If you like your cruise ships to be packed with exciting entertainment, offer a wide range of dining options, and you’re not too worried about the ‘tradition’ of cruising in favour of new innovations, then you’ll probably love either Royal Caribbean or NCL.
These are two of the biggest cruise lines in the world, and it can be tough to know which is the better option for you if you’re trying to decide between them.
In this side-by-side comparison, I’ll take you through everything that makes the two cruise lines similar, their differences, and help you work out which one is the best fit.
Ships
Neither of these cruise lines have a small fleet of ships, but Royal Caribbean’s is still significantly larger than that of NCL.
NCL has 19 ships in the fleet currently, and another 4 under construction, whereas Royal Caribbean has 27 and also has 4 more being built.
Royal Caribbean Ships
Royal Caribbean has eight classes of ships:
- Icon Class – the biggest cruise ships in the world accommodating up to 7,600 guests each
- Oasis Class – six mega ships that can accommodate around 6,800 guests each
- Quantum Ultra Class – two modern ships accommodating 5,500 guests each
- Quantum Class – three ships accommodating 4,900 guests each
- Freedom Class – three ships accommodating 4,400 to 4,900 guests each
- Radiance Class – four ships accommodating 2,500 guests each
- Voyager Class – five ships accommodating 4,000 guests each
- Vision Class – four ships accommodating 2,400 to 2,700 guests each
There’s a considerable difference in ages between the oldest ship in the fleet, which is Grandeur of the Seas, and the newest ship Icon of the Seas. Grandeur launched in 1996 and Icon launched almost 30 years later, in 2024.
Read more: Royal Caribbean Ships By Age
NCL Ships
There are currently nine classes of ships in the NCL fleet, with a tenth on the way:
- Prima Plus Class – four ships on order, likely accommodating 3,500 guests each
- Prima Class – two ships accommodating 3,200 guests each
- Breakaway Plus Subclass – four ships accommodating 3,900 to 4,200 guests each
- Breakaway Class – two ships accommodating 4,000 guests each
- Epic Class – one ship that accommodates 4,100 guests each
- Jewel Class – four ships accommodating 2,400 guests each
- Pride of America Class – one ship accommodating 2,200 guests each
- Leo Class – one ship accommodating 2,000 guests each
- Dawn Class – two ships accommodating 2,300 guests each
- Sun Class – two ships accommodating 2,000 guests each
Norwegian Spirit is technically the oldest ship in the fleet as she was built in 1998, but she only joined NCL in 2004. Two other ships have served the cruise line longer – Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Star were both built in 2001.
Norwegian Viva is the newest ship, launching in 2023, so the age range of the ships between Royal Caribbean and NCL is comparable.
Read more: NCL Ships By Age
Which to Choose?
In terms of ship age, there isn’t much to separate the two cruise lines. Size does matter though and Royal Caribbean’s biggest ships are significantly bigger than the biggest NCL ships.
Icon of the Seas measures 250,800 gross tons (a measure of internal volume) while the biggest NCL ship, Norwegian Encore, is just around 170,000 – so around a third smaller.
This might help you make your mind up – if you like the idea of sailing on the biggest ships in the world, having the most space and the widest variety of things to see and do onboard, then Royal Caribbean is the better choice.
In reality, though, the bulk of the fleets are similar sizes, so unless you’re exclusively looking at the biggest ships, the ship size or age won’t matter when picking between Royal Caribbean and NCL.
Destinations
Both Royal Caribbean and NCL are global cruise lines, in that they have itineraries available across the world. There are some differences between them though.
Here’s a look at the itineraries each offers, in summary. For Royal Caribbean this is itineraries, rather than individual dates – there are a lot more than just 47 Caribbean cruises you can book!
| Royal Caribbean | NCL | |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 0 | 21 |
| Alaska | 96 | 31 |
| Australia & New Zealand | 29 | 16 |
| Bermuda | 7 | 23 |
| Canada & New England | 8 | 19 |
| Caribbean & Bahamas | 47 | 154 |
| East Asia | 36 | 46 |
| Europe | 107 | 191 |
| Hawaii | 7 | 8 |
| Mexico & Latin America | 8 | 7 |
| Middle East & South Asia | 3 | 0 |
| Pacific Northwest | 4 | 4 |
| Panama Canal | 5 | 41 |
| South America | 0 | 12 |
| South Pacific | 14 | 3 |
| Transatlantic | 22 | 24 |
| Transpacific | 5 | 0 |
Royal Caribbean Destinations
Royal Caribbean offers a range of destinations and a wide range of embarkation ports too – 35 around the world, meaning you should always have one nearby.
