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For guests interested in trying out these extra paid-for activities, I recommend accounting for these items in your overall cruise planning budget. This will help with expectations and help avoid any sticker shocks at the end of the cruise. Plus, there are two Norwegian ships not part of any class; these vessels are Norwegian Spirit and Pride of America. All 19 of Norwegian Cruise Line’s ships are divided into various categories called classes. Currently, there's the Prima Class, Breakaway Plus Class, Breakaway Class, Dawn Class, Epic Class, Jewel Class, and Sun Class. Perhaps one of the biggest pros for Norwegian Cruise Line is the sheer size of their fleet.
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For example, most cruises offer drink packages for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, but a few have drink stations where you can get complimentary lemonade, coffee and tea. Other amenities that might be important to you are Wi-Fi, spa services, babysitting, fitness classes, and upgraded dining experiences. You can usually get a decent discount if you sign up for an amenities package before you sail, so keep an eye out for promotions in the months leading up to your sailing. You may also have the option of upgrading to "Free at Sea Plus" , which would give you extra specialty dining, extra credit towards excursions, unlimited Wi-Fi, and a premium beverage package. The included food on Norwegian can be hit or miss, especially in the main dining rooms.
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At Carnival's Alchemy Bar, patrons fill out a prescription pad of their favorites, and bartenders "prescribe" a special concoction. On Mardi Gras, molecular drinks smoke and otherwise impress at The Fortune Teller bar, and Carnival Celebration features a menu of throwback drinks to celebrate the cruise line's 50th anniversary. Cabin choices abound on both cruise lines, but Norwegian is particularly innovative in this realm and, in some ways, Carnival is playing catch-up with its rival. An iconic presence in Hawaii, Pride of America has been permanently dedicated to the archipelago since its debut in 2005. It offers a repeating seven-night itinerary that begins each Saturday in Honolulu and brings the chance to visit four different Hawaiian islands on a single seven-night trip. The Caribbean and the Bahamas have always been a big area of operations for Norwegian.
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Norwegian Cruise Line destinations
Choose from Free Unlimited Open Bar, Free Specialty Dining, Free Airfare for 2nd Guest, Free Shore Excursions, Free WiFi and Free 3rd & 4th Guests. The cruise line's Punchliner Comedy Clubs host more than 27,000 live performances a year, which makes Carnival the largest employer of comics in the world. It also wins the live music battle and puts together its own bands — whether jazz, rock 'n' roll, show band or classical. Adults can pay extra for shows themed around wine or prohibition cocktails; kids aren't allowed because the fun comes with drinks. Comedy, improv and themed parties are all favorites of the late-night crowd.
Is Norwegian cruise line good? Unbiased NCL cruise review
There also are churrascaria restaurants called Moderno on most Norwegian vessels. Every vessel has two or three main restaurants and a casual buffet where meals are included in the fare — the latter is usually called the Garden Cafe. On the ships that have them, they are clustered around an exclusive Studio Lounge where solo travelers can mingle at daily happy hour gatherings. Cruising is a popular way of traveling for many people, offering a unique experience that combines the convenience of a floating hotel with the excitement of visiting multiple destinations in one trip. In an average year, over fifteen million people say "all aboard" and set sail on an amazing vacation.
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Onboard some of their older ships, such as Norwegian Star, guests can enjoy some impressive variety acts and performances. My two experiences with Norwegian Cruise Line have been very positive; however, the two itineraries I’ve sailed on are more unique compared to a standard sailing with the cruise line. Pride of America is the only US-flagged cruise ship and it’s the only vessel the operates inner-island itineraries. To take advantage of the cheap cruise fare, we opted to book an inside cabin guarantee onboard Norwegian Sun.

MSC Cruises
Are you considering booking a Norwegian cruise and wondering if it’s worth it, or even the right cruise for you? Planning a cruise is not one size fits all, and there are different cruise lines to choose from. Carnival fares are also among the lowest in the Bahamas and Caribbean, and the line sails from multiple U.S. home ports, making its cruises accessible to a vast pool of vacationers. Norwegian matches Carnival with a ropes course on select ships, complete with The Plank. It also goes hi-tech with its Galaxy Pavilion, full of virtual reality gaming and experiences.
Transatlantic Cruises
Many of the older Norwegian Cruise Line ships are utilized to sail European itineraries, which could mean it is less warm out. Additionally, newer Norwegian Cruise Line ships tend to be at capacity more frequently than older ships, meaning there are simply more passengers onboard. In contrast, I have not experienced this problem on older Norwegian Cruise Line ships. It seems that onboard many of the older ships, there's less of a frenzy to grab a lounge chair on the pool deck. Occasionally, there will be a menu for a restaurant or bar inside the app but not always. Oftentimes, guests are unable to see the menu for the main complimentary restaurants.
The giants of cruising to Alaska are Princess Cruises and Holland America, two brands that are sister lines to each other and control a large percentage of the market. As of the publishing of this guide, Norwegian had opened bookings for all of its Baltic sailing through late 2025, and St. Petersburg remains off the schedule for all of them. Norwegian Cruise Line’s Getaway blends a lot of adult spaces with kid-friendly activities, so passengers are a mix of couples, families -- both nuclear and multigenerational -- and groups of friends. The Norwegian Getaway ship was built for socializing, and its deck plans make it easy.
Because we wanted to enjoy our day in Cadiz, we spent our only full day ashore in the city. At 78,309 tons, Norwegian Sun is less than half the size of the biggest Norwegian ships, and it holds just 1,878 passengers at double occupancy. (Compare that to more than 4,000 for Norwegian's biggest vessels.) Expect a far more intimate experience than what you'll find on most of the ships mentioned above.
When compared to other cruise lines such as Disney Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean, I have noticed that generally there seem to be fewer younger children onboard Norwegian Cruise Line ships. Some guests may experience trouble if their flights are booked too close to their cruise embarkation time. Because of this, I always recommend arriving at the cruise embarkation city the day before the cruise begins. Arriving the day before a cruise starts will help ensure no travel issues should flights get delayed or other travel logistics come up.
8 new ships coming to Norwegian Cruise Line, sister brands plus dock at Great Stirrup Cay - Greater Milwaukee Today GMToday.com
8 new ships coming to Norwegian Cruise Line, sister brands plus dock at Great Stirrup Cay.
Posted: Mon, 15 Apr 2024 14:34:00 GMT [source]
In northern Europe, Norwegian will take you to such famed Baltic cities as Stockholm; Tallinn, Estonia; and Helsinki in a single sailing. Here is a look at the best destinations you can visit on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship. You'll find Norwegian ships everywhere from the Caribbean and the Bahamas to Europe, Asia and Australia. Note that some of the nicer restaurants, such as Le Bistro and Cagney's, do require men to wear slacks. As I said at the start of the review, NCL has some room for improvement and I have listed some of our personal pet peevs with them in this review.
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