JamieLogical's Big NCL vs. Celebrity Thread

[MorganClark]

3 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

My dh doesn’t read the forum much so I feel pretty safe saying I like sailing solo just as much as with him (maybe more…..likely more lol). Total freedom- which is why I am only interested in solo balconies. I’m totally content to just sit and watch the sea for hours. I’m thrilled to learn celebrity is increasing solo capacity- as you know I’m sold on the quantum class solo balconies (they have lounge chairs too), but  I’m chomping at the but to try a SIV!  Thanks for the info 🙂

 

Thanks, I feel the exact same way you do; even as a solo cruiser, "I gotta have me a balcony" (or veranda in the case of Celebrity). I'm booked on Celebrity Edge and Apex. I'm also booked on multiple RCI Quantum & Quantum Ultra class ships (Anthem OTS, Odyssey OTS & Ovation OTS). I didn't know about the lounge chairs which is just "icing on the cake", right? I also think RCI is very "solo friendly" because of their constant "60% off the 2nd guest" promo which effectively lowers the solo supplement to 40%, enabling us solos to book regular balcony cabins (which I have done on all 4 of RCI's Oasis class ships). Also, even though Carnival can be considered "solo unfriendly", I found that on their newest Excel class ships (Mardi Gras & Carnival Celebration) they have "Jr. balcony" staterooms which Carnival prices lower than their regular balcony staterooms. The Jr. balcony staterooms are just slightly smaller (sq.ft) than the regular balcony staterooms (but I believe the balconies themselves are the same size).  And yes, I am also booked on Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration in Jr balcony staterooms, lol. So, with these Jr. balcony staterooms on their new Excel class ships, Carnival is now becoming more "solo friendly" and they may not even know it, lol.

So, I wish you happy solo cruising! Wrt your husband, you know what they say; "absence makes the heart grow fonder".

Edited July 9, 2021 by MorganClark

[JamieLogical]

I have mixed feelings about sailing without my husband. I will definitely miss him and will be sad if there is some experience along the way that would have been nicer to have shared. However, I am kind of looking forward to being on my own schedule and doing what I want when I want without having to factor in another person. we usually do a lot separately on cruises anyway on sea days in between meals. Like I always spend a lot of the time in the casino and he doesn't. But we do always eat our meals together and usually do evening activities together. Will be nice to be able to go to the MDR when he would have preferred the buffet or stay out listening to a band that he maybe wouldn't like. Not that he won't suffer through a meal in a less-preferred venue or listen to a band for me, but it does detract a bit from the experience knowing when he is not enjoying himself. But mostly I think I will be sad to not be sharing new experiences with him.

[DCGuy64]

10 hours ago, coastcat said:

The best thing I can say about NCL's coffee is... um... it's plentiful and readily available. I tried the room service continental breakfast once; if I do it again, tea will be the beverage of choice. 

 

If we end up on the same Breakaway/BA+ ship one of these days, I'll sneak you espressos from the Studio Lounge!

 

So how good is Celebrity's coffee? I'm looking forward to trying out Café al Bacio on Edge - it looks like a great spot to chill out with a latte and a book. 

Hi, @coastcat. Do you know which coffee suppliers NCL and Celebrity use? I've seen menus before from O'Sheehan's showing they serve Lavazza (a brand I absolutely love), but I wonder if Starbucks took everything over. (I'm not a fan of Starbucks). Thank you in advance, and thanks to @JamieLogical for this great thread!

[Laszlo]

On 7/7/2021 at 3:10 PM, JamieLogical said:

As many of you know, I am going on my first Celebrity sailing on the Equinox on July 26th. This is the thread that I am going to use to post my comparisons between NCL and Celebrity. I'll try to break things down into digestible chunks. First up will be my pre-cruise experiences with Booking, Pricing/Perks, Reservations, and Check-in. Here is the first installment:

 

Booking

On NCL, I usually figure out what cruise I want to do based on just searching the NCL site myself. Once I have picked out a cruise, I go to another TA site that shows up to 100 available cabins per category to see if there are any angled balconies available. Once I know which exact cabin number I want, I call my PCC and book that specific cabin through her. Sometimes, if it is after hours and I am worried about losing a cabin that I can actually book through the NCL site directly, I will put a 24-hour courtesy hold on the cabin and then call my PCC the next day, but that only works if the cabin I want is one of the 15 available on the site.

