Will Norwegian disappoint after RCCL?

[AstoriaPreppy]

One thing I'd point out (having been on both lines multiple times) is that NCL ships always feel way more crowded than Royal Caribbean ships do. 

NCL hands a ton of space over to specialty dining, and then gives even more space over to the Haven. Additionally, NCL has a design philosophy of smaller venues: on Royal ships you'll find huge theaters and secondary lounges... NCL's recent ships have eschewed big spaces for intimate venues. That means more queuing up, lines, and crowding for certain spaces. 

 

Oddly, we have to pre-plan and book the most stuff in advance when we sail NCL... even though it's "freestyle." 

[graphicguy]

Interesting takes from the Royal Crowd.  I can count the times on one hand that I've made any reservations for dining on NCL.  It's practically imperative on Royal...even with MTD.

 

Crowds......mentioned the lines for dining on Royal.  That transfers to the Royal Promenade, too....shoulder to shoulder if ANY sort of event is happening.

 

Again, different strokes.

[schmoopie17]

Our one cruise on Royal was several years ago on the Adventure of the Seas. We booked an inside cabin that actually had a large window overlooking the promenade area in the middle of the ship. It was cool because you didn't feel as confined/claustrophobic as in a "regular" inside. On the other hand, it wasn't cool because cabins directly across had a direct view inside our cabin. (And we had a view inside theirs).

[golden6911]

I have been on both lines and what tips me over to NCL is the thermal spa.  I usually spend a few hours there every day. 

[Ladydee]

Thank you, everyone!  I truly do appreciate your personal insights.  When I posted the question, I was just considering NCL in general, but now it looks like my group is focusing in on the Breakaway or the Joy, for a Caribbean cruise.

[Ladydee]

On 7/17/2023 at 9:32 AM, BirdTravels said:

So,,, we're Diamond RCCL and Diamond NCL cruisers, sailing multiple times on each cruise line each year. Both are both mid-market cruise lines. 

 

NCL has been the innovator leading the cruise industry to meet the desired of the contemporary cruiser. That turns some old-time cruisers off. We have been cruising for decades and really enjoy the innovation. We hate traditional dining and old time cruise ship entertainment. Royal continues to play catch up. The Icon will be Royal's first venture into modern cursing.

 

For example, there was an uproar on cruise critic when NCL removed deep fried fish fingers from the lunch menu and replaced it with poached salmon. Or more recently when mac&cheese was removed from the dinner menu. 

 

As you said, opinions are not worth that much. And you really don't get anything by trying to do a side-by-side comparison. 

 

Here's my opinion that isn't worth that much...

 

Sailing both cruise lines multiple times a year, I greatly prefer NCL. For years, NCL has embraced Freestyle Cruising. That is the overall cruise experience. Not a party ship. Not a stuffy ship (yup, we're Platinum cruisers on Cunard and go there if we want stuff).

 

NCL has no set time dining, you eat when you are hungry or when it fits your schedule (Royal My Time Dining on steroids),,, all MDRs are open seating and you get a table for your group, not shared. I am on vacation and appreciate that there are no [attempts] at Formal Night,,, shorts are welcome in all restaurants for all meals with the exception of two restaurants (Le Bistro French specialty dining and one other (varies by ship)). A 24/7 restaurant is great for us, since we are usually up late (more than a slice of pizza from Sorentos). There is an included beverage package, some specialty dining, a credit on shore excursions, a few free internet minutes. Yup, you'll get a lot of commentary on what the "free" items costs, but they are included and we use all of it. 

 

On Royal, the diamond vouchers are great for free drinks. With the vouchers, the diamond lounges become useless waste of space on ship. We like the ice shows on Royal. But Royal still tries to cling on to old fashion, old school cruising, which shows a lack of understanding of what the contemporary cruiser wants. We've only cruised once with the new menus and the jury is still out on that. 

 

What ship are you considering?

 

Thanks so much!  I think we are looking at the Breakaway or the Joy

[bkrickles1]

3 minutes ago, Ladydee said:

Thank you, everyone!  I truly do appreciate your personal insights.  When I posted the question, I was just considering NCL in general, but now it looks like my group is focusing in on the Breakaway or the Joy, for a Caribbean cruise.

Joy is a great ship!

Sailed her last summer and will again in 5 days.

If you're looking to sail after the refurbishment, then Joy is the clear winner!

I'd pick it first even without the refurbishment.

[hallux]

The Joy is definitely a good ship.  Some of the spaces are a little 'quirky' compared to her sister ships as they had to work with what they had when they 'converted' her to the US market but I still enjoyed the trip.

[graphicguy]

49 minutes ago, Ladydee said:

 

Thanks so much!  I think we are looking at the Breakaway or the Joy

No bad choice on either.  Joy gets a very slight edge because it’s a bit newer.

