If I like Celebrity cruises, what other cruise lines will I enjoy?

[island lady]

22 hours ago, Hilaurennn said:

Thanks for your reccomendations! I will check them out. 

 

I forgot to specify but when I say vibe, I mean relaxed. We don't actually drink, or want to party, or want to be surrounded by younger people doing so which is what we liked about celebrity. Virgin voyages looks like hell to me from what I've seen! Lots of drinking,  partying etc which I get is some people vibes but not what we're looking for 🙂

 

Try Viking.  

[tljordan444]

We have done most of the E-class ships and soon to do the Excel as well. Have also cruised on Virgin a few times and while the food is good, and the crew is great and its adults only, but the ships designs need some work. (pool deck is not inviting at all). But we are looking at MSC's new entry in Lux cruising Explora. It is all suites, and everything is included except one up charge restaurant. The ship is beautiful with all top of the line finishes. It is not adults only but very few children are on board. The pricing is actually less then Celebrity right now which probably won't last. But check them out

[George C]

If you like celebrity suite perks , try MSc yacht club even better perks cheaper prices.

[Loracpin2]

On 9/1/2024 at 11:28 AM, Hilaurennn said:

Thanks for your reccomendations! I will check them out. 

 

I forgot to specify but when I say vibe, I mean relaxed. We don't actually drink, or want to party, or want to be surrounded by younger people doing so which is what we liked about celebrity. Virgin voyages looks like hell to me from what I've seen! Lots of drinking,  partying etc which I get is some people vibes but not what we're looking for 🙂

OCEANIA!!!!

[Hilaurennn]

On 9/1/2024 at 7:00 PM, Stem to Stern said:

May I ask OP why specifically are you looking to jump ship?

Hi, sure! As we are new cruisers, we haven't got experience with others companies. We don't know if celebrity is great, or if it's great because it's the only company we've been with :) we were thinking it would be good to try something different to get a feel for cruising in general 

[Hilaurennn]

22 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

We find Princess to be the closest to Celebrity. They are interchangeable for us. We book the line that has the better itinerary or price. I have Princess booked for 2026 but when Celebrity releases their summer Europe itinerary I would cancel Princess if Celebrity was offering a better price on a similar itinerary.

Oh very interesting! We have seen cruises with similar itineraries with princess and they are about £1000 cheaper! Would you say princess feels less premium compared to Celebrity (on ship)? 

[Hilaurennn]

7 hours ago, Tierun said:

For comparable prices and ship sizes Virgin, Princess, and Holland America are your best bets. Silversea was mentioned, but it’s a smaller ship experience and is only a price comparison to Celebrity’s retreat. If you want a smaller ship experience I’d recommend Oceania.

I did look at silversea and was shocked by the pricing! It may be an option someday but not for now :)

[Stem to Stern]

25 minutes ago, Hilaurennn said:

We don't know if celebrity is great, or if it's great because it's the only company we've been with :) we were thinking it would be good to try something different to get a feel for cruising in general 

We have sailed on Celebrity about a dozen times.  Like yourselves we also like to try other lines to keep our travel fresh and exciting.  We have tried Azamara, Crystal, and MSC Yacht Club.  
 

Crystal has gotten a bit pricier in recent years, but we regard our only Crystal experience as the tantamount in luxury, service, and country club casual atmosphere.  The culinary options, full promenade and spacious pool deck really wowed us. 

 

MSC Yacht Club impressed us with its spacious, self-contained, ship-within-a-ship concept enabling us to never leave the privacy and exclusivity of the Yacht Club if we chose not to.  But we also had the fun, party atmosphere available in the GenPop if we wanted to go explore.  MSC’s Sea- ships are glitzy and gorgeous.

 

Azamara is a much smaller, cozier on board experience with only 600 or so passengers.  It might remind you of your favorite boutique hotel.  Older, but beautifully maintained and traditionally decorated smaller vessels that allow for sailing into smaller and more interesting ports of call.  We have our second Azamara cruise booked.  It is a 9-nighter starting in Dublin and ending in Reykjavik with only one day at sea.  We have two stops in The Faroe Islands and five stops in Iceland.

 

On all three of these we found fellow passengers civilized and eager to socialize and engage, but they did not party like it’s 1999.

 

The following holds true in the US and Canada.  I gather you are in the UK, so I do not know how different travel agencies are there.  In the US I sought out and found a good travel agent by asking around.  You are not allowed to ask here.  It is against Cruise Critic rules.

