Which of these three ships would be the best?
 

Hi, we really want to take a cruise to Bermuda in May or June and have been reading reviews on the following ships: Celebrity Zenith, Royal Caribbean Empress of the Seas, and Norwegian Crown.

All three basically offer the same type of itinerary and from convenient ports..but we can't seem to decide which cruise line and/or ship would suit us best. I have only cruises Carnival so far.

A little background: we are both in our early 30's..so we're not sure what cruise line would give us at least some fellow passengers around our age. Also, we like nice dinners (who doesn't though on a cruise ship?), spa services, hanging out on the pool deck, and seeing live music as well as finding a nice quiet place for drinks at night. Nothing too rowdy, but nothing too sedate either. We don't stay up all night, but don't go to bed at 10:00 either......

We are pretty much sold on the idea of going to Bermuda...but any opinions of which ship is "best" would be very helpful. Thanks.

All are small old ships which is not my preference. If these are your only choices, I'd go with Zenith.

Most ratings put Celebrity ahead of Royal Caribbean (which own Celebrity) and Norwegian. If prices are the same, the Zenith thus might be more luxurious. However, Norwegian may have more of your age group aboard and does feature freestyle dining.

Celebrit has some of the best food and sevice of all the ships I've been on. Norwegian tends to be a little more casual and they do the "freestyle dining" the best. I also think the age range was a bit lower on the NCL cruise we went on, but I honestly don't tend to notice all that much. Most cruise have had a wider range of ages. The music on the NCL ship we were on was by far the best. They had some great little lounges - one with a piano payer and one with a guitarist who was lots of fun. There was also a bar with some pretty good bands. My recollection of the Celebrity live music was that it was a bit more sedate. Royal Caribbean I can't coment on. Never sailed with them. At any rate, you should have a good time no matter which one you pick.

Have just come off a Celebrity and have cruised NCL to Bermuda 10 times...and RC once.. The positive side if that NCL is great for "freestyle dining" but we loved Celebrity great service.. I would avoid RC... As for cruising in May or June... I would go the first or second week in June before kids are out of school

We actually loved the Empress of the Seas for a cruise last year. Before the cruise, we were a little anxious about it being an older, smaller ship... but we were very pleasantly surprised. Take a look at some of the reviews on cruisecritic.

Zenith.

I think the OP has come and gone.

So, what did you decide?

We're going on Zenith in October. ((b))

My boyfriend and I went on our first cruise last may on Norwegian Dawn and loved it! The "free style dining" was really good for us as we like to eat at various times and the food was really good. The resturants were good, the drinks great, the activiies were often and fun and the crew and entertainment was fabulous. We had a balcony room and were really comfortable. I slept so good I even looked to see what type of pillows they used. We definitely will travel on another Norwegian ship for our next cruise. sorry I don't know about the other lines. Have fun.

Since this has been topped again I'll add a few new comments hopefully:)

Here is my Empress review from June:

http://www.cruise-addicts.com/review...?id=0000005055

If you sail out of Philadelphia you will lose several hours of port time because you must sail slowly through the Delaware river. I think the schedule and ships change for next year so you may want to look into which ships sail from which port.

I think possibly NCL may e sailing out of the Carolinas next year also, and those itineraries will give you at least a half day more than the other itineraries.

I was very disappointed with the food on the Empress, it was significantly worse on that ship compared to the Radiance I sailed two weeks prior.

Be sure to book tours through the ship for sightseeing as they are not availible at all except for one or two attractions while in port.

I have been on Empress and Zenith and on other NCL ships, but not the Crown. If you are looking for elegance and service, NCL will not deliver.

I like the small, older ships but understand that by virtue of their size, you will not have the range of activities or entertainment a larger, newer ship provides.

I prefer cabin size, dining room food and service on Zenith and the experience will be more elegant and traditional.

RCI attracts more families, has a more casual onboard atmosphere and will be a bit more active overall.

I would rate them: Zenith, Empress, Crown (would not even consider).

JMO.