NCL vs. RCI Cruise Comparison Review

I recently sailed on sort of back-to-back cruises. First, I went on Norwegian Getaway and then after disembarking from that ship, I spent a night in Fort Lauderdale and then embarked on Allure of the Seas. I wrote “live” threads for each of those cruises (which can be found here (Norwegian Getaway) and here (Allure of the Seas). I want to thank everyone who followed along in the threads.

My particular background is that I’m pretty “loyal to Royal” at this point, as you can see evidenced by my cruise history in my signature. As part of this pair of cruises, I thought that it would be a terrific opportunity to do a comparison between the formerly unknown-to-me Norwegian Cruise Line and my old favorite, Royal Caribbean.

The choice of ships was more a factor of chance, as I had been previously booked on Allure of the Seas for quite some time for a cruise with a group of friends. The opportunity to sail on NCL came as a promotion from a local casino offering a “free” (well, pay about $300/person for an inside cabin, taxes and fees included), and I thought that if I’m going to try something like this, I should sail on Norwegian’s latest and greatest ship to get the best sense of what NCL has to offer.

In preparation for this comparison review, I prepared a set of categories which I’ll be scoring for both cruises. I want to thank those of you who posted in my “Comparison points” threads as I tried to collect a good array of points to score and discuss.

I’ll note here that I realized that a comparison between Norwegian Getaway (NCL’s latest ship) and Allure of the Seas (RCI’s latest ship) isn’t exactly a fair comparison since Allure of the Seas is about 50% larger, so I’m actually doing a double comparison, one with Allure of the Seas from my most recent cruise and also with Independence of the Seas, a comparably sized ship that I sailed on in March. Between these two Royal Caribbean ships, it should be possible to estimate how Royal Caribbean International stacks up against Norwegian Cruise Line with their larger ships.

I’ve broken down this review into 15 comparison points. I’ll try to give a bit of reasoning for how I came to arrive at the scores for each ship or cruise line.

Let’s begin!

NCL: I thought that Norwegian Getaway offered a great variety of entertainment options. The stage shows were really good and the various live music performances were good as well. A few of the performers were just okay, though, and after a short while, I wanted to leave and do something else.

Score: 9

RCI: For Allure of the Seas, I really loved Blue Planet and thought that the aqua show was also very good. I didn’t care for Chicago and am glad that they’re replacing it in the future. They generally have a nice variety of shows on Allure. Independence of the Seas has a more limited set of entertainment options.

Score: 8 (Allure), 6 (Independence)

NCL: There is so much to do onboard Norwegian Getaway that I could easily choose something to do whenever I wanted. I loved trying the ropes course, never having done that before. I think her mini-golf course is quite entertaining, more so than on Royal Caribbean ships.

Score: 10

RCI: Allure of the Seas also has many activities from which to choose including FlowRider, a zip line, ice skating, and more. It’s easy to find something to do, whether it’s active or something more tame like a nice round of trivia.

Score: 10 (Allure), 9 (Independence)

NCL: Norwegian Getaway has great specialty restaurant choices, but I did have disappointing service one night in Cagney’s. I found the food to be generally good in most venues. I liked the buffet’s choices, although the setup seemed to have more of a cafeteria feel.

Score: 8

RCI: Allure of the Seas also has much to choose from for specialty restaurant options, and the food in there was generally quite good. Main dining room food was okay (I’ve grown a bit tired of the menu). The buffet was very crowded during peak periods, but had nice selections available. Independence of the Seas only has three specialty restaurants (if you include Johnny Rockets), which are good, but selection is limited.

Score: 8 (Allure), 7 (Independence)

NCL: I was impressed by how Norwegian Getaway arranged the interior venues on decks 6, 7, and 8. It made the ship feel as though it had a “heart”. Also, the Waterfront is a fantastic design, sure to be copied by other cruise lines in the future. Given the layout of the shops on 8, the casino on 7, and the art on 6, it did make it so those thoroughfares were crowded (and smoky, thanks to the casino) at times. There was also lots of noise-bleed from public areas like the Atrium that spilled over into adjacent areas, even on different decks, such as O’Sheehan’s. Spice H2O didn’t do anything for me.

