Musings and comparisons - I tried NCL

[Viva_la_Vida]

Now our plan (since we live in NYC) is to basically only book NCL last minute when we can get a deal on the Haven. Though we do want to try the beer bar on the Escape out of Miami (I think it's similar to what Michael's clube USED to be) since we are big beer snobs. We will still probably book that as last minute as airfare allows and only go in the Haven.

 

 

Ugh, I loved Michael's club in its original form! I agree, the beer bar on Escape sounds awesome!

 

I didn't even bother mentioning beer because I didn't like any of it. I'm a beer snob as well.

[Fluffy97]

I found it very helpful as it is my wife and I's 20 year Anniversary. We are in our mid to late 40's and its our 1st cruise, when we started looking I wanted to go on Celebrity and she wanted to NCL. So naturally we started looking towards NCL and found the "Free" stuff listed in the the website disappeared when we were ready to book unless we were willing to cough more dough, all i wanted was reasonable drink package (I'm a beer drinker and she likes wine). She reached out to a friend who moonlights as Travel agent and they couldn't make NCL budge for a reasonable price. So I suggested they see what X will do and we found we could trade our Balcony room on NCL and go with an Ocean View and the classic drink package on Celebrity and stay on budget. Will be on the Summit on July 24th and we can't wait. After reading your review I can see we dodged a bullet.

[grandgeezer]

Thanks so much for your thoughts.

 

It confirmed we made the right choice in canceling our NCL Escape rez a few months ago.

 

I would not cruise NCL for just the difference in the "free" beverage pkg. You cannot classify a free incentive as one unless it is really free. That would've gotten my panties in a wad right there.:mad:

 

If you believe the beverage package on Celebrity is free then you must still believe in the Easter bunny and the tooth fairy.

[Derek King]

My wife and I are in our late 30s and have been on a few ncl, x and princess cruises. We often do ncl cause of casino deals and also options leaving from nyc.

 

I think your comparison it spot on. People just need to realize what's important to them and know what to expect.

 

We really like the bright/loud colors on ncl. But think the food/service is better/higher end on celebrity.

 

We are going on summit next week and was really debating between that and breakaway. Overall like the celebrity experience better and price was close and less addons since we end up going to specialty rests on ncl and don't feel the need to on X

 

Just wish celebrity would have more nyc options/newer ships here

 

 

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[RickT]

Many thanks for the comparison. It's been over a decade since we were last on NCL and we were looking for some comments. Sounds like all things being somewhat equal we'll stick with Celebrity.

 

And a good thing for you that was your declared preference. We were on the Equinox last summer and one of the CC family dared to do a comparison stating she preferred another line. The loyal Celebrity folks didn't like that even though she stated many times it was her opinion.....

Edited July 13, 2016 by RickT

[Still Dreaming]

We go between ncl and celebrity! I find the port I want to try and go from there. This year it is ncl dawn out of New Orleans. Last year and 2018, the summit out of San Juan. We did the getaway in 2015 and absolutely loved it!!!! Loved all the open air seating for bars and restaurants. We did summit out of San Juan in 2014, and loved the martini bar!!!

 

We will probably never sail in the haven or Aqua, the price difference is too much from a balcony. We also sailed in the sweet sixteen on summit but we only used the same space as what the getaway had. There were no loungers to enjoy the huge space. Granted we could maneuver around each other better in the sweet sixteen.

 

There have been a lot of changes on both lines in the last few years, I am getting very intrigued with carnivals new ships! Reading reviews on the Vista!!

 

I don't want to be married to any one cruise line. The people who do seem to get very disappointed when it isn't the same every Time!!

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for the great review. I love comparison reviews. Please do come back and write a review of your Disney cruise. :):):)

[SuiteTraveler]

Viva la Vida, Thanks for the great comparison of NCL to Celebrity. I want to mention to you that the Breakaway is a lot different than the Getaway or Escape or Epic - not in design or amenities, but in its vibe. Breakaway just has a completely different vibe than the other NCL ships - one I didn't like nearly as much as even Jade - in fact, I prefer the other ships over Breakaway. I think had you been in a The Haven Spa Suite, you would have been wowed by NCL - that's where these ships become much more comparable to Celebrity and even better to some extent. I have never been in a regular cabin on NCL - only in The Haven. That really is a great experience, but I have to agree with you about the food - except for The Haven Restaurant and Le Bistro, the food on NCL is not comparable to Celebrity. The Spa is a lot better on NCL, IMO. I don't care about pool decks - don't really want to be in the sun - so I avoid that area. But even the casino on Breakaway was a downer - smelled horrible from cigarette smoke - no getting away from it.