[Cruising Lynne]

12 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Interesting takes from the Royal Crowd.  I can count the times on one hand that I've made any reservations for dining on NCL.  It's practically imperative on Royal...even with MTD.

 

Crowds......mentioned the lines for dining on Royal.  That transfers to the Royal Promenade, too....shoulder to shoulder if ANY sort of event is happening.

 

Again, different strokes.

Totally agree about the Royal Promenade during events. I hated fighting my way through the crowds when I was on Freedom of the Seas a few years ago. I also prefer NCL's Freestyle dining. But what I  really missed when I was on Royal was the great crew on NCL. They just seem to be more friendly.

[LobsterStalker]

On 7/17/2023 at 11:32 AM, BirdTravels said:

So,,, we're Diamond RCCL and Diamond NCL cruisers, sailing multiple times on each cruise line each year. Both are both mid-market cruise lines. 

 

NCL has been the innovator leading the cruise industry to meet the desired of the contemporary cruiser. That turns some old-time cruisers off. We have been cruising for decades and really enjoy the innovation. We hate traditional dining and old time cruise ship entertainment. Royal continues to play catch up. The Icon will be Royal's first venture into modern cursing.

 

For example, there was an uproar on cruise critic when NCL removed deep fried fish fingers from the lunch menu and replaced it with poached salmon. Or more recently when mac&cheese was removed from the dinner menu. 

 

As you said, opinions are not worth that much. And you really don't get anything by trying to do a side-by-side comparison. 

 

Here's my opinion that isn't worth that much...

 

Sailing both cruise lines multiple times a year, I greatly prefer NCL. For years, NCL has embraced Freestyle Cruising. That is the overall cruise experience. Not a party ship. Not a stuffy ship (yup, we're Platinum cruisers on Cunard and go there if we want stuff).

 

NCL has no set time dining, you eat when you are hungry or when it fits your schedule (Royal My Time Dining on steroids),,, all MDRs are open seating and you get a table for your group, not shared. I am on vacation and appreciate that there are no [attempts] at Formal Night,,, shorts are welcome in all restaurants for all meals with the exception of two restaurants (Le Bistro French specialty dining and one other (varies by ship)). A 24/7 restaurant is great for us, since we are usually up late (more than a slice of pizza from Sorentos). There is an included beverage package, some specialty dining, a credit on shore excursions, a few free internet minutes. Yup, you'll get a lot of commentary on what the "free" items costs, but they are included and we use all of it. 

 

On Royal, the diamond vouchers are great for free drinks. With the vouchers, the diamond lounges become useless waste of space on ship. We like the ice shows on Royal. But Royal still tries to cling on to old fashion, old school cruising, which shows a lack of understanding of what the contemporary cruiser wants. We've only cruised once with the new menus and the jury is still out on that. 

 

What ship are you considering?

Comprehensive comparison with some helpful points ! 

Leaves me a little confused as to why it seems you split your time somewhat equally on the 2 when most of your points are clearly much more in favor of NCL ?

 

Cheers

[LobsterStalker]

On 7/17/2023 at 12:55 PM, chillyw said:

 

Pros to me:  The Central Park area was cool and the sports bar was great - they did sports right.  Hiro was pretty awesome.

 

Downsides:  Very kid focused and I sailed during a school time (not kid season), specialty dining wasn't as good as NCL in my opinion, didn't think the shows outside of Hiro were great (ex: the ice skating show kept having people fall down during the choreographed parts), the bars and drink package weren't as good, Casino table games have worse rules than NCL (only 1x odds on craps, for example).  Not much that made me go "heck yeah, I want to go back".

 

Personal preference obviously.  I'm hitting the Prima next, then Virgin for the first time.

That's definitely not the norm

I have seen the ice show at least a dozen times and have never seen more than a stumble !

 

Cheers

 

 

[LobsterStalker]

On 7/18/2023 at 10:39 AM, graphicguy said:

Interesting takes from the Royal Crowd.  I can count the times on one hand that I've made any reservations for dining on NCL.  It's practically imperative on Royal...even with MTD.

 

Crowds......mentioned the lines for dining on Royal.  That transfers to the Royal Promenade, too....shoulder to shoulder if ANY sort of event is happening.

 

Again, different strokes.

When an area is basically taken over for a giant dance party/concert event I think shoulder to shoulder should be expected . Best to avoid if you are not "there for the party " Outside of these times the crowd size is generally minimal.

 

Cheers

[graphicguy]

22 minutes ago, LobsterStalker said:

When an area is basically taken over for a giant dance party/concert event I think shoulder to shoulder should be expected . Best to avoid if you are not "there for the party " Outside of these times the crowd size is generally minimal.

 

Cheers

Been on Liberty, Allure, Harmony, Anthem, Ovation and one or two others I'm probably forgetting.  All had the same issue.  Last cruise on Ovation it was so crowded they actually told me that the Buffet was sold out.  There was a 30 minute wait just to get a slice of pizza in Sorrento's, which isn't unusual on any of my Royal Cruises.  Crazy but true.  

