| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 444.1 | Not much help but... | SOLVIT::LEONE | | Thu Apr 29 1993 12:46 | 15 |
| Not much help but... We went through the same thing last year between
Royal Carribean SOS and NCL The Norway (with the Norway being a little
cheaper per person). All the advise we got basically all the same -
whichever one we choose we'll have a good time because both lines are
two of the best in the industry. We eventually decided upon the Norway,
just because it was a little cheaper (so we'd have that much more money to
spend on souveniers (sp), and those pina coladas by the pool) and we had a
GREAT time. We're going again this year, but on the Dreamward to
Bermuda (sorry, but we're not leaving until June so I won't be able to
give you details until then...and that may be too late for you).
Good luck!
Patty
|
| 444.2 | we chose windward | SHRMAX::MONROE | | Thu Apr 29 1993 12:45 | 6 |
| We chose the Windward for our upcoming New Year's Cruise based on
the fact that it'll be brand new (but the bugs should be worked out
by then) and that it's smaller with fewer passengers...Of course, my
husband liked the Sports Bar and basketball court...But, I've also
cruised with RCCL twice and enjoyed the ships and service, so I don't
think that you could go wrong with either decision...
|
| 444.3 | MONARCH OF THE SEAS IS GREAT! | MPGS::BERGQUIST | | Fri Apr 30 1993 16:39 | 13 |
| We just returned from a cruise on the Monarch of the Seas..it was
great. Am not familiar with the Windward, this was our first cruise.
The Monarch is IMMENSE, and was fully booked last week with 2500
passengers. There are many activities, shows, etc. to keep anyone
occupied and interested. The service was excellent, they really went
out of their way to make sure you had whatever you needed.
It made several stops during the week, the only thing I would have
changed is to bypass Martinique, this was the first stop and many of us
weren't impressed with what we saw. Other than that, the other stops
were great for shopping and beach activities.
All in all - a great time on a beautiful ship!
|
| 444.4 | Fun, Fun, Fun no matter what you choose | VINO::FLEMMING | Have XDELTA, will travel | Fri Apr 30 1993 18:24 | 9 |
| Turns out you have picked two pretty big ships. While I'm not into
knowing everyone I sail with, there are some advantages to smaller
ships, e.g., getting off at a port if that turns you on (guess I should
explain. Getting two thousand people (who don't want to cooperate) off
a ship is no mean feat). Also, there is some intimacy lost when you chat
with someone and never see them again. Lots of folks make lifelong friends
on cruises. While I usually prefer a smaller ship, I'm a grump no matter
where the company is encountered. The only point is big ships tend to be
more glitzy as well as more impersonal.
|
| 444.5 | I think I made a decision | RHETT::LACORTI | | Mon May 03 1993 09:56 | 6 |
| I like the idea of a big ship. My first cruise was on the Norway
for my honeymoon. I think we are going to go with Monarch of the
Seas (RCCL). I have not booked yet, but will probably do so this
week
Sandy
|
| 444.6 | Dream ward - quick info...., | NOVA::NOVA::LUND | | Mon May 03 1993 15:02 | 77 |
|
I just got back from the 13 day repositioning cruise on the Dreamward,
unfortunately the food/service and shows left alot to be desired (in
my humble opinion).... I was disappointed in this part of the cruise.
I have to say the service on Premier's Big Red Boat to the Outer Abaco
Islands on the Majestic was better. The accomadations on the dreamward
were much nicer....
I'll be posting my trip report within the week in note 421...
In the mean time:
Here is a quick overview of the food/service on the Dreamward:
Breakfast: In the Sports Bar & Grill - The same thing for 13 days
in a row: fruit/cereal/danish/donuts/muffins/beverages
Four Seasons - Buffet breakfast - pretty much the same
thing for 13 days in a row same as Sports Bar with some
hot food (bacon, sausage, ham, eggs, pancakes).
In the Terraces or the Sun Terrace - a sit down, full
service breakfast - same menu for the entire 13 days -
kept using hte same menus; whether dirty or not. Same
food cereals, fruits, fish (salmon, stuff like that),
eggs, the ham,bacon, etc, pancakes, french toast, etc...
no daily specials...
Lunch - near the pool (I think this was only when they weren't
in the port - hot dogs, hamburg, fruit, pizza
Sports bar - same as the pool; with ff's and some more
salad fixings, and left over dfesserts from the day before
(seriously).
