TeeRick

Yeah I think my dw uses that one too. But we don't really eat rice very often.

Yes I hear Celebrity rice sucks too! 😁

This was our experience too.

We like Coastal Kitchen on RCCL but definitely agree that we like Luminae better.

When we stopped in GC on Equinox (end of January), all bars on the ship except the Pool Bar were closed in port.

We have sailed extensively on both lines. What Celebrity ship will you be on? And what is your favorite and least favorite class of ship on RCCL? That might help us best answer some of your questions. Celebrity has no behemoth, amusement park type ships. On Celebrity you will see almost no kids on longer itineraries and very few as well in non-school vacation or holiday periods. And all the ships are much, much quieter. Definitely an older crowd and many retired folks. Entertainment is generally better on RCCL ships (IMO). Casinos about the same, but Celebrity is non-smoking. Drinks can be free if somebody comes over to your table game. Don't count on this happening too often. There is no equivalent of the Diamond Lounge on Celebrity. But as Elite, you will get happy hour drinks at most bars 5-7pm. You will also get an Elite breakfast every morning. Many people on Celebrity in standard cabins sail with an upgrade "trifecta". Drink package. WiFi. Gratuities. The drink package and WiFi can be classic or premium depending on what you need/want. Celebrity has a suite restaurant (Luminae) that is like Coastal Kitchen. It also has a restaurant called BLU for Aqua Class cabins (no equivalent on RCCL). As you mentioned JR Suite, the lowest level suite on Celebrity is the Sky Suite. It includes all suite benefits, including Luminae, and the upgraded premium "trifecta". Unlike the JR Suite where you get pretty much nothing. I think the MDR food is pretty equivalent on both lines. The buffet (Oceanview) is an improvement in selection and quality over the Windjammer (again, IMO). But the specialty restaurant food is definitely better than the MDR. The number and selection of specialty restaurants depends on the Celebrity ship so consider that if you book a multi-night dining package. The E-Class ships have 4 different MDR's. Hope this all helps. And enjoy Celebrity.

I was in a CS recently and there were flowers in the cabin when we arrived. Unfortunately I have no recent (post-pandemic) experience with a Sky Suite but in previous sailings we always got flowers. And we would ask the butler to refresh them every few days.

If by chance you are in a suite they will provide free flowers. But would they will be the exact type you are looking for?

Yes a butler is the same as a Genie on RCCL.

There are a lot of complaints here about the Basic WiFi. Less about the Premium WiFi.

OK thanks. We have done the "small" excursions and they only thing small is the crowded minibus.

You might also ask about this on the Italy Ports of Call Board here on CC. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/464-italy-ports/

No of course not and you certainly know that. I understand that they are different vacations and experiences. Land vs. Sea. But I was just mentioning that we have other vacation choices for the price of a cruise. Many of us learned this in the long cruising shutdown. So if some are unhappy with Celebrity, or the food or whatever, why not consider other choices (or cruise lines)?

Yes just use anytime dining. You might have to wait in a short line.

Actually this day and age - it might be more difficult to get things done as everything is mostly automated. A good old fashioned face to face with a real person who can solve problems and issues is not common anymore. But once on board you can do that. This will highly likely be resolved to your satisfaction once on board.

We have been taking more land vacations instead of cruises. We rented a house near the beach this winter in FL for a month, for about the Celebrity sky suite price for two for a 7 day cruise. No brainer.

Yes totally agree.

Thanks for the details! Very helpful when a reviewer provides good feedback with the details to support their opinion. It beats sensationalized comments every time with me.

Thanks Anne. Your opinion carries a bit more weight with me. Like you, for the first time in years we do not have a Celebrity cruise booked. But not really because of food quality. We sailed Equinox in January in a CS and dined in Luminae, Murano and Tuscan. We had no issues with the food and service. Unfortunate about your Luminae experience on Beyond. We do not have Celebrity booked because we mostly sail suites and their prices are insane (IMO). So we are looking for another cruise line.

I agree with others - not really a good comparison between the retrofitted Retreat areas on S-Class and the designed Retreat on E-Class. But I have sailed both in a suite and have very much enjoyed both. That is all that counts with me anyway.

I would not worry too much in advance. Others accounts will be subjective too.

Revolution. This is not about stepping up their game - but about spending as they (RCG) are under a mountain of debt. I totally agree that it would be nice if they could start again modernizing the older M-Class (Infinity & Constellation) as was planned. Followed by the S-Class. Maybe at least in strategic steps to spend the capital in a sound manner for investors. The remaining new builds are almost finished (Ascent) and the next one planned and committed (sunk cost). Celebrity is a division and does not have its own Board. All of the ships are sailing pretty full with all ages including Boomers. That is the primary thing they care about.

@FireEMT978 first off thanks for your comments. About food quality here, people will agree or disagree as it is highly subjective. As @prmssk on the same cruise states in their response as liking the food. But how do you define Celebrity Loyalists as you think they will be upset by your review? It seems like a negative connotation. Why launch it ? I would think that many, many members here on the Celebrity Board who sail Celebrity dozens of times or more enjoy this cruise line and its ships and come here to talk about it. They are varied in opinion and also have their own subjective comments about food. If they liked it on their particular cruise - and don't agree with your negative take- why disparage them? Sometimes we are all guilty of doing this one way or another. Me included.

Have you been there? There are a lot of Amusement park like activities at Labadee. Roller Coaster, Zip lines. And yes water park. Not just a private quiet beach by any means. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/blog/8-hours-in-labadee/

The dinner buffet in the OVC on Equinox was truly scaled back to just a few choices when we cruised in January. Very disappointing, although we rarely use it. The breakfast and lunch buffets were pretty normal. From comments here since that time, the dinner buffet on most if not all ships has become much better in terms of open stations and selections. But still not quite back to what it was prior to 2023.