Celebrity FAN (football, that is) Cruises

[macandlucy]

We are booked on the Silhouette for March 15, 2015 and a quick Googling shows that to be a New England Patriot Fans cruise.

 

Let me state categorically that while I am not a football fan myself, I have nothing against New England, the New England Patriots or any of their fans. Or football. Or fans of football. But I am curious about these fan cruises in general and wonder about the vibe on the ship. We chose Celebrity because we were looking for a slightly more sedate experience than Carnival or RCI, and a football fan cruise, at least in my mind, doesn't equal "more sedate".

 

Have any of you awesome Cruise Critics had any experience with these types of cruises? I am wondering about the passengers in general and if the fans themselves tend to make up the larger number of pax or if they are just a small group. Am I going to be dodging footballs in the corridors? Will there be any Seinfeld-style Puddy moments in the buffet? Any info you can share would be most appreciated; I do want to look at it carefully and perhaps select another cruise if it turns out this might not be what we had expected. Thanks everyone!

[cruisingsince94]

Like you, we like Celebrity for the more sedate vibe and more mature clientele. I would have concerns on booking that cruise. I am a big football fan but I go on cruises to relax as much as possible yet still enjoy the activities the cruise offers. I would not expect flying footballs in the hallways but I would think the bar areas and pool areas might get a little rowdy after enough alcohol hits some of them. That being said obnoxious behavior is frowned upon and I would hope people would respect the others on vacation and not allow things to get out of hand.

[macandlucy]

Thanks for your thoughts on that, Cruisingsince94; much appreciated! Cheers

[cruisingsince94]

Thanks for your thoughts on that, Cruisingsince94; much appreciated! Cheers

 

Your welcome. Did some research on that cruise myself and learned as you likely did that this cruise is the start of a partnership with Celebrity and the Patriots so I assume this is going to become a yearly event. That's cool for Patriots fans who want to get together with former players and enjoy a good time on a cruise. It just doesn't work for me to be on that cruise and it sounds like it wouldn't for you either.

[macandlucy]

I did notice that, too. I Googled a bit more and saw that there were two other Celebrity fan cruises earlier this year: one on the Silhouette on Jan 14 and one on the Reflection Feb 1. There are a scant few reviews on those cruises, two or three between them that I have found. So, either a bunch of negative reviews have disappeared, or it was maybe kind of a non event. The reviews I read did not even mention anything about the Toronto Argonauts or the Boston Red Sox. Perhaps the Patriots are a much bigger deal, fan wise? I really do not know. It is a bit of a tough call for me because the timing and itin works out so well, and it's a great deal. Shrug.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on the subject -- they are very helpful to me.

[virginialucy]

There was a Red Sox fan cruise on the Silhouette this year. I think it was the January 12 cruise. I suggest you search for reviews of that cruise or for Red Sox and see what people had to say. I think I remember someone mentioning that they were on that cruise and it wasn't that noticeable. I'm not sure if such a cruise would draw tons of Pats fans...it's not like Tom Brady is going to be there. I don't think it's going to be the tailgate atmosphere you are envisioning. It's not a direct comparison, but on my recent cruise there was a group of bikers. Not a huge group, but enough that you knew they were there (the motorcycles being loaded on/off in port were a dead giveaway.) But it wasn't as if they turned the Ensemble Lounge into a biker bar, or that they were causing mayhem or being obnoxiously drunk. They were dressed much more casually in the evenings than many passengers, but they behaved like everyone else.

[macandlucy]

LOL VirginiaLucy, "tailgate atmosphere" is the perfect term for what I was envisioning! Thank you for this info--it's so helpful. I am off to Google "Red Sox cruise". Cheers

[virginialucy]

Here's a link to the review I read that mentioned the Red Sox cruise:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=41401762&highlight=red+sox#post41401762

 

And this post has the dailies from that cruise which show a handful of baseball-related activities, which were open to everyone:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974967

[macandlucy]

VirginiaLucy, thank you so much for finding those! Wow, that will help me a lot. Much appreciated. :)