Considering first Celebrity cruise

[cyntil8ing]

My husband and I are considering several Southern Caribbean cruises leaving from San Juan in December. We're relative cruise newbies, having been once on Royal Caribbean and twice on Carnival. We've enjoyed all three cruises, but don't have a favorite line.

 

I know the main attraction of the Southern Caribbean route is the ports, lots of them!, and busy days. But, my husband and I are night owls, and really enjoyed dancing in the Carnival disco until the wee hours. We liked the mix of current dance and latin they played. We liked the younger crowd and the high energy.

 

We're not party people and the heavy drinking, hairy chest contest and conga lines around the pool deck don't have any attraction to us. However, a bored DJ spinning 80's hits as the only night life is a fear of mine. We avoid kareoke at all costs!

 

Will we find what we're looking for on the Summit?

[kitty9]

I'll be honest, Celebrity isn't as lively at night, and late into the night, as RCI or Carnival. While it's not all retirees, there isn't the selection of venues on Summit that you'd find on other lines. The liveliest lounge will be the disco on deck 11. But Celebrity does have a lot going for it such as better food and service, a more elegant atmosphere and not nearly as many families on board. You're also not going to find the pool games such as the hairy chest contests on Celebrity.

[woodofpine]

My husband and I are considering several Southern Caribbean cruises leaving from San Juan in December. We're relative cruise newbies, having been once on Royal Caribbean and twice on Carnival. We've enjoyed all three cruises, but don't have a favorite line.

 

I know the main attraction of the Southern Caribbean route is the ports, lots of them!, and busy days. But, my husband and I are night owls, and really enjoyed dancing in the Carnival disco until the wee hours. We liked the mix of current dance and latin they played. We liked the younger crowd and the high energy.

 

We're not party people and the heavy drinking, hairy chest contest and conga lines around the pool deck don't have any attraction to us. However, a bored DJ spinning 80's hits as the only night life is a fear of mine. We avoid kareoke at all costs!

 

Will we find what we're looking for on the Summit?

 

 

NO.

 

No offense really, the best party and dancing I've seen was on Summit; BUT IT WAS New Years Eve! Any ship ought to be hopping that night!

 

Otherwise, Celebrity is more sedate than Carnival or RCCL. You're likelihood of a moderately bored DJ flexing his disco music muscle with Duran Duran is pretty high. In fact, its more likely to be worse than that than better...

[cyntil8ing]

Thanks for the honest opinions! I can't say I'm surprised at the answers but I wanted to check. I don't see this is as precluding us from choosing this cruise, just as another factor to weigh. I'm of the opinion we'll be so tired from the days' activities that dancing all night wouldn't be too enticing anyway.

 

I'm going to need a spreadsheet for this pro/con list I'm building! I'm still leaning to Celebrity for the "new to us" factor, but the extra port on the Carnival itinerary is a big plus for my husband. The costs are nearly identical. Then there's Princess and a Royal Caribbean cruises to consider too.

 

Arg! It makes me want to just throw a dart to decide. We've been batting this around for weeks.

[hajekfam]

We have also found a correlation on Celebrity cruises between the number of ports and the amount of time at the ports and the nightlife. The more and busier the ports, the less nightlife. A cruise with few and short port stops have a more lively nightlife but even that doesn't last into the wee hours (much past 1 or 2am).

[woodofpine]

Thanks for the honest opinions! I can't say I'm surprised at the answers but I wanted to check. I don't see this is as precluding us from choosing this cruise, just as another factor to weigh. I'm of the opinion we'll be so tired from the days' activities that dancing all night wouldn't be too enticing anyway.

 

I'm going to need a spreadsheet for this pro/con list I'm building! I'm still leaning to Celebrity for the "new to us" factor, but the extra port on the Carnival itinerary is a big plus for my husband. The costs are nearly identical. Then there's Princess and a Royal Caribbean cruises to consider too.

 

Arg! It makes me want to just throw a dart to decide. We've been batting this around for weeks.

 

Well on the Plus side, I think cruise travel media and probably all the posters on this thread would opine that Celebrity has better more sophisticated staff service and better more sophisticated food than either Carnival or RCCL (generally). The interior design of the M-ships may not be quite as 'Oh WOW!' as some newer RCCL or Carnival ships but the interior decor - art work etc. - will be more sophisticated and elegant than them. Summit will almost certainly be less crowded with more deck space per passenger than your prior cruises. Celebrity is going for a different feel and style.

 

Having given Carnival and RCCL a shot, if the itinerary is to your liking, give X a try. There are some things at which it will clearly excel. The night life will depend somewhat on the passenger mix of that given cruise. Truth be told, that's not really X' product niche, but with luck you might find a bunch of like minded spirits have chosen the same cruise...

[weliketocruise86]

My husband and I are considering several Southern Caribbean cruises leaving from San Juan in December. We're relative cruise newbies, having been once on Royal Caribbean and twice on Carnival. We've enjoyed all three cruises, but don't have a favorite line.

 

I know the main attraction of the Southern Caribbean route is the ports, lots of them!, and busy days. But, my husband and I are night owls, and really enjoyed dancing in the Carnival disco until the wee hours. We liked the mix of current dance and latin they played. We liked the younger crowd and the high energy.

 

We're not party people and the heavy drinking, hairy chest contest and conga lines around the pool deck don't have any attraction to us. However, a bored DJ spinning 80's hits as the only night life is a fear of mine. We avoid kareoke at all costs!

 

Will we find what we're looking for on the Summit?

 

No.

We have just returned from Summit, much prefer Royal Caribbean. Some extra touches such as the cold towels were nice though.

In our opinion, the buffet selections were poor on Celebrity and are much better on Royal as is the entertainment.

We are not particularly night owls ourselves and were on late dining on the Summit which is just as well.

We are not saying we wouldn't cruise again with Celebrity but given a like for like choice, itinerary/price, Royal Caribbean would be our first choice.