Doug & Cindy Scrap Hunter

If you are looking for a relaxing, upscale cruise then try Celebrity. If you are looking for comedy clubs, piano bars and the bells & whistles of flow rides, rock walls, hairy chests competitions then X isn’t for you.

 

We are Diamond on RCCL and Platinum on Carnival and have enjoyed many cruises on both but at this point we don’t want a cruise with all the things that attract families with kids. Did a Royal Cruise last December (early in the month, kids should have been in school) overrun with kids. Probably our last Royal Cruise; all are good it just depends on what you are looking for.

That is why I always go September - early December or in April.

Just realized he is back again! Wish I had looked closer before I responded. Not sure what the agenda is but not a thread of value.

We'll see it depends on what idea folks bring and inside information. Don't sell everyone short just yet and other wondering the same thing. It is all about value - bang per buck between the cruise lines in the winter.

Book it !!!!!

I know it is a good price! I'm waiting till our cruise in October on the Summit and hopefully it doesn't go up.

I’m eyeballing some winter prices for next year and other folks have commented on this too. Maybe not the basic price but when you deduct the free perks – X is often times the cheapest with the 5 night West Caribbean. I saw a chart where some of the 7 nights do too. Most folks like balconies so I’m looking at those prices.

Celebrity Infinity Dec 16 2019

$659 with $300 spending = $509

Brilliance of the Seas Dec 14 2019

$579 with $100 spending = $529

Carnival Valor Dec 16 2019

$609 with $0 spending = $609

No Norwegian 5 nighters - the 7 day starts at $1,200! Princess is about the same - and $699 for 3 days.

Why is it so inexpensive and why aren't more folks jumping on board? I know that it is more upscale so it seems like a good opportunity to try it out. Maybe some folks want more slides and a party atmosphere but the value is why Cindy and I are trying out the X this year and maybe next.

I would suggest that if your idea of dining is Outback and their blooming onion Celebrity is not right for you.

If there are normal food like steaks, chicken, and ribs - I'll be fine. I appreciate everyone's advice and maybe we won't like Celebrity - we'll see. My wife didn't like the food on Carnival and everyone knows Royal Caribbean is worse (plus charging $13 for Johnny Rockets!) so we're trying to find something in the middle. Maybe MSC?

Speaking of blooming onions they're tasty and I would love to see them on Celebrity! I'm made this for another thread - all in good humor folks.

Doug, I’ve tried to stay with some of your threads because some had good questions or ideas, but what is the point of this thread??? It’s like asking, why isn’t Celebrity a Trimaran hull?? This has no point or anything for any of us to consider, except to say why we like inside verandas Iwhatever the point of those are) or don’t.

 

Why doesn’t Celebrity have a nuclear power plant so its doesnt use all this gas/oil??? Why doesnt Celebrity tear out all out all the existing infrastructure and build a 50-deck tower in the center???? Why doesnt.......

 

Let’s stick with existing reality here. I think you have some good points, but I even hate posting because it just seems to encourage such, with all due, silliness. Please ask or work within realities of what each Cruise Line is setting as their approach. And you might consider waiting to actually cruise on Celebrity before coming up with suggested changes. It’s like you a baiting people who like cruising on this LIne and then you act as if you are so surprised at reactions.

 

Give the Line a try and see if it fits instead of thinking up what you liked somewhere and ‘suggesting’ it be added on this Line. I assume you are actually aware of what reaction you’ll get, so what is the point???

 

Den

Thanks for your honest advice Den - you've been very helpful explaining things. I feel I've just liked some of the upgrades over Carnival that I experienced on Royal Caribbean and since they're owned by the same folks - I've been hopeful that some of that will carry over. When I get on board and get a feel for the atmosphere I'll have a better context and see a different picture. Cindy and I are planning to write a full review so folks can experience the cruise with us as we go. Maybe there's Celebrity features I will wish where on other lines.

I guess it is like wanting an Outback blooming union at Carrabba’s when it is different food chains owned by the same parent company..

Like....

Beauty of cruising is not the mall...but what we see off our balcony!

Some other folks have brought this up and I get what you are saying. I've had a balcony before that is right about the stars and open air - we could all try to enjoy that more. More times than not I've had a ocean window and that is not the same at night. When I had the promenade cabin there was always something to see with folks buzzing around - it is not so claustrophobic.

The one positive aspect of Royal Promenade is even with sidewalk sales going on corridor is wide enough for traffic to flow smoothly. Promenade deck on S class is often impassable.

Yeah and all ships have some kind of shopping area with stores. If you don't feel like shopping or walking though then there are other parts of the ship to hang out. Even when I had a promenade cabin I closed the blinds half the time - doesn't mean that everyone else had to too. How would a flowrider ruin everyone else's experience unless they stand there with their hands on their hips? I say don't worry about what other folks enjoy and you do your thing.

No. Also no need for a flowrider or rock climbing wall! :rolleyes:Not all RC ships have a Royal Promenade which is a good thing.

I never much cared for the rock climbing wall but the flowriders were fun to watch. Maybe if they were made more fancy and put in an indoor area near the pool.

