Tell me about celebrity please

[Cruisegirl6]

Hello,

 

I have made a few posts on here regarding Celebrity Cruises, I am a very experienced cruiser only haven't sailed on Celebrity yet and we are very close to booking our first cruise tomorrow with Celebrity.

 

My other half and I are debating princess or celebrity and he mentioned I should ask this board a few questions to enable us choose the right cruise line for us for our family cruise next year.

 

Why do you like celebrity, what does celebrity offer you that keeps you coming back?

 

About us:

My other half and I are 51, my father in law will be coming he will be 75, my daughter 22 with her boyfriend who is older, then my brother in law 53 and sister in law 52. My sister in law loves shows, my other half and I and father in law love to listen to live music and we do like to play late in the wee hours in the casino for fun. We normally do stay up late until around 2am and we love good food and service. We don't mind paying for specialty restaurants (our last cruise on the Allure of the Seas two weeks ago we only went to specialty restaurants) if we are getting better variety/quality and selection. Since we are up late, we do like to have a snack and sitting in our cabins for room service to come is out of the question, so hoping for a snack late at night around 12-1am, wondering what they have to offer.

 

We are considering the Silhouette, caribbean cruise on April 12. We aren't sure whether we will have a regular verandah or concierge stateroom, other than the perks is there a difference in the staterooms? We are platinum members on Royal Caribbean and know that RC owns Celebrity.

 

Anything you have to tell us would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

[MicCanberra]

Hello,

 

I have made a few posts on here regarding Celebrity Cruises, I am a very experienced cruiser only haven't sailed on Celebrity yet and we are very close to booking our first cruise tomorrow with Celebrity.

 

My other half and I are debating princess or celebrity and he mentioned I should ask this board a few questions to enable us choose the right cruise line for us for our family cruise next year.

 

Why do you like celebrity, what does celebrity offer you that keeps you coming back?

 

About us:

My other half and I are 51, my father in law will be coming he will be 75, my daughter 22 with her boyfriend who is older, then my brother in law 53 and sister in law 52. My sister in law loves shows, my other half and I and father in law love to listen to live music and we do like to play late in the wee hours in the casino for fun. We normally do stay up late until around 2am and we love good food and service. We don't mind paying for specialty restaurants (our last cruise on the Allure of the Seas two weeks ago we only went to specialty restaurants) if we are getting better variety/quality and selection. Since we are up late, we do like to have a snack and sitting in our cabins for room service to come is out of the question, so hoping for a snack late at night around 12-1am, wondering what they have to offer.

 

We are considering the Silhouette, caribbean cruise on April 12. We aren't sure whether we will have a regular verandah or concierge stateroom, other than the perks is there a difference in the staterooms? We are platinum members on Royal Caribbean and know that RC owns Celebrity.

 

Anything you have to tell us would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

 

In my experience, if you like Princess, then you will like Celebrity. The balcony rooms on X are larger than on Princess, the demographic on the cruises I have done are younger (not by much) on X and therefore the night life is more active. I am sure this varies depending on itinerary but a Caribbean cruise (I have not done one) would be similar no matter which of the two you are with.

 

I would go on the itinerary and the timing and then the price to select between the two.:D

[4774Papa]

Celebrity is our cruise line of choice. We find the food, service and itineraries to be excellent.

 

Celebrity doesn't harass you trying to sell you photos or extras, like they do on NCL, which we sometimes cruise.

Also, Celebrity cruisers are generally well traveled and great travel mates. The entertainment is good aw well/

[anandaindonesia]

If you like RCI, then you'll like Celebrity. Royal pampers the children in our hearts, but X will treat you as responsible adults who knows what to do when. Really like that the captain only speaks once in the morning, and no more public announcements disturbing your day.

 

Your platinum status will be recognised by Celebrity.

 

Enjoy.

 

 

Sent using Tapatalk. Sorry for typho.

