NCL fan needs info on Celebrity cruises

[karen327]

We will be going on our fifth NCL cruise soon and love the freestyle atmosphere of NCL. However, we would love to cruise in south america next year and are interested in going on the Celebrity Infinity (NCL doesn't do that itenery) We are casual people, but are willing to go the more formal route if that is what it takes to see this part of the world. We love nature, star gazing, exploring new parts of the world, etc. Can someone who is familiar with both companies give me an idea of what exactly how NCL and Celebrity will differ? We obviously know that this will be an older crowd and cooler weather. What else? How about dress code, dining, entertainment, announcements, etc.? The only other options are with Princesses and Holland America.

[JerseyGem]

We've only taken two Celebrity (AKA X) cruises, two years apart; the most recent was in July 2011. We've also taken many NCL and RCL cruises, and a handful on several other lines. Overall differences are slight and seem to be getting fewer and fewer as the decades go by.

 

X has introduced an "anytime dining" option which is similar to NCL's Freestyle dining process. They do still have traditional dining (which I actually prefer; DH prefers Freestyle). If you decide to do the "anytime dining," you must pay your tips upfront- that is, as soon as you select the option, even if it's well before the cruise. If you wait until you board to decide, you may find that the slots for the "anytime dining" are full. You can find more info about this dining option on the X forum.

 

Dress Code: Just in the two years between our X cruises, we noted that the "dress" is a lot less formal. In July, I was one of the few ladies who wore a long dress. Some wore cocktail dresses; some, the standard office/church dress; some wore dressy black slacks with a fancy top. For men, there were very few tuxs. On Formal nights (at least two), most men wore suits (of all shades); many wore blazers with dress shirts and ties; some didn't even have ties. A few just wore dress shirts and ties (although I thought the "rules" said at least a jacket). If you decide not to bring "fancy" clothes, you can always eat in the buffet that night.

 

Fellow passengers: If your cruise is longer, you're more likely to find an older crowd. This is on any cruise line. As a general stereotype, X (and HAL) do seem to attract an older crowd, but this is slowly changing. We just returned from an NCL 10 night and were surprised at the number of wheelchairs, walkers and canes (yes, and strollers). The clientele of NCL is changing as more seniors discover that Freestyle is fun for everyone, and the prices are usually better than on other lines. As a senior on a fixed income, NCL is frequently our top choice because of price! Our most recent X cruise had many more "young people" than our first X (some were in our group- our DD was married onboard with 35 friends and family sailing to help celebrate). DD & DSiL (27 & 30) actually prefer RCL & X (over NCL) because they like to get dressed up and like personalized service at meals. Plus they have more money than we have!!!!

 

Entertainment: I personally think that NCL excels in this category. Our recent Gem cruise had great entertainment for their main shows, plus wonderful (and varied) live music options each evening and many other entertainment choices for a wide range of interests (and ages). X also has main shows each evening (similar to NCL- a few production shows, the standard comedian, hypnotist, or magician, plus a solo singer or two). You will have something to do each evening, but the choices seemed more limited. X does have similar audience participation shows (like the Newly-Wed Game), but, overall, the evenings tended to end earlier than on NCL, except for the casino.

 

Announcements: X wins here! The Captain will give a brief update at noon. If you hear any other announcement starting- listen carefully because it will be an emergency. You will be responsible for getting yourself to Bingo, napkin-folding, etc. (X has a daily schedule like NCL's that is put in your cabin each evening.)

 

You didn't mention this, but X has several beverage packages (alcoholic, non-alcoholic, waters, juices, as well as soda). NCL only has a soda package. DH and many of our wedding guests loved the alcohol packages (and I'm sure X lost money on our group!).

 

Should you try X? Yes! As much as I love NCL, I always book by itinerary (and then price) rather than by cruiseline. You will have a great cruise on any of the mainstream cruiselines.

[JerseyGem]

X permits you to bring two bottles on wine onboard per stateroom (with no corking fee).

 

Also, I should have mentioned that we also enjoyed our HAL and Princess cruises- I would sail on any of those lines again without any second thoughts.

[crusinmama22]

We sailed with X on the Constellation back in Feb 2006 out of PR Beautiful Ship. Loved the ports. But not the guests on the ship. We found them VERY SNOBBY. Now we have been sailing since 1979 and have been on Carnival, Royal, X and NCL I don't think I would sail on X again because of the guests as we did not enjoy that experience at all.

 

But to each his own I am sure you will have a great time no matter what cruise you choose. You just have to make the best of it. Plus you will be with your family and that will be fun.