I think you knew the answer to the question before you asked. So I'm not sure why you bothered asking, unless it was just for attention.

 

Surely you've seen the deck plans and photos of X's existing ships. Did you see a Royal Promenade anywhere? Artist renderings for the new Edge class ships have been out for a while now. Did you see a Royal Promenade anywhere? The renovations for the new Revolution program were detailed a little while ago. Did you see a Royal Promenade mentioned anywhere?

 

If you love the Royal Promenade so much, then it looks like you'll have to stick with RCI. In my experience one is more likely to be happier staying with what you like than wishing other places would change just to please you.

I've eyeballed pictures of the Summit and Equinox but not the newer ships. Even if there's not a Promenade there's still shops and restaurants and other common areas like the atrium that could offer a room with some kind of view.

The truth is I would be fine sticking to the fun ships but Cindy's grandparents were well off and turned her into a foodie when she was younger. I'm trying to find a happy medium that we both will like. Royal Caribbean owns Celebrity so I don't see how an upgrade option on one can't be done differently on the other. Like other folks have said - if I'm going to spend the extra money I want to see everything upscale. I wouldn't ask the Crystal folks about a promenade cabin because they sweeten the pot in other ways.

What is the purpose of your question? The ship’s don’t have them, won’t have them. So why bother asking?

So we have the option of watching an area of the ship at night. It could be the lawn garden or somewhere else totally different and innovative. Give us a view of the atrium or the dining room, or even the kitchen might be interesting. They could shape it into an X and use a one-way glass. There's probably classy ways to do it that I'm not even thinking of.

I was one Oasis class towards the end of 2016 and kind of had mixed feelings overall. I liked the fancy Royal Promenade and don't know if Celebrity has anything like that - but I don't see anything like the promenade cabins and inside balconies that overlooked the park. I enjoy looking out at the ocean as much as the rest of you - but at night it's all dark and nothing to see. In the promenade cabin there was always a view and see what folks were up to. I imagine what that would look like on Celebrity with everything a bit more upscale.

Thanks for the tip. We're eyeballing Equinox and I probably won't be able to talk Cindy into trying RCCL but she might like Azamara. We're also looking at Crystal and Oceania but Azamara should have the bonus.

A free Fudruckers and a more upscale version of the flowriders. A list comedians for the comedy club.

I hope you won't have to but how the food is on Royal Caribbean - I would'n't blame you. I mostly stuck to Johnny Rockets but now that it is $13 a person - nope. Folks have told me the X food is edible and even better if you move up to Aqua or a suite.

I'm looking at some of the other new ships now and better dates so we can do something longer. SILHOUETTE - EDGE - EQUINOX

How are the desserts on Equinox? Maybe I would like the options on a newer ship for our 2nd Celebrity cruise.

On our last Caribbean cruse on the Reflection, DW & I were relaxing on a port day on one of the large hammocks looking out of the window on the pool deck. We were parked next to a European ship (not sure which one). I had left to go get food or drinks and when I came back, my DW couldn't wait to point out that there were a couple of ladies topless sunbathing on the top deck of the other ship. It was close enough to see that they were topless but not close enough for any detail (thank goodness). No big deal but the most shocking thing to me was that DW actually wanted me to look...at other women...half naked. It's been a couple of years and I still don't know if I got in the wrong hammock :)

Is there a way to pick a cruise next to these European ships? Just in case my wife wants to look too. :p

Indeed. I've attracted the attentions of your stalker! :')

 

Not gonna lie to you, I did smile at the irony of the post after reading its posting history. Seems they only want to discuss you, closing threads and errr, lettuce!!!

Wow I didn't know that! I guess I'm on folk's minds.

One of the strangest questions that I have seen on CC. Hopefully they will never have this option.

You can always advertise for the European folks and then make it available in Alaska only. ;p

Just found another poster (Mynki) that I can ignore along with two others that that offer zilch.

WOW!

Denny01 and Mynki are trying to be helpful on this thread and you are the one following us around and can't be civil. If you can't follow through with ignoring then tell us why the Summit is both upscale and cheap?

Mynki you're right we're not in a place to try luxury cruises right now and are still sticking to Carnival pricing. It should still be a good deal and opportunity to sample. I'll keep in mind that the X has better and newer ships.

Clothing optional deck? Trust me no one wants to see me running around on that deck haha. Hold your hands over the kiddies eyes when you walk up the stairs.

Here's the thing, we live in the UK. So as far as booking on Celebrity is concerned we're really lucky because we can choose to book with Celebrity UK, UK based TA'a and US based TA's. Pricing varies between the two so we have access to both markets and can get the best deal.

 

Usually Caribbean based sailings are cheaper in the US. But last year the hurricanes caused chaos. Celebrity UK had a deal with £900 ($1215) off and a beverage package included on selected sailings. As a result of Caribbean prices crashing we managed to book an 11 day concierge class cruise on Summit for £451 ($609) followed by a back to back 10 day aqua class sailing for £501 ($676) also with beverage pack. These prices included port charges and taxes as all UK bookings do but do not include a back to back discount!

 

If you calculate the cost of buying the beverage pack which we would have bought we were in effect cruising for free.

