Tried Celebrity...not impressed!

[RoyalDiamond]

We are D+ with 269 points (23 Royal Cruises). We thought we'd give Celebrity a try with our Elite status. We just sailed Millenium for 5 days, and couldn't wait for the cruise to END. It was less than enjoyable. The MDR service was horrendous (food was good, but service really lacked). We waited 40 minutes the first night just for bread and our water glasses to be filled. The second night, we walked out and never returned to the dining room for the rest of the cruise! It was that bad. The loyalty ambassador (captain's club) was "snippy" with us on several occasions, and never even introduced herself during the Elite events. The crew NEVER smiled, and seemed very uptight. Even when trying to "loosen" them up, they wouldn't relax. Way too snooty/uptight. The evening buffet was NOTHING like the Windjammer. At the Windjammer, the evening food is different each night, and they even offer some of the MDR entrees. On Millenium, the buffet was EXACTLY the same EVERY night...stir fry, pasta, or sushi. Good at first, but boring after a while. The evening "social hour" is 5-7, while on Royal it's 5-8:30......much better to accommodate those with late dining! We usually aren't ready for the evening until 7 or so, but the social hour was already ending by then. Some things were nice, but overall, we are sticking with Royal Caribbean. Granted, many dedicated Celebrity passengers told us that this didn't seem like a typical sailing. But, we're happy staying with Royal.....(better discounts, too....balcony, coupon book, etc....).

[Familygoboston]

We are D+ with 269 points (23 Royal Cruises). We thought we'd give Celebrity a try with our Elite status. We just sailed Millenium for 5 days, and couldn't wait for the cruise to END. Some things were nice, but overall, we are sticking with Royal Caribbean. Granted, many dedicated Celebrity passengers told us that this didn't seem like a typical sailing. But, we're happy staying with Royal.....(better discounts, too....balcony, coupon book, etc....).

 

Well, based on how many cruises youve been on, you have become quite comfortable with what you know! There is nothing wrong with that. :D

[negc]

Just further proof that no line is right for everyone and perhaps Celebrity isn't a good match for you. We have sailed on several lines and keep coming back to Royal Caribbean because it best suits us. That isn't going to be the case for someone else.

We have sailed twice on Celebrity (Constellation and Century) and our experience on Constellation closely matched yours. However, our cruise on Century was totally different and much better in almost every aspect. I think it is important that you not base your opinion of the line on a single experience. Any number of things could have been responsible for your less than satisfactory cruise. Of course it could be that for you (and for me for that matter) RCI is the best fit and if so, there are currently 22 ships in its fleet offering you a wide range of possible cruise itineraries. Enjoy them and don't worry if others disagree with your opinion about Celebrity or any other line.:)

[silentbob007]

I had a good experience on the Millenium (my first X cruise) but not a great one. However, I really liked the Eclipse (Solstice class) and found it to have a better atmosphere (IMO).

[debandbruce]

We loved the Eclipse. The staff was amazing, the food was excellent, our room stewards were top notch and our MDR waiters were very attentive. The ship was so incredibly beautiful. We had a wonderful cruise and didn't find a single fault with them. My parents cruised the Constellation a couple weeks after we sailed Eclipse and they also had a wonderful trip.

We love Royal as well and find Royal ships a little livelier at night. We had a very relaxing and pampered trip on the Eclipse but are sailing on the Freedom on Nov 13 and looking forward to all she has to offer. I'm sorry you had a bad experience on the Millenium hopefully you will give one of the Solstice class ships a try someday.

We had a bit of a bad experience on The Emerald Princess but won't let it stop us from giving them a try again.

[RoyalDiamond]

If we go back, it will definitely be a Solstice-class vessel. That's about the only way I'd agree to try them again. We were in Cozumel with Oasis right next to us. We've been on Oasis twice, and joked that we were going to jump across and take her back to Florida instead! LOL. Meanwhile, next week is our Liberty cruise (first transatlantic)....yay.

[debandbruce]

Oh I would love to do a TA. When we were on the Eclipse in April it was her last cruise before heading over to Southhampton. There was some excellent deals to be had if you stayed on board. We would of done so in a heartbeat if we didn't have to come home and do that silly work thing. Someday we will do it I can guarantee it!

[emmy]

If we go back, it will definitely be a Solstice-class vessel. That's about the only way I'd agree to try them again. We were in Cozumel with Oasis right next to us. We've been on Oasis twice, and joked that we were going to jump across and take her back to Florida instead! LOL. Meanwhile, next week is our Liberty cruise (first transatlantic)....yay.

