Norwegian vs. Royal Caribbean

[Georgia_Peaches]

We sailed on RCCL's Allure, Freedom, and Symphony of the Seas.  Sailed NCL's Breakaway, Sun, and Epic.

We loved the boardwalk concept on Allure but also enjoy the waterfront concept on Breakaway.  While I find both lines to be very similar in regard to food, embarkation, debarkation, muster...IMO NCL has RCCL beat in evening entertainment.  The lack of solarium, as another poster mentioned, is a letdown on NCL but if you get a thermal suite pass, there is solarium style seating in there on the Away class ships.  Both lines have complaints with customer service, which is to be expected.  I think you'll find more similarities than differences between the two lines so if it comes down to price, I'd be inclined to go with the better deal.

[vpearlkc]

2 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Jeez, glad you mentioned this.  No casino and no thermal suite are deal breakers for me.  I guess that eliminated the POA and Joy.

 

Think the reason for no casino is the same as why they have to have a mostly American crew. They don"t leave state and have no foreign stops so must obey state and federal laws

[BirdTravels]

14 hours ago, rtread said:

I have to admit I didn't realize POA didn't even have a casino until well after booking. My fault for not checking.....love my blackjack so I'll have to tough it out for that cruise. So I'm no counting that as a strike against it. 

Yeah,,, The laws in Hawaii don't permit them to operate a casino. They would if they could. Blame Hawaii. 

Edited June 16, 2019 by BirdTravels

[All-ready2cruise]

7 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Jeez, glad you mentioned this.  No casino and no thermal suite are deal breakers for me.  I guess that eliminated the POA and Joy.

right, gambling/casinos are not legal in Hawaii

[trumpetfish55]

I like NCLs flexibility with eating timing. You can get something to eat 24 hours 

[bonvoyagie]

It mostly boils down to do you want to experience the ship or Hawaii? BTW when in Hawaii the casinos and some of the bars would be closed on any ship - they also have laws for that as well.  BTW I thought the Joy did have (or at least now has) thermal suites. Not sure about the Jewel = also I don't think the Joy will be visiting Hawaii.

[BirdTravels]

Jewel has a small thermal suite

 

Joy does not

 

1 hour ago, bonvoyagie said:

It mostly boils down to do you want to experience the ship or Hawaii? BTW when in Hawaii the casinos and some of the bars would be closed on any ship - they also have laws for that as well.  BTW I thought the Joy did have (or at least now has) thermal suites. Not sure about the Jewel = also I don't think the Joy will be visiting Hawaii.

 

[ShannonSC2]

We have sailed on RCCL 3 times and NCL about 6 times.  I find that the cruise lines have a lot of similarities.  

 

Dining: 

NCL:  I do like freestyle dining.  But it makes me eat more at the buffet because I forget to go to dinner until it is too late.  🙂  

RCCL: You have My time dining which you can pick your dining time.  I do like having a set time and the same waiter/waitress each night.  

 

Entertainment:
I think both cruise lines does a great job with entertainment.  I think it really depends on what you are looking for.

 

Activities:

NCL hands down has more activities happening especially on sea days such has different trivia, games, etc.  

 

TV Channels:

NCL has a more variety of TV channels and selection.  Also if you want to catch up on your movies in your staterooms movies are free.

RCCL you have to pay $11.99 to watch a movie in your stateroom.  

 

Pool Deck:

RCCL has a much larger pool deck with lots of places to sit.  

 

Staterooms: 

I find RCCL staterooms (at least balcony rooms) bigger.  Lots of drawers and storage.  Bathrooms seem to be a little larger on RCCL.  

Beds I find much more comfortable on NCL than RCCL. 

 

Staff:

Both cruise lines have amazing staffs members.  

 

Food:

NCL has the best french fries while RCCL has the best pizza. 

 

If drink package and dining package aren't a concern I think Pride of America is your best bet on seeing and experiencing Hawaii.  It is on my bucket list but haven't been able to do it yet.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lupush]

I decided to try RCCL this past February with my Wife and Son on a 4 night out of Ft. Lauderdale on Independence of the Seas.  Some observations in comparison to NCL below:

 

• Thought the food was awful all around on RCCL, both the buffet and the specialty restaurants.  
• Kids pool area on RCCL was much more well though out than any on NCL.
• Staff was much more friendly and accommodating overall on NCL.
• Love the "washy washy" singers in the buffet on RCCL.  
• Not being able to make specialty dining reservations online in advance on RCCL is baffling to me.  

 

[davy jones]

IMO - you can not compare the POA to any other large cruise ship because it is US flagged and subject to US and Hawaiian laws and regulations that the foreign flagged ships do not have to comply with.

[TheTides]

So I have cruised both, including the POA.  The cruises will be more similar than different, I find RCCL’s ships are slightly more active than NCL, I thought the food on RCCL was pretty rough, like Applebee’s, but once again that was on a 5 night sailing.  Overall, I would say they are more similar than different.  

