Celebrity vs ncl

[KKB]

2 hours ago, Susandt said:

Guess I haven’t done any research on them

we have only sailed larger ships, love the spa, smaller sun decks, yummy food.  Love to dance

Again, supports Eclass on Celebrity.

Silent disco twice during a 7 day cruise (if you haven't done this you SHOULD--AMAZING!)

Dancing can be had each evening; music can vary.

[KKB]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

I don't think X is for you, as long as you book the newer ships, I think you'd actually prefer either RCL or Carnival.  I've been on Crystal, NCL and currently have booked 7 Carnival sailings (into 2024) and 3 X sailings.  X is a very relaxed experience, not a lot of activities, you'll see a lot of people reading and playing games.

I disagree, especially after our Edge cruise last summer.

There were LOTS of activities. (and ship was less than half full!)

We see people reading & playing games on all lines. (have not done Carnival, Holland or MSC).

Interestingly, after our 1st X cruise 8 years ago, it was a little less lively than some of our other cruises.

But we kept coming back...and discovered that S-class ships are livelier than M-class.

Not surprisingly, E-class is even better. B

I do recommend a bigger ship--I like that too!

[chefchick]

2 hours ago, Susandt said:

Dining, night life, pools

I have sailed on all the major cruise lines (and a few of the smaller ones)…and to be honest they have more in common than they are different.  If dining is a priority, then Celebrity beats NCL (especially in regards to the buffet) there is no 24 hour pub like the local or O’Sheeans and the specialty restaurants are great on both lines, but the “included” food is much better on Celebrity IMO.  Night life?, I have to give that to NCL.  Their Broadway style shows are hard to beat and I have never been bored on a NCL ship at night.  Celebrity does have good live music and the silent disco is loads of fun but I think there is more to do on an NCL ship overall.  Pools?  I love the adults only solarium on Celebrity.  I honestly don’t think I’ve actually laid out at a pool on NCL unless the ship had an adults only area (some do) or at the thermal suite.   I am a big believer in trying all the lines…I don’t think you can go wrong with Celebrity, they have a very nice product.  Hope that helped.

[NutsAboutGolf]

24 minutes ago, KKB said:

I disagree, especially after our Edge cruise last summer.

There were LOTS of activities. (and ship was less than half full!)

We see people reading & playing games on all lines. (have not done Carnival, Holland or MSC).

Interestingly, after our 1st X cruise 8 years ago, it was a little less lively than some of our other cruises.

But we kept coming back...and discovered that S-class ships are livelier than M-class.

Not surprisingly, E-class is even better. B

I do recommend a bigger ship--I like that too!

 

I should have been more specific with activities, NCL has go carts, rope course, laser tag, escape rooms, dueling piano bars, etc.  X on the other hand, lectures, various classes and trivia although while I can't specifically remember, it was the evenings only.  They both, like most cruise lines, have live music, but X, unlike NCL, wasn't playing top 40.  That kind of stuff may or may not be important to a cruiser, the OP said they were looking for night life/dance parties.

[Denny01]

 read through many of the posts because I didn’t’ want to repeat the same, so I’ll chime in now:

 

We’ve enjoyed All the cruises we’ve been on. So you know our experience and can ‘judge’ a bit our opinion, I’ve never cruised NCL, but have been on Carnival (4), Princess (3), Crystal (1), RCL (3), Viking (3), Celebrity (30) and you can see,  Celebrity is our primary Cruise Line. 

 

Why?

    - The biggest point is, it treats us like adults. No press to join in on various games and programs, just low key invites. One announcement per day: no constant press to ‘join the fun’ or whatever.

   - Service is outstanding. I find it pretty similar on other Lines, but I think Celebrity has a better ratio and more attentive staff. Luxury Lines are a cut above that, but you pay for it. 

   - Excellent ‘Beyond the Podium’ talks of many subjects by experts. 

   - dining is very subjective, but I find dining at the MDRs is better than on the other Lines, even our limited ‘luxury’ line experience. the Buffet has more options. Thought the specialty restaurants were a step above.

   - Standard SRs are excellent. More room than most other Line standard SRs; love the ‘glass’ shower walls in many of the ships and do enjoy the unique Infinite Veranda of the E-Class ships. For us, it turns the entire SR into the open air.

