Cruise Lines Compared: Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian in 10 Different Areas

Table Of Content

• Norwegian vs. Carnival: Typical Passengers
• Food
• Norwegian vs. Carnival: Demographics and Who is Onboard?
• Faster to the Fun
• NCL Staterooms and Suites
• Dining Options

Cost comparison researched on the Carnival website shows a seven-day Caribbean cruise out of Miami in December 2022, aboard the Carnival Celebration from $519 per person for an inside cabin. The consensus among travel advisors consulted is that Carnival is the most budget-conscious option. As a guide for just a cruise-only fare, expect to pay between £100/$125 and £150/$190 per person, per night for a cruise on one of the newest ships in the fleet on a 7-night Caribbean cruise.

Norwegian vs. Carnival: Typical Passengers

In general, Carnival Cruise Line’s demographics are slightly younger than Norwegian’s target audience. First-time cruisers gravitate towards Carnival’s fun ships and affordable cruise fares, along with the accessibility of being within driving distance to many departure ports. Young cruisers looking for a party experience will want to choose Carnival Cruise Line. You’ll find that Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line each offer a variety of sailings predominately from North America. Both cruise lines feature itineraries to the Caribbean and Bahamas, along with other popular cruising destinations like Alaska, Mexico, Australia, Hawaii, and Europe. You’ll get a good mix of solo travellers, couples and families, and while there’s a fun atmosphere onboard it’s also quite relaxing too.

Food

Norwegian ‘s specialty dining restaurants include popular cuisines such as French, Italian, and Asian, as well as concepts like teppanyaki and churrascaria, and even a raw bar. Specialty dining packages may be purchased pre-cruise or selected with a Free at Sea promotion, making it an economical to visit several of your top choices during a cruise. Slower to innovate its ships with new deck activities, Carnival is now rising to meet the competition. Six cruise ships now have an exhilarating sky-high ropes course towering over the Sports Square. Passengers sailing in Haven staterooms will experience all the luxury Norwegian offers. Between well-appointed rooms, a private restaurant and lounge, concierge, butler, and Haven Courtyard, these guests will experience true cruise ship pampering.

Norwegian vs. Carnival: Demographics and Who is Onboard?

You also don’t have to spend more than a few minutes in line, even if there is a crowd waiting for their burger. You’ll find Guy’s across the Carnival fleet, and it’s located right by the pool. They serve lunch, although you can also get an early dinner if you like before they close at 6 p.m. Norwegian and Carnival both have a number of free food options from the BlueIguana Cantina on Carnival to O’Sheehans Bar & Grill on Norwegian.

Norwegian Cruise Line is also the only mainstream cruise line to offer round-trip sailings in Hawaii. Although Carnival Cruise Line does sail to Hawaii, these are typically only one-way, transpacific sailings where the ship is repositioning. Additionally, Norwegian Cruise Line has plenty of options for sailing in the Caribbean year-round.

Tips for An Adventurous Day at Harvest Caye, Belize

There are slight differences in terms of food and drink when aboard a Norwegian or Carnival ship. Carnival has done an excellent job at adding ships to a large number of cruise ports. Complimentary food will be available, however, the waterpark, zip line, and hot air balloon experience are an additional charge. Royal Caribbean frequently offers sales on the pre-purchase of beverage packages. If interested in a beverage package, log in to your booking and keep an eye out for sales.

NCL Staterooms and Suites

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If you want a one-stop shop for booking your entire vacation, Norwegian Cruise Line has more pricing options and packages available to save you money. Carnival Cruise Line attracts more party-oriented guests onboard, along with groups traveling together. This cultivates a very energetic atmosphere onboard with non-stop fun from the moment you step onboard one of Carnival’s fun ships. The cruise line also brings onboard excellent variety acts for its smaller and older ships, including acrobats, magicians, aerialists, and comedians.

Carnival Cruise Line's larger fleet has several 2,100-passenger ships, though most Carnival ships carry 3,000 to 4,000 passengers. The latest ships — Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee (debuting December 2023) — have a passenger capacity topping 5,200. My regular readers know that I’m absolutely obsessed with trying to make their lives as easy and fulfilling as possible. One of the many ways I try to make your lives easier is by giving you options that I think offer higher risk adjusted returns.

Standard features include bedside reading lights, conventional bathrooms, and a desk/vanity area. Newer ships offer unique cabin choices like Family Harbor and Havana staterooms. Norwegian and Carnival both offer larger-than-life and extravagant attractions to make your cruising experience enjoyable. Both cruise lines offer some common activities in between them, such as gaming nights, i.e. trivia nights, name-that-tune, crafts, and other fun small-scale game shows.

The trade-off may be the large bathroom–large by cruise ship standards anyway. The large size and layout of Norwegian Breakaway Class bathrooms are my favorite of any cruise line. If there’s anything consistent about cruise fares is that they are inconsistent. An incredible amount of variability exists when it comes to cruise pricing.

Would you rather race on a go-kart track or push turbo for a faster ride on a roller coaster? Those are the top attractions on the newest five ships of Norwegian and the three newest ships of Carnival, respectively. These active floating playgrounds offer supercharged indoor and outdoor activities for all ages.

Parents can relax in the Mandara Spa while checking out the Snow Room and a steam or a soothing massage. With Broadway shows like Kinky Boots, Six and Jersey Boys, cruisers are exposed to full-scale shows they might expect to see in New York City. Morris states, "Norwegian is upping their game rapidly. I saw Jersey Boys on board a Norwegian ship and was blown away at the quality."

Norwegian offers all-inclusive packages for a fee with unlimited alcohol, soft drinks, and meals. If looking to celebrate a special occasion, or just indulge in an over-the-top experience, there are unique dining venues to choose from. Norwegian has a couple of unique stateroom categories that make it stand out from the rest of the pack. Anyone who has ever been interested in solo cruising quickly learned that they will pay double for the privilege.