norweigan pearl vs millie in oct

[sunandfun4me]

Hi, all. hoping for some helpful advice. dm and i are looking to take a quick cruise in october and have come up with millie (5 nights) or pearl (7 nights). we love celebrity but also love the idea of 7 nights instead of 5. both ships leave from miami, have a western itinerary and are very close in price. is there anyone out there who has sailed on both ships (or either line) who has info to share? thanks ahead of time for your help!

[cruisead]

DH and I have cruised on NCL and we would not cruise that line again. The food and service, IMHO, is FAR below Celebrity. It's just not a line we would ever consider again.

[NSgal]

Hi, all. hoping for some helpful advice. dm and i are looking to take a quick cruise in october and have come up with millie (5 nights) or pearl (7 nights). we love celebrity but also love the idea of 7 nights instead of 5. both ships leave from miami, have a western itinerary and are very close in price. is there anyone out there who has sailed on both ships (or either line) who has info to share? thanks ahead of time for your help!

 

I have sailed both the Pearl (Dec 2008) and Millie (March 2011). DH (37) and I (36) found that NCL was a little too much of a party cruise for us. Maybe it was because of the time of year but there were a lot of college people who monopolized everything. You couldn't get near any of the hottubs or the pool. Also, "freestyle dining" left a lot to be desired, we weren't able to get a table at a decent time. The food was also not as good as Celebrity. NCL is also very pushy with selling everything on the ship. I did sail the Western itinerary on the Pearl though, if you have any questions about that.

 

Millie had lots to do, the food and crew were fantastic. It was so good, in fact, that I am going on her again in June to Alaska. A little quieter, but still enough to keep me occupied. I do wish the nightclub was a little livelier though. This may have a lot to do with the fact that it was an 11 night itinerary that was very port intensive.

 

If you have any other questions, I would be happen to answer them if I can.

[Project_gal]

DH and I have cruised on NCL and we would not cruise that line again. The food and service, IMHO, is FAR below Celebrity. It's just not a line we would ever consider again.

 

Have not been on Pearl but have been on Sun and Millennium and would second this opinion! It is a shame because NCL's suites are great and you are treated really well if you book a suite. However, that is not enough to tempt us back.

 

Sue

[sunandfun4me]

thanks, ya'll! that 7 nights got to us...you know...7 nights sounds so much better than just 5. :D oh yes, we're total cruise hogs! absolutely! guilty as charged! :D but sensing that we can have 7 days of marginal or 5 days of very happy....well, i think we're calling the ta for 5 days of very happy tomorrow morning. thanks again!!!

[jt1120]

No comparison, =X= all the way. We've not done the Pearl, but we sailed her sister the Jewel, and though we found the ship to be quite nice, =X= wins on almost every other point. Food, service, activities, professionalism, but NCL does have some very good entertainment. If it was me, there would be no question, I would book the Millie in a heartbeat.

 

Problem is, if you post this question on the NCL board, you'll get a predominance of pro-NCL'ers. For us, we don't care for "optional" formal nights (yes, we're stuffy traditionalists), we don't care for the more party-ish atmosphere that NCL provides, and we've often found the service to me inconsistent.

 

=X= is the best.

[ken85121]

is there anyone out there who has sailed on both ships (or either line) who has info to share? thanks ahead of time for your help!

 

We have sailed on the NCL Pearl (7-day eastern Caribbean) and the Celebrity Eclipse (7-day eastern also). I saw in your signature that you have sailed the Celebrity sister ships the Solstice and Equinox so you know what the Eclipse is like.

 

While we really enjoyed the NCL Pearl, you really can't compare the two when the Celebrity S-class ships are involved. They really set a new standard for mass market cruising in my opinion. Some comparisons between the two...

 

Cabin decor - Eclipse (muted tones vs hot pink and neon blue)

Public Rooms decor - Eclipse (so beautiful and full of nice art)

Casino - Eclipse (no smoking in the casino on the Eclipse)

Entertainment - toss up

Food - Eclipse (no comparison but Pearl specialty restaurants were nice)

Pools - Eclipse (has an indoor adult only pool)

Smoking - Eclipse (more restrictive if that is important to you)

Spa - Pearl (larger and has a therapeutic pool)

Gym - Eclipse (larger, more equipment, staff)

Cruise Price - Pearl (base cruise price for same type cabin)

Customer Service - Eclipse (no comparison. While Pearl staff was great, Eclipse staff went above and beyond all the time for us it seemed)

 

No matter what you pick, I think you will love it. :)

[dabear]

No comparison, =X= all the way. We've not done the Pearl, but we sailed her sister the Jewel, and though we found the ship to be quite nice, =X= wins on almost every other point. Food, service, activities, professionalism, but NCL does have some very good entertainment. If it was me, there would be no question, I would book the Millie in a heartbeat.

 

Problem is, if you post this question on the NCL board, you'll get a predominance of pro-NCL'ers. For us, we don't care for "optional" formal nights (yes, we're stuffy traditionalists), we don't care for the more party-ish atmosphere that NCL provides, and we've often found the service to me inconsistent.

 

=X= is the best.

 

We've done the NCL Jade and 4 times M class and would have to agree with above. While NCL may give you a larger cabin than X for the money and I thought entertainment was better, on all other catagories X wins, especially the food, and less constant pressure to hear announcements to buy, buy buy.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Millenium!:)

[islandgirlejfan]

Have not been on Pearl but have been on Sun and Millennium and would second this opinion! It is a shame because NCL's suites are great and you are treated really well if you book a suite. However, that is not enough to tempt us back.

 

Sue

 

I have cruised on the Pearl and have booked our first cruise on the Eclipse....there are things I do like about NCL. Suites are amazing and we were fine with food. We are ok with freestyle and on our cruise, people dressed resort casual.....it was fairly close to Christmas though, so maybe that was the difference where dress is concerned. The Pearl's buffet is very nice and we always love Cagneys and LaCucina, however the lack of a smoking policy and a more sophisticated experience is what really moved us to give Celebrity a try. When we took our cruise in 2009, we paid 2k more than what we are paying for an AQ in December just to have a more relaxed experience, not to mention tipping the butler and concierge an amount that passengers aren't even given a recommended amount to tip per day. We both felt like we were paying for two extra people and were really just not that needy. In talking with friends who have cruised Celebrity, they have said we are going to have a fantastic experience without having to pay though the nose for it.

We must have been lucky or something because I have to be honest, we heard maybe two announcements a day....I was never asked to buy anything, even on the spa tour. They handed us a list of services of course, but we were there because we had an interest so the list was welcome.