DCL vs. NCL

[TChrist05]

Ok fellow cruisers....I need your help. My DW and I have taken the plunge and will cruise the Norweigen Dawn out of NY on May 2....we have done 22 DCL cruises....not all 7 day....some 3---some 4 but have always had a wonderful....er....magical time each and every cruise. We are also doing the Westbound transatlantic on Disney in September....my DW has spoken to a couple of her friends who have done both and she was told that we will be OK as long as we don't expect it to be Disney. What do you think? What will be the biggest differences? I just don't want to go and say....it would be like this if we were on the Magic....or it would be like this if we were on the Wonder.....please.....set my mind at ease.....or talk me out of the NCL cruise....
Thanks.
Tom

 

[justmestace]

We've done ...I lost count....9, 10....Disney cruises, and 2 with NCL. Our 3rd NCL aboard the Pearl is coming at the end of May to Alaska.
I haven't been on the Dawn, but I've been on the Sun and I think they're in the same category, but I could be wrong about that.

Anyway.....we wouldn't be taking our 3rd NCL cruise if we didn't like it.
You obviously won't see the Disney characters, or the Disney shows...but honestly, after my 4th cruise, I quit going to the Disney shows anyway. You can only see the same show so many times.

I like the variety of the shows on NCL. They usually have some great comedians, and I like the dance shows. They have all of the same other types of entertainment, like trivia games, wine tastings, art auctions....just a few examples.
The ships are just as clean as Disney, most of their crew members have stayed with the company for a long time and take great pride in "their" ship.
Even though the cost is extra, I like the choices for dining. The food in their main restaurants is very good, also. And I really like Freestyle Dining....when you want, where you want.

Some people complain about having to pay extra on the non-DCL lines for things like a soda card (no drink station), but for the amount of money we've saved on those non-DCL cruises, we can buy a LOT of soda cards.

I'm trying to think really hard about where I notice the biggest difference between Disney and the others (we've also done Princess and Carnival) and one of the biggest and most noticeable is the port terminal. I think once you get past the "warehouse" style terminals the other lines have, you're pretty much in the clear.
Another thing that seems interesting to me is that the other ship's public areas don't seem nearly as noisy. I don't know why that is, unless it's because there aren't as many kids, but from what I've heard, there usually are the same amount on all ships at any given time as there are on Disney.
Well, okay....the pool area is ALWAYS noisy.

All the cruise lines have implemented restricted smoking areas, so that's not any different. I even have noticed that in the casinos it isn't very smoky, because I think less and less people ARE smoking nowadays.

Let's see....what did I miss? I don't know, I think you'll have a great time, if you let yourself.
If you have any specific questions, please feel free to send me a PM.

 

[justmestace]

I just checked NCL's site....the Dawn will be an awesome ship!! MUCH better than the Sun that we were on...it's in line with the Pearl that we'll be on in May. I can't tell you how excited I am to explore the Pearl!
Although I have to admit, our first NCL was on the Dream, and it was so small...but SUCH a personal touch! Everyone on the crew made us feel like family. I really do like Norwegian.

We've eaten at LeBistro and loved it, and I can't wait to try Cagney's...I've heard some really great things about it. And the Italian....yum... Okay....so all I've talked about is food! More spas...more adult areas....


I guess the best advice would be to not say "If it were Disney..." Just go, explore, enjoy the differences.

 

[MissMet]

I sailed on the Dawn back in '04. It was my first cruise so I feel a little particial to it. We really loved it! Especially all the dining options. Yes, they do cost extra, but how I look at it is I'm paying a lot less with NCL, so I don't mind paying to go to all the different "extra" restaurants.

We really enjoy NCL. We have sailed multiple times on DCL, NCL & Princess. I love them all, but for different reasons. I think you'll go on & find things that they have/do better than DCL & then you'll find some areas you feel they could approve on. This is always the way it happens for me when going on a new cruiseline/ship.

But I do love NCL, I think it may be my favorite line. Don't get me wrong, I do love DCL & ALL things disney, but at the same time, I'm only 24 & without kids, so just sailing DCL gets a little old- gotta mix it up.

See yah on the WB TA!

 

[mishoe01]

I have sailed 7 times w/ DCL (no kids...always adults only) & 1 time on NCL (again, no kids). I did enjoy both lines & would do NCL again but DCL definately has my heart. I keep going back to DCL cuz I've made friends on board - you have a chance to get to know the crew & make friends. I didn't get that sense/feeling onboard NCL - I hardly ever saw anyone more than 1 time.

I would say that for me the entertainment on DCL is better. I cruised on the Jewel for the Baltic region....maybe it was WHERE we were sailing but I felt that most of the entertainment was geared to the older generations (I'm 40).
Would that stop me from sailing them again - not at all....I'd just probably take more books, laptop & dvds

I do agree w/ OP's comment about not expecting Disney - I went in w/ that mind set & was not disappointed.

