Have any Celebrity cruisers done a 2 week+ on NCL?

I have just returned from an NCL cruise on the Getaway. The entertainment is way better than Celebrity's but the service is not in the same league. The majority of the crew seemed grumpy and unfriendly particularly in the bars I think mainly because they were short staffed. The food in the MDR wasn't bad and the speciality restaurants it was good. I found the beds comfy. Didn't think the ship was cleaned as well as Celebrity ones either particularly on the pool deck. My main issue was the no dress code. I know it's free style cruising but swim shorts vest, flip flops and baseball cap at dinner isn't acceptable in my book. We were in the Caribbean. This may not be such an issue in Asia or Europe where there will be more of a mix of nationalities. Overall we enjoyed our cruise but if I had to pick between Celebrity or NCL it would be Celebrity for me.

We went on three NCL cruises. The first was on the breakaway in the deluxe owners suite. That was very nice until you walked out of the haven and the mobs of people and smokers was horrible.

Then I found a great deal on a South America cruise, in a suite in the front of the ship, 2 weeks for $7000 total including all the dining, liquor, and tips. We had done that twice before and we had a nice time.

Then the end was on Pride of America after dry dock from SFO and that was really horrible. I think Celebrity does a great job. I walked away from a $2000 voucher after the POA debacle and closed our platinum, status with them.

There is something for everyone, and NCL was pathetic. We will stay with Celebrity

We’ve done about 15 or 16 Ncl and a few more celebrity. It all depends on the ship for me. The entertainment on their large ships is great, their specialty restaurants wonderful but celebrity have a better mdr.

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Not mentioned but I would check into the smoking policy if it matters. I saved a lot of money on my three NCL cruises because I wouldn't go into the casino because it smelled like a chimney. Also, many other areas on the ship were similar.

We're looking at 3 week cruise next year on NCL, having never sailed with them prior. We've heard about the flaws of bedding and MDR food, but figure we can go around that by booking a mini suite, and getting the dining package. Should we expect any letdowns, or pleasant surprises? Based on the itinerary, cost, and perks included, it would not take much for us to be impressed.

A mini-suite on NCL does not get you any of the suite benefits and is not comparable to Aqua Class on X. It has a slightly larger cabin that is mainly increased in size in the bathroom, with a mini-tub and shower. I would give maybe 10% more on the total cruise price for the extra room, but not more than that. If a standard balcony is less than 90% of the cost of the mini-suite save your money (in my opinion!)

We went on three NCL cruises. The first was on the breakaway in the deluxe owners suite. That was very nice until you walked out of the haven and the mobs of people and smokers was horrible.

 

Then I found a great deal on a South America cruise, in a suite in the front of the ship, 2 weeks for $7000 total including all the dining, liquor, and tips. We had done that twice before and we had a nice time.

 

Then the end was on Pride of America after dry dock from SFO and that was really horrible. I think Celebrity does a great job. I walked away from a $2000 voucher after the POA debacle and closed our platinum, status with them.

 

There is something for everyone, and NCL was pathetic. We will stay with Celebrity

Wow, I am curious what happened on POA, we were considering this for Hawaii as well. Plan B is Celebrity from Vancouver, or HAL round trip from LA. To throw away a 2K voucher, they did something wrong! :eek:

A mini-suite on NCL does not get you any of the suite benefits and is not comparable to Aqua Class on X. It has a slightly larger cabin that is mainly increased in size in the bathroom, with a mini-tub and shower. I would give maybe 10% more on the total cruise price for the extra room, but not more than that. If a standard balcony is less than 90% of the cost of the mini-suite save your money (in my opinion!)

We are big fans of Aqua Class, mainly for Blu, but I'm looking forward to trying the Persian Gardens on the Eclipse in a couple years. Prices for Balcony vs Mini Suite are currently $1549 vs $1699, but the prices keep falling as they get closer to final payment. I'm not sure why NCL only releases their Japan itineraries 6 months out, but that's no way to fill up a ship. Rumor has it, they may drop the region in 2020, so I'll catch it next year while I can.

Wow, I am curious what happened on POA, we were considering this for Hawaii as well. Plan B is Celebrity from Vancouver, or HAL round trip from LA. To throw away a 2K voucher, they did something wrong! :eek:

Yes I threw away the $2000 voucher. The ship was "out of dry dock" and looked horrible. We arrived in SFO a day early and then found out the ship was not ready to go. They said they would pay for our hotel the extra night. We were at the Ritz Carlton, and I had a horrible time getting reimbursed, even though they did not put a limit on the amount of the room. We certainly were not going to change hotels.

The smoking, the atmosphere was pretty pathetic. Most people dressed like slobs. It wasn't for us, and we had no intention of sailing with them ever again.

