NCL vs RCL?

[vswan]

I have cruised both multiple times - NCL more often than RCL. I also find them very similar, while one excels in one area, the other in another. This all depends on the ship, itinerary and crew and when I have traveled. I have had barely edible food on NCL, but my last cruise was very good. My suggestion - go for the itinerary you want at the best price. Overall, I have found that NCL offers better itineraries/ports for me when I've wanted to go so have traveled them more often. I also tend to gravitate toward smaller, older ships which have less passengers. That said, I've never had a bad cruise - just glad to be away.

[Red-Sol]

1 hour ago, nferr said:

 This has to be one of the strangest posts I've seen on here. Really? Generalizing about thousand of passengers? I've cruised a lot on both. Passengers are passengers. They vary on every cruise.

The individual people may change from cruise to cruise but the attitude of those on specific cruise lines can be very consistent which can either be good or bad. If you haven't witnessed that then good for you!

[Tatka]

13 hours ago, Red-Sol said:

The individual people may change from cruise to cruise but the attitude of those on specific cruise lines can be very consistent which can either be good or bad. If you haven't witnessed that then good for you!

  I think pax type/mix really depends on port… We often cruise out of NYC/NJ to Bahamas/Florida and mix is pretty much identical. People just cruise with both lines.

[CptBoatface]

Still think the best quote in the thread has been "the Walmart of the Seas"

[FlGoodShips]

On 7/15/2022 at 10:24 AM, Tatka said:

 

 Based on your preferences I suggest you try Celebrity Edge class. It is a bit more premium (closer to Viking), but with really nice entertainment and unusual ships. Very modern. No Broadway shows, but entertainment is quite nice.

We found Celebrity Edge extremely boring compared to NCL. Entertainment and activities on NCL are soooo much better.

[Tatka]

3 minutes ago, FlGoodShips said:

We found Celebrity Edge extremely boring compared to NCL. Entertainment and activities on NCL are soooo much better.

Maybe it was a first cruise after restart, but I was surprised with a number   of musical performances everywhere. It reminded me very much our experiences on Jewel, Gem etc. Not sure about boring. 

[FlGoodShips]

On 7/13/2022 at 5:14 PM, Tatka said:

 

 Interesting observation. In 22 cruises with RCI I never witnessed drama between pax... on 9 with NCL it was once on Spirit for loungers.

 

 I like NCL for festive ambiance and great shows... but it is difficult to call it more sophisticated. I do not believe PAX varies much. Both are family lines. I wish NCL had adult solariums and/or covered pools.

You were the one that stated "NCL has festive ambiance and great shows".  Thats all I was stating...Celebrity Edge is not like that. In my opinion...boring.

[nferr]

17 hours ago, Red-Sol said:

The individual people may change from cruise to cruise but the attitude of those on specific cruise lines can be very consistent which can either be good or bad. If you haven't witnessed that then good for you!

 Yes, I've cruised Cunard and the passenger clientele is different. Holland America also skews older. I've done many cruises on RCL and NCL and IMO they cater pretty much to the same type of audience.

[CruizinSusan70]

3 hours ago, CptBoatface said:

Still think the best quote in the thread has been "the Walmart of the Seas"

Usually thrown around primarily by Loyal Royals who have never cruised on Carnival and they just regurgitate second hand information.  To educate you, more often than not, MSC is even cheaper when you compare an apple to an apple. 

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, FlGoodShips said:

You were the one that stated "NCL has festive ambiance and great shows".  Thats all I was stating...Celebrity Edge is not like that. In my opinion...boring.

So, you've laid the gauntlet down, now it's time to back it up.  How many cruises have you taken and give a breakdown per cruise line please.  And when did you cruise on the "boring" Celebrity Edge?

[jbrinkm]

Does anyone have experience with teens, comparing the two lines? I thought we were a RCCL family, but the ones we're looking at for April are SO expensive. I feel like I might get a better deal for a slightly better itinerary on NCL. Specifically, I'm comparing Allure of the Seas (Oasis class but no slides - we've been on once before), Odyssey of the Seas (Quantum class) and potentially Norwegian Breakaway. 

