Just curious

[Bridge Maven]

A number of people have posted that they sail Celebrity exclusively because they like it so much that they feel there is no reason to try another cruise line. If so, are you like that just about cruising or with other things as well, such as restaurants, hotels, airlines, stores, etc?

 

I personally like to experience different cruise lines, but am the same way about restaurants, hotels, stores, etc.

[Denny01]

Good question. I know I say I prefer Celebrity and use it as my starting point for selecting a cruise (and have three X cruises in our future!), but we have gone on a number of other Lines and enjoyed them all.

 

We do like to try new things, but we also have our 'stable' of restaurants and hotels that we use consistently. The Hotel/airline has more to do with those blasted points business, but we do wander off the range, and in fact probably it is 50/50, except for the airline..unless another flight is definitely cheaper, I stick with me preferred...love those free tickets.

 

As for restaurants, yeah we have a number of favorites, but we have so many 'favorites', we end up hitting those inconsisitently.

 

I guess that puts me somewhere in the middle....has favorites, but is fickle and wanders the field some.

 

As for crusing, unlike a night at a restaurant or a few days at a hotel, I'm a bit more cautious on trying another Cruise Line because of the cost and time commitment. But will go for a nice itinerary, and really want to try Azamara (But that's kind of cheating since I get the Celebrity status there).

 

Enough 'wandering' in my typing...make sense though?

 

Den

[phoenix_dream]

I sail Celebrity almost exclusively now, although I have tried several other lines in the past. I wouldn't say I would never try another line again, but now that I have such nice Elite perks (and hopefully someday an Elite+) that also drives me to stay with Celebrity. In life, I will try new places on occasion if I am in the mood, but if I really like something I tend to go back again and again.

[alishac]

In general I like to try new things, especially when it comes to restaurants. However, because of the cost of a cruise and the fact that I'm limited to 1-2 a year, it's much riskier to try a new cruise line than it is a new restaurant. I'm always afraid we'll take the plunge and try a new line, and it won't live up to what Celebrity gives us. I would be more open to trying new lines on shorter, less expensive cruises.

[Orator]

I've probably been on 50+ cruises on lines other than Celebrity, but in the last 3 years have cruised exclusively on Celebrity. I've stated my reasons on other threads and will not repeat them here. Suffice it to say that DW and I enjoy the Celebrity product. We've talk about trying some of the "upscale" lines, but DW really doesn't like small ships and the reviews I've read don't appear to justify the price. The "all-inclusive" idea just doesn't work for me since neither DW or I are drinkers. If I see something really special I might give it a try. I think most of us tend to go to restaurants that make us feel welcome and have the menu items we enjoy, but I always like to give a new place a try. No special preference in hotels, depends largely on location and price.

[We're The Groupnors]

Like Denny, we look to Celebrity first, but if the itinerary does not suit us we will look at other lines. We have been on Princess a number of times, and RCI & NCL once each. For various reasons we will probably rarely look at RCI in future (though DH wants to at least try Oasis or Allure), and will not book on NCL. We are interested in trying smaller ships, as well, and are considering the Paul Gaugin for 2014.

 

As for sticking with one brand in other aspects of our lives, it depends. We have a couple of restaurants that are our "go to" restaurants, where we know service and food will always be good, but we also branch out often and like to try new places. For airlines we try to stick to ones that are part of Star Alliance, since that's who we have a points program with.

 

We have had the same brand of car two times in a row, though, and I will only use one brand and flavour of toothpaste, so I guess I am a little brand loyal. Lucky for Celebrity!

[wwcruisers]

Actually, we first sailed X two years ago -- after 10 years of exclusively sailing RC -- because we wanted to try something new. Since then, we have found ourselves pretty much sticking with X, because we enjoy the level of food and service there. But I do have to admit that DH and I tend to fall into set patterns with restaurants, etc., when we are at home. ;)

[Bridge Maven]

As much as I like to experience different products, my last three cars have been the same brand, even though the upgrades have varied slightly. That is because if you want a car, that is not an SUV, with all wheel drive, the options are somewhat limited.

[Denny01]

As much as I like to experience different products, my last three cars have been the same brand, even though the upgrades have varied slightly. That is because if you want a car, that is not an SUV, with all wheel drive, the options are somewhat limited.

 

Good point...I didn't think about it, but my wife and I have the same make/model...of course I have the one that is 4 years older! I keep eyeing another Mazda Miata for fun and zip, but rather spend the money on cruises!

 

Den

[Desertbelle]

A bad restaurant or a bad air flight is only a few dollars and a few hours out of your life...if it's unpleasant, it doesn't really matter much in the long run...we have some favorites but like trying new ones.

