Comparison X to NCL

[MarkusToe]

Hi folks

 

because of the issues happened on our last cruise on X, I'm looking for other options

 

I've NCL in mind and seen good offers

I assume balcony and jun suites are comparable....

Key question: how is NCL compared to X, esp MDR and spec. food

Don't care on shows and entertainment....

 

thanks

Markus

[QE2_Fan]

I'd say as similar as Gouda and Feta ...they are both cheese but that's about as similar as they get !! [emoji13]

 

 

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[Project_gal]

Markus

 

It depends very much if you book a suite or not. The suite experience on NCL may still be slightly better than Celebrity but it is now a close run thing. In our experience, NCL butlers and concierges are just a little better than Celebrity but Luminae and Michael's Club are an improvement over what NCL offer. However, our experience on Celebrity is in higher-level suites than on NCL which makes it a little difficult to call although I have tried to make allowance for this. I think that the service received in all suites on NCL is probably only available in the top-end suites on Celebrity although it has yet to be seen what difference opening up Michael's Club to Sky Suites will do.

 

In any other accommodation, Celebrity wins hands down. Our [admittedly only one - it was that bad] experience of the MDR on NCL was worse than dire! We were also disappointed with the poor service and iffy service in NCL specialty restaurants. In fact, I hate buffets yet we ate in the buffet for most of our one NCL cruise!

[KaththeTaff]

We like both lines, but they are about as different as is possible in the mass market cruise line sector!

 

MDR food is weak on NCL in my opinion. Although it's a very subjective area, I'd say that the MDR food on X is far, far superior to NCL. Where NCL scores higher for food is in the specialty and 24 hour dining.

 

All we've had are ordinary balcony staterooms on each line, but there isn't that much between them as far as we could see.

[monicajay]

Many on these boards are very loyal to X and don't have much use for other cruise lines.

 

We found the cabins to be very similar and since for us hanging on the balcony is very important, we were happy on NCL also.

 

On NCL the MDR is open for lunch on embarkation day. We like that better. Service in MDR has been comparable in our opinion but the food is better overall on X. We have however had some very good meals on NCL too. That being said, specialty restaurants are much cheaper on NCL so it is less costly if you want to try other venues. Absolutely love the mushroom soup followed by the tenderloin at the Bistro while being serenaded by live music.

 

I love the wrap around promenade deck like on the NCL Dawn and missed that on the Summit. I gather I'll be missing it even more on the Reflection.

 

I would gladly book an NCL again given the right itinerary and price.

[Bo1953]

Hi folks

 

because of the issues happened on our last cruise on X, I'm looking for other options

 

I've NCL in mind and seen good offers

I assume balcony and jun suites are comparable....

Key question: how is NCL compared to X, esp MDR and spec. food

Don't care on shows and entertainment....

 

thanks

Markus

 

I think you need to go ahead try the NCL product and let us know YOUR thoughts and comparisons as to how they compare...

 

The best way to do it, IMHO, since it is your experience which counts in this case.

 

Please make sure you get a similar cabin in a class which you would normally purchase.

 

bon voyage

Edited December 30, 2015 by Bo1953

[4774Papa]

We like both lines, but they are about as different as is possible in the mass market cruise line sector!

 

MDR food is weak on NCL in my opinion. Although it's a very subjective area, I'd say that the MDR food on X is far, far superior to NCL. Where NCL scores higher for food is in the specialty and 24 hour dining.

 

All we've had are ordinary balcony staterooms on each line, but there isn't that much between them as far as we could see.

We cruise both lines, but prefer X.

Service on X is consistently good. On NCL it can be good or not.

 

Food is consistently good on X. NCL has more specialty restaurants where you pay, but not as much as X's specialty.

 

Entertainment is slightly better on NCL.

 

NCL charges more for excursions, but we normally do private tours.

NCL has a good discounted wine package, were X's wine package offers no real discount.

 

The price differential between the two was not significant, however, X has bumped up its prices quite a lot, so you can go NCL and save $$$.

[bessinfl]

I have been on both. To me the make-or-break issue is the two lines' smoking policies. On NCL we encountered lots of smoking at the pool and in the casino (which we had to walk through to get to the dining room). On Celebrity, smoking is quite limited to a very few outdoor areas, and never on the balconies. It's a much, much more pleasant experience for those of us who hate smoke.

