Is Celebrity a good fit for me?

[formerlivaboard]

I've gotten mixed feedback. One TA told me Celebrity was her favorite cruise line and we would love it. Another TA told me Celebrity tends to have an older crowd aboard and we might not like it. I do think a lot of it comes down to personal preference. But I am having such a hard time choosing between Celebrity, Princess, and Royal for our upcoming cruise.

 

It's just going to be DH and myself, celebrating our 10th anniversary. We are in our mid-30's. We are more subdued types, not big into the party scene, but we do like to have fun. :D The celebrity ships look absolutely stunning to me. I'd love to go on one, but I'm just afraid that there might not a lot of others our age. Or enough activities to keep us busy for 3 days at sea. Any thoughts? The ship we would sail on would be the Solstice.

[karenbeanpole]

Celebrity is 5 star, Princess 4 star. We recently came back from the Eclipse and vowed that we would definitely return! It is such a calm ship, enough noise, enough going on for OUR needs. Obviously if you want to party, they do have them, if you don't want to party, you can avoid them. It's classy. The whole ship had great ambience without any snobbery.

 

The Celebrity has mixed ages, but majority on the one to the Baltics was able bodied 50 yr olds. I think any 20 something upwards who want a bit of luxury, class, good food, good company would enjoy it. People are so friendly, staff are excellent, and we were so chilled!

 

Just a tip in case you do go for Celebrity - don't bother with paying a lot more for aqua class unless money is no object. We had a balcony on the 7th deck, and paid extra to use the Persian Gardens (USD200 roughly for 2 of us for 14 days), which works out cheaper than the aqua class cabins. Obviously you get to dine in Blu, but the MDR is fantastic, you will not starve!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I've gotten mixed feedback. One TA told me Celebrity was her favorite cruise line and we would love it. Another TA told me Celebrity tends to have an older crowd aboard and we might not like it. I do think a lot of it comes down to personal preference. But I am having such a hard time choosing between Celebrity, Princess, and Royal for our upcoming cruise.

 

It's just going to be DH and myself, celebrating our 10th anniversary. We are in our mid-30's. We are more subdued types, not big into the party scene, but we do like to have fun. :D The celebrity ships look absolutely stunning to me. I'd love to go on one, but I'm just afraid that there might not a lot of others our age. Or enough activities to keep us busy for 3 days at sea. Any thoughts? The ship we would sail on would be the Solstice.

 

The only way you will know for sure will be to try it. What sorts of activities do you require to keep you busy during 3 days at sea? Celebrity has various activities, but they may not be to your taste. If you are on a longer cruise, the crowd will be older because they are the ones who have more time to cruise. I've definitely observed people in their 30s and 40s on Celebrity cruises.

[TxnAquarian]

Do Celebrity! I'm 34 and my partner is 35. We just did our first Celebrity cruise in June to the Mediterranean. We had an amazing time. It is more high-end and refined than Princess or Royal Caribbean, but it is still an active and fun ship. The service is superior and the food is great. There were all ages from kids (which we never saw) to seniors. We met a great group of people and never lacked for something to do. And the Solarium is the single greatest space on any ship I've been on. I have to admit, that on sea days, we would spend hours in the Solarium reading and sleeping. It's SO relaxing. The ships are, in my opinion, the most beautiful at sea. They remind of me of really high-end boutique hotels that I've stayed at in South Beach and the south of France.

 

I don't know what price point you're looking at, but we stayed in Aqua Class and can't suggest it enough. We had complimentary bottled water, fresh iced tea and canapes delivered everyday, the bathroom has a great spa shower and bath amenities and you get a pillow menu. Also, you can dine in Blu, which is some of the finest food at sea.

 

I guarantee if you do Celebrity, you won't look at any other cruise line. I am sold on this product and highly suggest it.

 

 

 

 

Michael

[gunnerstahl24]

Formerlivaboard,

 

I'm 25 and will be taking my GF on her first cruise in the fall on Celebrity. I presume we will be one of the youngest couples onboard but we are looking for a more relaxed and romantic atmosphere and that's why we chose Celebrity over RCI.

 

However, I think the biggest factor that determines age on your specific ship will be the location and length of the itinerary.

 

I tried not to let the "age" thought process affect my decision but rather searched for the best value.

 

Good luck and let us know how you fare!

