Tell Me All About Celebrity

[CruisingCatherine]

My H and I have gone on many RCCL cruises. Recently we have branched out to other cruise lines. We have tried Carnival and are taking a cruise in December on Princess. We are considering changing our cruise on the Navigator to a Celebrity Cruise. However, I have many questions about Celebrity. If you all could help me out I would really appreciate it.

 

1. We have heard that the average age of the passengers is somewhat older. Our group of two couples is in our early to mid 30's. Will we fit in with the other passengers?

 

2. Are the activities similar to RCCL as far as belly flop competition, men's sexy legs, the Love and Marriage gameshow, the Quest (An adult Scavenger Hunt), bartender's competition, ect.?

 

3. Are the nightclubs as busy and active late into the night?

 

4. We all like to drink and have fun when we get away from the kids for 4 days a year. On Carnival we noticed a lot of drunk people, on RCCL you don't see that as much. We all get a little tipsy and laugh a lot when we drink. Would that be problematic with Celebrity.

 

5. For those of you who have cruised on RCCL and on Celebrity, what is your comparison?

 

6. What is everyone's favorite feature on Celebrity cruises?

 

Thanks so much to all of you who answer!!:D :D

[Westie1]

My Husband and I have cruised rccl, Princess, Holland and just last weekend a 3 nite Celebrity Cruise.

I would take the RCCL over Princess, and Celebrity. Why? Rccl Navigator of the Seas was the ship we were on. It was newer than any of the ships except the Holland. RCCL Food and activites were excellent. Rooms were very nice. For me , I can enjoy myself on any cruiseline and I do, however on the Rccl and Holland the entire package was great, food , entertainment, service etc. On Princess, the service lacked, entertainmen t was so , so. On Holland, well, we were on the Noordam and it is one year old. I can not say enough about the food, entertainment, rooms, staff etc. Finally Celebrity. We went on a 3 nighter the weekend before last. The food was pretty much the worst I have ever seen on any cruiseline. The room was fine, the staff were fine. The ship was 10 years old, the hot tubs and pools closed at 8:30pm. We had 2nd seating and by the time it ended 8:30 to 11:00pm the hot tub was closed. By the time they got to our table at dinner they were out of a lot of stuff. I will cruise them again for a mini weekend get away but never for a week long. Plus a newer ship might make a huge difference. Huge amount of smokers on this cruise, too. I loved all my cruises, just found the Celebrity would be last on my list.

[bugsy1968]

My Husband and I have cruised rccl, Princess, Holland and just last weekend a 3 nite Celebrity Cruise.

I would take the RCCL over Princess, and Celebrity. Why? Rccl Navigator of the Seas was the ship we were on. It was newer than any of the ships except the Holland. RCCL Food and activites were excellent. Rooms were very nice. For me , I can enjoy myself on any cruiseline and I do, however on the Rccl and Holland the entire package was great, food , entertainment, service etc. On Princess, the service lacked, entertainmen t was so , so. On Holland, well, we were on the Noordam and it is one year old. I can not say enough about the food, entertainment, rooms, staff etc. Finally Celebrity. We went on a 3 nighter the weekend before last. The food was pretty much the worst I have ever seen on any cruiseline. The room was fine, the staff were fine. The ship was 10 years old, the hot tubs and pools closed at 8:30pm. We had 2nd seating and by the time it ended 8:30 to 11:00pm the hot tub was closed. By the time they got to our table at dinner they were out of a lot of stuff. I will cruise them again for a mini weekend get away but never for a week long. Plus a newer ship might make a huge difference. Huge amount of smokers on this cruise, too. I loved all my cruises, just found the Celebrity would be last on my list.

 

You can't really judge a cruise line based on a 3 night cruise. I would assume that the other cruises you took were longer duration. It sounds like you were on a repositioning cruise and therefore I'm not really surprised to hear of issues. My first cruise was on Celebrity in 1993 and no cruise I have taken since (Holland America, NCL, Costa, and Princess) have come anywhere close to comparing. I was just on a Princess cruise this past summer and found the food was just ok and the service was awful. The ship was so crowded. Celebrity is really ideal for people who like good service and tehy used to be know for the best food, but it's been a while so I don't know. If you like all the bells and glitz, you would probably like RCCL better.

