Damn you Royal Caribbean

[lukes]

I say damn you Royal Caribbean. Damn you because I wanted to hate you, I wanted to not enjoy cruising with you. I wanted to remain a loyal NCL cruiser. But damn you Royal because you didn’t let that happen. You forced me to like you, even love you at times. Now when it comes to cruising I have choices, damn you for making my life more complicated. Damn you Royal.

A little background. As you may have guessed, we (myself, DW, & DD’s 22 & 20) have sailed NCL five times over the last 3 years. Our first cruise 3 years ago was a 12 day double holiday – Christmas & New Years and we fell in love with cruising. The last 2 years we have sailed only the New Years week as the double sailing was not offered by NCL. We love sailing out of the NYC area as it is easy for us from the Canadian side of the border in southern Ontario to get to NYC without flying. Love you Amtrak, at least you don’t have competition. Friends put us onto Royal sailing out of NJ. The 14 day double holiday cruise fit into our schedule and price range (2 inside cabins), so goodbye NCL hello Royal. This review will be lengthy (you have been warned) and will tell not only of our experience on this cruise but will be a bit of a comparison between the two cruise lines.

Travel to NYC was easy, we came in the day before the big storm. It was amazing to see snow in Times Square and Rockefeller area. We had arranged a car service (excellent job Black Executive Car) to pick us up at the hotel in midtown at 11:00 and take us to the pier in Bayonne NJ. They stated it would take I hour. They lied. It took 35 minutes to get from the Hotel to the one lane road leading to the pier. From there it took almost an hour to get to the tent/terminal. We were told this extremely slow drive up was due to the snow, that other times it is not like this. Once we were able to unload the luggage, we joined the lines into the terminal. Getting sail & sign cards, photos, registering etc was relatively quick, painless. The terminal was half tent, half empty warehouse. Nothing lavish, but we never stopped moving in the various lines. From luggage drop-off to short bus ride to the ship the process took less than an hour. NCL sailing out of Manhattan offers the same quick registration process, with a nicer terminal, no need for a bus ride and quick unloading of luggage, never spent more than a few minutes in lines waiting for taxi to pull up. Score: 1 for NCL.

Once on board we were able to go directly to the cabins, this was approx 1:15 p.m. That was pleasant as we could unload carry-ons earlier than expected. We were not welcomed aboard by anyone, there was no welcome aboard Champagne or OJ as we have experience on NCL. Lunch at the Windjammer was nice, it was busy but not impossible to find a seat. In fact we never had to hunt that hard to find a seat here all cruise long. (NCL buffet was often packed and finding a seat was very difficult especially at sail away). Maybe the number of people who missed this cruise due to flights cancellation had something to so with this. We did not have to take life jackets to the life boat drill. We received all of our pieces of luggage before the life boat drill at 3:15. Score: Even.

Our roll call was very active, there was a private online site where pictures were posted so even prior to boarding our fellow cruisers felt like friends. A gift exchange was planned. A sail away informal meet & mingle was planned immediately following life boat drill in Dizzy’s lounge. The official meet & mingle was scheduled for the first sea day 1:00 p.m. in the Chamber. Immediately following life boat drill we went to Dizzy’s on deck 14 and met with many from the roll call. A great group of people. The meet & mingle in the Chamber was attended by approx 60 people, a great turnout, a poor venue. The venue was too small and poorly structured for this type of get together. The gift exchange was a lot of fun and well run by Nancy & Joe. Royal sent 1 (one) yes one junior crew member to attend, he conducted a few raffles and basically seemed lost as what to do. Thankfully Carrie and Jane were well organized and they arranged introductions, and the flow of events. This group had been conversing for over a year and seemed very comfortable with each and a good time was had by all. So much so in fact that before we left we agreed to meet for lunch on a sea day. The group wanted to linger but the Royal rep began to clear us out as the room was going to be used for another event. Before we left we arranged to meet for drinks on a another sea day agreeing to meet back at Dizzy’s. The Royal rep after a quick phone call told us we could not meet there. What?? He said we could not have Dizzy’s on that particular day and time for an exclusive event. We had not asked for an exclusive event, just to meet there at the bar, yes there is a bar there for drinks. Did Royal not want our drink business?? This really floored me. On all our previous NCL cruises we had 8-10 officers show up for each meet & greet as they call it. We twice had the hotel director come, give out his personal card to everyone and ask everyone in attendance to call him personally if they had any problems. If one of these gentlemen had been present at this meet & mingle I assure you not only would we have been given Dizzy’s or some other venue to meet again but there would have been food etc at that gathering. Score: A big one for NCL.

