We chose this new, Carnival ship to compare to the new NCL ships we have been on in the past. Over the Christmas week, my husband and I were lucky enough to be on Carnival’s new ship, the Panarama. As a life-time NCL cruiser, I offer the following comparison:

The processes to get on board vary as much by company as they do for location. Carnival has their own terminal in Long Beach, Ca where the boarding process is seamless. I have been on four Carnival cruises so far, and any bad experiences about boarding escape me. Likewise, we offer nothing ill to say about boarding NCL in Long Beach or New York. Being long-time east coasters now benefitting from the close port in CA, we find it convenient to take advantage of shorter cruises on both Carnival and NCL.

On Carnival ships, both brand new and older, the casino offers no non-smoking area. I found the Carnival casino staff had a greater command of English, and were very “laid back” and generous with their complimentary casino perks. The Panorama’s casino drink policy is pretty straight forward: you either get a drink card with your casino stateroom (how we book), or you don’t. We had a card given to my husband and I received a credit on my card. Regardless, anyone playing at the casino enjoys complimentary drinks once the player’s card registers 1500 points. Read more