[AmysonHenry]

Having been on the Infinity twice, I can highly recommend the food! The food in the MDR is truly wonderful. The X crowd is for sure a dressy one. In fact, even if you choose to skip the formal dinners and use the buffet, you may feel uncomfortable and out of place while walking around the ship on those evenings if you are not partially dressed up. I would avoid wearing jeans, shorts, etc on those nights regardless of where you are dining. If you want to participate in the formal nights (which has some of the best food, so you should) I don't think a tux for men is necessary, but definitely a coat / jacket and tie. Ship announcements are kept to a minimum and I don't think you will notice as many children on board. From my experience, I would call the X crowd a classy one, while others may refer to them as stuffy. Hope that helps :)

[graphicguy]

My opinion is going to be really unpopular with the Celebrity fans, but to me there's no comparison.

 

-NCL has better entertainment

-NCL has better service

-NCL has better beds

-NCL has better food (and handles "anytime" much better)

-NCL has more fun things to do

 

In fairness, I sailed on the Celebrity Solstice over New Year's, right before it was scheduled for dry dock. It really needed a good cleaning, and a change of crew (the crew we had was at best, mediocre, and I'm being kind by saying that). Maybe there other ships are better.

 

The NCL Epic cruise will go down as my all time favorite, however.....for all the reasons listed above.

[jonbgd]

Having been on the Infinity twice, I can highly recommend the food! The food in the MDR is truly wonderful. The X crowd is for sure a dressy one. , I would call the X crowd a classy one, while others may refer to them as stuffy.

Weve been on te Infinity as well and I do agree with you. The for fee USS United States was the best meal we have had onboard any cruise ship in 25+ cruises

[jdvmd]

X permits you to bring two bottles on wine onboard per stateroom (with no corking fee).

 

Also, I should have mentioned that we also enjoyed our HAL and Princess cruises- I would sail on any of those lines again without any second thoughts.

 

You pay a $25 corkage fee per 750ml bottle if you take it to the dining room.

[mafig]

We've been on X recently.

 

We did their version of freestyle dining, I think it's called "my time" or something like that. It worked pretty well. Never a wait for us.

 

Celebrity is changing their dress codes too. I'm pretty sure that "formal" is only observed in the main dining room. So if you choose to go to the buffet that evening, you can go other places afterwards and not feel out of place. As a matter of fact, I believe the Specialty Restaurant is also smart casual on formal nights. This is new, so you might ask on the X board to make sure.

 

The food on Celebrity is still excellent. Infinity still has the T-pool. Try it! Adults only and so relaxing.

[Rochesterboatingdotcom]

We sailed the Solstice a few years back when she was new - much more upscale than any NCL ship we have been on. However, the ship goes to sleep before midnight, if you like to party all night there is not much happening.

[booklady26]

I just sailed on X's brand new Silhouette a few weeks ago in an aqua class cabin which gave us access to BLU, an open sitting main dining venue exclusive to AQ guests. Suite passengers are waitlisted based on availability and pay a $5 per person charge to dine there. It was probably the best food we have had in a non-specialty restaurant on any cruise ship in the past several years, including HAL, Cunard & Princess. It has it's own galley and food is made to order. This venue is only on Solstice class ships and X is "solticizing" many of the older ships to include AQ. I would highly recommend AQ if it's available on the Infifity when you sail. Therea few other perks which are nice too, such as priority embarkation, complimentary bottled water in your stateroom, complimentary access to the spa thermal suite and relaxtion area, among others.

 

The crew was by far the friendliest and most accomodating we've also had in a long time, beating out even HAL, which says a lot. This is not a criticism of NCL's staff or any other line, but they were just better. Frankly, I've never found any cruise ship's staff to be indifferent, as a whole. In general, most crew members are very accomodating.

 

We were on a 12 night Caribbean cruise with 3 formal nights. People did dress up on formal nights, and were smart casual other nights. I observed very few people around the ship who did not adhere to the evening's dress code.

 

Entertainment was enjoyable but was not as good as NCL.

 

Daytime activities kind of depend on what you like. Besdies the usual pool games, bingo, trivia contests, etc, X offered a lot of enrichment lectures and seminars which I found a welcome change.

[Turtles06]

OP: we've been on five cruises with NCL; we love the entire freestyle dining concept as well as the "relaxed" dress codes. But we are heading off in a few months on our first cruise with Celebrity, as we've wanted to try that line.

