NCL or RCL- better for ??

[Sand and Seas]

It's been awhile since we were on RCL so I'm requesting updated info from those of you who have sailed both fairly recently. My DS & DDIL are asking me for advice about Caribbean cruises.

 

They deserve a vacation without the three adorable kids who are now old enough to enjoy a week with us :D

 

1- Has RCL improved their 'freestyle' dining to be as easy as NCL?

2- How do you compare night life for 30 somethings?

3- DS loves NCL's Caribbean music by the pool.....good pool music on RCL?

 

Anything else that you would recommend one over the other?

 

Any and all helpful advice is appreciated!

 

(They forgot to ask me for advice when they went on a 'boring' MSC cruise:eek:. Food wasn't to their taste and music was not 'Caribbean'.)

[MikeBTN]

1 - it is easier than it was, but nowhere near NCL’s flexibility. You choose a set dining time or My Time Dining. The larger the ship the longer the wait can be - formal night is bananas if you don’t have reservations.

 

2 - I think NCL has better night life. Part of that is because the line skews a little younger than Royal, part of that is that NCL has more options and larger facilities.

 

 

3 - Royal and NCL are about the same.

[babynurse06]

1. Nope. NCL still wins hands down. And they have better specialty restaurants if that’s of any interest to them.

2. Personally, I prefer entertainment on NCL, but I’ve never been bored on RCCL. NCL just feels more fun to me. (I’m 33) And Howl at the Moon is my favorite entertainment at sea. I miss it terribly on every ship that doesn’t have it now.

3. I actually think this is more a ship to ship thing than line to line. I’ve been on ships on both lines that had great bands outside at the pool and on ships that just piped in top 40 songs all day long.

[Sand and Seas]

Thanks for your responses! Good to know how others see it as I don't want my personal preferences for NCL free-styling to cloud any advice I give them.

 

 

DS is searching for deals and so far is finding the best balcony pricing on NCL's Getaway 'Sailaway' pricing for his October date.

 

I know RCL has good cruises too, but we personally love the more relaxed feel on NCL. Years past we did the dress up and set dinner time thing but we are so over that now.

[hannibal54]

It is hard to get an accurate feeling on these boards asking questions like this. If you do it here you will get more pro NCL, go to RCL you may get more pro RCL. I cruise a lot I have been on 6 different cruise lines, mainly RCL but I do NCL a bunch also 8 so far, next Feb. I will move from Silver up to the next level. RCL in my opinion has a much better loyalty program with better perks. My other big issue with NCL is when you have the drink package it doesn't include water. This is one of the cheapest drinks to serve, on Royal I can order a drink and ask for a bottle or two of water, no problem. I also like my one MSC cruise, Carnival is my least favorite. In my book, even a bad cruise is a good cruise, have fun.

[hal2008]

As the previous poster rightly pointed out, recommendation will be biased depending on which board you are on.

 

Having recently done cruises on both, here are are my 3 cents:

a) Depends heavily on ship you take (you cant compare allure or anthem to say something like sky)

b) assuming similar ships, NCL wins in Freestyle part but RCL and others have caught up in 10 years)

c) Food choices far superior on RCL (significantly)

d) Tendering and other minor items that do end up impacting your overall cruise experience s

(RCL wins by huge margin again)

e) Staff has bit more diversity on RCL than Philipino dominated staff on NCL

[CruisingNole]

RCCL Oasis class are the best ships at sea. That's not really debatable. No other cruiseline offers an experience that even remotely compares.

 

That being said, the "rest of it" comes down to personal choice. Do you have kids? Go RCCL. Do you want top-notch entertainment? Go RCCL. Are wearing shorts important to your vacation experience? Go NCL or CCL. Do you want to eat the "free" MDR food that's actually decent, not on a buffet and not feel the need to pay for a specialty restaurant? Go RCCL. Do you want a party, booze cruise scene? Go NCL or CCL. I can personally recommend the Sun for that type of atmosphere. Do you want bottled water, fresh squeezed juices. specialty coffees and top shelf drinks included in your beverage package? Go RCCL or CCL.

[Sand and Seas]

We really appreciate these different viewpoints!

 

I started with a search and saw many RCL threads also, but so much to dig through for just a few questions that were important to my son.

 

For DS, he isn't interested in drink packages. He doesn't want to take a suit although I doubt he will wear shorts to a MDR. He would like to have a great relaxing Caribbean cruise with his lovely wife (while we tend the kids- Yay!).

