NCL Cruiser seeking information on RCI (TA)

[pcrum]

Hello:

 

I am seeking opinions on food, beverages, and entertainment on RCI.  We have cruised all of the mainstream cruise lines other than RCI, including Disney, HAL, Princess, Carnival and NCL.  Our last cruise was a transatlantic (TA) on the NCL Epic and that cruise pretty much made us converts to NCL, although we are platinum on Carnival.  And, we have decided that TA cruises are the best suited for us; we love the sea days on the ship.

 

We have a TA booked on NCL Epic in April, 2021 out of San Juan, however Harmony of the Seas is also doing a TA from our home port of Port Canaveral, so we are considering switching ships.

 

With our NCL booking, we have the beverage package included as well as 5 speciality dinners.  Also included, but less important to us, is some internet time and $50 off each port’s shore excursion.

 

We would be looking to add a beverage package for alcohol to a booking with RCI.  Looking at their website, I see that the scotch and whiskey included in the drinks package is to my husband’s liking.  What I am having trouble determining is the wine included on the beverage package.  I know that any drink $12 or less is included, but the wine lists I have seen online vary as to whether there is a sparkling wine for $12 or less, which would be included in the beverage package.  Does anyone know if a dry sparkling wine is available that would be included in the wine package?  I don’t need high end champagne and was perfectly happy with the Prosecco included in the beverage package on NCL, but I just want something dry and sparkling.

 

Entertainment is also important to us.  We really enjoyed Howl at the Moon on NCL Epic, the dueling piano bar.  Does Harmony of the Seas offer anything remotely similar?

 

We also enjoyed the Broadway show, “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” on NCL and wondered if RCI does any Broadway shows on this ship.

 

Finally, although we typically dine at some specialty restaurants, we also like to have some dinners in the MDR.  How is the food on RCI compared to other lines?  I have to say that we found the MDR on NCL somewhat lacking in comparison to other lines.  While the buffet and alternative restaurants that charged a surcharge were outstanding, the NCL MDR was lacking for dinner (but perfectly adequate for lunch and breakfast).  There were a lot of beef dishes that seemed to be the same recycled roast beef served again and again with a different name and very little seafood options.  I know food is subjective, but for those who have been on other lines, I would like your opinion as to how the food on RCI compares.

 

I have also read that the prices for the drinks package and speciality dining packages vary and that you have to watch the website.  I’ve also heard of Black Friday specials in past years.  If you buy the packages at a higher price, can you get a refund if the price later lowers?  That is one thing that is rather putting me off of RCI…having to hope I get the best price for the packages and checking daily.  Is there a particular price for the beverage package and specialty dining package that is a definite “buy now” price?

 

The TA we are looking at is 9 sea days in a row, so the ship really is the destination for much of the trip.

 

Thank you for any information you can provide.

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, pcrum said:

Does anyone know if a dry sparkling wine is available that would be included in the wine package? 

 

How is the food on RCI compared to other lines?  

 

 Is there a particular price for the beverage package and specialty dining package that is a definite “buy now” price?

Yes, many should be within the price cap of the package.

 

Food is not only too subjective, but also variable between ships and sailings. Expect about the same as other lines.

 

Drink package below $50/day and dining at 1/2 list price of individual venues.

 

[firefly333]

Ships oasis class do a actual broadway show and I hear pay royalties. Smaller ships do show which have singing and dancing and often have broadway numbers. Oasis class is only class I know of that actually does a real broadway show.

 

Royal has much better shows than carnival imo. I cant remember the shows on ncl and princess so I'm assuming fine but nothing special. 

 

Everything is subjective. I enjoyed the food on ncl.

 

Rcl I often just have dinner in the windjammer where they cook a cheap steak any way i want. Might have changed idk. Going forward post covid probably more changes. But i do like rcl shows the best.

[Ourusualbeach]

44 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Oasis class is only class I know of that actually does a real broadway show.

Grease is on the Indy and Saturday Night Fever (not sure if that’s a true Broadway show but it’s close enough) And We Will Rock You on the Anthem.

[pcrum]

Thanks for the information.  Is Harmony of the Seas considered Oasis class?