 

Right off the bat, one thing I really liked about Celebrity’s site is that you can see all of the cabins available. They don’t seem to have it organized by sub-categories like NCL does. So that is one downside. If you find a cabin you like on the deck plan, it might be more than what you initially saw when picking the general category. So say you pick “Veranda” (which is what they call Balconies) and it says the per person price for a veranda is $1000. When you go to the deck plan, if you move between decks or move from aft to forward or whatever, find a room you want, and then click on it, that room might end up being more like $1150.

 

Another thing I like about Celebrity’s site for the searching/booking process is that it is much more mobile friendly. When my husband and I booked our January, 2022 sailing, we did it from a restaurant on our phone. I don’t think I would ever try to book an NCL sailing on the phone.

 

Celebrity does offer 24-hour courtesy holds, but it is HARD to find that option! I encountered that when deciding on my Equinox sailing for this month. I wanted to put a hold on it right away while I searched for flights and talked more with my husband about my taking a solo cruise. On NCL’s site, there is just a checkbox on the payment page if you want to put in a hold. On Celebrity, you have to get all the way to the payment screen, then click on the Celebrity logo at the top of the page as if you are leaving and want to start another search. At that point, a pop-up will ask you if you want to put a hold on. If you click on that logo earlier in the process, you do NOT get an option for a hold, it just asks if you are sure you want to leave your booking.

 

Once I had my hold on, I shortly received a call from a Celebrity Vacation Planner, who is their equivalent of a PCC. She was incredibly helpful and friendly and it is my understanding that I can contact her for everything I would usually contact my PCC for moving forward regarding this booking and future bookings.

 

A BIG difference with Celebrity is that deposits are non-refundable. If you cancel, you can get it as an FCC towards another cruise, but only for a VERY limited time. Final payment was due right away for my Equinox sailing, obviously. However when we booked our January, 2022 sailing, first of all we had to pay a $500 deposit on a veranda instead of just $250 like on NCL, and we were told that if we do cancel, we would have to apply it to another cruise SAILING by October, 2022.

 

The only other thing to talk a bit about around booking was flights. I have never booked flights through NCL unless they were part of an airfare promo. When you take flights as a promo on NCL, you don’t get to pick the flights. I am really not sure how things work with NCL if you just use them as basically your TA to book flights through. For my Equinox sailing, I was planning to fly in the day of the cruise, which I know is pretty risky. So I decided to book the flights through Celebrity in order to have a little more security. Celebrity was also offering a $100 off promo for flights. In all, the flights only came out to be a bit cheaper (like $24) than if I had booked them myself, but it is nice to have the peace of mind of having Celebrity on the hook for getting me to the ship on time. What I did like about booking flights through Celebrity is that they have a search on their site to help you calculate the total cost of your sailing with flights before booking. What I didn’t like is that I wasn’t able to actually book my flights through the site on my own due to some sort of glitch. They simply would not accept my payment information, so I ended up having to call to get the flights booked finally.

Have a Great time Jamie! My wife and I have done 11 NCL cruises, in January we are sailing Oceania. Its going to be a night and day comparison 

[JamieLogical]

Installment #3

 

Reservations/Add-ons

 

While I was mostly impressed with Celebrity’s website for the booking process, I definitely have to give the edge to NCL when it comes to managing your booking online once booked. I have encountered a few bugs with trying to make reservations for Specialty Restaurants, entertainment, excursions, and spa passes once in a while on My NCL, but, for the most part it works well. Most recently, I was having an issue where a La Cucina reservation on my canceled Joy sailing was getting “stuck” in my cart. I would go to the cart to check out and it would say the cart was empty, but I was getting email notifications about having left something in my cart, and it was preventing me from being able to check out with anything else. I also had some caching issue (I think?) with booking a spa pass for my September 26th Breakaway sailing. Eventually I solved that problem by logging in with incognito mode in Chrome.

 

But, like I said, for the most part, booking things through My NCL is intuitive and straightforward. All of your existing perks show up on the Vacation Summary. You can upgrade your packages right from that page. The information about your actual sailing (ship,date, room number, etc.) is all visible. You can go to the deck plans if you want. Generally, I have not had any issue navigating or finding the things I am looking for there. The main thing I DON’T like is that in order to see all of your reservations, for some reason you have to click on “Print Booked Items” on the Vacation Summary page, all the way below the “Vacation Addons” section. They don’t just show up in some easily viewable and obvious place. If you click on the individual tabs for each day of your itinerary, you can see them there, but not in any sort of easy-to-read list.

