Opinions needed...good and bad welcome!

[Maybaybie10]

My parents started cruising only 4 short years ago when I decided that's what I wanted to do for my 40th birthday. My husband and I had cruised 10 years prior for our honeymoon, but my parents had never cruised before. My father really wanted nothing to do with it and my Mom was afraid of getting seasick and being in 'open water' where she couldn't see land. But being the troopers and great parents that they are, they happily embarked on Freedom of the Seas for their maiden voyage. Two days into the cruise, they had booked another one...and they were hooked. They've been on 9 in the past 4 years. Radiance, Adventure, Enchantment, Allure, Freedom, Serenade...

 

Dad will be 72 this year. We went on what was supposed to be his 70th Birthday/Retirement Cruise back in 2013, but he decided not to retire so he could keep earning money to keep cruising. You see that I created a monster, right?

 

Now my Dad wants to book another one and he's thinking of 'branching out' to try Celebrity, specifically the Solstice. I am known in my family as the Google Queen and so now I will spend a lot of time learning about a whole other line of ship, but I was wondering what everyone else thinks? I'm happy to hear good and bad in comparison to RCI. Step up? Step Down? Side step? They just made Diamond, so I'm not sure how that computes or if it computes on Celebrity, but it's not a big deal either way. They always book a balcony, so they are wondering what the best balconies are as well.

 

Thank you all in advance for any input you may have. I'm off to Google Google Google...:)

[impatientlywaiting]

Once everyone in our cruising group makes Diamond we are going to switch to Celebrity. Diamond equates to Elite on Celebrity - a good thing! Not as much going on with Celebrity which is fine with us as we don't partake in all the activities on Royal ships. I've heard nothing but good things about the Celebrity ships and can't wait to try one!

[workstocruise]

We are mid 60s and made the switch from Royal to X two years ago. We absolutely love Celebrity. Royal is a wonderful line and we also loved all the cruises we did with them, but we are older now and really enjoy the ambience that Celebrity offers. We think the food is much better especially the buffet. The service is great and we enjoyed their entertainment. Our first X cruise was about 7 months after our cruise on the Allure. The celebrity ship was older and much smaller and we thought we would be disappointed, but the exact opposite happened. Our next two cruises are on Celebrity and we would only go back to Royal if we were cruising with our grandkids. I think we have outgrown Royal, but they, without a doubt, have a great product.

[Lidodeckdrinks]

I was on its sister ship, Eclipse, back in 2012. I believe the ships are similar. The Solstice class really is great. I think a key difference I noticed coming from RCCL (Emerald CA) is that our X cruise was very quiet. It's seemingly a more subdued atmosphere, as some have said it just "feels" more upscale.

 

Contrary to the opinions I've read, the service was less friendly than RCCL. That was just my experience based on one cruise, the odds are apparently in your favor for not having that experience.

 

The shows were fine, the martini bar was great. The spa was lovely, I recommended a visit to the Persian Garden, which is neither Persian nor a garden, but a very relaxing place to spend some time.

 

The Eclipse had a speciality restaurant just for our cabin category called Blu, which I recall as seeming better than the MDR on RCCL. That was 3 years ago, however. I cannot comment on the Elcipse MDR as we didn't visit; we enjoyed Blu too much.

 

I have a hard time saying anything qualitatively negative about the Solstice class.

[Missus Makkem]

Did our first Celeb after many years and loved it.

We also love Royal but a bit tired of the same old same old specailly the ports so did a round Britain last summer and it was great.

Went in as Elite so some nice perks there.

It is more for us in ambience and we are the same age as your father.

Only way they will know is to give it a try but we are doing another Celeb end of August this year from Istanbul to Barcelona with a great itinery.

[Trekker954]

I really do love Celebrity more, but the shows and better discounts are better on Royal. We are D+, but they way RCI is devaluing D+ level it doesn't really matter anymore and we are even branching out to other lines. We had the best time on our Celebrity cruise for the British Isles. We were able to still have the free drinks at night but the staff was much more accommodating. I am sure your parents will love it.

[lisiamc]

We started cruising Celebrity in our late 40's-early 50's and loved it then, and we still love it 15 years later. We also cruise Royal Caribbean sometimes, and we've found a lot to like there too. I think your parents will enjoy Celebrity, and as another poster pointed out, being Elite is a Good Thing.

[cruzsnooze]

The only way to know which ships and brands you like is to try several. I think your dad would like Princess too. Also Azamara has a lot to offer. Why not try them all.

[Royal2464]

Celebrity's Solstice class ships are beautiful. Your parents will love them. As a soon to be Pinnacle on Royal I truly wish they had full reciprocity between lines. Would love to see Pinnacle = Zenith and Diamond Plus = Elite Plus. I don't understand why it is not that way already. It would open up so many new opportunities and ports to frequent cruisers loyal to RCCL International.

[cruiseapril]

Fellow Mainer here!

 

My sister liked Celebrity. Do you have an itinerary you prefer?

[American Bear]

My parents started cruising only 4 short years ago when I decided that's what I wanted to do for my 40th birthday. My husband and I had cruised 10 years prior for our honeymoon, but my parents had never cruised before. My father really wanted nothing to do with it and my Mom was afraid of getting seasick and being in 'open water' where she couldn't see land. But being the troopers and great parents that they are, they happily embarked on Freedom of the Seas for their maiden voyage. Two days into the cruise, they had booked another one...and they were hooked. They've been on 9 in the past 4 years. Radiance, Adventure, Enchantment, Allure, Freedom, Serenade...

 

Dad will be 72 this year. We went on what was supposed to be his 70th Birthday/Retirement Cruise back in 2013, but he decided not to retire so he could keep earning money to keep cruising. You see that I created a monster, right?

 

Now my Dad wants to book another one and he's thinking of 'branching out' to try Celebrity, specifically the Solstice. I am known in my family as the Google Queen and so now I will spend a lot of time learning about a whole other line of ship, but I was wondering what everyone else thinks? I'm happy to hear good and bad in comparison to RCI. Step up? Step Down? Side step? They just made Diamond, so I'm not sure how that computes or if it computes on Celebrity, but it's not a big deal either way. They always book a balcony, so they are wondering what the best balconies are as well.

 

Thank you all in advance for any input you may have. I'm off to Google Google Google...:)

 

Tell your parents to enjoy.

Our opinions as follows,,,

Celebrity Soltice ships are refined elegance. The closest RCL has is the Radiance Class.

The Soltice class doesn't have a Promenade, they have a Boulevard for shopping.

The activities are more subdued seemingly for an adult cruiser.

The food is in our opinion is slightly better in all comparable locations.

And yes your benefits do translate to Celebrity.

We find the Broadway shows on the larger RCL ships superior, but the Celebrity shows were entertaining.

Our suggestion, try it, you'll like it.:)

Happy cruising.

[October55]

We are in our early 60's and have just taken up cruising in the last 5 years. I have enjoyed our trips on both RCCL and Celebrity. The thing I really liked about Celebrity is the opportunity to learn something new on each voyage. On one cruise we had a speaker give a series of lectures on "Music of the Caribbean". On another we were entertained by a professor who shared his vast knowledge of the movies of Alfred Hitchcock.

I am sure your parents will enjoy Celebrity as much as they have Royal Caribbean. :)

[Maybaybie10]

Thank you for all the responses- very helpful indeed. I'm not sure they have nailed down an itinerary yet since they just made the decision to branch out and try something different. They don't have a future cruise booked right now and I think my Dad may be developing hives because of it :p...I know he's probably driving my Mom crazy right about now!