 

While they did enjoy their MSC cruise on a lovely new ship they wanted something similar to the NCL cruise they did a few years ago. MSCs atmosphere just wasn't to their taste. That lead him to look at RCL and NCL. I could only give him recent advice on the Getaway. They would love the slides, rope course and Howl at the Moon.

 

So far, he is finding best price on Getaway (no promos wanted) over RCL but they are still discussing ports & ships. RCL does have a number of interesting looking itineraries.

 

Thanks for all the good discussion here!

[rncruiser]

No need to wear a suit in RCCL. I finally convinced my husband of that on our last cruise and now I don’t think he will ever pack a suit again. A nice pair of slacks and a collared shirt are all that is needed for formal nights, unless you really like to dress up.

I totally agree with the other posters about food being better on RCCL. We recently returned from our first cruise on NCL and even the food on the specialty restaurant didn’t reach the level of MDR food in RCCL.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[davy jones]

 

1- Has RCL improved their 'freestyle' dining to be as easy as NCL?

2- How do you compare night life for 30 somethings?

3- DS loves NCL's Caribbean music by the pool.....good pool music on RCL?

 

Anything else that you would recommend one over the other?

 

What ships are they considering? That may influence the answers.

 

Sailed both lines this year, but they were significantly different ships. (Breakaway and Grandeur)

 

1. For us, it is close to the same. We make reservations in advance on both and have very few problems or waits. Formal nights on Royal are the most crowded. You really want to reserve those nights before sailing. NCL doesn't have formal nights, so it's not an issue. On Royal, you will likely be sharing the MDR with the assigned seating and the associated "shows and announcements". To us, that is a minus. One good thing about Royal's MTD is that reserving in advance (particularly at the same time) will likely get you the same table and/or waitstaff every evening.

 

2. Breakaway certainly will certainly be better than Grandeur. That said, we also preferred Breakaway nightlife over the nightlife on the Anthem of the Seas, which is a better comparison. It seems to us that Royal attracts an older demographic than NCL on off season cruises.

 

3. Both have music by the main pool. Breakaway only has one pool. Royal ships have a pool in the adults only area for those who like quiet. The NCL adults only area has no pool and limited shade.

[graphicguy]

Never sailed the Grandeur, but have sailed the Anthem, Allure and Harmony with RCCL. Nice ships. Not a fan of them putting everything inward on the ships. There are times I really felt like I was not on a cruise and it felt more like a mall. Some like that, which is OK.

 

Allure was crowded, where much of the time I found myself “Shoulder-to-Shoulder” trying to navigate the ship.

 

The specialty restaurants, although the same, were much better on my Allure Cruise than they were on the Harmony or Anthem.

 

My NCL cruises, I found the specialty restaurants to get better in recent cruises and surpassed RCCL’s offerings.

 

MDRs are about the same. No real “gotchas” on either.

 

They all have the requisite climbing walls, wate slides, etc. But, on NCL’s mega ships, I found their entertainment to be the best at sea, bar none.

 

Some cruises the staff for RCCL seemed friendlier, on others NCL’s staff seemed frliendlier. Call that a toss up.

 

NCL still does Freestyle better. RCCL tries, but can’t seem to get the hang of it. Unless you want specified seating/dining times, NCL Freestyle is a lot better than RCCL’s My Time Dining.

 

NIghtlife on both is similar. As far as Craibbean Music, if you can’t find a type of music on either line that you like, you aren’t looking hard enough. I will say that Fat Cats is one of my favorite music venues among all the cruises I’ve taken.

 

With the NCL promos going on right now, the last few cruises I’ve taken have been less expensive in NCL’s Haven than the ones I’ve taken in a Superior Balcony on Anthem and Harmony....talking total cost at the end of the cruise.

[Laszlo]

Staff has bit more diversity on RCL than Philipino dominated staff on NCL

 

Interesting, back in February on the BA I noticed the opposite. Lots of Eastern Europeans working on the ship. Our room steward was from Bosnia.

[hannibal54]

When I go solo on NCL I have an issue with the MDR because I don't want to sit at a table by myself.

[zackarykeef]

I'm around your DS's and DDIL's ages, so here's my take. Although I've taken more NCL cruises recently, I'm not loyal to any line...I'll take the best itinerary with the best price and always check all the major lines. I recently went on my first RCCL cruise as well.