 

Celebrity’s site is MUCH less intuitive and seems to have a bit of a split personality. First, you log in and go to “Manage reservation”. That takes you to a page that looks like it is part of the main Celebrity site still. Unfortunately, the information on that page is pretty limited and a bit confusing. It shows the stateroom number, but no link to deck plans. It lets you change your bed configuration (together or separate). It shows your dining time option and gives you a chance to change it (if available). There is a link to update your guest information (name, DOB, address, phone). There is an option to let you specify a special occasion (anniversary, birthday, etc.), but no information on what that actually accomplishes. It shows the total price of your booking. Mine is artificially high because it included my airfare. But the most confusing item on the page is Gratuities. Remember, tips are included with Celebrity’s Always Included pricing. For the first week or so after I booked my sailing, I was seeing an option to PAY my daily service charge there, so it looked like I still owed $108.50 on my reservation. Now there is just a confusing pop-up that I *think* gives me the option to remove the DSC? Just out of spite I guess? It doesn’t actually save me any money, so why anyone would remove that is a mystery to me.

 

 

 

Notice what is glaringly missing from this page: any information about which perks and add-ons I have. This was a real problem when I was confused over the $108.90 balance. It had me worried that for some reason I wasn’t getting the “Always Included” perks. It’s also not super intuitive where I go to book any reservations. If I scroll further down the page, I get what looks like ads and those ads link me to a completely different website called Cruise Planner, with a completely different look and feel from the main Celebrity site.

 

 

Once you are on this site, things are *pretty* intuitive? The categories make sense for the most part. And things work like a shopping cart just like on My NCL. My main hurdle with this site initially was, for the same amount of time I was seeing gratuities still listed an outstanding balance, I was seeing full price listed on the Premium Drinks pages, rather than the upgrade price. I had an outstanding email to my Celebrity Vacation Planner (she was on vacation), when finally, briefly, I saw a banner across the top offering to allow me to upgrade, which I promptly did. I still have never seen an option to upgrade my WiFi. Also, it seems that once I upgraded to the Premium Beverage Package, I lost my ability to upgrade to anything higher than that, like the Drinks & More Package.

 

Again, a GLARING omission from this page is any sort of a link to what perks you have and what add-ons/reservations you have already booked. It turns out, the only way to find that info is to go to the “Order History” link at the top. Which, by the way, is also where I can see my original Classic Drinks Package and Surf WiFi listed, even though I never “ordered” those.

 

Another, amusing issue with the Excustions booking was that I was being offered excursions in San Juan. Some were even on sale! This cruise does not go to San Juan… Would have been quite a swim to get to those excursions! 

 

I also booked an activity called “Mixology 101”, because it sounds like a lot of fun to learn how to mix drinks from bartenders onboard. But I have no information about what date and time it is, because it was under the drink packages, not the excursions. Guess I will find out on board!

 

 

Edited July 9, 2021 by JamieLogical

[trivimp]

Oooh, that Mixology thing does sound like fun!  Please report back on how well you enjoyed it once you return. 

[saltsandknit]

6 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

Hi, @coastcat. Do you know which coffee suppliers NCL and Celebrity use? I've seen menus before from O'Sheehan's showing they serve Lavazza (a brand I absolutely love), but I wonder if Starbucks took everything over. (I'm not a fan of Starbucks). Thank you in advance, and thanks to @JamieLogical for this great thread!

Unless something changed Starbucks coffee is only at the registered Starbucks locations, lavazza for dining rooms and Folgers for the buffet  and regular coffee stations. Having not sailed Celebrity I can’t answer to that. I drink a fair amount of coffee and spend a lot of time chatting with the baristas in the Starbucks on the ships

[DCGuy64]

6 minutes ago, saltsandknit said:

Unless something changed Starbucks coffee is only at the registered Starbucks locations, lavazza for dining rooms and Folgers for the buffet  and regular coffee stations. Having not sailed Celebrity I can’t answer to that. I drink a fair amount of coffee and spend a lot of time chatting with the baristas in the Starbucks on the ships

Thank you, @saltsandknit. That's good to know. For me, Folgers will do in a pinch but Lavazza is my go-to most of the time. ☺️☕

[JamieLogical]

29 minutes ago, trivimp said:

Oooh, that Mixology thing does sound like fun!  Please report back on how well you enjoyed it once you return. 

 

I agree! It was $40, but I figure that sailing solo, I will want more formalized activities to participate in. I have a Bartesian at home, but it would still be nice to know more about mixing my own drinks.

[PTC DAWG]

22 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

This reminded me that even though I posted links to the PDFs, I didn't really go into much detail about the differences between the drink packages. Celebrity's does include bottled water and specialty coffees, which I know a lot of people point out as a failing of NCL's package. The reason I decided to go ahead and pay the extra $10.80/day to upgrade to the Premium package on Celebrity is that Bailey's isn't included in their Classic package! I love a shot of Bailey's in my coffee in the morning, plus, my go-to after-dinner drink is a "Blind Russian", which is a White Russian made with Bailey's instead of cream. Also, the Equinox has Craft Social and I wanted to be able to drink whatever beer I wanted from there.

