Carnival or Norwegian
 

My husband and I are planning our first cruise to the Western Caribbean. We have found similar itineraries for both the Carnival Inspiration and the Norwegian Wind. Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations on which cruise line to travel?

Yes, Celebrity would be my first choice. The quality of food & service is outstanding.

Next choice would be Royal Caribbean. I believe they own Celebrity. They are also excellent.

My last choices would be Norwegian and Carnival.

Then again, it depends on what you are looking for. I don't want to get slammed for saying this, but it is just my opinion -- If you want steak & lobster, cruise Celebrity. If you are into hot dogs & hamburgers, go Carnival. That's my analogy. ((b))

Eve:

They serve plenty of steak and lobster on Carnival too.

My answer depends upon your ages. If the choice is between these two lines, and you're in your 20's, 30's, or 40's, go Carnival. If you're in your 50's or older go Norwegian.

Cheers!

Actually Budman that is a poor analogy. We had BETTER food by far on Carnival, e.g. New Zealand lamb, beef Wellington, prime rib, filet mignon, lobster, Chateaubriand, and appetizers that were utterly gourmet. This was for a 7 day Carib. cruise as opposed to a 7 day RC Med. cruise last yr. when the best cut of beef was tough sirloin and if they had lobster we did not see it. In addition there was more variety of food for lunch, e/g a NY style deli, pizza, sushi, chinese, in addition to the wide variey of buffet items. Oh, they also had hot dogs and hamburgers. Finally the Carnival cruise was $700.00 LESS for the 3 of us. Do you work for RC budman?

Actually, it was a great analogy. I prefaced it with the fact that is was just my opinion.

Some people actually like Carnival. I didn't care for the dog-eared, ketchup-stained, 10-cruise old menus they give you for your dinner selections. ((b))

Budman my opinion is you are so far off on this it is ridiculous. This is no where near a true representation of the two cruise lines and my concern is to convey that to those seeking advice. I respect your opinion but think it to be far from how the two cruise lines stack up. And if Carnival was so bad as you say I think they would be out of business. The reality we experienced is they did very well by us and served a far better quality of dinner entrees vis a vis RC.

The question was NCL or Carnival and you tossed in RCCI and Celebrity....and your quibblng about lobster..If your a party animal cruise on Carnival..if you want something upscale go to Celebrity, frankly after my one and only experience on RCÇI you wouldn't get me back ontheir ships..but NCL has a niche..and I don't know about the Wind and you'd be better suited going to another forum, but NCL has been first in many areas and the service is certainly much better than RCCI and Carnival..

I have not sailed on RC or Norwegian.
I sailed on the Carnival Paradise and
loved it. Great service, delicious food in the dining room, and fun entertainment. Would go again.

To ParrotMom: What RC ship did you take and where please? Our RC was cruise was pretty good but based on other things I have seen and heard I am beginning to wonder about hype vs. actual quality. Thanks, Larry.

Jacketwatch, you have your opinion, and I have mine. Most cruise critics would agree with me. eve1sis has never been on a cruise so she has nothing to compare. She should peruse some of the cruise critics websites and make up her own mind.

I've been on numerous cruises, including those cruise lines listed on this thread, and Carnival would be #10 on my list of cruise priorities, and falling fast.

Some people like Carnival. That's fine too. Isn't it a wonderful world we live in. ((b))

It is a wonderful world. But pal don't try to sell your point by bringing in all the so called critics who agree with you. So you are right and I am wrong? Try again. I have traveled extensively too and there is no absolute. Its what you like or don't like. Lets leave it at that.

Oh, you don't like critics? They just might disagree with you?

Trust me, pal, I don't hold anything against you for liking Carnival. ((b))

eve1sis, I would ignore some of this nonsense and hit every cruise forum on the internet (including 'cruisereviews') and read every review I could find from those who have actually sailed on both ships.
I've been on 6 cruises..2 NCL (but not the Wind), 2 RCCL (one was great and one was our least favorite of all..so, so much for picking a cruise by cruise line!) and 2 Carnival (but not the Inspiration). I liked Carnival as well as any and never came across the drunks or party-animals that have been described on this board as being the typical Carnival cruisers. And we thought their food and entertainment were very good.

Good luck on making a choice and I'm sure you will have a great time. In fact, you may well get hooked!!

I don't care who disagrees budman I just don't feel I have to be right all the time like you seem to. Its called the win-win. You play the "I win, you lose." I suppose you don't see that. Cheers!

