How does Carnival compare to Celebrity?

[Octavias]

There is a round trip cruise out of Seattle to Hawaii on Carnival that I’m interested in but I know very little about the cruise line.  I’ve studied Celebrity, as we have an Alaskan cruise coming up with them.  How do they compare?  The ship is the carnival spirit which seems to be an older ship although it says it was redone in 2018.  I will post this on the Celebrity section as well.  

[jsglow]

Kind of apples and oranges. Your experience on the two lines will be quite different.  It all depends what you are looking for. Carnival far more upbeat and 'fun', Celebrity far more elegant. 

[springssparrow]

A lot of people on the Celebrity board will trash talk Carnival but we sail on both and enjoy them both. Carnival has a higher energy vibe with very involved cruise directors. We did Hawaii out of Long Beach on the Miracle and had a great time.

[Aplmac]

Celebrity will be Fun Fun Fun 'til Daddy takes the T-bird away
while Carnival will be dull and boring...

said no-one ever.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

8 hours ago, springssparrow said:

. Carnival has a higher energy vibe with very involved cruise directors. .

 

Often to the point of you wish they would SHUT UP and get off the PA system. I don't need to know about the fabulous inch-of-gold event, the $5,000 BINGO, etc (over and over) - that's on the app and in the FunTimes. I think that some of them just like to hear their own voice !

 

LOL

 

-- oh, and if you don't mind a 7 am announcement blaring into your cabin on debarkation morning, then definitely go with Carnival. 🙂 

 

Tom

 

[staceyglow]

1 hour ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

Often to the point of you wish they would SHUT UP and get off the PA system. I don't need to know about the fabulous inch-of-gold event, the $5,000 BINGO, etc (over and over) - that's on the app and in the FunTimes. I think that some of them just like to hear their own voice !

 

LOL

 

-- oh, and if you don't mind a 7 am announcement blaring into your cabin on debarkation morning, then definitely go with Carnival. 🙂 

 

Tom

 

I have never been on a Carnival ship where those sales announcements are more than 2 or 3 over the course of 18 hours. If it motivates people to spend more money, and in effect subsidize my cruise, I am all for it. 

 

And the reason the cruise director makes an announcement in your cabin on debarkation morning is because you are required to be out of your cabin very very shortly. If you are still asleep by the time that announcement is made, you are probably going to be scrambling to leave your cabin in time. 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Just now, staceyglow said:

I have never been on a Carnival ship where those sales announcements are more than 2 or 3 over the course of 18 hours. If it motivates people to spend more money, and in effect subsidize my cruise, I am all for it. 

 

And the reason the cruise director makes an announcement in your cabin on debarkation morning is because you are required to be out of your cabin very very shortly. If you are still asleep by the time that announcement is made, you are probably going to be scrambling to leave your cabin in time. 

 

When we're paying extra to dine in a specialty restaurant (or pick your "serene" location) I have to roll my eyes when I have to listen to a spiel.

 

Regarding the 7 am wakeup announcement, it seems that Carnival is best known for that. I wonder why that's the case?

 

Does that mean I won't sail with them again ? - not a chance, too many other reasons to enjoy the cruise. It's right up there with the dancing waiters - if we skip the MDR (which we absolutely do), then problem solved !

 

Tom

[serene56]

Celebrity is more upscale cruise  vs a carnival 

 

[csm5986142]

Something to consider, we have done the Hawaii itenerary twice on Carnival and found that it wasn't the typical younger, fun, loud Carnival crowd.  In my opinion the passengers were older and were there for the destination, not just a fun cruise.  So I thought it was a bit different than a typical Carnival cruise anyway.  We were also on Spirit and really liked it - yes, it's an older ship but I like the layout and it never felt crowded (which is important to me when on a cruise for that long).  It has some great quiet interior spaces to relax or read if you have bad weather and don't want to be out on deck.

[kwokpot]

14 hours ago, Octavias said:

There is a round trip cruise out of Seattle to Hawaii on Carnival that I’m interested in but I know very little about the cruise line.  I’ve studied Celebrity, as we have an Alaskan cruise coming up with them.  How do they compare?  The ship is the carnival spirit which seems to be an older ship although it says it was redone in 2018.  I will post this on the Celebrity section as well.  

You haven't given us enough information to give you helpful advice. What are you looking for in a cruise vacation? How often have you sailed Celebrity? What types of cabins have you booked in the past? How important is the food quality and presentation? How important is the general ambiance of the cruiseship? 