 

 

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[Aquahound]

I've NCL in mind and seen good offers

I assume balcony and jun suites are comparable....

Key question: how is NCL compared to X, esp MDR and spec. food

Don't care on shows and entertainment....

 

If I'm to be totally honest, I'd say NCL and Celebrity are polar opposites. My NCL experiences have not been good. Service has been terrible, MDR food has been bad, and the ships have been poorly maintained. Their specialty restaurants are less expensive than X, but I would not say the food is any better. In fact, I think X has some of the best specialty food at sea.

 

For the record, by no means am I a Celebrity cheerleader. I'm not brand loyal and I've cruised 5 lines in the last few years. But that said, there is one line that I will not sail again for a long time....and that's NCL.

 

But that's my opinion. Don't let me stop you from trying it for yourself. :)

[helen haywood]

We are Elite Plus with Celebrity, Diamond with Royal and have also sailed MSC, Costa, HAL and Carnival. We recently sailed NCL Getaway because we wanted to sail the Caribbean in September and X isn't there then. We loved Getaway! We were in a B6 Large Balcony cabin. (For the record, Getaway and Breakaway's regular balconies are extremely small so we upgraded to a larger category. The newest ship, Escape, has more traditional size balconies.)

 

We loved that a MDR was open for lunch on embarkation day. We loved the coffee machines in the cabins. We loved being able to have a hamburger cooked to order 24/7 at O'Sheehans. We loved the entertainment, vastly superior to Celebrity's. We especially loved the Waterfront concept (Google or Youtube for pics/videos.) I am fair skinned and don't want to sit by the pool. I had a comfortable sofa looking out at the ocean in the shade of an overhang that even covered me during a rain shower....every day without fail. (Everyone else was at the pool...) My husband who smokes cigars liked that Getaway had an air conditioned room for cigar/cigarette smokers. On Royal and X he's out in the sun. I'm sure everyone else on board also appreciated that my husband was behind closed doors with his cigar.

 

We liked that there are three MDR and Taste and Savor are smaller more intimate venues that seem more like a specialty restaurant than a cavernous MDR. We had breakfast everyday in Taste and were amazed how every day we had perfectly cooked sunny side up eggs. NCL's desserts were much better than X or Royals.

 

We liked the Do Not Disturb and Make Up Room lights above the cabins. I liked that NCL puts out the luggage tags and lets you choose your own departure time. What brilliant simplification! In short, we loved it so much I came home and cancelled a cruise next month on our beloved Reflection and booked Escape. I was happy to do this even though it cost me more money because our TA pays grats on X but not on NCL and X does not charge grats on beverage package promos and NCL does. But we were still happy to make the change.

 

Give one of the Away ships a try!

[rjrpar]

Most of the mass market cruise lines provide a similar cruise experience but they all offer some differences. You need to try different lines and make your own decision on your preference. I truly believe some posters criticize other cruise companies thinking that it elevates their line of choice. Happens on every board, not just X.

[hulamoon]

Wow Helen, that was quite inspiring!

[VideoTech]

As long time NCL cruisers with one very recent Celebrity cruise under our belts, I'll give you my take, although it's from the suite perspective, so may not answer your questions directly.

 

Celebrity is all about food. Much better than NCL, particularly if you are in a suite and can take advantage of Luminae. The equivalent to Luminae is Cagney's at breakfast and lunch for suite guests on NCL; while it's good, it's not as varied as Luminae. There is no dedicated suite guest restaurant for dinner except on the NCL Epic class ships (and other ships that have a Haven) which does have a dedicated suite restaurant. We've sailed once on the Epic and found that restaurant to be as good as Luminae.

 

Celebrity's MDR food better than NCL by a long shot. Buffet food about the same on both lines...mediocre.

 

Celebrity is a "dressier" line, although they've toned down their Formal Night policy, it still seemed like a cruise where people dressed up more.

 

NCL's Suite experience is hands down better than Celebrity. Starts with little things, like constantly replenishing fresh fruit, bottled water, and of course, the wonderful Lavazza espresso maker in each suite. Goes on to priority tendering & disembarkation in ports...In our opinion, we felt more welcomed, more concern for making sure we were comfortable. Definitely more involvement from the Butlers and Concierge(s) on NCL.

