Celebrity VS the Fun Ships

[Stateroom_Sailor]

We just got back from Alaska after sailing the Millie last week, and it mostly over exceeded our expectations. I am starting to realize that all of these cruise lines offer a similar value, it just depends on where they splurge and where they cut (and what's important to you!)

 

Celebrity's MDR was fantastic as expected, the ship was relaxing, and the service superb. Unlike rumors I've read, the entertainment doesn't die off at 9PM, nor are the passengers "stuffy". Granted there were a lot of first time cruisers visiting Alaska, but everyone was talkative as soon as someone broke the ice. ;)

 

I really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere on Carnival (in October), the more in-depth conversations on RCL, yet Celebrity provided both of these at the same time. The attention to detail, refreshments when returning to port, and especially the Bistro :D made for a great cruise.

 

On the negative, the Sea Days could have used some more activities. Being in our mid 30's, we were a little out of touch with some of the shows, but it was fun to watch everyone get so animated over the Village People. I preferred the buffet on RCl over Celebrity, and missed Seattle's Best coffee.

 

We're going to remain disloyal cruisers, and get a little of the best from everyone. I like RCL's entertainment, Carnival's value, and many of both of their itineraries. Though when I'm looking for a low key cruise outside the Caribbean, Mexico, and the Mediterranean, Celebrity is my first choice. :)

[Shake]

Hey Thanks, that was refreshing and unique without all the finger pointing you usually find with most reviews.

 

It's good to have choices and with the different major cruise lines you can easily change it up. Intimacy (only with my wife) is not my calling, give me variety all day and night. :cool:

Edited September 7, 2014 by Shake

[Celebrity Cruises]

Great review, thank you for sharing!

Edited September 7, 2014 by Celebrity Cruises

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

What, Celebrity is not a fun ship? I always have fun on my Celebrity cruises.

 

[Stateroom_Sailor]

What, Celebrity is not a fun ship? I always have fun on my Celebrity cruises.

 

 

Oh no, you're going to get the complaining started about the loud music and how they're gearing towards younger people! :eek:

[Shake]

Oh no, you're going to get the complaining started about the loud music and how they're gearing towards younger people! :eek:

 

+1.

 

Modern Celebrity is about change.

[CaroleSS]

As with everything else, you need to take YOUR needs/wants into consideration. Some people poo-poo something without ever trying it.

 

We've had positive experiences on Carnival, Holland, RCCL and Celebrity. Each has it's pros and cons. Which you choose is determined by what you want to get out of your vacation.

 

The one thing that really distresses me is the "EVERY (blah blah) cruise is (fill in the blank)". SOOOOO not true. Each sized ship, each itinerary and each time of the year has it's own feel.....try it, you might like it!!!

 

Thank you for your honest review. It was quite refreshing to see!!!!

[Antonintassie]

Hi

 

Great review as someone who is about to go on our second cruise and first with celebrity this was a great insight into who does what

[hcat]

One comment to OP...we originally went back and forth with Royal and Celeb and even tried Cunard but realized we would not hit loyalty levels on either by bouncing around...so we stuck with X for quite awhile..and when we hit Elite we were happy to get reciprocal perks on Royal.

 

if reaching any loyalty levels is a consideration, you may want to stick with one line for awhile..glad we mostly cruise X but happy to be reciprocal Diamond on Royal !

 

glad you enjoyed your cruise!

[2theship]

if reaching any loyalty levels is a consideration, you may want to stick with one line for awhile..glad we mostly cruise X but happy to be reciprocal Diamond on Royal !

 

Excellent point! When we started cruising, we were confined by school, camp and work schedules and chose sailings based on itinerary/availability. Perhaps if we had looked a little harder, we could have managed our loyalty points better. By now we've managed to make Elite on Celebrity and Platinum on Princess but we might have gotten further sooner if we had taken that into consideration.

[miched]

We sailed many times on Carnival, Princess, RCCL, HAL and Celebrity. We will sail all of them for the various features that they offer. I don't think that it serves anyone's or everyone's best interest if they all try to be the same and try to please everyone's likes, wants or desires.

 

I like the variety and differences between cruises lines. If they were all the same it would get to be boring and eventually i think everyone would end up being unhappy with the cruise market.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[fleckle]

......We've had positive experiences on Carnival, Holland, RCCL and Celebrity. Each has it's pros and cons. Which you choose is determined by what you want to get out of your vacation.!

