Norwegian Epic or Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas

[Bb6224]

Hey,

 

Looking for some advice....I'm a first time cruise goer. Need help decided between the two ships and cruise lines. This will be my honeymoon with my new wife next year in September. Just need the positives and negatives of each cruise line.

 

I'm willing to pay more. Just need extreme help here. The more information the better please. Also which one has cheaper excursions.

 

Thanks

[Sauer-kraut]

You will save a lot of money booking your own excursions not purchasing the ones on the ship. There is a great deal of help on the PORTS OF CALL boards down on the main Cruise Critic page that you can get ideas from.

 

As for the two lines, they are mainly similar .... book the one that goes to the places you want to visit!!

[cruiserking]

Hey,

 

Looking for some advice....I'm a first time cruise goer. Need help decided between the two ships and cruise lines. This will be my honeymoon with my new wife next year in September. Just need the positives and negatives of each cruise line.

 

I'm willing to pay more. Just need extreme help here. The more information the better please. Also which one has cheaper excursions.

 

Thanks

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic Bb6224, welcome to cruising and congratulations on your upcoming wedding

 

Royal Caribbean's brand new Harmony is sure to be a destination of her own. We love Royal Caribbean, the ships are gorgeous, the crew terrific, the food is always very good.

 

Are you aware that Harmony will be the biggest cruise ship on the high seas. It will max out at well over 6,000 passengers. When cruise ships are engineered properly you don't often see other people as they are well dispersed throughout the ship.

 

However, Harmony and NCL Epic the 5th largest ship are gigantic liners. If you are looking for ships with tons of on board activities, restaurants, clubs you will love both of these ships.

 

We haven't sailed with NCL some people rave about them, others recently have complained about the food quality in the Main Dining Room.

 

There have been numerous comparisons between the two lines here's a link to some of them:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=74968531

 

If you and your new wife are into a slightly more low key experience Royal Caribbean has a vast fleet of ships that would be suitable for you. Have you considered the brand new Anthem of the Seas sailing from New Jersey. Anthem is also quite large but, really elegant and features a variety of entertaining lounges and pursuits like bumper cars and a sky-diving simulator.

 

There are many different classes of vessels, if you search around online and look at pictures of the ships from each cruise line you will start to get a feel for it and find the ships that's right for you.

 

You can also try posting a RCCL Harmony vs. NCL Epic in each of the Royal Caribbean and NCL forums and this way you will get a lot of feedback too.

 

http://www.shipparade.com has a tremendous selections of cruise ship pictures and you will begin to see what ships feel like a good fit for you.

 

Good Luck and Happy Cruising.

 

Jonathan

[Bb6224]

Thanks Jonathan!

 

My only concern with NCL was that they would get 5 good reviews then the rest was bad then good again. I understand that everyone has their own standards but the reviews were all over and confused me.

 

I just want to make sure that I get the best for my money and for the occasion from the ship to the on shore excursions.

 

Thanks again!

 

Bobby

[cruiserking]

You're Welcome Bobby.

 

The reviews on Cruise Critic are sometimes hard to judge, very often they are written by people who have never who enjoy complaining. People will often let this most two-bit problem ruin their whole vacation, like a squeaky door, or missing a port due to rough seas.

 

You can't solely base a ship on the reviews you find anywhere really.

 

Here is a link to a current thread on the Royal Caribbean forum where a loyal Royal passenger tried NCL and didn't like it, but, many others who do have also chimed in.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2242024

 

NCL started Free Style dining, you eat when you want, where you want. All of the other cruise lines have adopted this practice on their ships.

 

The ship's excursions are always a bit pricier, I usually book with the ship it's just easier. Once you're booked you can join the roll call for you cruise and meet other people on board your ship. Perhaps you can join another excursion with fellow cruisers and save some money.

 

Harmony will be a thrilling ship to travel aboard as she'll be brand new but, make sure you don't book her too early in her first season. Very often it takes several months for new ships to work the kinks out regardless if the cruise line has been in business for four decades or four days.

