Celebrity Vs. Carnival

[Chowder_17]

Looking a possibly doing an X cruise next, after doing two Carnival cruises. For anyone who has sailed both, please give me the pros vs. cons of the different lines. Thank you!

[Essiesmom]

Looking a possibly doing an X cruise next, after doing two Carnival cruises. For anyone who has sailed both, please give me the pros vs. cons of the different lines. Thank you!

Celebrity: Food will be a little better, you will have interesting enrichment lecturers/port lecturers (not just shopping); Dress will be a little more formal; buffet did not seem as crowded, loved the eggs benedict selections at breakfast.

Carnival: Beds more comfortable.

[cherylroslyn]

Looking a possibly doing an X cruise next, after doing two Carnival cruises. For anyone who has sailed both, please give me the pros vs. cons of the different lines. Thank you!

The ship will shut down considerably earlier than on a Carnival Ship. Yes the night club stays open past 1:00 am but virtually nothing else will be open....so if you are a late night partier you may be dissappointed.

 

You should try as many lines as possible until you find the line you love.....but you never have to be entirely exclusive....If I sail alone I always pcik Celebrity....or with adult friends.... If I sail with my 21 year old daughter I have chosen other lines....but that will change when we sail Silhouette in November....i think a newer modern ship is something my daughter will appreciate more....I on the other hand love the Millenium Class Ships....... to each his own.......

[rigldbrg]

Wow, I think the two were night and day experiences. My wife and I really enjoyed our experience on Carnival, and I think that they offer a quality product. However, at this point in our lives we are sold on Celebrity. I think the difference has a lot to do with the target audience that each cruise line tries to capture, and the expectations that those groups have. I think the Celebrity experience is much more refined, with a greater degree of amenitees. You also won't find the same level of pressure to purchase extras like the DOD or photos, nor will you find the "hairy chest contest," "belly flop," or "color wars" type games. I think the advice about cruising till you find the one that's right for you is very good. You may cruise Carnival and find "home." But before you make that decision, I would suggest trying Celebrity too. It may be exactly what you're looking for.

[Chowder_17]

Wow, I think the two were night and day experiences. My wife and I really enjoyed our experience on Carnival, and I think that they offer a quality product. However, at this point in our lives we are sold on Celebrity. I think the difference has a lot to do with the target audience that each cruise line tries to capture, and the expectations that those groups have. I think the Celebrity experience is much more refined, with a greater degree of amenitees. You also won't find the same level of pressure to purchase extras like the DOD or photos, nor will you find the "hairy chest contest," "belly flop," or "color wars" type games. I think the advice about cruising till you find the one that's right for you is very good. You may cruise Carnival and find "home." But before you make that decision, I would suggest trying Celebrity too. It may be exactly what you're looking for.

 

Thank you for the honest info! Yeah, we plan on trying different cruiselines over the years. We went on Carnival for our 1st cruise and we purchased a future cruise credit, so that's why we booked our 2nd on there as well. There are some of the things that Celebrity had that appealed to me, the unlimited alcohol drink packages and some of the different ports that Carnival doesn't go to.

 

We are in our mid-20's and are fairly active people. What are typical things found on Celebrity ships?

[Canadianhey!]

Celebrity is more of the empty nester group. You will find very little kids (younger ones) usually a max of 45 on a normal cruise. As stated before Celebrity is not really a party all night spot. Lots of dancing and bingos.

[floridacruisers]

I'm not familiar with Carnival's smoking policy but Celebrity has the most restrictive policy of the major cruise lines. Something to keep in mind if you are a smoker or non smoker. It's great if you're a non smoker. It's restrictive if you are.

Phil

[JRT5000]

Celebrity is a very quiet cruise line after 10:00pm. If you like some nightlife and enjoy drinking your unlimited drink package you might be doing it alone.

 

Princess might be a good compromise. It's kind of between the two lines. Still some refinement but more of an active nightlife.

[Bridge Maven]

Celebrity has very few children so most ships sail with two passengers per cabin while Carnival ships tend to sail at full capacity. Consequently Carnival ships are more crowded.

 

Carnival's decor has a Vegas feel to it while Celebrity is much more subdued.

 

Carnival has non stop activities and it is harder to find quiet public areas.

 

Carnival's ocean suites are nicer than Celebrity's sky suites but don't come with butler service.

 

Carnival's food is very good but it is not as gourmet oriented as Celebrity

 

Celebrity has significantly older passengers than Carnival.

 

Cabin attendants on Carnival only come twice a day, but will come whenever they are needed, while they come much more frequently on Celebrity.

 

I prefer Celebrity when traveling with just my husband or another couple, but prefer Carnival for family reunion cruises with children.

[ChucktownSteve]

We are in our mid-20's and are fairly active people. What are typical things found on Celebrity ships?

 

Chowder,

 

Please don't take this the wrong way. The typical things found on Celebrity are much, much, much older people. (I'm 60) On my last cruise I felt as if I were in the middle of the cruising age range.

 

On my last cruise, I wandered the ship alone looking for something to do after 11pm. There wasn't much the first night.