[Lois R]

Hi, sorry I cannot give you a comparison but wanted to answer

one of your questions:)

.2) "Are the activities similar to RCCL as far as belly flop competition, men's sexy legs, the Love and Marriage gameshow, the Quest (An adult Scavenger Hunt), bartender's competition, ect.?"

 

No they don't have the bellyflop, quest or the men's sexy legs contests.

 

I believe I have heard they do sometimes have the Newlywed Game.

 

I have met passengers of all ages. I am 49 so older than you.

But I have met passengers in their 20s as well as in their 70s.

 

I love Celebrity...I enjoy more of the laid back atmosphere.

But yes, in the evenings I have been to the disco and it can

be quite busy too.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to go on like that....was going to answer

question #2 only;)

[Westie1]

The cruise we were on was a Seattle to Vancouver, Naniamo to return in Seattle. It is called a Pacific coastal Cruise. It is offered all through the Fall up here. Why would a three day have such bad food and a week long have better food? I can tell you we had friends that were on the same cruise that booked the CC level and their room service menus were incredible. In a standard room , our room service food was very plain.

So maybe it depends if you are in a CC room? Plus shutting down the pools and hottubs so early , happens on the entire week long ones too?

Just wondering.

Thanks

[cruisead]

To be very honest, Celebrity is a more refined experience when compared to RCCI or Carnival. I've rarely seen people drunk and acting loud on a Celebrity cruise. And depending on when you're planning this cruise, the average age is much higher. Sometimes, it looks like a retiree cruise with a few younger people scattered around.

 

No, you won't find the activities you mentioned on Celebrity. They do have the New and Not So Newlywed game, but that's about it.

 

You're not going to find the "nightclubs" on Celebrity like they have on RCCI. Actually, that's one thing we've found to be lacking on X. There have been times when we've gone to the Bar at the Edge or Rendesvous Lounge at 11, and you were lucky to find 5 people there. And I would categorize the music offered as things that skew to older passengers.

 

Westie, it's common knowledge that those really short cruises leave much to be desired. It's a whole different animal when compared to a 7 day cruise. You mentioned that the food was the worst you've ever experienced. But then in another post you stated that your friends in a CC cabin had much better food, "for room service". So I guess I have to ask, did you think the food in the main dining room was so bad? Or is it because you had a limited choice of food for room service because you weren't in a suite or CC? To be honest, I've found room service on most ships, especially on those behemoth ships of RCCI and Carnival, to have really bad food for room service.

 

I've not noticed that the hot tubs closed early on other X cruises we've been on.

[Mr. Mudd]

My H and I have gone on many RCCL cruises. Recently we have branched out to other cruise lines. We have tried Carnival and are taking a cruise in December on Princess. We are considering changing our cruise on the Navigator to a Celebrity Cruise. However, I have many questions about Celebrity. If you all could help me out I would really appreciate it.

 

1. We have heard that the average age of the passengers is somewhat older. Our group of two couples is in our early to mid 30's. Will we fit in with the other passengers?

 

2. Are the activities similar to RCCL as far as belly flop competition, men's sexy legs, the Love and Marriage gameshow, the Quest (An adult Scavenger Hunt), bartender's competition, ect.?

 

3. Are the nightclubs as busy and active late into the night?

 

4. We all like to drink and have fun when we get away from the kids for 4 days a year. On Carnival we noticed a lot of drunk people, on RCCL you don't see that as much. We all get a little tipsy and laugh a lot when we drink. Would that be problematic with Celebrity.

 

5. For those of you who have cruised on RCCL and on Celebrity, what is your comparison?

 

6. What is everyone's favorite feature on Celebrity cruises?

 

Thanks so much to all of you who answer!!:D :D

 

Hi Catherine:

 

I think that you will find Celebrity a step up from RCCL in the food, entertainment and service department. Princess, in my opinion, is a step up from Celebrity because of the fact that they have a much newer fleet of ships that are in better overall condition. I have found everything else to be about the same when comparing Princess and Celebrity.

Duane

[mardon]

We have done l0 Celebrity cruises and won't go on any other cruiseline. Food is exceptional, crew the best. Never had a bad meal. Entertainment was always great. Art auctions, wine tasting, food demonstrations, trivia, bingo. Enuf activities to keep me busy on days at sea. Don't know about port days because I make sure to leave the ship even if it is just for a couple of hours. I am 60 and have met people of all ages. I think you will find more couples your age on the one week cruises. Once you get into two week cruises, then those cruising are about 55+ because many of them are retired and are able to take that much time. I believe the attention given by the crew is sincere and I love that attention. I always feel like a queen on my celebrity cruises. Leaving Oct. 23 for the Canada/New England on the Constellation. It will be my 3rd to Canada and then next May we go on the Millenium to Alaska, our 3rd Alaska cruise.