Score: 6

RCI: Allure of the Seas wins this with their neighborhood design. The Boardwalk (Allure only), Central Park (Allure only), and the Royal Promenade (both) all have their own unique feel. The Solarium is a better designed adults-only area (and actually includes a pool).

Score: 9 (Allure), 8 (Independence)

NCL: There’s an okay variety of bars and lounges including some nice outdoor seating on the Waterfront. The outdoor seating suffers from the adjacent smoking. Many of the indoor venues are open to the main thoroughfares instead of feeling truly separate. Service was good, but not great.

Score: 6

RCI: Allure of the Seas has a wonderful array of lounges, many with their own unique feel. Some of the venues on Independence of the Seas are also thoroughfares, leading to extra noise during high traffic times. Service on both ships has been very good. I have fond memories of the service I’ve received during these cruises.

Score: 10 (Allure), 7 (Independence)

NCL: I had a negative experience for embarkation. Although I arrived at the port early and was about 10th in line, I found myself waiting for 15 minutes for someone to collect the corkage fee for the wine we brought, and then another 10 minutes at the front of the CAS check-in line, waiting for a single person checking in CAS guests, before being taken by another NCL person to the regular check-in line where I was checked in promptly. The waiting area is slightly disorganized with just using group numbers for boarding and everyone otherwise spread out there.

Score: 3

RCI: Allure of the Seas has incredibly easy embarkation. Independence of the Seas had decent embarkation, but the terminal isn’t quite as cruiser-friendly as Allure’s Terminal 18. I prefer Royal Caribbean’s prioritized boarding by Crown & Anchor level, but I admit that’s because I’m Diamond with them.

Score: 5 (Allure), 4 (Independence)

NCL: We had a very easy disembarkation. It was a little hard to find our bags among so many with our luggage tag color.

Score: 5

RCI: Contrary to getting on the ship being so easy and relatively pleasant, disembarkation was rough. We were delayed, there were long lines, and customs was slow (not RCI’s fault, but lumped in here since it was part of the overall experience).

Score: 3 (Allure), 3 (Independence)

NCL: The web site was very functional and offered a great pre-cruise experience. Talking to people on the phone was also a positive experience.

Score: 5

RCI: Royal Caribbean’s web site can be challenging (and that’s putting it nicely). Sometimes there were long hold times to get to speak to a person.

Score: 3 (Allure), 3 (Independence)

NCL: Everyone we ran into seemed to be smiling and they were very helpful!

Score: 5

RCI: Staff were generally quite helpful, but not as personally engaging as NCL.

Score: 4 (Allure), 4 (Independence)

NCL: The interior cabin we had (13651, category IA) was smaller than I’m used to on Royal Caribbean ships (except for Sovereign class ships like Majesty of the Seas). The storage was fair (we were accustomed to more shelves). I did like the make-up-room/do-not-disturb lights.

Score: 3

RCI: The cabin was excellent (11329, category B1 - Boardwalk Balcony) with plenty of room and good storage. We seemed to recall that Independence of the Seas had slightly better storage.

Score: 5 (Allure), 5 (Independence)

NCL: Decks 6, 7, and 8 are great to get from forward to aft, but can be crowded through the casino (7) and around the shops (8). The Waterfront was an enjoyable way to get around on deck 8. The open area at 6-7-8 Place is very attractive and provides another place to go between decks. Outside decks 15 and 16 are a bit of an obstacle course with all of the loungers around.

Score: 4

RCI: Allure of the Seas has lots of ways to get from place to place including decks 4, 5, 8, 15, and 16, although you are dodging slot machines and table games through the casino (4). Independence of the Seas is similar, missing Central Park.

Score: 5 (Allure), 4 (Independence)

NCL: There seemed to be a reasonable set of packages available, but you do have to buy for everyone in the cabin.