That evening at promptly 6:00 p.m. we entered the dinning room and quickly located our table. (travelling with three women I assure you this was the only day we were prompt). We meet Trevor our Waiter and Vivek our Assistant waiter. They were excellent. In very short order they discovered that we were water drinkers and our glasses were rarely empty. Vivek also discovered we were tea drinks and after the second day he never asked again but faithfully delivered four pots of hot water and a selection of teas to our table each night as dessert was served. I threw him off as twice over the course of the 14 days I asked for coffee instead. They were an excellent team and we enjoyed their sense of humor. By the end of the cruise we had pre-arranged/ pre-paid our tips and readily gave them the envelopes plus extra on the last night. I felt very sorry for a waiter a few tables over. On the last night the entire table of 8 did not show up yet they had been there each and every night prior. We had asked for a large table but our table was one for 4, it was not a problem as we enjoyed each others company and shared many a laugh usually at my expense. The food was excellent, as it had been on NCL as well. All the meals were great. You might ask what did we eat, my answer would be, what didn’t we eat. I found the potions of the entrees on the Explorer slightly larger than those on NCL. On lobster night I asked for an promptly received a second tail and the two were more than enough for me, especially since I had to save room for a couple of desserts.

Breakfast was mainly the Windjammer. Lunch was alternated between the Windjammer and the main dinning room. The jammer had a nice selection for both breakfast and lunch. The food could have been hotter. The main dinning room lunch featured a make your own/select your own salad that was a meal in itself. You actually didn’t make it, staff mixed together whatever ingredients you pointed out and they cut it and mixed. This was an excellent feature. Late night food consisted of the Café on the Royal Promenade. The choices were limited but quick, there was pre-made sandwiches, pizza and sweets. NCL offers the Blue Lagoon, the selection is much better but you have to wait for service. I like the pre-poured juices in the Windjammer for breakfast and lemonade and iced tea for lunch. This really helped avoid long lines at the drink stations. I also enjoyed milk in the carton as compared to milk out of a machine. Score 1 for Royal.

Entertainment: The ice skating shows were excellent. The rest of the entertain for me was somewhat lacking. I rarely found the entertainment that entertaining. Of the various shows we went to I found NCL’s production shows are simply better, the comedians, juggler, magic acts were all better on NCL. Score: 1 for NCL

The activities and cruise directors staff running them were excellent. There were a ton of activities. I wish I could have cloned myself in order to participate in all the activities I wanted to. Trivia was fun and challenging, the promenade parade was entertaining and fun, the deck party was a great lively time. New Years on the Promenade was a ZOO. But in a good sense. Everyone told us it would be packed and this they did not lie about. It was packed and them some, but it was a lot of fun. At 11:30 the promenade was virtually impassable yet it amazed me as to where people were trying to inch their way to. We picked a spot at 11:00 and stayed. Games were a lot of fun and well organized, a few times they utilized a raffle for those who wanted to participate. I thought this was fair for all. Many times it is only those that sit down front or those that are the loudest that get selected. The Quest!! What can I say, I got suckered into participating. Thanks Carrie & Tim. Actually it was a lot of fun and Dave the CD was an excellent host and really got the energy level up. (If you see pictures of me, that’s really my twin brother). Generally the cruise directors staff was engaging and very friendly, they would often stay and chat after an event even though they were heading to another.

