Long Time Carnival Platinum Guest Trying Celebrity - Expectation vs Reality

[ipeeinthepool]

17 hours ago, mfs2k said:

 

 

I don't think the biggest difference between Carnival and Celebrity are the rooms, food or even the service.   I think many are concerned about the other passengers that they will encounter on Carnival.  Not many people want to be surrounding by a couple thousand people looking to have fun (aka drinking) who may well turn into rude passengers.

Edited March 2, 2019 by ipeeinthepool

[mfs2k]

1 hour ago, ipeeinthepool said:

Not many people want to be surrounding by a couple thousand people looking to have fun (aka drinking) who may well turn into rude passengers.

 

To paraphrase Yogi Berra:

Nobody goes on Carnival anymore. It's too crowded with a couple of thousand people looking to have fun. 

[Reel Love]

20 hours ago, mfs2k said:

 

I thought it might make for an interesting post.  Hopefully it has for some of you. 

 

I'll definitely have fun on the cruise. I upgraded to the Premium beverage package. 

I personally am finding it interesting with some good conversation and perspectives.  I'm assuming (hoping) that you will post a follow-up thread after your cruise and am looking forward to reading.  Enjoy your first Celebrity cruise, and at the risk of sounding presumptuous I'm quite sure you will enjoy your Premium package. 🍸

 

[mfs2k]

1 minute ago, Reel Love said:

I personally am finding it interesting with some good conversation and perspectives.  I'm assuming (hoping) that you will post a follow-up thread after your cruise and am looking forward to reading.  Enjoy your first Celebrity cruise, and at the risk of sounding presumptuous I'm quite sure you will enjoy your Premium package. 🍸

 

 

Lol. Thank you. For $11.80 more per day I intend to drink the premium brands of my choice. 

I do plan to post a follow up but I don’t intend to live blog my vacation. That will be my time to relax and try to disconnect a bit. Not sure I can disconnect but I’ll try. 

[Cyber Kat]

22 hours ago, julia said:

Honestly, it's a great way to approach life in general...  no expectations equal no disappointments!

 

Comparing cruise lines is like comparing apples to oranges, as each one is different. AND...  each SHIP is different (crew, vibe, etc), AND, each SAILING is different (pax mix, itinerary).  Go and flow, and save the comparisons for later...  you'll be glad you did.

High hopes and low expectations is the way I roll - saves a lot of disappointments and leaves room for some nice surprises!

We also have a lot of Carnival cruises under our belts and I agree with much of what mfs2k wrote.  We enjoyed all of our Carnival cruises, and I'd do another - but know what to expect, and I'm okay with it.  I always found the food mostly acceptable to quite tasty, and we've lucked out in the service department on our last few cruises with both the MDR and the room staff.

We are also booked on our first Celebrity Cruise - the Equinox 5/13/20, Southern Caribbean.  We have done 1 Viking Ocean and 2 Viking River Cruises.  We have 2 more booked.  We love the Viking experience, but I keep telling people that we're not going steady 🙂  I like variety, and doing 2 Viking cruises in one year breaks the bank.

We are looking forward to our Celebrity cruise and I'm excited about a new ship and totally new islands for us.  I'm also excited because with Viking's prices as a comparison, our Sky Suite was cheap 😄  I'm looking at Celebrity as a kind of bridge between the mainstream lines and the premium/luxury lines.  Some don't consider Viking a luxury cruise line, but it felt like luxury to us - though they don't have butlers and we get a butler with our Sky Suite - another new experience!

We are sailing on Azamara Journey next month and I'm looking forward to that experience as well.  We picked it because it's a small ship - and we love small ships - and because the itinerary is odd.  It's out of NYC with 2 nights in Charleston, SC and 2 nights in Hamilton (docked IN Hamilton) Bermuda.

So this thread is interesting!  I hope mfs2k will come back and report on his Celebrity Cruise.  I'm curious to see what he finds!

[MJSailors]

To the OP

This is a brief reply regarding differences between Carnival and Celebrity -

Celebrity uses tablecloths in the MDR.

