Royal Caribbean vs Norwegian

[cmpells87]

I'm looking into the Norwegian Dawn, Boston to Bermuda cruise for end of August. I'm wondering what is better/worse for NCL vs Royal. The main differences etc....

 

 

Any insight on this specific cruise would be great..too!

[flowers44]

The two are pretty comparable. The main difference that I see is the "Free Style" of Norwegian and Royal Caribbean is still hanging onto Formal nights. I also believe that RCI tends to be a bit more mature age group than Norwegian. Not as mature as Holland American but a bit higher average age. Food, entertainment, cabins, etc. are about the same. Just my opinion.

[Slickn]

We have sailed on two Royal Carribean ships and very much enjoyed the food, activities, and shows. These cruises were around the carribean.

 

Last october we sailed the Noweigian Dawn from Boston to Bermuda(a steal at $500/inside room). The inside room was much smaller than what we were used to on RC and Carnival. The food was not up to our expectations in either the main dining halls or the buffets. This isnt to say it is bad, but rather that we had much better included food experiences on RC. We ended up going to the specialty restaurants for 4 out of the 7 nights on the Dawn. We also felt that the shows did not coordinate well with our dining plans, whereas on Royal Carribean with the fixed dining time you were done with dinner before the shows started.

 

For what it's worth we will be sailing on the NCL Dawn again this summer around the same time as you. I felt the shortcomings were justifiable at the $500/inside room price, but the august sailings are around $1000/inside room right now... and not as easily justified. We will be purchasing the ultimate dining package, which makes this an expensive cruise, but thankfully no flights are involved due to leaving out of boston.

 

Nick

[Manbo]

The two are pretty comparable. The main difference that I see is the "Free Style" of Norwegian and Royal Caribbean is still hanging onto Formal nights. I also believe that RCI tends to be a bit more mature age group than Norwegian. Not as mature as Holland American but a bit higher average age. Food, entertainment, cabins, etc. are about the same. Just my opinion.

 

Freestyle dining is the number one difference.

[Landl cruiser]

I'm looking into the Norwegian Dawn, Boston to Bermuda cruise for end of August. I'm wondering what is better/worse for NCL vs Royal. The main differences etc....

 

 

Any insight on this specific cruise would be great..too!

 

 

 

We have cruised on both, and they are very similar. Freestyle dining and no formal nights are the biggest difference. Also, we have found RCI to be lacking a little in the bars and lounges. On NCL the music is available in different locations very early in the evening. RCL does not start until 9PM or later. One RCL cruise, one of the passengers brought his iPod and speakers to the Schooner Lounge until the scheduled music started. For those of us who enjoy a cocktail before dinner it is nice to have some music to listen to.

[bedfordmom]

We have cruised on both, and they are very similar. Freestyle dining and no formal nights are the biggest difference. Also, we have found RCI to be lacking a little in the bars and lounges. On NCL the music is available in different locations very early in the evening. RCL does not start until 9PM or later. One RCL cruise, one of the passengers brought his iPod and speakers to the Schooner Lounge until the scheduled music started. For those of us who enjoy a cocktail before dinner it is nice to have some music to listen to.

 

RCL Love the Royal Promenade and ice skating shows; better room service

NCL Better entertainment overall, freestyle dining,

[Landl cruiser]

RCL Love the Royal Promenade and ice skating shows; better room service

NCL Better entertainment overall, freestyle dining,

 

 

Agree. Love the Promenade, but not all ships have them. We just finished an 8 day on the Explorer of the Seas over New Years Eve. What a great party on the Promenade and the best part was that we didn't have to drive home. :p

[MACE]

Please allow me to share a comparison of the newest NCL class of ship with that of RCI's Oasis, Freedom and Voyager class ships. Note: Haven't been on the Dawn:

 

We just cruised on the 12/21/14 Breakaway. Our first cruise since 8/2010 on RCI's Oasis and just our 2nd NCL cruise, first being on the Sun in 2002.

 

Recent cruises were RCI Voyager and Freedom, plus a lot of CCL ships.

 

Freestyle dinning was a disaster the first night on the BA in the Manhattan Dinning room! Total chaos @ 8:30pm as they only had one line for those who made reservations mingled with those doing Freestyle dining. No signs outside explaining how the line works nor any NCL staff walking the line asking for those with reservations to step up and be seated. It did get better during the cruise but we still had issues with changing per-cruise MDR reservations (couldn't get any new ones) and then having to wait for Freestyle dinning when NCL rearranged showtimes and we had to scramble to make dinner to accommodate the new show times

 

The 3 MDR's food was just average, though the last meal we had in the Taste MDR was awesome. The Garden Cafe food was surprisingly above average, though finding a table for 3 was a challenge every day, every meal. The 3 MDRs are no way as grand in design and opulence as on the last 3 RCI ships we've been on.

 

Shows didn't blow away the shows on RCI, especially with the very uncomfortable seats in the single level "Theater" that held only 800 paxs. That being said, the pay for show and Dinner in the Spiegel Tent: Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy was really good.