[formerlivaboard]

Thanks for all the feedback so far! I think I'm leaning towards Celebrity but just need to know that I won't feel out of place. Seriously, the pictures I've seen look amazing! From the decor of the staterooms to the Solarium...it looks like what I'm looking for. I really don't want to be on a cruise with tons of kids. We have two small kids, and we want a break! ;) When I look at pics of the H2O pool on the Royal ship, I feel like it's a bit too busy for me. I want fun, but peace and quiet sometimes too.

 

The itinerary we are looking at is an eastern caribbean trip with stops in San Juan, St. Thomas, and St. Maartan. All 3 are ports I'd love to go to. The Royal cruise stops in Cococay, St. Thomas and St. Maartan. And Princess goes to their private island, St. Thomas, St. Maartan, and Grand Turk. Actually, I like the Princess itinerary better just because there is one less day at sea. But all in all, I think I like the look of the Celebrity ships more.

 

Thanks everyone!

[Gonzo70]

My wife and I sailed Celebrity three times in our 30's, including two transatlantics (so tons of sea days). We love Celebrity and they have become our preferred line. While the average age was definitely higher than ours, there were some other couples in their 30s but we also had a great time with others regardless of their ages. There definitely is less activities (and less nightlife) than Celebrity's sister cruise line (RCI), but we still found plenty to do. The martini bar is generally lively, the S-Class ships have the Lawn Club where you can play croquet, bocce ball etc. There is a nice gym for working out. There is trivia contests daily. We also passed some time reading and gazing out at the ocean. Celebrity does an amazing job with the design of their ships; the S-Class ships are truly amazing. They are definitely worth trying out.

[ariawoman]

Thanks for all the feedback so far! I think I'm leaning towards Celebrity but just need to know that I won't feel out of place. Seriously, the pictures I've seen look amazing! From the decor of the staterooms to the Solarium...it looks like what I'm looking for. I really don't want to be on a cruise with tons of kids. We have two small kids, and we want a break! ;) When I look at pics of the H2O pool on the Royal ship, I feel like it's a bit too busy for me. I want fun, but peace and quiet sometimes too.

 

The itinerary we are looking at is an eastern caribbean trip with stops in San Juan, St. Thomas, and St. Maartan. All 3 are ports I'd love to go to. The Royal cruise stops in Cococay, St. Thomas and St. Maartan. And Princess goes to their private island, St. Thomas, St. Maartan, and Grand Turk. Actually, I like the Princess itinerary better just because there is one less day at sea. But all in all, I think I like the look of the Celebrity ships more.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

I can't speak for Celebrity yet as I've not taken my first (10/10 baby!) however I'm a 37 year old.

 

I went on HAL last year (known as well to be an older crowd) and I didn't once feel the least bit out of place. You're going to get all ages, regardless of the "average" age of the ship. You won't be alone in your age group! Even if you are, who cares! You're there to spend time with your husband of 10 years :-)

 

Book it, go, have fun! I'm planning on having fun on the Equinox on 10/10 in the med!

[bellringers]

There many be an "older" crowd on Celebrity, but some "older" couples may be a whole lot more interesting and fun to be around then going on a cruise with everybody the same age.

[formerlivaboard]

There many be an "older" crowd on Celebrity, but some "older" couples may be a whole lot more interesting and fun to be around then going on a cruise with everybody the same age.

 

Very true! And sometimes I'd rather be around fewer people my own age!

[boogs]

There many be an "older" crowd on Celebrity, but some "older" couples may be a whole lot more interesting and fun to be around then going on a cruise with everybody the same age.

 

At 61, I may be 'quaintly weathered', but I certainly don't consider myself to be old :D I find most people on Celebrity ships to be quite young at heart, regardless of age.

[GoldenRose]

I'm in my 30's and DH is in his early 40's, and we tried Celebrity for the first time last year. We had our 5 year old son with us, and my DM and DSF. We'd previously cruised in recent years with Royal Caribbean and NCL. We loved Celebrity (we were on the Eclipse.) We also have really enjoyed RCCL, and sailed with them multiple times, but we disliked NCL. Celebrity has become our favored cruise line, but we're trying Disney Cruise Line next year now that we have 2 kids. (We're considering also doing another Celebrity cruise next year as well, but they don't have much for babies on board.)

 

There were others our age onboard the ship; we didn't feel out of place at all. We thought Celebrity's food was wonderful, although admittedly, we spent a lot of time in the specialty restaurants. We enjoyed the wine tastings, and the live music throughout the ship. We thought the ship was elegantly appointed, and very beautiful. There were things we missed from various RCCL ships, but honestly, we enjoyed the overall experience on Celebrity more.