 

I would encourage you to spend some time reading on the CC Celebrity board, to get a "feel" for Celebrity. Just from what I've read, I think the biggest differences (for us at least) will be the dress code -- 3 formal nights on our 13-night TA. (Two on a 7-night cruise!) And by formal, even if you aren't wearing a tux or a gown, they mean far more dressed up than I'd normally be on a cruise. And if you read the Celebrity boards, a lot of their fans are really into the dressing up. (We decided we are willing to do this for this cruise, and see how we like it.) Even the non-formal nights are "smart casual."

 

The other major difference is the dining. You either pick one of two "traditional" set dining times, or you go with "select," which is Celebrity's version of anytime dining. How well that works in practice I don't know.

 

So I throw that info out there with the caveat that we haven't sailed on X yet, but I have been spending a great deal of time on the X board.

 

We are very excited about our upcoming cruise on X.... (but not looking forward to packing the dressy clothes! :))

[cruznwine]

We went on the Celebrity Mercury (it's been sold to a German Cruise Line since then) on a 7-day cruise to Alaska in July 2009 and brought our son (then 19) and our daughter and her friend (both 14). There were plenty of people all ages on the ship. We booked a Sky Suite for us and our son and an inside cabin for the girls. Friends who joined us booked a Concierge level cabin. They had a standing joke all week that whatever perk they got ours was better because we were in the suite, such as sparkling wine for them and champagne for us. It was true to a small degree, but the bottom line is that the perks for both cabins were enjoyable and worth the price.

 

The butler's supervisor met with us after a few days in to ask how things were going, how the butler was doing and made suggestions of more we could request (such as chocolate covered strawberries) from our butler for the remainder of the cruise. She wanted to be certain we felt pampered and if anything had gone wrong, she wanted to fix it immediately before the week was too far gone!

 

As for the dress, I just looked back at our photos and most of the time we were in jeans and t-shirts or polo shirts and sweaters or sweatshirts. Most nights we changed for dinner and the show to make it more of an event (sort of a night out), but many in the dining room were in jeans. Several of the passengers didn't even dress up for the formal night. I think it was listed as optional, but we thought it was fun to make that one night a little more special. We didn't wear tuxes and gowns, but rather suits and cocktail length dresses.

 

I don't remember the dining room having open seating times for dinner, but I do remember the arrival time being a broad range. Often, the kids ate from the buffet or the grill and popped in to say hello. We always had the same table and room for them if they decided to join us for a course or two. It wasn't as flexible as freestyle dining appears to be (our first NCL cruise will be this March), but it worked fine for us.

 

The entertainment was good to excellent, depending on the night. We enjoyed most shows and they were a good length. Our son, who is studying Musical Theater, is a bit more critical and he went as far as deciding which specific performers were top-notch and which ones shouldn't renew their contract...ha,ha...but I know he enjoyed the shows, particularly the Broadway review.

 

Announcements were loud and annoying, as they tend to be on all cruises. But there weren't too many, so it wasn't a big deal. It wouldn't really be a cruise without the chime and the occasional hello from the Cruise Director!

 

Staying in the Sky Suite gave us unlimited entrance to the spa with the Thalasso pool and other relaxing features. We went various times of day and hardly ever saw anyone there. We encouraged our friends to purchase day passes and they thought it was worthwhile. We truly felt as though we had a personal spa!

 

Overall, I had no complaints, which says a lot, because I am picky and I tend to have high expectations. Looking back, it was probably one of the best cruises we've had thus far, especially in terms of service. Based on all I've read on these boards, I look forward to trying out NCL. We've booked an Owner's Suite on the Pearl (mostly due to our wonderful experience in the suite on Celebrity), so I am hoping she lives up to expectations.

[crusinmama22]

If you like to do things in the evening this may not be your cruise as mentioned before the ship goes to sleep early. That did not bother me but my kids 26 and 24 at the time did not find that they liked this cruise line at all. They both would not sail with celebrity again.

 

Hope you enjoy what ever you decide -- it all depend on the type of cruise you are looking for.

[teacher_md]

Celebrity is my other favorite cruise line besides NCL. They are quite different in some ways.

- NCL's entertainment and nightlife are livelier and more fun.

- Celebrity's food in the main dining room is better.

- Celebrity's ships are more elegant and have better atriums.

- Celebrity's service is more polished.

- NCL passengers seem a bit more down to earth.

- Celebrity passengers tend to dress up a bit more, but like other posters have mentioned, they have even become less formal over the years.

- NCL's variety of upcharge restaurants is extensive and it can be fun to dine in different venues.

 

I love both companies for different reasons. My husband kind of prefers the nightlife and FUN vibe of NCL so we have been booking more regularly with NCL. NCL food is fine and the service is good. I am dying to get on to one of the Solstice class ships... but they tend to be a little more expensive and we are watching the budget.