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

Ships oasis class do a actual broadway show and I hear pay royalties. Smaller ships do show which have singing and dancing and often have broadway numbers. Oasis class is only class I know of that actually does a real broadway show.

 

Royal has much better shows than carnival imo. I cant remember the shows on ncl and princess so I'm assuming fine but nothing special. 

 

Everything is subjective. I enjoyed the food on ncl.

 

Rcl I often just have dinner in the windjammer where they cook a cheap steak any way i want. Might have changed idk. Going forward post covid probably more changes. But i do like rcl shows the best.

Thanks for the information.  So, you can get a steak in the buffet?  That's pretty good.  

 

Is Harmony of the Seas considered Oasis class?

 

Thanks again.

 

 

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, pcrum said:

We have a TA booked on NCL Epic in April, 2021 out of San Juan, however Harmony of the Seas is also doing a TA from our home port of Port Canaveral, so we are considering switching ships.

The Harmony would be a much nicer voyage. And you would not have to get to San Juan to embark. Grease is the main broadway show on the Harmony, but there are a lot of other ice skating shows, aquatheater diving shows, and a lot more entertainment on the Harmony. We have sailed on the Epic 7 times and love the ship. But given the choice, we would pick the Harmony.  The link below has a quick look at the Harmony during her inaugural voyage out of PC last year. 

 

Yes. The Harmony is an Oasis class ship and the 2nd largest cruise ship in the world. The Epic is dwarfed by the size of the Harmony. 

 

 

Edited June 18, 2020 by BirdTravels

[cloud_nine]

Having sailed one of the smaller NCL ships last year, I can't say anything about entertainment as the Star didn't have all the big shows like the Epic, but I found MDR food lacking on NCL. RCI is much better in that regard, though the buffet was better on NCL. I would say that in my opinion, MDR food ranks higher on RCI than both Carnival (with the only exception being desserts on Carnival) and NCL, but perhaps lower than say Celebrity or Disney (haven't sailed on those two but have heard nothing but good things about the food from others who have, and have seen the menus/food pictures etc.) There's generally quite a few seafood options in the MDR on RCI as my mother usually chooses those, and usually two fish options available nightly - one which stays the same throughout the cruise (possibly salmon?) and one that changes each night, but definitely more seafood options than NCL. Also plenty of meat dishes and a vegetarian option. 

[firefly333]

15 minutes ago, pcrum said:

Thanks for the information.  Is Harmony of the Seas considered Oasis class?

Thanks for the information.  So, you can get a steak in the buffet?  That's pretty good.  

 

Is Harmony of the Seas considered Oasis class?

 

Thanks again.

 

 

The shows are awesome but a bit of planning required I didnt like. You book which shows you want to see on that class. They spread you all over the ship so it actually seems less crowded than a smaller ship. The diving show mentioned, is world class divers from all over the world and not to be missed. The ice skating show is also quite good but varies. I've seen the best ever on smaller ships, just depends who is on but always good. I go early to sit as close to the ice as I can get. Not many triple toe loops but some doubles, which is still hard 2 feet in front of you on a smaller rink. Comedy club was in the middle and hardest to book as it was a smaller room. 

 

Diving only on oasis class. 

[pcrum]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

The Harmony would be a much nicer voyage. And you would not have to get to San Juan to embark. Grease is the main broadway show on the Harmony, but there are a lot of other ice skating shows, aquatheater diving shows, and a lot more entertainment on the Harmony. We have sailed on the Epic 7 times and love the ship. But given the choice, we would pick the Harmony.  The link below has a quick look at the Harmony during her inaugural voyage out of PC last year. 

 

Yes. The Harmony is an Oasis class ship and the 2nd largest cruise ship in the world. The Epic is dwarfed by the size of the Harmony. 

 

 

Thanks so much.  I see piano entertainment at the Schooner Bar.  Did you attend any of these shows?  We love Howl at the Moon on NCL.  I wish more ships had something like that.

 

Thanks also for the wine list. If prices don't increase, the Chandon Brut would be included in the beverage package, which is good news for me!!

 

I will price it all out with the beverage package and see which comes out less expensive.  We booked last year when NCL had the "fly free' option, so our flight to San Juan and back home from Barcelona is covered in the fare.  With COVID-19, it seems flight prices from Europe have gone up in price.

