Here are some thoughts on how Norwegian stacked up against its main competition, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. (I posted an in-depth comparison of Royal Caribbean and Carnival last October)
So far I’ve cruised with four different cruise lines: Commodore (1992, now extinct), Carnival (5-night to Cozumel/Cancun on Holiday in 2003 and 8-night to Southern Caribbean on Legend in 2006), Royal Caribbean (4-night to Bahamas on Majesty of the Seas in 2010), and Norwegian (4-night to Bahamas on Norwegian Sky in October 2011). Keep in mind that some things could have changed on any of the lines since our last sailing four years ago, and I can only compare the ships and itineraries I’ve actually sailed. Newer ships are generally better than older ships, which can make a big difference. Also, bigger ships can offer more amenities.
Dining
We ate in the main dining room for lunch and dinner (except during excursions) and the buffet for breakfast. Norwegian’s big selling point is Freestyle Dining, which is a fancy way of saying that you don’t have an assigned seating time or place for dinner. It’s like going to a restaurant every night instead of having B lunch at table 4 like in junior high school. Most cruise lines assign you either early or late seating (say, 6:00pm or 8:00pm) in one of the main dining rooms unless you choose the buffet or one of the extra-charge speciality restaurants. Our group didn’t like the speciality restaurant concept – why pay extra for dinner when we already paid for it with our cruise fare? – so we never tried any of the Sky’s three premium options.
Before the cruise, I liked the idea of freestyle dining for three reasons:
- It removed the possibility of getting paired up with the same random strangers at the same table every night at dinner. (although I’ve been told that Jenny and I can get a private table on any line if we ask, but I don’t know whether that’s universally true)
- It gave me extra flexibility regarding when I have dinner.
- If we decided to have dinner somewhere else one night, I wouldn’t have to feel guilty the next time I see our waiters, like I’ve been unfaithful. (am I the only one who has that problem?)
For some, the big disadvantage is having different waitstaff every night. They like getting to know their waiters and vice versa so that the waiters learn that Bob likes coffee with dessert and Kelly always wants wine with dinner. That’s not a big deal for me in principle. I’m not on the cruise to build relationships with strangers. However, Freestyle Dining reduces the waitstaff’s incentive to provide good service. On a normal ship, the dining portion of your standard gratuity goes mainly toward the specific waiters for your table. You have the option to tip extra for outstanding service, which gives them incentive to do a great job. With prepaid gratuities and no obvious way to tip extra to individual waiters on Norwegian, I believe the service suffered. Some of our waiters were pretty nice, but others were a bit cold and aloof, and all of them seemed like they were simply doing their job. They weren’t rude, but they were definitely a step down from the previous waiters I’ve had on other ships.
The food was good overall. Some dishes really blew me away, such as the Norwegian salmon. I enjoyed almost everything I tried. Some items, though, were simply mediocre rather than WOW, such as the carrot cake and apple pie. I was also surprised at how small the portions were. Granted, these portions were more in-line with healthy portion size, but cruising is my chance to splurge for a little while. I want to leave delightfully stuffed. Sometimes I had to order two desserts just to feel full. =) Some of our friends who normally sail Princess, a more upscale line, were surprised at the lack of variety of food and the limited hours on the Sky, especially for the buffet.
One big plus for NCL: they don’t make the dining room staff sing and dance for us.
Overall, dining on NCL was probably at the bottom of the three lines – good enough, but a few steps below Carnival and Royal Caribbean in quality and service.
Ranking:
- Carnival
- Royal Caribbean
- Norwegian
Service/Staff
We didn’t encounter any employees who were rude, although I did get heckled by a Yankees fan when I tried to board in my Rangers t-shirt. =) Our cabin steward was very nice and eager to please. But most of the waitstaff, from the dining room to the bars, didn’t seem particularly happy to be there.
Ranking:
- Carnival
- Royal Caribbean
- Norwegian
Rooms
Carnival Legend’s rooms were bigger and included more storage and better TVs compared to the other two. Sure, you don’t really need a huge amount of space on a cruise, but it’s definitely nice to have when you’re traveling with someone. I also got spoiled by Legend’s moving map channel that showed you where the ship was. Norwegian’s cabin was comfortably big, maybe a bit smaller than Carnival’s, but with less storage space, no moving map, limited channels, and a TV barely bigger than my friend’s iPad. RC’s Majesty cabin felt small, and it was (120 sq ft on Majesty vs 149 sq ft on NCL’s Sky). Compare an oceanview room on Carnival Legend to the same room on Sky and Majesty of the Seas.
Ranking:
- Carnival
- Norwegian and Royal Caribbean
Ship Design & Decor
Norwegian Sky was a beautiful ship, cared for well and decorated in good taste. The artwork was more modern than Carnival’s, with lots of contemporary ocean and cultural scenes. The ship was easy to navigate. Carnival’s decor is much bolder. Some call it gaudy, and with good reason. Royal Caribbean’s is more subdued and to my taste, like a nice hotel. I prefer Carnival’s ship layout in general. Carnival Legend is my favorite ship so far. However, somehow RC’s Majesty felt less crowded despite being smaller and holding more people.
Ranking: Tie
Shows
Due to the short length and World Series games, we only saw two shows on the Sky. I really liked the comedian-magician, one of the best I’ve seen aboard a cruise ship. The Broadway show was acceptable, with high energy but no showstopper voices. Carnival had some decent song-and-dance shows, but Royal Caribbean’s really impressed me. They had four singers and five or six dancers who seemed to really love their craft and were blessed with real talent. I actually wonder why they were on a cruise ship instead of on Broadway. When a singer makes me want to sing myself, I get happy.
