Cruise line comparison celebrity, rcl or Norwegian

Hi, I posted this in the new cruiser section but maybe better here.

My partner and I have previously been on a Royal Caribbean cruise round the Mediterranean. We are currently looking at a cruise for our honeymoon next year, we are restricted to the last week of March and the first 2 weeks of April. We are looking at Hawaii or the Caribbean.

We are looking at a cruise with Celebrity in the Caribbean and Norwegian in Hawaii, there is also a further option of Princess in Hawaii. We have read some reports about Norwegian that seem a bit off putting and we would like to know how it might compare to our previous experience of Royal Caribbean, same with Princess and Celebrity.

We loved our Royal Caribbean trip so something of that standard would be great again. We are both 32 if that is helpful and we also like the odd night of getting dressed up and making an effort for dinner etc.

Thanks

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I was on a NCL ship the Pride of America, last year. We have been on Celebrity ships on all our other cruises. As far as the itinerary is concerned the Pride goes to several Hawaiian Islands and leaves and returns to Honolulu. I don't recall any sea days. It is easy to DIY excursions. Not sure how the Volcano is impacting any of the excursions now though. The Pride of America is the only ship that does only the Islands. We weren't too impressed with the anytime meal plan, we love the Celebrity plans that are scheduled and you sit with the same people each night., you form a connection with other cruisers. Celebrity is our cruise ship of choice. Have a fun cruise no matter what you decide.

In my opinion Celebrity is the classier of the 3 with better food and service. Norwegian has the best entertainment by far but as they offer free style cruising with no dress code people turn up for dinner in what I would call beach wear! Royal Caribbean will have more kids on board as they are aimed more at families. It all depends what you are looking for. Personally I prefer Celebrity to the other two. I would say they are more a 5 star experience and the other two 4 Star.

Have cruised with both NCL and X. Not a big fan of NCL but for Hawaii it should probably be fine.

Celebrity (X) is one of my favorite cruise lines but right up front, I'm twice your age + so, what you may be looking for in a cruise ship may be quite different than myself. Even in the Caribbean, you'll probably find the average age onboard X to be a little older than what you may have found on RCCL. There are no rock walls to climb, ice rinks, or flow riders. There is however, for me, a greater atmosphere of relaxation and refinement. My favorite ship is the Equinox but I have found all the X vessels to be beautiful and well run with friendly staff and nice cabins. Celebrity offers both traditional dining - same time and table each night, or open dining when you eat when you want which for some gives more choice. The onboard activities are varied and available but there isn't the ongoing announcements telling you to be entertained some more.

There are no formal nights anymore but designated nights when you can dress up a little or put on your tuxedos - it's up to you.

The shows are fine but of course nothing like what you find on the RCCL Allure, Oasis, or Harmony for instance.

The things I like about Celebrity are the wonderful ships, good food (usually better than RCCL, but subjective), very nice fellow passengers of all ages, the Caribbean itineraries - especially the longer Southern Caribbean, and the very nice feeling of complete relaxation.

Hope you enjoy your cruises no matter what decisions you make.

Thanks for the replies, the food is a big part for us so we are leaning towards celebrity and the thought of getting dressed up at night and making a bit more of an effort is good. We only went to one show on RCCL previously so not to fussed about that. We are more likely to spend time in the bars anyway.

Our question really came about because a couple of people had said they found NCL ship to be a bit tired and dated and the food not that great, all subjective though.

We haven't been to Hawaii or Caribbean so we'll enjoy either destination I'm sure.

If you are going on honeymoon, you might want aqua class on Celebrity for a more intimate dining experience (with better service).

All the named cruise line are situated in the mass market (I know it sounds awful, but that is what it´s called)

Royal and NCL are both very good lines in the uper half of that market. Personally I prefer Royal over NCL.

Celebrity and Princess (HAL as well) are on top within the segment. More luxurious without belonging to the luxury segment yet.

We switched to Celebrity after frequently sailing on Royal because we enjoy the more kids-free invironment (yes, there are exceptions), the more laid back atmosphere with the focus on a more loungy feeling rather than the bells & whistles of an amusement park like ship (as nice as they are). I always say: Celebrity is the grown up sister of Royal :-)

We also enjoy that people are dressed nicer without the necessity to overdress. Just a little more classy - like no shorts in the dining room etc. On Celebrity the rule is actually enforced.

