Questions from first time celebrity cruiser transatlantics

[Mrs. Wilburforce]

Greetings from Northwest Indiana :)

A little background first. My DH and I are in our mid 50's and took our first cruise last Jan. On the QM2. We honestly thought we'd probably return to land travel after the cruise, but we're hooked. We will never cruise enough to be elites or 4 star mariners, so I am trying to sail with a different cruise line every vacation. If I find something closer to Cunard and less costly, I'll stick with that. I recently did the partial transit Panama Canal cruise on Island Princess with my sister and sil for her birthday and had a great time. After reviewing my pictures and hearing my experiences, DH still won't budge from Cunard.

Has anyone sailed both Cunard and Celebrity and can you compare the experience? Also, what is the best ship for the Transatlantic from Ft Lauderdale? I am looking at the itineraries and the fact that the ship leaves from a warm water port and it looks like a great cruise. We both love sea days and I can't think of a more cost effective way to go back to Europe.

One more question. I'm finding that the cost of airfare is cheaper booking a RT as opposed to the one way. Does this lead to problems only using half of a RT ticket? Since 911, I've heard of people being questioned and hassled more for one ways or using only part of the RT.

Thanks in advance for your help :)

[Mrs. Wilburforce]

I forgot to add that we prefer smaller ships and don't care about the new bells and whistles on the newer large ships. We like our cabin to be as close to the water as possible and prefer not to be above or below public areas. We could be content on the larger ships but would probably not take advantage of the entertainment. We enjoy the sound of the sea, eating, reading, and exploring the ship for the best views. We sound boring, but we like our martinis and the casino.

Again, thanks.

[wisteria1019]

I can't compare the two lines, but can suggest that if you do book with Celebrity, you are eligible to book your air though Choice Air. We purchased one way travel for our spring TA( Fort Lauderdale to Rome ) , Venice to Denver for around $600 per person. Much less expensive than the one way fares quoted elsewhere.

Good luck with your decision.

 

Dawn

[kitty9]

I'll be honest with you...I was totally disappointed in my cruise on the QM2. I loved the old QE2, but for me, the QM2 was really bad in many respects. I found the food very disappointing, and we even dined in the Queen's Grill as we had QG suites. The food in the buffet was nothing short of really bad. The only food that I found to be good was in Todd English. I found the service to be short and surly and at times, downright mean. I was sitting next to a woman who brought an ashtray from the casino into The Golden Lion and up walked a waitress who scolded her that she needed to take that ashtray back to the casino. No, I'm not kidding.

 

You say you don't like the larger ships, but the QM2 is a behemoth. But if you like smaller, then I suggest one of the S Class ships of Celebrity. The QM2 holds about 3200 passengers and the S Class holds around 2800, so it's smaller than the QM2. I find the service and food on Celebrity to be much better than on Cunard. You don't have the silly pool games on Celebrity nor the constant announcements. There are a lot of places for a quiet time but they also have a lot of fun activities if that's what you want.

 

Personally, I would go with Celebrity 100 times more than another cruise on Cunard. I really think Carnival has ruined in Cunard what used to be a wonderful cruise line.

[SFCAcruiser]

...

One more question. I'm finding that the cost of airfare is cheaper booking a RT as opposed to the one way. Does this lead to problems only using half of a RT ticket? Since 911, I've heard of people being questioned and hassled more for one ways or using only part of the RT.

Thanks in advance for your help :)

Welcome to the Celebrity forum. If you do want to look seriously at Celebrity, be sure to get a price quote from choiceair.com This site will be able to provide a quote for one-way tickets from Europe, if you log-in using the "Quick Flight Search Only" tab. They ahave especially good prices for one-way transatlantic tickets, not so good for routine domestic trips. If you do buy a r/t ticket, you should not have any difficulty not using the return portion, as long as you do not make a habit of it. ;)

[TeaBag]

The Constellation is smaller than the S class ships, if you prefer small ships. I think it sails to Europe May 5, 2012 to Amsterdam. You could always book a westbound TA and then an eastbound one and use a return air ticket. Many people did that on our last cruise on Equinox Rome to Ft Lauderdale, ending Dec 12. They will be using the return portion of their ticket when they complete the eastbound TA in 2012. Welcome to Celebrity.

