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How does NCL compare to RCCL?


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So I've only been on two cruises (soon to be three) all with RCCL. I just discovered the new ship Norwegian is building called Breakaway and it looks great (maybe Sunshine class will incorporate some of these features). Anyway I was wondering what RCCL loyals think of Norwegian. I took a quick glance at reviews by ship on CC and Norwegian averaged in the low 70s for people who loved it whereas Royal averaged more in the mid 80s. So I'm guessing Royal is much better, and in the case of the Breakaway 7 nighters out of New York in 2013, pricing seems to be the same as the Allure/Oasis. So it's not as if they are competing on price. Anyway I'd love to hear some thoughts.

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On NCL I liked their choice of specialty dining restuarants and also their suite perks. Best of all the mainstream and even premium lines. Other than that they are just okay. I found the MDR lacking and their buffet was the worst ever experienced in all my years of cruising. With that said, others rave about their buffet area but we all know food is very subjective. I would cruise with NCL again but it would not be my first choice.

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We enjoy both lines. NCL a bit more casual then RC. Food is subjective but we found the food on both very good and never used the buffet on either line. We have booked the Breakaway because it is a new ship and the port is close to us. Can't wait. There is not a line we do not like. :)

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Hi Terpfan,

 

We have had great experiences on both lines, and to me they are very different experiences. We love the formality of Royal (not over the top, just right for us) especially for the longer cruises when we like to play dress-up, and for Hawaii and other beach intensive cruises the casual atmosphere on NCL works really well.

 

Food and entertainment is very personal, so I won't try compare, but I will say that we found the food and entertainment of both lines to be perfectly fine.

 

We never, ever go to buffets, so my take is limited to MDR (our preference for lunch and breakfast) and specialties (we always have at least two dinners in a specialty restaurant, otherwise MDR).

 

We also try to see every show (why not, we're there), and we found the entertainment on the Norwegian Jewel was excellent!! The other ships had some highs and lows, on balance, fine.

 

Finally, nothing compares with the Allure, which tops every other ship we've been on, in every way; we just wish the itineraries were more exotic.

 

Have fun!!

 

Paul

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I recently sailed NCL for the first time. (9 previous cruises with RCL). It's definitely a different experience. I agree with Toocruisin', it worked well for the hardly ever at sea Hawaiian itinerary. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if there were multiple sea days. The service is not as over the top, bend over backwards as it is on RCL - but I will add to that comment that Pride of America is an all American crew, and (here I go insulting my own country, sorry USA) in general I don't think that American's are as hard working as those from lots of other countries. Though I do like Royal better, I would not be opposed to sailing with NCL again.

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On NCL I liked their choice of specialty dining restuarants and also their suite perks. Best of all the mainstream and even premium lines. Other than that they are just okay. I found the MDR lacking and their buffet was the worst ever experienced in all my years of cruising. With that said, others rave about their buffet area but we all know food is very subjective. I would cruise with NCL again but it would not be my first choice.

 

I agree with your sentiments. I feel that Royal is just more polished. The ships are quality--just nicer, cleaner, shinier. Crew is just better. Royal beats NCL hands-down, though I still enjoyed my cruise on the Dawn.

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My cousins recently went on NCL and had a great time. They had balcony rooms and tried every restaurant, ice bar, and shows, so they did it with upgrades all the way. I think that's what we would do if we tried it too. Many of the reviewers I've read didn't like the included services and didn't want to pay for upgraded services.

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So I've only been on two cruises (soon to be three) all with RCCL. I just discovered the new ship Norwegian is building called Breakaway and it looks great (maybe Sunshine class will incorporate some of these features). Anyway I was wondering what RCCL loyals think of Norwegian. I took a quick glance at reviews by ship on CC and Norwegian averaged in the low 70s for people who loved it whereas Royal averaged more in the mid 80s. So I'm guessing Royal is much better, and in the case of the Breakaway 7 nighters out of New York in 2013, pricing seems to be the same as the Allure/Oasis. So it's not as if they are competing on price. Anyway I'd love to hear some thoughts.

 

We cruise almost exclusively with Royal Caribbean but in October took NCL's Pride of America around the islands of Hawaii. The ship had mixed reviews with a lot of very, very negative ones. We had no complaints and there were actually a couple of things that NCL did that RCCL doesn't that we wish our favorite line would offer:

>There were plenty of NCL people outside the terminal to direct us and there was entertainment as a welcome in the cruise terminal as we waited to board.

>The main dining room was open for lunch on embarkation day.

>No reservations are accepted for My Time Dining (or at least not for small parties)

>You have to wait until you board to book speciality restaurants.

>There were two completely separate main dining rooms, one for casual dress and one dressy casual and THEY enforce it. (we REALLY liked this)

 

Of course the menu was different which was a nice change but the food quality wasn't any better.

 

We were so pleased with the entire cruise experience that we purchased a Next Cruise Certificate while on board because we plan to repeat the Hawaiian itinerary and probably make it a B2B.

 

Now, with that said, we are still totally loyal to Royal Caribbean and currently have 12 cruises booked with them.

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We have sailed on both NCL & RCCL for many years. People always seem to zero in on the food. I prefer assigned seating at dinner (RCCL) over freestyle or anytime dining. Usually, we eat in alternate restaurants on NCL ( LeBistro, Cagneys, etc.), on Royal we usually dine in the MDR. I am not thrilled with Royals' alternate dining choices

However, I like NCL over Royal for a few reasons other than food. First of all, it appears that there is more deck space on NCL ships over Royal. Roy is very much into the promenade style. I enjoy sitting on deck at one of the bars sometime until it closes at 1:00 or 2:00am. On my last two royal cruises (mariner & Voyager) they shut down the outside bars at 10:00.

