Thinking about going Celebrity..how does it compare to others

[cruising nole fan]

Hey folks, how does Celebrity compare to Princess and Royal Caribbean? Also do your Royal Caribbean benefits get accepted on Celebrity? Any help is appreciated, thanks.

[Champagne Cruiser]

Your points on Royal do not transfer to Celebrity but your status does. Whatever level you obtain on Royal i.e. Diamond you will then get Elite benefits on Celebrity. You need to call the Celebrity Captains Club and have them set up a number for you before you sail. Celebrity vs Royal, Celebrity is a bit more adult, no flow riders, ice skating rinks, belly flop contests but still fun with officers vs passengers volleyball games, and limited announcements. It is subjective but imho the food is better on Celebrity vs Royal or Princess. If you like Royal then choose an S class vs M class Celebrity ship. Princess is more like a combination of Royal and Celebrity as far as atmosphere, but again we find the food on Celebrity to be better as well as the coffee both free and specialty. Although our first choice is Celebrity we wouldn't hesitate to sail Royal or Princess if I liked the itinerary or price better. We just returned from a Royal cruise this month.

[ProfessorEFFE]

I think you'll find Celebrity and Princess are comparative, and of course RCI is the parent of Celebrity but they offer different demographics. I think Celebrity offers a good product to a demographic of 55+ passengers on longer cruises and a younger demographic on the shorter 4 - 5 day cruises. There is a kids club on Celebrity but I have only seen a lot of kids during vacations and school vacation time.

[Cruise Raider]

We sail occasionally on Royal Caribbean and extensively on both Princess and Celebrity. While each line has its own amenities, Celebrity is our favorite in all aspects ... hands down!! RCCL has a larger focus on families, Princess is somewhat in the middle and Celebrity will have mostly adults onboard. Celebrity also has a lot of options for booking 'free perks' which are really more included in the price than 'free'. Self serve laundromats are available on Princess but not on Celebrity. So, it can be a lot more costly to have clean laundry on Celebrity. Same goes for the specialty dinners ... they are $29 vs $35 to $50 on Celebrity, although they do offer discounts.

You will be able to share in reciprocal benefits between RCCL and Celebrity based on your status on the other line ... up to Elite or Diamond only, though. So Diamond + is still recognized as elite on Celebrity.

[bookitdanno]

There is NO indoor smoking anywhere on any Celebrity ship, even the casinos.

 

For my wife and I, this really sets Celebrity apart, in a good way!

[Lastdance]

There is NO indoor smoking anywhere on any Celebrity ship, even the casinos.

 

For my wife and I, this really sets Celebrity apart, in a good way!

 

Ditto!;p

[mac66]

We sail both RCL and X. The biggest thing I miss when we are on RCL is the rotating music venues geared toward baby boomers around the ship. We did an X cruise and then did a RCL cruise, then an X and then another RCL. "Where's the music, I really miss the music?" Just a bit of a better vibe on X. I think the food and service are better as well. On the other hand we like the Promenade deck on RCL. Haven't done any of their mega ships yet however but I'm told they have lots of stuff to do and are very busy.

[Shadow9612]

There is NO indoor smoking anywhere on any Celebrity ship, even the casinos.

 

For my wife and I, this really sets Celebrity apart, in a good way!

 

Ditto!;p

 

Double Ditto

[juliet]

There is NO indoor smoking anywhere on any Celebrity ship, even the casinos.

 

For my wife and I, this really sets Celebrity apart, in a good way!

 

We just got off the Equinox yesterday and unfortunately there are smoking areas. Especially when you step outside to the pool.

[Shadow9612]

We just got off the Equinox yesterday and unfortunately there are smoking areas. Especially when you step outside to the pool.

I have been on Equinox many times and have found that there are a minimal number of smoking areas, which are easy to avoid without any disruption to the enjoyment of the cruise. I think there is one area on deck 5 and another on deck 12 by the pool - but it is only on one side of the ship (I think port side, but may be wrong). There may also be an area on deck 14.

 

Again, as a non-smoker, this was no problem for me.

[Silkroad]

We just got off the Equinox yesterday and unfortunately there are smoking areas. Especially when you step outside to the pool.

 

Yes, but as previous posters have said, there are no INDOOR smoking areas on Celebrity. There are perhaps three or four OUTDOOR smoking areas. One is usually port side on deck 5, one is somewhere on the pool deck, and I think one is starboard side of the Sunset Bar. I may be missing one, because I do recall holding my breath while passing one I didn't expect. I simply make it a practice to learn where they are, and try to avoid them. Of course, should I strike up a friendly conversation with a smoker, I try to stand or sit upwind;) And I'm extremely thankful Celebrity not longer allows smoking on balconies (which they did in 2006).

[eandj]

Ships vary. So comparing those on X, you need to know if you're describing S class ships or the older M class.

We find "in general" Princess and Celebrity are more alike than different. Of course each has pros and cons. But we prefer those.