 

We'd definitely have booked another Celebrity cruise already if we didn't currently have a new baby in the family. (Finding lines with good infant programs is difficult, which is how we decided on the Disney cruise.) We're considering another cruise for next year anyway; we're trying to figure out what the best vacation for us will be, and our vacation on Celebrity was wonderful enough that we're really considering another cruise, even with the additional difficulties of traveling with a baby.

[royalcruz]

I love Celebrity, but RCCL ships offer a lot more fun and entertainment. You might enjoy a RCCL cruise if you spend time at the quieter Solarium pool.

[JRarey]

We have sailed Celebrity 4 or 5 times and have found that it depends on the crowd on that particular sailing.

 

We found ourselves roaming the decks and bars looking for anyone doing anything on a couple of our cruises. Our last cruise we met up with a great group of people and we found ourselves closing down the bars and even the disco but we were closing the bars about 11 pm, way to early for us.

 

We are in our 50's and enjoy having fun but not serious partiers. We really did have difficulty finding things to do in the evenings to entertain us.

 

That being said, Celebrity is a great cruise line, we are sailing them again in a few weeks. We have also booked the Oasis with the same group of friends we made on our last Celebrity cruise looking for somethings to keep us busy in the evenings. We haven't sailed Royal before so looking forward to seeing how everything compares.

 

no matter what, a cruise is always great, so enjoy!

[YoPhilly]

We're booked on our first Celebrity cruise and I'm really looking forward to trying it. I've cruised 11 times with Princess, twice with Carnival, once with HAL and once with Oceania. At this point, Oceania is my top pick. I wouldn't particularly choose HAL or Carnival again unless it was too good to pass up. Princess has always worked for us, but we're looking for a different experience.

[Kathie44]

I have cruised X 8 times and RCCL 4. I had great cruises on RCCL, but have settled on X as my true favorite. Here are some things other posters have mentioned that I will address:

 

Kids--You will find a lot less kids on X. Although I have never had a problem with kids on RCCL, there are usually hundreds of them. The first cruise DH and I took was in Jan. of '02 and there were close to 700 kids there, even though it was right after Christmas and they should've been back in school. There are nowhere near that number on X.

 

Fun and entertainment--I don't know how anyone could say RCCL has more than X. There is so much to do, it's sometimes hard to choose. The production shows are spectacular and the other shows were very good. The music in the lounges was great and Richard Rubin, the piano player in Michael's club, was fabulous My trivia team had a ball with his "Name that Tune" sessions between dinner seatings. The timing was good because one of the couples had late seating and were glad to be able to do this evening trivia. The party band was great, as usual.

 

Older crowd--There has always been a mix of ages on my cruises. In June I did a Scand/Russia cruise on Constellation with a friend (we are both widows now). She is almost 79, 12 yrs older than I , and I had to almost drag her off the dance floor in the Reflections nightclub at midnight several times so we could get some sleep and be ready for the next day's excursion. She would hand me her purse and say, "I just want to finish one more dance." The dancing lasted well into the wee hours. The dance parties were always packed with older and younger people dancing up a storm. I do the trivia and other games and met lots of fun people of all ages. My friend dances several days or nights a week at home and she enjoyed the dance classes on board.

I am on the verge of booking a S. Carib cruise on Summit for Feb. with 3 friends from my senior singles group, 2 my age and another one 14 yrs older. It will be the first cruise for two of them and only the 2nd for the other. I love introducing newbies to cruising on X. I have cruised twice with DH's sister and once each with other friends who had cruised with their DHs. It's the best vacation I can think of.

Bottom line--Try it, you'll like it!! :D

 

1/02 Explorer E. Carib. 1/03 Explorer W. Carib. 8/03 Summit Alaska cruise/tour

2/04 Adventure S. Carib 2/05 Galaxy PC 6/06 Jewel Brit. Isles/Nor. Fjords

1/07 Mercury Mex Riv. 1/08 Mercury Aust/NZ 1/09 Galaxy S. Carib.

6/09 Summit Classical Med 1/11 Summit S. Carib. 6/11 Constellation Scand/Russia

About to book--Summit S. Carib 2/12

[jackdiamond]

By the way, Celebrity S class is 5.5 stars, whereas the M class is 5 and the Century 4.5. The Princess Emerald class is 5 stars, and their lesser classes are 4.5 stars.