NCL V Royal Caribbean

[octagonmike]

Hi All

 

First time we cruised was with Ocean Village a no frills, laid back, no set dining times, no dress code cruise ship. We did enjoy ourselves but the ships were very small and lacking in variety.

 

We then cruise Royal Caribbean on Liberty and loved it. We were surprised how laid back it was on there and not at all stuffy and the "dress code" is almost non existent. We are now booked on another RC Cruise in May on a similar sized ship called Explorer.

 

Now, there is nothing wrong with RC that would make me change but I am attracted to NCL, particularly the newer ships such as Jewell, Gem and of course Epic but I wondered how the onboard experience compared.

 

Has anyone here sailed both ?

 

We are in our early 40's and looking to book another cruise for September so would be interested to hear opinions.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[hamrag]

Hi All

 

First time we cruised was with Ocean Village a no frills, laid back, no set dining times, no dress code cruise ship. We did enjoy ourselves but the ships were very small and lacking in variety.

 

We then cruise Royal Caribbean on Liberty and loved it. We were surprised how laid back it was on there and not at all stuffy and the "dress code" is almost non existent. We are now booked on another RC Cruise in May on a similar sized ship called Explorer.

 

Now, there is nothing wrong with RC that would make me change but I am attracted to NCL, particularly the newer ships such as Jewell, Gem and of course Epic but I wondered how the onboard experience compared.

 

Has anyone here sailed both ?

 

We are in our early 40's and looking to book another cruise for September so would be interested to hear opinions.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

 

We have sailed Voyager of Seas and NCL Jade. They are similar, but different! Food on the Voyager is slightly better. The freestyle concept is fully rolled out on NCL and the biggest plus for us is the freedom to eat more or less when you choose to (busy times require a 10-20 minute wait, but you can roam and carry the bleeper they provide).

 

Best thing to do is try NCL in September, we are actually doing the Gem for 2 weeks sailing 25th September.....our 4th NCL cruise (3 on Jade).

[debshomespun]

We have cruised many times on RC, and twice on NCL. Have booked the NCL Pearl for western on 10-10-10. I enjoy the variety the different cruise lines have to offer. The NCL ships are not near as fancy and the RC ships. The RC ships seem to have the WOW effect with their extravagent offerings, ie: ice skating rink, flow rider, & promenade to name a few. The entertainment seems to be of the same caliber, some shows are better than others, just depends on what type of shows you prefer. We have seen good and bad comedians on all the cruise lines. Same goes for the broadway type shows and magicians. They all seem to have the bingo games, pool games, deals on spa specials.

 

Some sailing can differ from the type passengers that are on board. In my opinion, the food is very similar between the 2 lines. The desserts tend to be better on RC. I love the Blue Lagoon on NCL. I am 50 & DH is 53, and we have been cruising for the last 7 years.

 

Hope this helps you out some. We have never had a bad cruise, just some better than others! :D

[newmexicoNita]

Hi All

 

First time we cruised was with Ocean Village a no frills, laid back, no set dining times, no dress code cruise ship. We did enjoy ourselves but the ships were very small and lacking in variety.

 

We then cruise Royal Caribbean on Liberty and loved it. We were surprised how laid back it was on there and not at all stuffy and the "dress code" is almost non existent. We are now booked on another RC Cruise in May on a similar sized ship called Explorer.

 

Now, there is nothing wrong with RC that would make me change but I am attracted to NCL, particularly the newer ships such as Jewell, Gem and of course Epic but I wondered how the onboard experience compared.

 

Has anyone here sailed both ?

 

We are in our early 40's and looking to book another cruise for September so would be interested to hear opinions.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

 

Mike, in all fairness we are not RCI supporters so I am a little partial, but I think you would love NCL. The ships you mention are new or newer, well laid out, offer a variety of dining and are totally laid back with almost no dress code. This doesn't mean you should show up for dinner looking like a slob but you can relax like you would on an island. I think you would find NCL and RCI very much the same or more similar than different. The probably fall into a similar catagory of class, depending on the ship you choose.

