Royal Caribbean vs Norwegian Cruise Line
A detailed side-by-side comparison of Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line covering ratings, fleet size, food quality, entertainment, value for money, and available sailings from UK ports. Updated for 2026.
The head-to-head
Ratings are based on aggregated passenger reviews, editorial analysis, and expert scoring. The cobalt outline marks the stronger line for each attribute.
Who should choose which?
Every cruise line has its strengths and weaknesses. Here is an honest look at who each line is best suited for, based on passenger feedback and our editorial assessment.
Choose Royal Caribbean if you want…
- Families with kids
- Thrill seekers and adventurers
- Mega-ship experience
- Entertainment and activities
Royal Caribbean may not suit you if…
- Quiet/intimate cruise seekers
- Ultra-luxury preference
- Those avoiding large crowds
Choose Norwegian Cruise Line if you want…
- Flexible, no-rules cruising
- Solo travellers (studio cabins)
- Broadway entertainment
- Modern ship design
Norwegian Cruise Line may not suit you if…
- Those wanting traditional cruise formality
- Budget travellers
- UK-departure-only preference
Ships at a glance
A quick comparison of each line's fleet including passenger capacity, tonnage, and year of launch.
Royal Caribbean Fleet (28 ships)
Anthem of the Seas
Built 2015 · 4,905 guests
Icon of the Seas
Built 2024 · 7,600 guests
Utopia of the Seas
Built 2024 · 5,668 guests
Norwegian Cruise Line Fleet (19 ships)
Norwegian Prima
Built 2022 · 3,215 guests
Norwegian Viva
Built 2023 · 3,215 guests
Available cruises
Current sailings from both cruise lines. Prices shown are per person based on two sharing the lowest-grade cabin available.
Royal Caribbean Sailings
Save 1%6 NIGHTSWestern Caribbean Cruise
Save 1%7 NIGHTSEastern Caribbean Perfect Day
Save 1%7 NIGHTSWestern Caribbean Cruise
Save 1%7 NIGHTSGreek Isles Cruise
Save 1%7 NIGHTSAlaska Inside Passage Cruise
5 NIGHTS5-night Hamburg & Rotterdam
Save 1%4 NIGHTSBahamas Perfect Day Cruise
Save 1%4 NIGHTSKey West Bahamas Cruise
Save 1%5 NIGHTSWestern Caribbean Cruise
Save 1%5 NIGHTSBahamas Perfect Day Cruise
Hot deal7 NIGHTS7 Night Italy & France Cruise
Ports: Barcelona · Toulon · Ajaccio · Civitavecchia · Naples · Messina
Save 1%4 NIGHTS4 Night Cruise to Canada / New England
Save 1%4 NIGHTSBusan Cruise
9 NIGHTS9 Night Bermuda & Perfect Day Cruise
Ports: Baltimore · Kings Wharf · Coco Cay · Nassau · Baltimore
Hot deal9 NIGHTSWestern Europe
Hot deal7 NIGHTS7 Night Ensenada, Cabo & Mazatlan
Ports: Los Angeles · Ensenada · Cabo San Lucas · Mazatlán
Hot deal3 NIGHTS3 Night Bahamas & Perfect Day Cruise
Ports: Port Canaveral · Nassau · Coco Cay
Hot deal3 NIGHTS3 Night Bahamas & Perfect Day Cruise
Ports: Fort Lauderdale · Nassau · Coco Cay
Hot deal3 NIGHTS3 Night Bahamas & Perfect Day Cruise
Ports: Miami · Coco Cay · Nassau
Hot deal7 NIGHTS7-night Northbound Alaska & Hubbard Glacier
7 NIGHTS2-night Venice & 7-night Brilliance of The Adriatic & 2-night Rome
8 NIGHTS8 Night Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day
Ports: Fort Lauderdale · Basseterre · Philipsburg · San Juan (Puerto Rico) · Coco Cay · Fort Lauderdale
7 NIGHTS7 Night Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day
Ports: Miami · Philipsburg · Charlotte Amalie · Coco Cay · Miami
5 NIGHTS5 Night Bahamas & Perfect Day Cruise
Ports: Miami · Nassau · Coco Cay · Miami
Save 1%5 NIGHTSJeju Busan Cruise
7 NIGHTS2-night Venice & 7-night Greek Treasures
Save 1%4 NIGHTSSeoul Cruise
Hot deal7 NIGHTS7 Night Western Mediterranean Cruise
Ports: Barcelona · Palma de Mallorca · La Spezia · Civitavecchia · Naples · Barcelona
