Thinking of changing my Honeymoon cruise again...

[FSU Girl]

I’m sure everyone thinks I’m crazy for considering changing my honeymoon cruise again. I had really thought when I switched to the Disney British Isles cruise I’d be sticking with it.

But I stumbled across the perfect itinerary that has me questioning everything. It’s on Norwegian Spirit. We’ve never sailed Norwegian before and the ship is less than desirable being pretty old and small, but the itinerary is fantastic. It’s 14 days goes to Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Amsterdam and Bruges. It also fits into the weeks we took off so dates wouldn’t have to change.

I’m just hesitant because of the ship. We’ve been on the Magic and know we love it and I think the ship for Norwegian will be just Eh. But it’s reallt port intensive so it might not matter?

I don’t know what to do and would love some opinions

 

[i18mulan]

It's your honeymoon so only you can tell what would make you happy. I've never sailed Norwegian but looking at the ship photos, I would stick with the Magic. Some people say that if the itinerary is port intensive, the ship doesn't matter. It matters to me. Maybe that's just me. DCL might be more expensive than Norwegian but I think it's Disney's "magic" that makes it priceless...

 

[KashasMom]

We did a 13 night Ultimate Scandinavia/Baltic cruise with 1 sea day on RCI Serenade of the Seas. We were on the go from morning until night. I joke that we could have been on a tug boat and been fine since we spent so little time on the ship. One HUGE benefit over DCL is having a dinner buffet, which we used every night. (We've never been wowed by the food on DCL anyway.) I would decide what's most important to YOU. If it's shows, you might want to stick with Disney; if it's itinerary go with the Spirit, etc. Just go in with an open mind - don't compare everything to Disney because you won't be happy. BTW, that 13 night cruise? Amazing, best cruise ever!

 

[darnheather]

You are going to be on your honeymoon. The ship is going to matter. Keep this one filed away under 5th anniversary.

 

[FSU Girl]

Normally I think the ship matters a lot, which is also one of the main reasons we had picked Disney in the first place. But the ports are literally exactly what we really wanted. I've been wanting to go to Iceland forever and they spend two full days there and my Fiance has really wanted to take me to Amsterdam since his family is from there and this cruise goes there too. We've watched the movie In Bruges together a few times so that city holds a special part for us.

So I was thinking we'd be doing full day excursions and be exhausted and just want to sleep in and rest when we have the sea days. I do wish the boat was nicer.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

It looks like the ship is the same age as the Magic. The decor may not be to your liking, but she's likely sufficiently seaworthy. I'd book a suite and go for it. Enjoy!

 

[FSU Girl]

It looks like the ship is the same age as the Magic. The decor may not be to your liking, but she's likely sufficiently seaworthy. I'd book a suite and go for it. Enjoy!

A Suite is too far above what we are looking to spend so we'd probably just get a basic balcony, but that's what we currently have on Disney now. That is a good point that it is the same age as the Magic

 

[Quellman]

I would guess that you'll remember the places you visited more than the boat itself (unless of course you have a 'poop cruise'). Just be careful, if you cancel Disney and change your mind later, you might not get a chance to rebook at a nice price.

 

[FSU Girl]

I would guess that you'll remember the places you visited more than the boat itself (unless of course you have a 'poop cruise'). Just be careful, if you cancel Disney and change your mind later, you might not get a chance to rebook at a nice price.

The way I've been changing my mind on this cruise I definitely won't be cancelling the Disney one until closer to the date. We used the on board booking to make the reservation so I'd lose that if I cancelled and then changed my mind and went back. What is a poop cruise? lol

 

[lilsonicfan]

The Spirit was just refurbished last year from what I understand. Unless there are some major red flags, which I doubt, I would really consider this. Itinerary is so important - and you've said this is exactly where you want to go. If this were a Caribbean cruise or something I'd say that maybe the ship matters more, but on this type of itinerary you will be on the go the whole time. I have friends who have cruised the Spirit several times, it is their favourite ship. One advantage to NCL is the freestyle dining which I think could be really great when you're in port on long days.

 

[FSU Girl]

The Spirit was just refurbished last year from what I understand. Unless there are some major red flags, which I doubt, I would really consider this. Itinerary is so important - and you've said this is exactly where you want to go. If this were a Caribbean cruise or something I'd say that maybe the ship matters more, but on this type of itinerary you will be on the go the whole time. I have friends who have cruised the Spirit several times, it is their favourite ship. One advantage to NCL is the freestyle dining which I think could be really great when you're in port on long days.

