Previously loyal but .....

[Billy Baltic]

We've only cruised RC. We were looking at their offering in the med in 2023 and there is nothing that really interests us and with Brilliance "missing" the options are becoming less.

For those who like the RC product, which other cruise lines did you enjoy? I'm considering both NCL and MSC at the moment.

I don't want to post this in their forums, as their cheerleader (like the RC cheerleaders) will tell me they are the best cruise ever and I'd like an RC comparison please. 

[cruiselvr04]

If you’re willing to pay more look at Celebrity.  

[little britain]

8 minutes ago, Billy Baltic said:

We've only cruised RC. We were looking at their offering in the med in 2023 and there is nothing that really interests us and with Brilliance "missing" the options are becoming less.

For those who like the RC product, which other cruise lines did you enjoy? I'm considering both NCL and MSC at the moment.

I don't want to post this in their forums, as their cheerleader (like the RC cheerleaders) will tell me they are the best cruise ever and I'd like an RC comparison please. 

I’ve taken 6 with MSC and one more booked. 
Spotlessly clean stylish ships. Stick to the new ones. 

Some different ports. 
Italian laidback style . Don’t expect faux service in the hope of a 10 rating or an extra $.

Italian food - if you want more veg just ask.

Cheapest drinks packages at sea.
Some amazing bargains out there at the mo too.

If in Europe expect interporting at every port; so not 3000 people boarding at the same time; I usually board in Marseilles as it’s cheap to get to and not as frantic as Barcelona. 
 Loyalty match gets you 5% discount. 
Worth a shot imho.

I haven’t done NCL for years but their Getaway ships had a nice design. 

 

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by little britain

[Billy Baltic]

9 minutes ago, cruiselvr04 said:

If you’re willing to pay more look at Celebrity.  

 

Thanks but I find getting a family of five on a RC ship expensive enough 🙂

[deliver42]

I've cruised MSC 3 times, and like it a lot. I'm Diamond on RCCL, so that has been my go to line, but when I add the drink package to any cruise, it turns out to be one of the most expensive.

[2chiefs]

22 minutes ago, Billy Baltic said:

 

Thanks but I find getting a family of five on a RC ship expensive enough 🙂

Actually, it's not that more expensive for Celebrity. They were flirting with "all-inclusive" for a while which meant you were paying for the basic drink package as well as WiFi and gratuities but now you can book without the inclusive. Especially nice for non-drinkers or casual drinkers.

 

Yes, they are a little higher but not considered premium, so they are still reasonable. We like cruising them too and good prices can be found.

 

Oh, and if you want less kids, they have much less in the way of family offerings such as flow rider, etc.. More adult oriented in our opinion. So if that appeals to your situation, I would at least check out the prices.

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by 2chiefs

[J0Y0US]

From my personal experience:

Disney - quality is great but you have the issue of pricing and if you are not in to Disney as much (Dream which is one of their larger ships does its first Euro tour next year as well)

NCL - but only the Haven as I did not like the general food around the ship much at all but their Haven offering is amazing

 

 

I would say I am interested in Celebrity as well but still have yet to cruise them.

[George C]

We are diamond plus on rccl and liked there suite perks until we sailed MSc yacht club and celebrity. Rccl is totally non consistent with there perks, celebrity has suite restaurant on all there ships, also suite lounge with free drinks all day and night not just beer and wine. Edge class with suite pool is fantastic, so is MSc yacht club pool. But rccl still has the best entertainment. Currently I have two celebrity cruises booked and one rccl , rccl does sail from Texas which saves us money.

[FionaMG]

We've sailed twice with MSC, once on Poesia which is one of the smaller, older ones and once on Divina. No complaints with either. They did what they said on the tin and we enjoyed both cruises. Divina is a beautiful ship.

 

We found the service on board to be reactive rather than proactive. That said, on each of our cruises an issue that arose was dealt with promptly and to our satisfaction. We thought the food in MDR was quite hit or miss, but liked the many healthy (think Mediterranean diet) options in the buffet. Lots of veggies and salads, more bread options as opposed to sugary cakes at breakfast, and so on.

 

We would definitely consider sailing with them again if they were offering what we wanted when we wanted it.

[mapleleaves]

i choose based on price and itinerary. 

When looking at Med cruises for late Sept, I thought the MSC port times were too short.

 In the end the NCL beat out RCI.  Both included Kotor which was a must, but NCL Gem also included Dubrovnik and Santorini.

Med cruises are port intensive so port times are top priority;  food and amenities aren't too important to me.

[Crazy planning mom]

I like both NCL and RCL.  NCL is similar to RCL.   We sailed the Epic in 2015 around the Med with our son and loved it although its bathroom design is controversial.  NCL has some great itineraries.  We are scheduled to sail the NCL Jade  out of Greece this Fall on our first cruise as empty nesters.   Would look at their newer ships if I was still taking children.

[island lady]

We have Viking (3 week Euro river cruise) and Pearl Seas (3 week St. Lawrence Seaway cruise) booked.  

 

Am looking at alternative for Australia...since Royal cancelled our Aussie/NZ/South Pacific adventure...twice!  First time, Covid...second time...for no real reason at all.  😠

[cruiselvr04]

50 minutes ago, island lady said:

We have Viking (3 week Euro river cruise) and Pearl Seas (3 week St. Lawrence Seaway cruise) booked.  

