Looking at FIRST Celebrity cruise

[spankym13]

Hello  everyone.  My wife (33) and I (32) are looking at booking our first cruise  with celebrity.  We have only done  1 Carnival  and 1 Norwegian  in the past so we are still new to the cruise game. We were just curious about the nightly  entertainment  on board. A few people have told us they cater to older crowds and younger  people should stick to Carnival.. while we arent huge party people we do enjoy having drinks  and dancing  the night away. Does celebrity  do these things as well?

Edited March 10, 2019 by spankym13

[amscene1]

30 minutes ago, spankym13 said:

Hello  everyone.  My wife (33) and I (32) are looking at booking our first cruise  with celebrity.  We have only done  1 Carnival  and 1 Norwegian  in the past so we are still new to the cruise game. We were just curious about the nightly  entertainment  on board. A few people have told us they cater to older crowds and younger  people should stick to Carnival.. while we arent huge party people we do enjoy having drinks  and dancing  the night away. Does celebrity  do these things as well?

I just wrote and posted a review on Equinox from my experience last week. Me and my wife are both 33. I would recommend you try NCL’s newer ships first before you try celebrity. 

 

[George C]

I perfer celebrity over ncl and carnival , but entertainment is not here strong point perfer rccl for that. 

[Guindalf]

Most of our cruising has been on NCL until recently, when we did a 10-nighter to the ABC Islands (October 2017) on X and last year was New England/Canada on RCCL.

 

We are booked for Alaska in August on X again.

 

Personally, I have been very unhappy with the changes in NCL and the so-called perks offered. First, they increased the drinks package to $99/day and still charged 18% gratuities on it and I now read they have removed some of the premium brands and added a higher tier at $129! This makes a 7-day 'free perk' to be charged at  $162 PP!!

 

We enjoy X but agree it's not for everyone, as is true for any line. I certainly won't been seen on a Carnival ship any time soon!

[spankym13]

The biggest  thing that has drawn us to this cruise is the ports. No other lines seem to have as good of itenery. 

[amscene1]

18 minutes ago, spankym13 said:

The biggest  thing that has drawn us to this cruise is the ports. No other lines seem to have as good of itenery. 

That’s understandable, could you elaborate on itenery and embarkation port?

[spankym13]

Port Everglades.  The itinerary:

San Juan 

St Thomas 

Tortola 

Nassau.  

Most stops are 7-10hrs.

We looked  at MSC good ports but short times. RCCL/NCL had only 3 stops so more sea days. Carnival  has one itenery  thats not bad but we have been to 2 stops already. 

Nassau 

Amber Cover ( Least favorite )

San Juan 

St Thomas

[chemmo]

5 hours ago, spankym13 said:

Hello  everyone.  My wife (33) and I (32) are looking at booking our first cruise  with celebrity.  We have only done  1 Carnival  and 1 Norwegian  in the past so we are still new to the cruise game. We were just curious about the nightly  entertainment  on board. A few people have told us they cater to older crowds and younger  people should stick to Carnival.. while we arent huge party people we do enjoy having drinks  and dancing  the night away. Does celebrity  do these things as well?

 

Celebrity has some really nice bars including the Martini bar which is lively, the Sunset bar which we love sitting at in the evenings and the ensemble lounge ideal for meeting fellow cruisers and making new friends. Live music is at different bars at different times of the day.

 

If you search for copies of ‘Today’, the daily sheet listing the times of all events and activities it will give you an idea of the types of evening events on offer. If you look through a few days worth, then imagine what you would do if on board and it will give you an idea if Celebrity is for you. 

 

We have only done one Carnival cruise which we enjoyed in its own right but our memories are of busy, busy, loud and busy....Celebrity is calmer, there is plenty to do if you want to join activities but also many guests just cruise to sit back and relax....

 

Whatever you choose to do hope you have a fantastic time....

Edited March 10, 2019 by chemmo

[keesar]

6 hours ago, spankym13 said:

Hello  everyone.  My wife (33) and I (32) are looking at booking our first cruise  with celebrity.  We have only done  1 Carnival  and 1 Norwegian  in the past so we are still new to the cruise game. We were just curious about the nightly  entertainment  on board. A few people have told us they cater to older crowds and younger  people should stick to Carnival.. while we arent huge party people we do enjoy having drinks  and dancing  the night away. Does celebrity  do these things as well?

