Different cruise line

[Marga.Anders]

We have been on 2 cruises, both with Royal Caribbean. We are booked on 2 cruises also with Royal. 

We found out we like newer bigger ships better. 

We like areas on the ship that are aldult-only / quieter like the Solarium on Symphony of the Seas. We disliked Jewel of the Seas for this reason. 

 

We don't fly so we are limited to European ports. We don't want to take the same route again and again so choices for 2023 are limited.

We saw 2 cruises. One with Norwegian on Viva (new ship) with a route that we like and one with Costa Cruises which goes (for a day) to Egypt which we really like. 

 

How do these 2 compare to RCL? Would you recommend either and if so why? 

[sanger727]

There are things I really like about Norwegian. They do freestyle dining only with many dining options. Their entertainment is the best I have seen at sea.

 

but you have to be aware of their pricing structure. They advertise ‘free at sea’ with included drinks, dining, and wifi. What you don’t notice until you start booking is the gratuity cost of these items. It’s not insignificant. And that doesn’t include the normal daily gratuities. I love cruising with the beverage and dining package but as they keep driving the costs up and benefits down, I hestitate to book them in the future.

 

their drinks have also gotten exorbitantly expensive if you don’t have the drink package. Like $18 for a martini. I would still book them for the right price and itinerary, but it would either been a good price with the drink package or a cruise where I wouldn’t be drinking.

 

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by sanger727

[evandbob]

Since the Concordia, I'm a bit biased against Costa.  I do like NCL, esp. their new ships, we are booked on 2 of them for 2023 and 2024.

 

The OP does not mention Celebrity, but if they enjoy Royal, then Celebrity seems like a logical experience.  Less kids (mostly), adult solarium, better dining options.  Perhaps a good fit for the OP.

[pris993]

We started our cruising in the l980s on RCCL, have done NCL 3 times over the years.  We moved on to other lines Princess, HAL, Cunard, Celebrity, Crystal, Royal many years ago.  Have well over 60 cruises on 9 different lines.  If I was the op I might check out the newer Celebrity, HAL and Princess ships.  

 

I have cruised to Egypt a few times on Princess, Cunard, Celebrity and NCL.  The NCL ship was not one of the newer ships.  So many lines do Egypt.  

 

I too am biased against Costa and MSC, both European companies.  

[George C]

I haven’t cruised ncl in a long time after several bad cruised with really bad food , but this was over 20 years ago. I have had some nice cruises on Costa but that was over a decade again . I totally love MSc yacht club which we sailed 2 years ago.

[lenquixote66]

We have been on 6 cruise lines,Cunard,Carnival,Celebrity,HAL,RCI and NCL.I believe we cruised on NCL 5 times.I liked the latter because it is very casual.

[leaveitallbehind]

IMO I think NCL and RCL are more similar than dissimilar in terms of on board experience.  However I agree that the pricing structure with NCL can be confusing and can result in pricing that becomes higher than expected.  They do, however, do a good job with dining time flexibility.  I also agree that Celebrity - which typically now is our first choice - would be a good alternative to consider.  Certainly less bells and whistles and more of a pure cruising experience, but offers a more adult focus (far less children) which is plus with us.