I've cruised both Carnival and RC out of Galveston with RC being the favorite. Princess and NCL are arriving in Galveston in the next couple months and their prices seem to be quite a bit lower than RC. Has anyone cruised either one of them? Is there a significant drop off where you would just pay the additional cost for RC?

I cruised on NCL 10 years ago and it was very good.

I cruised on them last month and it was okay.

I think recovery from the pandemic has scaled back some things.

Food was ok, nothing memorable. Port times were shorter and not in prime docking locations. Room stayed clean, but they have cut back on staff, so not top level service. I didn't drink, so can't speak to that. Entertainment was just fair. Lots of the club bands were just loud and going through the motions.

Can't compare to other cruise lines, but weight whatever feedback you get based on how recent the experience was.

After NCL is done nickel and diming you to death, they'll be as much as RCCL. They will have the edge though with the Prima being a newer ship than the Harmony. Princess will have good deals but the Regal is even older than the Harmony. Personally, I'd choose the new Carnival Jubilee over anything else.

The ship matters more than the line. They all have newer, flashy ships with big activities and fancy venues... and they all have older and often smaller ships. Just depends on what you want.

So is the Harmony a downgrade from the Allure?

I'll be on the Prima during spring break..booked nearly 2 years ago. This will be somewhere near my 28th cruise so I've been on them all. I'll tell you the biggest change over the past 35 years is the increase in fee-based activities and upchargeable dining / beverage options. Long gone are the days of free room service and dinners at two set times with a couple formal nights. Nowadays you have to book excursions, specialty dining and entertainment (such as reserving your seats) months in advance or the good options will be gone by the time you board. With that being said, the quality of food is significantly better at the extra-cost restaurants. We booked Prima super early to get three family balcony rooms together which included beverage packages and cabin credits. The ship also has a three level go-kart track and three dry slides that drop 14 decks which look incredibly fun. Honestly, your enjoyment on the ship boils down to food, and who you're traveling with. Many similarities between the newer ships. So much to do, you'll likely get FOMO, so whichever cruise you choose, plan early, get the drink package and soak it all in.

I've also found that the perks are harder to come by, and less valuable than they used to be. When we booked our most recent cruise, I couldn't find any with drink packages included, and they were $160 per day for the two of us! So we went a la cart on drinks and spent WAY less. We brought two bottles of wine on as allowed, and then we found it quite easy to sneak a bottle on when we returned from excursions (I'm not necessarily recommending it, but it worked for us!)

But I reiterate what I said before, the ship matters, not the cruise line so much. Even within cruise lines, there are huge variations. Our most recent was a smaller, older ship, and none of those issues of needing to make reservations and plans way ahead of time applied. This was on Royal Carribbean, but they're new mega ships, it is entirely different.

Edit: I just went to a cruise outlet website and guess what.... looks like perks might be coming back. The first year post pandemic they just were being stingy with them but I'm seeing plenty of drink packages and other perks being offered again.

reedsterg said:

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So is the Harmony a downgrade from the Allure?

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absolutely not!

allure is older and doesn't have nearly the bells and whistles of harmony.

reedsterg said:

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So is the Harmony a downgrade from the Allure?

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No, the Harmony is the younger sister of the Allure. Very similar just a few more bells and whistles.

Haven't done NCL but probably will one of these days due to their solo cabins. My only cruise on Princess was very nice. It's the upscale Carnival brand and I would definitely cruise again with them if the price/itinerary was right.

Not sure how I missed this thread.

I think NCL is just fine compared to RCCL. I am glad we got Harmony now over Allure. I toured Allure this summer and was quite disappointed. I just got off Voyager last week.

With Norwegian I recommend getting the "Free at Sea" deals. This would include drinks, wifi, $$ off shore excursions and a specialty dining. This comes out cheaper than RCCL's $100ish per day, per person for drinks (which is crazy to me).

Princess will be very different. You won't have all of the fun activities that you find on some of the other ships (water slides, etc). Entertainment is generally geared towards an older crowd. I have had young people cruise it and love it (they didn't want to be around kids). It just depends what you are looking for.

Happy to help if you need assistance, my email is in my profile. I can sometimes save money or get free onboard credit for my clients.