First timer - usually sail Celebrity what should I expect?

[Woody14]

Heading on the Vista from Galveston in July. 

[lazydayz]

Ship will likely be more lively.  Carnival lives up to its fun ship motto.  Lots of comedy shows and live music.  Lots of cruisers stay out late and party.  Food probably not as good as Celebrity but we enjoy the specialty restaurants on Carnival. Hope you do a review after your Carnival cruise and let us know if you found it enjoyable. 

[mfs2k]

Enjoy the party. More bands, pool activity, dancing, better shows. The people are livelier and louder.
Splurge on specialty restaurants. They’re as good as the specialty restaurants on Celebrity and better than MDR food. 
Also there’s a lot more smoking areas on Carnival so you can expect to smell cigarettes sometimes. 

Edited March 29, 2022 by mfs2k

[funship freddy]

Carnival is a good product. It is not fair to expect Carnival to be “like” Celebrity. Sailed Celebrity (Reflection) in January. 7 nts in an aft balcony. Almost 5K. Sailing Carnival 4/09 in a balcony. 5 nts $900.

Do I expect the experience to be the same ?  No.  I will report back in 2 weeks.

[Drazil65]

Lots of kids running around!!!   😄

[Homosassa]

Lower your expectations. 

 

Carnival will live down to them.

 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Yep - it's definitely not apples to apples.

 

As stated above, there will be more kids on Carnival. There will be a less cosmopolitan look to the guests on Carnival. Celebrity attracts more foreign visitors (Europe/Asia), whereas the "average" Carnival cruise does not.

 

All of that is neither here nor there - it's just our observations (74 Carnival sailings and 17 on Celebrity). There will be people that stand out (for good and not so good reasons) on both lines, but that's just our fellow travelers!

 

Celebrity is less edgy with its offerings (comedians, love and marriage shows, etc) than Carnival, and you'll likely see more "enrichment" activities/talks/seminars. The only place one will generally smell smoke is on the back decks on Celebrity - such as half the seating at the Sunset Bar. The casino will not "smell like a casino" either, if you associate the smell of smoke with casinos!

 

We currently have cruises booked with both lines.  🙂

 

Tom

[donandmelissa]

Carnival is really good at what it does.  Their ships are what I would loosely call "party ships" while Celebrity ships are what I would loosely call "relax ships".  Generally, the crowd on Carnival skews younger.  More families with kids.  More college age young adults looking for active fun.  Lots more drinking, dancing and general merriment.  More activities and the party keeps going well past midnight.  Celebrity crowd is generally a little older, more affluent, more relaxed.  Most of the crowd on Carnival falls into 3 groups: 1) People who have been on multiple Carnival cruises and come locked and loaded, ready to party, party, party and 2) People for whom this vacation is a life long dream, a little more expensive than what they normally do, and they are looking to party, party, party and are not going to miss a single minute! and 3) Grandparents of groups 1 and 2.  

 

Enjoy the cruise!  It is a different experience than Celebrity, but different doesn't necessarily mean inferior, nor does it necessarily mean better.  My wife and I enjoy both lines.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

3 minutes ago, donandmelissa said:

...  Most of the crowd on Carnival falls into 3 groups: ... 2) People for whom this vacation is a life long dream, a little more expensive than what they normally do, and they are looking to party, party, party and are not going to miss a single minute! ...

...

 

I've never seen as many blue S&S cards as I have the last couple of weeks (two 3-nt Liberty sailings). Carnival definitely attracts first time cruisers.

 

Presently we're padding our Carnival cruise count in order for both of us to reach the next Milestone sailing - and "cash in" with 75% OBC on a more costly ABC sailing on the Celebration. After that, we'll probably skew more to Celebrity/NCL/Royal.

 

Tom

[tampabrat22]

I've never sailed on Celebrity but I would guess it is similar to Princess. So I say go with an open mind, be prepared for a much more lively crowd and just have fun! 🙂

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

11 minutes ago, tampabrat22 said:

I've never sailed on Celebrity but I would guess it is similar to Princess. So I say go with an open mind, be prepared for a much more lively crowd and just have fun! 🙂

 

I agree with the second part!