Score: 4

RCI: There also seemed to be a reasonable set of packages available. You can buy for just one person in the cabin.

Score: 5 (Allure), 5 (Independence)

(Internet access, smartphone/tablet app, interactive TV, TV channels)

NCL: Internet worked okay, but was somewhat slow and only offered by per-minute pricing. The iConcierge app was nice and very useful, but didn’t show pre-reserved items, so it wasn’t useful as a personal calendar. The interactive TV worked reasonably well. TV channels were rather limited.

Score: 4

RCI: Good internet access with unlimited packages available. I was able to use Skype with video. Great interactive TV including pulling up a personal calendar of reservations. Good array of TV channels including both onboard and satellite programming. RCI (currently) has no mobile device integration with your own device.

Score: 4 (Allure), 4 (Independence)

NCL: There seemed to be a reasonable selection of excursions available. Staff at the excursions desk were very friendly and helpful. It was a little odd that onboard, excursions are priced $0.99 higher ($124.99 for the Atlantis Aquaventure excursion versus paying $124.00 on the web site in advance.)

Score: 4

RCI: I’ll cheat here and say “Ditto” as my comments for NCL apply to RCI as well.

Score: 4 (Allure), 4 (Independence)

NCL: Given the space on the upper deck taken up for various activities, the remaining space seemed limited and quite crowded. There’s no pool in Spice H2O.

Score: 3

RCI: Allure of the Seas has a great selection of pools and hot tubs. Independence of the Seas has a good selection, but obviously not as much as Allure. The Solarium has a pool. The cantilevered hot tubs are a lot of fun.

Score: 5 (Allure), 4 (Independence)

NCL: 79

RCI - Allure of the Seas: 88

RCI - Independence of the Seas: 77

Ultimately, these are my opinions based on my own experiences. As you can see, when comparing comparably sized ships, the scores are also comparable. Allure of the Seas “wins”, but she has an unfair advantage, being so much larger and offering much more.

I think that Norwegian Cruise Line has a strong contender with Norwegian Getaway and I believe that she’ll serve her passengers well. There’s a lot there for others to emulate in the years ahead.

Royal Caribbean has a lot more to offer in terms of more, and bigger, ships. Still, they could learn a lot from NCL, especially with respect to IT stuff. :D

I’m very glad that I had a chance to try NCL and especially Norwegian Getaway. She’s a beautiful ship and holds much promise for the future.

Looking at my future cruises, though, I see that I’m going to continue to be “loyal to Royal” for now.

Outstanding write-up. Thanks a lot for taking the time to do it.

Brian

A very balanced and fair review. Have not been on the Allure but I really enjoyed the Getaway. I really enjoy the freestyle concept and I can't wait to go on the Quantum of the seas. Your also correct the cruiselines will be copying the waterfront on a lot of ships in the future.

Thank you for the comparison. For the most part, we have mainly cruised on NCL (Our only exception was a trip planned by the in-laws to Alaska on HAL), and we have really enjoyed the laid back "Freestyle" cruising that NCL offers. We have never been much on dressing up, so I think that is one of the reasons why. The other is not having to have a set time for dinner, and having to sit with other people. We did that when we would go to the Pocono resorts, and while we met some nice people, it really isn't our thing. We enjoy meeting people on board, don't get me wrong, partying with them etc.., just not so comfortable doing it over dinner. I think that we might eventually look at other cruise lines, and I think that Royal might be one of the ones we look at. Again, thanks for taking the time to do both the "Live" froms and the comparison.

Thanks for your comparison! How you would compare the casinos? You said that you were sailing with the CAS program so I assume you used the casinos.

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Thanks for your comparison! How you would compare the casinos? You said that you were sailing with the CAS program so I assume you used the casinos.

This is one area where NCL has an advantage by having much newer ship. The casino is much more up to date than RCI offers, even on Allure of the Seas which is almost four years old at this point. That's a long time when looking at casinos (primarily slot machines).