 

marlene

[Lois R]

Hi Tracie:)

 

Omg...I must be getting into that "older category":eek:

 

Wait, when I sailed Mercury in March I noticed the disco was

busy every time I went there after dinner:D .....now, busy

as compared to Royal? Probably not....but there were at least

2 dozen to 3 dozen people....partially dancing, partially drinking LOL

[goldenprincess53]

Remember me!! We were on the Splendour two years ago today and I wish I was back again. We have two friends who are currently doing the 14 Med. on Celebrity as we speak - today they are in Florence :o and I wish I was with them right now. They went to the 4GATS for dinner on our recommendation and I can't wait to see how it all went for them.

 

We went on the Celebrity to Alaska last year and was very pleased with my cruise experience (Infinity). This particular cruise seemed to have a few more "over 40" and fewer children. There seemed to be a little more attention paid to the finer details in the dining room, from the table setting through to the dress code for the staff - a bit more formal. I really liked the set-up of the buffet with different food stations. I found the pool area smaller, although very nice lounge chairs, it just seemed to be a bit more conservative.

 

I would travel again with Celebrity as I will with RCCL. I am looking at it all when I book the cruise - mainly the itinerary. We were very close to booking the 14 day Celebrity for the Scandanavian, but then found the 12 day RCCL suited our needs for time and price.

 

Sorry can't help you any more than that - we enjoy both. You certainly seem to be getting around on the cruises and congratulations on your marriage.

[beauxdammit]

IMO, based on your comments and wants, stay with RCCL. Celebrity, in my experience would be a bit too laid back for you. Different strokes for different folks.

[CruisingCatherine]

Thank you all for your honest replies. A laid back cruise sounds fantastic to me and my H. We love the quiet elegance. My best friend and her husband are joining us for this cruise. She loves elegant but she classifies her husband as "country":p He likes to get a little rowdy. This is his first cruise. She is suprising him and wants to get him addicted as she is. Kind of sneaky of her isn't it?;) I think a better fit for him would be RCCL. At least to begin with.

 

My H and I think a Celebrity cruise sounds wonderful. We are kind of beyond many of these activities and tend to enjoy lounging and relaxing more. On my last cruise I spent the whole day in the Solarium avoiding all of the loud pool activities. It was my best sea day ever.

[CruisingCatherine]

Remember me!! We were on the Splendour two years ago today and I wish I was back again. We have two friends who are currently doing the 14 Med. on Celebrity as we speak - today they are in Florence :o and I wish I was with them right now. They went to the 4GATS for dinner on our recommendation and I can't wait to see how it all went for them.

 

You certainly seem to be getting around on the cruises and congratulations on your marriage.

 

It is so wonderful to hear from you again. What I wouldn't give to be on that cruise with your friends. 4GATS was a wonderful experience. I was so upset that I was late for dinner. We didn't realize the time difference from London to Spain. We fixed our watches in London and didn't even think of it again till dinner. It was a great time though!! We are planning on going back to Europe the year after next.

 

You are right about one thing. I have been cruising a lot. The Splendour was my second cruise. I was already completely addicted. My H had no desire to cruise at that point. I knew he was speaking out of ignorance. He had never seen the ocean or been out of the country. So for X-mas I suprised him with a cruise on the Enchantment. Now he is a worse addict than I am. He is always planning the next cruise.:D I have no complaints. I still take the girls trip every year but now I have a couples cruise and a family cruise every year too!!:eek:

[Westie1]

No, iin response to your question. The food was weak in all areas . Dining room, buffet , room service etc. I tried all just to see what I liked best. The third day I just skipped breakfast and lunch. Which made the dinner seem much better.:) They often ran out of food at dinner that was on the menu. I never have a bad time on a cruise. I loved the trip, justI was a bit dismayed at the food. And well, yes the hot tub early closures. So , that sounds typical for the hot tub. As far as the Dancing. It was pretty busy the nite I was up there.

