nekzaadvakil

Never thought that I'd move away from Royal Caribbean/ Celebrity till I saw these prices. We finally looked at Princess and took the plunge. We loved it. We sailed on Regal Princess and had a fabulous time. Celebrity may be getting good prices now, but I wonder if they care about loyalists like me now looking elsewhere (if health permits, we're worth 20-25 years of cruising in balcony cabins). 

Been on Celebrity's S class ships 5 times in my 30s. My wife and I never felt out of place. Plenty of guests in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Love the food, love the ambiance. The service is always top notch. Can't go wrong with their newer ships. 

Played bingo on everyone of my 5 cruises on Celebrity. Never won anything but it was great fun. 

June 2019 - Quantum of the Seas from Beijing. 2020 was the first year in a decade when we didn’t cruise. Or travel. 
 

hopefully we get back to cruising in 2021. 

Been on the Silhouette thrice, and once on the Reflection. Didn’t feel there was any difference. Love the Norway Itineraries. Was looking at MSC Meraviglia to Norway in June 2020 but now looking at Celebrity for Norway in 2021


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We booked a veranda guarantee on the Celebrity Eclipse in 2018 and we were delighted when we came to know that we got allocated a sunset Veranda room! The room was absolutely brilliant, no problems with soot. We now know why they usually cost a lot more. I’d chose a SV cabin anyday.


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On 8/16/2020 at 3:17 AM, grandgeezer said:

We have done 47 cruises, and the two of them we took on the MSC Seaside are our favorites, by a mile. We’ve done 20+ on Celebrity and around 10 on RCL, all Oasis class. 

47 cruises !! You are my hero!! 

On 2/19/2020 at 1:28 PM, zestyzorra said:

Hi Nick, 

 

Just wanted to say thank you for your awesome review!  I know it is years later but I only just came across it.  Your positive attitude is infectious, and your pictures are great!  I appreciate your information on the Sunset Cabin, I am thinking of booking this same one (which is how I came across your review).

 

Have a great day!

 

Sara

On 2/19/2020 at 8:27 PM, Lindagop said:

Okay, so happy that Sara (previous post) found this review. This has to be my absolute favorite. The informative, refreshing and to the point way in which it was written together with beautiful pictures. Thank you so much

Thank you Sara & Linda. So glad to see you enjoyed the review. Was quite surprised to see a post on this review after nearly a year and a half. 

Sara - you're going to love the ship and the sunset cabin. 

Cheers!

Nick

We were on the Eclipse last year in a sunset Veranda Cabin. Didn't have too much sun. Tons of pics in my review (link in signature below)

Cheers!

Nick

On 8/20/2019 at 3:13 AM, Droop said:

nekzaadvaki The pictures were awesome!  I noticed that there is a gap between you balcony and the edge. Is the gap a walkway that people can walk by?  I was thinking for privacy.  You really lucked out on that cabin.  I've always been nervous about booking a guaranteed cabin so I've never booked one.  I like to know what cabin I have.  One of these days I may try that. 

 

Yup, we were really lucky on the GTY, we also usually never go for GTY cabins, unless its the only choice left. with regards to the gap between the balcony and the edge of the ship, no - no one can walk there, I think that's just for safety. However, since the aft cabins are not one above the other, the people on the cabins above you can see maybe 10% of your balcony from above. Wasn't really a big deal and definitely better than ordinary balcony cabins. 

Cheers!

Nick

Been to the Med on the Celebrity Silhouette in 2013, and again in 2014. Took the same ship to Scandinavia in 2015. Did the Med again on the Reflection in 2017. Each time we had the best cruise vacation. Absolutely beautiful ship. Excellent staff. Awesome food. And an amazing crowd that was great fun. The only thing I complain about Celebrity Cruises are the prices (recently). 

Other than that, I'd jump on board any of their amazing S class ships anytime. 

Nick

We snagged a sunset veranda cabin, right at the back of the ship on our cruise last year on the Celebrity Eclipse (a sister ship to the Celebrity Solstice)

It was the best cruise ship cabin we had, especially on sea days. No problems what-so-ever. Tons of pics of the cabin, balcony in my review (link in my signature below).

Cheers!

Nick

To those who have posted so far, thank you for your comments. Really appreciate you guys taking some time to detail out your experiences. Keep them coming. 

I will certainly look at prices for the YC and see how they compare to Celebrity. Honestly I'm in 2 minds since Celebrity really is the perfect fit for us in terms of ship, the people sailing on it, the staff and the food/ entertainment. From the comments, I think it makes sense to keep my expectations low and hope for the best. 

I had read alot of negative comments about cruising out of China. We took the bait in June this year and did a 7N Japan cruise from Beijing. We kept our expectations low and we were absolutely blown away. The Quantum became DW's favorite ship (it helps that its very similar to Celebrity's S class ships). The staff were amazing. The food in the buffet was the worst of our 10 cruises (but that didn't really ruin our holiday)

I think I'll try a quick Med cruise on the MSC (a short 7N one) and check it out.

