NCL vs. RCCL

[DAGVBSB]

We just got back from our cruise on the RCCL Explorer of the Seas to Canada/New England. Tommarrow I will begin writing my full review.

 

Some notes:

 

1.) At breakfast this morning, some of the crew told us that due to some hurricane, their scheduled 5 day trip to Bermuda (begining today) has been changed to a 5 day Canada cruise.

 

2.) NCL wins in my opinion HANDS DOWN! Even in the areas unrelated to Freestyle items, NCL (in my opinion) far surpasses RCCL. Even my mother, who had cruised RCCL before was asking what happened to the line.

 

I will give examples and better comparisions in my full review... but let's just say that the entire cruise was the most unorganized mess that I have ever been apart of!

 

Of course, it was no "disaster" or anything like that. It was a very nice cruise an the ports and most of the crew was great. (can you have a really bad cruise???)

 

I will end this brief entry with one thought I have had the whole 9 days... Everyone said that a cruise on RCCL brings with it a sort of "Awe." I am still waiting for the "awe."

 

Now I am off to bed.

[sealuber]

Looking forward to your review. We were thinking of taking a Christmas cruise out of Galveston Tx with my parents for Christmas. They live in Texas and I was going down for Christmas anyway. Just wondering if I should try them when I fell in Love with the NCL way!

[deepnite10]

i enjoy d both NCL as well as RCCL..of course the Freestyle cruising

is far above what RCCL has..but, the thing i was in awe of with

RCCL..were the french fry s..the best i ve ever had..at sea or land..

[WinnieinWA]

I've been on both lines and I enjoyed them both for different reasons. I love Freestyle dining if I am cruising with family members and enjoy traditional dining when I am cruising solo so I can meet new people.

 

RCCL had free use of the spa pool/whirlpool, etc. and I did enjoy that. NCL charges extra so I never used their spa.

 

I found the cabins of both lines very nice. No major complaints and I usually cruise inside so that I can cruise more times a year now that I m retired.

 

My cabin on RCCL was not very clean and even after several notes I left for the steward to clean mirrors and floor it really didn't improve. My steward on RCCL did the bare minimum and nothing more. I did not tip extra but left the auto tip in place. My stewards on NCL were fabulous! Our balcony room and the balcony was cleaned spotless each day and my DD had towel animals each night. I tipped the stewards an extra $100.00. each because they were that good!

 

I did enjoy the free caviar in the champagne bar on RCCL before dinner. I didn't find that on NCL but I was on this cruise with a DD who doesn't drink so I did not search out any fun places so it may exist on NCL... I just do not know about it..

 

I did enjoy the food more on NCL. Food is subjective but my DD and I enjoyed the heck out of NCL food. RCCL was just So-So to me but that is such a personal thing.

 

I really like NCL but I will cruise whichever line gives me a good price in the winter. I hate that NCL does not give any single supplements as I cruise solo so their price has to be very cheap for me to book. My destination is the ship more than the ports.

[rsinj]

Interesting points.

 

RCL changing the Bermuda cruise to New England/Canada has happened in the past due to hurricanes. It happened the summer we did that cruise out of Bayonne - not our cruise, but the one just prior. You want to see an angry crowd, you should see some of the posts from the RCL boards when that happened.

 

As far as NCL being significantly better, I think parts of it has to do with many factors and I'm sure it's not fleet/companywide. So far, our RCL cruise was the best - we did have the "awe" factor at the time and will be very happy if NCL provides even better than that when we cruise next month.

 

However, I think that you have to account that some of what is happening is due to the economy, pressures being put on the cruiselines and how they react, the ship/itinerary, etc.

 

Thanks for your thoughts - looking forward to the review.

 

Howard

[packercruising]

We were on AOS last March. We had an inside with Promenade View which was really neat because we had a window and it made the cabin seem bigger. The food and the service was quite good and we had an awesome cabin attendant (except for the Carnval Glory we have always had great cabin attendants). Also the Ice Show was fantastic! All that being said we both decided we like NCL better. Their dining options, and dress code fit our style better and the food in the specialty resaurants much better.

[crt37]

We've cruised both and much prefer Royal Caribbean.

 

They should rename "Freestyle" dining. It would more aptly be called "Free for All" dining. What a mess. We saw many more slobs in the NCL dining room than on Royal Caribbean. Passengers take things to the extreme.