I always pay for the upgrade.  It’s well worth it…$10 plus grats a day is a no brainer…we usually find a nice bartender at the Sunset Bar and do it there, they get a cut…and will not forget you the rest of the cruise. 

Edited July 9, 2021 by PTC DAWG

[kitty-sail]

17 hours ago, xfer said:

I've always wanted to sail NCL and I like that they have way more itineraries to chose from. For our next cruise, we are not in the Haven, and I'm hoping that I never even notice. 

 

If this is your first cruise with NCL in the Haven, you will definitely feel the difference on your next non-Haven cruise.

Have been with NCL for a very long time, now Plat Plus. Started out in a balcony, and worked up to Haven a bunch of cruises ago. There are just too many perks in the Haven to relinquish all for a balcony.

 

[coastcat]

41 minutes ago, saltsandknit said:

Unless something changed Starbucks coffee is only at the registered Starbucks locations, lavazza for dining rooms and Folgers for the buffet  and regular coffee stations. Having not sailed Celebrity I can’t answer to that. I drink a fair amount of coffee and spend a lot of time chatting with the baristas in the Starbucks on the ships

That makes sense. Coffee in the MDR and La Cucina was much better than what was available elsewhere. While I dislike the Starbucks standard coffee (Pike Place), I’m fond of their light roasts. At home I’m an Americano drinker and plan to try out the NCL non-Starbucks version versus the Celebrity Cafe al Bacio and Princess International Cafe versions. 
 

Definitely looking forward to the food comparison. Does Celebrity live up to the hype? I thought that NCL’s MDR food was fine, nothing to rave about but nothing to rant about either. 

[BermudaBound2014]

@JamieLogicalyou should like mixology. It was a hoot! Not sure I learned a lot, but it was very fun. Also don't miss the bartenders in the martini bar at night. They put on a show (tossing bottles, balancing glasses, etc...) almost every night. Of course, that was pre-covid. Hopefully bthey got their top notch bartenders back!

[DCGuy64]

59 minutes ago, coastcat said:

That makes sense. Coffee in the MDR and La Cucina was much better than what was available elsewhere. While I dislike the Starbucks standard coffee (Pike Place), I’m fond of their light roasts. At home I’m an Americano drinker and plan to try out the NCL non-Starbucks version versus the Celebrity Cafe al Bacio and Princess International Cafe versions. 
 

Definitely looking forward to the food comparison. Does Celebrity live up to the hype? I thought that NCL’s MDR food was fine, nothing to rave about but nothing to rant about either. 

Coffee, like everything else food/beverage related, is of course a matter of taste. I find that Starbucks is too bitter/burnt tasting, and like @coastcat, I don't like Pike Place. I might be able to tolerate the light roasts. If there's a place onboard the Norwegian Gem that serves Lavazza, especially when used in cappuccino, there's a 100% chance I'm going there every morning for my java. 😄

[saltsandknit]

I don’t know about the Gem but on Bliss they had a Starbucks and a ship coffee bar that had espresso and that was Lavazza. The Pearl last March didn’t have Starbucks yet and I’m not sure where the Starbucks is on the Gem. I looked but I don’t remember but I would guess there is a ship bar that does espresso and maybe better regular coffee

[BoundForSea]

Being a long time NCL Platinum client, many times in Haven and on BA, BA+, Sun, and Gem classes, we just did a B2B on Millennium (Retreat) in June from St Maarten. Here’s my big take-always (keep in mind there was 30% capacity at around 500 passengers): 

 

1.  Activities much better on NCL

2.  Entertainment much better on NCL

3.  Retreat on Millinnium was a big waste of $$. Unlike the Haven on a BA class ship, the experience on the ship was exceptional. The food in MDR is superb and if same quality as Luminae. The lounge was small and meh (pretty but uncomfortable tbh). Sun Deck was completely unusable, as with 90deg temps near equator in Summer, there is zero shade and no airflow up there. They forgot to put breaks in the glass surrounding the space so it’s like the surface of the sun up there. Totally unusable. You could boil pasta in the hot tub up there. Trust me, skip it. 

4.  Food experience was outstanding. MDR Quality was on par with specialty on NCL. Skipped specialty for two weeks, just not needed!!! The buffet quality of food was just amazing. It was not uour typical NCL buffet quality. The food was just 10/10 incredible folks. 

