NCL vs. RC vs. Celebrity

[lfsindiana]

Hi everyone,

 

My husband and I are looking at the Epic for the October/November 2019 Mediterranean itineraries. We're experienced cruisers on both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity but have never benn on NCL. So, sell us on NCL! What do you like most about NCL? If you've been on either Royal Caribbean or Celebrity, what are the biggest differences? Why NCL over RC or Celebrity?

 

Our TA has very good things to say about the Epic but it looks like a huge ship. The cabin layouts also seem a bit odd with the split bathroom. Thoughts on the cabin layouts vs other cruise lines?

 

This will be our first cruise without my family (we usually cruise with my parents/sister/aunts) and our first European cruise. 

 

Thank you!

[graphicguy]

Been on all 3 myself.  Epic was my 2nd NCL cruise.  First was decades earlier on the SS Norway.

 

When it was new, EPIC was very innovative (still is in many regards).  It was the first “mega-ship” I had sailed.  It was the first time I had experienced FreeStyle.  First time I experienced Broadway/Vegas style entertainment (happened to be Blue Man Group, at the time).

 

The point of all this, I’ve since sailed NCL several more times, as well as RCCL (Allure, Harmony, Liberty, Anthem) and Celebrity (Solstice).  All of those ships are mega ships, too.

 

To this day, I’ve yet to find another cruise line that does FreeStyle as well as NCL.  Eat where, when, how you want.  I fell in love with that type of cruising.

 

Not sure what the entertainment is these days, but I’ve NEVER been less than thrilled with NCL entertainment.  As good as the entertainment was on the Royal cruises (and it is quite good), NCL still trumps it.

 

If you get the perks with your cruise, you only pay the tips and service charges for your drinks and specialty dining, which is a great deal (if you’re a drinker and an eater).

 

Had fun on my other cruises, but I seem to come back to NCL, so much that I’m now Platinum Latitudes with them.  But, I still book other cruise lines.

 

Epic holds a special place in my cruise history.  I’m betting you’ll enjoy it.

 

Celebrity Solstice was a beautiful ship.  It’s just that the highlight of the trip, was the glass blowing demonstration.  Not that it wasn’t interesting.  It was!  But....ummm....I like a little more excitement on my cruises.

 

Anthem and Harmony had the 270 Lounge area.  The tech incorporated into the entertainment was quite cool.  On the Allure, I sort of felt like I was in a mall, not at sea (which kind of defeats the whole reason to cruise).  It seemed they designed it to get people “inside”.  Pretty ship, however!

Edited April 25, 2019 by graphicguy

[Two Wheels Only]

Epic is the only NCL ship with that "bathroom" setup. Some people love it. Some people hate it. Some people don't care one way or the other.

[4774Papa]

We have cruised 7 times on NCL, 11 on Celebrity and 1 on Royal C.

 

First, let me address ship design.  The Epic is our least favorite NCL ship.   It always felt crowded.   The pool area is so small for such a large number of passengers it is unusable.  Also, NCL blares very, very loud music and announcements at the pool.

 

Here is how we rate the three lines:

 

Ship design:

100 points Celebrity- their ships  have the very best designs with many great views of the ocean.  Also, love the sunset bar just outside the buffet.   Great for eating breakfast outside in the morning.

 

85 point Royal C.  -we were only on Explorer of the Seas and it was not too bad, but it missed out on the sunset bar.

 

80 points NCL-  Many of their ships have strange designs.  Few have sunset bars (I think the Gem and Jade class does).

The Epic is the worst.  If you like water slides, etc. it might be fun.

 

Dining

100 points Celebrity-their MDR is almost as good as NCL's specialty restaurants. Their specialty restaurants are too expensive, so we hardly every dine there.

90 points Royal C-  The MDR was almost as good as Celebrity, but the buffet for lunch is loaded with heavy meats, gravies, etc. stuff not exactly the health oriented stuff.   The salad bar in the buffet is poor for lunch and you have to go to the MDR for a nice salad bar.   Breakfast is not so bad, but it the omelet to order line is slower and the Eggs Benedict are not prepared as you wait, but already done (most eggs overcooked).

