We're sorry we strayed Celebrity, PLEASE take us back!!!

[Christine Frances]

We all have different likes and dislikes, but over the years, I have found that the name painted on the side of the ship doesn't necessarily make it good or bad. Pre-determined opinions have much more effect on your enjoyment of the cruise than the actual ship or service.

 

I had one unpleasant experience on Celebrity and haven't needed to go back. Over 40 cruises on NCL and 17 on Princess have all been pleasant, so that is where I look for my next cruises.

 

All cruisers make the crew and other passengers happy.... Some by coming --- Some by leaving !!! I hope I made those on Celebrity happy !!!!

 

Won't find us on Princess or NCL again until they get with the program and stop smoking in the Casino:eek: Feel sorry for the staff that have to work there. At least we tried NCL 2 times before we wrote them off.:D

[cynbar]

We prefer Celebrity and Princess, but have enjoyed the 2 NCL cruises we have done. Both of those were in Europe where NCL had the itineraries we wanted, and I must say that Freestyle worked pretty well on those busy, port intensive cruises. NCL really treats their suite passengers well, they are way beyond the other lines in that regard, although I see that Celebrity is increasing the suite perks in the near future. We found the entertainment better on NCL and the crew friendly, eager to please, less formal than Celebrity. I agree that the food in the MDRs is lacking, but we love the variety of specialty restaurants and don't mind the surcharges for several of our nights. Overall, we find it gets a little boring to take the same cruise line all the time, so much is similar fleet wide. Anyway, I'm glad there are options. NCL has many devoted fans, even if the OP isn't one of them.

[hcat]

Hcat ...... I think you'd like HAL. It's a little more staid than Celebrity, but the food and service is similar. We did an NCL cruise to Alaska 10 years ago and it was fine, but I think they've slipped a lot since then. Their older ships are now beginning to look quite old. We've sailed a lot with HAL and enjoyed it. We've booked a southern Caribbean cruise on Celebrity for March and are really looking forward to it. But, don't be afraid to try HAL. You might like them. PS: we like Celebrity's itineraries better than HALs.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Cunard was "staid" but had really top notch performers...

Celebrity right now is a good feel for us, with a change sometimes to Royal (but never again Oasis style ship..we could not wait for the week to end.,)

Will keep HAL in mind but not on an old ship...

[cherylroslyn]

I am glad you have found what works for you, and that you enjoy it. But since this was your FIFTH NCL cruise, was it really that much of a surprise. I have been on all of the ships you have been on except the Breakaway, and they are all still dishing out the same product you received from them in 2006 and 2008.

 

Celebrity is my line of choice, but I go on NCL because their casino program is far superior to Celebrity's. But I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment of the smoking situation and I wish they could change it.......

[drarill]

Welcome back!!! The only way we cruise on NCL is booking a suite and dining in specialty restaurants every night... Celebrity is our favorite cruise line.:)

[KW Cruisers]

We have played with the idea of trying a Haven Suite on NCL Breakaway. I actually booked one for next year, but decided to cancel it and book a Royal Suite on X. We LOVE X and are afraid to try something different.

 

The idea of these large boats with rock climbing walls and water slides doesn't appeal to us at all (we also think this would attract many more young families with young children--not that I dislike children...I just prefer fewer when I'm on vacation). I noticed that many of NCL's cabins accommodate 3 - 4 guests...the majority on X seem to be a maximum on 2.

 

The smoking policy on NCL is also a con for us...I'm never around 2nd hand at work, home or public places here...why would I want to be breathing it in on vacation??? I'm sure a stricter policy will come eventually to NCL...it is happening everywhere (thank goodness).

 

Maybe I'm "missing the boat" with NCL...but if we enjoy X so much, why mess with a good thing??

 

Shawn

[Texed]

Will we ever taste of the hallowed waffles again?

 

I know I will, in 27 days on Infinity. ;)

[OCruisers]

It's always a good thing to "sleep around" from time to time. :D

Gosh, if you had never cruised on X you would not have known it's the best fit for you.