[Minoushka]

I have been on 3Celebrity ships ..Galaxy,Millenium and Silhouette .i have travelled many times on Princess and other companies as well

IMO the guests on Celebrity are more subdued then on Princess ..the ship gets very quiet ...think asleep by 10 pm the latest .The casino is dead most evenings ...i was asked to leave on Galaxy because i was the only one there at 11:30 pm ...duh

Shows are not better on Celebrity

Food is excellent on both .celebriy offers suchi every late afternoon in the buffet ...great the first time boring after a while as little else is offered ...but if you like suchi you will get your fill

Cabins are more similar than different

People on Celebrity are a touch more snotty than on Princess ...sorry but that is what I observed ....

The different musical venues are very nice on Celebrity I enjoyed the Acapela groups

Casino on both ships horrid ...so tight ...i played ..never hit anything ..the only good thing Celebrity does not allow getting funds on your sail card ...glad ....you must have cash ...made me save money .On princess you can get quite a bit ...which appears on your bill ...ouch Stay away from both Casinos big duds ...the only great thing Celebritys is smoke free

Celebrity offers pitchers of water every day ...I appreciate that

Both companies are oK in my books

Choose an itinerary and go for it ...either one is good

I am going on Reflection in fall ....

[C 2 C]

The big difference we have found between Royal and Celebrity is the friendliness of the crew. When we walked through the Oasis and Allure this year, officers were almost invisible and few crew members would bother to greet passengers. On Celebrity you will find officers eating in the buffet and often visible in public areas during the day.

We find the food a bit better on Celebrity but soups are better on Royal.

It has been many years since we have cruised on Princess but our daughter was very disappointed with her cruise out of LA this year.

On every ship you will find a cross section of the people you like or avoid at home.

If one compares the size of the ship to the number of passengers on board, Celebrity offers more space than the other cruise lines.

Edited May 31, 2014 by ~Cruisenut~

[Ma Bell]

I have been on 3Celebrity ships ..Galaxy,Millenium and Silhouette .i have travelled many times on Princess and other companies as well

IMO the guests on Celebrity are more subdued then on Princess ..the ship gets very quiet ...think asleep by 10 pm the latest .The casino is dead most evenings ...i was asked to leave on Galaxy because i was the only one there at 11:30 pm ...duh

Shows are not better on Celebrity

Food is excellent on both .celebriy offers suchi every late afternoon in the buffet ...great the first time boring after a while as little else is offered ...but if you like suchi you will get your fill

Cabins are more similar than different

People on Celebrity are a touch more snotty than on Princess ...sorry but that is what I observed ....

The different musical venues are very nice on Celebrity I enjoyed the Acapela groups

Casino on both ships horrid ...so tight ...i played ..never hit anything ..the only good thing Celebrity does not allow getting funds on your sail card ...glad ....you must have cash ...made me save money .On princess you can get quite a bit ...which appears on your bill ...ouch Stay away from both Casinos big duds ...the only great thing Celebritys is smoke free

Celebrity offers pitchers of water every day ...I appreciate that

Both companies are oK in my books

Choose an itinerary and go for it ...either one is good

I am going on Reflection in fall ....

 

It must be a while since you were on a Celebrity ship. There are no water pitchers in cabins any more! you need too ask. No more Acapella either.

 

You most certainly can get cash on your cruise card but it will have a 5 percent surcharge. Unless the casino is very busy, which is unlikely, they will close between midnight and one.

 

The ship is not dead by 10 but certainly by midnight.

[Cruisegirl6]

You guys are great hoping to hear from others as I still am in limbo on what to decide.

 

I don't like the fact that somebody here was kicked out of the casino at 11:30pm, has this happened to anybody else on Celebrity?

 

I like to have a snack, not wait for room service to come, and able to get maybe some type of finger food (finger sandwich, fruit, salad, cheese, etc) to nibble on as we may have to do early seating for dinner since two people in the family need to eat before taking medication.

 

I am hoping that there be lively music being played somewhere on this ship even until 1am in the morning does Celebrity offer this and if so where, perhaps in the sky lounge?

 

Another question is my other half and father in law on RC ships change from pants to shorts after dinner, do some people wear shorts at night speaking about men (I never do)?

Edited May 31, 2014 by lyndamr

[wallie5446]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2049924

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2049157

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2049166

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2048944

 

These threads should be of some help too.

[Lois R]

You guys are great hoping to hear from others as I still am in limbo on what to decide.