NCL does have a stronger casino program, but I didn't really see it too much since I was invited from a land-based casino. From what I was told, CAS doesn't rate players who came from land-based casinos.

RCI has announced that they'll be updating their casino program in 2015. I expect to see many similarities between the two at that time.

I'll also note that bar service in NCL's casino was far better. On Allure of the Seas, we hardly ever saw any bar servers wandering the casino. It was striking how different that was.

I really enjoy the freestyle concept and I can't wait to go on the Quantum of the seas.

we have really enjoyed the laid back "Freestyle" cruising that NCL offers.

I did forget to mention that. That was another thing in favor of NCL's dining - the lack of a need to get dressed up for dinner, even when thinking about just khaki pants and a polo shirt. I liked being able to go to dinner most nights (except for when we went to Le Bistro) in shorts if I wanted. That was especially nice when we dined outside on the Waterfront and it was a bit warm outside.

Great comparison ... Thanks so MUCH! :)

LuLu

Thanks! The Allure has been calling my name for awhile now. Soon .... :D

Thank you very much Marc for your in depth and thorough comparison of the ships and your experience!

I myself have sailed on Epic, Breakaway, Oasis, and Allure. I am curious as to your feelings about the overall vibe you felt with the passengers on the ships. It was my experience that those on Breakaway and Epic seemed just a little bit more relaxed and determined to have a good time while the vibe from passengers on Allure and Oasis was that they were a little bit more uptight and maybe just a tad frazzled.

Your thoughts on that?

Thanks!

I myself have sailed on Epic, Breakaway, Oasis, and Allure. I am curious as to your feelings about the overall vibe you felt with the passengers on the ships. It was my experience that those on Breakaway and Epic seemed just a little bit more relaxed and determined to have a good time while the vibe from passengers on Allure and Oasis was that they were a little bit more uptight and maybe just a tad frazzled.

 

Your thoughts on that?

I really can't comment on this too much because it was just the two of us traveling on Norwegian Getaway while on Allure of the Seas, I was traveling with a group of 33 others, so my interactions were mostly with them during the week.

From what I can recall, though, I can't remember anything too different between the passengers of either ship. They seemed kind of the same to me.

Related to other passengers, though, I will note that the LGBT gathering on Norwegian Getaway was far more well attended than on Allure of the Seas (where the card wouldn't even remain on the community board; someone kept taking it down). I did appreciate that NCL published an LGBT meet-up in their daily paper, while RCI leaves it up to the passengers to schedule themselves through the community board.

I read this with lots of interest since I have been on the Oasis and leave on the Getaway next Saturday. I was originally booked on the Allure but a group of people I have sailed with decided to do the Getaway instead. One aspect that you did not touch on was pricing. I know you did the Getaway through CAS but how would you rate the value per dollar IF you had to pay for each. In my case I love balconies. I was going to pay $2600 for a superior ocean view on the Allure that departed on the 26th, however when I switched to the Getaway departing on the 25th I got a mini-suite with large balcony for only $1800. I have never price checked the Indy so curious what the cabin pricing is compared to the Getaway since those ships are more alike in size.

I thought about including pricing, but it's so variable that it's hard to quantify. That's why I left it out of the review. I did note to myself that my cabin, if I had booked it much later, such as a few weeks before sailing, would only have cost a total of $550/person, so the "free" CAS rate wasn't that much of a savings.

My casual observations seemed to show that Norwegian Getaway was rather less expensive than Allure of the Seas (not really a surprise as she still commands a premium price) and slightly less than Independence of the Seas (subject to price fluctuations). I did note that closer to sailing, Norwegian Getaway still seemed to have lots of cabins available in several categories while Allure of the Seas was closer to being sold out. That would affect last-minute pricing opportunities.

On Independence of the Seas, I was able to get a $33 upgrade from an inside Royal Promenade view cabin to a balcony "on the hump" (a very desirable location) a few days before sailing. Because I was booked with CAS for Norwegian Getaway, the only upgrade to a balcony option, regardless of current pricing, was $300/person.

