Carnival has the 'edge' over Celebrity..

[Jane2357]

Well as you can see by my signature - I am a Carnival and Celebrity cruiser. ( YES some of us CAN enjoy both lines.)

Both lines have something to offer and it depends on what I'm looking for that determines which line I'm on. When I'm with a large group or with friends that have a limited budget then Carnival makes the most sense - less expensive, less formal, more fun. When I want that romantic, relaxing, quiet and more upscale experience - then I book Celebrity.

I can tell you that there are drunks on both lines - however the ones on Celebrity are better dressed - LMAO - just had to say that :cool:. Kidding aside it happens more often on Carnival but Celebrity has it's fair share.

IMHO - the food is not any better quality on Celebrity than on Carnival - mass produced food is mass produced food.

Staff - both lines have wonderful staff however the room stewards on Carnival are the BEST and the staff on Carnival in general just seem happier.

I appreciate your honest review!

[gimletgal]

What I find most disturbing about this is that a Carnival cruiser had to change his spring break family cruise last minute do to another Carnival mishap and picked the Constellation as a last minute substitution. He gave a review from that stand point, not here but on the Carnival thread. For whatever reason the OP of this thread had a need to post it here. Perhaps I'm in the minority, but it would never enter my mind to go see what is being posted over on the Carnival forum

 

Here is a fact, the 2 Cs, Carnival and Celebrity don't attract the same client base, never have and probably never will. The OP of this thread seems to wanted to stir the pot for X cruises to dis Carnival cruisers. Not my cup of tea;):p

 

My sentiments exactly, Oville! No need to do that.

[Iamcruzin]

Piutting aside Carnivals current trarck record for maint. and safety

(To their credit they did say they will be spending 30% more on maint. next year)

Carnival is good if you want a cheap no frills getaway to party

Celebrity is 10 steps ahead in every category

Its like comparing burger king to a steakhouse

A travel agent summed it upp well years ago, "Carnival is great if its a first cruise, but if you try any other cruise line and go back to Carnival, you'll most likely be dissapointed"

30% of zero is still zero.

[cruiser77]

I actually found this review fair, thank you for that.:)

I can really see how there might be more drunks on Celebrity compared to past since the drink packages are so popular... :rolleyes:

[Gracie115]

Appreciate the review and the opinions...BUT

 

No matter how good or bad the cruise was I won't be on a Carnival ship for the foreseeable future.....too many maintenance accidents .... I actually like to feel confident that the ship is going to make it port to port and right now....well there is no confidence in Carnival that will happen!!!:eek:

[skittl1321]

Ah and by the way I NEVER WOULD SAIL CARNIVAL- I do not have the experience to have sailed on Carnival- but constant Partying is just no my kind of shoe!

 

I don't party at all- it is not my thing (in 3 cruises I've had I think 2 drinks, and most nights go to bed around 11), and I've loved my Carnival cruises. It is totally your choice never to go on one, but you really shouldn't judge it so negatively when you have no experience with it.

[ISABELLA]

Sorry you guys don't like my opinion but it is just that. I don't feel like my experience last week on the Constellation was better than my recent experiences on Carnival.

 

Maybe it was a bad day for Celebrity I'm not sure.

 

 

Lot's of misinformation on dress codes and so forth flying around on this board though. Constellation was every bit as lax in that area as Carnival.

 

We've tried Carnival ones last year:

Here is my comparison:

ALL food ( except paid restaurants) was school cafeteria quality, mostly barely warm, what is has to hot. Bread was wrmed up, previously frozen.

Desserts testes like store bought. Service was OK, not great.

That was our last time on Carnival.

[BubMunkeyBles]

Interesting. I've read the bed comment in quite a few reviews comparing Carnival to other lines. Food itself is pretty subjective, everyone has different tastes.

[vermonter16]

OP - I posted this on the other thread on the Carnival board but thought I'd post here too. I appreciated your review and agree with many of your points. DH and I choose to cruise Celebrity because we believe it is more laid back, drink package, and best of all, the space ratio to people.

 

I too think that Carnival is excellent when it comes to food, etc. I agree that the dress is pretty much the same in the Carnival MDR as it is in the Celebrity MDR. And service on both lines has been excellent.

 

If I was cruising with kids, I'd probably go with a larger RCL ship...the Dream to me just felt overcrowded. However, I did appreciate the Glory, the Miracle, and the Pride.

