NCL or Celebrity for Mediterranean?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

10 hours ago, mickeysgal said:

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! 

 

The NCL itinerary is ideal so we went ahead and booked.  We will check out Celebrity when they open, but I think it will be hard to beat the cost/itinerary with NCL on for this trip.

 

4 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

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.

 

After looking at the itinerary closer, we will spend most of our time ashore so the ship and food aren't nearly as important as the itinerary and cost.  We booked and will see what Celebrity has to offer next week when they release theirs.  

[cw2go]

I came back to see if you changed your mind from NCL with the Cel release? Just curious. 😊

 

I actually did, I've cancelled NCL and booked Ascent for Europe 2024.

 

Patty

[PelicanLvr]

On 11/27/2022 at 10:30 AM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

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?

Tami,

 

When you say "I have never been there..."  do you mean you haven't been to the Greek Islands / Adriatic ports or all of Europe?

 

On 11/27/2022 at 4:58 PM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

• Athens (Piraeus),Greece
• Santorini,Greece
• Mykonos,Greece
• Zakynthos,Greece
• Corfu,Greece
• Kotor,Montenegro
• Dubrovnik,Croatia
• Split,Croatia
• Venice,Italy
• Venice (Trieste),Italy

 

 

IMHO, while this is a wonderful itinerary, it is an itinerary for someone who has already been to the cruise-highlights of Europe like: Rome, Florence, & Barcelona.

 

Just my 2 cents....food for thought.

 

Enjoy your planning and the trip!!

 

P.L.

 

PS:  Please spend at least one night in Venice (on the island) to soak it in.  Go to St, Mark's Square at night to hear the orchestras play in the outdoor cafes.  Unforgettable experience!

 

 

 

 

 

[LGW59]

On 11/25/2022 at 2:36 PM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

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?

Oceania's Med itins are better than either Celebrity (less $$ too) and NCL

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, cw2go said:

I came back to see if you changed your mind from NCL with the Cel release? Just curious. 😊

 

I actually did, I've cancelled NCL and booked Ascent for Europe 2024.

 

Patty

 

I found some that look more appealing to me, but my friends seem set on the NCL itinerary.  However, I'm a teacher and our school district just changed our school calendar, having us begin and end 3 weeks earlier.  Assuming they will stick with the new calendar, I will be back to work at the time we have our cruise booked.  With August out for me, and June out for one of my friends, we only have July.  Which itinerary did you go with?  The Ascent has some fantastic itineraries!

 

56 minutes ago, PelicanLvr said:

Tami,

 

When you say "I have never been there..."  do you mean you haven't been to the Greek Islands / Adriatic ports or all of Europe?

 

 

IMHO, while this is a wonderful itinerary, it is an itinerary for someone who has already been to the cruise-highlights of Europe like: Rome, Florence, & Barcelona.

 

Just my 2 cents....food for thought.

 

Enjoy your planning and the trip!!

 

P.L.

 

PS:  Please spend at least one night in Venice (on the island) to soak it in.  Go to St, Mark's Square at night to hear the orchestras play in the outdoor cafes.  Unforgettable experience!

 

 

 

 

 

I have never been anywhere in Europe.  Why would you call those 3 "cruise highlights" over the ones we chose?  Again, since I've never been there I don't know.  

 

We plan to spend 2 days pre and post cruise on land.  I will put that on my to do list.

 

1 minute ago, LGW59 said:

Oceania's Med itins are better than either Celebrity (less $$ too) and NCL

I'm not at all familiar with Oceania.  

[cw2go]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

I found some that look more appealing to me, but my friends seem set on the NCL itinerary.  However, I'm a teacher and our school district just changed our school calendar, having us begin and end 3 weeks earlier.  Assuming they will stick with the new calendar, I will be back to work at the time we have our cruise booked.  With August out for me, and June out for one of my friends, we only have July.  Which itinerary did you go with?  The Ascent has some fantastic itineraries!

 

 

June 8th -18th Out of Barcelona. Booked early because I wanted a sunset balcony. I compared this to the NCL cruise and surprisingly its $200 cheaper, pretty equal ports and stateroom so I am sticking with Cel. I did post on the NCL board to get their perspective/feel for the differences and I think The Ascent is a better choice for me. 

