Anyone been on a NCL cruise?

fangbosun · #1 08-02-2006, 09:29 AM

There is a pretty good deal in Oz at the moment involving flights to New York and an 11 night cruise to the carribean on the Norwegian Spirit. Can anybody comment on this cruise company? I have visited www.cruisecritic.com but there are conflicting comments.

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motordavid · #2 08-02-2006, 09:33 AM

Damn, that's a long flight for a float around the Caribe.

statdoc · #3 08-02-2006, 09:38 AM

I did a Norwegian cruise a couple years ago, bouncing amongst the islands of Hawaii. Very nice, clean and such. No real complaints. Just a bit "sterile"; maybe oriented toward an older crowd than my 40'ish wife and myself with our then-10 year old son. We had done a Disney cruise the year before, and actually enjoyed it a bit more.

Juanted · #4 08-02-2006, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by statdoc

I did a Norwegian cruise a couple years ago, bouncing amongst the islands of Hawaii. Very nice, clean and such. No real complaints. Just a bit "sterile"; maybe oriented toward an older crowd than my 40'ish wife and myself with our then-10 year old son. We had done a Disney cruise the year before, and actually enjoyed it a bit more.

The CEO and I did the same thing: and Inter-island Hawaiian cruse with NCL America. It was nice... no complaints, but by FAR the best cruiseline is Royal Caribbean. The service is top-notch, the ships are simply beautiful. We had a blast -- so much so, that we're going on another RCI cruise for Christmas. NCL is nice, though. Go for it!

Juan

fangbosun · #5 08-02-2006, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by motordavid

Damn, that's a long flight for a float around the Caribe.

When you live in Australia EVERYTHING is a long way away!!!!!!!

PapX5 · #6 08-02-2006, 07:28 PM

Depends what your looking for but I wouldnt say that Royal is the best (Its nice thats for sure)...but there are other far more high end boats roaming the seas such as...

http://www.silversea.com/default.aspx

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaefer

The CEO and I did the same thing: and Inter-island Hawaiian cruse with NCL America. It was nice... no complaints, but by FAR the best cruiseline is Royal Caribbean. The service is top-notch, the ships are simply beautiful. We had a blast -- so much so, that we're going on another RCI cruise for Christmas. NCL is nice, though. Go for it!

Juan

Quicksilver · #7 08-02-2006, 08:16 PM

I have to agree. Although our 11 day cruise was years ago it's nice to hear things are the same. I'm ready to go again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaefer

But by FAR the best cruiseline is Royal Caribbean. The service is top-notch, the ships are simply beautiful. We had a blast.Juan

jbviper4 · #8 08-03-2006, 11:33 AM

We just bailed out of booking a 7 night Hawaiian cruise on NCL due to rampant bad buzz on the net and from friends - lots of people say the service is sub-par (with a mostly American crew - no surprise there) and that some crew actually quit in port last year on that cruise (guess they were looking for a "free" ride to Hawaii!).

I'm with all who say RC is the best moderately priced Cruise line out there. Just got back from a 10 day Western Caribbean on RC and it was awesome - simply the best service on the high seas! Check out Celebrity too - food is even better than RC, service about the same (fancier at dinners) but there's an older crowd on Celebrity.

Have fun!

Michelle · #9 08-03-2006, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbviper4

Check out Celebrity too - food is even better than RC, service about the same (fancier at dinners) but there's an older crowd on Celebrity.

Have fun!

My mom and her husband LOVE Celebrity.

nupe10123 · #10 08-03-2006, 11:49 AM

I prefer Royal Caribbean but you have to understand that they target different market segments. RCI targets market is 25-45 yr olds or so, where NCL targets retirees. DCL obviously targets younger 35 and below with kids. These age targets are approximate ofcourse and therefore services provided, menus/spices and ship sponsored (on-board) activities including music/entertainment are planned for a certain appeal.

I find each line to have similarly nice ships and amenites (depending on ship age) and the crews to be equally as nice and helpful, but the overall experience is really a matter of personal taste. The safest bet is to consider the marget segments - that won't gurantee anything but can be helpful. If you can get a listing of entertainment etc. of the cruise before you go, that can be helpful too.

IMO Royal Caribbean is the way to go, but that's such a personal choice, its hard to say.

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