[rkaratsu]

Hi Viva. I was going to ask a question of the X board but before I did, your post answered many questions that I had! Basically, I was curious about X vs. NCL (although more specifically in my case the X suite experience as compared to the NCL Haven which I did in April.)

 

FWIW, I was *very* impressed with the Haven experience in that I thought the Haven restaurant and service were excellent. And being in the self-contained Haven "bubble" (if you chose to do this) is certainly nice if you want to avoid the masses. I also did like the "Rock of Ages" show (the production values were excellent) and yes, I thought Ocean Blue (along with Teppanyaki and surprisingly, the O'Sheehans sports bar) were really good restaurants (at least as far as cruise ship eateries go although if there were an Ocean Blue restaurant on shore, I would definitely try it.)

 

But at the risk of hijacking this thread, I did have a couple of other questions that experienced X cruisers might be able to answer (and if I am guilty of hijacking, I will start a new thread):

 

- If anyone has tried the NCL Haven restaurant and also X's Luminae (sp?), how do they stack up? (I guess you could also throw in Michael's Club and other X suite perks vs. the Haven into the equation.)

 

- And when it comes to "value" (yes, I realize this can be subjective), I am not very familiar with Celebrity/RCCL (other than doing the first "Top Chef" cruise") but is $3K p/p for a Suite GTY for a 14 day cruise to Thailand/Vietnam (on the Constellation) a bargain? The reason I ask is because I did put down a deposit on this (as soon as I did, I was assigned a cabin) and when factoring in that I will also receive the premium drink package (this is a benefit that I will certainly abuse...), pre-paid gratuities, unlimited Internet *and* a nice OBC, this sounds like an amazing value. Yes, I realize that out of the 14 days, only about half are shore days and I do have to fly out to Singapore but doing the math, it still seems like per day, this cruise seems like a bargain. Am I missing/overlooking something?...

 

Thanks!

 

RK

[fshagan]

Thanks for the comparison! We have sailed Disney, Princess and NCL, and are considering X for our next cruise. Probably after the New Year.

 

We like NCL quite a bit in comparison to both DCL and Princess but we find the changes on NCL a concern. You just never know when they will change something on you. To be honest, all of the changes have been "small stuff" to us, and if you look at all the other lines most of the changes have been implemented by at least one of them too. But NCL has had a slew of changes and I thought they were finished ... and then the water / soda ban came into being. I think they saw Carnival did something similar and jumped to do it too. They are trying their best to take every bad idea from every line and combine them all into one cruise line.

 

NCL charges about 2x the price you can get the equivalent brand and size of water at Costco, so the hit isn't as big as some people make it out to be (NCL supplies 1 liter bottles of Aquafina). I can live with that if the overall cruise cost is reasonable.

 

The NCL beverage plan covers drinks up to $14 instead of the $6 limit, if I have that right, on X. And most all drinks are below that level. If you have a drink that costs $15 you pay $1.18 for it (the difference between the upper limit and the price, plus 18% gratuity). We don't drink enough to make the "free" beverage plan work for us ... the 18% gratuity is more than our liquor bill when we don't have a plan!

 

Those comments aside I really enjoyed your review and comparison. I think you did a great job of comparing them and we're looking forward to our experiment trying out X.

[AdoraBelle]

Quick commentary, have been on NCL Getaway and Celebrity Eclipse in the last six months.

 

I found food to be better on the Getaway, especially the buffet. The Eclipse buffet had a few perks like scones in the afternoon and sushi before dinner, but it also had roast beef that could not be sawed through. The scooped ice cream on NCL was creamy; on the Eclipse it was like ice milk (if anyone remembers what that is). Just a few examples. It was my second time on the GA and I felt like NCL had stepped up their food game.

 

I'm generation X and not a partier at all, and I take solo cruises for alone time, and writing. Before I sailed on the Eclipse, I believed the "no nightlife" thing wouldn't affect me. Then I sat through some of Celeb's "entertainment". And I discovered that even though I don't need to stay up all night drinking, the higher-energy vibe on the GA made my cruise much more fun.