 

NCL's Penthouses are the equivalent of Sky Suites on Celebrity. Can't speak for upper level suites on Celebrity, have never been in them. Upper level suites on NCL are very, very nice. Would assume balcony cabins and other cabins about the same on both lines, but can't speak to that for sure.

 

Entertainment on both line equivalent, although NCL's premier ships have some premier acts on board.

 

Celebrity is a more expensive line. Specialty restaurant charges are higher, drink prices higher. Way higher, in fact.

 

Casino: NCL by far. If that's important to you I can follow up on that.

 

 

Hi folks

 

because of the issues happened on our last cruise on X, I'm looking for other options

 

I've NCL in mind and seen good offers

I assume balcony and jun suites are comparable....

Key question: how is NCL compared to X, esp MDR and spec. food

Don't care on shows and entertainment....

 

thanks

Markus

[14ersco]

As one who came over from NCL to Celebrity I will say at one time NCL was comparable to Royal Caribbean. Since del rio took over about 11 months ago NCL has been on a downward slide and he has spent more time trying to generate more revenue from passengers rather than improve their product. As NCL has created new ways to generate revenue they have not always honored what people had booked earlier; see the threads about people losing their free Cirque tickets.

 

We have always booked balconies or lower so this is the perspective from the non-suite side. The MDR on Celebrity is comparable to the specialty on NCL. Getting an anytime table on Celebrity is easy, they actually held our table for a 30 minute window for us to show up. On NCL for the MDR you get a pager and may need to wait 30-60 minutes. Also the MDR's on NCL are too small to hold all of the passengers in two settings, especially on the older ships, because they carved some of the MDR space into specialty dining.

 

The Classic beverage package is better on Celebrity. NCL does not include coffee drinks, fresh juice, or bottled water in their basic beverage package. The pastries are also not free in the coffee shop on NCL as they are on Celebrity.

 

The biggest things we found different between Celebrity and NCL is how NCL is always trying to generate more revenue during the cruise. Celebrity is usually in the ports longer, so you have more time for the sights and not on-board spending money. Also the quiet on Celebrity was very noticeable. On NCL there are constant overhead announcements for ways to spend money; bingo, raffles, art sales, etc. We heard very little of that on Celebrity.

 

Finally as for cost Celebrity can be cheaper than NCL. For our next cruise our cruise price is actually lower on Celebrity, plus more amenities for a comparable NCL cruise leaving out of the same port on the same day.

Edited December 30, 2015 by 14ersco

[helen haywood]

The Classic beverage package is better on Celebrity. NCL does not include coffee drinks, fresh juice, or bottled water in their basic beverage package.

 

It depends on what part of the beverage package is most important to you. I don't need specialty coffees, or juice or bottled water. Celebrity's Classic Package only covers wine up to $9 a glass and mixed drinks up to $8 and beers up to $6. NCL's beverage package includes all drinks under $15.

[14ersco]

It depends on what part of the beverage package is most important to you. I don't need specialty coffees, or juice or bottled water. Celebrity's Classic Package only covers wine up to $9 a glass and mixed drinks up to $8 and beers up to $6. NCL's beverage package includes all drinks under $15.

 

NCL had to increase the package to $15 because del rio raised drink prices at least twice on NCL during 2015 and this caused people who had booked early in 2015 to have a very limited selection of drinks available. On the NCL board there are threads about where NCL raised drink prices so much that the pre-bought packages no longer covered drinks that used to be part of the package prior to del rio. Also the packages are not as good of deal now that del rio makes the passengers pay the gratuities if you get the "free" drink package. For part of 2015 del rio had a policy where a passenger could not take a drink or food out of a venue to their cabin, you had to use room service.

[Linda-E]

DH and I are long time X cruisers - Elite+. However, we loved the Breakaway and will be cruising on the Escape before our Eclipse cruise next month. We chose the Escape because we are doing that leg with our family, and NCL has great options for kids. We chose Eclipse for the itinerary (14 days).

