Comparison Celebrity to NCL

Rich. What did u think of the waterfront area. I think in the future more ships are going to copy this concept. I've seen no line copy the lawn concept.

Loved it! Day or night, it's great strolling the deck. You can stop for a drink or ice cream, or eat outdoors at one of the specialty restaurants.

I have been on 5 Celebrity cruises and on 4 NCL a cruises. Each has it's own pluses and minuses!!! If you go with a great attitude, no cruise is bad!!! Our NCL cruises have varied from amazing to okay and our Celebrity cruises have varied from amazing to okay!! Food is so subjective but I will say that on the Getaway, the unlimited dining package was very good. Entertainment and interaction with the cruise staff was very good on NCL and has also been very good on Celebrity. As you can see, I am good with either line and if the ship, itinerary and price aligns, I don't care which line I am sailing with!!

snow bunny

Our last cruise (11-14) was on the NCL Epic and the cruise before that was the Celebrity Constellation.

We took 6 bottles of wine with us, no problem to take as many as you want and just after security you are charged $15 per bottle corkage and they sticker each bottle. You can drink it anywhere on the ship and I even carried an open bottle from a restaurant to a bar.

We stayed in Aqua class on X and we were in a Haven Suite on NCL. We enjoyed the food in Blu. On NCL we were in a specialty restaurant evey night and it was the best food we have ever had on a cruise. We are our breakfast and lunches in the Haven dining room and that was also very, very good. Our NCL also was the best cruise overall we have ever been on but we were in the Haven, I know that makes a big difference! The Haven dinner menu is the same every night with an off menu special each night.

If prices were similar I would book the Haven on the Epic every time. But we got an incredible deal on that cruise and the prices are higher for next year. So our next two cruises are an Aqua class (5 night group cruise) and then we are going to try a sky suite on the Reflection.

I hope that was some help for you!!

Oh and the shows on NCL were awesome! We did not do any shows on X.

I have only cruised 4 times and all for times were on NCL so I can't compare. My girlfriend, however, has sailed with me and also 9 times on "X". Her comment on the difference is the food was better on Celebrity and so was the service but not by a lot and that the entertainment on "X" doesn't even come close to NCL. NCL at night is like being in Vegas.

We have sailed on the Epic twice and still haven't seen or done everything. (partially because we keep going to Howl at the Moon on consecutive nights) We love the freestyle because it is very relaxing and we don't have to pack as much clothing. One suit case each is enough. We are sailing, however, on Celebrity in June because of the great itinerary in the Baltics for this sailing and don't really care about the shows. We plan to sleep, eat and go ashore and then eat some more. I will book another cruise on one of NCL's newer ships when we return from Paris.

I know a lot of the older folks on CC like the idea of getting spruced up and strutting their stuff at night but I am only 70 and want to relax on my vacation.

After being long-time Celebrity cruisers (more than 30 cruises over 25 years), we are considering an upcoming NCL cruise due to itinerary and pricing. Can someone help me with what the primary differences would be? I expect (and correct me if I am wrong) the experience to be a little less 'classy', a little more lively, a little less quality in food and service, but overall a nice experience. Is this true? Also, practically speaking, what might differences be. For example, can you bring any wine onboard like you can at Celebrity at embarkation? (I see they offer liquor packages as an option, but I cannot drink liquor right now due to medication so we would likely not pick that as an option).

 

I know I can find some of this info with hours and hours of reading these boards, but if any kind fellow Celebrity fan can help me out here it would be appreciated much!

We just went on our first NCL Breakaway cruise. We also are (and will continue) to be Celebrity Cruisers, but also enjoy Royal. First, we were in the Haven and it was wonderful! The rest of the Breakaway is like times square on New Years Eve! Crowded!! While the Breakway is beautiful, it is perhaps the most crowded of all of the ships we have ever been on. The speciality restaurants, especially the Japanese style restaurant is great- the shows are also very good. Not sure of the wine policy. If you sail in the Haven you will enjoy the ship- if not good luck!

I think you should stick to Celebrity or consider Royal- even though the Oasis class is large- never felt as crowded as on the NCL Breakaway. Also, I have been told the regular cabins are tiny.

