Ncl vs royal vs celebrity

[taylortime05]

I'm interested in why the OP did not include HAL in the comparison - as I have always enjoyed HAL - though I found the age skewed pretty old. We have sailed on NCL, RC and HAL quite a bit then took a break from cruising and returned to it with Celebrity 3 years ago - we enjoyed Celebrity very much. Last year was Oceania which was very nice. In 2 days will be on the Eclipse.

 

While I've found Celebrity is good - I think the entertainment was much better on RC and NCL. I've been looking at some NCL cruises - but seeing the comments re the food quality is a bit concerning and not getting bottled water with the drink package just sucks!

 

Hi, I am the OP. The only reason that I didn't include HAL or even Princess is I haven't cruised yet with them. When I posted this post I had cruise with Royal & Celebrity and was ready to take my first cruise on NCL. We have cruised 4 times so far and I really enjoy it. Right now I look at these 3 when picking my next cruise but I would be open to trying HAL, Princess or other cruise lines if they fit in my budget. I love cruise critic because you can get so much insight into other peoples experiences.

[Tatka]

Me too.

However there is a rule of thumb for (productive) comparisons: we compare ships, not cruise lines.

If we compare their best ships: #1 RCI, #2 NCL, #3 Celebrity.

If we compare their worst ships: #1 Celebrity, #2 RCI, #3 NCL.

 

I don't necessarily agree with you (we have very different priorities and views), but analysis is nice.

[buckeyecruisers]

We have sailed on all 3 lines and rate Celebrity, RCL, one and two with Norwegian a very distant 3rd.

Service, food and ambiance go to Celebrity.

Entertainment, itineraries go to Royal.

Norwegian? We did a 14 day Panama Canal cruise on the Star, a few years back, food was average but service in the main dining room was hit or miss, entertainment not bad but the most upsetting part was when we entered the Canal the crew started washing the windows in the main lounge where a large number of us had gathered as we were told that it was the "best" place to view the all day transit rather than stand on deck in the heat and humitidy. Our party, 6 of us, had taken front row seats at 5:00am and couldn't believe it when they started hosing down the windows. Many of us immediately told the staff it was interfering with pictures folks were trying to take, they promised that the crew would squeegee the glass. An hour and half later we still had water spots and no squeegee. We then got hold of an officer who said he would handle it, never happened and the officer never returned.

[Redtravel]

Sailed on NCL once many years ago. Never again. It was my least favorite cruise. It was dirty, crowded, had terrible service, and awful food. At the time, NCL was less expensive than RCL or Celebrity. I don't even look at NCL cruises when I am choosing a cruise.

[Cruise a holic]

Between NCL, Royal and Celebrity

 

Which is your favorite cruise line & why?

 

Which is your least favorite cruise line & why?

 

Which is your favorite ship on each cruise line & why?

 

I've sailed on Royal Allure & Oasis and Celebrity Eclipse. I'm sailing on NCL Escape in November. I loved all 3 cruises but the Allure & Oasis have the edge over Eclipse because I enjoyed the entertainment much more on Allure & Oasis. All 3 ships were beautiful but Allure & Oasis had the promenade and Central Park.

 

I will post this on the 3 sites.

 

IMO having sailed on many cruise lines Multiple times, overall our favorite is Celebrity. The service and food are the best. We love the Silhouette and Reflection as we enjoy the Lawn Grill and cabanas. We find the Eclipse also great. We love the Summit also. Our next favorite is Royal- love the service and food also- especially on the Oasis Class ships. Entertainment was excellent on Royal Oasis and Freedom class. We recently sailed in a suite on the Harmony of the Seas- that is now our favorite Royal ship. We dislike the Quantum class ships- and will never sail on them again. Much too crowded- they didn't design the ships as well as the Oasis class ships-We will for the first time, try the Adventure of the seas this summer.

 

We did sail on NCL Breakaway- if you aren't in the Haven- it was really bad. The most crowded ship we were ever on- Terrible- no real theatre to accommadate guests and functions. If you sail on her and do not sail in the Haven and want a place to sit by the pool- get up at 6:00 AM. It felt like steerage- fortunately we were able to escape back to the Haven. The food was not so great overall.

 

Have done Carnival- too rowdy but the food was very good. Service ok- but not for us.

 

Disney is fun if you have little children with you- but much too expensive and if you are adults and not disney addicts-not for you. Food and entertainment good.

 

Princess not great- boring and the service not good. Never again.

 

Overall, Celebrity #1 and Royal #2. Least favorite NCL and Princess. Carnival also towards the bottom.

[Tatka]

Sailed on NCL once many years ago. Never again. It was my least favorite cruise. It was dirty, crowded, had terrible service, and awful food. At the time, NCL was less expensive than RCL or Celebrity. I don't even look at NCL cruises when I am choosing a cruise.

 

 

 

Well... NCL isn’t our favorite line, but looks like since the time you sailed things improved greatly.

[asctony]

We have cruised on many ships and many cruise lines. We don't have a favorite! Each cruise, cruise line and ship have their pluses and minuses. Celebrity is getting to be so routine in the style of the ship (Solstice), pricing is increasing, etc. Does that mean the other cruise lines are not doing the same thing? NO! They are all following each other and getting what the guests will pay.

We cruise other cruise lines to keep cruising fresh and have an enjoyable experience. We don't want to see the same shows, eat the same food and see the same ship time after time.

Some people say they would never cruise NCL, Princess, etc. If you had one bad experience on any ship/line, you can experience the same on any other ship/line. Like they say in Jamaica 'pooo pooo happens!' LOL

Seriously, at one time we would not cruise NCL or MSC. Now we do and enjoy it as it is a change. Food was excellent on the NCL Escape in the MDR and Specialty Restaurants twice this year. MSC Divina is a beautiful ship and entertainment is really great. Food is very subjective, so everyone has their opinion. Prices on MSC are very reasonable and you get a lot for your money. We did 2 MSC cruises this year and are going back on MSC next year.

Everyone has a favorite or so they say. Remember, a cruise is what you make it. Yes, problems do occur. However, we are glad there are other cruise lines. We did Princess, RCI, Celebrity, MSC and NCL this year. Which one was the best? They all were when we were on them.

Share the positive, discount the negative. Life is short and we have too many problems in this world that we cannot solve.

Enjoy your cruise on the line/ship is select. Happy cruising!!!