Trying Celebrity After NCL

[happy cruzer]

17 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I am not going to buy a new wardrobe to go on a cruise either. I don't own jeans in any color, but blue. Also, I am assuming the sneakers would still be a no go, so I would have to buy new shoes as well.

I did not mean that you have to do anything differently just a suggestion if you happen to be changing something up.  As others have said, you will be admitted with what you posted.  I think shorts and flip flops are the only no gos, and they still get admitted usually.  Everyone is just posting what is commonly worn.  There will always be differences just like on NCL.  It's your comfort level; not any of ours.

[JamieLogical]

I am going to try to find more videos of the passengers on the Edge specifically and see whether I think I would feel comfortable. It's tricky because I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb, but I also don't want to buy a bunch of clothes that I would only wear a couple of weeks a year for cruising....

[Seany527]

10 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

I am going to try to find more videos of the passengers on the Edge specifically and see whether I think I would feel comfortable. It's tricky because I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb, but I also don't want to buy a bunch of clothes that I would only wear a couple of weeks a year for cruising....

Jamie, I’m a dedicated NCL cruiser and what I love most about NCL is their relaxed dress code. 
 

I jumped ship for the first time because Celebrity could get me back to sea before NCL (just 9 more days to go 😁) but then after they canceled our “back to sea” Jamaica cruise, I booked the Edge. 
 

I don’t like dressing up at all, but I have to for work. I wear my dress clothes with a super slim cut so if I gain like 5 pounds they become extremely tight and uncomfortable. On top of all that, dress clothes get wrinkled in my suitcase and having to wear long sleeves in the Caribbean is extremely annoying. 

So none the less, I’ll bring my dress close in 9 days with me to Sint Maarten and I’ll wear them to dinner. I’ll let you know how it goes and if I think you will still jive on a Celebrity ship. It sounds silly that clothing attire would dictate a cruise, so once aboard I hope I’ll be able to tell and report to you first hand from one (former?) NCL cruiser to another.  

[JamieLogical]

1 minute ago, Seany527 said:

Jamie, I’m a dedicated NCL cruiser and what I love most about NCL is their relaxed dress code. 
 

I jumped ship for the first time because Celebrity could get me back to sea before NCL (just 9 more days to go 😁) but then after they canceled our “back to sea” Jamaica cruise, I booked the Edge. 
 

I don’t like dressing up at all, but I have to for work. I wear my dress clothes with a super slim cut so if I gain like 5 pounds they become extremely tight and uncomfortable. On top of all that, dress clothes get wrinkled in my suitcase and having to wear long sleeves in the Caribbean is extremely annoying. 

So none the less, I’ll bring my dress close in 9 days with me to Sint Maarten and I’ll wear them to dinner. I’ll let you know how it goes and if I think you will still jive on a Celebrity ship. It sounds silly that clothing attire would dictate a cruise, so once aboard I hope I’ll be able to tell and report to you first hand from one (former?) NCL cruiser to another.  

 

That would be great! Please do follow up!

[Turtles06]

3 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

These are the two basic outfits I wear on a cruise:

 

Jamie, I am a female who does not like to dress up, and certainly not on vacation.  I don't wear dresses or skirts, and don't own any.   That said, and speaking only for myself, I would not feel comfortable going into the MDR for dinner on Celebrity in something like your first outfit.  On a warm weather cruise, I will bring a pair of light-colored khakis and some button-down type shirts, and a pair of khaki colored sneakers.   And/or black jeans and black sneakers.   If I wore "blue" jeans into the MDR, I'd wear something nicer than a t-shirt.

 

I've never cruised with Celebrity in the Caribbean, where I imagine things are more relaxed than on other Celebrity itineraries, but I do think you've gotten good advice above about dressing on Celebrity.  It's definitely relaxed, but I would not consider it "anything goes" as it's become on NCL.  

 

Your second outfit would be fine.  No need to wear a dress all day.  I have no problem changing for dinner, and generally want to get out of the clothes I've been wearing all day, especially on a warm weather cruise.