Score: 1 for Royal

The ship offers a wide variety of amenities, more than any ship we have been on before. Hard to believe that in 14 days you still run out of time to do everything you want but we did miss out on some of what the ship offered. Things we did do and enjoy was the separate adult pool and hot tub area. Though it was a times difficult to find chairs in this area it was never as crowded or as crazy as the main pool area and the hot tubs only had a few adults in them. The indoor hot tub in the gym area was nice and I did use it twice. The gym was well equipped and again busy but I could always find a machine I wanted. Ice skating was fun, something I have not done in years. Especially important was the fact that none of the activities had a cost to them. Perhaps in years to come and I don’t want to give Royal any ideas but I thought for sure there would be an ice skate rental fee, and a fee for the rock climbing wall but there was none. We have sailed on the NCL Gem and did do bowling but there is a charge.

Score 1 for Royal.

Non scoring items.

The ports of call were Caribbean Islands. If you have seen one you pretty much have seen them all. They were hot and sunny, which is exactly what we went for. We did go to beaches on Antigua – Valley Church; Barbados – Accra; St. Thomas – Secret Harbor. All on recommendations from CC. All were excellent. They were for the most part not crowded even though some islands had several ships in port, they were quiet with anywhere from 0 to 3 vendors spotted. All offered chairs for rent, Valley church does not have umbrellas but none were needed as there was plenty of shade. All of the beaches were lovely, Valley Church is definitely one we will go back to again.

We booked three shore excursions through Royal. Two were excellent and came exactly as advertised: River Tubing in Dominica and ATV Adventure in St. Marteen. The third a snorkel excursion in St. Kitts was disappointing to say the least. It was advertised as 6 hrs and it including lunch on the beach. The snorkeling was only 45 minutes and after this the Catamaran became a party boat. If I wanted a party boat I would have picked a different excursion. This one did not list that refreshments would be served free on board. With a 6 hr excursion I was looking for some serious snorkel time. I will take the blame as I did not specifically ask Royal how much time was spent in the water. Some of their excursions did advertise the amount of time and this is what I complained to Royal about. The description they provided for this particular excursion did not match what was offered. If their description had indicated that you would be in the water for 45 minutes and that free refreshments would be served on board I would have booked a different snorkel adventure. Live and learn I guess.

The ship was heading to dry dock after our cruise. There was some rust stains and many areas that required paint, new carpets and furnishings replaced. My house requires repairs, paint and TLC every few years and thousands of people don’t pass through it on a weekly bases. Therefore all things considered I thought the ship was in pretty good shape

Disembarkation was easy. We choose to do the self disembarkation. Probably a mistake considering all the luggage we had, but we made it. The ship arrived back in port early. They started to announce that those who had chosen self disembarkation could head to the gangways on deck 1. We had barely gotten up at this time, so after a quick breakfast we headed to the gangway at 7:45. We were off the ship, through customs and back in the terminal by 8:05. I contacted Black executive car as originally we had not arranged for them to pick us up until much later. They said no problem to come early and were there in 20 minutes. The trip home was uneventful. We made it back to the train station in Niagara Falls NY to find our car buried in snow. But after sitting for 15 days in the cold and snow the car started up right away. Score 1 for Saturn.

Overall we had a fantastic cruise. We made many new friends and fell in love with Royal. Many on the roll call, including ourselves have booked this cruise again for next year. My scoring has NCL 3; Royal 3. Therefore the only conclusion I can come to is there are two cruise lines that I love. Two cruise lines that I want to sail on again and again. Damn you both NCL & Royal. I had better not check out any other lines anytime soon.

[njhorseman]

Wonderful, but why post a detailed Royal Caribbean review on the NCL board?

[uneamie]

Wonderful, but why post a detailed Royal Caribbean review on the NCL board?

 

I would suspect it was to show the "comparison" so that those of us considering to cruise another cruise line can make a better choice. My husband and I are considering it so I appreciated the review.

[mypleasure]

Wonderful, but why post a detailed Royal Caribbean review on the NCL board?

 

 

I found the comparison very useful as I am considering other lines and Royal is one that I am considering.

 

Thank You to the OP for posting this review.

[mpk218]

LUKES I feel your pain . I too am a big fan of NCL and I'm finding myself drifting :o. My problem is traveling with four . NCL is limited in upper end cabins on many of its ships that will hold four people. (suites) (Sun , POA , Sky ) For the record Im referring to suites that have balcony's . I know there are the AB's but we really love the Stern followed by the bow .

