Is celebrity 5 star cruising?

[Tapi]

We have previously only cruised with Princess and will be on the Independence in June but have been offered a really good price on a balcony cabin on the Eclipse next Summer Holiday. We can't quite understand why the price for the cruise we are considering is coming out cheaper than Princess and RCL and just want to make sure we are not missing anything! ;)

 

Jo and Rob:

 

We have never cruised on Celebrity, but just booked our first cruise on them to go to Alaska in 2011. One of the reasons is because of pricing. Celebrity offered a lower price than Carnival, NCL, HAL or Royal Caribbean on comparable categories and itineraries. We're sailing on the Century which is Celebrity's smallest ship, (although it received a 55 million dollar rennovation), but we're thrilled to give a new cruise line a try!

 

As others have mentioned, which cruise line is the best is highly subjective. For example, Royal Caribbean loyalists wouldn't set foot on a Carnival ship and vice versa, yet we've found them to be very much the same. Some people only cruise on the largest and newest, while others look for smaller, more intimate ships even if they're not as new.

 

So make a list of what's important to you, and see which cruise line meets those preferences!

[rothjer]

I would be careful when assessing pricing based on cruiseline. IMO, I think the price of your Alaska cruise has probably a lot more to do with Century's age then with X in general. Century's "55 million" reno has been completed over 4 years ago. I also caution on "55 million" because this number is more a marketing scheme than anythign else, I remember when we were on Century after the dry dock, many fellow passengers and crew laughed at the 55 mil reno so many agencies were trying to market. 55mil in relation to what any other dry dock costs is really not so much, especially considering how much work needed to be done. Now, not to say you chose a bad apple- we loved Centruy, it was our gateway cruise to X, like many others. However, Century has been on a 3/4 night sailing schedule out of Miami for quite some time (more than 3 years), which means, its really gotten some serious wear and tear (much more than could be expected from a ship running 7/10/14 night iten). Thankfully, I think she is scheduled for another dry dock really soon (boy, time flys). However, she is hitting on 15 years, and her sisters are both bye bye (Galaxy is already gone, and Mercury is scheduled to depart next year), one can only wonder what will happen to Century. So yes, shes is a beauty non the less, but her age and degree of use, also dictate to a large extent the price of cruises. IMO

[SeaCod]

I would be careful when assessing pricing based on cruiseline. IMO, I think the price of your Alaska cruise has probably a lot more to do with Century's age then with X in general. Century's "55 million" reno has been completed over 4 years ago. I also caution on "55 million" because this number is more a marketing scheme than anythign else, I remember when we were on Century after the dry dock, many fellow passengers and crew laughed at the 55 mil reno so many agencies were trying to market. 55mil in relation to what any other dry dock costs is really not so much, especially considering how much work needed to be done. Now, not to say you chose a bad apple- we loved Centruy, it was our gateway cruise to X, like many others. However, Century has been on a 3/4 night sailing schedule out of Miami for quite some time (more than 3 years), which means, its really gotten some serious wear and tear (much more than could be expected from a ship running 7/10/14 night iten). Thankfully, I think she is scheduled for another dry dock really soon (boy, time flys). However, she is hitting on 15 years, and her sisters are both bye bye (Galaxy is already gone, and Mercury is scheduled to depart next year), one can only wonder what will happen to Century. So yes, shes is a beauty non the less, but her age and degree of use, also dictate to a large extent the price of cruises. IMO

 

Dry dock later this month.

[AAAAmerican]

First I so disagree with your theories.

 

The CELEBRITY CRUISE LINES: Executive Chef was terminated. Yes by the New ( Present Administration , which I gave you a Dictionary Definition of that too) , did that and other less than savory things as well. He was not neary four score of age ..as RCL :NYSE the Parent firm has a retirement age which is way prior to 80.

 

Now lets go to American Business History as I see you need to read facts more then you will may know them.

 

*Celebrity Cruises was founded in April 1988 a.d as a subsidiary of the Greece-based Chandris Group to operate upmarket cruise ships to Bermuda.

