Please help me decide, NCL Gem or RCI Explorer

[cruiseboy49]

Hi All,

 

My wife and I experienced our first cruise June 2007. Since then, we've been on 3 additional cruises and we're looking for our next one. After cruising with Carnival three times and once Princess, we've realized that we're open to trying different cruise lines whenever possible. We've also realized that we like leaving from our home city, NY, we like 7-9 night cruises and the we NEED, at a minimum, a balcony room. On our last cruise (June 09) we spoiled ourselves on the Caribbean Princess, for 8 nights, leaving out of Brooklyn and booked a mini-suite. We had a fantastic time!

 

Now for my question. We're looking at 2 cruises being offered in Dec 2009. One is on the Gem and the other on the RCI Explorer of the Seas. The Gem leaves from Manhattan and the Explorer leaves from Port Liberty, NJ. The Gem is a 7-night visiting Florida and the Bahamas while the Explorer is a 9-night visiting San Juan, St. Thomas, Samana and Labadee. We're looking at balcony rooms for both. We just got back from San Juan and St Thomas on the last cruise and we've never been to the Bahamas.

 

Which would you do and why?

 

Thanks! :D

[trish1c]

I like both NCL & RCI but prefer fresstyle. I don't much care for the Gem itinerary you mentioned. I would sail a lot of other ships before that route. I am also a huge fan of shopping in St Thomas & would pick a cruise that goes there before anything else.

We sailed the Gem (& the Dawn for that matter) on the 10 & 11 day routes out of NYC to the Southern Carribean & that's a lovely trip.

FWIW, I also think the Gem is a garish ship. I like the geode ceiling in the main atrium but there is soooo much royal purple & lime green all over the place . . . it's too much for me. The funky what I call Alice in Wonderland chairs in Spinnaker Lounge are great!

In the end, I guess, therefore, the answer to your Q is all other things being equal, i'd go with the RCI Explorer based on itinerary.

[may1021]

I have been on both these cruises out of NYC. Definitely go on RCCL Explorer. The itinerary is 100% better than the Gem.

I love NCL but the Gem is my least favorite shipthat I have been on.

Very garish decor and they really did not have dining or seating worked out at all. Did like the buffet on Gem though with stations...

The Explorer is more like a hotel. It has a full length promenade with shops and bars. There is a very entertaining ice skating show. We thought food was terrific. We did the My Time Dining and were very happy. No brainer here...go for the Explorer. I'm actually going on it Nov. 19th and I'm going on Gem in February. I'm tied to Gem in Feb. cause friend is teacher and we have to do the 1 week deal.

Enjoy!;)

[KevinsCruising]

I personally LOVE the Gem and would sail her again in a heartbeat. I do not love the Florida port. I have always been against that port. If I want to do a Florida vacation then I will go to Florida but when I think about cruising, I think of the islands.

 

We sailed the Gem this past March and had the absolute best time of all my cruises. I love Freestyle. No suits, No jackets, No ties... thats vacation. But when we were in Florida, we went to Universal Studio's. I totally felt nervous my whole day there. Afraid of missing the ship, not getting back in time. If I do this cruise again, I am staying on the ship there.

 

Love the Bahamas and Private Island but they can keep Canaveral.

 

If the ports don't matter to you, I would try and experience Freestyle Cruising. NCL is the only cruise line to do it so it would be something you can experience.

 

Have a great time no matter which you choose. :D

[trish1c]

I'm laughing as I post this. This NCL board always gets so much bashing & accusations that the posters are paid by NCL b/c we like freestyle so much but all of us so far have told you to go on the Explorer. :rolleyes:

[jingle5616]

As much as I like NCL and freestyle, RCCL and Explorer of the Seas would win me over. The itinerary is so much better, and though I haven't been on either of the ships mentioned, I've been on sister ships of both. Explorer of the Seas will be a knock-out with a lot to see and do. There are also a number of eating opportunities on EOS, though not as many as Gem. My vote - a solid EOS.

 

Jingle

[uneamie]

Since we love "freestyle" but also love the Caribbean and cruises of 9 days or more....we chose the 10 day Caribbean out of NYC on the Gem in Jan...there are also dates in Feb.