Would it kill them to drop a few fold outs into some of the

other suites ( they keep telling me the idea comes up every so often ) Can only hope ;)

[nocando10]

I just sailed Royal Dec 2009 Liberty of the Seas and sailed NCL Nov 2008 Pearl and have a cruise booked for Nov 2010 Epic on NCL again. I thought both cruises were excellent and would not hesitate to book either. Each had their strong points and weak points but I thought overall both were great.

[bike1964]

I say damn you Royal Caribbean. Damn you because I wanted to hate you, I wanted to not enjoy cruising with you. I wanted to remain a loyal NCL cruiser. But damn you Royal because you didn’t let that happen. You forced me to like you, even love you at times. Now when it comes to cruising I have choices, damn you for making my life more complicated. Damn you Royal.

 

A little background. As you may have guessed, we (myself, DW, & DD’s 22 & 20) have sailed NCL five times over the last 3 years. Our first cruise 3 years ago was a 12 day double holiday – Christmas & New Years and we fell in love with cruising. The last 2 years we have sailed only the New Years week as the double sailing was not offered by NCL. We love sailing out of the NYC area as it is easy for us from the Canadian side of the border in southern Ontario to get to NYC without flying. Love you Amtrak, at least you don’t have competition. Friends put us onto Royal sailing out of NJ. The 14 day double holiday cruise fit into our schedule and price range (2 inside cabins), so goodbye NCL hello Royal. This review will be lengthy (you have been warned) and will tell not only of our experience on this cruise but will be a bit of a comparison between the two cruise lines.

 

Travel to NYC was easy, we came in the day before the big storm. It was amazing to see snow in Times Square and Rockefeller area. We had arranged a car service (excellent job Black Executive Car) to pick us up at the hotel in midtown at 11:00 and take us to the pier in Bayonne NJ. They stated it would take I hour. They lied. It took 35 minutes to get from the Hotel to the one lane road leading to the pier. From there it took almost an hour to get to the tent/terminal. We were told this extremely slow drive up was due to the snow, that other times it is not like this. Once we were able to unload the luggage, we joined the lines into the terminal. Getting sail & sign cards, photos, registering etc was relatively quick, painless. The terminal was half tent, half empty warehouse. Nothing lavish, but we never stopped moving in the various lines. From luggage drop-off to short bus ride to the ship the process took less than an hour. NCL sailing out of Manhattan offers the same quick registration process, with a nicer terminal, no need for a bus ride and quick unloading of luggage, never spent more than a few minutes in lines waiting for taxi to pull up. Score: 1 for NCL.

 

Once on board we were able to go directly to the cabins, this was approx 1:15 p.m. That was pleasant as we could unload carry-ons earlier than expected. We were not welcomed aboard by anyone, there was no welcome aboard Champagne or OJ as we have experience on NCL. Lunch at the Windjammer was nice, it was busy but not impossible to find a seat. In fact we never had to hunt that hard to find a seat here all cruise long. (NCL buffet was often packed and finding a seat was very difficult especially at sail away). Maybe the number of people who missed this cruise due to flights cancellation had something to so with this. We did not have to take life jackets to the life boat drill. We received all of our pieces of luggage before the life boat drill at 3:15. Score: Even.

 

