RCCL vs NCL

[nurse1sue]

We have always been "loyal to Royal" and are upper tier in the crown and anchor. Recently we have considered trying Norweigen mainly for price and convenience. We live in north country NY and travel out of Syracuse. To sail on the Gem out of NYC would be an easy amtrak ride or shuttle plane for us, and the ship is not huge which we prefer. RCCL has the Explorer there now which is too large for us, we just don't enjoy that many people or walking miles to get from one place to the next. They will be putting the new Quantum there and it's just as big and twice the cost!

We have always sailed from Florida. Our favorite ships will now be based in Tampa which for some reason has much higher airfare and hotel rates than other Florida ports. We just thought trying the NCL Gem would be more convienent and economical for us. As we try to cruise 2-3 times a year, preferring longer cruises, we have to consider cost.

We are both mid 50's, don't drink, enjoy just relaxing on ships, reading, I guess you could say we're NOT the life of the party types. We book our own shore excursions through private groups.

Any feedback would be appreciated. We will continue to sail RCCL, but would like an alternative.

Sue

[dorisis]

No reason not to try NCL. Their style is a bit different from RCI but a cruise is a cruise and with the right attitude you can certainly enjoy almost any cruise line. remember; "variety is the spice of life".

[travelnap]

I would give NCL a try and see if you like it. They are different from Royal but also similar in many ways. Don't pay too much attention to the reviews, as different people like different things. The best way is to try it for yourself and see if you enjoy it. I also prefer the mid size to smaller ships and do not want to sail on any of the mega ships. I have tried most of the mass market lines and have not had a bad cruise on any of them. I have sailed out of NYC a couple of times and while the trip out down the Hudson is impressive the trip coming back in, in the early morning is breathtaking as you don't get to see NYC that peaceful and quiet very often.

[Aquahound]

We have always been "loyal to Royal" and are upper tier in the crown and anchor. Recently we have considered trying Norweigen mainly for price and convenience. We live in north country NY and travel out of Syracuse. To sail on the Gem out of NYC would be an easy amtrak ride or shuttle plane for us, and the ship is not huge which we prefer. RCCL has the Explorer there now which is too large for us, we just don't enjoy that many people or walking miles to get from one place to the next. They will be putting the new Quantum there and it's just as big and twice the cost!

We have always sailed from Florida. Our favorite ships will now be based in Tampa which for some reason has much higher airfare and hotel rates than other Florida ports. We just thought trying the NCL Gem would be more convienent and economical for us. As we try to cruise 2-3 times a year, preferring longer cruises, we have to consider cost.

We are both mid 50's, don't drink, enjoy just relaxing on ships, reading, I guess you could say we're NOT the life of the party types. We book our own shore excursions through private groups.

Any feedback would be appreciated. We will continue to sail RCCL, but would like an alternative.

Sue

 

The majority of my cruises have been on RCI, but I've given NCL a pretty fair shake. I'll be completely honest...I'm very disappointed with NCL, especially if trying to compare it to RCI. In fact, NCL won't even be a consideration of mine for the forseeable future. And that's a pretty bold statement considering I've also cruised other lines and while there were some things I didn't like, I never once said "never again" to the others.

 

Things I found pretty consistent across all my recent NCL cruises...poor maintainance, cleanliness issues, poor service, forgettable ships, and lengthy waits for a table in the MDR.

 

Give it a shot if you feel so inclined. It's very possible you might love it. But since you aske for feedback, this is my honest opinion.

[marco]

The majority of my cruises have been on RCI, but I've given NCL a pretty fair shake. I'll be completely honest...I'm very disappointed with NCL, especially if trying to compare it to RCI. In fact, NCL won't even be a consideration of mine for the forseeable future. And that's a pretty bold statement considering I've also cruised other lines and while there were some things I didn't like, I never once said "never again" to the others.

 

Things I found pretty consistent across all my recent NCL cruises...poor maintainance, cleanliness issues, poor service, forgettable ships, and lengthy waits for a table in the MDR.

 

Give it a shot if you feel so inclined. It's very possible you might love it. But since you aske for feedback, this is my honest opinion.

 

We also LOVE cruising out of NY/NJ, after several cruises on RCI, we decided to try NCL. We will NOT cruise with them again. "Things I found pretty consistent across all.........." That above remark...... I agree 100% percent! And again, you asked for feedback and opinions, and that's mine.

[Gunner22aa]

The line has a dedicated following but I'm sure not one of them. One cruise on NCL was two too many for this boy. Have also cruised with Cunard, Celebrity and Princess. Princess is now the line of choice but mainly because of it's itineraries. Would cruise Celebrity again in a heartbeat.

[Jimnbigd]

I love the RCI voyager class ships like the Explorer. I don't find it too big -- about 2 minutes to walk from the theater in the front to the dining room in the back on deck 5.

[momofmeg]

I really enjoyed the NCL Pearl but disliked the the Sky and Sun. They are older ships not built for freestyle and would become congested. I think the Gem is a sister ship to the Pearl so you may like them but you would probably not like the newest NCL ships as they are huge and carry way too many people also.

 

I gather you like RCI radiance class ships. Me too! I also did not like voyager class ships- too big, and too congested, and I have not tried larger although I may at some point as hubby wants to try the boogie board surfing thingie.

 

Okay, this is my take-food is very similar-as in okay nothing special. You won't go hungry for sure but you shouldn't gain any weight in the regular dining room-lol! NCL does have several choices of pay extra restaurants and they are good and I really liked the Italian and Mexican which are not upscale, just good food which I find is the quality of Olive Garden and your at home middle class Mexican restaurants. The fee for them is not much. They also have higher end restaurants where you pay a higher fee since the food is better. Chops is super.

 

Of course if you eat in the main dining room it is all no assigned seating. Dressing for formal night is optional, although one of the main dining rooms does want you dressed better, if you dress in jeans that night they send you to the other dining room. For the pay extra restaurants it is your choice whether you go formal or casual.

 

I still give radiance class ships the edge over the NCL gem class ships but that NCL class of ships are decent and the class of NCL I prefer.

 

Remember though, NCL is one of the few lines that still allow smoking on the balcony. I have not been on NCL since so many went nonsmoking, so I am guessing the smoky issue could be much worst. I know I found that true of the one HAL cruise I have taken since Celebrity went non smoking 4 years ago. I have not cruised HAL since and they used to be a line I preferred.