JamieLogical's Big NCL vs. Celebrity Thread

[BoundForSea]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Well, everyone, I had hoped to be able to do a semi-live review, but the free wifi isn't working well on my laptop and I can't imagine trying to do that much typing on my phone, so I am going to just be taking notes on my laptop and posting them all later. Sorry to let you all down, bit in promise to try to get answers to all of your questions and report back!

Guys go drink eat and be merry!!!! You’ve got the right idea. Enjoy please. If the wife and I see you doing work on the 26th we’re gonna photobomb you so you stop!! haha. Have an amazing trip and we will talk to you when you get back to reality!!!

[Cruising Lynne]

Enjoy your time!! We will look forward to seeing your thoughts whenever you post. I really think that you are going to have a great time on Celebrity. Our Celebrity cruise was one my favorites.

[trivimp]

Bon voyage, Jamie!  Looking forward to your review when you return.  

[chucknmarilyn]

I look forward to reading your thoughts and comparisons. We were on Celebrity Apex a couple of weeks ago and headed to Encore next week. 

[BermudaBound2014]

Welcome Home Jamie! Based on reports from your sailing it looks like it was a lovely cruise. Wishing you safe travels home. 

[JoeTec]

Waiting patiently for your comparisons & just to hear about your cruise

[Shellbelle28]

On 7/26/2021 at 3:52 AM, JamieLogical said:

Well, everyone, I had hoped to be able to do a semi-live review, but the free wifi isn't working well on my laptop and I can't imagine trying to do that much typing on my phone, so I am going to just be taking notes on my laptop and posting them all later. Sorry to let you all down, bit in promise to try to get answers to all of your questions and report back!

Girrrl! No need to hit us with your report immediately, but did you make it home?

[BermudaBound2014]

Yes! Please come back and just tell us you are ok Jamie. There was a covid case(s) on your sailing and while the odds of one of them being you are miniscule, we still all want to know you are safely home.

[tokidoki]

48 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Yes! Please come back and just tell us you are ok Jamie. There was a covid case(s) on your sailing and while the odds of one of them being you are miniscule, we still all want to know you are safely home.

actually there were 7!   I too hope Jamie had a blast and got home safely!

[BermudaBound2014]

25 minutes ago, tokidoki said:

actually there were 7!   I too hope Jamie had a blast and got home safely!

 

Are you sure? Jamie was on Equinox. I know Edge had 7 but did not hear this about Equinox.

[tokidoki]

14 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Are you sure? Jamie was on Equinox. I know Edge had 7 but did not hear this about Equinox.

Sorry! Assumed she was on the Edge!  

[vacation44]

Ditto to hope you are ok and doing well.  

[JamieLogical]

My post will be coming soon. Probably starting tomorrow. I had a HELLISH time getting home from Ft. Lauderdale and needed what was left of yesterday just to recover and get unpacked and do laundry. Today is my first day back at work, so a lot of catching up to do. Hope to post more tomorrow.

[JamieLogical]

Just started my journal/review thread over on the Celebrity forums. I wanted to post the review as a separate thread, because it really belongs over there. I will come back to THIS thread to talk about the specific differences I found between NCL and Celebrity, as well as answer all the questions you guys posted over here.

 

 

[Dreamcruiser2]

I love that Jamie asked for a footstool.  I know this sound like a trivial questions, but can you request a footstool on NCL?  We love to spent every morning on our balcony, having coffee, and enjoying the view.  We never thought to even ask for footstools.

[JamieLogical]

22 minutes ago, Dreamcruiser2 said:

I love that Jamie asked for a footstool.  I know this sound like a trivial questions, but can you request a footstool on NCL?  We love to spent every morning on our balcony, having coffee, and enjoying the view.  We never thought to even ask for footstools.

 

On NCL, I always stay in an angled balcony and they have always brought me a lounger to replace my regular chair when I asked on the first day.

[NCLGirl2013]

What were your thoughts on food quality and taste compared to NCL for complimentary dining?

[Named-Tawny]

Wow, having the MDR closed for breakfast on port days would be just such a killer for me.

I've always loved my NCL room service breakfast and coffee while showering, and then heading down to the MDR for second breakfast and mimosas.  I don't want to have to queue at a buffet before I've finished waking up.

[BermudaBound2014]

10 hours ago, Named-Tawny said:

Wow, having the MDR closed for breakfast on port days would be just such a killer for me.
 