 

As to the first, and it's just my experience (with a single Princess cruise on the Caribbean Princess), but we didn't care for the ship or experience. No rush to return!

 

Tom

[graphicguy]

Been on both.

 

Lots of good compare and contrasts here.

 

Agree that Carnival has lots more young children and lots more "party, party, party" (which usually means many more drunk people).  If that's your "thing", then you're on the right ship.

 

Carnival does tend to be less expensive than Celebrity (whoever paid $5K for Celebrity had to be in a Suite in the Retreat).  Food is generally better on Celebrity, too.  Although, one of the the best meals I ever had, in any venue, sailing or on land, was the Captain's Table on Carnival.

 

Entertainers on Carnival aren't as good as the entertainers on Celebrity.  But, there is lots more entertainment options on Carnival.  Celebrity entertainment tends more towards VEGAS or BROADWAY caliber.  Carnival has lots of comedians and dinner theater type of entertainment, though.

 

Depends on what you're looking for.

 

As mentioned, if you want party, party, party...Carnival's your venue.  Celebrity has a more relaxed vibe. Few children.  As rowdy as Celebrity gets would be the silent disco and Martini Bar shows by the bartenders.

 

Carnival will have all the pool activities for the kiddies and some for the adults (i.e. hairy person contest).

 

I'll do Carnival again, if the price is right.  I'll do Celebrity again because the service is great.  Both are worth what you paid.

 

 

[ober134]

 3 groups: 1) People who have been on multiple Carnival cruises and come locked and loaded, ready to party, party, party and 2) People for whom this vacation is a life long dream, a little more expensive than what they normally do, and they are looking to party, party, party and are not going to miss a single minute! and 3) Grandparents of groups 1 and 2.  

 

we are none of these groups.... admittedly no experience on Celebrity.. but we come back to Carnival because: we enjoy watching those in the aforementioned groups having fun, we appreciate the relaxed environment, price is lower so we can vacation more (tho we can afford to do the "fancier" lines), and when/if we desire a quieter respite, those spots can be found.

[Daddyfto]

The first hour you will go OMG what have I done.  It's kinda crazy up around Lido and folks are still in travel stress mode, but once the cabins open around 1.30 everyone speads out and it never seems busy or crazy after that.  Carnival is great they're "The Fun Ships"  Relax and enjoy!!!

[donandmelissa]

4 hours ago, ober134 said:

 3 groups: 1) People who have been on multiple Carnival cruises and come locked and loaded, ready to party, party, party and 2) People for whom this vacation is a life long dream, a little more expensive than what they normally do, and they are looking to party, party, party and are not going to miss a single minute! and 3) Grandparents of groups 1 and 2.  

 

we are none of these groups.... admittedly no experience on Celebrity.. but we come back to Carnival because: we enjoy watching those in the aforementioned groups having fun, we appreciate the relaxed environment, price is lower so we can vacation more (tho we can afford to do the "fancier" lines), and when/if we desire a quieter respite, those spots can be found.

 

We don't fall into any of those 3 groups either but as I said in my original comment "most of the crowd on Carnival falls into one of 3 groups".  I agree with your point, which is that you get a lot of bang for your buck on Carnival.  For example, we leave on a 5 day Carnival cruise in a little over a week.  The cost for the 2 of us for an extended AFT balcony was around $900 and we are getting $800 in OBC.  Hard to beat the price!  

 

On the other hand, there are values to be had on Celebrity if you know when to pull the trigger.  We are taking a 15 day transatlantic from Rome to Tampa on Celebrity this fall.  The cruise includes the premium drink package, prepaid gratuities, WIFI for 2 for the entire cruise and a $375 OBC.  The cost of that cruise for 2 of us in a Concierge Class balcony was a little over $4,300.  Also an excellent value!  

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

2 minutes ago, donandmelissa said:

 

...

 

On the other hand, there are values to be had on Celebrity if you know when to pull the trigger.  We are taking a 15 day transatlantic from Rome to Tampa on Celebrity this fall.  The cruise includes the premium drink package, prepaid gratuities, WIFI for 2 for the entire cruise and a $375 OBC.  The cost of that cruise for 2 of us in a Concierge Class balcony was a little over $4,300.  Also an excellent value!  

