So nervous to try NCL we love Royal caribbean differences please

[maggieq]

We are trying out NCL for the first time in 23 days on the Encore TA.  We have been diamond + on RCCL for quite some time now and also book celebrity.  I’ve also wanted to try NCL and this cruise was a perfect opportunity to do so. 

 

Looking forward to a brand new ship and cruise line.  We did this same itinerary on the RCCL Quantum where there were lots of issues. I note that as even though there were issues, we had a fabulous time.  

Edited October 10, 2019 by maggieq

[swmichigan cruiser]

5 hours ago, lolo26 said:

Hello please give us the differences- will we be disappointed

If you are that nervous in my opinion you might want to stick with Royal and Celebrity. Why stress about it. I am Diamond Plus on Royal 28 cruises and Platinum Plus on NCL 21 cruises so I like them both  but if I had any doubts I would stick with the one I already say I love. Just my opinion.

[billslowsky]

35 minutes ago, hallux said:

NCL's newest ships (Bliss, Joy, Encore, the BA+ class) don't have the ropes course, they have the go-karts and laser tag.

Escape is newer than the BA class.

[BNBR]

All things equal (price), I'd take the larger Royal ships all day.  I sailed Escape and really disliked the ship. It felt enclosed and claustrophobic.  There were some high points for sure like the waterfront and some of the dining was really great, spa was amazing, too.   But we almost exclusively sail Oasis class when price is close and NCL has nothing close.  Even more traditional ships from Royal have a more open feeling. 

[Sam Ting]

25 minutes ago, maggieq said:

We are trying out NCL for the first time in 23 days on the Encore TA.  We have been diamond + on RCCL for quite some time now and also book celebrity.  I’ve also wanted to try NCL and this cruise was a perfect opportunity to do so. 

 

Looking forward to a brand new ship and cruise line.  We did this same itinerary on the RCCL Quantum where there were lots of issues. I note that as even though there were issues, we had a fabulous time.  

 

I think you will like it just fine.  It’s still a cruise, just on a different line.

 

Kinda like when your dog dies and you go get another one.  You end up liking them both even if they are different from one another.  

 

Have a great cruise!

[tomservo]

3 hours ago, lolo26 said:

the tours and ports for europe are looking the best on ncl this is why

 

Which NCL ship are you looking at? This will help us better help you. 

[lolo26]

35 minutes ago, swmichigan cruiser said:

If you are that nervous in my opinion you might want to stick with Royal and Celebrity. Why stress about it. I am Diamond Plus on Royal 28 cruises and Platinum Plus on NCL 21 cruises so I like them both  but if I had any doubts I would stick with the one I already say I love. Just my opinion.

WELL WE SPENT 15K LAST EUROPE TRIP-  7 DAYS ON THE ROYAL CARIBBEAN HARMONY AND THEN 11 DAYS CONSTELLATION - LOTS OF MONEY LOST ONLY TO BE REALLY UNSATISFIED-  PERHAPS YOU HAVE NOT BEEN TO EUROPE IT COSTS ALLOT

[lolo26]

1 minute ago, tomservo said:

 

Which NCL ship are you looking at? This will help us better help you. 

GETAWAY AND MAYBE JADE

[tomservo]

3 minutes ago, lolo26 said:

GETAWAY AND MAYBE JADE

 

Whats the age makeup of your group? What are the things you enjoy most about cruising? (restaurants, shows, activities, etc)

[lolo26]

4 minutes ago, tomservo said:

 

Whats the age makeup of your group? What are the things you enjoy most about cruising? (restaurants, shows, activities, etc)

AGES ARE 30 TO 45 OF OUR GROUP- WE WANT ALL SHOWS- AND NOT SURE IF NCL HAS CHEF TABLT?

[swmichigan cruiser]

41 minutes ago, lolo26 said:

WELL WE SPENT 15K LAST EUROPE TRIP-  7 DAYS ON THE ROYAL CARIBBEAN HARMONY AND THEN 11 DAYS CONSTELLATION - LOTS OF MONEY LOST ONLY TO BE REALLY UNSATISFIED-  PERHAPS YOU HAVE NOT BEEN TO EUROPE IT COSTS ALLOT

Seeing as how you asked we did a Northern Baltic Cruise this summer with our two oldest grandkids this summer and I figure with flights, cruise, hotel in Copenhagen 3 nights pre cruise one night after cruise and tours costing $2600, Total was about $20,000. Last summer with same two grandkids we did a British Isles cruise, Year before that we did a western med cruise with same two grandkids. That doesn't count the three TA's we have done just us and and at least two other west med cruises we have done. Does that answer your question and you notice I didn't need to post in all caps. So perhaps I have been to Europe. Hope you enjoy what ever you decide maybe you will have better luck than you did when you posted about the celebrity Constellation.