This is a comparison from our perspective (two entrepreneurs in our 30s, ie. DINK) and probably differs a lot from the views of others (especially of those having cruised for decades). We are easygoing, don't like too much hassle and that is why NCL's Freestyle Cruising was the one thing that got us to actually start cruising to begin with – originally the mere thought of a fixed dining time at a large table full of strangers added with formal nights was horrendous for us.

We have been completely loyal to NCL until about a year ago when the changes started because of the NCL-Prestige merger. We had already decided to test Celebrity by joining two of our friend couples on Reflection this January, so after that experience and the changes that kept on going with NCL, it was actually quite easy to say goodbye to NCL.

Entertainment and activities

We don't care too much about the entertainment onboard nor do we utilize kids' activities/waterslides/etc, so neither gets point for those from us.

All about sun deck

We have always found a place to lounge in the sun on both cruise lines (don't care about being within 3ft of the pool), so no difference there. I get back to this later, but the bar service on X is definitely better than on NCL where the waiters are few and far between.

These are things that really frustrate me with NCL, but I'm not quite sure if they are any better over at Celebrity: I'd say that there are more chair hogs on NCL (again, just a gut-feeling) but the enforcement of published chair hogging policy with NCL is totally non-existent.

IMO Celebrity handles towels much better (with NCL you need to sign a deposit of $25 to get a second towel and still the room stewards make so much mistakes with the towel count that one could get extra towels for free anytime just by complaining to them about the errors ("we are missing towels")).

Point to Celebrity for more relaxed towel policies (love that we can return used towels on the pier before re-boarding to the ship instead of having to lug them around all the way to the cabin).

Parties

Theme parties with NCL are less polished and grandiose, but on the other hand, people are usually there to actually party and not just stand around and attend only to watch the show like we saw happening with X on several nights.

The point on this one depends on what one wants - for fun and engaging parties NCL wins but the production values and visuals are way better on X.

Dining

Speciality restaurant cover charges on NCL were indeed cheaper than on X, but most of this year (and counting) NCL has been in process of raising pretty much all onboard prices. As a result most speciality restaurants previously with fixed cover charge will now change to a la carte at the beginning of next year (already on Escape).

Overall the speciality restaurants will probably still be cheaper for most passengers on NCL than on X, I also like most of the speciality menus better on NCL.

Personally we find Celebrity's MDR/buffet/mast grill food so good that we have not felt the need to pay any extra for speciality food with the only exception of Bistro on Five, loved the crepes for lunch. (I know that many here say that things have gone downhill even with X, but that is the reality of the mass market cruise industry.)

NCL has cut down staff in dining venues even more, so with sommeliers and bar waiters X has better service especially in MDRs.

So for dining the point goes to Celebrity - even with their ongoing snafus with Select dining (discussed on this board previously).

Who would have thought that even the Freestyle cruise line with the fundamental idea of no-reservations-needed can manage and honor the reservations better than a cruise line having had reservations to manage forever.

We prefer NCL's way of not letting one book if there are no reserved tables available instead of Celebrity's way of letting people book and still take walk-ins to the point where one has to wait even for a reserved table for half an hour. It means that everybody will not get their desired time, but at least they will have a table with minimal wait when their reservation actually is.

Beverages and bars

NCL has raised bar prices three times this year; in March, June and now in October when they also raised the drink pkg price almost 20% (compared to old pre-purchase price, now there is only one price). Price of a simple mixed drink made of a well liquor like rum&mixer is now over 30% higher on NCL than it was in February.

NCL's drink package (UBP) costs now about the same as RCI's and X's Premium package but includes a lot less (no smoothies/fresh juices, speciality coffees, any bottled waters or energy drinks) and the terms are also a lot more restrictive (everybody in the cabin must purchase for the whole duration of the cruise).

Also there is an increasing amount of complains about poor bar service on NCL (not enough waiters in venues, long lines at bars) as more and more people have the drink package as a perk. I have to wonder why the bar service with Celebrity works much better even though the 123Go with bev pkg perk has been around for years..