 

Thanks again for all of the detailed information in your review!

[pcrum]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

The shows are awesome but a bit of planning required I didnt like. You book which shows you want to see on that class. They spread you all over the ship so it actually seems less crowded than a smaller ship. The diving show mentioned, is world class divers from all over the world and not to be missed. The ice skating show is also quite good but varies. I've seen the best ever on smaller ships, just depends who is on but always good. I go early to sit as close to the ice as I can get. Not many triple toe loops but some doubles, which is still hard 2 feet in front of you on a smaller rink. Comedy club was in the middle and hardest to book as it was a smaller room. 

 

Diving only on oasis class. 

Thank you.  We are really more into musical theater than diving or skating shows, but with all of the sea days on the TA cruise, I imagine we would try to take in all of the shows.  We are used to booking the shows ahead, as we did that on NCL.

 

Thanks again!!

[pcrum]

1 hour ago, cloud_nine said:

Having sailed one of the smaller NCL ships last year, I can't say anything about entertainment as the Star didn't have all the big shows like the Epic, but I found MDR food lacking on NCL. RCI is much better in that regard, though the buffet was better on NCL. I would say that in my opinion, MDR food ranks higher on RCI than both Carnival (with the only exception being desserts on Carnival) and NCL, but perhaps lower than say Celebrity or Disney (haven't sailed on those two but have heard nothing but good things about the food from others who have, and have seen the menus/food pictures etc.) There's generally quite a few seafood options in the MDR on RCI as my mother usually chooses those, and usually two fish options available nightly - one which stays the same throughout the cruise (possibly salmon?) and one that changes each night, but definitely more seafood options than NCL. Also plenty of meat dishes and a vegetarian option. 

Thank you!  We loved NCL Epic, but did find the MDR food somewhat lacking!!  Glad to hear that RCI is a bit better.

[Crazy planning mom]

I have sailed both the Harmony and the Epic and enjoyed both.   Overall, I give the edge to the Harmony.  The reason being the special areas of the ship like Central Park and the Boardwalk.  During the day stop off at the Park Cafe in Central Park.  Its complimentary and they are known for their roast beef sandwich.  Central Park at night has a beautiful atmosphere and there is usually a musician playing near the Trellis Bar.  The Boardwalk is where the Awuatheatre shows are and there is a giant outdoor movie screen that shows movies here.  This is where Sabor's specialty restaunt us and they have yummy margarita's.  One thing that I like about at Norwegian is that you reserve shows and specialty dining 90 days before your cruise.  There is no set time for shows to become available on Harmony.  You have to keep checking out the cruise planner.  Also, Norwegian has O'Sheehans which is open late.  On Royal, they don't have a sit-down restaurant open late but most people hit up Sorrento's Pizza or Cafe Promenade.

The Schooner Bar is different than Howl at the Moon.  The Hotel at the Moon had dueling pianos.  The Schooner Bar is just one piano and he isn't dueling with anyone.

I still enjoyed it.  It's just a different experience.  The pub on the Harmony of the Seas was fun at night and has more of the lively scene akin to Howl at the Moon.  The audience may be a little more sedate on a transatlantic than a 7 day than I went on.

[Crazy planning mom]

15 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

It depends on whether you mean "going out of business" bankrupt, or "debt reorganization" bankrupt.  My feel is that the line has capital to last for nearly a year (about Feb/Mar 2021) without operations, and then will need to file for reorganization.

 

On 6/18/2020 at 9:29 PM, pcrum said:

Thank you.  We are really more into musical theater than diving or skating shows, but with all of the sea days on the TA cruise, I imagine we would try to take in all of the shows.  We are used to booking the shows ahead, as we did that on NCL.

 

Thanks again!!

Harmony has an original musical- Columbus the musical in addition to Grease.