LuLu

[antsnanny]

jt1120,

I can certainly feel your pain. We were sucked into a NCL partial music charter on the Pearl in February. (Very expensive) It was a Sixthman production and the music was fabulous! Then there was the issue of being on the Pearl....filthy, filthy, filthy! It was really disgusting and I am really not hard to please, but I couldn't believe what a disaster this was from embarking to disembarking and everything in between. This was our first cruise on a line other than Celebrity. The best part of this cruise was that we took a little 4 day on the Connie prior to the Pearl. I don't know how old the Sky is, but if it is of the same era of the Pearl, BEWARE. Wild horses could not drag me on a NCL ship. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Just booked a Silhouette cruise for April today. Now I have something to look forward to for the next nine months.

 

 

I was just wondering how the Pearl was filthy, was it the people who chartered the cruise. I have been on 55 cruises all on various lines from time to time and I have never experienced a filthy ship on NCL or any cruise line for that matter… Something had to be wrong and I would rest assure that the Sky will not be a filthy ship!

[swedish weave]

Won't find us on Princess or NCL again until they get with the program and stop smoking in the Casino:eek: Feel sorry for the staff that have to work there. At least we tried NCL 2 times before we wrote them off.:D

 

My post had nothing to do with smoking. Is there a reason you are referring to it ??????

[antsnanny]

For what it's worth, we've had two very enjoyable NCL cruises, both on ships much smaller than the Breakaway (the Dawn and Star). In fact it was the largeness of the Breakaway that resulted in us being booked on our first Celebrity cruise, also to Bermuda, on the Summit. The truth is our experience on both NCL trips was so good, we are hoping that Celebrity will be at least similar; based on this thread, I'm feeling good about the prospects.

-Charlie

 

I think you will enjoy the Summit we sailed on her in May. The general feel of the ship is what cruising was like going back 10 to 15 years ago, so if you love the assigned seating and formal nights, the Summit is the ship for you… Her crew is awesome, the shows were good. Food is subjective, I like NCL's food much better.. What I really liked about the Summit, besides DH getting a straight flush in the casino, is the size of the ship, its a great ship for making friends. We seemed to run into the same people quite often and our CC group was awesome.

I also enjoy NCL very much, once in a while I like to pack light and if I feel like it Ill bring something formal for formal night. I like NCL prices, it leaves me with extra money to eat at the specialty restraints which we found most to be very good to excellent. The shows on the Breakaway were awesome.

So for me, I don't choose between the two lines, I sail on both of them. Were sailing on the Summit again in Sept and the Breakaway in December.

I hope you enjoy your cruise on the Summit, we did!

[kayhil3]

WOW! it took you 6 cruises on NCL to say you will never cruise on that line again after you take your 7th. I have cruised on NCL 8 times and never had a bad cruise. This will be my first cruise on Celebrity next week and I will make sure I have a great time and for some reason I don't I will make sure I don't go on NCL's board and knock Celebrity. I do agree they made a big mistake wtih the balcony size on the Breakaway but the square footage of the rooms are larger than on celebrity. Sorry you didn't have a good time.

[G&L in WPG]

Booked a Pacific Mexican cruise on the NCL Star. Had a great time, but there was some big flaws. Inside cabins were only 140 SF, and the bed sucked. Bathroom and shower were awesome though! The most annoying was the change in itinerary from Hualtulco-Aculpuco-Zihuatanao-Puerto Vallarta-Cabo to Manzanillo (a true dump of a port)-Mazatlan (excellent stop)-Puerto Vallarta-Cabo with an extra sea day. Change was supposedly due to broken azipod reducing the ships speed. I'm OK with that, but it had been broken for 6 months and you could have actually told me about it when I booked 3 months earlier, and given me the opportunity to book the cruise I really wanted elsewhere...

 

MDR was just OK, specialty restaurants were very good. Carnival MDR was way better. Looking forward to trying our first X cruise to exceed both these lines....

