RCI vs. NCL

We have always cruised with RCI , mostly Caribbean , 2 in Europe, but we would like to expand more towards Europe, panama Canal , South America, etc. I have been looking at Norwegian and seem to think their itineraries are more widespread , more choices, more dates available. Any comments, suggestions appreciated. Thank you1

I would suggest posting your question on the both the NCL and the Royal Caribbean boards, you will get a lot more answers that way.

Jonathan

I would suggest posting your question on the both the NCL and the Royal Caribbean boards, you will get a lot more answers that way.

This might be the best forum to get the most useful answers to the question, especially if you can get people who have cruised both lines to respond and to tell you specifically what they liked better and why (so you can consider only the aspects you find important).

Regrettably, not having cruised on NCL, I won't be able to provide you a useful comparison.

This message may have been drafted using voice recognition. Please forgive any typos.

I don't see it that way. Within the cruise line specific forums, you have to be prepared for the answers provided to be dominated by passengers who either love the cruise line or want to tell you only how much worse it is than they remember it being (regardless of whether those memories are accurate).

 

This might be the best forum to get the most useful answers to the question, especially if you can get people who have cruised both lines to respond and to tell you specifically what they liked better and why (so you can consider only the aspects you find important).

 

Regrettably, not having cruised on NCL, I won't be able to provide you a useful comparison.

 

This message may have been drafted using voice recognition. Please forgive any typos.

I agree. This is the "Ask a Cruise Question" board and you should get a number of answers that may show less bias one way or the other than the dedicated cruise line boards. Besides, it was asked here, so why not answer it here?

That being said, I too do not have experience with NCL but from what I understand the two lines are more similar than they are different. Being a long term RCI - and now Celebrity - cruiser, it seems that whenever NCL introduces something, RCI is soon to follow similarly. Example - Freestyle followed by MTD.

Any insight that the OP can offer regarding cruising style preferences, mix of their party traveling, etc., would help direct better answers. But I can say that in our case after many years only with RCI, we have moved mainly now to Celebrity. I know the OP didn't ask about them, but I will offer some input that I believe to be objective in case they may want to consider them as well.

The comparisons I would make would be that (although understood as highly subjective) in experiencing both, the food is better on Celebrity, especially with the buffet. The entertainment is not as good or as diverse as RCI, but is still very good IMO. And in our experience, the level of customer focus is better with Celebrity as well. It is less of a family cruise line in terms of younger children and more of a traditional cruising style than RCI.

Hopefully this adds some value to the conversation and that others will be able to provide more insight with NCL.

I have sailed both RCI and NCL numerous times.

First, you’ll likely find NCL’s ships to be not as nice as RCI. NCL uses a lot of bright colors and they lack the wow that RCI has. NCL also tends to be lacking in the MDR. I’ve always found their free food to be “meh.”

On the other hand, you’ll find their entertainment and activities to be right on par with RCI’s older ships. The main stage shows are pretty good and throughout the cruise, they’ll put on several game shows.

Beware their free offers. They will charge you gratuities on the beverage and dining packages. It still might be a good deal but if you’re not expecting the charge, it can come as a shock.

First, you’ll likely find NCL’s ships to be not as nice as RCI. NCL uses a lot of bright colors and they lack the wow that RCI has.

This message may have been drafted using voice recognition. Please forgive any typos.

I'm finding this thread interesting as I too am trying a Celebrity cruising next January (Silhouette) and an NCL cruise a few months later (Getaway). My husband and I have previously taken 8 RCI cruises and felt like a change as the RCI itineraries aren't wowing us any more as we've done most of the ports of call. We enjoy the large ships of RCI and hope we'll enjoy Celebrity and NCL just as much.

I'm finding this thread interesting as I too am trying a Celebrity cruising next January (Silhouette) and an NCL cruise a few months later (Getaway). My husband and I have previously taken 8 RCI cruises and felt like a change as the RCI itineraries aren't wowing us any more as we've done most of the ports of call. We enjoy the large ships of RCI and hope we'll enjoy Celebrity and NCL just as much.

If the different venues on board the larger RCI ships are important to you, here is what you will not find on Celebrity:

Ice skating rink, zip line, rock climbing wall, aqua theater, bumper cars, water slides, miniature golf, Royal Promenade, carousel, Broadway shows.

Here's what you will find;

Adult Solarium monitored for age restrictions and time cards for reserving seats, IMO better food overall with a buffet that is far better, a quieter, lower key cruise atmosphere, more of a customer focus with their service staff.

If you are interested the following link is to a thread I started after our first Celebrity cruise in 2016 comparing them to RCL:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2384894

Have never cruised on NCL so I can't help there but as I previously posted, my impression from what I have heard is that they are more similar to RCL than different.

Loved ncl in 80’s , last cruise on them was about 10 years ago , hated there anytime dinning, rccl gives you choice can do traditional with same waiters if you want , ncl does not have that option, will never sail them again for a few reasons. Rccl is our favorite love there entertainment . Hal has some different choices , also like celebrity.

