Love NCL but trying RCI for the first time - what differences should I expect?

[galliegirlie]

I've been on 5 NCL cruises, 1 Princess and 1 Carnival. I love the freestyle cruising concept, but mostly I just love cruising in general. I'm wanting to do the Southern Caribbean again next spring break, but since it is so late next year the options are a little more limited, so I will need to branch outside of the cruise lines that I am familiar with. The itinerary for Serenade of the Seas out of San Juan looks pretty great, but I wanted to get a little insight on RCI before I booked for sure. I'm interested in knowing what some of the main differences are in the cruise experience for RCI as compared to NCL. I'm not looking to be nitpicky (I think all cruise ships are pretty great), but rather I'm wondering more about the day to day operational things that may be different. Some things I would like to compare are dinning, tipping, entertainment, atmosphere, dress code, typical cabin features, inclusions/exclusions, etc. I'm sure we will have a wonderful time no matter what ship we choose, but I'm interested to know if RCI will be a completely different cruise experience then we have had so far.

[seaofwonder]

It will be so different, in a good way! We did the NCL Jewel at Christmas and really didn't like it. Not enough to do.

 

Just got back from RCCL Liberty and LOVED it. We are hooked on Royal now!!!

 

Food : The buffet food on NCL is a little better (better selection that is), but ambience on RCCL is better for buffet. MDR food slightly better on Royal and waiters nicer. The My Time Dining option on Royal is basically identical to freestyle dining.

 

Rooms: Storage on NCL was better, but otherwise the same.

 

Excursions: Same.

 

Ports: Well, a port is a port.

 

Ship: The Liberty was far better than the Jewel. Better pool area, more hot tubs. Separate kids pool area. More onboard activities that don't involve alcohol. Alcohol prices slightly cheaper on Royal for top shelf liquor. More food options on Royal.

 

In general, I found Royal to be far better than NCL!

[billsgal]

galliegirlie,

 

RCI has "My time Dining" which is pretty much the same as NCL's freestyle, so if you want that, you have to request it, as RCI also has traditional first and late seatings in addition.. If you select My Time Dining, you will need to prepay all your tips in advance....they won't be added each day to your Seapass card as they are on NCL.

 

Food is subjective, but I thought the food on NCL in the main restaurants was no where near as good as RCI food. Also, service on RCI we have found to be much better.....especially in the dining room. On an NCL trip we had to order our entire meal, including dessert, at the beginning....not the case on RCI.

Waiters didn't seem friendly on NCL, more like they were trying to get us in and out of the dining room pretty quickly.

 

Food setup in the buffet area on RCI is in sections....so you don't have to wait in a long line to get something. However, some of the food selections on NCL buffet were better than those on RCI. The french specialty restaurant on Spirt was as good or better than Chops on RCI (and we love Chops, but we had filet mignon on Spirit in the french restaurant) and the price was lower on NCL.

 

Our balcony stateroom on NCL was smaller than a balcony on RCI, and there was no storage space IMO. Also, no refrigerator in the rooms on NCL.

 

Entertainment on RCI was better than on NCL, but that could be hit or miss, as we have had some bad entertainment on some RCI cruises.

 

Tipping (if you do not select My Time Dining) is done at the end of the cruise on RCI with cash or vouchers......not like NCL.

 

Dress code was a bit dressier on RCI, there are formal nights, and the guests just seemed a bit more dressed up....again, hit or miss, depending upon the make up of the guests onboard.

 

Serenade is a beautiful ship with a nice itinerary. We love that class of ships, liked the NCL Spirit, but keep returning to RCI, even though we can hop on an NCL ship out of Boston in the summer.

[willysgrandma]

What will be different is that on formal nights you are expected to adhere to the dress code in the dining room. With NCL, you don't have to dress up for formal nights.

 

What you can expect is better food and better service. The dining rooms waits if you choose My Time Dining is usually less than on NCL. Of course, this depends on what time you usually eat.

 

There is also more storage space in the cabins on RCCL. I thought NCL had the least drawer space on any cruise ship I've been on .

 

Otherwise, the day to day activities are not that much different.

[Loyal2RCCL]

You can expect:

 

1. MUCH nicer ships

2. BETTER service

3. BETTER food

4. MORE to do

5. BETTER entertainment

6. STRONGER and less expensive drinks

[seaofwonder]

Maybe our storage space on NCL was better because we had a Junior Suite? We thought RCCL's drawer space was very limited (actually heard another couple commenting on that)....but we had a JS with a walk-in closet so that made up for it.

[RSWBADGER]

NCL has a better breakfast and lunch buffet selection

 

RCCL Main Dining is better, going downhill fast

 

NCL has better food and selections at it's Specialty Restaurants ($$)

 

NCL Loved the Suites, In-Suite Expresso Machines, and in room Drinks setup

 

RCCL Ship Activities

 

NCL Relaxed dining atmosphere

 

RCCL Formal and relaxed dress is good

 

Drinks, Ports are all good.

[packercruising]

We are NCL fans that have sailed RCL and have Freedom Of The Seas booked for next Feb. Not sure about the comment of MDR food being better as both have been very good. Also the service on both has been excellent. We like the Promenade View cabins on RCL and the ice show is not to be missed. Specialty restaurants on NCL were much better and NCL has the best bar snacks of any line. NCL never had decent pizza but the pretzel rolls are legend. Actually we thought the bar service has been better on NCL. I do not think you will be disappointed if you choose RCL.

[dfishner]

We mainly cruise on RCL but we did take the NCL Pearl this year this is what I found to be different.