Edited May 27, 2021 by Turtles06

[SolocruiserMA]

JamieLogical, thank you for asking this question! My husband Ed and I are also switching from NCL to Celebrity,  after a very long time with NCL. We have the Apex booked for March 2022.  I have similar concerns as you mentioned and,  this is giving me reassurance it was a good decision!  

 

Thank you again, 

 

Philip and Ed. 

[kwokpot]

19 minutes ago, SolocruiserMA said:

JamieLogical, thank you for asking this question! My husband Ed and I are also switching from NCL to Celebrity,  after a very long time with NCL. We have the Apex booked for March 2022.  I have similar concerns as you mentioned and,  this is giving me reassurance it was a good decision!  

 

Thank you again, 

 

Philip and Ed. 

Polo shirts, short sleeve button shirts, linen sweater,long sleeve shirt,Khakis, nice jeans, Boat shoes,loafers,Nice Leather dress sneakers are all appropriate Men's wear for the dining room. Of course you can dress up, but it's not necessary. My husband and I no longer bring any sports jackets of any kind nor ties and we only have slacks and both nice polo type shirts and long sleeve button shirts with loafers and/or dress sneakers.

Edit: Attached is a photo of our closet on the Edge during the inaugural Eastern Caribbean cruise in December, 2018. 

Edited May 27, 2021 by kwokpot

[SolocruiserMA]

16 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Polo shirts, short sleeve button shirts, linen sweater,long sleeve shirt,Khakis, nice jeans, Boat shoes,loafers,Nice Leather dress sneakers are all appropriate Men's wear for the dining room. Of course you can dress up, but it's not necessary. My husband and I no longer bring any sports jackets of any kind nor ties and we only have slacks and both nice polo type shirts and long sleeve button shirts with loafers and/or dress sneakers.

Edit: Attached is a photo of our closet on the Edge during the inaugural Eastern Caribbean cruise in December, 2018. 

Thank you very much ! Very helpful.  My poor hubby is a diesel mechanic and, will obligingly wear what I buy and pack for him.  I just don't want to torture the dude.  LOL.  That's comfy yet, smart enough to blend in. 

[poffles]

Ironically we were on the roll call together for the Bliss out of New York for the very first of the cancelled cruises March 2020.  I still think of the back and forth on whether to cancel or not right up to the days before.  I cancelled the very week of sailing and watched it unfold for the rest of you when the stop sail order(s) hit on the Thursday before our sailing that weekend and I was so thankful to have made my own decision as I would have been stuck in New York by the time they did that.

 

I have sailed NCL ... Pearl and Epic and have since been sailing Celebrity (Summit, Reflection, Equinox, Edge) and had not looked back until I attempted to try NCL again.  I love Celebrity for the more adult feel to everything as there are no slides or other activities that draw a different passenger base.  I also love Celebrity for no smoking anywhere inside.  I loved the Edge, such a beautiful ship!  I had a deluxe inside cabin and it was so spacious.

 

I am not a dress up type person either and it took me a while to be okay with fitting in with others that choose to glam up.  In fact, it was this that was keeping me from trying Celebrity but their offering drink packages (long ago as 123) included hooked me. Celebrity has changed their dress code in recent years to allow a nice top and nice looking jeans and I have done this on many of my cruises for the evening and could care less what others think.  Celebrity says it's okay so to each their own.  I would often go the buffet on the nights that they identify as cruise elegant.  I never wore a plain t-shirt though (in the evening) as that really would have felt out of place for me and I would use my top to dress myself up with my jeans (what I consider nice maybe darker blue 😄) and a dressier pair of sandals, it was my comfort.

 

I love the service on Celebrity as it is leaps and bounds above NCL, at least based on my prior NCL experiences.  The drink package that is included will cover a lot of drinks and you should feel no need to upgrade to anything else but that is a decision you can make once on the ship, I love that it includes the specialty coffees as I love my lattes and cappuccinos.

 

As for specialty dining, I only did this a couple times on a Celebrity ship as I never felt the need to pay extra to eat.  I did not do this on the Edge so can't offer much insight on this one.  It would definitely be nice for a special occasion and Eden looks interesting for that.

