NCL or Celebrity for Mediterranean?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

My husband and I, along with some friends, are planning a summer 2024 Greece/Italy cruise.  I see what looks like a good deal with NCL today.  Of course, Celebrity hasn't released their itineraries yet.  Should we jump on their Black Friday special or wait to see what Celebrity offers once they open?  Have you sailed either in that area?

Edited November 25, 2022 by NCteacherlovescruising

[Cruising89143]

The itinerary takes the number one spot for us. We do prefer Celebrity and a smaller ship when cruising in the Med because it’s not something we do every year. Maybe put down a refundable deposit on a NCL booking and once X opens their booking see if something grabs your attention. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

20 minutes ago, cruisingator2 said: Maybe put down a refundable deposit on a NCL booking and once X opens their booking see if something grabs your attention. 

We have talked about doing this. It looks like we have plenty of time to cancel if we want.

[montythecat]

Itinerary, itinerary, itinerary. The NCL itineraries are perhaps a little more imaginative

than Celebrity but there isn’t much in it. In the end it may come down to which

cruise line you prefer and $$$.

If you want to add some days at the start or end of the cruise, which you may

well want to do at the beginning after flying in from the US, then you might wish

to consider which city would most appeal to you. Athens ?  Barcelona ?  Rome ?

…..and others. What a lovely decision to have to make !

[NCteacherlovescruising]

I have never been there so no idea what itinerary's would be ideal.  My friends are well traveled so they would know much more about it, however I'm a much more experienced cruiser.  I do want to fly in early to explore, so that's an excellent point!

 

Celebrity will open their itinerary's on December 5th, correct?

[Cachecara]

As others have mentioned, itinerary.  Something you might also consider is how hot it will be in June-August.  We did this May-early June 2019, and lots of walking.  It was wonderful, but fairly and humid warm even then. 
We generally choose X, but found a very, very similar cruise on Royal.  It was thousands less for same type stateroom and itinerary.  Due to a smaller ship and time of year, very few children. 
enjoy! 

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

Celebrity will open their itinerary's on December 5th, correct?

 

Yes, but you may want to be checking as early as Dec 4. 

 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2022 by mahdnc

[BigAl94]

Chalk and cheese in my opinion. Celebrity certainly in the past would have been streets ahead of NCL. I know quite a few who have tried NCL and were disappointed. I saw photos of drinks at the pool in disposable plastic cups and that was pre covid.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, Cachecara said:

As others have mentioned, itinerary.  Something you might also consider is how hot it will be in June-August.  We did this May-early June 2019, and lots of walking.  It was wonderful, but fairly and humid warm even then. 
We generally choose X, but found a very, very similar cruise on Royal.  It was thousands less for same type stateroom and itinerary.  Due to a smaller ship and time of year, very few children. 
enjoy! 

 

We all love the NCL itinerary!  I'm a teacher so my travel dates are limited.  I haven't checked Royal yet, I will do so.

 

49 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

Yes, but you may want to be checking as early as Dec 4. 

 

 

 

 

I thought I saw that somewhere.

 

38 minutes ago, BigAl94 said:

Chalk and cheese in my opinion. Celebrity certainly in the past would have been streets ahead of NCL. I know quite a few who have tried NCL and were disappointed. I saw photos of drinks at the pool in disposable plastic cups and that was pre covid.

 

I've only sailed with each these cruiselines once and enjoyed both of them.  Celebrity has been our favorite so far, but this cruise is at a different port every day so it's much more about itinerary and price this time.  I will be sailing with Celebrity in 3 weeks.  🙂

[curmudgeon98]

If the price is in your budget, that's a nice area for an Azamara cruise.  In that area the ports are a big focus, and Azamara tends to include some smaller interesting ports.  Not as much going on on the ship, though. 

 

I wasn't impressed with NCL when we did a Med cruise with them several years ago, so I would generally pick Celebrity over them.  Pretty much all the cruise lines sail in the area, so there are other choices as well. 

 

Venice has become a very awkward port with the ship restrictions, so keep that in mind.  Lots of nice ports in Croatia though.  

[NCteacherlovescruising]

31 minutes ago, curmudgeon98 said:

If the price is in your budget, that's a nice area for an Azamara cruise.  In that area the ports are a big focus, and Azamara tends to include some smaller interesting ports.  Not as much going on on the ship, though. 

 

I wasn't impressed with NCL when we did a Med cruise with them several years ago, so I would generally pick Celebrity over them.  Pretty much all the cruise lines sail in the area, so there are other choices as well. 

 

Venice has become a very awkward port with the ship restrictions, so keep that in mind.  Lots of nice ports in Croatia though.  

We decided to book it. We have nothing to lose because we have until finally payment to cancel without penalty. If something better comes along we may cancel and switch. We are flying in  2 days prior and out 2 days after. 

[cw2go]

I am a "NEVER NCL" girl who actually never sailed them ( basically based on reviews) but I bit the bullet and booked for the Med May 2024. The itinerary and price can't be beat. Celebrity would easily be more than double and I'm actually looking forward to some variety. I currently have 5 Cel sailings booked and 4 are on Edge class. I'll lower my expectations as far as food and hope to be surprised but to be fair, I will be enjoying many of my meals while ashore, especially since there are no sea days. 

 

Enjoy Europe with your friends, 

Patty 

Edited November 27, 2022 by cw2go

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, cw2go said:

I am a "NEVER NCL" girl who actually never sailed them ( basically based on reviews) but I bit the bullet and booked for the Med May 2024. The itinerary and price can't be beat. Celebrity would easily be more than double and I'm actually looking forward to some variety. I currently have 5 Cel sailings booked and 4 are on Edge class. I'll lower my expectations as far as food and hope to be surprised but to be fair, I will be enjoying many of my meals while ashore, especially since there are no sea days. 

 

Enjoy Europe with your friends, 

Patty 

Enjoy yours as well!   Not a foodie, so I’ve never have trouble eating any any cruise, with the exception of Princess. Everyone was so bland, I didn’t really enjoy any meals. As you said, I will probably eat ashore quite a bit. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

What is the NCL itinerary? 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

What is the NCL itinerary? 

• Athens (Piraeus),Greece
• Santorini,Greece
• Mykonos,Greece
• Zakynthos,Greece
• Corfu,Greece
• Kotor,Montenegro
• Dubrovnik,Croatia
• Split,Croatia
• Venice,Italy
• Venice (Trieste),Italy

 

[cw2go]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

What is the NCL itinerary? 

 

May 26th - June 4th 

 

26th Barcelona embark 5pm

27th Cannes 8-6pm

28th Livorno 6:30 am (overnight) 

29th Livorno 7pm

30th Civitavecchia 6:30 - 7pm

31st Naples 6:30-5pm

1st Sardinia 9-4

2nd Palma 12-11pm 

3rd Ibiza 7-6

4th Barcelona 5am 

 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2022 by cw2go

[curmudgeon98]

15 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

• Athens (Piraeus),Greece
• Santorini,Greece
• Mykonos,Greece
• Zakynthos,Greece
• Corfu,Greece
• Kotor,Montenegro
• Dubrovnik,Croatia
• Split,Croatia
• Venice,Italy
• Venice (Trieste),Italy

 

That's a nice itinerary.  The Venice bit may be a little funky - the ship is not likely to dock there, and if it does, it will be way over in the boonies of the industrial port.  Interesting question if NCL would try to do something like tender there.  If you end up with an extra day in Trieste instead, I'd suggest doing something like one of the cave complexes (Postonja) in Slovenia that day.  On debarkation, it's an easy train trip into Venice from Trieste to spend your last couple of nights. 

[ECCruise]

5 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

We decided to book it. We have nothing to lose because we have until finally payment to cancel without penalty. If something better comes along we may cancel and switch. We are flying in  2 days prior and out 2 days after. 

I would say smart move.

 

25+ sailings on =X= and 25+ sailings on NCL, the majority of both in Europe (including 3 on NCL in the Northern Europe/Med.  in the last month or so). 

 

Love the NCL itinerary and since itinerary weighs much heavier than cruise line choice for us. 

[NMTraveller]

If Celebrity has an S class ship on the new schedule I would choose that.  If it is E class it would depend upon the price difference.  The E class is a lesser ship IMHO unless in a suite.  I would probably just choose NCL for the real balconies.

