JamieLogical's Big NCL vs. Celebrity Thread

[JamieLogical]

I forgot to mention, I definitely missed having a 24/7 sit-down dining option like O'Sheehan's/The Local. Sometimes you want something quick, but want to still be waited on. Sometimes you want something between meals. I definitely do a lot of breakfasts and lunches at O'Sheehan's/The Local on NCL and my options felt really limited in that regard on Celebrity.

[Oakman58]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Right now? I would choose Celebrity. There was nothing to deter me from cruising with them again. Meanwhile, I am still pretty "done" with NCL. I have no intention of sailing NCL again once we do our B2B in September and use up the last of our FCC.

 

Oh oh, NCL didn't treat your right or something else?

 

I keep saying I'm done with NCL but they keep sucking me in with a lower price.

[JamieLogical]

7 minutes ago, Oakman58 said:

 

Oh oh, NCL didn't treat your right or something else?

 

I keep saying I'm done with NCL but they keep sucking me in with a lower price.

 

I was booked on their "Return to Sea" sailing out of Jamaica. They canceled my cruise to move the crew to the Encore for Alaska sailings and canceled the Gem "Return to Sea" sailings out of the DR to move the ship to sail out of Miami instead. They did not offer ANY compensation to anyone on these canceled cruising, treating them as normal COVID cancelations even though these were business decisions that had nothing to do with COVID or the CDC.

[Oakman58]

3 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I was booked on their "Return to Sea" sailing out of Jamaica. They canceled my cruise to move the crew to the Encore for Alaska sailings and canceled the Gem "Return to Sea" sailings out of the DR to move the ship to sail out of Miami instead. They did not offer ANY compensation to anyone on these canceled cruising, treating them as normal COVID cancelations even though these were business decisions that had nothing to do with COVID or the CDC.

 

I would be very upset about that too.  Sorry that happened to you.  BTW, I loved your Celebrity trip report and all the photos.  Thanks for sharing.

[JamieLogical]

6 minutes ago, Oakman58 said:

 

I would be very upset about that too.  Sorry that happened to you.  BTW, I loved your Celebrity trip report and all the photos.  Thanks for sharing.

 

Yeah, it was just so especially galling after they had assured us up and down that THESE cruises would actually happen and not be canceled due to COVID. It was their big "Return to Sea", so of course, their most loyal customers and the most eager to sail booked them right away. The least they could have done was some sort of lift-and-shift like other lines had done. All they offered us was the standard 10% off coupon and you can't have more than one of those on your account. We had already had 5 canceled cruises, so we had acquired our 10% off coupon long ago and had, in fact, applied it to this sailing before it was canceled!

[BermudaBound2014]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

I forgot to mention, I definitely missed having a 24/7 sit-down dining option like O'Sheehan's/The Local. Sometimes you want something quick, but want to still be waited on. Sometimes you want something between meals. I definitely do a lot of breakfasts and lunches at O'Sheehan's/The Local on NCL and my options felt really limited in that regard on Celebrity.

 

It's a little embarassing to admit, but that is probably the one thing I miss most when not sailing NCL. Most lines have a 24 hour place (if just pizza), but sitting down and getting waited on at 2:30 a.m. reminds me of all the times we headed to breakfast after the bar. 

Edited August 6, 2021 by BermudaBound2014

[Cruising Lynne]

8 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Right now? I would choose Celebrity. There was nothing to deter me from cruising with them again. Meanwhile, I am still pretty "done" with NCL. I have no intention of sailing NCL again once we do our B2B in September and use up the last of our FCC.

 If you weren't "done" with NCL which would you choose??  Seems like it depends on one's priorities. One line has a more laid back vibe, and one has better complimentary food.

 

Thank you for the review on the Celebrity forum. It would be interesting to sail again on the same ship again after things are a little bit more back to normal. The reduced capacity seems to be affecting things around the ships. You mentioned that the MDR wasn't open for breakfast or lunch on a port day, and one of the vloggers on a RCCL ship mentioned that the buffet wasn't open for dinner on their trip. Can't wait to find out how things are on the first sailings of Encore and Jade.

