NCL vs RC food

Haha, I like how people either think the pizza on MSC is the best, or the worst. Nothing in the middle. I really want to try it for myself.

 

I bet it's a decent example of Neapolitan pizza, and is just not what American's expect out of pizza. How was the crust? did it taste good? are you someone who normally eats the crust of a pizza?

 

It's so hard to parse food reviews on this forum. People come from all different backgrounds and tastes. I think it would be helpful to give a comparison to what you think is equivalent on land.

 

edit: I personally thought the pizza on NCL escape was inedible. I literally could barely even swallow the one small bite i took. dense mushy crust. the super thin outside rim of crust did not rise at all. it looked like it was somehow even thinner than the center. No browning at all. tasteless thin layer of toppings. but i didn't get too far into tasting the toppings because of the crust.

Agreed! Carnival had the best pizza so far at sea that I've had, by a long shot. Well made, fresh out of the oven, etc. Haven't tried MSC but my guess is neapolitan too.

On NCL, I thought the pizza looked good actually. Grabbed a couple of slices and woah! You describe it perfectly. The crust was thin, which should be good, but it had a really weird texture and no flavor.

As for food reviews on this site.. Yeah some people are just overly dramatic that you cant get a real feel for the issues. Oh, the enture buffet was inedible? OK, sure....

They make you pay $150 each pre-paid gratuities. So $300. Vastly less expensive than paying for it outright.

Except that you most likely paid for it in your inflated cruise fare. It's well documented thay NCL inflates the fares to cover the "free" perks.

Yes, I haven’t sailed with Carnival in 5 years for many other reasons.

 

RCCL has other free venues not only buffets and MDR, depending on the ship. Park cafe, Sorrentos Pizza, sandwich shops on Quantum class ships.

Again, there are pool side options on numerous Royal ships near solariums.

Which other massmarket lines offer free room service outside of breakfast? NCL, MSC, Costa?

 

But when you say “nope”, please check again what was written to me.

1) first message sounded like majority of massmarket doesn’t charge for what Royal charges

2) Soda in Disney!

They compared Guys, which is poolside counter serve to Johnny Rockets full service... Then called it "apples to apples"... Lol

Guys is comparable to Wipeout. Guys has a better burger though still way overrated. But it's not a Johnny Rockets competitor. Of course Wipeout offers a lot more variety and Carnival doesnt have a hot dog venue.

IMHO, the reason of the mixed reviews are the SHIPS, not the cruise lines. Is well known that the newest ships (specially the ones that sail from the US) have better food and service, compared to their older sisters. Probably the main factor is on the deployment of the best crews (staff, officers, chefs, etc) on the flagships. I'm pretty sure that Carnival's new Horizon has better service than RCI's Majesty, at the same time Symphony probably has better food than the Coral Princess.

Just in the past 2 years, if been on RCCL twice, NCL, twice and Princess twice. I would rate the food in MDR

 

1. NCL

 

2. RCCL

 

3. Princess

 

 

 

I was very unhappy with food on Princess in January. I don’t think I’ve had a bad MDR meal on NCL and love their speciality restaurants.

 

 

 

Just my opinions. In a week I’ll be on RCCL for a b2b, February on Princess for 12 days and hopefully Windstar in 2020. (Might throw in another cruise in fall of 2019. 🤣)

I wonder which Princess ship?

Food always was amazing on Princess, but last year on Royal buffets were beyond amazing with nonstop seafood, sushi etc.

Nothing remotely similar we ever experienced on NCL & RCCL.

Parents reported similar experience from Regal.

I thought overall it was even better than on Celebrity which we cruised a week before.

As much as I always enjoyed our Royal and Norwegian cruises they never came close in terms of food.

I don’t eat in additional restaurants so cannot comment on them.

Except that you most likely paid for it in your inflated cruise fare. It's well documented thay NCL inflates the fares to cover the "free" perks.

I compared the prices. NCL is still cheaper than Royal on average.

With that said, I think I read that NCL is going to be increasing their prices.

Compare the two.

Yes, I haven’t sailed with Carnival in 5 years for many other reasons.

 

RCCL has other free venues not only buffets and MDR, depending on the ship. Park cafe, Sorrentos Pizza, sandwich shops on Quantum class ships.

Again, there are pool side options on numerous Royal ships near solariums.

Which other massmarket lines offer free room service outside of breakfast? NCL, MSC, Costa?

 

But when you say “nope”, please check again what was written to me.

1) first message sounded like majority of massmarket doesn’t charge for what Royal charges

2) Soda in Disney!

No doubt Royal has offerings that other lines don't. But that's not what you asked for. You asked (exact quote):

"What is free on other lines that Royal is (sic) charges for?"

You didn't say massmarket. You didn't say all cruise lines. You didn't say a majority of cruise lines. You asked what is free on other lines. I provided answers. You just didn't like my answers because they go against what you want to hear. But I did answer your question.