7 NIGHTS7 Night Spain & Portugal Cruise
7 NIGHTS7 Night Greek Isles & Italy Cruise
Ports: Civitavecchia · Naples · Messina · Santorini · Kusadasi · Mykonos
Save 1%4 NIGHTSBusan Cruise
Save 3%5 NIGHTSHamburg and Bruges cruise from Southampton
Ports: Southampton · Hamburg · Brussels (Zeebrugge)
9 NIGHTSBarcelona & Med Sunsets
14 NIGHTS14 Night Eastern Mediterranean
Ports: Rome · Santorini · Mykonos · Dubrovnik
5 NIGHTS5 Night Hamburg & Bruges Cruise
Ports: Hamburg · Zeebrugge
9 NIGHTS9-night Spanish Flair & Solar Eclipse
Ports: Bilbao, Spain · Gijon, Spain · Vigo, Spain · La Coruna, Spain · Paris (Le Havre), France
7 NIGHTS7-night Norwegian Fjords
Save 1%9 NIGHTSCanada New England
8 NIGHTSBahamas & Perfect Day with Miami Beach Stay
Ports: Miami · Perfect Day at Cococay · Nassau
7 NIGHTS2-night Seattle & 7-night Alaska Experience
7 NIGHTS2-night Miami & 5-night Freedom of Bahamas & Perfect Day
Save 1%9 NIGHTSCanada New England
7 NIGHTS2-night Venice & 7-night Greek Explorer & Split
9 NIGHTS9-night Spanish Flair
7 NIGHTS2-night Venice & 7-night Adriatic & Greek Explorer
7 NIGHTS3-night Miami & 4-night Bahamas & Perfect Day
7 NIGHTS7-night Spain & France
Save 3%7 NIGHTSWestern Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona
Ports: Barcelona · Palma De Mallorca · Marseille (Provence) · La Spezia (tours to Florence/Pisa) · Rome (Civitavecchia) · Naples
Save 6%7 NIGHTS2-night Venice & 7-night Greek Treasures
8 NIGHTS8-night Spain & France Cruise
Norwegian Cruise Line Sailings
7 NIGHTS2-night Rome & 7-night Italian Gems & South of France
Save 3%7 NIGHTSMediterranean
Ports: Barcelona · Spain
Save 3%7 NIGHTSMediterranean
Ports: Lisbon · Portugal
Save 3%7 NIGHTSCaribbean
Save 3%7 NIGHTSMediterranean
Ports: Civitavecchia (Rome) · Italy
Save 3%11 NIGHTSNorthern Europe
Ports: Reykjavik · Iceland
Save 3%7 NIGHTSBermuda
Save 3%7 NIGHTSMediterranean
Ports: Ravenna (Bologna) · Italy
Save 3%7 NIGHTSAlaska
Save 3%7 NIGHTSAlaska
Save 3%9 NIGHTSMediterranean: Italy, France & Greece
Ports: Barcelona · Villefranche-sur-Mer · Livorno · Civitavecchia · Salerno · Messina
Save 3%9 NIGHTSNorthern Europe
Ports: Helsinki, Finland · Copenhagen, Denmark
7 NIGHTS2-night Barcelona & 7-night Spain, France & Italy & 2-night Rome
Save 11%7 NIGHTS2-night Lisbon & 7-night Spain & Portugal
Save 2%7 NIGHTSCaribbean: Great Stirrup Cay, Dominican Republic & Tortola
Ports: Miami · Puerto Plata · Saint Thomas · Road Town · Great Stirrup Cay · Miami
Save 2%8 NIGHTSBermuda: Royal Naval Dockyard
Ports: New York · Kings Wharf
Save 2%7 NIGHTSAlaska: Glacier Bay, Skagway & Juneau
Ports: Seattle · Juneau · Skagway · Ketchikan · Victoria
Save 2%7 NIGHTSCaribbean: Great Stirrup Cay & Dominican Republic
Ports: Port Canaveral · Puerto Plata · Saint Thomas · Road Town · Great Stirrup Cay
Hot deal7 NIGHTSEurope: Spain & Portugal
Ports: Lisbon · Portimão · Cádiz · Motril · Gibraltar · Ibiza
7 NIGHTSWestern Caribbean
Ports: Miami · Cozumel · Roatán Island · Harvest Caye · Costa Maya
7 NIGHTSHalifax & Bermuda
Ports: Boston · Halifax · Kings Wharf
7 NIGHTSAlaska: Hubbard Glacier & Skagway
Ports: Whittier · Icy Strait Point · Juneau · Skagway · Ketchikan · Vancouver
10 NIGHTS1-night Venice & 10-night Dubrovnik, Greek Gems, Turkey & 1-night Istanbul
Ports: Venice (Ravenna), Italy · Dubrovnik, Croatia · Bar, Montenegro · Athens (Piraeus), Greece · Kusadasi · Rhodes
Save 3%10 NIGHTSNorwegian Fjords
Ports: Southampton, Great Britain
Save 4%7 NIGHTS2-night Rome & 7-night Italian Gems & South of France
Save 2%8 NIGHTSBermuda: Royal Naval Dockyard
Ports: New York · Kings Wharf
Hot deal10 NIGHTSGreek Isles: Santorini & Athens
Ports: Ravenna · Dubrovnik · Bar · Piraeus · Kusadasi · Rhodes