[DAGVBSB]

I am still writing my more detailed comparision and my formal reveiw of the Explorer of the Seas (for the review section). (and yes, RCCL does win a couple of catagories... photography department and non-suite check in for example)

 

But here is a brief synopsis that I did for a thread running on the Ask a Question board.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

I tried NCL last year for the first time in 13 years. It was okay but I much prefer RCI over NCL. The ship was the Norwegian Dawn. Just didn't measure up to Royal Caribbean in a lot of areas. Your kids will find much more to do on a Voyager class ship than what the smaller Spirit will offer. The buffet on the Dawn was the worst without a doubt in my 22 years of cruising the main dining rooms food was hit or miss. Mostly miss. The specialty dining rooms were good with the exception of Cagney's. Very poor quality of meat for a added charge dining location.

 

Now, I am of just the opposite opinion after having been on the Explorer of the Seas last week and the Dawn 2 years ago. (the Explorer of the Seas is the sister ship of the Voyager of the Seas.)

 

The buffet on the Dawn had a better selection than the buffet on the Explorer. (although the layout of the buffet on the Explorer and seating was better.). The Explorer had the same food everyday in the buffet and the selection was limited. Also, there wasn't much taste to the food.

 

The menus in the main dining rooms on the Dawn had more variety during the week. The Explorer had basically the same items every night, just packaged differently. They never had Veal, Creme Bruelee, Baked Alaska or Beef Wellington on the Explorer. For Italian night... they had pasta with marinara sauce and called it Italian night. (I was thinking where is the Lasanga and Chicken or veal parmesian like on NCL?)

 

Again, the food was very bland and very little taste on the Explorer.

 

The pay restaurant on the Explorer, an Italian Restaurant, cost $20 a person. The Italian restaurant on NCL costs $12. The Explorer/Voyager offers two special restaurants (Johnny Rockets and Portofino) while the Dawn has about 6. (plus Blue Lagoon which is free and I equate to be similar to Johnny Rockets)

 

The kids pool area on the Explorer is mediocre compared to the Dawn's kids pool. Granted the Rock Climbing Wall, minature golf and inline skating is nice, but if you have bad weather, the rock wall & inline track are closed.

 

The shop on the Dawn had a much better selection of merchandise than all the shops on the Explorer. (prices were similar)

 

On NCL, all formal nights are optional in all restaurants. Not so on the Explorer. (oh yes, RCCL formal nights are optional if you want to be relegated to the buffet....)

 

On NCL, you can stay IN your cabin until you are called to disembark. No being herded like cattle into a crowded and hot public area to wait. (disembarkation morning on the Explorer reminded me of an area where homeless people gather... people sitting with luggage on the stairwells, on planters, around the theater and even on the floor all over the lounge and promenade areas.) Having to be out of my room at 8:00 a.m. was also a little shocking after staying in my room until 10:00 on the Dawn....

 

Less elevators also created havoc on the Explorer. Since most events (dining rooms, Library, buffet, pool access, kids club, sports deck) were accessed from the aft elevators, it was nearly impossible to get an elevator without getting on an elevator going the opposite direction and riding it that way until it turned around. (my parents waited 20 minutes one night for an elevator to go to dinner....they were always already full!) Also, many decks on the Explorer don't go all the way through. To get from the Deck 3 dining room to the Deck 3 main theater, you have to go up one or two floors, walk through the casino or Promenade and then down again. On the Dawn to get from the Deck 7 main restaurant to the Deck 7 Theater, you simply walk down the corridor. Only one deck has an obstacle from front to back on the Dawn. The Dawn also has 3 elevator banks (forward, mid and aft) compared to 2 on the Explorer.

 

On NCL in 2006, we were met as we entered the ship, welcomed directed to the proper elevator. Then when we got to our floor, another staff member at the elevators directed us down the correct hall to our cabin. Last year, on the Pearl, my parents were escorted to their cabin when they entered the ship. (and they only had a regular balcony stateroom.) This year on the Explorer, we were on our own. After passing the security officers at the card check as we boarded, we never saw another staff member. We took the first elevator bank that we came to to Deck 9 and then we had to figure out which hallway to our suite. (yes, we had an aft suite) No escort, no crew members directing traffic.