[AlbertaCruisers]

I think the thing to keep in mind is it was an "honest" review of the OP's opinion. We just sailed Carnival in January and really unless there are very extraneous circumstances that we can't control (such as all of our family going on Carnival and we don't have the choice) I would choose RCI and Celebrity every time over Carnival (even if the price on Carnival was significantly cheaper). If you look and watch prices, the prices aren't that much better and we found that RCI and Celebrity are better (in our opinion, for our cruising style) in every way over Carnival. Even if the price on Carnival was significantly cheaper, I would look to NCL before Carnival. We found the food and service terrible on Carnival. The best part of Carnival was the comedy club, but that in no way made up for all of the shortfalls! I'm so excited to get back onto Celebrity in 12 days! It was funny, we had good memories from Carnival back in 2007 (we used to sail Carnival exclusively), and we were really looking forward to the Legend, but either or expectations have changed or Carnival has gone downhill.

 

Don't get me wrong, there is no such thing as a bad cruise, and we went with great friends, so we had a great time. I just would rather spend my money on a RCI or Celebrity cruise!

 

It may also matter if you have kids, which we don't, but I think RCI would be great for kids.

 

Sue

[Cruising89143]

I think the thing to keep in mind is it was an "honest" review of the OP's opinion. We just sailed Carnival in January and really unless there are very extraneous circumstances that we can't control (such as all of our family going on Carnival and we don't have the choice) I would choose RCI and Celebrity every time over Carnival (even if the price on Carnival was significantly cheaper). If you look and watch prices, the prices aren't that much better and we found that RCI and Celebrity are better (in our opinion, for our cruising style) in every way over Carnival. Even if the price on Carnival was significantly cheaper, I would look to NCL before Carnival. We found the food and service terrible on Carnival. The best part of Carnival was the comedy club, but that in no way made up for all of the shortfalls! I'm so excited to get back onto Celebrity in 12 days! It was funny, we had good memories from Carnival back in 2007 (we used to sail Carnival exclusively), and we were really looking forward to the Legend, but either or expectations have changed or Carnival has gone downhill.

 

Don't get me wrong, there is no such thing as a bad cruise, and we went with great friends, so we had a great time. I just would rather spend my money on a RCI or Celebrity cruise!

 

It may also matter if you have kids, which we don't, but I think RCI would be great for kids.

 

Sue

 

What I placed in bold is a very important piece. Each of us have different cruising likes and dislikes. A person has to find which line(s) meet those needs.

[AlbertaCruisers]

What I placed in bold is a very important piece. Each of us have different cruising likes and dislikes. A person has to find which line(s) meet those needs.

 

Agreed, that is my point. The OP "honest" review is the OP's opinion and the above is mine.

[Cruising89143]

Agreed, that is my point. The OP "honest" review OP's opinion and the above is mine.

 

Agree.:)

[Hartlepool]

According to an honest comparison of the two -

 

And my, I never knew those on X get drunk!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1814635

You must have a wonderful sense of humour to suggest that Carnival "has the edge" over Celebrity. Simply, Celebrity is a class act and Carnival is not. Hope you are not offended!!

[vermonter16]

You must have a wonderful sense of humour to suggest that Carnival "has the edge" over Celebrity. Simply, Celebrity is a class act and Carnival is not. Hope you are not offended!!

 

It is one thing to say that and it can totally be your opinion...however, if you don't provide criteria that you were basing it on to back up the opinion, it doesn't help others who may be trying to decide which line they'd like to sail on.

[Hartlepool]

It is one thing to say that and it can totally be your opinion...however, if you don't provide criteria that you were basing it on to back up the opinion, it doesn't help others who may be trying to decide which line they'd like to sail on.

 

Quite simply, my wife and I have been cruising for nearly 20 years and have sailed with most cruise lines. The last 3 cruises have been with Celebrity (2 on Constellation and 1 on Silhouette), and we are booked on Eclipse in September 2013. All have been outstanding. I respectfully suggest that we have had enough cruising experience to make a considered judgement when comparing cruise lines. Hope that this clarifies the situation.

[OCruisers]

Noleswin posted HIS honest opinion of how HE felt. That's always appreciated.

 

No way do I feel Celebrity is a notch down from Carnival in any way ... but that's my opinion, not HIS.