 

For this age group, NCL 100%. Granted I was on a smaller RCCL ship, but the clientele was much older. Nightlife was sometimes nonexistent. Although I've heard it's better on the Oasis class, it also seems like they are full of families (from what I've read). I feel when sailing on NCL when school is in session, there are a lot of cruisers around my age and less families. Nightlife has ALWAYS been stellar on NCL, even the one I went on during spring break with tons of kids.

 

I do have to say the RCCL Jewel OTS was BEAUTIFUL. But the food honestly did not hold a candle to NCL. I was really looking forward to the food, as so many people and those "loyal to Royal" rave about it, but it wasn't as good. It was definitely good, but NCL is better IMO--especially the specialty choices. And nothing beats the freestyle. RCCL was just not near the same.

 

I've found music to be the same across the board.

 

I'll add that the Waterfront on the NCL -Away and -Away Plus classes is my favorite feature on any ship. The Spinnaker Lounge on the NCL Pearl was a close second, but NCL still nonetheless.

 

Would I sail RCCL again? Definitely. But I still say NCL is my current favorite.

[jskinsd]

It's been awhile since we were on RCL so I'm requesting updated info from those of you who have sailed both fairly recently. My DS & DDIL are asking me for advice about Caribbean cruises.

 

They deserve a vacation without the three adorable kids who are now old enough to enjoy a week with us :D

 

1- Has RCL improved their 'freestyle' dining to be as easy as NCL?

2- How do you compare night life for 30 somethings?

3- DS loves NCL's Caribbean music by the pool.....good pool music on RCL?

 

Anything else that you would recommend one over the other?

 

Any and all helpful advice is appreciated!

 

(They forgot to ask me for advice when they went on a 'boring' MSC cruise:eek:. Food wasn't to their taste and music was not 'Caribbean'.)

You are a Plus cruiser and you are asking the loyal(well maybe not so loyal) NCL cruisers to say something bad about NCL to try RCL. I bet you will get few negative responses here. What kind of responses are you getting from the RCL board. Or did you even bother to ask the same question there.

[Sand and Seas]

You are a Plus cruiser and you are asking the loyal(well maybe not so loyal) NCL cruisers to say something bad about NCL to try RCL. I bet you will get few negative responses here. What kind of responses are you getting from the RCL board. Or did you even bother to ask the same question there.

Yes, I am a Plus cruiser which is why I don't want to just give my viewpoint to my DS. My DS and his wife DID enjoy their one NCL cruise and were asking if RCL was similar. They felt they made a huge mistake choosing MSC (cheapest deal) a couple of years ago.

 

They do not want to make ANY reservations for dinners and they would like to get tables for two. (They usually vacation with a 6yo, 11yo and 14yo to Disneyland.) They do not want the UBP or SDP, just freestyle relaxing.

 

 

I did read a lot of threads on RCL and also a search for more.

 

You are correct, I did not post my questions there as I thought the Freestyle dining question would sound too 'negative' to a Loyal to Royal and I wanted to be respectful of their choices. I trusted many who answered these questions here would be able to give us a fair comparison.

 

 

Much thanks to all who gave us their honest and helpful opinions on these questions!

 

After reading many of these, I could see my DH and myself enjoying another cruise on RCL at some time. We did enjoy them in the past and have many 'formal night' pictures to prove it! Can't believe we used to pack his Tux and my evening gown. Glad to hear we wouldn't have to pack that much again!

[PATRLR]

 

3- DS loves NCL's Caribbean music by the pool.....good pool music on RCL?

This is interesting to me. My last Caribbean cruise was Getaway last November and as I recall they had NO Caribbean music by the pool, (or maybe it was piped in, or a DJ, whatever it was it wasn't good) and longing for RCCL which always seemed to have musicians playing Caribbean music by the pool, usually with the steel drums.

 

As someone else said, it may very well depend on the ship.

 

But regardless, it's been a few years since I was on RCCL, so, I can't really answer your question.

[Sand and Seas]

This is interesting to me. My last Caribbean cruise was Getaway last November and as I recall they had NO Caribbean music by the pool, (or maybe it was piped in, or a DJ, whatever it was it wasn't good) and longing for RCCL which always seemed to have musicians playing Caribbean music by the pool, usually with the steel drums.

 

As someone else said, it may very well depend on the ship.

