NCL or Celebrity for Souther Caribbean?

[sophiegracie]

Myself, my husband, and our 19 year old daughter are planning a southern Caribbean cruise from San Juan, PR. We have only ever been on Carnival and want to try something different. Which cruise line would be your recommendation? They both go to about the same islands so itinerary can't be a deciding factor. We are looking for good food and a nice large cabin. Opinions would be greatly appreciated. I realize this is a NCL board so I'll post on Celebrity too. Opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[cpl100]

Having cruised both, Celebrity without a doubt.

[Turtles06]

Having cruised both as well, I will say that Celebrity is a cut above NCL, imho. And if you are considering a Celebrity S-class ship, they are stunningly beautiful.

 

Enjoy whatever you choose!

[ECCruise]

25 sailings with Celebrity.

13 with NCL.

 

Celebrity in a landslide.

[tmilak]

The two ships in question would be the Celebrity Summit and the NCL Dawn. Having done both I would prefer the Dawn. The only swaying factor to the X line would be the quality of their food which I feel is slightly better than NCL.

[Georgie562]

Just off a B2B Southern on Celebrity this pas December and Celebrity hands down.

[LadyBerard]

We've sailed on both of these, and I must say Celebrity wins hands down, without a doubt. Cabins are larger, and food is MUCH better. What's the cost difference?

[seamonkey]

Myself, my husband, and our 19 year old daughter are planning a southern Caribbean cruise from San Juan, PR. We have only ever been on Carnival and want to try something different. Which cruise line would be your recommendation? They both go to about the same islands so itinerary can't be a deciding factor. We are looking for good food and a nice large cabin. Opinions would be greatly appreciated. I realize this is a NCL board so I'll post on Celebrity too. Opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

 

From Carnival to Celebrity?

Celebrity has finer food and is like a Country club atmosphere.

NCL has average food and is more of a mall event, with something happening everywhere. It's livelier on NCL and RCCL and quieter on Celebrity. Celebrity is 'relaxing' calmer.

Depends on the NCL ship. NCL average cabins are smaller. How much time will you spend there?

How about room service charges and water charges on both?

RCCL and NCL are similar. Most who cruise those 2 lines don't do Celebrity as much. it could be because they cater to a slightly, and I mean slightly older crowd.

We've done both, but our kids (16 to 28) like NCL and RCCL.

Best to ask and look at Celebrity's thread.

[Still Dreaming]

We just did NCL Dawn and we have cruised the summit twice from San Juan. Loved both ships but there is definitely more happening on the Dawn! I love all the options for specialty dinning on the Dawn. Celebrity has an open dining option but they still try to get you to the same waiter every night. We really had a nice waiter but had a hard sell on filling out a card with his name on it for trip hero or what ever they called it. It got very old the last two nights! Food in our opinion is very similar in main restaurants!

[woodards]

Depends on room selection. Been on both ships and like them both. Consider that Dawn has had recent refurb. Recommend an aft penthouse on Dawn, huge balcony. AQ on Summit is great with acces to Blu but I'm not sure what policy is for three in a room.

[FreestyleNovice]

Celebrity for a more relaxed vacation, older demographic. NCL for a more active one, younger crowd.

 

Would depend on the rate and desired atmosphere for me!

 

OP; Is there a difference between the older and newer Carnival ships, i.e. NCL Sky doing the short same old runs being an older ship with dated decor versus the newer mega ships/refurbished ships with all the new stuff?

[Aquahound]

I've cruised both the Dawn and Summit. There is zero hesitation when I recommend Summit over Dawn. I loved my cruise on Summit but Dawn was one of my all-time least favorite cruises, mostly because of the ship itself.

[GJClay]

I think your nineteen-year-old would have a much better time on NCL. My experience between the two lines is that NCL has many more activities, especially for young adults, than Celebrity. I have had a nice time on my Celebrity cruises, but there is not much going on, especially during the day, in my opinion. On Celebrity we hang out, read and relax on sea days. On NCL there are so many more FUN group activities all day every day. We saw a hilarious comedian at an afternoon matinee, took FREE Zumba and Jazzercise, were offered dance classes, did karaoke, etc., etc., Of course, Celebrity will have some of these activities as well, but there was so much more energy going on with NCL.

[Demonyte]

While we've made the switch from NCL to Celebrity ("we" equals DINK couple, mid-30s, more into martinis, lounges and pubs than night clubs and discos) I would also recommend Summit over Dawn - normally.

 

As others have said, the teenager can affect the equation a lot - if she is looking for partying etc, that she won't find on Summit like on Dawn but if she is mentally "older" and more into good food, mellow atmosphere, etc, then Celebrity wins hands down.

 

Both ships are on the same level IMO; older ships in their respective fleets but both well maintained.