 

Note to any considering taking children on a Celebrity cruise: My daughter's family find X to be the best fit for them. They've always thought the children's programs were great. My granddaughts are now in their teens and they will tell you in a heart beat that Celebrity is still their favorite cruise line. :)

 

LuLu

~~~~

[noleswin]

Quite simply, my wife and I have been cruising for nearly 20 years and have sailed with most cruise lines. The last 3 cruises have been with Celebrity (2 on Constellation and 1 on Silhouette), and we are booked on Eclipse in September 2013. All have been outstanding. I respectfully suggest that we have had enough cruising experience to make a considered judgement when comparing cruise lines. Hope that this clarifies the situation.

 

Once again I can understand if your taste or experience is different than mine. But it does not at all change my views on the two lines. And that is my views. No where in my review did I bash Celebrity. They have a product that is different than I was expecting and I found it to be similar in a lot of ways. Better in some and less appealing to me in areas that mean more to me.

 

And if this is your justification as to why One line is a class act and the other is not I will one up you. My wife and I have been cruising for 22 years so my opinion has to be more right than yours. LOL seriously.

[Xcitdcruiser]

For whatever reason the OP of this thread had a need to post it here. Perhaps I'm in the minority, but it would never enter my mind to go see what is being posted over on the Carnival forum

 

Here is a fact, the 2 Cs, Carnival and Celebrity don't attract the same client base, never have and probably never will. The OP of this thread seems to wanted to stir the pot for X cruises to dis Carnival cruisers. Not my cup of tea;):p

 

My sentiments exactly, Oville! No need to do that.

 

As per my previous post, no stirring here. This board has been very helpful to me. I've seen various X cruisers who have posted such comparions (good & bad w various lines) on the Celebrity board for those who want to read it. Some are 'controversial' others are not. This is a different perspective to Celebrity.

 

I understand that you may not venture other boards but I was actually reading a review of a port of call which was linked to the Carnival board. Seeing as I've chosen to sail on Celebrity, it's title in the top thread naturally had my attention drawn to it. So i read it. And re-posted. There is no need to do that. But I could say that there is no need to comment either. But i won't.

[shipshape sam]

Once again I can understand if your taste or experience is different than mine. But it does not at all change my views on the two lines. And that is my views. No where in my review did I bash Celebrity. They have a product that is different than I was expecting and I found it to be similar in a lot of ways. Better in some and less appealing to me in areas that mean more to me.

 

And if this is your justification as to why One line is a class act and the other is not I will one up you. My wife and I have been cruising for 22 years so my opinion has to be more right than yours. LOL seriously.

 

You are fighting a non winnable battle. Just sail Carnival in future.

 

I have sailed Carnival 3 times and would not sail Carnival again, but as you say that is my opinion and it is based on a number of factors that result in my view, not others. I once mention sailing Carnival to try out the beer they have. I forget the name, but I was eaten alive as to WHY would anyone choose a ship based on a beer. IT was not my only reason, but I realize I did not need nor want to convince them of the merits. :)

[gimletgal]

Honestly, folks. Does anyone really care??? So Harry likes Carnival....Sally likes Celebrity. What difference does it make? Hopefully we all choose to cruise with the line that best fits our needs. So maybe we make a mistake now and then. Life's too short to fret over the differences. I sometimes think we take ourselves too seriously! :)

[JDSTURTZ]

The biggest difference between the two is that Celebrity has not sunk a ship or left three shiploads of people stranded in the last 18 months.:o

[ICANTWAITTOCRUISE]

I'm chuckling over the fact that we have cruised on 3 lines other than Celebrity in the past few years, and loved them all, yet what made us choose Celebrity this time was the beverage promotion. Laughing because it seems that many think Celebrity is more low key regarding alcohol yet that was definitely the dealbreaker for us (we had planned on Epic). Now that we have learned so much about Celebrity by reading these forums, we are thinking that we may really see a difference, even though we loved all the others.

[WpgCruise]

Honestly, folks. Does anyone really care??? So Harry likes Carnival....Sally likes Celebrity. What difference does it make? Hopefully we all choose to cruise with the line that best fits our needs. So maybe we make a mistake now and then. Life's too short to fret over the differences. I sometimes think we take ourselves too seriously! :)

 

Very well said.

[DebbieMacG]

I wouldn't sail Carnival if it was free! Why? Because of the maintainence issues :eek: I don't care whether anyone says its better or worse for food, service, cabins, entertainment, none of that matters and its all subjective when you have several ships all having major issues within a short timeframe it's shows something is very wrong :(