[Drew B]

I've cruised Celebrity and Carnival. Carnival was definitely more lively with more people taking advantage of the nightlife and more drinking. If you enjoy that and the "sexy legs" and "belly flop" kinds of games (and want to sail with others who enjoy it, too), I would think that Carnival and RCCL would be more your speed. Celebrity is more sedate with excellent service and a clientele that seems to enjoy a more formal, traditional experience. It's a subtle difference, and there are all types on all of these lines. However, the AVERAGE type of passenger differs from line to line.

 

You can be yourself on any of these lines and probably have a great time. However, if you want most of the other passengers to have the same priorities and likes and dislikes as yourself, choose accordingly.

[usha]

Why be hung up on appearances? Pretty is as pretty DOES (my mom always used to say:o ), and Celebrity DOES so much to make you feel pampered and relaxed and on vacation.

[Mr. Mudd]

Why be hung up on appearances? Pretty is as pretty DOES (my mom always used to say:o ), and Celebrity DOES so much to make you feel pampered and relaxed and on vacation.

 

Hi usha: I guess on that point to each his/her own. I do expect any ship that I am paying a lot of money to for my vacation to have a good appearance and to be well maintained. I don't know if you have sailed other cruise lines but Celebrity does not have a lock on pampering and relaxation; ALL cruise lines have good food and good service and I always feel pampered and relaxed on every cruise that I have taken. I just wish I had the money to take more cruises on EVERY cruise line!

Duane

[librarycin]

Hi. I am 34 and went on my first cruise in June to Alaska, so I don't have anything else to compare it to. I was with a 29 year old co-worker.

 

We really enjoyed it. I am not a partier, but we did go to the disco a couple of times probably closer to 10:30 or 11:00. We found that it was pretty quiet on nights when there wasn't something specific happening (sock hop - v. busy; disco night - some people, not nearly as many as the sock hop, but more than most nights).

 

There seemed to be a mix of ages on the cruise, though overall, I think it skewed slightly older than us.

 

I loved everything about the cruise - the scenery, the wildlife, the food, and to echo a few others, the service was amazing!

 

My co-worker has already planned another cruise with her husband and they are sticking with Celebrity. As long as I don't have to do my next cruise solo, I hope to stick with Celebrity as well.

[sjde]

Isn't it true, that the newer ships are reserved for the longer cruises and the less nice older ships for the 3 and 4 night and Mexican Riviera cruises?

 

Sue

[Drew B]

Isn't it true, that the newer ships are reserved for the longer cruises and the less nice older ships for the 3 and 4 night and Mexican Riviera cruises?

 

Sue

 

 

Not really. Century is doing short runs in the winter. While it is an older ship, it has been totally redone, so it is effectively the newest ship. Solstice, which will be brand new next year, will be doing 7-day cruises, which are some of the shortest ones offered by Celebrity.

 

Celebrity is not offering ANY Mexican Riviera cruises, per se at this time (although they do hit a couple of MR ports in their Panama Canal crossings).

[bububr]

I have done a number of short cruises from different ports on different ships at varying times of the year and they were all different;) .

 

The age of the ship has nothing to do with anything in my opinion, as a matter of fact my favorite ship ( 10 night cruise ) was on Zenith, Celebritys oldest ship that has just been retired from the fleet. I would sail her again in a heartbeat for the low key ambience, the elequent service and amazing food.

 

Heres an example of a few short cruises:

 

2 night Century ( either Cococay, or Freeport ), older renovated ship. demographics are COMPLETELY different from those on a longer cruise. I wouldn't go so far as to say a BOOZE cruise, but definetly a much younger than usual crowd, more children.....I would say the service and food SEEMED different on this cruise than any of the longer ones I have taken on Century...Not bad, just different. Out of Ft. Lauderdale or Miami in January.

 

2 night Azamara Quest, new to fleet...BEAUTIFUL ship, elegant, traditional, timeless.....Much smaller than most ships ( about 700 pax at most). While brand new and shiny, so was much of the staff, so things were a little slow and confusing, not horrible. Since it was the first sailing and a short one, the demographics were all over the place. However I didn't notice any party animals or booze cruisers. Much more low key than the Century shorties. Food at specialty restaurants excellent, food at open seating in main diningroom equal to regular Celebrity fares. Out of Miami.