 

But a cruise is 7 to 29 (our upcoming b2b) days, or more out of your life. You "live" on that ship, in that cabin, with that staff, eating that food, listening to those musicians and shows, for all those days, so you had better be sure you are going to like it. I don't want any surprises when I have thousands of dollars and a chunk of my life on the line. We love Celebrity but because of family and itinerary issues we sometimes cruise Royal Caribbean also. We have tried other cruise lines, didn't like them, so now we stick with something we know we are going to love....makes life easier.

[Karynanne]

A bad restaurant or a bad air flight is only a few dollars and a few hours out of your life...if it's unpleasant, it doesn't really matter much in the long run...we have some favorites but like trying new ones.

 

But a cruise is 7 to 29 (our upcoming b2b) days, or more out of your life. You "live" on that ship, in that cabin, with that staff, eating that food, listening to those musicians and shows, for all those days, so you had better be sure you are going to like it. I don't want any surprises when I have thousands of dollars and a chunk of my life on the line. We love Celebrity but because of family and itinerary issues we sometimes cruise Royal Caribbean also. We have tried other cruise lines, didn't like them, so now we stick with something we know we are going to love....makes life easier.

 

You have a very good point. Trying a new restaurant, and not enjoying the meal, you can justify, especially if the bill is under $100.00. But spending a few thousand dollars on a vacation is completely different.

 

We have talked about trying another cruiseline. Maybe Regent or taking a European River Cruise. But we always come back to Celebrity. It fits our lifestyle. Not perfect...but pretty darn close.

[kelmac]

Most of the people on this thread are similar, in that, once you've explored other lines, you realize that the best "bang for the buck" is still Celebrity. We are always on the look out for a "deal" on one of the up-scale lines, but those are hard to come by.

 

Would love to try Crystal, Seabourn, Regent..., some day! Our top five lines, as today:

 

--Oceania

--Azamara

--Celebrity

--Cunard

--Holland America

 

Of course, Celebrity and HAL are much more affordable than the others, and with our volume of cruises we can't venture too far out. We travel eight to ten weeks of the year and that's a huge chunk of our income. Budget wise, it's hard to justify spending over $150 pp/pd on a cruise.

 

We are cruising the Allure for Thanksgiving (purely raw curiosity); back to Celebrity for a Winter Holiday BtoB; Celebrity for Spring Break (yes, my wife is a teacher); next summer off to London for a Celebrity BtoB, and a Queen Mary 2 crossing Westbound (our first TA).

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[cruzeluver]

Great topic!

 

We came to X after previous cruises on other lines and are quite happy with X for now. Having said that, we definitely plan to try other lines in the future. I know a lot of folks like the predictability and feeling of "coming home" they get by sticking with the same line, but not us. Got to mix it up and try other things. On board offerings, entertainment and activities tend to stay pretty much the same on any given line.

 

As to airlines I couldn't care less. The experience of flying now seems to be equally painful no matter who you go with! :p

 

We have a few "got to" restaurants that we really like, but as "foodies" we are always on the lookout to try new places as well.

[curtdesilets]

I know what you are saying here. We have stuck with Celebrity because our experiences were consistently good, and our initial experience on the Infinity in 2001 was EXCELLENT! But we also like variation. I think HAL is a comparable product, and it's good to change it up a bit to get different menu's activities, etc. We even delved into Crystal last year, which was SUPERB in all respects

 

I can pretty much count on Celebrity to deliver what we are looking for. Near luxury at afforddable prices. And the new S ships are state of the art!

 

Princess has let us down, recently. NOROVIRUS-CODE RED:mad:

 

And our last experience on HAL was excellent except for one thing....chain smokers on the balcony immediately UPWIND of us.:mad:

 

At least we can NOT look forward to that (smoking) on Celebrity.:)

[TLCOhio]

A number of people have posted that they sail Celebrity exclusively because they like it so much that they feel there is no reason to try another cruise line. If so, are you like that just about cruising or with other things as well, such as restaurants, hotels, airlines, stores, etc? I personally like to experience different cruise lines, but am the same way about restaurants, hotels, stores, etc.

 

Excellent question, topic and comments. We've done only four cruise, all in Europe. Our last, as noted below, was on Celebrity. We really like the first three very, very much. BUT, we wanted to try something new and a little different with some good friends. They've done lots with Celebrity and liked a larger ship. They helped push us!!

 

NEXT?? We were very happy with the Solstice last June and as we planned for early 2014 to do Australia and New Zealand, we evaluated all of the options. Until Celebrity's options came out last month, we were booked with the Crystal Symphony. But BOTH the schedule and value pricing tipped things to go on the Solstice. We are now booked. If it was not a Solstice-type of ship, we might have leaned differently. Not sure the Century would have worked as well for us compared to the Solstice. A number of factors involved. We are now booked on the Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland sailing. Lots of people already booked and posting on our roll call!! That's a good sign that we have chosen well.

