Royal Caribbean vs NCL

[Catmjs]

Now that Royal Caribbean is stopping their 7 day cruises to Bermuda that basically leaves me with NCL.....I've heard that NCL has a poor customer service department. Is there anyone who has done both RC & NCL....what do you have to say.

[sjohnson529]

I've done both. However, I never had a reason to contact customer service on either cruise. I booked through a travel website and not directly with the cruiseline. I was happy with both cruises and had no reason to complain about anything.

[bryanool]

I've traveled on both and had a better time on NCL than RCL, I think my RCL cruise was just bad luck, but I didn't have a very good experience. NCL is good, it's a cruise just sit back and enjoy.

[Aquahound]

By customer service, do you mean the on-board service or the desk jockeys? As for on board service, I noticed a very, very steep decline in service when they went to Freestyle. My favorite ship was the Seaward/Norwegian Sea and I sailed her several times. But one Freestyle journey where I was waiting in line for dinner, and the waiters lost that personal touch, and my NCL days were over.

Now, I understand Norwegian Sea was not constructed for Freestyle. But recent reviews of NCL America ships seems to show a trend of unhappy crew and poor service. (Don't flame me, I'm just reporting what I'm reading!)

As for RCI, I have yet to experience bad service on board. However, their Customer Service Department on shore does leave a lot to be desired. The few times I've called, the agents were clueless.

 

As for actual ships, IMO, nothing compares to the Voyager and Freedom Class ships of RCI.

[newmexicoNita]

By customer service, do you mean the on-board service or the desk jockeys? As for on board service, I noticed a very, very steep decline in service when they went to Freestyle. My favorite ship was the Seaward/Norwegian Sea and I sailed her several times. But one Freestyle journey where I was waiting in line for dinner, and the waiters lost that personal touch, and my NCL days were over.

Now, I understand Norwegian Sea was not constructed for Freestyle. But recent reviews of NCL America ships seems to show a trend of unhappy crew and poor service. (Don't flame me, I'm just reporting what I'm reading!)

As for RCI, I have yet to experience bad service on board. However, their Customer Service Department on shore does leave a lot to be desired. The few times I've called, the agents were clueless.

 

As for actual ships, IMO, nothing compares to the Voyager and Freedom Class ships of RCI.

I think the OP is talking about land based customer service. I don't know when you cruised NCL after freestyle went into being, but you may want to give the line another shot. The service is every bit as good as onther lintes; in some cases better. All cruise lines have both good and bad land based agents. NMnita

[newmexicoNita]

yes, many have complained about the customer service offered in the main offeices of NCL. I can happily say I have rarely had a problem and never a serious one. That being said, if this is your concern, why not use a travel agent? Then she/he will have to deal with any problems and you will be free to enjoy your cruise. No matter what line you travel you wil see negatives: I think lately the attacks or should I say negatives have been addressed to Celebrtiy and HAL. Next week it may be Carnival. The service you get on land and your cruise experience are two different things. Freestyle isn't for everyone but more lines are adopting it every year and why? Because it has gained in popularity. the olden days of waiting to be seated, less the good service and other such complaints are long gone. This being said, only you can decide. NMNita

[Grandpaul]

25 cruises on NCL and 10 on RCL and no problems with either one. I should say problems that haven't been taken care of. Obviously I like them both.

[VegasPinkGirl]

Have my first RCCL cruise booked for later this month. I can't tell you anything about it yet but I'm expecting it to be wonderful. I have cruised NCL twice. Both times on the Norwegian Sea. The first cruise was a disaster. Mostly due to spring breakers. They ran the halls all night long screaming obscenities. I can't even remember how many times I had to call 'the desk' to complain. They would send security but nothing was ever done. There were other problems too. When I got home I wrote a lengthy letter to NCL Customer Services. They did send a $250.00 comp to be used on another cruise. Wanting to give NCL another chance we booked a family cruise on the same ship. That cruise was not a total disaster but it was far from good. Many things went wrong and NCL didn't seem to care. Customer service was non-existant. The excursions were great and we looked forward to getting off the ship. HA

 

Our next cruise was Disney. These people wrote the book on customer service. WOW, what a great cruise. It was amazing. We were treated like royalty.

 

I expect RCCL to fall somewhere between Disney and NCL. Hopefully more towards the Disney side. Will let you know next month when I return. :)

[newmexicoNita]

Have my first RCCL cruise booked for later this month. I can't tell you anything about it yet but I'm expecting it to be wonderful. I have cruised NCL twice. Both times on the Norwegian Sea. The first cruise was a disaster. Mostly due to spring breakers. They ran the halls all night long screaming obscenities. I can't even remember how many times I had to call 'the desk' to complain. They would send security but nothing was ever done. There were other problems too. When I got home I wrote a lengthy letter to NCL Customer Services. They did send a $250.00 comp to be used on another cruise. Wanting to give NCL another chance we booked a family cruise on the same ship. That cruise was not a total disaster but it was far from good. Many things went wrong and NCL didn't seem to care. Customer service was non-existant. The excursions were great and we looked forward to getting off the ship. HA

 

Our next cruise was Disney. These people wrote the book on customer service. WOW, what a great cruise. It was amazing. We were treated like royalty.

 

I expect RCCL to fall somewhere between Disney and NCL. Hopefully more towards the Disney side. Will let you know next month when I return. :)

VegasPink, It is hard to compare the Sea even though it was one of my favorite ships with the new breed of NCL ships: It would be like trying to compare RCIs Majesty of the Sea with NCLs Jewel or Pearl. You probably need to try NCL again, sailing on the ships that were designed for freestyle to get a true feeling for what the freestyle concept. I do hope you enjoy

RCI, I am sure you will. It is a good line. NMNita

[Aquahound]

Have my first RCCL cruise booked for later this month. :)

 

What ship are you booked on?

[CPT Trips]

Spring Break is not the best time to cruise on any line - it seems to bring out the worst.

 

We have cruised both NCL and RCCL. Will cruise on either one again - other than the freestyle concept or the whiz-bang amusements, not a whole lot of difference in terms of food, service and entertainment.

[cruiser82]

I've been on both NCL and Royal Caribbean and I would gladly cruise either of them. I've never had a problem that caused me to contact customer service prior to taking the cruise or once onboard so I can't comment on that. I can say that it's the older, smaller NCL ships that do Bermuda and they weren't built for Freestyle cruising so keep that in mind too.

[diana3561]

We liked RCCL better than NCL.

The freestyle may be good for some but not for us. The service in the

dinning room was lacking the personal touch.

[ce2000]

Catmjs, I have been on both Royal Caribbean and NCL, while both lines are different, they are very good. I believe that you should give NCL at try. I am not saying that you will prefer NCL, but you may. It is rather painless to find out if NCL is for you.