I have cruised Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and enjoyed both. I am considering a Mediterranean cruise on the Norwegian Gem with my significant other. We are mid-40s with no kids. We are active and love food and wine. How will NCL compare?

I got some NCL questions too

Never been on cruise, globetrecker here but thinking of repositioning cruises here to get to europe and relay on way.

So do these boats have free wifi?
Do you have to pay for the internet cafe?
Is it expensive to use the telephone onboat?
Why do the resturants sound like u have to pay for the meals, i thought they were included.


I need my skype, tel access. Also, what are activities on these boats? Is it really boring?

NCL has some nice ships (I've sailed on the Pride of American and the Gem) if you book a suite. I wouldn't sail NCL unless I was in an upper suite category and even then I'd really need some convincing. The ships are large and often crowded and there are often lots of families. (Kids are great but I prefer vacations surrounded by other adults.)

For Hawaii, NCL is the only cruise option so that's when we sailed the Pride of America. I only did a 1-nighter on the Gem.

The Gem is actually a nice, new ship with lots of bars/lounges, restaurants, a bowling alley, casino, theater, etc. I just prefer smaller ships without some of the glitzier aspects (climbing wall, children's pool area, etc.).

The food served at NCL restaurants is pretty blah and the portions are small. The food is not as good as Celebrity but I haven't sailed with Royal Caribbean in many years so I can't make a comparison.

Frank: on NCL ships, some restaurants are included with your cruise fare and some carry a per person surcharge.

Cinnamongirl: If you liked Celebrity, look at Azamara Cruises. The line is also owned by Celebrity and it's a bit more luxurious (larger staterooms, butler service, etc.) Azamara has been offering some terrific prices lately too. Oceania, another premium line, has some great 2-for-1 pricing for Med cruises this summer and fall. That might be another great (and cost-effective) option.

Frank: you can access the Internet from NCL ships but it will cost you. You can buy a package when you board the ship. Some cruise ships block Skype so you'll need to ask your travel agent about this or check the NCL board at CruiseCritic.com. Someone there would know.

Happy cruising!

1. No free wifi. If you use your laptop or the internet cafe, it will cost $100 for 150 minutes.
2. Telphone service onboard is around $6 or more a minute.
3. Meals are included but there are supper clubs that are extra special and does charge a cover.
4. There are many activites. Depends on your interests.
5. If you must stay connected, don't do a repositioning cruise.

If you need to be on the phone, don't bother cruising. It kind of spoils the whole "getting away from it all" vibe.

Telephone and internet are huge profit centers for cruise lines. I've never bothered with a phone call (cheaper from port usually) but took teens on a cruise and they both had big bad myspace habits which cost a lot (their keycards double as charge cards on board - one of them even bought a damn watch!).

Standard cruise food, except for specialty restaurants and ultra high-end lines, is decent banquet type food with better than average service. Don't worry about portions because you can order as much as you want.

I've been on one NCL cruise. Food in the restaurants that charge were not worth it IMHO. No matter which middle-of-the-road cruiseline you go on you will find some ships that are great and some that are not. Hate to be redundant but really your best bet is to go to

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberre...etreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=385.

Read these reviews by people who have just sailed on her and you'll have all your info.

I've sailed with NCL 7 times, once with Princess, thus I really can't help you on the RCI or Celebrity comparison, however, I can tell you that we sailed the Gem out of Barcelona last summer and it was a fantastic cruise. The Gem is an awesome ship and it's a great itinerary.

If you have specific questions on the Gem, NCL, or the Western Med itinerary ask away!

Free? LOL

No cruiselines offer free WIFI. Most (including NCL) hav pay internet access, but it's slow and very expensive.

Same goes for your cell phone, expect to pay about $3 a minute when using it on board.

As for the Specialty Restaurants, yes they have an added surcharge ranging from $10-25pp. But the food and service you receive is much more upscale. The main dining rooms on any ship are mass produced food for the most part, whereas the specialty restaurants are generally cooked to order and offer a higher caliber of food. I've found that NCL has generally been priced less than their competitors, add in the cost of specialty restaurants and you're still often way ahead.

As for activities onboard, that's a very subjective thing. The Gem has a lot to offer.

I'd recommend you visit the Cruise Critic forums to get your specific questions answered. Here's the board for NCL: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=107

A

We cruised a few times in the past, and then stopped for several years. We have recently taken up cruising again, and have sailed on many NCL cruises and ships, not on the Gem yet, but on her sister ships the Jewel (Western Med) and Pearl, also the Dawn and Sun, and are sailing on the Jade (another sister ship) to Morocco and Canaries next week.

You've gotten good advice on here from others but I will throw in my own 2 cents. We love NCL for several reasons: We love the "Freestyle" concept - hate designated dining times or forced seating with strangers and prefer not to be forced to dress formally, we love the specialty restaurants and rarely dine in the main dining room, their suites offer some of the best perks in the business, and the casino dept has been very good to us. Bottom line on NCL: If you are trying to get by with a cheap cruise - inside cabin, main dining, very little extra spending - you may not be happy. If you spend more - book a regular suite, spend money on the specialty restaurants, etc - you should be happy (the most complaints about NCL are "nickel and diming"). If you prefer a more rigid routine or formality, avoid NCL - it's very casual. I prefer to spend the extra cash on NCL than to cruise with more expensive cruiselines, several of which I find stuffy or too formal. NCL caters to many ages, but if it makes a difference, we are also mid-40's, with grown kids, and have cruised both with them and alone. We also love the food and wine . I would guess you would call us "low maintenance" but with a taste for the finer things in life. Activities vary, but most of the Euro sailings are very port intensive and therefore less active on the ship itself, and the ports are great. We also rarely do ship's excursions, preferring to do things on our own. The European sailings vary from very low to very high percentage of Americans vs Europeans, depending on time of year.

