Who has sailed RCL and NCL?

[palomino2424]

We have only sailed on RCL before and are thinking of cruising with NCL for the first time out of NYC on 23 April 2011 on the Gem. Would you same they have similar standards? Will there be enough to do for my two daughters aged 12 and 14?

 

Thank you

[gtragitt]

I think it depends on which NCL ship is chosen. The Jewel had many opportunities for children. I think RCCL caters to families with children and may have the edge there. Since we did not cruise with children, I can not make a good assessment.

 

In my OPINION NCL is preferred. It is better organized and allows more flexible options.

 

I prefer Freestyle vs assigned seating. Some prefer the opposite. NCL had many choices for specialty restaurants. This may not appeal to some who don't like additional charges.

 

RCL had nicer staterooms on Splendor of the Seas than NCL's Jewel.

 

Buffets are better and less hectic on NCL.

[SuiteRose]

We sailed on the Gem twice, not with children though. At that time they were having Wii tournaments on the big screen in the atrium and of course there is bowling... and the teen club. I think they would really love NCL. Also, the flexible dining would be great for a family.

[palomino2424]

Thanks guys - we are looking at the Gem sailing from NYC on 23 April 2011 (we are coming from England and planning to see NYC for 4 days before sailing date) - I am happy only if my kids are happy - so just wanting to make sure there will be lots for them to do - not sure though if the American kids will have gone back to school though as mine are still off for another week after 24th April?

[michigan tim]

I've been on two RCL cruises and will soon be taking my 4th NCL. There is no question, RCL has far more to offer in the way of family/kid targetted activities. NCL has more adult oriented activities.

[bfree32]

I have traveled on both lines with children. You do not name the RCCL ship you are considering, but I would agree with the last post that RCCL is more likely to have more activities for your children. My kids liked the GEM-especially the itinerary which you are considering. However, they love the Voyager and Freedom class on RCCL. I suspect that the Epic in Florida will close the gap between the two lines. But in their game of oneupmanship, RCCL now has more activities on OASIS and ALLURE

[asylum575]

We have cruised RCCL 5 times, once with kids. We have also cruised NCL three times, the fourth this December, all with kids.

 

With younger kids, I'd prefer NCL. If your kids can sit through dinner and not drive you crazy, go with RCCL. We love having the same server and table. However, since our kids are young, DS6 and DD2, we find NCL a better fit.

 

We either order room service around 5PM or I will take the kids to the buffet while the DW gets ready for dinner. DS will then go to camp and DD will tag along for dinner. Last year(2009), we took two NCL cruises and DD fell asleep during dinner time in her stroller, a homerun.

In December, we may bring her to camp, just while we have dinner. NCL takes them at 2 and she will be a week shy of being three and talking alot.

 

I think the kid's programs are very similar among the lines.

[newmexicoNita]

We have only sailed on RCL before and are thinking of cruising with NCL for the first time out of NYC on 23 April 2011 on the Gem. Would you same they have similar standards? Will there be enough to do for my two daughters aged 12 and 14?

 

Thank you

 

In all fairness to RCI we have cruised them 3 times, but 2 were short cruises. We can't give a really fair comparison. With that I will add, the kids programs are highly praised on NCL. the girls should have no trouble keeping busy. Food wise, we love the idea of freestyle especially for families. The girls can eat with you and later wander into the diniing room just for dessert as an example. They also can always hop into the Blue Lagoon for a snack.

 

Nita

[Cruise_More_Often]

I will pass along to you what one of the women on my Meet and Greet thread last year (NCL Jewel) reported on that thread just after her August (this August) cruise on the Oasis:

 

". . . I think I am still half asleep. Just wanted to check in and let you know it was a great vacation and an awesome cruise. Not perfect, but great. Jocelyn still says that Jewel was the best and in some ways I agree."

Her daughter, Jocelyn, is now 14 years old.

[alwalaska]

In all fairness to RCI we have cruised them 3 times, but 2 were short cruises. We can't give a really fair comparison. With that I will add, the kids programs are highly praised on NCL. the girls should have no trouble keeping busy. Food wise, we love the idea of freestyle especially for families. The girls can eat with you and later wander into the diniing room just for dessert as an example. They also can always hop into the Blue Lagoon for a snack.

 

Nita

 

We are the opposite. So far, our only NCL cruise was the Sky for 4 days. On Royal we experienced the Sovereign for 4 days and the Explorer for 12 days.

 

DS preferred the Explorer and we all enjoyed the food a bit more on the Explorer, but the food was still plenty good and my son (16) had a good time and found plenty to do on the Sky.

