Norwegian Getaway vs Celebrity Reflection. Which Ship is Better?

[Rubeng724]

Option 1:

 

7 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise

 

Ship: Norwegian Getaway (NEW This Year- 2014)

 

Departure Port: Miami, Florida

 

Visits:

- St. Maarten

- St. Thomas

- Nassau

 

Date: December 13-20, 2014

 

Price: ~$3,940 (2 Balcony Staterooms/ 4 Passengers in Each)

* Includes $100 OBC

 

P.S. We're already booked, but we can cancel without any penalties

 

 

 

Option 2:

 

7 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise

 

Ship: Celebrity Reflection (2012)

 

Departure Port: Miami, Florida

 

Visits:

- San Juan, Puerto Rico

- St. Thomas

- St. Maarten

 

Date: December 13-20, 2014

 

Price:

- $4,196 (2 Balcony Staterooms/ 4 Passengers in Each)

* Includes $450 OBC + FREE Pre-Paid Gratuities for 2 in Each Stateroom

P.S. Since we'll be using the OBC to pay gratuities, this sailing will actually come up to be about $400 cheaper.

 

 

 

So, which sailing would you prefer?

 

Quick Facts:

 

- We're a Family of 8 that consists of 6 Adults ( Ages 19, 20, 22, 24, 51, & 64) and 2 Juniors ( Ages 15 & 17)

- We recently sailed on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas and we LOVED it! ( It was our first cruise)

[miataman19]

Sailed on Reflection last year, love that ship. Will be sailing on Getaway this June. However, seeing the mostly younger family you have I would lean toward the Getaway. Reflection was an older crowd and there was not many things to do for young adults IMHO.

 

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[cruisin07family]

We love NCL because of the freestyle concept and no need to pack dress clothes. We haven't personally sailed on Celebrity but friends always cruise them. They think Celebrity is a bit more upscale as they think the food is better and they also enjoy doing the whole black tie thing.

 

If you posted this on the Celebrity board as well, expect to see those posters recommending Celebrity over NCL just like here you will likely see most prefer NCL.

[cpj]

Was on the Getaway last week and Celebrity does not have a ship as nice as the Getaway, and I have been on most of them. Also it was nice to getaway from all the old timers and I'm one of them. I really enjoyed being around younger crowd.

[London-Calling]

Celebrity are 'Premium' and NCL are 'Standard' (mass market).

 

You would expect better standards of food and service with Celebrity and a less crowded ship. They are more formal and more sedate.

 

HOWEVER NCL are much better for multi-generational families.

 

If it was just your wife and you, Celebrity are arguably better. In your case NCL or Royal Caribbean's bigger ships are ideal.

Edited March 15, 2014 by London-Calling

[Beth 2001]

Just sailed on the Celebrity Reflection last summer for my honeymoon and am sailing on the Getaway next month. Having cruised on Royal Caribbean 12 times and NCL 6 times (often with my now-teenaged sons), I think you should definitely stick with the Getaway for a family group with so many teens and twenty-somethings.

 

Celebrity was wonderful for a couples trip but, after having experienced Flow Riders, water slides, ice rinks, climbing walls, etc. on the larger Royal Caribbean and NCL vessels, I know my teens would be bored by the Reflection's quiet elegance. A concert on a grass lawn would not be a thrill for them! They also enjoy not having to dress up every night on Norwegian.

[Ilikebigboats]

I also had to make the hard decision between Getaway and Reflection on our December 27 sailing. Our party of 8 resembles yours, but we chose Reflection. The reasons: lower price, food a notch above, free drink package, and for some reason, Breakaway inside cabins only open from an inside hallway. This is a deal breaker for us because we like to put the teens in a inside across from our balcony rooms. :). Oh and did I mention free drink package!? Lol!

I'm a loyal NCL fan so of course I'm doubting my decision daily. And who knows, if the high prices of the Getaway go down I might "jump ship" and join Spongebob after all! Lol!

[countess5]

Just sailed on the Celebrity Reflection last summer for my honeymoon and am sailing on the Getaway next month. Having cruised on Royal Caribbean 12 times and NCL 6 times (often with my now-teenaged sons), I think you should definitely stick with the Getaway for a family group with so many teens and twenty-somethings.

 

Celebrity was wonderful for a couples trip but, after having experienced Flow Riders, water slides, ice rinks, climbing walls, etc. on the larger Royal Caribbean and NCL vessels, I know my teens would be bored by the Reflection's quiet elegance. A concert on a grass lawn would not be a thrill for them! They also enjoy not having to dress up every night on Norwegian.