 

This is not normal Celebrity policy. Closing the MDR for breakfast on port days might be due to the low number of passengers. I think we all need to be prepared for changes like this until ships sail at higher occupancy (I'm not saying you aren't prepared for the change... just a general statement).

 

@JamieLogicalAre you making ginger martinis with simple ginger syrup and vodka (gin?) or do you have another secret ingredient? These sound great!

[JamieLogical]

27 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

@JamieLogicalAre you making ginger martinis with simple ginger syrup and vodka (gin?) or do you have another secret ingredient? These sound great!

 

They are ginger mojitos, not martinis. They are made the same as a normal mojioto, except they use dark rum and ginger ale, instead of soda water.

[BermudaBound2014]

1 minute ago, JamieLogical said:

 

They are ginger mojitos, not martinis. They are made the same as a normal mojioto, except they use dark rum and ginger ale, instead of soda water.

Oh jeeze.... how embarassing. I don't really make mojitos. Did some research on ginger martinis this morning. I'll try one of those tonight. 

 

PS: I think it''s fun you keep track of your drinks.

[JamieLogical]

Okay, I have pretty much finished my overall review in the other thread so I am back here to answer your questions about the differences between NCL and Celebrity. Here are my responses to all of the questions you had before I sailed:

 

1. Can you have dinner from the MDR delivered to your room?
   I did not investigate this on board. You can certainly have room service delivered to your room and, unlike NCL, I do not believe there is any sort of service charge.
2. Free coffee shop treats?
   All of the pastries and treats at the coffee shop, Cafe Al Bacio, were included. There was a separate counter for gelato across from the coffee counter and, I believe, that was an a la carte charge.
3. Is the library still available?
   Yes, the library was open and available. I did not see any notices about COVID restrictions there.
4. Food court in the Solarium?
   I didn’t spend any time at the Solarium. I know that the juice bar was open and the one time I passed by, there were tables/counters set up for food but none was available right then.
5. Differences/similarities in dining venues?
   I didn’t try any of the specialty dining, so I can’t compare those. There was only one MDR. Like NCL, there were some MDR items that were on the menu every night, but it seemed like they had more of a selection of items that changed each night. Two of the appetizers that were available every night were shrimp cocktail and escargot. I have only ever seen those available in specialty restaurants on NCL. Also, there were some fancier entres available (not every night) than I have ever seen on NCL like duck, lobster tail, and some additional cuts of steak. The quality of the food in the buffet I would say was *slightly* better on Celebrity, but the selection felt more limited than NCL for sure. Celebrity definitely has better pizza, but that’s not exactly saying much!
6. Is there much dancing?
   There was definitely dancing in the Grand Foyer. I did not see any dancing in the Sky Lounge, which actually has a nice dance floor, but I did not spend much time there.
7. How are the bars?
   The bars were great. If you can get on a Celebrity Ship with a World Class Bar, which I believe is on all the Solstice class ships, definitely do it! The bartenders throughout the ship were all creative, friendly, helpful, and talented. The bartenders at the World Class Bar were true artists. Also, the Classic Drink Package is included with Celebrities “Always Included” pricing, but I recommend spending the extra $10/day to upgrade to the Premium Package. That way most everything from the Martini Bar, Craft Social, and the World Class Bar will be included.
8. Are there a lot of vegetarian options?
   I don’t know about “a lot”, but there were definitely vegetarian options available in the MDR and at the buffet.
9. Amenities/events for solo cruisers?
   They did not seem to have any activities specifically for solo cruises.
10. MDR seating for solo cruisers?
    In the MDR, I had to be pretty insistent about getting/starting a shared table. The seemed to always want to seat me by myself at a table for two.
11. Can you post to CC via ship’s wifi?
    CC wasn’t specifically blocked or anything, but with the “Always Included” Surf Wifi, I found it almost impossible to view/post to any site. I pretty much gave up on doing anything internet-related unless in port. I mostly just used the WiFi to access the Celebrity App.
12. How easy/restrictive is dining room and buffet access?
    The MDR has two scheduled dining times, 6:00 and 8:00 and then they have the Anytime Dining, where you can just show up and wait in line, but they recommend a reservation. I had the Anytime dining but almost always showed up around 6:00 with no reservation. See my full review for how that went. The buffet was not self-service. You had to wait at each station for a staff member to serve you. This was very mildly annoying at times, but generally not a big deal.
13. How is the shore excursion process/experience?
    I took two shore excursions. For both of them, I had to meet in the theater, which seemed to be the staging area for all shore excursions. We were given stickers with numbers on them that we were supposed to stick to our shirts to designate our group, then we had to follow a crew member with a paddle with our number on it through security and off the ship. It was a bit chaotic once off the ship trying to figure out where to go.
14. How is the live entertainment? Are passengers engaged with it?
    The big production theater entertainment was very different than what I have experienced on NCL. I would call it more “artsy”? Less like a straight-forward musical and more like a comprehensive “performance” with singing and dancing, but also aerial acts and acrobats. The visiting entertainers were about on par with what I have seen on NCL. In terms of engagement, nothing like you have for like Howl at the Moon, the piano player in District Brew House, or the Beatles tribute in the Cavern Club. Definitely more low-key, loungy music where some people danced and some people took requests. The most “party-like” atmosphere I encountered were the Martini Bar and the silent discos.
15. How dressed up are passengers in the evenings for dinner, shows, and bars?
    Definitely more dressed up than on NCL! No one was in like evening gowns or tuxes, but generally, people dressed more formally in the evenings. People in graphic tees and gym shorts stuck out like a sore thumb for sure. I did see a few pairs of dressier shorts, designer jeans, and that sort of thing on the “Smart Casual” nights in the MDR, but that would not fly on the “Evening Chic” nights when men definitely work long pants/slacks and button down shirts and women mostly wore dresses.
16. How is the service?
    The service was a bit slow and rocky as they were still trying to learn and figure out processes/logistics. The staff themselves were phenomenal.
17. CruiseNext/Future Cruise deals?
    The only future cruise deals I saw were to get OBC on future sailings.
18. Stateroom differences?
19. The only real differences I noticed between my angled balcony on the Equinox and the ones I have had on the Escape and Bliss was there was no coffee maker, there were more drawers and fewer shelves, the shower doors were a vast improvement, and there was a nightlight in the bathroom! Also, did not have to leave your keycard in the slot to keep the power on.
20. Menus from the MDRs and “Starbucks”?
    I am so sorry to report that I did not take pictures of the menus!

