I did it, booked my first Celebrity Cruise.

[fizzy1]

After many cruises on NCL, I decided to jump ship and try Celebrity. I'd like to think it's because I'm eminently more sophisticated, worldly, cultured, and debonair than I was but nah! I'm the same old me and NCL prices are off the wall lately. So much so, my FCC's are patiently waiting a future price drop from NCL. 
 
To the Edge I come! Well, hopefully and fingers crossed.
 
Stay safe everyone and wishing you many journeys in the months and year ahead. 
 
Solocruiser MA aka Philippe

Wonderful xxxx


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[DaCruiseBug]

On 10/10/2020 at 10:54 PM, SolocruiserMA said:

After many cruises on NCL, I decided to jump ship and try Celebrity. I'd like to think it's because I'm eminently more sophisticated, worldly, cultured, and debonair than I was but nah! I'm the same old me and NCL prices are off the wall lately. So much so, my FCC's are patiently waiting a future price drop from NCL. 

 

To the Edge I come! Well, hopefully and fingers crossed.

 

Stay safe everyone and wishing you many journeys in the months and year ahead. 

 

Solocruiser MA aka Philippe

 

As someone that's sailed on a few NCL and a few Celebrity cruises i'm going to throw in my opinion on the matter.

 

The first disclaimer that I will give is that i'm in my mid-30s and have been on 9-10 cruises including Carnival, MSC, Celebrity, Royal, and NCL. I've stayed in an inside cabin (Edge January 19) and done the Yacht Club on MSC.

 

The Edge is simply an amazing ship. It has some of the best technology onboard, the best quality of food, best service, and also best entertainment. There are some mixed reviews about the "infinite veranda" concept but I think it's blown a little out of proportion.

 

While on the Edge I noticed a stark contrast in reviews mostly based on age. A vast majority of those who weren't fans of the ship were seasoned Celebrity cruisers 60 and up. Most of us that were 40 and under absolutely raved about our cruise. I think it comes down to adapting to change and some people simply don't like how Celebrity has changed their product.

 

The first thing you'll notice is that Celebrity unlike NCL doesn't nickel and dime you about every single thing. Believe it or not I find the pricing of Celebrity to be just as competitive (if not cheaper) than on many NCL sailings. The classic beverage package on Celebrity includes bottled water unlike the "deluxe" package on NCL and you don't have to pay any additional fees on it if you get it as a perk. NCL rips you off with almost $200 per 7 day sailing in "gratuities" on their "free" beverage package. You don't have to worry about Celebrity doing that.

 

On the Edge class ships you'll have access to all 4 dining rooms and if you choose the dine anytime option you can literally go to whichever dining room you prefer and whenever you want. Each dining room has the "standard" daily menu plus a list of items specific to that dining room. The service is IMPECCABLE and the food on the Edge last year was 100 times better than anything I ate on NCL including their specialty restaurants.

 

Cabin sizes overall are bigger and more comfortable on the Edge compared to any NCL ship i've been on. I've been on the Getaway, Escape, and Sun. As a matter of fact, our inside room on the Edge felt bigger and more comfortable than a balcony on NCL.

 

The boarding experience will blow your mind. You upload a picture of yourself on the app and when you arrive at the pier you drop off your bags, stop and talk to one of the agents for about 1 minute and you're walking onto the ship with no wait. From getting out of our Uber to walking into our cabin it was about 8 minutes. That included dropping off our luggage.

 

As far as the entertainment goes i've always enjoyed it on NCL. However, the talent onboard the Edge last year was like nothing i've ever seen on a cruise ship. The entertainment was simply impeccable.

 

Believe it or not there is 1 thing NCL does better than Celebrity, or any other cruiseline for that matter. The Spa. Not saying that it wasn't impressive on the Edge, but the setup and the facilities in the Spa on the Escape were amazing. Having that hot tub and big hot water pool in the spa on the Escape makes a huge difference!

 

Anyways, enough with my rant about how much I love Celebrity. If you have any other specific questions please feel free to ask! I'm booked in an AquaClass cabin in April on the Apex and spent less than NCL wanted for any regular balcony cabin on a similar itinerary and I can't wait!

[DaCruiseBug]

5 hours ago, Dwight1 said:

The difference in meals between the Edge and NCL is simply light years. You will enjoy.


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Absolutely. It's like eating a steak at Golden Corral and Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.

[SolocruiserMA]

12 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

As someone that's sailed on a few NCL and a few Celebrity cruises i'm going to throw in my opinion on the matter.

