RCCL vs. NCL....Thoughts?

[CalypsoBeat]

I posted this on the NCL thread as well. My family of 5 is in a bit of a dilemma. We're trying to decide between a Jan. 10 sailing on NCL Norwegian Jewel to the Caribbean (Belize City, Costa Maya, Honduras, Great Stirrup Cay) and a Jan. 10 sailing on RCCL Mariner of the Seas to the Mexican Riviera. We've only done Royal Caribbean cruises before, as we are all Crown and Anchor members. We also typically choose Caribbean cruises (because we love it so much!), so the Mexican Riv would be a new thing. Has anyone sailed on NCL AND RCCL that can give me some pros and cons of each? My parents are both 54, my sisters are 25 and 20, and I'm 22. We love the food and service we receive on RCCL. Does NCL compare? How about for entertainment? We're not really worried about cabin size because we rarely spend time in them aside from showering and sleeping. The Mexican Riviera seems to be a pretty big party-type cruise, which my sisters and I would appreciate. But my dad has a medical condition that does not allow him to consume alcohol (and he's the biggest partier of us all!), so we're not really concern about that. We just want to have a good time, relax and make memories together. Price is not a concern, because with airfare, etc., the two cruises end up being about a $13 difference from each other. We just want to know which cruise line gives you more bang for your buck, and we're so happy with RCCL that we're concerned NCL won't be able to match the bar. We don't want that to taint our experience. Any help?

[dolfandude]

Our first cruise in 2004 was on the Mariner. In 2006 we went on the NCL Jewel. While I have absolutely nothing bad to say about that cruise, I will say that I've been trying to get back aboard a Voyager or Freedom class ship since! Finally going on the Navigator next month! But, with me, it's all about the ship and the Mariner just seemed to have more to see and do.
I'd recommend the Jewel to anyone but the Mariner holds a special place in our hearts!
Steve

[threeofus]

I enjoyed the freestyle cruising plan that NCL offers. Some restaurants were better than others, but that is always the case.
There was a giant slide on the pool deck that led into two small pools separate from the large center pool. This was great because the kids enjoyed the slide and there wasn't a lot of screaming and splashing in the main pool. I thought is was a great idea.
We had a junior suite and a NCL employee took our carry on luggage and led us to our cabin.
The cabins were quite pretty.
I know that there are many who dislike NCL - but honestly we had a great vacation.
I would cruise with them again if the itinerary was right.

[woof22]

Originally Posted by CalypsoBeat

Has anyone sailed on NCL AND RCCL that can give me some pros and cons of each? We love the food and service we receive on RCCL. Does NCL compare? How about for entertainment? Any help?

We've sailed twice on NCL (Sky and Star) and twice on RCI (Vision and Explorer) It's been a few years so I'm going off of memory. We also found the food pretty different on each NCL cruise.

NCL Sky: Food in the main dining room wasn't all that good. It was okay. Food in the specialty restaurants was spectacular. They had this caesar salad that was made table side that was just incredible. There was a big difference in quality between "free" and "pay." (I put quotes because we really paid for both in the cruise fare.) It was defnitely worth paying the extra cost. If I recall correctly there were two, Horizons (italian) and Le Bistro.

NCL Star: Food in the main dining room was really pretty good. Food in the specialty restaurants was really good but they didn't make the tableside caesar. Basically, between the Sky and Star food in the main dining room got alot better. Food in the specialty restaurants wasn't as good as before. The quality gap was much smaller so we found it wasn't worth paying extra except for the teppanyaki restaurant which was fun to do once with our son.

Vision: The food was decent. The menu had a separate listing for (again, going off of memory) salad, soup, appetizer and entree. Felt like you were supposed to order one of each. Didn't have a specialty restaurant.

Explorer: The food was decent, same as Vision. I think they'd changed the menus (so this wasn't an Explorer vs. Vision thing, instead it was an old menu vs. new menu thing). This time there was a listing for starters (don't remember the real title) that had salads, soups and appetizers all listed together and entrees. Felt like you were supposed to order one of each. Seemed better because sometimes on past cruises I ordered stuff just because it seemed like that's what you do. On this cruise if I wanted an appetizer and salad I ordered both, if I didn't I didn't. We didn't do Portofinos.

Summary. Of the four the main dining room was best on Star, next was tied Vision and Explorer, worst on Sky.


Freestyle / My Time Dining vs. Traditional.

On both NCL cruises we loved Freestyle. It was fun deciding the plan for the day, mapping out when we would have the pre-dinner martinis and then go to dinner instead of having a set time each day. We got great service each meal.

