Booked on NCL but comparing NCL to regent and celebrity

[angela miller]

I have recently booked two cruises with NCL one coming up in February on the getaway and one in August 2025 on the epic both in Haven  I have cruised with NCL several times with family but also when I’m by myself and my  awesome husband, we book with Regent. I am hearing, terrible reviews on NCL at this point. What’s changed? My previous cruises with Haven have been great. I went with Regent because I did not like the chaos… Of course my children did.. so overview of Haven now?

[zqvol]

Nothing has changed, but even the Haven is a big step down from Regent. 

[complawyer]

ncl vs. regent is comparing apples to oranges. it is really not at all a fair comparison, as regent ranks as a higher echelon cruise line.

 

we have 30 ncl cruises under our belts, and many times i have checked all other available lines.

 

for my money, i believe ncl offers the "best bang for your buck" for itineraries, and regardless of the escalating costs of cruising, also price and cabin size. 

 

while i am not knocking rccl, who really wants to be on a ship with 5-700 of your closest friends.

 

celebrity doesnt sail where i want to go and after checking their suite prices, they are more expensive and the cabins are smaller. whenever you hear of a calamity at sea, it's usually carnival.(yes, i know its an over generalization)

 

by the way, we love the haven, or if we have a choice on an ncl ship that has both a haven category and a suite category, i'll book the suite as the rooms are identical, and i can live (albeit grudgingly) without the separate bar, pool or restaurant, and the suites are about 2-3000 cheaper.

other perks are the same.

[zqvol]

7 hours ago, complawyer said:

ncl vs. regent is comparing apples to oranges. it is really not at all a fair comparison, as regent ranks as a higher echelon cruise line.

 

we have 30 ncl cruises under our belts, and many times i have checked all other available lines.

 

for my money, i believe ncl offers the "best bang for your buck" for itineraries, and regardless of the escalating costs of cruising, also price and cabin size. 

 

while i am not knocking rccl, who really wants to be on a ship with 5-700 of your closest friends.

 

celebrity doesnt sail where i want to go and after checking their suite prices, they are more expensive and the cabins are smaller. whenever you hear of a calamity at sea, it's usually carnival.(yes, i know its an over generalization)

 

by the way, we love the haven, or if we have a choice on an ncl ship that has both a haven category and a suite category, i'll book the suite as the rooms are identical, and i can live (albeit grudgingly) without the separate bar, pool or restaurant, and the suites are about 2-3000 cheaper.

other perks are the same.

I hope you meant 5000 - 7000 of your closet friends.  I will gladly take 500 - 700 every day. 

[CruisingSince1982]

16 hours ago, angela miller said:

I have recently booked two cruises with NCL one coming up in February on the getaway and one in August 2025 on the epic both in Haven  I have cruised with NCL several times with family but also when I’m by myself and my  awesome husband, we book with Regent. I am hearing, terrible reviews on NCL at this point. What’s changed? My previous cruises with Haven have been great. I went with Regent because I did not like the chaos… Of course my children did.. so overview of Haven now?

NCL has made many cutbacks, even the Haven. Less staff, less variety on the menus, etc. They have also taken away food items from the specialty restaurants. Little things as well, like not having a variety of bread served at dinner (same rolls for a week). The little things do add up. It hasn't stopped us from booking. We still have 3 more cruises booked with NCL, 2 in the Haven … but the ice is getting thin, and eventually we will look elsewhere. 

[CruisingSince1982]

Also, I have heard wonderful things about MSC Yacht Club. The only reason we have not tried it yet is because their sun deck is not adults only. One day! 

[complawyer]

zqvol, yep, i forgot a "0" 5000 to 7000 of closest friends .

 

we were in st maarten many years ago and there were 3 cruise ships in port. what a disaster!

 

while it probably smacks of opulence, i cant imagine anyone wanting to be on a ship with that many people. i was in las vegas one new years eve, and there were 100,000 people on the strip, packed like sardines

 

by the way, im also one of those people that leave sporting events early (dodgers stadium, 7th inning, i'm outta there!