5.  Ship staff was the most amazing we experienced ever in 20 cruises. I mean consistently just amazing humans everywhere. Did exceed by far my experience on NCL which can be hit or miss. You will see. 

6.  Drink selections much much more extensive especially with Premium package. Beer, wine, spirits, etc many many more. First time we found a ship have Diet Tonic!!!! I was shook. Amazing. 

7.  Compared to the Sky or Sun (similar age) ship was much more beautiful (it went through the revolutionized refit in 2019). I liked the Gem better in layout though (same size) and found it a little more beautiful. 

8. No nickel and diming, for example the coffee shop, Il Bacio is on par with a Starbucks on BA+ and in some ways exceeds it, but all drinks and ALL the morning pastries and goodies and all nightly desserts in the glass case are included. The only thing you need to pay for is Gelato and a slot machine, and anything in a store. The stores were very nice, typical, but all the stock on the ship was leftover from 2019 due to covid and hadn’t been restocked since the shutdown. I was told this was being fixed when she arrives in Seattle later this month. 

 

Here’s the bottom line: Dollar for dollar you get much more for your money on Celebrity and I wasn’t even on an Edge class ship, Beyond and Apex are just incredible and take this to a whole new level. You just get more for your money. Now if you have kids, stick with NCL. If you are a “fun ship” person, stick with NCL. We sailed with the kids for years on NCL and in and out of Haven and it was a perfect fit. As 40something empty nesters, Celebrity is the sweet spot for us. 

 

I will now consistently choose Celebrity to see the world as we now expand our scope of travel to Europe, Asia, Middle East, Antarctica, and Baltics. It’s just a better product, and experience in my opinion. Don’t get sucked into Retreat like me though. You don’t need it, maybe on Edge it’s a better experience, but on Summit Class just skip it. No thermal spa so Aqua is kinda a bust too. The food in MDR is just incredible guys, truly. 

[ericfromri]

5 minutes ago, BoundForSea said:

Being a long time NCL Platinum client, many times in Haven and on BA, BA+, Sun, and Gem classes, we just did a B2B on Millennium (Retreat) in June from St Maarten. Here’s my big take-always (keep in mind there was 30% capacity at around 500 passengers): 

 

1.  Activities much better on NCL

2.  Entertainment much better on NCL

3.  Retreat on Millinnium was a big waste of $$. Unlike the Haven on a BA class ship, the experience on the ship was exceptional. The food in MDR is superb and if same quality as Luminae. The lounge was small and meh (pretty but uncomfortable tbh). Sun Deck was completely unusable, as with 90deg temps near equator in Summer, there is zero shade and no airflow up there. They forgot to put breaks in the glass surrounding the space so it’s like the surface of the sun up there. Totally unusable. You could boil pasta in the hot tub up there. Trust me, skip it. 

4.  Food experience was outstanding. MDR Quality was on par with specialty on NCL. Skipped specialty for two weeks, just not needed!!! The buffet quality of food was just amazing. It was not uour typical NCL buffet quality. The food was just 10/10 incredible folks. 

5.  Ship staff was the most amazing we experienced ever in 20 cruises. I mean consistently just amazing humans everywhere. Did exceed by far my experience on NCL which can be hit or miss. You will see. 

6.  Drink selections much much more extensive especially with Premium package. Beer, wine, spirits, etc many many more. First time we found a ship have Diet Tonic!!!! I was shook. Amazing. 

7.  Compared to the Sky or Sun (similar age) ship was much more beautiful (it went through the revolutionized refit in 2019). I liked the Gem better in layout though (same size) and found it a little more beautiful. 

8. No nickel and diming, for example the coffee shop, Il Bacio is on par with a Starbucks on BA+ and in some ways exceeds it, but all drinks and ALL the morning pastries and goodies and all nightly desserts in the glass case are included. The only thing you need to pay for is Gelato and a slot machine, and anything in a store. The stores were very nice, typical, but all the stock on the ship was leftover from 2019 due to covid and hadn’t been restocked since the shutdown. I was told this was being fixed when she arrives in Seattle later this month. 

 

Here’s the bottom line: Dollar for dollar you get much more for your money on Celebrity and I wasn’t even on an Edge class ship, Beyond and Apex are just incredible and take this to a whole new level. You just get more for your money. Now if you have kids, stick with NCL. If you are a “fun ship” person, stick with NCL. We sailed with the kids for years on NCL and in and out of Haven and it was a perfect fit. As 40something empty nesters, Celebrity is the sweet spot for us. 

