Which Ship would you chose

Hi everyone, I am trying to decide between a cruise on Celebrity Equinox or NCL Jade. Has anyone been on both and which did you prefer?:D Both have the same itinerary to the ABC islands and same dates this fall.

NCL ships have more to do but Celebrity would be our choice. :)

NCL ships have more to do but Celebrity would be our choice. :)

Ditto. Much depends on individual tastes and preferences though.

I'd do Celebrity over NCL, but that's just me.

If you need to be entertained and constant activities, then go with NCL.

If you want to relax, enjoy the beautiful ship and great Southern Caribbean itinerary, go with Celebrity.

We were on Celebrities Equinox to the ABC Islands last year. One word: AMAZING. Both the ship and the itinerary was by far my favorite cruise so far. The service is impeccable, the staff is fantastic, the food was wonderful. I cannot say enough about it. NCL? Yes, I have cruised with them also. Not bad, not great...and not memorable.

I see by your signature you have cruised with RCI. We have never cruised on NCL, but from what I understand NCL is very similar to RCI. Celebrity Equinox is a very nice ship similar in overall size and passenger capacity to Voyager class ships but without the ice skating, Royal Promenade, flow rider, rock climbing wall, miniature golf, etc., and not as family oriented. Celebrity is more geared towards the traditional style of cruising as a result.

Just our style of cruising now after many years with RCI, but we would choose Celebrity for this itinerary.

JMO -- but I would select Celebrity.

The Jade is a decent sized ship, the public facilities are very good. We did the ABC itinerary on it last year, and also got a free beverage package and dinner upgrades.

Downside to the Jade is that NCL food is not very good. You can always find something that's adequate, but not much more than that.

We weigh the cost including those perks against the other.

Ahhhh....forgot. Equinox includes free drink package also...which includes the gratuities. NCL does not. They add $$$ to your bill for the drink package for gratuities, and therefore it is not totally free.

Ahhhh....forgot. Equinox includes free drink package also...which includes the gratuities. NCL does not. They add $$$ to your bill for the drink package for gratuities, and therefore it is not totally free.

The free drink package with Celebrity is not "free." It is included in the base stateroom rate. You can do a booking with the perks included and also do one without to see the difference in the stateroom rate to measure the value of including them.

As example, we have done this before on a Bermuda itinerary with an offer to include a $150 pp OBC and prepaid gratuities (we do not drink enough to choose the beverage package) and the rate without them included was lower than the value of both when added in. We chose to not include them as a result.

Things like residency, age military service, etc., can influence the rates, and it varies by itinerary. There are times when the value is good and others when it is not, so it is worth checking.

leaveitallbehind

Did they recently change their format? I just did a dummy booking. It used to be the fare was a flat rate (pretty high..lol) so I knew the free perk was included in the bottom line. It had a box to check if you did not want any of the perks, BUT the fare was not lowered.

NOW, the fare is really low for the same cruise (ABC) we did last year...no perks, but you could add on whatever perks you want and they add the cost to your bottom line. You still have the option for NO perks and the cruise fare stays low.

This seems really fair for people watching their $$$. I hope I made sense...lol

I would take celebrity , would never take another ncl cruise

Celebrity Equinox by a loooooooong shot!

NCL ships have more to do but Celebrity would be our choice. :)

Seconded - NCL has a slight edge when it comes to entertainment and activities, but Celebrity has much better service, food, and general atmosphere -and is nowhere near as crowded in public spaces, which is my major turn-off on NCL.

I copied my reply from your other thread:

I haven't sailed either ship, but here are my thoughts:

-Is there a significant price difference? (Total costs including gratuities, drink packages, etc)

-If they are sailing from different ports, does one port appeal more than the other?

-Check deck plans for cabin size and general ship layout. Is a full promenade important to you, onboard pools/waterparks/sports areas?

-Verify times in each port. They may have the same itinerary stops, but different length of stops.

Have a great cruise!

Another vote for celebrity. The experience will be a bit more upscale on Celebrity. And the food is much better. If you want a cruise where you feel relaxed and pampered, Celebrity is the choice. If you want a cruise that feels more like an amusement park, pick NCL.

Have been on both ships. I would choose Equinox if food and service are more important to you. While the food on Celebrity is better prepared and presented, you can certainly enjoy the meals on the Jade. DH and I always think that NCL has better entertainment. At any rate, being on a cruise, no matter the ship, beats having to do everything on your own at home.