Despite that, a huge number of Royal Caribbean’s cruises depart from one of the three main ports in Florida – Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami.
There are cruises from the UK available, all departing from Southampton and during the summer months only. For several years, the UK was able to enjoy the Quantum-class Anthem of the Seas, but from 2025 it’ll be the older Independence of the Seas taking her place.
Royal Caribbean does have two private island destinations – Labadee and Perfect Day at CocoCay. Labadee was suspended as a port of call for several months in 2024 due to unrest in parts of Haiti.
NCL Destinations
With Norwegian Cruise Line, you get even more choice of embarkation ports, with an incredible 56 different options for embarking on your cruise. This includes the typical big ports on both sides of the Atlantic, but also several that are usually used as a port of call rather than an embarkation port.
NCL also offers cruises from Southampton for UK travellers, but with the slight edge that there are some dates available outside of the summer months. Not many, but of the two cruise lines, NCL will be your only option if you don’t want to fly but the summer months don’t work for you.
NCL has its own private island in the Bahamas too, called Great Stirrup Cay, which features on several of the cruises to the Caribbean.
Which to Choose?
If you’re looking at the main cruise destinations around Europe or the Caribbean, there’s not a lot between the two cruise lines to help you make your decision. It would come down to the specific ship you were sailing on, the date, or the price when booking cruises in these regions.
Unless you especially wanted to visit one of the cruise lines’ private islands. Perfect Day at CocoCay is very popular, though guests do enjoy Great Stirrup Cay too.
NCL’s a better choice for Africa and South America, while Royal Caribbean offers a lot more cruises in Alaska or Australia, so if you’re looking at those regions your mind might be made up for you.
Staterooms and Suites
With Royal Caribbean and NCL, the basic accommodation options are going to be similar – it’s the same across all cruise lines, really.
You get a choice of interior, ocean view or balcony staterooms, or suites if you’ve got a bigger budget and want more space along with some nice perks.
There are some quirks to flag though, especially on a ship like Norwegian Epic for NCL, which has split bathrooms that are really unpopular with a lot of guests, due to the way the shower is almost open into the room.
Always keep an eye on the individual room you’re booking, but to compare the two cruise lines we’ll instead look at some of the more unique accommodation options available on each.
Royal Caribbean Staterooms and Suites
Virtual Balcony Staterooms
Available on many of the newer Royal Caribbean ships, Virtual Balcony Staterooms go some way to improving the experience for guests who choose an Interior room. Rather than having four dark walls, part of one wall is taken up by a digital screen. This screen shows a live image of the view from the ship, as if you had your own balcony.
It’s no replacement for natural light, but a lot of people like the rooms as they at least let you see the time of day outside!
Interior Balcony Staterooms
With most cruise lines, a Balcony Stateroom will have a view of the sea, but some of Royal Caribbean’s ships are so big that they have balconies facing the inside of the ship, overlooking the Central Park or Boardwalk areas.
They’re cheaper than a sea view, and good if you just want the natural light and fresh air of a balcony but don’t care too much for the view. You just have to bear in mind that directly across from you are more staterooms, so remember to draw those curtains when getting dressed.
Ultimate Family Accommodations
If you handed a kid a piece of paper and some crayons and told them to design their perfect bedroom, the result would probably look like the Ultimate Family Suites and Ultimate Family Townhouses on some of Royal Caribbean’s newest ships.
These split-level suites include a massive range of features for the whole family, from piano-key staircases that actually work, to karaoke machines, and even a slide from the upper floor to the living area.
NCL Staterooms and Suites
The Haven
There are a few cruise lines that have ship-within-a-ship concepts and NCL’s is called The Haven. This is an exclusive part of the ship where the best suites are situated, along with public areas that only suite guests can access.
That includes a private restaurant, sundeck and pool, plus Haven guests get a whole host of extra perks, such as your own butler!
These are some of the best suite accommodations on any ‘mainstream’ cruise line (i.e. not one that purely targets luxury cruise guests), and well worth checking out if you want a special cruise experience.
Studio Rooms
At the complete other end of the scale, NCL’s Studio Rooms are some of the smallest at sea, but that’s by design. NCL has been a pioneer for single rooms, not just adding them to ships before many other cruise lines did, but expanding their range rapidly, revisiting older ships to add more rooms for solo travellers.