Ranking:
- Royal Caribbean
- Norwegian
- Carnival
Onboard Amenities
Naturally, this one varies strongly from ship to ship, based largely on the size of the ship. On Norwegian Sky, we were most interested in the workout facilities and the sports bar. The gym was smallish but good, with modern equipment and plenty of space including a separate room for classes. Unfortunately, they only offered one spin class, and it was during one of our excursions. The jogging track was almost identical to RC’s Majesty and far superior to Carnival’s tiny one. Sky had one evening and late-night dance club, which we missed again, and one late-night White Hot dance party by the pool. Late night partying and early morning excursions don’t mix well. Carnival Legend’s gym was awesome, but I don’t know how it compares to those on other Carnival ships. Carnival seems to focus more on dancing than Royal Caribbean, although both get started too late for my taste, making me feel quite old. Our RC ship had one dance club that didn’t open until 11:30pm, so we never went dancing like we’d wanted. RC did offer the rock climbing wall, which we really enjoyed. RC Majesty had a small gym with a ceiling so low that it couldn’t offer elliptical machines, and I wouldn’t been nervous running on the treadmill.
Amenity Ranking: TIE – depends on your priorities. Choose Carnival for dancing and “enrichment” activities like wine tastings and massage classes. Choose Norwegian or Carnival for workout facilities. Choose NCL if you like running outdoors or workout classes. Choose RC if you like rock climbing.
Sunbathing Dress Code
Some, if not all, of Carnival’s ships offer a clothing-optional sunbathing area on one of the highest decks. Norwegian only offers them on one class of ship, which does not include the Sky. Royal Caribbean ships do not except on European itineraries. It’s nice to have the option for those who prefer not to have tan lines.
Ranking:
- Carnival
- Norwegian
- Royal Caribbean
Embarkation/Disembarkation
Both Norwegian and Royal Caribbean had very easy embarkation. NCL took maybe 10-15 minutes, which was fine with us. We made the fortunate mistake of getting to the Royal Caribbean terminal a bit later than planned, around two hours prior to departure. Apparently, most of the guests were already onboard, so we had NO wait. Both times we sailed with Carnival, we had to wait in line for some time, maybe 30 minutes or more, and fill out lots of paperwork. (Carnival might have streamlined their embarkation process by now) Upon our return, we chose Express Departure (carry your own bags, which I prefer anyway) with Norwegian and RC and had virtually no waiting there, either, compared to 30-60 minutes or more with Carnival.
Ranking:
- Royal Caribbean and Norwegian
- Carnival
Little Details
Norwegian didn’t make any massive errors, just a few minor ones. For example, we only got a towel animal on our bed one night, the dessert menu inexplicably changed between the time we ordered our meal and the time we ordered dessert, etc. The only really annoying thing was Cruise Director Richard’s too-frequent announcements, especially the 4:00pm Call to Bingo during our afternoon naps. Norwegian did a great job of using its website both before and after the cruise to let us book excursions, learn about the ship, complete our paperwork, and fill out an online survey afterwards. They also automatically enrolled us in their Latitudes loyal program and gave us credit for this voyage.
Royal Caribbean missed a few details that Carnival got right, such as forgetting to give us soap in our bathroom at first, forgetting to give us a guest satisfaction survey at the end, and neglecting to station someone at the gangway to steal store our wine purchases. Also, RC made me fill out paperwork to join its loyalty program and didn’t bother to respond for several months.
Overall, Carnival just seemed a bit more polished than the other two – towel animals every night, the next day’s newsletter clearly placed on our bed, things like that.
Ranking:
- Carnival
- Norwegian
- Royal Caribbean
Price
Since these three lines are all fierce competitors, their prices on similar cruises are similar. I think Carnival is a bit cheaper than the other two on many itineraries, but it really depends on the trip. RC and Norwegian seem to run neck-and-neck.
Ranking: TIE
Clientele
The crowd on this voyage on the Sky seemed to be mostly middle aged and well-behaved. Many were from the Northeast, which surprised me a bit. I only encountered a few semi-unhappy people, and they had legitimate concerns. We normally sail in October, so your experience might be different. Carnival seems to cater to younger people. I’m sure this could be more of a problem during Spring Break and summertime when the college students go out to drink as much as possible, but it also means that they offer more of the things that appeal to people our age. (Yes, I still consider myself sort of young!) I encountered a few more rude passengers on Royal Caribbean than I did on Carnival, and Jenny found some of the older crowd to get obnoxious when they drank, whereas the younger people on Carnival just got buzzed and happy and weren’t too difficult to tolerate. Obviously, this is very subjective. =)
Ranking:
- Carnival and Norwegian
- Royal Caribbean
Overall
I’ve been on five cruises now and thoroughly enjoyed every one. Each line and each ship has its own special features, crew, strengths, and weaknesses. I would happily sail again on any ship or itinerary I’ve done.
That being said, since cruisers usually have options, it’s worthwhile to compare them so that we have the best possible experience. Of the three, I think I have to go with Carnival by a small margin. The dining-room seating on Royal was a big sticking point for me, but if Carnival would give us a way to sit alone (I’ve read this is possible now), I think I would come down more strongly on the Carnival side. However, we did have a very good experience on Royal Caribbean and Norwegian and wouldn’t mind sailing with them again. Norwegian was a solid experience, but Jenny and I agreed that we just weren’t wowed, mainly because of the food and service compared to the other two lines. Perhaps a different Norwegian ship would provide a different experience.
Ranking:
- Carnival
- Royal Caribbean
- Norwegian
Eventually (once we have more money!), we hope to sail on Disney, Princess, and maybe Holland America to see what they are like. Since each cruiser values different things, you can find devoted fans of all cruise lines. It really depends on your priorities – itinerary, ship, price, onboard activities, rooms, etc.
For other opinions, check out CruiseCritic.
What are your thoughts? Have you sailed on any of these cruise lines or ships?