RCC Fan looking to try another cruise line. Help!

Hey, guys.

My wife and I (both 30 years old), are both fans of Royal, but live in Southern California, and it can be really expensive to make the trip out to either TX or Florida for RCC cruises.

We have been on Majesty, Independence, and Liberty, and absolutely loved it.

We've also done the 3 and 4 night cruises on either the Carnival Inspiration or Carnival Imagination. Not nearly as good as a Royal cruise, but they have their moments. The main dining room food is atrocious compared to Royal, but in my last cruise, I found that the entertainment options were a little better thanks to the activities being catered to a younger crowd. Still, it definitely doesn't compare to anything offered on Royal.

So the options for the vacation this year (looking at late March) is a little limited. We'll likely be restricted to cruises in the West Coast, so that leaves us two realistic options.

Ruby Princess or Norwegian Jewel

Based on my research, I'm assuming that we'd have a better time on Norwegian. Definitely the few extra perks like the free drink package and being a few dollars cheaper helps as well.

Anyone have an opinion on what they think would be better? I know this is a Royal thread, but let's be honest, it's going to bring less biased opinions than on the Norwegian or Princess threads.

Thanks in advance for the help.

I have not cruised NCL, but I do find that the longer itineraries and larger ships with Carnival compare better to RCCL.

Norwegian and celebrity top my cruise line preferences. The main thing with Norwegian is the freestyle concept, there is no traditional dining or formal nights, which is a deal breaker for some people. Haven't tried princess but do like the food and entertainment on NCL.

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Have been on RCI, Holland America, and Princess. My fave ship is the Ruby Princess.

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We started cruising in our mid 20s and are early 40s now. We tend to choose based on itinerary, dates and pricing. Have cruised mostly on NCL, Disney, Celebrity, Holland America, Carnival, Fathom and Princess in that order with over 200 nights onboard (and now have kids... who have hit their 100 nights this past year). First RCCL cruise in March so I cannot compare yet. If I can get an aft verandah for Alaska for less than a normal side balcony, plus same ports, in going with aft. You get the drift here. So don't be afraid to try something new :) your RCCL crown & anchor benefits help you on Celebrity which is our third most cruised cruiseline as point of reference (almost 40 nights on Celebrity). But for us it always comes back to itinerary that works with our dates and budget and are happy to try other lines. The three booked for this year are two on RCCL and one on HAL - timing, budget and itinerary [emoji106]

Simply put: Go For It!!!! I have never understood why people stick with one cruise line. Variety is the spice of life. Due to your age, I would lean towards NCL. You will have a fabulous time (as we did). :)

I don't know about Princess sailings from the west coast, but on the Princess Regal out of Ft Lauderdale, the demographics was a lot older. However, food and service, top notch.

If you want a lively and fun atmosphere, definitely NCL.

I've been on an NCL Hawaiian cruise. Definitely similar to RCCL- the one thing I found disappointing was that the MDR food was downright lousy. Didn't go back after the first night and stuck to their equivalent of the Windjammer the other nights. Rooms, entertainment, etc are comparable.

Hey, guys.

 

My wife and I (both 30 years old), are both fans of Royal, but live in Southern California, and it can be really expensive to make the trip out to either TX or Florida for RCC cruises.

 

We have been on Majesty, Independence, and Liberty, and absolutely loved it.

 

We've also done the 3 and 4 night cruises on either the Carnival Inspiration or Carnival Imagination. Not nearly as good as a Royal cruise, but they have their moments. The main dining room food is atrocious compared to Royal, but in my last cruise, I found that the entertainment options were a little better thanks to the activities being catered to a younger crowd. Still, it definitely doesn't compare to anything offered on Royal.

 

So the options for the vacation this year (looking at late March) is a little limited. We'll likely be restricted to cruises in the West Coast, so that leaves us two realistic options.

 

Ruby Princess or Norwegian Jewel

 

Based on my research, I'm assuming that we'd have a better time on Norwegian. Definitely the few extra perks like the free drink package and being a few dollars cheaper helps as well.

