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Rampage Having It Large at Carnival on Radio 1Xtra 2007
Weekend Cruise Comparison: Norwegian Vs. Carnival
The cruise vacation industry has blossomed in recent years, offering an array of different experiences for all types of travelers. If you're interested in taking a weekend cruise vacation, one of the first decisions you should make is which cruise line suits you best. You might be tempted to select your cruise vacation based on itinerary alone, but there are two drawbacks to that strategy. One, weekend cruise itineraries really don't vary that much across cruise lines. And two, you might choose the wrong cruise line and end up being disappointed in the experience. This is because cruise travel immerses you in the brand of the cruise line, and the brand defines everything: the service, the food, and the activities.
Two cruise lines offering weekend cruise itineraries are Carnival Cruise Lines and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). Carnival offers weekend cruises from the East Coast and West Coast, while NCL's short cruise offerings are primarily from the East Coast. Both brands are generally comparable in price, but there are other important differences to note.
Dining
NCL offers its trademark Freestyle Dining, while Carnival uses a more traditional dining model. Here is the overview on each. With NCL's Freestyle Dining, you do not have a set meal time. You can make reservations in the ship's specialty restaurants if you want, or you can simply show up at a dining hall or restaurant when you are hungry. If the tables are all full, the host or hostess will give you a pager, which goes off when a table is available. You can be seated alone or with other cruise passengers upon request. Note that there is an extra surcharge associated with eating in NCL's specialty restaurants. If you don't feel like being waited on, you can head to the buffet and eat there.
Prior to 2009, Carnival was serving passengers meals at set dining times. Under this system, you request a dining time when you make your cruise reservation. If you are traveling in a very small group, you will be seated with other cruise passengers, which gives you the opportunity to make some new friends. You also enjoy the same wait staff every night. As with NCL, you can always go to the buffet if you don't feel like eating in the main dining area. During 2009, however, Carnival began rolling out Anytime Dining on select ships. If your ship offers Anytime Dining, you will have to choose between a fixed meal time and the anytime option when you make your cruise reservation. Selecting the anytime option allows you to show up at the dining hall whenever you feel like it. As with NCL, Carnival will give you a pager if a table is not available. Once the pager goes off, you have to return to the dining hall within ten minutes or so to avoid losing the table.
Accommodations
You will want to do some research on the cabin types available to you. Start by deciding what's important. How much space do you need? Do you need a window or a balcony to keep from feeling boxed in? Or, are you planning on spending as little time as possible in your cabin? Carnival ships tend to have roomier accommodations in general, but some of Carnival's three-day ships have very few balcony cabins. Norwegian Sky, which sails from Miami, does have a large selection of balcony cabins.
Atmosphere
NCL promotes a casual style of cruising where there really are no rules. You can relax, party, eat, drink, dance, laugh -- it's kind of a whatever/whenever vibe. You can feel free to be yourself and follow whatever schedule you like. This style of cruising tends to attract a wide variety of cruise passengers; they are diverse in age, background, and lifestyle.
Carnival, on the other hand, promotes itself as The Fun Ship. And many weekend cruisers interpret "fun," to mean drinking and having a gut-busting good time. Carnival's weekend cruises cater to young adults, college students, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and the like. There's a fair bit of goofiness on a Carnival cruise as well, such as Hairy Man Competitions and conga lines in the dining hall.
Either cruise line will show you a good time, as long as you have the right expectations and outlook.
About the Author
Catherine Brock operates BrockComm Travel, an online travel agency specializing in
cruises from Long Beach
and Las Vegas travel planning. The agency has access to high quality travel products, services and unpublished travel discounts. BrockComm Travel also produces online
travel destination guides
including a
Las Vegas Strip
information portal.
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Frequently Asked Questions...
Norwegian vs. Carnival Cruise lines for a good social life?
Hi All. We're long time cruisers and we take a large (40-50) size group every 18 months or so. Most of the group is age 28 - 45, mixed couples and singles. Very social and like a good time. We've always taken Carnival, and always had a great time, but certainly have had our share of what others say. We're not stuffy or terribly picky on upscale - just like to be on a ship where there will be lots of fun minded people to mingle with. We're considering going on Norwegian and I'm wondering if anyone can comment on the typical crowd there? We like to socialize so would tend to want to avoid the senior citizens or families with lots of kids. No offense to either group! Our group is a mix of married and singles, so we're not looking for a singles cruise, but we do like the late night crowd and mingling with others our age. Would we be disappointed on Norwegian?
Answer:
Let me be the first (but definitely not the last) to say....NOT NORWEIGAN. Please if you actually like the people in the group do not subject them to NCL. I have noticed on these boards that many many people share my opinion but I'll tell you my story.
Norweigan was my first cruise. I was a 3rd class passenger on the bottom deck. Walking down the hallway to my cabin, the carpet ended, and I passed through the storage section. Yes as in NO CARPET. The room was the tiniest I can imagine (I was living in a college dorm at the time) and sharing with my cousin. If he was coming out of the bathroom after a shower, I had to climb back on the bed b/c the door swung out and took up the entire room.
We had to go to information desk every couple days to pick up towels--apparently our steward didn't know we were there. Eventually I carried the wet towels from the bathroom up the flight of stairs and put them in the center of the hallway.
I am a small girl and every night at dinner I had to order everything on the menu to eat enough to be even close to full. Salad, 2 appetizers, soup, 2 entrees and dessert every night. Food was sparce. If you enjoy the dinner shows the Carnival waitstaff does during dinner, don't bother--NCL doesnt do it. No midnight buffets on NCL either.
At the chocolate buffet, the staff would grab the food off the buffet while people were standing in line. I watched the lady in front of me have the cake taken up while she was cutting into it. The photography crew was just as rude. I tried to buy my picture and they told me too bad. They were closed.
We had the late dinner, so we missed the entertainment show each night. NCL doesn't have like Carnival does--an early show and a late show. They just had the show, which was during my dinner. So I can't tell you if it was good or not.
Every day as we tendered in to an island, multi-cruisers would tell me how this was the worst cruise they'd ever taken. They had taken more than 15 with Carnival and RC and that this was the worst line. They begged me not to judge all cruising by NCL so I took a Carnival cruise and now am a multi-cruiser myself. Though I'll never go on NCL again.
Others have posted that you either love Freestyle or hate it. You wait for a table the same way you would at a restaurant if you want to eat at a popular time. You also don't have to dress up to enter the dining hall. Personally for me, part of what I like about cruising is dressing up and having a table waiting for me, a waiter who I see every night and by the end of the cruise knows me. Freestyle has a different waiter every night.
The typical crowd was older, though not like Holland. Probably in the 40-55 group. NCL is definitely for those who aren't picky, but if you've enjoyed Carnival, then try a RC. It's more the same speed, same costs--but larger ships. Similar itineraries.
Enjoy your cruise but please avoid Norweigan!
























































































