NCL for a Celebrity Cruiser?

[ChicagoMermaid]

Hello!

We've only done 2 cruises so far, both on Celebrity (and sort of both ends of the spectrum on that line, the Summit right after it launched and just got off the Zenith...)

I saw an interesting itinerary on an NCL ship, and the dates work perfectly for my family. I was just wondering if anyone here could do a quick compare and contrast the two lines for me, as obviously I'm not experienced enough to do so myself.

Thanks for any advice and Happy New Year. Hope everyone has great cruises in 2007!

[smeyer418]

NCL plus is freestyle dining no formal nights. The newer ships are better set up for freestyle. X is more formal and has set sittings. I have been on both NCL and X and I prefer NCL.....also NCL allows you to wait in your room until you have to get off. Food is very similar....X has better buffets....

[willy paul]

we just got off the NCL Jewel transatlantic in Nov and have been on Celebrity a number of times.

 

Would agree with most of the previous poster except food. Yes, the buffet was better on NCL. The portions in the regular dining rooms were miniscule to be kind ( barely 4oz steaks, tiny shrimp in shrimp scampi,etc), and they were generally bland. Service was indifferent in the free style dining rooms it seemed the wait staff was overworked more than usual, all in our party got the same feeling. We thought we were being directed to the extra fee restaurants and other than the Steakhouse we didn't think they were much better. Drinks were expensive and were of very poor quality, you will find better quality in almost any land based restaurant.

 

Positives - we thought the cabin layout was large and well planned, the bathrooms were big, the min suites were not worth the extra dollars and we found the entertainment much better ( don't miss the Cirque Bijou) on NCL.

[TravelerThom]

Maybe it is just me, but NCL drove me crazy with their advertising announcements [bingo!! Art Auction!! T-shirt special!! etc etc]. Not helped by being repeated in three languages on the 14 night voyage I was on. Especially bad was that they had a very good lecturer on board who gave four lectures, and in every lecture he was interupted for what seemed like 10 minutes with one or more profit center sales announcements. Really made me appreciate X's minimal announcement policy.

[TenerifeSharon]

We really enjoyed our NCL Dream cruise to New England/Canada. Although we love the Celebrity service, we didn't find much lacking on the Dream. The freestyle dining can be a wonderful way to meet lots of new people, if you are open to sharing a table. And, likewise, you can arrange to dine with any new friends you've made somewhere else on the ship. Because the Dream was "stretched" a couple of years ago, it is sometimes awkward getting from one end of the ship to the other without going up and down extra stairs. But, other than that, no problems.

 

If the itinerary and the price are right, go for it. You'll never know if you'll like it unless you try it:)

[lindakirk]

Having done 2 Celebrity cruises (Mercury to Western Carribbean in 2003 and Zenith to Bermuda in 2004), we chose the NCL Dawn to the Eastern Carribbean in 2006.

 

For the most part, we were very disappointed. I did like the free-style dining as I find 6:30 too early and 8:30 too late. I also appreciated the smaller portions. You could always ask for more but I didn't have the feeling of watching so much food going to waste (rather than waist). I didn't think the quality approached that of Celebrity.

 

However, mostly, I felt like I was shopping in KMart not Nordstroms. I don't want to sound snobbish -- I'm from the Bronx after all--but the ambience was entirely different from Celebrity. The announcements were intrusive and frequent. There seemed to be large groups drinking beer from noon till whenever. The crowd seemed noisier and ruder (maybe just younger, I'm 60.)

 

The little things made a difference -- e.g. the drink specials came in a plastic something, not one of those lovely Celebrity frosted glasses. I originally felt happy that I did not have to pack formal wear (my husband was disappointed) but to my surprise I found that I missed the formality and the sense of specialness that went with it.

 

Would I choose NCL again? I might if the timing and price were right and otherwise I'd have to stay at home dreaming. But only might.

 

We're going to Europe on the Millennium this September and I am greatly looking forward to it.

 

Hope this helps,

Linda

[DeltaOne]

We're also considering a NCL cruise after four Celebrity and two Princess cruises. Mostly because we want to go to Bermuda and would prefer a cruise that docks at Hamilton and St. George. While I would love to try the Journey it's simply too expensive.

 

I've been doing lots of research and am almost ready to make a decision. My feeling is that there'll be things about NCL we don't like but that it'll still be a fine cruise.

[smeyer418]

We're also considering a NCL cruise after four Celebrity and two Princess cruises. Mostly because we want to go to Bermuda and would prefer a cruise that docks at Hamilton and St. George. While I would love to try the Journey it's simply too expensive.

 

I've been doing lots of research and am almost ready to make a decision. My feeling is that there'll be things about NCL we don't like but that it'll still be a fine cruise.

 

The one thing that NCL has that X doesn't on the Bermuda run is the Dineashore program that allows(for a small amount) to take a meal on shore. Personally I recommend the carriage house in St George for this one meal....for dinner...

