Alternative to Celebrity

[villauk]

5 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

We've sailed mostly with Royal and X for the last 25 years but are currently enjoying our first Viking Ocean cruise and may never come back.   Cost for our 338sf Penthouse Verandah cabin for 14 nights on the Viking Star was under $300/night plus they threw in $400pp onboard credit and free air.   Ship is all-balcony, but small with just under 1000 passengers.  Food is much better than X.  Sushi, king crab legs and jumbo shrimp available every night at buffet.  HIgh tea offered daily.   Viking offers free specialty restaurants, complimentary shore excursion in every port, free wi-fi , free specialty coffees and  free beer and wine with lunch and dinner.  Most cocktails are under $8, otherwise bev pkg is only $20/night.  No casino is a downside, but there are also no children under 18 allowed.  The VO fleet is scheduled to expand from 6 ships to 16 over the next few years.  Well worth considering.

 

 

Viking are on our list to try once our youngest is at university. The ships look beautiful. What are your thoughts on their entertainment and their included shore excursions? TIA 😉.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

14 hours ago, Denny01 said:

A couple of responses:

1. Just made a reservation for a Celebrity TA in Oct 2019 and got a Military OBC. It exists.

2. No one who has touted MSC (never been on it so won’t give an opinon on it’s quality) haven’t mentioned the MSC smoking policy. Here is what I found on websites that list out varous Cruise Line smoking policies:

 -  MSC Smoking: Extensive: Inside: Casinos; cigar rooms; Designated lounge areas. Designated bar areas. Outside: Designated deck areas.

Not sure how ‘extensive’ the designated areas are in casinos, lounges, bars and deck areas. But those words more than infer smoking could be a major issue for Celebrity cruisers. So anyone who has cruised MSC might mention the smoking areas that seem to be much more extensive and allowable than Celebrity. And from numerous threads over the years, limited/no smoking is a very important to many Celebrity cruisers. 

 

Den

 

 

 

 

I don't use the casino, so I have no experience of the smoking area in the casino.  Other smoking areas were all outdoors and one did not have to traverse a smoking area to get to another area on the ship.  I did not notice the prominent stench that is pervasive on the smoking area of the pool deck on Celebrity.  I spent a fair amount of time in the smoking area on the YC pool deck as my sister is a smoker.  Was not bothered by smoke.  In my view, this was a far better experience than Celebrity's smoking areas.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

12 hours ago, jelayne said:

Linda, thanks for posting your review of your MSC cruise.  I have been waiting to hear what you though.  You confirmed some of what I thought, experience inside the YC vs the rest of the ship is different.  Food  and service A notch below,  price is better..  

 

In researching MSC I was surprise to see that there are inside cabins, veranda & suites in the YC; my question is how many children were there?  We are kind of spoiled  with AQ only 2 to a cabin or suites on X which seem to have very few children.  I love my grandkids but don’t want to find myself in the YC with the a lot  of children.  What did you experience?

 

 

 

There were some children, but on the whole, they were very well behaved.  Didn't really see them much.  I suspect they were in the kids club as there is really nothing for them in the Yacht Club other than the pool.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

6 hours ago, villauk said:

Linda, 

 

Thanks for posting your review. It sounds like The Yacht Club is definitely worth considering, especially as the price difference was so vast.

 

What were the shows like?

 

Sorry, I didn't go to any of the shows.  They didn't get very good reviews from the people we talked to.  The theater is very small and you need to make reservations to go to the shows.  I'm not a fan of reservations while on a cruise.  Like to decide at the last minute what I want to do.  On Celebrity I can go at the last minute and sit in the suite area or the counter area in the back and leave if I don't care for the show.

[Denny01]

7 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

I don't use the casino, so I have no experience of the smoking area in the casino.  Other smoking areas were all outdoors and one did not have to traverse a smoking area to get to another area on the ship.  I did not notice the prominent stench that is pervasive on the smoking area of the pool deck on Celebrity.  I spent a fair amount of time in the smoking area on the YC pool deck as my sister is a smoker.  Was not bothered by smoke.  In my view, this was a far better experience than Celebrity's smoking areas.

We each have our option on how much smoke bothers us, but to say that being in the smoking area of the YC pool and not being bothered, but finding the Celebrity smoking areas to be worse is more than a stretch from my view. Celebrity is one of the Lines that greatly restricted smoking and it is now in one small area on deck 5 and a small set of tables on the pool deck portside. And of course, any smoking area is going have a ‘pervasive stench’, including the MSC smoking areas which according to the websites were many more than Celebrity’s areas, with MSC’s including the casino which is inside and sections of lounges for smoking Inside, and a cigar lounge inside. My experience with other Lines which had smoking lounges is as you passed them, you got a good ‘pervasive’ intake of smoke also. 

