Norwegian vs Celebrity

[pete_coach]

 

11 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Your post read very much like a "why should I have to pay $830 to get free drinks?" I have seen this kind of post oodles of times on Cruise Critic, it appears that the poster is complaining about the fact that he paid for Free at Sea including drinks and then is mad he has to pay gratuity on top of it (forgetting that people who buy drinks as they go ALSO have to pay gratuity). I have gotten used to reading this kind of post, but the poster frequently leaves out the fact that, like in your case, it's a 14 day cruise. You have to break that $830 down to the cost per day, and it's in CAD as well. An unsuspecting American reader might see that as a shock, but once it's broken down to per day and also converted to USD, it isn't so shocking. That's my point. Other lines charge WAY more, I've gotten beverage packages on Carnival and Royal that were vastly more expensive.

One sentence, and the last one, in a post is not the entire comment.

This is an international forum. There are readers from US, Canada, Australia  Britain and elsewhere.

 

9 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

And, FYI, @pete_coach, I'm not trying to attack you, only to make you aware of how your post read to this particular reader.

Sure sounds like it to me.

If that one sentence or comment bothered you , sorry.

Edited May 9, 2023 by pete_coach

[mjkacmom]

9 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

And, FYI, @pete_coach, I'm not trying to attack you, only to make you aware of how your post read to this particular reader.

It’s not jus you, I keep waiting for the AH-HA moment where the pp realizes the daily gratuity is less than the cost of 2 drinks.

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, pete_coach said:

Sure sounds like it to me.

If that one sentence or comment bothered you , sorry.

Haha, how ironic is this statement. I thought you were complaining about the gratuity, but you weren't, which means I misunderstood your comment. Then I said I wasn't attacking you and you respond with "sure sounds like it to me." Surely you see it's possible for BOTH of us to misinterpret something? That's why I found it ironic. 😉

 

2 minutes ago, pete_coach said:

This is an international forum. There are readers from US, Canada, Australia  Britain and elsewhere.

Thanks, I've been on this site for a long time, I'm well aware it's international. But a lot of the readers, when they post pricing using the "$" symbol, are referring to US dollars. It's fine, I understand where you're coming from. No need to belabor the point.

[FlGoodShips]

Have sailed both Celebrity and NCL.

Celebrity Edge...(we are in our late 60's) and we felt we were the babies. Celebrity to us was extremely boring. Knitting class? No.

Golf putting tournament (only 3 people showed up) & was held in a bar with 2 water glasses. No.

Trivia..2 couples showed up. 

Entertainment not for us.

Now NCL...love all the game shows. Love all the entertainment, music. Also no set time for dining. That part is great.

Obviously...we prefer NCL.

[hallux]

1 hour ago, Panhandle Couple said:

BA: BreakAway, Getaway, Escape

BA+:  Bliss, Joy, Encore

Just to avoid confusion - Escape is a BA+  I made the same mistake - Escape doesn't have the OL or go-karts, and being the only ship in that class without them it can be confusing to include it in the class but the NCL site lists it as BA+.

[hallux]

Duplicate...

Edited May 9, 2023 by hallux

[fredflint]

You would really have to  compare 2 ships of similar size on the almost same itinerary to get an even somewhat valid answer.

 

But in my experience taking Transatlantic cruises twice on Celebrity once on RCCL and twice on NCL.

NCL customer service was worse passengers were left to find out on there own where to go to have our paperwork stamped for VAT tax  refund over 1K so for us important.  Celebrity had a customs agent come onboard to take care getting the documents stamped at the last port.

 

Cruise director at our last cruise was bad but it could have been because the ship was going to be doing South American cruises after our TA.

Food hard to say due to changes from COVID, but Celebrity was better in the past.

Ships have been kept up well with maybe a slight edge to NCL.

 

Enrichment/guest lecturer is no contest NCL was like having a high school student read a book report  Celebrity and RCCL was having the author as a guest speaker!