The same for us, as we have also enjoyed cruises on all the cruise lines you mentioned.

 

We had avoided Carnival for years due to all the Carnival bashing.

When we finally decided to take our first Carnival cruse, only because it had an itinerary we wanted that nobody else was offering at the time, we were pleasantly surprised and had a very nice cruise at a great price.

 

But each time we cruised on Carnival, it was a longer cruise at a time when school was in session, so the ship was not crowded and there were very few children on board.

 

We avoid the short, party cruises and much to our surprise, although we have occasionally seen some inebriated passengers on Celebrity, our favorite cruise line, we saw none at all on our Carnival cruises.

(But in fairness, I should state that we cruise much more with Celebrity than with Carnival.)

 

Edited September 7, 2014 by fleckle

[need2bespoiled]

I would only add, that each cruise has a different vibe, even on the same ship, it can vary greatly from sailing to sailing based on:

 

- Demographics of guests

- Staff

- Itinerary (which impacts both the demographics and desire to do things besides port things)

- Length of cruise

- Ship

- Time of year weather

 

And many, many more.

 

A holiday cruise on Celebrity will be much "busier" and less laid back than a med cruise on Carnival in the fall (do they do those?) or one of their other longer itineraries that has few children.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[OCruisers]

On the negative, the Sea Days could have used some more activities.

 

Thanks for your review! Agree, Celebrity provides a very good cruise experience. :)

Also agree the one area Celebrity improve would be offering more activities on Sea Days.

LuLu

[Shake]

Thanks for your review! Agree, Celebrity provides a very good cruise experience. :)

Also agree the one area Celebrity improve would be offering more activities on Sea Days.

LuLu

 

Yes the current Celebrity is doing it just right. OC........You said it.

 

What would you suggest that Celebrity to bring to Sea Days for the Next Level??

[Stateroom_Sailor]

I would only add, that each cruise has a different vibe, even on the same ship, it can vary greatly from sailing to sailing based on:

 

- Demographics of guests

- Staff

- Itinerary (which impacts both the demographics and desire to do things besides port things)

- Length of cruise

- Ship

- Time of year weather

 

And many, many more.

 

A holiday cruise on Celebrity will be much "busier" and less laid back than a med cruise on Carnival in the fall (do they do those?) or one of their other longer itineraries that has few children.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

I agree, which is why I would lean towards Celebrity for Canada/New England (if only they had a repositioning to FL...), the West Coast, Northern Europe, South America. I'm sure the atmosphere would be noticeably different based on the factors you mentioned, but not as much as "fun in the sun".

 

Generally I think Carnival is good value all around, not necessarily shining anywhere compared to RCL or Celebrity, but not letting down either. Loyalists paying a premium for Carnival makes no sense to me. September - 1st week of December has good prices, less children, and a pleasant crowd.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

One comment to OP...we originally went back and forth with Royal and Celeb and even tried Cunard but realized we would not hit loyalty levels on either by bouncing around...so we stuck with X for quite awhile..and when we hit Elite we were happy to get reciprocal perks on Royal.

 

if reaching any loyalty levels is a consideration, you may want to stick with one line for awhile..glad we mostly cruise X but happy to be reciprocal Diamond on Royal !

 

glad you enjoyed your cruise!

 

Loyalty levels are important, but for me personally, switching things up and having more itineraries available are even more important. I hope to offset this a bit by cherry picking sales and buying cruise line stock. We tend to go for promenade, OV and porthole cabins unless a balcony is on sale, so we'll probably reach levels much quicker on RCL than Celebrity. I don't see us reaching much beyond 3rd tier with anyone.

[SNJCruisers]

Value in a cruise line all depends on what you consider to be important, what you can do without and how much you're willing to pay. Many people think that Carnival has a lot of value, and on the surface they are right most of the time, but if you scratch a little below that surface, the real truth will emerge.

 

Our next two cruises that we have booked for next year are on the Carnival Freedom for eight days at the end of January and on the Celebrity Equinox for 10 days over Thanksgiving 2015. We have an OV cabin on the Equinox with the drinks package included as part of pick your perk and an additional 150 OBC from Celebrity as a result of a 4 day promotion at the end of August. On the Freedom, we have an inside cabin up on the Promenade deck that we got as a result of a pick any cabin within your category promotion. When you factor in the addition of the Cheers package, we're paying about 130/day for both cruises including port and taxes. The real value comes in when you realize that we have that extra 150 in OBC and the drinks package on Celebrity includes coffee drinks, fresh squeezed juices and bottled water, whereas the Cheers package on Carnival does not include those items.

