If I like NCL, will I like Celebrity

[stardust3000]

Hi

 

We (husband and I) have done several cruises (both with and without kids) with NCL in the past. We are in our late forties.

 

We are looking to do a cruise out of Miami early next year, without the kids, and a 9 day cruise on Silhouette has caught my eye. However, I'm a bit nervous of 'jumping ship' from NCL.

 

I know that the demographic on Celebrity will be a bit older, and I'm fine with that. But my main concern is about dining. I like to be able to choose when to eat (although I don't mind having to book this in advance). We, as a couple, also prefer to have a table for two, rather than sharing with a bigger group. If I choose Celebrity Select, does this mean we can choose a table for two? And is it guaranteed?

 

Lastly, we are not big party people, but do like musical entertainment in the evening - such as bands, or Howl at the Moon on NCL. Does Celebrity have any of this kind of entertaiment?

 

Many thanks

[jelayne]

We offer do Select dining and always at a table for 2. You do not have to request a table for two ahead of time. You can make a reservation ahead of time if you wish.

 

When you show up at the Dining Room they may ask if you want to share a table if you decline you will be seated at a 2 top.

[dkjretired]

I’ve done both and just the smoking policy will keep me away from NCL. Going into the casino on NCL is like walking into a chimney.

[TFLG]

The free food on Celebrity is miles better than the free stuff on NCL. But the choices are far more limited. Now the Pay food is pretty good on both but you are more limited in choices on Celebrity. Aqua class is a good (but expensive) option if you want to dine when you want at your own table. The food is fantastic and as a couple you will eat at a table for 2 (they are close together with other tables though).

 

The entertainment on Celebrity is not as good as NCL. If you like to get your party on in the evening Celebrity can sometimes be a challenge. Typically you will have one option and if you don't like the music you might as well head to bed. And after 12 the ship is a ghost town.

 

But overall I prefer Celebrity. The ships are way more classy looking, less crowded, way fewer kids, no smoking, overall better food, etc. It's a classier experience.

[Orator]

Just off Reflection and there were hundreds of kids. Demographic is based on time of year and length of cruise. Smoking is confined to designated outside areas, so you will not like it if you are a smoker. You will love it if you do not smoke! Fewer announcements on Celebrity and less pushing of sales, although that has changed a bit recently on some ships. I used to take NCL quite a bit, but now prefer Celebrity.

[helen haywood]

Our experiences with Caribbean cruises on Celebrity is there are lots of music options. There will be music in the Atrium before each of the dinner seatings and afterwards as well, in addition to music in the Sky Lounge or by the pool and in the Ensemble Lounge.... There is a show in the theater twice each evening and various pop up entertainments like the Silent Disco.

[fshagan]

I think it will depend on the ship and itinerary. We took a Celebrity (X) cruise in Alaska on the Infinity, a ship in the same general size as the Jewel class ships on NCL. I suspect on the newer, larger ships X has corrected some of the problems with trying to fit the changing cruise styles into the older ships.

 

First, the negatives from an NCL cruiser's experience:

 

Only the buffet was open for embarkation lunch. Concierge Class has a dining room open, but those of us in regular class cabins were herded into the crowded and noisy buffet. We opted for burgers on the pool deck, but none of the drink stations for water or coffee were stocked out there. My wife and I got drinks from the buffet, but our friends ordered a coke from a rather stern waiter.

 

We didn't have the beverage plan, and experienced the hardest up sell effort we have ever had on a ship. I thought we were going to have to call security to get the waiter to give our friends the bill. They had to say "no" three times or more (I was looking around for help by the time he finally gave them the slip to sign). We only had this happen once, but it was very off-putting.

 

The Select Dining option was fine, although we always had a 15 to 20 minute wait. Reservations might help here. I also think this may have been just on that cruise, as the larger floor of the dining room was for the select diners, and traditional dining had the upper floor (we have heard it is usually reversed). The dining experience was chaotic; the aisles were narrow, winding, and servers routinely passed the large trays with the next table's dishes over our heads to serve and clean up. The food was just OK. Certainly not any better than NCL's MDR food. It is more pretentious, as they have enough flatware on the table to satisfy the Countess of Grantham, Lady Crowley. They spend a lot of time picking up and putting down new flatware during the dinner, which would be OK if the food was better than it was.