[wwwfla]

10 hours ago, pete_coach said:

We have cruised both although not the new Celebrity Edge class.

The NCL ships tend to be more kid orientated with the rides, games, slides etc.

Celebrity is more adult orientated.

We have done cruises during kid friendly dates and out of those dates and can say, we will not again cruise during spring break, summer and holidays on any NCL ships.

Seems both lines have changed their "service" and it is not as it used to be.

Complaints about NCL have been about the entertainment, or lack of it, and the reservations system for it. Our last NCL cruise we could not get to see the Beatles show unless we lined up for well over an hour before.

Cabins are almost the same.

Food is almost the same (and food is very personal and subjective)

Drink packages are very personal thing. On our upcoming NCL we got a free drink package but had to pay $830 drink gratuity fee (for the 2 of us). Kinda make you wonder if you would even spend $830 for drinks.

 

 

 

[wwwfla]

This is all you need to know for this thread about obvious differences except for the obvious error in the NCL gratuity, should be about half what was stated.

[ZachIsHere]

I enjoy NCL but those Celebrity ships look really nice and it looks like they do a great job with the food. Will have to save up a few more extra bucks and give Celebrity a whirl.

[di T]

21 hours ago, swjumbo said:

Hello Norwegian Fans!
We normally only cruise Celebrity got chatting to someone who only cruises Norwegian. We did a bit of YouTube and online stuff and are wondering if we’ve been missing something.

Tried a short Cunard trip last year and we intend to return in 30 years when we’re the correct age.

The premium drinks package on Celebrity is great but yours looks better!

We’re getting a ‘new’ Celebrity ship based in the UK next year with infinite verandas (yuck) so we’re looking to move elsewhere and Norwegian looks good.

Have any of you cruised with Celebrity and how would you compare it to Norwegian?

Thanks a lot.

Elite plus on Celebrity after many cruises with them, have only sailed six times on NCL , This year we have had 21 nights earlier in the year on Norwegian next cruise is only 10 nights on Oceania, then in September back on Celebrity for a back to back of 19 nights. All are Mediterranean or Canary Islands, but very different experiences, I would say NCL are more like RCL in my experience and we enjoy the drinks package on NCL.But have enjoyed all our cruises so far!

[Lighthousepointdream15]

I have sailed on both Edge and the Beyond on Celebrity. The Beyond is an amazing ship.  The Retreat on both ships is lovely. I have sailed in the Haven on two of the “Away “ ships. Again the Haven areas are lovely. I love that the smoking areas on Celebrity are only outside in very limited areas. I have lung cancer and the smoke really bothers me. 
 

I am sailing on the Prima on Sunday in the Haven. I am looking forward to the smoking  area in the casino is in its own room. 
 

while on the surface the Haven seems less expensive than the Retreat. The cost does not include everything on NCL like it does on Celebrity. We have spend an additional $3000 on add ons just to get to what Celebrity would include (unlimited premium drinks and unlimited premium internet)

 

Food is a very subjective thing so I will leave that. 
 

Entertainment is much better on NCL. I enjoy the small club atmosphere venues. 
 

We are looking forward to our trip on the Prima and will see how it stacks up. 

[pcakes122]

On 5/9/2023 at 11:17 AM, pete_coach said:

That is gratuity, not the drink.

 

10 drinks at $12 per drink = $120.00 and gratuity is $21.60 but we don't drink 10 drinks per day.

I think this is enough for now. It all depends on how much one drinks.

Back to topic, we like both lines but for different reasons. We like Oceania as well but again, for different reasons. Reading the forums for the various cruse lines you will see praise and criticism of them all.

Just FYI you do not have to accept the free drink package and pay those gratuities if you're not going to drink that much. If what you will actually drink would be cheaper to pay by the drink, just decline the free package.

