Maybe I'm weird but the larger the ships get, the less I'm interested in cruising. Comparing our sailings on RC's Oasis and the Enchantment, we much preferred Enchantment. We were exclusively RC cruisers before the pandemic but our experience on the Oasis has us looking seriously at NCL and I think that's going to be our line from here on. Thanks for this video!

Five years ago I would have said Royal hands down. After sailing on the Bliss and Encore I think NCL has pulled very slightly ahead. I found the specialty dining on NCL to be far superior to Royals offerings. Also I love thermal suites in the spa. Norwegians are literally world class whereas Royal ships don’t even have them.

I don't understand how people say that NCL is pricier than RCL. I wanted to book a cruise for next year, so i looked at a 7-day cruise on comparable ships at comparable times with comparable itineraries. RCI was about the same as NCL, but with no perks. NCL offered discounted airfare, unlimited drinks to all adults, 250mins of WIFI (which is plenty to ensure the pup is ok while we're gone and check-in for the airline),a few free meals at their upscale restaurants, and $50 excursion credit per port, plus onboard credit. If I were to add all the same things to that RCI cruise, the cost would have been significantly more. I would like to go on a Royal Caribbean cruise one day, but it'll have to be after I've exhausted NCL or after NCL stops doing their Free at Sea promos.(Oh and before anyone points out that "Free at Sea" isn't free...True. You're paying gratuities for the drinks package and the dinners, which isn't nothing...If you don't plan on drinking or indulging in the upscale restaurants, then NCL has cheaper options for you... The price comparison I had done when thinking to book a cruise for myself was the out-the-door price, so NCL was a similar price WITH all the bells and whistles' pricing included.)

As a solo traveler and with NCL's Free at Sea program, sailing in a studio cabin on NCL is by far the most advantageous, economically, for me.

NCL is my favorite by far. I love the Waterfront and the choices of fine dining. The entertainment is great as well.

Long time cruisers with elite status on Princess. Have cruised all the major lines and just finished our first NCL breakaway class. By and far the best cruise experience with great amenities, prices and crew. You cannot beat their sail 4 free promotional prices. I agree with other comments, I don't see a price disparity between RC and NCL. We hate to give up our status and rewards on Princess, but forsee NCL being our line of choice going forward.

I chose NCL for two reasons: Freestyle dining and the Studio Lounge for solo travelers. Nothing worse than getting stuck at a dining table with people that ignore you.

For me as a solo cruiser, I think NCL offers more "bang for your buck" with their promotions and catering to singles more than other lines do. Sure it may cost more than RCI, but when that price includes airfare, a drinks package, and specialty dining, it came to within two hundred dollars when I compared with Royal Caribbean. That said, I think I will try RCI for my next cruise, the Oasis class ships look really fun and I want to check out Perfect Day.

Excellent video and good comparisons, but one major issue, from my point of view, was missing: How they treat their solo travellers. In this regard, NCL is the winner by a wide margin with their studio cabins and private lounge, singles coordinators and special events, etc., and the attitude of the staff is pleasant and friendly.

we cruised a lot when i was a kid on Norwegian. I always liked NCL. I always found the staff to be nice and the atmosphere to be Chill and never felt pressured for any reason, sometimes RCCL was a bit more stressy and judgy. i do not know, could be just me, but i always loved NCL. next year, i am taking my family on Carnival. which i am sure will be a new experience.

Thanks I am considering NCL.as a 50 year old single. Ships look beautiful as I dont need rock climbing... Stay safe .

I've been on both and I love both of them. I did Norwegian Escape and it was FABULOUS!! I loved great stirrup key. I've been on Royal's Majesty of the seas and Independence of the seas both awesome ships as well!!(RIP Majesty) You forgot about Royal's private island Labadee. That's a nice one as well. 😍

Everyone keeps talking about RCCL having bigger ships and more things to do. What people don’t say is that a ship can get too big by having more than you could possibly do in a week on board and more people than you care to deal with on vacation. In this regard NCL stands out because it’s experience makes you feel like you’re the only person on board and anytime you want to do something you can. And what you do have time to do is carefully procured to give you a great value. For me, it’s NCL. I wouldn’t say by a large margin but I would say I feel happier, overall, on a Norwegian Cruise ship. For this reason, given a choice, I would book with NCL.