[GA Dave]

1 hour ago, lolo26 said:

do you happen to have photos on ncl main dining ( free food) you can post?

Unfortunately I do not.  We were in the Haven and ate there or in the specialty restaurants.

[hallux]

2 hours ago, billslowsky said:

Escape is newer than the BA class.

I said BA+ - Breakaway PLUS class

 

Bliss launched in April, 2018.

Joy Launched in April, 2017.

Encore launches next month, November 2019

 

Escape launched in October 2015.

 

My statement holds, NCL's newest ships do NOT have the ropes course...

Edited October 11, 2019 by hallux

[billslowsky]

8 minutes ago, hallux said:

I said BA+ - Breakaway PLUS class

 

Bliss launched in April, 2018.

Joy Launched in April, 2017.

Encore launches next month, November 2019

 

Escape launched in October 2015.

 

My statement holds, NCL's newest ships do NOT have the ropes course...

LOL

 

Classic Cruise Critic bickerer.

 

Escape launched 2015

Breakaway 2013

Getaway 2014

 

Escape is new than Breakway Class.

 

Get over yourself.

[tomservo]

2 hours ago, lolo26 said:

AGES ARE 30 TO 45 OF OUR GROUP- WE WANT ALL SHOWS- AND NOT SURE IF NCL HAS CHEF TABLT?

 

NCL doesn't do Chef's Table anymore.

 

For your age group, I think you guys will have a great time on the Getaway. I was on back in April, it's a great ship. They have rope courses, water slides (including 2 drop slides), good bars and loungers, and dueling pianos. The main production show is Million Dollar Quartet, which was great, and the restaurants were great too (would recommend Le Bistro and Ocean Blue). We were in the Haven, but you can check out my review below.

 

 

[hallux]

1 minute ago, billslowsky said:

LOL

 

Classic Cruise Critic bickerer.

 

Escape launched 2015

Breakaway 2013

Getaway 2014

 

Escape is new than Breakway Class.

 

Get over yourself.

I'm not sure what you're trying to prove by calling me a "bickerer".

 

The post I quoted said that "NCL has the ropes course".  In my comment I indicated that NCL's most recent ships, the Breakaway PLUS class, do not have the ropes course.

You're now trying to prove some point that makes no sense by saying I said something I didn't - that the Breakaway class was newer.  I did not say the Breakaway class was newer, I said the Breakaway PLUS class was newer (does the bigger type help?) and were ships without ropes courses.

[tomservo]

3 minutes ago, billslowsky said:

LOL

 

Classic Cruise Critic bickerer.

 

Escape launched 2015

Breakaway 2013

Getaway 2014

 

Escape is new than Breakway Class.

 

Get over yourself.

 

Let's calm down, we're getting off topic.

Breakaway class - Breakaway, Getaway

Breakaway+ class - Escape, Joy, Bliss, Encore

 

The Escape is technically in the Breakaway+ class, although I think maybe the point hallux was trying to make is that the Escape is a lot closer to the Breakaway than to the Bliss, which I think is a fair point. To me the Escape is an enhanced version of the Breakway, and the Bliss is almost in a class of it's own. Maybe they should have called the Bliss the Breakway++ class...

[hallux]

3 minutes ago, tomservo said:

The Escape is technically in the Breakaway+ class

Somehow I keep associating the ships with the Observation Lounge as the BA+ ships and the others as BA ships, forgetting that Escape is a BA+ but does not have the OL...

[Young and Restless]

Sept 22 we were on  NCL Breakaway and Sept 29 we were on RCCL Empress. Each had its pros and cons.

We are Palatium on NCL and Diamond on RCCL  

Embarkation was so simple on the Empress, 30 minutes longer on NCL.

