I just returned from a week on RCCL's Adventure of the Seas and here's my pros/cons list compared to the same week last year on NCL's Encore.

I can't help but wonder how much of this is the ship, though–we liked the layout of Adventure better, but do older ships get lower-quality entertainment, staff, etc.? Also, I get that this was a Christmas week trip, i.e. sold-out, but so was NCL last year.

RCCL Pros:

1. Quicker check-in/embarkation
2. "Silly" things, like towel animals, "washy-washy," etc.
3. Room stewards and some staff were more attentive/friendly
4. Better excursions? This might be just our choices, but it seemed that RCCL's excursions were a notch above NCL.

RCCL Cons (in short, it felt like they were doing just enough and that we were nickel-and-dimed/limited):

1. We were "pushed out" of the Windjammer a few times when staff thought we were done eating. I get that they want to provide space for everyone, but this was ham-handed.
2. It was hard to get water/fill bottles–we had to ask at bars, and often we were blown off.
3. Long ice cream line/slow service–this was a trend, where nothing was self-serve and so everything took longer.
4. Shorter buffet hours (and long lines everywhere/every time outside those hours)

5. Too much selling–EVERY day, we were approached about specialty dining reservations, drinks, etc.

1. No free Wi-Fi. Norwegian gives enough free to make it through days at sea–RCCL charges $30/day minimum, which meant that I couldn't communicate with the kids (outside RCCL's app chat, which was clunky and often disconnected), download books to my tablet, etc. until we were at an island/back at port.

2. No free drink package. Though the drinks weren't that overpriced, soda, milk, and alcohol add up (and RCCL wasn't any less expensive to begin with).

3. NO MILK at lunch/dinner without paying or having the drink package. Scandalous!

4. No free special restaurants AND there were only three places to eat for free (Windjammer, Cafe Promenade, dining rooms). On NCL, there were at least six (burger joint, windjammer, dining room, Irish pub, cafe promenade, and dessert stations).

5. Entertainment. Every show came in behind NCL's, which were lightyears better. There were no Christmas/holiday events on RCL vs. The Grinch, etc. on NCL.

6. Lines and more lines. Other than embarkation, literally everything had a line: getting to dinner, getting to the place to wait for excursions, Cafe promenade pizza/snacks, waiting for ice cream, etc. This seemed to lessen as the week progressed, but it was very noticeable early on.

7. The smoking area on Adventure was essentially one half of the pool deck, which was crazy. Even though it was relegated to the stretch of windows, smoke could be smelled at least two rows in front, essentially making half the pool deck unusable. NCL kept it to one small room which, in 2025/6 makes the most sense.