Our first cruise on Celebrity was Aqua Class - which was a mistake ;-) We never went back... (the separate restaurant for AQ "BLU" is the reason why.)

Have some experience with all 3: 25 =X=, 12 NCL, 10 RCCL (and a bunch of Princess, which you also mentioned). Would sail any of the 4 again without hesitation. Spread over those sailings, from fair to excellent, I simply do not see the huge differences that some seem to find. Sure, one line may excel in one area a bit more than another, but when it all shakes out, they are still main stream cruise lines. Nowhere near 5 star or IMHO, even 4+ star.

The itineraries you are considering vary drastically, though. For Hawaii, whether NCL (which is entirely port focused) or Princess, which touches most of the bases on the islands but has loads of sea days--read relaxation) the focus is the destination. In the Caribbean, for us, the focus is more the ship (which is why we don't sail there anymore).

Given pricing considerations, if the timing fits, I would do the Princess Hawaii roundtrip. It checks all the blocks for us. And unlike both Celebrity and NCL, they still have formal nights.

Cannot comment on Hawaii cruise or NCL(but my folks have done both)...but I would cruise Princess over NCL anywhere, especially Hawaii--NCL gets lukewarm reviews there. You do that cruise to see all the Hawaiian islands, not for the ship.

Princess is our fav line--lots lots lots of activity choices. I love having things to choose from. But its been 10 years!

RCCL--Mariner MX Riviera was our least fav cruise/ship (activities lacking); Allure was our fav ship & cruise (TONS to do...guess you have to with 6K passengers)

Celebrity--It is kinda the happy medium. We continue to cruise them for the value (we are booking a balcony with drink package + other perks thrown in for what we would pay for an interior plus drinks on other lines). Service is a tick above the other lines. (heard Princess has improved in last 10 yrs). Activities aren't as plentiful as Princess or Allure but better than Mariner.

We LOVE the Caribbean (especially Southern). We traveled to Hawaii (Oahu) for the first time last fall & absolutely fell in love. I would do a Hawaiian cruise in an instant, especially Princess. Evenings are pretty chill on the island--I didn't think a cruise would work, but it SO would.

We normally cruise rccl, once or twice a year in grand suites, always found rccl to be best entertainment, not sure if it’s in your budget but we loved celebrity sky suite perks are fantastic, they have a suite restaurant with just great service and food, also a great suite lounge with free upscale drink all day, also ther is a butler , which is ok.

Thanks for the replies, the food is a big part for us so we are leaning towards celebrity and the thought of getting dressed up at night and making a bit more of an effort is good. We only went to one show on RCCL previously so not to fussed about that. We are more likely to spend time in the bars anyway.

 

Our question really came about because a couple of people had said they found NCL ship to be a bit tired and dated and the food not that great, all subjective though.

 

We haven't been to Hawaii or Caribbean so we'll enjoy either destination I'm sure.

From your response go Celebrity, ships are smaller not near the crowds, fewer children, food much better, and the best bar and bartenders at sea is the Celebrity Martini Bar. We prefer Aqua Class because we like Blu the Aqua Class dining room. Try a 10 to 14 night Caribbean Cruise you will love it!

We have done the majority of our cruises with RCI round the Med but this year we opted for the Celebrity Relfection 10 night Caribbean cruise. It was our first with them and we loved it. Most things on par with RCI, although the food was slightly worse but not anything bad. The ship was beautiful and I would say it is classier then RCI. Dressing up wise there are no formal nights any more just smart chic where anything smart goes.

I've cruised on all three. We did the NCL Hawaii cruise on Pride of Hawaii, but that was 10 years ago. Up until then, I always said that there's no such thing as a bad cruise. We disliked it so much that we never sailed NCL again. The service was horrible, the food wasn't good, and we didn't like the design of the ship. We are used to the any time dining concept, and have used it on many cruise lines, but the freestyle program on that ship just didn't work. The one advantage to this cruise is that we flew directly to Hawaii, had an overnight in Maui, and a good amount of time on the islands. Granted, it's been 10 years, and they've had a lot of time to improve things since then, but that cruise was enough for us. We love Royal Caribbean, and our next cruise will probably be a Mediterranean cruise with them. Celebrity and Princess are our favorites, but Royal has the itinerary that we are looking for this time around.

