Celebrity cruiser thinking about trying NCL in a suite

[avp1234]

Hi. We love Celebrity. The food, the ambience etc. We always do a reg balcony.

I've read NCL has a really good suite experience with specialty dining included. We are foodies and love Celebrities specialty restaurants. If you done both, can you can compare or give your opinion? Also concerned about the number of kids on NCL. I love kids, but on vaca I need a break.

[Turtles06]

We've sailed on NCL and Celebrity, and have enjoyed our cruises on both. I think Celebrity is a cut above NCL. Regarding NCL, what ship(s) are you interested in?

[cruise4kicks]

For food? X, hands down.

[nilesmom22]

I think I prefer Celebrity but I was in suite there last time. I think NCL is worth a try but only if you're in the Haven. We loved the Haven but not so much the other parts of the ship. The food was not as good EXCEPT in the Haven restaurant. I would cruise either again but with a slight edge to the Haven.

[Traveling Fools]

I think I prefer Celebrity but I was in suite there last time. I think NCL is worth a try but only if you're in the Haven. We loved the Haven but not so much the other parts of the ship. The food was not as good EXCEPT in the Haven restaurant. I would cruise either again but with a slight edge to the Haven.

 

Having sailed both X and NCL many times mostly in suites, I have to agree with nilesmom. The Haven is super. However, if you book a suite on X you have access to Michael's Club (Free drinks, including bottled water) and Luminae (Celebrity's suites only restaurant). Luminae's menu is more expansive than the Haven's restaurant.

[Two Wheels Only]

Which NCL ship are you considering?

[VideoTech]

Hi. We love Celebrity. The food, the ambience etc. We always do a reg balcony.

I've read NCL has a really good suite experience with specialty dining included. We are foodies and love Celebrities specialty restaurants. If you done both, can you can compare or give your opinion? Also concerned about the number of kids on NCL. I love kids, but on vaca I need a break.

 

We have done both Celebrity and NCL suites. In our opinion (except for one area) NCL suite life is far better than Celebrity. The Haven on the larger NCL ships is wonderful, with it's own plunge pool, private sundeck, hot tubs and available spa treatments. The Concierge and Butler service is second to none, and will truly spoil you.

 

We also feel that most NCL suites are more comfortable than the comparable Celebrity suites.

 

So, the one area where Celebrity beats NCL? You already mentioned it: Food. Celebrity's suite restaurant beats the NCL Haven restaurants hands down. It's not that the Haven restaurant food isn't good...it is uniformly excellent. But the biggest issue is that the NCL Haven restaurant does not change their menu at all during a 7 day cruise. That's ok for breakfast, not too bad for lunch, but it can mean you will run out of dinner choices on a 7 day cruise unless you mix in some of the NCL specialty restaurants. There's nothing wrong with that...but we were totally impressed with the Celebrity suite restaurant and the wide ranging menus it provides. NCL needs to take note.

 

We came away with the same conclusion you've expressed: Celebrity suite life is a "foodie" cruise.

 

As for the number of kids, I didn't find Celebrity and NCL to be any different. All the mainstream cruise lines cater to families and family vacations, and on any given cruise, there will be a lot of kids. Perhaps this is another area where the NCL Haven facilities win out over Celebrity: The Haven usually tends to be more quiet, adult retreat, particularly on the larger NCL ships. Of course, there can always be unruly kids in the Haven too...but in all our Haven cruises that's usually the exception, not the rule.