[SkaterJasp]

Harmony of the Seas have one of the best stage production of Grease that I’ve seen. They basically took the best elements from both the original stage production and the movie to make their version of Grease. In addition, as stated earlier, they also have a 2nd musical production call Columbus. Columbus have one of the most elaborate set pieces at sea and is really well done. Royal Caribbean Productions does an amazing job putting together original musical productions on their ship. I use the word musical because it isn’t like Carnival and other cruise lines where it’s just a medley, or a mashup, of random songs... but there is actually somewhat of a plot or theme that ties everything together. Royal Caribbean have some of the best collection of musicals production at sea, some of them are the full production as you would find on the West End or Broadway... intermission included. For example, Oasis has Cats and Allure has Mama Mia. Other ships such as Anthem have “We Will Rock You”. 

Prior to COVID-19 shut down, I would attend broadway shows in New York pretty frequently. The entertainment on Royal Caribbean can go up against most broadway productions that I’ve seen. They spend millions on the shows and it shows. Also don’t knock on the ice skating production and the aqua show. Harmony of the Seas has one of the best ice skating show I’ve seen, both on land and at sea. It uses state of the art projection mapping to add a whole other element to the show. In addition, the main show in the aqua theater is better than most of the cirque show’s I’ve seen. They’re both high energy productions that is worth the time to watch. As someone that attend live theater frequently on land... I’m always WOWed and blown away with what Royal Caribbean Productions been putting together over the past few years. Especially the Super Hero show on Spectrum of the Seas. 

Also I personally think the food on Royal Caribbean is way better than Norwegian. I’ve been on Norwegian once and it was onboard the Epic... that was my first and last Norwegian cruise. There was no reason to go on Norwegian when Royal Caribbean offer a much better overall experience. I’m also Platinum on Carnival, only because Royal Caribbean doesn’t sail out of California. Carnival is great with “Reno” style entertainment... they’re entertaining, but won’t pass for a Vegas production. However, hands down, Royal Caribbean offers the best experience overall and I do fly all over the world to experience all that Royal has to offer. By far over 2/3 of my cruises had been on Royal Caribbean. 

 

Edited June 20, 2020 by SkaterJasp

[pcrum]

2 hours ago, SkaterJasp said:

Harmony of the Seas have one of the best stage production of Grease that I’ve seen. They basically took the best elements from both the original stage production and the movie to make their version of Grease. In addition, as stated earlier, they also have a 2nd musical production call Columbus. Columbus have one of the most elaborate set pieces at sea and is really well done. Royal Caribbean Productions does an amazing job putting together original musical productions on their ship. I use the word musical because it isn’t like Carnival and other cruise lines where it’s just a medley, or a mashup, of random songs... but there is actually somewhat of a plot or theme that ties everything together. Royal Caribbean have some of the best collection of musicals production at sea, some of them are the full production as you would find on the West End or Broadway... intermission included. For example, Oasis has Cats and Allure has Mama Mia. Other ships such as Anthem have “We Will Rock You”. 

Prior to COVID-19 shut down, I would attend broadway shows in New York pretty frequently. The entertainment on Royal Caribbean can go up against most broadway productions that I’ve seen. They spend millions on the shows and it shows. Also don’t knock on the ice skating production and the aqua show. Harmony of the Seas has one of the best ice skating show I’ve seen, both on land and at sea. It uses state of the art projection mapping to add a whole other element to the show. In addition, the main show in the aqua theater is better than most of the cirque show’s I’ve seen. They’re both high energy productions that is worth the time to watch. As someone that attend live theater frequently on land... I’m always WOWed and blown away with what Royal Caribbean Productions been putting together over the past few years. Especially the Super Hero show on Spectrum of the Seas. 

Also I personally think the food on Royal Caribbean is way better than Norwegian. I’ve been on Norwegian once and it was onboard the Epic... that was my first and last Norwegian cruise. There was no reason to go on Norwegian when Royal Caribbean offer a much better overall experience. I’m also Platinum on Carnival, only because Royal Caribbean doesn’t sail out of California. Carnival is great with “Reno” style entertainment... they’re entertaining, but won’t pass for a Vegas production. However, hands down, Royal Caribbean offers the best experience overall and I do fly all over the world to experience all that Royal has to offer. By far over 2/3 of my cruises had been on Royal Caribbean. 

 

Thanks so much for your comments!  We are big Broadway fans and area anxiously awaiting the return of live theater.  The shows on Royal do sound good.  I have to say that I thought NCL did a great job with "Priscilla Queen of the Desert," though.  