Our roll call was very active, there was a private online site where pictures were posted so even prior to boarding our fellow cruisers felt like friends. A gift exchange was planned. A sail away informal meet & mingle was planned immediately following life boat drill in Dizzy’s lounge. The official meet & mingle was scheduled for the first sea day 1:00 p.m. in the Chamber. Immediately following life boat drill we went to Dizzy’s on deck 14 and met with many from the roll call. A great group of people. The meet & mingle in the Chamber was attended by approx 60 people, a great turnout, a poor venue. The venue was too small and poorly structured for this type of get together. The gift exchange was a lot of fun and well run by Nancy & Joe. Royal sent 1 (one) yes one junior crew member to attend, he conducted a few raffles and basically seemed lost as what to do. Thankfully Carrie and Jane were well organized and they arranged introductions, and the flow of events. This group had been conversing for over a year and seemed very comfortable with each and a good time was had by all. So much so in fact that before we left we agreed to meet for lunch on a sea day. The group wanted to linger but the Royal rep began to clear us out as the room was going to be used for another event. Before we left we arranged to meet for drinks on a another sea day agreeing to meet back at Dizzy’s. The Royal rep after a quick phone call told us we could not meet there. What?? He said we could not have Dizzy’s on that particular day and time for an exclusive event. We had not asked for an exclusive event, just to meet there at the bar, yes there is a bar there for drinks. Did Royal not want our drink business?? This really floored me. On all our previous NCL cruises we had 8-10 officers show up for each meet & greet as they call it. We twice had the hotel director come, give out his personal card to everyone and ask everyone in attendance to call him personally if they had any problems. If one of these gentlemen had been present at this meet & mingle I assure you not only would we have been given Dizzy’s or some other venue to meet again but there would have been food etc at that gathering. Score: A big one for NCL.

 

That evening at promptly 6:00 p.m. we entered the dinning room and quickly located our table. (travelling with three women I assure you this was the only day we were prompt). We meet Trevor our Waiter and Vivek our Assistant waiter. They were excellent. In very short order they discovered that we were water drinkers and our glasses were rarely empty. Vivek also discovered we were tea drinks and after the second day he never asked again but faithfully delivered four pots of hot water and a selection of teas to our table each night as dessert was served. I threw him off as twice over the course of the 14 days I asked for coffee instead. They were an excellent team and we enjoyed their sense of humor. By the end of the cruise we had pre-arranged/ pre-paid our tips and readily gave them the envelopes plus extra on the last night. I felt very sorry for a waiter a few tables over. On the last night the entire table of 8 did not show up yet they had been there each and every night prior. We had asked for a large table but our table was one for 4, it was not a problem as we enjoyed each others company and shared many a laugh usually at my expense. The food was excellent, as it had been on NCL as well. All the meals were great. You might ask what did we eat, my answer would be, what didn’t we eat. I found the potions of the entrees on the Explorer slightly larger than those on NCL. On lobster night I asked for an promptly received a second tail and the two were more than enough for me, especially since I had to save room for a couple of desserts.

 

Breakfast was mainly the Windjammer. Lunch was alternated between the Windjammer and the main dinning room. The jammer had a nice selection for both breakfast and lunch. The food could have been hotter. The main dinning room lunch featured a make your own/select your own salad that was a meal in itself. You actually didn’t make it, staff mixed together whatever ingredients you pointed out and they cut it and mixed. This was an excellent feature. Late night food consisted of the Café on the Royal Promenade. The choices were limited but quick, there was pre-made sandwiches, pizza and sweets. NCL offers the Blue Lagoon, the selection is much better but you have to wait for service. I like the pre-poured juices in the Windjammer for breakfast and lemonade and iced tea for lunch. This really helped avoid long lines at the drink stations. I also enjoyed milk in the carton as compared to milk out of a machine. Score 1 for Royal.

 

Entertainment: The ice skating shows were excellent. The rest of the entertain for me was somewhat lacking. I rarely found the entertainment that entertaining. Of the various shows we went to I found NCL’s production shows are simply better, the comedians, juggler, magic acts were all better on NCL. Score: 1 for NCL

 

The activities and cruise directors staff running them were excellent. There were a ton of activities. I wish I could have cloned myself in order to participate in all the activities I wanted to. Trivia was fun and challenging, the promenade parade was entertaining and fun, the deck party was a great lively time. New Years on the Promenade was a ZOO. But in a good sense. Everyone told us it would be packed and this they did not lie about. It was packed and them some, but it was a lot of fun. At 11:30 the promenade was virtually impassable yet it amazed me as to where people were trying to inch their way to. We picked a spot at 11:00 and stayed. Games were a lot of fun and well organized, a few times they utilized a raffle for those who wanted to participate. I thought this was fair for all. Many times it is only those that sit down front or those that are the loudest that get selected. The Quest!! What can I say, I got suckered into participating. Thanks Carrie & Tim. Actually it was a lot of fun and Dave the CD was an excellent host and really got the energy level up. (If you see pictures of me, that’s really my twin brother). Generally the cruise directors staff was engaging and very friendly, they would often stay and chat after an event even though they were heading to another.