Another thing (which has already bee mentioned) is the fact that NCL has much better suite perks and I think that NCL does a better job of taking care of their repeat customers.

 

So I will tell you now I prefer NCL over Royal.

Having said that, I have 2 Royal cruises booked in the next 45 days or so.

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>The main dining room was open for lunch on embarkation day.

 

Yeah, I had forgotten about this; it's a really nice way to start the cruise experience. I wonder if they still serve champaign as a welcome aboard? I'd better book another NCL cruise to remind myself! ;)

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Yeah' date=' I had forgotten about this; it's a really nice way to start the cruise experience. I wonder if they still serve champaign as a welcome aboard? I'd better book another NCL cruise to remind myself! ;)[/quote']

 

When I was on the Spirit in December, they still served champaign.

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I recently sailed NCL for the first time. (9 previous cruises with RCL). It's definitely a different experience. I agree with Toocruisin', it worked well for the hardly ever at sea Hawaiian itinerary. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if there were multiple sea days. The service is not as over the top, bend over backwards as it is on RCL - but I will add to that comment that Pride of America is an all American crew, and (here I go insulting my own country, sorry USA) in general I don't think that American's are as hard working as those from lots of other countries. Though I do like Royal better, I would not be opposed to sailing with NCL again.

 

I definitely agree with you about the service (most being American). Our waiter in the MDR was downright RUDE. He was a rich kid from California who was just doing this for fun (he told us that). We didn't care for the food, although the Specialty restaurant was excellent. The shows were boring. There was really no ship time being the Hawaiian itinerary was very intense!If we went to them with a problem, and there were many, they were very accommodating...free bottles of wine, free specialty restaurant, free mystery dinner show. (My sister had a big roach in her room, the one day when she went to get back on the ship, she was completely wiped out of the system, like there was no evidence of her being on it!!! Just some problems like that!!!!) But Hawaii was great. I think I will stick to Royal!

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Makes me want to try. They have family suites. I have checked them out, but need to look when new itineraries become available and are not all booked up:eek:

I don't care what the polls that CC publishes, the suites on NCL absolutely rock. There are way too many perks, but I will start. With NCL you get both a butler & a concierge. The butler takes care of any and all details fir your suite. If you want to have dinner served to you in your cabin, no problem. I guess depending on the suite, your butler give you a mobile phone so you can get him from anywhere on the ship. The concierge handles many things for you. Priority seating at shows, escorting you off the ship to beat the lines getting off at ports of call. Oh, when you are a suite customer, you are allowed to have sit down breakfast and lunch in Cagneys. I could go on and on about NCL suites.

We have booked a forward facing penthouse for the Breakaway next

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- RCI's service in the main dining room is much better. Also, the food in the main dining room on RCI is better. RCI is more formal when it comes to attire. It is also more scheduled due to the traditional dining. NCL freestyle allows you to eat when you want, with who you want and you can dress however you want. This freestyle concept just really gives the cruise a more laid back, less pre-programmed vibe. The specialty restaurants can be really excellent on NCL, particularly on Epic (Le Bistro is phenomenal on Epic - but that was from my one experience). The main dining room is hit or miss. When it misses, it's just average, not terrible. Note: we are not foodies.

 

- As far as entertainment goes, I prefer NCL. I have to say the ice skating show is something special that Royal offers!

 

- Service: Besides the main dining room service as I have discussed above, I think the service is pretty equal across the board between NCL and RCI. I have always felt that NCL goes above and beyond to ensure that my experience is great, but they also seem to know that I am a Cruise Critic person (meeting me at Meet & Greet).

 

- Norwegian tends to have really reasonably priced cruises. Being a teacher, I have to cruise during peak times, but we can always seem to afford Norwegian and like it a lot.

 

I have only been on Royal once, and Norwegian three times. I am going back to Royal Caribbean for a cruise to Bermuda. I will be able to compare the two lines better after that.

 

Hope this helps, AJ

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Thanks Scott!! I see you're coming to NY in June 2013; I live in the NY Metro area' date=' so if you have any questions, fire away!! Paul[/quote']

 

Man, do I need help with this. I have been to N.Y.Many times for business meetings and trade shows, but never as a man with family into.

The only thing I know for sure I'd take the 7 train to get to Queens. I also know the Katzs Deli is at 4th & Houston.

I will be sending you a contact request so we can keep this off thread.

Many thanks,

Scott

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You need to try different things.

Why go on the same cruise everytime?

I did the Indy/Liberty/Freedom/Freedom all within a few years.

They were exactly the same.

Now I don't want to go on RC for a long time.

We are doing Princess, NCL, HAL

I cannot see how people do the same cruiseline year after year.

I work with a guy who goes to Disney every year for the last 20 years...

I couldn't do it..

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What one person likes is different than what you might like. If you don't try, you will never know. I went on the Dawn to Bermuda a few years ago. It was definitely not my cup of tea. The food wasn't good and the entertainment was nonexistent. I'm glad I tried it but won't be sailing them any time soon.

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Not exactly NCL but close enough for me. We took a 10 day cruise around Hawaii bac when they had 3 ships dooming the islands. If it weren't for the fact that we didn't have to sail for four days, we would have a taken another line. I was glad I went, but it made me appreciate RCI more. If you don't cruise a lot, like me, I would recommend staying with Royal, but if you want to do a cheap Mcdonalds like cruise, give it a try.

 

I would consider doing the Epic, that way I wouldn't have to worry about seeing it at sea.

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