I feel like I'm definitely leaning heavily towards this cruise, but I have to convince my Fiance of it. He was pretty happy with the Disney cruise, but he's been talking about taking me to Amsterdam for a while so that might tip the cruise for him in his favor.

I've read some reviews and there are definitely some who don't like the ship, but as mentioned it shouldn't be the main focus point when it's so port intensive. And I figured that if I don't like the food on the ship it gives us a reason to eat dinner in these ports to get more of a true experience of the culture. Do you know if they do a buffet at dinner time?

 

[lilsonicfan]

Yes, NCL does always have the buffet open at dinner! I think their buffet is open late as well. Service on DCL is likely superior to NCL but foodwise I feel is sort of similar.

 

[Quellman]

The way I've been changing my mind on this cruise I definitely won't be cancelling the Disney one until closer to the date. We used the on board booking to make the reservation so I'd lose that if I cancelled and then changed my mind and went back. What is a poop cruise? lol

Link

 

[bumbershoot]

But the ports are literally exactly what we really wanted.

Do it.

Be sure to go to the message boards on cruisecritic and read what people say about the line and the ship in normal threads. Reviews are good but they are written by people who WANT to write a review. I like casual conversations about lines and ships more. I think you get a more balanced view.

 

[FSU Girl]

Yes, NCL does always have the buffet open at dinner! I think their buffet is open late as well. Service on DCL is likely superior to NCL but foodwise I feel is sort of similar.

I've never been a fan of the food on Disney, or cruise food in general so that's ok. I've always wished Disney did the buffet instead of turning Cabanas into a sit down at night.

Link

That's pretty awful lol.

Do it.

Be sure to go to the message boards on cruisecritic and read what people say about the line and the ship in normal threads. Reviews are good but they are written by people who WANT to write a review. I like casual conversations about lines and ships more. I think you get a more balanced view.

That is a good point and I feel like people who have a bad experience are way more likely to write a review than someone who had a good time.


Does anyone know if there are issues bringing a hair straightener on Norwegian?

 

[MomOTwins]

Normally I think the ship matters a lot, which is also one of the main reasons we had picked Disney in the first place. But the ports are literally exactly what we really wanted. I've been wanting to go to Iceland forever and they spend two full days there and my Fiance has really wanted to take me to Amsterdam since his family is from there and this cruise goes there too. We've watched the movie In Bruges together a few times so that city holds a special part for us.

So I was thinking we'd be doing full day excursions and be exhausted and just want to sleep in and rest when we have the sea days. I do wish the boat was nicer.

Wanting to stay in/rest on sea days is a good reason to choose the better ship.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Wanting to stay in/rest on sea days is a good reason to choose the better ship.

I would agree with this if the itinerary were the same. But (IMO) you can't compare the British Isles to Iceland, Norway, Amsterdam, Bruges etc.

FSU Girl I am quite sure hair straighteners are allowed on NCL.

 

[FSU Girl]

Wanting to stay in/rest on sea days is a good reason to choose the better ship.

The sea days does make me hesitant about the ship since we'll be on the boat the whole day.

I would agree with this if the itinerary were the same. But (IMO) you can't compare the British Isles to Iceland, Norway, Amsterdam, Bruges etc.

FSU Girl I am quite sure hair straighteners are allowed on NCL.

The itineraries are really different. I think with the Norwegian cruise there are so many ports a rest day is needed after some of the ports. The Disney cruise has two sea days, but I feel like that itinerary could have done without it and added more ports. I wish I could ask the cruise lines to swap places and then problem solved lol.

 

[FSU Girl]

So some of the reviews have a lot of issues with the cabin. The water running yellow and the hot shower setting off a fire alarm? I don't know if I can handle a horrible cabin for two weeks.

 

[KashasMom]

So some of the reviews have a lot of issues with the cabin. The water running yellow and the hot shower setting off a fire alarm? I don't know if I can handle a horrible cabin for two weeks.

That doesn't sound good. However, it's not limited to only non-Disney ships. We had a horrible room on the Fantasy - AC was not working (they did fix it after a couple of nights), a horrible sewer smell coming from the bathroom (they were NOT able to fix that after several attempts), and vibration so bad we had trouble sleeping (no way to fix that). We just learned where NOT to book a room on that ship but the Fantasy is still my favorite Disney ship. I always take reviews - good and bad - with a grain of salt. Since it's your honeymoon though, you might want to stick with what you know - Disney. Save the other itinerary for another time?