Yes they’re small, but they’re cheaper too, so if you just want a room where you can rest (with access to a shared Studio Lounge when you want to chill) then these are ideal.
Club Balcony
The Club Balcony class is what some other cruise lines would call a Mini Suite – a bridge between a Balcony Stateroom and a Suite. For a bit more money, you get up to 80 square feet of extra space compared to regular staterooms, and a small number of extra perks.
Which to Choose?
Royal Caribbean definitely has some of the more innovative stateroom options, with the Virtual Balcony rooms and those incredible Ultimate Family Accommodations.
But if you want something stylish and luxurious for adults, you might prefer The Haven to the suite options with Royal Caribbean.
And while Royal Caribbean does have a small number of single rooms, NCL offers many more and the Studio Lounge is a great addition, so that solo travellers have a dedicated space to unwind or meet others.
Food
Food’s such an important part of cruising and with both Royal Caribbean and NCL, you really aren’t going to be short on options.
Royal Caribbean Food
Royal Caribbean is all about variety – there’s a restaurant or food venue for any preference, whether you want a quick burger by the pool, a late-night slice of pizza, or something really sophisticated, with the most modern ships debuting restaurants that are more experiential – such as the Empire Supper Club themed like a 1920s New York jazz club.
A newer addition worth shouting out is the Surfside Eatery on Icon-class ships, which is a kids-themed buffet right next to the kids’ splashzone area – perfect for picky eaters.
As with pretty much any cruise line, there’s a main dining room and a buffet restaurant on every ship. Traditional dining times are still a thing, but you can choose My Time Dining if you want to eat at the main restaurant at a time that suits you – you just need to pre-pay gratuities.
NCL Food
NCL was one of the first cruise lines to start to change dining on cruise ships, abandoning the idea of set dining times and offering Freestyle Dining across the main restaurants. Eat when you want – just be aware that there might be a little wait for a table if you pick a busy time.
NCL also has plenty of speciality restaurants alongside casual snack bars and more. NCL’s speciality venues are particularly popular with guests, including some fun options that aren’t common, like the Brazilian-style Moderno which offers endless meat skewers carved at your table.
Which to Choose?
This one’s a close call because both cruise lines offer exceptional flexibility when it comes to dining, with great buffets and casual options, good menus in the main dining rooms, and lots of speciality options.
Royal Caribbean edges it for kids, with better ice cream options and the newer focus on providing venues specifically aimed at kids.
But for adults, it’s hard to pick one that’s better – instead, research the ship(s) you’re looking at booking and decide based on their individual venues.
Onboard Activities
NCL and Royal Caribbean are very similar in their approaches to cruising – as many amazing features onboard as possible, so that the ships are as much of a destination as the ports of call you visit.
Royal Caribbean Activities
While the activities you can enjoy on a Royal Caribbean cruise depend on the specific ship you choose, there are loads of options available. These include ice skating rinks, climbing walls, and exciting slides (dry and water).
Options that you’ll find on a Royal Caribbean ship but not on NCL include:
- FlowRider surfing simulators
- Skydiving simulators
- Dodgems at sea
NCL Activities
NCL ships are equally exciting, and share many of the same features as Royal’s ships, such as climbing walls, bungee trampolines, laser tag, mini golf, and some fantastic water slides.
The unique features on NCL ships include:
- Bowling alleys
- Multi-level go-kart tracks
Which to Choose?
Each cruise line has its own unique attractions so if there’s something particular that’ll sway you – maybe you love bowling, or you’d love to give a surfing simulator a go – then choose the cruise line that offers those activities.
Otherwise, you won’t be bored on a ship for either line. Even the smaller ships have lots to do, though a general rule is the bigger and newer the ship, the better it is for activities.
Always check what your ship includes before you book, as you don’t want to get your hopes up over a particular attraction to find it’s missing when you board.
Entertainment
The live entertainment across both cruise lines is stunning – you may well struggle to pick between them!
Royal Caribbean Entertainment
Many cruise lines claim to offer Broadway-style entertainment but Royal Caribbean is one of the few to have licensed Broadway shows, such as Cats, Grease and Hairspray. Alongside the stage musicals, expect a broad range of family-friendly entertainment including singers, dancers and live comedy.
Where Royal Caribbean stands out is with the AquaTheater on bigger ships – these venues host amazing water-based shows themed around music and high diving. Truly spectacular.
