RCI vs. NCL?? Opinions Please!!

Hello,

We are planning a trip to the Mediterranean in August of '08. It will be my husband and myself, 26 & 27, as well as my parents,63 & 72. What line do you feel would be the best for first timers. RCI or NCL? I have read some about NCL that raises doubts in my mind but, RCI is more expensive. I would love to hear your opinions! let me know what you think!

- Christina

Royal Caribbean!! Worth the extra $$$ See subject above about people trying NCL after RCCL

My vote goes to RCL. I've cruised them many times & used NCL about 2 years ago in Europe due to cost. While I loved the ports I was very disappointed with the ship - food quality, service, overall look of the ship - we were on the Jewel. I know it's all personal preference but to me it would have to be an awesome price to get back to NCL.

I cruised NCL once and once was enough for me. From now on it's RC, worth the extra $$$.

I don't care for NCL and wouldn't sail on them again.

Don't do it - RCCL all the way.

Another vote for RCL. We kept trying NCL, and after 3 times we said no more. NO comparison in MPO. We are seniors in our mid 60's.

We've only sailed NCL once . . . to Alaska and we will never sail them again!!! Not even if they gave me a free cruise . . . . there is no comparison!

After cruising NCL 3x in a row, I tried my first RC cruise. I've never looked back. RCI over NCL any day!

We sailed NCL, the Jewel, last year in the mediterranean and loved it. For the price, lower than RCI, I thought is was the best cruise-bang for your buck. The freestyle dining I also enjoyed. In the Med, it is very port intensive and so it was nice not having to rush to make a 6:15 dinner seating every night after returning from Port. We booked our dinners ahead of time and never had to wait more than a few minutes. My son enjoyed the kids club. There was a good mix of people, young and old, americans, brits, europeans. The food was good, not exceptional. The entertainment good. I found the cruise to be very organized, the crew very friendly, and they were extremely conscious with hand sanitizing and cleaning the ship. Now, keep in mind that the NCL cruises in Hawaii are reportedly run by a separate entity of NCL as compared to the cruises to the caribbean, europe, etc. Many people who like NCL do not like NCLA (Hawaii) and there have been many negative opinions from cruisers on the NCLA. Also, don't get me wrong, I like RCI and think RCI is probably a step up from NCL, and in fact, we are cruising on them this year in the Med, but I think NCL is still a very good cruise line. If you find NCL to be more affordable, I think you will still have a very enjoyable cruise. I would try reading the NCL board. Hope this helps:)

Asking on the RCCL board will give skewed responses.

Both cruise lines are fine and for your first cruise, you will be awed by whichever you choose.

We tried the Dawn once. Didn't really care for it. The best part was freestyle dining. We love RCI. Norwegian is very bright and loud as where RC is soft and elegant. Just a whole different experience.

Another vote for RCL. We kept trying NCL, and after 3 times we said no more. NO comparison in MPO. We are seniors in our mid 60's.

My husband just reminded me, on the last NCL cruise we had a problem and they sent us a voucher for $675, towards another cruise, I tore it up! enough said!;)

My husband just reminded me, on the last NCL cruise we had a problem and they sent us a voucher for $675, towards another cruise, I tore it up! enough said!;)

Can you tape it back together and send it to me???:)

We have sailed on NCL 2 times and RCCL 8 and while I prefer the latter we had enjoyable cruises on NCL. The ships we went on NCL had a more vegas feel and the food while plated beautifully was not as good as RCCL. The service was good on both cruise lines. Also, I am a member of both Lattitudes (NCL) and Crown and Anchor (RCCL) and the perks on RCCL are much better. If it is your 1st cruise, I agree with some of the other responses - you'll love it no matter which cruise line you go with. Have fun!

We loved the Norway and we enjoyed the NCL cruises for getting us to new ports. However, we do not care for NCL Freestyle due to poor service and less interesting food and food quality...those tiny little shrimp in the shrimp salad are not what I call a good culinary experience. :)

Asking on the RCCL board will give skewed responses.

 

Both cruise lines are fine and for your first cruise, you will be awed by whichever you choose.

Agreed! Ask on the NCL board and see what answer you get. I have cruised both and would cruise both again. I loved freestyle cruising, and I thought the food was great, maybe even a bit better than RCL, especially when comparing the buffet (not impressed by Windjammer). The entertainment on both were excellent. I would say that the one area that is lacking on NCL is service, particularly in the dining rooms. Luckily we found one server we really liked and requested her station every evening. We filled out comment cards on the slackers and let it go at that.

I have done both NCL and RCL recently -- on similar itineraries. Thanksgiving week 5 night on NCL Jewel from Miami to Cozumel and Grand Cayman with 18 year old son and Easter weekend 3 night on Sovereign of the Seas from Port Canaveral to Nassau and Coco Cay with 18 and 15 year old sons. Both cruises were equally enjoyable, but there were some noticeable differences.

