I tried two of the NEWEST cruise ships one week apart: here's how they compared
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- Опубликовано: 11 янв 2024
- There is nothing quite like sailing on a brand-new cruise ship, as you’re able to experience the latest and greatest of what a cruise line has to offer. Similar to driving a brand-new car, everything on a new cruise ship is both fresh and modern.
2023 was a busy year for brand-new cruise ships from some of the biggest names in the cruising world, and I was lucky enough to set sail on two of the most exciting new cruise ships at sea!
Here's how Celebrity Ascent compared to Norwegian Viva.
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OF COURSE AND ALWAYS CELEBRITY!!
Don't say always. Celebrity's new CEO is doing everything she can to ruin things. Look at the changes and cutbacks this past year alone.
Great info. Thanks.
Thank you for your video. We enjoyed it very much.❤️
Awesome! Im also trying Celebrity Ascent and NCL Viva 1 week apart in March and April.
Great perspective
My wife and I can't wait for our Mediterranean cruise on the VIVA in June... Thanks for such an informative video 👍🏻👏🏻😊
Norwegian is ALL about the Free At Sea perks. No one goes to a specialty restaurant without a perk.
The Viva is ALL ABOUT the Indulge Food Hall. That's why the buffet is small.
I was SOOOOO excited for the new PRIMA CLASS ships...until I cruised on it. Having to get reservations for shows, bands and comedy? Forget it. I'm not one to wait in line on vacations. This ship was a wait for everything. I saw ZERO shows, ZERO bands and ZERO comedians in a week onboard. While there were a lot of bars, they were all stacked 10 people deep to the bar and you could never get a drink in a timely manner. That outdoor promenade is great, except when it's raining. Everything in the back is full of black soot from the smokestack! WTH were they thinking? Can't even sit back there or you leave with black clothes or soot on your skin.
Your comment persuaded my choice of cruise . Mainly to chose celebrity.
Small ships suck. That's why I like mega ships. Everybody are saying the same thing that the venues are small
@heathermichael3987 I was on NCL Viva last month, the sister ship to Prima. I did not have to make reservations for any bands, comedy or shows except the main show in the theater. First come first serve just like it has always been. How do other cruise lines handle a line? People get in line to go to shows. Am I missing something? If 40 people want to attend the same event, how is a line avoided?
As far as smoke soot in the aft outside decks, it was minor. I have never been on any ship, including other cruise lines, where that was not a problem to some degree. Diesel exhaust emits particulates. Depends where the exhaust is blowing at any given time. Hopefully as cleaner propulsion systems continue to evolve that will be less of an issue or eliminated.
Almost sounds like the original poster had never cruised before. Do not make a decision as larges as a cruise based on one comment. Do your research.
Don’t tell me what to do . 🤷♀️ You should have been honored that I consider your original post in my thoughts , it’s to bad , it’s really awful that someone can not accept that they said something, another person agreed with and then tried to character assignation. I was going to give NCL a try but now especially after your comments, f that . I would not go on any ship you might possibly be on . Thanks .
@heathermichael3987 You just might be a bit delusional. Or alot. As you said, do not go on any ship I may be on. Please. I go on cruises to get away from crazy people so the less the better. I really need to break myself of the habit of reading comments on youtube. Wow. Just wow. 🤡
I have sailed on Apex and Beyond and also Prima once. I found your review to be spot on to my experience. The food was really good on Norwegian, comparable to Celebrity overall. The spa was also comparable, if not a little better because of the pools in the spa. The room was very nice, although not quite as nice as celebrity. But overall the Prima just felt cheaper...like a slightly cheaper knock-off. The cheaper finishes, small venues that couldn't hold enough people, and crazy low ceilings really turned me off. I'm not saying I would never sail with Norwegian again, but I currently have 2 cruises booked on Celebrity if that says anything...
We recently sailed on the VIVA and I agree with everything you said! We had to be at the theater as soon as they opened to be able to get a seat for the show(beetlejuice), which was a fantastic show btw! Our room overlooked the pools on the side of the ship, not a fan of that-i like to sit out on the balcony and read, and I really didn't do that at all, because the deck was full of people at the pools...
The new NCL ships are weird. We are NCL cruisers. Although comparing upscale Celebrity to NCL is not fair IMO.
I appreciate your comparison, thank you. I'm an RC cruiser, I'm been wanting to try Celebrity or NCL. You have swayed me towards Celebrity Edge class. I booked Beyond for this fall.
Beyond is a beautiful ship!
I really enjoyed the Ascent. I did it the week before it left for Europe. It had everything I would like except for a smaller casino. The shows were great and the staff were amazing. The food it some of the best I have had at sea beside my Viking cruise.
I’m sailing on the celebrity ascent in March! Can’t wait!
Enjoy! Before you go, check out our full ship tour of Ascent on our channel!
Vacations to go rates Celebrity's Edge _and_ Solstice-class ships 5.5/6 but NCL has nothing rated above 5.0.
Went on my first cruise ever on the Ascent in February, absolutely incredible. It has definitely ruined cruising for me because I know if I don’t go back on the Ascent or something similar i’ll be disappointed hahaha.
Sorry, basic math: 3,999 is more than 3,260!! The Viva holds more, not fewer passengers. This is why the Viva felt more crowded, because it was.
That is what I heard too. But the actual number is 3099. The number is so few that it actually boils down to the design. Aren't the Viva and Prima ships, hulls they bought from MSC?