 

Home Lines, at the time one of the world's leading premium cruise lines, was sold to Holland America Line. Home Lines' ships had held two of the five contracts offered by the Government of Bermuda to cruise lines, giving the ships priority berthing arrangement and unlimited access to sail to the islands in exchange for the ships sailing to Bermuda between April and October each year. Although these contracts were highly valued, Holland America Line decided to withdraw the former Home Lines ships from this service, leaving an opening for two new ships to gain access. Chandris wanted to acquire the contracts, but the Government of Bermuda was only willing to award them to only upmarket cruise lines, which Chandris Fantasy Cruises was not.

 

In order to gain the Bermuda Government contracts, Chandris created Celebrity Cruises and immediately begun negotiating with the Bermuda Government in April 1988. As a result of the negotiations, Celebrity Cruises was awarded the contract for two ships for a five-year period beginning in 1990.

 

 

*

 

 

Plowman, Peter (2006). The Chandris Liners and Celebrity Cruises. Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 198–203. ISBN 1 877058 47 5

 

 

Celebrity does not just go to the Bermudian Islands ( Somers Isles ) as you say .." They only go to Bermuda now as an afterthought "

 

They only have so many spots at the Docks and Celebrity does not have small enough ships anymore to be at St. Georgeees and/or Hamilton in Bermuda.

Zenith a fine ship and crew was the last, as no ship was brought in to replace her on the cruises to Bermuda. Zenith was transferred to the Pullman Tours part of RCL :NYSE

 

 

 

On food , it is very subjective. But having the quality then is what they charge paying cruisers a lot extra for now .

 

I always compare apples to apples . Ever buy Lady Apples?

 

I am not comparing cruising in the 60's or even now in 2010.

 

Oh in shipping history the Titanic never even was Christened nor had a God Mother!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The executive chef was not terminated after 12 yrs with RCI and Celebrity. His contract ran out and he was like 80 yrs. old. If you have any proof he was fired, please let us in on it. Also, let us in on your idea that they purchased Celebrity for the Bermuda ports, first I ever heard of that. They only go to Bermuda now as an afterthought so that worked out real well if it is true... At the time of the takeover Carnival and RCI were buying up cruise lines and Celebrity was purchased by RCI.

 

Celebrity was better back in the early 90s but only in the minds of some. They didn't have the great ships they have now, go to the various ports and itineries they do. Food may have been better but the cruise industry has changed so much, who would have thought of Specialty restaurants. Things change, the Titanic had better food probably but we see where that went. At this point, you are comparing cruising in the 90s to cruising now, like comparing Apples and Oranges....

[Jo and Rob]

When someone new to Celebrity asks about quality and comparing it to other Lines, telling them about how great 'it use to be' is of no use. They don't care and it isn't of any use to them...And none of it is 'fact' by the way. It's opinon.

 

I'd agree Celebrity isn't 5-stars because of the top (expensive) luxury lines that are avail. But for someone who hasn't cruised them, and 'only cruised' Celebrity, Princess, Carnival and Royal Car, I'd say Celebrity, for us, is the top line.

 

why? for the price, great SR's and great value. Service is always outstanding, excellent dining, and love their common areas. But the main difference is they treat us like Adults. We make our own plans and don't need the ship to entertain me or make numerous announcements.

 

If you loved Princess, I think you'll love Celebrity.

 

Denny

 

Thanks Denny. I think you have hit the nail on the head! We are new to cruising and are therefore only looking at the situation now (and to be honest I am hoping to hear how good they are not get knocking stories!) We are interested what makes celebrity stand out from the rest if in fact it does (not the history of a former executive chef although thanks for taking the trouble to respond to my post) :)

[kelmac]

We started cruising in 1974 and I would say most of the conjecture that everything was much better then is just because everything seems better when you're young and impressed with everything. There are so many improvements in the ships and so many more choices today than there were in the past.

 

Celebrity has a wonderful product for the money. As in anything, not every experience is the same, even for people on the same ship at the same time. Never had a bad one with Celebrity.