[ce2000]

There really not much of a comparison here. RCI is a much better option in this case. I'm sure that the RCI cruise will cost more than the NCL cruise, but it will be worth much more than the extra cost.

I would like for you to give NCL a try sometime, you will have a good time. I just can't recommend NCL over RCI for this itinery.

[njhorseman]

I'm laughing as I post this. This NCL board always gets so much bashing & accusations that the posters are paid by NCL b/c we like freestyle so much but all of us so far have told you to go on the Explorer. :rolleyes:

 

 

I believe that is because it is an "apples to oranges" cruise comparison. You aren't comparing similar itineraries, and likely the prices will be rather different for comparable cabins.

 

I've cruised on both ships multiple times, and would certainly cruise on either in the future. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, but the itinerary differences trump the ship to ship comparisons for many in this instance.

[cruiseboy49]

Thank you one and all! I am booking the Explorer of the Seas cruise in the morning. :D

[Browezilla]

Thank you one and all! I am booking the Explorer of the Seas cruise in the morning. :D

good choice. I was going to weigh in in favor of EoS. I've sailed most the Voyager Class (Voyager OTS, Explorer OTS, Adventure OTS, Mariner OTS, Navigator OTS), actually, all but EoS :-) I prefer RCI over NCL, I think the ship designs are better on RCI, service better, and the "included food" better. The itinerary for RCI is also the better of the 2 you mention. I think NCL has better dining options, better entertainment, and is more casual.

[TrikeRider]

I've been on both (Voyager is the sister ship). Based on that and the ports, I would pick the Explorer.

 

To add: The Gem is a newer ship although I like the RCI ship more.

[paulekrause]

The Explorer experience is clearly superior to the Gem. i like NCL but in this case it is no contest. Better itinerary too!

[cruiseboy49]

Woohoo! We're booked! Thanks again everyone! :D

[missjanet]

Good choice!! I love NCL and just booked an NCL cruise on the Dawn to Bermuda. But I LOVE the Explorer of the Seas! That is one amazing ship. We took a 9-night cruise on her last October up to Canada & it was just too little time to enjoy her.

 

Since you've already made your decision, I don't need to do any convincing. Just make sure you spend some time in the evenings at the Cafe Promenade, sipping a cup of coffee or tea or cocoa, enjoying those complimentary croissant sandwiches, and just watching the other passengers going by. Those were my favorite moments on the ship.

[UandMe4Ever]

We loved the Explorer on our 12 niter last Nov. 08. Had the traditional late dining. Ship was great.

 

We decided after many, many cruises, we need a change, so we are sailing on NCL Jewel, 14 night Repo from NY back to Miami, Southern Carib. Really want the feel of 'land restaurant dining', different choices and times to dine andbringing little less formal wear. We always look nice. I am just not bringing the gowns, etc. Palazzo pants and different dressier tops for 'not formal nights'. Hubby will wear a suit at least once. A lot less to pack. I'll have no problem wearing a pair of black pants more than once during 14 nites.

 

I'm sure it'll be great! How bad can it be? We are a 14 night vaca? We don't look for faults and therefore, we don't usually find any.

 

Even on the Explorer last year, it took our assist. waiter 11 nites to remember I like lemon w/ my water and extra bread on the table..Usually, she forgot the desert menu and request for coffe. No biggie. We asked for same. So, even w/ traditional dining waiters, no one is perfect. Didn't ruin our good cruise. We just didn't overtip her, as we might otherwise have. JMO

[UandMe4Ever]

We're trying Jewel on NCL 10-30-08 for 14 night Repo NY to MIAMI. It happen to have an itinerary we have not done in all the different cruises, so we thought we give it a try and here it is:

 

FROM NYC - departing 4:00 pm

2 sea days

Samana

Tortola BVI

St. Kitts

sea day

Aruba

2 sea days

Roatan Island, Houndouras

Belize Cit

Sea Day

Miami

 

Sometimes, its the itinerary that catches your eye. It did in our case! Sometimes, change of ship is a good thing. I'll report back mid November.

 

Whatever you choose, I'm sure you'll have a great time. We do, on whatever ship we choose. Each has their own merits.

