Undecided on cruising Celebrity or NCL - Help!

[bobbyleduck]

Hello all!

 

I am having a serious dilemma and decided to ask for advice. My wife and I are planning a cruise in February of next year but cannot choose which cruise line to go on and could use some honest advice. We are trying to decide between going on the NCL Epic on Feb 8th or the Celebrity Silhouette on Feb 8th. We are looking at a mini-suite on the Epic or a Veranda on the Silhouette.

 

As a little background on us - we are both 29, have cruised 4 times all on RCCL (Mariner, Oasis, Allure, Independence) and are Platinum members. We enjoy some of the activities on RCCL but have become increasingly disappointed with their food and service. We want to be able to relax most of the time but enjoy having something to do too (trivia or comedians). We have a 3 year old but are leaving him with grandma so we can relax together! We are also looking forward to trying a new cruise line.

 

We mostly care about food, being able to relax, and good ship activities. We have really found that RCCL has not been doing very good at making a relaxing environment anymore...

 

I'm going to ask this same question on the NCL forum too just so I can get both ends of the spectrum.

 

Thank you in advance for any advice you can give us!!!

 

We've sailed Celebrity twice and NCL once. Enjoyed both very much. The one major difference is in the evening entertainment. Hands down, NCL is better. As for everything else, Celebrity was a bit more classy, but I found the food and other activities to be quite similar. I'm not big on specialty restaurants, and wasn't sufficiently impressed the one time I visited one on Celebrity. You're wise to do some research, especially if you feel passionate about certain things.

[CathyCruises]

We do late seating dinner and normally get out of the dining room about 10:30 or so. The ship is still hopping, there is live music in multiple venues, and there's usually a late show to go to. Where is everyone getting this "the ship is dead at 10PM" idea?? We don't stay up really late, prefer to watch movies n our cabin, but at least until midnight there seems to be plenty to do. Also Sin City starts about 11PM IIRC.

[GaryT-UK]

Did you find that the cruise ship "shut down" by 11? I've been reading that in a lot when people mention Celebrity...though I'll do all of this worrying just to have us fall asleep by 10 every night!

 

I don't think ships shut down at 11, but it does make a difference the age group on board. I notice a lot of the older crowd go the the late show then straight off to bed. However that just distills those still up down to the party crowd! On Celebrity last year I spent a lot of nights after the show in Cafe al Bacio which had a guitarist on til late. The Martini bar was always lively too and other friends I met had favourite bars. When I sailed on NCL Star it was Sept (I usually sail in July) and the ship had a much older age group than I was used to and I did find the ship was very quiet later. I've read the Epic is more of a party ship so maybe that's different.

[blindrid]

I don't think ships shut down at 11, but it does make a difference the age group on board. I notice a lot of the older crowd go the the late show then straight off to bed. However that just distills those still up down to the party crowd! On Celebrity last year I spent a lot of nights after the show in Cafe al Bacio which had a guitarist on til late. The Martini bar was always lively too and other friends I met had favourite bars. When I sailed on NCL Star it was Sept (I usually sail in July) and the ship had a much older age group than I was used to and I did find the ship was very quiet later. I've read the Epic is more of a party ship so maybe that's different.

 

Of all the cruises I've been on; it seems like each cruise takes it's own personality as some shut down early, some go late. My theory is length of cruise - longer normally means older. Destinations - islands versus TA versus Med - each appeals to different crowds. Price of cruise - Cheaper means more partiers. Time of year (of course) - spring break, other holidays equals late nights. Off peak equates to earlier evenings.

[cynbar]

I do find that most of my Celebrity cruises have been quiet late in the evenings. We were just on Reflection in the Med last week, and of course that is a port intensive cruise so may not be representative. Evening shows were at 7:00 and 9:15 every night, so the show for late diners is before dinner. There was no Sin City late night comedy show. A DJ was up in the Sky Lounge late in the evenings but I have no idea how well attended that was. Celebrity in general does not seem to focus on entertainment, it's more about being mellow and enjoying the company of your traveling mate(s). Our Princess and NCL cruises have been far livelier with a lot more (and better) entertainment.