 

The first disclaimer that I will give is that i'm in my mid-30s and have been on 9-10 cruises including Carnival, MSC, Celebrity, Royal, and NCL. I've stayed in an inside cabin (Edge January 19) and done the Yacht Club on MSC.

 

The Edge is simply an amazing ship. It has some of the best technology onboard, the best quality of food, best service, and also best entertainment. There are some mixed reviews about the "infinite veranda" concept but I think it's blown a little out of proportion.

 

While on the Edge I noticed a stark contrast in reviews mostly based on age. A vast majority of those who weren't fans of the ship were seasoned Celebrity cruisers 60 and up. Most of us that were 40 and under absolutely raved about our cruise. I think it comes down to adapting to change and some people simply don't like how Celebrity has changed their product.

 

The first thing you'll notice is that Celebrity unlike NCL doesn't nickel and dime you about every single thing. Believe it or not I find the pricing of Celebrity to be just as competitive (if not cheaper) than on many NCL sailings. The classic beverage package on Celebrity includes bottled water unlike the "deluxe" package on NCL and you don't have to pay any additional fees on it if you get it as a perk. NCL rips you off with almost $200 per 7 day sailing in "gratuities" on their "free" beverage package. You don't have to worry about Celebrity doing that.

 

On the Edge class ships you'll have access to all 4 dining rooms and if you choose the dine anytime option you can literally go to whichever dining room you prefer and whenever you want. Each dining room has the "standard" daily menu plus a list of items specific to that dining room. The service is IMPECCABLE and the food on the Edge last year was 100 times better than anything I ate on NCL including their specialty restaurants.

 

Cabin sizes overall are bigger and more comfortable on the Edge compared to any NCL ship i've been on. I've been on the Getaway, Escape, and Sun. As a matter of fact, our inside room on the Edge felt bigger and more comfortable than a balcony on NCL.

 

The boarding experience will blow your mind. You upload a picture of yourself on the app and when you arrive at the pier you drop off your bags, stop and talk to one of the agents for about 1 minute and you're walking onto the ship with no wait. From getting out of our Uber to walking into our cabin it was about 8 minutes. That included dropping off our luggage.

 

As far as the entertainment goes i've always enjoyed it on NCL. However, the talent onboard the Edge last year was like nothing i've ever seen on a cruise ship. The entertainment was simply impeccable.

 

Believe it or not there is 1 thing NCL does better than Celebrity, or any other cruiseline for that matter. The Spa. Not saying that it wasn't impressive on the Edge, but the setup and the facilities in the Spa on the Escape were amazing. Having that hot tub and big hot water pool in the spa on the Escape makes a huge difference!

 

Anyways, enough with my rant about how much I love Celebrity. If you have any other specific questions please feel free to ask! I'm booked in an AquaClass cabin in April on the Apex and spent less than NCL wanted for any regular balcony cabin on a similar itinerary and I can't wait!

DaCruiseBug, thank you kindly for your in-depth comparison between your experiences on both NCL and Celebrity. 

 

As a man barely clinging on to his 30s I don't consider myself a traditionalist. I'm very excited to try out The Edge especially after the thoughts you've shared. I'm in a panoramic ocean view as I figured it should be light and airy and at the time, a considerably lower price to an IV cabin. I reckon I'd seldom open the balcony window anyhow.  I'm very easy to please generally. A gin martini, not too dry before dinner and a drambuie on the rocks after usually does the trick. Well, lots of good books to read whilst I people watch pretending to read. Lol 

 

NCL just hasn't done it for me the last few voyages. Shame as I hit platinum. I agree with you on the spa! A magnificent place. But the prices are through the roof!  

 

Good food, entertainment, a beautiful ship, and the endless majesty of the sea. I'll take it! 

 

Safe voyages to you! 

 

Philippe

 

[cl.klink]

On 10/10/2020 at 9:54 PM, SolocruiserMA said:

After many cruises on NCL, I decided to jump ship and try Celebrity. I'd like to think it's because I'm eminently more sophisticated, worldly, cultured, and debonair than I was but nah! I'm the same old me and NCL prices are off the wall lately. So much so, my FCC's are patiently waiting a future price drop from NCL. 

 

To the Edge I come! Well, hopefully and fingers crossed.

 

Stay safe everyone and wishing you many journeys in the months and year ahead. 

 

Solocruiser MA aka Philippe

 

Yeah.  It's that.

 

- Joel

[lv2cruisgrl]

We hope you will love Celebrity as much as we do.  We did Edge and loved her, doing Apex in April 2021.  Welcome Aboard!