 

[TChrist05]

Well...my mind is at ease....thank you.....and I though about something else...we will be spending a whole lot less money in the shops on the ship....we are Disney fanatics and don't think NCL will have the merchandise my wife loves to buy!
Thanks all.
Tom

 

[Maryrn11168]

We sailed on NCL Spirit from NY to the Caribbean in 2007 and loved it!!! The Freestyle dining was great, I think the cost for soda was $45 for the 8 night cruise. One of the best things was no plane ride. We took a limo service from our home on LI to the pier. So our vacation started as soon as we left our house!!! You will have a great time!!

 

[TChrist05]

Is soda complimentary in the dining rooms? We plan on bringing some canned soda with us in a spare suitcase....but will they charge us for a glass of soda during dinner?
Thanks!
Tom

 

[justmestace]

Nope, the soda in the dining rooms is not complimentary. Only coffee, tea and water...and possibly lemonade. If you buy the soda card, you can use it in the dining room. Juice and milk at breakfast are free.

I usually just get by with water during dinner, and have a soda either before or after.....one that I brought on myself. OR....you can pour yourself a glass of soda in your room and carry it to dinner. A lot of people bring their own glass of wine or even mixed drink to dinner.

 

[justmestace]

Well...my mind is at ease....thank you.....and I though about something else...we will be spending a whole lot less money in the shops on the ship....we are Disney fanatics and don't think NCL will have the merchandise my wife loves to buy!
Thanks all.
Tom

Just keep her out of the jewelry store....Disney or not, it's always my downfall.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

We haven't sailed NCL yet but we have sailed on Celebrity which was hands down, by far better than DCL, at least IMHO

 

[mrosen]

We haven't sailed NCL yet but we have sailed on Celebrity which was hands down, by far better than DCL, at least IMHO

What would be reasons you say Celebrity is better than DCL? Where did you cruise on Celebrity?

 

[tink_n_pooh]

What would be reasons you say Celebrity is better than DCL? Where did you cruise on Celebrity?

The service on Celebrity was much better (dining room servers, activities personnel, etc) - we didn't experience the wonderful service that we have heard so much about from DCL. Being big fans of all things Disney DH & I were pretty disappointed in our DCL cruise.

The food was also much, much better on Celebrity. There were never long lines at the buffets, always a place to sit readily available, and the staff was always there to assist as well. Honestly we thought the food was not good at all, more along the lines of pretty bad on DCL. If we were served the same food and with the same service in a restaurant at home we wouldn't be going back

Our celebrity cruise was quite a bit longer than our DCL cruise but I don't think that would really change the food or the service quality. Heck, we didn't even get off the ship at some of the ports when we sailed with Celebrity.

The spa was also a lot nicer and cleaner (rain forest rooms) on Celebrity.

On DCL we did like our stateroom which had a navigators veranda (we had a standard veranda on Celebrity), it seemed more spacious than Celebrity's stateroom. The bathroom was better on Celebrity though, the shower was much larger and the bathroom seemed larger since it wasn't split. I'm sure if we were sailing with kids or with people whom we aren't already used to sharing a bathroom with the split bathroom would be a great idea.

The shows were good on DCL but there was more variety on Celebrity. Being fair there was a lot more time for variety on Celebrity though. DH liked the idea that the shows were with familiar characters on DCL rather than just random dance shows, I liked both.

Castaway Cay was nice, we really only stayed on the adult beach before heading back to the ship.

 

[jbemommy]

We are cruising newbies, have only been on 1 NCL cruise so far. Are scheduled for DCL 2/11, so can't compare till then. We did really like NCL, though. Especially liked the freestyle part--could go to dinner whenever we wanted, wear what we want, sit by ourselves, etc. Our next non-DCL cruise will most likely be NCL again b/c we had a great experience (even though DH was in a cast and had to use a wheelchair for much of the time).

 

[TnRobin]

Well...my mind is at ease....thank you.....and I though about something else...we will be spending a whole lot less money in the shops on the ship....we are Disney fanatics and don't think NCL will have the merchandise my wife loves to buy!
Thanks all.
Tom

Please don't let my DH see this, we may never cruise DCL again. I usually pack an extra piece of luggage for all the stuff we take home.


Seriously. My biggest fears with another cruise line have to do with the staterooms. We usually try to get an inside stateroom to reduce cost. But when I look at most other cruiselines, the inside cabins are so tiny that the 3rd person has to sleep in one of those bed that pull out of the ceiling. I just really don't want to have DS sleeping in a bunk above our bed. I really prefer the couch bed that DCL has, but I am unwilling to pay veranda prices to get it. Anyone with experience on other cruiseline in a smaller cabin?