Help needed please, Carnival or NCL (Caribbean)?

[scottandluan]

Hello all, Happy New Year,

Advice greatly welcome for this cruise virgin couple. We are in our early 30's, cruising with a 2 1/2 year old and trying to decide between a February; NCL 7 day Eastern Caribbean (balcony room, Norwegian Dawn), 9 day eastern Caribbean (ocean view, Norwegian Jewel) or 8 day eastern Caribbean Carnival (ocean view, Carnival Freedom). We are thinking NACL or Carnival over the rest because they seem to have the best program for under three year olds....yes, better than Disney. We also love the fact that NCL's programs tend to have a better time ashore than at sea ratio than most others. We think it will be seeing the new places that is the real holiday but are eager to hear if we are being naive, are the port visits really just tourist traps (we are well seasoned travellers, but newbies in North America)?
Here is the kicker, we are getting a bit put off by what we are reading on customer reviews on various websites. They seem to be fairly negative. We are not especially particular people so we can deal with overworked service staff who don't overly pamper us. I guess the major questions we would love some help with before throwing down the cash are;

1. With a young one, our love of partying with is now well tempered with a preference for ensuring the right things by our two year old. Some people say Carnival is the cruise for boozed up 20-somethings (us 5 years ago), other say that is rubbish and they have moved on. From what I can see they seem fairly family friendly, the truth lies somewhere in between?

2. From what I can see by small website photos it looks like the Carnival rooms are a little bit bigger, is that fair? I wonder if a NCL Balcony room is bigger then a Carnival Ocean view though?

3. Could any cruiser with a 2-3 year old say what they found was a good cruise length?

4. What should one budget as a per day additional cost to your cruise?


General advice about Carnival vs NCL and indeed, cruising the Caribbean in general will be very much welcomed!

Cheers
Scott

 

[Cruizer]

Isn't there a rule against making people think so hard this early on a Saturday morning?

Well, I figured the only way to tackle this one is to go line by line. You are thinking of a balcony on the Dawn, or an ocean view on the Pearl or Freedom and you have a young child. So, the first thing I thought of was safety. No one has ever fallen out of an ocean view cabin. Some people have fallen in an ocean view cabin, but no one has fallen out of one. Here is a picture of the Dawn ...



As you can see, the balconies are glass, so your young one will not be able to climb it as long as you keep the chairs away from the railing.

Next, I know that Carnival has a good program for 2 to 3 year olds and will change diapers. I'm not familiar with NCL's children's program. Carnival has traditional dining (set dinning times and tables). NCL is Freestyle - no set dining times or tables. With such a young child, you might prefer the less formal atmosphere on NCL (not that Carnival is formal, it is just that NCL is less formal). NCL actually has areas set aside for young children to eat. Here is that area on the NCL Star (as sister ship to the Dawn and Pearl) ...







I have never seen a similar area on Carnival.

There are areas in all the ports that are tourist traps. Nonetheless, if ports is what you want to see, then choose the ship that visits the most interesting ports. However, days at sea are very relaxing. Given your child is not likely going to be as interested in exploring the ports as you are, I would suggest that you don't try to over do it, or you child is not going to be very happy, which can mean the parents are not going to be too happy. A relaxing day at sea after a couple of port visits might be just the thing the three of you need.

I've been on two NCL cruises totaling 21 nights and five Carnival cruises. Don't put too much stock in the reviews. People tend to emphasize the negative. It is really all in the attitude. Go with a positive attitude and you will have a good time. Go looking for things to complain about and you will find them. Will your cruise be perfect? Of course not. But for most cruising is a fantastic vacation experience. Don't expect a five star meal when 2000 people all sit down at the same time to eat. If you want a five star experience, there are cruise ships that can deliver that kind of an experience - for a price. And the other passengers on those five star lines will not be happy to see a young child on the cruise with them. NCL and Carnival are very family friendly and both offer a three star experience that anyone looking to have a good time will enjoy.

On a shorter cruise (three and four nights) you will find the "party hardy" group. However, when you get to the one week and longer cruises this is not a big problem. Of course on any cruise you can run into the obnoxious drunk. I've been on twelve cruises, including three weekend cruises (three nights) and I have yet to run into any obnoxious drunks. But then again, I don't spend a lot of time in the same places that obnoxious drunks like to hang out. Most families with young children don't either.