 

Am looking at alternative for Australia...since Royal cancelled our Aussie/NZ/South Pacific adventure...twice!  First time, Covid...second time...for no real reason at all.  😠

You will love your Viking river cruise!  We did a 2 week one and it was great.  Different for sure from ocean but a wonderful trip.  The biggest misses are sea days to recharge.  We plan on doing a 2 week one in France soon.  

[AlohaLivin]

We really enjoy Norwegian, but in the interest of full disclosure we have only sailed in the Haven part of their ships (which is an area of suite’s that is sectioned off with a bar, separate pool, and usually a Haven restaurant). But with that caveat, I can highly recommend the line (the food is always top notch in our experience).

[Bigbob7777]

We wouldn’t sail on MSC again if it was free.  Horrible food (except pizza), horrible service and I’ve seen 3x better entertainment at high schools and community theaters (always the same people and props).

 

But hey; that’s just us.

[George C]

1 hour ago, Bigbob7777 said:

We wouldn’t sail on MSC again if it was free.  Horrible food (except pizza), horrible service and I’ve seen 3x better entertainment at high schools and community theaters (always the same people and props).

 

But hey; that’s just us.

I doubt that was in yacht club 

[John&LaLa]

3 minutes ago, George C said:

I doubt that was in yacht club 

 

Yea, but what's YC occupancy, 3%🤔

 

Entertainment is still weak

[mduffy1834]

We did the NCL Star from Trieste to Barcelona in May and it was fabulous.  We had a Club Suite, which was perfect for us.  It was very port intensive (no sea days) but we loved coming back on ship and going to the Irish pub for a quick snack (free).  Also love going to the Asian restaurant (also free) twice - plenty of options for dining and lounges so you are not bored.  Since it was port intensive, we didn't take advantage of any night life (shows, bands, etc) but they were plentiful.  Would definately cruise with them again

[RosieCanberra]

I find NCL to be similar to Royal. Great entertainment, food on par. We get Diamond benefits though, which makes RC attractive. In my future cruise bookings I have 5 NCL and only 2 RC because the NCL itineraries are wonderful. And one of the RC cruises is in Brilliance for next June, so that's likely to be cancelled. 

 

I haven't sailed MSC. 

[broadwaybaby123]

If you like Royal, you'll like Celebrity.  Since they're owned by the same company, Celebrity tends to be more upscale than Royal.

 

Our TA has advised AGAINST booking with MSC, as they tend to cancel reservations without explanation.  I was booked on Davina, followed all their rules, and about 3 months before I was due to sail and they canceled without telling us why.

[SeaHunt]

6 hours ago, Billy Baltic said:

 

Thanks but I find getting a family of five on a RC ship expensive enough 🙂

 

OP since it shows you're in Ireland you might like this to check out this Celebrity Beyond review posted by a Dubliner ☘️

 

She mentions they are not "financially well-endowed" LOL

 

 

 

 

 

[CanadaRob]

58 minutes ago, broadwaybaby123 said:

If you like Royal, you'll like Celebrity.  Since they're owned by the same company, Celebrity tends to be more upscale than Royal.

 

Our TA has advised AGAINST booking with MSC, as they tend to cancel reservations without explanation.  I was booked on Davina, followed all their rules, and about 3 months before I was due to sail and they canceled without telling us why.

Yup also happened to a friend of mine,  and she was mad, also sailed Divina myself once and never again.

I would try NCL or Celebrity or even Oceania or Princess 

[Ret MP]

10 hours ago, Billy Baltic said:

as their cheerleader (like the RC cheerleaders) will tell me they are the best cruise ever and I'd like an RC comparison please. 

As of right now, I'm very loyal to Royal.  With the exception of our last Ovation cruise, all of my previous cruises have been next to perfect, for us.  BUT, I'm no "cheerleader" and I have no business trying to dictate what you should or should not do.  I do find a lot of fault with Royal.  Mostly with their landside operations (IT, for the most part).  We save our pennies for a year or two and book Star Class, that makes all the difference in the world.  Our next booked cruise is Jan 2024, I can save a lot of pennies by then and build up a lot of reward points on my RCCL/BOA C.C.  Can't wait for the Aqua Theater 2 bdr suite.  

 

I sincerely hope you enjoy whatever your decision is.  If you leave RCCL, my money is that you'll be back LOL.

[clskinsfan]

I will second the Celebrity recommendations. Especially if you are a drinker. By the time you add the drink package to a Royal cruise you are right there in price with a Celebrity cruise. We have cruised all of the lines except Disney and Viking. I liked them all. But Celebrity does it best for us. Less kids and a bit more upscale. Even so we are doing our first Oasis class on Allure in October. So we are not loyal to any single line. 

[little britain]

10 hours ago, Bigbob7777 said:

We wouldn’t sail on MSC again if it was free.  Horrible food (except pizza), horrible service and I’ve seen 3x better entertainment at high schools and community theaters (always the same people and props).

 

But hey; that’s just us.

Their Prime Cut specialty restaurant is far better and cheaper than Chops.

Pizza and mozzarella freshly made on board. 
It’s unobtrusive service. 

Small chocolates on the side  when you order a coffee or bowls of crisps/nuts when you order a drink. 
Entertainment is visual rather than comedians due to the mixed languages onboard. The one downside I agree with the entertainment is that they don’t have live orchestra which I miss.  Shows I saw had very different wardrobes/outfits.

 

It’s just European, not American.

 

I wouldn’t recommend Celebrity for family with children: Edge class is soulless! 

 

Edited July 27, 2022 by little britain