85 points NCL-  NCL has very good specialty restaurants and they are not very expensive.  Also, they have good variety.  The buffet is the weakest and the MDR is mostly good, but some menu items just don't work out well.    They have no Eggs Benedict station.

 

Service

95 points Celebrity -most consistently good

90 points Royal C- not too bad

85 points NCL  more inconsistent, although recently service has improved

 

Itineraries

 

Royal has more ships, but may are the mega ships that we avoid.  Still they cover a lot of the World, as does Celebrity.

NCL is catching up, the once didn't do Asia, South America or Australia/NZ, now they do.

 

Entertainment

 

100 points Royal C-Love the ice shows.  Theatre shows are excellent as well.

98 points NCL- No ice shows, but great theatre shows.   Hated the Blue Man Group on Epic, but it is gone now.  

85 points Celebrity- Celebrity repeats its theatre shows for about 5 years.   We did so many Celebrity cruises for a while that after the disco show or Burt Bacharach we stopped going. Also, show quality is just not on a level with Royal or NCL

 

PRICE

 

This is important and we started cruising with Royal C because their prices beat the heck out of Celebrity.

Celebrity's prices as well as NCL's prices have gone significantly up and up when they started bundling promos.  Now you can opt out of promos, but the no promo price is still too high.  We are likely to do more on Royal for that reason.

We dislike NCL's so called free promo beverage package that doesn't include a good cabernet wine.  Also, the inflated value of $99 per day comes with a 20% gratuity, so that if we do NCL, we always skip the beverage package and bring our own wine, pay the $15 bottle corkage and save on the cost of alcohol.  We don't drink 10 alcoholic drinks a day.

 

We still look as these three lines and compare, as well as now checking out MSC.

[tyrannosaur]

Celebrity and Royal started to charge non-refundable deposits even for advanced reservations, and Norwegian offers free cancellation up to the final payment date.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Have been on all three lines. We enjoy Celebrity for its beautiful ships, great food and service. We prefer to sail in suites and X does a nice jobs with its suits perks but it’s pricey.   Celebrity downside for us is the nightlife...or lack there of as it compares to NCL. 

Havent been on a RCCL ship since 2016 on Allure of the Seas. Pretty ship and lots to do but RCCL are lacking in their perks IMO so we tend to stay away. 

I have mixed feelings about NCL. We love the Haven and the public areas of the ship. Epic was a lot of fun. We found service on that ship to be so-so. Breakaway was better for us. 

In my opinion if you like cruising, then you’ll find something to love about whatever ship or line you choose. Go for the one that gives you the best value for the money. 

Edited April 25, 2019 by Georgia_Peaches

[newmexicoNita]

17 hours ago, lfsindiana said:

Hi everyone,

 

My husband and I are looking at the Epic for the October/November 2019 Mediterranean itineraries. We're experienced cruisers on both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity but have never benn on NCL. So, sell us on NCL! What do you like most about NCL? If you've been on either Royal Caribbean or Celebrity, what are the biggest differences? Why NCL over RC or Celebrity?

 

Our TA has very good things to say about the Epic but it looks like a huge ship. The cabin layouts also seem a bit odd with the split bathroom. Thoughts on the cabin layouts vs other cruise lines?

 

This will be our first cruise without my family (we usually cruise with my parents/sister/aunts) and our first European cruise. 

 

Thank you!

I haven't read what others have said so this is just my opinion: I think of RCI and NCL being very similar, but each does have its own personality. We have always preferred NCL for service: Food wise, probably about the same. Of course the plus for NCL is the many, many dining choices. 

 

As for the bathroom set up on the Epic, it isn't everyone's ideal but we actually enjoyed it. One person can use the bathroom while someone else is showering. I wouldn't want it if cruising with a family in one cabin probably but for just hubby and self we had no complains. 

 

When I think of the three lines I have to put Celebrity up about 1/2 step but it has been many years since we have cruised Celebrity so I am not the one to give an opinion. 

 

Let's just say, I doubt you will be disappointed in NCL and the Epic except if you are not used to mega ships you might have a bit of a problem adjusting the first day or so. 

[newmexicoNita]

16 hours ago, tyrannosaur said:

Celebrity and Royal started to charge non-refundable deposits even for advanced reservations, and Norwegian offers free cancellation up to the final payment date.