 

While I loved sailing on Celebrity (and found it to be my favorite line), I believe a 20-something year old will feel very out of place. That is unless you're an old soul and feel comfortable with more experienced people.

[bighairtexan]

My last Celebrity cruise was on the Solstice and it was loaded w/ honeymooners.. from all over the globe. In October there were almost no children. The martini bar seemed to be THE place for the party people at night. I never made it to the disco (I lived in the casino) so can't speak to the nighttime activity there. It's refined and sophisticated but not stuffy. If I had a young family I'd choose Carnival. If I were a couple of any age, i'd choose Celebrity. And having been on many of each, I have to say that the food in both of these lines are very good. I love the deli and the melting cake on Carnival. The waffles and eggs benedict choices are outstanding on Celebrity. I honestly think that people who bash Carnival food (NOT REFERRING TO ANYONE ON HERE) probably haven't cruised Carnival in a long time. The service on Celebrity, however, I feel is far superior.

[Chowder_17]

Thank you for the information everyone! I greatly appreciate it!

[New Hampshire]

The atmosphere on a Celebrity cruise varies widely based on the length of the cruise and time of the year. During school breaks, Celebrity has lots ofyoung families and kids onboard. The shorter cruises seem to have more young people. The younger the people, the livelier the ship is at night.

[ChucktownSteve]

I just found an interesting comparison between Carnival and Celebrity which may (or may not) have something to do with the food, service and entertainment.

 

According to Cruise Junkie, http://www.cruisejunkie.com/Overboard.html there were 41 Carnival Cruise Passengers and Crew Overboard between 1995 - 2011 while Celebrity only had 5. :p

 

So according to the statistics, you're more likely to jump off a Carnival ship than you are a Celebrity ship. ;)

[jessNlane52804]

DH and I are in our 20s and just cruised on the Solstice for our belated honeymoon. We were looking for a nice, relaxing vacation and Celebrity delivered just that. There were plenty of people on the ship in our age group, but the majority for our sailing was in their 40s-50s. Solstice class is very couples oriented and makes for a very romantic cruise. I do agree that the nightlife was somewhat lacking. Although there is a nightclub and there were people dancing, we passed because the music and vibe wasn't our style. At the time we tried Qasar, it was either older couples ballroom dancing or middle aged women dancing by themselves. Everyone there was having a great time, it just wasn't for us. Maybe the vibe changes later at night, we just didn't bother waiting around for Qasar to liven up.

[yayvacation!]

DH and I are 31 and 29 respectively and we just got off of a Solstice cruise, we had a lot of honeymooner's onboard, and a lot of younger couples in general. DH and I like the relaxed go-to-bed-early crowd so Celebrity is for us! We did spend a lot of time in the Molecular Bar after 11pm and there were enough people to make it fun - the same group usually met up each night and it was great, the martini bar was also full late at night.

[wineluvr]

I think it really depends on the time of year and destination. We have kids in their early teens and have sailed Celebrity in Europe, Australia, and Alaska where there have been as many as 150 kids onboard. The kids found so much to do in the X Club (were there until the 1pm curfew every night) and made friends from all over the world that they still communicate with on Facebook. We've also found that the average age of cruisers on Celebrity has come way down from when we first sailed on Galaxy. On our most recent Eclipse cruise in the Caribbean I'd say the average age was 53. We too have sailed both Carnival and Celebrity and while it's hard not to have a great time on a cruise, we've found Celebrity to be a BIG step up in terms of cuisine, wine & enrichment programs, entertainment, and service. Not to mention the spectacular Solstice Class ships. But whichever line you choose you're going to have a fantastic time!

[Rick-cruiser]

Although we had given up on Carnival years ago in light of their target clientelle being a younger, less discerning passenger base, we were provided with a free Carnival cruise recently and can render the following experiences:

 

5 years ago we would have said Celebrity's food was better than Carnival's, but now it's the opposite.

 

The entertainment and singing groups aboard Carnival are vastly superior to those on Celebrity.

 

The formality/manner of service is more refined on Celebrity.

 

Celebrity provides their guests with "little extras" that Carnival does not.... a handed glass of champagne upon embarkation, hot/cold towelettes and sometimes drinks when returning from shore excursions, etc.

 

The Celebrity fleet, especially the smaller C-Class and M-Class ships, provide a more subdued, traditional experience than Carnival.. The larger Solstice-Class ships are designed and operated to appeal to younger, more generic crowd - and thus there is far less difference between Carnival and Celebrity in that regard.

 

Also please note that it's almost impossible to provide a blatant, general Celebrity-vs-Carnival comparison, as anybody's cruise experience will depend greatly upon his/her particular sailing... the ship itself (size, age, ammenities), the Captain - how he runs his staff, the time of year you sail, the length of your cruise, the itinerary, and the fellow passengers that just happen to be on your particular sailing.

 

- Rick

[Casino Player]

Looking a possibly doing an X cruise next, after doing two Carnival cruises. For anyone who has sailed both, please give me the pros vs. cons of the different lines. Thank you!