 

Eventually I started working with other travel agents that offer better “group pricing” and perks such as on board credit compared to booking directly through the cruise line.  I compare offers from various travel agents and let them know I am comparing.  More often than not they will work to earn my business.  

Don’t be put off by prices on the cruise lines’ websites.  You may be surprised at some of the group prices travel agents have.  I have also been booking very far out into the future.  So far this year, I have placed deposits on cruises into April 2026.  

Other earlier mentions of Viking and Oceania are also intriguing.  I agree with you regarding Virgin Voyages - hard pass.  Many Celebrity cruisers have migrated to Princess and Holland America for more varied itineraries.  You should also try Celebrity’s other two classes of ships.  
 

If you want to continue to have premium experiences like you had on Apex, then you may have to splurge and up your cruise budget a bit.  Because I strive for the best experiences for my money, I spend a considerable amount of time researching and planning.  Cruise Critic, Facebook groups, and YouTube are excellent places to start.  Cruising is a wonderful way to explore the world.   I hope this is of some help to you.😃

[Hilaurennn]

This is extremely helpful. Thank you so much for sharing!

[Iamcruzin]

2 hours ago, Hilaurennn said:

Oh very interesting! We have seen cruises with similar itineraries with princess and they are about £1000 cheaper! Would you say princess feels less premium compared to Celebrity (on ship)? 

 As far as standard  rooms Celebrity feels more premium. Actually even Royal Caribbean is more comfortable. I don't like the room configuration on Princess. It's been the same since my first sailing in 1991. The rooms and showers are small. No proper chair to sit on. If you order room service you are either eating at the desk sitting in the only chair or eating in bed like a hospital stay. The newer ships have deluxe balconies which means you get a sofa bed in that room. On the older ships you have to book a mini suite in order to get a sitting area. As far as the public areas go they are both the same with Princess having more of a traditional luxury feel and Celebrity being modern luxury as their slogan went. To me they are interchangeable. I don't feel any different on either one.  So much has changed over the years that I really don't think they are as premium has they once were. The only thing that sets them apart from Royal Caribbean is an older demographic and lack of an onboard amusement park. 

I am at the point where I just look for a good price and itinerary and don't worry about the on board experience as much. It only sets you up for disapointment.

Edited September 2 by Iamcruzin

[Travel-and-See]

On 9/1/2024 at 11:28 AM, Hilaurennn said:

Virgin voyages looks like hell to me from what I've seen! Lots of drinking,  partying etc which I get is some people vibes but not what we're looking for 🙂

I've sailed with both Virgin and Celebrity - I would say they are very comparable as far as vibe and actually Virgin is a bit more quiet and relaxed.  If you have any specific questions comparing them I'm happy to answer.  I've often said if I could take what I like from Celebrity and Virgin I could build the perfect cruise line for myself! haha. 

 

Virgin does not offer unlimited drink packages so if anything there is less drinking cause it's pay as you go. 

 

The other line you may want to consider is Holland America... the downside is it can feel like a floating retirement center. But the service is great and you won't see many kids. 

[PROCRUISE]

For a real jump to something different, look into Windstar, especially the two sail vessels. You'd love the Society Islands cruise out of Tahiti.

[PROCRUISE]

9 minutes ago, Travel-and-See said:

I've sailed with both Virgin and Celebrity - I would say they are very comparable as far as vibe and actually Virgin is a bit more quiet and relaxed.  If you have any specific questions comparing them I'm happy to answer.  I've often said if I could take what I like from Celebrity and Virgin I could build the perfect cruise line for myself! haha. 

 

Virgin does not offer unlimited drink packages so if anything there is less drinking cause it's pay as you go. 

 

The other line you may want to consider is Holland America... the downside is it can feel like a floating retirement center. But the service is great and you won't see many kids. 

HAL, with the three pinnacle class ships, has made a big effort to attract younger clientele, especially with the music walk area. Service and food is outstanding.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 9/1/2024 at 11:28 AM, Hilaurennn said:

We don't actually drink, or want to party, or want to be surrounded by younger people doing so which is what we liked about celebrity.

Princess outside of US school holidays

 

3 hours ago, Hilaurennn said:

We have seen cruises with similar itineraries with princess and they are about £1000 cheaper! Would you say princess feels less premium compared to Celebrity (on ship)? 

 

about the same, but you must make sure you are sailing on Regal Princess and newer.