 

I loved both the Solarium and the Thermal Spa. The Solarium wins for being free, I suppose, but I missed the jets in the pool.

 

I'm not loyal to any cruise line (I'm trying Princess next), and I strongly dislike NCL's current strategies. But there's no escaping the fact that I had more *fun* (and gained more weight) on the Getaway than on the Eclipse.

[Muushka]

Viva la Vida, I really enjoyed reading your comparison. I'll look for your DCL review.

Last month we were contemplating going on Epic in Nov (talk about an ugly ship!:eek:)

Drinks package, great! Free specialty dining for a couple of nights, great!

BUT...like you said, you have to pay grats for these things. My husband doesn't drink alcohol and he would have to pay (if I remember correctly) $100 for 7 nights. For soda. And for me, who loves the grape, I read on several threads that the wine that they offered on this package was not good and you couldn't even pay an up-charge for a better glass. What the heck?? Then no specialty coffees. What?? Then I read that you had to pay extra for room service (if ordering more than a continental breakfast). What??

 

That did it for me. I nixed that cruise. :D

[Viva_la_Vida]

I found it very helpful as it is my wife and I's 20 year Anniversary. We are in our mid to late 40's and its our 1st cruise, when we started looking I wanted to go on Celebrity and she wanted to NCL. So naturally we started looking towards NCL and found the "Free" stuff listed in the the website disappeared when we were ready to book unless we were willing to cough more dough, all i wanted was reasonable drink package (I'm a beer drinker and she likes wine). She reached out to a friend who moonlights as Travel agent and they couldn't make NCL budge for a reasonable price. So I suggested they see what X will do and we found we could trade our Balcony room on NCL and go with an Ocean View and the classic drink package on Celebrity and stay on budget. Will be on the Summit on July 24th and we can't wait. After reading your review I can see we dodged a bullet.

 

You'll love the Summit! Enjoy a wonderful anniversary and first cruise!

[Viva_la_Vida]

Hi Viva. I was going to ask a question of the X board but before I did, your post answered many questions that I had! Basically, I was curious about X vs. NCL (although more specifically in my case the X suite experience as compared to the NCL Haven which I did in April.)

 

FWIW, I was *very* impressed with the Haven experience in that I thought the Haven restaurant and service were excellent. And being in the self-contained Haven "bubble" (if you chose to do this) is certainly nice if you want to avoid the masses. I also did like the "Rock of Ages" show (the production values were excellent) and yes, I thought Ocean Blue (along with Teppanyaki and surprisingly, the O'Sheehans sports bar) were really good restaurants (at least as far as cruise ship eateries go although if there were an Ocean Blue restaurant on shore, I would definitely try it.)

 

But at the risk of hijacking this thread, I did have a couple of other questions that experienced X cruisers might be able to answer (and if I am guilty of hijacking, I will start a new thread):

 

- If anyone has tried the NCL Haven restaurant and also X's Luminae (sp?), how do they stack up? (I guess you could also throw in Michael's Club and other X suite perks vs. the Haven into the equation.)

 

- And when it comes to "value" (yes, I realize this can be subjective), I am not very familiar with Celebrity/RCCL (other than doing the first "Top Chef" cruise") but is $3K p/p for a Suite GTY for a 14 day cruise to Thailand/Vietnam (on the Constellation) a bargain? The reason I ask is because I did put down a deposit on this (as soon as I did, I was assigned a cabin) and when factoring in that I will also receive the premium drink package (this is a benefit that I will certainly abuse...), pre-paid gratuities, unlimited Internet *and* a nice OBC, this sounds like an amazing value. Yes, I realize that out of the 14 days, only about half are shore days and I do have to fly out to Singapore but doing the math, it still seems like per day, this cruise seems like a bargain. Am I missing/overlooking something?...

 

Thanks!

 

RK

 

I'm so glad I could help and I hope you can get answers to your other questions. Sounds like a great trip!