You have read many opinions, my recommendation for a longer than 7 days cruise look a Celebrity Silhouette 12 nights cruise starting March 24

I've cruised on all three. We did the NCL Hawaii cruise on Pride of Hawaii, but that was 10 years ago. Up until then, I always said that there's no such thing as a bad cruise. We disliked it so much that we never sailed NCL again. The service was horrible, the food wasn't good, and we didn't like the design of the ship. We are used to the any time dining concept, and have used it on many cruise lines, but the freestyle program on that ship just didn't work. The one advantage to this cruise is that we flew directly to Hawaii, had an overnight in Maui, and a good amount of time on the islands. Granted, it's been 10 years, and they've had a lot of time to improve things since then, but that cruise was enough for us. We love Royal Caribbean, and our next cruise will probably be a Mediterranean cruise with them. Celebrity and Princess are our favorites, but Royal has the itinerary that we are looking for this time around.

The Pride of Hawaii is not a valid comparison. It has been the NCL Jade for nearly 10 years. The Pride of America is the ship sailing in Hawaii and although the initial reviews (10 years ago) were admittedly not good, they have been much better lately.

To the OP, please consult recent information and take more than one impression (on whatever line) into consideration.

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The Pride of Hawaii is not a valid comparison. It has been the NCL Jade for nearly 10 years. The Pride of America is the ship sailing in Hawaii and although the initial reviews (10 years ago) were admittedly not good, they have been much better lately.

 

To the OP, please consult recent information and take more than one impression (on whatever line) into consideration.

 

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I stated in my review that this was 10 years ago, and that things probably have changed. He mentioned that he was considering NCL for Hawaii, so that's why I shared my experience. Pride of Hawaii and Pride of America America were both doing that itinerary at the time, similar ships with similar service. I wouldn't have even posted except that he mentioned the Hawaii cruise, which is Pride of America. I certainly hope that they have gotten their act together by now, because the little information that I shared on here doesn't begin to describe how bad it was, and we met many people at the hotel in Hawaii who had just gotten off Pride of America that were just as unhappy. It was bad enough that it was a one and done for us. We've been cruising for 26 years .

Thanks for the replies, the food is a big part for us so we are leaning towards celebrity and the thought of getting dressed up at night and making a bit more of an effort is good. We only went to one show on RCCL previously so not to fussed about that. We are more likely to spend time in the bars anyway.

 

Our question really came about because a couple of people had said they found NCL ship to be a bit tired and dated and the food not that great, all subjective though.

 

We haven't been to Hawaii or Caribbean so we'll enjoy either destination I'm sure.

If food is important, than of NCL, Royal and Celebrity.... do Celebrity.

Just thought I'd copy this here in case you didn't see it on your other similar thread.

Have not cruised on NCL so I can't offer any insight for them. However I have heard that in terms of a comparison to RCI, they are more similar than different.

However, we have been long time RCI cruisers who recently have moved to Celebrity, so I can offer some commentary there.

If you are interested, following is a link to a thread I originated comparing RCI and Celebrity after our first Celebrity cruise. I hope you find it helpful.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/show....php?t=2384894

BTW we have cruised two additional times with Celebrity since this review and have our next three booked with them as well - including a 10-night Hawaii itinerary.

We have done the Pride of America cruise twice and the itinerary is so good that it is worth forgiving small problems in my opinion. It is only a 7 day cruise but sees the 4 main islands which are awesome. It is a great way to see what each island is like and at a reasonable price.

My opinions on the different cruise lines are that they would rank in the following order:

Hal (great food but are a bit pricey for us now.)

Celebrity( good itineraries at slightly better prices than Hal)

NCL(only for Hawaii cruise)

I have heard Princess are good and would love to try them and just waiting for an itinerary that suits us. (Maybe Japan)

We haven't done Pride of America, but I know several that have enjoyed their cruise and several that thought the staff onboard provided the worst service of any NCL ship.

We have done 6 NCL, 10 Celebrity and 1 Royal C.

Celebrity is our line of choice, but each line has its advantages.

We like the Elite benefits (happy hour in particular) so we never need the drink package. The Diamond happy hour on RCI is even better.

NCL doesn't have such benefits for its Platinum members, but they do provide a free specialty dinner for two with a bottle of wine.

