New to Celebrity...What to Expect

[headhurt]

So, I've been sailing in Carnival since I began cruising, and now we are branching out to see how cruise lines differ and where they are the same. So, what sort of things can we expect to see that will knock our socks off, or are all cruises generally the same?

[bighairtexan]

Gorgeous sophisticated ship vs neon and glitz.

Better non-smoking policy for sure.

Food is more upscale. No "didja's" which seemed sort of condescending to me.

Nightlife, however, is much more subdued on Celebrity. I love the piano bar on Carnival and they really don't have that on Celeb.

I love the little thing like the ice cold towels and drinks pier side when you come back from a day in port. The complimentary mimosa or sparkling wine as you board.

I love the Aqua Spa cafe for breakfast and lunch. Fresh and light food. A hidden gem.

Cafe al Bacio w/ treats like cookies and brownies. You pay for the specialty coffees but the treats are complimentary.

The kids program and # of kids is better IMHO on Carnival (that is if you're traveling w/ kids).

 

I've been on many Carnival cruises and I'm not a Carnival "hater" but I so very much prefer Celebrity.

[headhurt]

We're in our late 30's, no kids. We're also foodies. The last cruise left us underwhelmed with the food, unless you counted the two times we sprung for the Supper Club (which was pretty amazing). We're not really into neon and glitz, and definitely not drink and drown types, although a good night of salsa dancing always has our interest.

[neverbeenhere]

The Texan has it right. But we will add, a piece of advise we got when first starting to cruise, Check out the Company's website(when it's working). Pay close attention to the pictures, the picture represent Celebrity's target market. (but not necessarily who's on the ship) The pictures also give a "feel" for the lines style.

 

We tried them all at least once and ended up landing our craft on Celebrity.

[neverbeenhere]

DINK's rule.:)

[potterduck]

DINK's rule.:)

 

My DS15 preferred X over RCI, said he met far nicer teens from a wider demographic.

[warmwinds]

I've never been on Carnival, but we sort of started with NCL then moved up through Princess/RCI/Holland until we finally loved Celebrity. You might want to try one of them first.

 

My Carnival vs. Celebrity anecdote is leaving port one evening at about the same time as a Carnival Ship. Everyone was on deck on the Carnival ship whooping and hollering and dancing to YMCA. We were watching this from our balcony as we were getting dressed. We then went down to listen to the String Quartet before heading to the dining room.

[Doudounka]

Only did 2 cruises. X and Disney, and IMHO X is far above Disney. Before going to DCL i read how great it was, sure the ship (Wonder) is very beautifull and staff very friendly too, same as on Connie. Main thing for us is food, we read how great the food was on DCL, Connie was our first cruise, so DCL had huge shoes to fill to equal what we had on X.

 

I am a very picky eater, and had no problem eating my fill on Connie, none whatsoever, there was always something to my liking to order and taste, presentation, portions were just great...was a major disapointment with DCL.

 

Another aspect is customer service, if you have a complaint DCL just don't seem to care, whereas X really cares.

 

Cannot say about Carnival, but from what i've read DCL is a notch over Canrnival, so in my opinion food will knock your socks off.

[bplazo]

The service is outstanding. All the small touches made it a great cruise.

[Bstein493]

Much more sophisticated as far as I am concerned.

[miched]

Our first cruise was on Carnival. Then HAL, Princess, and rotated between Carnival and Princess. Got to the high levels in their clubs. The benefits changed some and so did the cruising experience. We liked both lines but too much changed.

 

At my insistence I convinced my wife that we should try X. Booked a AQ cabin on the Solstice. Walked on board and got that welcome aboard glass of champaign. Walked into the atrium and had that WOW experience.

 

It was by our best cruise experience to that point in time. Have since cruised enough to become Elite on X. Still sail the other lines for a real cheap get away but X is our line of choice for our main cruises.

 

 

 

.🎃

[askjojo]

Our first cruise was on Carnival. Then HAL, Princess, and rotated between Carnival and Princess. Got to the high levels in their clubs. The benefits changed some and so did the cruising experience. We liked both lines but too much changed.

 

At my insistence I convinced my wife that we should try X. Booked a AQ cabin on the Solstice. Walked on board and got that welcome aboard glass of champaign. Walked into the atrium and had that WOW experience.