 

The POA though is such a fantastic sailing.  It is what it is, a floating hotel.  But NCL has really perfected their Hawaiian product.  Yes the ship is slightly odd, yes the crew is American, but if you look at port times, you will rarely be on the ship at all.  When you are, the aft pool is fantastic!  The Na Pali coast sailing was a highlight, hanging in the hot tub on the back watching the world cruise by.  The Volcanic sailing is spectacular too between Hilo and Kona. If you were feeling crazy, you could even spend the night on the big island as the ship sailed around.  I would put this cruise up there as our top 3 cruises.  For us, its all about the location, and NCL did a fantastic job allowing us to island hop around the islands

[S4POPO]

On 6/15/2019 at 6:08 PM, Sauer-kraut said:

This is a unique cruise, not the same vibe as going to the Bahamas.  The ship is a floating hotel and usually people have rented cars in each port to do their own excursions.  Many have such intense days on shore that they are tired in the evening and not so lively.  Basically its "early to bed, early to rise"  everything else is secondary.

We did our honeymoon on the POA back in 2011, and plan on doing it again for our 10-year anniversary.  This analysis is spot on!  We loved the cruise, and IMO you cannot compare this ship to any of the competition.  It's the only U.S. flagged ship that doesn't waste any time on sea days to/from the mainland.  You can take those days and spend some extra time on the islands pre or post cruise.

[Podie]

I have sailed on 5 cruiselines including numerous cruises on RCCL and 2 cruises on NCL. We joke on RCCL that NCL stands for NCL and dime you. I feel like everything I want to do on NCL costs extra. I can't be in the sun for long, so the solariums on RCCL (and Celebrity) are my favorite hangout. The thermal suite on NCL, the closest thing to a solarium, costs extra. I'm perfectly happy in the MDR on RCCL, or even the buffet, but I find NCL tries to NCL and dime me by pushing me toward specialty restaurants. I've already paid and don't intend to do it again. There is a lot of noise and a general sense of chaos on board the large NCL ships that I've never experienced on RCCL. I'm not an entertainment person so can't speak for that, but the crewmembers on the large NCL ships seemed overworked and not happy. I've never encountered that on RCCL. You may wonder why I still go on NCL from time to time? The only reason is I moved from Florida to Arizona and only Princess and NCL go out of California. And I really disliked Princess.

[Lupush]

What is there to do on POA at night with no casino?  That is the one thing that makes me thing I'll never do a Hawaii cruise.

[vpearlkc]

12 minutes ago, Lupush said:

What is there to do on POA at night with no casino?  That is the one thing that makes me thing I'll never do a Hawaii cruise.

 

I never go to the casino on any cruise and find plenty to do day or night.

[TMO3CCO1]

We've sailed Royal twice.  The last time we sailed as a group on Allure of the Seas.  As a group we loved the Piano Bar and requesting and singing along with the Piano Man. We found ourselves there almost every night of our cruise and have the best memories from those nights.  As a group we are sailing again on the Breakaway.  It will be our first Norwegian cruise.  Does this ship have any type of the same entertainment?

 

I will be following this thread closely.  Thanks for posting!

 

[swmichigan cruiser]

Just my 2cents you probably can't go wrong on either. We have been on 27 RCCL cruises and 20 NCL cruises. But for us NCL is the one we have cruised on the most recently. Right now we have 7 cruises booked and 6 of those are on NCL. I really like the entertainment on NCL and they have at the moment more perks for us then RCCL so NCL is a better fit for us at the present. Probably not the best fit for everyone.

[Steff79]

2 hours ago, TMO3CCO1 said:

 As a group we are sailing again on the Breakaway.  It will be our first Norwegian cruise.  Does this ship have any type of the same entertainment?

 

I will be following this thread closely.  Thanks for posting!

 

Go to Howl at the Moon, duelling Piano. And my favourit Place is at Syd Norman´s Rock the pour house. Go there early for a seat and enjoy.

i will have next year my first time with Royal, the Anthem. they had a offer for single only paying 50%, and not for the second one. excited about the Anthem

Edited June 18, 2019 by Steff79

[queenL]

Next month I'll embark on my 5th NCL cruise.  I've sailed on RCL 8 times.  It's interesting, I'll bet if you pose this question on the RCL board you'd get more people who favor RCL. I'll add my 2 cents.  I prefer RCL in just about everyway.  I think their ships are much better, the food is better, particularly MDR, the specialty restaurants and Chef's table. I prefer the activities on RCL too.  For our cruise next month, I looked at RCL first.  However, NCL had the better itinerary for the price. That is why I chose them for our upcoming cruise.  Although I prefer RCL, I have enjoyed my NCL cruises too.  I will sail on either but I prefer RCL.

[mvanzandt]

On 6/15/2019 at 3:59 PM, emory2001 said:

On the 3 lines I've cruised, Royal does have the best buffet.

 

That's good to know about no included solarium on NCL, which I guess is the one "exclusive" area I might care a little bit about. Can anyone pay for the private pool area on NCL or is that only with the exclusive suites?

There is no private pool area on NCL ships unless you are staying in the Haven.  You can buy a pass to the Vibe Club (I don't think this exists on all ships) which is adults only, and very limited.  It has nice loungers, its own hot tub, its own bar.  There are usually very few people in there at one time and you get personalized one on one service from the bartenders and waiters.  They bring you fruit infused water, cookies, and fruit skewers during the day.  In my opinion well worth the price.