NCL or RCI or Princess

[trustgal11]

I have been on 10+ cruises, most on Carnival, but also have sailed Princess several times but never sailed NCL. I've heard negative things about NCL but was wondering if things have improved.

Would appreciate info from someone who has cruised with all or most of these lines as to positives and negatives of them.

 

WE are planning a European cruise next summer and exploring our options.

 

Thanks

[OCruisers]

We have cruised on all three.

Much prefer Princess. :)

Edited August 6, 2016 by OCruisers

[cruiseelady]

I have been on 10+ cruises, most on Carnival, but also have sailed Princess several times but never sailed NCL. I've heard negative things about NCL but was wondering if things have improved.

Would appreciate info from someone who has cruised with all or most of these lines as to positives and negatives of them.

 

WE are planning a European cruise next summer and exploring our options.

 

Thanks

 

What exact negative things have you heard? I can tell if you if they improved or not, but need to know exactly what you are referring to.

 

I have sailed NCL, as well as all those that you mentioned. But I am not loyal to any of them, so I can tell you without bias anything you need to know.

Edited August 6, 2016 by cruiseelady

[trustgal11]

I've heard the food wasn't very good, service not good, ships not as nice.

[loubetti]

Just curious, why does not Celebrity figure into your choices?

[Bbearz]

We are loyal Princess people, but this past spring had the occasion to go on RCL . We found the suite to be nicer than Princess, the food to be very similar, the staff to be similar. We did find that the lounges on RCL were not up to par to what Princess has, the specialty dining on Princess was much better too. We found a lot of people walking around on RCL with drinks in their hand rather than in a lounge/bar, the shops to be less impressive, the promenade to be less impressive and smaller.

[QueenBev2]

Been on 140 cruises with many different lines. We are now loyal to

Royal. Best ships, best loyalty program by far. Celebrity also very good. Also doing Europe next spring with Royal.

[Aquahound]

I have been on 10+ cruises, most on Carnival, but also have sailed Princess several times but never sailed NCL. I've heard negative things about NCL but was wondering if things have improved.

Would appreciate info from someone who has cruised with all or most of these lines as to positives and negatives of them.

 

WE are planning a European cruise next summer and exploring our options.

 

Thanks

 

I've cruised all 3. From my experiences, I'll never again book an NCL ship older than Breakaway. I really liked the Escape but my cruises on their older ships have been terrible.

 

Princess is a nice cruise line but I think their ships are too crowded, standard balcony rooms too small and the decor is way too dated.

 

I recommend RCI. They maintain their ships really well and even their oldest ships are beautiful inside.

[cruiseelady]

I've heard the food wasn't very good, service not good, ships not as nice.

 

Well lets start with food. I only do the buffet and I like the food. Never done specialty dinning so cannot comment on that. In the dinning room, the service is slowest I had ever experience from any other cruise line, and the food is nothing special to sit and wait so long for it. That is the reason I love buffet and the food. I am a huge lover of Indian and they have it for lunch and dinner. So I enjoy that every day with a little taste of non Indian.

 

 

About service, its hit or miss. On Breakaway the service was fine, but on the Gem twice that I sailed with them I had problem with service. NCL Pearl this year was fine as well when it came to service.

 

But I never had a problem with ships not being not as nice. Maybe because I just don't really care about the décor that much.

[SuiteTraveler]

I have been on 10+ cruises, most on Carnival, but also have sailed Princess several times but never sailed NCL. I've heard negative things about NCL but was wondering if things have improved.

Would appreciate info from someone who has cruised with all or most of these lines as to positives and negatives of them.

 

WE are planning a European cruise next summer and exploring our options.

 

Thanks

 

The truth is, on a cruise in Europe, you are off the ship by 8am every morning (sometimes earlier) and only get back on around 5 or 6pm or later. So the ship becomes little more than a floating hotel. Typically, we are so tired after touring all day, all we want is a nice dinner and bed. So the ship doesn't matter that much. Excursions in Europe are EXPENSIVE, so my best advice is to choose the least expensive cruise, use the money saved for excursions and to eat in restaurants on land when you can - after all, experiencing the local food is a big part of a vacations in Europe. Any of the cruise lines you are considering can produce a competent breakfast and dinner. I would not be overly concerned about that. What you should be concerned about are the ports and time in each port. Make sure your itinerary is one that you want. The ship really matters very little.

 

As to NCL - we like NCL. The thing we like about NCL in Europe is that you never have to dress up (saves lots of room in your suitcase) and dining is when you want. The suite life is especially good onboard these ships. Much better than on Princess and RCCL. For those in regular cabins on NCL, if it is one of their newer ships: Epic, Getaway, Breakaway, Escape - then you are talking about a completely different type of experience than you would have on a Princess ship with lots of specialty restaurants and things to do onboard. The spas on Jewel class, Epic, Getaway, Breakaway and Escape are awesome - a good place to relax after a long, hard day touring. As far as dining goes, NCL has lots of specialty restaurants. I think their French Restaurant, Asian and also Steak house are the better ones. Their MDR food is good - not great, but then it's just typical hotel banquet food. The buffet is very good with a lot of different offerings.

 

I also like Princess and RCCL. If food is the most important thing, then I would recommend you book your cruise on Celebrity in a suite or move up to higher end cruise lines such as Crystal, Silversea, Azamara, etc.