[pete_coach]

8 hours ago, pcakes122 said:

Just FYI you do not have to accept the free drink package and pay those gratuities if you're not going to drink that much. If what you will actually drink would be cheaper to pay by the drink, just decline the free package.

OK already.

As I said, I made a post with lots of information and one sentence was an aside about the drinks and gratuities.

 

[pcakes122]

24 minutes ago, pete_coach said:

OK already.

As I said, I made a post with lots of information and one sentence was an aside about the drinks and gratuities.

 

Woah, sorry. I honestly thought you didn't know that you didn't need to pay those gratuities. Fine, pay them. Lol 

[PTC DAWG]

Utes? Go on NCL and we always take the free at sea offering on the drink package…two-three drinks a day usually covers the cost. 

 

no Utes I prefer Celebrity…there will be goings on around the ship after 10. Silent Disco a night or two on a 7 day, DJ every night somewhere…late night Comedy at times…

 

I prefer the drink package on Celebrity, water,  nice coffee included..Wife and I always book all included, that covers classic drink package, wifi and room gratuities. 
 

I have had great cruises on both lines. 
 

 

Edited May 11, 2023 by PTC DAWG

[psuboater]

So we were RCCL (Diamond) and Celebrity fans. My mom and I would take the Summit every year from NY to Bermuda. We don't need the water slides or go karts, so we were really pleased with them. Their food was great and their entertainment staff had exactly what we needed. We went again in 2019, and we noticed to see the drop off. Entertainment was slashed, food was OK, but we felt like the babies on the trip and the energy felt lacking like the year before. 

For 2020 we were going to try RCCL for Bermuda but we know how that turned out. However for 2022, we went back on the Summit. We were bored. Entertainment was almost non existent and we felt ourselves going to bed early because there was nothing to do. Even so, we loved Bermuda and loved the ship itself so we booked for 2023. If you head over to the X boards, they gutted dinner service at their buffet. For most that's not a big deal, but we spent almost every dinner on the aft deck part of the buffet to enjoy the sunset. 
 

I live on the West Coast and found a last minute deal on the Joy this past Feburary. We figured we could use it as a test run before our final Summit payment was due. Within 2 days of boarding the Joy, we cancelled the Summit and are heading to Bermuda next month back on the Joy. 

 

We were impressed with the food (specialty and main dining), the entertainment staff, and we felt the drink package was more extensive (we loved the wines of FAS+). We still prefer small ship cruising, but we had a great time with NCL. 
 

We've been cruising since 2005 and all cruise lines have had cuts, being on all 3 lines I mentioned since COVID restarts. You just have to figure out what's important to you and go from there. 
 

I hope this helps! 
 

 

[JohnChiang]

I’ve done 5+ cruises on both lines. Celebrity’s buffet and MDR are better, while NCL has more food options.

 

Celebrity tries to position itself as a premium cruise line, and it does indeed feel more premium than Norwegian.

 

As a solo traveler, the biggest difference is the cost. Celebrity will almost always charge a 100% single supplement. With a little searching, I can often find a Norwegian cruise with a small or no solo surcharge. And with a CAS discount, the price of a NCL cruise can be less than half of a similar Celebrity one.

 

[AstoriaPreppy]

People have mentioned lots of the differences: NCL MDRs are pretty poor in comparison to Celebrity... but NCL has more options and 24/7 dining. NCL tends to draw a more social, active, family and group travel oriented passenger base compared to some Celebrity sailings.Service on NCL tends to be a bit more indifferent and transactional. You'll never see rope and stanchion queues at the pool bar to line people up for drinks on Celebrity. 

 

The biggest thing that rarely gets mentioned is that NCL is (by far) the most casual mainstream cruise line... if you're looking to pack light, it's fantastic. It's okay to wear shorts and flip flops to dinner in all but one or two of the MDRs and specialty restaurants.