 

I've sailed the Med a few times, doing Gk Isles this Aug on Beyond so I wanted to get to Cinque Terre and Capri in 2024. 

 

Patty 

Edited December 15, 2022 by cw2go

[NCteacherlovescruising]

11 minutes ago, cw2go said:

 

June 8th -18th Out of Barcelona. Booked early because I wanted a sunset balcony. I compared this to the NCL cruise and surprisingly its $200 cheaper, pretty equal ports and stateroom so I am sticking with Cel. I did post on the NCL board to get a their perspective/feel for the differences and I think The Ascent is a better choice for me. 

 

I've sailed the Med a few times, doing Gk Isles this Aug on Beyond so I wanted to get to Cinque Terre and Capri in 2024. 

 

Patty 

That one's on my list, but one of my friends can't go in June.  That only leaves July for me and that's not an option then.  I also want a sunset veranda.  Hopefully they still have them Sunday when I'm onboard.  

[NCteacherlovescruising]

On 12/15/2022 at 7:56 AM, cw2go said:

I came back to see if you changed your mind from NCL with the Cel release? Just curious. 😊

 

I actually did, I've cancelled NCL and booked Ascent for Europe 2024.

 

Patty

Today is our last on the Reflection. I did end up moving to Celebrity. I booked the Equinox for June 13, Barcelona to Rome. I love this itinerary, not only for those two ports, but also because it has an overnight in Florence. An added bonus is since it’s an older ship, a sunset sky suite fit our budget perfectly. Our friends, on the other hand, decided to stay with NCL, which is why I was able to book in June. 

[smtcan]

June is a better time for Europe than July or August, which are hot and crowded.  Try to spend some time before and after your cruise in Barcelona and Rome which have so much to offer.

[rodndonna]

On 12/15/2022 at 9:58 AM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

I found some that look more appealing to me, but my friends seem set on the NCL itinerary.  However, I'm a teacher and our school district just changed our school calendar, having us begin and end 3 weeks earlier.  Assuming they will stick with the new calendar, I will be back to work at the time we have our cruise booked.  With August out for me, and June out for one of my friends, we only have July.  Which itinerary did you go with?  The Ascent has some fantastic itineraries!

 

I have never been anywhere in Europe.  Why would you call those 3 "cruise highlights" over the ones we chose?  Again, since I've never been there I don't know.  

 

We plan to spend 2 days pre and post cruise on land.  I will put that on my to do list.

 

I'm not at all familiar with Oceania.  

 

I can't speak for the poster of that comment, but I agree with them and would call them  "first Europe cruise" staples . If you have not been anywhere in Europe. those 3 ports have major WOW factor offerings. 

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Today is our last on the Reflection. I did end up moving to Celebrity. I booked the Equinox for June 13, Barcelona to Rome. I love this itinerary, not only for those two ports, but also because it has an overnight in Florence. An added bonus is since it’s an older ship, a sunset sky suite fit our budget perfectly. Our friends, on the other hand, decided to stay with NCL, which is why I was able to book in June. 

Fantastic! 
A great time to go , sunset not until 9:30 pm ! 
A lot drinks at the Sunset Bar 😁

[cw2go]

2 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Today is our last on the Reflection. I did end up moving to Celebrity. I booked the Equinox for June 13, Barcelona to Rome. I love this itinerary, not only for those two ports, but also because it has an overnight in Florence. An added bonus is since it’s an older ship, a sunset sky suite fit our budget perfectly. Our friends, on the other hand, decided to stay with NCL, which is why I was able to book in June. 

 

 Yahoo! You need to pick for YOU! 

 

Wishing you a fabulous experience. I'm sure you'll fall madly in love with Europe! 

 

Patty 

 

 

 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

21 hours ago, smtcan said:

June is a better time for Europe than July or August, which are hot and crowded.  Try to spend some time before and after your cruise in Barcelona and Rome which have so much to offer.

I’ve heard. I’m happy we were able to change it. We are planning 2-3 days on each end on land. 
 

