Celebrity cruiser defects!

[Dr. Cocktail]

I recently returned from my first "Freestyle" cruise on Norwegian Dawn. I really wanted to do Canada/New England and they had the best itinerary. I was extremely (very!) frightened by trying NCL and - lo and behold - it was terrific. While the "included" restaurants were not great, the reasonably priced a-la-cartes were very good with great selection. The biggest surprise was the service - easily meeting and frequently surpassing what I have experienced on Celebrity. The fear of having a new server with each meal turned into an asset - truly a delightful group of committed individuals.

 

As a frequent Celebrity cruiser, I have followed the Celebrity board with interest and the back-and-forth arguments about the current state of the product and the seeming lack of customer service from head office. As someone who was extremely disappointed with various aspects of my last cruise on Zenith, I voted with my wallet.

 

The point of all of my rambling is that I do agree with many people that Celebrity has definitely "dumbed-down" the product over the years. Not to dump on NCL, when there is really no difference in the overall cruise experience between the two companies, there is definitely a problem. While I will be right there for one of Solstice's initial sailings, my loyalty will also no longer be blind. We can only hope that the message is heard at 1050 Caribbean Way in Miami.

[C 2 C]

I recently returned from my first "Freestyle" cruise on Norwegian Dawn.

 

How would you compare your NCL experience to that of Radiance

[Dr. Cocktail]

The food and service in the "a-la-cartes" was better on the Dawn compared to the main dining room on Radiance. The Radiance buffet at lunch, however, was far superior to Dawn. Breakfasts in the main dining room on Dawn featured two or three alternating menus - something I haven't seen in a long time. It was the service on Dawn that was surprising - none of the occasionally encountered server indiference at an open seating.

 

I really enjoyed the ability to choose - it was a very different experience. The crowd was older that their usual group and were very reluctant to "pay" for their meals. Hence, I had a lot of leeway in changing dining times on the day of my reservation.

 

In terms of accomodation, Dawn's bathrooms are great - sliding partitions that separate both the toilet and the shower. No more waltzes with the shower curtain! I really enjoyed Dawn much more than Radiance. Was it just a week where everything came together onboard? - I can't be sure but I am certainly willing to try again on another NCL ship. After an Antarctic trip on Corinthian this winter, I will be on Brilliance. Again, it will give me a chance to compare the experience.

[C 2 C]

I really enjoyed the ability to choose - it was a very different experience. The crowd was older that their usual group and were very reluctant to "pay" for their meals.

Did you have to pay for each reservation in each different location? How many alternate restaurants are there? Norwegian Dream has provided my only dining experience on NCL.

[Dr. Cocktail]

Yes - there is a definite difference in quality for the "pay" restaurants. There are three Asian, a steak house and a bistro. The prices ranged from 10 to 20 dollars. My tab (Per person) for the week was about 75 for my meals (and a lot more for my wine!... but again, a really good list)

[C 2 C]

It's great that you enjoyed the NCL experience. It's always nice to know that there are more alternatives for our cruising dollars.

Was there any comparable dance opportunities similar to the Rendezvous Lounge?

How were the drink prices compared to X?

Price of internet?

Price differential between similar cabins?

As a result of your NCL cruise would your cruise preference now put NCL ahead of all the other competing cruiselines?

[Dr. Cocktail]

There were many opportunities as there was a touring band (? amateur) called the Lonny Lynn band that had numerous opportunities to play. I don't think that you would otherwise have had an opportunity like on Celebrity.

 

Drink prices were the same. I was paying about $32 for good California Syrahs or Chardonnays. Internet usasge was $.75 a minute but there were packages available. As a convenience (and an annoyance), your cell worked all the time. Some people could be overheard in the elevators calling their friends in their cabins! Unfortunalely the elevators were glassed in even at the top - my attempts to wrestle the phone out of their clutched hands and hurl them in into the atrium came to naught.

 

I found my standard balcony cabin cost as much as an inside on the Maasdam that was doing a similar route. Mini-suites were only about a hundred dollars more but they were sold out.

 

As much as Celebrity has annoyed me with marketing that they can't deliver on and the stingiest (sp?) loyalty program of all the lines, I would still go on Celebrity if - and it's a big if- it was on an itinerary that I wanted to go on. In the past, I chose the ship over the route. I would try NCL again on one of their 91000 grt Meyer ships again but I would still be afraid of one of their older vessels. Choosing a cruise is made up of so many different variables - I am going on Brilliance because they offered aft verandas in the canal. Otherwise, RCL doesn't match Celebrity on service. I don't really want to go back on Carnival and from what I have heard, HAL's "Signature of Excellence" hasn't really improved their dining experience. I certainly will try Princess - I guess that's the point - I'm no longer afraid to try. I always seemed to be "guaranteed" a fabulous cruise on Celebrity. That's no longer the case.

