Help please...

[Firie159]

We are considering Celebrity Cruise Line after numerous Carnival, RCCL, and NCL. We are looking for new experiences and new iteneraries in order to keep cruising fun and new. What should we expect from a Celebrity cruise? I am thinking along the lines of MDR, entertainment, service, age demographics, nightlife, cabin size and location for a balcony cabin, etc, etc lol! Always wanted to try Celebrity!Thanks!

[newyorkray]

Hi Firie159, I am a loyal Celebrity cruiser with about 10 cruises. My only other was a family cruise on the NCL Breakaway last year so it's difficult for me to make a comparison but I'll give you what I can. I would never go on Carnival due not only to their past problems but feedback from friends I knew who were on Carnival. I find Celebrity to be classier than what I hear of others, the food has always been very good but I think I like the structure. Celebrity is moving more towards a choice of freestyle but still have early or late MDR with shows before or after which I have never seem overcrowded. The Breakaway is a beautiful ship but for the shows I needed reservations and even then, getting there a half hour before found it to be jammed. There were arguments all over with people saving seats, it was chaotic. Never on Celebrity. I could walk in an get a good seat 5 minutes before the show. I found the entertainment to be mostly very good. I am a little disappointed in the night life. I am approaching 60 but told I look 50 and act like 30. My wife is 15 years younger and we are night people. Years ago the disco use to be crowded, now just a few young people.At night (after 11 to about 1 or 2) we hang out and enjoy the serenity around the pool (we are recovering alcoholics so the bars are out but even the bars get empty). I am told it all depends on the itinerary. The staterooms run about 172 to 192 sq feet (I believe) and balcony's probably 8 by 4. On the Millennium class ships the balconies on the aft are bigger (but they are now Concierge class). I cruise mostly the Caribbean and while there are younger people, it is mostly 30's to 60 and up. This os course is my own opinion but I tend to be a loyal customer wherever as long as I am happy. I am crusing on the Reflection in 2 weeks (my third time on the Reflection in 18 months) It's a beautiful ship too. Give Celebrity a chance, I don't think there is such a thing as a bad cruise (barring any out of the ordinary experiences)

[attilamom1217]

We are considering Celebrity Cruise Line after numerous Carnival, RCCL, and NCL. We are looking for new experiences and new iteneraries in order to keep cruising fun and new. What should we expect from a Celebrity cruise? I am thinking along the lines of MDR, entertainment, service, age demographics, nightlife, cabin size and location for a balcony cabin, etc, etc lol! Always wanted to try Celebrity!Thanks!

 

We have sailed Celebrity, Carnival, Princess, and Royal Caribbean. Celebrity is our favorite. Cruises that are more than 7 days and not during a school break have a lot less kids.

 

You will not find hairy chest and belly flop contests by the pool. There is live music at the main pool. The adult pool is quieter.

 

Entertainment is fine - typical cruise entertainment.

 

Food is very good, but food is subjective.

 

Look for a balcony with cabins above and below for a quieter cabin.

 

Note that deck 5 (on the S-Class ships - not sure about the M-class) port side is the smoking area. A balcony on deck 6 and maybe deck 7 or 8 might have smoke waft up to the balcony. If that bothers you, get a balcony starboard.

 

cabins are a decent size. They have couch, coffee table, as well as the bed, dresser, etc. Closets are large on the S-class and there are cabinets above the bed for storage (on the S-class as well) as there are only 3 drawers. There is additional storage in the bathroom (at least in the Aqua Class cabins).

 

Dining is either traditional set seating or Select (my time dining). If you are in Aqua class, there is a special dining room, Blu for AQ only and suites if there is room available. Blu has a different menu from the MDR.

 

Service has always been excellent for us. It starts as you enter the ship on embarkation day and are greeted by staff holding champagne and orange juice (complimentary). Our room steward gave us an ice bucket and filled it every day (per our request). Everyone bent over backwards to ensure the passengers comfort and enjoyment.