 

On RCCL, kids pay full price for gratuity. On NCL, kids pay half price for gratuity.

 

On NCL, they had many more tables in the casino for Blackjack, roulette and craps. Very few table game options on RCCL compared to NCL. (and the table games weren't open all the time that the casino was like on NCL.) More and varied slot machines on RCCL than on NCL however.

 

On NCL, you aren't charged for an avanced ordered shore excursion until 24 hours before the excursion, and then it is added to your on board account. On RCCL, pre-booked excursions are charged to a credit card (that you must provide when you book the excursion) immediately. If you cancel one, even before the cruise, you have to wait for a credit. My parents accidentaly scheduled the wrong shore excursion in Boston and had to cancel it. We booked our shore excursions about 30 days before the cruise. They cancelled the Boston excursion about 20 days before the cruise. Their credit card statement came 10 days before the cruise... the shore excursion charge was on there but the credit wasn't. (RCCL even says it can take up to two billing cycles for the credit to appear.) My dad always pays his credit card balance off each month. So basically they were charged for the shore excursions EVEN before the cruise started and even had to pay for a shore excursion that they cancelled. That wouldn't have been the case on NCL...the charge would not go on to the onboard account until the cancelation deadline for a particular shore excursion passed (24 hours prior to arrival in that port.)

We almost missed St. John due to fog.... RCCL would have to credit all the accounts of those with shore excursions... after using their money before.

 

The whole experience on the Explorer made it seem that all parts of the ship operation (shore excursions, activities, dining, shopping, disembarkation, embarkation, etc) was simply unorganized. I heard more than one person mention that the motto for the Explorer should be... "hurry up and wait."

 

Everyone told me that the "awe" factor of RCCL would win me over... I am still waiting for the "awe" factor to hit!

[DAGVBSB]

We've cruised both and much prefer Royal Caribbean.

 

They should rename "Freestyle" dining. It would more aptly be called "Free for All" dining. What a mess. We saw many more slobs in the NCL dining room than on Royal Caribbean. Passengers take things to the extreme.

 

And they should change RCCL's "Get out There" motto to "Get out of my way." There were more rude passengers on the Explorer than on all of my NCL cruises put together. So many people who had to push to the front of the line, dish others in line, push you aside to look at pictures, interrupt you while you are talking to a crew member about something, etc., etc.

 

The Captain was non existant. All of the major events where the NCL Captains would be, (return cruisers reception, suite guest reception, Farewell song at end of cruise), the Explorer Captain was no where to be found. (two formal nights with the Captain eating at his table... went to the second seating both nights so he completely ignored the first seating guests.) As I looked at pictures in the photo gallery, the Captain was usually a couple feet away from the guests as if it pained him to be there. The NCL Captains that I have ran across have always been outgoing and jovial and interacted with the passengers.

 

As far as the dining room went.... I saw very few tuxes on formal night. There were people without ties and basically formal night activities in the main dining rooms were the same as on NCL. (but I did get a kick out of seeing so many women wearing stupid looking or ugly dresses that they had no business trying to wear...some trying to pretend to be something their not. If that is part of the allure of formal night...then formal nights are really outdated!)

 

Give me NCL any day.

[terrymtex01]

We just got back from our cruise on the RCCL Explorer of the Seas to Canada/New England. Tommarrow I will begin writing my full review.

 

 

Please let us know when your full review is posted. I enjoyed reading your posts further down your thread comparing NCL and RCCL, but since I don't cruise the RCCL reviews I won't know when your review is posted and I would like to read it.

 

Looking forward to your review. We were thinking of taking a Christmas cruise out of Galveston Tx with my parents for Christmas. They live in Texas and I was going down for Christmas anyway. Just wondering if I should try them when I fell in Love with the NCL way!

 

I am sure you already know this and I might be stupid for even posting this for you, but NCL no longer sails out of Galveston, much to my sadness. The closest you would be able to sail with NCL from Texas would be New Orleans, which is OK with me really because I love New Orleans.. Just wished that Galveston was still a NCL option.

[snorklinbarb]

Hi,

 

Thanks so much!