 

I will now consistently choose Celebrity to see the world as we now expand our scope of travel to Europe, Asia, Middle East, Antarctica, and Baltics. It’s just a better product, and experience in my opinion. Don’t get sucked into Retreat like me though. You don’t need it, maybe on Edge it’s a better experience, but on Summit Class just skip it. No thermal spa so Aqua is kinda a bust too. The food in MDR is just incredible guys, truly. 

Ncl has a couple of things i like also, like their sea day lunch, but i feel the experience on Celebrity is superior.   try the Edge or Apex in an infinite verandah. there will not be any consideration for anything else after you try that.   i thought Millenium was ok but nothing compared to the newer ships.

[JamieLogical]

8 minutes ago, BoundForSea said:

Being a long time NCL Platinum client, many times in Haven and on BA, BA+, Sun, and Gem classes, we just did a B2B on Millennium (Retreat) in June from St Maarten. Here’s my big take-always (keep in mind there was 30% capacity at around 500 passengers): 

 

1.  Activities much better on NCL

2.  Entertainment much better on NCL

3.  Retreat on Millinnium was a big waste of $$. Unlike the Haven on a BA class ship, the experience on the ship was exceptional. The food in MDR is superb and if same quality as Luminae. The lounge was small and meh (pretty but uncomfortable tbh). Sun Deck was completely unusable, as with 90deg temps near equator in Summer, there is zero shade and no airflow up there. They forgot to put breaks in the glass surrounding the space so it’s like the surface of the sun up there. Totally unusable. You could boil pasta in the hot tub up there. Trust me, skip it. 

4.  Food experience was outstanding. MDR Quality was on par with specialty on NCL. Skipped specialty for two weeks, just not needed!!! The buffet quality of food was just amazing. It was not uour typical NCL buffet quality. The food was just 10/10 incredible folks. 

5.  Ship staff was the most amazing we experienced ever in 20 cruises. I mean consistently just amazing humans everywhere. Did exceed by far my experience on NCL which can be hit or miss. You will see. 

6.  Drink selections much much more extensive especially with Premium package. Beer, wine, spirits, etc many many more. First time we found a ship have Diet Tonic!!!! I was shook. Amazing. 

7.  Compared to the Sky or Sun (similar age) ship was much more beautiful (it went through the revolutionized refit in 2019). I liked the Gem better in layout though (same size) and found it a little more beautiful. 

8. No nickel and diming, for example the coffee shop, Il Bacio is on par with a Starbucks on BA+ and in some ways exceeds it, but all drinks and ALL the morning pastries and goodies and all nightly desserts in the glass case are included. The only thing you need to pay for is Gelato and a slot machine, and anything in a store. The stores were very nice, typical, but all the stock on the ship was leftover from 2019 due to covid and hadn’t been restocked since the shutdown. I was told this was being fixed when she arrives in Seattle later this month. 

 

Here’s the bottom line: Dollar for dollar you get much more for your money on Celebrity and I wasn’t even on an Edge class ship, Beyond and Apex are just incredible and take this to a whole new level. You just get more for your money. Now if you have kids, stick with NCL. If you are a “fun ship” person, stick with NCL. We sailed with the kids for years on NCL and in and out of Haven and it was a perfect fit. As 40something empty nesters, Celebrity is the sweet spot for us. 

 

I will now consistently choose Celebrity to see the world as we now expand our scope of travel to Europe, Asia, Middle East, Antarctica, and Baltics. It’s just a better product, and experience in my opinion. Don’t get sucked into Retreat like me though. You don’t need it, maybe on Edge it’s a better experience, but on Summit Class just skip it. No thermal spa so Aqua is kinda a bust too. The food in MDR is just incredible guys, truly. 

 

Thank you for all of this. Really looking forward to experiencing it all for myself. I have never sailed in Haven (was booked for Haven on the Joy out of Montego Bay, but that was canceled). I am definitely not paying Aqua or Retreat prices on a solo sailing, so no intention of doing those for this upcoming Equinox sailing. Haven't really chatted with my husband yet about the possibility of upgrading for our Edge sailing in January, but I will definitely keep your report in mind if the subject comes up! Looking forward to this amazing buffet food now! I am not a huge buffet person, except for afternoon and late night snacks, but will make a point to eat in the buffet at least a couple of times.

