Norwegian Dream or Celebrity Infinity

[retired1998]

Trying to decide which of the above two ships to take to South America in January. Suggestions?

[Jane110]

Honestly, I don't think anyone can give you a meaningful answer based on all the non-information you put in your post.

 

Intelligent feedback would be based on things like itinerary and your preferences as well as your cruising past. Do you like/hate days at sea? Do you prefer a more/less port intensive itinerary? Will you take the ships tours or hire private guides?

 

Have you ever been on a cruise? Which line/lines. Do you prefer a more upscale environment (Celebrity) or more mass oriented (NCL). etc etc etc

 

The better your question is, the better your answers will be.

[retired1998]

Sorry, I guess I should have explained more. (I'm typing on a borrowed laptop as mine is being fixed...bummer)

I was asking about actually comparing the two ships, not where they go. The itineraries for both are about the same. I'm interested in room size comparisons, food, service...that type of thing. I've sailed a few times, once on Norwegian two years ago to Hawaii and I admit I didn't particularly like the freestyle dining. Although, I am going on Norwegian again to Hawaii in August, only because it is the only line that cruises island to island without having to come from the mainland. So, I hope this explains more of what I am asking.

[katybird]

We have not sailed Infinity but did sail the Dream on an 11 day Alaska cruise so I can give you our impressions.

The Dream is about 1700 passengers and has been stretched so once you get used to the flow it is fine. We had a standard OV cabin. There was plenty of storage space and we liked the bed on a wall and not under the window. There was a small seating area next to the window with a curtain that could be drawn...nice if one wanted to stay up at night and the other wanted to go to bed.

The food was not exceptional but OK. We ate in Terraces or Trattoria [the smaller dining rooms]for dinner. We like Freestyle dining..tend to eat early and never had to wait to be seated.

Overall the staff is wonderful. We found everyone very attentive and friendly.

The ship was smokey. Smoke seems to drift througout the bars into the corridors. The Captain agreed this was a ventilation problem during his talk and had heard this complaint several times.

We did not mind the Dream. If the price and itinerary were right we would sail her again.

I have been looking at SA sailings as well so will be interested in what you decide.

[kente]

I have sailed Celebrity multiple times and Norwegian once (on the Dream). When we were on Norwegian we found the food poor and the service horrible. We ate breakfast in the dining room and I never had hot food for breakfast. All cruises are good vacations but I would defintely take Celebrity.

[lizbeth]

Hi -

As you can see from our signature, we've sailed Celebrity on the Infinity, and also on the NCL Dream.

 

For us, it's a no-brainer. Celebrity wins every time. NCL was cramped. Eating breakfast in the sports bar was noisy and it was difficult to find a place to sit. The cabins were small. Service was terrible. (Why give you service with a smile when your tip money goes into a pot for the crew to share?)

 

Celebrity is truly a service-oriented cruise line. The food is fantastic, the service is outstanding and the ship is lovely.

 

We will never sail NCL again, altho' it appears you have sailed with them and like their product.

 

While we were walking around several ports in South America, we ran into couples from the NCL ship, all of whom said they wished they were on our ship.

 

Don't let price be your only determining factor.

 

Good luck!

Liz

[hshowalter]

My wife & I were on the Millie 3-5-06 14 day S.A. Buenos Aires to Valparaiso .TRIP WAS FABULOUS. tHE SERVICE EXCELLENT the food fantastic. We liked it so much that on11/11/07 we are going on the Infinity leaving from FLL through the canal going to Peru, Ecuador & Chile debarkation is Valparaiso.We were on the dream when it was the Dreamward & only 1 year old.The Dream is not near as nice as most celebrity cruise ships. My wife & I have been on Celebrity 12 times & Norwegian 10 times.We used Norwegian mostly because of a lower price but now would rather spend a little more & sail Celebrity. We have cruise #60,61,&62 booked/

[englishmum]

We sailed on the Infinity to South America in Feb of this year and could not fault the ship or service.We visited all the ports,but I think this is probably more to do with the weather rather than the ship.We had a concierge class cabin which enabled us to get priority tenders which was extremely useful for us as we had arranged all our excursions privately.The ship was in excellent shape,the food was very good,the staff extremely helpful and pleasant.We have taken several cruises including the QM2,which I was very disappointed with,but the Infinity and the cruise to South America passed all my expectations.In fact of all the cruises we have taken this tops the list.