 

I've been waiting for your comments since for months we knew you and your family would be on Explorer. We went on for lunch with a group and the whole royal promenade shopping mall thing just wasn't our style, but I know many people (especially with kids) who love that sort of thing. Too bad no ice shows for us.;)

 

Probably a typo, but NCL's Italian is now $10. Did anyone in your party try any of the specialties?

 

Under freestyle 2.0, champagne welcome and escort to room. Does RCCL serve bubbly? Also I've read here that Royal has stopped its lobster tail evening. Is that true?

 

What did you end up doing for formal night? I know on NCL you enjoy resort casual, acceptable on any night including "Dress up or Not."

 

Pls post a link to any review you put up. I'll also check the other boards.

 

Thanks for the comprehensive comparison.

 

I'm sure there are a lot of people who like both cruise lines and it's just a matter of $ and itin. Different strokes....

 

Will be on Dawn in Oct. for probably the 10th time and can't wait to try some of the new offerings on the FS2.0 menus.

 

What's up next for your family?

[*Luv2Cruz*]

Good morning.

 

Just recently it has become more obvious that there is a lot of rivalry amongst the different cruise line passengers. Personally, I’ve been on several cruise lines and loved each one. To me it’s all about the itinerary and the people you’re cruising with and the new people you meet onboard and here on CC. Generally speaking the food, shows, excursion, activities, casinos, cabins… are pretty similar. The biggest difference for me with NCL is the Freestyle cruising which is great so you don’t have to hurry back to the ship while in port and you can eat when and where you choose. For my upcoming Bermuda itinerary it’s perfect!:D

 

With gas and airline prices skyrocketing, just find a good itinerary leaving from a near by port and ENJOY cruising!!:) :D :cool:

[greywillow]

Generally speaking the food, shows, excursion, activities, casinos, cabins… are pretty similar. The biggest difference for me with NCL is the Freestyle cruising which is great so you don’t have to hurry back to the ship while in port and you can eat when and where you choose.

True words of wisdom, Luv2Cruz. Overall, the mass-market cruise lines are pretty much the same when it comes to quality. Freestyle is what sets NCL apart.

 

DAGVBSB also has it nailed in saying: "but I did get a kick out of seeing so many women wearing stupid looking or ugly dresses that they had no business trying to wear...some trying to pretend to be something their not." Too many of the women wearing what I consider to be inappropriate "ball-gowns" would in fact look better in baggy sweatsuits. Not only are they "trying to pretend to be something they're not," but the cruise line is "pretending to be something [it's] not" by asking passengers to wear formal attire when there's no good reason for doing so.

[DAGVBSB]

Hi' date='

 

Thanks so much!

 

I've been waiting for your comments since for months we knew you and your family would be on Explorer. We went on for lunch with a group and the whole royal promenade shopping mall thing just wasn't our style, but I know many people (especially with kids) who love that sort of thing. Too bad no ice shows for us.;)

 

Probably a typo, but NCL's Italian is now $10. Did anyone in your party try any of the specialties?

 

Under freestyle 2.0, champagne welcome and escort to room. Does RCCL serve bubbly? Also I've read here that Royal has stopped its lobster tail evening. Is that true?

 

What did you end up doing for formal night? I know on NCL you enjoy resort casual, acceptable on any night including "Dress up or Not."

 

What's up next for your family?[/quote']

 

I will say that the Ice Show was fantastic. They had a Russian acrobatic pair that was fantastic. They only did one routine in the entire ice show and I wish they would have done more. It was fantastic. Speaking of the Ice Show, you must pick up free tickets to go since the theater only holds about 500-600. Since we were in a suite, we were able to get advance tickets for all of us, including our friends not in a suite. Everyone else had to line up in the Promenade for the ticket distribution. The line wrapped around the Promenade twice. (I know because I happened through there at the wrong time...lol)

 

There are only two specialties on the Explorer... Portofinos and Johnny Rockets. No one went to Portofinos... $20 a person for an Italian meal is just too expensive. We loved Johnny Rockets and went twice. (for lunch on both sea days.) Johnny Rockets is a quick service diner where the waiters dance when certain songs come on like "YMCA" and "Respect." There is a $3.95 cover charge per person. A note about that.. the $3.95 covers everything except for milkshakes, floats and carbonated beverages. (no alcohol served at Johnny Rockets) We ordered two milkshakes.... they were $4.50 each plus 15% gratuity on top of the cover charge. They weren't really that big and so the second day, we simply ordered the Oreo Fudge Sundae for dessert, which is included in the price. Don't miss Johnny Rockets on RCCL. (on the day which we didn't order the shakes/float, I did add a tip to my regular bill because of the great and fun service.)