 

that all being said, i'll take ncl with a haven or a suite any day. in the past 14 years, ncl has taken me to places i thought i would never see in my lifetime, and i'm still going strong. we're going to south africa this november

[WarfRatWA]

18 hours ago, angela miller said:

I have recently booked two cruises with NCL one coming up in February on the getaway and one in August 2025 on the epic both in Haven  I have cruised with NCL several times with family but also when I’m by myself and my  awesome husband, we book with Regent. I am hearing, terrible reviews on NCL at this point. What’s changed? My previous cruises with Haven have been great. I went with Regent because I did not like the chaos… Of course my children did.. so overview of Haven now?

We only sail in the Haven for the very reason you mention.  We need a haven from the mases.

 

Have sailed in both the Haven's you mention.  IMO, beside the Prima class, the Epic Haven is the best in the fleet (post refurb).  The Getaway, we sailed just before the COVID shutdown, and it was fine, but we prefer the BA+ Haven's.  Like you, we sought out different experiences and now we use a varied approach.  If its just my wife and myself, we sail Oceania and Seabourn.  If we got family/young ones, we go with NCL.  We've tried MSC YC, RCCL Star, and Celebrity Retreat among others.  Our preference is NCL Haven among the mass market lines.

[yakcruiser]

11 hours ago, complawyer said:

ncl vs. regent is comparing apples to oranges. it is really not at all a fair comparison, as regent ranks as a higher echelon cruise line.

NCL to Celebrity is apples to oranges. NCL to Regent is apples to watermelons.

[schmoopie17]

3 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

NCL to Celebrity is apples to oranges. NCL to Regent is apples to watermelons.

Crabapples to watermelons. Fixed it. (Especially when comparing prices).

 

Never mind me. I'm feeling crabby (again).

[SuiteTraveler]

We just finished our NCL Prima Iceland/Norway cruise in The Haven.  IMO, the cutbacks amount to no complementary floral arrangement in the cabin.  Big deal. Other than that, it is just the same as always.   We've been in The Haven on Epic and Getaway. Both offer great experiences.  People gave the Prima bad reviews, but, in our experience, it was a great cruise in The Haven and we enjoyed every bit of it.   I can't think of any reason someone would not enjoy such a cruise unless they are being unreasonable and demanding.  Go with a positive attitude and enjoy all that is offered.  The Haven really is great and having a good time on any trip is really mostly about you choosing to have a good time. Certainly the cruise ship employees will do all they can to please you and make sure you have a good trip in the luxurious environment of The Haven.  What more could you want?

[zqvol]

52 minutes ago, complawyer said:

zqvol, yep, i forgot a "0" 5000 to 7000 of closest friends .

 

we were in st maarten many years ago and there were 3 cruise ships in port. what a disaster!

 

while it probably smacks of opulence, i cant imagine anyone wanting to be on a ship with that many people. i was in las vegas one new years eve, and there were 100,000 people on the strip, packed like sardines

 

by the way, im also one of those people that leave sporting events early (dodgers stadium, 7th inning, i'm outta there!

 

that all being said, i'll take ncl with a haven or a suite any day. in the past 14 years, ncl has taken me to places i thought i would never see in my lifetime, and i'm still going strong. we're going to south africa this november

We like Sea Dream. Even though the ships are old and have no balconies, the itineraries are wonderful for getting into unique ports, and you are only with 112 of your closest friends.

[PhillyTravelBug]

I’ve been on 4 NCL sailings so far and have enjoyed each one. However, the edge class ships have me curious and we booked our first celebrity sailing on the ascent for next year in the Mediterranean. 

[Travel-and-See]

I've cruised with Celebrity and Virgin - like them both.  NCL has some great prices could anyone who has been on both Celebrity and NCL recently comment? I would be traveling in a standard room.