A roundtrip Hawaii cruise from the West coast is a totally different type of cruise experience than a Caribbean one. I have done multiple Hawaii cruises and TP cruises on multiple cruise lines, including Carnival and Celebrity. The BIGGEST difference between the two cruiselines you mentioned on a Hawaiian itinerary will be the ship environment itself and the food. Overall Celebrity will have superior food and ship environment. Celebrity ships, even their oldest and non-renovated ships, are much more upscale and refined in decor than any Carnival ship.The Celebrity cabins are much nicer. If you're interested in a Suite product, then there's no comparison, it's Celebrity. Period. 

So you'll need to clue us in to what you're looking for in your Hawaii cruise experience to get some better and more useful advice. 

Edited June 7, 2023 by kwokpot

[craig01020]

I've enjoyed both. I'd say it like Kohl's vs. Wal-Mart.

[mizLORInj]

We cruise on both, though we haven't been on Carnival since 2019, and have been on Celebrity twice in the past year.   Yet, Venezia is coming to NY and I want to see what she's like.

 

Best to try them out for yourself!   Have not had a bad cruise on any line or ship yet.   

 

Remember, ALL major cruise lines have had cutbacks, and they are evident on every ship.   I have lowered my expectations and still enjoy watching the sea go by from a ship balcony.  

[d-train]

We found Carnival to be more fun, geared toward a younger crowd with families. Many options for activities/entertainment. Late to bed, later to rise.

 

Our one Celebrity sailing, we found it to be an older crowd (overall), fewer activities, certainly not a funship, early to bed and early to rise type of crowd. Finishes on the ship are more elegant. Food plated nicer, but not really better (at least in our experience.) This was 10 years ago though.

 

Perhaps when the little ones are not cruising with us, when we are older, we will try Celebrity again...

[sparks1093]

Since we've booked a Celebrity cruise for 2025 I like following threads like this. Except we're doing a southern Caribbean itinerary out of San Juan. Looking forward to trying our 4th cruise line.

[luv2trvlnow]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

Since we've booked a Celebrity cruise for 2025 I like following threads like this. Except we're doing a southern Caribbean itinerary out of San Juan. Looking forward to trying our 4th cruise line.

We did a Celebrity cruise out of San Juan way back in 2015.  I felt that it was not that much different than Carnival.  We had many people from Puerto Rico onboard.  They seemed to liven things up. There were games at the pool.  It was fun to see officers in uniforms playing volleyball against passengers in the main pool.  Our only problem was an uptight couple at our table in the MDR.  They were friendly until they found out we had been on Carnival and then they barely talked to us the rest of the cruise.

[Octavias]

7 hours ago, kwokpot said:

You haven't given us enough information to give you helpful advice. What are you looking for in a cruise vacation? How often have you sailed Celebrity? What types of cabins have you booked in the past? How important is the food quality and presentation? How important is the general ambiance of the cruiseship? 

A roundtrip Hawaii cruise from the West coast is a totally different type of cruise experience than a Caribbean one. I have done multiple Hawaii cruises and TP cruises on multiple cruise lines, including Carnival and Celebrity. The BIGGEST difference between the two cruiselines you mentioned on a Hawaiian itinerary will be the ship environment itself and the food. Overall Celebrity will have superior food and ship environment. Celebrity ships, even their oldest and non-renovated ships, are much more upscale and refined in decor than any Carnival ship.The Celebrity cabins are much nicer. If you're interested in a Suite product, then there's no comparison, it's Celebrity. Period. 

So you'll need to clue us in to what you're looking for in your Hawaii cruise experience to get some better and more useful advice. 

We are new to cruising.  I just booked our first cruise and we haven’t taken it yet, it’s an Alaskan cruise on Celebrity.  We are empty nesters in our mid-50’s.  We want to be spoiled and lean more to enjoying elegance over fun, although I wish celebrity had bingo!  That sounds like it would be fun.   If Celebrity offered the itinerary to Hawaii, I’d probably book it but they don’t.  We are limited to cruising out of Seattle.  

[kwokpot]

9 minutes ago, Octavias said:

We are new to cruising.  I just booked our first cruise and we haven’t taken it yet, it’s an Alaskan cruise on Celebrity.  We are empty nesters in our mid-50’s.  We want to be spoiled and lean more to enjoying elegance over fun, although I wish celebrity had bingo!  That sounds like it would be fun.   If Celebrity offered the itinerary to Hawaii, I’d probably book it but they don’t.  We are limited to cruising out of Seattle.  