 

Breakfast in the MDR was horrible. My order of cinnamon french toast was three triangles of regular thin toast (a slice and a half), with no evidence of a real egg wash, and sprinkles of cinnamon. The server poured a miniscule amount of syrup over it, and I thought my doctor had to be on board and ordered them to make me eat healthier. I indicated I would like more syrup, and he frowned, then let another two or three drops of syrup fall from the fancy dispenser. My wife's omelet was cold, and the other couple also had odd issues. We gave the MDR another try the next morning, but it was no better. Breakfast on our trip was better in the buffet.

 

Now the neutral, good and better experiences from my perspective:

 

The wait staff on our ship was primarily eastern European, and had a different temperament than the happy-go-lucky, always smiling wait staff from the Philippines on NCL. I prefer the NCL style more, because Americans are happy and wish each other a good day, and say "Hi!" every time they see someone, where other cultures do not. I think Brits and other Europeans prefer the understated, professional and quiet tone the X servers have adopted. Some Americans prefer that too, and that's why you hear that X is "classier" (that and the amount of flatware they use). We found the effort the staff put forward on X equal with the high standard we find on NCL, but the vibe is definitely different. This one is going to be based on your personal preference.

 

We were surprised that the entertainment was as good as NCL's in terms of the shows and "free range" musicians. Better, in fact, than our last two NCL cruises. The first stage show of the week was a little hokey, but the performers were good. The rest of the week the performers hit their stride and were very good.

 

There was less live music in lounges, I think, but we did experience quality entertainment from the performers everywhere we encountered them. On our cruise it was pretty much lights out at around 10 PM, but I suspect on yours the entertainment will continue on; the Caribbean usually has more nightlife.

 

The Infinity's cabins and public areas were cleaner, and much better maintained than on our last two NCL cruises. Our last NCL cruise was on the Jewel and the difference in this respect is like night and day. The cabin steward was just as efficient, attentive and friendly as on NCL.

 

The specialty restaurant we ate at was exceptional; one of the best I've had at sea. It put Cagney's, Le Bistro and the others on NCL to shame (I don't think NCL's specialty dining venues are worth paying for anymore).

 

I think you'll enjoy Celebrity, and being on a newer ship you will probably not experience the issues with dining that we did. As cruisers move toward the anytime dining concept first pioneered by Princess then adopted whole hog by NCL, the older ships have trouble adapting. I'm sure the newer ships have the ability to make it work better than it did on our Infinity cruise.

[TFLG]

The nightlife on Celebrity seems to be similar regardless of the itinerary. There is usually just one lounge with entertainment at a time (unless you count the snooze fest in the ensemble lounge). It's a band in the main atrium early evening, then a band in Sky lounge from 10ish to midnight. Then a DJ if anyone is still awake. Occasionally a party on deck instead of the sky lounge. But typically there is only one place at a time that has something going on. I have not been on NCL in a few years but they seemed to have several places each night with something going on.

[Silkroad]

fshagan, I agree that some of the issues you experienced on Infinity would not be a problem (or at least much less so) on Silhouette.

 

We encountered an absolute melee in the Ocean View Cafe (buffet) on Infinity’s sister, Summit last summer. So many people (who had finished eating) were covering so many tables and chairs with themselves and their piles of luggage that the rest of us were unable to find a place to sit with food! I have rarely seen such rude, obnoxious, entitled behavior! I finally asked a couple of people to move their cases so we could be seated, and they refused! Finally, a lovely Canadian couple waved over to offer their seats - bless them! - as they had finished and were leaving. We will never sail on M-class again unless we’re in Concierge. We’ve not had this problem on Silhouette or Reflection. OVC may be crowded on embarkation day, but we’ve had no trouble finding seats.