Thanks again for all your comments and assistance. 

Cheers!

Nick 

We've been loyal to Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises all this while and we've always had some amazing holidays with them. Celebrity's S class ships are our favorite and we feel that its just right for us in terms of ship size, kind of cruisers on board and the overall upmarket but yet laid back feeling on their cruise ships. 

However, lately the prices on Celebrity have just been sky rocketing. We've been seeing & hearing some good things about MSC (especially their new ships - MSC Seaside and MSC Meraviglia). I went to check the prices and was pretty surprised to see some really good value. We usually cruise just once a year, so I don't want to risk having a bad cruise, but then you've got to take some chances right?

Has anyone here tried MSC lately? There were initial reports of the food not being as good as other cruise lines (which is subjective) and the entertainment being ordinary. We're a couple in our mid-late thirties from India, and our taste in food is a lot more American than European. 

Should we risk it or pay more and stick with Celebrity? 

Cheers!

Nick  

I love longer cruises, but its got to be on the right ship. The Oasis class is miles ahead of anything else. I'd stick with the Oasis class even though its a shorter cruise. 

Yup, add me to this list too. Really excited to see the new Celebrity APEX doing the Norway cruises, even though its only 7N. We wish they were longer and we had more of these kind of new itineraries. 

Yup, I agree. New itineraries are important. How about some black sea cruises with Israel? Something in South Africa?  Also how about one of those amazing S class ships in Japan? 

I think they will place one of their ships in Europe and the other in the Caribbean. I see the Apex in Europe next year and the Edge in the Caribbean. Until the 3rd Edge class comes out in 2021, I don't see it in Alaska anytime soon. Although I'm quite happy to see Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas which has a lot of things common with Celebrity's S class ship in Alaska. Definitely looking at that option. 

Nick

13 hours ago, icsys said:

 

These hands were considering a cruise around China and Japan at some point , but  this latest revelation is a step too far so the answer is currently NO to an Asian cruise on Ovation.

 

With the Spectrum now out of Shanghai, and the Quantum sailing from Beijing (Tianjin), I think they will slowly keep the Ovation between Australia/New Zealand and Alaska. Anthem between the Caribbean and Europe. 

13 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

Makes me wonder how much extra it would it have cost to stay in a suite. If $700 gets you almost halfway there, I might be tempted to spend the extra $$$.

We paid just a little over $700 plus taxes, plus gratuities (per adult) for a Balcony cabin on Deck 9. This was one of the least expensive cruises I've been on. The cost of a suite started at $2000 (per adult). I tracked it for over a month, before they were all sold out. 

We just got off the Quantum of the Seas earlier this month. It was a 7 night cruise out of Beijing (Tianjin Port). The charges for North Star were alot more. We paid $20 per adult for a 10 minute session when we booked online. When we were at Guest Services, we were informed that the $20 session just goes up and comes down. If you want to be able to go on both sides, which is where you can really enjoy some good views, we needed to take the extended 17 minute session which was for $40 per person. We did end up buying that since it was the first time on a Quantum class ship.

I have plenty of pictures in my review (listed in my signature below)

BTW, we also did not have access to the Solarium which was reserved for suite guests. They were allowing us to buy access to the Solarium but the cost of that was $50 per person, per day, and you had to take it for everyday of the cruise. This meant an additional 50 x 2 x 7 = $700 for me and my wife to access the Solarium. 

Inspite of this, we had a very very enjoyable cruise. 

Nick 

We've sailed on 3 S class ships and the burgers in the Mast Grill have always been something we've looked forward to. I usually go for the beef one, my wife's a vegetarian and she loves the veggie burger. 

We felt the burgers in the Mast Grill were definitely better than the burgers in the Oceanview cafe buffet. We just completely a cruise on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas and the burgers in the Windjammer buffet were the worst ever. Really missed Johnny Rockets, which isn't available on the Quantum since its all sailings from China. 

Another vote for the Creme Brulee in the Main Dining room. Also the various kinds of Cheesecakes in the MDR. 

We've been fortunate to sail on multiple cruises now, and we pretty much know the drill is important. We attend and pay attention for the only reason that the sooner we passengers get off safely, the sooner the staff can save themselves in the unlikely case of an evacuation. Imagine the guilt one would have if God forbid we delayed getting off the ship, and someone lost their lives for it. It would put us off cruising for good. 

It rarely takes more than 15-20 minutes, think of it as an insurance and just attend. 

Nick

15 hours ago, gerelmx said:

Uncertain of which one to choose, I have always traveled with RCCL and lately with Celebrity, my plans for 2021 is a cruise through the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Greek islands, it will be my first time in this part of the world, which Cruise Company would you choose and why?

As you may see from my signature below, we also cruise only with RCCL and Celebrity. We were very happy with Royal Caribbean, but we tried Celebrity cruises who are known for the European/ Med cruises! Celebrity has her best ships in the Med, Adriatic and Greek Islands. Their S class ships and now Edge class ships are there in the summer. 

If it were me, I'd stick to Celebrity. 

Cheers!

Nick