[Viva_la_Vida]

Viva la Vida, Thanks for the great comparison of NCL to Celebrity. I want to mention to you that the Breakaway is a lot different than the Getaway or Escape or Epic - not in design or amenities, but in its vibe. Breakaway just has a completely different vibe than the other NCL ships - one I didn't like nearly as much as even Jade - in fact, I prefer the other ships over Breakaway. I think had you been in a The Haven Spa Suite, you would have been wowed by NCL - that's where these ships become much more comparable to Celebrity and even better to some extent. I have never been in a regular cabin on NCL - only in The Haven. That really is a great experience, but I have to agree with you about the food - except for The Haven Restaurant and Le Bistro, the food on NCL is not comparable to Celebrity. The Spa is a lot better on NCL, IMO. I don't care about pool decks - don't really want to be in the sun - so I avoid that area. But even the casino on Breakaway was a downer - smelled horrible from cigarette smoke - no getting away from it.

 

That's so interesting about the different Vibe on the other ships. I'm so happy to know that because until Celebrity starts sailing the caribbean in the summer, we'll have to do another line! We can't afford to fly up to NYC every year on top of cruise fare and since I'm a teacher and my husband's calendar conflicts with my school schedule, summer is our best option for going on a trip together!

 

You're so right about the casino. I didn't think to mention that, but the smoke is overwhelming. And I saw lots of kids walking through it because without going up or down a floor, you have to.

[Viva_la_Vida]

[quote name='Derek King']My wife and I are in our late 30s and have been on a few ncl, x and princess cruises. We often do ncl cause of casino deals and also options leaving from nyc.

I think your comparison it spot on. People just need to realize what's important to them and know what to expect.

We really like the bright/loud colors on ncl. But think the food/service is better/higher end on celebrity.

We are going on summit next week and was really debating between that and breakaway. Overall like the celebrity experience better and price was close and less addons since we end up going to specialty rests on ncl and don't feel the need to on X

Just wish celebrity would have more nyc options/newer ships here


Sent from my iPhone using [url=https://siteowners.tapatalk.com/byo/displayAndDownloadByoApp?rid=76452]Forums[/url][/QUOTE]

You're so right, expectation directly impacts your enjoyment! I will have fun on any cruise. We had an awesome time on the BA but it was just different than X. I did a lot of research before and knew what to expect and that helped a lot.

I also wish there were some other ships in the NYC area but my biggest wish is that X would have a caribbean itinerary in the summer months. My teacher budget can't afford to go to Alaska, or overseas to Europe to do any of the fabulous Mediterranean sailings, at least not on any kind of a regular yearly basis. Even flying out to NYC is pushing it every two years! At least we have friends to stay with in the area. We used to live in NYC and love staying there and revisiting some of our old haunts. :)

[Viva_la_Vida]

[quote name='Chunky2219']Many, many thanks for the comparison.

I looked last year to book some Haven suites for the family and was pondering again this year. But an ultimate beverage package that isn't, plus the outright gouging of not allowing water and soft drinks to be brought aboard means that I won't even bother with a cursory enquiry. There's nothing positive in the rest of your review that would attract me to NCL so I'm immensly grateful for you taking the time to report.


.[/QUOTE]

You're so welcome, glad I could help! We had a great time, a truly awesome vacation, but it was different than X. It wouldn't be for all people for sure. It's good to have a clear sense of what works for you and what doesn't. :)

[cachouonacruise]

Thank-you very much for the comparison between Celebrity and NCL. DW and I have cruised on RCCL and Holland America. Your review enhance our excitement to try X next year (repo cruise Hawaii to Vancouver) and will definitely help narrow the field for our subsequent cruise! This said, I agree with previous comments to the effect that, the ship's itinerary, the ship itself are also important factors to consider, in addition to the cruise line.

[Viva_la_Vida]

[quote name='cachouonacruise']Thank-you very much for the comparison between Celebrity and NCL. DW and I have cruised on RCCL and Holland America. Your review enhance our excitement to try X next year (repo cruise Hawaii to Vancouver) and will definitely help narrow the field for our subsequent cruise! This said, I agree with previous comments to the effect that,[COLOR="Red"] the ship's itinerary, the ship itself are also important factors to consider, in addition to the cruise line.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Absolutely! That's part of the reason we wanted to try something new ship-wise since the itinerary for this trip was exactly the same as our 2014 trip.