I thought about including pricing, but it's so variable that it's hard to quantify. That's why I left it out of the review. I did note to myself that my cabin, if I had booked it much later, such as a few weeks before sailing, would only have cost a total of $550/person, so the "free" CAS rate wasn't that much of a savings.

 

My casual observations seemed to show that Norwegian Getaway was rather less expensive than Allure of the Seas (not really a surprise as she still commands a premium price) and slightly less than Independence of the Seas (subject to price fluctuations). I did note that closer to sailing, Norwegian Getaway still seemed to have lots of cabins available in several categories while Allure of the Seas was closer to being sold out. That would affect last-minute pricing opportunities.

 

On Independence of the Seas, I was able to get a $33 upgrade from an inside Royal Promenade view cabin to a balcony "on the hump" (a very desirable location) a few days before sailing. Because I was booked with CAS for Norwegian Getaway, the only upgrade to a balcony option, regardless of current pricing, was $300/person.

The pricing on Royal is weird anyhow. Last year when I sailed on the Oasis (over Halloween) I was able to get a CP balcony for $1800. This year on the Allure an inside cabin was $1900 and the superior balcony like I mentioned was $2600. That made the $1800 mini-suite with large balcony a no brainer for me. Open cabins on the Getaway are still an issue, after final payment the price of my cabin did drop to $1400 plus "cash back", of course since it was past final payment I couldn't benefit from that. :mad: I may have to look at prices for the Indy as one thing about Royal that I like is that there are 24 hour hot tubs! Carnival and from what I have read about the Getaway doesn't have that. Also IMO there is no beating the pool deck on Oasis class ships. I'll have to see if the night life on a NCL ship falls compared to Royal. Worse case scenario I plan on trying to get on the "Oasis 4" that launches 2018 to see what changes they are going to make!

This was an outstanding comparison, and makes me think the newer RCI ships might be a better fit for me. It seems the inside cabins are a good bit larger on the newer ships, but are the showers still the tiny clamshells? I love the size of the showers on most of the NCL ships.

The pricing on Royal is weird anyhow.

Ain't that the truth!

Royal Caribbean has a "sale" going on now that many people in the Royal Caribbean forum are clamoring for it to finally be over so we can see regular prices instead of artificially inflated with 50% off one passenger.

This was an outstanding comparison, and makes me think the newer RCI ships might be a better fit for me. It seems the inside cabins are a good bit larger on the newer ships, but are the showers still the tiny clamshells? I love the size of the showers on most of the NCL ships.

The showers are pretty comparable. The NCL shower was slightly larger with a different shape. The RCI showers are more like tubes you step into with the cylindrical doors. I didn't really have much of a problem with either shower, although I'd give the nod to NCL. That said, I'll note that the water pressure in the NCL shower was anemic. I was glad to get showers on Allure of the Seas where the water pressure felt much better.

I recently sailed on sort of back-to-back cruises. First, I went on Norwegian Getaway and then after disembarking from that ship, I spent a night in Fort Lauderdale and then embarked on Allure of the Seas. I wrote “live” threads for each of those cruises (which can be found here (Norwegian Getaway) and here (Allure of the Seas). I want to thank everyone who followed along in the threads.

 

My particular background is that I’m pretty “loyal to Royal” at this point, as you can see evidenced by my cruise history in my signature. As part of this pair of cruises, I thought that it would be a terrific opportunity to do a comparison between the formerly unknown-to-me Norwegian Cruise Line and my old favorite, Royal Caribbean.

 

The choice of ships was more a factor of chance, as I had been previously booked on Allure of the Seas for quite some time for a cruise with a group of friends. The opportunity to sail on NCL came as a promotion from a local casino offering a “free” (well, pay about $300/person for an inside cabin, taxes and fees included), and I thought that if I’m going to try something like this, I should sail on Norwegian’s latest and greatest ship to get the best sense of what NCL has to offer.