We sailed on the Brilliance of the Seas last September from Harwich, UK to Boston. Many experienced cruisers we met on the ship were upset about the service. Had the misfortune (my husband hasn't forgiven me yet) of meeting up with a cruise group before the cruise and all of them bragged on how many cruises they had been and where they were going and turned up their nose at NCL) Although we have never cruised Princess or Celebrity we have cruised 17 times (this is one of the very few times I have mentioned it..if I ever have). One of our best experiences was on the old SeaBreeze just a few years ago...so go figure...I have learned that every ship in a line has it's own personality. Our first and only experience on a Carnival was enough that you would have to pay me to get back on one. I vividly remember our first cruise experience which funny enough was on the NCL Seaward...and the white glove service in the dining room. Cruising has changed and unles you can afford the Crystal or Seabourne I doubt it's available on the middle of the road ships, but that is the cost I guess of making cruising affordable and available to all. I would recommend eve1sis go to a cruise board where people talk about particular ships.

Thanks Parrotmom. As you have been an extensive cruiser have you ever been on a Princess cruise and if so what do you think?

Have not been on a Princess yet..Interesting enough people we met on the NCL Sea thought the food and service was better than Princess (don't know what ship they were on)...Another friend who is a big time cruiser from Florida says Princess is their favorite line..they happened to cruise the Brilliance and the comments were not very complimentary. Of interest is that NCL does not have Jean Ryan productions on all their ships.. I'm wondering if that is cost cutting. Frankly, I'm not interested in butler or concierge service, but where the ship is heading and how many days at sea. On the other hand our worst "wait staff" was on the NCL Sky and I mean worst and our best was on the NCL Sea a few weeks ago...and that was for lunch, breakfast and our regular large table at dinner. We will never forget the entire staff of the SeaBreeze...white glove service in the dining room of mediocre food, a fun, friendly and interesting entertaining staff. It's not the ship I've discovered, but the people working on it and how they are treated by the line. It's wonderful to go back on the Majesty and see some of the same people who have been on for years and years.

Thanks PM. It seems there is a great deal of variation of cruise experiences, and the cruise co. is not necessarily a factor.

Took Celebrity to Bermuda when we got married 9 years ago. Before that was on the Carla Costa, I think it's called. Now we've got two kids and are considering Celebrity again to Bermuda (but the accommodations for 4 aren't great), RCCL Nordic Empress to Bermuda (newer than Celebrity but small rooms) or the NCL Dawn to Bahamas (newer, bigger staterooms, but massive ship and not crazy about ports of call). Would appreciate any advice.

For Bermuda seriously consider the NCL Crown or whatever they are sending to Bermuda next year.. The draw would be that it goes to all THREE docks which the other ships don't (Carnival will not be doing Bermuda next year). We had a chance to do the Dawn for less $$ than the Sea, but like you I ddn't like the destinations..

Larry,
I thought I'd chime in here. I think your experience with a particular cruise line has a lot to do with which ship(s) you choose.

I didn't particularly care for either one of my RCI cruises, but I also understand that they were both short cruises (3-4 day) on their older ships so my experience may not be indicative of the 'typical' RCI cruise. I found the food disappointing both times and the service lacking once.

The other lines I've sailed are NCL, Celebrity, Princess, and Renaissance (now defunct). My favorite experiences were on Ren and Celebrity, but my Celebrity cruise was several years ago so again may not be indicative of their current product.

The Princess ships I've sailed have been the Dawn, Sea, and Star. I much preferred the smaller size (well I guess the word 'small' is all relative here), decor, and atmosphere of the Dawn/Sea versus the larger, flashier Star. In my experience, Princess seems to deliver a very consistent product in terms of food and service from ship to ship. I wouldn't put them at the very top, but they seem to do most things well enough and consistently enough for me to say that the overall experience is very good. I've been happy with the waitstaff and room stewards we've enoucountered, and while I wouldn't say that their food is exceptional, I can't remember ever having a bad meal. And they've always been willing to accomodate our special requests in the dining room with a little advance notice.

What other lines besides Carnival and RCI have you sailed?

Thanks Patty for the thought. We are long time travelers but new to cruises and have taken only two, the RC (Splendor of the Seas) Med. cruise last year and the Carnival (Destiny) Carib. cruise this summer. It seems there is some variation of opinion inre to most cruise lines and that Princess, at least from what I see, hear and read seems more consistent. As for our experiences both ships were about the same size (large) and had about the same passenger to staff ratio. The service was good and comparable, the shows on RC were alot better and the quality of food both in terms of higher end items and preparation was alot better on Carnival, as was the variey. And both easily prepared my wifes special meals (Indian food) request. As for how well each ship serves their passengers I wonder if the tone set by the captain and officers makes a diference. I think the tone a leader sets means alot and would matter, esp. to cruise ship workers who seem to really work hard with little rest. We talked to some of them and I would not want their schedules. Thanks again for the comment. BTW what about an Alaska cruise? We are giving that serious thought and will probably do it some day hopefully, sooner than later. Any ideas? Larry

=
I have only sailed on the Norwegian Majesty (twice) and the Norwegian Dawn
Loved both ships.
The Dawn had a very nice selection of Indian dishes on vegetarian side of the Garden Cafe at lunch time. Each day there would be a couple of cold dishes and three or four hot dishes.