Score: 1 for Royal

 

The ship offers a wide variety of amenities, more than any ship we have been on before. Hard to believe that in 14 days you still run out of time to do everything you want but we did miss out on some of what the ship offered. Things we did do and enjoy was the separate adult pool and hot tub area. Though it was a times difficult to find chairs in this area it was never as crowded or as crazy as the main pool area and the hot tubs only had a few adults in them. The indoor hot tub in the gym area was nice and I did use it twice. The gym was well equipped and again busy but I could always find a machine I wanted. Ice skating was fun, something I have not done in years. Especially important was the fact that none of the activities had a cost to them. Perhaps in years to come and I don’t want to give Royal any ideas but I thought for sure there would be an ice skate rental fee, and a fee for the rock climbing wall but there was none. We have sailed on the NCL Gem and did do bowling but there is a charge.

Score 1 for Royal.

 

Non scoring items.

 

The ports of call were Caribbean Islands. If you have seen one you pretty much have seen them all. They were hot and sunny, which is exactly what we went for. We did go to beaches on Antigua – Valley Church; Barbados – Accra; St. Thomas – Secret Harbor. All on recommendations from CC. All were excellent. They were for the most part not crowded even though some islands had several ships in port, they were quiet with anywhere from 0 to 3 vendors spotted. All offered chairs for rent, Valley church does not have umbrellas but none were needed as there was plenty of shade. All of the beaches were lovely, Valley Church is definitely one we will go back to again.

 

We booked three shore excursions through Royal. Two were excellent and came exactly as advertised: River Tubing in Dominica and ATV Adventure in St. Marteen. The third a snorkel excursion in St. Kitts was disappointing to say the least. It was advertised as 6 hrs and it including lunch on the beach. The snorkeling was only 45 minutes and after this the Catamaran became a party boat. If I wanted a party boat I would have picked a different excursion. This one did not list that refreshments would be served free on board. With a 6 hr excursion I was looking for some serious snorkel time. I will take the blame as I did not specifically ask Royal how much time was spent in the water. Some of their excursions did advertise the amount of time and this is what I complained to Royal about. The description they provided for this particular excursion did not match what was offered. If their description had indicated that you would be in the water for 45 minutes and that free refreshments would be served on board I would have booked a different snorkel adventure. Live and learn I guess.

 

The ship was heading to dry dock after our cruise. There was some rust stains and many areas that required paint, new carpets and furnishings replaced. My house requires repairs, paint and TLC every few years and thousands of people don’t pass through it on a weekly bases. Therefore all things considered I thought the ship was in pretty good shape

 

Disembarkation was easy. We choose to do the self disembarkation. Probably a mistake considering all the luggage we had, but we made it. The ship arrived back in port early. They started to announce that those who had chosen self disembarkation could head to the gangways on deck 1. We had barely gotten up at this time, so after a quick breakfast we headed to the gangway at 7:45. We were off the ship, through customs and back in the terminal by 8:05. I contacted Black executive car as originally we had not arranged for them to pick us up until much later. They said no problem to come early and were there in 20 minutes. The trip home was uneventful. We made it back to the train station in Niagara Falls NY to find our car buried in snow. But after sitting for 15 days in the cold and snow the car started up right away. Score 1 for Saturn.

 

Overall we had a fantastic cruise. We made many new friends and fell in love with Royal. Many on the roll call, including ourselves have booked this cruise again for next year. My scoring has NCL 3; Royal 3. Therefore the only conclusion I can come to is there are two cruise lines that I love. Two cruise lines that I want to sail on again and again. Damn you both NCL & Royal. I had better not check out any other lines anytime soon.

 

Thanks for the review. We have 8 RCCL cruises under our belt and I would not hesitate to book them again. ;) Our only reasons for this NCL cruise we are taking in Feb is port choices, emabarkation location, and price. Hope everything works out o.k. Fingers crossed.:eek:

[martinchem]

I always come back to Carnival.