 

So your statement that MSC smoking didn’t bother you, but Celebrity was pervasive seems odd, certainly your opinon, but doesn’t seem to track with how much MSC allows in comparison. If you enjoyed MSC, great, but many people select Celebrity because of it’s restricted smoking and MSC would be an issue for them.

Den 

[Baron Barracuda]

8 hours ago, villauk said:

 

 

Viking are on our list to try once our youngest is at university. The ships look beautiful. What are your thoughts on their entertainment and their included shore excursions? TIA 😉.

Too soon to tell on shore excursions.  Four of our five days so far have been sea days.  Will visit 6 Caribbean ports over next 8 days, so will have better idea then.    

[Cruise a holic]

4 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

Sorry, I didn't go to any of the shows.  They didn't get very good reviews from the people we talked to.  The theater is very small and you need to make reservations to go to the shows.  I'm not a fan of reservations while on a cruise.  Like to decide at the last minute what I want to do.  On Celebrity I can go at the last minute and sit in the suite area or the counter area in the back and leave if I don't care for the show.

 

[Cruise a holic]

I really enjoy the fact that on Celebrity you can walk in and out of shows- the theatre is a great size.  On princess, we found if we didn't go to the theatre extremely early we never got a seat-  But the smoking policy is enough to make me not consider MSC.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

25 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

I really enjoy the fact that on Celebrity you can walk in and out of shows- the theatre is a great size.  On princess, we found if we didn't go to the theatre extremely early we never got a seat-  But the smoking policy is enough to make me not consider MSC.

 

There is no smoking in the theater.  I never went anywhere indoors where smoking was permitted.

[jagoffee]

On 10/21/2018 at 7:55 PM, Denny01 said:

A couple of responses:

1. Just made a reservation for a Celebrity TA in Oct 2019 and got a Military OBC. It exists.

2. No one who has touted MSC (never been on it so won’t give an opinon on it’s quality) haven’t mentioned the MSC smoking policy. Here is what I found on websites that list out varous Cruise Line smoking policies:

 -  MSC Smoking: Extensive: Inside: Casinos; cigar rooms; Designated lounge areas. Designated bar areas. Outside: Designated deck areas.

Not sure how ‘extensive’ the designated areas are in casinos, lounges, bars and deck areas. But those words more than infer smoking could be a major issue for Celebrity cruisers. So anyone who has cruised MSC might mention the smoking areas that seem to be much more extensive and allowable than Celebrity. And from numerous threads over the years, limited/no smoking is a very important to many Celebrity cruisers. 

 

Den

 

 

 

Den, you are the second person that has mentioned receiving a Military OBC (not a discount).  How is it listed on your invoice and does it have a code?

thank you.

[Denny01]

36 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Den, you are the second person that has mentioned receiving a Military OBC (not a discount).  How is it listed on your invoice and does it have a code?

thank you.

Glad you asked. I went back to give you the info, and it’s listed as a disount in cruise price, not an OBC. Sorry about that. When I first got the form from my TA,  it was right after reading the thread on did vets get military OBCand I thought s this was an OBC. My actual pricing list says ‘Military Savings’ and gives the amount of discount on the cruise price. Lists the discount for me and my wife. She’s not a Vet, but we both go it. 

 

So now it’s only one who says they got an OBC and one guy who doesn’t read his pricing list close enough!

 

Den

Edited October 23, 2018 by Denny01

[jagoffee]

Den, thank you for the follow up.  

I have more confidence that I have not been missing something I could have received.

[villauk]

11 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

I really enjoy the fact that on Celebrity you can walk in and out of shows- the theatre is a great size.  On princess, we found if we didn't go to the theatre extremely early we never got a seat-  But the smoking policy is enough to make me not consider MSC.

 

 

We didn’t have a problem at all with seating in the theatre on Princess in the summer. Perhaps it depends on itinerary? We actually thought their production shows were far superior to anything X has performed over the last few years.

[villauk]

2 hours ago, jagoffee said:

Den, thank you for the follow up.  

I have more confidence that I have not been missing something I could have received.

 

 

I, too, thought it was only available if you were not entitled to any other promos? There is the military rate, like the senior rate, if it is available for your sailing and you qualify - which is apparently what Den has received.

[Cruise a holic]

19 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

I don't use the casino, so I have no experience of the smoking area in the casino.  Other smoking areas were all outdoors and one did not have to traverse a smoking area to get to another area on the ship.  I did not notice the prominent stench that is pervasive on the smoking area of the pool deck on Celebrity.  I spent a fair amount of time in the smoking area on the YC pool deck as my sister is a smoker.  Was not bothered by smoke.  In my view, this was a far better experience than Celebrity's smoking areas.

 

2 hours ago, villauk said:

 

 

I, too, thought it was only available if you were not entitled to any other promos? There is the military rate, like the senior rate, if it is available for your sailing and you qualify - which is apparently what Den has received.

I am extremely sensitive to smoke.  To say you aren’t bothered by smoke wouldn’t work for me at all.  I am.  