 

Have to agree that Reflection is for a more quite sail. My wife and I in our late 50s but active loved Reflection, but we found very little to do. Dinner and a show we like at night, Reflection you get a good dinner and very little afterwards. What we did do was great, but not enough of it. We had the free drink Premium beverage package and it was used! :D

 

Been on Allure Oasis twice and many other NCCL ships love them all, but each has it's own WOW! January 2015 we are on the Getaway Haven style! :p

[countess5]

Been on Allure Oasis twice and many other NCCL ships love them all, but each has it's own WOW! January 2015 we are on the Getaway Haven style! :p

 

Sorry meant to say been on many other "RCCL ships"! ;)

[jdvmd]

Haven't tried the Getaway yet but hope to do so. Sailed on the Reflection twice last year and had a great time. She is a beautiful ship.

[Bravobeach93]

We sailed the Reflection last year and will be on the Getaway in a few days. Our reflection group consisted of six people... 72 M, 68 F, 42 M, 40 F, 13 M and 9 M.

 

I expect the Getaway to be very nice but not as elegant as the Reflection. The Reflection was a Beautiful ship. I've honestly lost track of all the ships we have been on but I would say the Reflection is at least in the top two in terms of cosmetics.... Having said that, I expect our group is going to enjoy the Getaway experience more. We expect the food to be of less quality on the Getaway and we are definitely NOT a fan of freestyle cruising but... The Reflection was a very quiet ship. You will definitely get caught up on your reading and sleep! There was very little to do during the day except to lay by the pool. At night you had to hunt pretty hard to find anything going on after about 10 PM. The kids loved their cruise but there were very few other kids on board. We doubt that will be true on the Getaway...

 

So... We are going to endure the Freestyle atmosphere and reportedly lower quality dining as a trade off for more activities.

 

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[gelo7]

I would go with Reflection.

[Tiggertastic]

Difficult choice

 

We have done the Breakaway and the Solstice class ships and loved both for different reasons

 

With the ages of your group I would say NCL, although the food is better in the MDR on Celebrity, your teens will have a better time in the NCL teen club and the younger adults will find better entertainment for their age range. The oldest 2 however would find celebrity better

 

So who do you want to please the most

[cpj]

If you get the ultimate dining package on getaway 119 person you can eat in a specialty restaurent everynight. Celebrity MDR food is average at best and if you want a decent meal you go to the specialty restaurent on there ships. Buffet food on both ships are marginal at best. The shows on Getaway and the Magic show our outstanding. Celebrity has nothing compared to these shows. Also the ship is not full of old cranky people which I've experence on Celebrity. I'm 68 and I was glad to be around a younger crowd. Wish I had not not waited so long to cruise NCL but they got me now.

[Bravobeach93]

If you get the ultimate dining package on getaway 119 person you can eat in a specialty restaurent everynight. Celebrity MDR food is average at best and if you want a decent meal you go to the specialty restaurent on there ships. Buffet food on both ships are marginal at best. The shows on Getaway and the Magic show our outstanding. Celebrity has nothing compared to these shows. Also the ship is not full of old cranky people which I've experence on Celebrity. I'm 68 and I was glad to be around a younger crowd. Wish I had not not waited so long to cruise NCL but they got me now.

 

So much falls under personal preference... The having to fork out an additional $700 for higher quality food on Getaway is a definite negative... We believe that the Freestyle setup on the Getaway is also another very big negative. I agree that the buffet food was mediocre on the Reflection but we thought all of our MDR meals were very good. We also felt the people were mostly cold and cranky. Both have, basically, the same mediocre itinerary.

 

I think it comes down to... Want a quiet beautiful ship... Reflection. Want a huge fun new ship with lots to do... Getaway...

 

Good luck! You will have a great time on either one!

 

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[graphicguy]

Getaway is nearly identical to the Breakaway (which I've sailed) and is more comparable to Celebrity's Solstice (which I've sailed). Both beautiful ships.

 

Celebrity is much more sedate. If you want lots of quiet time, go Celebrity.

 

If you want good food with great entertainment, go Getaway.

[Rubeng724]

Thanks everyone for your help! I just found out that celebrity's "3rd and 4th passengers sail free" offer is valid until March 2015. We can go on Spring Break! We're now definitely choosing Celebrity. We now just don't know which itinerary will be better. I will make a new thread on the celebrity boards asking for the best itinerary. Thanks!