Now I am a little nervous- booked today with SOMEONE ELSE!

[Warmer Climes]

I am a loyal NCL cruiser with seven of our nine cruises on NCL. Today I booked the Celebrity Reflection Aqua class for our February 2014 cruise. We have to go during a specific week in February (school break) and our NCL options were limited to the exact itinerary on Dawn or Jewel that we did his year or Epic, almost the identical itinerary. We were not crazy over Epic when we did it in 2011.

 

I have to admit that I feel a little nervous about it- I am so used to NCL and we really are stepping out there.

 

Have any of my fellow NCL cruisers tried Aqua class on Celebrity???

 

Barb

[Ilovesailing]

How important is the NCL Latitudes program to you with seven cruises under your belt, I'm guessing your silver and a point or two away from gold. It doesn't take long to get to the next level if you can plan 9 months out as it will get one extra point per night. Just something to think about.

 

For us its always the deciding factor as we are platinum and love the resort casual affair as I wore as suit for years.

[janetz]

I am a loyal NCL cruiser with seven of our nine cruises on NCL. Today I booked the Celebrity Reflection Aqua class for our February 2014 cruise. We have to go during a specific week in February (school break) and our NCL options were limited to the exact itinerary on Dawn or Jewel that we did his year or Epic, almost the identical itinerary. We were not crazy over Epic when we did it in 2011.

 

I have to admit that I feel a little nervous about it- I am so used to NCL and we really are stepping out there.

 

Have any of my fellow NCL cruisers tried Aqua class on Celebrity???

 

Barb

 

I have not done the Aqua class but have done numerous Celebrity saiings.

Celebrity is wonderful. You will have a great time. A bit more sedate, but really really "nice". We have always had a great time. Nothing wrong with trying other lines. :)

[Mysticks1]

I haven't sailed on NCl yet but have sailed Carnival, RCI and Celebrity. We did a 10 night Western Med. cruise on Celebrity Solstice in her inaugural year and in an Aqua Class cabin. It is my favorite ship to date. I loved the Aqua Class cabin, especially the shower in the room. I wished I could have taken it home with me. The chairs on the balcony were really nice too. I spent a lot of relaxing time in the spa area , the heated tile loungers were very nice. I think you will have a wonderful time.

[Warmer Climes]

How important is the NCL Latitudes program to you with seven cruises under your belt, I'm guessing your silver and a point or two away from gold. It doesn't take long to get to the next level if you can plan 9 months out as it will get one extra point per night. Just something to think about.

 

For us its always the deciding factor as we are platinum and love the resort casual affair as I wore as suit for years.

 

Actually I am platinum after the last cruise. The suite perks as well as Latitudes are great. It's just the same itineraries over and over. I think I have to take a break from Costa Maya and Cozumel and really nothing else is available on NCL the week we have to sail.

[chill6x6]

Never tried Celebrity BUT I have the Summit booked in November, southern Caribbean...

 

I'm not at all that crazy about booking Celebrity. Basically it came down to Celebrity, RCCL, or Carnival since they are the only ones with 7-day southern Caribbean. Strike Carnival because of the cutbacks. I picked Celebrity because I'll have no opportunity to try them out of NO and the itinerary is great! Most speak very highly of Celebrity as well. Personally I don't think one can beat NCL...seriously... BTW....I have a aft-facing concierge cabin on Summit.

 

NCL weakest point is limited 7-8 day Caribbean itineraries. Basically same ol same ol.

[satchiesmom]

I am a loyal NCL cruiser with seven of our nine cruises on NCL. Today I booked the Celebrity Reflection Aqua class for our February 2014 cruise. We have to go during a specific week in February (school break) and our NCL options were limited to the exact itinerary on Dawn or Jewel that we did his year or Epic, almost the identical itinerary. We were not crazy over Epic when we did it in 2011.

 

I have to admit that I feel a little nervous about it- I am so used to NCL and we really are stepping out there.

 

Have any of my fellow NCL cruisers tried Aqua class on Celebrity???