 

I'm sure you will have a wonderful cruise no matter which ship you choose. Have fun making your decision.

 

Jonathan

[Bb6224]

Yea I appreciate all this advice. It's very helpful. Looking at excursions with RCCL it looked like they had many options at a decent price through that ship. The NCL when looking online didn't have many excursions for the cruise I wanted to go.

 

Overall in your opinion what cruise line do you think is better?

 

Thanks,

 

Bobby

[cruiserking]

Yea I appreciate all this advice. It's very helpful. Looking at excursions with RCCL it looked like they had many options at a decent price through that ship. The NCL when looking online didn't have many excursions for the cruise I wanted to go.

 

Overall in your opinion what cruise line do you think is better?

 

Thanks,

 

Bobby

 

I haven't ever cruised with NCL so I can't really comment. I have flirted with booking with them but, over the years have read about service issues on board. Who knows, maybe it's a great line.

 

However, I have twice sailed aboard Royal Caribbean Line with two more cruises booked and one coming up two weeks from today.

 

My wife and I adored the Explorer of the Seas which we sailed to the Bahamas in February of 2014. The ship was beautifully maintained, the crew was very friendly, the lounges on board were elegant and we thought the food was delicious.

 

We cruised aboard brand new Quantum last November and our socks were knocked off.

 

If I had to choose between Harmony and Epic I would choose Harmony in a heartbeat. At RCCL they promote the Wow factor about their ships. If indeed you book the Harmony you will find that you and your wife will be walking around throughout your cruise saying Wow and awful lot.

 

Have a great cruise Bobby and welcome to wonderful world of cruising, it's the only way to travel. ;)

 

Jonathan

Edited August 9, 2015 by cruiserking

[Aquahound]

Overall in your opinion what cruise line do you think is better?

 

Putting the 2 ships aside since they're not cruising yet, my overall opinion of the 2 lines is pretty divided. Some of my favorite cruises have been on RCI, which is why I keep going back to them. Oasis Class ships (Harmony) are amazing and with the additions planned for Harmony, it's going to be all that much better. My worst cruises have been on NCL, which is why I haven't cruised them since 2012. I have found that the 100% Freestyle concept causes service to suffer and frankly, it's a bit of a farce because considering the show times are set, you still have to plan your dinners accordingly. NCL is the nickel and dime of cruise lines with the highest daily tip rates and a $7.95 room service charge.

 

I would recommend the Harmony for you.

[cruisead]

Putting the 2 ships aside since they're not cruising yet, my overall opinion of the 2 lines is pretty divided. .

 

Epic is cruising, and has been for three years.

 

OP, we wouldn't go on an NCL cruise again, even if it were free. The only thing they have above other lines is that their night entertainment is better.

 

Food is subjective, but we haven't found the food on RCI to be all that great. It's basically OK banquet food. We've been lucky to have cruised on nearly every line out there, and we would rank RCI's food as just OK---not bad, but not great. It's easier to compare food on ships when you've cruised on more than just one or two lines.

 

But of your two choices, RCI would be our choice, hands down.

[Aquahound]

Epic is cruising, and has been for three years.

 

My apologies. For some reason, my eyes saw Escape. I think I confused this with another thread. :o

[SMerritt]

Thanks Jonathan!

 

My only concern with NCL was that they would get 5 good reviews then the rest was bad then good again. I understand that everyone has their own standards but the reviews were all over and confused me.

 

I just want to make sure that I get the best for my money and for the occasion from the ship to the on shore excursions.

 

Thanks again!

 

Bobby

 

Been on both Lines.....there are some major differences as to preferred entertainment, dining, dress codes etc.

 

Nothing against RCL, just not for us so here goes........

 

Please- For a true romantic honeymoon experience, check out the Haven Complex on the Epic, resplit with private pool, dining, concierge etc etc

 

Also the "casual cruising/dining", Blue Man Group and Cirque are over-the-top.

 

Now that the Epic is changing itineraries again - we will be taking our fourth cruise on the Epic. Haven guest as always to "treat" ourselves.......have a happy cruise * check out both cruise lines specific forums.