[lukes]

Exactly my intention was to say hey you know what the twolines are pretty similiar and no worries if you are thinking about cruising one or the other. Being a NCL lover I thought I would post my reveiw here also, jsut to say yes, NCL is excellent and does many things better than Royal. Both have pro/cons, strenghts and weaknesses. We really love NCL and didn't think anything could compare. We now love two cruise lines. We will be sailing NCL again and Royal. All depends on price and itinerary.

[michigan tim]

Thanks for the comparison. I've sailed both and find your scoring to reflect my experience as well. One thing not scored is the level of service which I'd give a slight edge to RCL.

[familyof4cruising]

Exactly my intention was to say hey you know what the twolines are pretty similiar and no worries if you are thinking about cruising one or the other. Being a NCL lover I thought I would post my reveiw here also, jsut to say yes, NCL is excellent and does many things better than Royal. Both have pro/cons, strenghts and weaknesses. We really love NCL and didn't think anything could compare. We now love two cruise lines. We will be sailing NCL again and Royal. All depends on price and itinerary.

 

Each have their pros and cons. I am Diamond on RCCL and Platinum on NCL. I enjoy them both.

 

I sailed RCCL last year because I wanted to go to Aruba, which is somewhere I wish NCL would cruise to. It was a great cruise. BUT, RCCL prices IMO are getting out of hand. I can get a suite on NCL with all the perks for the same price as a balcony ( or junior suite but not the same perks as NCL) on RCCL. Like you stated it depends on price and itinerary...and for me NCL is getting my business a lot more often.

[bentleys mom]

Thanks for the excellent review. We are rookie cruisers ... took our first cruise on the NCL Sky last May and we're taking the same cruise this April. We had a great time and I was afraid to try another cruise line but your review has tempted me.

 

Thanks!

[Mrs. H.]

Princess was our first cruise in '94 and thought the world of it.

dh prefers RCCL.

I always preferred Carnival.

Hated, hated, hated NCL Dawn the first time.

NCL Spirit in Alaska was very nice.

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the Dawn the second time!!!

(penthouse, butler & eating at Cagneys for breakfast & lunch was the best):)

I now prefer to cruise out of NY/NJ since the charge for luggage on a plane is just ridiculous. (savings of $150)

We prefer to leave on a Sunday and return on Sunday.

Whenever I checked Carnival it left on a Wed for Bermuda last year and this year they leave on a Sat and only hit 4 ports i/o 6 for the trip I wanted, and RCCL goes out for 9 days.:(

Right now I am booked on the Dawn in Sept. for the Canada/NE trip.

Booked the same cabin we had last year! lol

I don't think it really matters much to us anymore which cruise line we go on, just as long as we're on one! :D

[jswrpw83]

Thanks for the review. I have sailed Royal / Celebrity, but am sailing NCL for the first time in April. It's due to the fact that I can drive to the port and avoid airfare, and the cost was cheaper to cruise. Mostly though - it offered three out of four ports that we've never visited and offered good scuba / snorkeling. I am a little nervous about sailing NCL, and perplexed at how few people are on the CC Roll Call especially since this is during a spring break vacation time.

 

Thanks again,

[3rdtimecruising]

Hello NCL cruisers,

 

We have also cruised RCCL on two occasions. I must say that our experience on the Vision of the Seas was amazing. It is a fairly small ship and as I recall there were no Specialty restaurants. We ate at a set seating every night in the MDR and never had a bad meal. We cruised the Mexican Riviera out of Los Angeles. The only problem was that we had to get to Los Angeles from Boston. Time is always tight with our work schedules and that makes it difficult. I am not sure where the Vision is now. We then cruised on Explorer of the Seas out of NJ with family from NJ. Being with family was the best part of the cruise. The ship was in desperate need of maintenance and because it was 9 days it did seem to have a much older crowd. We ate at the specialty restaurant and it was nothing compared to Cagney's or Le Bistro. We are big Freestyle fans and really feel the industry has to move in this direction. In 7 weeks we will be going on the Gem again our 6th NCL cruise and again this summer on the Spirit out of Boston. We love both these ships and are so convenient to get to. I guess I really feel that we are NCL fans, but still would be willing to try other lines. Competition is good.:rolleyes:

 

Ann and Bernie

[halos]

I don't think it really matters much to us anymore which cruise line we go on, just as long as we're on one! :D

 

 

:D That's how I feel as well.

