Royal Suite Life Compared to Norwegian Suite Life

[toyotaford]

We traveled RCCL about fifteen years ago but discovered NCL Suites soon after and have been loyal to them for the last 13 years.  We are currently considering a RCCL cruise and are wondering if someone who has done suites on both lines can compare.  Are there private dining rooms, concierge service, reserved seating at shows, etc?

[3kidsncats]

I can answer end of August, from actual experience.  At least for Voyager class ships.  My research indicates a lot of similarities.  Voyager class suites are similar to Jewel class on NCL. One difference being the Haven is primarily a ship within a ship concept, RCCL does not seem to be structured that way.  The perks for the older ships are less than the newer ships on both lines.  You can have meals from the MDR delivered on both lines, there are suite lounges, reserved show seating, priority boarding/tendering, etc on both.

 

NCL has butlers in all Havens, RCCL has Genies on the newer ships.  RCCL has reserved pool deck seating, NCL has entire secluded deck sections.  The newer ships on both lines have a dedicated restaurant, on older ships a specialty restaurant for breakfast.

Edited June 6, 2021 by 3kidsncats

[forgotmyCCname]

31 minutes ago, 3kidsncats said:

I can answer end of August, from actual experience.  At least for Voyager class ships.  My research indicates a lot of similarities.  Voyager class suites are similar to Jewel class on NCL. One difference being the Haven is primarily a ship within a ship concept, RCCL does not seem to be structured that way.  The perks for the older ships are less than the newer ships on both lines.  You can have meals from the MDR delivered on both lines, there are suite lounges, reserved show seating, priority boarding/tendering, etc on both.

 

NCL has butlers in all Havens, RCCL has Genies on the newer ships.  RCCL has reserved pool deck seating, NCL has entire secluded deck sections.  The newer ships on both lines have a dedicated restaurant, on older ships a specialty restaurant for breakfast.

Genies are only for the very top-tier suites in the Star class . 

[BirdTravels]

There is no comparison. Stay with the Haven. 

[3kidsncats]

33 minutes ago, forgotmyCCname said:

Genies are only for the very top-tier suites in the Star class . 

I did not research the newer ship suite perks, per se, since we aren’t sailing on them — thanks for the clarification.  

[George C]

10 hours ago, toyotaford said:

We traveled RCCL about fifteen years ago but discovered NCL Suites soon after and have been loyal to them for the last 13 years.  We are currently considering a RCCL cruise and are wondering if someone who has done suites on both lines can compare.  Are there private dining rooms, concierge service, reserved seating at shows, etc?

I would either cruise MSC yacht club which has a great ship within a ship concept or celebrity newer ships , I love rccl entertainment but suite perks can’t match the other two lines. Best dinning room for suites is celebrity Luminae.

[JsMom2]

Last cruise on Royal was in. Loft suite on Symphony.  While not the same setup as the haven, it’s great to have the lounge, concierge, and restaurant close by. Concierge was awesome before and during cruise.  And they escorted the suite passengers off the ship ever 30

minutes on final disembarkation. So nice to have that perk on oasis class ship!

 

We did Star class on Anthem, which was great, but the suite, lounge, and restaurant are all spread out over the ship.  But the genie was wonderful.  They will reserve personal seats for you at the shows, as well as making all of your reservations etc.  my husband forgot to pack a tie, and our genie found one for him to borrow for formal night!  And you get personal escort on and off the ship, keeping your luggage with you both ways. 
 

if you like the ship within a ship concept of the Haven, then I’d stick with NCL.  But check out the Royal Suite class website before booking a suite on Royal, because not all ships offer the same amenities.  
 

 

[HBCcruiser]

We are sailing July 17, 2021 on the Adventure in a 2bd Grand Suite. I have sailed in the NCL Haven on the larger and smaller ships and have also sailed Princess in suites. Based on what I have been reading I think our experience will be more like Princess. No butler (like NCL), specialty breakfast dining (not breakfast and lunch like NCL), lounge, VIP seating and priory embarkation/debarkation. I agree with @BirdTravels NCL Haven has the better (out of those 3 lines) suite service.

[sprint180]

What do the Butlers do on NCL?

 

[tcrandal]

14 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

There is no comparison. Stay with the Haven. 

I enjoy both for different reasons. Haven is a great experience, but we preferred the AFT suites, and those were a ways away from Haven, and we tended to just enjoy the huge balcony instead of going upstairs. 

 

For NCL, we love Haven, and also the Spa lounge with the pool / hot tubs / saunas and heated chairs. On RCL we absolutely love the loft suites, which NCL does not have, and we really like to try new ships. 

 

It's silly to be brand specific, we just vary our cruises between them, and for cruises without our son, we plan to do Celebrity. 

 

[toyotaford]

4 hours ago, sprint180 said:

What do the Butlers do on NCL?

 

The butler takes care of all your needs inside the room and the concierge takes care of all your needs outside the room.  The butler escorts you to your room once you are checked in.   He explains how everything in the suite works such as the coffee machine, the blinds, etc.  He will set up all your meals if you want them served in your suite.  He will bring you snacks of any kind.  He makes sure your refrigerator stays full of drinks and makes sure you always have enough ice.  He will deliver movies to your room if you want to watch something.  I once fell asleep on the couch and had a robe over me as cover.  When I woke up he had folded the robe and placed a blanket on me.  A little creepy but they do anything they can think of to make your stay more comfortable.  One night we were on Jade in The Mediterranean and the weather was a little bad so we decided to just stay in and decided we would like to play dominoes.  We called and the butler showed up with dominoes in no time at all.  Often when we order a movie they will ask if we would like them to bring some popcorn when they bring the movie.  NCL definitely spoils their suite guest.  Our travel agent suggested it for a cruise 13 years ago for my husbands 50th birthday and we have been hooked ever since.  RCCL travels out of Galveston and that would be convenient for us so we are thinking of giving it a try.  We travel for the relaxation as much as the destination.

[MikeBayAreaCa]

Having a butler is the last thing I would ever want on a cruise.   It would actually make me feel uncomfortable.

[BirdTravels]

7 minutes ago, MikeBayAreaCa said:

Having a butler is the last thing I would ever want on a cruise.   It would actually make me feel uncomfortable.

Who will unpack and iron your underware then?

 

We actually love having a butler. 

Edited June 7, 2021 by BirdTravels

[HBCcruiser]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Who will unpack and iron your underware then?

 

We actually love having a butler. 

 

Agreed. We loved all our butlers. They made our cruise even more special. ❤️

Edited June 7, 2021 by HBCcruiser