 

I don't like the fact that somebody here was kicked out of the casino at 11:30pm, has this happened to anybody else on Celebrity?

 

I like to have a snack, not wait for room service to come, and able to get maybe some type of finger food (finger sandwich, fruit, salad, cheese, etc) to nibble on as we may have to do early seating for dinner since two people in the family need to eat before taking medication.

 

I am hoping that there be lively music being played somewhere on this ship even until 1am in the morning does Celebrity offer this and if so where, perhaps in the sky lounge?

 

Another question is my other half and father in law on RC ships change from pants to shorts after dinner, do some people wear shorts at night speaking about men (I never do)?

 

 

Hi....will answer some of your food questions....late night food?

1) If Cafe Bacio is busy, they serve sweets, no savories and they

may have some still be being served but usually by 1 they are closing.

 

2) Bistro on 5 serves crepes (you can get a dessert crepe there) and

they usually have later hours....this is a pay venue.

 

3) Pizza is served in the buffet until about 1 am.

 

The finger foods you mentioned are not part of the late night menus.

[ClaudiaB]

This might be long, sorry, hope it won't bore you, but your question was kind of open-ended so here goes:

 

My husband likes to play in the casino later in the evening, often after the late theater show and it depends on each individual cruise and passenger mix whether the casino is "dead" or not. It really does depend. One nice thing about the casino - NO SMOKE! Anywhere. On S class, never has been so there is absolutely no lingering smoke odor. So I'm "free" to watch my husband lose some $$ at the Texas Hold 'Em tournaments. (OK sometimes he does ok ;) )

 

Pretty much every night there are late-night parties at Quasar or up in the Sky Lounge. We seldom go to any as we are early risers. But they're there.

 

The enrichment lecturers are really good - we've enjoyed most of them. We've never been into the trivia contests or dancing contests but my husband does play the ping pong with the officers and other ping pong games. I've done karaoke (not as much fun because I'm a singer and it's more fun to listen to someone who really can't!). We were featured (unwillingly, put up by our two daughters) on the Newlywed Game once. That was back on the Century in 2001 when it was a show before dinner. They pod-cast the entire game all week long on the tvs and we literally couldn't walk around the ports of call without being stopped, or people shaking our hands in the elevators. So we haven't been to one again because well, we just haven't! I hear they're still hilarious though. We were the thoughtful, sober, careful-before-you-answer couple but still embarrassing. Our girls asked for it though so they got to hear what they heard.

 

The entertainment at night seems to be very lounge-driven. Lots of great places to have a drink, talk with passengers and meet new friends and listen to different genres of music. Love the individual acts - the guitar players especially. There are late night comedy shows which are not for kids. But they are basically the same ones repeated over since it's in a smaller venue. Often there will be special afternoon and/or evening concerts by some of the other entertainers who have performed on the big stage. Sometimes it's the cruise director or one of the Celebrity singers. Or a special show by a magician. We like to attend these smaller shows.

 

We like the adult treatment at the pool. There is no need to sign in and out for a towel. You just take a towel and then return it to the bin on your way out. The night before port there will be beach towels delivered to your stateroom. When you leave them on the floor afterwards they will deliver two new ones to you.

On the Lawn Club some evenings there will be wine and cheese and music. It's lovely.

 

I think your dad will be fine changing into shorts after dinner although most people stay in their dinner clothes. Supposedly you can't wear shorts into the main theatre shows at night - must be "smart casual and above" but I don't remember seeing anyone turned away. YMMV.

 

We like that there are always many places to get away from people and relax and view the ocean, read a book. One of my favorites is the small room at the very front of the ship within the Spa area. It's got comfy loungers right in front of the windows and there is fresh coffee, ice water with citrus slices - it's called the Relaxation Room. I can stay there for hours. The spa staff uses it as a kind of waiting room. They speak in whispers when they're in there and there is soft beautiful music playing. This isn't the Persian Gardens which is the heated loungers. That's nice too, but this is my favorite. I bring cross stitching in there and can stitch away three hours in a heartbeat, watching the ship sail. We cruise to relax and this is definitely IT. I don't cruise to go from one activity to the next to the next - that's my daily life.

