Norwegian Star, Breakaway compared to Royal Caribbean and Regal Princess

Hi, I have never sailed on Norwegian but have sailed many times on Royal Caribbean ships (Allure and Oasis) and Princess. We love RC and Princess. We are in our late 40's and have no kids with us. How Does Norwegian compare to the others? We are looking at the Star (which is pretty old) and the Breakaway which is 6 years old. We found a great deal on those ships so we are thinking of trying Norwegian. Does the bigger and newer Breakaway make it better? Should we stick with Royal or Princess?

Thanks for your opinions.

I can't comment on RCCL but when it comes to cruising (we have been on 9 NCL and 5 Princess) we prefer Princess when traveling without any kids. It is a little pricier but we find the cabins bigger and the food and amenities better. When traveling with kids or trying to save a little money we go NCL. We have been on the Royal and Star and there is no comparison, Royal hands down. The Breakaway has plenty to do for kids and kids at heart. I hope this helps, it all depends on what you are looking for in your cruise experience.

I'm in my early 40s, and had a blast on both the Star and the Breakaway. But I was in a haven spa room on the BA, so I had 2 places to escape the crowds (I don't like people and the BA public spaces can get a bit crowded lol). I enjoy the relaxed atmosphere on NCL - no need to dress up if you don't want to. Both the BA and the Star have similar food options and quality (the BA has a few more pay restaurants). BA would prob beat out the Star for evening shows.

I think the choice should come down to itinerary, and which one interests you more. I would sail on either ship again in a heartbeat.

Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it.

Stick with Royal. Just got back 2 days ago from Escape, what a mistake it was trying out NCL.

If the itinerary is right and everything else just lines up perfectly, then I guess the NCL cruises will do the job. They won't be miserable or anything, but in a comparison with other lines, they definitely fall way short.

Princess is our favorite cruise line. Overall, you'll find that the cruise lines are more similar than different and so we generally chose based upon itinerary. We were pleasantly surprised by the very strong service and stewards on NCL Star. The Star doesn't have many bells and whistles, but on our cruise to the Baltics, it was a nice, solid ship. Personally (and lots of people disagree with me on this and are quite happy with the free food on NCL) I found the biggest difference to be that our family needed the dining package on NCL. The free food in the main restaurants was totally unacceptable, and not up to quality with the other lines we've sailed (Princess, HAL, Cunard and surprisingly even Carnival). Our one dinner at Versailles was a disaster - it took 30 minutes before our order was taken and the servers cleared my husband's silverware prior to his being served an entree, so he didn't have a fork. It turned out not to be too much of a problem, since when he borrowed my fork we discovered his short ribs were completely inedible so he didn't need any silverware. The food and service at Aqua was better, but below the quality we were used to on other ships. Thankfully, the specialty dining on NCL was generally quite good so if food is important to you, you can easily deal with this issue (unless you have kids. They've changed their policy which used to be that kids ate half price, but now are charged a full price for ordering off the main menu in a specialty restaurant. They can eat off the kids menu for free but if you want your kids to try new foods this might be an issue).

However, as you noted the Star is a much older ship, and perhaps the free food is better on one of the newer ships. I'd imagine the breakaway has a lot more amenities on it than the star. We'd be happy to sail with NCL again if we found a good itinerary, but would just price in the dining package when comparing the base costs of the cruises (which since NCL often includes free offers I guess might solve that problem for us?)

Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it.

 

Stick with Royal. Just got back 2 days ago from Escape, what a mistake it was trying out NCL.

 

 

If the itinerary is right and everything else just lines up perfectly, then I guess the NCL cruises will do the job. They won't be miserable or anything, but in a comparison with other lines, they definitely fall way short.

You stayed in The Haven and couldn’t wait for the cruise to be over. I’ve sailed multiple lines and multiple ships and have never felt that way, a cruise is what YOU make it. Something is definitely not right. With. You.

You stayed in The Haven and couldn’t wait for the cruise to be over. I’ve sailed multiple lines and multiple ships and have never felt that way, a cruise is what YOU make it. Something is definitely not right. With. You.

That's right. The fact that even The Haven sucked.....

As far as "me" - you are right, a cruise is what you make of it, but it's not the only vacation option, and NCL isn't the only cruise line. And with so many options, NCL would be at the bottom of my list. Heck, I'd prefer a staycation with a 6 pack of Natty over another NCL cruise. We had an "ok" time, we weren't miserable, but I can think of so many other things I'd prefer over an NCL cruise.

Don't sail NCL. It's a sub-par product. You have choices, and there is no reason for NCL to be one of them when there are so many better options.

...But it was the first cruise I've been on where after the 3rd or 4th day, I was basically counting the days until I could just go home...

Sounds to me like you were miserable.

Did the Escape casino get the best of you? So now your pay back is spreading lies and disinformation on Cruise Critic, I’m surprised CC lets you get away with that.

Sounds to me like you were miserable.

 

Did the Escape casino get the best of you? So now your pay back is spreading lies and disinformation on Cruise Critic, I’m surprised CC lets you get away with that.

The hallway casino? Worst one I've seen at sea. I didn't bother with it.

I wasn't miserable, just would have preferred to be home as the cruise was subpar. Absolutely nothing I've said is a lie or disinformation. If you believe that, then be specific about something I've said.... I've merely provided my opinion, much of which was supported with undeniable facts, which boils down to "Lots of cruise lines are competing, and NCL has the worst product in my opinion, and since we have so many choices, I would never consider NCL for another cruise"

I️ personally like NCL better than RCI and I never thought I️ would say that. Wife and I️ are 50 and have sailed mostly with our kids until recently. We have sailed about 20 times between Carnival, RCI and NCL with one Princess which we hated. Our last cruise, a month ago was on the Sky which I️ was very skeptical about, but loved I️t. Before that we were on The Freedom of the Seas out of Barcelona last September and thought I️t was the worst service and lamest entertainment we have ever had. Yes, the ports were incredible, but the ship itself seemed like they were severely understaffed. I️ personally feel that RCI has lost its edge and is no where near as good as I️t was just a few years ago. We noticed this on our RCI cruise last year as well before the Freedom. Food is always subjective, so I️ won’t even go there. We usually don’t book by cruise line, but more for itinerary and price. However, if there are similar options, we will go with NCL. We are on the Star out of Venice this September.

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We are just off the Crystal Symphony. We were told Crystal was the best at sea. Paid big bucks for a tiny ocean view cabin. Our cruise was 12 days and we had enough by day 6.

We can't wait to return to our favorite Haven Aft Suite on the Breakaway. We have been cruising for 20 years and have sailed all the lines. We enjoy the Haven aft suites the most!