 

Nita

[octagonmike]

Thanks for the replies guys........very tempted to give NCL a go.

 

Mike

[geegee1]

I've cruised on both and here is a comparison I wrote up about the NCL GEM vs. Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1168763&highlight=

[RIP27]

geegee1, thanks for the post, have only cruised RCL, so was a bit concerned!

[Twinkie13]

Mike,

 

We are leaving on the Explorer the week before you. The ship is Fantastic!! We have been on her last September.

 

We sailed RCL, NCL, Princess and Carnival. By far, NCL would always be my first choice and RCL my second. We are booked for the Gem next year as we enjoyed her when she first debuted.

 

Here are my thoughts.....

 

Getting on the ship: NCL (from our experience)

Food variety: NCL we love having different restaurants on a ship, brings back dating memories for DH and I :)

Staterooms: Both are great, but NCL is far superior in the SUITE life.

Freestyle: NCL is still the best one out there with this concept, although others are following suit.

Getting off the Ship: NCL

 

NCL offers and openess feeling in almost every space on the ship-looking out to see. You don't get the closed in feeling. The ships are easier to navigate. We found more "stuffy" passengers on RCl. Again, our view, others may feel differently.

 

Go for it, you never know unless you try :D

[Sooners]

Hey Mike, we have been on the Liberty of the Seas a couple times and loved it. It is probable still my daughters favorite ship, so much to do. I'm sure we will be back on RCI in the near future. I personally prefer NCL and love the Pearl. I like freestyle and all the choices it gives you. If you are open to freestyle dining, then I think you will find the two pretty similar.

[DMH15]

Mike, been on Royal once, and to be fair a weekend cruise so a little older ship. Have been on NCL now three times in a row. There is so much I love about NCL, from the suite life to freestyle. But I would not hesitate to cruise Royal either. They are more alike than different (since some other lines have adopted anytime dining and such).

 

That being said, I really have an opinion that one cruise can differ from the other - same ship, same itinerary, etc. Sometimes it is just the passenger mix that can make a cruise different. I have talked to crew and they say this is true. Some just have a totally different "vibe".

[alwalaska]

Hi All

 

First time we cruised was with Ocean Village a no frills, laid back, no set dining times, no dress code cruise ship. We did enjoy ourselves but the ships were very small and lacking in variety.

 

We then cruise Royal Caribbean on Liberty and loved it. We were surprised how laid back it was on there and not at all stuffy and the "dress code" is almost non existent. We are now booked on another RC Cruise in May on a similar sized ship called Explorer.

 

Now, there is nothing wrong with RC that would make me change but I am attracted to NCL, particularly the newer ships such as Jewell, Gem and of course Epic but I wondered how the onboard experience compared.

 

Has anyone here sailed both ?

 

We are in our early 40's and looking to book another cruise for September so would be interested to hear opinions.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

 

We have sailed on the Explorer of the Seas and the Sovereign of the Seas and the NCL Sky. The Sky and Sovereign were comparable in size and itinerary and price.

 

Explorer is a much larger ship on a longer itinerary. We feel that overall, we prefer Royal Caribbean, but we have already booked our next NCL cruise because they have some really nice itineraries for good prices.

 

The following are our opinions:

 

• The main dining room menus and food are better on Royal.
  
• The buffets were better on Royal. Both quality and variety.
  
• We like MTD on Royal and Freestyle Dining equally.
  
• We like being able to go to the main dining room without worrying about a formal night.
  
• We found more to do that was to our liking on the Sky, but that could have been because it was a shorter cruise. We were really bored by our 6th sea day on the Explorer. The weather was cold and rainy the days were were bored as well.
  
• We LOVED the ice show on the Explorer.
  
• Even though DS had a great time on NCL, he preferred the teen club and other activities on the Explorer.
  
• Ice Skating and the rock wall are free on the Explorer. It is my understanding that bowling and possibly rock climbing on the NCL ships have a charge associated with them.
  
• The interior cabins were bigger on the Explorer.
  

I'm happy to answer any specific questions you may have.