Sun Terraces, The terraces, four seasons - in port days
the sun terraces was not open. First port they thought
no one would come back to the ship, major mistake, opened
the four seasons with a buffet; the wholew ship tried to
eat there; hurried to open the terraces, no personnel
(shore leave), people waited; then they ran out of
food so closed it again, the buffets during port days were
salads, cold cuts/cheeses; and they added some hot stuff
in later buffets like spghetti, leftovers from other meals,
etc.
Dinners were ok; took forever for service.
Afternoon snack at 4-5 was the same thing for the 13 days,
oatmeal or choc-chip cookies, pound cake, leftover
donuts/muffins from breakfast, and sandwich pieces (it
look slike they made a sub type sandwich normally a bologna
type meat or chicken salad; then sliced it in about one
inch pieces, thats what teh sandwiches were). People
complained so they thru in some turkey and roast beef a
couple of times.
If the menu says crab meat - pin the maitre'd down and
ask if it's real; because it wasn't - If they are going
to use fake stuff then the menu should say seafood not
crab. One time they said they were serving veal when it
really was pork, so ask if it's real. Some of the waiters
have VERY POOR ENGLISH! and will not understand you.
Several times food got sent back two - three times.
Shows: not very good. On the dreamward, The broadway musical
"Dream Girls" is one that they advertised. About 20%
of the people got up and walked out. The same group
does three shows; several places they did the same thing
to different music for the three shows. In the final
show (third one) they made a feeble attemt to do some
sebastian/little mermaid stuff. NOT!
Got to run; I'll be doing my full trip report in note 421 as soon
as I can including th oversold flight down(we went on a later
flight), not enough hotel rooms booked for pre-cruise pkg, coming
back in to NYC the bus got in a fender bender and we almost
missed a 1:30 flight even though the ship was docked at 8am
- Annie
|
| 444.7 | my 2 cents worth | LEDDEV::CULLISON | | Mon May 10 1993 20:05 | 16 |
| I been on the Sovereign, older sister ship of Monarch (RCCL) and
on the Norway (NCL). I've been on 8 cruises total, only one on NCL,
4 on RCCL, 2 on Regency and one on Premier (Disney cruise).
Basically my comparisons would be with the lines in general.
Generally they will offer similar cruises. My opinion is that RCCL
is easily a step or 2 ahead of NCL in the cruise business. Any
rating I saw of cruise lines always put RCCL ahead of NCL.
I would consider each however. I would have to get a better deal than
$60 less to take NCL over RCCL myself.
You would not have to twist my arm hard to go cruise on either one.
Harold C.
|
| 444.8 | NCL vs. RCCL | SALEM::FORGUES_R | | Fri May 14 1993 16:16 | 6 |
| I have been on both cruise lines. My first cruise was one NCL's
Seaward and my second and third were with RCCL - the Sovereign
of the Seas and the Majesty. My preference and my husbands also
would be to go on RCCL - Monarch of the Seas. We preferred RCCL
as we found that the crowd was on the younger side and there seemed
to be a better variety of activities. I hope this helps.
|
| 444.9 | I'd choose Monarch over Dreamward | BROKE::ACKERMAN | | Thu May 20 1993 17:23 | 23 |
| In January of 1992 my husband and I cruised on the MOnarch. It was our
first cruise, and we were mightily impressed. On May 1 of this year,
we cruised on the Dreamward's first voyage to Bermuda. We were not as
impressed. We still had a good time, but the food and the service and
the activities were just not up to the standards of the Monarch.
Because these are the only two cruises we've been on, we didn't know if
our experiences were representative of NCL vs. RCCL or just one ship
vs. another. Many of the people on the Dreamward who we talked to had
never been on a cruise before, or had been on other NCL cruises, and
thought the food and service were fine.
For our next cruise (whenever that might be) we would probably
definitely choose RCCL over NCL. I guess it depends what you expect
and what you're willing to accept. Our ideas of what good service (from
a waiter or busboy) is are pretty stringent. Service on the Dreamward
was good, and acceptable to most people, but not to us after having
been on the Monarch. Likewise with service from the cabin steward.
Most people were just impressed by having cabin service twice a day; we
knew that was the norm on these ships, and wanted the service to be
exceptional.
Have fun!
|
| 444.10 | the cabin was bigger | WEORG::ACKERMAN | DBS Tech Writer | Thu May 20 1993 17:40 | 6 |
| I forgot to say, that the cabin on the Dreamward was much larger, and
it was just the standard outside cabin. We saw some of the cabins that
were on the upper levels of the ship (and much more expensive) and they
were about the same as ours. The cabin on the Monarch was very tiny
and very dark, as it was an inside cabin. But you hardly spend any
time in the cabin.
|