 

I've always run into big crowds on the promenade on them all.

 

Not saying I haven't had fun on Royal Cruises, but there's definitely some service deficiencies on them compared to my NCL cruises.

[LobsterStalker]

6 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Been on Liberty, Allure, Harmony, Anthem, Ovation and one or two others I'm probably forgetting.  All had the same issue.  Last cruise on Ovation it was so crowded they actually told me that the Buffet was sold out.  There was a 30 minute wait just to get a slice of pizza in Sorrento's, which isn't unusual on any of my Royal Cruises.  Crazy but true.  

 

I've always run into big crowds on the promenade on them all.

 

Not saying I haven't had fun on Royal Cruises, but there's definitely some service deficiencies on them compared to my NCL cruises.

All interesting experiences 

I have been on 11 RC cruises now and never experienced any issues like this in windjammer . The longest wait was on Symphony where It might have taken 3 minutes to get to the washy stations. MDR is currently  a disaster IMO , but thats another story'. As far as Sorrentos I would say it would be a stretch to say I ever waited more than 3 minutes in line as well , and that would only be after a Main Theatre show is getting out .

On my 1 Norwegian I learned there were a few things I loved , including 

Thermal Spa

My Time Dining , (kicked A$$ compared to RCI's attempt) , and 

Dueling Piano bar was also great .

I feel overall I like Royal ships a bit better (than my 1 experience) but would gladly sail Norwegian again if I could find the right itinerary to get on another Norwegian sailing . Though I'm always actively trying , Royal seems to pull me back in

 

Cheers

[graphicguy]

11 hours ago, LobsterStalker said:

All interesting experiences 

I have been on 11 RC cruises now and never experienced any issues like this in windjammer . The longest wait was on Symphony where It might have taken 3 minutes to get to the washy stations. MDR is currently  a disaster IMO , but thats another story'. As far as Sorrentos I would say it would be a stretch to say I ever waited more than 3 minutes in line as well , and that would only be after a Main Theatre show is getting out .

On my 1 Norwegian I learned there were a few things I loved , including 

Thermal Spa

My Time Dining , (kicked A$$ compared to RCI's attempt) , and 

Dueling Piano bar was also great .

I feel overall I like Royal ships a bit better (than my 1 experience) but would gladly sail Norwegian again if I could find the right itinerary to get on another Norwegian sailing . Though I'm always actively trying , Royal seems to pull me back in

 

Cheers

Cool.

 

That’s why there are choices.

 

This was the line for Windjammer.  There was a crew member at the entrance telling us it was “sold out”.

 

[AstoriaPreppy]

On 7/19/2023 at 3:23 PM, graphicguy said:

Been on Liberty, Allure, Harmony, Anthem, Ovation and one or two others I'm probably forgetting.  All had the same issue.  Last cruise on Ovation it was so crowded they actually told me that the Buffet was sold out.  There was a 30 minute wait just to get a slice of pizza in Sorrento's, which isn't unusual on any of my Royal Cruises.  Crazy but true.  

 

I've always run into big crowds on the promenade on them all.

 

Not saying I haven't had fun on Royal Cruises, but there's definitely some service deficiencies on them compared to my NCL cruises.

I'd note that Royal Caribbean is weird in that they often physically close the physical buffet space when it's not serving food? We've seen this leads to queues at certain times, and bunching up at other times. Royal ships tend to have alternative venues (270, Park Cafe, etc) to spread out crowds, but people get fixated on the buffet. 

 

I also refuse to accept that anyone is waiting 30 minutes in line for the awful RCCL pizza. Maybe Princess or Carnival pizza (which is 👍), but not Royal pizza 🤣.

 

[graphicguy]

Just now, AstoriaPreppy said:

I'd note that Royal Caribbean is weird in that they often physically close the physical buffet space when it's not serving food? We've seen this leads to queues at certain times, and bunching up at other times. Royal ships tend to have alternative venues (270, Park Cafe, etc) to spread out crowds, but people get fixated on the buffet. 

 

I also refuse to accept that anyone is waiting 30 minutes in line for the awful RCCL pizza. Maybe Princess or Carnival pizza (which is 👍), but not Royal pizza 🤣.

 

I love Park Cafe on Royal ships….fresh salads, fruits and wraps.  Quick breakfast sandwiches in the a.m. and yogurt, too.  I like their healthier choices.  270 seems to have a bad case of “chair/table” hogs…where people save their spots for hours at a time with books placed for long periods of time with no visible occupants.

 

Agree about the pizza.  Why anyone would wait 30 minutes for it puzzles me.  But, I think it was a reaction to not being able to utilize any other dining venues quickly.

 

It seems like the supposed cutbacks on the other lines I’ve sailed since the restart, they are worse on Royal, by far.