[bestmom1]

We are sailing on Infinity March 15 2008 BA to Santiago, Easter this year, with our nine year old. We sailed the Dream in the Baltic in 2004, and on Infinity's sister Constellation. Celebrity beats NCL hands Down. The Dream was not purpose built for the FreeStyle cruising, and we found crowds, lines, surly service, and shabbyness. Also, the smoke everywhere! I don't know if the Dream has had a refurb since we we on her in 2004. She has had some great itinerarys though.

 

The deciding factor for us was balconys. Since the Dream is older, balconys are few and therefore expensive. We took the Concierge class on Connie Transatlantic in April, and it didn't take long for me to be spoiled forever. I need to ask for a raise! I'll never go back now. But if you shop carefully, you can spend less for that than a standard on an older ship.

 

For me Celebrity, any Millenium class, beats NCL. Galaxy was also great but we didn't get a balcony, older ship and so very expensive. We are on Princess for the first time Mexican Riviera at Thanksgiving, it's a "drive to" port for us.

 

Englishmum, Where did you go to get info on the private excursions? I'm starting that part of the research now for SA March 2008.

[newfarmers]

Honestly, I don't think anyone can give you a meaningful answer based on all the non-information you put in your post.

 

Intelligent feedback would be based on things like itinerary and your preferences as well as your cruising past. Do you like/hate days at sea? Do you prefer a more/less port intensive itinerary? Will you take the ships tours or hire private guides?

 

Have you ever been on a cruise? Which line/lines. Do you prefer a more upscale environment (Celebrity) or more mass oriented (NCL). etc etc etc

 

The better your question is, the better your answers will be.

 

Can't comment on NCL but 18 nights on Infinity. Outside and Balcony rooms. Everything about the ship was great. From that moment you step onboard and are greeted with champagne and are escorted to your cabin the tone of the cruise was well and truly set.

 

Pete and Al

[cruisingrandy]

We have sailed both lines several times and yes Celebrity is my favorite.

We did the NCL 18 day South American cruise Nov. 06 and loved it. so much We are doing NCL south america 14 day this Dec.9 so NCL is definetely OK for us. There was a huge price difference both times with NCL being much cheaper both times. My wife is from Peru so we spend a lot of time in South America and I love it there, but we call USA. home. I have cruised 21 times and we are 55 & 40

But it depends I guess on want you want to do and how you want to dress. No formal night required on NCL. Of course you have more flexibility on NCL but I agree X's food is better and so is X's service. I dont know for all cruises but last year when we were in Ushaii X had to use tenders and NCL docked that is a major advatage if that happens very often. I dont know if it is due to X having a larger ship or not. Well thats my 2 cents worth. Either way you will have a great time Ejyoy!!!!

[cathker]

I returned recently from a Baltic cruise on the Dream. As a result, I'm going on the Infinity to SA in January. The Dream is nice, with its choice of diningrooms, but the food was so-so, the service poor in several of the restaurants because so many of the crew had Norovirus and the rest were constantly scrubbing down the ship to keep it from spreading even further. My feeling was that the Dream needed renovations, beginning to look a little rundown.

Hope this helps.

[robinpow]

I've traveled both lines, but neither of the ships. I will be on the Dream this fall, HOWEVER.....

 

There is a BIG difference in the two lines. If you want good food and service with a touch of class go with Celebrity. If you just want a floating hotel and to save a few dollars go with Norwegian.

 

If I traveling with family, and the cruise has more sea time I like the better cruise lines. On the other hand if I'm traveling for the ports of calls, the money I save with NCL allows me to do more on land. Also NCL has proved to be great at helping me lose weight. I lost several pounds on the Crown last spring, and a couple on my Hawaiian cruise a couple of months later. To put it bluntly, meals on NCL is simply eating not fine dinning.

[eh2zed]

Celebrity is the one you should choose given particularly your lack of enthusiasm for freestyle dining. We too only sailed NCL in Hawaii to avoid a mainland port. It was acceptable but nothing like Celebrity or HAL overall experience.