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How would you compare Celebrity to NCL?

misguy

By misguy,
in Celebrity Cruises

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Tatka

Tatka

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9 cruises with NCL and 6 with Celebrity 

 

Ncl has more smaller scale entertainment in lounges and better quality entertainment in theater, more variety of included and per fee food,

 

Celebrity has more upscale and sophisticated feel, better included food, better pools (including indoor pools which NCL lacks) .

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cynbar

cynbar

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Dress code is one of the biggest differences. ON NCL, we have found that pretty much anything goes except in a couple of the nicer restaurants. On Celebrity, there is a dress code and just about everyone follows it pretty closely. No more formal nights but there are a couple nights called Chic where people dress up a little more, although no jacket required for men. Other nights are resort casual, nice pants or jeans with a shirt for men and a dress or slacks outfit for women. Overall, the atmosphere is quieter on Celebrity, more sedate and dignified. That might be a plus or minus, depending on your viewpoint, but it's more relaxed and low key. 

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helen haywood

helen haywood

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If you receive a beverage package as a perk on Celebrity you do not have to pay the gratuities as you do on NCL.  NCL’s specialty restaurants are less $$.  NCL’s entertainment is better.

 

Which Celebrity ship are you thinking about?  I mean, comparing Escape to Infinity is one thing as is comparing the Sun to Equinox.

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misguy "Live from...." Rare

misguy

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I am not sure yet, I am a last minute cruise shopper looking for deals, but I want to understand the differences, most of your posts have been really helpful.  I was on the Breakaway in January and loved the entertainment, in particular Syd Norman's(Think 80s, 90s Rock.) and we love Dueling Pianos.  We were on the Jewel in Alaska, and didn't go to many events, traveling with our GD and usuall worn out after the day.

 

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helen haywood

helen haywood

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Love Celebrity’s Solstice Class ships (Solstice, Equinox, Eclipse, Silhouette and Reflection.)  Beautiful ships with lots of places to connect with the sea...and they handle their passenger load very well.  They never feel crowded.  Love tables outside aft in the Buffet.

 

But entertainment is not X’s forte.  I’m happy sitting on my balcony at night with a glass (or two...🍷🍷🍷) of wine listening to the wake and looking at the stars...but if you want more nighttime entertainment you may be disappointed.

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4774Papa

4774Papa

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We have done 11 cruises on Celebrity, 7 on NCL and 2 on Royal C.

We prefer Celebrity, but sometimes NCL is the best deal.

 

Both Celebrity and NCL went to price bundling with promos, which inflated prices, so we started booking Royal C.   Royal now usually has the best prices.

 

Celebrity has the best service and dining, NCL has the best entertainment (about as good as Royal).

 

Fortunately, Celebrity and NCL both now usually give you the option of booking basic fare instead of the inflated bundled prices.  

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awhfy

awhfy

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5 hours ago, PhoenixCruiser said:

Are you saying that a balcony cabin on Celebrity is an equal comparison to a Haven cabin on NCL? I find that hard to believe.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 

Exactly what Miaminice said. It’s the ambiance. NCL has better entertainment, Celebrity has better perks (included gratuity in drink packages)

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TMLAalum

TMLAalum

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No in-cabin announcements on Celebrity. I seem to recall numerous announcements on NCL for bingo, etc.

 

Corkage fee for bringing any wine aboard NCL- 2 bottles permitted per cabin on Celebrity w/o corkage fee unless you bring unopened bottle to dining venues.

 

Water & specialty coffees included in Celebrity drink packages, not on NCL.

 

If choosing perks on Celebrity you can opt for prepaid gratuities- a deal on longer cruises- or you can pick $300 OBC per cabin- neither choice is offered on NCL. Wifi is unlimited if you choose that perk on Celebrity, but only 250 minutes on NCL. The $50 per cabin shorex credit (per port?) offered only on NCL doesn't go far in paying for ship tours.

