How is food on Norweigan vs Holland vs Princess Cruise Lines?

Question

I am going on Alaskan cruise. Half of my group is vegetarians (not vegan) and the rest of us eat everything. Which of these three cruse line companies is best at catering to vegetarians? I heard that Norwegian is owned by Asian company so better vegetarian options. I have heard that Princess is mostly seafood. Is this correct? Any personal experiences out there?

Answer 1

I have been on Princess and Norwegian multiple times and bothe have great food. Both, actually all 3, will doa good job of providing vegetarian meals if the persons request them. Typical meals will include a variety of items, including chicken, fish/seafood, pork, lamb, beef, etc. The main difference will be in "presentation" as they call it when they make it fancy.

I recommend Princess or Royal Caribbean over NCL because I do not care for the NCL "freestyle" cruising. I like the traditional seatings where you have the same table and waiter for your whole cruise. On Royal Caribbean ships they always have a nice dinner menu AND alternate selections each day. For example, you can always order a steak or fish, or pasta, or chicken if you don't like the selections of the day.

You are correct that NCL was bought by an Asian company, STar Cruises. Their ship snow have an asian flavor, lots of Asian art and Asian entertainment, including Karioke every night. Their foods include soups for breakfast and suschi and Chinese foods. Princessis NOT mostly seafood, but a good variety of foods.

All of the cruise lines will have all of the usual breakfast and lunch selections; there is no difference.

Answer 2

I went on Norwegian and I think that they actually own the Asian brand, not the other way around. But anyway, all 2007 NCL cruises to Alaska have 10 restaurants aboard the ship. The fancier restaurants will have vegetarian options, and you can always request the dish without meat if possible. But, most days, you will more than likely go to one of the buffets and believe me, they have hundreds of vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian options. They all have pretty good food, but I noticed that with Norwegian, they had more of the expensive type of food like ribs, steak, suckling pig, crab, and salmon for free. I was really impressed with the food choice on all companies, but most impressed by Norwegian. I hope I helped, have a great cruise!

Answer 3

I will answer the most important question first. You DO NOT need a passport IF your cruise leaves from California and regardless of where it stop, it ALSO returns to California (OR any part of the US .. any US state) BEFORE December 31, 2007. But, if your cruise returns to the US AFTER December 31, 2007 then you will need a passport. The new passport law requiring ALL who enter the US by car, train, bus, plane or cruise ship to have a passport goes into effect on January 1, 2008. Unless your cruise ends in Ensenada your cruise ship stop there is more than likely a regulatory stop; only to meet a regulatory requirement that all US cruise ships stop in a foreign port. That is usually the case in cruises from the west coast of the US. Carnival and Princess cruise lines are actually owned by the same company; actually Carnival owns Princess. BUT, Carnival is the budget cruise line and the one that most young people ages 21 to about 35 go on, and also the ship that most first time cruiser go on. Its the party cruise line by reputation and actual. People who go say that they have a great time on Carnival ships (for the most part). Princess is a more upscale cruise line and that means the cabins are a little better, the food is a little better and the ship has a more reserved crowd. Now that does not mean that the people, many of whom will be in the 40 to 65 age range, do not have a great time. There will be some young people on the Princess ship but not as many as on Carnival. I have been on three Princess ships and they have great discos and lounges and the people have a great time. You just do not see people staggering down the hall or being loud at the pool areas. If I were making the selection I would go with princess since I absolutely loved all three of their ships that I have been on. We did the cruise to the Mexico Rivera, Cabo, Acapulco, and Puerta Vallarta in October 2004. The weather was great with one exception. The sailing was smooth and the weather was very pleasant but a hurricane came across Mexico and dissipated near one of our planned port stops. Because of that they diverted the ship to a different port. But we never had any bad weather, not even rain and it was sunny and warm enough to sit on the balcony or most anywhere on decks all day long. Since your cruise date is outside the hurricane time frame you should not have to worry about any of that type weather. My bet is that you will have great weather for the whole cruise like we did.

Answer 4

I can only talk for Holland America Line. They have the best food and was giving the 5 star diamond award for Hosiptality and Food Services. Princess has all sorts of places to eat not just seafood. They have about 6 or 7 restaurants on each ship that includes different types of food. Holland America Line offers a menu just for vegitarians if you request it before you cruise. I would not travel on NCL