was much friendlier. We never met our steward on NCL and there were times when they were only in the cabin once, in the morning. This was the complete opposite of the Liberty, where sometimes we would only be out of the cabin for 10 minutes and our steward would have gone in and "freshened up". The cruise director on NCL was much more visible, but there were far fewer activities going on. The only thing that they did, over and over, was push overpriced bingo.

 

We enjoyed the food in the specialty restaurants on NCL, but you have to keep in mind that we were paying extra. We did not like the food in the dining room and were told that we couldn't order "off the menu". (we are far from picky eaters) There were a couple of nights that we went to the dining room, looked at the menu, then tried to get into a specialty restaurant but couldn't, so we ended up at the buffet. As far as freestyle, if you don't book your speciality restaurant reservations very early in the cruise, you are not going to get in. Other than the option of going to the dining room when we wanted (and there was usually a line during peak times), I didn't get the whole freestyle concept. If I have to plan four days ahead of time where I am going to eat and what time, that kind of defeats the purpose. We enjoyed the dining room and the buffet on Carnival much more. We felt the quality of food was far superior.

 

I will admit that after our NCL cruise last year, we had decided that maybe we should just stick to land based vacations. We had a good time, but it was not at all what we had experienced on Carnival. However, we decided we love cruising too much, so we are booked on the Freedom on June 28th and can't wait.

 

It is definitely a matter of personal opinion and preference. We are not big party people or late night people, but Carnival was just a better fit for us. Having said that, there are many people out there that prefer NCL. I guess I am just happy that we have the option of choosing from many different cruise lines with many different atmospheres so that we can all be satisfied. For us, it is Carnival, hands down.:)

[joebert]

I was just on the Elation and at breakfast one morning one of my tablemates mentioned that on NCL [on the cruise he was on] the 2 "free" dining rooms had the exact same menu every night, in order to "encourage" passengers to go to the paying venues. Is this true on all NCL ships/cruises?

 

Currently, NCL is experimenting with new menus on the DAWN. The two dining rooms (Aqua and Venetian) have different menus but each dining room has the same menu everynight. They add chef specials everynight. They are probably going to roll this out fleetwide later this year. This is a major topic on the NCL board.