NCL pros. entertainment, specialty restaurants, free laundry, large bathroom, Next cruise Certificates, 

        cons . crowed, needed reservations for everything, food in main dinning room , service overall, common space always crowed, getting off ship at ports.

 

RCCL Pros : service, Main dinning room food. 3 drinks a day, you can bring wine onboard. casino was non-smoking,

           Cons : Water cost, entertainment, cabins smaller, ice-cream machine not opened 24/7,  

If we had the grandkids with us NCL would be great but we enjoyed the RCCL because it suited us.

Hope this helps, also if you have specific questions , Ill try to answer them 

[BNBR]

1 hour ago, tomservo said:

 

Let's calm down, we're getting off topic.

 

 

Calm down? Once this thread hit page 2, OP started yelling at everyone! 

[AlohaLivin]

We sail on both and love both. Little beats the Haven on NCL, we would have a hard time giving that up (the Royal service, the similar tier with RCL, is a “bit much” or over the top in our opinion). There are positives about both (for example, on average I prefer the entertainment on RCL, but NCL has better food in my view and then there is the free drink package that is usually included).  I am a little confused on the “nervous” part... NCL is just as nice as RCL. If you were trying something entirely different, say MSC or Costa I could understand, but BOTH RCL and NCL are wonderful lines. 

[lolo26]

5 minutes ago, AlohaLivin said:

We sail on both and love both. Little beats the Haven on NCL, we would have a hard time giving that up (the Royal service, the similar tier with RCL, is a “bit much” or over the top in our opinion). There are positives about both (for example, on average I prefer the entertainment on RCL, but NCL has better food in my view and then there is the free drink package that is usually included).  I am a little confused on the “nervous” part... NCL is just as nice as RCL. If you were trying something entirely different, say MSC or Costa I could understand, but BOTH RCL and NCL are wonderful lines. 

Thanks you are very kind i do feel better now 🙂 our last cruise and trip cost 15k its allot of money we trusted celebrity and it was a let down to say the least alot went wrong on that crusie including technical things  shows were cancelled and the tour vendors were just awful for the Mediterranean cruise..we have done 15 Mediterranean cruises....it was a very depressing ship very run down..buffet was worst then dog food lol , avoid the constellation regardless of itinerary. 

[lolo26]

10 minutes ago, AlohaLivin said:

We sail on both and love both. Little beats the Haven on NCL, we would have a hard time giving that up (the Royal service, the similar tier with RCL, is a “bit much” or over the top in our opinion). There are positives about both (for example, on average I prefer the entertainment on RCL, but NCL has better food in my view and then there is the free drink package that is usually included).  I am a little confused on the “nervous” part... NCL is just as nice as RCL. If you were trying something entirely different, say MSC or Costa I could understand, but BOTH RCL and NCL are wonderful lines. 

can you share some food pics?

[AlohaLivin]

1 minute ago, lolo26 said:

can you share some food pics?

Every line has a stinker or two in the fleet, but reviews help you avoid those.

 

Sorry, no food pics, I am just not the person who does food pics 😊  On the larger ships, the Haven will have a separate restaurant and I have found those to be the best meals in general, but even the MDR is consistently quite good. Of course, I would hurt someone over a piece of red velvet cake from Chops on an RCL ship 😂😂😂

[4774Papa]

We have done 20 ocean cruises, 7 on NCL, 11 on Celebrity and 2 on Royal C.

 

We like all three lines, but our preferences are in the following order:

1) Celebrity

2) Royal C

3) NCL

 

We are elite on Celebrity and get the free happy hour from 5-7, since we never buy drink packages, we still spend less because of the happy hour.

We are Diamond on Royal C. and have not spent anything on alcohol due to the great Diamond happy hour that runs from 5-8:30.

We are Platinum on NCL and do enjoy the free specialty meals with the one bottle of wine (although no happy hour).  We don't like the drink package options or the wines available, so we bring our own wine and pay the $15 bottle corkage (we still pay less for alcohol than just the 20% gratuity for the drink package).

 

Celebrity has the best dining and service. Royal C and NCL both have better entertainment.  I would give a slight edge to Royal, but not much.

 

Ultimately, the choice depends on the cost of the cruise and the itinerary.   When I compare similar cruises these days Royal C seems to be the lowest choice.  Still, when NCL offers the best price for a similar itinerary, then we will likely go with them.