 

I love that there aren't ship's crew members walking around encouraging me to join in some game. I like that there aren't loud speaker announcements. I like that I can read the printed daily and make my own decisions about what to do or not to do and not be reminded about it. I love no smoking anywhere inside the ship or on the balconies and only in a couple small areas outside. I know where to avoid it and honestly there aren't a lot of smokers on Celebrity <---- for some not a big deal but for me yes.

 

There is a set up on one end of the buffet in the afternoons - tea time. It's self-serve, so definitely high tea, but nice little sandwiches, pick me ups, etc. If you're in a suite, your butler will bring around a cart to your cabin and you can select there. Same basic stuff except he will also make special coffee or tea for you as well. (we typically stay in a sky suite and love this feature). There is sushi up there following the tea time. We aren't sushi people but we've passed by and it seems to be quite popular.

 

I love the ice cream up at the buffet. Pretty much all day. As much as I have to sadly admit a chocolate fudge full fat piled high with M&Ms is my dream come true, I prefer the wonderful sugar free/fat free sorbets like passionfruit and mango. So good and not something I can get elsewhere. There is sometimes a line for ice cream 10 people deep, but it's all good. Where are you going, you're on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean! Some get a small cup of M&Ms for the cabin. Tempting and I know people have done that, but I guess I don't need all that. But it's fine, they will fill up a big old cup of them for you every day if that's your thing! Once I got behind a line of kids coming out of the kids' program with their chaperones. They were each getting ice cream and specially ordering each one, slowly going over all the candy topping choices - because of course that's really what they all wanted. It was so cute. Slow waiting but so cute. A couple of the adults behind me were very impatient but I paid them no mind - there are always impatient people. They were too busy fussing because the kids were taking a longer time, and missing out on how adorable they were with cups filled to the brim with sprinkles and what not and happy happy faces. And I smiled, knowing that those kids would have a killer sugar high in about 20 minutes and the chaperones were ok with that too!!

 

There is no self-service laundry and you can't bring on irons. I've heard that's a deal-breaker for some. Oh my goodness. Please don't let it be! It's just clothes! Hang things out in a steamy shower and remember everyone else is in the same boat ha ha. They will do it for you for a fee, and if you have reached elite status you'll get a free bag of laundry EACH as one of your perks. I typically hand wash some things. When you get on board if you need more hangers (we always do and we still double hang and we don't overpack), just ask the attendant. No problem.

 

We love the exercise machines looking out onto the water. We try and go every sea day - in the morning - before breakfast early. Some days we have a late breakfast and --horrors-- skip lunch! I know, can you believe it, skipping an entire meal on a cruise ship! Sometimes we just like a good old burger at the Mast Grill. I like the grilled salmon at the Aqua Spa Cafe. For awhile they had stopped grilling there but I hear it's back... I go and get some plain spinach leaves or lettuce at the buffet and a dressing and then put that with my Aqua Spa grilled salmon. Perfect. (or wherever they're grilling. Ask. They'll get you some grilled salmon)

 

Concierge perks aren't that big a deal and probably not worth it unless the location on the ship is important. We have stayed in concierge on S class and the nicer tote bag, flowers and a couple pieces of fruit isn't worth the sometimes hundreds of $$ up charge. Rooms are the exact same size. We book either Aqua Class or Sky Suite 1 because we like the corner aft location and we like eating in Blu instead of the main dining room.

 

We love to get room service on mornings when we're going into port, to save going back and forth. We've never had an issue getting anything from room service, and if it's not on the particular printed menu we just write it in if it's a normal type item.

 

This might be just us, but we prefer the specialty restaurants to the main dining room on formal nights. Just seems more special. One nice thing: if you don't WANT to dress formally or even semi-formally, you don't have to in the specialties.

 

The Martini Bar is fun - it's a large oval shaped ice covered bar and the bartenders there are straight out of "Cocktail." The ambiance there is lively starting about 5 p.m. or so, well into late in the evening. We may or may not have spent a lot of time there:D:D and we never have a drink package so it's all on our own dollar!