Hot deal7 NIGHTSHawaii: Inter-island
Ports: Honolulu · Kahului-Maui · Hilo · Kailua-Kona · Nawiliwili · Honolulu
7 NIGHTSAlaska: Hubbard Glacier & Skagway
Ports: Whittier · Icy Strait Point · Juneau · Skagway · Ketchikan · Vancouver
Save 3%10 NIGHTSBritish Isles
7 NIGHTS2-night Barcelona & 7-night Spain, France & Italy
11 NIGHTSIceland, Scotland & Norway from Southampton
Ports: Southampton · Newhaven · Aberdeen · Bergen · Alesund · Akureyri
7 NIGHTS2-night Rome & 7-night Italian Gems & South of France
Save 2%7 NIGHTSAlaska: Glacier Bay, Skagway & Juneau
Ports: Seattle · Juneau · Skagway · Ketchikan · Victoria
13 NIGHTSGreek Isles with Rome & Istanbul Stays
Ports: Civitavecchia, Italy · Salerno · Catania, Sicily · Valletta · Thira, Santorini · Athens (Piraeus)
11 NIGHTSBaltic Cities with Helsinki & Copenhagen Stays
Ports: Helsinki · Tallinn · Stockholm (Nynashamn) · Riga · Berlin (Warnemunde) · Kiel
Save 3%7 NIGHTSPortugal & Spain
9 NIGHTS9 Night Northern Europe Capitals
Ports: Copenhagen · Stockholm · Tallinn · Helsinki
14 NIGHTSGreek Isles with Istanbul & Venice Stays
Ports: Istanbul · Kusadasi, Turkey · Thira, Santorini · Mykonos Town, Mykonos · Athens · Katakolon
Save 3%7 NIGHTS2-night Rome & 7-night Epic Med
Save 1%7 NIGHTS2-night Barcelona & 7-night Spain & Portugal
9 NIGHTSNorway & Iceland from Southampton with Reykjavik Stay
Ports: Southampton · Kirkwall, Orkney Islands · Bergen · Akureyri · Isafjordur · Reykjavik
10 NIGHTS2-night Seattle & 10-night Alaska & Hubbard Glacier
7 NIGHTS2-night Rome & 7-night Italian Gems & South of France
7 NIGHTS2-night Venice & 7-night Italy, Greece & Croatia
7 NIGHTS2-night Lisbon & 7-night Spain & Portugal
Save 3%7 NIGHTSCanada New England
Save 4%11 NIGHTSBaltic Cities with Helsinki & Copenhagen Stays
Ports: Helsinki · Tallinn · Stockholm (Nynashamn) · Riga · Berlin (Warnemunde) · Kiel
Save 3%7 NIGHTS2-night Rome & 7-night Italian Gems & South of France
7 NIGHTS2-night Barcelona & 7-night Spain & Portugal
Royal Caribbean vs Norwegian Cruise Line: the bottom line
Choosing between Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line ultimately comes down to what kind of holiday you are looking for. Both are well-established cruise lines with loyal followings, but they cater to different preferences and budgets.
Royal Caribbean, founded in 1968 and headquartered in Miami, USA, operates a fleet of 28 ships. It is categorised as a contemporary cruise line and scores 4.6/5 overall based on 24,500 reviews. The line is particularly strong for families with kids and thrill seekers and adventurers, making it a natural choice for cruisers who value those attributes.
Norwegian Cruise Line, established in 1966 from Miami, USA, has a fleet of 19 ships. As a contemporary line rated 4.4/5 from 13,800 reviews, it excels at flexible, no-rules cruising and solo travellers (studio cabins). If those are your priorities, Norwegian Cruise Line deserves serious consideration.
On food, Royal Caribbean scores 7/10 compared to Norwegian Cruise Line's 7/10. For entertainment, Royal Caribbean comes in at 10/10 versus Norwegian Cruise Line's 8/10. Value for money favours Royal Caribbean with a score of 7/10.
Our recommendation: browse the available sailings above and compare itineraries, dates, and total cost including what is bundled in the fare. The best cruise line is the one that matches your specific needs, budget, and travel dates. Use the scores as a guide, but remember that individual ship and itinerary matter just as much as the cruise line brand.
Royal Caribbean vs Norwegian Cruise Line — FAQ
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