Celebrity Summit vs. Norwegian Gem

[africanviolet]

We are considering taking a Bermuda cruise this summer and trying to decide between these 2 ships. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks.

[We're The Groupnors]

I see by your signature you havn't been on NCL before. Having been on both NCL (once) and Celebrity (five times, three on the Summit), for us Celebrity wins hands down. We started cruising in our 20's, now in our 40's, and we feel Celebrity has something for all ages. We think the food, atmosphere and service on Celebrity is far superior to NCL.

[mygreyhound66]

Hi, my vote is for celebrity and the reason being that i like the ambiance and the whole celebrity experience. I find it to be more upscale than Norwegian. Don't get me wrong - Norwegian is a good product, however, my major dislike with them is that there is a constant 'hard-sell' of extras, it seems like there is a non-stop barrage of announcements, leaflets etc, pushing all the extras. That said, you will be in Bermuda most of the time! Also, you may wish to consider the ease/cost of the departure ports.......whichever you choose, have a terrific time, Bermuda is one of our most favourite places!!! (we go almost every year)

[3418ahl]

We took NCL three years ago (Pearl), and I will never take it again. Food was awful, all they wanted to do was sell things. No comparison to be made here, hands down Celebrity!

[YOW]

Been on both ships. A lot depends on what you're looking for, what type of cabin you'd book, and the price difference between the two.

 

For an inside or oceanview cabin, I'd take Summit over Gem -- for that class on NCL, those cabins seem very small and poorly lit. If the price difference on an Gem balcony or suite (vs. Summit) were enough to make up for the expense of specialty dining most nights and gave enough left over to take some buses and/or taxis in Bermuda, I'd consider it.

 

As far food, which is very subjective... We ate once in the main dining room on Gem, and had all other dinners in the specialty restaurants... but on another NCL cruise after that, we tried the MDR a few times and had decent results. So your experience could vary. We've usually had very good and consistent dining on Celebrity.

 

Both ships spend about the same amount of time docked at the same place in Bermuda. FWIW if you're looking to stay in NYC before or after the cruise, NCL might work a bit better as they leave from midtown Manhattan -- but that may not be a major consideration.

[C&F]

I'll be able to answer that question from experience on both ships, but not until April 23rd. We sail on the Summit to S.Caribbean and sailed on the Gem last winter. I had heard lots of negative things about Norwegian and was worried, but I got the cruise at a great price at the time we could only go, so I chanced it. Glad we did. We had a great time and I didn't notice any of the negatives I'd heard about. SHe was an amazing ship with incredible staff!

I sailed Celebrity almost 10 years ago and it was an awesome cruise to Bermuda, but things may have changed. Overall, I've never had anything close to a bad cruise. Some better than others, none perfect. We make our cruise what it is. Not every meal will be delicious, there will always be chair hogs, venues may be crowded, entertainment may be lackluster, etc... But NONE of those things would ruin a cruise for me. I'm sure to let the cruise line get feedback, both positive and negative.

We are also looking into those 2 cruises for the summer. Celebrity is in the lead due to the availability of the drink package.

Either way, I don't think you'll go wrong. Good luck with the decision and enjoy the cruise you choose!

[sarahc78]

We went on the Summit last year to Bermuda and LOVED it!!! Service, food, amenities, all fantastic! We loved her so much we are going on her again this May :D

[Lois R]

I have never sailed NCL but have sailed Summit 4 times, most recently

earlier this month and I loved all my cruises on her:). I love the ship:D,

staff and crew!

[eandj]

The OP is going to hear lots here from loyal X cruisers. ;) Haven't done NCL, but know of a few family members and friends that have done both and won't go back to NCL. Comments from them... Saving money on NCL doesn't make up for the poor quality of food, extra charges to get into restaurants on par with X's MDR, way too casual look of many passengers etc.

 

Guess the OP should also go to the NCL board to see if anyone there has done both NCL and X. Personally just the interior pictures of the ships are a turn off to me. Not my style.

[Christine Frances]

We have done the Gem & Pearl and much prefer X. Food and service suffers with "Freestyle Dining", as noted above, a lot more announcements, hard sell, photographers and NCL has smoking in cabins and balcony's. Three strikes and you are out:D

[cynbar]

I have sailed both Celebrity (not Summit, however) and the Norwegian Gem, and the two cruises will be very different. It all depends what you think would best suit you and your family in Bermuda, where you'll be in port for 3 days. NCL is Freestyle, which will give you more freedom to do what you want. Dress code will be pretty much nonexistent, even shorts are allowed in the MDRs which is great for those who want to run onto the ship and eat quickly. Celebrity will still follow the usual guidelines, with 2 formal nights and the rest dress casual. NCL in general has a more carefree and easy going atmosphere, which some love and some hate. I do think that the MDR meals are much better on Celebrity, but we liked the bigger choice of specialty restaurants (albeit with a fee) on NCL. Our NCL cruises on the Gem were in Europe, where I must say we liked the no formal night policy and more casual atmosphere because we were so busy while in port. You will see posters here who say they will never sail NCL -- we don't feel that way, although overall, we prefer Princess and Celebrity.