[villauk]

2 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

 

I am extremely sensitive to smoke.  To say you aren’t bothered by smoke wouldn’t work for me at all.  I am.  

 

 

Unsure why you quoted me in your reply above as I never mentioned smoke 🤔?

[BosoxI]

On ‎10‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 7:50 PM, Dolebludger said:

 

I don't understand this post. We have been frequent Regent cruisers since 2002. The total cost for Regent cruises today is about $1000 per day per person. And for that price, you get a room as small as 216 sq. ft plus balcony. Want a larger room? It gets much more expensive. But if anybody knows of a Regent cruise for less than $300 per day per person, let me know and I will book it now! But neither I nor my TA believes it exists.

 

Truly, this comes as a surprise.  I would suggest a new TA.  I just checked and there are Regent cruises at very excellent prices to be had.  Not on every cruise, mind you, but on certain ones and we are not that picky if we can get on a Regent ship.  I am talking about prices open to everyone, not just military.  No airfare is included, of course.  Maybe I should keep my mouth shut

Edited October 23, 2018 by BosoxI

[Denny01]

7 hours ago, villauk said:

 

 

We didn’t have a problem at all with seating in the theatre on Princess in the summer. Perhaps it depends on itinerary? We actually thought their production shows were far superior to anything X has performed over the last few years.

We enjoyed Princess, but on the 3 cruises we did with them, the only way to get seats together that had a full view was to get there a min of 45min or more. The seating was not enough for the passenger numbers, and on one ship, the seating on the sides were blocked by stanchions.

 

If I remember right, although I enjoyed the shows, the music during the main Princess shows was  recorded while Celebrity had an excellent live band. To each our own. 

 

Den  

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

5 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

 

I am extremely sensitive to smoke.  To say you aren’t bothered by smoke wouldn’t work for me at all.  I am.  

 

Then don't sail MSC.  It's good that there are different cruiselines so we all have choices.  My personal experience is that I was bothered more by smoke on Celebrity.  I really find the smoking areas on the pool deck offensive and smelly.

[jagoffee]

4 hours ago, BosoxI said:

 

Truly, this comes as a surprise.  I would suggest a new TA.  I just checked and there are Regent cruises at very excellent prices to be had.  Not on every cruise, mind you, but on certain ones and we are not that picky if we can get on a Regent ship.  I am talking about prices open to everyone, not just military.  No airfare is included, of course.  Maybe I should keep my mouth shut

Can you provide us a ship and date, so we can compare?

Thanks

[BosoxI]

5 hours ago, jagoffee said:

Can you provide us a ship and date, so we can compare?

Thanks

November 12  Barcelona to Miami  Voyager suite  No airfare

I don't mean to be cute, but I am not going to say anymore on this subject, because I don't want to create a rush that will make it more difficult for us to get a cabin.   

 

Edited October 23, 2018 by BosoxI

[jakesnana]

On October 21, 2018 at 6:20 PM, Hlitner said:

I always get the Military OBC on Princess cruises but have never heard of a similar benefit on Celebrity.  Guess I will have to check it out.   Here is what it says on the Celebrity web site:

At least one guest in the stateroom must be an active or retired member of the United States or Canada Military. A valid U.S. or Canadian military ID must be presented at the pier to validate eligibility. If eligibility cannot be validated, you will be charged the current standard cruise fare or otherwise be denied boarding.

 

 

Hank

Sorry for the confusion, I was referring to the OBC on Princess, which does not require you to be retired.

[jagoffee]

14 hours ago, BosoxI said:

November 12  Barcelona to Miami  Voyager suite  No airfare

I don't mean to be cute, but I am not going to say anymore on this subject, because I don't want to create a rush that will make it more difficult for us to get a cabin.   

 

I now have a better understand of your previous posts. Thank you.

Edited October 24, 2018 by jagoffee

[wwcruisers]

On 10/3/2018 at 8:30 AM, richsea said:

Hi Katie. Yes, I realize that the longer January sailings usually command higher prices, but lately Celebrity’s rates go beyond that, at least in my opinion. Last January we did 20 nights on Princess (2 10 nighters booked as one 20 nighter) for $6,160 in a balcony. This January, there is a 14n, a real one, not a b2b on Princess for $5,142. As a rule, we prefer Celebrity, but find Princess provides a very similar experience. After over 20 years of pretty much sailing Celebrity exclusively, their prices are forcing us to look elsewhere. Sometimes I feel like a traitor, lol, but it is what it is.

Rich -- I don't know if you are still following this thread, or are on the X boards much anymore. Just wanted to let you know that our Who'sOnboard 'social group' moved (social groups went 'poof' with this recent format change). You can now find us in the "Friends" section. You have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the main menu, but you'll see us. The link below, should get you there, too. Pop over and say "hi' when you get a minute. I promise that we won't make you feel like a traitor! 😉

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2430-whos-onboard/

 

[richsea]

Thanks Suzanne, I’ll stop by!