 

Enjoy your first Celebrity cruise. I think you will be hooked on Celebrity. :D

[jelayne]

Other things you will notice; no smoking anywhere inside the ship including the casino & no smoking on the balconies, only 1 announcement a day which is Captains message & short review of the day by the CD- no 10 mins till Bingo,etc.

As mentioned no hairy chest, belly flop type contests but things like Officers vs guest Bocci ball, pool volley ball, poker.

 

The shows are not as good as Royal. We like the food better on Celebrity & feel the service is a notch above RCL & Carnival (haven't sailed NCL). The overall feel is a quiter more refined atmosphere.

 

Nightlife seems to depend on the itinerary, on port intensive cruises where there will be a lot of full day tours the ship gets pretty empty by 10:30. On TAs, TP,

Caribbean we have been known to be dancing or in the casino till 1ish.

[cynbar]

I have sailed on all the above lines, although only once on Carnival. Celebrity is quieter, more sedate and more dignified than the others. Ships are lovely, food and service are very good. But the entertainment is more limited and the ships do (in general) quiet down earlier in the evenings. Celebrity is really more about enjoying the company of your traveling companions in an elegant atmosphere. So it depends what you are looking for in a cruise. We love Celebrity but some miss the livelier atmosphere on other lines.

[blindrid]

NCL is my fave. My concern is always X being sedate and a bit geriatric based on cruise itinerary. In the end, they are a mainstream line that some think is "elegant" ..... Nah, it's a cruise! No more, no less.

[junetraveler2014]

As with everything there are always three sides to a story. A cruise is what you make of it. On Celebrity M-class ships the opportunity to customize your cruise to your style is there. The service is excellent the staff is very friendly and helpful, the cabins are larger than most other cruise lines, the layout is simple and works well, as for the food, everything I eat has always been great and I won't eat anything I don't like so my answer is food is a matter of choice IMHO. I have never come upon misbehavior by passengers or grew. I know people who have come off a cruise and had made lifelong friends and I know people who have come off a cruise knowing no one. Shows depend on what you would be interested in and they do try to cater to the majority. The drinks from the bars are mixed well and never short on alcoholic contents. The specialty restaurants are two, Qsine, which is whimsical and a lot of fun. The second is formal with mostly the same meals served in a fancy NY hotel restaurant. The casino was very good to us this past cruise. We played the one arm bandits and won a total among 12 machines of $1,600.00. We do not participate in the art auctions. Not any faults of Celebrity, just no more room on the walls of our apartment. So as I said...it is all up to you. One thing I will say, There is one thing I have not come upon on the m-class ship and it is crowds. Being from NY, that makes me a happy camper.:rolleyes:

[4774Papa]

We have done seven X cruises and five on NCL.

 

We select mainly on price and itinerary, but prefer Celebrity.

 

The entertainment is great on both cruise lines.

 

The food is superior on Celebrity, but NCL has great specialty restaurants with more variety and our last NCL cruise showed an improvement in MDR food.

 

We do 14 day cruises and find the average age about the same on both lines.

 

Celebrity has better service, more consistent.

 

The atmosphere is classier on Celebrity.

 

We like the smaller ships on both lines, the NCL Epic seemed crowded. Celebrity really doesn't have megaships.

[blindrid]

We have done seven X cruises and five on NCL.

 

We select mainly on price and itinerary, but prefer Celebrity.

 

The entertainment is great on both cruise lines.

 

The food is superior on Celebrity, but NCL has great specialty restaurants with more variety and our last NCL cruise showed an improvement in MDR food.

 

We do 14 day cruises and find the average age about the same on both lines.

 

Celebrity has better service, more consistent.

 

The atmosphere is classier on Celebrity.

 

We like the smaller ships on both lines, the NCL Epic seemed crowded. Celebrity really doesn't have megaships.

 

Good points. I'm not a big ship guy. I always check NCL first but do check other lines. Accordingly, Dec 1, Equinox. Drink package was a deciding point on this one and timing and itinerary.