[C 2 C]

I certainly will try Princess - I guess that's the point - I'm no longer afraid to try. I always seemed to be "guaranteed" a fabulous cruise on Celebrity. That's no longer the case.

 

I'm finding the same. I have been a very loyal X cruiser over the past few years because they did certain things right. With fewer choices from mainland ports, my cruising options on X are limited. I find Zenith dated, cramped and sterile. The food and service are great but the vessel lacks appeal. Galaxy needs some serious upgrades and looks worn. It has a wonderful itinerary but its location is San Juan makes travel plans and easy flights tough. Millennium has one week cruises with no port appeal. Summit has two week cruises but prices are 30% higher than fares last year. Century has 5 day cruises, Mercury is leaving California and Infinity in S America requires long flights. Connie looks like the best bet.

Right now I'm looking at a number of alternatives for February and I think I'll do a sampler of the competition: RCL, Princess and HAL in succession

[donnaw]

I'm finding the same. I have been a very loyal X cruiser over the past few years because they did certain things right. With fewer choices from mainland ports, my cruising options on X are limited. I find Zenith dated, cramped and sterile. The food and service are great but the vessel lacks appeal. Galaxy needs some serious upgrades and looks worn. It has a wonderful itinerary but its location is San Juan makes travel plans and easy flights tough. Millennium has one week cruises with no port appeal. Summit has two week cruises but prices are 30% higher than fares last year. Century has 5 day cruises, Mercury is leaving California and Infinity in S America requires long flights. Connie looks like the best bet.

Right now I'm looking at a number of alternatives for February and I think I'll do a sampler of the competition: RCL, Princess and HAL in succession

 

Let's chat before you book Princess since there are some big differences in ships and we would like you to get the most of it!

[mygirlscats]

I'm still anticipating my first X cruise (S. America this January) but just came off NCL in the Meditteranian (the Jewel). If you are on one of the newest NCL ships, the minisuite includes a bathtub...a real-sized one, at that! What luxury!

 

I agree that the alternative restuarants had very good food, and the NCL buffet leaves a lot to be desired...but my service experience was not particularly charming. I saw a lot of variety between the level I wanted and the level I dreaded...and I got both. Also, on my cruise, the alternative restaurants were hugely popular, and some nights we couldn't get a table for 2 or 4 without having reserved first, so we were back in the main dining room.

 

I'm glad you had a good NCL experience, but I am not especially keen to repeat mine. I found the service on RCL to have been much, much better. Here's hoping Celebrity outshines them both!

[osiebosie]

We did an NCL cruise last winter, and it was on one of their small ships. Don't do it! They are not built for freestyle dining. Be sure to stay with their larger ships. There was only one dining option to the dining room, and it was very small. It was Italian. It was very good, but that was the only other option. Stay with the new ships that are built for freestyle.

 

Shay

[Susan-M]

. While I will be right there for one of Solstice's initial sailings, my loyalty will also no longer be blind.

 

"Variety is the spice of life." It's the reason why we don't buy the same car every time we replace the previous one, eat at the same restaurant every time we go out, or go to the same place on vacation every year. There are too many options. Loyalty is great if you are 100% satisfied and aren't curious about what else is out there - I stay loyal to people but have no problem straying when it applies to material things :)

[BaltiGator]

I also don't get the whole loyalty thing. It's really hard to imagine that any of these relatively-similar priced and relatively-similar operated lines (X, RCI, HAL, NCL, Princess) are that much better or that much worse than any other in the long run. Single cruise experiences are not sufficient to judge a whole line, but of course people do go by their own personal experiences.

 

We booked three X cruises not because of any blind loyalty (they were all booked before we even took the first one!) but because they were the right itineraries at the right times at the right prices. I'd just as easily consider booking on another line if a cruise came along that looked appealing.

 

Having said that, our cruise on Connie was wonderful, with only a few and very minor imperfections in the overall experience. We definitely felt the food and service were "up there" where Celebrity fans say it is. Right now, we have no reason to expect less from our other X cruises. Yes, Galaxy may be a little long in the tooth, but the exotic itinerary and competitive pricing of that cruise were too good to pass up.

