NCL versus CELBRITY. Which is better????

[portcbob]

Hi Fellow Cruisers.

 

Have sailed on the Norwegian Jade recently in the Eastern Med and loved it a lot. Just wondering about jumping ship to the Celebrity Silhouette for our next Med Cruise in 2015. Not so sure about Celebrity although their ships look great. Is there much difference between these cruise lines??????

 

Cheers and Thanks. Bob.:):):)

[GORDONCHICK]

I love both lines, with Norwegian nosing out. Celebrity is understated elegance (though I haven't been on their newer ships). I will say that if you book suites, NCL wins out on perks. X is more formal, some would say stuffier but I would say more reserved instead. We found the service to be very good on X, but way more friendly on NCL. I would give a nod to NCL for entertainment and variety of dining venues. Also, NCL does the flexible dining much better than anyone else. I would LOVE to try the new X ships, though.

[Macadian]

Depending on how much smoking bothers you (if at all) you might prefer 'X', the main reason we are giving 'X' a try this time round after a few cruises with NCL & HAL (which we enjoyed). We have no complaints with either other than their smoking policies. We look forward to comparing 'X' in February. :)

[vermilch]

Hi Fellow Cruisers.

 

Have sailed on the Norwegian Jade recently in the Eastern Med and loved it a lot. Just wondering about jumping ship to the Celebrity Silhouette for our next Med Cruise in 2015. Not so sure about Celebrity although their ships look great. Is there much difference between these cruise lines??????

 

Cheers and Thanks. Bob.:):):)

 

We are big fans of NCL. We have never been on the Jade but we enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of NCL. You don't have to get dressed up for dinner and there are no set dining times. We have cruised on the Silhouette and it is a beautiful newer ship with set dining times. I am sure you would enjoy either cruise.

[ECCruise]

Hi Fellow Cruisers.

 

Have sailed on the Norwegian Jade recently in the Eastern Med and loved it a lot. Just wondering about jumping ship to the Celebrity Silhouette for our next Med Cruise in 2015. Not so sure about Celebrity although their ships look great. Is there much difference between these cruise lines??????

 

Cheers and Thanks. Bob.:):):)

 

We find the 2 lines are fairly different, although obviously there are similarities. We've done 20 cruises on Celebrity and 10 on NCL over the last 10 years or so, so we have seen changes in both. Our take:

 

Food: Overall, Celebrity wins hands down, especially if you are only considering the main dining room(s). More specialty restaurant choices on NCL and those are more reasonably priced. Contrary to what has been posted here, Celebrity does NOT only have set dining...Select Dining (when you want) has been around for years, or you can do traditional with 2 distinct dining times.

 

Ships: The Solstice class ships are stunning but don't really see a huge advantage over NCL here. The M class ships on Celebrity are getting a little long of tooth, even with "Solstistation" but still have lots of cool features.

 

Service: Yes, the service is generally friendlier on NCL, but we've found that once you get to know one of the service team on Celebrity, whether housekeeping or dining, and they see you don't need over-the-top attention, they loosen up. It is all in the training.

 

Itineraries: A toss-up. Neither shine in our opinion (Princess and HAL both are better here).

 

Can't imagine being uncomfortable on either line, frankly.

[chisoxfan]

We just got off the Jade (Penthouse suite) and will be sailing on Reflection in Jan and sailed on Eclipse previously. Obviously there is much personal prefernce involved and no "right or wrong" to your question. To us X is more upscale. The Solstice class ships are big and beautiful and IMHO a step up from NCL offerings (we recently sailed on the EPIC to compare an NCL "new" ship and did not care for it). X maintains a formal night tradition that some people enjoy. That said, NCL has the suite experience nailed down and offer it at a very attractive price. So if you asked would I rather sail NCL Jade suite vs. X Solstice Class balcony or mini suite at comparable price point I would certainly go for NCL even though the Solstice class is 'nicer'. Keep in mind though on a port intensive cruise you will not be spending as much time on the ship and it may not be as big a factor.

 

There are so many variables when choosing a cruise line (or ship) for that matter. We tend to look for the best value and feel that we will have a great time no matter who we cruise on. On the lines we have sailed and been pleased with we would rate 1. X 2) Princess 3). NCL on overall experience. Just our opinion.

[shipfriend_max]

Hi,

 

also for us it is an important question, because we plan Alaska for 2015, and we would also decide between Celebrity and NCL, and RCI...

If the same ships sail in the North/southbound Alaska cruises in 2015 as in 2014, it might be:

-CELEBRITY MILLENNIUM

-NORWEGIAN SUN

-RADIANCE OF THE SEAS

 

We already know CELEBRITY SUMMIT and we loved it - but does anyone have a recommendation which one is the best choice for Alaska?

Maybe one line has lectors and better shore-excursions than the other...

The itineraries are quite similar...:)

Edited November 24, 2013 by celebrity_fan

[HokiePoq]

I love both lines, with Norwegian nosing out. Celebrity is understated elegance (though I haven't been on their newer ships). I will say that if you book suites, NCL wins out on perks. X is more formal, some would say stuffier but I would say more reserved instead. We found the service to be very good on X, but way more friendly on NCL. I would give a nod to NCL for entertainment and variety of dining venues. Also, NCL does the flexible dining much better than anyone else. I would LOVE to try the new X ships, though.