Edited September 2 by Itchy&Scratchy

[canderson]

8 hours ago, Hilaurennn said:

I did look at silversea and was shocked by the pricing! It may be an option someday but not for now 🙂

One reason for the price difference is that their smallest cabins are quite large by comparison.  It's an 'all suite' ship with a lot of inclusions in the price vs. a lot of add-ons. Pricing can at times be comparable to smaller Celebrity suites.

[wrk2cruise]

13 hours ago, PROCRUISE said:

For a real jump to something different, look into Windstar, especially the two sail vessels. You'd love the Society Islands cruise out of Tahiti.

 

We took our first non-Celebrity cruise (Auckland to Tahiti) in January this year on a Windstar motor yacht and will have 52 days on Windstar by the end of the year and only 38 on Celebrity.

 

Overall we found the experience of the 312 passenger ship much like a full ship Retreat with the quality of the food and service and the size of the cabins.   The majority of the cabins are Oceanview suites about the size of a M class Sky Suite but much more comfortable with a very nice seating area with sofa and 2 comfortable chairs, a walkin closet.  The bathrooms were all replaced in the 2020 $250 million stretch and refit.

 

Down side is no casino and very little entertainment.   Smoking policy is like Celebrtiy, no smoking inside.  Frankly I don't remember seeing anyone smoking onboard other than crew in their private outside area on the aft deck on the way to the marine platform.

[hcat]

21 hours ago, Hilaurennn said:

I did look at silversea and was shocked by the pricing! It may be an option someday but not for now :)

we had the same reaction..above pur budget!

 

Read an article today that Oceania will sail from Tampa..with  some longer itins..Most of the ports are ones we've been to.  Wishing 

for smaller ports & new itins. 

Still it will be  another option from Tampa

[docsneeze]

I vote for Oceania for a similar "vibe" to Celebrity.  The ships are smaller (1200 pax) and entertainment is relatively boring but you find that on smaller ships.  Almost no kids and the food is generally excellent.  Even their buffet used to offer lobster tails, crab legs, steak cooked to order nightly.  Specialty restaurants are included and fairly good.  Just doesn't include alcohol so avoid premium prices of Silversea, Seabourn, etc.  Ship is very boring after 10 pm so keep that in mind.  Service and amenities comparable and even slightly better.  We changed from Celebrity to Oceania for several years but now back to Celebrity, ironically because they have Kids Clubs for our son!!!  Don't think mass market lines including Princess is going to meet your needs after traveling on Celebrity E class.

[Harrisonkid]

I’d vote Princess for  similar experience.. or go very upscale and enjoy all of those benefits

[MandL]

Here's another vote for Windstar.  Don't get me wrong, I've lost count on how many days/nights we've sailed with Celebrity, but we just sailed our first 23 night Windstar this year in Europe, and absolutely loved it.  It was everything "wrk2cruise" stated.  Looking forward to sailing Windstar again.  Happy to hear you are looking to sail again.  That's a good thing!

[Hilaurennn]

What does everyone think to MSC Virtuosa... Is this completely the opposite of what I'm looking for? (Calm, not too rowdy, we're in our 30's, non drinkers and want to relax) or something to consider? 🙂   

[Liao]

39 minutes ago, Hilaurennn said:

What does everyone think to MSC Virtuosa... Is this completely the opposite of what I'm looking for? (Calm, not too rowdy, we're in our 30's, non drinkers and want to relax) or something to consider? 🙂   

Are you booking Yacht Club with MSC?  That's their ship in a ship category.  Outside of that MSC is a much different experience.

[Essiesmom]

44 minutes ago, Liao said:

Are you booking Yacht Club with MSC?  That's their ship in a ship category.  Outside of that MSC is a much different experience.

Outside the YC on MSC the experience is much like any other mass market cruise line.  The big mess can be the buffet because MSC does not scatter food venues around the ship, such as pool deck.   Burgers , dogs, pizza…they are all somewhere in the buffet.  EM

Edited September 8 by Essiesmom

[Liao]

3 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Outside the YC on MSC the experience is much like any other mass market cruise line.  The big mess can be the buffet because MSC does not scatter food venues around the ship, such as pool deck.   Burgers , dogs, pizza…they are all somewhere in the buffet.  EM

No personal experience on MSC and I never will, but the videos I have seen of non YC areas, zero appeal.

[Tom47]

We have never cruised on MSC.  From everything that I have read, there are some drawbacks to cruising with MSC.  However, my sister and her spouse have cruised with them several times and like them.  They started cruising with them after several cruises with Costa.  Then Costa ran out of toilet paper.  No more Costa for them