 

I agree with Ma Bell 100%. The good old days were not as great as people make them out to be -- nostalgia has a way of doing that to people. Our first Celebrity cruise was in 1993 and it was very impressive because we were not experienced cruisers.

Everything about Celebrity is better today; yes, even the food. All this, at a better price because of pretty good management!

 

Here are some things you use to get with the old Celebrity:

--great dining room food

--no alternative dining; lame buffet with faux bacon, some strange ham thing, some kind of potato hashbrown thing..., No fresh food stations. Lunch had to be had in the dining room, when open, because the buffet was just awful.

--service was great because the workers were in a "dog eat dog" working environment. The dining room staff had to put up with theft, intimation and required bribery in order to make their guest happy and score "cash" tips at the end of the cruise. Only Europeans could advance past waiter and a mafia like environment controlled everything on the ship.

--Embarkation morning, everything was gone in the way of food and you had to be out of your cabin at 7:00am so the workers could clean.

--Entertainment could be great to so so.

--Smoking was everywhere except the dining room.

--The officers were old school Greek that bathed twice a week and their uniforms reeked of BO.

 

Today, Celebrity does have an edge over Princess, Holland America, Royal Caribbean and NCL. Their Solstice class ships could be the best "bang for the buck" at sea.

We loved the old Celebrity experience, but the new Celebrity is better than ever!:)

 

Enjoy!

Kel:D

[dkjretired]

First I so disagree with your theories.

 

The CELEBRITY CRUISE LINES: Executive Chef was terminated. Yes by the New ( Present Administration , which I gave you a Dictionary Definition of that too) , did that and other less than savory things as well. He was not neary four score of age ..as RCL :NYSE the Parent firm has a retirement age which is way prior to 80.

 

Now lets go to American Business History as I see you need to read facts more then you will may know them.

 

*Celebrity Cruises was founded in April 1988 a.d as a subsidiary of the Greece-based Chandris Group to operate upmarket cruise ships to Bermuda.

 

Home Lines, at the time one of the world's leading premium cruise lines, was sold to Holland America Line. Home Lines' ships had held two of the five contracts offered by the Government of Bermuda to cruise lines, giving the ships priority berthing arrangement and unlimited access to sail to the islands in exchange for the ships sailing to Bermuda between April and October each year. Although these contracts were highly valued, Holland America Line decided to withdraw the former Home Lines ships from this service, leaving an opening for two new ships to gain access. Chandris wanted to acquire the contracts, but the Government of Bermuda was only willing to award them to only upmarket cruise lines, which Chandris Fantasy Cruises was not.

 

In order to gain the Bermuda Government contracts, Chandris created Celebrity Cruises and immediately begun negotiating with the Bermuda Government in April 1988. As a result of the negotiations, Celebrity Cruises was awarded the contract for two ships for a five-year period beginning in 1990.

 

 

*

 

 

Plowman, Peter (2006). The Chandris Liners and Celebrity Cruises. Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 198–203. ISBN 1 877058 47 5

 

 

Celebrity does not just go to the Bermudian Islands ( Somers Isles ) as you say .." They only go to Bermuda now as an afterthought "

 

They only have so many spots at the Docks and Celebrity does not have small enough ships anymore to be at St. Georgeees and/or Hamilton in Bermuda.

Zenith a fine ship and crew was the last, as no ship was brought in to replace her on the cruises to Bermuda. Zenith was transferred to the Pullman Tours part of RCL :NYSE

 

 

 

On food , it is very subjective. But having the quality then is what they charge paying cruisers a lot extra for now .

 

I always compare apples to apples . Ever buy Lady Apples?

 

I am not comparing cruising in the 60's or even now in 2010.

 

Oh in shipping history the Titanic never even was Christened nor had a God Mother!