 

 

So here's the weird thing, these dirt cheap Summit sailings are easily the best value cruises we ever booked and it's unlikely we'll ever get such a good deal again. But Summit provided the worst overall service of all ships we've been in.

 

I know Luminae would have offered much better service than Blu, and issues we had with guest relations would have been dealt with by a butler or MC concierge far more professionally. So this is why I based my comment of only having a luxurious experience in a suite on Summit. Some will get what I'm saying, some won't and as we've seen some will comment on things they have no personal, first hand experience of. But this is cruise critic after all.... :D

 

Four days from now we'll board an RCL mega ship. Once upon a time I expected sailing on RCL would be a poorer experince than sailing on Celebrity. I still think it will be poorer than our experinces on Silhouette, Eclipse (Truly great cruises on that ship), Millennium and others. But now I'm hoping it will be better than our experiences on Summit. Time will tell. As this 8 day Norwegian Fjord cruise will cost about the same as the 21 days onboard Summit and our airfare costs to San Juan I think Summit will still be the best value trip we've taken though.

 

And that's the thing, there are still bargain Summit trips about in 2018 and 2019 so if people have realistic expectations people can still enjoy their sailings onboard her. After all a vacation is really as good as you make it and it's about who you're spending your time with too.

 

What you need to do though is not make the schoolboy error of comparing Celebrity suite experiences to those in other classes of stateroom. The suite experience has been designed to compete directly with Oceania and Azamara etc. The Edge suite prices are directly comparable to some 6* lines like Seabourne too. If you can get your head around that (And not everyone can) you'll start to realise that Celebrity is now a two tier cruise line.

 

Hence the Luminae burger getting great feedback on here and the crap served at the poolside bar less so........ ;)

Oh I get it even if other folks don't. That 21 day cruise for $1800 - WOW! That's the thing is next year I can try Luminae for $900 and then a luxury cruise after that for comparison. Nancyshaw was making the same point about the two tier cruise a couple months back. The question will become - Luminae or luxury line after we really get going here. Maybe that depends on each sailing.

Hamburgers are an easy comparison to see in a photo. If the poolside burgers look gross and Luminae looks delicious - I know what to expect with everything else too. Don't get me wrong, I like a good burger - but I do eat normal food like most folks.

Just goes to show how some folks should eyeball both up and down for the best deals, luxury or ports. Switch up your cruise lines - change your experiences and opportunities.

You’d think I would have learned......Oh well.

 

OP - you are booked on the Summit this Fall. Wait until you take the cruise, and make your decision on booking on a smiliar ship, the Infinity, based on your direct experience.........no one can ‘convence’ you via these threads. It’s all subjective. Minky lists reviews that go from 2-stars to 5-stars, all written by posters such as we. Just make your own call while/after you make the cruise.

 

Enjoy your cruise. And as Edward R Murrow would say, “Good night, and Good Luck”.

 

Den

At this point I'm not even that picky because we got cheap sailings booked and in mind. Whatever these problems and cutbacks are it isn't anything I haven't seen on Carnival - and maybe Cindy will like it better. The criticism might help make us pleasantly surprised when we actually get on board. Seems like there are some glass is half empty type folks loyal to X - the hidden cheerleader comes out when you mention the luxury lines. I won't book the Infinity ship until we're been on board a few days and know the real skinny. Right now I'm optimistic.

This one here?

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2658952

 

That's well balance and objective. Much more meaningful than two or three sentences etc.

 

It mirrors our experiences as far as bar service, lack of staff resulting in poor service etc. This was without doubt the root cause of many issues. We also had a waitress masquerading as a sommelier. Sadly in Blu we'd often started our main course by the time she arrived. The maitre d' admitted they were one short along with four waiters so Blu was always going to be challenged. Funnily enough though she did spring into life on the last night, telling us about her home life and telling us all about her two year old toddler back home. Previous to that she'd been very reserved. I wonder why that is eh? :D

 

It seems the Summit is also in need of more bar staff several months later from this review.

 

Funnily enough the author also comments on areas of the ship being in poor condition yet a few claim it's "top notch". Could it be they need to visit an optician? Or something else? :p

 

I was surprised to read their butler was poor though. Ours have always been very good.

If you folks cherry pick the cheap sailings in the Fall like I'm doing - you'll probably still come out ahead. If we're going to pay the big bucks then I'm going to skip all this and try Crystal / Oceania / Viking Ocean where EVERYTHING is upscale - not just the room. Even the the burgers are high end. :hearteyes:

This thread has given me a little chuckle. I had some foodie concerns and suggestions and folks got on poor Uncle Doug's butt because I haven't sailed on Celebrity yet - so had no right to suggest anything. Oh and Cindy has just corrected me that I am a "fast foodie" because I like high quality junk food. Haha maybe so but I know a good steak and tritip when I taste it too.

When we start getting excited about trying Celebrity and thinking about a 2nd cruise - the fans are here to convince each other that it's not very upscale or the ships are too old. I guess it is better to plan for the best and get the skinny from the folks in the know. All the forums are like this - got to love our cruising community.