As a rum enthustiast I love NCL's Mojito Bars but that's not quite enough. And to be fair, the replacement of Molecular Bars with World Class Bars on Celebrity was a step in the wrong direction in my opinion. I know that Molecular bars needed to go away because of the contract ending (loved many of the drinks though), but the replacement could have been generally more easily approachable, I'd even go as far as calling the new drinks pretentious.

So for beverages and bars the point goes to Celebrity even though NCL has some highlights too and their per drink price limit with the package is now probably the highest on seas ($15) – not that it matters to most people as majority of the drinks were already covered before the raise.

Onboard internet

NCL recently raised internet prices up to 20-55% but unlimited internet is generally still cheaper than on X ($175 vs $199 per week) – for now.

If/when X also gets the pricing RCI has, NCL loses the race hands down (Carnival stepped up in the internet connectivity race already with new packages and lower pricing).

Room service

NCL now charges for room service 24/7 (very limited continental breakfast is still free in the mornings) instead of previously having an extra charge only at night like Celebrity nowadays does too.

Even before the room service charge on NCL, X had better room service menu (with the ability to order from MDR for dinner), so point to Celebrity.

Suites

I haven't sailed in suites with Celebrity but have several times with NCL (loved it) so I can't really compare, but many people seem to feel that NCL has the best overall suite experience of all mass market lines – of course all the perks are not comparable.

Loyalty program

I've been on the highest level with NCL already for almost three years now and while the perks are nice (for us the most important ones are that we each get a speciality dinner for two with a bottle of wine and one free bag of laundry), NCL already has so many Platinum Latitudes members that they are already trying to restrict for example the access to the concierge (which is nowadays very hard unless one is actually staying in a suite) for easier reservations etc.

So I think that Celebrity wins hands down from what I've heard and read about Elite perks and above.

---

Phew, that's just something right off the top of my head, a lot was still left unsaid. ;) Hope this helps at least a bit.

We've been on NCL with and without suites. We really enjoyed the suite experience and probably will not sail on NCL without being in a suite.

However, we were not in a Haven suite, which I'd really like to try.

The price of the Haven has really increased over the last year or so and I'm afraid of the experience being ruined by misbehaving children in the Haven. I've read some reviews where the Haven area has been taken over by large families which impact the entire suite experience. I understand the Haven area has large suites, meant for many people and certainly understand how nice it is to have your entire family close by and to have your children have practically their own private pool. But I'm afraid to lay out all that money and not be able to enjoy some relaxation. Guess I'm an old fogey now.:o

We've been on NCL with and without suites. We really enjoyed the suite experience and probably will not sail on NCL without being in a suite.

However, we were not in a Haven suite, which I'd really like to try.

 

The price of the Haven has really increased over the last year or so and I'm afraid of the experience being ruined by misbehaving children in the Haven. I've read some reviews where the Haven area has been taken over by large families which impact the entire suite experience. I understand the Haven area has large suites, meant for many people and certainly understand how nice it is to have your entire family close by and to have your children have practically their own private pool. But I'm afraid to lay out all that money and not be able to enjoy some relaxation. Guess I'm an old fogey now.:o

When we were in the Haven- it was summer so yes families with young children were also in the Haven. We did encounter one family with four young children (under 12) who were running all over the Haven. Parents weren't watching and or apparently didn't care. However, their is plenty of room for peace and quiet- the haven is two levels- indoor and outdoor-so you will always find a nice quiet place. In fact, we booked a clamshell cabana in the Vibe in addition as I also heard that kids might take over. With our Haven packages, we got a lot of onboard credit, so it really didn't cost anything additional out of pocket. We never used the VIbe! Had we not been in the Haven, I am sure we would have used it. It was perfect in the Haven and the service was great.

If we ever go again, best not to travel during peak periods to avoid the potential of kids running all over the Haven. My DH and I work and have to follow the school calendar.

I know, that's what I'd do, travel during school times. ;)

However, sometimes that doesn't work. We took a cruise leaving the week before Christmas .... Dec. 16, I

think. You would think the kids would be in school and off the next week for Christmas. There were over l,000 kids on this cruise. Maybe they were all home schooled.