 

We’ve only tried breakfast in the main dining room once. Never again. Glacial service and tepid unappealing food. Buffet in OVC is much better!

 

I’m sorry to say the beverage package (and wine tasting events) high pressure sales were present on both our cruises last year. Even though we had the premium beverage package, it was annoying to have every waiter we encountered ask if we wanted a beverage package! We simply said we already had one, and they left us alone after a couple days.

 

Your experience with the staff and crew differs from ours (though we’ve found this is very ship specific). I think the Captain sets the tone and that filters through the ship. While we have encountered reserved Eastern Europeans whom we have thought unfriendly to the point of brusque, we’ve continued to be our pleasant, civil selves and eventually won smiles from them. We realize it’s a cultural difference, and try to go with the flow. On Reflection last year, we had the best crew imaginable, and we had a great crew on Silhouette several years ago.

 

We too have found each ship scrupulously clean, and the public restrooms are kept spotless. Love the cloth hand towels instead of paper towels! This becomes increasingly important as our hands are dried out with constant applications of sanitizer!

 

Stardust3000, I think you’ll have a wonderful time on Silhouette! We’ll be back on her in June, and I will definitely post at least a brief review.

[kjwinston2019]

I would choose Celebrity over NCL:

 

[GordonJasmine]

Since discovering Celebrity we are SO DONE with NCL!!!!!

[4774Papa]

We started cruising with NCL because we went on a cruise with 11 other family members. A year later, we did Celebrity. We have done 10 on Celebrity and 6 on NCL.

 

Celebrity is our preference, but when researching other cruise lines, we check NCL, Royal Caribbean (we are now diamond since we are elite on X) and Celebrity.

 

Itinerary is still high on the list for what cruise to take. For example, we did Alaska with NCL because they did Glacier Bay and Celebrity did not. That cruise on the Sun was our best cruise on NCL.

 

Pricing is another factor in considering cruises. We don't like the inflated prices that both NCL and Celebrity now have due to bundled pricing. We don't want any promos, like the beverage packages, since we are elite on X and don't drink that much outside of happy hour.

 

We booked two Royal Caribbean cruises from Sydney because their itineraries and prices were better than Celebrity and NCL didn't even have what we wanted during the period we wanted to cruise.

Our 11 day Royal cruise to NZ was almost half the price of the Celebrity 10 day NZ cruiee. Celebrity did include the beverage packages, but that added little benefit to the bottom line.

 

Quality of food, service and entertainment is a big factor. Celebrity consistently has the best food and service, however NCL has the edge on entertainment. When we cruise with my son and his friends, they like NCL because of the younger crowd and more of a party atmosphere for younger people than an Celebrity. We usually go to bed by 11PM on a cruise, particularly if we have a port the next day.

 

Regrading ships, we love the Celebrity S class ships the most of any we have been on. We disliked the NCL Epic as too crowded and poorly laid out. We still like the smaller NCL ships as well as the M class Celebrity ships.

 

We shall see how well we like Royal Caribbean after this Spring.

[billyblaze]

If you want to cruise in early 2019 I would stay on NCL and go on the Bliss. That ship looks great. Jersey Boys the musical as entertainment. The Cavern Club with a Beatles band. The Comedy Club and great specialty restaurants. Plus it is being priced much better than the Edge. I usually prefer Celebrity but I am going with NCL and the Bliss in 2019

 

 

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[fshagan]

While we have encountered reserved Eastern Europeans whom we have thought unfriendly to the point of brusque, we’ve continued to be our pleasant, civil selves and eventually won smiles from them. We realize it’s a cultural difference, and try to go with the flow.

 

Yes, I appreciate that. I didn't think they were unfriendly, really. I recognized they worked at being like servants on those BBC television shows; quiet, reserved, and attentive. I'm sure that's preferred by some people too. I remember talking to a Frenchman who couldn't understand why we said "hi" to people as we passed them in the hallways if we had already greeted them that day. Why bother them like that? And he felt the greetings were entirely too personal in nature, inquiring about his health or what he had done that day. It was very off-putting to him to have strangers inquire about his health, or what he had been doing. Yet to us, having someone not acknowledge us each and every time they see us is rude.