We had inside cabins on both. Neither was particularly large but we were more cramped on the Sovereign, and not just because there were three of us sharing the cabin. The bathroom was noticeably smaller on Sovereign. It had only a shower curtain, which was not very effective in keeping the water in the shower area, while the Jewel had a sliding door. There were several hours each day on the Sovereign when our toilet would not flush; we didn't have this problem ever on the Jewel. The bathroom on the Sovereign was not well ventilated -- we had to leave the door open after taking a shower to dissipate the humidity (even just to defog the mirror). There was more clothing storage (drawers, closet space) on the Jewel than on the Sovereign -- enough to make a difference between unpacking and living out of our luggage. We had a safe in our cabin on the Jewel but not on the Sovereign. The reading lights were at the foot of the bead on the Sovereign, which seemed a bit odd. (Yes, I could have turned around, but the beds were made up with the head at one end and the foot at the other. And if I had asked them to make the bed the other way, then the TV would not have been viewable as it would have been directly overhead.)

I liked that there was a navigation channel on the TV on the Jewel and also a bridge camera channel, since we were in an inside cabin.

The gyms on both had a good selection of equipment, both aerobic machines and weight/resistance training, but the Sovereign did not have any steam rooms or saunas or even a locker room in the gym. It didn't even have these facilities in the health spa. (Other larger and newer RCL ships may have them.)

Both ships had basketball courts, video arcades, teen clubs, large casinos, limited libraries, expensive internet cafes, top deck lounges, a variety of bars, large screen TV's in public areas with the seasonally appropriate sporting events (NFL on Jewel, NCAA on Sovereign), two main dining rooms, a several level atrium, unlimited soda cards for purchase, late night on-deck buffets (one night), cigar lounges, annoying photographers, art auctions, bingo announcements, and other usual mass market cruise ship money makers.

Both had noisy teenagers and children, due to the holiday times. Only RCL had a curfew for under-18 cruisers (at 1:00 am). RCL had a noticeable security presence on deck and especially around the teen club during the evenings. NCL had an option for parents to sign a waiver for 18-21 year olds to be allowed to purchase and drink wine and beer; RCL had a minimum drinking age of 21 for all alcohol. Children and parents ignored the rules about the adult-only pools and hot-tubs on both ships equally.

NCL had better entertainment in my opinion. Their production shows are much higher quality, featuring acrobats and dance couples in addition to the regular singers and dancers. The Sovereign's show relied on movies and powerpoint slides between scenes. The production shows on the Jewel took full advantage of the modern theater facilities. Their Cirque Bijoux show is the most ambitious and spectacular show I've seen at sea. NCL had a Second City TV comedy troupe aboard who performed one production show and one unscripted show, while RCL had a single comic who did one general interest show and one late night "adult" show. Both had the traditional juggler act. Both did the Quest, but on the Jewel there were only a few teams and it was fairly tame, while on the Sovereign there were over 20 teams and it was fairly wild. Passengers on the Sovereign came prepared for the "competition."

The dining room and buffet food seemed better quality on the Sovereign, although the variety of restaurants on the Jewel was much greater and the flexibility of freestyle meant we could eat whenever we wanted. There were times when the Sovereign's buffet was closed when it would have been nice to get a snack. There was lemonade in addition to coffee, tea and water available 24 hours on the Sovereign at a station near the pool, while on the Jewel there was only coffee, tea, and water. Service staff quality varied on both ships within the same range. Many of the standard drinks were listed on the bar menus as costing "current bar prices" on the Sovereign; on the Jewel there were actual prices in dollars and cents.

Both ships had express disembarkation, although the Sovereign was stricter about offering it. They asked several qualifying questions about the amount and size of luggage before issuing the express disembarkation tags, and then they didn't even check for them when we disembarked. The Jewel didn't ask for any tags either.

When we boarded the Jewel, we had the option of having lunch in either the buffet or the main dining room. On the Sovereign, only the buffet was open. On both, we weren't granted access to our cabins until a specified time and had to hold on to our carry-on luggage until then.

Both ships had a variety of pools and sun decks with adequate lounge chairs. Both had a promenade deck with chairs where one could relax and watch the sea away from the hustle and bustle of the pool deck and out of the sun or rain as well as walk around the ship.

NCL had a dress-up-if-you-want-to night while RCL had a formal night. However, they didn't enforce it at all. On the first night, our waiter told us that we could come to the dining room on formal night wearing whatever we wanted.

NCL took disease protection seriously -- there were hand sanitizers at the entrance to every dining area. RCL did not have hand sanitizers anywhere.

I would recommend NCL if you expect to be aboard at different times on different days due to the port visit times -- freestyle dining is ideal for this situation. Also if you want to have dinner in a variety of restaurants with just the four of you. If however you would prefer the consistency of predictable dining times, wait staffs and tablemates, then RCL would be a better choice. If this doesn't matter to you, I would choose based on itinerary, price, and cabin availability. To me, most cruise lines and experiences are 95% similar, despite the fierce loyalty exhibited on these discussion boards, which seem to emphasize the minor differences.

see http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=752718 for the NCL cruisers' perspectives on this question