 

PAST EXPERIENCES?: Late June 2006, Athens to Istanbul, enjoying the Greek Isles and Turkish Coast over seven days on the 204-passenger Seabourn Spirit. Then late July 2008, Dover to Stockholm, experiencing the Baltics and Russia on the 940-passenger Crystal Symphony. In 2010, it was July 1-16 from Copenhagen seeing the Norway Coast, fjords, above the Arctic Circle, Land of the Midnight Sun, etc., on the 296-passenger Silversea Silver Cloud. Then last June for southern France, Italy and the Croatian Coast from spectacular Barcelona on the larger, 2850-passenger Celebrity Solstice that is detailed below on my live/blog for that trip and ship. All four trips have been excellent with nice service, fellow passengers, staff, great locations, key ports, etc., on four different lines. Some details and difference better than others. What’s best? The honest answer is . . . “It depends!!!”. Ports, schedules, timing and prices vary much, especially right now with this economy and many lines expanding so much and offering some good values. You need to seek what best fits your exact personal needs, budget and interests.

 

The honest truth is that there are a number of very good to excellent cruise lines. Some people are very happy and satisfied with one basic, standard "formula" cruise line or routing that is offered that they tried and liked first. I am NOT a big fan of "one size fits all". We value the itinerary and/or ports as very, very important. We do like things a little more custom and personal. Getting our trip "flow" and "pacing" is very important. Small and "personal" can be very nice. BUT, larger, can offer some key advantages, more variety, too!! You need to determine what you want and need.

 

Just like there are many different sizes, styles and types of shoes, the same is true with cruise lines and their various ships and routes and schedule options. We don't all wear and have same types of shoes for all occasions and every purpose. With good reason!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 79,039 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 68,975 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[Can'tstopcruising]

We are creatures of habit. We have never tried another line. I don't have the inclination to even check out the other mainstream lines. We know Celebrity, plusses and minusses, and we know what we are getting. Of course, I would love to try an upscale line and I would love to try a river cruise in Europe, but the thought of spending 15-20 thousand dollars for a vacation stops me in my tracks!

 

We habituate the same restaurants, mostly. Sometimes we try something new. However, at our tried-and-true restaurants, I always order the same thing! Never change!

 

We buy the same make clothing, over and over. But that's because certain brands look and feel good.

 

I cook the same recipes every holiday!! Honestly, wouldn't it be nice to try something else? But this one asks if I am making this and that one asks if I am making that and voila,it becomes the same menu once more!

 

As to cars, we are on our fourth of the same make, same model. It sure makes renewing easier!

 

Enough said!

 

Fun topic!

[USVI-4-me]

The ship, hotel, restaurant MUST be CLEAN.

 

The smell of smoke or loud music make us flee.

 

We prefer large mass-market ships with longer itineraries.

 

I have asthma so hotels that take pets aren't for me due to the disinfectants used.

 

We cruise for itinerary mostly and have tried many lines including Princess, NCL, RCL, Costa, Celebrity, all good. HAL is a never again.

 

Princess gets our loyalty, Celebrity does not. The next time we cruise on Celebrity I've decided to pretend I'm cruising with a glass that's empty, then will see how much my Celebrity experience can fill that imaginary glass. After 8 Celebrity cruises and now Elite Status, our enthusiasm is a 5-6 on a 1-10 scale. Yet, the itinerary beckons......

 

We are adventurous, don't mind spending money on the "experience". We stay away from smoke, loud music, and hotels that take pets. Other wise we only turn away from smoke, loud music, and a strong smell of garlic. We tried many strange places and altogether every experience is memorable whether negative or positive.

 

If we are in a new town and like the first restaurant we try, we'll go every evening and enjoy meeting the regulars. In Italy, we stayed in a village once and were amazed at how quickly the regulars at the restaurant made us their new friends. Even invited us to a birthday party in the village.

 

Maris

[MAXII]

A bad restaurant or a bad air flight is only a few dollars and a few hours out of your life...if it's unpleasant, it doesn't really matter much in the long run. ...

 

But a cruise is 7 to 29 (our upcoming b2b) days, or more out of your life. You "live" on that ship, in that cabin, with that staff, eating that food, listening to those musicians and shows, for all those days, so you had better be sure you are going to like it. I don't want any surprises when I have thousands of dollars and a chunk of my life on the line. ......

 

Totally agree with these two points.

 

Great topic!

 

.... I know a lot of folks like the predictability and feeling of "coming home" they get by sticking with the same line ....

