Thinking about booking our first Celebrity cruise

[NCteacherlovescruising]

My husband and I will be celebrating our 25th Anniversary this year and have talked about taking a cruise to celebrate.  We have sailed with Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, and NCL.  We had a great time on every cruise, but Princess was our least favorite.  We still had a good time, just didn't enjoy ourselves as much as usual.  My husband is afraid we won't fit in on Celebrity, I guess because we didn't like Princess too much.  I think it was the time of year we went. It was in February and we were among the youngest on the ship.  Of course, we aren't so young anymore.  lol  It was also one of their older ships.  Royal Caribbean and NCL were our favorites!  Should we stick with what we know we like, or give Celebrity a try?  

[begood2me]

I think it depends on what gives you the most enjoyment on a cruise.  Each line has it's pros and cons and the best selection of a line is base on how those align with your expectations.  Celebrity's demographic is similar to Princess and there are variations + or - age adjustments based itinerary.  The length, time of year and even ship have an impact on the passenger demographic.  

[awhfy]

If you like the pool games & flow rider things stay with Royal. Celebrity has a few pool activities (pool polo with the officers) but it’s much quieter than Royal. 

[KEG21552]

We have sailed NCL, Carnival, Royal, Princess and Celebrity.  Only once on Princess because it was our least favorite.  Nothing tangible that I could put my finger on, just seemed "off"  Like you,we had a good time, there was just nothing that made me want to try it again.

We became Diamond on Royal and then transferred to Elite on Celebrity for our first Celebrity cruise.  It is my favorite line.  Yes, maybe the general demographic is older but we have never found that to be detrimental.

It all really just goes down to personal preference.  

[Pier290]

We're in our early 40s....been on every line besides RCI,. Our favorite is Celebrity 😍....food,  drinks, service, clean!!! And classy without stuffy! 

[m8zenblue]

Do it !!!

Celebrity is a very nice cruise like.

We have sailed Celebrity before and absolutely loved it.

The crowd is a bit older and slower but very nice !

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, awhfy said:

If you like the pool games & flow rider things stay with Royal. Celebrity has a few pool activities (pool polo with the officers) but it’s much quieter than Royal. 

No, we don't participate in any of that.  We always enjoyed the adult only pool area.  I spend most of my day there reading a book while working on my tan.  We enjoyed the area on the Princess ship we had to pay for.  What we didn't enjoy, I think, was our table mates.  They were very nice and we enjoyed getting to know them, but they were always late and ate very slowly so we missed many of the shows we wanted to see after dinner.  The only other thing I didn't care for was the food, it was very bland.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, KEG21552 said:

We have sailed NCL, Carnival, Royal, Princess and Celebrity.  Only once on Princess because it was our least favorite.  Nothing tangible that I could put my finger on, just seemed "off"  Like you,we had a good time, there was just nothing that made me want to try it again.

We became Diamond on Royal and then transferred to Elite on Celebrity for our first Celebrity cruise.  It is my favorite line.  Yes, maybe the general demographic is older but we have never found that to be detrimental.

It all really just goes down to personal preference.  

This makes me feel better! If you liked all the same lines we do, then there's a high probability we will enjoy it too.  I don't mind the demographic being older.  We are in our early-mid fifties ourselves.  Besides, as a teacher, I won't mind not if we don't see a lot of children.  

 

By the way, I just booked it!  It was just too good of a deal to pass up with the four freebies.  Additionally, we will get to try a new cruise-line and Bermuda for the first time.  

[NCteacherlovescruising]

44 minutes ago, Pier290 said:

We're in our early 40s....been on every line besides RCI,. Our favorite is Celebrity 😍....food,  drinks, service, clean!!! And classy without stuffy! 

We have about 10 years on you!  I guess we won't be too young.    Actually, it sounds perfect!  

[linderr6]

I have not cruised much - first time in my 30's (with my husband), second time in my 40's with my husband, sons and sisters/in-laws/mom, and third time just as i was 50. 

 

In my 30's i was on a Celebrity Alaskan cruise and we were, by far, the youngest people on board. But we had a fantastic time! We loved the ship and the  food and the bars and the trivia contests. The ship never felt crowded and the service was amazing.

 

The second cruise with the extended family was on Oasis of the Seas/RCCL, and that was perfect for an extended family - there were lots of "kids" in our group, ranging in age from 10 - 21, and they could play in the arcade or go swimming in the pool with lots of other young people, or play basketball or try the flow rider. Again we played a lot of trivia, and i forced some family members to participate in karaoke and we saw a lot of the shows.  There were many families and people of all ages as fellow passengers. What i didn't like about RCCL was - you have to plan WELL in advance to see a show - the entertainment is quite good - better than Celebrity - but i had to work too hard to see a show. Also, I almost always felt like I was part of a huge swirling mob of people. I wasn't really relaxed that often on board (except in Central Park, which was serene and lovely). 

