New to Celebrity

[kqcallahan]

Good Day All, I have cruised previously on Holland and Princess but this will be my first time on Celebrity. Since the first time will be on the Reflection I'm mesmerized.

 

1. What are the main differences you notice between celebrity and this lines?? (besides how many suites there are on the ship)

 

2. Which restaurants are included besides the buffet and the dining room?

 

3. Are there fridges in interior rooms? Robes?

 

I'm reading lots just haven't come upon those answers yet :)

Edited August 23, 2014 by kqcallahan

[dkjretired]

Good Day All, I have cruised previously on Holland and Princess but this will be my first time on Celebrity. Since the first time will be on the Reflection I'm mesmerized.

 

1. What are the main differences you notice between celebrity and this lines?? (besides how many suites there are on the ship)

 

2. Which restaurants are included besides the buffet and the dining room?

 

3. Are there fridges in interior rooms? Robes?

 

I'm reading lots just haven't come upon those answers yet :)

 

Not having sailed on Holland or Princess I won't give an answer to that question.

 

The restaurants that are included are the buffet, MDR, Aqua Spa Café, grill near the pool café al bacio for the pastries. Also, Blu is free if you are an AQ cabin or a suite upon availability. You can also order lunch and dinner from the Main Dining Room menu through room service.

 

There are fridges in every room but they are really only coolers for the for sale items inside. You may ask your attendant to take the items out. Robes are supplied in all cabins on the ship.

[barney6895]

Good Day All, I have cruised previously on Holland and Princess but this will be my first time on Celebrity. Since the first time will be on the Reflection I'm mesmerized.

 

1. What are the main differences you notice between celebrity and this lines?? (besides how many suites there are on the ship)

 

2. Which restaurants are included besides the buffet and the dining room?

 

3. Are there fridges in interior rooms? Robes?

 

I'm reading lots just haven't come upon those answers yet :)

 

1) Hi and welcome to Celebrity! You will be blown away by your first cruise with Celebrity especially on the Reflection which is their latest ship. Celebrity provides a more classy laid back atmosphere and is so much fun. I actually prefer the nightlife aboard Celebrities ship rather that of other lines. On the Reflection you will notice bathroom attendants at most every bathroom constantly cleaning and picking up after people so every time you go in it is spotless! I think in general you get a more personalized service as there arent always so many guests crowding up the ship. My last trip in Nov I had some of the employees aboard recognize me from the previous year on the Constellation which I say is very impressive. The amount of children is very few which i like and there is no zip line and skating rink non sense that takes up space and encourages so many families to go. However there is a really nice kids zone aboard and the kids from all my cruises are very well behaved and are kept busy and under control. I also can tell you most people like to get suites or penthouses on other lines for the added room and quality of the room. I feel you could get a normal veranda room aboard and still feel like you were in a suite. I always sail concierge (worst case scenario) or above and I have been really impressed. I booked my friends veranda room for them last March on the spring break cruise on Reflection and I was really impressed by the room and the attention to detail. They make you feel good about whatever room you happen to be in!

 

2. If you book an Aqua class room you will get access to a exclusive restaurant called blu. We had an Aqua Class suite last March myself and I didnt ever go to Blu as when traveling with a group they couldnt get in. I hear excellent things though. Its more of a clean eating healthy restaurant. Do not expect steak and potatoes here. Of course the buffet and we arent buffet people by any means but sometimes to grab a quick bite and it wasnt too bad at all. They have a little hot dog and burger place by the pool and its okay just nothing fancy. Sometimes they have a few good options. Main dinning room is great! I especially loved it on the Reflection. It is very well decorated and has a great feel. I personally like having the same wait staff and seating time (8:30pm) and then catching the show after. I like the personalized experience you get from the same wait staff. They say the food quality has gone down here which i may see a little bit and portions for sure but you can order as much as you like so pick a few options and go to town! Also there are specialty restaurants aboard like murano, qusine, tuscan grille, and lawn club grill. These range from $35 or more a night per person. Some say this is pricey but you cant go to a normal fancy restaurant and order what you do for $35-$45 dollars and of course can order as much or as little as you want. I have tried murano and it is probably the most upscale in my opinion which i like but the food wasnt great at the time however it was the first night and they were busy!!! I would give it a second chance in a heart beat as the service was amazing! I also did qusine with my friends and that was so fun. It is a tapas style restaraunt where you order from ipads and there is one head of table that orders for all off the ipads and then it comes out in small portions for everyone to try a little. I heard Tuscane is great too and has an amazing view of the ocean with a full glass wall looking out into the ocean but you would need an early seating to get the view with the sun still up or its too dark. The lawn club grill i have also heard great things about and seems like fun you can grill your own food and flat breads if you like or have it done for you its more of an interactive experience and cant beat being outside on the top deck! Expect dinners to last 2 hours or maybe longer sometimes as again it is an experience whether you are in the main dining room or at Murano. There is also a great breakfast and lunch spot called The Porch. For $5 dollars they do great salads, soups, and paninis (breakfast style or lunch style) and you are top deck right next to the railing and have a wonderful view. For $5 a day id skip the lines at the buffet or I hear main dinning room does a great breakfast but i like to keep that for dinner only or it gets old.