[Jujubee627]

We have done 6 cruises on NCL (51 days) and 5 cruises (42 days) on Celebrity and we loved each one. We were on the Silhouette in Nov, 2011 - beautiful ship.

 

Overall, the service and staff on Celebrity is better and when you first get on board a Celebrity ship you are handed a glass of champagne or mimosa - a nice welcoming touch - they don't do that on NCL.

 

Overall, dinner in the main dining rooms on Celebrity is more relaxing and a little better than on NCL, but they are close. The big difference on NCL is you have no assigned time or table, so when you want to eat dinner, most times they give you a beeper that will go off when your table is ready. Service in the main dining rooms on NCL can sometimes be spotty, but is mostly very good. But the food and service with NCL's specialty dining restaurants are more superior than in their main dining rooms. If you do NCL, Cagney's Steakhouse is amazing. I love also that NCL has many specialty dining choices compared to only a few on Celebrity. On Celebrity, I do love their specialty restaurant, Murano. My favorite is Murano Lobster, prepared table side.

 

The entertainment and comedians on NCL is a little better, in my opinion, than on Celebrity and generally have more activities going on with NCL than on Celebrity. Evenings are a little quieter on Celebrity than NCL. You will also find the casino is a little livelier on NCL. I do love the fact that on Celebrity they keep announcements to a minimum.

 

Judy

 

 

Hello all!

 

I am having a serious dilemma and decided to ask for advice. My wife and I are planning a cruise in February of next year but cannot choose which cruise line to go on and could use some honest advice. We are trying to decide between going on the NCL Epic on Feb 8th or the Celebrity Silhouette on Feb 8th. We are looking at a mini-suite on the Epic or a Veranda on the Silhouette.

 

As a little background on us - we are both 29, have cruised 4 times all on RCCL (Mariner, Oasis, Allure, Independence) and are Platinum members. We enjoy some of the activities on RCCL but have become increasingly disappointed with their food and service. We want to be able to relax most of the time but enjoy having something to do too (trivia or comedians). We have a 3 year old but are leaving him with grandma so we can relax together! We are also looking forward to trying a new cruise line.

 

We mostly care about food, being able to relax, and good ship activities. We have really found that RCCL has not been doing very good at making a relaxing environment anymore...

 

I'm going to ask this same question on the NCL forum too just so I can get both ends of the spectrum.

 

Thank you in advance for any advice you can give us!!!

[KW Cruisers]

We aren't really into staying up until 2 AM drinking but at the same time, I'd hate to find out that everything is closed by 10 PM every night. We have never been on any other cruise line than RCCL so we are used to being able to go to the Schooner Bar or Boleros at anytime during the evening and hearing some great music. I am mostly concerned about food - I really appreciate the help!

 

The food on X is wonderful (we are definite foodies who love to dress-up for dinner). I have yet to have a bad dining experience - that being said, we have only dined in the MDR once. We prefer BLU or the specialty restaurants.

 

The ship-wide casual environment of NCL is a bit of a turn-off for us. We prefer a little more style and sophistication. - I don't mean for that to sound "snobby" at all--it's just the environment that we prefer - X delivers that more than NCL.

 

We are in our late 30's and mid 40's--we always find something to do on X. There are always things planned for late in the evening. I usually plan to go to the DJ parties that are scheduled after 11:30 PM, but I'm usually tired from the day...however, there are things planned for those who wish to stay up late!

 

I also debated between NCL (Haven) and X -- X won out. I find the atmosphere of X to be more suited to us (two professionals). We don't want to be on a "party boat", and we don't complain when the # of children is lower (as it is on X). You'll notice that much of the staterooms on X have max occupancy of 2 - NCL is quite the opposite (they cater to families much more).

 

Hope that helps - Enjoy your cruise!

 

Shawn