 

Barb

 

I'm a fairly loyal Celebrity cruiser and have had the same concerns about our January 2014 Jewel cruise, which will be our first with NCL. I think I'm going to have a wonderful time on your favorite cruiseline, I love the itinerary and the ship seems nice. I'm sure you will enjoy Celebrity, though it will be a bit of a different experience for you. Just go with an open mind and enjoy! That's what I'm going to do when we board the Jewel!

[Ilovesailing]

Actually I am platinum after the last cruise. The suite perks as well as Latitudes are great. It's just the same itineraries over and over. I think I have to take a break from Costa Maya and Cozumel and really nothing else is available on NCL the week we have to sail.

 

We have done close to 30 cruises and yes I agree that the itinerary are the same but for us it's about enjoying the solitude of the ship while everyone else is off. Because we work in the service industry it's great to be taken care of especially the specialty dining venues and its great to avoid some of the winter. All of our cruises have been b2b in order to stretch out the airfare cost and the hassel of having to fly everywhere, if that makes any sense.

 

We do have a a handful of ports that we do get off at and never get tired of them.

[cruiserssandr]

We did not do Aqua but did have a concierge class on the Celebrity Summit. Loved Celebrity. We also were looking for some new ports and this cruise had this cruise had 5 stops and 3 were new to us. I was nervous when we first booked but it turned out to be one of our best cruises. We had an excellent roll call group. We chose to have late setting and that worked very well for us. 22 cruises so far and 20 on NCL. I would sail on Celebrity again.

[chill6x6]

We did not do Aqua but did have a concierge class on the Celebrity Summit. Loved Celebrity. We also were looking for some new ports and this cruise had this cruise had 5 stops and 3 were new to us. I was nervous when we first booked but it turned out to be one of our best cruises. We had an excellent roll call group. We chose to have late setting and that worked very well for us. 22 cruises so far and 20 on NCL. I would sail on Celebrity again.

 

That you! You just put my mind to ease concerning my Summit cruise!

[pyrrhus]

I am a loyal NCL cruiser with seven of our nine cruises on NCL. Today I booked the Celebrity Reflection Aqua class for our February 2014 cruise. We have to go during a specific week in February (school break) and our NCL options were limited to the exact itinerary on Dawn or Jewel that we did his year or Epic, almost the identical itinerary. We were not crazy over Epic when we did it in 2011.

 

I have to admit that I feel a little nervous about it- I am so used to NCL and we really are stepping out there.

 

Have any of my fellow NCL cruisers tried Aqua class on Celebrity???

 

Barb

 

Celebrity is absolutely my favorite cruiseline for the price and overall service and food. NCL is number two for me. Not quite as laid back as NCL, which is why my wife and I have been sticking to NCL lately. It is sometimes nice to come back to the ship and not have to worry about more schedules outside of the shows.

 

Michael

[jonbgd]

Have done C class on X and it is a great experience without spending the money of a suite

 

X is more upscale than NCL especially with the attire worn by its cruisers

[herbanrenewal]

I loved the Solstice aqua class. I'm elite level with Celebrity, so higher than my level with NCL. If the itinerary is interesting and the price is right I'll book with NCL, Royal Carribean or Celebrity. They all have different characteristics, but I've loved each and every cruise!

 

Blu restaurant is a prime advantage with aqua class, and I really love it. I didn't eat in a specialty restaurant at all, during a transatlantic 14 day cruise! Solstice is a much more sophisticated and beautiful ship than my personal favorite NCL ship, the Jade, but NCL has other key strengths I enjoy, including free style dining. Celebrity has fewer overhead annoncements of activities, so it has a quieter more relaxed vibe. Royal has a lot more active lifestyle advantages.

 

In the evening I'm more likely to enjoy a piano bar, jazz quartet, wine cellar evening than a production show, or comedian, so I'm not that interested personally in the main show entertinment, but love the smaller venues for a relaxing evening...I've found ample opportunity to enjoy my preferred entertainment with all three lines.... each line has totally different reasons why I love them. but I readily admit I like the smaller ships better than the megaships, possibly in part due to my preferences for entertainment.