[Silkroad]

Yes, I appreciate that. I didn't think they were unfriendly, really. I recognized they worked at being like servants on those BBC television shows; quiet, reserved, and attentive. I'm sure that's preferred by some people too. I remember talking to a Frenchman who couldn't understand why we said "hi" to people as we passed them in the hallways if we had already greeted them that day. Why bother them like that? And he felt the greetings were entirely too personal in nature, inquiring about his health or what he had done that day. It was very off-putting to him to have strangers inquire about his health, or what he had been doing. Yet to us, having someone not acknowledge us each and every time they see us is rude.

 

Exactly. I was taught that I should smile and greet any fellow human with whom I make eye contact. I had a Russian woman (we were both students in a dance class in the US) tell me, “Americans are too friendly. Russians do not go around smiling and hugging one another all day!”. No problem, I said. You do what you’re comfortable doing, and the rest of us will do what we’re comfortable doing. BTW I certainly wasn’t criticizing your account, because I’ve had the same experience. I was just agreeing with you that each ship and crew are different:)

[4774Papa]

Exactly. I was taught that I should smile and greet any fellow human with whom I make eye contact. I had a Russian woman (we were both students in a dance class in the US) tell me, “Americans are too friendly. Russians do not go around smiling and hugging one another all day!”. No problem, I said. You do what you’re comfortable doing, and the rest of us will do what we’re comfortable doing. BTW I certainly wasn’t criticizing your account, because I’ve had the same experience. I was just agreeing with you that each ship and crew are different:)

We visited Ukraine, Russia and the Baltic countries in 2011. Also, I have been a student of Russian history and culture for many years and am well read in Russian literature. I think it is true that Russians are different from Americans. There is a definite melancholy nature to their culture. Russia has a long history of living through difficult times, Mongul invasion and occupation for 250 years, a backward culture that took considerable effort and tragedy to be Europeanized and a highly stratified social system where serfdom was the equivalent of slavery. It endured oppressive Czars and then the obscenity that was Communist dictatorship with large chunks of its population exterminated. Some say the Russia and Ireland are examples of melancholy cultures, but Russia far exceeds Ireland. Russia has endured centuries of authoritarian oppression and a lack of freedom. It is no mystery that Americans and other Westerners are so upbeat and hold their head high, since our culture is based on centuries of individual freedom.

Still, my experience in Russia was fantastic. The people we met were smart, educated and willing to discuss difficult ideas and issues. We felt that Ukranians were a bit more upbeat than Russians. The Baltic peoples were very upbeat, still bragging about their independence and freedom from Soviet totalitarianism. In my opinion, some of the best music and literature in the World has come from Russia. Yes, Russians tend to be less upbeat, but if you ever make a Russian friend, they are very loyal and giving. Perhaps they learned not to look others directly in the eyes, since under Soviet dictatorship, that might amount to a challenge to authority and a visit from the Cheka aka KGB.

[hcat]

Hi

 

We (husband and I) have done several cruises (both with and without kids) with NCL in the past. We are in our late forties.

 

We are looking to do a cruise out of Miami early next year, without the kids, and a 9 day cruise on Silhouette has caught my eye. However, I'm a bit nervous of 'jumping ship' from NCL.

 

I know that the demographic on Celebrity will be a bit older, and I'm fine with that. But my main concern is about dining. I like to be able to choose when to eat (although I don't mind having to book this in advance). We, as a couple, also prefer to have a table for two, rather than sharing with a bigger group. If I choose Celebrity Select, does this mean we can choose a table for two? And is it guaranteed?

 

Lastly, we are not big party people, but do like musical entertainment in the evening - such as bands, or Howl at the Moon on NCL. Does Celebrity have any of this kind of entertaiment?

 

Many thanks

 

From your post, sounds like Royal C might be a better fit than Celeb...