 

It was by our best cruise experience to that point in time. Have since cruised enough to become Elite on X. Still sail the other lines for a real cheap get away but X is our line of choice for our main cruises.

 

 

 

.🎃

We agree with all of the comments so far, but to clearly put what has been nicely said, is that the Celebrity crowd, especially on the transatlantic, Mediterranean, and European cruises, are on the average older than 45. As we are younger than this age, I would highly recommend Celebrity, for a quiet, relaxing, classy change of pace.

If you are looking for the late night nite life on Carnival, X is the wrong place. Otherwise, Celebrity is one of the best in sophisticated cruising.

[chicagopaul]

I agree with all that has been mentioned. We're young when compared to the average Celebrity cruiser (late 20's early 30s) but have fallen in love with Celebrity mainly due to the excellent service, beautiful ships and the sophistication of the clientele on board. I've cruised carnival several times before and they are truly a "fun" ship but after a few cruises it does get tiring. I've also found that given their cheap pricing they tend to attract people that...I don't want to be around when I'm at home, but most especially not when I am on vacation.

 

The night life is lacking on Celebrity which is disappointing; but we've found it does vary cruise by cruise. On some cruises people will be up later than others. You'll typically see bars become pretty empty by midnight but on some sea days we've seen people out until after 1 and even until 2 in some cases.

 

What makes Celebrity great is excellent value for the quality and class of the ship, staff and clientele. Pure and simple.

[wallie5446]

So, I've been sailing in Carnival since I began cruising, and now we are branching out to see how cruise lines differ and where they are the same. So, what sort of things can we expect to see that will knock our socks off, or are all cruises generally the same?

Long time no see Cruise Fool:D Welcome to the 'dark' side:rolleyes:

You will find the two more alike than different. You will like X.

EW

[tiggerman101]

I am about to hit my 19th Carnival cruise next month so I understand. I did two Celebrity cruises this year and they quickly became a line that I love. My two Celebrity cruises were out of the country (Asia and Norway) so I am not sure if that makes a difference. However, I will tell you the main reason I like Celebrity so much. It is peaceful. You will not get annoyed with drink waiters, loud announcements, noisy pool areas, tons of photographers, etc. It is all very low key. I always think 'Casual Elegance" when I think of Celebrity. Plus the ships are beautiful and elegantly subdued. Huge fan.

[OhioDogLover]

I agree with what was said so far. We just took a 14 day cruise on X and did Aqua. We called it an experiment. While we enjoyed Carnival and have cruised most on and enjoy Princess, Celebrity is, IMHO, just a bit nicer. We booked a cruise for next summer while on board. It was a great cruise. The service, food, etc. were just a bit better. Blu was really really good, and we enjoyed Qsine. There were almost no lines at any time. Everything was handled very well. Celebrity did not have as much stuff going on in the evenings, but what they had was very nice. You should like it a lot.

Ohiodoglover

[attilamom1217]

We've been on two Carnival and two Celebrity cruises (a third Celebrity cruise is coming up in January).

 

Think of Holiday Inn (Carnival) vs Hilton (Celebrity) as far as decor and overall feel and look of the ships. You can have a wonderful relaxing time on both.

 

Carnival is a constant barrage of announcements (BINGO in 30 min; BINGO in 25 min; BINGO in 10 min; BINGO in 5 min; BINGO - there is still time to buy your card for BINGO.....). Celebrity lists BINGO in the daily but assumes you know how to read. There might be an announcement, but it isn't constant.

 

You don't find belly flob and hairy chest contests on Celebrity.

 

I think Celebrity's food is definitely better than Carnival's. Carnival's food, IMHO, is okay to good, but not served at proper temperature (all food seems to be served 'warm' rather than hot or cold), but the service was good on both lines.

 

On Carnival, there seemed to be less live music (DJ and CDs) at the pool; Celebrity has a band.

 

We have seen many young people and families on Celebrity - but not many school aged children (but then we don't cruise during school breaks).

 

There is alot more public space on Celebrity and plenty of places to sit quietly and enjoy watching the water go by or read...

 

You will enjoy Celebrity.

[vivi9909]

Our first cruise, three years ago, was on Celebrity. We were fully satisfied and continued with them. We can't realy compare with Carnival but most of the comments read here on CC, convinced us that we made the good choice.