 

Bottom line for me usually is a combination of ports and price as determining factors.

[lweber05]

I am a loyal NCL cruiser with seven of our nine cruises on NCL. Today I booked the Celebrity Reflection Aqua class for our February 2014 cruise. We have to go during a specific week in February (school break) and our NCL options were limited to the exact itinerary on Dawn or Jewel that we did his year or Epic, almost the identical itinerary. We were not crazy over Epic when we did it in 2011.

 

I have to admit that I feel a little nervous about it- I am so used to NCL and we really are stepping out there.

 

Have any of my fellow NCL cruisers tried Aqua class on Celebrity???

 

Barb

 

Don't feel nervous. You should enjoy Aqua class on the Reflection. In addition to perks such as a great shower head and plush towels, you will get to eat breakfast and dinner in Blu, a specialty restuarant limited to Aqua class passengers (no upcharge). We believe that the food in Blu and in the Celebrity MDR is somewhat better than in the NCL MDRs. We like the variety of food in the NCL cafes better than that of Celebrity's. We prefer NCL"s entertainment. Celebrity's upcharges for its specialty restuarants are a bit higher than on NCL but are no better.

 

Overall, we prefer Celebrity, but in the winter, we prefer NCL out of NYC so as to avoid the hassel of flying, flight delays and cancellations.

[Warmer Climes]

Thank you all for your input and reassurance. I have an NCL cruise planned after the Celebrity one but I needed something new next time. I know that for lots of cruisers- especially ones with many, many cruises behind them, itinerary is not so important but we enjoy seeing new places if possible or at least a different line up than year after year Coz and CM.

 

We have two Aqua class cabins booked- our 27 y.o. son and 15 y.o. daughter will be next door. She pushed very hard to go with Celebrity this time as she disliked Epic. We dress for dinner every night of a cruise regardless of what ship we're on. We all like the quieter, more relaxing aspects of cruising. I think it will be a good fit for us after reading all of your experiences, so thanks!

 

Barb

[BlueJai]

Hey Barb, sounds like you've got some great feedback and your cruise will be excellent. We are finding the same thing with the itineraries next year so not sure what we will do yet.

 

Enjoy X and then come back to NCL!

Jai

[Seago2]

I like to try different cruise lines and just booked Celebrity. NCL is nice for the freestyle factor but honestly... The cutbacks... How can you be afraid of trying a new line, especially when that line is a cut above the mass market lines? HAL is so far above NCL- Princess is above- its really, really nice to have all of the extras back that have been shaved away, cruise after cruise, on NCL. I'm sure you will be absolutely fine and it will open your eyes to just what has been taken away by NCL over the last few years.

[Warmer Climes]

Hey Barb, sounds like you've got some great feedback and your cruise will be excellent. We are finding the same thing with the itineraries next year so not sure what we will do yet.

 

Enjoy X and then come back to NCL!

Jai

 

Hi Jai,

 

If Rosie wasn't so determined to go to school :D I would definitely follow your and Dan's lead on the Sun southern Caribbean next year! Your review really made me want to be there.

 

We'll be back to NCL for sure- maybe to Europe without offspring. Right now it's tough to get away in the summer because of Rosie's softball and basketball.

 

X is running a promotion now that offers a free drinks package or comped DSC or nice OBC.

 

Barb

[kollegekreed]

Have done C class on X and it is a great experience without spending the money of a suite

 

X is more upscale than NCL especially with the attire worn by its cruisers

 

That's actually why I choose NCL. I don't dress up for work...sure not dressing up for my vacation.

[kikki21]

I would have no hesitation booking a Celebrity cruise and can't wait to try one of the Solstice class ships.

I loved my Celebrity cruise on the Galaxy and stayed in a concierge class stateroom and it was worth it! :)

 

That said I also really liked the Epic and thought the ship was great and wouldn't hesitate to do a Western Med itinerary on her one day after I get sick of the Eastern Med which will be never! :rolleyes: