Celebrity vs NCL, which is better

[sunshine4me2]

We have always sailed on NCL for 7 cruises, over the past 15 years, most recently on Prima for the past New Year’s Eve.  We are young “in our 70’s”  cruisers.  We have booked all our cruises, except our first one, thru CAS.  We alwaysbook a Balcony, and never in the Haven.

We are seriously looking at booking our next Carribean cruise on Celebrity. Would anyone care to share their thoughts on the Celebrity brand, ie value, customer service, food on board, overall experience, etc.?

Thanks for your input.

[fredflint]

Really like  Celebrity but you need to look at where you are going along with the size and age of the ship.

We have taken one cruise on Celebrity, three on Royal and two on NCL all Transatlantic cruises.

The larger ships are all pretty good, entertainment and speakers much better on Celebrity\Royal vs NCL.

Food hard to compare since I think everyone feels that food quality has dropped  overall.

Internet NCL is dead last overall and if that is a consideration don't bother.  

 

NCL on the Star the crew we spoke to all mentioned the cramped crew quarters and how much better it was on the newer/larger ships.  Our cruise had about 400 empty cabins (1K below capacity) I  asked if they used the empty cabin bathrooms to get ready and he quickly said no, they all had to get ready at the same time so they got up 2-3 hours ahead of time so they could all be on time!

 

For value NCL is much less expensive in my opinion, we have a Med cruise booked for December and comparable cruises with Celebrity or Royal are more than 1K more the cruise is port heavy with only 1 day at sea.  So food is going to be breakfast and maybe dinner or not.  Entertainment we will probably skip the shows unless they have something in a small venue.

 

So you have to make sure you are comparing apples to apples and I think Celebrity will come out except for price where NCL will probably win!

 

[BettyCruiser]

I have more cruises with Celebrity than other cruise lines and prefer Celebrity and I am recently off 15 nights on NCL Joy and will list some differences I've noticed, although I will say all the different cruise lines I've cruised are more similar than different. 

 

Celebrity doesn't offer an equivalent to The Local (O'Sheehan's on other ships I think) but I can't think of another cruise line that does offer a table service included venue that isn't the main dining room.

 

Celebrity's all inclusive booking option includes drink package, wifi and daily gratuities (what NCL calls daily service charge) with no extra charge for drink package gratuities, they are included. The wifi is for the length of the cruise and not just a number of minutes as NCL includes. While NCL offers drink package, dining and wifi.

 

Celebrity's drink package includes bottled water. They offer a Classic and Premium similar to NCL. With the drink package Celebrity will only give one drink per card at a time. On NCL I noticed they only needed one of our cards when both ordering drinks. 

 

Specialty dining on Celebrity was pretty high and recently the prices have gone up and an additional gratuity is charged that didn't used to get charged but I guess NCL has always charged the extra gratuity. Celebrity does offer a discounted specialty dining package similar to NCL but you can't book the actual reservation until on the ship.  

 

If looking at Edge, Apex, Beyond or Ascent be aware that most 'balcony' rooms are Infinite Verandas that are essentially just a big window that opens and not a real balcony.  

 

Celebrity doesn't offer the Broadway type shows, but does usually have a production show similar to Elements on NCL.

 

Dress for dinner venues on Celebrity is published as no shorts, but since the restart there are mixed reports. But generally dinner dress would be nicer than what we saw on Joy. Celebrity doesn't do formal night any more, they call it Evening Chic with an expectation of a bit nicer than usual but not formal. 

 

If you have a credit balance on your onboard account Celebrity will credit your card on file, you don't need to collect cash from guest services. 

 

Celebrity doesn't have a Vibe equivalent. 

 

These are some of the differences I can think of now, I'll stop back if anything else occurs to me.

[2jeffs2]

All things being equal as far as itinerary, age of ship, and price I would go with Celebrity. I think Celebrity is just a little bit nicer in almost every category that matters. The thing is though that “all things” are probably not equal. NCL does tend to be a better price value. So that really leaves it up to you. They both offer a good product but you have to decide what matters most.

[DaCruiseBug]

There's only 1 reason you'd choose NCL over Celebrity and that's if you have kids. Celebrity isn't really kid friendly.

 

Other then that...Celebrity blows NCL out of the water in every possible way.

 

Ok ok...I will say that the Thermal Suite on the newer NCL ships is nicer than on Celebrity.

[kitkat343]

I haven't sailed Celebrity yet.  as a general rule, I've found most of the mainstream lines more similar than different (although Celebrity is supposed to  be a step above).

 

This isn't a problem for everyone, but if itineraries matter to you, I'd just ask on the celebrity board if Celebrity is having trouble keeping its itineraries for reasons other than emergencies like NCL is doing:

 

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by kitkat343

[PhillyTravelBug]

We were supposed to sail Celebrity Apex in June of 2020, and really disappointed we didn't get that opportunity.  Prima is booked for this year, but will try to do an Edge class ship next one.  I'm not sure why all ships don't offer an all inclusive option like Celebrity. 

[janetz]

 

There is not one thing we do not like about Celebrity 

Just a step above

Dont limit yourself to one cruise line

Spice it up! 😊

Edited January 27, 2023 by janetz

[DCGuy64]

56 minutes ago, fredflint said:

Internet NCL is dead last overall and if that is a consideration don't bother.  

This is, I think, about to change. It's being reported that Elon Musk's Starlink system is being/has been deployed on the NCL Breakaway and they plan to roll it out fleetwide.

[KKB]

6 hours ago, sunshine4me2 said:

We have always sailed on NCL for 7 cruises, over the past 15 years, most recently on Prima for the past New Year’s Eve.  We are young “in our 70’s”  cruisers.  We have booked all our cruises, except our first one, thru CAS.  We alwaysbook a Balcony, and never in the Haven.

We are seriously looking at booking our next Carribean cruise on Celebrity. Would anyone care to share their thoughts on the Celebrity brand, ie value, customer service, food on board, overall experience, etc.?

Thanks for your input.

We are 56 & 60.

We have sailed Princess 10 times in 18 years & Celebrity 9 times in the last 10 years.

We tried NCL for the 1st time in 2018 on the Getaway.

We LOVED the Waterfront, Syd Normans & the Broadway shows.

While we enjoyed our Encore cruise in Dec it was the first time in 20+ cruises we felt we did not connect with any crew member. We sensed they were very understaffed.

 

When we tried Celebrity 10 years ago we agreed that it was a kick above other lines in service & food.

We still feel this way, tho we find lines more alike than different***

They each do things differently--different ships have things we really like (or don't)

 

Celebrity Eclass ships take it up another notch, imo. Fabulous ships, food, shows. 

I have no issues with the infinite verandas...it is barely different than a covered balcony & extends the room.

Love that the casinos are non-smoking.

 

Celebrity is our fav, followed closely by Princess. They have best food & service overall, imo.

RCCL & NCL do shows best.

We just tried Carnival (Miracle to Hawaii) & had one of the best crews we have ever sailed with.

I'd put RCCL, NCL & Carnival food on about the same level--generally solid.

 

Give it a try, I think you will be pleased.

 

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by KKB

[KKB]

3 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

There's only 1 reason you'd choose NCL over Celebrity and that's if you have kids. Celebrity isn't really kid friendly.

 

Other then that...Celebrity blows NCL out of the water in every possible way.

 

Ok ok...I will say that the Thermal Suite on the newer NCL ships is nicer than on Celebrity.

Took our YA children have sailed since they were kids--DCL, RCCL, Celebrity, Princess--most as teens.

I asked each of them separately which cruise was their fav.

Each said ALL OF THEM.

Luckily our kids like hanging with us (but not always) &  like hanging out with each other. They like trivia,  game shows, shows. They like those "extra" things on NCL & RCCL but agree those don't make or break a cruise.

 

[Treasure Hunter]

If you sail In suites, the Haven blows the Retreat food and service out of the water. We just got off the Edge and the entertainment was pretty terrible. Going on NCL Getaway in February and can’t wait to see Million Dollar Quartet. Traveling with grandkids and there would have been little for them on the Edge. We were very disappointed in the food in Luminae . But Celebrity specialty restaurants were excellent. Lucky we had tons of OBC because they were pricy. 

[Jldevlin]

WE were on 3  Celebrity cruises last year but mostly sail NCL the last few years. We found that the entertainment on Celebrity was a little slower and felt more HAL than it used to. Quite a bit of3 piece violin type music about and the production shows were sort of odd.  Also the NCL drink package included more different alchohol than Celebrity.... Bombay Sapphire was not included on Celebrity ... None of these are deal breakers but I am happy to be going on NCL this month instead of Celebrity  and the specialty dinners are a bonus.

[fredflint]

4 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

This is, I think, about to change. It's being reported that Elon Musk's Starlink system is being/has been deployed on the NCL Breakaway and they plan to roll it out fleetwide.

Starlink has not worked well on Ships from what I have read the satellites are moving pretty fast and the ship has some movement too.  When you are using starlink it is like being on a cell phone in a low flying airplane you are always changing towers.   Here is a decent article http://www.satmagazine.com/story.php?number=1026762698

 

Not even sure where the coverage is since they all circle the globe so to speak.

 

I have had good speed with RCCL VOOM to tell the truth.

[OttawaJohn]

My wife and I didn't love our Celebrity cruise, but are going to try it again.

 

We are very happy with NCL.

 

I'd use the word 'refined' for Celeb.  It did all seem next level, but somehow it wasn't us.

 

A small example, the sailaway party on NCL is just fun.  Celeb didn't seem to do something similar.

 

NCL, fun.  Celeb, refined.

 

Just my thoughts.

[Ken the cruiser]

We like NCL, Celebrity and Princess. But it all depends on the itinerary. We will pick NCL when they have an awesome itinerary, like the 38-day B2B we just finished on the Jade from Athens to Cape Town. We’ve also booked an awesome 30-day B3B in Nov 2024 on the Getaway that takes us to the Egyptian pyramids as well as a bunch of Greek sites to see some of their ancient ruins dating back to 4000 BC.
 

But recently, Princess has become our go-to cruise line for their more unique itineraries ranging between 3-5 weeks in length, like the ones we have booked to Antarctica where we cruise around the Peninsula for 4 days rather than the 2 days that both NCL and Celebrity offer. Princess also has an awesome Alaska B2B itinerary called “Voyage of the Glaciers” that takes you by more glaciers, to include Glacier Bay, than any of the other cruise lines we’ve looked at, and at a fair price. They also have an awesome 28 day cruise to Tahiti and Hawaii RT out of LA, both in the summer and fall. But, I will say Princess also has the funniest Cruise Directors on their ships, and always have a wide variety of fun things to do in the evenings and on sea days, to include quality lectures which NCL does not offer on most of their cruises.
 

For Celebrity we like their transoceanic cruises as well as ones to Galapagos and their 12-day Norwegian cruise on the Apex in July 2024. However, if you want to get a good price when booking with Celebrity, IMHO you really need to book them when they first get released, as they use a “Supply and Demand” pricing strategy when it comes to their itineraries. For example, we booked a Mar 2025 12-day cruise out of Tampa on the Constellation, a smaller M-class ship, and the price rose $1,000 pp just 2 weeks after it was posted to their website. Our Dec 2023 10-day Galapagos cruise on the Flora has risen $2,600 pp since we booked it, and our Apr 2023 30-day transpacific B3B on the Eclipse has gone up over $3,000 pp. Just a heads up when you’re considering booking a Celebrity cruise. But at the same time, we always have a lot of fun on their cruises, regardless of the ship.
 

Then there is the All Included prices. Celebrity now charges around $87 pp/day for their gratuities, unlimited Basic internet package and Classic beverage package, with an extra $15 or more charge to upgrade either of those to a premium package. Princess charges $60 pp/day for their gratuities, unlimited internet, and unlimited beverage package, which includes water, specialty coffee drinks, hot chocolate, etc. As far as NCL goes if you book their Free At Sea promotion, the DSC (gratuities) is now $20 pp/day, upgrading the “free minutes” package to their unlimited internet package is around $15 pp/day, and the “free” alcohol-only beverage package runs about $21 pp/day for the beverage gratuity charge, which you must prepay if you want that “free” drinks package for a total of around $56 pp/day.

 

I know, probably too much information. But we’re sitting in the hotel waiting to board the NCL Dawn tomorrow for an 11-day Caribbean cruise and had some extra time. 😁
 

Edited January 28, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[DrUrsula]

Celebrity hands down.

we prefer the smaller ,older ships.

service is incredible. We book an AquaSuite and enjoy the thermal spa and eating in Blu. Gratuities, drinks included.

no big production shows but incredible musicians in small venues, "wandering" musicians, no smoking casino, many, many activities and very few kids.

We got big bang for our bucks.

 

Edited January 28, 2023 by DrUrsula

[CruizinSusan70]

6 hours ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

 I'm not sure why all ships don't offer an all inclusive option like Celebrity. 

Their major competitors on their level do.  Princess and Holland America.

With entry level lines, NCL does to a certain extent, even though their drink package is not complete, the wifi is only 250 minutes and the gratuities are extra.  MSC does to a certain extent with some promotions, but of course RCI and Carnival don't package a thing.

[TiredofTheGame]

Looking at NCL for a fall cruise...Celebrity has really gone down hill in the last month because of all the changes..

[Sydneyberlin]

We’ve been several times on RCC, twice on Celebrity and then just before Covid on NCL and were mesmerised as we found Norwegian SO MUCH better on many fronts and that on a comparably lower fare.

 

We found Celebrity (granted, that was both on Solstice class ships, not the newer Edge-class ones) to be overrated in that nothing really “was a step up” besides maybe the French specialty dining which was a tick better than the one on NCL. Main dining room better than Royal but NCL was the best of them all. We particularly disliked the crowd on Celebrity which was totally not hip and happening, at least not on our two cruises. But yet, somehow, still far too many screaming toddlers.
 

Worst of course is Royal which we don’t rate at all. That’s probably how I would compare from our experience: Celebrity is a step up from Royal but that doesn’t mean much as NCL trumps them both. 
 

Finally- two main reason we love NCL: Staff throughout seems happier, we’ve been told they get better healthcare and more time off the ship than on RCC. Not sure if true but that might explain. Second: The booze package. NCL offers the amazing Premium plus package for which there’s just no comparison even on many higher classed brands. Unlimited Veuve all day all around? Hell yes, unbeatable. Even if you get the drink package on Celebrity, all you get is a rather random no make branded French champagne which tastes rather ordinary. Top shelf spirits like whiskies etc. also much better on NCL. Not important to all, but for us a key reason ti

chose NCL.

[TiredofTheGame]

19 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

And you're delusional if you think the same thing is not going on at NCL.  Noise Boys on Prima and Kinky Boots on Encore, off the top of my head are two major shows recently cancelled with nothing to replace them.  Beef Wellington was a standard menu item on the MDR menu on the non changing menu on the Prima when the Prima debuted and now it's gone.

Yeah I Know, Just Looking!!😁

[Sydneyberlin]

23 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

When your cruise history hits double digits, your opinions start to have value.

Says who, “Susan”? Wow, so rude. I think we’re done here.

[CruizinSusan70]

44 minutes ago, Sydneyberlin said:

Says who, “Susan”? Wow, so rude. I think we’re done here.

Ever hear of a concept called sample size.  A single cruise on NCL doesn't cut it since there are differences between ships in the NCL fleet let alone comparing it to ships from other fleets.  When you hit 10 cruises, then you have a great sample size in order to make a quantitative decision as to which ship is better.

[TiredofTheGame]

2 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Ever hear of a concept called sample size.  A single cruise on NCL doesn't cut it since there are differences between ships in the NCL fleet let alone comparing it to ships from other fleets.  When you hit 10 cruises, then you have a great sample size in order to make a quantitative decision as to which ship is better.

And If i might ask, What was the year that you started sailing?

[OttawaJohn]

7 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

When your cruise history hits double digits, your opinions start to have value.

That's rather harsh.  By that logic, people  who've not cruised that much shouldn't even be on these forums posting, since they've not cruised enough to have value to their comments.  I understand you may have meant specifically about comments about the comparisons between lines, but even then, people should feel welcome to comment on their experiences, regardless of if they are a new cruiser or have had the privilege of going a dozen times.