I think the layout of the 55/60/625 appears smaller than many competitors similarly sized RPH cruisers, but it’s more functional for the way most boats of that sized are used.
Most ~60’ RPH boats have three cabins below decks: a nice midship master, a good VIP suite forward, and a bunk room somewhere between the two. The Nordhavn 55/60/625 have just the two below deck cabins. The 55s and early 60s had a full beam master on the same level as the galley. A really nice layout for owner operators, which is pretty much every 60’ trawler. The downside is when guests are aboard—they either have to walk through the master to get to the guest room, or go up to the pilothouse and then down again. Lots of stairs. The 55s and some 60s also had a VIP layout that’s fallen out of favor, with a two-person-ish bed on one side and desk on the other. Some of the later boats have a more traditional arrangement with an island queen in the VIP room.
With the N60, they (optionally) added a hallway from the galley to the forward VIP room, but this eats into the formerly spacious master. The tradeoff is no companionway from the pilothouse to the forward cabin, so there is room for a second helm chair and a full-beam nav console. And fewer stairs for guests.
Instead of a cramped below deck bunk room, the third cabin on the 55/60/625 is in the pilothouse. It’s not spacious, but is fine for a captain or crew person while on passage when they need to be close to the watchstander. There’s also a head in the pilothouse which is awesome when passagemaking.
It’s a great layout for a couples cruiser. The salon, galley, and master are basically on one level. Go up to the pilothouse and down to the “basement” storage area and machinery spaces.
Sometime during the 60 production run they also extended the salon about 18 inches. The cockpit is still spacious, and the extra room in the salon is appreciated.