  - Some ships have great entertainment, but the music they sing to is ‘canned’. Love the Celebrity bands. 

 

And yes, other LInes have areas that exceed Celebrity such as RCL has fantastic plays and entertainment.   But for us, Celebrity has the overall experience we are looking for at this time. 

 

Den

 

[KKB]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

I should have been more specific with activities, NCL has go carts, rope course, laser tag, escape rooms, dueling piano bars, etc.  X on the other hand, lectures, various classes and trivia although while I can't specifically remember, it was the evenings only.  They both, like most cruise lines, have live music, but X, unlike NCL, wasn't playing top 40.  That kind of stuff may or may not be important to a cruiser, the OP said they were looking for night life/dance parties.

True.

Having sailed on DCL, NCL, RCCL, Princess & Celebrity I have found that ship size makes a BIG difference on activities--not surprisingly, more passengers means more offerings.

RCCL Mariner of the Seas was our least fav cruise ever--MX Riv is my least fav itinerary but I think the pompous almost invisible CD was a big factor. That is the one cruise we have had were more than once we found ourselves looking for things to do. Still had a good time. But our other 2 RCCL cruises were terrific.

 

[kwokpot]

If nightlife and the spa/thermal suite is important to you then Celebrity can't compete with NCL. So it's a mixed bag. Food, service and overall ambiance Celebrity is more an upscale,adult oriented cruiseline. You'll have to decide what your priorities are in a cruise vacation.

[KmomChicago]

Nobody has mentioned Virgin Voyages. I realize a lot of longtimers haven't gotten around to trying it yet. OP this might be one you'd want to test out.

[terrydtx]

12 hours ago, Susandt said:

During the day we love a quiet area to read, 

want better food then what Ncl haven had

at nighttime we do love a dance party, will I find that on x

Our only NCL cruise was a suite in the Haven, it was enjoyable but not comparable to Celebrity Suite Retreat. The suites only restaurant, Luminae is so much better and all the amenities in even the entry level Sky Suites are great. When we have priced out our future cruises when we compared NCL Haven to Celebrity Retreat on a cost per day basis a Sky Suite is much less and more affordable. We do not book a suite for just the larger cabin, but for the extra OBC, premium drinks, paid gratuities, premium Wi-Fi, a personal butler, Luminae, and the suites only Retreat or Michael's lounge. For us Celebrity has NCL beat in almost all categories except maybe the variety and number of specialty restaurants.  Try Celebrity once and see for yourself. 

Edited March 7, 2022 by terrydtx

[4774Papa]

19 hours ago, KKB said:

True.

Having sailed on DCL, NCL, RCCL, Princess & Celebrity I have found that ship size makes a BIG difference on activities--not surprisingly, more passengers means more offerings.

RCCL Mariner of the Seas was our least fav cruise ever--MX Riv is my least fav itinerary but I think the pompous almost invisible CD was a big factor. That is the one cruise we have had were more than once we found ourselves looking for things to do. Still had a good time. But our other 2 RCCL cruises were terrific.

Interesting point about ship size.  We prefer the small to medium ships in all the cruise lines.  The larger ships have an overcrowded feeling.  Also, the larger ships tend to be on the shorter cruises and we prefer two week cruises.  

 

Further, the mega ships can fill  up a port to the point that it affects touring at the ports.   We cruise for the ports and not the ships.  Don't use water slides, etc.  Of course, we are seniors and that makes a difference.

19 hours ago, KKB said:

 

[KKB]

47 minutes ago, 4774Papa said:

Interesting point about ship size.  We prefer the small to medium ships in all the cruise lines.  The larger ships have an overcrowded feeling.  Also, the larger ships tend to be on the shorter cruises and we prefer two week cruises.  

 

Further, the mega ships can fill  up a port to the point that it affects touring at the ports.   We cruise for the ports and not the ships.  Don't use water slides, etc.  Of course, we are seniors and that makes a difference.

I get both points of view.

We like to be busy while on vacation & larger ships typically have many activities to choose from.

We were surprised on the Oasis of the Seas how the ship did NOT feel crowded. 

Now, after sailing the Edge last summer we got the best of both worlds: many activities, no many passengers!

As we are now (well, almost) retired, our choices of where we cruise has expanded, so I suspect we will sail smaller ships. Had a Med cruise booked for 2020...and realized that port intensive cruises, the ship is not as important!