I love both lines. I love the free at seas from NCL. That's the only time I get the drink package because I just pay the service fees. We have a family cruise on the Encore this Christmas and My husband and I have a cruise booked on the Oasis of the Seas in Feb. 2022. I think both are the same and different. One thing for sure, both keep their ships in immaculate condition and provide great customer service. I love the shows on the oasis class ships, completely amazing.

NCL mandatory vaccination and Haven for us who dont like crowds. I'd be all over that.

Price also is impacted by ports, number of stops, and ship. Before COVID, I could find many inexpensive cruise options on Royal, but they were often on older/smaller ships and had more days at sea which = fewer ports of call. Sometimes I enjoy more days at sea, but sometimes I prefer port intensive sailings.

I’ve never cruised with Royal Caribbean, but it seems to me that NCL caters better to solo travelers like myself, with an entire section of most ships dedicated to solo cabins, an exclusive lounge for those cabins, and a dedicated staff member to organize events for solo cruisers. I do like that Royal provides solo balcony cabins on some ships, which NCL does not. I also enjoy NCL’s Free at Sea promotions and the fact that I’ve gotten at least one “free” perk (drinks and specialty dining come with an added cost for gratuities). Often, you can find deals that include all 5 perks if you book far enough in advance. That being said, I do want to try Royal Caribbean next year. It looks like they have many more activities onboard, and I like their more “insular” ship design that allows for those inside-facing balconies.

I’m excited to make our own comparison this year/next. We have plans to do Odyssey of the Sea and Encore. I would think these new ships will be similar. We are also scheduled for the Mardi Gras. Maybe I can add more to the discussion after that.

You forgot that RCCL has Labadee as a private island as well. Sailed both and love both. As long as I am on a cruise, I am happy.

We're Platinum members and soon to be Sapphire (NCL), last year we decided to try Royal Caribbean (Oasis of the Seas and Jewel of the Seas). We loved both cruises especially the Oasis, less than half capacity made it for a great cruise with little or no lines. We have no complaints but NCL is our home, it seems you get more for your money. But we would still cruise on Royal Caribbean.

I've cruised both for a number of years as a single cruiser. Find the perks are a bit more generous on NCL as you achieve similiar levels of cruises. Also find NCL a little more outwardly friendly to their customers- both are friendly, just find NCL a wee bit moreso...

This was a very good, and informative video! My first cruise was on NCL for my 50th Birthday, and the next 3 have all been on Royal Caribbean. I like them both, but I think my family steers more toward RC.

One important comment you missed is at NCL they have anytime dinning. Royal is more formal. I like NCL

I've been on Norwegian 8 times and Royal 35 times. My wife and I just enjoy the Royal ships more because they have seemed to work out the kinks better than all of the other cruise lines and their layout seems to flow much better than any other cruise line.

I make notes as I watch these.. One thing you failed to mention is that with NCL so many things are thrown in such as specialty dining, drinks package, wifi, excursions credit,etc.. This brings the cost down to lower than RCL.. Need to tell the whole story..IMO both cruiselines are very similar with great experiences..

We've taken 8 RCL cruises and have decided to give NCL a try later this year. Deciding factor was desired date, length of cruise, ports of call and perks.

Can’t forget Labadee, Royal’s private destination in Haiti. While not an island, it’s a very highly regarded destination with lots to do while still providing a relaxing experience.

You add in just gratuity for “Unlimited adult beverage, 3 specialty dinning, wifi plan and $50 per port excursion and sometimes free flight.” NCL is cheaper in my experience.

Currently on RCCL Symphony of the seas. Wish I had stayed with NCL. The Symphony spa is a joke, one small room. And unless you eat at standard time, you can't find anything open to eat. I'm going back to NCL.

