Royal or Norwegian

[happyville]

Before I pose this question, I know everyone has there own opinions, but this is important to me. I am coming up on my 5 year anniversary of being Cancer free and I want to celebrate by going to Bermuda. So my question is Royal or Norwegian line? My DH and I have only cruised Carnival but there are not a lot of times that they go. Thanks!

[Twickenham]

Firstly, congrats on being cancer free!

Now, to the cruise - I would choose NCL, for one simple reason: sailing out of New York, rather than Bayonne. That sailaway (and return) is one of my favourite cruise experiences.

[CruiserBruce]

Perhaps you could do some reading on the cruise line boards, and on the reviews boards. That would help you develop your own opinion on which one is best for you.

[HappyCruiser54]

Congrat! I absolutely know how you feel. I just passed my 5 year mark and we are cruising to Bermuda on the 13th as a celebration with family and friends. I have cruised both NCL and RCCL and I like the more traditional dining on RCCL. I love the Explorer, great crew, great ship. And she leaves from Bayonne NJ. She will be moving to FLA next Nov, then she will be replaced with the Quantum of the Seas. Not sure when you are looking to go but have a great time celebrating! Doesn't it feel like a great weight has been lifted off your shoulders when you hit the 5 year mark?

 

Agains, congrats and stay healthy!!!

[kcwingwalker]

To happyville and HappyCruiser54

 

Thank you for your uplifting posts! The 5 year mark is such a milestone and must be a true gift to you and your families. I wish you all much happiness!

[caribsun]

The better choice would be Celebrity Summit. :D Leaves from Bayonne NJ.

[momoftwinteens]

First of all, congratulations. I will be 5 years cancer free the end of next April, so I know what a waiting and wondering game it is.

I cannot speak for RCL. I have never been on one of their ships, although the Oasis looks absolutely awesome and I would go in a heartbeat if I could only convince my hubby. That being said, I HAVE sailed twice with NCL and my third with them is coming up in November. I really like how relaxed everything is on NCL. No formal nights, no eating with people you don't know and may or may not get along with(yes, I know you can request your table be changed. What if you end up with the same type of people?). After dealing with a cancer diagnosis and all that goes with it, I like the idea of not having to be so rigid. Sailing out of Manhattan is so awesome, with Manhattan on one side and Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty on the other side. Whatever you decide, have a wonderful trip. You have earned every minute of it!

[happyville]

Wow Happycruiser54 - must be the place to celebrate - Congrats to you also

[Keith1010]

Congratulations on beng cancer free.

 

Keith

[Ocean Air]

Before I pose this question, I know everyone has there own opinions, but this is important to me. I am coming up on my 5 year anniversary of being Cancer free and I want to celebrate by going to Bermuda. So my question is Royal or Norwegian line? My DH and I have only cruised Carnival but there are not a lot of times that they go. Thanks!

 

Happyville - Congratulations on your milestone and may you be blessed with a long, healthy and happy life. Happy sailing whichever cruise line you choose. As you can see I am a Royal fan :). I like their main dining option (where the waiters have you every night and cater to you likes). I also thought the crew was friendlier. The reward program for being loyal to royal is also great. I agree with the previous poster, go on the reviews and read what they liked and didn't like.

Edited September 30, 2013 by Ocean Air

[hansolosmom]

Congrats on your anniversary!

 

I'm wondering which ship? Everyone here is assuming it would be Explorer vs Breakaway, is that correct? Or would it be Quantim?

 

We sailed on Explorer & it's a nice ship & we had a really nice time.

 

Haven't done NCL but I'd love to try Breakaway since it looks like such a cool ship. Plus I'd like to try the whole freestyle thing instead of being tied to a dining time.

 

Either way though, Bermuda is absolutely beautiful and a great destination.

[happyville]

Thank you all for the great advice and words of hope. May you all enjoy the holidays and may they bring you much health and happiness!

[marco]

Let me offer my congrats to you, as well. Yes...sailing down the river out of NYC is a wonderful experience, but honestly...compared to the week you're going to be spending on the ship...NCL would not be my first choice (or 2nd). Having sailed on NCL, RCI and "X", hands down, my 1st choice would be "X".

[iheartbda]

Congratulations, Op, truly a time to celebrate. We are not "married" to any particular line but do have loyalty status on Celebrity, NCL and RCCL. Unless you are high in the ranks of loyalty status I wouldn't necesarily base my choice on that.;)

 

We've been to Bermuda numerous times and on all three lines that I mentioned and not one of them was a bad cruise. For us, the ship is our way of getting to Bermuda.:)

 

You need to decide what is of importance to you. Do you prefer a smaller ship without all the bells and whistles, like rock climbing walls, ice skating rinks, etc.? Would you like to try a mega ships with everythying imaginable? Do you prefer traditional seating in the MDR, although each line has some variation of eating when you want. Do you want a more formal dress code, which is not always enforced, or do you want to dress casually most of the time?

 

Food is oh soooooo subjective so I won't even go there.

 

Can you give a bit more detail as to what you like and don't like? It might help to narrow things down for you.

