trummy

13 hours ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

 

Maybe it's because we are Florida residents and lucked into a really good resident sale, but we sailed in a Concierge balcony on Celebrity Reflection last week for less than Carnival would have cost for the same week (I had compared prices on both lines before we booked it). I've been comparing Celebrity and Carnival prices for another cruise around April/May timeframe (this year) and we can sail Celebrity for about $500 (total) more than Carnival for a 7 or 8 day cruise. It's hard to pass up Celebrity when the cost is that close. 

I was on the same cruise as you. In many ways, the Celebrity Reflection was better than Carnival. But, not all. Yes, Celebrity had better shows and better service in some areas. But, I find Carnival to have better food, more fun areas/activities and a lighter all around feel. 

I'm not a spring chicken, but I felt the demographics and activities on Celebrity to be less fun. Where was the disco, the piano bar, karaoke? I like that Carnival has a dedicated comedy club and the Guy Burgers are far superior to the burgers on Celebrity.

In the end it comes down to ones own preferences. I prefer Carnival. The people seem happier, 

I was Concierge class as well. This is a basic balcony with a bottle of wine and a few snacks thrown in. The regular balconies on Carnival are larger and the storage space is better. 

I got off the Celebrity Reflection yesterday. I don't plan on going on Celebrity again. I do have a Carnival Cruise scheduled for this August.

Celebrity costs 3 to 4 times more than Carnival. I did not find Celebrity to be worth it. The shows were better on Celebrity. The food is better on Carnival, especially in the MDR. I missed a piano bar and the fun vibe Carnival has. Carnival has more nightly activities and a dedicated venue for dancing. 

Though I am 61 years old myself, I found the clientele on Celebrity to be a bit "old" for me. I also found there to be a bit of entitlement among a good portion of Celebrity cruisers, although I did find some very nice people as well. 

To me it's a lot about the vibe. I find Carnival to be more relaxed and the people to be more friendly. This is after 12 Carnival cruises, a couple on Norwegian and this one on Celebrity.

I just got off The Reflection this morning. There were no cut backs for lunch and dinner. Yes there was stir fry.

Yes a couple of the nights only a forth of the OVC stations were open, but there was barely anyone in the OVC anyway as these were dress up nights.

2 minutes ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

 

We are driving to Ft. Lauderdale as I type this. Going to spend a couple nights at a beach resort (nevermind that we live 20 minutes from great beaches...). Just need to get away so badly after dealing with hurricane damage and the stress it's caused both at home and at work for the last 3.5 months. No phone, no email...aaahhhhh. Bliss!

I get you. We drove down to the Keys a couple of months ago and saw some of the damage. I hope you are recovering well,

We are those people who don't get an internet package when on a cruise because we want to get away from it ALL. 

3 minutes ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

We will be on the same cruise - our first with Celebrity as well. We have our wine ready to go!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We will get ours when we get to New Orleans tomorrow. We are really excited. I bet you are too.

Thanks, I appreciate all of your help.

One of the best cruise conversations I had at dinner was with a stranger I shared a table for two with. He was a 26 year old male and I was a 48 year old woman.

I was cruising with my teenaged son who was with friends he had made, and my table mate was cruising with his girlfriend. He had proposed to her that day while in port. She was asleep in the room recovering from her day. We had a great time celebrating his happy news.

We are new to Celebrity and will be sailing on the Reflection in two days. We are getting contradictory information on how many bottles of wine we can take on board each. We are also getting contradictory information on if we can take on canned soda. Can someone please clear this up? We appreciate it.

IMO, this has all been brought on by cruisers. Years ago when I began cruising I was sold on the premise that after I paid my fare, the only thing I had to spend money on was excursions and drinks.  I knew all the food was included except for maybe ONE upcharge dining room. The quality of the MDR's was high and there was no need to go anywhere else.

But, cruisers have shown a willingness to pay more for something they had already paid for once...dining. I watched all this with dread, seeing years ago where this was leading. Seeing customers were easily led to pay more and more, new categories of rooms, packages etc were also introduced by cruise lines. Well done cruisers, well done.

Thanks everyone for your replies. We are excited to go.

Hello, we are new to Celebrity. We will be leaving next week on the Reflection. Being a X newbie, I am not sure what all is included. Could someone tell me if Concierge gets priority boardiing?  Thanks

Thanks so much for the answers. We are very excited to be going on Celebrity.

20 minutes ago, mahasamatman said:

 

If you sign up for marketing emails, you should get these.

Thank you.

Is there a link to  get to this program?

My husband and I will be going on our first Celebrity Cruise next week. We will be on the Reflection in the Concierge class. Celebrity's website states that a bottle of sparkling wine goes with the stateroom. However, I have read here on CC that this is not the case. Can anyone who has recently cruised on the Reflection, in the concierge class shed any light?

We did butts up on our own. We never book our excursions through the ship.

Who knows?

I see no reason to believe any announcement they make. Fool me once....

Some people never learn. Plan land vacations until this is over.

We are looking forward to spending the month of July in the beach house we have rented. We are able to do that because we don't have our cash tied up in a future cruise that may or may not happen.

Who knows?

I think we overestimate how much some of the poorer locations in the Caribbean really want cruise ships there. We stayed a week in Roatan on a land vacation. According to the locals we talked to, they would prefer cruise ships go elsewhere. They prefer those who come for a week because we eat in their restaurants and spend money in their shops instead of at the cruise port or prepaid tours from companies not based on the island.  We were told that most of the excursions, even private ones, were handled by a handful of companies that did business throughout the islands and that locals benefited very little.

https://today.emich.edu/story/story/10623

I would hesitate to spend thousands of dollars on a cruise only to possibly be told I could not board once I arrived.

I would go to the ruins in Progresso. My reason is because Progresso is IMO a crappy port. Though they have a beautiful beach, the locals constantly pester you to buy cheap made in China goods. Drinking just one beer, we were approched 14 times. We went back to the boat. For this reason we went to the ruins the next time we were in Progresso so as not to be harrassed.

In Cozumel there is more to do and you won't be constantly harrassed.

I don't get it. If I wanted candy, I would just bring it and pay reasonable prices.

http://facilitymanagement.com/restroom-paper-towels-air-dryers/