[CatsinShow]

I can't speak for RC as I have yet to sail with them but for me the best thing about NCL is that they actually do stuff with solo travelers and often have a host which I prefer. I found the solo meets with NCL had people closer to my own age (30s) which was nice. I've been on Princess and their solo meets were unhosted and zzzzzzzzzzzz. 

 

I imagine RC doesn't have a host for their solo travelers, but not positive. Like someone mentioned too, NCL used to be a bargain compared to RC but now when looking at rates, I find that they are fairly competitive. From what I understand RC is geared more towards families (like Carnival), but what I have always liked about NCL is that it's a real mix with an effort to actually make things fun for people traveling alone. 

[CatsinShow]

14 hours ago, FlGoodShips said:

We found Celebrity Edge extremely boring compared to NCL. Entertainment and activities on NCL are soooo much better.

I haven't been on Celebrity but I felt that way about Princess. Entertainment and activities were boring whereas imo it was better on NCL. Food though much better on Princess (again imo). It's all a trade off. 

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, jbrinkm said:

Does anyone have experience with teens, comparing the two lines? I thought we were a RCCL family, but the ones we're looking at for April are SO expensive. I feel like I might get a better deal for a slightly better itinerary on NCL. Specifically, I'm comparing Allure of the Seas (Oasis class but no slides - we've been on once before), Odyssey of the Seas (Quantum class) and potentially Norwegian Breakaway. 

You're looking at ships going out of Galveston, New Orleans and Fort Lauderdale.  Since you're from Philly, I would lean towards Florida departure ports such as MIA, FLL or PC.  They airfare there is much cheaper out of Philly than Galveston or NO.  Plus the shuttle from either of the Houston airports to Galveston is expensive compared to FLA.

 

I would look at the NCL Escape out of PC(2015), the NCL Encore out of MIA(2019), The Harmony OTS out of MIA(2016) and the Odyssey OTS out of FLL(2020).  The Escape is the oldest of the four choices and it's only 7 years old.  Compare itineraries and prices and make an educated decision.  If you decide on one of the last three ships, you always have the option to fly into MIA or FLL, non stop via AA is usually your best bet from PHL.

[Red-Sol]

21 hours ago, nferr said:

I've done many cruises on RCL and NCL and IMO they cater pretty much to the same type of audience.

Same type of demographics but with totally different attitudes. (including crew) Apparently you just didn't notice IMO

[Tatka]

46 minutes ago, Red-Sol said:

Same type of demographics but with totally different attitudes. (including crew) Apparently you just didn't notice IMO

 

Me too.. on 9 cruises with NCL and 22 with RCI. Something obvious cannot be missed on so many tries. 
 

   I really give lines tries (even to Carnival which after 3 times we decided to abandon). My experience with NCL started in mid 2000 very poorly. On Spirit out of NYC. With ship arriving later and line of families where elderly were losing consciousness and kids crying. With really weak food. With us calling housekeeping  three times during same week as our cabin wasn’t done by 2 PM. With fights for loungers and me had to bring a chair (not a lounger!) from aft area as in main pool area even chairs were gone. 
 

All other experiences were very different. All our experiences with NCL except for Star out of Venice and Sun out of Miami were from Northeast. 

[nferr]

3 hours ago, Red-Sol said:

Same type of demographics but with totally different attitudes. (including crew) Apparently you just didn't notice IMO

LOL. Yeah sure. 

[Red-Sol]

2 hours ago, nferr said:

LOL. Yeah sure. 

Seeing as you are such a Royal "Fan Boy" thanks for proving my point...your attitude fits them perfectly!

 

AMF!

 

 

[jbrinkm]

15 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

You're looking at ships going out of Galveston, New Orleans and Fort Lauderdale.  Since you're from Philly, I would lean towards Florida departure ports such as MIA, FLL or PC.  They airfare there is much cheaper out of Philly than Galveston or NO.  Plus the shuttle from either of the Houston airports to Galveston is expensive compared to FLA.

 

I would look at the NCL Escape out of PC(2015), the NCL Encore out of MIA(2019), The Harmony OTS out of MIA(2016) and the Odyssey OTS out of FLL(2020).  The Escape is the oldest of the four choices and it's only 7 years old.  Compare itineraries and prices and make an educated decision.  If you decide on one of the last three ships, you always have the option to fly into MIA or FLL, non stop via AA is usually your best bet from PHL.