We are Elite on Celebrity as well as Princess. Have been on 3 NCL cruises but have also heard their newer ships are great - the last NCL cruise was a repositioning from LA to Vancouver and the price was right for sure! Lots of great activities (that was on the NCL Sun) and food was above average in my opinion and we had a great time. Our perks are great on Celebrity but it we were to find a great deal on NCL vs. Celebrity, I would not hesitate to book NCL (we do like getting some free laundry done on Celebrity as well as Princess) and those perks really mean a lot when you're gone on a 2-week cruise too.

You have not said what class of cabin you want. I ONLY go in a suite. The service on NCL in a suite is not nearly as good at all compared to Celebrity. Also you do not have the tips for the concierge and butler included in the gratuities so you have to cough up more. The butlers I have had on Celebrity are hands down better than NCL and the tips are included in the gratuity price. Yes I add more but it is the principal of the thing. So for me, I get what I pay for when I go to NCL versus Celebrity. I pay some more for Celebrity but feel much more pampered.

The other thing is size of cabin and balcony. Both are considerably smaller on NCL across the board. I like to be in my cabin to rest, not out with the public, and I love being on the balcony, even in Alaska. I am trying the 3 night on the Escape but my TA has already warned me the balcony is only 30 sq ft for a Haven class suite. REALLY!!! That alone is driving me away from NCL.

You can see that I go on Celebrity, HAL, RCCL, NCL, and Princess and look for best price for the itinerary. But after the last 2 of 3 being on NCL I purposely went back to Celebrity for Alaska next year as I was tired of small cabins and balconies for the price you pay for the suites.

Thanks everyone for your help. As it turns out this time we decided on a land vacation due to the expense of last minute airfares, but definitely plan to consider NCL in the future, particularly as we are interested in a Mexican Riviera itinerary which Celebrity no longer provides. We actually sailed NCL years ago on the beautiful Norway but I know much has changed since then!

Sent from my SM-P550 using Tapatalk

Bathrooms in some Haven Suites and some balconies in Haven Suites are to die for and the Haven Dinging Room and private pool area are hard to beat.

Each has its strong suit, and both are pretty good depending on what you are booking.

We've cruised both. I like both NCL and X but for different reasons.

 

I find the food on X to be much better in the main dining room but the specialty restaurants on NCL are good. So with the cheaper prices, we don't have a problem paying for the specialty restaurants. The buffet for dinner on NCL has a lot more choices than on X if you don't want to do a sit down meal. We generally don't go to the MDR on NCL, we don't enjoy it.

 

The beverage package on X is better because it includes water and coffee, on NCL it doesn't, we've never gotten it but we probably would next time.

You can bring on bottled water with no problems on NCL, we've never tried on X because we always have the beverage package.

 

We find the entertainment on NCL MUCH better than X. The newer ships have Howl at the Moon (dueling pianos) and other music venues, Grammy experience and Fat Cats blues bar which there is really nothing to compare to on X.

Also, we aren't fans of the big production shows but they are much better on NCL.

 

And if you are considering a suite, the Haven on the NCL ships is amazing. I've never been in a suite on X so I can't compare.

 

You can bring on 2 bottles of wine on NCL and they charge a corkage fee, not sure how much, we've never tried.

 

We've found the service on NCL to be just as good as on X, very friendly, professional at all times.

For a port intensive cruise where we won't be on the ship much, we'd be just as likely to do NCL as X but for a cruise where the ship is more of the destination we would lean towards X but we do miss the entertainment at night.

Very well resumed and helpful. I enjoy both cruise lines and would resume it exactly the same.

IMHO, we have found the food on Celebrity to be so much better than on NCL. Another big plus for me is the non-smoking in Celebrity casinos. On my last 2 NCL cruises, the smoke was horrendous just walking past the casino on both the Breakaway and the Star.:mad: I did, however, save money since I couldn't go into their casinos...just sayin...:D

Totally true. We were on the Breakaway in the Haven in September . When we would walk out the smoke was terrible. Also the food is much better on Celebrity. We have a South America book on NCL and it was a super good deal, but are thinking about Celebrity again for New Zealand.

