Does anyone else feel like RCL does ships way better than NCL?

[MightyMike]

NCL has changed over the years. I have been on 3 NCL cruises dating back to when the Norwegian Wind got "stretched". I loved the first one. The itinerary was excellent and it had a really fun vibe. Our last NCL cruise was aboard the Norwegian Pearl and while it was still a decent vacation, as cruises go, it was probably among the worst. Everything fun (like bowling) or high-quality (like specialty dining) entailed an extra charge. It was easy to get bored if you didn't take advantage of upcharge events.

 

My first Royal Caribbean cruise will be next spring aboard the Symphony. I look forward to having lots of free activities and entertainment to choose from at any given time.

[Dawniepoo]

2 hours ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Isn't Royal planning something similar starting with the Wonder of the Seas?  Also, it looks like alot of the amenities on Prima are available to regular guests.

I don’t know. I just hate the trend. 

[M&A]

I do like things like the water slides which are on most of the Carnival ships.  It doesn't matter if you are 10 years old or 80 years old you can do the water slides.  It's only recently that Royal finally gave in and put them on the new ships.  The climbing walls not much fun at all. 

 

We did a trans-Pacific on the P&O Arcadia, very disappointed.  You step on to the ship when boarding and it's underwhelming, no atrium, you look up and a ceiling one floor up.  Food was bad.  

I would never sail P&O again

 

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, M&A said:

 

 

We did a trans-Pacific on the P&O Arcadia, very disappointed.  You step on to the ship when boarding and it's underwhelming, no atrium, you look up and a ceiling one floor up.  Food was bad.  

I would never sail P&O again

 

I suspect your feedback on P&O would be quite different if you had sailed Iona.

[Guest BigRoger]

Frankly answer from us to the basic question posed... no NCL is not a lot worse than RC.... but it is different.... and you literally pays your money and makes your choice.... I say that believing Oasis class ships are the greatest cruising experience by far... but NCL in our experience is better for: (and this is our view)

- general non fee paying food

- restaurant type feel (bookings for different complimentary main dining offerings, waiter service for breakfast etc)

- entertainment is ‘edgier’ more adult - very high standard of shows and burn the floor

- bands playing are of a higher quality 

- absolutely love ‘howl at the moon’ - just wish RC had an equivalent!

- overall value of ‘free at sea’ drinks and dining is better than RC add ons plus cruise price (certainly at the current bonkers cruise planner prices)

- we always felt the NcL ships had a higher ‘energy’ and younger partying crowd than many of the RC ships

- but rooms are smaller, balconies are poor

- it’s definitely an ‘out and about’ cruise experience and a less passive relaxing one

 

As I say it’s all about personal preference... ours is RC (30 cruises to 5) but it’s not that NCL is worse.... it’s just different (in our view)

[M&A]

21 hours ago, Biker19 said:

I suspect your feedback on P&O would be quite different if you had sailed Iona.

Maybe, it does look impressive!! 

I hope it's an improvement from the bland food on the Arcadia and the lack of choice at the buffet.

[zekekelso]

Horses for courses obviously, but other than the paint jobs I’ve never seen anything appealing about the NCL ships. Any anything associated with the Epic  is automatically that much worse in my eyes. 
 

That said, the new Prima looks fantastic. Probably the best looking ship since the first DCL boats. At least in renders. Be interest to see if the actual ship looks as good. 

[craig01020]

On 10/1/2019 at 12:04 PM, rimmit said:

We likely would have enjoyed the breakaway much more if the weather was good,  but NCL sends this ship to the Baltic and Scandinavia Which makes no sense as it negates al this nice features like the waterfront. There is no indoor pool or hot tub except for the suites.

 

The ship was just not designed for cold weather.

Looks like the Prima and Viva aren't designed for cold weather either, and they have several itineraries from Iceland!

[Deeliteful]

Sailed on a lot of the mainstream cruise lines but mostly RCI and Celebrity. Never had a bad cruise.

Tried Norwegian twice and no complaints, the Waterfront is fantastic, I love to see the sea when eating or drinking and it’s a great space.

Would certainly cruise NCL again if I got the right itinerary and price.
Only line I wouldn’t sail again would be Fred Olsen. Poor food and at 71, I feel far too young for their ships! 😂

[Liljo22]

In terms of flow, yes RCI designs it’s ships better.  In terms of venues, NCL has the upper hand.  Now I will preface this by saying I haven’t been on an Oasis class.  I am on the Oasis in December so this could change.

 

MDR - I like that all MDRs are My Time Dining.  If I want to have a quiet dinner with a land based restaurant feel, I can do Taste or Savor.  If I want the large cruise ship dinner experience with a band playing I can go to the third venue.  
 

Free dining venues - NCL does this way better than RCI.  O’Sheenan’s is a great venue and open 24 hours.  The Local is also great for free food options.  You also have Shanghai's on some ships.  They added a food hall on Prima that is getting really great reviews.  On RCI, all the comparable venues are paid venues.  For free options you really have premade Mexican at El Loco Fresh, what I would label as good drunk pizza and sandwiches. 
 

Entertainment venues - Syd Normans is the most fun I have had on a cruise ship.  The energy in that venue is just amazing.  Cavern Club is also fun with the Beatles cover band playing,  District Brewhouse is a great bar and has a huge beer selection and fun live music.  Bliss nightclub beats the 10 people that show up to Red on the night they convert the ice rink.  
 

Both RCI and NCL are very comparable to each other even though most on this board don’t want to admit it.  I will continue to sail both although my family likes to point out the extra things that NCL does every time we cruise on RCI.

Edited November 21, 2022 by Liljo22