 

 

 

 

I didn't give any theories, only commented to yours. First, you give a nice history lesson however it does not give any proof that Celebrity was purchased solely for the Bermuda ports. Secondly, I have to correct myself as Michel Roux is not close to 80, he is close to 70 however he left Celebrity after mutual agreement. At the same time he moved from England to Switzerland citing safety concerns for the move. If they let him go and Celebrity's food deteroriated after that, your allegation goes against the thoughts of most on this board, etc. If you read these boards, the complaint against lack of quality in the food started in 1997 when RCI took over. If that was the case then Michel Roux oversaw the downfall of Celebritys food since he was in charge from 97 to 07. I don't buy that, I think things just changed. Kelmac gave an excellent account of Celebrity in his earlier post and I agree with him. There were some good things and some bad but fact is if Celebrity had not been purchased by one of its two suitors at the time, they probably wouldn't be around.

[dkjretired]

I agree with Ma Bell 100%. The good old days were not as great as people make them out to be -- nostalgia has a way of doing that to people. Our first Celebrity cruise was in 1993 and it was very impressive because we were not experienced cruisers.

Everything about Celebrity is better today; yes, even the food. All this, at a better price because of pretty good management!

 

Here are some things you use to get with the old Celebrity:

--great dining room food

--no alternative dining; lame buffet with faux bacon, some strange ham thing, some kind of potato hashbrown thing..., No fresh food stations. Lunch had to be had in the dining room, when open, because the buffet was just awful.

--service was great because the workers were in a "dog eat dog" working environment. The dining room staff had to put up with theft, intimation and required bribery in order to make their guest happy and score "cash" tips at the end of the cruise. Only Europeans could advance past waiter and a mafia like environment controlled everything on the ship.

--Embarkation morning, everything was gone in the way of food and you had to be out of your cabin at 7:00am so the workers could clean.

--Entertainment could be great to so so.

--Smoking was everywhere except the dining room.

--The officers were old school Greek that bathed twice a week and their uniforms reeked of BO.

 

Today, Celebrity does have an edge over Princess, Holland America, Royal Caribbean and NCL. Their Solstice class ships could be the best "bang for the buck" at sea.

We loved the old Celebrity experience, but the new Celebrity is better than ever!:)

 

Enjoy!

Kel:D

 

Kel:

 

Great summary, I would also add that when we first started cruising Celebrity smoking was allowed everywhere in the dining room....

[F02]

I find it difficult to refer to stars. There seems to have been inflation on stars as well as on currencies. It is certainly correct that it depends on the category of ships. Newer ships are usually better than older ones. And that is true for Celebrity too. Service? Well, there are differences between cruise lines but even between crews on the same ship. It is important too to know what cabins you are refering to. On a range from 1 to 5, 5 being the best, I would rate Celebrity between 3 and 4, usually closer to 4.

[Dorene1]

I was on the Century twice, the last time 2008. I did a Europe cruise and I found it one of my favorite 40 plus cruises. What I liked about the ship, it was not a Mega ship and it was easy to locate where I wanted to go. The decor on the ship is pleasent to the eye. I think she is a good choice for a ship and I was hoping she was still doing Europe and was planning on sailing her again. However, I believe she will be doing Alaska and at this time I am not ready for Alaska. I am doing my first TA this year on the Eclipse and I am very excited having a AQ class cabin.

 

I found the service on Celebrity above the rest.....I think you will be very happy with Celebrity.

 

Dorene

[caliber35]

I find it difficult to refer to stars. There seems to have been inflation on stars as well as on currencies. It is certainly correct that it depends on the category of ships. Newer ships are usually better than older ones. And that is true for Celebrity too. Service? Well, there are differences between cruise lines but even between crews on the same ship. It is important too to know what cabins you are refering to. On a range from 1 to 5, 5 being the best, I would rate Celebrity between 3 and 4, usually closer to 4.

 

I would agree that there is little consensus on the star rating system. If you read the CC guidelines on ratings, 5 stars is reserved for the best of the best; typically the true luxury lines, which X is not. However, in the reviews many will award 5 stars to a mass market ship. I would place the S class ships as firmly in the 'premium' catagory, with solid 4 star ratings. The only line I have sailed on that I would rate at 5 stars is Crystal.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Santa Fe....boy, do I agree. We left Princess for Celebrity specifically for the opportunity to enjoy a vacation with as little assault from smoking as possible. That tips the scale heavily in Celebrity's favor, IMHO.