 

OP...Great review. When I first saw the title, I thought it was a 'bash' against RCCL for cruising to Haiti. I'm glad to see it wasn't!!!!

 

My first (and only) cruise on Royal was a tiny bit disappointing, but I would definitely give them another shot. (if I find one reasonably priced, that is). Their ships are just gorgeous.

[newmexicoNita]

I think RCI and NCL are very similar lines. Our problem and it is just that, ours, we have not had good experiences with RCI but we have cruised the smaller, older, ships and the shorter cruises...

 

I will say, we do always come back to NCL but we are open to whatever line has the best deal and the best itinerary as mass marketed lines are very similar.

 

Nita

[mizLORInj]

I liked your review a lot, thanks for taking the time to post. I liked Explorer of the Seas too.

I also like other ships and cruise lines as well, and will sail all of them again! And try out new ones (like Celebrity in June!)

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

Thanks for your interesting and well written post. I enjoyed the scoring.

 

We were very steady customers of Royal Caribbean for years until we discovered the "suite life" with NCL. The concierge/butler service with NCL is far superior to the concierge lounge with RCI. We have stayed in the Royal Suite with RCI and the GV with NCL and there is no comparison. Unless there is an itinerary we can't find, we're sticking with NCL for a while.

[STARFISH*4]

we have "considered" RCI but havent found the GREAT DEALs that NCL has offered when we want to go...but we always KEEP our CRUISELINE options open....THANKS for the COMPARISION

we had a GOOD TIME when we CRUISED HAWAII on RCI, but that was on an older ship and back in 2004......i DONT want to SAIL the OASIS but maybe another ship in the FLEET:)

[Mrs. H.]

Thanks for your interesting and well written post. I enjoyed the scoring.

 

We were very steady customers of Royal Caribbean for years until we discovered the "suite life" with NCL. The concierge/butler service with NCL is far superior to the concierge lounge with RCI. We have stayed in the Royal Suite with RCI and the GV with NCL and there is no comparison. Unless there is an itinerary we can't find, we're sticking with NCL for a while.

 

We were 'warned' that once we experienced the 'suite life' on NCL we would NEVER go back. Well that is sooooooo true. From the very moment we passed thru security it was wonderful. :D

 

I had better OBC last year but am keeping my eyes open for any new offers they might be offering.

 

I highly recommend the penthouse for all the perks that come with it.

 

The little x-tra $$ for the specialty restaurants are very much worth it.

[Coasty]

Enjoyed your review.

We have not been on as many cruises as some of you, but we have never been on a cruise we didn't enjoy:).

 

We are under the impression that it is the pax that makes the cruise enjoyable;).

 

Attitude my friends, could make every cruise a joy. Or would you rather just sit at home and dream?:confused: I'll take cruising anytime.

[lukes]

Thanks for all the replies. Glad you enjoyed.

 

It is very true it is the individual that makes the experience. If you want a miserable time you will have one. If you want a great vacation you will have that too.

[cruizinrican]

We love RCCL too! I am almost a Gold member with them but we have been either sailing Carnival or NCL (the last 2 cruises) the last few years. I love all the lines but my BF LOVES freestyle so he chose NCL for us this year though I was leaning for Royal bc Im so close to receiving my Gold Status.

 

But your right, Royal is a very nice cruise line and I am glad your family enjoyed it just as much as NCL if not more!:)

[messengertm]

I sailed RCCL last year because I wanted to go to Aruba, which is somewhere I wish NCL would cruise to.

 

 

I think NCL does sail to Aruba. We are going in April on the 13 day and Aruba is one of the Ports of Call.

 

 

 

13-Day Caribbean Escape Miami to New York

 

Ship: Norwegian Jewel

Departs: Miami

Departure Dates: 2010: Apr 11

Ports of call:Miami; Cozumel; Belize City; Roatan; Aruba; Curacao; Tortola; New York City