 

Anything else? Just ask - and of course you know that the complainers here lately have been most vocal and have monopolized this board. Seems to correlate to the recent changes such as upcoming suite perks, new captain's club point system, and changes in drink package menus. On board you will be with the other 90% who haven't ever been on CC and who are having a fabulous time.

X is our line of choice. Hope you have a great time!!!

[ClaudiaB]

Rereading your original post, I would guess your best bet for finger sandwiches and pick ups around 3-4 ish would be the tea time part of the buffet. If that's too early, go at the end or talk to some of the wait staff and have them fix you what you want. After day 1 it will likely be waiting for you. A couple dollars tip, handed out here and there for extra good service and help, goes a long long way! Cafe' Bacio is more centrally located and of course they always have food there. You can also just grab one of their fabulous homemade cookies when you pass by. Oatmeal raisin and black/white cookies are wonderful.

Some of the bars have olives and chips. Or peanuts. Your dietary/medicine needs are easy. They do this for a living. That's an easy one. They will work with you on anything you need.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

If you are traveling with a 75 year old, the most important thing will be booking cabins that are midship- so that there is less walking. I wouldn't book Concierge unless you like afternoon snacks- brought to your stateroom. Otherwise I don't see much of a benefit- other than express check-in and thicker robes in the room.

 

There is pasta and pizza available in the buffet late night and snacks passed out in the lounges late night and at Cafe Bacio. Bistro on Five is open until midnight I believe (they seem to have changed the time from 8 AM- midnight)

 

Princess has more entertainment IMO but Celebrity has better service. I think you would have fun on either line. Celebrity is more contemporary and Princess is more traditional.

[drychi]

Just wanted to say I agree with the comment posted by ClaudiaB. Well stated!

[kevinyork]

This might be long, sorry, hope it won't bore you, but your question was kind of open-ended so here goes:

 

 

 

My husband likes to play in the casino later in the evening, often after the late theater show and it depends on each individual cruise and passenger mix whether the casino is "dead" or not. It really does depend. One nice thing about the casino - NO SMOKE! Anywhere. On S class, never has been so there is absolutely no lingering smoke odor. So I'm "free" to watch my husband lose some $$ at the Texas Hold 'Em tournaments. (OK sometimes he does ok ;) )

 

 

 

Pretty much every night there are late-night parties at Quasar or up in the Sky Lounge. We seldom go to any as we are early risers. But they're there.

 

 

 

The enrichment lecturers are really good - we've enjoyed most of them. We've never been into the trivia contests or dancing contests but my husband does play the ping pong with the officers and other ping pong games. I've done karaoke (not as much fun because I'm a singer and it's more fun to listen to someone who really can't!). We were featured (unwillingly, put up by our two daughters) on the Newlywed Game once. That was back on the Century in 2001 when it was a show before dinner. They pod-cast the entire game all week long on the tvs and we literally couldn't walk around the ports of call without being stopped, or people shaking our hands in the elevators. So we haven't been to one again because well, we just haven't! I hear they're still hilarious though. We were the thoughtful, sober, careful-before-you-answer couple but still embarrassing. Our girls asked for it though so they got to hear what they heard.

 

 

 

The entertainment at night seems to be very lounge-driven. Lots of great places to have a drink, talk with passengers and meet new friends and listen to different genres of music. Love the individual acts - the guitar players especially. There are late night comedy shows which are not for kids. But they are basically the same ones repeated over since it's in a smaller venue. Often there will be special afternoon and/or evening concerts by some of the other entertainers who have performed on the big stage. Sometimes it's the cruise director or one of the Celebrity singers. Or a special show by a magician. We like to attend these smaller shows.

 

 

 

We like the adult treatment at the pool. There is no need to sign in and out for a towel. You just take a towel and then return it to the bin on your way out. The night before port there will be beach towels delivered to your stateroom. When you leave them on the floor afterwards they will deliver two new ones to you.

 

On the Lawn Club some evenings there will be wine and cheese and music. It's lovely.

 

 

 

I think your dad will be fine changing into shorts after dinner although most people stay in their dinner clothes. Supposedly you can't wear shorts into the main theatre shows at night - must be "smart casual and above" but I don't remember seeing anyone turned away. YMMV.