[PTC DAWG]

31 minutes ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

 

 

The biggest thing that rarely gets mentioned is that NCL is (by far) the most casual mainstream cruise line... if you're looking to pack light, it's fantastic. It's okay to wear shorts and flip flops to dinner in all but one or two of the MDRs and specialty restaurants.

Having most recently sailed on NCL last month, that is a big deal to many people. 

[BoundForSea]

NCL and X are my go to lines now. Both are great for their own reasons. We’re in our mid 40s and kids are grown and don’t cruise with us anymore (was exclusively NCL then). We dumped MSC this year because it’s not worth my time or money anymore. Both lines have a different culture and vibe and we enjoy those differences actually. We plan to try Oceania next year, but to be honest we see ourselves staying with NCL and X. Figuring three cruises a year; one a year on each, plus a third being a toss up, and alternating.
 

Here’s my take on NCL ships: BA class and Escape are my faves on NCL. Escape is the sweet spot in my opinion. Bliss close second. Why you ask? Glad you did haha… Escape has Spice H20 still, an adults only bar and pool area at the aft of the ship which is amazing, Bliss does as well. Lots of free deck space for outside lounging on both. Bliss you gain the Observation Deck and the Haven has the same which is beautiful. You lose good space with race track and VR. The best for us on Escape and Bliss is the District Brew House and Food Republic. We LOVE those venues. I did the Innaugural TA on Encore and won’t be back on it. No Spice H20, most upper outside deck space is extra $$ in Vibe and there’s alot of VR space taking up free public space. 
 

As for X we’ve only been on M class. Looking forward to two sailing on Equinox this and next year and adding an Ascent in there next year as well. 
 

Bottom line: Why choose when you can have both!!! 

Edited May 11, 2023 by BoundForSea

[pete_coach]

13 hours ago, pcakes122 said:

Just FYI you do not have to accept the free drink package and pay those gratuities if you're not going to drink that much. If what you will actually drink would be cheaper to pay by the drink, just decline the free package.

You missed the entire point of the post.

I made comments and comparisons. And one sentence of gratuities on a drink package was an afterthought, If I would have know so many would be shaken, I would not have mentioned it. Also, it was not a matter of declining, it was just the gratuity on a free item.

[pcakes122]

38 minutes ago, pete_coach said:

You missed the entire point of the post.

I made comments and comparisons. And one sentence of gratuities on a drink package was an afterthought, If I would have know so many would be shaken, I would not have mentioned it. Also, it was not a matter of declining, it was just the gratuity on a free item.

Hopefully, even though it didn't matter to you, my post was helpful to others. Believe it or not, many people do not know that they do not have to accept the "free" drink package and pay the associated gratuities. I never accept it. First, I don't really drink that much and second, I get a free drink card from the casino (which is the only place I really drink anyway.) I simply decline the package when booking. Perhaps this will help others that were not  aware this is an option.

[cruiseny4life]

3 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Having most recently sailed on NCL last month, that is a big deal to many people. 

It's the biggest reason we chose to cruise on NCL...so yep, it's a huge deal to us. It's the reason we won't try any other cruise line, though I've heard Royal Caribbean is starting to become more "freestyle" in terms of this. 

[kitkat343]

Precovid, we found the mainstream cruise lines to be more similar than different so we just sailed for the best itinerary.  

 

We also sailed on Cunard 30 years too soon because strangely they are one of the few cruise lines that allow drop off care for 2 year olds in their daycare.

 

The issue you need to be careful with (if you care about the ports) is NCL cancelling ports for environmental reasons after final payment.  On my cruise, they cancelled one entire port and the morning of another and continued for the following month to advertise the original itinerary with the dropped ports.  They wouldn't refund anyone or let anyone make changes, including the people who booked directly with NCL after the ports were dropped.

 

But if you don't care about itinerary (and about 1/3 of my sailing didn't - they were just happy to be out of the winter in NY) you will  be fine on NCL

 

Edited May 11, 2023 by kitkat343