Itinerary is so important in thinking of value and price. As I mentioned in response to others, I will unfortunately not be able to sail X a lot in the summer since my location in Georgia makes the Caribbean most affordable for us. We can drive to Charleston, Jax, Canaveral, Tampa, and New Orleans in 6-8 hours and flights to MIA and FLL are not too pricey if we didn't want to drive to those busy ports. I'm sure we'll end up trying lots of lines. I just hope we can find one we love as much as X!

[Host Jazzbeau]

[quote name='fshagan']The NCL beverage plan covers drinks up to $14 instead of the $6 limit, if I have that right, on X. And most all drinks are below that level. If you have a drink that costs $15 you pay $1.18 for it (the difference between the upper limit and the price, plus 18% gratuity). We don't drink enough to make the "free" beverage plan work for us ... the 18% gratuity is more than our liquor bill when we don't have a plan![/QUOTE]

The NCL plan is comparable to Celebrity's [B]Premium[/B] Beverage package: all drinks up to $13, then pay only the difference.

[mickeysgal]

Good solid comparison, thanks.

Been on both S-class Celebrity ships and NCL (3x). Each have their place. Sailed in suites on NCL and they do suites well. It is a different experience.

We just booked an Alaska sailing back on NCL...why? They're one of a few allowed into Glacier Bay (NCL, HAL, Princess). It was a toss up between Princess and NCL but chose NCL because it is a bit more laid back and this works for my elderly mother and aunt.

I'm not a fan of the NCL ship designs...very limited in public spaces. S-class Celebrity has loads of places to sit back and relax. Nothing beats Cafe al Bacio in my opinion. No specialty coffees are included in NCL's drink package...another fail.

Comparing food between NCL and Celebrity. Overall Celebrity wins but I'll have to say La Bistro on NCL is my all time favorite specialty restaurant...even over Moderno on Celebrity. They can cook a steak right - consistently visit after vist. Last month in Moderno...they got it way wrong. Moderno is a lot of fluff and ta-da's...

As far as the free drink package...yes they're charging a 99.00 service charge on NCL and Celebrity doesn't charge this. But nothing is ever free...it's just the way it's presented either as an extra charge or rolled into the base cruise price. Don't be fooled. But NCL did shoot themselves in the foot with this bottled water fiasco. If anything is going to push me to Princess for Alaska...it is this. Edited July 14, 2016 by mickeysgal

[njaloha]

AWESoME comp! Thanks for posting.

One of the main reasons we sail Celebrity is AQ class and the balcony furniture. Yes, that's how we pick a cruise - balcony furniture.

We haven't been back to NCL since 2005 - been X ever since. We're tempted by Gem and Breakaway, which are two completely different ships, but they both sail out of NYC. I looked at the balconies on Breakaway and read the reviews and decided, nope, balconies are too small, as you said, teeny tiny.

Cafe Al BAcio can't sail without the starbucks of the sea for my DH. Another reason we can't sail any other cruise line! :eek:

You got me with the food thing...:D

Enjoy your Disney Cruise - Disney knows how to treat children of ALL ages. DH and I were seriously considering one just for the disney experience but it's twice the price. :cool:

[Muushka]

[quote name='Host Jazzbeau']The NCL plan is comparable to Celebrity's [B]Premium[/B] Beverage package: all drinks up to $13, then pay only the difference.[/quote]

From what I understand (only by reading the NCL boards here on CC, not personal experience) someone like myself would find the 'free' $99 package useless. I only drink chardonnay and from what I understand they only had 1 kind and you could not even pay extra for a better glass. Was that an urban legend? I would have done the cruise if I could have a decent glass of wine.

[sbt518]

[quote name='Host Jazzbeau']The NCL plan is comparable to Celebrity's [B]Premium[/B] Beverage package: all drinks up to $13, then pay only the difference.[/quote]

BUT the NCL plan does not include coffee or water which, to me, is a huge negative.

[ECCruise]

[quote name='Muushka']From what I understand (only by reading the NCL boards here on CC, not personal experience) someone like myself would find the 'free' $99 package useless. I only drink chardonnay and from what I understand they only had 1 kind and you could not even pay extra for a better glass. Was that an urban legend? I would have done the cruise if I could have a decent glass of wine.[/QUOTE]

Urban legend. Spent 34 days on NCL in the last couple of months and did not find that the case. And, the maximum with the package is $15, not $13 or $14.