 

I'm also glad to hear that you liked the food.  I just read a review by Little Miss Sunshine and I got the impassion that the food wasn't great in the MDR.  We definitely found the MDR food for dinner lacking on NCL.

 

Thanks again!!

[Snowbird_in_training]

My opinion comes from a non status cruiser.  We cruised on NCL Escape and were pleasantly surprised with food choices and quality.  Their dining rooms aren’t large like you find on RCCL mega ships.  You are more likely to be seated with just your party.  With NCL specialty dining usually included for 3 or 4 nights, you can really have a great dining experience.  We didn’t cruise in The Haven, but have now cruised twice in a Grand Suite on RCCL where you have access to Coastal Kitchen.  On NCL we certainly felt that we had enough alcohol to satisfy us.  If you want a specific brand, you can ask and just be charged the difference.  I did that on the Escape, but wasn’t charged.  We left it with our tip. 
 

I totally agree that more ships should have something like Howl at the Moon.  Truly enjoyable.  Harmony’s production shows are simply superior, if that’s your thing.  
 

After our Escape cruise, we tried to compare the cost with our last balcony cruise on RCCL. The cost was incredibly similar.  We’re happy we cruised with NCL and we don’t hesitate to cruise with them again. 

[SkaterJasp]

2 hours ago, pcrum said:

I'm also glad to hear that you liked the food.  I just read a review by Little Miss Sunshine and I got the impassion that the food wasn't great in the MDR.  We definitely found the MDR food for dinner lacking on NCL.

 

Thanks again!!

MDR food on Royal Caribbean can be really good or really bad... but there are always those classics that are always good. I can always find something I like on the MDR menu. I do spent most of my time at specialty dining such as Solarium Bistro, Wonderland, and 150 Central Park. I think it’s worth the money for an upgraded dining experience.
 

[pcrum]

16 hours ago, Snowbird_in_training said:

My opinion comes from a non status cruiser.  We cruised on NCL Escape and were pleasantly surprised with food choices and quality.  Their dining rooms aren’t large like you find on RCCL mega ships.  You are more likely to be seated with just your party.  With NCL specialty dining usually included for 3 or 4 nights, you can really have a great dining experience.  We didn’t cruise in The Haven, but have now cruised twice in a Grand Suite on RCCL where you have access to Coastal Kitchen.  On NCL we certainly felt that we had enough alcohol to satisfy us.  If you want a specific brand, you can ask and just be charged the difference.  I did that on the Escape, but wasn’t charged.  We left it with our tip. 
 

I totally agree that more ships should have something like Howl at the Moon.  Truly enjoyable.  Harmony’s production shows are simply superior, if that’s your thing.  
 

After our Escape cruise, we tried to compare the cost with our last balcony cruise on RCCL. The cost was incredibly similar.  We’re happy we cruised with NCL and we don’t hesitate to cruise with them again. 

Thanks for your post.  I have never been on RCI, but we loved the NCL Epic.  My first NCL cruise was on an older ship, the Star, and based on that experience, we did not sail NCL again for 13 years until a TA cruise came up at a price we couldn't pass up.  So glad we did it again, as we loved the Epic.  It sounds like Harmony of the Seas has even more to offer than the Epic.  I just wanted to make sure the food in the MDR is decent, as that was our one complaint on both of our NCL sailings.  The buffets and specialty restaurants were wonderful, but the MDR dinners were sorely lacking in variety.

 

Thanks again.

[pcrum]

16 hours ago, SkaterJasp said:

MDR food on Royal Caribbean can be really good or really bad... but there are always those classics that are always good. I can always find something I like on the MDR menu. I do spent most of my time at specialty dining such as Solarium Bistro, Wonderland, and 150 Central Park. I think it’s worth the money for an upgraded dining experience.
 

Thank you!  We do the specialty restaurants also, but tend to have a few dinners in the MDR, especially on the longer TA cruises.  It's good to hear that you can find something good to eat on the MDR menu.  I liked the buffet on NCL Epic, but my husband really detests buffets, so we tend to go to restaurants that offer service.  That was one thing we appreciated about the Irish pub, O'Sheehan's on NCL; the ability to get a sit down meal served to us almost 24 hours a day.