[alwalaska]

Mike,

 

We are leaving on the Explorer the week before you. The ship is Fantastic!! We have been on her last September.

 

We sailed RCL, NCL, Princess and Carnival. By far, NCL would always be my first choice and RCL my second. We are booked for the Gem next year as we enjoyed her when she first debuted.

 

Here are my thoughts.....

 

Getting on the ship: NCL (from our experience) So true! Especially with the Explorer in Bayonne.

Food variety: NCL we love having different restaurants on a ship, brings back dating memories for DH and I :) We may find this to be true on a different ship. Since we don't pay for specialty dining, the Sky had fewer dining options than the Explorer.

Staterooms: Both are great, but NCL is far superior in the SUITE life.

Freestyle: NCL is still the best one out there with this concept, although others are following suit.

Getting off the Ship: NCL It was nice to not feel rushed out of the cabin and off the ship or into a loading pen on the last morning on NCL. I forgot that when I did my comparison.

 

NCL offers and openess feeling in almost every space on the ship-looking out to see. You don't get the closed in feeling. The ships are easier to navigate. We found more "stuffy" passengers on RCl. Again, our view, others may feel differently.

This may very by ship. There were quite a few places with a closed in feeling on the Sky and the layout made the ship fairly difficult to navigate even though it was fairly small.

 

Go for it, you never know unless you try :D

 

I think the stuffiness seems to go more with the itinerary and length of the cruise.

[Pennhoo]

Thanks for the replies guys........very tempted to give NCL a go.

 

Mike

 

 

Don't say "tempted"...... just do it!! Make your own comparison and let us know!! :D

 

I am on the other side and want to try RCCL. ;)

[alwalaska]

Don't say "tempted"...... just do it!! Make your own comparison and let us know!! :D

 

I am on the other side and want to try RCCL. ;)

 

I feel comfortable recommending that as well. We are not loyal to any cruise line. We enjoyed both Royal and NCL.

[NayRN]

Don't say "tempted"...... just do it!! Make your own comparison and let us know!! :D

 

I am on the other side and want to try RCCL. ;)

 

Funny - I've only been on NCL and thinking about RCI. My sister only cruised RCI until I "forced" her to cruise with me on NCL when my friend backed out. She is now an NCL fan - if only for the "Suite Life"! I'm such a down-to-earth, boring, likes-to-chill-out kinda girl on my vacation that for some reason I fear RCI will stress me out (perhaps because I fear dressing-up, assigned dining times, etc:eek:)! My job is way too stessful and I don't want to have to think too much while on vacation.

 

With that said, it's sounding more and more like RCI is beginning to "chill-out", too! Perhaps my 2012 cruise will be on RCI!

 

NayRN;)

[Theresa522]

We have sailed NCL three times and had a great time. There "suite life" is INCREDIBLE. :D

[petesweet]

Thanks for the replies guys........very tempted to give NCL a go.

 

Mike

 

I definitely think you should try NCL. It's a nice cruise experience, although I personally prefer Royal Caribbean. We are not freestyle fans. DH and I both absolutely love the traditional dining experience. Even though RC now has My Time Dining, we're not interested.

We usually go on NCL only when we are part of a big senior group that usually cruises on NCL. When we are on our own, we go on the RC ships.

Have a great cruise. Cruising is my "vice.":)

Kathy

[petesweet]

Much of it comes down to what type of cabin you choose. Since we are not suite people but prefer to save money by getting an inside cabin, that doesn't enter into the comparison for us. As a matter of fact, the interior cabin on RC is much preferable to the interior on NCL. (Of course, it also depends on which ship you select.) If you choose a suite, it seems that NCL is superior.

Kathy

[mellygo]

We were loyal RCI/Celebrity fans, having cruised Explorer, Mariner x2, Brilliance, and Zenith. Last time had a bad experience booking and so tried NCL. LOVED it!!! Just got back from Jewel last month, and truly wanted them to turn the ship around!! We have never done a suite, but prefer balconies - have only done an inside cabin once.

 

Here are the differences IMHO:

 

Cabin size/layout: Explorer's were larger, but NCLs have a better layout - especially the bathroom!!