 

 

 

We like that there are always many places to get away from people and relax and view the ocean, read a book. One of my favorites is the small room at the very front of the ship within the Spa area. It's got comfy loungers right in front of the windows and there is fresh coffee, ice water with citrus slices - it's called the Relaxation Room. I can stay there for hours. The spa staff uses it as a kind of waiting room. They speak in whispers when they're in there and there is soft beautiful music playing. This isn't the Persian Gardens which is the heated loungers. That's nice too, but this is my favorite. I bring cross stitching in there and can stitch away three hours in a heartbeat, watching the ship sail. We cruise to relax and this is definitely IT. I don't cruise to go from one activity to the next to the next - that's my daily life.

 

 

 

I love that there aren't ship's crew members walking around encouraging me to join in some game. I like that there aren't loud speaker announcements. I like that I can read the printed daily and make my own decisions about what to do or not to do and not be reminded about it. I love no smoking anywhere inside the ship or on the balconies and only in a couple small areas outside. I know where to avoid it and honestly there aren't a lot of smokers on Celebrity <---- for some not a big deal but for me yes.

 

 

 

There is a set up on one end of the buffet in the afternoons - tea time. It's self-serve, so definitely high tea, but nice little sandwiches, pick me ups, etc. If you're in a suite, your butler will bring around a cart to your cabin and you can select there. Same basic stuff except he will also make special coffee or tea for you as well. (we typically stay in a sky suite and love this feature). There is sushi up there following the tea time. We aren't sushi people but we've passed by and it seems to be quite popular.

 

 

 

I love the ice cream up at the buffet. Pretty much all day. As much as I have to sadly admit a chocolate fudge full fat piled high with M&Ms is my dream come true, I prefer the wonderful sugar free/fat free sorbets like passionfruit and mango. So good and not something I can get elsewhere. There is sometimes a line for ice cream 10 people deep, but it's all good. Where are you going, you're on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean! Some get a small cup of M&Ms for the cabin. Tempting and I know people have done that, but I guess I don't need all that. But it's fine, they will fill up a big old cup of them for you every day if that's your thing! Once I got behind a line of kids coming out of the kids' program with their chaperones. They were each getting ice cream and specially ordering each one, slowly going over all the candy topping choices - because of course that's really what they all wanted. It was so cute. Slow waiting but so cute. A couple of the adults behind me were very impatient but I paid them no mind - there are always impatient people. They were too busy fussing because the kids were taking a longer time, and missing out on how adorable they were with cups filled to the brim with sprinkles and what not and happy happy faces. And I smiled, knowing that those kids would have a killer sugar high in about 20 minutes and the chaperones were ok with that too!!

 

 

 

There is no self-service laundry and you can't bring on irons. I've heard that's a deal-breaker for some. Oh my goodness. Please don't let it be! It's just clothes! Hang things out in a steamy shower and remember everyone else is in the same boat ha ha. They will do it for you for a fee, and if you have reached elite status you'll get a free bag of laundry EACH as one of your perks. I typically hand wash some things. When you get on board if you need more hangers (we always do and we still double hang and we don't overpack), just ask the attendant. No problem.

 

 

 

We love the exercise machines looking out onto the water. We try and go every sea day - in the morning - before breakfast early. Some days we have a late breakfast and --horrors-- skip lunch! I know, can you believe it, skipping an entire meal on a cruise ship! Sometimes we just like a good old burger at the Mast Grill. I like the grilled salmon at the Aqua Spa Cafe. For awhile they had stopped grilling there but I hear it's back... I go and get some plain spinach leaves or lettuce at the buffet and a dressing and then put that with my Aqua Spa grilled salmon. Perfect. (or wherever they're grilling. Ask. They'll get you some grilled salmon)

 

 

 

Concierge perks aren't that big a deal and probably not worth it unless the location on the ship is important. We have stayed in concierge on S class and the nicer tote bag, flowers and a couple pieces of fruit isn't worth the sometimes hundreds of $$ up charge. Rooms are the exact same size. We book either Aqua Class or Sky Suite 1 because we like the corner aft location and we like eating in Blu instead of the main dining room.