Perhaps you should have worded it differently to get the answer you wanted. ;):D

They compared Guys, which is poolside counter serve to Johnny Rockets full service... Then called it "apples to apples"... Lol

 

Guys is comparable to Wipeout. Guys has a better burger though still way overrated. But it's not a Johnny Rockets competitor. Of course Wipeout offers a lot more variety and Carnival doesnt have a hot dog venue.

I said Guy's "could be" compared. It's not a direct comparison, admittedly. But certainly it's a poolside option, which Royal doesn't really have any of.

There's lots of things that Royal has that others don't (Wipeout, hot dog stand, etc.). But that wasn't the question.

No doubt Royal has offerings that other lines don't. But that's not what you asked for. You asked (exact quote):

 

 

 

"What is free on other lines that Royal is (sic) charges for?"

 

 

 

You didn't say massmarket. You didn't say all cruise lines. You didn't say a majority of cruise lines. You asked what is free on other lines. I provided answers. You just didn't like my answers because they go against what you want to hear. But I did answer your question.

 

 

 

Perhaps you should have worded it differently to get the answer you wanted. ;):D

Then you didn’t understand why this question was asked.

This was not just my curiosity kicking.

I will remind you

glad you agree that RCI is terrible for food in buffet and MDR and only reason to sail them is for the ship (notwithstanding upcharges for everything that's free on other cruise lines)

This comment is hinting that Royal is charging for many things that usually free on other lines. Which is not true. Especially when you compare similar lines. (Apples to apples) Comparison to all lines doesn’t make any sense.

In this thread specifically we compare NCL and RCCL, but it’s ok to include similar lines, which are standard massmarket:

NCL

MSc

Costa

Carnival

Thank you anyway.

We sail with 8 cruiselines so I have pretty good understanding what other lines have.

I compared the prices. NCL is still cheaper than Royal on average.

 

With that said, I think I read that NCL is going to be increasing their prices.

 

Compare the two.

A lot depends on how far in advance you book, what time of year you are booking, what port you are leaving from, etc. I usually price Carnival, Royal and NCL when we are looking at a cruise. In the past Carnival was hands down the least expensive option and NCL was the most expensive with Royal being in the middle. When we were looking for a cruise a few month ago for next April I found Royal at $1770, Carnival at $2200 and NCL at $3600. All for a balcony cabin for a ship sailing out of the northeast. The bottom line is it pays to shop around when booking a cruise and to avoid the "<insert cruise line> is always cheaper" mentality.

A lot depends on how far in advance you book, what time of year you are booking, what port you are leaving from, etc. I usually price Carnival, Royal and NCL when we are looking at a cruise. In the past Carnival was hands down the least expensive option and NCL was the most expensive with Royal being in the middle. When we were looking for a cruise a few month ago for next April I found Royal at $1770, Carnival at $2200 and NCL at $3600. All for a balcony cabin for a ship sailing out of the northeast. The bottom line is it pays to shop around when booking a cruise and to avoid the "<insert cruise line> is always cheaper" mentality.

A lot depends on how far in advance you book, what time of year you are booking, what port you are leaving from, etc. I usually price Carnival, Royal and NCL when we are looking at a cruise. In the past Carnival was hands down the least expensive option and NCL was the most expensive with Royal being in the middle. When we were looking for a cruise a few month ago for next April I found Royal at $1770, Carnival at $2200 and NCL at $3600. All for a balcony cabin for a ship sailing out of the northeast. The bottom line is it pays to shop around when booking a cruise and to avoid the "<insert cruise line> is always cheaper" mentality.

That's certainly true. The age of the ship and port definitely play a role.

I compared the prices. NCL is still cheaper than Royal on average.

 

With that said, I think I read that NCL is going to be increasing their prices.

 

Compare the two.

I have compared the two a LOT when booking. And usually the prices are within a couple hundred bucks. But you also have to factor in that Royals drink and internet packages are far superior to NCL's free perk, which alters the value. Even with buying these packages on Royal, I generally find the sailings on Royal still cheaper than NCL with the perks. But there are obviously going to be circumstances where NCL is cheaper. Notably on the 10+ day sailings as the drink package inclusion starts adding up in your favor on NCL.

For us who also often sail from Northeast and drive to the ports cost of parking also matters. Parking in Bayonne, Boston or Red Hook is half as cheap than in Manhattan. We don't always factoring it in though, but it sometimes makes even Celebrity or Princess cheaper than NCL.

I'm doing a holiday cruise at the end of this year and Celebrity was much cheaper than NCL and included unlimited wifi and drinks, too :)

I agree with Sparks as well that "<cruise line> is always cheaper" is a trap :)

My comment prior was merely pointing out that NCL DOES charge you for the "free" at sea promotions as their fares are usually more. A cruiser would need to factor in drink package pricing, etc, to see what is best for them in a true comparison.