 

3.There are fridges in the rooms and they are fully stocked with alcohol and mixers. The prices are of course not cheap but really arent bad either if you need a quick drink or nip in the middle of the night haha. Robes are in the rooms and the better the room the better the quality of the robes, bedding, pillows, ect. They also have different perks for each. Concierge or above gets fresh flowers, champagne upon arrival, fresh fruit daily which is nice, some binoculars to use, a tote bag, and a few other things. '

 

In closing it is an amazing ship and celebrity far surpasses any other line! We are booked again for this Nov 8th on Reflection and cant wait. We are mid 20s and last March was our first trip on Reflection but no the the first with Celebrity and i had to rebook the moment i got home for the Reflection again for this year. If you have any other questions feel free to ask me :)

[seaproponent]

X and HAL have long been my lines of choice. But they can be quite different from each other.

 

In general, Celebrity's vessels have a more contemporary feel, while Holland has a classic traditional quality. Advantage, Celebrity.

 

Food is good on both, but I'd give X the checkmark on this also.

 

Entertainment: Okay on both.

 

Service: Good on both

 

I would select either of these lines over Princess, NCL, RCL, etc.

[ama]

I have not sailed on Holland, so can't comment there. This past June was my first Celebrity cruise (we usually sail Princess, NCL, or RCL). So I can only comment between Princess and Celebrity.

 

We found the MDR food better in Celebrity, especially the soups and entrees. However, the desserts are much better on Princess.

 

I like the layout of the buffet better on Celebrity and felt the food quality was good, with lots of variety. It seems like they are cooking in smaller portions - so the food feels fresher. Loved the ice cream too.

 

We enjoyed the drink package on Celebrity - and it made our vacation very easy and definately added to our enjoyment.

 

Service was the same on both lines, excellent. The atmosphere on Celebrity feels more elegant and a bit more upscale.

 

I do think Princess has better entertainment and more options. Better educational lecturers.

 

My kids enjoyed both kids clubs and pools. But they missed the movies under the stars that Princess has.

 

We really enjoyed our cruise and would definately sail Celebrity again.

[bighairtexan]

When I want to book a cruise, Princess is usually the SECOND line I check after Celebrity. They're very similar, X doing some things better and Princess doing others better. But at the end of the day when I add up service, ships, food, entertainment, price, amenities, Celebrity usually edges Princess out overall.

 

Service: Slightly to Celebrity

Cabins: I find Celebrity to be roomier

Ships (layout and decor): Celebrity

Food: almost a wash depending on the ship. If you take away the IC or Alfredos.. then Celebrity would win by quite a bit.

Entertainment: Princess, day and evening.

Price: it could go either way

Amenities: close but probably to Celebrity

Shoreside customer service: Princess

I happen to really enjoy the British Captains on Princess.

Celebrity Captains are mostly very approachable and visible, some a lot more than others.

[aikensbest]

When I want to book a cruise, Princess is usually the SECOND line I check after Celebrity. They're very similar, X doing some things better and Princess doing others better. But at the end of the day when I add up service, ships, food, entertainment, price, amenities, Celebrity usually edges Princess out overall.

 

Service: Slightly to Celebrity

Cabins: I find Celebrity to be roomier

Ships (layout and decor): Celebrity

Food: almost a wash depending on the ship. If you take away the IC or Alfredos.. then Celebrity would win by quite a bit.

Entertainment: Princess, day and evening.

Price: it could go either way

Amenities: close but probably to Celebrity

Shoreside customer service: Princess

I happen to really enjoy the British Captains on Princess.