 

In preparation for this comparison review, I prepared a set of categories which I’ll be scoring for both cruises. I want to thank those of you who posted in my “Comparison points” threads as I tried to collect a good array of points to score and discuss.

 

I’ll note here that I realized that a comparison between Norwegian Getaway (NCL’s latest ship) and Allure of the Seas (RCI’s latest ship) isn’t exactly a fair comparison since Allure of the Seas is about 50% larger, so I’m actually doing a double comparison, one with Allure of the Seas from my most recent cruise and also with Independence of the Seas, a comparably sized ship that I sailed on in March. Between these two Royal Caribbean ships, it should be possible to estimate how Royal Caribbean International stacks up against Norwegian Cruise Line with their larger ships.

 

I’ve broken down this review into 15 comparison points. I’ll try to give a bit of reasoning for how I came to arrive at the scores for each ship or cruise line.

 

Let’s begin!

 

Entertainment (10 points)

(Broadway/theater shows, comedy, lounge performances)

 

NCL: I thought that Norwegian Getaway offered a great variety of entertainment options. The stage shows were really good and the various live music performances were good as well. A few of the performers were just okay, though, and after a short while, I wanted to leave and do something else.

 

Score: 9

 

RCI: For Allure of the Seas, I really loved Blue Planet and thought that the aqua show was also very good. I didn’t care for Chicago and am glad that they’re replacing it in the future. They generally have a nice variety of shows on Allure. Independence of the Seas has a more limited set of entertainment options.

 

Score: 8 (Allure), 6 (Independence)

 

Activities (10 points)

(Mini-golf, rock climbing, FlowRider, ropes course, waterslides, trivia, etc.)

 

NCL: There is so much to do onboard Norwegian Getaway that I could easily choose something to do whenever I wanted. I loved trying the ropes course, never having done that before. I think her mini-golf course is quite entertaining, more so than on Royal Caribbean ships.

 

Score: 10

 

RCI: Allure of the Seas also has many activities from which to choose including FlowRider, a zip line, ice skating, and more. It’s easy to find something to do, whether it’s active or something more tame like a nice round of trivia.

 

Score: 10 (Allure), 9 (Independence)

 

Dining (10 points)

(Main dining, buffet, specialty restaurants)

 

NCL: Norwegian Getaway has great specialty restaurant choices, but I did have disappointing service one night in Cagney’s. I found the food to be generally good in most venues. I liked the buffet’s choices, although the setup seemed to have more of a cafeteria feel.

 

Score: 8

 

RCI: Allure of the Seas also has much to choose from for specialty restaurant options, and the food in there was generally quite good. Main dining room food was okay (I’ve grown a bit tired of the menu). The buffet was very crowded during peak periods, but had nice selections available. Independence of the Seas only has three specialty restaurants (if you include Johnny Rockets), which are good, but selection is limited.

 

Score: 8 (Allure), 7 (Independence)

 

Public Venues (10 points)

(Adult areas, shops, public places other than bars and lounges)

 

NCL: I was impressed by how Norwegian Getaway arranged the interior venues on decks 6, 7, and 8. It made the ship feel as though it had a “heart”. Also, the Waterfront is a fantastic design, sure to be copied by other cruise lines in the future. Given the layout of the shops on 8, the casino on 7, and the art on 6, it did make it so those thoroughfares were crowded (and smoky, thanks to the casino) at times. There was also lots of noise-bleed from public areas like the Atrium that spilled over into adjacent areas, even on different decks, such as O’Sheehan’s. Spice H2O didn’t do anything for me.

 

Score: 6

 

RCI: Allure of the Seas wins this with their neighborhood design. The Boardwalk (Allure only), Central Park (Allure only), and the Royal Promenade (both) all have their own unique feel. The Solarium is a better designed adults-only area (and actually includes a pool).

 

Score: 9 (Allure), 8 (Independence)

 

Bars & Lounges (10 points)

(Variety, service)

 

NCL: There’s an okay variety of bars and lounges including some nice outdoor seating on the Waterfront. The outdoor seating suffers from the adjacent smoking. Many of the indoor venues are open to the main thoroughfares instead of feeling truly separate. Service was good, but not great.