[MicCanberra]

Three things

1.live and learn

2. You get what you pay for

3. Forget it...don't sweat the regret

 

I have to agree. Thanks OP for posting your review of NCL.:D

[Cruising89143]

WOW! it took you 6 cruises on NCL to say you will never cruise on that line again after you take your 7th. I have cruised on NCL 8 times and never had a bad cruise. This will be my first cruise on Celebrity next week and I will make sure I have a great time and for some reason I don't I will make sure I don't go on NCL's board and knock Celebrity. I do agree they made a big mistake wtih the balcony size on the Breakaway but the square footage of the rooms are larger than on celebrity. Sorry you didn't have a good time.

 

Please point out where the OP knocked NCL? They pointed out the negatives that they didn't like and they also gave some positive comments. Bottom line is they prefer X over NCL. We're talking about cruise lines here and not ones family.

[captdave]

I have been twice on the Summit, and am a big fan. I'm sticking with Celebrity for now.

 

What's a step up from Celebrity...just asking in case I hit big bucks some day?

 

CaptDave

[Cruising89143]

I have been twice on the Summit, and am a big fan. I'm sticking with Celebrity for now.

 

What's a step up from Celebrity...just asking in case I hit big bucks some day?

 

CaptDave

 

Most would consider Azamara and Oceania to be a step up over X.

[ECCruise]

I have been twice on the Summit, and am a big fan. I'm sticking with Celebrity for now.

 

What's a step up from Celebrity...just asking in case I hit big bucks some day?

 

CaptDave

 

 

First step up would be Azamara or Oceania. Smaller ships, much better food, more all-inclusive in a lot of cases.

 

But, it may not be as big a step up as you might think. Looking at some of the =X= prices for 2015 (e.g. AQ 1 Buenos Aires - Valparaiso--nothing really out of the ordinary for a one way SA trip (no Antarctica drive by) is about $14,500. Azamara, same time of year but 2 days less on a Rio Carnival cruise (fairly unique), Club Veranda around $12,600.

 

It pays to compare.

[hcat]

Booked a Pacific Mexican cruise on the NCL Star. Had a great time, but there was some big flaws. Inside cabins were only 140 SF, and the bed sucked. Bathroom and shower were awesome though! The most annoying was the change in itinerary from Hualtulco-Aculpuco-Zihuatanao-Puerto Vallarta-Cabo to Manzanillo (a true dump of a port)-Mazatlan (excellent stop)-Puerto Vallarta-Cabo with an extra sea day. Change was supposedly due to broken azipod reducing the ships speed. I'm OK with that, but it had been broken for 6 months and you could have actually told me about it when I booked 3 months earlier, and given me the opportunity to book the cruise I really wanted elsewhere...

 

MDR was just OK, specialty restaurants were very good. Carnival MDR was way better. Looking forward to trying our first X cruise to exceed both these lines....

 

Off topic but I can hardly imagine how bad Manzanillo was because when we went to

Mazatlan it was a real dump...saw a nice show but the rest of it was awful...

Glad we had the chance to do that itin on Royal's Radiance which was showing its age awhile ago...sorry your itin was changed,...wow what a small cabin on NCL

[KellyW25]

I am actually, maybe, about to stray from Celebrity for the first time in 3 years. Royal is bringing the Liberty up for Caribbean sailings next year, and we've done the Summit for 3 years in a row. Royal was running a seemingly great promotion, and we really wanted something different. Never sailed on Royal and this was finally my chance (May 2015). Was SO excited for something new.

 

However, after a really great trip on the Summit to Bermuda (again) last month, we're doubting our decision. My parents are long time Celebrity loyalists. We get more with X, especially with the 123Go deal. We LOVE the Summit, love going to Bermuda, but change is good, right? I'm worried Royal won't be the right fit for my parents (70's), and worried the Caribbean itinerary is just "okay". 5 days to Bermuda is far too pricey compared to 7 on the Summit.