On both RCI cruises we loved traditional dining. Our waiters get to know us and our preferences. We would be greeted by name. Our son's coke would be waiting for him at the table.

Summary: I think this is a no lose proposition. We give a slight edge to traditional I guess because our next cruise is on the Mariner and we chose early seating.


Entertainment.

All of the "Vegas" shows are cheesy to us but we love it. We go in expecting more mindless fun than some perfect production. We found the shows on NCL (both cruises) much, much better than on RCI. They just seemed to be tied together a little better and performed better. Also one of the things that we loved was finding the NCL Orchestra (or whatever they called it) performing during the cruise in different venues. Instead of just one musician playing piano or guitar (that's what we foiund on both RCI cruises) we had members of their band playing jazz. Loved it. The ice show on the Explorer was a blast. Nothing like it on our NCL cruise.

Summary. We give a big edge to NCL.

Cruise Director.

We had the same cruise director on both NCL cruises and he is our all time fav. The funny thing is he now works (last time I checked) for RCI. He's Kieron Buffery. He had lots of stuff planned, was out and about (one night he was having dinner in Horizons at the same time as us). They had a glow stick party for adults. I asked if I could have a couple for our young son. He was out but the next day had some delivered to our stateroom.

Vision cruise director. Can't even remember his name. Was kind of dull, boring and a stick in the mud.

Explorer cruise director. Dave Chapman. Had a blast with him. Lots of fun. Sometimes he was over the top but I'd rather err on the side of over the top than stick in the mud.

Summary. I think this is hit and miss with the person not the cruise line.


Drinks.

I don't have prices but the feeling I got was that RCI's prices were a little higher and felt a little too high. Didn't stop us from buying but it felt a little crummy. Had better draught beer choices on Explorer than any other cruise I've been on. (They had a darker beer on tap, can't remember the name but the bartender at the English Pub would start pouring when I walked in. I would go there to get a beer to bring to the casino.) On the Star they had a "drink card" that you would get stamped at each bar you got a drink. When you filled it up (a drink at each "zone") then you got something free. Depending on how many cards it would be a small drink or more. That was fun. Kept us going different places.


NCL vs. RCI

Overall I love cruising and a cruise on any line that we've been on is way better than not cruising. I don't think you can go wrong with a decision. Our last NCL cruise we said "no more NCL." But I'd go again. The last one was the third Alaskan cruise in a row, so we were done. (My wife can tell you were every bathroom is in Alaska. And, if you get the chance go to Red Onion. All three times musicians from the various ships in port just went there and jammed together.)

Not sure how much this helps but I would say both are good.

[cb at sea]

The Mexican Riviera is NOTHING like the Caribbean.....the water will be quite chilly, and it won't be as warm....
I'd take the Caribbean over MR anyday!

[may1021]

We have cruised on NCL probably 9 times. (Gem,Dawn, Pearl,Spirit, Majesty..some twice). We were on the Explorer of the Seas last year and are going on it again next week. We liked it and had a good time.

For some reason, we like NCL better...even with its glitches. We have had wonderful entertainers/musicians on many NCL. Can't even remember anyone from the RCCL cruise except the Ice Show which is great.

Even though we felt the food for the most part was better on Explorer, the food depends on chef and you can hit a change there.
Not going hungry on any of these ships.

That being said...we sort of like them all.

Look at the ports and decide which itinerary you like better.

This year we're doing NCL, HAL, and RCCL.

[CruisJack]

Originally Posted by CalypsoBeat

I posted this on the NCL thread as well. My family of 5 is in a bit of a dilemma. We're trying to decide between a Jan. 10 sailing on NCL Norwegian Jewel to the Caribbean (Belize City, Costa Maya, Honduras, Great Stirrup Cay) and a Jan. 10 sailing on RCCL Mariner of the Seas to the Mexican Riviera. We've only done Royal Caribbean cruises before, as we are all Crown and Anchor members. We also typically choose Caribbean cruises (because we love it so much!), so the Mexican Riv would be a new thing. Has anyone sailed on NCL AND RCCL that can give me some pros and cons of each? Any help?

Ahoy CalypsoBeat :-)
I received this post from a friend who just returned from a
cruise on the NCL Star so the Jewel might have a difference in food quality and service.

