NCteacherlovescruising Posted November 25, 2022 #1 Share Posted November 25, 2022 (edited) My husband and I, along with some friends, are planning a summer 2024 Greece/Italy cruise. I see what looks like a good deal with NCL today. Of course, Celebrity hasn't released their itineraries yet. Should we jump on their Black Friday special or wait to see what Celebrity offers once they open? Have you sailed either in that area? Edited November 25, 2022 by NCteacherlovescruising Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruising89143 Posted November 25, 2022 #2 Share Posted November 25, 2022 The itinerary takes the number one spot for us. We do prefer Celebrity and a smaller ship when cruising in the Med because it’s not something we do every year. Maybe put down a refundable deposit on a NCL booking and once X opens their booking see if something grabs your attention. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCteacherlovescruising Posted November 25, 2022 Author #3 Share Posted November 25, 2022 20 minutes ago, cruisingator2 said: Maybe put down a refundable deposit on a NCL booking and once X opens their booking see if something grabs your attention. We have talked about doing this. It looks like we have plenty of time to cancel if we want. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montythecat Posted November 27, 2022 #4 Share Posted November 27, 2022 Itinerary, itinerary, itinerary. The NCL itineraries are perhaps a little more imaginative than Celebrity but there isn’t much in it. In the end it may come down to which cruise line you prefer and $$$. If you want to add some days at the start or end of the cruise, which you may well want to do at the beginning after flying in from the US, then you might wish to consider which city would most appeal to you. Athens ? Barcelona ? Rome ? …..and others. What a lovely decision to have to make ! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCteacherlovescruising Posted November 27, 2022 Author #5 Share Posted November 27, 2022 I have never been there so no idea what itinerary's would be ideal. My friends are well traveled so they would know much more about it, however I'm a much more experienced cruiser. I do want to fly in early to explore, so that's an excellent point! Celebrity will open their itinerary's on December 5th, correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cachecara Posted November 27, 2022 #6 Share Posted November 27, 2022 As others have mentioned, itinerary. Something you might also consider is how hot it will be in June-August. We did this May-early June 2019, and lots of walking. It was wonderful, but fairly and humid warm even then. We generally choose X, but found a very, very similar cruise on Royal. It was thousands less for same type stateroom and itinerary. Due to a smaller ship and time of year, very few children. enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mahdnc Posted November 27, 2022 #7 Share Posted November 27, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said: Celebrity will open their itinerary's on December 5th, correct? Yes, but you may want to be checking as early as Dec 4. Edited November 27, 2022 by mahdnc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAl94 Posted November 27, 2022 #8 Share Posted November 27, 2022 Chalk and cheese in my opinion. Celebrity certainly in the past would have been streets ahead of NCL. I know quite a few who have tried NCL and were disappointed. I saw photos of drinks at the pool in disposable plastic cups and that was pre covid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCteacherlovescruising Posted November 27, 2022 Author #9 Share Posted November 27, 2022 1 hour ago, Cachecara said: As others have mentioned, itinerary. Something you might also consider is how hot it will be in June-August. We did this May-early June 2019, and lots of walking. It was wonderful, but fairly and humid warm even then. We generally choose X, but found a very, very similar cruise on Royal. It was thousands less for same type stateroom and itinerary. Due to a smaller ship and time of year, very few children. enjoy! We all love the NCL itinerary! I'm a teacher so my travel dates are limited. I haven't checked Royal yet, I will do so. 49 minutes ago, mahdnc said: Yes, but you may want to be checking as early as Dec 4. I thought I saw that somewhere. 38 minutes ago, BigAl94 said: Chalk and cheese in my opinion. Celebrity certainly in the past would have been streets ahead of NCL. I know quite a few who have tried NCL and were disappointed. I saw photos of drinks at the pool in disposable plastic cups and that was pre covid. I've only sailed with each these cruiselines once and enjoyed both of them. Celebrity has been our favorite so far, but this cruise is at a different port every day so it's much more about itinerary and price this time. I will be sailing with Celebrity in 3 weeks. 