 

 

 

We love to get room service on mornings when we're going into port, to save going back and forth. We've never had an issue getting anything from room service, and if it's not on the particular printed menu we just write it in if it's a normal type item.

 

 

 

This might be just us, but we prefer the specialty restaurants to the main dining room on formal nights. Just seems more special. One nice thing: if you don't WANT to dress formally or even semi-formally, you don't have to in the specialties.

 

 

 

The Martini Bar is fun - it's a large oval shaped ice covered bar and the bartenders there are straight out of "Cocktail." The ambiance there is lively starting about 5 p.m. or so, well into late in the evening. We may or may not have spent a lot of time there:D:D and we never have a drink package so it's all on our own dollar!

 

 

 

Anything else? Just ask - and of course you know that the complainers here lately have been most vocal and have monopolized this board. Seems to correlate to the recent changes such as upcoming suite perks, new captain's club point system, and changes in drink package menus. On board you will be with the other 90% who haven't ever been on CC and who are having a fabulous time.

 

X is our line of choice. Hope you have a great time!!!

 

 

What a great summary. Really informative.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Cruisegirl6]

You all been great and Kevin great!!

 

I forgot to mention, I have to be both gluten and dairy free...cookies, pastries are out, so if I can get a finger sandwich I just eat the meat...how is Celebrity with providing special dietary needs when it comes to food items?

[ClaudiaB]

As with most mass tourist products (cruise lines, Disney, etc. etc.) who serve thousands and thousands a DAY, you don't have to worry about dietary restrictions. You won't be the first Celiac or dairy-free or nut-allergy person. Meet with the maitre d' when you get on board and I promise they already have a plan. Somewhere in your cruise documents online there is something about special needs I believe. They'll show you what is good on your diet and what they can do, and often prepare you 24 hr. in advance. This isn't their first rodeo, no worries.

We experienced how well this can happen - not on a cruise line - but at Disney World in March. We took our daughter and husband and two grandsons there for 8 days of fun and crazy. My daughter has Celiac's. Every single place, from the smallest cafe' to the most elaborate restaurant, sent out a chef (usually the head chef) to the table and walked her through everything and made special items. It was so freeing.

[TLCOhio]

Lots of good info and background from these various posts. Below are links to two live/blog with lots of pictures from what we did on our two cruises on the Solstice. These ships are very classy with many, many different options. Nothing is always perfect for every taste. BUT, the variety of potentials has worked well of us and friends who have traveled with us. Fortunately, Celebrity is offering a wide range of options for Europe, Australia-NZ and other parts of the world. Try Celebrity for the Carib and then be ready to try other great parts of the world on their ships.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity 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 nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 172,807 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

 

Back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and lots of wonderful pictures on these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 59,488 views for this fun posting.

[wallie5446]

You all been great and Kevin great!!

 

I forgot to mention, I have to be both gluten and dairy free...cookies, pastries are out, so if I can get a finger sandwich I just eat the meat...how is Celebrity with providing special dietary needs when it comes to food items?

 

My wife has Celiac and will be ill in minutes, even from cross contamination. Area's of her stomach are already eaten away. The gluton free pizza on Celebrity was better than the regular pizza! The staff did a wonderful job taking care of her last Nov.

 

Go to the 'Special needs' section, http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard/tabLanding.do?pagename=onboard_special_needs&cS=Footer&ICID=Cel_10Q4_web_hp_ftr_accessibility

Then down load the 'Special needs form' http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard/specialNeedsForm.do

fill it out, and fax it in. They will put the notation on the booking. On our galley tour we were shown the 'clean' area in the kitchen. Again, they do a great job.

Edited May 31, 2014 by wallie5446

[Cruisegirl6]

Thank you to both of you who just answered after my last post.

 

I am sorry to hear Wallie that your wife has damage and so glad to hear that celebrity accommodated her by having a gluten free pizza, this is great news.

 

I still haven't booked yet but will within the next handful of days, just trying to gather the families requests for deck and cabin categories they want.

[wallie5446]

Thank you to both of you who just answered after my last post.