I am a NCL fan, but cancelled my cruses on the new ships. The space is really chopped up and you wonder if the designers ever cruised. We where looking forward to trying Celiberty until -- we saw the new "balconies". Being beside some reported problems, it is not a balcony, but a large window.
I really don't mind those. It is kind of like having a sunroom and is a great alternative to those who typically get inside rooms. What I DO NOT like about Celebrity, is their recent decision to charge solo cruisers a premium. They are now charging more for a solo cruiser than what you would pay if there were 2 people in the room. They said it was to make up for lost spending on the ship. That is beyond greedy. Especially sine there is no guarantee that any second person would actually spend more. Plus the solo cruiser eats less.
@@jaklg7905I refuse to give them any of my money. I almost feel like they are shaming me for being single - thanks celebrity, if I want to be single shamed, I will just go home for thanksgiving where the single shaming, food, and alcohol is truly all inclusive and free of charge. 😂😂😂
@@katcalico9142 It is an absolutely ridiculous sentiment that they think that this "lost 2nd person" would have just spend a fortune on the ship.
I cruise solo because my husband doesn't like cruising. But if he went with me, he wouldn't buy anything. Neither of us drink alcohol and we are happy with the food that is included in the price.
But with him not being with me, they save the food that he would have eaten.
Charging for 2 people was supposed to be what made up for their "lost money" from the second person.
What they are doing now is just toxic greed.
We sailed on the Ascent’s maiden voyage in December. We really liked the Infinite Balcony… very innovative and it makes the room seem much larger. Can’t wait to sail on her again!
I know you did the Haven on Prima. Which do you think is better? The Prima Haven or the Celebrity Retreat?
I see Danny at the 3:00 mark 😂
You obviously prefer the Celebrity ship and you make good points of how it does aspect of design better and how it feels less crowded than the NCL ship. Usually, Celebrity ships feel less crowded than NCL so maybe it has to do with how much of each ship is given to suite passengers as well as the size of the overall spaces
The Ascent doesn't have 14 lounges. No ship does. They may have up to 6 or 7 at most. Cruise lines tend to group bars and lounges together but they're not the same thing. A bar or bars may be in a lounge but a bar by itself is not a lounge. Interior wise, the Ascent has 3 main interior music/dance spaces which are the Martini Bar, The Club and Eden. One is a nightclub feel and that's the 2-deck "The Club". The other two are in completely open areas, the Martini Bar and the other is in Eden. The deck area has areas that can be considered lounges but they have.a different feel than interior lounges. Overall, interior lounges are a weak point on the Edge ships. Older and smaller Celebrity ships had more of them than the Edge class, and more varied and with IMO more ambiance/elegance/intimacy. The Edge scores high with tech areas like the theater and maybe large view areas like the Grand Plaza and Eden but low in intimate feeling areas. However, for restaurants, there is a lot of variation. So, it's a mixed bag.
I think the general interior style of these two ships is very similar. The light woods, the gray and light beiges with some soft colors is done on both however the NCL ship is a bit more daring and varied with design--and more ship like in some ways and less hotel like. The staterooms are fairly similar in style. The big difference is NCL went for more intimate spaces where the Edge class ships went for more tiered spaces inside. The problem with NCL is they made the intimate areas too small and the deck space is compromised with room for slides and the go carts and such. There is probably more room for families, teen and children spaces than Celebrity. And overall, I think the overall look of the Haven is somewhat nicer than the Retreat. The Retreat is all gray/white/red themed in the suites, restaurant and deck areas and there's just not enough contrast and richness. Contemporary doesn't mean lack of a color palette or vibrant colors.
Newest isn't best for me so there are more interesting older classes for both lines and both have more personality in their older classes IMO.
Was it a media cruise for both? If not, it's not fair to compare the crowd size.
Oh, my goodness, I am sure the information you must here to share was very useful with lots to impart, however delivery was all one vocal tone and so fast without stopping to take a breath, I feel I may have missed so much. Also, I understand there is a concern Viva spaces were smaller like a smaller buffet but there appears to be more many more options to select, and they appear more intimate not open to the public areas, so all passengers don’t have to gravitate to the buffet, we are looking forward to our cruises on Viva back-to-back with Prima.
Well, I had already booked Norwegian Prima for September Sailing rather than Ascent, mainly due to its distinctive itinerary.... but still, it is safe to say I am not really glad I watched this video lol
Le Petit Chef seems cool, but kinda a "one & done" thing. Once you've seen it, there's not really a reason to go back unless they create a new presentation for it at some point
There are several shows, but it's probably close enough to still be one and done unless going for the menu or one really enjoys the show.
Well hell, thanks as i am looking for a more adult type cruise line and looks Celebrity checks all the boxes....
I am planning a Mediterranean 2025 bucket list cruise and will have to give Celebrity a serious look....
Have booked a Thanksgiving NCL cruise for 2024 already our first with NCL it is looking like Celebrity is the choice....
Great vlog!!!
Appreciate that You don’t speak with vocal fry! What a refreshing change !
You say the theatre was crowded but you show plenty of empty seats. Buffet packed but you show plenty of available seats. I heard the ship was crowed, cramped or packed at dining rooms, buffets, bars, pool areas but I did not feel that in the video. However, we did get to see the low ceiling at NCL buffet vs Celebrity’s buffet. From the video scenes, both ships seem fine. However, your narrative says, Celebrity may be the better fit.
I think it’s time for me to sell my Norwegian stocks