 

As far as the bubbly, none until you get to the Captain's Welcome Reception on the second night. (and you should have seen the people fall over each other and fight to get that champagne! Some had a glass in each hand, how brass.)

 

When we went to the buffet the first day after going to our cabin, we were met as we got out of the elevator by waiters with trays of pina coladas (virgin and non virgin). They hit you up right away and say: "have a pina colada" They make it look like it is free and then when you pick it up they say, "can I have your sea pass card?" I said: "aren't they free?" and when he said no.. I simply put it back on the tray. (he wasn't happy about that....) Then has you manuver into the buffet you had to dodge waiters with trays of drinks trying to get you to take a "welcome aboard drink" (uhm...if it is a welcome aboard drink, shouldn't it be free....) Then while we were sitting there eating, no less than 4 waiters with those trays of drinks tried to get us to buy one.

 

As for formal night... I did take a sweater and button down shirt and a pair of my dress trousers that I use to teach in. (dealing with behavioral students, I cannot wear a tie to work so I rely on nice sweaters over dress shirts.) We were planning on going to the buffet on the two formal nights but our waiter and the head waiter urged us to come to the dining room. I told him what I had brought and he said: "that's perfectly fine for formal dinner." So most of us went. (two went to buffet on those nights.) I noticed many without ties and my wife's pant suit fit right in with the majority of the passengers. The "Smart Casual" night is dead. There were people in everything from suits down to polo shirts and even some shorts.

BTW, I saw people in shorts and jeans in the dining room every night except formal night. As another crew member told me, the dress code is simply the "suggested dress code" so that you don't feel out of place.

 

They had Lobster tail on the second formal night. My daughter tried it... now she likes Lobster too. (last cruise it was Filet Mignon... now Lobster!)

 

Like I said above, the food selections were not very varied. It was basically the same items recycled every night. How many different ways are there to serve a Sirloin steak? There was lamb a couple nights, prime rib a couple nights and turkey a couple nights. The fish dishes were all about the same. Never had Filet Mignon, Beef Wellington, Baked Alaska or even Creme Brulee like we have had on every NCL cruise at least one night.

 

The food taste (and I remind people that food taste is subjective) was very bland. I had Bernaise sauce one night...tasted like beef gravy. My mother, who is extremely sensitive to food tastes due to her allergies to most spices, never had a problem. She had Ceasar Salad 3 nights because the Ceasar dressing was so bland. I even saw her adding salt and pepper one night...something she never does!

 

As for future trips for our family...we are most likely done cruising for a couple years...the budget won't handle another one for a while. My parents and our friends are tentatively booked on the POAm for next August/September through the Senior Citizens club, but it is after school starts for me and my daughter. My dad wants to drive out to Colorado to see his brother and since they will both be over 80 next year, I promised to take him. (and my daughter wants to see Mt. Rushmore as well.) So that appears to be our trip next summer.

 

I would like to give RCCL another chance to see if my bad experiences was just a fluke and see if they can "awe" me, but unless a great deal comes along, that won't be happening. We may look at Princess since none of the NCL cruises is really appealing to us. (Alaska again is a possibility though)

 

In my full report, I will also mention how alot of the things that RCCL says in their daily planners is greatly blown out of proportion. That one really bugs me!

[packercruising]

Excellent reviews DAG! :)

[newmexicoNita]

We've cruised both and much prefer Royal Caribbean.

 

They should rename "Freestyle" dining. It would more aptly be called "Free for All" dining. What a mess. We saw many more slobs in the NCL dining room than on Royal Caribbean. Passengers take things to the extreme.

Did you say more snobs or slobs? What NCL ship are you comparing which RCI ship to? this is probably the secret.