 

I hope the Florida flights come down in price! Right now, all three are fairly equivalent, even on Frontier which has been our go-to airline for the past several years (they're a little lower but I know we'll end up spending more on extras with them...). I'm waiting for Southwest's fares to release for April... all the flights are really high right now for April. I've been tracking them and looks like they might come down towards the end of July or beginning of August.

 

I could book a cheaper/different cruise but I don't see any others with an itinerary AND a ship that I like - just the three I listed (one of which is Odyssey). I'll peek at the other NCL ones that you mentioned but the biggest draw, for me to think about doing NCL for the first time is that  I'm a much bigger fan of Western Caribbean than I am of Eastern, and Breakaway goes to Roatan AND Belize, both places that I adore. Even with potentially more travel fees to cruise from Houston/Galveston or New Orleans, those cruises are less expensive so it probably evens out to about the same.

 

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm also having a really hard time with NCL's website and pricing. RCCL's isn't great, but I'm used to it so I know what to do. I have absolutely no clue about NCL - ships, class of ships, rooms, categories, connecting, etc...

[CruizinSusan70]

6 hours ago, jbrinkm said:

 

I hope the Florida flights come down in price! Right now, all three are fairly equivalent, even on Frontier which has been our go-to airline for the past several years (they're a little lower but I know we'll end up spending more on extras with them...). I'm waiting for Southwest's fares to release for April... all the flights are really high right now for April. I've been tracking them and looks like they might come down towards the end of July or beginning of August.

 

I could book a cheaper/different cruise but I don't see any others with an itinerary AND a ship that I like - just the three I listed (one of which is Odyssey). I'll peek at the other NCL ones that you mentioned but the biggest draw, for me to think about doing NCL for the first time is that  I'm a much bigger fan of Western Caribbean than I am of Eastern, and Breakaway goes to Roatan AND Belize, both places that I adore. Even with potentially more travel fees to cruise from Houston/Galveston or New Orleans, those cruises are less expensive so it probably evens out to about the same.

 

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm also having a really hard time with NCL's website and pricing. RCCL's isn't great, but I'm used to it so I know what to do. I have absolutely no clue about NCL - ships, class of ships, rooms, categories, connecting, etc...

Unless you are able to get a sailaway rate on NCl, you will be paying more for the option that includes their perks.  RCI of course does no bundling and you'll pay dearly for the extras because of their Dynamic Pricing policy when it comes to the peripheral stuff like drink packages, specialty meals, wifi and excursions.  Unlike other lines, the price always fluctuates depending upon the ship you're on and when you sail.  This really frustrates me about RCI, but the Loyal Royals will always defend their asinine policy.  Used to fly on SW back in the day when they had non stops to FLL, but since they don't offer it any more, we usually stick to AA.  I would do your research on one of the many travel agent websites that specialize in cruising.  Can't give names because of CC rules, but a Google search should pull up a few choices.   Once you have your choice there is also another website that you can Google search that will allow different agencies to give you quotes on a particular cruise.  Once again, can't give any more information.  Best of luck with your search.

Edited July 18, 2022 by CruizinSusan70

[nferr]

9 hours ago, Red-Sol said:

Seeing as you are such a Royal "Fan Boy" thanks for proving my point...your attitude fits them perfectly!

 

AMF!

 

 

 Resort to name calling because somebody disagrees with you. Real adult. I just did a 15 night Transatlantic on NCL in April so you have no idea what you're responding to "fan boy".

[DrSea]

On 7/15/2022 at 2:24 PM, CruizinSusan70 said:

But because of that you pay dearly for it because of no competition.  At one point NCL had three ships doing Hawaii, but because of demand and lower profits, the bean counters decided to cut back to only one ship.  It's an older ship with an American crew.  I don't think the all American crew would bend over backwards for you like a normal crew would, but that's just my opinion.

 

Have been to Hawaii 6 times with land vacations between 1985 and 2007 and enjoyed each trip, so I'm looking forward to getting there via cruise ship.  Possibly in 2024 or 2025.

It is much more expensive paying for American labor also.

 

Honestly, NCL offers a very similar product to RCL. There are differences and minor trade offs. But it's not like comparing NCL/RCL to like Viking, where there is a significant difference on many levels.

