Feliz Ano Nuevo. Happy New Year. I have choice of either the NCL Norwegian Epic or the Celebrity Solstice to cruise mid-April from south Florida to Barcelona. great prices for both ships I reali
0
Cat:Tips Tools and DealsForum:0EE709C0
Cat:Tips Tools and DealsForum:0EE709C0Discussion:52b9eaef-075b-4066-a79d-0536ddd6719b
I have choice of either the NCL Norwegian Epic or the Celebrity Solstice to cruise mid-April from south Florida to Barcelona.
great prices for both ships
I realize there are pluses/minuses to either line
I have not cruised since 2000. I am a former US Foreign Service Officer and have been pulling reserve duty since 9/11 (as a civilian expert on the Middle East)
I want to hear from you the cruising community - the real experts - which ship to take.
Also, i am booking a balcony. For both lines, any preference regarding portside or starboard when sailing from Miami to Barcelona?
Incidentally that is reported to be the origin of word POSH, when ships sailed from England heading south to South Africa and Australia, Port Out, Starboard Home.
Your choice may also depend on the sort of stateroom you reserve. For example at the courtyard level on NCL you get a lot of exclusivity. However, if you are not paying extra for a suite, then go for Celebrity.
I have been on the EPIC. If you are sailing as a single, they have 128 single inside cabins with a lounge dedicated to singles. EPIC has more dinning options (some for a fee) and has the best entertainment on the sea. EPIC has "freestyle" dining where you go to either main dining room between 5:30 and 10pm but you dont sit with the same group of people each night.
Norwegian (NCL) lets you eat when you want and at any table you want. Interior cabins are quieter. Do you really need to see the empty ocean from your cabin or to see life boats from your cabin?
CELEBRiTY.Just got off the Celebrity Silhouet,after 27 cruises,this was the best ever.The service the food everything was the best.Port or starboard does not make much off a difference on an east bound cruise.In April you may not sit on the terrace for any lenght of time.It might be too cool and windy. Arno Heller
Celebrity is our favorite, because we enjoy the stimulating lectures that Celebrity offers. NCL (the No Class Line) has no intellectual enrichment program. Another important difference is that Celebrity has some formal nights and NCL has none. Do you enjoy dressing for dinner? A third difference is the wonderful benefit given to passengers who have completed ten short cruises or five cruises of 12 nights or more. After as few as 60 nights of cruising on Celebrity you get free wine at a special lounge every evening, champagne with breakfast, and free Internet, laundry service, dry cleaning, pressing, etc. Only Celebrity and Royal Caribbean have such a great program for loyal cruisers. Here's the website: http://www.celebritycruises.com/captainsclub/membershipBenefits.do?pagename=cc_benefits&cS=SIDENAV
I was on the Epic late March (17th). In my opinion, they did not do enough sanitation-wise. Food stuff was not kept cold/hot enough. A lot of free food (coffee/pastries) are not told to be free unless you ask, so you assume there's a fee. The atrium (w/ large screen-very little movies) was under-utilized. Plus, my husband had two days of neuro virus and I had five. Not great memories. But, Epic had the best enterainment (lot's of choices for a sea-day intensive cruise). If you haven't cruised in a while, start w/ Celebrity. Check out the ship on cruisecritics.com under the Solstice (check out members' reviews for info/tips). Most ships allow you do to any time dining and also allow you to reserve for shows/specialty restaurants. Do so before you go. Do a comparison on cruisecritic to help you decide. In any event,have a great time!
I was on the Epic late March (17th). In my opinion, they did not do enough sanitation-wize. Food stuff was not kept cold enough. A lot of free food (coffee/pastries) are not told to be free unless you ask, so you assume there's a fee. Plus, my husband had two days of neuro virus and I had five. Not great memories. If you haven't cruised in a while, start w/ Celebrity. Check out the ship on cruisecritics.com under the Solstice (check out members' reviews for info/tips). Most ships allow you do to any time dining and also allow you to reserve for shows/specialty restaurants. Do so before you go. Plus, the inside cabin on the Epic is only 127 sq. ft. (very small) w/ old tv's and not much more than news on. It doesn't seem important until you are stuck in the room or want a place to sit. If you are traveling solo, Epic might be the only reason to go on it. It will be a while before we get on another NCL ship.
I add my vote for Celebrity. We just finished our 16th cruise, have cruised on 6 different cruise lines (NCL twice) and Celebrity is by far our favorite. We were on the Solstice in January and the Silhouette is the same class ship. It is a gorgeous ship and the service is spectacular. We are thinking of doing the Equinox to Rome in mid-April.
