Current RCL cruiser thinking about switching to NCL

[captainannoyed!]

Hi everyone,

 

As stated in the title I have been an exclusive RCL cruiser and am considering switching. I am curious if there is anyone here that has made the switch (and thus losing out on loyalty perks until you accumulate cruises)? If so, what do you like more about NCL? What do you like less? What is different?

 

Thanks in advance!

[debnjoe1438]

Hi everyone,

 

As stated in the title I have been an exclusive RCL cruiser and am considering switching. I am curious if there is anyone here that has made the switch (and thus losing out on loyalty perks until you accumulate cruises)? If so, what do you like more about NCL? What do you like less? What is different?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

I have been on one RCCl cruise and two NCL. I'll say this the service, food, entertainment and all around experience is as good, if not better on NCL as RCCL. Now the price for a cruise on NCL is WAY BETTER than RCCL.

 

I have also been on HAL, and I would go with NCL or HAL before doing another RCCL.

[flowerchild]

We love to cruise. I've sailed Carnival, NCL and RCCL and have been on about 10 cruises since my first in 1985 (Haiti, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Dominican Republic).

 

When I shop for a cruise, I keep in mind what factors are most important to me when making a decision...price is always a biggie. So are itinerary and dining. We do independant excursions 90% because of the cost savings, so will not comment there.

 

Based on similar itineraries, NCL usually is the least expensive. Carnival usually comes in 2nd. RCCL is always the most expensive.

 

All cruiselines offer a similar product with some differences. Climbing walls, surf wave machines, ice skating rinks, all that is fine and dandy but do I think that RCCL and all that fancy stuff is worth the extra $$? NOPE. Those are extra vacation dollars in my pocket that I can spend doing other things that I love; the spa, a few drink clinics, some shopping...Yes yes yes!

 

In addition to the bottom line, NCL offers a really relaxed and casual experience with Freestyle and thier dress code. Packing light and not having to deal with formal clothes is HUGE for us. We like being able to dine when we want to and with whom we want to. If I want to sit at a table with just my husband and a bottle of wine, I can do so on NCL. I also like the dining options of the specialty restaurants, although I like the MDRs too.

 

In either case, enjoy your cruise!

[cabincop]

I have been on 37 cruises I started with RCCL, I have been on Celebrity NCL Disney Costa to name a few. If I want to dress up and look nice I can even on NCL if I don't I don't I think NCL has great loyalty rewards. I really believe it is up to each person what is more important to them. Maybe money, itinarary, dining experience whatever. Having cruised since 1980 IMHO I just go with who I want. After 5 years maybe I will switch back to another line. But NCL is the best I feel right now

[Dolphins]

I have been on 37 cruises I started with RCCL, I have been on Celebrity NCL Disney Costa to name a few. If I want to dress up and look nice I can even on NCL if I don't I don't I think NCL has great loyalty rewards. I really believe it is up to each person what is more important to them. Maybe money, itinarary, dining experience whatever. Having cruised since 1980 IMHO I just go with who I want. After 5 years maybe I will switch back to another line. But NCL is the best I feel right now

 

We have also sailed on numerous cruise lines and enjoyed them all. We decided to try NCL when they started sailing year round out of New York (we hate to fly). We were very pleasantly surprised and have been going back ever since. No cruise line has treated us better than NCL has and their loyalty rewards are the best in the industry.

[dznymom]

Hi everyone,

 

As stated in the title I have been an exclusive RCL cruiser and am considering switching. I am curious if there is anyone here that has made the switch (and thus losing out on loyalty perks until you accumulate cruises)? If so, what do you like more about NCL? What do you like less? What is different?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Let me preface this post by saying that it has been 3 or 4 years since I have sailed Royal Caribbean, but I had no complaints. As a matter of fact, I still have not seen a ship as lovely as the Radiance of the Seas and she will always hold a special place in my heart. But I tried NCL in 2007 and that is now my line of choice although I still dabble in Carnival cruises when the price and itinerary is right.

 

As far as loyalty perks, I enjoy what I have attained (platinum on Carnival & silver on NCL) but I don't really consider that when choosing my next cruise. These are a few of the things that I really enjoy about NCL.

 

1. Cruise Critic M&G on RCCL are well done and enjoyable, but NCL does an even better job. Several officers attend and spend time chatting. They are also very visible during the rest of the cruise and always take a moment to speak.

 

2. I love making new friends on my cruises, and on NCL I have the ability to dine with different people whenever I feel like it, or not to when that fits my mood.