[Cleo245]

I am a big fan of Celebrity, having cruised on the Constellation and booked on the refurbished Century for New Years. However, we went on the Caribean Princess last January and loved it. We had a standard balcony, the rooms were not quite as big as we would have liked and I was a little disappointed at first. But, the food was great, the people were very friendly and the ship had a lot of great activites, rather than just bingo. The price was much less than the Celebrity or even RCI cruises that we have been on and we enjoyed it just as much. I would recommend trying Princess, we enjoyed it.

[The Scotsman]

Having done 3 NCL cruises, NCL Sky (twice) and NCL Dawn (once) as well as 3 Celebrity cruises (Summit x2 ) (Millennium x 1) I would agree with the original poster that both lines are not to be dismissed.

 

NCL offer a different product ie freestyle dine when you wish. it really depends on the individual's take on dining some prefer set times and companions others prefer the freedom to eat when, where and with whomever takes their fancy each evening. Whether one is preferable to the other is pure personal opinion. Having done both I still haven't worked out which I personally prefer.... both have been great.

 

I do agree strongly that freestyle suits the bigger ship with more choice of restaurants. On the Sky there was a quite a struggle to get a table in the restaurant at the most popular times with wait times of up to an hour. On the Dawn it was less frantic although there were times eg. when shows came out that there was a bit of a jam at the more popular restaurants - only to be expected really.

 

With regards to the actual cabins, not much to choose. I like Celebrity Concierge class with the little perks, but I also prefer the bathrooms on the NCL Dawn with the sliding partition doors - no 'sticky' shower curtains to contend with. Celebrity has understated elegance, NCL goes for bright energetic colours.

 

Shows etc... prefer NCL. Their Jean Ann Ryan Company are extremely talented and IMO excel over anything seen so far on Celebrity.

 

Casinos are casinos are casinos ! - I never win anywhere so no comparison except maybe NCL have bigger more spacious casinos than the Millennium class ships.

 

Prices as mentioned before are much of a muchness.

 

Sorry this is a bit of a ramble Anything else please ask..

[Captain Cosmo]

Dr. Cocktail - thanks for your post. I have to admit that I have had a somewhat negative impression of NCL based partially on the boards and somewhat on seeing one of their ships in Hawaii that looked a little worse for wear. But, after reading your review I would be more willing to consider NCL for a future cruise.

[Dr. Cocktail]

I have been very interested by everyone's considered responses. One does become a little nervous that someone will try NCL and curse me to the skies - after all, I based my opinion on a small sample size. (...?backtracking?) The truth remains, there's a lot of product out there and mixing things up occasionally can be a very good thing.

[Rebel]

It warms my heart to see all this open, friendly, informative discussion and offering of opinions about other cruise lines as well as Celebrity minus the scathing personal attacks. :)

 

As a relative newcomer to cruising (only 3 cruises so far) I've made it my goal to try just about all the cruise lines at least once. Threads like this motivate and excite! As well as put a smile on my face.

 

I've bookmarked this thread for future consideration. Thanks!

 

Lynn

[barbarah33]

I have sailed RCCL, Celebrity, NCL, Carnival and Princess. Of them all I prefer Celebrity and my favorite ship has been the Radiance of the Seas. That being said - watch out Celebrity because Princess is catching up fast! They have improved their food in the past couple of years. They are putting out newer ships - and nicer with more options for all age groups, their service is excellent: most times equal to X if you don't consider the butler that you get on Celebrity and Princess doesn’t offer. I find their loyalty program to have the best perks in the business. They have more specialty restaurants and here are the big two: much better itineraries and much better pricing!!

 

I got sick of the same old itineraries on Celebrity so I decided to give Princess another try as it had been years since I had sailed with them and I was shocked. I'm not saying I won't sail on Celebrity again but they need to do something to get me back - a new ship with totally new itineraries would do the trick. And most of the time two of sail on Princess - in a suite as we always take suites, for the price of one on Celebrity. To me the butler is wonderful but he isn't worth double the price.

 

I liked NCL much better than I had thought I would and I would like to try one of their newer ships as the one I took was quite old but I definitely prefer Princess or Celebrity. I will not be sailing on Carnival again probably ever. RCCL is fine but I kind of wonder if they aren't concentrating on putting new gimmicky things on their ships like a surf machine? I would prefer good food and service over the chance to climb a rock wall.

 

I guess to each their own as they say. If you enjoy the cruise you take then it's been a great vacation!