[Mrs. Wilburforce]

Thank you for your helpful answers. The Choice Air does seem like a reasonable choice at $600.00 per person. That's something I leave to my TA.

I was looking at the Constellation. I like ships that leave one with a feeling of personal space. I was perhaps not as precise as I could have been in what I like as far as ship size is concerned. It seems that bigger is not always better. The QM2 was unique in that it is an ocean liner and we thought we'd never sail again, so we wanted to experience the Cunard liner. We had a great time and we were in the rowers class :)

I'm easily pleased and my husband usually ends up being so as well, although it may take him longer to admit it.

I have to say that the website is a bit aggravating.

Thank you for you warm welcome. We will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary in May, but we will have to wait. We are looking into 2013, which is never too early. I'll let you know what I do. Right now destination is winning over ship:)

[Mrs. Wilburforce]

Kitty9,

Did you sail on the QE2? How I envy you that experience.

The QM2 was our first sailing and like all firsts, if everything goes well, and it did for us, it becomes your benchmark. People on the sailings before us complained quite bitterly about the quality of the food and service, but it was a great voyage for us. Even the weather cooperated. Sunny and no rain until the last 36 hours. We hit a force 10 gale with 20 foot seas. What a marvel to be at sea during a storm! I feel bad for saying that knowing how ill it makes some people, but I love storms, so at least one passenger was happy during that period.

I agree with you when it comes to Carnival. And seeing her without Southhampton on her stern is very sad.

I'm loving the idea of sailing to Europe from a warm port!

 

I'll be honest with you...I was totally disappointed in my cruise on the QM2. I loved the old QE2, but for me, the QM2 was really bad in many respects. I found the food very disappointing, and we even dined in the Queen's Grill as we had QG suites. The food in the buffet was nothing short of really bad. The only food that I found to be good was in Todd English. I found the service to be short and surly and at times, downright mean. I was sitting next to a woman who brought an ashtray from the casino into The Golden Lion and up walked a waitress who scolded her that she needed to take that ashtray back to the casino. No, I'm not kidding.

 

You say you don't like the larger ships, but the QM2 is a behemoth. But if you like smaller, then I suggest one of the S Class ships of Celebrity. The QM2 holds about 3200 passengers and the S Class holds around 2800, so it's smaller than the QM2. I find the service and food on Celebrity to be much better than on Cunard. You don't have the silly pool games on Celebrity nor the constant announcements. There are a lot of places for a quiet time but they also have a lot of fun activities if that's what you want.

 

Personally, I would go with Celebrity 100 times more than another cruise on Cunard. I really think Carnival has ruined in Cunard what used to be a wonderful cruise line.

[JanineM]

We did a transAtlantic on Summit, Constellation's sister ship, a few years ago. It really isn't a small ship - we found plenty to do every day and did not feel cooped up at all. We had bad weather (sailed from San Juan to Azores, then on to Spain, France and Southhampton) and really couldn't spend any time on the decks for 4 days, but still had a truly wonderful time. There were plenty of activities to keep you occupied, unless you're a total curmudgeon, and then there was the library (my DH spent a lot of time in the library and the movie theatre!).

 

I would not hesitate to do another TA on Connie. Just my two cents :)

 

Happy New Year!

[kitty9]

I cruised the QE2 three times, and all were wonderful. Of course, this was before Carnival bought Cunard. Two were crossings and one was a Med cruise. It was a sorry day when she was decommissioned.

[ariawoman]

One more question. I'm finding that the cost of airfare is cheaper booking a RT as opposed to the one way. Does this lead to problems only using half of a RT ticket? Since 911, I've heard of people being questioned and hassled more for one ways or using only part of the RT.

Thanks in advance for your help :)

 

I've read here on cruise critic that you can get away with using leg 1 of a RT but if you skipped leg 1 the entire trip is canceled - so if you do go this route of buying a RT make sure you're skipping the last leg, not the first. :-)

[ghstudio]

Choice Air gets fares that are unavailable to your TA...for example one way fares to/from Europe one way at about 1/2 the discounted round trip price. Your TA can't get that ticket for 2x the discounted round trip price....and they don't have access to choice air. The tickets Choice Air issues are normal airline tickets subject to the change/cancellation fees of the airlines....they aren't a consolidator or bucket shop.