Carnival has some of the biggest standard rooms. They are fairly standard at 185 sq ft each (some ocean view cabins are 220 sq ft). A Carnival inside cabin of 185 sq ft is going to be bigger than a NCL balcony cabin of 170 st ft (unless you add in the 35 - 40 sq ft balcony). The inside of a Carnival balcony cabin is also 185 sq ft (not including the 35 - 40 sq ft balcony). So, if size is an issue, Carnival's standard cabins are bigger than NCL's standard cabins (even if you compare an Carnival inside to an NCL balcony).

This is my balcony cabin on the NCL Star (which would be very similar to a balcony cabin on the Dawn or Pearl) ...









This is my (rear facing) balcony cabin in the Carnival Glory (a sister ship to the Carnival Freedom) ...





I cruised with a 15 month old for 14 nights and with a 4 1/2 year old for seven nights. Keep the kid occupied and well rested and 3 nights or 30 nights will be fine. If you don't plan for the fact that you've got a young child with you, even four nights will be too long. You've got a young child with you. You recognize that. You will have to plan around the needs of the child. You will be able to do some of the things you want to do, but not all of the things you want to do. As long as you realize this, the length of the cruise will not matter.

Extra cost items are tips (about $10 per day per person - including the young one). Drinks. Bottled water, soda and alcohol cost extra. Milk, juice, tap water (very drinkable), coffee, tea and punch cost extra. Special coffees (Seattle's Best) cost extra. Photographs (you don't have to buy the photos), gambling, optional extra cost restaurants (NCL has several, the Carnival Freedom has one), shore excursions, spa treatments, art auctions, babysitting and souvenirs cost extra. How much you spend depends on how much alcohol you drink, how much gambling you do, what shore excursions you purchase, how often you go to the spa, how much art work you are planning to take home with you and how many souvenirs you buy. However, you are going to start off with $30 per day for tips.

 

[scottandluan]

Dear Cruiser,
Thank you very much for the effort you put into your response to our questions, it truly was 'above and beyond'. Your level headed advice has tempered much of the negitivity we have read. We think we have made the big D (with the help of your feedback of course), and .....I'm sure this is the way the cruise lines want it, (are getting suckered in?), for just a little XXX more $$$ we are upgrading to the Suite over the balcony (NCL Dawn, 7 day)..... why not?

You know what? We probably won't get to travel in this part of the world for many a moon....so why not spend a wee bit more and do it properly?

Once again, your thoughts were very much welcomed,

Kind regards,
Scott

P.S Look for a post around end of Feb, I promise to let you know how it went. Thanks again.

 

[Cruizer]

I have been in suites on three lines, Carnival, NCL & Royal Caribbean. As far as suites go, NCL is far and above the best. NCL treats its suite guests like royalty. You will get a butler and a concierge. A butler takes care of things inside the cabin (such as delivering your laundry or the daily gifts suite passengers receive), while the concierge takes care of things outside the cabin (restaurant reservations). This will increase your tips. The following link will provide you with more information about the special services you get in an NCL suite ...

http://www.nclsuitesandvillas.com/

The important thing about NCL is understanding Freestyle Dining. There are two main restaurants plus Blue Lagoon and Garden Cafe (buffet) that are free (included). There may be other specialty restaurants Then there are several optional extra cost restaurants. There are no set dining times or tables. So you can eat when and where you want. I don't think you can make reservations in the two main (free) restaurants (check with the concierge). Being a suite guest you can make reservations through the concierge. (S)he can get you into restaurants that might be all booked up.

But it is important to understand Freestyle Dining. If you decide to eat at the same time 1500 other people decide to eat, someone is going to have to wait. Sometimes there are slow periods and the ship will offer half price at the extra cost restaurants during this time. Check your Freestyle Daily (the ship's newspaper) for and special half price deals and times. Also, the food and service in the extra cost restaurants is better. Would you pay extra for the same quality of food and service?

 

[Cruizer]

Extra cost items are tips (about $10 per day per person - including the young one). Drinks. Bottled water, soda and alcohol cost extra. Milk, juice, tap water (very drinkable), coffee, tea and punch cost extra. Special coffees (Seattle's Best) cost extra. Photographs (you don't have to buy the photos), gambling, optional extra cost restaurants (NCL has several, the Carnival Freedom has one), shore excursions, spa treatments, art auctions, babysitting and souvenirs cost extra. How much you spend depends on how much alcohol you drink, how much gambling you do, what shore excursions you purchase, how often you go to the spa, how much art work you are planning to take home with you and how many souvenirs you buy. However, you are going to start off with $30 per day for tips.

Oops. Milk, juice, tap water, coffee, tea and punch are free (included).

There may be other specialty restaurants that are included (free).