 

3. The option of dressing up as much as I like works for me. Dressy slacks & a blouse are fine any night, more casual attire is also perfectly acceptable and if I don't feel like even changing out of my swimsuit & cover up, the buffets on NCL do a nice job with dinner, so I don't feel like I missed anything.

 

4. Dinners in the MDR are not disturbed by singing & dancing waiters.

 

4. The martini clinics on NCL are excellent if I recall correctly

 

5. Fantastic casino perks.

 

ANyway, those are some of the things I prefer about NCL, and I guess I should add cost as usually NCL wins by a mile on that!

[welove2cruise*]

I am a Diamond member with RCL. I have been on 25 cruises so far, a few on Princess, Carnival and Celebrity and the majority with RCL and NCL. I happened to have the opportunity to try RCL again in March on the Mariner for the first time since our Med cruise with them in 2006. We had just sailed the NCL Jewel a month before so it was interesting to compare in such a short time period. I found the entertainment on our Jewel cruise MUCH better than the RCL cruise and I even liked the food better on the NCL trip. I am a freestyle convert. It is exactly what I was looking for in the cruise experience. I would say don't be afraid to give it a try. My parents are Diamond Plus on RCL but we have gotten them to give NCL a try with us a few times over the past few years and we are sailing together for the 3 bookings on NCL we have over the next 9 months so they obviously enjoy NCL as well.

[famfam]

We are relatively new to cruising, just 2 with RCCL and one with NCL. Just got back from the Baltics on NCL and had a wonderful trip. No complaints at all about the cruise line or the ports.....the biggest difference to me between NCL and RCCI is the Freestyle dining, of course. It was nice not to have to take formal wear. We took a few "country club" casual outfits and still didn't wear it all...I have to confess we were booked in a Penthouse suite, which may have spoiled us for future cruises....we were treated like royalty and the specialty restaurants for lunch and dinner were absolutely wonderful....The Concierge and Butler perks are also a real treat - Karen and Fernando were great!!!!!!! I like both cruise lines, and quite honestly would go with whichever one offers the best itinerary ...but I have to add we are planning a Caribbean cruise next March and think NCL is our choice. I travel with a teenager and I think he prefers NCL to RCCI - probably due to the anytime dining.

[captainannoyed!]

Thanks for the responses so far! :D I think after my next RCCL cruise I am going to try NCL. The Pearl seems like the right ship for me, as I love the RCCL Radiance class and this is similar in size.

[flowerchild]

I think you will be quite pleased.

 

I have a member in my family that swore by RCCL. "Her family are RCCL people" she would say (my sister). :rolleyes:

 

That is, until she sailed NCL and fell in love with freestyle. What really surprised me is that she feels very strongly that NCL's food is much better than RCCL. Who knew?

 

Now I tease her about how snooty she sounded!

[captainannoyed!]

Flowerchild,

 

I usually cruise with a group (being single this makes lots of sense financially), and their line was RCCL when I started to travel with them. I like the Radiance class ships very much, as well as getting loyalty program perks, and that has also contributed to my loyalty. But every subsequent class of ships created by RCCL has been more like a mall or kids amusement park to me, and thus less interesting.:(

 

Also, customer service is slipping over at RCCL in my experience lately. And, I am not happy with the mentality of the way that they are increasingly more obsessed with finding ways to boost their bottom line at the expense of the cruise experience, IMHO.

 

Switching lines is a big change for me, and I am not doing it lightly. I have heard horror stories about fake ID'd, drunk college kids on Carnival, and the geriatric tales of the average age of a couple of other lines. Taking a cruise on a new line is a big investment (so to speak) because you already know what you have where you have been sailing. Plus, you go to the bottom of the rank on the loyalty program all over again.

 

But as I have looked into NCL I think it could offer a better choice than RCCL going forward. RCCL revamped the loyalty program a little while back, and so it made it less of a draw for me read: they took stuff away, LOL!!. Their newest class of ships offered nothing like what NCL did with the studio cabins for singles on the Epic (being single that is a huge draw). The shows look more geared to my age-ish on NCL (I am 42). I was already dining 'Freestyle' in a way because I never eat in the MDR, though now I might.

[Sauer-kraut]

Capt-- If you'd been over on the NCL boards a while back you would have heard all the complaining about how they are, as well, cutting back on the loyalty program and making it more difficult to reach the top levels. However, I am not line loyal so for me its really no big deal. I shop as to where I want to go and how much its going to cost me.

 

I hope you will enjoy your 'defection' and come back and tell us of your experiences. You will be then be the resident expert on comparing NCL to RCCL for all those others who want to see what the other side is like.... ;)