Opinions on Celebrity Cruises

[NKsDogWalker]

I have been on 6 cruises. Three of them were charter cruises on Carnival and three were on Royal Caribbean.  How does Celebrity compare?  My sister and I are looking at a cruise in March on Celebrity.  

[lenquixote66]

We have been on 6 cruise lines .Celebrity is our favorite.

[leaveitallbehind]

Celebrity is typically our cruise line of choice - primarily for its differences from RCCL. (Which would also be a significant difference from Carnival - 180 degrees IMO!).  Whereas RCCL's demographics are families, Celebrity's primary demographics are adults without children, although as with any cruise line children will accompany adults on board and there are activities oriented for them. 

 

But the biggest differences from RCCL are that on Celebrity, none of the whistles and bells exist: no rock climbing walls, ice rinks, aqua theaters, zip lines, water slides, bumper cars, etc., etc.  What you will find is IMO a more upscale cruise atmosphere, better MDR / buffet offerings, equal or better specialty restaurants, good theater and entertainment, far less children, and a much more adult attitude on board. 

 

In our earlier days of cruising, RCCL was our primary choice as it was oriented towards families and we were cruising at that time with our children.  As we all grew older, Celebrity best fit that bill for the opposite reasons as mentioned.  I also feel as though Celebrity provides a more individual customer focus as well.

 

Celebrity, along with the normal pricing, also offers Always pricing, which is inclusive of their standard beverage package and WIFI.  (It used to include gratuities as well, but that has recently changed).  You can compare both on any given itinerary to see what the difference is as to the value of Always.  RCCL and Celebrity also have reciprocal loyalty programs whereby the points accumulated remain with the cruise line sailed on, but tier levels are shared by each when sailing on either.

 

Don't know what your cruising preferences are but Celebrity would be pretty much opposite of what you have experienced with RCCL, and in particular, Carnival.

 

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by leaveitallbehind

[George C]

We like celebrity it is more of an adult cruise no attractions that they would like , I like the entertainment on the new Edge class and they have a better buffet than rccl .

[navybankerteacher]

4 hours ago, NKsDogWalker said:

I have been on 6 cruises. Three of them were charter cruises on Carnival and three were on Royal Caribbean.  How does Celebrity compare?  My sister and I are looking at a cruise in March on Celebrity.  

Celebrity is the more mature sibling of Royal Caribbean - less flash, a bit more grown-up, somewhat better food and service.

 

Miles above Carnival - which slightly trails NCL in the race to the bottom.

[mrgabriel]

When we first started going on cruises, we exclusively sailed with Royal Caribbean. We moved over to Celebrity several years ago and it's absolutely a better experience for us. We don't have a problem being around kids but the amenities RCCI offers that appeal to kids don't appeal to us. And why pay for amenities that we won't use?

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

OP: FWIW, since many Celebrity regulars, like you, eventually decide that they want something better, why not consider “skipping the middle step” and move directly to a premium/luxury line. 
And if you do start looking in that direction, don’t make the rookie mistake of only comparing cabin fares. Take the time to do the math in as close as you can get to a bottom line “apples to apples” comparison by considering all the extra cost options you’d want/need on a mass market line like Celebrity (e.g., internet, specialty dining, airfare, booze, excursions, gratuities, etc.) which may be included at no extra charge in the premium/luxury cruise industry segments.

 

And then, also consider what you don’t get on the premium/luxury lines: thousands of passengers, mediocre food, nickel/diming for every little thing… the list goes on…..

 

Our preferred premium/luxury line is Oceania and over the years we have found that many of O’s newest regulars came from what might be considered the upper end of the mass market cruise segment, i.e., Celebrity, HAL, Princess, Viking. And, after 1-2 O cruises, stayed with O.

 

Do look at all your options..

[leaveitallbehind]

5 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

OP: FWIW, since many Celebrity regulars, like you, eventually decide that they want something better, why not consider “skipping the middle step” and move directly to a premium/luxury line. 
 

I don't disagree with anything you said, nor am I challenging you with regards to that.  I only want to point out that your assumption regarding the OP is incorrect.  They are not, as you suggest, "Celebrity regulars" looking to try something better.  Per their post, they have only been on 6 cruises - 3 with RCCL and 3 with Carnival, and have never cruised with Celebrity  They are now considering trying Celebrity for the first time in March and are looking for opinions regarding that cruise line.  And, FWIW, IMO, Celebrity is a step up from both of their previous experiences.

[ldubs]

I kind of think of Celebrity to be a similar experience to RCI Radiance class ships.  I like them both.   Though I should qualify I have not experienced Celebrity's newer Edge class ships, which I think are larger.  

Edited October 20, 2023 by ldubs

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

I kind of think of Celebrity to be a similar experience to RCI Radiance class ships.  I like them both.   Though I should qualify I have not experienced Celebrity's newer Edge class ships, which I think are larger.  

I think that is a very good comparison, although I think the Celebrity experience is still a step above RCCL, even using those ships as a benchmark.  The Solstice and Edge class ships are similar in size to each other, and are a little bigger than Radiance class, which holds about 2,500 passengers. By comparison Solstice class holds about 2,850 passengers and Edge class a little more at 2,900 - fortunately not nearly to the extent of being mega ships.  A very manageable size IMO.

Edited October 20, 2023 by leaveitallbehind

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, leaveitallbehind said:

I don't disagree with anything you said, nor am I challenging you with regards to that.  I only want to point out that your assumption regarding the OP is incorrect.  They are not, as you suggest, "Celebrity regulars" looking to try something better.  

Though, in retrospect, I could have better positioned “like you” to earlier in the sentence, please know that what I was trying to say was  OP was like others (in general) wanting to “move up” (AND many Celebrity folks want to move up too).

[leaveitallbehind]

3 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Though, in retrospect, I could have better positioned “like you” to earlier in the sentence, please know that what I was trying to say was  OP was like others (in general) wanting to “move up” (AND many Celebrity folks want to move up too).

Agree.  And in my view, Celebrity is a move up from RCCL, and most certainly from Carnival LOL!  We, too, are considering some of the more premium lines as you reference.

[Host Kat]

12 hours ago, NKsDogWalker said:

I have been on 6 cruises. Three of them were charter cruises on Carnival and three were on Royal Caribbean.  How does Celebrity compare?  My sister and I are looking at a cruise in March on Celebrity.  

 

Hello @NKsDogWalker and welcome back to the message boards! I see it has been quite a while since you have posted on the boards.

I suggest you use the Follow feature on any new topics/threads you start or any other topics/ threads where you are interested in the new replies. That way you will not have to go looking to see if there are new posts because they will come looking for you as notifications. If you need information on how to do it, please click here: How to: Follow Topics & Forums (Subscribed Threads/Forums Info)

 

If you need technical help in regard to the now different Cruise Critic message board software in use since 2018 and you last posted in 2014, go to the Need Help Using the Forums? Check Here! forum. You will see a large amount of "How to..." pinned threads toward the top of the forum's first page. Also, browse through the threads in the forum looking for threads of interest. You will probably find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that may be of interest to you.

 

Hope this will be helpful and glad to have you back aboard Cruise Critic!

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

 

[Mar1987]

Celebrity is my favourite one! Medium size ships, great service on board, comfortable cabins!!