That is a very important feature. Our granddaughter and hubby just found this out. They were on RCI just last week and decided to book a family room for themselves and 3 little girls for next year After they got back they had their TA check out to see if NCL offered anything similar and the price. They slightly favor NCL over RCI based mainly on true free style dining and service. Anyway NCL offered something similar. This will be the 2 younger girls first cruise. NCL did have a similar type cabin with more sq ft. Well, that is when they found out they could not cancel. Needless to say, they are very unhappy 

[amelia3171]

lfsindiana, we have been on the Epic Western Med cruise the last week in October 2017 and 2018 and we are going again this year.

 

The weather was great both times, well except for the cyclone one day but even that wasn’t too bad. Low to mid-60s F and mainly dry with plenty of sun. 

 

We have only cruised NCL so cannot offer any comparisons to the other lines. We particularly love the freestyle aspect of NCL; I wasted years not cruising because I didn't realise such a thing as freestyle existing. I would never go on a holiday that forced me into set dining times, especially with people we did not know.

 

We love the food, everything from the buffet to speciality dining. I can be fussy but found the variety, choice and quality to be excellent. My friend, who is picky rather than fussy, equally enjoyed the food.

 

The staff were very friendly and we never waited more than a couple of minutes for a drink or to be seated in a restaurant. 

 

We like to dress up a little for dinner, a nice top and crops or a dress, but I think it would be impossible to feel out of place on this cruise, everything from cocktail dresses to shorts and t-shirts was worn at night.

 

There is only one sea day and I don’t remember the ship feeling particularly crowded. There are the inevitable long queues getting back on the ship on port days but being from Europe we have done all the ports and tend to stay on the ship which is gloriously quiet, but far from dead on port days. 

 

Cruising with a friend and we loved the bathroom setup, the separate toilet, shower and basin is just so practical. It is not uncommon in European hotels and we would actively choose this setup.

 

We didn’t go to any of the shows (just not our thing) but loved the Dueling Pianos and most of the music in the bars at night, there was just one piano player that wasn’t to our taste. 

 

Please ask me any questions you have.

4774Papa – I agree with you about the loud music at the pool, I could not stand it, but it did not happen often on this particular cruise and I just took myself off somewhere quiet. There are eggs benedict the buffet although the omelettes were much better 🙂
 

[mugtech]

Have done 11 NCL cruises and 5 RCI cruises.  Our next 5 cruises will be on RCI.  We found the food to be about the same, perhaps a slight edge to RCI.  Entertainment has been on a ship by ship basis, have seen some very good shows on NCL, but the best cruises for entertainment we have taken were 9 day cruises on RCI Anthem.  RCI has a greater variety of itineraries, the only place NCL has better choices is the Panama Canal.  The Main reason we are not sailing on NCL the next 2 years is because of the terrible customer service and lack of concern for the passengers.  The Sun predrydock cruise and now the Getaway TA fiasco are two great examples of disregard for the pax.  Just read a couple of November Getaway cruises were cancelled.  Even with the second highest loyalty program rating, platinum plus, does not make up for increased prices and we will soon have a similar loyalty status on RCI.

[lfsindiana]

Wow, thank you all so much for all these comments! This gives us a lot to think about but everyone has certainly made some great points/tips. 

[newmexicoNita]

20 hours ago, mugtech said:

Have done 11 NCL cruises and 5 RCI cruises.  Our next 5 cruises will be on RCI.  We found the food to be about the same, perhaps a slight edge to RCI.  Entertainment has been on a ship by ship basis, have seen some very good shows on NCL, but the best cruises for entertainment we have taken were 9 day cruises on RCI Anthem.  RCI has a greater variety of itineraries, the only place NCL has better choices is the Panama Canal.  The Main reason we are not sailing on NCL the next 2 years is because of the terrible customer service and lack of concern for the passengers.  The Sun predrydock cruise and now the Getaway TA fiasco are two great examples of disregard for the pax.  Just read a couple of November Getaway cruises were cancelled.  Even with the second highest loyalty program rating, platinum plus, does not make up for increased prices and we will soon have a similar loyalty status on RCI.

wow, isn't it amazing how we all see things. I guess everything is subjective, not just food.