[JamieLogical]

6 hours ago, Cruising Lynne said:

 If you weren't "done" with NCL which would you choose??  Seems like it depends on one's priorities. One line has a more laid back vibe, and one has better complimentary food.

 

Thank you for the review on the Celebrity forum. It would be interesting to sail again on the same ship again after things are a little bit more back to normal. The reduced capacity seems to be affecting things around the ships. You mentioned that the MDR wasn't open for breakfast or lunch on a port day, and one of the vloggers on a RCCL ship mentioned that the buffet wasn't open for dinner on their trip. Can't wait to find out how things are on the first sailings of Encore and Jade.

 

I don't know if there would ever be a true apples to apples comparison. Remember I will have Platinum status with NCL after my September sailing, so that would play a role too. But, in the imaginary scenario where I wasn't upset with NCL, the prices and itineraries were the same, I didn't have any loyalty status with either line, and the two ships were similar in size/age, I would go with NCL. I think the facts that I can dress in my normal clothes, some specialty meals dining are included, and O'sheehan's/The Local is available 24/7 would earn points for NCL. Celebrity had better quality of included food and better drinks, but I think the "pros" for NCL beat those out in my book. Plus, NCL still feels like "home" since my first seven cruises were with NCL.

 

In real life, though, I will never be in a position to make that decision. I think what I have learned most from this sailing is that I enjoy cruising and the line probably doesn't matter as much as I thought it did. I can adjust to the minor differences. So, moving forward, I want to explore more lines by just making the best choice based on itinerary, price, and ship, regardless of line. I talked to a lot of people on the cruise who had sailed many different lines. They all encouraged me to try other lines.

[edspec]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

In real life, though, I will never be in a position to make that decision. I think what I have learned most from this sailing is that I enjoy cruising and the line probably doesn't matter as much as I thought it did. I can adjust to the minor differences. So, moving forward, I want to explore more lines by just making the best choice based on itinerary, price, and ship, regardless of line. I talked to a lot of people on the cruise who had sailed many different lines. They all encouraged me to try other lines.

This.

When we started cruising we went with DCL, which was great for a long time.  I got fed up with the Disney entertainment though...not much of a fairytale fan.  There was also no drink package available, and as we all know DCL is expensive.  Finally, their loyalty program isn't fair.  They reward number of cruises vs. cruise days, so someone with 10 3 day cruises has a higher status than my family with 8 cruises, one of which was 14 days, and another which was 10.

We looked around and since have tried RCL, CCL, (loved Panorama), MSC, HAL, and NCL.  I like all of them for different reasons. 

[Oakman58]

One of the big pluses that NCL has for me is the stage productions in the theater and the lounge acts.  With a few exception, I think the live entertainment on NCL ships is some of the best in the cruise industry.

I think all the cruise lines have their pluses and minuses.  In 2019 we did an Alaskan cruise on the Holland Westerdam and the crew was outstanding.  Our room stewards were so attentive it was almost like having a butler. However, theater entertainment was way below average in my opinion.   Holland did a lot of little things that added up to a big deal for me, a Welcome aboard gift in our cabin, a luncheon for returning star Mariners that was way better than NCL's Latitudes party, a steak and lobster night in the MDR, and news from home every morning in the buffet.  Here's a picture what I mean about news from home.

 

 

Keep in mind that I'm 75 years old so my likes may differ from other CC members.  My wife and I have two future cruises booked, one in December on the NCL Bliss and a South American cruise with Holland in February '22.

 

It's been far too many years since I've cruised with Carnival and Royal Caribbean to make any comparisons.

 

[graphicguy]

Not wanting to steal any of Jamie's insights, as they are pretty much spot on from where I sit.  We have similar experiences with NCL and the cancelled cruises.  Bottom line, after begging us to come back to sail, they cancelled cruises only to offer them again at a higher fare.  To me, that's just really bad business and a real slap in the face to those of us who had thousands of dollars tied up with NCL (at their request and command), in many cases, for more than a year.