 

3 night Mexican Riviera. RCL Monarch is old ship...But it was really nicely laid out and comfortable. Although it is considered small by RCL standards, it is the largest of ships we have been on. By all standards, the food was truly not to our liking, we found service to be practically non-existant, and the demographics were mainly families with young children...and people who don't interact well with others, drink and smoke constantly, and mainly dragged their knuckles when they walked. This DEFINETLY WAS a booze cruise, a free for all, or I think of it as the "trailer park" cruise of my life. However the drinks were good and strong when you could get one, and the 'adult' entertainment was good, but at times very off color and insulting to various groups. If we could have taken the same cruise with a different group of people from a different port, our perspective would most likely have been a more positive one. One again this cruise was in January following one of the shorter Century cruises. We sailed out of San Pedro ( LAX).

 

Last but not least: 3 night PNW on Mercury. The ship was older but in GREAT condition, the demographics were mixed in a really compatible way, people dressed nicely for dinner, the food was excellent, the rooms were comfortable, the service was above and beyond...Everything was of a subdued elegance. A few kids, but mostly well behaved. This was in September after school had started so that may have been a factor. We met SO many nice people. This trip compared to the Mexican Baja trip on RCL was like night and day, good and evil..........Out of Seattle.

 

If my first experience cruising was on the 'party' Monarch of the Seas, I might not cruise again, however If it was on the Mercury, I'd be booking the next one while onboard.

 

So you Can't judge a line by a short cruise However you can get a good idea of what the line/ship is all about and where it may be headed. Although as I said some thing seemed a little different from a longer cruise, but maybe that was because we didn't get to meet or bond as much with the staff or passengers.

 

Now that I've rambled:

 

Tell Me All About Celebrity

My H and I have gone on many RCCL cruises. Recently we have branched out to other cruise lines. We have tried Carnival and are taking a cruise in December on Princess. We are considering changing our cruise on the Navigator to a Celebrity Cruise. However, I have many questions about Celebrity. If you all could help me out I would really appreciate it.

 

1. We have heard that the average age of the passengers is somewhat older. Our group of two couples is in our early to mid 30's. Will we fit in with the other passengers?

 

Yes, we are in our 40's and started in our 30's but we end to make friends with all ages.We have never fel out of place on a Celebrity cruise.

 

2. Are the activities similar to RCCL as far as belly flop competition, men's sexy legs, the Love and Marriage gameshow, the Quest (An adult Scavenger Hunt), bartender's competition, ect.?

 

You might find the occasional pool time games, but they are not like those on RCL. They do have the Newlywed, not so newlywed game, but they don't do the Quest.

 

3. Are the nightclubs as busy and active late into the night?

 

Depends on the sailing, port, month and Itinerary. But on the average they are far less busy than on RCL.

 

4. We all like to drink and have fun when we get away from the kids for 4 days a year. On Carnival we noticed a lot of drunk people, on RCCL you don't see that as much. We all get a little tipsy and laugh a lot when we drink. Would that be problematic with Celebrity.

 

I've only seen a few obnoxious drunk people on Celebrity during my sailings, I've seen ten times that on RCL which was about the same as we saw on Carnival, just older.

 

5. For those of you who have cruised on RCCL and on Celebrity, what is your comparison?

 

IMHO: RCL is a family/party type atmosphere and Celebrity is a more relaxed, restful, laid back vacation.

 

6. What is everyone's favorite feature on Celebrity cruises?

 

The service, then the food, then getting a really good massage at the spa.

 

Thanks so much to all of you who answer!!:D :D

 

 

Hope that helps a little!!

 

Dave:eek:

[Mr. Mudd]

Isn't it true, that the newer ships are reserved for the longer cruises and the less nice older ships for the 3 and 4 night and Mexican Riviera cruises?

 

Sue

 

sjde: DrewB is absolutely correct when he said that newer ships are not reserved for longer cruises. As one poster said "to each his/her own" and I am one who given two equal prices on two ships for the same itinerary, I would always pick the newer ship, on any cruise line, or one that had just been reconditioned for the total ambience of the cruise. Contrary to what some fans of each cruise line will say, ALL cruise lines are about equal in what they offer, with some excelling in one area or another. I choose a cruise line and ship for the itinerary, ship condition and then price. I feel that Princess offers newer ships in better overall condition and that is a important thing to me. Someone else may have a completely different list of priorities and there is nothing wrong with either opinion. You have to choose what works for you.