[CruiseAdict218]

Five stars i think would be the following:

 

• Princess
  
• Cunard
  
• Azamara
  
• Oceania
  
• Crystal
  
• Regent Seven Seas
  

[sailor2010]

We would like to know whether you think celebrity is five star? What do you think sets Celebrity apart from the other cruise lines? Which cruise lines do you think are on a par with Celebrity?

 

We have previously only cruised with Princess and will be on the Independence in June but have been offered a really good price on a balcony cabin on the Eclipse next Summer Holiday. We can't quite understand why the price for the cruise we are considering is coming out cheaper than Princess and RCL and just want to make sure we are not missing anything! ;)

 

Not five star, those lines include all your excursions, alcohol, carry less passengers, and have a much higher staff-to-cruiser ratio. As I just checked last week, they also have a much higher cost-to-cruise . Crystal, Regent, Azamara, Seabourn, and others are at that end.

I just checked and the Regent one I was looking at was over double, almost three times as much really, as what I am paying for a new ship on "X" for 11 days in Conc. Class cabin (and I am including the cost of eating in the specialty restaurants at least 6 times, shore excursions, and alcohol).

Celebrity seems to me to be the only one left between those and the RCCL and Carnival lines.

[A Sixth?]

I didn't give any theories, only commented to yours. First, you give a nice history lesson however it does not give any proof that Celebrity was purchased solely for the Bermuda ports. Secondly, I have to correct myself as Michel Roux is not close to 80, he is close to 70 however he left Celebrity after mutual agreement. At the same time he moved from England to Switzerland citing safety concerns for the move. If they let him go and Celebrity's food deteroriated after that, your allegation goes against the thoughts of most on this board, etc. If you read these boards, the complaint against lack of quality in the food started in 1997 when RCI took over. If that was the case then Michel Roux oversaw the downfall of Celebritys food since he was in charge from 97 to 07. I don't buy that, I think things just changed. Kelmac gave an excellent account of Celebrity in his earlier post and I agree with him. There were some good things and some bad but fact is if Celebrity had not been purchased by one of its two suitors at the time, they probably wouldn't be around.

 

There's an article on the Cruise Critic about Celebrity Cruises' partnership with Michel Roux. The cruise line had a 15-year affiliation with the Master Chef before they mutually agreed to part.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1907

 

To the OP, I am a Princess fan and loved my first cruise on Celebrity. The clean air policy that Celebrity enforces is light years ahead of Princess so if you are a non-smoker you will have an excellent cruise experience on "X". The two lines are closer than some here would admit especially with the introduction of "select dining" as an option on Celebrity ships.

 

5 stars? Not in the standardised hotel guide rating system, but IMHO all the mainstream lines are doing a pretty good job satisfying their markets. If they weren't cruising would be in decline, not exploding as a vacation choice.

[MDCruiserz]

Oh, I'd forgotten about the restrictive smoking policy - that's a HUGE plus for Celebrirty. While we don't usually have trouble with smoking on Princess, it does often make the casino virtually unusable and we have had a couple of cruises where the neighbors smoked on their balconies, making ours less than great. I do love that restrictive smoking policy on Celebrity.

 

DebbieMacG - we didn't pay for the upgrade. It was a very pleasant surprise upgrade given by Celebrity.

[A Sixth?]

Oh, I'd forgotten about the restrictive smoking policy - that's a HUGE plus for Celebrirty. While we don't usually have trouble with smoking on Princess, it does often make the casino virtually unusable and we have had a couple of cruises where the neighbors smoked on their balconies, making ours less than great. I do love that restrictive smoking policy on Celebrity.

 

DebbieMacG - we didn't pay for the upgrade. It was a very pleasant surprise upgrade given by Celebrity.