 

 

I would agree with this assessment. I'd give the nod of food to Celebrity (unless they've changed in the past couple of years) and the nod on entertainment to NCL. Depends on cost and whether you'd enjoy Freestyle as we do (no suit required!) or like fixed, more formal dining.

The Jade is our favorite NCL ship and its crew wonderful as you know.

I'd choose based on price and itinerary.

[Imagolfnut]

Hi - just adding my 2-cents...

 

In my humble opinon:

Celebrity wins hands down for food quality and presentation,

but NCL wins for crew friendliness and overall service.

Royal C is good overall.

 

We sailed on Celebrity Silhouette two years ago and it was fabulous! So, between these three lines, it's a toss-up, depending on what you're looking for and where you're going. Depending on itinerary, I'd pick any of them.

 

I have never sailed Princess, and probably will never try Carnival; also, had a really lousy experience on Holland America.

Edited November 24, 2013 by Imagolfnut

[newmexicoNita]

Hi Fellow Cruisers.

 

Have sailed on the Norwegian Jade recently in the Eastern Med and loved it a lot. Just wondering about jumping ship to the Celebrity Silhouette for our next Med Cruise in 2015. Not so sure about Celebrity although their ships look great. Is there much difference between these cruise lines??????

 

Cheers and Thanks. Bob.:):):)

 

Bob, we have been on Celebrity 3 times, 1 was wonderful, one good and one not so good. In many ways all mass marketed lines are alike, but they each have a special personality. Celebrity loyalists are like Princess loyalist, they can be very outspoken about who bad every other line is. That being said, they are a good line.. If you like a casual attitude with friendly crew and a good mixture of cruisers you will probably find Celebrity a little uptight. If you do want the beautiful ships with a little more formality, Celebrity would be a good choice. As for cabins, you will find them similar. As for food, most will say the MDR food on Celebrity is better. That might be, we haven't cruised them for a few years. I will say, NCL has a better choice of specialty dining rooms and we do find the crew on NCL a little more fun and friendly.

[newmexicoNita]

I love both lines, with Norwegian nosing out. Celebrity is understated elegance (though I haven't been on their newer ships). I will say that if you book suites, NCL wins out on perks. X is more formal, some would say stuffier but I would say more reserved instead. We found the service to be very good on X, but way more friendly on NCL. I would give a nod to NCL for entertainment and variety of dining venues. Also, NCL does the flexible dining much better than anyone else. I would LOVE to try the new X ships, though.

 

You have said it perfectly and I like the word elegant. I just couldn't come up with the perfect word. I didn't what to say snotty or uptight, but I couldn't think of the perfect word to us.

[wvfrogg]

I've only been on one Celebrity cruise -- the Infinity to Alaska 6/2011. I was anxious to try it to compare with NCL. To be honest, I was disappointed. The staff kept telling us that where they excelled was food and service. That wasn't true on this trip. Once our waiter realized that we weren't ordering wine with meals, he paid absolutely no attention to us. Our table mates did order wine each night, and he literally fawned over them. I didn't understand why that made any difference to him, although it seemed to. I'm not an overly picky diner or person, you can dress me up "pretty good", I do know which fork to us, and this was the only cruise where I felt like the servers were looking down their nose at me. Choosing not to order drinks or wine should not make any difference. Perhaps the servers make more in tips from the drinks, but their attitude was questionable.

 

Whatever ... I'll continue to go NCL.

[NH Cruisers]

We sailed The Celebrity Solstice. Big awesome ship with real grass on the upper deck, kind cool. Glass blowing shop and show up on that deck too. We sailed as Aqua Class guest. It cost a little more than the standard balcony but with an upgraded stateroom bathroom, Elemis bathroom products, choice of pillows. Very nice. Also complimentary use of relaxation spa. The best of all, complimentary dinning at BLU daily. It is a specialty resturant for all others including suites, and in demand. Aqua class if you can swing it is very well worth the money just for BLU. One thing, not a downer to me, but I could understand if you are younger and energenic. The PAX were by far the oldest average of any cruise I have been on, way older even than my HAL cruise. 100's (Not kidding at all) of walkers, wheelchairs, scooters and canes. Outside the resturants all them are strored in the passageway.

 

I really did enjoy Celebrity though. If they sailed regularly from Boston I would sail them every few cruises.

 

That said, I really like NCL, they are my current favorite. I would love to go on a newer build like the Breakaway or Getaway.

 

To me IMO the selection of all them specialty resturants on NCL is what sets it apart. Real energenic and fun, good quality shows and good down to earth folks to meet and be friends with.

 

 

Jon

Edited November 24, 2013 by NH Cruisers

[mizLORInj]

Agree that Celebrity ships are elegant and I would go on any of the Solstice class ships again. Formal nights for the DR you will be expected to be dressed up (dress shirt and slacks; skirt or nice pants for women worked fine though).

BOTH NCL and Celebrity are good choices IMO.

Edited November 24, 2013 by mizlorinj

[Tiggertastic]

I love NCL and their prices for suites is fantastic compared to celebrity

 

However I would pick the Silhouette over the Jade for a med cruise - if you want to keep the freestyle feel choose select dining so you don't do set dining times and go when you want