 

With MTD on Royal and the extra places to eat like the cafe on the Explorer, I didn't see any benefit to Freestyle dining.

[palomino2424]

It seems people are pretty divided between the two cruise lines. I think we will stick with the Gem sailing from NYC on 23 April next year - otherwise we will have to find extra money for internal flights down to Ft Luaderdale and a slightly more expensive cruise (need to save every penny!).

[newmexicoNita]

It seems people are pretty divided between the two cruise lines. I think we will stick with the Gem sailing from NYC on 23 April next year - otherwise we will have to find extra money for internal flights down to Ft Luaderdale and a slightly more expensive cruise (need to save every penny!).

 

To be very honest, the two lines are rated pretty similar. In fact, if you were to go to the review section on CC and check star ratings, you would find most of the ships,on both lines rate about the same. There will be a few ships with an average of 4 plus stars, a couple with more 3 stars and a few with less or more. The difference is RCI has more ships. I am not saying this is a plus or a minus but a difference. On the other hand, overall NCL has the newest ships. The oldest NCL ship entered the water in 2000 I think. There are many RCI ships that have been around for much longer.

 

NIta

[alwalaska]

It seems people are pretty divided between the two cruise lines. I think we will stick with the Gem sailing from NYC on 23 April next year - otherwise we will have to find extra money for internal flights down to Ft Luaderdale and a slightly more expensive cruise (need to save every penny!).

 

I hope I didn't give you the wrong idea with my post. We were perfectly happy with our NCL cruise and have another planned for this Spring.

 

We did have a slight preference for RCCL, but we were happy with NCL and will probably be on NCL for our next couple of cruises because the prices are so good. We live in Ohio, so almost anywhere is a long trip to be able to cruise, but we have started to drive to the ports to save some money over flying.

 

Our next cruise is out of New Orleans which is about 8 hours closer than Miami, so that will be a nice change from last year.

[penguinpatty]

I have been on both cruise lines many times and I have never seen a bored child! Sleepy children, yes. Running children, yes. Smiling children, absolutely!

For the most part, children in the US will be back in school at the time of your sailing. I sailed on the Gem last January and there were plenty of kids on board. We left port in 18 degree weather and missed out on going to San Juan because something broke down on the ship and we had a wonderful cruise. The Gem is a gem with lots to do for all ages! Enjoy.

Also, what a wonderful time of year to be in the Big Apple.

[palomino2424]

See now I'm worried that all the US kids will be back at school when we cruise with our kids!? We are from the UK and some schools there are still off the last week of April (ours included)- I want my kids to be with other kids. How can I find out how many other teenagers are going on booked on our cruise?

[newmexicoNita]

See now I'm worried that all the US kids will be back at school when we cruise with our kids!? We are from the UK and some schools there are still off the last week of April (ours included)- I want my kids to be with other kids. How can I find out how many other teenagers are going on booked on our cruise?

 

actually Easter is late this year, so there will be some kids not yet back in school. Some kids get out after Easter Sunday.

 

Nita

[LynneL]

See now I'm worried that all the US kids will be back at school when we cruise with our kids!? We are from the UK and some schools there are still off the last week of April (ours included)- I want my kids to be with other kids. How can I find out how many other teenagers are going on booked on our cruise?

 

Our school district is closed 4/18 - 4/26. Having off the 2 days after Easter is a bit unusual. This was due to the fact that Passover ends on 4/25 and one of the Jewish Holidays that we usually have off for (Yom Kipper) fell on a weekend this year, thereby giving us that extra day off on 4/26. For a cruise out of NYC students may have off at least the Monday of the last week of April, possibly the Tues., but I'd be surprised if any of the public school give the last week off due to having to accommodate Passover. The Catholic schools may have some time off then.

[Ontario cruise duo]

You could probably be sure that there will be kids on the cruise. Some families will take their kids out of school for a week's vacation, especially, if they are good students and will not suffer with a week off (we took our kids out for a week one year before Christmas to go to Cancun). Also, last year my niece, who attends school in Michigan had a class trip (okay not, the whole class, but I think there was 30 - 50 kids, mostly 17 yr. olds) who took a week cruise in April (mid to end of the month) as an early graduation trip. I would bet that there will be others on board that your kids would hang out with.

[palomino2424]

Wow how amazing to have a school that takes their kids on a cruise for a school trip!!!!! You would NEVER get that in the UK!

 

Well we are gonna book that cruise and just hope there will be a few kids for them to hang out with - fingers crossed for me guys and thank you all so so much for your comments and advice. I really appreciate it.