During our recent cruise on the Summit,we did not see men wearing caps or tank tops during dinner in the MDR.

There were many families on this cruise as it was this past July.

We were traveling with a ten year old and an eight year old. We did not see children running amok on the decks or in public rooms. 

We requested the same waitstaff for dinner every night since our first night was quite good. They were very good with the children and very pleasant every evening.

Celebrity’s cabin  service twice a day was a given,not offered as a choice.

On the Summit, public  address announcements were given once a day when the captain gave his daily report to the passengers.

It seemed to us that on Celebrity the “fun” was what passengers decided to do on the ship. It did not seem forced by the activities staff ie.hairy chest contests,pool games etc

Some may say that Celebrity is a bit dull compared to Carnival.

We found it to be relaxing .

I hope you enjoy your cruise !

[pleezto24]

Been sailing with Carnival mostly and Royal Caribbean (during spring break with the family).  Taking our first cruise on Celebrity in a few weeks on Summit after dry dock and Revolution.  I think another thing to consider beside the lines is the size of the ship.

 

Our first Carnival cruise was on a smaller, older ship.  The kids loved it!  I was impressed and in awe on how every person on the ship knew my name.  I would be relaxing at the pool and some random worker would walk up to me and ask me "Mr, Lee can I get you a beverage"  Did not matter where I was.  In line leaving for a shore excursion to random walks in the hallway, that every worker seemed to know my name. It was a little shocking/creepy at the beginning but impressive by the end.  It made the cruise so much more personal that way.

 

We have been going on bigger and bigger and newer and newer ships.  The entertainment and activities have gotten bigger and better, but I did notice that less and less people would greet me by name (I can't imagine trying to remember all those names and faces for each and every cruise week after week!)

 

Besides that personal touch difference, the service and food has been very good on every cruise no matter the size of the ship or cruise line.  Carnival has a slight edge as far as shows, and RCL has an edge on activities.

 

My expectation for my Celebrity cruise is that since it is a smaller ship, it would be a little bit more personal.  No hairy chest contest like Carnival or surfing like RCL, but more relaxing.  I am a bit of a foodie, so I do expect the food to be slighter better than Carnival or RCL, but like I said, I never had a bad meal on those lines so I won't be disappointed.

 

 

[mfs2k]

1 hour ago, pleezto24 said:

  I would be relaxing at the pool and some random worker would walk up to me and ask me "Mr, Lee can I get you a beverage"  Did not matter where I was.  In line leaving for a shore excursion to random walks in the hallway, that every worker seemed to know my name.

 

This is awesome and great customer service.   But Maybe they called everyone Mr Lee and super lucky if that’s your name. Lol. 

 

Thanks for for your comments !

[hcat]

 Male tank tops during dinner...ouch!

[Hatteras51]

I've only been on one Carnival cruise,  but I was impressed with the service and the food. We've been on most of the cruise lines in this market, with the exception of Holland America. We've only had one cruise experience that I wouldn't care to repeat, and that was on NCL. However, our's seems to be the exception because most people seem to love it. Our favorite lines are Princess and Celebrity,  but we've been sailing mostly on Celebrity for the past 10 years. I agree with most of your assumptions about the cruise comparisons. However,  when we were on Equinox last year, we found the pool on Equinox to be too loud at times. The dj would play for a while every day, and we thought that the music was way too loud. We like to relax and read, and when he would start, that was our cue to leave.  I hope that you do come back and post your impressions after the cruise. Enjoy!

Edited March 2, 2019 by Hatteras51

[mfs2k]

11 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

You said you expected to be able to order off the MDR menu from Blu on Equinox.  My experience has been that on "S" class ships like Equinox that it's not possible due to the distance between Blu and MDR.  On "S" class ships Blu concept was designed into the ship and has it's own galley.  

 

Without having dined on a Celebrity ship yet, I feel like we’ll be willing to eat in the MDR a few times if the menu is more appealing than Blu’s menu for that night. We may change our minds though after experiencing Blu.