Freestyle: I didn't think we would enjoy this as much as we did!! We didn't eat all the time, but when we wanted to do so, we could - and no rush after a shore excursion to "dress" for dinner. We usually shower and go to dinner/show feeling clean and ready - but there was no last minute rush, and feeling like we were making others at the table wait for us, if we were a little later. We shared tables with some delightful people, and other nights we chose to dine just the two of us. We both have VERY stressful jobs, so the freestyle REALLY worked for us - it just felt like we really were on vacation. And you have to eat at least once in one of the restaurants with an upcharge. Our favorite was Le Bistro, but that is personal choice.

Entertainment: For us, the difference was quality, and also that NCL entertainers can interact with passengers. . . and they DO!! We got to meet several of the dancers/singers and they were so friendly - told us about going to "circus school"!! Although we loved the ice rink show on Explorer, we still felt the entertainment was superior on NCL. Alicia was amazing - and Kaminsky is just really funny without using "low" humor!!

One thing that TOTALLY made a difference for us was going to the Meet and Greet!! Just take the time, and go!! Because of our attendance, the captain invited us onto the bridge!! Now, that was an experience!!

Crew: We found the crew on NCL to be more caring!! John, Paul, Captain Costas - all approachable, and they were invested - don't know how else to say it - they really CARED that we had a GREAT cruise!! All crew members tried to make us feel welcome, whereas on Celebrity in particular, crew members were just waiting to complain that they didn't get to eat like we did, their quarters were substandard, etc. Hey - I'm on vacation, and I don't need to feel guilty because of unhappy members of the crew/staff!!

 

We are mid-late 50s. Hope this helps!! We are booked next year on the Jade!!

[alwalaska]

Funny - I've only been on NCL and thinking about RCI. My sister only cruised RCI until I "forced" her to cruise with me on NCL when my friend backed out. She is now an NCL fan - if only for the "Suite Life"! I'm such a down-to-earth, boring, likes-to-chill-out kinda girl on my vacation that for some reason I fear RCI will stress me out (perhaps because I fear dressing-up, assigned dining times, etc:eek:)! My job is way too stessful and I don't want to have to think too much while on vacation.

 

With that said, it's sounding more and more like RCI is beginning to "chill-out", too! Perhaps my 2012 cruise will be on RCI!

 

NayRN;)

 

You can definitely chill on Royal. I love the My Time Dining. On formal night, if you don't want to dress up formal, you can go to the buffet or even the specialty restaurants. Although some of the specialty restaurants I believe require a jacket for men, but I am not sure. We never do specialty restaurants. Other than the fact that there is one formal night on the ship, I didn't notice much of a difference in the "feel" on the ships. NCL had "Freestyle" dining first, but if you don't want to pay for all the options, there really is very little difference between Freestyle and My Time Dining.

 

Since our first NCL cruise was on the Sky and one dining room allowed shorts and all dining rooms allowed jeans, my husband will be moaning about what "freestyle" really means when he has to put dockers on for dinner in the evening. This unfortunately for me means more arm twisting, or simply more meals in the buffet. Although you will hear differently on these boards, Royal does not have a policy against jeans in the main dining room.

 

Even on formal evening, a lot of people go back and change after dinner into more relaxed clothing. By later in the evening, it was about a 50-50 mix of dressed up and nots.

 

I was just reading another review later in this thread, and I think a lot has to do with what ship, what itinerary, and even what week you are sailing. We are interior, not suite people, so that doesn't come into play for us.

 

I thought the Explorer had better cabin layouts than the Sky, especially the shower with a door on the Explorer verses the round tube with a curtain on the Sky. ;)

 

Personally, I don't know if we will ever progress far into the loyalty levels of any cruise line because we like variety and keep switching around.

[octagonmike]

So many helpful replies from so many nice people !!!!

 

I got a quote from my TA for a 14 night cruise on Epic in September to celebrate my 40th Birthday and tomorrow I am going to book it on Monday morning.

 

Not sure how I am going to pay for it yet but hell.......Life is too short to worry about that sort of nonsense :D