NCL Entertainment
NCL is one of the other handful of cruise lines to have licensed Broadway shows, with Jersey Boys and Six being some of the exciting options onboard, depending on your ship.
NCL also has the very popular Burn the Floor show, which is Latin and ballroom dancing at its finest, and don’t miss the Howl at the Moon singalong (unless you hate singing along to popular songs…)
Which to Choose
You can’t choose between them here unless you have a specific show you want to catch. Royal Caribbean’s AquaTheater performances are very impressive but NCL’s variety and excellent interactive nights are just as fun.
Kids Facilities
Royal Caribbean Kids Facilities
Adventure Ocean is the name of the main kids’ clubs on Royal Caribbean ships, with lots of varied activities based in venues such as the Adventure Science Lab and the Imagination Studio.
Teens are also catered for with dedicated spaces for 12-14 year olds and 15-17 year olds. Rather than being structured, they have more of a flexible programme so that teens can pick and choose what to get involved in, and when to just chill in their lounge areas.
NCL Kids Facilities
NCL’s clubs work similar, with Splash Academy for children and pre-teens, and then Entourage aimed at 13 to 17-year-olds, with a chilled space for them to relax, play video games and more.
The key difference is that teens are generally grouped together in one space, which isn’t ideal.
Suggested read: Cruise Kids Club Age Groupings Guide
Which to Choose?
Royal Caribbean slightly edges it here if you have teens, especially older teens who don’t want to share a space with 13-year-olds.
If you’re only sailing with younger kids then both cruise lines offer plenty of fun activities to enjoy and they’ll have a great time regardless.
Cruiser Demographics
Royal Caribbean Demographics
On a Royal Caribbean cruise, expect to see a lot of families, but there are plenty of couples, friend groups and solo cruisers too. In terms of age profile there’s a broad mix, but the average guest is between 30 and 50. The prices tend to stop most younger families with parents under 30 from cruising, though there will no doubt be some.
On smaller ships, don’t be surprised to find a lot more guests who are older. People have been loyal to Royal Caribbean for many years and the older generations do still love the quieter ships.
NCL Demographics
NCL also targets a slightly younger market than traditional cruise lines might, with guests typically aged between 30 and 50.
Again, it’s one where there’s a good mix of passengers including families, but NCL probably has slightly more of a party vibe onboard. If Royal Caribbean is fun for all ages, especially families, then NCL is fun for all ages, especially younger adults.
Families still love NCL, and young adults will have a great time on a Royal Caribbean cruise, but the cruise lines just slightly lean into those markets a little more.
Price
You won’t get the very cheapest cruise deals with either Royal Caribbean or NCL, but they aren’t the most expensive cruises you can book either.
Royal Caribbean Prices
You can get good deals on a Royal Caribbean cruise, but usually only on the smaller and older ships in the fleet.
The newer Icon-class and Quantum-class ships are a lot more expensive, with the Icon ships specifically being quite a lot more than others in the fleet – but they’re selling, because people want to try the biggest ships in the world.
Wonder of the Seas is an example of a large ship, but not the biggest, and she offers 7-night Caribbean cruises from between £100/$130 and £130/$165 per person, per night for an Inside Stateroom.
NCL Prices
It’s not as easy to compare an NCL price with Royal Caribbean’s fares, because NCL offers different fare options, including the Free at Sea promotion which will offer extra benefits such as free drinks, free WiFi or free speciality dining (or a combination of them).
Read more: Free at Sea vs Free at Sea Plus
Generally, expect prices to be slightly higher than Royal Caribbean offers. A typical cruise in the Caribbean on the newest ships will be between £100/$130 and £150/$190, but always check the inclusions.
The Verdict
There’s no way that I could definitely say that either Royal Caribbean or NCL is the better cruise line of the two. So much will depend on your travel party, your priorities when you’re on a cruise, where you want to sail and more.
NCL is slightly more aimed at young adults while Royal Caribbean is more about family cruising, and yet families won’t feel out of place on an NCL ship and vice versa.
Always check the specific ships regardless of which line you lean towards, as many of the best features are only on the newest ships in each fleet – arguably there’s a bigger difference in cruise experience between Icon of the Seas and Vision of the Seas, than there is between Icon of the Seas and Norwegian Viva!
Related Posts:
- The Best Royal Caribbean Ships for Adults
- The Best Royal Caribbean Ships For Kids
- Norwegian Cruise Line Ships Ranked Best To Worst
