We recently sailed with both Celebrity Cruise and Norwegian Cruise Line just a few weeks apart and that gave us a great opportunity to compare and contrast the 2.

We have also sailed with both lines on more than one occasion and have sailed on a mix of their newest and biggest ships and their oldest and smallest ships, so we have experience of what they offer across the board.

There is lots that we enjoy about both cruise lines and something we don’t like, as is the case with everything in life but just which line is more suited to our way of cruising and which is the best, Celebrity Cruises or Norwegian Cruise Line?

To answer that question, we will look at what we believe makes up a cruise experience including Pre-Cruise, Check-In, Entertainment, Onboard Experience, Food & Drink, Itineraries and the Value of your cruise.

Celebrity Cruises vs Norwegian Cruise Line

This is something that isn’t particularly close as we are yet to have any issues with Celebrity whilst we continue to have problems with the landside operation of Norwegian.

Celebrity’s website and app makes it easy to sort out everything that you need to do including pre-purchasing any packages and excursions that you want and booking things such as table in pay or free restaurants.

The line also makes it easy to do all your pre-cruise requirements such as making final payment, picking your check-in time and completing your paperwork.

Many people watching this may think, well yes that is surly standard across everyone, but sadly that just isn’t the case and one line we have had numerous issues with in Norwegian.

In the past we have had issue trying to change a room and sorting check-in times but on our last cruise we had issues with just about every aspect of the pre-cruise experience.

To start with, we couldn’t actually book the cruise due to an error on the NCL website and struggled to book via phone, we then couldn’t book any excursions without difficulty and even trying to pay for the cruise was a struggle.

So, for this one, it isn’t really close as we give the up vote to Celebrity.

This is something that is often out of the control of the cruise line itself as so much of the check-in process is down to the port you depart from but there is lots that the line can control and for us, it has been in those bits that the main differences have been.

We have cruised from Seattle, Reykjavik and Southampton across our cruises with the 2 line and have had a decent experience at each.

Things were chaotic in Seattle but that was down to the poor organisation of the port authority themselves, so we cannot hold that against NCL.

As most will know, the check-in process is split into two parts when cruising: pre-check in and check in.

With the check in process arguably equally as good for both lines, it really comes down to the pre-check in for both and with us having the aforementioned issues with both the NCL website and app for pre-check in and with how easy the process has been for Celebrity, this is another one that we have to give to Celebrity.

Whilst not exactly check in related, a special mention should also be made about the fact that Celebrity allows you to go to your room as soon as you step onboard to drop off your carry-on luggage whilst NCL require you to walk around the ship with it until your room is ready.

When it comes to comparing entertainment, it is incredible difficult as its often depends on the ship you are sailing on rather than the line and no where is that better highlighted than with NCL.

Norwegian can offer some of the best entertainment out there and we were fortunate enough to experience onboard the Norwegian Bliss, but they have also made a lot of cutbacks in this area and during our last cruise with them, onboard the Norwegian Prima, we were less than impressed.

Norwegian must be one of the cruise lines with the widest differences in their entertainment offering, with their newer ships offering West End style full productions to go with comedians and singers that perform in the theatre and around the ship.

Whilst their smaller ships offer a more traditional experience of guest performer and in house performers offering shows in the main theatre as well as around the ship.

One big issue we had on our last journey was the lack of organisation in the entertainment on offer, where we weren’t told who would be performing where and when until the night before, which made it difficult to arrange around other plans.

The quality of any particular performer is a highly subjective thing, so we won’t use that for comparison but one thing we have found on Celebrity is that there is a lot more variety.

With NCL, you tend to only have a couple of different acts that stay with the ship throughout and put on many different shows throughout your getaway but with Celebrity we have found that alongside the house act, they have a big rotation of acts so that you can see a different one almost every night.

With the line, you also have a set time for acts happening around the ship, such as 7 and 9pm in the theatre and all the times for the week are available from day 1 on the app, so you can plan your time accordingly.

They also have more variety in the shows and whilst they don’t offer the big West End style shows which we do love, we have found that the overall experience when it comes to entertainment is much more to our style on Celebrity than NCL, so they get the upvote for this one.

The onboard experience can come down too many different things, including the ship you are sailing on, the length of your journey and where you are sailing and that make sit something else that is difficult to compare.

Thankfully, there are many things that stay the same across the lines fleet and we have also sailed on a variety of ships in similar areas.

Celebrity is a more premium line than when compared to NCL but there actually a lot more similarities than differences.

It is of course those differences that really make the difference to the experience’s cruisers have whilst on holiday.

NCL have a more relaxed attitude towards clothing restrictions as aside from a couple of speciality restaurants, you can where what you like in bars and restaurants- aside from the usual things such as bathing suits etc.

They don’t have things such as formal nights but, in many ways, it isn’t much similar to what you get on Celebrity where you will find more people dressing up on a night, but most will dress the same as most people on Norwegian, just the usual stuff you would where to go to your favourite restaurant or bar on land.

Celebrity do have their own version of formal nights, called evening chic, which is based around dressing up for you, so unless you really want to, you can forget about a full suit and dickie bow and think more about your wearing favourite shirt or dress.

Another big difference you tend to fins is that the clientele onboard Celebrity is slightly older, and things are more relaxed than on NCL ship, where when sailing on their bigger ships, you find a more family oriented cliental and a must busier experience.