 

Anyone have an opinion on what they think would be better? I know this is a Royal thread, but let's be honest, it's going to bring less biased opinions than on the Norwegian or Princess threads.

 

Thanks in advance for the help.

are you someplace that Southwest flies? Free air awaits you. Check it out

http://milecards.com/1588427727/southwest-plus-50000/

Id vote for NCL but take the specialty dining package...otherwise the food/service sucks...I'd then rather eat in the buffet

The main dining room food is atrocious compared to Royal, but in my last cruise.

Judging by this quote, you must not have been on RC in a few years..

However, if I was picking between the NCL & Princess.

I would go with Princess......

I also vote for NCL. I'm 27, DH is 33. I do prefer RCCL over NCL. Definitely take the dining package or pay to eat in Speciality restaurants. If I ever cruise NCL again we will definitely eat in Speciality every night. We are trying Celebrity for the first time this year.

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I had a great cruise on NCL (Epic). I didn't have a problem with the food and I'm a fussy eater!

We started cruising in our mid 20s and are early 40s now. We tend to choose based on itinerary, dates and pricing. Have cruised mostly on NCL, Disney, Celebrity, Holland America, Carnival, Fathom and Princess in that order with over 200 nights onboard (and now have kids... who have hit their 100 nights this past year). First RCCL cruise in March so I cannot compare yet. If I can get an aft verandah for Alaska for less than a normal side balcony, plus same ports, in going with aft. You get the drift here. So don't be afraid to try something new :) your RCCL crown & anchor benefits help you on Celebrity which is our third most cruised cruiseline as point of reference (almost 40 nights on Celebrity). But for us it always comes back to itinerary that works with our dates and budget and are happy to try other lines. The three booked for this year are two on RCCL and one on HAL - timing, budget and itinerary [emoji106]

Pleae tell me how my my Diamond Plus Crown and Anchor status can help me on a Celebrity Cruise? We are booked on 2 cruises already on Celebrity and don't think I mentioned our RCCL status at the time of the booking to my travel agent? Is it to late now since we are already booked? Whta are the benefits we might be missing?

Jimbo:)

Having been on Royal, Princess, Norwegian, and Carnival...

Royal is always my top choice, with Princess in second, and then both Norwegian and Carnival at the bottom of my list.

So in your situation, I'd go with Princess.

Pleae tell me how my my Diamond Plus Crown and Anchor status can help me on a Celebrity Cruise? We are booked on 2 cruises already on Celebrity and don't think I mentioned our RCCL status at the time of the booking to my travel agent? Is it to late now since we are already booked? Whta are the benefits we might be missing?

 

 

Jimbo:)

Call Celebrity's Captain's Club with your C&A number handy. They will give you Elite level in Captain's Club, which will get you some onboard perks.

We enjoy Princess and Celebrity, and feel that they provide a comparable cruising experience to RCI. We did not find the demographics to be that much different, but we sailed during the summer from NY/NJ, which may have balanced out the age groups a bit.

Of the choices you listed, I would pick Ruby Princess.

Ruby Princess or Norwegian Jewel

 

Based on my research, I'm assuming that we'd have a better time on Norwegian. Definitely the few extra perks like the free drink package and being a few dollars cheaper helps as well.

 

Anyone have an opinion on what they think would be better? I know this is a Royal thread, but let's be honest, it's going to bring less biased opinions than on the Norwegian or Princess threads.

I'm also a fan of Royal Caribbean, and I have cruised Ruby and a ship very similar to Jewel (Dawn). I recommend Ruby. In my opinion, NCL doesn't do their older ships very well. If you do choose Jewel, be prepared to be handed a pager at dinnertime and made to wait. Also, don't think that so-called "free at sea" promotion is actually free. Read the fine print. They hit you with service charges. It's about $100 per person for the drinks package and about $80 per person for the specialty dining package.

Ruby, while the ship itself was very dissimilar to RCI, the entertainment was almost exactly what you would find on any of RCI's older ships.