 

I think if you are judging the Voyager Class with the older NCL ships, yes, you would prefer RCI, but if you are comparing the Jewel class NCL ships to say, the Majesty of the Sea, I can't imagine anyone putting RCI above NCL. On most lines it is important to do any comparing by the ship and class. We have seen slobs on all lines, last January we say (in fact sat with a guy) wearing cargo shorts and a stained T shirt to dinner on the Golden Princess. On Celebrity a few years ago there was a guy sitting with us on formal night wearing a turtle neck shirt and a pair of dockers. I have seen similar things on NCL as well. How someone dresses really doesn't make a big difference to me unless I do have to sit next to them and find the table manners as sloppy as their dress.

 

That being said, we do prefer NCL because of Freestyle and the entertainment. This doesn't mean we do not like RCI.

 

Nita

[Sky Sweet]

Thanks for your well balanced review. Since we will be taking our first NCL cruise on NCL Dawn to Bermuda next June, I read it with interest.

 

We sailed RCCL's Brilliance of the Seas from Barcelona to the Greek Isles last month and thought it was a beautiful ship. We also tried their version of My Time Dining which I enjoyed much more than assigned seating.

 

One of the things I didn't like was having three different dress codes, which included three formal nights, on such a port intensive cruise. One of those formal nights was on the day we went to Ephesus, Turkey and the last thing I wanted to do after a long day of sight seeing was dress up for formal night.

 

I personally feel that most people look better in nice casual attire than they do in dated formal wear, and that the novelty of formal night on a cruise wore off a long time ago for me.

 

The main reason for booking our first NCL cruise was that it has the best itinerary for Bermuda and I am very optimistic that we will enjoy its free style cruise experience..

[98Charlie]

DH & I have only cruised RCI LOS and GOS but have to agree with DAG that we never experienced the ``awe'' factor that so many talk about. Doesn't mean we won't try another RCI ship in the future but for now RCI's prices are a bit out of our league for what we're looking for.

 

Have cruised NCL 9 times and have also cruised Celebrity, Princess and Carnival several times each. We enjoy the freestyle dining on NCL as a change of pace from the assigned seating on other cruise lines. Tried anytime dining on Princess once but preferred our assigned dinner seating on our other 2 Princess cruises better. Princess's version of freestyle just doesn't match up to NCL's style in our opinion.

 

DAG, don't know where you live in the greater Columbus area, but greetings from Hilliard!:D

 

Dianne

[98Charlie]

Gremlins are double posting again. Sorry.

 

Dianne

[newmexicoNita]

DH & I have only cruised RCI LOS and GOS but have to agree with DAG that we never experienced the ``awe'' factor that so many talk about. Doesn't mean we won't try another RCI ship in the future but for now RCI's prices are a bit out of our league for what we're looking for.

 

Have cruised NCL 9 times and have also cruised Celebrity, Princess and Carnival several times each. We enjoy the freestyle dining on NCL as a change of pace from the assigned seating on other cruise lines. Tried anytime dining on Princess once but preferred our assigned dinner seating on our other 2 Princess cruises better. Princess's version of freestyle just doesn't match up to NCL's style in our opinion.

 

DAG, don't know where you live in the greater Columbus area, but greetings from Hilliard!:D

 

Dianne

Dianne, I agree about Freestyle versus "anytime dining" I don't know what it is but we expected something different. I think, for us, it was so many large tables so it seemed there was constant confusing in the dining room on Princess.

 

Nita

[98Charlie]

Nita, our only experience with Princess anytime dining was on the Dawn and we sailed out of SJ, very port intensive. We were very disappointed with our wait teams the first 2 or 3 nights. Finally found a team that seemed to really care about their service and we were able to sit at one of the team's table for 2 each night at a given time. In other words, our ``anytime'' dining became a set seating in the ``anytime'' dining room.

 

Turned out to be a memorable dining experience as one of our ports was Grenada and the assitant waiter was from Grenada. The head waiter of the team was from Bulgaria, I believe, and was actually working on the ship to gain experience (and cash) to open his own restaurant back home.

 

Dianne

[DAGVBSB]

 

One of the things I didn't like was having three different dress codes, which included three formal nights, on such a port intensive cruise. One of those formal nights was on the day we went to Ephesus, Turkey and the last thing I wanted to do after a long day of sight seeing was dress up for formal night.

 

I personally feel that most people look better in nice casual attire than they do in dated formal wear, and that the novelty of formal night on a cruise wore off a long time ago for me.

