Norwegian vs. Royal Caribbean...

How many of you have done both cruise lines? Pros, cons...which did you like better and why?

I've only been on Norwegian (5 cruises)

Thanks,

Lisa

We have sailed 3 times on Norwegian Gem and thought their USP was the massive variety of restaurants.

My preference for everything else goes to Royal Caribbean especially the new Harmony and Allure with the range of activities on board.

Did you know that there is a search function? If you typed your title into the little search box for the forum, you'd get a BUNCH of reviews/threads that will answer your question.

I have sailed both .On both lines we were in suites. If traveling in a suite NCL is much better in terms of

perks and also service. NCL's cabins and public areas were also much cleaner plus they make people use hand sanitizer. The crew was friendlier on NCL. RCL had a better set up on the ship I was on with the Promenade down the interior center of the ship where there were shops and restaurants/bars. The concierge lounge on RCL was handier and had more food than the haven on the jewell class hips. Because RCL was higher in cost per night and I think the suite experience was better I am sticking with NCL.

We began cruising with Royal and most recently fell into the NCL trap (in a nice way). We are simple people so a Balcony has been our biggest extravagance for a ship cabin. We were not fond of the Mega ship when we cruised on the Allure. We like to feel the movement of the ship and the Allure felt like we were in a hotel, not on a ship. Funny how people like different things. We like both, but the perks offered with NCL and the longer cruises (9 and 10+ days) makes it slightly more appealing. I will say we've only been on the NCL Dawn right after the refurbishment so that's our only comparison to many Royal cruises.

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Did you know that there is a search function? If you typed your title into the little search box for the forum, you'd get a BUNCH of reviews/threads that will answer your question.

wow, thanks...:o

wow, thanks...:o

Happy to help! :)

I love them both. I used to love Royal a lot more but after sailing the incredible Norwegian Escape and seeing how amazing the older NCL ships look after being revitalized...it's pretty much a dead heat for me.

Royal 50.1 %

NCL 49.9 %

for now

No contest, I'm a NCL fanboy. Norwegian does a much better job of relaxed cruising; Royal IS great, but BUSY. Love freestyle cruising, relaxed dress code, lots of dining options and UBP, which is much better priced than Royal. Both are great lines, but I'm loyal to NCL because the product works for me. I want to eat, drink, lay in sun, see a couple of shows.

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No contest, I'm a NCL fanboy. Norwegian does a much better job of relaxed cruising; Royal IS great, but BUSY. Love freestyle cruising, relaxed dress code, lots of dining options and UBP, which is much better priced than Royal. Both are great lines, but I'm loyal to NCL because the product works for me. I want to eat, drink, lay in sun, see a couple of shows.

 

 

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Agreed!!!! I had a prepaid deposit on Royal for the last couple of years. Have t used it. Came off the NC! In November with two prepaid deposits and have used both already. [emoji6]

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I think about half my cruises have been on Royal and in a few weeks it'll be 2 on NCL. In all honesty I find the lines to be pretty similar when it comes to food and entertainment. There is a huge difference if you do a suite on NCL (Haven) compared to Royal. However they're introducing an upgrade suite class on the Oasis class ships.

Usually we pick our cruises based on ports or convenience rather than line. Since I was looking for a Bermuda 7 day Breakaway won easily this time around because of the activities on ship for my boys. If it were just me going I would have picked Celebrity Summit since it's smaller.

But like I said I really have found all our cruises on Princess, Royal, Celebrity NCL to be pretty similar.

I have been on Royal for 6 cruises, but my last 4 were on NCL. Since I cruise "solo" I prefer the "freestyle" cruising of NCL. Pricing for solos are better on NCL, (due to solo cabins), along with UBP. The relax dress code, (I'm on vacation, don"t need to dress for dinner). The atmosphere is more "down to earth" than Royal.

Did you know that there is a search function? If you typed your title into the little search box for the forum, you'd get a BUNCH of reviews/threads that will answer your question.

:rolleyes:(n)

I have to say that RCL ships look much nicer from the outside but I love NCL once on board.

I have sailed both .On both lines we were in suites. If traveling in a suite NCL is much better in terms of

perks and also service. NCL's cabins and public areas were also much cleaner plus they make people use hand sanitizer. The crew was friendlier on NCL.

Same. I've sailed in both non-Haven and Haven suites on NCL, and a Grand Suite on RCCL (admittedly an older ship - but no older than the non-Haven NCL ships I've sailed on). The thing that bothered me most on RCCL was the fact that there was NO FOOD available after midnight. None. Zip. Room service refused to answer the phone. DH and I are night owls, and tend to frequent the casino and bars. To have no food available after midnight seemed crazy to us. For that simple fact, in addition to the reasons listed above by Peachypooh, we'll stick with NCL for the foreseeable future.