 

Very hard to overlook that....and I'm a Platinum Latitudes member with NCL.  Can't overlook what they did to us.

 

I also agree with Jamie that more than anything, I enjoy cruising.  It would have to be something pretty horrific for me to say I had a terrible cruise.  I was even on the "listing" cruise on the NCL Escape a few years ago where the ship was hit with a huge gust of wind and tossed us out of bed and injured other passengers.  Even that one I had a grand time after all the hoopla.

 

That said, there are differences between Celebrity and NCL.  I'll give NCL the nod on entertainment.  But, everything else goes to Celebrity.  Food, Service, beauty of their ships, everything else was better on the Celebrity sailings I took.  Frankly, the entertainment on Celebrity wasn't bad.  It was quite good.  It just wasn't over the top with shows like Million Dollar Quartet, or Choir of Man, etc that NCL has.

 

The Platinum perks NCL offers me aren't really anything that would keep me in the NCL fold.  A little laundry service, or some cheap champaign or a couple of Latitudes parties aren't going to sway me to go back.

 

Even with the 25% credits and 10% off cruise fares NCL gave me did not make up for the price increases NCL instituted, either.  So, they don't even have a price advantage over Celebrity.

 

I have fun on cruises.  I adjust my optics depending on the cruise line I'm sailing (I certainly have different expectations for a Carnival Cruise than I do a Celebrity Cruise).  As long as I keep those optics in focus, I love my cruises.

[Cruising Lynne]

5 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I don't know if there would ever be a true apples to apples comparison. Remember I will have Platinum status with NCL after my September sailing, so that would play a role too. But, in the imaginary scenario where I wasn't upset with NCL, the prices and itineraries were the same, I didn't have any loyalty status with either line, and the two ships were similar in size/age, I would go with NCL. I think the facts that I can dress in my normal clothes, some specialty meals dining are included, and O'sheehan's/The Local is available 24/7 would earn points for NCL. Celebrity had better quality of included food and better drinks, but I think the "pros" for NCL beat those out in my book. Plus, NCL still feels like "home" since my first seven cruises were with NCL.

 

In real life, though, I will never be in a position to make that decision. I think what I have learned most from this sailing is that I enjoy cruising and the line probably doesn't matter as much as I thought it did. I can adjust to the minor differences. So, moving forward, I want to explore more lines by just making the best choice based on itinerary, price, and ship, regardless of line. I talked to a lot of people on the cruise who had sailed many different lines. They all encouraged me to try other lines.

 I really like this response. I am glad the experience has opened you up to trying other lines. The sea is calling!

[Drews_Cruise]

I agree fully.  After finally leaving Princess to try Celebrity we loved it a realized we weren’t getting much for loyalty anyway.  Now booked on our first NCL and can’t wait to compare it with all the other lines we’ve tried.

[JamieLogical]

Yesterday I scheduled my next solo sailing for November 13 on the Celebrity Summit. It's only a 5-day as the 5 day mark is when missing my husband started to slightly outweigh my enjoyment of the cruise on my Equinox sailing. We also changed our January 2 sailing on the Edge to a 9-Day sailing on the Equinox on January 21. The itinerary is much better and I am hoping to catch some of my favorite staff members again before their contracts are up the 1st of February.

[oteixeira]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Yesterday I scheduled my next solo sailing for November 13 on the Celebrity Summit. It's only a 5-day as the 5 day mark is when missing my husband started to slightly outweigh my enjoyment of the cruise on my Equinox sailing. We also changed our January 2 sailing on the Edge to a 9-Day sailing on the Equinox on January 21. The itinerary is much better and I am hoping to catch some of my favorite staff members again before their contracts are up the 1st of February.