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curmudgeon98 Posted November 27, 2022 #10 Share Posted November 27, 2022 If the price is in your budget, that's a nice area for an Azamara cruise. In that area the ports are a big focus, and Azamara tends to include some smaller interesting ports. Not as much going on on the ship, though. I wasn't impressed with NCL when we did a Med cruise with them several years ago, so I would generally pick Celebrity over them. Pretty much all the cruise lines sail in the area, so there are other choices as well. Venice has become a very awkward port with the ship restrictions, so keep that in mind. Lots of nice ports in Croatia though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCteacherlovescruising Posted November 27, 2022 Author #11 Share Posted November 27, 2022 31 minutes ago, curmudgeon98 said: If the price is in your budget, that's a nice area for an Azamara cruise. In that area the ports are a big focus, and Azamara tends to include some smaller interesting ports. Not as much going on on the ship, though. I wasn't impressed with NCL when we did a Med cruise with them several years ago, so I would generally pick Celebrity over them. Pretty much all the cruise lines sail in the area, so there are other choices as well. Venice has become a very awkward port with the ship restrictions, so keep that in mind. Lots of nice ports in Croatia though. We decided to book it. We have nothing to lose because we have until finally payment to cancel without penalty. If something better comes along we may cancel and switch. We are flying in 2 days prior and out 2 days after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cw2go Posted November 27, 2022 #12 Share Posted November 27, 2022 (edited) I am a "NEVER NCL" girl who actually never sailed them ( basically based on reviews) but I bit the bullet and booked for the Med May 2024. The itinerary and price can't be beat. Celebrity would easily be more than double and I'm actually looking forward to some variety. I currently have 5 Cel sailings booked and 4 are on Edge class. I'll lower my expectations as far as food and hope to be surprised but to be fair, I will be enjoying many of my meals while ashore, especially since there are no sea days. Enjoy Europe with your friends, Patty Edited November 27, 2022 by cw2go 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCteacherlovescruising Posted November 27, 2022 Author #13 Share Posted November 27, 2022 1 hour ago, cw2go said: I am a "NEVER NCL" girl who actually never sailed them ( basically based on reviews) but I bit the bullet and booked for the Med May 2024. The itinerary and price can't be beat. Celebrity would easily be more than double and I'm actually looking forward to some variety. I currently have 5 Cel sailings booked and 4 are on Edge class. I'll lower my expectations as far as food and hope to be surprised but to be fair, I will be enjoying many of my meals while ashore, especially since there are no sea days. Enjoy Europe with your friends, Patty Enjoy yours as well! Not a foodie, so I’ve never have trouble eating any any cruise, with the exception of Princess. Everyone was so bland, I didn’t really enjoy any meals. As you said, I will probably eat ashore quite a bit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-Airbalancer Posted November 27, 2022 #14 Share Posted November 27, 2022 What is the NCL itinerary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCteacherlovescruising Posted November 27, 2022 Author #15 Share Posted November 27, 2022 1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said: What is the NCL itinerary? Athens (Piraeus),Greece Santorini,Greece Mykonos,Greece Zakynthos,Greece Corfu,Greece Kotor,Montenegro Dubrovnik,Croatia Split,Croatia Venice,Italy Venice (Trieste),Italy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cw2go Posted November 27, 2022 #16 Share Posted November 27, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said: What is the NCL itinerary? May 26th - June 4th 26th Barcelona embark 5pm 27th Cannes 8-6pm 28th Livorno 6:30 am (overnight) 29th Livorno 7pm 30th Civitavecchia 6:30 - 7pm 31st Naples 6:30-5pm 1st Sardinia 9-4 2nd Palma 12-11pm 3rd Ibiza 7-6 4th Barcelona 5am Edited November 27, 2022 by cw2go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curmudgeon98 Posted November 27, 2022 #17 Share Posted November 27, 2022 15 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said: Athens (Piraeus),Greece Santorini,Greece Mykonos,Greece Zakynthos,Greece Corfu,Greece Kotor,Montenegro Dubrovnik,Croatia Split,Croatia Venice,Italy Venice (Trieste),Italy That's a nice itinerary. The Venice bit may be a little funky - the ship is not likely to dock there, and if it does, it will be way over in the boonies of the industrial port. Interesting question if NCL would try to do something like tender there. If you end up with an extra day in Trieste instead, I'd suggest doing something like one of the cave complexes (Postonja) in Slovenia that day. On debarkation, it's an easy train trip into Venice from Trieste to spend your last couple of nights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECCruise Posted November 27, 2022 #18 Share Posted November 27, 2022 5 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said: We decided to book it. We have nothing to lose because we have until finally payment to cancel without penalty. If something better comes along we may cancel and switch. We are flying in 2 days prior and out 2 days after. I would say smart move. 25+ sailings on =X= and 25+ sailings on NCL, the majority of both in Europe (including 3 on NCL in the Northern Europe/Med. in the last month or so). Love the NCL itinerary and since itinerary weighs much heavier than cruise line choice for us. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NMTraveller Posted November 27, 2022 #19 Share Posted November 27, 2022 (edited) If Celebrity has an S class ship on the new schedule I would choose that. If it is E class it would depend upon the price difference. The E class is a lesser ship IMHO unless in a suite. I would probably just choose NCL for the real balconies. Edited November 27, 2022 by NMTraveller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunzini Posted November 28, 2022 #20 Share Posted November 28, 2022 3 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said: Athens (Piraeus),Greece Santorini,Greece Mykonos,Greece Zakynthos,Greece Corfu,Greece Kotor,Montenegro Dubrovnik,Croatia Split,Croatia Venice,Italy Venice (Trieste),Italy Love this itinerary! I think you will be more than happy with it. As far as ships/cruise lines go-on this type of itinerary, you are busy and the actual ship experience does not mean as much. I think you did the right thing to go ahead and book. You can always change your mind. If NCL is more reasonably priced since you will have a busy itinerary, go with it. Great itinerary! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cw2go Posted November 28, 2022 #21 Share Posted November 28, 2022 15 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said: Athens (Piraeus),Greece Santorini,Greece Mykonos,Greece Zakynthos,Greece Corfu,Greece Kotor,Montenegro Dubrovnik,Croatia Split,Croatia Venice,Italy Venice (Trieste),Italy This is an amazing itinerary! I've been to Venice, Corfu and Montenegro ~ You'll LOVE these ports of call! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremiah1212 Posted November 28, 2022 #22 Share Posted November 28, 2022 Another thing to consider is how many ships will be in port at each stop. Places that get extremely crowded like Santorini, Mykonos, Dubrovnik, etc. will be far more enjoyable with less cruise traffic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCteacherlovescruising Posted November 28, 2022 Author #23 Share Posted November 28, 2022 22 hours ago, curmudgeon98 said: That's a nice itinerary. The Venice bit may be a little funky - the ship is not likely to dock there, and if it does, it will be way over in the boonies of the industrial port. Interesting question if NCL would try to do something like tender there. If you end up with an extra day in Trieste instead, I'd suggest doing something like one of the cave complexes (Postonja) in Slovenia that day. On debarkation, it's an easy train trip into Venice from Trieste to spend your last couple of nights. We thought so too! Venice, Santorini Island, and Kotor are all listed as tender ports. I will look into your suggestion. We have two days in Venice post cruise, so plenty of time. 22 hours ago, ECCruise said: I would say smart move. 25+ sailings on =X= and 25+ sailings on NCL, the majority of both in Europe (including 3 on NCL in the Northern Europe/Med. in the last month or so). Love the NCL itinerary and since itinerary weighs much heavier than cruise line choice for us. We loved this itinerary as well. 21 hours ago, NMTraveller said: If Celebrity has an S class ship on the new schedule I would choose that. If it is E class it would depend upon the price difference. The E class is a lesser ship IMHO unless in a suite. I would probably just choose NCL for the real balconies. We loved the itinerary and the price seemed reasonable. 19 hours ago, bunzini said: Love this itinerary! I think you will be more than happy with it. As far as ships/cruise lines go-on this type of itinerary, you are busy and the actual ship experience does not mean as much. I think you did the right thing to go ahead and book. You can always change your mind. If NCL is more reasonably priced since you will have a busy itinerary, go with it. Great itinerary! We all loved the itinerary too! I was also thinking the ship wouldn't make much difference either. We will spend most of our time in ports. 8 hours ago, cw2go said: This is an amazing itinerary! I've been to Venice, Corfu and Montenegro ~ You'll LOVE these ports of call! We thought so too! Good to know! 7 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said: Another thing to consider is how many ships will be in port at each stop. Places that get extremely crowded like Santorini, Mykonos, Dubrovnik, etc. will be far more enjoyable with less cruise traffic. I haven't looked into that yet. It's a bit early since many lines haven't released these itineraries yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeysgal Posted November 29, 2022 #24 Share Posted November 29, 2022 I’ve sailed both lines several times . Celebrity we’ve sailed several times in Northern Europe and NCL we’ve sailed several times in the Mediterranean. That said, it’s all about the itinerary. Ncl has some really nice itineraries. Celebrity has nice itineraries - some with overnights which we prefer. Cost wise- NCL has great rates - and we’ve been able to sail in suites with them whereas financially we can’t touch the cost of suites with Celebrity. I do prefer the classy look of Celebrity. But the entertainment in our opinion is better on NCL. So - you can’t go wrong either way. Itinerary, itinerary, itinerary. Perhaps put a booking in place with NCL and then see what Celebrity offers. You can also cancel before final payment. Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise a holic Posted November 29, 2022 #25 Share Posted November 29, 2022 (edited) Unless in the Haven, IMO not a fan of NCL. The ship is so crowded and food not as good as Celebrity. Also NCL regular balcony cabins are small. While the ports are very important, we also enjoy the ship and nice accommodations. Edited November 29, 2022 by Cruise a holic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now