First timers with Celebrity

[FlyCruiser86]

Hello,

My wife and I are thinking about trying out Celebrity for the first time. We are platinum with Princess and that’s all we know...

What should we expect with Celebrity?

How do the theater shows work? Are they first come first serve? Do you make reservations for shows? 

Will there be a lot of up-charging / nickel-and-diming?  

The pros/cons between the two cruise lines? 

TIA

Edited August 5, 2019 by FlyCruiser86

[keesar]

4 minutes ago, FlyCruiser86 said:

Hello,

My wife and I are thinking about trying out Celebrity for the first time. We are platinum with Princess and that’s all we know...

What should we expect with Celebrity?

How do the theater shows work? Are they first come first serve? Do you make reservations for shows? 

Will there be a lot of up-charging / nickel-and-diming?  

The pros/cons between the two cruise lines? 

TIA

 

The theater shows do not require reservations.  Just show up a few minutes before the start.  Two shows nightly.

 

Expect an older demographic on Celebrity.  Food is rather good on Celebrity.  Service is excellent.  I have not found up charging but there have been cut backs which may not be observed by new cruisers.

 

Give Celebrity a try!

[4774Papa]

We have done 11 Celebrity cruises, 7 on NCL and 2 on Royal C.

Celebrity is our favorite.

Celebrity excels in dining.  We rarely dine at the specialty restaurants since the MDR is excellent.  Service is excellent.

We love the ship layout on Celebrity's ships. There are many ways to see the ocean, love the Sunset Bar aft of the buffet.  You can eat outside if it is warm enough.

Entertainment is good.

Celebrity is the no hassle cruise line.  Never done Princess, but many compare the two lines on the same level.

[Nymich]

Personally we like Celebrity over Princess having done both several times.   We like Aqua, Bacio and usually

less kids than Princess.  Service is better overall on Celebrity we think.

[hurwitz5]

Have been on 40+ cruises, with 20 on Celebrity and 8 on Princess, the rest on other lines.  Celebrity is a more relaxing experience.  I liked Movies Under the Stars on Princess at night.  I did not enjoy all the noise from the screens by the pools during the day.  It’s also hard to find shade on the pool deck on Princess (not so on Celebrity).  You also had to get to the shows 30 minutes ahead of time on Princess (not so on Celebrity).  The food is also better on Celebrity.  For the past 7 years, we have sailed with only Celebrity (2 or 3 sailings per year) because we prefer the experience over Princess.

[grandgeezer]

We’ve done 26 Celebrity cruises (none since 12/2016), 9 Holland America, 9 on Royal Caribbean, 2 on Princess, one on Norwegian, and one on MSC (a second one coming in October). Due to cutbacks and pricing we no longer have a favorite for a regular cruise. We have moved up to suites in order to get some real enjoyment in cruising again. We enjoyed the Grand Suite on the Allure and the Yacht Club Deluxe Suite on MSC, and we are doing a second one in October. We have no desire to try a suite on Princess, HAL, or Norwegian. Celebrity’s pricing is so far out of wack that there is no reason to believe it would be worth the extra cost.

 

[tjunmin]

My first few cruises were with RCI, before I moved over to Celebrity. I've not cruised with Princess, but have read posts in the past comparing the two lines. My understanding is that Celebrity's production shows fall short compared to other lines, but the food is better. Old timers are noticing the cutbacks and upcharges, but I'd not say Celebrity is not nickel-and-diming as badly as other lines yet. If the theater shows are important for you, feel free to take a look at these photos and judge if they pass muster [link]. And here is a sample of the food for suites [link].

Edited August 6, 2019 by tjunmin

[DENIE]

We've had 2 cruises (and 2 more booked) on Celebrity, but none on Princess.  We understand there are many similarities, and our TA only recommends Celebrity, Princess and HAL among the mass-market lines.

 

We love Celebrity.  The shows have never been a problem to get into if you go just a bit ahead of time, and no reservations are needed.  The food has been wonderful!  Specialty dining may depend on whether you are on Millennium-class ships, Solstice-class ships, or the new Edge-class (we've only experienced M and S-class ships).

 

There may be some bargaining the first couple days with specialty dining, but we did not feel "assaulted" by anyone.  If not interested, just say "no".  We did find that if you listen, you may get a great offer of up to 30% off specialty dining, though.

 

We are in our "mid-50's" and find the passenger demographics fine on Celebrity.  Enjoy your cruise!