 

HHHHHEEEEELLLLLLLLLLOOOOO Chowder_17: These two lines are my favorite. The food on Carnival is slightly better. Celebrity is better on service. Shows depends on what you like. Casinos stay open until 0230 hours on Celebrity. Carnival sometimes will keep them open longer. On Carnival you have hairy chest, hairy leg contests, belly flop contests. Not on Celebrity. Carnival has 24 hour pizza. Celebrity you must order pizza from room service if you want it. No 24 hour resturant on Celebrity. Room service of course can be ordered around the clock. Carnival has 24 hour soft serve ice cream. Celebrity makes it and serves only for a few hours daily.

Celebrity appeals to an older crowd. Carnival tries to appeal to families. Either line you can't go wrong.

[royalcruz]

I would suggest a 7 night Solstice class cruise to get the most out of Celebrity and to sail with more younger cruisers.

IMO, comparing Solstice class to Carnival Liberty:

Carnival has better dining room food.

Buffets are both very good.

Celebrity has continental specialty dining and both offer steak houses.

The sun lounges on Celebrity are much more comfortable and there is plenty of room to lounge in the shade if desired.

Celebrity has a more upscale feel and finer service.

Celebrity is more relaxing and quiet.

Carnival has more vibrant late night life.

Carnival is too smokey.

Carnival has too many announcements throughout the day.

Celebrity passengers dress up more.

Celebrity passengers are less rowdy, although with these new Celebrity drink packages that might change.:D

[Bridge Maven]

I don't know if this was unique to this particular cruise director, but when we took a family reunion cruise from NYC to Canada a few years ago, Carnival pointed out various points of interest as as we sailed between the Port of New York and open waters. It reminded me of an architectural boat tour I took in Chicago a number of years ago, but this was the only time I had experienced this during a cruise's sail away.

[Solstice23]

Thank you for the honest info! Yeah, we plan on trying different cruiselines over the years. We went on Carnival for our 1st cruise and we purchased a future cruise credit, so that's why we booked our 2nd on there as well. There are some of the things that Celebrity had that appealed to me, the unlimited alcohol drink packages and some of the different ports that Carnival doesn't go to.

 

We are in our mid-20's and are fairly active people. What are typical things found on Celebrity ships?

 

 

We both started Sailing Celebrity in Our 20's and just hit age 33 now. We enjoy the city life style and the Country club / Cottage on the lake weekends in the summer. We enjoy great friends and social entertainment and Dancing Late at night. Some Lawn Bowling, Trivia Games or some sun on a sea day is more our style then watching a pool game. We are active at home, both ride horses, play tennis and Squash, but like activities for the social part of them as much as the activity itself. At home we go to dinner with friends and afterward a lounge or club. More into Jeans with a blazer on a casual night rather then Kakhis and a Hawaii shirt personaly, Celebrity has a great mix of people just about like any Cruise line

 

My wife is a teacher so we sail at peak times and have found Celebrity perfect for us. We enjoy relaxed style and nothing overdone, Hotels like the W, the Standard in NYC and Miami and the Epic.

 

We have enjoyed all our cruises on Various Lines and Celebrity usually gets first glance but we also enjoy RCCL and possbily looking at Seabourne in the Future also.

 

hope this helps

[Rick-cruiser]

The differences between the mainstream lines are becoming more and more blurred, less and less distinctive - as cruiselines are now concerned mainly in filling up their ships and trying to be all things to everyone.. They are also marketing themselves to appeal to the younger Gen-Xers, who have very different standards and casual attitudes than the more traditional Baby Boomers.. Special and unique things that used to individually define each cruiseline are becoming phased out by trying to appeal to the masses.

 

I think you will find Celebrity and Carnival more alike than different.. Just remember - on either cruiseline.... a 4-day sailing in the Caribbean during a holiday week will attract a very different passenger base than, say, a 14-day sailing in Europe during an off-peak period.

 

- Rick

[hcat]

Thank you for the honest info! Yeah, we plan on trying different cruiselines over the years. We went on Carnival for our 1st cruise and we purchased a future cruise credit, so that's why we booked our 2nd on there as well. There are some of the things that Celebrity had that appealed to me, the unlimited alcohol drink packages and some of the different ports that Carnival doesn't go to.

 

We are in our mid-20's and are fairly active people. What are typical things found on Celebrity ships?

 

great service throughout, nice jazz & guitarists, martini bar, molecular bar, wine bar, specialty coffees, interesting speakers, dance lessons, well-equipped gym, hot glass show, quiet time at the pools, awesome Solarium, nice spa area, excellent dining venues, good wine service, trivia, several night time party events, a wonderful brunch instead of midnight buffet, well-behaved closely supervised children, friendly, interesting & nicely dressed passengers... many well-travelled, elegant & upscale.....more reserved than other party cruise experiences

[geekybiker]

Carnival is decidedly downmarket from most of my experiences with celebrity.

 

Their food is more cafeteria level of quality. The entertainment is more campy. There are constant announcements. They do have a little younger crowd. This included more children.

 

If you're looking for a country fair vibe, go with Carnival. If you're looking more for a charity benefit vibe, go with Celebrity.