 

Last cruise, Celebrity again, a smaller set of extended family, and we had a perfect time. My husband and I were still about 20 years younger than most of the other passengers,  and my (young) adult son and his girlfriend, along with my (young) adult niece and her boyfriend, were far, far younger than 90% of the other passengers. We all had a great time however! We are from cold weather states so we mostly wanted to soak up sun and warmth in the Caribbean ports - and the service on the Equinox was extraordinary, the food was good, the ship still never felt crowded (even though it was spring break), and there was "enough" karaoke and bingo to keep us occupied.  Also, my mom wanted to see a comedian last minute one night, and we were able to just walk right into the theater before the show started and get a good seat (and he was very funny). We also saw the Beatles experience show (can't recall the exact name) and that was really just about as good as anything we saw on RCCL.  However, Celebrity is pretty quiet at night - the bars and lounges are open but there isn't a lounge singer for instance in them, or dueling pianos.  For future cruises, I think I will choose Celebrity or RCCL based on who else is cruising with me.

[awhfy]

9 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

We have about 10 years on you!  I guess we won't be too young.    Actually, it sounds perfect!  

We enjoy Celebrity’s food & really enjoy the premium beverages. Not having many children on board is rather nice (& we love our grands). 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 minute ago, awhfy said:

We enjoy Celebrity’s food & really enjoy the premium beverages. Not having many children on board is rather nice (& we love our grands). 

We are assuming their food will be better than most of the lines we've tried, although I've never went hungry on one. lol  I never miss work to cruise, in fact I rarely miss work at all, but since it's our 25th, I actually got permission to go in Sept. so I could go on our anniversary.  

[Pier290]

2 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

We are assuming their food will be better than most of the lines we've tried, although I've never went hungry on one. lol  I never miss work to cruise, in fact I rarely miss work at all, but since it's our 25th, I actually got permission to go in Sept. so I could go on our anniversary.  

We are sailing on Equinox Sept 13th for 10 nights!!! Our second time on Equinox.  Went on Silhouette out of Venice. And summit to Bermuda.   They were all outstanding!! 🛳️😎🍹

[NCteacherlovescruising]

16 minutes ago, Pier290 said:

We are sailing on Equinox Sept 13th for 10 nights!!! Our second time on Equinox.  Went on Silhouette out of Venice. And summit to Bermuda.   They were all outstanding!! 🛳️😎🍹

Summit to Bermuda is what we booked. So happy to hear this!! 

[CruzeBoozer]

My wife and I are mid 40’s and I think will be on our 7th Celebrity cruise next week.  We typically always cruise longer itineraries in February.  We already have two more booked and if history repeats itself will book another while on board.  We frequent the bars, pool, activities, and meet plenty of fun and nice people regardless of their age.  Bottom line you can have as much fun as you want in many different ways.  We enjoy escaping the winter, quality meals, adult beverages, and above average service so Celebrity meets all of our needs.  I wouldn’t get hung up on the “older demographic” that everyone references.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

10 minutes ago, CruzeBoozer said:

My wife and I are mid 40’s and I think will be on our 7th Celebrity cruise next week.  We typically always cruise longer itineraries in February.  We already have two more booked and if history repeats itself will book another while on board.  We frequent the bars, pool, activities, and meet plenty of fun and nice people regardless of their age.  Bottom line you can have as much fun as you want in many different ways.  We enjoy escaping the winter, quality meals, adult beverages, and above average service so Celebrity meets all of our needs.  I wouldn’t get hung up on the “older demographic” that everyone references.

February wouldn’t be an option for us since I’m a teacher.  When we did our one cruise in February I was working at a private school that had a winter break then. As it is, I’m taking 4 days off after Labor Day to go in September. I’m thinking it was just a fluke that we didn’t like Princess. 

[Decpl]

You will enjoy Celebrity, food is good, not a lot of children, and great service. I should ad that we like Princess a lot also, as we are Platinum on Princess.  . We cruised Celebrity,  RCL (to Many kids ) Carnival ( to no frills) and NCl ( not our cup of tea)

The music and entertainment is to our liking on Celebrity and pool area is more relaxing.. 

 

Kand J

[KEG21552]

You scored a double win!  The Summit is hands down my favorite ship.  We are looking forward to seeing the changes made during dry dock.

Bermuda is absolutely the most beautiful place I have ever been.

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise

[TeaBag]

Great choice.  We sail Celebrity exclusively and we will be on Summit in Oct, after you.  Bermuda is gorgeous.  We were there in Nov and even then, it was lovely.

 

Since you did not like your tablemates once, you could choose Select dining on Celebrity where most of the tables are for 2.  They are fairly close together so you could chat with your neighbors or you could choose just to be on your own.  Since it is a celebration cruise, you could opt for Aqua class which has a smaller dining room and great food.  I would watch the prices and if they come down, sometimes you can get a great deal.

 

Our first cruise was for our 25th and our anniversary is in Sept also.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise. Happy anniversary!

[DENIE]

Happy Anniversary, and congratulations!  My wife and I are "mid-50's" as an "average"   We are going on our 3rd Celebrity cruise this November after trying several lines.  Celebrity is a good "home" for us.  We may be a bit younger than the average age (depending on what cruise you are on), but the crowd is definitely "younger for their age".  We really enjoyed the other passengers, and met lots of very friendly folks just enjoying the cruise as we were.  Yes, it may be more sedate than the Carnival's, RCI's, and NCL's, but still plenty to do!