My wife and I went on a Royal cruise for our honeymoon about 9 years ago, our only Royal cruise. We also went on a NCL cruise about 4 years ago on the Joy, and after it, we decided we preferred NCL, which is why we are going on our next cruise with NCL fairly soon. My wife has her own reasons, but mine boil down to a singular grudge with Royal which makes no sense to me. We went on the Independence of the Seas, one of the older ships even 10 years ago, but the cruise was nice. My issue was that in the piazza area, there were 2 bars across from one another. One was meant to be a English style pub, and the other a sports bar. I thought this was a fantastic idea, and the atmosphere for both was great, with the classic wooden booths for the pub and the TVs showing games at the sports bar. However, while there were drinks a'plenty, neither served any food. This made no sense to me. Every sports bar in the good old USA, if not the world, has at least some munchies like pretzels, nachos, and above all else, wings, and yet there were none to be had. And what English pub is complete without some fish and chips or some bangers and mash? NCL on the other hand had food available from every bar, and I loved the laid back atmosphere prevailing the ship. It seems such a silly reasons, but I associate cruises with an abundance of food and an ability to get it at any time from any place on board.

I would never thought of comparing Royal Caribbean with NCL I would compare Royal Caribbean with Carnival. They both cater to the same demographic, whereas NCL mainly appeals to an older/mature group, but at a lower cost than Princess, Holland or Celebrity.

Ncl wants to protect the people who cruise with them because they require all employees and the people who cruise with them to have and fully vaccinated

WHAT? You don’t mention the solo studio suite for those who travel alone? The single traveler demographic continues to grow, and NCL serves them like no other - hands down!

Both are top notch for sure. Been on both. Being a family with kids we prefer RC. My “Pop” he really is a NCL, albeit Haven, guy. Having a ride there with him is nice too….both are similar.

I just got back from Odyssey of the seas. RCL is one big nickel and dime experience. The ship was nice but the staff was just ok if not rude at times. I enjoy every cruise its like pizza even bad pizza is good.

The pricing comment isn't true. NCL has been offering a fantastic deal where everything (specialty dining, wifi, and alcohol minus gratuities) is included. If you factor that in then NCL blows RC out of the water with their pricing.

i got a 7 day on oasis of the seas sailing out of cape liberty to Bahamas, 1300 total for me and my wife, take advantage of the next cruise deals if you sail RC

What about the food comparison? One of the most important things !

I have cruised with RC 16 times. I love the cruise line, but I think I am going to give Norwegian a try just to branch out. the only thing is that I am a Diamon member, and that comes with a lot of benefits.

The biggest difference is that NCL requires the vaccine.

What a great video to run into as I am comparing the both cruise liners! Very informative and balanced opinion. Definitely subscribed for future content. Thanks for sharing!

Currently Ncl has great offers and is much cheaper then Rci. Free at sea package for 100 extra is very good value for money

We canceled our cruise on Carnival Panorama for September and rebooked on Norwegian Bliss in October to the same ports. We canceled because Carnivals mask rules were getting to ridiculous but it turns out we also saved $800 dollars and got the drink package free.

A Panama Canal cruise offered an NCL high end suite for about $4000, while the Haven was almost $7500! Steerage, where I stay, was about $900.

I've never cruised. Your presentation is excellent.

Ncl lately has alcohol included. You pay 99 for tips for a week,not day

I have no preference other than the fact that Symphony of the Seas has Hairspray. Both are very good

Been on both. My takeaway is that RCL has nicer ships and private Island but NCL has nicer customer service and nicer crew. The waiter on RCL was hitting on my wife. It kind of ruined the cruise for us.

A "Free Drinks Package" on NCL costed me and my wife $175. (They called it taxes and gratuity)

Got a great deal on enchantment of the seas this spring out of Jersey. Just under $1000 for a balcony and 7 day itinerary to the Caribbean! Would like to check out NCL someday as well.

One thing I noticed between the lines was that they have different countries they source labor out of. Royal Caribbean had mostly Eastern Europeans when I sailed with them. NCL has mostly Asian people. Not that either was better than the other, I just like the Eastern European countries history more and it gives me something to chat about at the bar.

New subscriber here. I enjoy your calm voice (some cruise channels feel the need to shout everything) and your demeanor. Are the beverage packages included on the private islands?

