I am the first one to admit that I love all things Disney. There is just something so magical about Disney, however with the continual increase in cost for Disney cruises and the lack of new itineraries I felt the need to look for another cruise line option. I decided to give Norweigan Cruise Line a try – the price was right and the itinerary took me to three new ports including two new countries!
We just returned from our cruise last week and so I thought a comparison was in order. Click here to see posts about Disney Cruising.
Staterooms
A regular balcony room on the Norwegian cruise ship (Jade) is smaller than on the Disney cruise ship. The mini-suite balcony rooms on Norwegian is closer to the same size as Disney’s verandah rooms. However, one of the benefits that I like about staying in a verandah room is being able to get to the balcony. With our Norwegian stateroom, the fold out couch ended up blocking the balcony door and touched the bed, which took up all of the floor space when open. In the Disney stateroom, there is space between the bed and pullout sofa and when the sofa is open you can still access and utilize the verandah.
One thing I really liked about the Norwegian stateroom is that the bathroom has a shower which was much roomier than the Disney bathtub, however, I do like that Disney has a split bathroom where there is a toilet and sink in one room and a bathtub and sink in another. This allows for more than one person to get ready in the morning or at night without bothering another person.
Food
I’ve always been someone who thought the food was really good on the Disney cruise ship but I have to say that Norwegian’s food was outstanding. Unfortunately, there was not a huge variety of food in fact kids menu was the same every single night at every single restaurant. Children can order off of the regular menu at the complimentary restaurants however they have to order from the kid’s menu at the specialty dining restaurants otherwise you will incur an additional charge. The two complimentary restaurants on the Jade – Alizars and The Grand Pacific not only had the same menu each night but also shared a kitchen.
Our favorite restaurant was La Cucina, the Italian restaurant, both nights we had extremely good service, the food was delicious, the drinks were good, and the atmosphere was great.
Entertainment
What I really love about Disney is that I know everything (most everything) will be geared towards kids and family. I don’t have to worry about whether something is appropriate for my child or family friendly because I trust Disney. Norwegian I found was mostly adults and the shows were not all family-friendly. Particularly the magician and his assistant who was dressed in a thong and doing risque dancing. Blazing Boots show also contained risque dancing.
Onboard Activities
Norwegian cruise was again a lot of adults while there were families onboard the population leaned towards adults and so did their onboard activities. We only had two days at sea so it was not a huge deal. We did a couple of activities, relaxed, swam, and ate too much ice cream.
I do have to say that I think that the Norwegian Jade offered more available public space to hang out in, grab a drink or listen to music. They had a lot more music options during the day in the atrium and lounges then Disney which we really enjoyed. We spent a lot of time hanging out at the Java Café/Atrium where there was a lot of comfortable seating, music, and a coffee/alcohol bar.
Price
One of the big reasons we decided to try Norwegian was because of the price the three of us in a balcony room was significantly cheaper than Disney. We booked a deal that gave us free Wi-Fi, free alcohol and sodas, free specialty dining, $50 off each port excursion per stateroom, and third and fourth guest in the stateroom was free. However, in order to book the free drinks and specialty dining, you do have to pay the gratuity charge, therefore it wasn’t completely free.
So the big question is – would I book another Norwegian Cruise Line cruise? The short answer – probably. The long answer – depending on the itinerary (one with very little to no sea days that is not offered by Disney Cruise Line) and if I can get a really good deal. I would also splurge on an upgrade to a mini-suite for more room in the stateroom.