 

NCL variety of dining options were a nice added plus we never did dine in the MDR except for breakfast. We also found the food to be very good.

 

Coffee makers in NCL cabin was a nice touch we used it every day.

 

Cabins RCL are larger then NCL. We were in a Mini suite on the Pearl and we felt like it was a normal size balcony room on RCL. It was nice on the Pearl. I also felt the layout of the NCL Cabin interesting it was difficult to open the closet because the door kept bumping into the bed.

 

If you take the Adventure of the Seas you will have the Royal Promenade which is a unique feature only on RCL We love it and it is a place we hang out at. Serenade is a classy ship with windows all over and makes you feel really in touch with the ocean.

 

RCL does have my time dining which we have used for over two years similiar to freestyle. You can also request the same wait team each evening if you like.

 

Gratuites are less on RCL.

 

Thought the entertainment was even on both but I would give the edge to RCL as well as activities. We enjoyed NCL just thought RCL was a bit better.

 

NCL had a 2-1 happy hour every night and we really enjoyed it. Really do not see that to much on RCL.

 

Food is subjective think NCL Speciality restaurants were very good. RCL Speciality restaurants are also found the prices for the speciality restaurants on NCL very affordable..MDR food are all banquet style it is all right not bad.

 

We came away from our NCL cruise really liking our experience and will do an NCL cruise again. This comes from someone who never thought they would sail NCL. We were pleasantly surprised..

 

You will not have the variety of dining options you did on NCL which to us was the main difference. But you will have a great time on either RCL Ship

[galliegirlie]

Thank you everyone for the notes. It sounds like it should be a pretty easy transition. I was a little worried about the differences in the set time dining and tipping, but it sounds like the Anytime dining option will be pretty similar to what I experienced on Carnival. RCI will be a welcomed new adventure!

 

 

Our balcony stateroom on NCL was smaller than a balcony on RCI, and there was no storage space IMO. Also, no refrigerator in the rooms on NCL.

quote]

 

Billsgal, the Spirit is very different from all the other NCL ships. I agree that her balcony rooms are tiny compared to others in the fleet. And it sucked that there was no refrigerator. But every other NCL ship that I have been on includes a refrigerator.

[billsgal]

galliegirl,

 

I understand the NCL Spirit was built for the Asian market, and is different from other NCL ships, but the lack of a refrigerator was a drawback. Frankly, I loved the decor on Spirit, and I've found the other NCL ships we've been on to be a bit garish for my taste. Some of the furnishings on either Gem or Jewel (NCL) were green fur.......yikes!

 

I think if you select the My time Dining on RCI you will enjoy your cruise.

 

Serenade is a beautiful ships, lots of glass including glass elevators that look out onto the ocean and a beautiful indoor solarium area (adults only) that enables you to use a pool in any weather.

[katiel53]

We sailed on NCL on Star & Pearl. Both times we sailed in a JS and felt the cabins were considerably smaller than a JS on RCI. They seemed similar in size to a D1 on RCI.

 

We felt the service and food in the "free" dining rooms were awful. On our 2nd cruise with NCL we only ate in the MDR on lobster night. Service was also very poor. I loved that we could go to other restaurants for a reasonable fee. I think Portofino on RCI is better than Cagney's on NCL, and I think that Chops & Cagney's are about equal. I also think the buffet on NCL is better than that on RCI. I loved having real ice cream in the buffet area instead of soft serve whatever near the buffet.

 

I thought that some of the entertainment was better on NCL, but not all of it. Just like food, entertainment is subjective. We won a little in the NCL casinos, but of course we put it all back in just like we do on RCI.

 

I think the ships of RCI are far more beautiful than any NCL ship. I also believe the service is much better on RCI. The employees seem to enjoy their jobs and do more things to please the cruisers.

 

Tipping is less on RCI and you can pay in cash, pre-pay if you do anytime dining, or fill out a form to put the tips on your Sea Pass. It's about $10 a day.

 

I think the biggest difference is in how casual NCL is. At dinner on RCI, shorts are not allowed. On formal night the dress is formal or at least, and I'm saying what people post and what I have seen, not what the guidelines are, a pair of dress pants, a dress shirt and tie. Most men wear suits or jackets. It's unlike NCL as there is no "real" restaurant that is totally informal at dinner. There is a buffet of course and the specialty restaurant(s) don't allow shorts or really casual wear.

 

I know you will have a great time on RCI and sailing from San Juan is fun. Enjoy!

[packercruising]

Wow, when were you on the Star? We sailed her 3/09 and it is the most fun we have ever had on a ship! Food and service were excellent. :)

[lhall85917]

We just did our first RCCL cruise after many NCL cruises and had a wonderful time on the Independence! The ship was much nicer than any NCL ship we have ever been on. Other than that, most things were very similar. We did MTD and liked it; however, we found it difficult to time dinner with the evening entertainment. It seems that on this cruise much of the evening's activities started later than we were used to on NCL. I'd suggest trying to find some copies of the dailies before leaving to help you plan your dining times. Often we had an hour or more to kill between dinner and the evening show.

 

That said, we are booked on the Serenade in just a few weeks and are looking forward to it! We will also be on NCL in July in the Mediterranean in a suite - no one does suites like NCL.

[sailingnut]

I just came back from Bermuda, my first time on RCL, Exolorer of the Seas and just love RCL. I went on NCL two times and a travel agent convinced me to try RCL, I am hooked!

[toonjie]

I think the one thing that is not even debatable is that you can expect much nicer ships!