I haven't sailed any of the ncl mega ships but can tell you we have enjoyed all of our cruises onboard the jewel class ships. Our first NCL cruise was a Haven suite. Husband had sworn off cruises because he had no intention of ever wearing a suit and tie to dinner while on vacation, listen to announcements about the next bingo, diamond or art sale. He also couldn't stand smoky casinos. We fell in love with NCL Haven suites.

The differences as I see them; with NCL suites you don't get as much nickel and diming. For example they include perks and gratuity associated with the perks so even if you don't drink much its no big deal to still get the UBP because grats are paid. The butler and concierges we've had have been excellent.

Food and entertainment can be very subjective so won't comment on that. I will say we haven't sailed Celebrity yet but have sailed Royal Caribbean, HAL and Carnival and am assuming Celebrity would be on par with HAL.

The common areas on Jewel class ships don't have teak furniture and decking. No padded loungers, no covered pool. I've found some common areas sometimes closed for an art auction... Evening entertainment in bars consisting of perhaps 15 dance party D.J. type music also at pool. So,e days entertainment was really good some not so much. sometimes a live band sometimes dj dance party music that even my 21 and 24 year olds thought it quite annoying. Gone to the Atrium only to find a mass sale on gold by the inch or a teeth whitening seminar, other times an excellent band playing. Fitness areas putting on a seminar on how to lose 10 pounds vs the room open for those who want to actually work out. Now I'm sure all lines partake in this type of sales. I really didn't see NCL as being any worse than HAL in this regard. In the Haven you are pretty much sheltered from it.

We've also sailed in regular balconies, insides and ocean views on ncl and found service still excellent. Their staff appear very happy. Bartenders seem stressed out with so many now receiving the UBP as a perk but all in all the staff have been the best we've experienced on any line.

Things that really get me about ncl; They are constantly changing their fees and perk inclusions. In the last year the DSC has gone up twice. Currently $13.50 pppd in non suite and $15.50/day in a suite. They've also started charging 18% gratuity on all speciality dining, the beverage package and unless you are in a suite you'll pay these fees even if taken as a perk. Example; our 14 nt cruise for two will incur a $323 bev charge and a $38 dining charge for six dinners and even though these were given as perks. Soda cans, water bottles, smoothies, speciality coffees and fresh squeezed juices are not included in the package. They are switching to a la carte in speciality venues, adding pay items in the main dining room so if you want prime rib or lobster in the free dining room you'll pay extra. If you want certain items in speciality venues they also attract a fee on top of the fee plus an additional 18%. The inclusions and exclusions change on pretty much a monthly basis. What used to be included entertainment may very well attract a fee from booked to sail time. I think that's where a lot of the negativity on the NCL boards stems from. They've also instituted a $7.95 room service fee.

Perhaps most glaring; If NCl cancels your cruise due to a charter or redeployment they will typically offer you a whopping $50 obc for rebooking. That's a hard pill to swallow for myself. They recently redeployed 1/3 of their fleet. My Haven suite booked at a great price with tons of perks was canceled the day after I gave them a $1500 deposit. If I wanted to rebook a suite on the replacement ship same dates the fare would double! Since I was in a suite it was $100 obc as compensation. That total disregard is what has me looking around for alternatives.

We have done 9 Celebrity and 5 NCL cruises.

Celebrity- 4 on Infinity, 2 on Constellation, 1 on Millennium, 1 on Solstice and 1 on Century.

NCL: 1 on each of the Gem, Jade, Epic and 2 on Star.

Our preference is Celebrity, but if itinerary and price are right, we go with NCL.

On specific ships, our least favorite ship was the Epic. The pool area was way to noisy and crowded to even try to use it. We felt crowded on this ship. The entertainment was excellent, but we like the smaller NCL ships.

With Celebrity we like S and M class pretty much the same.

NCL has better entertainment, but it is not a huge difference.

Celebrity wins hands down on food, service programs.

With NCL, there is a nice variety of specialty restaurants that don't cost as much as Celebrity's. Still, we rarely eat in the X specialty restaurants, since the MDR is so good.

With NCL the MDR can be inconsistent. One night it is excellent, the next, average. Also, the servers seem to be better trained on X.