These lines make me laugh with their "free at sea" programs. The cabin price goes up considerably when you get these "freebies". Calling them an "all-inclusive" price would be more accurate. For those of us that don't drink, these packages are definately not worth the price.

Thanks for the info. I'm trying to pick a family cruise for later in the year.

The biggest difference we noticed was in the service. Royal had far better service. The staff were nicer and friendlier and more attentive. The food in the casual buffet restaurant was better on Royal, as well.

I find the Haven is usually less than a comparable Sky class cabin on Royal. And the experience in the Haven is more comprehensive.

I notice the crew member on NCL is rude RCCL way better. Might give it one more try in Dec

I have been on RCCL and NCL. The last cruise I was on, was RC Liberty of the Seas. Very disappointing. I like to dine when I want where I want. I don't like assigned tables at assigned times. NCL is the best! Off to Alaska in two weeks on the Bliss!

The NCL free beverage package is deceiving. You are paying a gratuity on a package valued at $99, this amount to the cost of almost 2 drinks. Similarity with the free specialty dining. The first two pay a gratuity the the third pays the full price plus gratuity.

The biggest difference I’ve seen is NCL has poor service, mediocre food, and some crew members are downright rude. RC gives better service. Better food, too. RC gives choice between traditional dining service and my time dining. NCL does not offer the option to have traditional dining at a table with the same people and same servers each night. NCL I believe just increased their beverage package a huge amount. Then again, I don’t like that RC doesn’t have standard prices for beverage packages or CoCo Cay extra activities. It changes for different sailings.

NCL has more things included. The Bahamas cruise, for instance, includes all you can drink (from the basic menu).

Our one experience on RCCL was horrible, and my review of them on Cruise Critic reflected that! Perhaps the worst and most annoying part was the "nickel-and-diming" of RCCL, where they go after every last penny that they can squeeze out of you. For my money you cannot beat the overall packages of NCL!

I’ve been looking at RCL as an option since I’ve been cruising with NCL exclusively. I noticed that RCL has so much sea days compared to NCL being more port driven. And having to buy drink and dinner pkgs on Royal will be a first. ON A 11 day Hawaii cruise, 5 of those days are sea days, 4 are ports. That is a definite turn off. So I’m looking at Celebrity and hopefully it will work out

I don’t think the pricing aspect of the video is accurate at all, to put it simply: factoring in the included drink package at NCL puts you just a touch more expensive than royal BUT you can’t forget you are having to pay for that after the fact with royal. Ultimately leaving you paying 100’s of dollar more with royal. (Ps don’t forget NCL is giving you 100’s of dollars in shore excursion credits and specialty dining which totals around $90 per person AND Wi-Fi minutes) cmon

Food is better on RC for me. I was on a NCL Alaska cruise a few years ago and I thought even at all paid restaurant’s food were not good. I was on the new RC Wonder of the Seas recently and ate only the free food at the dining room, the buffet, the cafe, the pizzeria, Mexican locomoco, it was all good or decent. The entertainment and activities was also way better on Wonder of the Seas, but this is a new and biggest ship and I have not cruised on NCL new ships.

Ncl is better. The vaccine issue is huge to me. I feel safer, considering the mess in 2020. Ncl includes alcohol

Looking to book my first cruise and it's sooo overwhelming all the different options 🤦🏾‍♀️

I would have been interested to see how people thought the food compared. I had one attempt at RC and it was generally too 'busy' of a ship for me but I could see how it's perfect for families with teens, but the food was so utterly disgusting I said you couldn't pay me to go again. Lots of dishes that should have been hot were served lukewarm or cold, some cold dishes seemed like they'd been sat out in the warm far too long, one dish was frozen solid on the inside, one veggie dish I ordered came with random bits of chicken in it (I'm not veggie, but that made me worry about stuff like cross-contamination and allergies), and there was a serious lack of training in the restaurant staff in particular - BUT it was a pre-inaugural cruise, so hopefully they got better on that ship over time. I generally like almost all foods and will eat almost anything, but when you start to worry about food safety that's something other than preferences. I'm willing to think that trip probably wasn't representative of RC more generally though. Trying out NCL next month, so we'll see how that measures up...

