Compare NCL to RCCL

[Scootch]

Planning a cruise w/ some friends. My husband and I are avid cruisers and our friends are not. They suggested NCL because the the drink and dining package included. My husband and I cruise RCCL and prefer the Oasis class. What differences can we expect cruising NCL.

 

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

 

Happy sailing!

Edited July 24, 2016 by Scootch

[OCruisers]

The Oasis Class is hard to compare for better or worse with other RCCL ships ... much less NCL.

If you like the normal RCCL ships, you'll be OK with NCL. ;)

Edited July 24, 2016 by OCruisers

[volk904]

Make sure when you compare you include the 18% tip charge NCL adds to value of the drink and dinning package. When we compared last Spring the charge was over $200 pp just for the tips.

[volk904]

To clarify that was $200 pp for the drink value tips not the normal daily tips. They set the value of the drink packed really high.

[Sauer-kraut]

The search function is very helpful, I'll get you started. Found more than these 5 in less than 2 minutes.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2296446&highlight=ncl+vs+rcl

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2326781&highlight=ncl+vs+rcl

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2325653&highlight=ncl+vs+rcl

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2298847&highlight=ncl+vs+rcl

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2297717&highlight=ncl+vs+rcl

Edited July 24, 2016 by Sauer-kraut

[Feebs2015]

I will qualify my comments by saying I am not a cruising pro. Have cruised twice with RCCL some years ago and once so far with NCL (EPic) with another cruise booked for next year.

 

Love the freestyle aspect of NCL.

In my opinion, the food and entertainment was far superior on NCL.

I prefer the pool decks on RCCL. I prefer the interior of ships on RCCL. More light, more Windows, more sense of space.

I prefer the walking/jogging path on RCCL.

The cabins I had on RCCL were larger and more spacious.

 

For me living in Europe, an NCL cruise is way cheaper than RCCL. So if I can compromise on my likes/dislikes then my pocket loves me and I can cruise more often.

[IsanTom]

Thanks!

[shipfriend_max]

I know both NCL (Getaway, Jade) and RCCL (Liberty, Vision), and without hesitation, I would book NCL.

 

Although their prices are a littlebit higher than some years ago, and you are not allowed to bring your water (:rolleyes:, very unimportant fact for me) and you need to pay a convienience-fee for cabin orders after 10:00 am (dislike), I found NCL to be WAY BETTER than RCCL.

 

Why?

-much better food on NCL, especially at the buffet (on RCCL I was vomiting from the scrambled eggs, tasted like sh...)

-service much better with more attention to detail (fruit and water ice service on the sundeck on sea days, more attention towards the passengers, nuts at the bars, chilled beverages when returning to the ship, attended ice cream station, much cleaner ship)

-embarkation and disembarkation HORRIBLE with RCCL: huge lanes, lots of people waiting for embarkation, total embarkation time: 3 hours (NCL: 30 minutes) - disembarkation on RCCL: "circumnavigating" the whole promenade deck befor leaving the ship, huge crowds

-RCCL's ships all in all very crowded and loud, no space and free loungers on sea days (no problem with NCL)

-coffee machine and tea in your stateroom (NCL), free to use :) :)

 

To be honest, I found NCL similar to be to Celebrity, the only difference: no lobster and frog legs in the MDR's, but apart from that, the food and service on both cruise lines were very comparable, and on sea days on Celebrity, you did not get served any water ice or fruits for free, on NCL you got.

 

RCCL might have some crazy attractions, but for me, they are very unimportant.

So my votes definitely go to NCL instead of RCCL.

Edited July 24, 2016 by shipfriend_max

[SheehanDJ]

The main differences you will see is how things are done. Somethings NCL does better than RCL, others RCL does better than NCL, still others they really do the same.

 

They both are mass market cruise lines and you will have a good time on either. Make your decision based on ship features and destinations as both companies pretty much offer the same product.

[Scootch]

Thank you to everyone for your feedback. DH and I will be sailing our 5th Oasis class cruise in Oct. DH and I obviously love the larger ships for the size as well as the ambiance. We spend many hours up on deck and specifically like the pool decks on the Oasis class and like that the walking/jogging track is on a separate floor.

My friend sailed NCL about 10 yrs ago and prefers a more relaxed environment. NCL has some larger ships so I won't feel claustrophobic as I had on a wkend RCCL Vision of the Seas sailing.

I'm sure that we will have a very nice time sailing NCL. My concerns is what other's have indicated, and that is that the "bonus" offers are actually squeezed into the pricing. (not that all the cruise lines don't try to fool us)

[wilmingtech]

We have done Freedom with RCI and Star and Jewel with NCL. Love the Haven on NCL and with guests 3-4 free (or if your lucky enough to have 8 on a 3rd - 8th guest free sale) it can be a good deal for the money. RCI ships are amazing. The design and layout on the freedom with the promenade stands on its own. We haven't done an Oasis ship but its certainly at the top of our list.

 

We really like all the food options and freestyle on NCL. We found the NCL MDR to be lacking in comparison to the MDR on RCI. But if you figured out which dishes were decent it was okay. Buffets were comparable. But where NCL really shines are the specialty restaurants. We will always opt for the specialty dining package each time on NCL. I'm sure the specialty on Freedom is good to but we haven't tried it yet. Without specialty there are just more food options and times of day to eat on NCL then on RCI.

 

The 2 ships we sailed with NCL were smaller and because of that we really found the service to be very good. They remembered us by name on the Star and of course (as suite guests) on the Jewel. Freedom had good service as well it just wasn't as personal. Out of the 3 ships Freedom is our favorite.

 

There were quite a few other differences as well but I think those are more attributed to the ship rather than the lines. (ie- less entertainment on the smaller ships) We always look at Itinerary first and then the ship and price and we haven't sailed enough to really be cheerleaders for a single line yet.

 

I think you'll get a better deal on NCL with the freebies (especially if you have a good TA) but the time of year and the ship are going to make a difference in your experience with either line.

 

-Sean