[LeftcoastBC]

an extremly informative and polite thread..thks for the info. (edited to ad) EVERYONE

[Nilla]

I am new to X and will be doing my first cruise in a few weeks. It is just a three day sample cruise to see what I like. But at the same time I realise you can not base the real experience based on a short cruise like this. My mom just won a cruise on Saturday with X she has never travelled at all, adn will be going on the Mercury in Decemeber, so she is very excited to see what I think of her when I go in October! I have cruised 4 different cruise lines, and I have always enjoyed everything about all of my 7 cruises I have done! Yes each line offers you different things, different levels of service, food price etc. But I can say I have never had a horrible time on any line I have been on!

 

Princess- Mexican Riviera and Alaska, was a great time, service was very nice, food was good and the ports I enjoyed.

 

Carnival- Mexican Riviera and Repo cruise Carnival was exactly what they call themselves "The Fun Ships" We went on a Christmas crusie and it was so much fun. Everyone on the ship was having fun never saw anyone complain.

 

RCCL - Mexican Riviera and Coastal Cruise The first RCCL we went on we were on The Song of America, nice small ship had a great cruise with great staff. The Second was on a Radiance class ship, and man I was blown away at how beautiful the ship was! Had a great time on both cruises

 

NCL - Mexican Riviera I too was very sceptical of how I would feel about Freestyle cruising, but I loved it! Doing 6 tradition cruises before this one, I had become accustomed to set dining times, as well as set dinner guests. Well it was nice when you had a day in port you could come back to the ship rest up, then get ready and have a late dinner. As the OP said the pay restraunts were very good, we went to the steak house one evening and it was the best steak I have ever had in my life! Oh I also enjoyed this cruise because we got an Upsell from a low inside cabin to an Aft balcony with a huge deck!

 

All in all I loved every single cruise I have done, and I will enjoy every one I do from here on in! Loyalty is great if you always recieve the exact same service on every ship. But I am not positive that can be achieved!

[katiebeth]

Just wanted to comment that I love the tone of this thread ...this is what cruise critic is all about ...being able to exchange pros and cons about a particular cruise line without the fear of being ridiculed.

 

This is highly refreshing ....I haven't posted as much lately because of the harshness I have seen on the Celebrity board in particular.

 

To the original poster ....I too would like to see some positive/exciting changes made by headquarters in Miami .... I would love to see them "shake things up a bit" with some new itineraries, programs, menus, perks for frequent cruisers, etc. I think the product overall could use a bit of "refreshing".

 

Anyway, I have enjoyed reading this thread,

 

Nancy

[Drew B]

I'm glad that recent posters have mentioned Carnival. I think people ought to have a MUCH more open mind where that line is concerned. I haven't sailed NCL, Princess, RCCL or HAL. I've only sailed Carnival and Celebrity, but I actually loved them both.

[C 2 C]

Every cruise line offers a product that is at the same time similar to and different from, the other cruiselines. I'm glad there is a Carnival, HAL, RCL, NCL, Costa, Princess and Celebrity. There is a demographic that likes to cruise together and a demographic that wants to avoid other tastes in music, night life, entertainment, dress codes, children, old people etc..

Every cruiseline has had problems at one time or another. If you are not on a specific sailing when "disaster" has struck it is difficult to imagine the disappointment suffered by cruisers on that specific sailing. Statistically the mishaps are insignificant. Few people get hit by lightning, but when it happens, the results are not pleasant for the person involved.

Over the last few years we have cruised a lot with Celebrity and as a result have seen changes in the "Celebrity treatment" that varies significantly by ship and sailing date. For that reason we look constantly at other choices.

I recognize that no cruiseline is perfect and that every cruise line offers a product that keep all ships pretty full. It's the only way to stay in business. It would be a horrible world if we had only one choice of ship, one choice for dining, one choice of cruiseline. Being different is not being better or worse. Being able to choose makes us happier and keeps the cruiselines on their toes.

[slotaddict]

I too have been on the Dawn, in fact she ranks as my favorite ship, after the Century. I missed that ship so much that I booked a one night dinner dance cruise in October. The food that I had while on her was very good, I enjoyed the freestyle experience and I am sure I will cruise NCL again. Only one of the newer ships of course. The Dawn is leaving NY and going to be based in Miami with a great itinerary that I believe I will be trying. Celebrity is and always was my cruiseline of choice but I am not going to rule out other lines. I don;t think I can bring myself to try carnival nor HAL both for opposite reasons. I found that while on these boards that people believe that freestyle means dressing like a slob and I found exactly the opposite to be true. Thanks for your opinion. Thats what this board is all about.:)