 

Score: 6

 

RCI: Allure of the Seas has a wonderful array of lounges, many with their own unique feel. Some of the venues on Independence of the Seas are also thoroughfares, leading to extra noise during high traffic times. Service on both ships has been very good. I have fond memories of the service I’ve received during these cruises.

 

Score: 10 (Allure), 7 (Independence)

 

Embarkation (5 points)

 

NCL: I had a negative experience for embarkation. Although I arrived at the port early and was about 10th in line, I found myself waiting for 15 minutes for someone to collect the corkage fee for the wine we brought, and then another 10 minutes at the front of the CAS check-in line, waiting for a single person checking in CAS guests, before being taken by another NCL person to the regular check-in line where I was checked in promptly. The waiting area is slightly disorganized with just using group numbers for boarding and everyone otherwise spread out there.

 

Score: 3

 

RCI: Allure of the Seas has incredibly easy embarkation. Independence of the Seas had decent embarkation, but the terminal isn’t quite as cruiser-friendly as Allure’s Terminal 18. I prefer Royal Caribbean’s prioritized boarding by Crown & Anchor level, but I admit that’s because I’m Diamond with them.

 

Score: 5 (Allure), 4 (Independence)

 

Disembarkation (5 points)

 

NCL: We had a very easy disembarkation. It was a little hard to find our bags among so many with our luggage tag color.

 

Score: 5

 

RCI: Contrary to getting on the ship being so easy and relatively pleasant, disembarkation was rough. We were delayed, there were long lines, and customs was slow (not RCI’s fault, but lumped in here since it was part of the overall experience).

 

Score: 3 (Allure), 3 (Independence)

 

Pre-cruise Services (5 points)

(Web site, customer service on the phone)

 

NCL: The web site was very functional and offered a great pre-cruise experience. Talking to people on the phone was also a positive experience.

 

Score: 5

 

RCI: Royal Caribbean’s web site can be challenging (and that’s putting it nicely). Sometimes there were long hold times to get to speak to a person.

 

Score: 3 (Allure), 3 (Independence)

 

Helpfulness/Friendliness of Staff (5 points)

 

NCL: Everyone we ran into seemed to be smiling and they were very helpful!

 

Score: 5

 

RCI: Staff were generally quite helpful, but not as personally engaging as NCL.

 

Score: 4 (Allure), 4 (Independence)

 

Cabin (5 points)

 

NCL: The interior cabin we had (13651, category IA) was smaller than I’m used to on Royal Caribbean ships (except for Sovereign class ships like Majesty of the Seas). The storage was fair (we were accustomed to more shelves). I did like the make-up-room/do-not-disturb lights.

 

Score: 3

 

RCI: The cabin was excellent (11329, category B1 - Boardwalk Balcony) with plenty of room and good storage. We seemed to recall that Independence of the Seas had slightly better storage.

 

Score: 5 (Allure), 5 (Independence)

 

Ease of Getting Around (5 points)

 

NCL: Decks 6, 7, and 8 are great to get from forward to aft, but can be crowded through the casino (7) and around the shops (8). The Waterfront was an enjoyable way to get around on deck 8. The open area at 6-7-8 Place is very attractive and provides another place to go between decks. Outside decks 15 and 16 are a bit of an obstacle course with all of the loungers around.

 

Score: 4

 

RCI: Allure of the Seas has lots of ways to get from place to place including decks 4, 5, 8, 15, and 16, although you are dodging slot machines and table games through the casino (4). Independence of the Seas is similar, missing Central Park.

 

Score: 5 (Allure), 4 (Independence)

 

Beverage Packages (5 points)

 

NCL: There seemed to be a reasonable set of packages available, but you do have to buy for everyone in the cabin.

 

Score: 4

 

RCI: There also seemed to be a reasonable set of packages available. You can buy for just one person in the cabin.