 

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions. Again - just my opinion :)

-aj

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

I've been on X Mercury & Infinity as well as NCL Star & Epic (& other lines too).

I really like both lines & would go by itinerary first.

 

What I do like about X is the champagne welcome onboard, the great food & very accomodating waitstaff & that they bring the actual desserts out to show you.

One night I chose a different dessert than the one others at my table had raved about so asked if they'd be having that again & the next night the waiter brought us all a piece of that apple tartin. I also asked if they'd be serving beef tartar on the voyage as it's something I've wanted to try for years. Next night beef tartar for the table much to the dismay of most.;)

X also had a couple of very interesting speakers on the Alaska Infinity cruise.

 

I noticed that NCL had the cool towels welcoming you back onboard once this time in the Caribbean which X also does.

 

Infinity is a beautiful ship, one of the top ten I believe I read in some book.Watch out for the little portholes in the DR floor near the window, they scared me the 1st time I saw them.;)

 

I was really impressed with NCL too, especially the entertainment & the food was pretty good too.

 

Boy I wish I was cruising again soon!:o

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[DMH15]

I am a huge fan of NCL. But my second fqvorite is X. Even though they are very different in many ways, I celebrate the differences. Loved the food on X, and here's why... They had a small spa kiosk which had wonderful healthy breakfast and lunch. They had great sushi each day at 6 pm (no charge). It seemed like a group Of us were there several times during the week. Probably the thing that blew me away the most was a fancy dinner at Normandie. The food, service and ambience was nothing short of exceptional. Where I love the ease of dressing freestyle on NCL I also do enjoy dressing up. So, it's just a matter of planning and packing for it. I thought X's bingo was much better than NCL, cheaper, more games, better payouts and more fun. Don't know if you smoke but X has a much stricter smoking restriction. In fact their casino is smoke free.

 

Ok, I cruised the NCL Sun from Santiago to BA. All I can say is WOW! If you liked Alaska for it's majestic beauty, just wait! We flew to Chile on American. I tried like heck to use miles for first class but ended up in coach. I am claustrophobic and never sleep on planes so right off the bat felt squished. The guy reclined his seat in front of me before take off. I talked to folks on the plane who were going on X Infinity. I learned they could each take 2 wine on for free. We compared itineraries and I was glad we had Falkland Islands they skipped it. We adored it. It seems like we were in many ports at the same time and I met a lot of folks and compared notes. Their outdoor dining area looked very nice and relaxing. Everyone I talked to spoke very well of their experience on the Infinity.

 

I also do not think, if I recall correctly, that X offers an Antarctic Landing excursion. I did it on NCL and it is one of the greatest days of my life. But, if X doesn't offer it, you must do one of the excursions to the penguins. Try and get one with fewer people. That was what made it so unique. They came right up to us. I got so many magnificent pictures.

 

Also, are you going out of Chile? There was a reciprocity fee when we did and there were several people fined on our cruise who had commercially sealed nuts. The fine? $200!!!! Cash!!!! What a racket.

 

Our first ports in Chile were so-so. I adored Montevideo. Spent way too much money in an art gallery. And in Puerto Madryn bought awesome leather. This cruise is a shopper's paradise.

 

And... The fjords!??? You will be blown away! We had an aft balcony and missed nothing. Awesome pictures.

 

The food, especially beef, in Argentina was incredible.

 

I adored this cruise. My favorite one yet. I hope you go and live it too!!!

[jdarch]

Celebrity is my other favorite cruise line besides NCL. They are quite different in some ways.

- NCL's entertainment and nightlife are livelier and more fun.

- Celebrity's food in the main dining room is better.

- Celebrity's ships are more elegant and have better atriums.

- Celebrity's service is more polished.

- NCL passengers seem a bit more down to earth.

- Celebrity passengers tend to dress up a bit more, but like other posters have mentioned, they have even become less formal over the years.

- NCL's variety of upcharge restaurants is extensive and it can be fun to dine in different venues.

 

I love both companies for different reasons. My husband kind of prefers the nightlife and FUN vibe of NCL so we have been booking more regularly with NCL. NCL food is fine and the service is good. I am dying to get on to one of the Solstice class ships... but they tend to be a little more expensive and we are watching the budget.

 

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions. Again - just my opinion :)

-aj

 

I'd like to add just a couple of my favorite things about Celebrity...I also loved my cruises on NCL...the smoking on NCL really bothered me

...better on Celebrity..also my dh and I enjoyed the T pool on the Summit...it's free with the price of your ticket:p