 

Agreed !

 

Tom

[Woody14]

Well we are not in any of the 3 groups either but I totally get what you are saying with that.

 

I am keeping my expectations low and am actually quite excited to give Carnival a try, my dw not so much the good thing with her is that her expectations are really low so I should get a win as long as the weather cooperates (early July should meet her sun need).

[luckybecky]

You have had some excellent responses to this question and I generally concur. The food won't be quite as good in the MDR, but the specialty dining is superb. And it is affordable. Cucina del Capitano is only $15 for example and is outstanding. It is free for lunch. 

 

There is a lot of raucous entertainment on the lido deck. We didn't experience Hairy Chest Contests, Dance contests (which generally involve lots of twerking), etc on Celebrity but there is plenty of that kind of thing on Carnival. But it can be lots of fun, even if you are just an observer. The party atmosphere is definitely ramped up on Carnival. 

 

But if you are not into that, it's fine. There is plenty to do otherwise. The serenity deck is lovely. The spa provides outstanding service. There are many activities that aren't so crazy.

 

It also depends on the cruise you choose. If you are doing a four day cruise to Cozumel, then you can expect lots of partying, younger demographic, probably heavy drinking among some cruisers. A longer cruise will have slightly less of that. BTW, watching pier runners in Cozumel is a popular sport. Go to the forward "hidden" decks near sailaway time and watch the late arrivals. 

 

The bottom line is that any vacation is what YOU make of it. You can have an amazing time on Carnival. They do what they do, and they do it very well. We love them. We also love Celebrity for a very different experience. Have an open mind and go into any vacation with a "roll with it" attitude, and you'll be fine. 🙂 

[Sillyjilly]

Expect loud and fun!

[csoud68]

If u want something sorta kinda like celebrity I would recommend the spa weekly pass. It's not celebrity but still a very good spa.

 

Specialty dining is a must...breakfast in ocean plaza vs lido is a much better experience..

 

The aft pool area would be a nice place to hang along with serenity..

 

Now if u want action go to the main pool..tattoos and tramp stamps galore. Everyone is nice...

 

If u are sun worshippers there are many loungers not near a pool..

[Woody14]

We changed the cruise to the Mexican Riviera July 9 on the Panorama.  But is is official we are giving Carnival a shot 

 

 

[ARcruisin2]

1 hour ago, Woody14 said:

We changed the cruise to the Mexican Riviera July 9 on the Panorama.  But is is official we are giving Carnival a shot 

 

 

Cool!

Enjoy!  please come back and review, it will be interesting to get your perspective.

 

[breadandbutter]

I like both cruise lines. But you asked "what should you expect" so here's my take........ pertaining to Carnival.

No table cloths in mdr.

Food quality not as good, having said that, I've always found something I liked.

Food presentation is not appealing.

Forget the buffet.

Thalassotherapy pools are pathetic. 

Deck parties are good.

Theater shows are mainly musical.

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

I've been on 3 X sailings and 2 CCL sailings since the restart.  Agree with everything that's been said, I'll expand a little bit.

 

Food, MDR/buffet are fairly disappointing, however you still have many options.  In the MDR you can pay $20 for a few options including surf and turf.  Steakhouse for $38 and Italian is $15, well worth it.  Then there's the complimentary Pasta Bar, BBQ and Burgers, they're all great.

 

Atmosphere, more children, an adult age average of possibly two decades younger.  Often there are multiple things to do, one night you had the main theater show, a punchliner comedy show and the 80s glow deck party all going on at the same times.  On my last X sailing, one night you had a boy band cover show at the theater, a duet only playing oldies all night or if you can make it until midnight then their DJ party started.  Also there's usually not much going on in X in the day on the seaday besides maybe an hour long lecturer which will be on your TV after, there's a lot more events on a Carnival ship seaday.

 

Lastly laundry is cheaper on carnival and you can do it yourself, comes in handy on the longer cruises.

[crazyank]

First timer - usually sail Celebrity what should I expect?

What should you expect?   Mostly huge disappointment after sailing Celebrity