 

The main reason for booking our first NCL cruise was that it has the best itinerary for Bermuda and I am very optimistic that we will enjoy its free style cruise experience..

 

That was a strange thing about the timing of our formal nights as well. Our first formal night was the first sea day.. good choice. The second formal night was the night of Boston. We didn't leave Boston until 6:00 p.m. and several tours (including ours) did not get back until around 5:30 p.m. That made those of us on early seating rush to get ready. On NCL, we could have just walked right to the dining room from the tour (as long as we weren't in shorts...) without wasting time changing. I'm not sure why they even had a second formal night on a very port intensive cruise. They really should have had the second formal night on the night we left St. John's at 5:00 or the tendering port of Bar Harbor at 6:00.

 

I do agree about itinerary choice. We chose the Explorer of the Seas for 3 reasons... one was for the itinerary. Two was the timing. NCL only offers Canada/New England in the fall when my daughter and I can't go because of school. Three.. was to try a different line. RCI was the one that I had heard so many things about and so that is why I wanted to put it to the test.

 

It's funny, the people on the RCI board love to refer to NCL as the Wal-mart of the cruise lines. Based on my experience on the Explorer of the Seas, I guess that makes RCI, the Dollar General of Cruise lines.

 

Like I said... I am still waiting to be "awed" by RCI...but that is probably not going to happen now that I am off the ship...lol.

[rxlowry]

Thanks for your review!

 

Can you tell us about the ports you went to? We are going on a cruise in October to Bar Harbor, Halifax, Boston and St. John's. What did you see? We will be with our daughter who is five. What do you think shouldn't be missed in port?

 

Thanks,

Lisa

[hazz24]

That was a strange thing about the timing of our formal nights as well. Our first formal night was the first sea day.. good choice. The second formal night was the night of Boston. We didn't leave Boston until 6:00 p.m. and several tours (including ours) did not get back until around 5:30 p.m. That made those of us on early seating rush to get ready. On NCL, we could have just walked right to the dining room from the tour (as long as we weren't in shorts...) without wasting time changing. I'm not sure why they even had a second formal night on a very port intensive cruise. They really should have had the second formal night on the night we left St. John's at 5:00 or the tendering port of Bar Harbor at 6:00.

 

I do agree about itinerary choice. We chose the Explorer of the Seas for 3 reasons... one was for the itinerary. Two was the timing. NCL only offers Canada/New England in the fall when my daughter and I can't go because of school. Three.. was to try a different line. RCI was the one that I had heard so many things about and so that is why I wanted to put it to the test.

 

It's funny, the people on the RCI board love to refer to NCL as the Wal-mart of the cruise lines. Based on my experience on the Explorer of the Seas, I guess that makes RCI, the Dollar General of Cruise lines.

 

Like I said... I am still waiting to be "awed" by RCI...but that is probably not going to happen now that I am off the ship...lol.

 

 

That is why we are all have the freedom to choose. My experience on the Dawn was similer to what you are describing on the Explorer. We loved Explorer and are sailing on her again this year. I have not had a bad RCI cruise yet (although we could). I think every cruise depends on timing and crew. If you have an unhappy crew it can make for an unhappy trip and vice versa.

 

Happy cruising everyone.

[iheartbda]

.....(but I did get a kick out of seeing so many women wearing stupid looking or ugly dresses that they had no business trying to wear...some trying to pretend to be something their not. If that is part of the allure of formal night...then formal nights are really outdated!)

 

Give me NCL any day.

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe someone thought what you had on was stupid looking or ugly.;)

 

WHY do you assume they are pretending to be something they are not?

Many people like to dress up because it makes the night seem a little more special not because they are trying to be something else. What or who do you think they're trying to be? Maybe they're just trying to look what they think is their best. Even if they are trying to be a princess for the night, so what?

 

You're judging them the same way anyone who prefers casual says no one should judge them by the clothes THEY wear. It goes both ways.

 

For every negative you stated someone can come back and counter. I have a few but you seem to only see it your way, plus I try not to say anything negative about any line, they all have their plusses and minuses.

I don't have a strong allegiance to any line because they all have something to offer.:)

 

I've seen some very nice reviews on this board comparing NCL to another line. Yes, they noted the negatives but in a way that was not so harsh, it really serves no purpose to do so.