 

I am sorry to hear Wallie that your wife has damage and so glad to hear that celebrity accommodated her by having a gluten free pizza, this is great news.

 

I still haven't booked yet but will within the next handful of days, just trying to gather the families requests for deck and cabin categories they want.

 

That is just the tip of the ice berg! They have gluten free pasta that is boiled in it's own water to order. Gluten free breads that are a lot better than the cardboard tasting stuff found in most stores, and deserts that almost brought tears to her eyes! We thought the staff on the RCCL Freedom was wonderful till we met the chef's on Reflection!

[Cruisegirl6]

Well, happy happy joy joy lol

[need2bespoiled]

You guys are great hoping to hear from others as I still am in limbo on what to decide.

 

I don't like the fact that somebody here was kicked out of the casino at 11:30pm, has this happened to anybody else on Celebrity?

 

I like to have a snack, not wait for room service to come, and able to get maybe some type of finger food (finger sandwich, fruit, salad, cheese, etc) to nibble on as we may have to do early seating for dinner since two people in the family need to eat before taking medication.

 

I am hoping that there be lively music being played somewhere on this ship even until 1am in the morning does Celebrity offer this and if so where, perhaps in the sky lounge?

 

Another question is my other half and father in law on RC ships change from pants to shorts after dinner, do some people wear shorts at night speaking about men (I never do)?

 

I don't think you'll have a problem with th slots, but if you play table games, they will eventually ask you to leave. For me, once that happened at 1am but I was the last one there. I was winning for a while, but getting sleepy so I was ok to leave. Late night food may be a bit tough, as not many really know, as not many are up!

 

You might be able to go to a bar like the Martini bar and order room service to there, I've never tried it.

 

I haven't seen any live entertainment scheduled past 11 or 11:30, when things switch over to DJs but on all of our sailings, the DJ or Night Club has been pretty quite on Celebrity, not just late, but always. The "parties" are busy but don't usually last too long past the scheduled time.

 

Look for the Celebrity Today "dallies" that some have posted. While each day, ship and itinerary is a bit different, they are more alike then different and it will give you a good idea of how late into the night things are scheduled and open. Recently there was a posting of all of the Dallies from the Summit to Bermuda which would give you a good sample of a 7 day cruise.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[catugirl]

DH and I just cruised on Crown Princess in January and had an incredible experience...food, entertainment, service, food and general ambience. Last year we cruised Celebrity Silhouette in Aqua Class, and loved it in every way. In several months we'll be on X Reflection in AQ again. Next year we're sailing on both lines. IMHO, nightlife is livelier on Princess. MDR food is better on Princess, but food in Blu (AQ dining room on Celebrity) was amazing. From these boards, it seems Blu has gotten much more chaotic lately, though. Service is great on both lines. Princess has self-service laundry, but X has very reliable laundry/dry cleaning service for a fee. Cocktails are a little less expensive on Princess (unless you have the Classic Beverage included in your deal on X). Celebrity has more beautiful ships and more spaces you can get away from the crowds. There are more specialty restaurants on X; however, the fees for specialty venues are more expensive on X. On either cruise line, I'd be surprised if you didn't have a great experience. Go with your preferred itinerary and enjoy!

[MicCanberra]

DH and I just cruised on Crown Princess in January and had an incredible experience...food, entertainment, service, food and general ambience. Last year we cruised Celebrity Silhouette in Aqua Class, and loved it in every way. In several months we'll be on X Reflection in AQ again. Next year we're sailing on both lines. IMHO, nightlife is livelier on Princess. MDR food is better on Princess, but food in Blu (AQ dining room on Celebrity) was amazing. From these boards, it seems Blu has gotten much more chaotic lately, though. Service is great on both lines. Princess has self-service laundry, but X has very reliable laundry/dry cleaning service for a fee. Cocktails are a little less expensive on Princess (unless you have the Classic Beverage included in your deal on X). Celebrity has more beautiful ships and more spaces you can get away from the crowds. There are more specialty restaurants on X; however, the fees for specialty venues are more expensive on X. On either cruise line, I'd be surprised if you didn't have a great experience. Go with your preferred itinerary and enjoy!

great summary and good advice.:D