Then you didn’t understand why this question was asked.

This was not just my curiosity kicking.

I will remind you

 

 

 

 

 

 

This comment is hinting that Royal is charging for many things that usually free on other lines. Which is not true. Especially when you compare similar lines. (Apples to apples) Comparison to all lines doesn’t make any sense.

 

In this thread specifically we compare NCL and RCCL, but it’s ok to include similar lines, which are standard massmarket:

 

NCL

MSc

Costa

Carnival

 

Thank you anyway.

We sail with 8 cruiselines so I have pretty good understanding what other lines have.

Of course, this other poster is pointing out "what is free" by also pointing out much more expensive cruiselines that are maybe a little more all-inclusive. It's not "free" as you pay for it in the fare. I think common sense would dictate exactly what you said, that we making apples to apples comparisons of competitive cruiselines serving the same market. Not everyone has common sense though or can admit they are wrong ;p

The food on RCI ships is much better than MCL ships,especially the pizza.

Totally disagree, Food on NCL in MDR, Specialty Restaurants and OSheanh would rate 1st. Celebrity 2, Princess 3, RCI 4 MSC last.

Thank you!

I will definitely do this on our two next cruises.

I also ask my waiter what main course(S) were prepared from scratch on the ship.

Totally disagree, Food on NCL in MDR, Specialty Restaurants and OSheanh would rate 1st. Celebrity 2, Princess 3, RCI 4 MSC last.

I don't get what you are comparing when putting NCL food before Celebrity & Princess in ratings. Quantity of available restaurants/options, quality of available restaurants?

Right? And while I like the O'Sheehans concept, the food is most definitely a 5/10. Nachos with canned cheese sauce type food. It's a late night munchies kind of place, but how can anyone begin to suggest the quality of the food is better than Celebrity? Crazy.

Right? And while I like the O'Sheehans concept, the food is most definitely a 5/10. Nachos with canned cheese sauce type food. It's a late night munchies kind of place, but how can anyone begin to suggest the quality of the food is better than Celebrity? Crazy.

I am completely ok with NCL food, and like O'Sheehans (especially on Dawn and Star), but if compare food overall on NCL & Celebrity ... Buffet &MDR food on these companies are in different leagues. Special restaurants ... well you need to compare particular restaurants. NCL has many more of them, but quality isn't better.

Celebrity's room service is free whole day long.

Celebrity is premium massmarket line.

Same with Princess.

Now from what I am hearing food variety is different on new and older Princess ships now , but on Royal and Regal buffets beat any massmarket including premium. They are simply amazing in all regards especially in daily seafood offerings and diet oriented menus.

I don't get what you are comparing when putting NCL food before Celebrity & Princess in ratings. Quantity of available restaurants/options, quality of available restaurants?

Food is very subjective! We have recently cruised past 18 months Escape (3x) and Getaway (1.) We also did the Reflection, Royal, Harmony OTS, Rhapsody OTS, Sinfonia, in that same time period. We ate in Marino and Tuscan Grill. Ate in all NCL SRs.

In Marino had app, 1 (one), yes,1 scallop. Totally embarrassed.

In Cagney had shrimp cocktail. WOW, HUGE shrimp FIVE (5).

Celebrity has gone downhill since they put in the suite dining room.

We like spicy food, not bland!

Remember, everyone had different tastes.

We are Elite+ on Celebrity. D+ RCI, Elite Princess. Gold NCL.

HAPPY CRUISING!

What about MDR and buffet?

We have cruised with Celebrity, Princess, NCL, Royal in the last few years. Platinum with Princess, Elite/Diamond with Celebrity/Royal and Gold with NCL(unlike on other lines it's the third level)

I see clear difference in quality of free venues between Celebrity/Princess and NCL/Royal.

Of course everybody has own taste and opinion, but then all these discussions don't make much sense. :)

What about MDR and buffet?

We have cruised with Celebrity, Princess, NCL, Royal in the last few years. Platinum with Princess, Elite/Diamond with Celebrity/Royal and Gold with NCL(unlike on other lines it's the third level)

I see clear difference in quality of free venues between Celebrity/Princess and NCL/Royal.

 

Of course everybody has own taste and opinion, but then all these discussions don't make much sense. :)

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I thought the Windjammer on Anthem was absolutely excellent. I was actually very impressed on our first cruise on Anthem.

 

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Very minimal variety of seafood aside from fish, but better except for lack of Eggs Benedict than on NCL Gem and Star.

I thought the Windjammer on Anthem was absolutely excellent. I was actually very impressed on our first cruise on Anthem.

 

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Ridiculous. Everyone knows there is nothing even edible on the Royal buffet... ;p