 

But regardless, it's been a few years since I was on RCCL, so, I can't really answer your question.[/quote

This was one I couldn't really answer as we avoid the pool area and spend more time on our balcony or on the Waterfront. I have heard some live bands when we walked through the area, but I don't recall steel drum music either?

[BNBR]

RCCL Oasis class are the best ships at sea. That's not really debatable. No other cruiseline offers an experience that even remotely compares.

 

That being said, the "rest of it" comes down to personal choice. Do you have kids? Go RCCL. Do you want top-notch entertainment? Go RCCL. Are wearing shorts important to your vacation experience? Go NCL or CCL. Do you want to eat the "free" MDR food that's actually decent, not on a buffet and not feel the need to pay for a specialty restaurant? Go RCCL. Do you want a party, booze cruise scene? Go NCL or CCL. I can personally recommend the Sun for that type of atmosphere. Do you want bottled water, fresh squeezed juices. specialty coffees and top shelf drinks included in your beverage package? Go RCCL or CCL.

 

I'll just echo this post.

 

Oasis class is the best ships at sea by a long shot. They have a lively enough nightlife as well as plenty of activities and live music by the pools. No other ships comes close to their expansive entertainment offerings, either. With 6,000 guests, of course they have plenty going on! Plus, they have actual SPACE on the ship. They are the most uncrowded ships at sea, even with so many passengers. And with so many passengers, always stuff going on and very lively. Just hanging out at the Flow Riders having a few drinks is a lot of fun. Live music everywhere, whether it's quiet guitar or strings in Central Park, a carnival style band on Boardwalk, piano in Schooner, etc. etc. And with constant entertainment offerings like ice shows, aqua shows, main stage shows, comedy, etc.. Even parades and parties in the promenade. It just never ends with active and fun stuff to do.

 

I'm mid 30's and did Escape with my wife, the Haven no less, and we didn't even think twice about going back to Royal Oasis for our next cruise without the kids. I thought Norwegian was boring. Howl at the Moon was ok, I mean, it's like every other dualing piano bar, but the venue is just low budget, terrible. Rows of crappy chairs, that's it. Stage shows were even worse, and very limited entertainment.

 

Booked Symphony for our next one. It's just leaps and bounds better than what NCL can offer.

 

To be more direct.

 

1. How is freestyle dining? I mean, they have My Time Dining. It's fine and hardly any sort of deal breaker either way.

 

2. How is nightlife? Depends what you like for nightlife. They have an entire entertainment district. A typical night might be a full blown stage show in the main theater or comedy at the comedy club, then head over to the Jazz club for some nice live music.... swing by the casino then head up to a latin dance party at Boleros, maybe after dancing have a beer at the pub with another live musician and more intimate setting. Or maybe another evening watch an amazing show at the aqua theater, then head over to relax in central park with some wine and enjoy live guitar, before jumping on the rising tide for another drink, which takes you down to a lively promenade. I mean, it's so far beyond what you get on NCL it's not even comparable. And these suggestions are just a small part of what is going on all over the ship.

 

3. They have a great central stage with live caribbean bands during the day near the pools as well. I'd say more so than I remember on Escape.

Edited August 23, 2018 by BNBR

[Sand and Seas]

I just looked at Oasis and it does look amazing!

 

Prices (in October) are more than the Getaway cruise so that might be a factor for him. It looks like the price on an Inside is close to the Balcony guarantee price on NCL. However Flow Riders might make him happier in an Inside.

[BNBR]

I just looked at Oasis and it does look amazing!

 

Prices (in October) are more than the Getaway cruise so that might be a factor for him. It looks like the price on an Inside is close to the Balcony guarantee price on NCL. However Flow Riders might make him happier in an Inside.

 

And that is definitely something to consider. Note that Royal has 4 Oasis class ships. Oasis, Allure, Harmony, and Symphony. Built in that order, with Oasis/Allure generally the cheapest. Make sure to check each ship. For example, I booked Allure this October for less than Carnival Glory for the same week!

 

Also factor in drink package and perks you get with NCL. Generally the fares are much higher on NCL to offset the perks, but who knows, maybe this sailing the pricing is just that much better on NCL which might make the NCL cruise a better option for him if he's more price conscious.

 

But consider that a guarantee on NCL comes with no perks. I would take an inside on Oasis over a balcony on Getaway, all day, every day. Balcony is nice, but I mean, there is so much more to a cruise!

 

Are you looking at this October or next October? NCL does tend to have better close-in rates so if sailing this October, you may be able to get a great price on NCL.