Edited November 27, 2022 by NMTraveller

[bunzini]

3 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

• Athens (Piraeus),Greece
• Santorini,Greece
• Mykonos,Greece
• Zakynthos,Greece
• Corfu,Greece
• Kotor,Montenegro
• Dubrovnik,Croatia
• Split,Croatia
• Venice,Italy
• Venice (Trieste),Italy

 

Love this itinerary!  I think you will be more than happy with it.  As far as ships/cruise lines go-on this type of itinerary, you are busy and the actual ship experience does not mean as much.  I think you did the right thing to go ahead and book.  You can always change your mind.  If NCL is more reasonably priced since you will have a busy itinerary, go with it.  Great itinerary!

 

[cw2go]

15 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

• Athens (Piraeus),Greece
• Santorini,Greece
• Mykonos,Greece
• Zakynthos,Greece
• Corfu,Greece
• Kotor,Montenegro
• Dubrovnik,Croatia
• Split,Croatia
• Venice,Italy
• Venice (Trieste),Italy

 

This is an amazing itinerary! 

 

I've been to Venice, Corfu and Montenegro ~ You'll LOVE these ports of call! 

[Jeremiah1212]

Another thing to consider is how many ships will be in port at each stop. Places that get extremely crowded like Santorini, Mykonos, Dubrovnik, etc. will be far more enjoyable with less cruise traffic. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

22 hours ago, curmudgeon98 said:

That's a nice itinerary.  The Venice bit may be a little funky - the ship is not likely to dock there, and if it does, it will be way over in the boonies of the industrial port.  Interesting question if NCL would try to do something like tender there.  If you end up with an extra day in Trieste instead, I'd suggest doing something like one of the cave complexes (Postonja) in Slovenia that day.  On debarkation, it's an easy train trip into Venice from Trieste to spend your last couple of nights. 

 

We thought so too!  Venice, Santorini Island, and Kotor are all listed as tender ports.  I will look into your suggestion.  We have two days in Venice post cruise, so plenty of time.

 

22 hours ago, ECCruise said:

I would say smart move.

 

25+ sailings on =X= and 25+ sailings on NCL, the majority of both in Europe (including 3 on NCL in the Northern Europe/Med.  in the last month or so). 

 

Love the NCL itinerary and since itinerary weighs much heavier than cruise line choice for us. 

 

We loved this itinerary as well.  

 

21 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

If Celebrity has an S class ship on the new schedule I would choose that.  If it is E class it would depend upon the price difference.  The E class is a lesser ship IMHO unless in a suite.  I would probably just choose NCL for the real balconies.

 

We loved the itinerary and the price seemed reasonable.

 

19 hours ago, bunzini said:

Love this itinerary!  I think you will be more than happy with it.  As far as ships/cruise lines go-on this type of itinerary, you are busy and the actual ship experience does not mean as much.  I think you did the right thing to go ahead and book.  You can always change your mind.  If NCL is more reasonably priced since you will have a busy itinerary, go with it.  Great itinerary!

 

 

We all loved the itinerary too!  I was also thinking the ship wouldn't make much difference either.  We will spend most of our time in ports.

 

8 hours ago, cw2go said:

This is an amazing itinerary! 

 

I've been to Venice, Corfu and Montenegro ~ You'll LOVE these ports of call! 

 

We thought so too!  Good to know!

 

7 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

Another thing to consider is how many ships will be in port at each stop. Places that get extremely crowded like Santorini, Mykonos, Dubrovnik, etc. will be far more enjoyable with less cruise traffic. 

 

I haven't looked into that yet.  It's a bit early since many lines haven't released these itineraries yet.

[mickeysgal]

I’ve sailed both lines several times . Celebrity we’ve sailed several times in Northern Europe and NCL we’ve sailed several times in the Mediterranean. That said, it’s all about the itinerary. Ncl has some really nice itineraries. Celebrity has nice itineraries - some with overnights which we prefer. Cost wise- NCL has great rates - and we’ve been able to sail in suites with them whereas financially we can’t touch the cost of suites with Celebrity. I do prefer the classy look of Celebrity. But the entertainment in our opinion is better on NCL. So - you can’t go wrong either way. Itinerary, itinerary, itinerary. Perhaps put a booking in place with NCL and then see what Celebrity offers. You can also cancel before final payment. Have fun! 

[Cruise a holic]

Unless in the Haven, IMO not a fan of NCL.  The ship is so crowded and food not as good as Celebrity.  Also NCL regular balcony cabins are small.

 

 While the ports are very important, we also enjoy the ship and nice accommodations.

Edited November 29, 2022 by Cruise a holic