NCL "Deals" vs. RCCL "Deals"

[hurley7]

I have been receiving a lot of emails lately on all of the NCL specials and there seems to be no end to the options. (We were booked on our first NCL cruise to Hawaii this year, but had to cancel.) We have mostly sailed RCCL. I know there are a LOT of posts that compare the two, but was wondering if anyone had compared their specials specifically and found that one line really saves you money over the other?

[islesdave]

What someone considers a "deal" is very subjective, one person might see it as a great buy, another not so much. The free at sea options are wonderful, you get to pick what you want, especially if you're a drinker and have the UBP. That can wind up saving someone a decent amount of money at the end of a cruise. Base price wise, IMO, NCL is a bit less expensive (not much).

[beerman2]

I have been receiving a lot of emails lately on all of the NCL specials and there seems to be no end to the options. (We were booked on our first NCL cruise to Hawaii this year, but had to cancel.) We have mostly sailed RCCL. I know there are a LOT of posts that compare the two, but was wondering if anyone had compared their specials specifically and found that one line really saves you money over the other?

With NCL choose 2 perks on certain categories, especially if you drink or like specialty dining ( 3 restaurants) , I would choose NCL.

 

Just have to factor those( drinks/specialty dining) into the costs if you choose RCI.

[ray98]

Sit down and do the math is the only way to know. A 'free' drink package is nice if you are in the market but if the fare is $500 more per person it really isn't cheaper. The only way to find out is add it up.

[davy jones]

I find that many advertised deals use adjusted base prices or fuzzy math. Another gimmick that I have seen is to raise prices when offering OBC. I have seen many "big sales" where the price is actually higher than before the sale.

 

My observation is that Royal does this more than NCL, but all do it to some degree or another.

 

When booking, I look for a final price that I am willing to pay and hope for price drops. Most times, the price does not drop until after the final payment date, when they are trying to fill the ship.

[clskinsfan]

Alot depends when you are going to sail and on which ship. I priced out my upcoming October cruise on both Royal's Oasis ships and NCL's Getaway ships. When I book the NCL cruise it was significantly cheaper for a comparable room. I got the 3/4 passenger free plus the "free" UBP as well. Just not having a significant bar tab will save my family a ton of money. On top of that I got an aft balcony for CHEAPER than a standard ocean view balcony on the Oasis ships. This will be my first NCL cruise coming up and if the food and service are comparable to RCL. I may be done with Royal.

[Kfamilycruise]

One thing I notice on RCL is that you really get the best rate as soon as the itinerary comes out. After that, prices keep going up no matter what they say the "sale" of the day is -- also, beware that their website gives you the rate without taxes and fees unless you do the booking all the way through to where you put your name. If you aren't an alcohol drinker, the boardwalk rooms on Oasis class ships usually come with some sort of eat, drink and play special that includes a soda package or something similar. These can be great deals -- especially if you are on the outer edges where you can see ocean too.

 

On NCL, rates are good when itineraries first open as well as after final payment. The UBP is great if you drink alcohol and the dining options are nice with UDP (and kids can always order off kids menu and not pay for them). The best special that they have in my opinion is when they also have free gratuities as part of the free at sea package. When they do the OBC, they are almost always raising the base price of the cabin -- unless it is during the Jan/Feb Wave season.

 

Hth

[sanger727]

My experience with looking at royals 'deals' is that they are all funny math with no real savings. On one day a cruise will be $600 pp. the next day they offer bogoho; but when you click on it it still comes to $1200 total because the cost went up.

 

NCL' deals are actual savings if the promos are worthwhile for you. 3rd and 4th free is just that. They don't rack up the price if you use it; because everyone gets to pick their promos and many don't pick that. The bev package was good for me but not for someone who only wants 1 drink or less a day due to the service fee. But IMO Norwegians deals are actual deals when the price is competitive. Royals are just false advertising.

 

 

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[tallnthensome]

I'm not loyal to any line. I've sailed RC twice. Cruised NCL last year, Carnival this year, and MSC next year. Royal Caribbean has the worst "deals" around. They mark the price up 40% then give you 30% off. Their pricing doesn't fool a lot people. I'll take NCL free at sea deals anytime especially the UBP. You get no perks on Royal and most of their ships are very old. I'm booked on the new Bliss for 2019 on a 15 day Panama Canal. The UBP will probably save me around $2000 on my bar tab over those 15 days. We love our cocktails.

[brikee]

I used to be loyal to Rccl but then when I had kids it was significantly cheaper to do ncl when they offer kids sale free. I feel like ncl is the better value. I can get a balcony for the price of an inside on rccl and on a longer itinerary too.

[arlodog]

We used to be loyal to RCCL, but have recently been sailing with NCL. We get great rates by being casino players (Harrah's) and it essentially ends up being 1/2 off when you add all the fees in. We can usually get a balcony for 2 for the same price as an inside for 1 on the Oasis class ships. Add in the UBP and it becomes very affordable. We are going to gamble anyway, so it is nice to have some reward. We have sailed 5 times in the past few years with NCL and have our next cruise booked for November. We will have our adult son and grand daughter with us due to the 3rd/4th sail free promo.

[danak13]

Echoing what a lot of others are saying. I price shopped a lot for the cruise my SO and I are taking in November and NCL was by far better than RC. RC had a lot of "fake" deals each week but the price always stayed the same. 7 day cruise with RC was the same price as NCL but I am getting the drink package for free with NCL so that is a huge saving for us. And I have been hearing a ton of great things about NCL so I am really excited to be trying something new!