[JamieLogical]

In general, I would say that Celebrity felt quieter and slower pace than NCL. There were actually a surprising number of children onboard considering the 5% unvaccinated limitation and the fact it was a Celebrity cruise. I can't really imagine what the children did to keep entertained, but I didn't seem many of them acting out, so they must have been pretty busy.

 

It's definitely an older crowd generally and the dress is definitely more formal, but I did meet plenty of younger people who were by no means "up tight". I talked to people of all ages. Definitely several couples who were younger than me, or about my age. Definitely a lot of couples with a lot of years on me! I met a few fellow solo cruises, but only one was really in my age range. Most were much older.

 

I was really disappointed with the room service breakfast. I have a routine on NCL where I fill out the door hanger before bed each night so it can serve as my wake-up call and I can have coffee and pastries on my balcony before showering and getting dressed for "second breakfast". My attempt at this on Celebrity failed miserably. I filled out the door hanger for my breakfast to arrive between 7:00 and 7:30. I had the misfortune of waking up on my own at 6:30 and the delivery didn't come until 7:53! With no coffee maker in the room, you can imagine what kind of mood I was in by then! I decided not to try again the next day and couldn't if I wanted to, because they never left me another door hanger to fill out. I ended up going to the buffet in my pajamas every morning to grab coffee and a chocolate croissant, then heading back to my room with it.

 

The MDR food was better than NCL. The Buffet food was also better than NCL's, but there was less selection which was disappointing. I didn't try any specialty dining, as Celebrity doesn't include any with your booking.

 

The drinks were probably better on Celebrity overall. I paid the $10/day to upgrade to their Premium Package over the included Classic Package. That got me access to pretty much everything onboard. I never ended up paying any extra on any drink I ordered. The bartenders were amazing!

 

Overall, I would say it was a different vibe from NCL, but not in a bad way. I was on a cruise! I had plenty of company to eat and drink with. I found things to keep myself entertained. I was never bored.

[JoeTec]

So Jaime I guess the question is if you had a choice of 2 of the exact cruises between NCL & Celebrity- same itinerary,  same price which would you choose?

[JamieLogical]

Just now, JoeTec said:

So Jaime I guess the question is if you had a choice of 2 of the exact cruises between NCL & Celebrity- same itinerary,  same price which would you choose?

 

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.