Jamie, I totally understand.  Any sailing without my wife is 5 days or less.  I have a 5 day this year with my mom, get's me back just in time to not start missing my wife too much.  I am hoping for either Celebrity or MSC cruise to end 2022, and whichever I don't do then I will add to the 2023 list.  I don't have any issues with NCL at this time, just want to see what the others have to offer.  Honestly, MSC is more of a "how can they do the Yacht Club for this low a price" kind of curiosity.  LOL

[MorganClark]

4 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Yesterday I scheduled my next solo sailing for November 13 on the Celebrity Summit. It's only a 5-day as the 5 day mark is when missing my husband started to slightly outweigh my enjoyment of the cruise on my Equinox sailing. We also changed our January 2 sailing on the Edge to a 9-Day sailing on the Equinox on January 21. The itinerary is much better and I am hoping to catch some of my favorite staff members again before their contracts are up the 1st of February.

 

Hi Jaime. Just curious, is it still a good deal (worth the experience) cruising solo with Celebrity on a non-Edge class ship (i.e. Summit)? Does Celebrity have studio cabins on Summit? I know the Edge class ships have those Single Infinite Veranda (SIV) staterooms, of which, I am booked in one on Celebrity Edge for an Oct 2-9th W. Caribbean cruise. Curious and looking forward to trying one of those SIVs 

Edited August 8, 2021 by MorganClark

[JamieLogical]

3 hours ago, MorganClark said:

 

Hi Jaime. Just curious, is it still a good deal (worth the experience) cruising solo with Celebrity on a non-Edge class ship (i.e. Summit)? Does Celebrity have studio cabins on Summit? I know the Edge class ships have those Single Infinite Veranda (SIV) staterooms, of which, I am booked in one on Celebrity Edge for an Oct 2-9th W. Caribbean cruise. Curious and looking forward to trying one of those SIVs 

 

Both my Equinox sailing, which I just came back from, and my Summit sailing in November had no solo supplement. So I felt like it was a good deal. Plus, for this Summit sailing in November, round trip flights to Miami were only $175 total.

[MorganClark]

46 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Both my Equinox sailing, which I just came back from, and my Summit sailing in November had no solo supplement. So I felt like it was a good deal. Plus, for this Summit sailing in November, round trip flights to Miami were only $175 total.

 

Wow, even before I knew about the no solo supplement on Celebrity, I thought Celebrity was a very solo friendly cruise line (with those aforementioned Single Infinite Veranda (SIV) staterooms on their Edge-class ships. Btw, Edge has 16 SIVs, Apex added 8 more for a total of 24 SUVs and Beyond will have even 8 more for a total of 32 SIVs!). Now, I think they are a very, very solo friendly cruise line! If Celebrity keeps this "no solo supplement" promo on, I'll be able to try Celebrity's non Edge-class ships (like you're doing).

[willsears94]

Thanks Jamie 😊 I have not been on cruise critic in what seems like ages. We were lucky to go on the Breakaway the week before the cruise industry shut down. We had planned to go on the Bliss but a very good rate on a angled Spa balcony. We certainly missed out on the Robert Mondavi Wine Bar.

 

We are now scheduled for the Apex and will be upgrading to the premium package. We will likely not be thrilled about Apex's spa in comparison to Norwegian, but are giving it a go. Unfortunately,  the solarium on RC and Celebrity do not make up for the spa in NCL. We are just hoping that Eden will entertain us as much as a Broadway show on Norwegian. The dining on Celebrity is the kicker for us as well. 

 

Edited August 9, 2021 by willsears94
Error in grammar

[JamieLogical]

9 hours ago, willsears94 said:

Thanks Jamie 😊 I have not been on cruise critic in what seems like ages. We were lucky to go on the Breakaway the week before the cruise industry shut down. We had planned to go on the Bliss but a very good rate on a angled Spa balcony. We certainly missed out on the Robert Mondavi Wine Bar.