 

 

It has brought us over from Princess (Princess are you listening? It's not Mad Men and 1965 anymore.... )

[rothjer]

Five stars i think would be the following:

 

• Princess
  
• Cunard
  
• Azamara
  
• Oceania
  
• Crystal
  
• Regent Seven Seas
  

 

 

Im sorry , and you got these ratings based on,...your own experiences? Cannot be as you have only been on one cruise. Princess is hardly a 5 star line, same with Cunard. It seems you are excited about your upcomming two princess cruises, however, princess IMO is a short step up from Carnival in all but ambiance. Also, comparing the latter options on your list is also rather silly as they all appeal to much smaller niche markets.

[junglejane]

I'll just jump in here to add my two cents. We've been cruising for the last 5 years with our two DD's, who are now ages 9 and 13. We've been on Princess 6 times and on Celebrity twice (also once each on HAL and RCL). We just booked a Mediterranean cruise for June 2011 and were debating between the Star Princess Rome-Venice and the Equinox Rome RT. We picked the Equinox mostly for the itinerary, because it goes to Istanbul and Kusadasi. Also we're anxious to experience the Solstice-class ships.

 

We've been very happy with our experiences on Princess overall, but our two cruises on Celebrity were both a slight step up in terms of ambiance, food quality and service. So we've been anxous to return to Celebrity, but found ourselves going back to Princess over and over because of the itineraries (e.g., no summer British Isles on Celebrity, basically no West Coast cruises except Alaska, etc.).

 

I agree with those that say if you like Princess you'll love Celebrity. :)

[Bridge Maven]

I don't think Celebrity is a five star cruise line, but it doesn't charge five star prices either. On the other hand, I think it is a great value and offers a very good overall cruise experience for its price range.

 

Since my husband and I took our first cruise during the middle seventies I would like to comment about cruises then vs now. Cruises had a more upscale feel to them, significantly better cuisine in their main dining room, and a lot more interesting activities, but were significantly more expensive than they are today. Modern ships do not have the classic exterior lines of classic ocean liners and look more like floating hotels, but have much nicer cabins.

 

However, only a relatively small segment of the population could afford to cruise when my husband and I took our first cruise during the seventies, and very few people could afford them when my parents took cruises during the fifties, while almost everyone can afford to take a cruise today.

 

So, in reality, whenever a product that was originally designed for a relatively small percentage of the population becomes available for almost everyone, change is inevitable. However, I think it is wonderful that most people today have opportunities to enjoy a much better lifestyle than they did years ago.

[willie2845]

I'll just jump in here to add my two cents. We've been cruising for the last 5 years with our two DD's, who are now ages 9 and 13. We've been on Princess 6 times and on Celebrity twice (also once each on HAL and RCL). We just booked a Mediterranean cruise for June 2011 and were debating between the Star Princess Rome-Venice and the Equinox Rome RT. We picked the Equinox mostly for the itinerary, because it goes to Istanbul and Kusadasi. Also we're anxious to experience the Solstice-class ships.

 

We've been very happy with our experiences on Princess overall, but our two cruises on Celebrity were both a slight step up in terms of ambiance, food quality and service. So we've been anxous to return to Celebrity, but found ourselves going back to Princess over and over because of the itineraries (e.g., no summer British Isles on Celebrity, basically no West Coast cruises except Alaska, etc.).

 

I agree with those that say if you like Princess you'll love Celebrity. :)

 

:rolleyes: We agree! Most TA will tell you Celebrity is one step above Princess,

and Holland, the other two lines in Celebirty's class of cruising.

[Texed]

Ms. Maven,

An excellent post. :)

[mek]

No, definitely not 5 star - it is mass cruising regardless of how it is promoted. I find it very similar to HAL and consider them to both to be very good cruise lines that offer a high quality product for the price. My favorite line however is Princess.

[Jo and Rob]

We are non smokers so I am interested in the comments about the Celebrity smoking policy. Are the ships completely smoke free?

[Mark_K]

Five stars i think would be the following:

 

• Princess
  
• Cunard
  
• Azamara
  
• Oceania
  
• Crystal
  
• Regent Seven Seas
  

I would take away the first four and add Silversea and Seabourn.