I have cruised on the Mariner of the Seas and she is a beautiful ship. I have cruised down the Mexican Riviera several times on Princess ships and there are many interesting things to see and do in each of the ports. It would be a good change of pace from the Caribbean for you to try.
Good luck and may you have fair skies and calm seas on whichever cruise you book.
Ciao, Jack

I was on NCL Star (which is embarrassingly painted with pastel stars all over the hull). It is a very cheap trip but...

Mediocre food (they never really cooked fish as I asked - it arrived desiccated. Mediocre service outside of marvelous cabin steward service. Not one single lecture or interesting presentation. At least half of the activities came with price tags attached. Half a dozen or more small restaurants with price tags on them serving the quality of food one used to see in the dining room. I could go on..

The itinerary was not as good as Princess's for the same three ports. NCL takes you right to Cabo san Lucas after a sea day, then the next two ports come up without any sea days between them. Too rushed. Port excursions were very pricy (no surprise) and could be gotten for way less once you landed. I really have nothing much good to say about the cruise except that I got a lot of rest, found a good book in the library to add to three more I brought and read and that the fresh beets and feta cheese on the salad bar in the buffet made it possible to put together a nice meal there.


Karen

[boaterette]

I have sailed both lines. If you like pool activities and such go with RCCL. Ncl didn't have any. I prefer RCCL. On Ncl you pay for a lot of extras.

[uncleboo]

Hands own RCCL

sailed on both

NCL i will not go on even for free so that tells you something.

not at all haPPY with anything on NCL

[ruffs]

We had a great time on NCL on the Star, the specialty restaurants were wonderful, the food in the MDR was good, you could find good food in the buffet but had to look for it.

There were plenty of activities, but those that involved bingo or booze cost money. The pool area was nice and relaxing, didn't have sexy legs contests or anything like that.

We did some research before we left, and was not unhappy about anything on the cruise.

[CalypsoBeat]

Thank you so much! All of your input is greatly appreciated. We love RCCL so much, we just don't think we'll be happy with anything else!

[Dougles]

We have been on both ships (family of 5 - teenaged daughters), and had a great time on both. We thought the Mariner was a more spectacular ship, with the promenade and ice rink. The Cirque Bijoux show on Jewel was fabulous, but other entertainment was about the same as on Mariner. In terms of food, we were happy with both. We tried several specialty restaurants on Jewel and thought they were very good (only tried Johnny Rockets on Mariner). MDR food and buffet were similar quality. Chocolate buffet was better on Mariner. We really liked the freestyle dining on NCL because the cruise was very port intensive, and a fixed dining time would have been awkward. Service was good, but not the same as the more personal service with the fixed dining we had on Mariner (any time dining was not an option when we were on Mariner).

We were able to afford a suite on Jewel, and that was amazing. We had a balcony and cross hall inside on Mariner - perfectly nice, but no comparison to the suite. Suite perks on NCL are great. We got to have breakfast and lunch in Cagneys (their steak house at night), and the food was really good.

We picked NCL on our last cruise because the comparable RCL cruise was far more expensive - we got the suite on NCL for not much more than the cost of 2 insides on RCL. We chose our destination first, then looked at prices.

We would be happy to take either ship again.

We did the Mexican Riviera on Princess, also a nice cruise. However, we preferred the caribbean as it was warmer for swimming, and we liked the variety of destinations. Also, we thought the seas were a little rougher on the MR side.

Whichever you choose, I am sure you will have a wonderful cruise.

[madforcruising]

I´ve been on a number of RCI and only one NCL. While the NCL wasn´t bad it just wasn´t for me.
I didn´t care for the Freestyle cruising and while I wouldn´t say never again, it´s my last choice.

[scg1a0]

We have been on seven RCCL cruises and decided to try the Norwegian Gem last year to change things up. Our experience was that the food and the service on NCL were poor. We even paid for every specialty restaurant on the ship and only once found food, and service, that was of the dining room quality on RCCL! The worst service was at the bars whereas they would not even speak to you. I would wait for up to ten minutes to get noticed even though there were no other customers! Some of our best times on RCCL have been chatting with bartenders and we still are in contact with some of them!

As far as itinerary I think that they both sound great...

Good luck and have a wonderful time whatever you choose!

[DireMongoose]

Originally Posted by madforcruising

I´ve been on a number of RCI and only one NCL. While the NCL wasn´t bad it just wasn´t for me.

This is pretty much where I am, too, though I've been on NCL a few times.

You definitely get more food choices via the variety of specialty restaurants on NCL; in most other ways, I generally prefer RCI. But that being said, I still had a good time with the NCL cruises and I don't have anything bad to say about them. It's just not as much to my taste.