 

IMHO, on the BA, NCL sacrificed pax comfort for pax revenue! All the spaces were small and narrow: the cabins, the balconies, the hallways, the Atrium that was way too small to hold all the shows they presented there, not to mention the other "showrooms" with limited space and hard chairs to sit on. The only shout out I will give is for the extra large bathroom we had in our Mini-Suite Cat MA cabin 14196 with a double sink (albeit with stains), extra large glass inclosed walk in shower with 6 Jet Sprays plus overhead hand held wand that always produced hot showers (warmer than all the water in the Hot Tubs!)

 

Our cabin's A/C was substandard, even after having our Cabin Steward and Maintenance check it out and proclaim it was working as designed. Also, through out the ship, the airflow was warm in every public space.

 

BTW, Renson our Cabin Steward was the best we've ever had of any of the 20+ cruises we've been on! Thank you NCL

 

Miss the promenade of the RCI ships but did like the NCL Waterfront.

No one does a Grand Atrium like RCI, NCL included. They had a small 3 story Atrium built around a focal point of a Emerald 2 story green glass staircase and large Chandelier...just not that impressive looking and was missing that wow factor.

 

Bad design making you walk through the Casino to get from one side of the ship to the other, not to mention the ever present smell of cigarette smoke that permeated up through all decks of the 3 story Atrium.

 

We enjoyed our NCL Breakaway Cruise but our next booking will be on the RCI Allure or Quantum...enjoy what ever ship you cruise on next!

Edited January 8, 2015 by MACE

[Iluvcruising2]

This thread may be useful. We are Royal Diamonds who tried NCL for the first time in Dec 2014. But our experience is not in the Caribbean, so be mindful of that.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2139442

[Cruzaholic41]

I'm looking into the Norwegian Dawn, Boston to Bermuda cruise for end of August. I'm wondering what is better/worse for NCL vs Royal. The main differences etc....

 

Any insight on this specific cruise would be great..too!

 

I'm sure you want honest replies, so here's mine. If you're a RCI fan, I think you'll be disappointed in the Dawn. I certainly was. It's a pretty big step down.

[Heyref]

Please allow me to share a comparison of the newest NCL class of ship with that of RCI's Oasis, Freedom and Voyager class ships. Note: Haven't been on the Dawn:

 

We just cruised on the 12/21/14 Breakaway. Our first cruise since 8/2010 on RCI's Oasis and just our 2nd NCL cruise, first being on the Sun in 2002.

 

Recent cruises were RCI Voyager and Freedom, plus a lot of CCL ships.

 

Freestyle dinning was a disaster the first night on the BA in the Manhattan Dinning room! Total chaos @ 8:30pm as they only had one line for those who made reservations mingled with those doing Freestyle dining. No signs outside explaining how the line works nor any NCL staff walking the line asking for those with reservations to step up and be seated. It did get better during the cruise but we still had issues with changing per-cruise MDR reservations (couldn't get any new ones) and then having to wait for Freestyle dinning when NCL rearranged showtimes and we had to scramble to make dinner to accommodate the new show times

 

The 3 MDR's food was just average, though the last meal we had in the Taste MDR was awesome. The Garden Cafe food was surprisingly above average, though finding a table for 3 was a challenge every day, every meal. The 3 MDRs are no way as grand in design and opulence as on the last 3 RCI ships we've been on.

 

Shows didn't blow away the shows on RCI, especially with the very uncomfortable seats in the single level "Theater" that held only 800 paxs. That being said, the pay for show and Dinner in the Spiegel Tent: Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy was really good.

 

IMHO, on the BA, NCL sacrificed pax comfort for pax revenue! All the spaces were small and narrow: the cabins, the balconies, the hallways, the Atrium that was way too small to hold all the shows they presented there, not to mention the other "showrooms" with limited space and hard chairs to sit on. The only shout out I will give is for the extra large bathroom we had in our Mini-Suite Cat MA cabin 14196 with a double sink (albeit with stains), extra large glass inclosed walk in shower with 6 Jet Sprays plus overhead hand held wand that always produced hot showers (warmer than all the water in the Hot Tubs!)

 

Our cabin's A/C was substandard, even after having our Cabin Steward and Maintenance check it out and proclaim it was working as designed. Also, through out the ship, the airflow was warm in every public space.

 

BTW, Renson our Cabin Steward was the best we've ever had of any of the 20+ cruises we've been on! Thank you NCL

 

Miss the promenade of the RCI ships but did like the NCL Waterfront.

No one does a Grand Atrium like RCI, NCL included. They had a small 3 story Atrium built around a focal point of a Emerald 2 story green glass staircase and large Chandelier...just not that impressive looking and was missing that wow factor.

 

Bad design making you walk through the Casino to get from one side of the ship to the other, not to mention the ever present smell of cigarette smoke that permeated up through all decks of the 3 story Atrium.

 

We enjoyed our NCL Breakaway Cruise but our next booking will be on the RCI Allure or Quantum...enjoy what ever ship you cruise on next!

 

The problem with comparing to RCI Allure or Quantum is that the price on these RCI ships is 20-30% more expensive thatn NCI BA/GA.

[Landl cruiser]

The problem with comparing to RCI Allure or Quantum is that the price on these RCI ships is 20-30% more expensive thatn NCI BA/GA.

 

 

 

I agree. Comparisons should be based on similar size ships. Oasis/Allure/Quantum vs Epic/Breakaway/Getaway.

 

Dawn vs Vision or Radiance class.