I just think Princess is a much nicer cruise than NCL, and Princess' entertainment is more similar to RCI.

Tried NCL for the first time in 2015 on Escape and sailed Epic this last November. Loved the freestyle dining and all the food in the specialty dining and free restaurants. I thought the food was much better than RCCL.

We probably would not have tried NCL if it wasn't for them throwing in the drink package and 4 night dining package for free, but I am so glad we did!

We have sailed Princess once many years ago when we were in our 30's and we were one of the youngest couples on the ship. Don't know how it is nowadays.

I like Princess and NCL, however I'd absolutely choose the Ruby over the Jewel. I've been on the Ruby twice and was in my 30s. I think you would be very happy on the Ruby.

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In my opinion, NCL doesn't do their older ships very well. If you do choose Jewel, be prepared to be handed a pager at dinnertime and made to wait. Also, don't think that so-called "free at sea" promotion is actually free. Read the fine print. They hit you with service charges. It's about $100 per person for the drinks package and about $80 per person for the specialty dining package.

Just got off a weeklong NCL Jewel cruise. While I certainly saw the pagers at some of the restaurants, I can honestly say we were never given one the entire week on a 100% capacity cruise.

As for "Free at Sea:" we chose the free gratuities, so there was no service charge involved. However, had we chosen any of the others, there would have been charges. In addition, any of the Specialty Dining Plans will come with an 18% service fee, charged when you buy them.

I found the food in the MDRs decent, but a step below Carnival's (the pancakes in particular tasted like they came from a store brand mix). The specialty restaurants, OTOH, were excellent in all respects. Even the free specialty restaurants like O'Sheehan's and Chin-Chin were very good (although the Chin-Chin portion sizes were so small, we ended up ordering three entrees and splitting one between us).

Thank you so much for everyone's replies. Seems pretty evenly split, but I also didn't know about the additional gratuities with the free at sea promotion. Appreciate it! :)

Having tried MSC, my opinion is never again. RCCL and Princess offer a very similar pleasant cruise experience at comparable prices. I believe the differences often boil down to the cruisers expectations. Celebrity and Holland America are more expensive and only each cruiser can determine if it is worth the additional costs. We have not been on NCL for a long time so cannot comment. We used to sail on Carnival a lot when they had a non smoking ship out of port Canaveral. When that ship left, we tried others but stopped because we found Princess and RCCL to be better for our needs.

I really like the Ruby Princess, have sailed on her about 5 or 6 times. Any cruise is better than not being on the sea. Looking forward to my Cuba sailing on the Empress May 29th

Hey, guys.

 

My wife and I (both 30 years old), are both fans of Royal, but live in Southern California, and it can be really expensive to make the trip out to either TX or Florida for RCC cruises.

 

We have been on Majesty, Independence, and Liberty, and absolutely loved it.

 

We've also done the 3 and 4 night cruises on either the Carnival Inspiration or Carnival Imagination. Not nearly as good as a Royal cruise, but they have their moments. The main dining room food is atrocious compared to Royal, but in my last cruise, I found that the entertainment options were a little better thanks to the activities being catered to a younger crowd. Still, it definitely doesn't compare to anything offered on Royal.

 

So the options for the vacation this year (looking at late March) is a little limited. We'll likely be restricted to cruises in the West Coast, so that leaves us two realistic options.

 

Ruby Princess or Norwegian Jewel

 

Based on my research, I'm assuming that we'd have a better time on Norwegian. Definitely the few extra perks like the free drink package and being a few dollars cheaper helps as well.

 

Anyone have an opinion on what they think would be better? I know this is a Royal thread, but let's be honest, it's going to bring less biased opinions than on the Norwegian or Princess threads.

 

Thanks in advance for the help.

I have done both Princess and Norwegian and would say that you can't go wrong with either. Our kids loved Norwegian last year, and I have to say that on our cruise, Norwegian had some of the best food that I have had on a cruise!