 

So, in this comparison, X is the real value because of the pick your perk and the timeliness of our booking gained us an additional 150 in OBC.

[Cruise_me_Crazy]

Value in a cruise line all depends on what you consider to be important, what you can do without and how much you're willing to pay. Many people think that Carnival has a lot of value, and on the surface they are right most of the time, but if you scratch a little below that surface, the real truth will emerge.

 

Our next two cruises that we have booked for next year are on the Carnival Freedom for eight days at the end of January and on the Celebrity Equinox for 10 days over Thanksgiving 2015. We have an OV cabin on the Equinox with the drinks package included as part of pick your perk and an additional 150 OBC from Celebrity as a result of a 4 day promotion at the end of August. On the Freedom, we have an inside cabin up on the Promenade deck that we got as a result of a pick any cabin within your category promotion. When you factor in the addition of the Cheers package, we're paying about 130/day for both cruises including port and taxes. The real value comes in when you realize that we have that extra 150 in OBC and the drinks package on Celebrity includes coffee drinks, fresh squeezed juices and bottled water, whereas the Cheers package on Carnival does not include those items.

 

So, in this comparison, X is the real value because of the pick your perk and the timeliness of our booking gained us an additional 150 in OBC.

 

wow. that is dearer than I thought. We keep bemoaning in OZ that we pay more for cruises, but that is definitely on par with what we pay. Thank you for the price/s comparison. Good to hear an end result total costing. :) I reckon you will love both cruises. I hope you do anyway!

[clr315]

I've been on celebrity princess and carnival and am returning to celebrity. I agree that each has it's values and merits but I am returning to celebrity for my next cruise. I did not feel the same level of being made feel special on carnival as on the other two lines but that is what I prefer. I might try RCL as well but going to try to concentrate on princess and celebrity from now on......of course itinerary is soooooo important so I'll never say never to any line.

[runner15km]

Never had a disappointing cruise yet. The key is to know what your buying.:)

[K.T.B.]

I look at it this way, unless the name of your ship is named either "Titanic" or "Concordia", your worst day cruising is still better than your best day at work. :)

 

Relax, have fun, enjoy the waves....

[TomTN]

We just got back from Alaska after sailing the Millie last week, and it mostly over exceeded our expectations. I am starting to realize that all of these cruise lines offer a similar value, it just depends on where they splurge and where they cut (and what's important to you!)

 

Celebrity's MDR was fantastic as expected, the ship was relaxing, and the service superb. Unlike rumors I've read, the entertainment doesn't die off at 9PM, nor are the passengers "stuffy". Granted there were a lot of first time cruisers visiting Alaska, but everyone was talkative as soon as someone broke the ice. ;)

 

I really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere on Carnival (in October), the more in-depth conversations on RCL, yet Celebrity provided both of these at the same time. The attention to detail, refreshments when returning to port, and especially the Bistro :D made for a great cruise.

 

On the negative, the Sea Days could have used some more activities. Being in our mid 30's, we were a little out of touch with some of the shows, but it was fun to watch everyone get so animated over the Village People. I preferred the buffet on RCl over Celebrity, and missed Seattle's Best coffee.

 

We're going to remain disloyal cruisers, and get a little of the best from everyone. I like RCL's entertainment, Carnival's value, and many of both of their itineraries. Though when I'm looking for a low key cruise outside the Caribbean, Mexico, and the Mediterranean, Celebrity is my first choice. :)

 

Which cruise line would you choose for the Med? Why?

 

I'm 62, and I'm often out of touch with the shows regardless of cruise line!

DW loves them.:)

[Ex-Airbalancer]

It would be nice to see Seattles best also on Celebrity , it was about the only thing I like better about RCL

[OCruisers]

Which cruise line would you choose for the Med? Why?

 

I'm 62, and I'm often out of touch with the shows regardless of cruise line!

DW loves them.:)

 

Have you considered Princess? Princess is equally as nice as Celebrity and has better shows for your wife.

LuLu