Celebrity Captains are mostly very approachable and visible, some a lot more than others.

 

I find service almost identical.

Cabins..much more storage on Princess and better closets

Princess..OBC for ex military (only 2 years or more), OBC for carnival stock,

free internet pkg. after a few cruises, and allow TA.s to discount, don't have to pay for gratuities in advance of cruise, and the same is true for excursions.

As to the ships themselves...toss up

[C 2 C]

We started cruising on HAL 25 years ago, added some Princess cruises and then found Celebrity five years later.

We have over a dozen cruises on both lines but our last Princess cruise was a decade ago, our last HAL 6 years ago. We now cruise nearly that often every year on Celebrity.

 

Each line offers something to attract passengers but there is something about Celebrity staff attitude towards returning cruisers that becomes more special after every cruise.

No other main stream cruise line has a staff training program that compares with Celebrity. With few exceptions everyone you meet will smile and greet you as you make your way through the ship.

There are various menu items that are outstanding on each line but we would give the edge to Celebrity with Princess last.

Reflection is as beautiful a ship as one could wish for, larger than most HAL ships but Princess has many much larger. Celebrity's space to passenger is the best of the bunch.

The major advantage of both HAL and Princess is their variety of itineraries, a problem that can be improved only with a new building program.

[Sunshine101]

I'm following this post as a new cruiser also to Celebrity. We've done RCL about 10x, NCL (the Epic) last year, and now booked on the Reflection this coming Jan. Anyone have any opinions about RCL vs Celebrity. I think RCL owns Celebrity so I wonder if they are alike in some aspects?

[C 2 C]

I'm following this post as a new cruiser also to Celebrity. We've done RCL about 10x, NCL (the Epic) last year, and now booked on the Reflection this coming Jan. Anyone have any opinions about RCL vs Celebrity. I think RCL owns Celebrity so I wonder if they are alike in some aspects?

 

We might see you on Reflection. We cruised on Oasis and Allure this year as well as Reflection.

Oasis and Allure cruises are an experience. The ships are world class in variety and engineering. We enjoyed the choice of rolls at dinner better than Celebrity. Royals' soups are better but the rest of the menu is more limited than X. On Royal only your room steward will bother to greet you. Senior officers are invisible and other staff members will ignore you or look away when passing in a corridor or on deck. As a result we find Royal ships do not provide an inclusiveness in the cruising experience; it's just too impersonal. On Celebrity we find the staff much more engaging. Staterooms on X are more appealing and upscale than Royal. Royal offers way more variety in nightlife and entertainment. However on Celebrity you can go to a different show every night in the main theatre. Once you have seen Chicago or Hairspray your theatre experience is just about done on Royal.... That's about all I can remember right now.

[motherchic]

I have sailed on RCCL many times, also Celebrity and once on Carnival and once (our last cruise) on HAL.

-Carnival never again

-HAL, excellent food. Enjoyed the food options. Loved the cooking classes. Loved the style of the furniture and old photos on the Nieu.

Liked the happy hour availability.

Our room was small, it was a bit disappointing. I do not need allot of glitz but I would have liked a little more. The adult pool on the Nieu was sad. Honestly, if I were on a ship next to the Nieu and was looking down onto the adult pool area I honestly would have thought it was an area for the crew. It was that bland. I want to feel the luxury.

The cruise we were on the evening shows were not very good. However some very good singers and bands in the small venues.

-RCCL, like the food, but the quality is higher on Celebrity and HAL.

the adult pool areas are lovely.

Shows better then the rest.

-Celebrity, not the glitz but the luxury is obvious. You feel pampered. Excellent staff

rooms nice. I also like concierge class.

Food very good.

Now, all that said, everyone has an opinion :-)

Hope you enjoy your cruise

[Deeliteful]

I have tried a few lines now but admit my favourite is X. Though my last few have been on RCL whilst I had a wonderful time on them I won't miss the announcements around the pool, too loud and too many and I think X is more stylish and caters for adults more. My last cruise on the Allure was fun but far too family oriented for me to want to cruise on her again.

[motherchic]

I agree Dee,

We also sailed on the Allure. We always veer towards the adult pool area. And that area is pure bliss on the Allure.

Its quiet and lovely whereas the main pool is indeed loud.

Must say the big shows on the big ship were fabulous