Norwegian V Celebrity

[Trimone]

Hello, just looking to book another NCL cruise, have noticed some remarkable offers with Celebrity, I am a long term NCL customer since 2004, have used P&O, Royal Caribbean and Costa, but afterwards preferred NCL, have done Haven several times.

In the Mediterranean NCL cruises don’t offer the choice with the Greek islands that celebrity do, would I like them….Help

Edited February 27, 2022 by Trimone

[JerseyGem]

I agree that Celebrity has more interesting itineraries in the Med (than NCL).  We were scheduled to do an  Edge Med cruise in 9/20, which of course was canceled.  It would have been our first time on the Edge but not on Celebrity. Although the lines are different (others will point out how much livelier the night life is on NCL), I suggest giving Celebrity a try.  A Med cruise is usually so port intensive that you won't be spending a lot of time onboard waiting to be entertained.  Although we love NCL,  "remarkable offers" are always important to us.  Take advantage of the offers!

[rebeccac]

Absolutely give Celebrity a try!  We like NCL (although we have never done the Haven) and while there are some things we prefer on NCL, overall, we enjoy Celebrity very much.  For us the one area where NCL beats Celebrity hands down is the production shows.  We have enjoyed them all on NCL.  On Celebrity they tend to just be weird in our opinion.  But as said above, the Med is much more about the ports, so that seems a perfect time to give another line a try.  

[luckyinpa]

i never did X but i've been heavily researching video of cabin types and suite lounges etc. seems on the edge ships the suite restaurants and retreat decks are much larger than what ive seen personally on bliss and breakaway (the only havens ive been in).  the holy grail for me would be the reflection suite on reflection.. you literally shower over the ocean..but no retreat deck on that ship. the edge villa coming right out onto the retreat deck on the newer ships would also be very cool. 

[funredhead]

We are Sapphire with NCL and just returned from our first 12 night holiday celebrity cruise in January.  We have always loved the freestyle concept on NCL.  The newer bigger ships entertainment has in our opinion been exceptional.  We normally cruise in a balcony or mini suite with our 2 teenage children.  When they were young they loved everything there was to love in the kids club.  
Our celebrity cruise was amazing!  We can see ourselves choosing this line over NCL if itinerary and price are similar.  If NCL had a better itinerary or price, we would still strongly consider NCL.  In our opinion, celebrity is superior in food, the ambiance of the overall ship, and in service.  Don’t get me wrong, we have always had amazing service on NCL, but Celebrity is a step up.  
We also felt that communication was better in terms of transparency of what was going on.  there were Covid cases on our last trip, which resulted in port changes.  We felt that information was relayed in a timely and accurate manner.  A few years ago, we were on NCL with a noro outbreak, and while the crew was amazing in all of their efforts to keep things clean and prevent spread, communications was not great.  
For us, cruise has been a family vacation.  Our choice of NCL was routed in many things, price, itinerary, things that excited our children.  If our kids were younger, still kids club age NCL would be our top choice.  
We will still cruise NCL, we’re going on the Joy in a few weeks.  But, our next 3 booked cruises are Royal and 2 celebrity.  I hope this helps.  

[Sailing12Away]

Celebrity is on our list to try, but the pricing always comes out higher than we're willing to pay. Keeping my eyes open for a good bargain on a Retreat room so I can justify the higher prices they tend to charge over NCL's Haven.

[PhillyTravelBug]

3 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

Celebrity is on our list to try, but the pricing always comes out higher than we're willing to pay. Keeping my eyes open for a good bargain on a Retreat room so I can justify the higher prices they tend to charge over NCL's Haven.

I have felt that way too. We had a great deal on the Apex for June of 2020 in the Med, but......

Anyways, once the Prima was unveiled we got a decent deal for our Iceland sailing for next year.  I really do hope to sail Celebrity (edge class preferably) sooner than later.

[Stealthdog]

Everything on Celebrity is an improved product than NCL, with the exception of specialty dining, evening entertainment, and the Haven.  I think the specialty dinings are a wash.  The Haven experience is better than the Retreat experience IMHO.

Edited March 1, 2022 by Stealthdog

[Von & John]

We sail Celebrity, NCL & Princess and enjoy all...

They are different products.

Ultimately we are seeking unique itineraries, relaxation & value.

We are heading out in 2 weeks on our first cruise - since our 03/15/20 cruise was cancelled less than 24 hours prior to departure.

So our experiences are all pre-covid.

This trip is w/ the Celebrity on the Connie & we are looking forward to sun, warmth & relaxation.

I will say we've certainly enjoyed the Specialty Dining on NCL in the past & purchase a package for a number of the days...

As a rule, we do not feel the need to purchase Specialty Dining on Celebrity & utilize it as a treat.

Everyone seeks different experiences when cruising & needs to determine which cruise lines & ships are a Best Fit for them...

Which ever lines you cruise on...

ENJOY Your Cruise!!!!

Cheers  --  Von & John

[JamieLogical]

I have done a pretty extensive comparison of NCL and Celebrity, having exclusively sailed NCL until COVID and having gone on four (soon to be six) Celebrity sailings post-restart. You can read my thoughts after my initial Celebrity sailing here:

 

 

I sailed NCL again on a B2B on the Breakaway back in September/October to use up the rest of our FCC. I have since exclusively booked with Celebrity with one upcoming sailing booked for Princess over the 2022 Holidays.

 

My husband just sailed with me on Celebrity for the first time in January and he is now a full convert as well. He loved it so much he had me change our September sailing to Alaska from Princess to Celebrity.

Edited March 1, 2022 by JamieLogical