 

 

Well I hope we meet up to have a chat. :)I am also on the Liberty TA next week and I too recently had my first Celebrity experience on Century in May. I share many of the thoughts you expressed in your post. It confirmed to me that RCI is a better match for us.

 

I will give Celebrity another try but not in the near future and it must be one of their newest ships like Solstice class. Have a safe flight to Barcelona!

[halanfine]

We also found that Celebrity was a terrible line for food and service. All you RCI lovers see my Walking the Plank review of the Constellation when it reappears on the members reviews sections. We believer that Celebrity forced CC to take it off but we shall see if it reappears! 9/11 Constellation. Happy Cruising everyone!!!!!!!!!!!

[Cruising89143]

We also found that Celebrity was a terrible line for food and service. All you RCI lovers see my Walking the Plank review of the Constellation when it reappears on the members reviews sections. We believer that Celebrity forced CC to take it off but we shall see if it reappears! 9/11 Constellation. Happy Cruising everyone!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The cruise lines have no control over what is posted here. I read your review and frankly have a hard time believing it.

[Conanc]

Hi, sorry to hear about your experience with Celebrity. We love both Celebrity and Royal for different reasons. The main advantage to us on Celebrity is the non-smoking policy on the balconies. I do have to agree with you about the experience in the MDR on the Millennium. We enjoyed a wonderful 10 night cruise last October on the Millennium, but the MDR was the only part of the cruise we didn't enjoy. The service on the first night was ridiculously slow and the second night was only slightly better. We had formal night dinner in our room for the first time ever on this cruise! I am curious....do you remember the name of the name of the loyalty ambassador?

 

We are booked on the Serenade for January but will probably be booking another Celebrity cruise for our next cruise,. If we don't book an Aqua Class cabin on the Solstice class so that we can eat in Blu, we will be booking the Celebrity Select Dining option.

[RoyalDiamond]

Well I hope we meet up to have a chat. :)I am also on the Liberty TA next week and I too recently had my first Celebrity experience on Century in May. I share many of the thoughts you expressed in your post. It confirmed to me that RCI is a better match for us.

 

I will give Celebrity another try but not in the near future and it must be one of their newest ships like Solstice class. Have a safe flight to Barcelona!

We will definitely talk....I'm sure we'll see you "in the lounge!" Just look for Peter and Jim from Chicago! Leaving for Barcelona Wednesday....(getting in Thursday morning).

[mafig]

After we were on Summit (same class as Millennium), it took us 7 years before we set foot on Celebrity again. However, we found a good deal on Solstice and then again the next year on Eclipse and we love that class of ship. Try the Solstice class!;)

[jebl]

Just goes to show that what is one man's trash is another man's treasure.

 

We sailed the Eclipse TA last Oct. First time I was ever bored on a cruise. There was a definite lack of activities during the day. I realize there couldn't be the pool games due to the weather but the only other afternoon activities were trivia. And that was a waste of time. There was a man who cruises at least once a month or more on Celebrity and he knew all of the answers and won every game. To make matters worse he and his party were at the table next to us one night. Two of the staffers were eating with him and I could hear them making jokes about the masses not being able to win the trivia games. They were fawning all over him.

 

There was a series of lectures on the Giant Squid in the afternoon. Again not very stimulating or I am not high brow enough.

 

Same for evening entertainment. I actuall fell asleep during one show and walked out of two others. One man playing a violin for 45 minutes is not my cup of tea.

 

I didn't like the decor of the ship either. Very 'cold', all chrome and white.

 

When I sailed the Horizon and the Galaxy I enjoyed my cruises very much. Was looking forward the the Elite event but it was soooo crowded and noisy we only went the first night.

 

The ice on the bar at the Martini bar is just a gimmick that I felt failed. Don't try to rest you arm on the bar, it will stick. And make sure you drink is on the napkin or you can't lift the glass.

 

Service was very good and no complaints about the food, staff or cabin.

[Snorkel Dawg]

So every one of your RCL cruises have been great with great service & one of the two Celebrity cruises wasn't up to par & you come on CC & slam Celeb because of one bad experience? :confused:

 

I havn't been on nearly as many RCL sailing as you have but I've had not so great experiences a couple of times. Do I get on here and slam RCL, no.

I'm not about to generalize about an entire fleet of ships & staff due to a couple incidents.