[tjncanada]

After a week on the NCL Pearl earlier this month I have to say the Celebrity Cruises offers a far superior product in all categories.

 

If you need some flexible options keep in mind that Celebrity has introduced "Select Dining" option in the MDR and has expanded their casual dining.

 

On NCL I found variability in the quality of food and service. Most of the food was OK, ever great (I didn't try any of the specialty restaurants).

 

You only get so much cruising time so you don't want to put up with mediocre at best. If you have the choice, go with the Summit.

[RDC1]

I have sailed on both. NCL uses up a lot of its internal public space on extra, specialty dining venues. As a result there are fewer "quiet" areas to sit and read or relax. As mentioned there are far more announcements on NCL. By the time my last cruise ended I thought that I would have gone postal if I had heard the term free style one more time.

 

 

To a large degree it depends upon what you like. If you like loud, thumping music, more of a party atmosphere, large number of speciality resturants then you might like NCL more.

[christiecruise]

 

If you need some flexible options keep in mind that Celebrity has introduced "Select Dining" option in the MDR and has expanded their casual dining.

 

Could you please explain what this means? is it possible to avoid the formal nights completely? On NCL we always were very nicely dressed (much more so than most others in the MDR), but they men in our family do not want to wear a tie and would prefer not to wear a sport coat either. They prefer dress pants, belts and collared silk shirts.

[cherylroslyn]

We are considering taking a Bermuda cruise this summer and trying to decide between these 2 ships. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks.

There are some big sales going on for Summit itineraries to Bermuda. I got an e-mail from an online travel agent which is closely alligned with cruse criti today and there were sladhed fares and incenticves to book. It looks like a 24 hour sale....and I'm so tempted!!!!! So check out the recent price drops......and incentives.

[jerseygirl3]

Could you please explain what this means? is it possible to avoid the formal nights completely? On NCL we always were very nicely dressed (much more so than most others in the MDR), but they men in our family do not want to wear a tie and would prefer not to wear a sport coat either. They prefer dress pants, belts and collared silk shirts.

 

Select dining means you have the option of choosing either traditional early (6:15), traditional late (8:30) or "select" to go anytime between certain hours (I believe it was 5:30 - 9:30. If you opt for Select, you will be seating according to availability (table size and waitstaff may vary). We were on Eclipse last week, and although we did late, our friends had select and it worked very well for them. They never had to wait and they said the waitstaff was fabulous each and every time. Occasionally they requested a table for 2 and sometimes they requested a larger table. It's up to you whichever you prefer.

 

If you prefer not to dress up, there is casual dining in the buffet area.

 

Jo-Ann

[christiecruise]

Thanks so much Jo-Ann, that was precisely the information I was looking for.

[ksg]

I just booked Summit to Bermuda for end of May via that on-line deal. We were on Summit a few years ago and absolutely loved the ship. The food was good, the martini bar was better :) The service was wonderful.

 

Have not been on the Gem, but after our Dawn cruise this Christmas, we think there's no comparison between the vibes of the ships. Although NCL entertainment was better, the Celebrity experience was much more peaceful and elegant. And the food was much better on Celebrity.

[YOW]

There are some big sales going on for Summit itineraries to Bermuda. I got an e-mail from an online travel agent which is closely alligned with cruse criti today and there were sladhed fares and incenticves to book. It looks like a 24 hour sale....and I'm so tempted!!!!! So check out the recent price drops......and incentives.

 

Thanks for the heads-up! Here I was commenting on this thread yesterday... and just now put a hold on a cabin for May. (now to make our schedules work... ;))

[tjncanada]

Select dining means you have the option of choosing either traditional early (6:15), traditional late (8:30) or "select" to go anytime between certain hours (I believe it was 5:30 - 9:30. If you opt for Select, you will be seating according to availability (table size and waitstaff may vary). We were on Eclipse last week, and although we did late, our friends had select and it worked very well for them. They never had to wait and they said the waitstaff was fabulous each and every time. Occasionally they requested a table for 2 and sometimes they requested a larger table. It's up to you whichever you prefer.

 

If you prefer not to dress up, there is casual dining in the buffet area.

 

Jo-Ann

 

Thankful for the clarification. My point was that NCL sells themselves on their "freestyle" dining but with these options you can have the same flexibility on Celebrity and enjoy a superior dining experience.

[josumello]

Did The Gem TA last fall. Wouldn't recommend NCL over Celebrity which we have also sailed. Staff on both ships were good but the so called feestyle dinning was a disaster on The Gem. Select dinning on The Century was so much better. Also there was no comparison between the food. The Gem was really bad, including the paying specialty restaurants.We loved the Celebrity exprience but will say the piano bar entertainment on The Gem was great. Having said that we will most likely never do NCL again.

Sue

[Pendragoncruising]

We've done HAL, mostly CCL and the last 2 cruises were NCL, our last cruise was on the Gem's sister ship the Jewel in a rear facing penthouse suite, amazing service and I loved the specialty resturants, we did miss no formal night but it didn't stop us having a blast, my question is This year we want to go to Bermuda on either the Gem or the Summit in a either a Penthouse suite or a Celebrity Suite, there's not a lot of difference in price so any input from people who've done suites on both ships would be appreciated:)