That's correct, they sail out of Vancouver. That doesn't work for you? Based on what you wrote I don't think Carnival is the correct cruiseline for you. 

[craig01020]

4 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Since we've booked a Celebrity cruise for 2025 I like following threads like this. Except we're doing a southern Caribbean itinerary out of San Juan. Looking forward to trying our 4th cruise line.

Is that on the Summit on 1/29/25?

[Momma Mojito]

23 hours ago, Octavias said:

There is a round trip cruise out of Seattle to Hawaii on Carnival that I’m interested in but I know very little about the cruise line.  I’ve studied Celebrity, as we have an Alaskan cruise coming up with them.  How do they compare?  The ship is the carnival spirit which seems to be an older ship although it says it was redone in 2018.  I will post this on the Celebrity section as well.  

Night and Day!

[kwokpot]

46 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

That's correct, they sail out of Vancouver. That doesn't work for you? Based on what you wrote I don't think Carnival is the correct cruiseline for you. 

 

57 minutes ago, Octavias said:

We are new to cruising.  I just booked our first cruise and we haven’t taken it yet, it’s an Alaskan cruise on Celebrity.  We are empty nesters in our mid-50’s.  We want to be spoiled and lean more to enjoying elegance over fun, although I wish celebrity had bingo!  That sounds like it would be fun.   If Celebrity offered the itinerary to Hawaii, I’d probably book it but they don’t.  We are limited to cruising out of Seattle.  

I did a search and assuming you were looking at 2024 there's literally nothing else that fits your parameters. So either you'll have to settle with that one and only sailing or if you're more flexible about the departure point there's alot more possibilities. 

[Octavias]

46 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

That's correct, they sail out of Vancouver. That doesn't work for you? Based on what you wrote I don't think Carnival is the correct cruiseline for you. 

I need to see how far of a drive it would be for us to Vancouver.  Seattle is 4 hours which is about the max I can handle with my limitations.   I might be able to break it up into a two day drive though…

with the itinerary to Hawaii having so many sea days, I feel like we have to like the ship and the on board experience.  

[Octavias]

1 minute ago, kwokpot said:

 

I did a search and assuming you were looking at 2024 there's literally nothing else that fits your parameters. So either you'll have to settle with that one and only sailing or if you're more flexible about the departure point there's alot more possibilities. 

Yes, I’m looking at 2024. I only see the one Carnival ship going to Hawaii in September. 

[kwokpot]

39 minutes ago, Octavias said:

I need to see how far of a drive it would be for us to Vancouver.  Seattle is 4 hours which is about the max I can handle with my limitations.   I might be able to break it up into a two day drive though…

with the itinerary to Hawaii having so many sea days, I feel like we have to like the ship and the on board experience.  

What type of cabin do you have on the Celebrity? You're probably on the Solstice? I was on the Solstice in February and although it's an older ship she is still beautiful and it's a much larger ship than the Carnival Spirit. The decor on both ships are night and day. So if you decide to go ahead with the Sprit you have to be OK with a ship environment that's not upscale in anyway, shape or form. The Cabins aren't upscale, the public spaces aren't upscale, the buffet isn't upscale, the pool area isn't up scale. The main dining room isn't upscale. 

The food on Celebrity would be overall better than Carnival. The buffet on Celebrity is far superior to Carnival. To compensate for the weak buffet Carnival has other food complementary food venues such as Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana Cantina. 

The itinerary you're considering only has four port stops out of 15 days. That's ALOT of sea days for what will be only your second cruise. And given your first cruise will be on Celebrity, I'm very hesitant to recommend you go on the Spirit.

Edited June 8, 2023 by kwokpot

[kwokpot]

As a point of reference here are photos of the Carnival Sprit indoor pool vs the Celebrity Solstice indoor pool. Which looks more unscale and relaxing? 

[crzndeb]

1 hour ago, Octavias said:

If Celebrity offered the itinerary to Hawaii, I’d probably book it but they don’t.  We are limited to cruising out of Seattle.

You will never see a one way out of Seattle to Hawaii on any cruise line, due to the Passenger Vessel Service Act. That’s why they leave from Vancouver.