"Did you know that there is a search function? If you typed your title into the little search box for the forum, you'd get a BUNCH of reviews/threads that will answer your question."

wow, thanks...:o

Ignore some of the obnoxious posters on here who seem to get annoyed when someone starts a thread on a topic that they feel has been discussed enough. What's the big deal that there's one more thread added to the list?! So What? Ignore it & move on rather than make a snarky comment. Geez.

We have been on only one NCL cruise and one RCL cruise, but liked NCL a little better due to the availability of food. On RCL Anthem this past Oct., there was no food available basically after 10:00 other than their lame pizza counter service place & a small counter that had tiny sandwiches in a refrigerated case, which had hardly any filling in them. We weren't the only ones complaining to each other about that.

Also after returning to RCL's Anthem after a day in port around 3:00, we found the buffet ready to close. We just wanted a little something to hold us until dinner. Then as we were leaving the buffet, the staff was literally sliding the door closed on people as they were trying to enter.

We had remembered on the Gem, being able to get a snack at a smaller selection of buffet foods later in the afternoon.

We go back and forth between NCL and Royal. Suites and cabins overall, we prefer NCL. Royal has Coke products and a better non-alcoholic drink package.

We have done big ships and Pearl-size ships. When I cruise with family, they prefer megaship suites due to amenities and entertainment quality. On my theme cruises, I prefer Indy (RCI) and Jewel (NCL) size ships.

As for target demographics, we fit both NCL and RCI, but not HAL or Princess or Disney. I am looking forward to fitting the river cruise demographic, but that is a decade away. We are not big drinkers or foodies; I travel to see things.

:rolleyes:(n)

NCL is better value. I use to think RC had higher quality, but they are engaging in cattle calls to fill their mega ships, as well. Truth be, we are focusing more on ports nowadays than cruise lines after the novelty of Caribbean ports wore off.

I've cruised both. RCCL was my first cruise and I didn't enjoy it very much so my next one wasn't until 5 years later. I didn't like the food on RCCL. As a vegetarian, my options are limited from the get-go and there wasn't much I enjoyed eating. I also didn't like the onboard entertainment, the vibe of the ship, or anything about it.

I prefer NCL because there are more dining options and better vegetarian options. I like that there's a sit-down option available for every meal. I also prefer the layout of the ships because I feel there's more diversity in the different public areas.

While NCL isn't a premium line (or my favorite), I think it offers an outstanding value for money without feeling cheap. RCCL just felt cheap to me and even when the price and itinerary are right, I never consider sailing with them.

I agree why be rude?

Because Kraut was probably tired of reading threads like this. The better course would have been to refrain from commenting, but this is the Internet.

I have greater objection to inane (such as mine) and repetitive comments solely for the purpose of increasing the # of posts attributed to a user. That is a terrible metric for discerning the credibility of a contributor.

However, there are a few pearls amid the many garbage posts (mine included).

Cheers!

Lots of good info in this thread. Haven't been on RCCL for a couple of years and have been focused on MSC cruises more recently. But, I have sailed NCL as both a solo and a couple. Done the same on RCCL.

I like the solo balcony cabins on RCCL better than the solo cabins on NCL.

But, that's the only thing I liked better on RCCL. As someone mentioned, the bigger RCCL ships don'e feel like a cruise, but a hotel/mall. Some like that, though.

I much prefer the open dining and more casual dress on RCCL.

Food is about equal on both. Service is, also. I think the shows on NCL's Away ships and the Epic were some of the best I've experienced. RCCL's entertainment was good, but NCL's was a notch above theirs.

Pricing is time of year dependent more than anything, but for what it would cost me to sail in a superior balcony cabin on RCCL, I got a Haven cabin on NCL, which is a giant step up in cruise experience.

That doesn't make RCCL bad by any stretch, but I would look at NCL before looking at RCCL if I'm booking Caribbean cruises.

My $0.02.

You will probably like both, they are similar, but there are differences that may matter.

NCL has a more relaxed vibe than Royal and their ships are more colorful. Royal has a more formal décor.

The obvious is freestyle vs. assigned seating for dinner. Royal tried dynamic dining on the Quantum class, but it crashed and burned. because many Royal passengers prefer the formality and assigned seating. They also have formal nights. If you like flexibility, Royal does have My Time Dining. It works best if you make reservations in advance.

Entertainment is good on both lines, again subject to your personal tastes.

Food is subjective (like everything else). I always find something good to eat on both lines. I would rate the complementary MDRs as equal. NCL wins overall because of more casual dining options and greater variety at all hours of the day (as others have mentioned).

:rolleyes:(n)

I so much agreed with your post, I am sure how that person gets over 5000 posts, just attacking people and trite responses.