NCL do like to promote themselves as been the line that lets you do what you want, when you want but our experience has often been far from that as with a few thousand fellow cruisers also trying to do what they want, when they want- you really need to plan and book ahead.

Our experience on Celebrity has actually been much more like what NCL aim for as with you knowing the times for things well in advance, you can tailor your days and nights around been where you want to be onboard.

The more relaxed nature of the onboard experience with Celebrity, especially in places such as the buffet and outside decks, which can be chaotic at best on NCL, fits our way of doing things better.

With all of that in mind, the onboard experience is something that we don’t really have an issue with but we do tend to find that the Celebrity experience suits me and wife better, so we have to give them the upvote for this one as well.

This is something that is important for us when sailing as having the chance to enjoy great meals and try new foods is all part of traveling for us.

When it comes to this subject, it is arguably the one that is the most subjective, so this is just based on our own personnel tastes and preferences.

Neither myself or my wife are alcohol drinkers either, so this won’t be based on things such as cocktails and spirits and that does play a big part in our vote for this one.

That is because of Celebrity’s Café al Bacio which is a tearoom that features on all their ships and offers a wide range of hot and cold drinks, served in a traditional tearoom style and whilst the drinks cost extra, if you don’t have a drinks package, there is a wide range of cakes and pastries that are included for all.

Whilst some NCL ships do have a Starbucks, let’s be honest and say that is not the greatest option and the drinks are only included in more premium drinks packages or as a pay extra add on.

When we first started cruising with NCL, the food was decent, nothing more, nothing less, but it has continued to go downhill to where we often don’t enjoy it.

On our last cruise, the buffet was incredibly limited it terms of options and variety and the food was incredibly bland.

It should be noted that the new Indulge Foodhall onboard the Prima-class of ships is a great addition and is the go to place for a quick bite.

The main dining room food on Norwegian has always been more Gastro Pub level rather than high class restaurant level and that has remained more consistent.

As you would likely expect from a line such as Celebrity, the dining experience can be a bit more upmarket and the quality is certainly much higher.

On shore days, we prefer to head to the buffet when back on board and whilst it is often just an easier option on Norwegian, we often enjoy the food in the Celebrity buffet and when they have special nights where they have local dishes on offer, it really does actually add to the holiday.

The MDR food on Celebrity is a higher standard than NCL but one big difference we have noticed across all ships is when it comes to deserts. On NCL they are often bland and somewhat rubbery whilst on Celebrity, they are often delicious to the point of been dangerous, as you just can’t stop with 1!

We have used specialty restaurants on a range of ships for both lines and have had what can only be described as a mixed experience, with some great experiences but sadly some really poor ones.

With all of that in mind, this one really isn’t too close as for us Celebrity wins hands down when it comes to the food and drink offers onboard.

This is arguably the hardest category to differentiate the two lines as when it comes to itineraries, they are just so similar.

Both have a big fleet of ships, not just in terms of numbers but in terms of the size of the ships and that gives them plenty of flexibility to offer cruises in most parts of the world and that is something both do a great job of.

Celebrity and NCL both offer plenty of sailing in key markets such as the Caribbean and the Mediterranean but they both also offer itineraries sailing in more remote places such as the Arctic and even Antarctica.

From a personal point of view, it is great to see them both offer more itineraries out of the UK which has included basing ships out of Southampton and as we prefer to sail repositioning routes, both also offer plenty of options there.

Where the differences in the 2 lines does happen in our experience when it comes to their itineraries is the amount of time you get in port and the opportunities for overnight stays.

Spending time exploring the ports we visit is the biggest part of a cruise holiday for us, so getting more time to experience is a huge plus and with some destinations really coming alive on a nighttime, having the chance to explore day and night is great.

Celebrity also don’t tend to have as many wasted ports as NCL, who often include out of way ports close to nothing on itineraries as the fees are cheaper.

With all of that in mind, this is going to go once again to Celebrity Cruises, but this one really is so tight it tends mostly on where you want to visit on a cruise.

Deciding on whether a cruise is good value is really difficult to do.

If a cruise was incredibly cheap but you only had an ok time, does that offer better value than a cruise you had to save up for year to book but then had the type of experience you will remember for ever?

For us, we would prefer to spend a bit more and have a great experience even if we had to save up that bit longer to be able to go on a cruise.

The base cost of a Celebrity ship is often higher than that of NCL but for us, you get so much more for your holiday, and you have a much better experience whilst away.

Our last experience of sailing with NCL was a frustrating one and lots of things with the line are just more difficult than they need to be whilst our experience of Celebrity has been much more straightforward, and we can simply relax and enjoy the holiday more.

That has a lot of value for us, as does the fact that you often get longer in port with Celebrity and more overnight stops to really make the most of time you have at the ports.

It is experiencing the ports we visit that really makes for a special holiday and whilst the extra time you often get with Celebrity is great, the line also often doesn’t have wasted ports, which is something we have experienced with NCL as they use ports such as Le Verdon.

Whilst both can offer good value on some cruises and poor value on some cruises, overall we feel that the Celebrity experience is much better value in the main so we will give them the upvote for this one as well.

So, after picking up a clean sweep, it will come as no surprise that, for us, Celebrity Cruises is the better cruise line when compared to the Norwegian Cruise Line.

Despite winning every category, a lot of them are quite close and on any given journey, the experience maybe different but that is something else that works in the favour of Celebrity of us as we find there product much more consistent.