NCL -- You get the Free at Sea. Just the drink package alone is worth 100's of dollars.

NCL has free drinking on every cruise every time. Simply put, NCL is the cheapest cruise if you like to drink. If you don't drink, Carnival is the cheapest. The cruise lines cater to different sorts of people. Cheaper initial fares are to draw in the cheapest/lowest economic classes. NCL seems like a more upscale cruise to me. I did a few cruises on Royal Caribbean but even with cheaper rates and my wife not drinking anything but soda, it was still cheaper to go on NCL. I lived 30 min from Tampa and 40 min from Orlando. I could get 2 rooms, drinking included, for $450 each for a 3-4 day Bahamas cruise. My wife and I and my parents got 2 rooms out the door for $900. My dad and I probably drank $900 in drinks.

Your vacation starts at the pier. For God's sake get a passport and get your children passports. Yes, you can sail with other documents, but it slows you and everyone behind you down. Fully complete your online check in. Upload pictures and required documents. Print every document you can, do not rely on your phone. Put your vaccination card in your passport and have your test results in hand. We want to get you from car to bar n 10 minutes, but it's up to you.

I cruised Alaska on NCL on the Encore.

I think the food on Royal is better than the food on NCL, especially desserts. I also do not appreciate the way NCL has created a first class and second class standard of cruisers with the haven.

I’ve been on birth cruise lines and we have choose NCL as our home line. I think that the accommodations and things to do on the ship outrun RC especially with NCL’s restaurants. I also think that NCL overtakes royal Caribbean I’m world class shows of all sorts.

The comment about having to book a great cabin to get free rewards from NCL is incorrect. I booked for April in an inside cheaper cabin, got a free second person flight, free dining in specialty restaurants and 20% off shore excursions.

RCL offers two private locations Labadee is not an island but a peninsula in Haiti.

Sorry but I think there are some point missing. In this video it seems that are talking only about the new NCL's ships, the ones that are mostly in the Caribbean, not like the ones I looked to go to Greece or to Mediterranean. I compare Gem or Jade to Odyssey there was a huge difference in decoration, spaces, entertainment (shows). Even I prefer the rout of NCL I went with Royal Caribbean because of the ship.

RCCL is based on cheap fares and then fleecing the passengers for everything they might actually want. It’s a serious ripoff. I’m done with them!

he viajado por RC y NCL, y por mi edad me quedo con NCL, barcos no tan grandes, comes cuando quieres , rica comida, baile en spinaker, bares, me encanta.

If anyone ever goes on a royal Caribbean ship, they will see an unbelievably beautiful ship with a beautiful, promenade dock. They actually have parades it's like Disneyland. It's like a such a fun ship Norwegian if you like quiet and boring, then go for it, but ROYAL CARRIBEAN is so much more active with much more entertainment. Their ships are better looking when I went on the Norwegian ship I was looking for the same kind of action on the promenade deck, which is usually deck five on the ROYAL CARRIBEAN, there is no such deck on a Norwegian ship. It's just a boring deck usually 67 and eight with old people sitting around at the bar lol.

You redeemed yourself by mentioning Free at Sea benefits..Bottom line for me is that each have their pro and con..I love both and would hesitate on either ship, go by the itenary you want..

Cruising has God to a whole new leave and it is really interesting where it will be in the next 5 to 10 years.

I bet RCCL "ICON" Class will have a walk around Promenade and outdoor eating like NCL...

I've been researching cruises lately and after the exorbitant costs just for a room per day + taxes AND the add-on costs and excursions, cruises seem like a money pit and a waste. If I pay $500 (or more, which is ridiculous) a day for a cruise then I expect ALL the food to be great and not have to pay $40 a person to eat at some "fancy" restaurant in order to get a good meal.

Royal Caribbean has Labadee too. So they have two as well.