Edited by TMLAalum
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billslowsky

billslowsky

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4 hours ago, awhfy said:

Exactly what Miaminice said. It’s the ambiance. NCL has better entertainment, Celebrity has better perks (included gratuity in drink packages)

 

The NCL entertainment also includes what some may feel is tacky, with more of the participation game shows, the poolside "contests", etc., which you can choose to ignore on NCL but not choose to watch on Celebrity.  If you enjoy that stuff, you may find the nights a bit slow.

 

And Silent Disco ought to be more than one night per cruise!

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calicakes "Live from...." Rare

calicakes

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19 hours ago, Tatka said:

9 cruises with NCL and 6 with Celebrity 

 

Ncl has more smaller scale entertainment in lounges and better quality entertainment in theater, more variety of included and per fee food,

 

Celebrity has more upscale and sophisticated feel, better included food, better pools (including indoor pools which NCL lacks) .

Exactly!!

 

We've taken 3 cruises with X, all in Aqua.  Then, we sailed with NCL last summer.  Our friends love NCL and have some type of status, they are also gamblers.  They were in a Haven suite, we had the room right next door to them, a large aft balcony. 

 

The food is better on X, even the buffet food. I thought the specialty restaurants on X were a lot better too. My friends had great food in Haven.  We had two different food experiences.  LOL.  They had fresh berries and nicely cut up melon.  We had no berries and wedges of melon.  This is trivial, but we prefer coke to pepsi products.  NCL didn't give out paper straws, no biggie I brought my own.  I don't know if they changed this since 2018. 

 

The smoke was HORRENDOUS on NCL.  IMHO< the staff were not as friendly.  The entertainment was better, although the Atrium was always so crowded whenever a Trivia game or game show type show was going on.   The ship had over 4k passengers( plus crew) and felt super crowded.  I hated it. 

 

The pool situation on NCL( Getaway) was horrible too.  One tiny pool, 3 poolside loungers that had towels on them at 6am.  I'm not kidding.  No one came back until late afternoon.  

 

While it was fun to cruise with friends, we'll stick to X from now on.  After this cruise next week, we'll have one more to go before we're Elite. 

Edited by calicakes
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calicakes "Live from...." Rare

calicakes

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18 hours ago, awhfy said:

Haven on NCL...veranda on Celebrity...no difference to us

HUGE difference.  Haven had a butler, concierge, better restaurant. exclusive lounge/bar and pool. Isn't a Veranda on X just a balcony cabin. 

Edited by calicakes
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calicakes "Live from...." Rare

calicakes

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5 hours ago, TMLAalum said:

No in-cabin announcements on Celebrity. I seem to recall numerous announcements on NCL for bingo, etc.

 

Corkage fee for bringing any wine aboard NCL- 2 bottles permitted per cabin on Celebrity w/o corkage fee unless you bring unopened bottle to dining venues.

 

Water & specialty coffees included in Celebrity drink packages, not on NCL.

 

If choosing perks on Celebrity you can opt for prepaid gratuities- a deal on longer cruises- or you can pick $300 OBC per cabin- neither choice is offered on NCL. Wifi is unlimited if you choose that perk on Celebrity, but only 250 minutes on NCL. The $50 per cabin shorex credit (per port?) offered only on NCL doesn't go far in paying for ship tours.

Oh here is another point.  We werent allowed to use our OBC until actually ONBOARD.  I couldn't book anything I had to pay for.  I ended up having to pay $$ for 2 upcharges.  One for the dinner show, and another for Ocean Blue which I thought was not that great. 

 

I also had to go thru the access department in order to have permission to bring aboard sugar free lemonade.   They won't let you bring any of your own water, soda etc.  As I stated upthread, my wife drinks coke.  She had to buy a few very expensive sodas in the cruise terminal( after security) so she could bring them on with her.  

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mafig

mafig

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10 hours ago, Miaminice said:

Think about the Haven experience/ambiance on the entire ship - that’s Celebrity.

 

Less crowded, much quieter, but also less action. Which is what we like.

 

 

I think you're pushing it a bit.🤔

 

Haven has its own restaurant, butler, concierge.  Ship within a ship section.

 

We love Celebrity, but even Celebrity's suites cannot match Haven.

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