Thinking about NCL for Greece 2010 - your thoughts?

[jawlaw]

Our family of 5 has sailed Carnival (1x) and Disney (3x) when the kids were little, and we were loyal to Royal Carribean (6x) through the teen years. My wife and I have done Celebrity (1x).

 

We're all grown up now (51-52-23-21-18; all sons), and we're looking for something different.

 

I'm holding a one week cruise, RT Venice to the Greek Islands, 06/05/10. Any thoughts on NCL v. RCI for this, our first European, cruise? The only RCI ship doing a similar itinerary is the Splendour, which is among the oldest of their ships.

 

The Gem looks awfully nice, but I'm just not sure about this casual ship and NCL's freestyle dining.

[pcur]

Your sons will love the Splendour, and I have sailed on her before. RCCL takes very, very good care of their ships, and they all have rock climbing and night clubs. The age of the Splendour is not an issue IMO. I am also looking at the Splendour for October 2010 Venice-Greece-Turkey-Venice, and an inside right now is $749 pp. That's a really good price.

 

Mediterranean cruises are very port intensive, so your ship is not really as much of a destination itself: there aren't that many sea days.

 

I have sailed NCL once, and my gf who cruises with me on RCCL about once a year for a girls only cruise, has been twice. We both think the whole experience is better on RCCL. I did not like the food service or the quality of the food on NCL, and she agrees.

 

If it's cost that is your most important factor, then NCL is usually cheaper, but that $749 pp is very tempting to me.

[truffles2]

Brilliance in the med is wonderful! You could not go wrong.