 

I think the biggest area of difference will be entertainment as NCL is definitely more broad with what they offer and Celebrity does not come close to comparing.

 

So my opinion is clearly that I would go on Celebrity ANYTIME over NCL even though I keep wondering if I have heightened my bad memories of my last Epic cruise (service was terrible), maybe I will try again one day but meanwhile Celebrity has my focus.  I don't need the bells and whistles of slides and such to entertain me so I can live with that area missing in action, though I do wish Celebrity had better shows though this is an area of personal taste so another to each their own.

 

 

Edited May 27, 2021 by poffles

[kwokpot]

10 minutes ago, poffles said:

 

I think the biggest area of difference will be entertainment as NCL is definitely more broad with what they offer and Celebrity does not come close to comparing.

 

I think my all time favorite NCL show is Burn the Floor. I can watch the show as many times as it's on a 7 night cruise.

[poffles]

14 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

I think my all time favorite NCL show is Burn the Floor. I can watch the show as many times as it's on a 7 night cruise.

 

EXACTLY ... I still think of the Legends show as it was so awesome.  They had Aerosmith act in it and OMG the guy as Steven Tylor was incredible, he looked just like him and I could have watched that over and over again.

 

Oh and editing here to say that I should have mentioned above that I am female as my profile name does not identify, figure relevant to my mentioning what I typically wear in the evening.

Edited May 27, 2021 by poffles

[JamieLogical]

I have decided to still give Celebrity a shot. I might by an extra dress or two, so I don't have to re-wear the three I have multiple times. I am also looking at some sort of resort-casual wide-leg pants to maybe wear with a solid-color top? I ordered some on Amazon Prime just now for $18. If I like those, that might be a good option and if not, I can return them easily.

[Alsmez]

54 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

I have decided to still give Celebrity a shot. I might by an extra dress or two, so I don't have to re-wear the three I have multiple times. I am also looking at some sort of resort-casual wide-leg pants to maybe wear with a solid-color top? I ordered some on Amazon Prime just now for $18. If I like those, that might be a good option and if not, I can return them easily.

Resort-casual pants will work fine for the MDR on Celebrity. I basically live in loose linen pants on Caribbean cruises and I have never felt underdressed even in specialty restaurants on Celebrity. Pair them with a nicer-than-tshirt top and cute sandals for evening and you're good to go.

[graphicguy]

@JamieLogical…I think I’m getting ready to jump from NCL to Celebrity, too.  Never thought about dress codes.  I’ve never worried about what others thought about how I dressed while on vacation before, won’t now.  I know what others wear don’t bother me.

 

My clothes are stylish and clean.  Don’t wear printed t-shirts at home, won’t on a cruise.  What color my jeans are really makes no difference to me, but they are all blue.  I wear collared “Hawaiian” type collared shirts.  They‘re colorful.  I like them.  IF others don‘t, there’s nothing I can really do about that.

 

But, I am excited about trying something different.  Looking closely at a July Edge sailing.

Edited May 28, 2021 by graphicguy

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

I might by an extra dress or two, so I don't have to re-wear the three I have multiple times.

TBH, NOTHING wrong with re-wearing clothes. I do it all the time on cruises. 

[Janedoe2012]

Hey Jamie.. Capri’s with a nice blouse and nice sandals worked well for me on my last Celebrity Cruise. I sailed with NCL half a dozen times before I sailed with Celebrity and I didn’t regret the change. The one other perk of Celebrity compared to NCL is whether you choose fixed dining or select you will more then likely have the same waiter/sommelier for all your dinners. A few days into the cruise they will have your favourite beverage waiting for you at the table or nearby in the wine chiller, they will know your first name and make some solid recommendations for dinner choices. Service overall on the ship much better then NCL.

[Torfamm]

4 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

I have decided to still give Celebrity a shot. I might by an extra dress or two, so I don't have to re-wear the three I have multiple times. I am also looking at some sort of resort-casual wide-leg pants to maybe wear with a solid-color top? I ordered some on Amazon Prime just now for $18. If I like those, that might be a good option and if not, I can return them easily.