 

We now have holds on both ships, but the lure of the Celebrity Summit may be too great to resist.

[spav01]

I'll happily take that Sky cruise off your hands. I like that little ship. Sure, I prefer Celebrity, but have enjoyed both of my NCL cruises (Sky and Epic). Different product, different experience. And oh the pretzel rolls!

[richsea]

Thanks for sharing your NCL experience Joe & Christine. We sailed the Breakaway last summer on a family cruise, & agree with just about everything you pointed out. To us, the biggest negatives were the tiny pools & the terrible food & service in the MDR. We found that the service throughout the rest of the ship was good to very good, & the food/service in the specialty restaurants also good to very good. We had lobster tails in the buffet for dinner one night that were better than any we've had on Celebrity! The entertainment on Breakaway was also much better than Celebrity. We also loved the inside/ outside dining on deck 8. I also found the relaxed dress code a refreshing change of pace.

 

In the end, I think NCL provides a great experience for families, but Celebrity remains our line of choice

[WestLakeGirl]

No Blu on NCL, that's enough for some people

[MicCanberra]

WOW! it took you 6 cruises on NCL to say you will never cruise on that line again after you take your 7th. I have cruised on NCL 8 times and never had a bad cruise. This will be my first cruise on Celebrity next week and I will make sure I have a great time and for some reason I don't I will make sure I don't go on NCL's board and knock Celebrity. I do agree they made a big mistake wtih the balcony size on the Breakaway but the square footage of the rooms are larger than on celebrity. Sorry you didn't have a good time.

 

As you noticed that the OP had 6 NCL cruises, perhaps you would have also noticed that prior to the recent one they had last cruised NCL in 2008. Since then, they have cruised 14 times on X, RCI, MSC, Carnival and Princess. It is horses for courses and people's needs and wants evolve. The OP now realises they prefer the X product to the NCL product, but it wasn't all negative.:D

[pris993]

It amazes me how so many people think different = bad.

 

NCL's big ships have a lot of positives, and Celebrity's S class have a lot of positives. Both have negatives as well, though the cheerleaders for each line won't admit them.

 

I agree that NCL's big dining room is not great, but their (also free) smaller one is quite good. The select MDR on my last 2 celebrity cruises have been very disappointing. NCL has a lot more choice (with a bigger variety of price points) of specialties though.

 

Just depends on what matters to you most. If you spend your cruise comparing and looking for negatives, well...

 

(P.S. The smoking rules on NCL are definitely behind the times, Celebrity does win hands down on that one.)

 

I think you have a point.

 

We are elite on Princess and Celebrity, cruise HAL 2Star, Cunard and NCL presently. I think the OP picked the wrong NCL ship, I would not go on the new Breakaway any more than I would go on the new Royal Princess -- both big ships. We cruised on the NCL Jade in the Mediterranean a year or so ago, we had a mini suite thought the cabin was very nice even better than Princess or other lines. The MDR not so, we stayed with the buffet the entire 11 nights after our first day. The food and service in the MDR was not good enough for us to try the speciality restrauants. For the price, NCL was okay. You do get what you pay for so to speak. We figured that when we booked, we had not been on NCL in 10 years at the time. We liked the itinerary, had 3 days in Israel, so we booked it.

 

We also don't think the food and service in the MDR on Celebrity is that great. We have always had better food and servcie on Princess, HAL and Cunard. Celebrity does not do special orders off the menu very well compared to other lines. So we stick with the buffet on Celebrity too.

 

Each line has its pluses and minues, we cruise mostly for the itinerary. These ships are floating hotels for us. We are not champions for any line. We simply look for what works for us. The only way you know is to try a line out.

 

We are booked on the Silhouette in October, going back to Israel. We will be eating in the buffet, booked a 1B cabin, since all cabins are the same. Do not see the value in booking CC or AQ class on these ships. We tried BLU a few years ago, not for us. As I say, try it for yourself, live and learn.