 

Alternatively, there are airlines that aren't on the booking engines that offer some excellent one way fares and flights. Air Berlin is one...I think Aer Lingus also does reasonable one way pricing. Your TA probably won't even think of Air Berlin (which is a very large modern airline, by the way).

 

Finally, if you have air miles of some sort, many airlines allow you to book a one way flight using 1/2 the miles of the round trip flight.

[ariawoman]

Choice Air gets fares that are unavailable to your TA...for example one way fares to/from Europe one way at about 1/2 the discounted round trip price. Your TA can't get that ticket for 2x the discounted round trip price....and they don't have access to choice air. The tickets Choice Air issues are normal airline tickets subject to the change/cancellation fees of the airlines....they aren't a consolidator or bucket shop.

 

Alternatively, there are airlines that aren't on the booking engines that offer some excellent one way fares and flights. Air Berlin is one...I think Aer Lingus also does reasonable one way pricing. Your TA probably won't even think of Air Berlin (which is a very large modern airline, by the way).

 

Finally, if you have air miles of some sort, many airlines allow you to book a one way flight using 1/2 the miles of the round trip flight.

 

I booked my flight for Oct 2012 today using choice air. It came up 55 bucks less than continentals price on their site and all online TAs i checked. 55 bucks is 55 bucks.

[smellywax]

I would definitely suggest Celebrity's Solstice Class. It never felt crowded and there are tons of quiet places. Their best place to read with a view is the Relaxation Room!

[KeywestK]

We recently did our first TA on RCCL's Liberty OTS, and loved it. We sailed from Barcelona to FLL, and it will not be our last TA. You can purchase your one-way airfare either from Choice Air, or use one of the consolidators, which is what we did. We paid $413 pp for one way air tickets, which is much less than I would have paid had I gone directly through the airline. IF you decide to go with a consolidator, after your purchase your tickets and get your confirmation number, call the airline directly, make sure they have a record of your reservation, and get a confirmation number from the airline. This is what we did, and we had absolutely no problems. I'd do it again this way in a heartbeat.

[voyager90265]

Cunard and Celebrity are both wonderful lines to travel. Cunard, as you probably have discovered, can be quite formal with the consecutive black tie nights and just the overall decor and ethos of the ship speaks to Cunard's heritage from the golden era of ocean travel. I have sailed aboard QE2 and QM2 and thoroughly enjoyed them both for what they were/are: classic liners. I did find that the service had declined on the QM2 in comparison to the old girl but have to factor that into the sheer size of the hotel operation. Sadly QE2 is tied up in Dubai, awaiting her next life as a stationary hotel of some sort.

 

Truth be told however, Celebrity is my favorite. The transatlantic with them is just a wonderfully relaxing and elegant experience. The ships and the service, IMHO, are the best of the "premium lines" and I would offer that you would enjoy any of their three classes of ships. The Century is the oldest and is a traditional cruise ship about the size of the old QE2, but beautifully maintained. The Millenniums are a very intimate wonderfully appointed class of ship that never feel crowded with warm understated colors and a relaxed feel where days just flow together seamlessly. The Solstice class is simply a wonder to behold. Although quite large, the design is such that lines are few, there is virtually no bustle as on RCI's behemoths, they are the most stable ships of the day, have a decorative wow factor that will surely not disappoint and have an upscale spa feel to them. The only downside is that the time between stepping aboard on one continent and disembarking on another goes by far to quickly.

 

If your husband loved Cunard, I am confident he will enjoy Celebrity as much if not even more. Cheers....M

 

PS: Choice Air is a great option for air travel. They are cheaper and much easier to deal with if you have travel disruptions etc.

[Mrs. Wilburforce]

:)Thank you all so much! Your answers and suggestions will be very helpful. We have to get caught up on some home remodeling and there just may be a wedding in the near future for our youngest son, so right now I have this on my wish list. I'll have to see what the next few months bring.

I hope they keep the warm port transatlantics. They are the best combination of sea days and port days I've seen and I am really loving the concierge and aqua cabin benefits.

Very friendly, helpful folks on this board. I hope to get back to you with good news that includes a transatlantic Celebrity cruise in our future.

Warmest regards,

Julieann