 

We thought the specialty restaurants on NCL were terrific. Ate in O'Sheehans Pub almost every morning. Dinners, especially th Le Bistro and Cagneys were as good as X specialty restaurants and much less expensive. Entertainment - NCL wins by miles! There are great options, including the late night Howl at the Moon. Activities were well run, unlike X where there's not much happening during the day if you don't do trivia.

[illiniwahoo]

We have done 4 celebrity cruises and one NCL. I found the food on NCL to be far inferior to celebrity in the MDR and buffet. I really like lamb, duck, and lobster, and never found any of those meats in the free dining rooms, only the specialty restaurants. Even the buffet food was of lower quality. On celebrity I love my feta, ham, and asparagus omelet every morning for the buffet. On Ncl, they don't have feta or asparagus, the the "cheddar" cheese tasted and melted a whole lot like velveta rather than real cheese. We also found that the breakfast buffet hours were more limited on NCL, and frequently when we got up at 10am, the buffet and mrd were closed with o'sheeans as the only option. We didn't starve, but the food was definately not up to Celebrity standards. It's too bad that you don't care about entertainment, because that's where we thought NCL really shone. We would definately take another ncl cruise, but would plan a specialty dining package into the budget.

 

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[NLH Arizona]

I cruise on both line. I like them equally for different reasons. Celebrity is dressier than NCL, but sometimes it is nice to just be casual. I get a great deal from NCL's Casino at Sea, where I've only paid $800 for an 11 day cruise in a penthouse suite.

 

Celebrity's MDR is far superior, I don't eat in the MDR on NCL, only in the specialty restaurants, which are very, very good. I think the buffet on Celebrity, especially the pasta station, is better. NCL service, for me, as always been fantastic; I think the crew equals Celebrity in that respect, but I truly believe that you get what you give and a smile and a kind word goes a long way no matter what line you are on.

 

I cruise NCL in a suite and have to say that their suite experience is sweet.

Edited January 1, 2016 by NLH Arizona

[NLH Arizona]

For part of 2015 del rio had a policy where a passenger could not take a drink or food out of a venue to their cabin, you had to use room service.

The fact is that they did announce this policy, because of all the trays, plates of food in the hallways and spilled food around the ship. NCL rescinded it within a couple of weeks and it was never enforced on the ships when it was in place, other than a few incidents that were reported on Cruise Critic where they could not get "to go" food or leftovers from a restaurant. It never included drinks or snacks.

[Zeta3]

I'm wondering how the move by NCL to a la carte pricing in the specialty restaurants will effect the dinner cost comparison between NCL and X. I am platinum on NCL but have seen a decline in service and quality with an increase in pricing so have been cruising other lines for the past year or so and happy. Going back on X in December and looking forward to it.

[hotrod610]

I like the idea that ncl offers beverage pack on all cruises even if you select inside. X W

will not offer it on trans Atlantic and Pacific trip or panama. Yes you pay a small grateful on NCL but you get beverage pk

[4774Papa]

I like the idea that ncl offers beverage pack on all cruises even if you select inside. X W

will not offer it on trans Atlantic and Pacific trip or panama. Yes you pay a small grateful on NCL but you get beverage pk

We do not like the trends on the cruise lines to inflate their prices and include things like the drinks packages in the price.

 

On Celebrity, we are elite and get the free happy hour, which significantly reduces our alcohol costs on board.

 

On NCL we generally buy a wine package for about a 20% discount.

 

The cc threads of Celebrity and NCL include a lot of complaints from loyal cruises about the recent changes.

 

Celebrity is our favorite, but their pricing has really ratcheted up.

[Host Jazzbeau]

We do not like the trends on the cruise lines to inflate their prices and include things like the drinks packages in the price.

 

Then you'll like the trend on NCL to make everything a la carte. I can't wait for their announcement that the pillow menu now shows the prices for each pillow!

[NLH Arizona]

Then you'll like the trend on NCL to make everything a la carte. I can't wait for their announcement that the pillow menu now shows the prices for each pillow!

The only thing they have made a la carte is some of the specialty restaurans and actually the a la carte pricing will save some $'s. At the steakhouse, Cagney's, the a la carte pricing (including gratuity) will save me $9 on my meal there versus the cost of the fixed pricing, $29.95, plus an 18% automatic gratuity.