 

However, we can mention one incident that occurred to us last March when we were tendered in Grand Cayman with four other cruise ships. When we came back to the port we were shocked to see a very long line of people standing under the very warm sun waiting to return to the port. Hopefully (for us), while we approached more, we realized that, beside these people, there was a second entry marked "Celebrity welcome". We just showed our Sea Pass, picked up our cold face towel and cold drink and boarded our waiting tender. Of course, the Carnival passengers standing on the other side of the fence were watching us with envy.

Edited October 31, 2013 by vivi9909

[Kathie44]

DH and I started out with RCCL in Jan. 2002. Our 3rd cruise was the first with X. We loved it, too. Over the 6 years we cruised together we did 4 RCCL cruises and 4 Celebrity.

Since DH passed away in Aug. '08 I've done 7 more X cruises and have one coming up in Jan. I don't see the necessity for cruiseline hopping. Once you've experienced X you will probably be hooked. The only other line I would consider is RCCL. All the cruises were great, I just prefer Celebrity. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", lol.

 

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

2/04 Adventure S. Carib. 2/05 Galaxy Partial Panama Canal +4 W. ports

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 2/12 Summit S. Carib. 8/12 Millenium Alaska Cruise/tour

1/13 Summit S. Carib. 1/14 Silhouette W. Carib.

[Joe19fan]

We've cruised Carnival many times, and have always enjoyed it. We usually go with our kids that are in their mid 20's. Carnival has more activities for them, and it is more price friendly for them.

That being said, in March 2012 we cruised on Celebrity. I am now hooked! When we cruise with friends our own age (not our kids), I most definitely will stick to Celebrity. We liked the extra touches, the understated elegance, and more sophisticated crowd (and we are not sophisticated by any means!), and the more relaxing feel. As many have said, you are not bombarded with announcements, there don't seem to be as many chair hogs, and the dress on Formal night does not consist of sparkly College t-shirts! (sorry, but the sparkly t-shirts was what we experienced on a Carnival sailing out of New Orleans).

Unless you are really looking for a party scene, I think you will enjoy Celebrity!

[dgparent]

1. Cruises are great

 

2. the website sucks and only works on days that end in Z in leap years.

[headhurt]

We're looking forward to this trip. Log is not a fan of cruising, but does it because he really likes me.:D Our last cruise was disappointing in a lot of ways, so I am hoping that this one will be a big win. I'm really looking forward to relaxing. No belly flop contests.

[steelergirlinfl]

I have cruised with Carnival 10+ times, RCCL 5+ times, NCL 5 times, Disney 1 time and Celebrity 2 times with my 3rd coming up at the end of November. There are many many things I loved about Celebrity on our first cruise that has me looking to them first when I get the wanderlust itch. I found X to be so RELAXING compared to Carnival. The statement that has been oft' repeated on this thread is understated elegance. Sure the passenger class is older than my DH and I but I truly appreciated the hands off approach to announcement, but the hands on approach to upscale guest service. You'll enjoy the food much more. I would guess that I am a foodie and always enjoy eating dinner in Carnival's MDR, but you will enjoy ALL of the food on Celebrity. Their buffet is superior to anyone's. Plus, as an avid reader, I can find a quiet comfortable place to read in a lot of areas on the boat. Carnival has a price point place (it's great for short getaways, girl's cruises, family trips with a large group) and I would certainly cruise with them again, but when I want a cruise VACATION, I look to X first, now. Enjoy your trip!:)

[wallie5446]

I'm really looking forward to relaxing.

 

Still at the Hospital? (Our Son is still at KU Med Cntr) If so, yes you need to relax!:D and Celebrity is just the ticket for it. You have cruised enought that you know what to expect. You made a good choice!

[headhurt]

Still at the Hospital? (Our Son is still at KU Med Cntr) If so, yes you need to relax!:D and Celebrity is just the ticket for it. You have cruised enought that you know what to expect. You made a good choice!

 

I recently transferred to the Cancer Center (still within the KU network), working days now. A different kind of stress, but I really love my job now. The patients are amazing.

 

It will be great to spend a week being chill. We might do a wave runner excursion in Key West, but that would be as exciting as it gets for the week.