Norweigian or royal carribean?

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travel guy

I cruise about 2 - 3 times a year. I've been on both cruise lines.

Since you specifically ask about dress codes, the big question here is how structured you want your cruise to be? Royal Caribbean has "assigned" dining times and various dress codes for dinner (formal nights, casual nights, etc.), where NCL has "Freestyle" dining. In other words, NCL has 4-8 restaurants for you to choose from, and you eat when, where, and with whom you want - and dress as casual as you please. Another aspect of NCL, is that they have - very quietly over the past few years, been building many new ships. They have a pretty young fleet. Norwegian, however, does not match the levels of service, quality of food or overall ambiance that RCCL does.

I have gambled on both cruise lines (not very well, unfortunately!), and both use chips at the tables that can be cashed in for "real money". (I wonder what that feels like?). The slots use "real money" too, not tokens.

Based on your questions and your age, I'd certainly recommend NCL over RCCL for you and your friends. It's admirable that you're doing your research so you know what to expect.

Planning your cruise is a good deal of the enjoyment - have a good trip. Bon voyage and Happy New Year!

Jennifer D

We have sailed on Norwegian. They allow you to eat when and where you want to.

Have a great cruise.

TINKERTOY ..... the 1 & only

I have cruised multiple times on both lines and I prefer Royal Caribbean. If you and your group are all in your 20's you may want to consider Carnival. Carnival is the fun ship, but their accommodations are not the best. Carnival is the party cruise line that most young folks and first time cruisers take (ages 20 to 35) who want to party, party, party. If thatâ€™s what you are looking for then Carnival is the one for you.

Princess, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Celebrity, and Norwegian tend to have people who have cruised many times and are in the 40 and over age group; a more reserved crowd. All of these cruise lines may also have some kids but not many. However, on these lines there are activities just for kids of different ages and staff persons assigned to supervise them most of the day.

Another important factor to consider is, cruises going to the Caribbean tend to have more young folks than those going to Alaska, Panama, the Mediterranean, the Baltic, or South America. People who go to the Caribbean are looking for fun things like beaches, jet skiing, snorkeling and scuba diving, parasailing, and a lot of other activities related to water and beaches. On the other hand, people who go to Alaska, Panama, the Mediterranean, etc., are looking for cultural and historic activities. These cruisers tend to be the older people (40+). That does not mean these cruises are dull, it just means that the passengers are more mature and reserved. You will find the 40+ crowd in the bars and disco and having as good a time as the youngsters, but you may not hear them across the room or deck.

NCL promotes its cruises with Freestyle cruising. Freestyle Cruising means that you do not have to specify a dining option when you book your cruise and thus don't have a table and waiter assigned to you. "FREESTYLE" means you can go to dinner in the main dining room, or any other alternative restaurant, any time of the evening after 6:00 PM.. But you will have to reserve a time in the alternate restaurants. It also means that you don't have to "dress up" for dinner, but just go "sports casual". But it also means that you may be standing in line awaiting a table on some days (like we had to do a couple times); not what you want on a cruise. Since you go when you want, you rarely get the same waiter and so never really get to know your waiter and he/she never learns what you prefer as is done on â€œtraditionalâ€ cruise lines.

I have been on many Norwegian ships and at one time NCL was my favorite cruise line. However, after NCL was bought by Star Cruises and they instituted the "Freestyle Cruising", I do not care for their cruises and do not recommend them, especially for people who have been on a number of cruises and prefer traditional cruising. Since Star Cruises took over NCL the line it has an Asian flavor; Star is an Oriental company. Some of the performers and musicians were Asian and they have Karioke every evening. Not my cup of tea.

The option to traditional dining being pushed on NCL is their optional dining restaurants. However, these dining options can cost $10 to $20 a person for dinner each night. This is not what you want after paying for a cruise which is supposed to be all inclusive. The optional restaurants are very nice, including French, Chinese/Sushi, Tex-Mex, Italian, and steak house restaurants. But who wants to go pay to eat on a cruise ship where all the meals are supposed to be included. We always skipped the optional restaurants and just got to the main dining early. That worked fine, except on "at sea" days when everyone wanted to go eat early. We later found that we could reserve a time in the main dining room, but we still got a different table and waiter for dinner each night

All of the cruises I have ever been on with RC, NCL, Princess and Celebrity have had casinos that use ships for the table games and coins for the slots. Bear in mind that ships may now be going more and more to the Ls Vegas style slots which dispense script instead of coins. But, they have a script redemption machine right on the casino floor for you to cash out, or you can take it to the cage.

My recommendation again is Royal Caribbean, you will have a good time and enjoy, be sure to get a balcony cabin.

High On Life

honestly, Carnival's dress codes are only for dinners, and those are "more like guidelines than actual rules" I've been on two ofthem, and they're great :D

shoe s

NORWEGIAN

williamsv

yes royal caribbean have assigned seating and a dress code on formal nights but they do have gambling with real money never been on Norwegian but have sailed with royal they are great its my pick any way have a great cruise and happy new year to you

Hannah M

i think that fo your age of crowd you should go on a royal carribean cruisei mean ive never been on norweigan but i know that fro sure youll have fun an an RC cruise therea re so many activities and stuff on RC and the casino is real money

babbles

Norweigian doesn't have a dress code, but Carnival would be the most fun for people in your age group. If you haven't booked yet, I always find great deals on iBtraveling.com. Have fun though and good luck!

iseemen

royal caribbean they have been great so far

coolliz2444

All cruise lines have assigned seating except norweigian with their freestyle so you sit with different people every night but in the main dining rooms they have dress codes like formal informal and casual or you can eat on the buffet and thats no dress code, but as for activities and ship size I would go on Royal Caribbean as their are more kid friendly things to do and they have bigger ships and indoor ice skating rinks and discos and rock climbing walls and so on so I would highly recommend Royal Caribbean.

TropicZone Travel

1st, I will suggest RCI over NCL.
RCI has a younger crowd, great casino ( DH won over 3000!)
The older ships still spit out the coins in the casinos, most newer ships use a ticket system... meaning when you cash out your "winnings or credit" will print out on paper OR be on your player's club card. You can then go to the cashiers cage & cash it in for cold, hard $$$ :)
I think you & your friends will have a great time on either Royal Caribbean (RCI) or Carnival... fun & informal & priced right!

Oh ya ... if you want to eat in the assigned dining room, then you will need to wear slacks & collared shirt & even a jacket on "formal" night OR you can choose to eat at the buffet & skip the dining room altogether.

Have fun!

Wendy

Poopy

Norwegian cruises are a little more on the "luxury" side, a little more formal, and a little more dedicated to the older crowd. As a general rule, you'll find a little younger crowd on Royal Carribean, maybe not as much emphasis on the pampering side of things, and a little bit younger, "fun ship" type of vibe. I've been on both, and both are great, so it's really whatever you prefer. Unfortunately, I am not a big gambler so I can't give you much specifics there. I'm sure you could check out the websites for each line and get many of your questions answered....

eL MaSecO

club med cruise in europe, itÂ´ll change ur life
no time for boring

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