20 hours ago, rodndonna said:

 

I can't speak for the poster of that comment, but I agree with them and would call them  "first Europe cruise" staples . If you have not been anywhere in Europe. those 3 ports have major WOW factor offerings. 

 

I don’t recall which 3. It seems Barcelona and Rome were on there, but I don’t recall the third. I’m super excited to see both and stay for a few. 
 

20 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Fantastic! 
A great time to go , sunset not until 9:30 pm ! 
A lot drinks at the Sunset Bar 😁

 

Perfect!

 

19 hours ago, cw2go said:

 

 Yahoo! You need to pick for YOU! 

 

Wishing you a fabulous experience. I'm sure you'll fall madly in love with Europe! 

 

Patty 

 

 

 

I agree. They have all been before, but this is our first time and we will be celebrating our 30th anniversary. 

[rodndonna]

9 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I don’t recall which 3. It seems Barcelona and Rome were on there, but I don’t recall the third. I’m super excited to see both and stay for a few. 
 

 Barcelona,  Florence and Rome were the 3 mentioned that I was referring to.

 

Sounds like you have a fantastic trip to plan and look forward to  - enjoy!

[PelicanLvr]

Tami,

 

Thank you for really thinking about "my 2 cents" from post #28.  You are on a much better itinerary for a first-time Europe visit...you are really visiting some of the great Europe highlights.  Outstanding choice!

 

A little more "food for thought":

 

In Florence:  You said you have an overnight there.  Yes?  If so, please think about packing an overnight bag and staying in Florence that night.  You will see so much more that way.  A book like Rick Steves has lots of good-value options.  That way you:

--- save the travel time to and from the ship

--- have an evening to stroll the beautifully lit magical city

--- have dinner in an atmospheric cafe or restaurant

--- See sunset on a bridge over the Arno 

 

In Rome:  Wow, so much to see.....Since you will be there post cruise, look into tour companies that provide special access like "Walks of Italy" to get into Colosseum areas that are not open to the general public or into the Vatican Museum (Sistine Chapel) before it opens to the public.  

 

Also know most museums in Europe (there are exceptions) are closed on Mondays and the Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel are closed on Sunday.

 

Happy Planning.

 

PL

 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

3 hours ago, rodndonna said:

 Barcelona,  Florence and Rome were the 3 mentioned that I was referring to.

 

Sounds like you have a fantastic trip to plan and look forward to  - enjoy!

Perfect!  We’re getting them all!  
 

1 hour ago, PelicanLvr said:

Tami,

 

Thank you for really thinking about "my 2 cents" from post #28.  You are on a much better itinerary for a first-time Europe visit...you are really visiting some of the great Europe highlights.  Outstanding choice!

 

A little more "food for thought":

 

In Florence:  You said you have an overnight there.  Yes?  If so, please think about packing an overnight bag and staying in Florence that night.  You will see so much more that way.  A book like Rick Steves has lots of good-value options.  That way you:

--- save the travel time to and from the ship

--- have an evening to stroll the beautifully lit magical city

--- have dinner in an atmospheric cafe or restaurant

--- See sunset on a bridge over the Arno 

 

In Rome:  Wow, so much to see.....Since you will be there post cruise, look into tour companies that provide special access like "Walks of Italy" to get into Colosseum areas that are not open to the general public or into the Vatican Museum (Sistine Chapel) before it opens to the public.  

 

Also know most museums in Europe (there are exceptions) are closed on Mondays and the Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel are closed on Sunday.

 

Happy Planning.

 

PL

 

Thanks for your advice!  
 

You advise to stay off the ship in Florence. Is it far from the ship?  Thanks for the info about things being closed. We will arrive there on a Saturday.  

[PelicanLvr]

2 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Perfect!  We’re getting them all!  
 

Thanks for your advice!  
 

You advise to stay off the ship in Florence. Is it far from the ship?  Thanks for the info about things being closed. We will arrive there on a Saturday.  

Livorno is the port for Florence.  It's a bit over an hour each way on the road even without traffic. 

 

 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

7 minutes ago, PelicanLvr said:

Livorno is the port for Florence.  It's a bit over an hour each way on the road even without traffic. 

 

 

Got ya. Thanks!