NCL is pretty much comparable to RCCL. We found suite cruising on NCL better than suite cruising on Celebrity. Cruise Critic is very active and you will get many answers to more specific questions there.

Frank: I agree, a cruise is not the best place to "stay in touch", especially a repo cruise (checking in at port is always cheaper than on the ship). My hubby is one of those guys whose crackjack is glued to his hand - he has learned to relax and just let things happen. He is actually beginning to appreciate being "out of touch". Next week he is thinking of leaving his PC at home (that would be a miracle!) Not only is computer access not free, it's also painfully slow and tedious. If you need to be in contact at all times, either don't cruise or be prepared to pay a massive cell phone bill (I have heard of bills as high as $27,000).


Robin

You'll be disapppointed (sorry fishbait) but RCI and Celebrity are far above NCL. Although I do like Le Bistro on NCL the rest of the food is just ok. Plus if you've cruised 5 or more times on RCI then you'll be entitled to the Crown & Anchor discount on balcony cabins.

Agree. My comparison to non-cruisers or first time cruisers is to hotels; I would compare NCL to Holiday Inn while RCL seems to me more like a Crowne Plaza and Celebrity an Intercontinental. That's by no means an exact comparison as standards vary within each of those brands but that's the way I think of things.

A Caribbean itinerary I sailed on NCL a few years back, the Texaribbean as it was called, was fine and enjoyed it immensely but I'm not really the type to dwell on the negatives and try and have a good time and see the positives. Holidays, like life, are what you make of them.

Happy cruising.

I totally agree that Celebrity is pretty far above NCL when you are speaking in terms of regular cabins, but I did find RCCL and NCL pretty close. RCCL did win out in terms of regular dining options, but the Freestyle concept far outweighs that for me. The hotel comparison is pretty accurate, but when you look at the suites of NCL (especially the AA and higher), it's more like staying at a four star hotel - except for the decor . There is a vast difference between regular cabins and suites on NCL, and I find the butler and concierge service far above the same on Celebrity. If I had to choose a regular cabin, I'm not sure I would choose NCL.

Robin

I'm not a typical cruiser - urban, younger, no kids. But I've learned that I really like some aspects of cruising and am able to avoid the ones I dont like. I've cruised about 20 times now on everything from Carnival and RCCL to 14 days on Regent.

Your questions about internet, free food, etc have been answered, so let me provide a little extra color.

First, all the talk about food on ships is way overstated. None of it is really good. Most of it is just fine though. While Regent may use some pricier ingrediants than NCL, the final product is more similar than dissimilar. Why? These are all catering operations, not real restaurants. With very, very few exceptions (like the tepenyaki bars) the food comes out of single giant production kitchens and is distributed to the various dining venues. Even on Regent their "high end" french restaurant which used to produce its own food only now finishes the product in the kitchen. Everything is prepped and cooked centrally.

Of the hundreds of meals I've had onboard cruises only a few qualify as good (not top) restaurant quality. Sorry to everyone who thinks otherwise, but having eaten in good restaurants for 20 years I know the difference.

But that said, the food on all the lines is, 90% of the time, really just fine. And if you don't like what you get, or it is cold or over cooked, just re-order. They are very cool about that. To those of you who think the portions are too small on this or that line - eat at the buffet. Sorry.

Oh, I should say that I've had some nice breakfasts onboard (roomservice in a penthouse suite on Regent really was da bomb.) But I think that has more to do with the simplicity of breakfast and the limited menu than anything else.

So, even with money no object, NCL would be among my top choices. IN fact, I'm doing a respositioning cruise from Miami to London in a month (crazy deal - $450 per person for a balcony for 11 nights.) Why do I like NCL? They pioneered the "freestyle" concept which has been copied to more or less a degree by most lines. THis means that they operate the eating venus as restaurants - you can make a resevervation or just show up. No planned seating with folks you don't know. Some old timers prefer the old model, and God bless them. But I really prefer being left alone and doing what I want, when I want it. NCL does this very well. They do less stupid stuf like making a big deal out of meeting the captain (as JP Morgan said "Why would I want to eat with the help?...it may have been Astor come to think of it.) They downplay the idea of formal nights and the rest of the nonsense. Again, old timers like this stuff. Fine. I want a floating resort where I can do what I want, when I want to, and not have to deal with anyone I dont care about.

Mostly it is just a mroe relaxed, fun environment. The bowling alleys are a fun diversion. There are plenty of places to sit and read or catch the sun. Very improtantly to us, they show a lot of near first run movies (Princess may do better in this regard) and my wife and I usually watch at least a movie a day onboard.

The cabins tend to be a bit smaller than other lines, but the bedding is very nice and the colors etc. are fun and silly.

FOr what it worth...