 

Sail safe :-)

[DAGVBSB]

I have been on the Explorer of the Seas and the NCL Dawn and Star. I definately would choose the Dawn and Star over the Explorer any day.

The Gem is a bigger ship with better offerings than the Star and Dawn so it would be even better.

 

The experiences that I have had on my NCL cruises far surpassed my experiences on RCCL. The crew was much more friendly, there were more dining venues. (and cheaper... the Italian Restauarant on the Explorer is $25 a person, while on NCL, the Italian Restaurant is $12 a person.) I found the food taste to be much better on NCL although the buffet is better on RCCL. RCCL's food was extremely bland and the choices were not nearly as varied as those on NCL.

 

The NCL ships are laid out so much better than the RCCL ships. On the Explorer, there are several decks that are dead ends and you have to go up or down a deck (or two if the casino is closed) to get around. On NCL, only one deck is a dead end. On the Star, Dawn and Gem, there are three banks of elevators while on the Explorer, there are only two banks of Elevators and getting an aft elevator (dining rooms, buffet, pool) can be a challenge during many parts of the day. (be prepared to wait 15-20 minutes for an elevator that has space and then you have to ride it the other other direction to even get on.)

 

The shore excursion people on RCCL are clueless and do a very poor job of organization of tours. It was a mess.

 

Of course the biggest difference is the Freestyle. On NCL, you don't have a set dining time and can show up in the Main Dining rooms any time during operating hours to eat with little or no wait. You can sit with who you want and in as big a party as you like (if you want dinner for just the 2 of you or your family of four, that is easily done... no having a set dinner time that you have to make and no being forced to sit with others.)

 

The biggest difference is Disembarkation. On NCL you can stay in your cabin until you are called to disembark. On the Explorer, we had to be out of our cabin by 8:00 a.m. although we were not called to get off the ship until 11:00 a.m.. For three hours, we were "homeless" forced to wander the ship with our carry on's. It was actually a sad scene that morning... all these "homeless" people wandering the promenade, sitting in the theater or whereever they could find with their belongings. The scene reminded me of the homeless section of our city and not a nice cruise ship.

 

Finally, during embarkation on NCL, there were staff members placed throughout the ship directing you to your cabin. On the Explorer, we got on board and did not run into a single crew member until after we had found our cabin on our own. (and we were in the middle of the boarding period.. not the begining or the end.)

 

In addition, I found the fellow passengers to be much friendlier on NCL than on RCCL. (talk about a bunch of pushy snobs....)

 

 

NCL wins by a landslide in my book.

 

(oh and before anyone accuses me of being an employee or stock holder in NCL... you should know that I had a terrible experience once with NCL Corporate and it took an outcry from the Cruise Critic NCL members to get them to fix it. NCL now has a new President who appears to be 110 times more competent than the last President and is getting things on track in improving NCL Corporate operations.)

[sillysailor 1955]

Two weeks ago I was on a travel agent FAM tour aboard Explorer of theSeas - it seemed like a nice ship (I can only compare it to NCL Dawn, Spirit or Jade as I have not been on the Gem). We were told that it is due soon for a refurbishing (can't recall when with next couple of month however) but that would be a good thing, don't you think (it looks as though it could use a little updating) Happy sailing:D

[Zeno]

Personally I would go with the one with the itinerary I preferred.

[Bridge Maven]

I read this thread with interest because my husband and I were also considering the same two options and decided to go with NCL Gem.

 

I love Royal Caribbean's Radiance Class ships but the Explorer is too large for us.

 

Even though the Caribbean sounds more interesting than the Bahamas we have been to St Thomas and Puerto Rico many times before and Haiti doesn't appeal to us.

 

Cape Canaveral may sound like a boring port but we have never been to the Space Center and are looking forward to seeing it during this cruise.

 

As far as price goes - we are diamond members of Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor club so we would get a discount on Explorer, making the prices of the two cruises very similar.

 

We haven't been on NCL Gem yet but we loved our mini suite on NCL Dawn so we know we will like our cabin. It is also in the 90,000 +- ton range that we love.

 

I also like the fact that the Gem is a much newer ship.