 

Remember this was asked on an X board and the response has been on the mild side.

[superjerryw]

Hello!

 

We've only done 2 cruises so far, both on Celebrity (and sort of both ends of the spectrum on that line, the Summit right after it launched and just got off the Zenith...)

 

I saw an interesting itinerary on an NCL ship, and the dates work perfectly for my family. I was just wondering if anyone here could do a quick compare and contrast the two lines for me, as obviously I'm not experienced enough to do so myself.

 

It would be easier to offer an opinion if you mentioned which NCL ship you were interested in. Overall, the food and service is a little better on Celebrity. I found the entertainment to be better on NCL. The standard cabin on Celebrity is about 170 square feet whereas the standard cabin on NCL seems to be about 148 square feet. We sailed most recently on the Norwegian Dawn to New England and we had a fine cruise. Eating in a different restaurant each night at whatever time we wanted was very nice. Overall, you also need to consider the atmosphere. Celebrity is much more formal with more passengers that like to dress up. NCL is more casual and formal attire is not required.

 

If you found an itinerary that you really like I would say go for it. Some people feel that the ship is their destination and don't care where it stops so for those people the selection of the ship itself is more important. If you are more interested in where the ships stops and will be off the ship all day long in every port then the ship itself is not as important. NCL has a couple of older ships such as the Drean and the Wind that I would be reluctant to sail on but I would not hesitate to sail NCL if it were one of their newer ships such as the Dawn or the Pearl.

[tom_uk]

For me, it would be the Freestyle Dining that would be the biggest different from Celebrity. We greatly enjoyed the regular company at dinner on Galaxy last summer (8 seat table) and are looking forward to more of the same again this year. Whereas on NCL either you eat just in your own party, or you have to go through the 'who are you/where are you from/ have you cruised before' routine every night, which would get very tiring.

 

That said, however, I think that NCL's Dawn class (Dawn, Jewel, Pearl, Gem forthcoming and I think Spirit as well) are excellent ships - definitely many more features than Celebrity C-class, and probably at least as many as on M-class. More dining options, for one thing.

[rebeljohn]

We consider Celebrity our favorite line, but cruise other lines as well. We have done one NCL cruise, and enjoyed it for the most part, except for the freestyle dining. The wife and I enjoy having a dedicated table and time for our evening meal. We enjoy the same company each evening, and the waiter is always the same one, learning you particulars, and having them ready for you each night. We also love Celebrity's food.........much better than NCL........

[Parrot Mom]

We are big NCL fans... I think the entertainment is better.. and the free style if you dont decide to eat at 7:00 there is no problem.. Now, here is a secret....if you find a waiter or waitress that you really like.. ask for that particular person or station.. and you can reserve a table each evening...On the Celebrity it certainly is a bit more formal..and no free style..the entertainment of their own troupe left much to be desired..On our last cruise in September the food was atrocious, but I understand they have changed the menu.. The problem seems to be the wastage.. That said..we are going on the Galaxy in December.. for a trans-atlantic. What is almost as important to us is the destinations..the ports.. We take the Majesty out of Boston to St. George (eleven times) and I cant say enough about that cruise...The dine around is great.. too bad you can only do it once.. I just like the idea of sitting in one area for the entire cruise..St George is charming compared to Hamilton. but I would not turn down a chance to dock in Hamlton or the Dockyard for a day..

[halos]

Life's short.

Try 'em all!! :D

[Parrot Mom]

The MUST place for eating and drinking is the Swizzle Inn and that's definetely not on the "dine around".. Right now on this raw, raw afternoon with little bits of snow trying to fly down..I can see myself on the balcony of the Swizzle Inn.. having a pitcher (yes, a pitcher) of rum swizzles, fish sandwich and the onion rings....and listening to the Bermuda Symphony. (the ambulances going by)..lol

[caviargal]

I personally do not care for the overall experience offered by NCL.

 

I dislike Freestyle dining and Freestyle dress codes. I find the ships and service far too casual for my taste but I am admittedly a traditionalist when it comes to cruising.

 

The cabins on the NCL ships I have sailed are much smaller in the standard categories. I agree that there are far too many announcements.

 

The entertainment on NCL in terms of live music was better than X overall.

 

I found the food and service lacking except in Le Bistro.

 

Otherise, IME the ships are clean and well maintained, though the Dream was not in great shape when I was aboard three years ago.

 

The newer ships are boldlydecorated and have tons of activities. I prefer understated decor and not so much going on. Bowling alleys and the like have no appeal to me.

[slotaddict]

After being on 7 Celebrity cruises and 3 NCL, I like both lines for different reasons. I booked a Celebrity TA which I reluctantly had to cancel. I did replace it with a cruise on the NCL Pearl, since the ship is brand new and I liked the itinerary. I like the Freestyle cruising, I also like the opportunity not to dress up if I don't feel like it. I have never been disappointed with the food. You will never know until you try it.