 

We are now scheduled for the Apex and will be upgrading to the premium package. We will likely not be thrilled about Apex's spa in comparison to Norwegian, but are giving it a go. Unfortunately,  the solarium on RC and Celebrity do not make up for the spa in NCL. We are just hoping that Eden will entertain us as much as a Broadway show on Norwegian. The dining on Celebrity is the kicker for us as well. 

 

 

Yes, I certainly missed the spa on the Equinox. I have gotten in the habit of buying spa passes my last several NCL cruises and it is part of my daily routine on those sailings. I guess I should be grateful I am saving $200/cruise by not being tempted by a spa pass?

[MsTabbyKats]

@JamieLogical

Jamie-I am "thinking" of booking one of the Bermuda NCL cruises (like your father....masks are the issue).  Anyway...did they give you excursion options, or say anything about "getting off the ship"?  It would be for the Oct 3 sailing.

Thanks!

[JamieLogical]

1 minute ago, MsTabbyKats said:

@JamieLogical

Jamie-I am "thinking" of booking one of the Bermuda NCL cruises (like your father....masks are the issue).  Anyway...did they give you excursion options, or say anything about "getting off the ship"?  It would be for the Oct 3 sailing.

Thanks!

 

We have not been given specific information about the health protocols in Bermuda yet. We do have excursions available to book. There are 25 listed for our 9/26 sailing and 35 listed for our 10/3 sailing.

[PTC DAWG]

Jamie, just off Celebrity, Sunday the 8th, they definitely had room service breakfast figured out.

 

I agree with your points on the two lines..that said, the buffet on Equinox was probably running at about 60% of what they usually offer...our cruise had 1200 passengers...hard to compare the vibe to a full boat..my experience was that the crowd was younger than most Celebrity cruises that I have been on...the crowd by the pool was ready to party...one DJ did great, the other not so much.  What I really enjoy is the LIVE bands that play by the pool..two different ones were on board, totally different styles. I enjoyed one better than the other.  

 

2:30 AM food is what it is, I took full advantage of the drink package/casino etc and was in bed by 1 every night....

 

Drink service/package  is superior to NCL.  Bottled still or sparkling water, specialty coffee etc...

 

You are correct...vibe is different.  Too bad you missed the parties they had in the Sky Lounge, I hope you got up there a few times for the views during the day.  

 

Silent disco the last night was done with 3 live DJ's..I've never seen it done that way, and it was a blast.  

 

The solarium does serve a healthier breakfast and lunch, around 1:30 hours or so for each...also included with the cruise.  A zen vibe in there for sure.  Nice air-conditioned indoor pool.  

 

Towel supply around the pool areas is EPIC, if you get my drift...

 

What was really amazing to my Bride and I was the feeling of being on a ship at 40% capacity or so.  I would think any line would be glorious...sit wherever you wanted, hardly any wait for drinks etc..I am spoiled in that regard for sure.

 

Happy Sailing going forward...

 

 

Edited August 9, 2021 by PTC DAWG

[JamieLogical]

2 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

What was really amazing to my Bride and I was the feeling of being on a ship at 40% capacity or so.  I would think any line would be glorious...sit wherever you wanted, hardly any wait for drinks etc..I am spoiled in that regard for sure.

 

 

Were you on the Equinox as well? Our sailing was definitely over 40% capacity. Captain said we had just under 1600 passengers onboard. Capacity for the Equinox is 2852, so we would have been at ~56%.

[PTC DAWG]

2 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Were you on the Equinox as well? Our sailing was definitely over 40% capacity. Captain said we had just under 1600 passengers onboard. Capacity for the Equinox is 2852, so we would have been at ~56%.

Yes, we were told the cruise before us was around 400 more passengers than ours..the crew said they would tell the difference...weather was great, we only got off the ship in Costa Maya to wander around and buy a few things to try and help the vendors.  

 

Oh yeah, my Wife digs Captain Tasos.  I think I spelled that right..I hope you saw the Liars Club show....I'm still laughing.

Edited August 9, 2021 by PTC DAWG