[MorganClark]

52 minutes ago, BoundForSea said:

Being a long time NCL Platinum client, many times in Haven and on BA, BA+, Sun, and Gem classes, we just did a B2B on Millennium (Retreat) in June from St Maarten. Here’s my big take-always (keep in mind there was 30% capacity at around 500 passengers): 

 

1.  Activities much better on NCL

2.  Entertainment much better on NCL

3.  Retreat on Millinnium was a big waste of $$. Unlike the Haven on a BA class ship, the experience on the ship was exceptional. The food in MDR is superb and if same quality as Luminae. The lounge was small and meh (pretty but uncomfortable tbh). Sun Deck was completely unusable, as with 90deg temps near equator in Summer, there is zero shade and no airflow up there. They forgot to put breaks in the glass surrounding the space so it’s like the surface of the sun up there. Totally unusable. You could boil pasta in the hot tub up there. Trust me, skip it. 

4.  Food experience was outstanding. MDR Quality was on par with specialty on NCL. Skipped specialty for two weeks, just not needed!!! The buffet quality of food was just amazing. It was not uour typical NCL buffet quality. The food was just 10/10 incredible folks. 

5.  Ship staff was the most amazing we experienced ever in 20 cruises. I mean consistently just amazing humans everywhere. Did exceed by far my experience on NCL which can be hit or miss. You will see. 

6.  Drink selections much much more extensive especially with Premium package. Beer, wine, spirits, etc many many more. First time we found a ship have Diet Tonic!!!! I was shook. Amazing. 

7.  Compared to the Sky or Sun (similar age) ship was much more beautiful (it went through the revolutionized refit in 2019). I liked the Gem better in layout though (same size) and found it a little more beautiful. 

8. No nickel and diming, for example the coffee shop, Il Bacio is on par with a Starbucks on BA+ and in some ways exceeds it, but all drinks and ALL the morning pastries and goodies and all nightly desserts in the glass case are included. The only thing you need to pay for is Gelato and a slot machine, and anything in a store. The stores were very nice, typical, but all the stock on the ship was leftover from 2019 due to covid and hadn’t been restocked since the shutdown. I was told this was being fixed when she arrives in Seattle later this month. 

 

Here’s the bottom line: Dollar for dollar you get much more for your money on Celebrity and I wasn’t even on an Edge class ship, Beyond and Apex are just incredible and take this to a whole new level. You just get more for your money. Now if you have kids, stick with NCL. If you are a “fun ship” person, stick with NCL. We sailed with the kids for years on NCL and in and out of Haven and it was a perfect fit. As 40something empty nesters, Celebrity is the sweet spot for us. 

 

I will now consistently choose Celebrity to see the world as we now expand our scope of travel to Europe, Asia, Middle East, Antarctica, and Baltics. It’s just a better product, and experience in my opinion. Don’t get sucked into Retreat like me though. You don’t need it, maybe on Edge it’s a better experience, but on Summit Class just skip it. No thermal spa so Aqua is kinda a bust too. The food in MDR is just incredible guys, truly. 

 

Thanks for this informative post about Celebrity. I'm on the Edge Oct 2 - 9th, so looking forward to her even more now. I'm literally "on the edge' (well, not yet, lol).

[BoundForSea]

47 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Thank you for all of this. Really looking forward to experiencing it all for myself. I have never sailed in Haven (was booked for Haven on the Joy out of Montego Bay, but that was canceled). I am definitely not paying Aqua or Retreat prices on a solo sailing, so no intention of doing those for this upcoming Equinox sailing. Haven't really chatted with my husband yet about the possibility of upgrading for our Edge sailing in January, but I will definitely keep your report in mind if the subject comes up! Looking forward to this amazing buffet food now! I am not a huge buffet person, except for afternoon and late night snacks, but will make a point to eat in the buffet at least a couple of times.

@JamieLogical    we were supposed to be on your Montego sailing as well. 

You will appreciate this, we like you went to the Buffet one morning because we overslept for the restaurant. We both got our food sat down and looked at each other and was just like WOW!! We ate lunch there same day to see if it was the same quality and it was just like restaurant quality food. I had fish, shaved Roast Beef, Fried Calimari and pasta. I figured yup here comes the rubber bands, the nasty tasting fish, Shef Boyardee and some dried out meat. Holy cow!!!! I tasted all of it and it was aaaaaamazing!! All cooked perfectly and like it was just served to the table from a quality restaurant. 

 

Don’t do Retreat. Please. Don’t even talk about it for you and hubby on Edge. Just say Chris said so!!!! lol. I’m trying desperately to find us a week off or swap an already booked cruise for Apex when she comes over. I think honestly we’re gonna do Beyond in Europe in May of next year. I’m sure the experience is great and all but the “verandah” experience on Celebrity, esp Edge class is just a home run. I can take two Verandah sailings vs one Retreat and be TOTALLY happy. As a matter of fact I booked Millennium again next month in Alaska in an Interior Room (plan to bid up) because we were just so happy, and we want to go see our new friends (crew) we made and keep in touch with now on social. 