Also, NCL has better entertainment than Celebrity and close to par with RCI.

Dining is generally best on Celebrity, but we can handle dining on all three. Service is best on Celebrity.

NCL sometimes has a promo where you can take 3 or 4 in a cabin with the 3rd and 4th person free. We had a wonderful Alaska cruise with our Daughter in our cabin and the price for all three of us wes great.

Celebrity's prices have gone up more than RCI, so we are looking more at RCI in the future.

Celebrity's prices have gone up more than RCI, so we are looking more at RCI in the future.

That's an interesting comment and one that I think is supply and demand, and itinerary dependent. We are long time RCI cruisers who have recently shifted most of our cruises to Celebrity, based mainly on service, food, and cruising style preferences.

However when we book, we compare the two and with most of our recent and planned Celebrity itineraries and have found for the most part the opposite to be the case. Comparatively, Celebrity and RCI are similar similar on some, but apples to apples RCI has more often been the more expensive of late.

I’ve been fortunate to sail all the lines you mentioned over the decades. Most recently I have completed 2 rcl, 2 ncl within the last 2 years and just debarked the equinox.

In the past, comparing lines made sense. However I recommend you take it a step farther and compare actual ships because as ships have grown, so have the differences in what the ship can offer.

Example- we sailed rcl rhapsody (older small ship) in Venice and RCl Anthem (newer high tech ship) from cape liberty. The two ships were significantly different. On anthem shows were reserved in advance and quite polished. On rhapsody the shows were reminiscent of old cruising days with talented but not professional performers. Anthem offers ifly, bumper cars, puzzle room, flow rider, etc... rhapsody offers none of that. We didn’t need the amenities with a Venice/Greek isle itinerary, but sure did enjoy them on the traditional Caribbean loop.

On NCl we sailed Jade to Norway (mid sized ship) and getaway in the Caribbean. We have also sailed breakaway to Bermuda. Again, very different experiences with the newer ship offering more professional entertainment and more options of things to do (we love eating outside on the promenade on the away class). But the Jade offered Norway and we absolutely loved her. Again, the itinerary was the entertainment in Norway.

It’s also worth noting that things change rapidly in cruising so the target moves. Our trip on the breakaway offered unlimited speciality dining. That perk has now been reduced to 3 nights on a 7 day. We feel that ncl food in the mdr has improved greatly in the last five years, but they have also removed some things (no more firework display on Bermuda sailings for example). Just noting that rapid changes are common so if you are planning long term policies might not be exactly as described now.

We love all our cruises but in each case above, the newer ship with bells and whistles appeals when we are sailing the Caribbean but the smaller more intimate ships tend to sail the more unique itineraries and on an itinerary intensive trip, the ship offerings matter less.

Yes there are some line policies to pay attention to. For example, NCL is very casual. But I think that the ship differences should not be overlooked. Rcl and ncl offer very different experiences based on the ship you choose.

I will say that overall, I strongly feel celebrity offers the best experience onboard for my taste. The solstice class is like a bowl of porridge, not too big but not too small.For me, the entertainment was good but certainly not on the professional scale as the production shows on the big ships. However; the ship ran seamlessly. Careful attention was paid to the little things that, for me, make a big difference.

If cost and itinerary were the same, I’d choose celebrity for all the added touches. In fact, I’m willing to pay a small premium for the celebrity experience. For us it was that good. The little touches might not matter in the least to you. That’s why it is critical that you determine what matters most for your vacation.

We are all quite fortunate to be able to select from such terrific offerings. I’ve never had a bad cruise. I suspect you will enjoy whichever line you select.

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Bermuda Bound, you made some excellent points. I followed along on your Equinox review, and loved every minute. We were on Equinox last Sept., and it was exceptional. It is true that the ship can influence your experience. We love the S class ships , and those are always our preference when cruising. Unfortunately, they are not offering the itinerary that we are looking for on our next cruise, so we'll probably be looking at Royal Caribbean. I'll miss the martini bar.

Unfortunately, they are not offering the itinerary that we are looking for on our next cruise, so we'll probably be looking at Royal Caribbean. I'll miss the martini bar.

RCI's similar venue is the R Bar, minus the ice bar section. But also a very nice venue.

RCI's similar venue is the R Bar, minus the ice bar section. But also a very nice venue.

That's great. Do you know if they have that on Jewel?