Its too long to go into, but we do not like the product, and I would never go to Hawaii on a ship. They were docked in industrial areas. It was really pathetic, but we did enjoy the french restaurant. Good service and good food......

A total waste of money. If you want to go to Hawaii, pick a nice resort, rent a car, and enjoy

Yes I threw away the $2000 voucher. The ship was "out of dry dock" and looked horrible. We arrived in SFO a day early and then found out the ship was not ready to go. They said they would pay for our hotel the extra night. We were at the Ritz Carlton, and I had a horrible time getting reimbursed, even though they did not put a limit on the amount of the room. We certainly were not going to change hotels.

 

The smoking, the atmosphere was pretty pathetic. Most people dressed like slobs. It wasn't for us, and we had no intention of sailing with them ever again.

 

Its too long to go into, but we do not like the product, and I would never go to Hawaii on a ship. They were docked in industrial areas. It was really pathetic, but we did enjoy the french restaurant. Good service and good food......

 

A total waste of money. If you want to go to Hawaii, pick a nice resort, rent a car, and enjoy

Even so, a pre-cruise Hawaiian vacation, would be nice on a repo down to Fiji, New Zealand, or Australia.

I have found a backup for next year. Windstar does a 17 day repo to Japan, stopping at several exotic Alaskan ports, and 4 in Japan. I'm sure it's hard to compare the two as far as quality, size, and entertainment, but they're both close to the same price...

We're looking at 3 week cruise next year on NCL, having never sailed with them prior. We've heard about the flaws of bedding and MDR food, but figure we can go around that by booking a mini suite, and getting the dining package. Should we expect any letdowns, or pleasant surprises? Based on the itinerary, cost, and perks included, it would not take much for us to be impressed.

 

Our 2 week cruise on the Carnival Pride last year, was underwhelming to say the least. Major maintenance issues, poor food options (especially for lunch, or if you didn't order sea food in the MDR), and a condescending, politically vocal - cruise director. They also completely dropped the ball placing or stocking hand sanitizers in the Buffett, which is a horrible idea on a 2 week repo. Of course this portion is a review of the ship or the cruise line itself, but it becomes more bothersome on a 14 day cruise, over let's say a 5 day.

 

The major problem with the length of that cruise, was that not everyone could handle being on a cruise ship for 2 weeks. About halfway through, when all the major ports were behind us, at least 25% of the passengers got visibly grumpy, restless, and spiteful. The F bomb became common discourse around the pool area, spousal abuse went public, and tensions increased over seats in the comedy club. By day 14, people were literally pushing, shoving, and shouting their way to cut in line in the buffet area. Someone threw a plate at staff. Some were purposely coughing and sneezing on each other, or grabbing buffet food with their hands, that they had just wiped their nose with.

 

We're hoping to not repeat anything like what we experienced.

We have sailed NCL a few times, albeit not in the few years and that is only because of the dates and itinerary. I see the last time was actually way back in 2010, Norwegian Gem out of Venice. As a fussy vegetarian I can tell you their food buffet is very good and it was the ONLY buffet where the salads and vegetables were totally separate from the meat and fish. (Something I bitch about on the other cruise lines that they have tuna, shrimps, polony etc slap bang in the middle of the salad buffet and of course, people use the same utensils for both).

Don't really find much difference in the cruise lines as long as you are 4 star or above, except age difference on HA and Cunard - much older and Carnival always has lots of kids - but it really is the fun liner.

Hi - we are regular Celebrity cruisers in our 60s. In Oct, '16 we did a 2 week re-positioning on the Dawn from Boston to New Orleans. The convenience of sailing out of Boston, where we lived at the time, along with the itinerary and value of the re-positioning cruise led us to book with NCL.

We had a standard balcony stateroom. The Dawn has just been refurbished so the staterooms were fresh and clean. We liked the bathroom layout better than that of the M class ships on Celebrity. There was nothing equivalent to the Solarium, so we paid for the Spa to access this "adult only" area. The theatre shows were OK and we enjoyed the more intimate feel of the shows in the Bliss Lounge. We found the Tradewinds shops weren't worth going into. It was very smoky around the Cigar Bar and that smoke wafted up one deck due to the open layout. The casino was so smoky we avoided it entirely.

Our buffet experience in the Garden Cafe was horrible - very crowded at meal times. We visited O'Sheehan's frequently for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. There were two MDRs - we like the atmosphere of Aqua better than Venetian. Bamboo was a nice dining experience and we visited Teppanyaki, Los Lobes and Moderno and enjoyed all three, especially Moderno.

Last July we sailed on the Dawn again for a 7 night cruise Boston to Bermuda - we needed a quick and easy getaway. It was again OK - but definitely not the Celebrity experience that we'd had the previous year when we went to Bermuda on Summit. I doubt we will sail NCL again.

Happy cruising on whatever ship you choose.