 

Ask any questions I’d be happy to answer. 

 

One amendment to my post. I made it sound like Haven wasn’t any good. I totally wrote that entirely wrong. What I meant to make clear was Haven is incredible however I see a Celeb ship as an entire Haven. You don’t need a secluded ship within a ship on Celebrity. The entire ship is the elevated experience. 

 

Now you don’t have cars and ropes and all the Frankie toys, so for families and kids NCL wins all day. This is the couples and empty nesters cruise line for sure! 

 

Im doing my first solo in Sept as well Jamie. Excited and nervous both! Doing BA from NY to Bermuda on my own. Nobody can get time off and I have a free cruise coupon to use before 21 ends soo… 

 

 

Edited July 10, 2021 by BoundForSea

[BoundForSea]

3 minutes ago, MorganClark said:

 

Thanks for this informative post about Celebrity. I'm on the Edge Oct 2 - 9th, so looking forward to her even more now. I'm literally "on the edge' (well, not yet, lol).

You’re gonna LOVE it. We stepped off Millennium, and were just blown away and said u less we take the family, NCL just got voted off our island (no pun intended)

[JamieLogical]

20 minutes ago, BoundForSea said:

Im doing my first solo in Sept as well Jamie. Excited and nervous both! Doing BA from NY to Bermuda on my own. Nobody can get time off and I have a free cruise coupon to use before 21 ends soo…

 

 

 

We are on the 9/26 BA sailing. See you then!

[soccermommy]

Greetings from a born and raised Rochesterian, even if I have spent the last 40+ years in New England, which I also love.

We are Platinum on NCL, like the experience, love their itineraries.  We have sailed the smaller ships, Spirit, Dawn and Jewel class, but have no experience with the Haven. And we have loved each cruise, which have tended to be port intensive

We discovered Celebrity  3 years ago, and have continued to book them as our line of choice.

Why? The service, the food, and the ambiance. We tend to book Concierge, (which may or may not be worth it but we like it). You can sometimes book Concierge for less than a balcony when prices stop dropping and get more points and a few extra perks But on one cruise to Australia, we got upgraded to a sky suite.  We were worried about the dreaded class snobs, but there were none. People just don’t care about your status, they do care about your friendliness and politeness. And that’s everywhere on the ship in our experience. No one cares what you are wearing, either, but most will dress up a bit on “Chic” nights.

If NCL ever gets back to Europe, we hope to get a Transatlantic this year,  a Med cruise next year, so we haven’t stopped enjoying NCL. The two lines have a lot in common, IMO. It just depends on what you are looking for.

I think you are going to have a wonderful time on Celebrity. You certainly have the right attitude!

 

[MorganClark]

1 hour ago, BoundForSea said:

You’re gonna LOVE it. We stepped off Millennium, and were just blown away and said u less we take the family, NCL just got voted off our island (no pun intended)

 

Thanks! Oh, I forgot to add, Celebrity Edge will be my 2nd solo cruise (I'm booked in a Single Infinite Veranda). My 1st solo cruise is next Sat (7/17) on the Adventure of the Seas out of Nassau, Bahamas.

[BoundForSea]

1 hour ago, soccermommy said:

Greetings from a born and raised Rochesterian, even if I have spent the last 40+ years in New England, which I also love.

We are Platinum on NCL, like the experience, love their itineraries.  We have sailed the smaller ships, Spirit, Dawn and Jewel class, but have no experience with the Haven. And we have loved each cruise, which have tended to be port intensive

We discovered Celebrity  3 years ago, and have continued to book them as our line of choice.

Why? The service, the food, and the ambiance. We tend to book Concierge, (which may or may not be worth it but we like it). You can sometimes book Concierge for less than a balcony when prices stop dropping and get more points and a few extra perks But on one cruise to Australia, we got upgraded to a sky suite.  We were worried about the dreaded class snobs, but there were none. People just don’t care about your status, they do care about your friendliness and politeness. And that’s everywhere on the ship in our experience. No one cares what you are wearing, either, but most will dress up a bit on “Chic” nights.

If NCL ever gets back to Europe, we hope to get a Transatlantic this year,  a Med cruise next year, so we haven’t stopped enjoying NCL. The two lines have a lot in common, IMO. It just depends on what you are looking for.

I think you are going to have a wonderful time on Celebrity. You certainly have the right attitude!

 

I’ll add this speaking of class snob stuff. I will share with you this, don’t count it out of Retreat (Luminae in particular). For us it was just a small dining room (just as good as the main, I thought the main was prettier tbh) for a very few others, it’s a “big deal” if you know what I mean.