 

As to airlines I couldn't care less. The experience of flying now seems to be equally painful no matter who you go with! :p .

 

LOL, on one of our cruises as we embarked, I will always remember the crew member saying to us Wellcome home Mr & Mrs ... "coming home" yup that fits us. Re. experience of flying - You got that right!

 

 

In our early days of cruising we tried RC. I'm not sure if it was the unfortunate incident with a broken safe we had, the generally more sort of partying types aboard and noisey neighbours we experienced on that particular cruise but we made our next cruise Celebrity again and have never looked back. I think for us too, we are comfortable with what we have come to know and expect from the X product and now that we enjoy longer cruises this is important to us. As Desertbelle notes you really do "live" on the ship and so yes, we need to be sure we are going to be happy.

 

Of course too, now we are Elite we enjoy those added perks. Maybe one day we will try another line, even RC again but it really doesn't cross our minds to at this time.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I've been pleased with the value and the cruises I've done on Celebrity. Tried HAL & didn't like it as much. All inclusive makes no sense for me as I don't drink. Might try Azamara some day.

 

I enjoy trying new restaurants and new hotels. Tend to fly the same airline because they're pretty much the only game in town.

 

I tend to keep my cars a long time. If Lexus has a good deal next time I'm in the market for a car, will probably get another one.

 

So I guess I'm brand loyal as long as it works for me.

[fleckle]

We hate long airline trips. We sometimes book repositioning cruises to avoid the long flights one-way, but would prefer to avoid them entirely.

 

So we are looking at some of HAL's loop itineraries that start and end at US ports but visit destinations far away, eliminating the need for long flights, (at least for North Americans).

 

Really wish Celebrity would offer itineraries like that.

 

In general, we have our favorites but like variety and are open to trying new cruise lines, restaurants, stores, etc.

 

As others have mentioned, because of the investment of time and money involved, we tend to be more cautious about trying a new cruise line and will try to research it more thoroughly than when merely trying a new restaurant or hotel or store.

[Karynanne]

I've been pleased with the value and the cruises I've done on Celebrity. Tried HAL & didn't like it as much. All inclusive makes no sense for me as I don't drink. Might try Azamara some day.

 

I enjoy trying new restaurants and new hotels. Tend to fly the same airline because they're pretty much the only game in town.

 

I tend to keep my cars a long time. If Lexus has a good deal next time I'm in the market for a car, will probably get another one.

 

So I guess I'm brand loyal as long as it works for me.

 

We've cruised Azamara, and enjoyed some aspects of their ships. You don't have to walk much. You literally turn a corner and...you're at your destination! And the staff and crew quickly know your name. We also found the Speciality Restaurants to be excellent. But the cabin space is smaller, but the furnishings were very nicely done.

[FLMO]

A number of people have posted that they sail Celebrity exclusively because they like it so much that they feel there is no reason to try another cruise line. If so, are you like that just about cruising or with other things as well, such as restaurants, hotels, airlines, stores, etc?

 

I personally like to experience different cruise lines, but am the same way about restaurants, hotels, stores, etc.

 

We've been on 7 Celebrity cruises and one each on Royal Caribbean,Norweigian,Costa, and Princess. I wish we had stuck with Celebrity. We would have been Elite by now. We will continue to sail on Celebrity because we feel that the added touches over the other main stream lines make for a very enjoyable cruise.

[true45]

Interesting thread

Like others posting here, I'm brand-loyal for the most part, have my 4th suburu but also just bought a hyundai because it was offering the best financing and had the most room at the best price.

 

Celebrity's product is a great match with us but

Just took our 1st Princess cruise because we liked the itinerary -- and will never go back. So many things happened on that cruise that I can't do it again.

 

We are booked on Carnival for a quick getaway in summer (no Celebrity alternative is sailing, nothing interesting on RCCL except old or giant ships, HAL doesn't appeal -- booked on Equinox 11 night in Jan and our 1st trip to Europe on Oceania's new Riviera -- the food is just so tempting and the smaller ship too.

 

So we are loyal but open to new experiences too.

[Lastdance]

I have really enjoyed reading the above viewpoints. We have all had different experiences and those forecast how we behave in the future. It is so nice to know that there are cruises out there for everyone, but most importantly,we can be free spirits or creatures of habit! Choice is always good. As vacations/cruises become more and more expensive, it is crucial to do your homework on CC and then make a decision based on your information. In Europe, I love taking the trains all over, but my hubby prefers his bed and food to go with him, thus Celebrity is a good match for us.:cool:

 

Restaurants: Like dining at the same ones

[ACJV]

We love Celebrity! Our first cruise on the Mercury hooked us. We have continued to sail on Celebrity, and now that the elite perks are so nice, we do not even look at other lines.

Vicki