 

Dancing and entertainment are not strong suits for Celebrity.  The dance floor in the Atrium can hold about 24 dancers.  Not good for a ship of nearly 3000 cruisers.  If you want a higher energy cruise and an upgrade in entertainment,   look at Royal Caribbean.  

[spankym13]

Our last cruise  on carnival  we spent most evenings  in the lounges listening  to the salsa band on board or in the comedy  club. We just wanted to make sure its wasnt  gonna be a ghost town at 10pm.

[Jim_Iain]

8 hours ago, spankym13 said:

Our last cruise  on carnival  we spent most evenings  in the lounges listening  to the salsa band on board or in the comedy  club. We just wanted to make sure its wasnt  gonna be a ghost town at 10pm.

From experience the more port intensive a cruise is the quieter is in the evening.

 

Also warm weather cruises such as Caribbean cruises tend to be more active than cold weather cruises like Alaska .

 

Other factors that affect later night activity is the length of the cruise, with cruises less than 7 days to be more of a party atmosphere.  

 

Finally, the timing of the cruise e.g. Spring Beak and/or School Holidays will attract a younger crowd. 

[Nymich]

21 hours ago, spankym13 said:

Hello  everyone.  My wife (33) and I (32) are looking at booking our first cruise  with celebrity.  We have only done  1 Carnival  and 1 Norwegian  in the past so we are still new to the cruise game. We were just curious about the nightly  entertainment  on board. A few people have told us they cater to older crowds and younger  people should stick to Carnival.. while we arent huge party people we do enjoy having drinks  and dancing  the night away. Does celebrity  do these things as well?

Celebrity will be a really laid back cruise compared to the two you have been on.  If you want a slower pace it will give you that imo having been on them all a few times.

[amscene1]

19 hours ago, spankym13 said:

Port Everglades.  The itinerary:

San Juan 

St Thomas 

Tortola 

Nassau.  

Most stops are 7-10hrs.

We looked  at MSC good ports but short times. RCCL/NCL had only 3 stops so more sea days. Carnival  has one itenery  thats not bad but we have been to 2 stops already. 

Nassau 

Amber Cover ( Least favorite )

San Juan 

St Thomas

The thing is on these bigger mega ships is the ship become the destination. My wife was pretty bored on our celebrity cruise last week. It’s just not a great choice especially if you are the active type. 

 

My my wife has been on NCL Getaway, NCL Bliss, Harmony OTS and Symphony OTS. The Celebrity Equinox was just not up to par entertainment wise. 

 

If if you went on Bliss, you would have a go kart race track, laser tag, escape room, fun amazing slides, amazing Irish bar, H2O outdoor bar on the back of the ship and a ton more. 

 

Not to mention all inclusive drinks and specialty restaurants. 

 

Trust me. Celebrity is not for you guys. 

[Mimiya11]

When my daughter and son-in-law (both early 30's) had a choice between Celebrity and RC last summer, I pushed RC for them as they would have been bored on Celebrity.  They went on Symphony of the Seas and loved it.   Don't get me wrong, Celebrity is our cruise line of choice but if we want fun and lots of options for entertainment, we look forward to going on RC again.   

[snyniew]

I've done many Celebrity cruises and have never been bored in the evening and usually don't end up in bed until 2 am or later. It's not going to be as crowded as NCL or Carnival or RC. Usually end up in Revelations or what ever the club is on the top deck and there tends to be a group of people up there dancing until later. Yes, there may be some nights where things shut down earlier depending on who is out. I've even taken my nieces who range from 18-22 and they have all enjoyed themselves and ask to go again.

[paulh84]

8 minutes ago, snyniew said:

I've done many Celebrity cruises and have never been bored in the evening and usually don't end up in bed until 2 am or later. It's not going to be as crowded as NCL or Carnival or RC. Usually end up in Revelations or what ever the club is on the top deck and there tends to be a group of people up there dancing until later. Yes, there may be some nights where things shut down earlier depending on who is out. I've even taken my nieces who range from 18-22 and they have all enjoyed themselves and ask to go again.

 

I agree...we're in our ahem...mostly 30's now..... while we're typically on the younger end of the spectrum, there's usually something to do late into the night. We've definitely had many late nights in the Sky Lounge. It's a different atmosphere but if you don't require the three ring circus that RCL and NCL have become, I would recommend trying it at least once.