[Ocean Boy]

It seems to me that so often people draw conclusions about a cruise line based on one ship. Knowing how the RCI cruise experience can vary dramatically based on the class of ship that one books, I can't help but wonder if the classes of ships in other cruise lines might also greatly affect the experience. I certainly know, for example, that the cruise experience between an RCI Radiance class ship and Oasis have little in common. It would be hard to sail one or the other and draw much of a conclusion about RCI as a whole.

[truffles2]

We did not like anything about our first Celebrity cruise (probably the ONLY one where I lost weight!) and waited 10 years to try them again. Last April we did the TA on Eclipse and were favorably impressed. Can't say that I particularly liked the layout of the cabin and the (p)leather(?) sofa but there were many things I liked better. The food was very good--as was the service. It is a different experience but it was a good one this time. Still definitely prefer RCI.

[Topo Gigio]

I did Jan 2010 a cruise on the Solstice and May 2010 on the Summit. It was like day and night difference. From A to Z. and especially the food. Needless to say from now on I will only cruise on the Solstice class when cruising Celebrity!

[cruisinp]

We also found that Celebrity was a terrible line for food and service. All you RCI lovers see my Walking the Plank review of the Constellation when it reappears on the members reviews sections. We believer that Celebrity forced CC to take it off but we shall see if it reappears! 9/11 Constellation. Happy Cruising everyone!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I would find it hard to believe that a cruiseline could make a message board remove a review. But, then again, what do I know?!

[roe2ship]

I recently tried Celebrity (Summit) sister to Millie, and I too was not impressed with their service...VERY SLOW. However, I still did not feel like I couldn't wait for the cruise to end....is there really such a feeling?

 

Personally, I wouldn't judge a whole cruise line with one cruise and completely write them off, it's kind of unfair. Someday in the future, I have to try a Solstice class ship, overall from what I hear and read, the experience is quite different.

[gelo7]

So every one of your RCL cruises have been great with great service & one of the two Celebrity cruises wasn't up to par & you come on CC & slam Celeb because of one bad experience? :confused:

 

I havn't been on nearly as many RCL sailing as you have but I've had not so great experiences a couple of times. Do I get on here and slam RCL, no.

I'm not about to generalize about an entire fleet of ships & staff due to a couple incidents.

 

Well said....

[RoyalDiamond]

So every one of your RCL cruises have been great with great service & one of the two Celebrity cruises wasn't up to par & you come on CC & slam Celeb because of one bad experience? :confused:

 

I havn't been on nearly as many RCL sailing as you have but I've had not so great experiences a couple of times. Do I get on here and slam RCL, no.

I'm not about to generalize about an entire fleet of ships & staff due to a couple incidents.

Ooh, sounds like someone is a little touchy...get a grip! These were my valid observations/opinions during the cruise. Of course not everything will be perfect. But, when SO MANY things are wrong, there's a problem. Yes, I've had a bad experience or two with Royal as well....and I've voiced them here, too! Just read and do some research before slamming ME. After all, this is Cruise "Critic," is it not? I will probably try Celebrity again, but on a different class of ship.....

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

My guess is that any cruiseline can have a bad cruise once in awhile. The passengers who experience that one bad cruise are really unlucky. As often as we have cruised, that one unlucky cruise for us happened to be on Carnival. So I do understand that when events combine to spoil a cruise, it can make one not want to return to that cruiseline.

 

Maybe one day we will give Carnival another try. We do love Celebrity, even though we are Diamond Plus level on Royal. We are partial to Celebrity's Solstice Class ships.

 

If the original poster ever decides to give Celebrity another chance, I suggest they check out one of the excellent Solstice Class ships.

[RoyalDiamond]

That's exactly what I was considering....trying Solstice, Eclipse, Equinox, etc. I've heard so many wonderful things, which is why I was so disappointed...

[Rellyrooly]

While I don't have nearly the cruising experience that so many of you do, I can totally see why even one bad cruise on a specific line would keep you from ever trying them again. We had a disastrous voyage on Golden Princess for many reasons but included in them were the food, service and general layout and decor of the ship. If there are so many things perceived to be wrong, what would make a customer want to go back? Of course we realize that different ships have different crew and layouts and decor from class to class but even so, there are so often so many similarities that it would certainly de-suade me from going on them again. Especially since there are so many other options out there and ships I have loved. My feeling is try something once, don't like it, move on. There are many other ships in the sea! ;)