I've sailed Royal twice, NCL twice, and Princess once. For us, from best to worse:

food: Princess, Royal, NCL

service: Royal/Princess, NCL

activities: Royal/NC, Princess

people (feeling like we fit with the crowd and their target market): Royal, NCL, Princess

pricing: NCL, Royal, Princess

ships: Royal, NCL, Princess

Overall Royal is our favorite. We really liked the idea of NCL, as far as the atmosphere (freestyle), food options (although most are an upcharge), and low pricing, and even gave it two tries, but we're kinda meh about them compared to Royal. From the itineraries I looked at NCL was running a couple hundred cheaper per person but included a beverage package (minus gratuities), which I like, but its not like we'd buy the bev package on Royal (we just limit our drinking and pay cash - can't see paying that much for a week just to drink) so its not as huge of a "savings". In general I think by paying a bit more for Royal we really enjoy the vacation more.

I might be swayed to a different cruise line though depending on the itinerary. For example: We did NCL's Pride of America which does the only 7 night all Hawaii cruise (Honolulu round trip). NCL also goes to Glacier Bay in Alaska (in addition to Holland America and Princess at least) while Royal does not.

If there aren't any items which are really important to you that NCL won't be a good fit for, I suggest giving them a try if the itinerary and price is right and seeing how you like it. I think all these major cruise lines are more alike then they are different.

Adult Solarium monitored for age restrictions and time cards for reserving seats

I just realized this isn't really clear to what I was trying to say. The Solarium pool attendants on Celebrity will monitor reserved, but not occupied, loungers and if after a period of time no one returns to claim them, they will put a "30 minute" card on the lounger. If it remains empty for 30 more minutes, they will gather what was left to reserve it (which typically is a ship towel) and allow others to take those loungers. The left items can be claimed at a station nearby. One of the few cruise lines that actually makes an effort at reducing chair hogging.

They also recognize those who are there in the loungers and acknowledge time away for lunch or other reasons without an issue so that your lounger will not be taken, as long as your time away is reasonable, such as 30 - 60 minutes.

I just realized this isn't really clear to what I was trying to say. The Solarium pool attendants on Celebrity will monitor reserved, but not occupied, loungers and if after a period of time no one returns to claim them, they will put a "30 minute" card on the lounger. If it remains empty for 30 more minutes, they will gather what was left to reserve it (which typically is a ship towel) and allow others to take those loungers. The left items can be claimed at a station nearby. One of the few cruise lines that actually makes an effort at reducing chair hogging.

 

They also recognize those who are there in the loungers and acknowledge time away for lunch or other reasons without an issue so that your lounger will not be taken, as long as your time away is reasonable, such as 30 - 60 minutes.

We only have 17 X cruises and over 200 days so perhaps we lack your experience. But on all of our X cruises we have never, ever, seen a pool attendant (butler) do anything to clear a lounger that has long been vacant. In fact, on our last Celebrity cruise (Eclipse) we would watch folks "reserve" large blocks of lounger by 7:30am and then not return until mid-afternoon. We know this because we would often stay on the ship (even in ports) and this became a topic among a few of us who were on the ship. Another passenger even pointed this out to a pool supervisor and he just shrugged and said they do not like to "confront" passengers unless it is absolutely necessary.

Hank

We only have 17 X cruises and over 200 days so perhaps we lack your experience. But on all of our X cruises we have never, ever, seen a pool attendant (butler) do anything to clear a lounger that has long been vacant. In fact, on our last Celebrity cruise (Eclipse) we would watch folks "reserve" large blocks of lounger by 7:30am and then not return until mid-afternoon. We know this because we would often stay on the ship (even in ports) and this became a topic among a few of us who were on the ship. Another passenger even pointed this out to a pool supervisor and he just shrugged and said they do not like to "confront" passengers unless it is absolutely necessary.

 

Hank

You don't lack our experience and I certainly can't challenge your comments. Maybe things are changing as we witnessed this this past year on both Summit and Equinox. Maybe it just isn't consistent fleet wide.

Going back to the original question: NCL and RCL

I've been on both about six times each. They are more alike than different with rcl

being our preferred. To be honest, NCL is closer to Carnival with decreasing service and cutbacks.

Our last cruise on NCL has, for the first time since we started to cruise, soured me on cruising. We have no future cruise plans.

I used to think NCL's entertainment was good, but that has also gone downhill.

Choose for itinerary and price and choose Royal if all else is equal, although they may be worth a slightly higher price.

Ok, I will give our opinion of the OP's specific question. NCL vs RCI....we prefer neither! Years ago when I started crusing it was with NCL. We then became bit time RCCL (now RCI) crusiers and our DD was Diamond by age 15. We now avoid both lines because neither suit our style and age. That being said, we still do recommend both of those lines to some inquiring friends who seek our advice. They both serve their own market and do it well. My point is that cruise lines and specific ships generally suit certain folks. Not all lines and ships are a good fit for a cruiser and folks need to choose what works for them and their wants.

Hank

rccl gives you choice can do traditional with same waiters if you want , ncl does not have that option

This is not correct.

It is possible to arrange to have the same table and the same waiters every night on NCL. The waiters rotate around the restaurants but many of them are in the same restaurant the whole cruise so you can ask for that. It can be done but it's easier on RCI where they still have the traditional dining option.