Hope it works out! You may find it’s more comfortable than jeans in hot weather. You might also have some afternoons at the beach in port or by the pool so that changing for dinner feels natural, not a chore.

[CoatRackOfDoom]

Jamie, your Jean'sare not torn and not particularly faded. Sneakers are apparently suede. If I were you I'd just zip up that hoodie and go to dinner. I've seen people more casually dressed in the MDR on Millennium. 

Also I love the Yoshi t-shirt! I get most of mine from TeeFury.

Ed

[poffles]

7 hours ago, Janedoe2012 said:

Hey Jamie.. Capri’s with a nice blouse and nice sandals worked well for me on my last Celebrity Cruise. I sailed with NCL half a dozen times before I sailed with Celebrity and I didn’t regret the change. The one other perk of Celebrity compared to NCL is whether you choose fixed dining or select you will more then likely have the same waiter/sommelier for all your dinners. A few days into the cruise they will have your favourite beverage waiting for you at the table or nearby in the wine chiller, they will know your first name and make some solid recommendations for dinner choices. Service overall on the ship much better then NCL.

 

Oh yes!  I wore capris a lot too so that is another option.

 

Glad you decided to go for it JamieLogical (and others), I don't think you will regret it, even things like having someone walking around to tables in the buffet at breakfast time serving coffee or taking 'drink' orders put a smile on my face as I had never seen that before.  I am more than fine getting my own coffee and such but it just showed the little things that were nice added touches that made it feel so different than NCL (or Carnival).

 

Have a great cruise everyone!!!!!!  Crossing my fingers for happy sails. Maybe you will see Bug Naked and you will most certainly see Captain Kate.

[JamieLogical]

6 hours ago, CoatRackOfDoom said:

Jamie, your Jean'sare not torn and not particularly faded. Sneakers are apparently suede. If I were you I'd just zip up that hoodie and go to dinner. I've seen people more casually dressed in the MDR on Millennium. 

Also I love the Yoshi t-shirt! I get most of mine from TeeFury.

Ed

 

I have bought MANY t-shirts from TeeFury over the years!

[PTC DAWG]

13 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

I have decided to still give Celebrity a shot. I might by an extra dress or two, so I don't have to re-wear the three I have multiple times. I am also looking at some sort of resort-casual wide-leg pants to maybe wear with a solid-color top? I ordered some on Amazon Prime just now for $18. If I like those, that might be a good option and if not, I can return them easily.

I have sailed both lines.  Most here are spot on with their comments.  I think you'll be fine.  

 

 

[pixiedust777]

Jaime we sail on both lines and you will be fine.

We like both NCL and Celebrity for different reasons but have never had a bad cruise on either.

NCL we find is busier with families and a better party atmosphere.

Celebrity we like for a more relaxed quiet style.

DH wears golf pants and a polo to dinner and I wear a simple sun dress or capris and a blouse. We do this on both lines. 
For the Chic nights ( used to be formal nights)on Celebrity we wear the same attire and do not feel out of place. 
We do however change from what we have been wearing during the day on both lines.

We currently do have cruises booked on both lines and just waiting to see what happens.

 

[Seany527]

How about after dinner?  Is it unheard of for men to put khaki or linen shorts back on after they leave the dining room?

[Turtles06]

38 minutes ago, Seany527 said:

How about after dinner?  Is it unheard of for men to put khaki or linen shorts back on after they leave the dining room?

No reason not to change after dinner. Women too. 

[kwokpot]

11 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

No reason not to change after dinner. Women too. 

I do this regularly and that's why I have no issues re- wearing shirts on a cruise since they've been worn literally less than 3 hours. I change for dinner and ready for ore dinner drinks at 6:30,dinner at 7,back in the room to change to different clothes at 8:30-9. If we're going to a show right after dinner and I don't have time to change,then I'm wearing the sane thing to the show.

I definitely have different clothes on during the day than at dinner time. During the day it's t-shirts and shorts,swimsuits,gym wear.