My first cruise was with Royal Caribbean, for 2 adults 1 kids ,I pay $3900.00 I didn't enjoy the cruise they give us inside room were very small. And at dinner we were seating, with strangers i feel like I was on a job interview. Every night I stop going to dinner I order room services. Worst experience ever . I cruise with Carnival 3 times we love it ,also cost less. Dinner we seat together. Carnival cruise more organized then Royal Caribbean. Next year we will try Norwegian cruise 🛳

I am going to guess that this was a RCCL ad? Please don't get me wrong - I have cruised with RCCL and really enjoyed it bit this video seems everything but objective

Not agreeing with the statement that the 2 largest classes of ships from each cruise line are close. I went on a cruise from Port Everglades Oct 2017 on Allure of the Seas (OASIS CLASS) and as my wife put it This ship spoiled me from cruising on any other ship after the cruise. This past week Oct 3rd- Oct 8th my wife me and grown daughter went on a last minute cruise on the Norwegian Joy (GETAWAT PLUS CLASS ) from NYC. Both cruises were the exact same time of year. We were disappointed with the first cruise (ALLURE) before we went because the ports visited were changed from eastern Caribbean to western (we had been there western on 3 previous cruises) because of hurricanes. BUT the travel agent said to us that the ship IS the destination. We didn't believe him until we were on the ship and WOW. things to do restaurants to eat in Shows to see WOW. We then booked on the NCL JOY and thought well it's Norwegians biggest ship It's got to be good (NOT). The shows in the theater were good BUT if you want to see a show in any other venue your not getting in. I'm 65 and wanted to see the Beatles show and others went there and No seats (I needed to sit because I had just gotten Hip replacement surgery) Allure had a Beatles show it was in the Theater and this is how it was with every show on the JOY the venues were just to small. ALLURE had the theater, The Ice skating show, Water show, The Boardwalk, Central Park, better restaurants and we had a standard balcony room on Allure and it was really nice.on the JOY we upgraded to a Club balcony (thinking it was bigger than the standard balcony) sq ft yes as is said. BUT ACTUALLY NO the Bathroom makes the sq ft bigger. It had a tub instead of a shower. The actual size of the living space was smaller than the Allure's standard. and the layout was horrible. I looked at the Haven and might consider that. But between Norwegian Getaway Plus class and ROYAL CARIBBEAN OASIS CLASS ROYAL takes it by a lot.

I love RCL, but for next year searching aand comparing RCL is on the price side without the perks, let's say RCL drink package is not included with the price.

Sorry, but I disagree. Over twenty cruises on NCL. You get more for what you pay on NCL.

We love them both.

You forget to mention with Royal Caribbean you have to pay for your drink package which can cost well over 500 bucks on a nine night cruise, asked me how I know? With Norwegian you only paid a gratuities with the free at sea So it comes out to much cheaper, seven night cruise from New York to Bermuda cost me $1800 that includes Internet to specialty dining open bar drink package and a $50 shore credit , Royal Caribbean was 1300+530 for the drink package plus $110 for specialty dining +253 for the key which is a better body than just buying the Internet by itself because you get the Internet plus other things for only a few dollars a day more, so you do the math and see which ones cheaper

All do respect you are wrong. If you get the free at sea with the drink package and specialty dining , NCL is cheaper by far than RC. But if you don’t want RC $1000 drink package then you may be right

Very good video,thank you!!

That 69/99 dollars per person per day expenditures is untop of the fare of 600 to 1000 for the 4 to 7 night cruise fares right? So a person can spend 1500 to 3000 for cruise n per day expenses easily...

NCL is not “free at sea” because the overall cost of the cruise is higher than Royal. So you are technically paying for the “freebies”

Thanks for a great video!

Virgin scarlet lady seems to b unique... NCL n RC seem more insanely versed compared to virgin... virgin seems more of a laid back but business class type attractive cruise settings

I wish cruise lines would describe their space using square feet. Your repeating of their tonnage is just terribly misleading. Those tonnage references are GRT (Gross Registered Tonnage), NOT displacement. The average person has no clue about these things and it is just dumb.

how does price compare with royal if you get the all you can drink, and free wifi, $50 credit per excursion... etc. vs norwegians free at sea package that just comes with the ticket