Comparing Norwegian Sky with Celebrity Century

[gam888]

We are 2 adults and 3 teenagers thinking of a 4 day cruise for the New Year week. The NCL Sky goes to Freeport (ugly), Nassau, and Great Stirrup Cay. Heard that sometime you can't dock there because of waves. The Celebrity Century goes to Key West and Cozumel. We are going to be in an inside cabin for either one. Which one has better food and age group for teens, but not aim for weekend partiers. Prices are about the same for either cruise. Thank you

[WileyOne]

I have only been on three cruises: 3-day Carnival (2001), 5-day Norwegian (2007), and 7-day Celebrity (last week). Each time the experience was better than the previous. I've spoken to many other, more experienced, cruisers about the differences, and they all seem to agree. NCL is a few notches better than Carnival. Celebrity is a full notch better than NCL, and Princess has them all beat. I'm looking forward to booking my next cruise on Princess if I can find an interesting itinerary, but we will miss the flexibility of "freestyle" cruising on NCL.

[nps001]

Without a doubt, Century! No cruise is bad, but the Sky was the only cruise that I wasn't disappointed to be leaving.

[WileyOne]

Although I've never visiting one of them, I've heard the "private island" stops are a huge waste of time, little more than a gimmick to burn a full day and avoid paying any port charges. I would skip any cruise that visits one of those things.

[pumpkin 11]

I have only been on three cruises: 3-day Carnival (2001), 5-day Norwegian (2007), and 7-day Celebrity (last week). Each time the experience was better than the previous. I've spoken to many other, more experienced, cruisers about the differences, and they all seem to agree. NCL is a few notches better than Carnival. Celebrity is a full notch better than NCL, and Princess has them all beat. Really? I'm looking forward to booking my next cruise on Princess if I can find an interesting itinerary, but we will miss the flexibility of "freestyle" cruising on NCL. The best part is that you don't have to pack all the dress clothes!:D

 

Is princess cruises really better than X? I know people have different opinons but I disagree with that statement. Maybe princess does something better than X.:confused: All cruise lines have there pros and cons!:D

[LongTimeTvlr]

Just finished a 16 day cruise on the Princess Star to Antarctica.

We have also taken two 12 day cruises on Celebrity (Century and Summit) and have another 12 day cruise planned on the Solstice this summer.

 

The Princess cruise was great, but we far prefer Celebrity. Better service, better attitude, better dining options and better waffles.:)

 

Example - On Princess our room steward would routinely not get to our room until after noon because he had 18 rooms to clean, or so he claimed. I suggested he start with a different room each day and spread the pain. No change.

One day my wife had to do up the room because we couldn't wait for him any longer. On the last day he did not give us an opinion form to fill out, so I went to the pursers desk to get one. Instead, they told me to go back and ask the room steward for one! I explained the situation and that we had told the room steward we were unhappy with his service so he had no reason to give us one. Still didn't get a form, so I had them remove the portion of the auto tip that would have gone to the room steward and noted why.

 

I am sure the room steward was an isolated incident, it is the treatment from the pursers desk that has me more concerned.

[pseudochicken]

I have been on three cruises (all one week in the Caribbean). Carnival Inspiration, Grand Princess, and Adventure of the Seas (RCI). They were all great, but Princes was probably our least favorite. The crowd was probably a better, quieter crowd than the other two, but our service was not that great compared to Carnival and RCI. I always had the ipmression that Celebrity was the best of the mainstream lines.

[librarylady19]

I have only been on 1 cruise (so far!) the 4 night Century that went to Key West and Cozumel. We enjoyed both these ports a lot. Disembarkation went very smoothly at both locations. We wish the stop in Key West had been longer than 5 hours but enjoyed our brief walking tour of the island (toured Hemingway House, and walked the shopping areas). Would definitely rent bikes or a scooter if we go back so we can see more.

Really enjoyed our time in Cozumel - booked Playa Uvas all-inclusive that includes kayaking, snorkeling, delicious fajita lunch & open bar. The service was top-notch there. Check out ports of call boards for more opinions on places to see in Cozumel. If I go back would love to do dolphin swim.

We really enjoyed Century but did comment that it might not be that interesting for teens. We thought the entertainment was aimed at 50 plus age group for the most part; food was great but aimed at adult palate (i.e. not fast food or chain food). We spent most of our down time in casino or various bars which wouldn't be much of an option for teens either.

There were quite a few "partiers" on Century but no-one seemed too rowdy really.

[niborHS]

Everyone has different opinions, but I find it hard to believe that people can give opinions on cruise lines that they have never been on. I have been on 5 NCL cruises, 7 Celebrity, plus assorted others. I have been on the Century 3 times, including the 4 night that you are planning, and it was my first time in an inside cabin. We were on Pride of America in Hawaii last May, which is the same ship as the Sky. I was happier with the inside on the Century the the balcony cabin in NCL. I am sure you will get many who feel that Century is by far a better line because it has the edge in service, classiness, and other assorted things. I am in that category. Others will like the Freestyle feeling of NCL, being able to go to different restaurants each night, things like that. You do have to pay a cover charge per person for most of those, sometimes it is hard to make a reservation, and if you cancel your reservation at the last minute you will be charged anyway. As far as ports go, I thought the half day in Key West was fine, and I love Cozumel. I also did Playa Uvas, but normally when we travelled with our kids, we went to Playa Sol beach and everyone loved it. As far as those who think the private islands are a waste of time, that is a matter of opinion as well. They are usually very nice beaches, and many people just go to a beach at some of the ports anyway. I am not one of those, and if I want a beach, because I live on Long Island (NY), I can go 15 minutes south and am at Jones Beach. If you live in the middle of the country, you may love visiting a beach. I have never liked Nassau as a Port. What we usually do when there, for lack of anything else, ironically, is go to the beach. As far as entertainment goes, I think NCL wins in that category. I thought the Celebrity singers and dancers were nore amateurish than high school students. However, there were certain other entertainers around the ship that were quite good.

[seasearider]

We did a b2b on the Sky and Century at the end of Feb/early March. The food on Sky was superior to that on Century, but we did dine in the speciality restaurants. To be honest, we were a bit disappointed in the Century, not at all wild about the dining room. The ship was more elegant than the Sky, but my guess is your kids would enjoy the Sky better.

[tortugas]

Aren't there some 4-nighters on RCI Navigator and Carnival Destiny?? WE just did the 4 nighter on Navigator and while there was only one port (Coz) that ship has LOTS to do on board.

[Schplinky]

We've sailed and enjoyed both but Century, hands down! We liked the Sky but the private island it visits is very tired looking. The Century has a great martini bar and good entertainment.

[gam888]

Thanks for all who replied my post. I am getting the impression that Celebrity is classier than the NCL.