We are Platinum on NCL and get a free bag of laundry each, as we do with elite on Celebrity, however, NCL doesn't have the equivalent of the elite happy hour.

We have done cruises with both lines that visited a few of the same ports and found that NCL's excursions were more expensive than Celebrity's. We try to do private tours, but occasionally do a ship's excursion.

Celebrity ships have the covered pool area, which NCL doesn't have.

"Things that really get me about ncl; They are constantly changing their fees and perk inclusions. In the last year the DSC has gone up twice. Currently $13.50 pppd in non suite and $15.50/day in a suite. They've also started charging 18% gratuity on all speciality dining, the beverage package and unless you are in a suite you'll pay these fees even if taken as a perk. Example; our 14 nt cruise for two will incur a $323 bev charge and a $38 dining charge for six dinners and even though these were given as perks. Soda cans, water bottles, smoothies, speciality coffees and fresh squeezed juices are not included in the package. They are switching to a la carte in speciality venues, adding pay items in the main dining room so if you want prime rib or lobster in the free dining room you'll pay extra. If you want certain items in speciality venues they also attract a fee on top of the fee plus an additional 18%. The inclusions and exclusions change on pretty much a monthly basis. What used to be included entertainment may very well attract a fee from booked to sail time."

Sounds like some pretty expensive nickel and diming to me.

After cruising only Celebrity and a few RCI for the past 10 or so years, Elite and Diamond levels, we decided last Sept to try NCL Getaway. We had a Great time! Loved having some different specialties to try, watching the Burn the Floor dancers while eating in the Tropicana room, the Waterfront area and new bars to try, different and better entertainment, just all NEW for a change. When we sail Celebrity, it's like coming back to an old familiar place and we have a good time, but we know what to expect, same ole thing. Turns out we're Platinum level with NCL, so my next cruise with them in two weeks gets me a free dinner at LeBistro with a bottle of wine, bottle of bubbly in the cabin, laundry, etc. I also don't mind the increase in the DSC or adding 18% on a free beverage package, only costs $136 for the week and includes more expensive bar drinks than Celebrity select package. It's your money, spend it on whatever ship you choose

First off getting a UBP on Celebrity is better than on NCL (X includes most specialty coffees and bottled water while NCL does not include either). Even if you do not drink much it is nice not to even think about extra charges whatsoever!

However on a T/A you can almost always get a UBP as a perk on transatlantic NCL cruises, and sometimes even a second perk. With X you get exactly zero perks on these. Therefore we look for NCL on T/A's which we love due to all the sea days.

That said we prefer X when perks are basically the same but always expect to pay a little bit more with them. I am comparing balcony to balcony even though we usually book AQ and are willing to pay a slight premium for this (up to $25 per person per day limit on this premium). NCL does a lot of short notice Caribbean 7 days with the UBP included at bargain rates; X almost never does this. Perhaps NCL has too many empty cabins in Florida you think???

Demonyte's review struck me as pretty accurate, as a similar demographic who sailed NCL Epic once and Celebrity Solstice class a few times.

Perhaps most glaring; If NCl cancels your cruise due to a charter or redeployment they will typically offer you a whopping $50 obc for rebooking. That's a hard pill to swallow for myself. They recently redeployed 1/3 of their fleet. My Haven suite booked at a great price with tons of perks was canceled the day after I gave them a $1500 deposit. If I wanted to rebook a suite on the replacement ship same dates the fare would double! Since I was in a suite it was $100 obc as compensation. That total disregard is what has me looking around for alternatives.

This. Absolutely. NCL is not great with managing mass change, even when they instigate it.

My cruise was shortened a day as Epic needed another day in dry dock. Long story short is that it took four weeks pre-trip, three of six days days onboard, and now over a month post-trip to complete the financial transactions around the change to this cruise.

Routine close-in sailings with decent seasonal weather would probably be less susceptible to change.

Unused refundable on-board credit is refunded to credit card on file by RCI & Celebrity, soon after you disembark. NCL mails US customers a check, regardless of the credit card on file. If they're cost conscious to the point of earning the negligible interest on a check during the float or gambling on the possibility that a passenger won't cash it... There's certainly nothing luxurious or modern about that.