[Aquahound]

Before I pose this question, I know everyone has there own opinions, but this is important to me. I am coming up on my 5 year anniversary of being Cancer free and I want to celebrate by going to Bermuda. So my question is Royal or Norwegian line? My DH and I have only cruised Carnival but there are not a lot of times that they go. Thanks!

 

First and most importantly, congratulations!!!

 

Having been on both...numerous times on RCI and a handful of times on NCL, I don't even hesitate in recommending RCI. There is no comparison in the areas of service and ship upkeep. I've had mostly excellent experiences with RCI, which is what keeps me going back. My NCL experiences have been consistently bad to awful...enough so that I don't even consider them for now.

[Guest maddycat]

First and most importantly, congratulations!!!

 

Having been on both...numerous times on RCI and a handful of times on NCL, I don't even hesitate in recommending RCI. There is no comparison in the areas of service and ship upkeep. I've had mostly excellent experiences with RCI, which is what keeps me going back. My NCL experiences have been consistently bad to awful...enough so that I don't even consider them for now.

 

I could have written this post. We've sailed on Costa, Princess, NCL, RCI and Celebrity. Our favorites are RCI and Celebrity. We will never sail on NCL again. We found the service, attitude and food inferior on NCL. As someone else suggested, consider cruising on Celebrity's Summit.

 

I'd also like to add my best wishes for a very healthy and happy future. Congratulations on reaching your 5 yr. anniversary.

[KruzAholic]

Before I pose this question, I know everyone has there own opinions, but this is important to me. I am coming up on my 5 year anniversary of being Cancer free and I want to celebrate by going to Bermuda. So my question is Royal or Norwegian line? My DH and I have only cruised Carnival but there are not a lot of times that they go. Thanks!

 

Congratulations on being Cancer free. Now to enjoy your cruise. Personally I would go on NCL. It is totally freestyle. There is so much to do or not to do depending on what you want. The Epic, Breakaway & Getaway have so many interesting things to do. Although it does get very smoky near the casino on these ships. NCL is more of a younger middle age group. I guess I should just say NCL is the line that started "freestyle" and truly knows what it means.

[bluehorizonlover123]

We loved the summit and it was a breeze sailing out of bayonne and we had great views of the new york skyline and the statue of liberty. The summit is smaller and the crew made all the passengers feel like one big happy family. Celebrity is still my favorite cruise line. THey make you feel welcome with champagne when you board, and many times during the week served us champagne or wine before dinner just because.

[05mak05]

We've sailed on Carnival, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Princess. Our first choice would be RCI with Princess coming in 2nd. This is a thread started several years ago and it's now up to 13 pages. Some of the comments might help in your decision making. Congratulations in being cancer free and have a great trip. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1481929

[happyville]

Thank you 05mak05

 

 

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Edited March 16, 2014 by happyville

[SMerritt]

All good go with you!

 

We had a wonderful cruise to Bermuda on the Breakaway - stayed in the Haven Complex.

 

Only one cruise on RCL and other lines. We now stay with NCL because of the variety of entertainment offered.

 

As above, sailing out of Manhattan was a tour in itself.

 

A great feature, the Breakaway has Outside Dining, a quiet dinner at sunset on a warm evening was amazing!

[navybankerteacher]

Before I pose this question, I know everyone has there own opinions, but this is important to me. I am coming up on my 5 year anniversary of being Cancer free and I want to celebrate by going to Bermuda. So my question is Royal or Norwegian line? My DH and I have only cruised Carnival but there are not a lot of times that they go. Thanks!

 

First of all: congratulations, and wishes for permanent recovery.

 

Depending on timing, I have three suggestions:

 

A) Best line, best itinerary, less convenient embarkation: HAL from Boston to Hamilton, Bermuda - Spring and Summer of 2015. Boston might be inconvenient, but HAL is superior line, and Hamilton beats the Dockyard tourist trap.

 

B) Royal Catibbean - sails from Bayonne, NJ - larger ships, with lots of activities and pretty good service, but goes to the Dockyard.

 

C) NCL - Probably least expensive, but not as good service, also goes to Dockyard. It has a couple of plusses: low cost and, most important, it sails fro West side of Manhattan. - making the departure from New York, down the Hudson River, past the the Statue of Liberty ha truly awesome experience.

 

Whatever you choose - have a great cruise.

[bluehorizonlover123]

Also you must include an island tour on your cruise. We really enjoyed our island tour. We also went to the caves which was very interesting. You can also do a dolphin swim right there at the dockyards.

[youngestof9]

 

C) NCL - Probably least expensive, but not as good service, also goes to Dockyard. It has a couple of plusses: low cost and, most important, it sails fro West side of Manhattan. - making the departure from New York, down the Hudson River, past the the Statue of Liberty ha truly awesome experience.

 

Whatever you choose - have a great cruise.

 

commenting on the bold - the Breakaway to Bermuda out of New York is not the least expensive. While May and September are cheaper than summer, the Breakaway definitely has a higher cost. And amazing features, dining, service and entertainment. But it's a beautiful ship and you can't beat Bermuda. I want to go back so bad!

 

To the OP - I appears you're sailing Carnival by your ticker - have an AMAZING time and congratulations on beating cancer! Yay!

[happyville]

Thanks for all the great information.

 

 

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