 

We always have fun regardless. Sun, sand and beer :)

[phoenix_dream]

Some good input above, but hard to tell if Celebrity is right for you as we don't know what you like. Quiet elegance, or partying until the wee hours? Does entertainment to you mean street/promenade parades and parties, or a classical guitarist in a nice quiet bar? Are you a foodie, or are you satisfied with generally good, but rarely great? Do you like lots of 'fun' activities like belly flop contests, or is sitting quietly on deck with a book or playing a nice game of trivia your thing? Do you like ships with mostly adults, or do you enjoy a wide variety of ages including children?

[Cruise Raider]

We've sailed on RCCL, Princess, NCL, Carnival, Holland America and Celebrity with Celebrity being our absolute favorite. It is rather like RCCL but a bit more white glove service and usually less kids. Their promotions are the best...especially with the drink package.

I used to believe Princess had the better food but things have turned around 180 -- Celebrity is now so much better. They also have the option to book in Aqua Class and you have your own specialty restaurant named Blu...so excellent. You will also have entrance into the Persian Gardens ... however, the Aqua Class is oftentimes outside of our price range so now is just a distant memory.

The entertainment it top notch on Celebrity, the service is the also excellent.

 

The rooms will be similar in size to those on Carnival with the sofa instead of just a chair. The room service does leave a bit to be desired, though. You can order the shows you want to watch on the TV ... which is a great feature.

 

If you do not get the beverage package in a promo, the drinks are rather pricey. They do have reciprocal benefits with RCCL so if you have your Diamond status with them, you will be able to enjoy the Elite benefits on Celebrity.

 

One other great feature is that Celebrity does not require formal dress in any of the specialty restaurants so you don't have to lug the tux / formal gowns if you aren't into that. You can simply book dinner at one of these restaurants and not have to visit the buffet on formal night if you don't like that. They are surcharges but well worth it in my book.

 

There is a huge presence of the officers on Celebrity as of late and you will oftentimes see them mingling with the guests. Don't be surprised if they join you for a cup of coffee if invited. Nice touch.

[Firie159]

Thanks a lot!! great input and much appreciated! We are considering Equinox (don't know what M or S class means). Carnival is becoming extremely watered down and service and attitude that goes along with it greatly diminished. We like the Royal Promenade on RCCL as well as the Ice show and even climbing the rock wall :) Started with NCL but haven't sailed with them in a few years . Even though we really like Royal, Celebrity has some better iteneraries which has us interested! Good points, I know I didn't state specific likes but I was really looking for more of an overall assessment which you all gave very nicely. We like live entertainment around the main pool and in some smaller areas to hang out such as a pub. We don't go to many main shows in the theater any more and prefer smaller venues. We love to go to comedy shows in a lounge multiple times during our cruise. We do not smoke and enjoy time on our balcony at night after all is done with a glass of wine which we bring onboard. We have fun playing team trivia at times. We like to visit at least one specialty dining and enjoy going to the MDR at a set time and share a large table to meet others and hear about their day. I am not really snooty about the food as long as it is hot and pretty basic and good. We do like the wait staff to be friendly and engaging. We will hang out by the pool on sea days and look like bums but like to dress up and enjoy classic cruising style at dinner and especially on a formal night. We are 50's but everyone thinks barely 40.

[helen haywood]

M-Class means ships of the Millenium class and S-Class means ships of the Solstice Class. Equinox is a Solstice Class ship. The different classes have slight differences in cabin size and venues, etc. so its good to know what ship you were interested in.

 

I love Celebrity and it is my favorite line. That said, I just finished a cruise on the MSC Divina and I must say the food and shows and live music in bars on that ship blew me away!

[Firie159]

M-Class means ships of the Millenium class and S-Class means ships of the Solstice Class. Equinox is a Solstice Class ship. The different classes have slight differences in cabin size and venues, etc. so its good to know what ship you were interested in.

 

I love Celebrity and it is my favorite line. That said, I just finished a cruise on the MSC Divina and I must say the food and shows and live music in bars on that ship blew me away!

 

Nice to know, thank you!