[Sailing12Away]

14 hours ago, jbrinkm said:

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm also having a really hard time with NCL's website and pricing. RCCL's isn't great, but I'm used to it so I know what to do. I have absolutely no clue about NCL - ships, class of ships, rooms, categories, connecting, etc...

That's funny to me, because I can't stand Royal's website. When you search for a cruise on NCL based on date, ship, destination, etc... you can easily right click on ones that are interesting and open them in new tabs to price it out to the end for comparison. With RCC, Celebrity and MSC, you can't do that. So you have to redo your entire search every time.

 

With NCL, you can see everything except the gratuities in your final cost breakdown before committing, and grats are flat based on which cabin you're in so easy to add on. With RCC, you have to add on separately the drinks, specialty dining, and everything else. And those prices change every time you look at them. When we sailed with RCC last year I couldn't even get back into my reservation without having to jump through hoops to be able to add on our drink package (which was 4x higher than what we've ever paid on NCL).

 

For NCL, to start getting familiar with which would be 'right' for your family, head over here and search by "ship category": https://cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/cruiseline.php?line=Norwegian

 

Breakaway-Plus is their larger, newer ships that have all the bells and whistles (water slides, race carts, etc).

 

Breakaway is a smidge smaller, but still lots of bonus activities on board of stuff to do.

 

Dawn & Sun is a bit older and smaller ships.

 

Epic is a class unto itself....

 

Jewel are smaller ships without a full 'proper' Haven. They remind me of the Jewel of the Seas on RCC, so whatever that category is on RCC.

 

Prima & Leo are brand spanking new and not even sailing yet.

And America is just one ship - Pride of America that sails around Hawaii year round.

 

Once you see a ship that looks fun, then search for those cruises on the NCL website. 

[jbrinkm]

8 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

That's funny to me, because I can't stand Royal's website. When you search for a cruise on NCL based on date, ship, destination, etc... you can easily right click on ones that are interesting and open them in new tabs to price it out to the end for comparison. With RCC, Celebrity and MSC, you can't do that. So you have to redo your entire search every time.

 

With NCL, you can see everything except the gratuities in your final cost breakdown before committing, and grats are flat based on which cabin you're in so easy to add on. With RCC, you have to add on separately the drinks, specialty dining, and everything else. And those prices change every time you look at them. When we sailed with RCC last year I couldn't even get back into my reservation without having to jump through hoops to be able to add on our drink package (which was 4x higher than what we've ever paid on NCL).

 

For NCL, to start getting familiar with which would be 'right' for your family, head over here and search by "ship category": https://cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/cruiseline.php?line=Norwegian

 

Breakaway-Plus is their larger, newer ships that have all the bells and whistles (water slides, race carts, etc).

 

Breakaway is a smidge smaller, but still lots of bonus activities on board of stuff to do.

 

Dawn & Sun is a bit older and smaller ships.

 

Epic is a class unto itself....

 

Jewel are smaller ships without a full 'proper' Haven. They remind me of the Jewel of the Seas on RCC, so whatever that category is on RCC.

 

Prima & Leo are brand spanking new and not even sailing yet.

And America is just one ship - Pride of America that sails around Hawaii year round.

 

Once you see a ship that looks fun, then search for those cruises on the NCL website. 

 

Wow, this is really great information. Thank you! 

 

I will in no way defend Royal's website. It stinks. But as I said, I'm used to it, so I guess I'm used to the ways it which it stinks, LOL. NCL is probably better (can't imagine it could be worse) but I don't know what I'm doing yet. The connecting rooms is the main thing hanging me up but I've gotten the advice to just have them call me if I'm ready to book. I'd just like to know what I want to do before that call to know what I want to pay and where on the ship I want to be. And reading about people being nickel and dimed on NCL (in the NCL forum), I'm nervous I'll miss an option to check or uncheck something I may or may not want...

[Sailing12Away]

That's understandable. Once you have an idea of what you want, give them a call. I used to book everything myself online until I finally found a great Personal Cruise Consultant (the folks who work for NCL and book trips for you). She has always found a way to get me a lower price than what I see online, or to add in extra bonuses and perks that are not available to me directly. 

 

We're not allowed to share their info here on these boards (does anyone even know why???🤷‍♀️) otherwise I would have to speak with her directly when you were ready to book. Want to play a game of hangman? 😉