I cruised almost the same itinerary with Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line, and there was a clear winner

• and the Norwegian Breakaway.
• In comparison to other cruises, Royal Caribbean excelled in food, app functionality, and overall service quality.
• Norway's entertainment scene was impressive, but it lacked a strong presence in many other areas.

We now take part in two cruises annually.

We've taken similar cruises on Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line to find out how their food, service, entertainment, and other important amenities stack up.

For seven nights from New Orleans.

If you want to stay connected, consider purchasing a Wi-Fi package or investing in a satellite phone.

* Todd on Uniworld Splendid ventured out of his way to make us feel like VIPs.''

We liked Royal Caribbean's main dining room and buffet much better – both fleets had impressive specialty restaurants

As a plant-based eater, I appreciate the vegan options available in the main dining room and at the extensive buffet on Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas.

We were very pleased with the themes of each evening's meals, like Caribbean, seafood, and French nights, and enjoyed the food immensely.

For my husband's birthday, we splurged on special dining at Giovanni's Table and were treated like royalty in the cozy venue with an Italian-themed menu.

I thought the Norwegian Breakaway's dining options were somewhat disappointing, particularly when it came to vegan choices, but we did really enjoy our meal at Moderno.

I had an incredible salad bar that was packed with tons of choices like salty olives, specialty greens, mushrooms, beans, and so much more. My husband was also a fan of its many meat skewers in different varieties.

Norway really made a great impression with a high-profile exhibition

The two lines were similar in terms of offering daily entertainment, but Norwegian stood out with its excellent evening shows.

Its onboard Broadway production of the musical "Six" was a standout. It was a fantastic performance featuring a talented all-female cast and orchestra.

We really enjoyed the evening entertainment on the Royal Caribbean ship, which felt very polished and of a high standard. I particularly thought it was really cool to see the crew members from different countries come together to wave their flags in a colorful parade. Although we didn't have the opportunity to see any big-name acts or a performance on the level of a Broadway show.

We greatly preferred the fitness center on Radiance of the Seas.

My husband likes to work out at the ship's fitness center while we're on our cruise.

Launched in 2001, Radiance of the Seas is one of the older ships in Royal Caribbean's cruise line fleet - however with plenty of windows and panoramic views, its fitness center felt up-to-date and gratifying to work out in.

The layout of the facility made it simple to move around and easily use the free weights and exercise machines.

On the Norwegian Breakway, which debuted in 2013, the fitness center was divided into distinct rooms, making it feel more confined.

The area for the fitness classes was always dimly lit, which created a somewhat dark ambiance. Meanwhile, we noticed there were fewer weight machines and cardio machines available.

We found Royal Caribbean's app to be more straightforward to use.

Both cruise lines have their own mobile apps. We got really good at using Royal Caribbean's to check in early, reserve a table at a restaurant, and find things to do on the ship.

For Americans, Norwegian's app felt heavier and more difficult to use.

After a few days, we decided to give up on the app altogether. Luckily, Norwegian provided us with paper copies of the daily itinerary each evening, so we used that to plan our onboard activities instead.

We were really impressed by how much we preferred the way Royal Caribbean handled things, or their service.

We were taken aback by how greatly our experience with service varied between the two cruise lines.

Throughout our time on the ship, including this current one, the cabin attendants have introduced themselves when we boarded, handed me their business card, and have continuously greeted us with a smile each time we passed by.

On this Norwegian sailing, we didn't know who our cabin steward was until the fifth day when they delivered extra towels.

In general, we found that the crew on the Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas paid much more attention to detail than the crew on the Norwegian Breakaway.

For instance, in Royal Caribbean's main dining room, staff cleared the table of crumbs between meals. Such small details can have a tremendous impact.

We also found crew members we met on Royal Caribbean cruises — servers, entertainment staff, cabin attendants — to be more friendly and open to interacting with and chatting with guests.

The Norwegian crew members we met were very professional and friendly, but it didn't seem like they were very interested in striking up a conversation or forming a connection with us.

We've noticed a possible difference in the way our cruise was handled, and we were wondering whether it might be specific to this cruise line.

We're really looking forward to our next sailing with Royal Caribbean again.

Ultimately, both cruise lines provided enjoyable experiences, but Royal Caribbean's commitment to detail, outstanding service, and overall ambiance made it our clear choice for the win.

We intend to book with that cruise line more often and foster a loyal relationship with them as we carry on with our cruising excursions.

on Microsoft Start.