 

Score: 5 (Allure), 5 (Independence)

 

Onboard Informational Services (5 points)

(Internet access, smartphone/tablet app, interactive TV, TV channels)

 

NCL: Internet worked okay, but was somewhat slow and only offered by per-minute pricing. The iConcierge app was nice and very useful, but didn’t show pre-reserved items, so it wasn’t useful as a personal calendar. The interactive TV worked reasonably well. TV channels were rather limited.

 

Score: 4

 

RCI: Good internet access with unlimited packages available. I was able to use Skype with video. Great interactive TV including pulling up a personal calendar of reservations. Good array of TV channels including both onboard and satellite programming. RCI (currently) has no mobile device integration with your own device.

 

Score: 4 (Allure), 4 (Independence)

 

Excursions (5 points)

 

NCL: There seemed to be a reasonable selection of excursions available. Staff at the excursions desk were very friendly and helpful. It was a little odd that onboard, excursions are priced $0.99 higher ($124.99 for the Atlantis Aquaventure excursion versus paying $124.00 on the web site in advance.)

 

Score: 4

 

RCI: I’ll cheat here and say “Ditto” as my comments for NCL apply to RCI as well.

 

Score: 4 (Allure), 4 (Independence)

 

Pools and Hot Tubs (5 points)

 

NCL: Given the space on the upper deck taken up for various activities, the remaining space seemed limited and quite crowded. There’s no pool in Spice H2O.

 

Score: 3

 

RCI: Allure of the Seas has a great selection of pools and hot tubs. Independence of the Seas has a good selection, but obviously not as much as Allure. The Solarium has a pool. The cantilevered hot tubs are a lot of fun.

 

Score: 5 (Allure), 4 (Independence)

 

Final Scores

 

NCL: 79

 

RCI - Allure of the Seas: 88

RCI - Independence of the Seas: 77

 

Conclusion

 

Ultimately, these are my opinions based on my own experiences. As you can see, when comparing comparably sized ships, the scores are also comparable. Allure of the Seas “wins”, but she has an unfair advantage, being so much larger and offering much more.

 

I think that Norwegian Cruise Line has a strong contender with Norwegian Getaway and I believe that she’ll serve her passengers well. There’s a lot there for others to emulate in the years ahead.

 

Royal Caribbean has a lot more to offer in terms of more, and bigger, ships. Still, they could learn a lot from NCL, especially with respect to IT stuff. :D

 

I’m very glad that I had a chance to try NCL and especially Norwegian Getaway. She’s a beautiful ship and holds much promise for the future.

 

Looking at my future cruises, though, I see that I’m going to continue to be “loyal to Royal” for now.

GREAT COMPARISON! I sailed on the Oasis and loved the ship and crew. I thought the food was also wonderful. I am sailing NCL Epic in December and will be interested in seeing the comparison. Thanks!

Thanks for the comparison! I'll be going on my first RCI cruise next September with my mom and sister, so I love these comparisons between the two lines :)

Also appreciate the comparison and your personal take.

We have cruised Oasis and Breakaway and Epic.

Loved all 3 for different reasons and am trying to make a decision between

Epic and Allure for Europe 2015.

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. It helps in remembering some important differences.

I will be cruising both these lines in November. A back to back so to speak. Norwegian Sun from Tampa and then over to Port Canaveral for Enchantment of the Seas. We've cruised many times (this will be our 11th and 12th) but mostly with Princess and Celebrity. Our first time with both NCL and Royal so I was really interested in how they compare. So...a couple of quick questions, please....

1. Is there smoking in casinos on both ships?

2. We're not doing a drink pkg. How do costs of say, a beer, compare?

Thanks

Yes, there is smoking in casinos on both NCL and RCI.

I'm not a beer drinker, so I cannot comment specifically about prices, but if I were to guess, I'd say that they are about $5 on both. I just did a quick check online, and I saw some sample beer menus from Royal Caribbean that showed the general pricing to be $4-5.