Alternatives to Celebrity

[Islander500]

Hello fellow cruisers,

As a loyal and long-term Celebrity cruiser, I am starting to do some due diligence for other cruise lines.  Of course, I have a lot of research to do but thought I'd ask you experts who have also been Celebrity cruisers. Some info about us. We are in our 60s/70s, typically travel with friends of similar age, looking for interesting itineraries, excellent meals (we like the size and ambiance of BLU), lounge spaces with live music of various kinds, nice seating spaces to relax, chat, have a cocktail or coffee, somewhat reasonable pricing (whatever that means for you) for balcony cabins (don't need suites.)

 

Would love to hear your thoughts with some details, and thank you in advance.  💗

 

 

 

 

 

[barneyboy]

We’ve sailed 3 times with Azamara in the last year. The balcony cabins are small and the bathrooms are tiny. In our opinion the food is better than Celebrity. Enjoy the option of the Patio Grill for a casual lunch or dinner. 
Being a  smaller ship the entertainment is limited but the advantage of a small ship is the different ports it is able to visit. 

[lv2cruisgrl]

18 minutes ago, Islander500 said:

Hello fellow cruisers,

As a loyal and long-term Celebrity cruiser, I am starting to do some due diligence for other cruise lines.  Of course, I have a lot of research to do but thought I'd ask you experts who have also been Celebrity cruisers. Some info about us. We are in our 60s/70s, typically travel with friends of similar age, looking for interesting itineraries, excellent meals (we like the size and ambiance of BLU), lounge spaces with live music of various kinds, nice seating spaces to relax, chat, have a cocktail or coffee, somewhat reasonable pricing (whatever that means for you) for balcony cabins (don't need suites.)

 

Would love to hear your thoughts with some details, and thank you in advance.  💗

 

 

 

 

 

Sounds liked us...can't wait to see what info you get!

[Plato123]

We like Celebrity a lot and normally get a suite so we have access to Luminae (and BLU) but have now tried Princess once and will do so again in November.

While the food is not as good (IMO) and the suites and service can not compare to Celebrity, the itineraries and price are hard to resist.  We will have an Owner's Suite (one of two on the ship) and will visit 8 ports on a 14 day cruise, and with the top package available our fare will be about $14,000 CAD.

Nevertheless, we will be back on Celebrity (preferably the Reflection) one day in the future for a Med cruise we hope.

[erniesband]

We're the same as you. We've found Holland America Line to be a good alternative to X. Cruised to Alaska twice with them and are doing a Med cruise next year. They do have some different itineraries from X. The food was good, on par or in some cases better than X. We do balcony cabins and so far they have been equal. HAL doesn't do production shows but has good music venues like BB King's. They also have better lectures and enrichment programs.

[neverlaysup]

For us, we are moving to Windstar for our Caribbean cruises from now on. It's a completely different vibe and we love the small ship, great food and the ability to jump off the swim deck while tendered. We will continue with Celebrity for longer itineraries but we are looking to try some other lines to see how they compare. Virgin Voyages and Princess are next up for us.

[prmssk]

If you are not a suite cruiser who can afford Azamara, Oceania, or some of the other more premium lines, then your options are all going to be pretty comparable to Celebrity so which you prefer of those comparable options greatly depends on which specific aspects of the cruise you enjoy more.

 

I would put Celebrity, Holland, Princess, and Virgin on roughly the same level (maybe Disney too but I have no interest in that many kids or Disney).  We've done both Celebrity and Princess lately and much prefer Celebrity but that may just be our personal preference.  We hope to try Holland someday soon.  I don't know if Virgin is quite our vibe but it's not off the table as an option for us.

 

Another one you might consider is MSC.  We haven't sailed them yet but have two Yacht Club bookings coming up.  My understanding is that the ships are a lot bigger and the standard cabins are likely a pretty big downgrade to Celebrity but Yacht Club is a lot more affordable than the Retreat and I've also heard good things about Aurea (probably the most comparable to aqua class).

 

I suggest trying something different.  I've never had a truly bad time on a cruise and each one we take on a different line helps me better narrow exactly what I enjoy most when cruising.  Every line has a little different pluses and minuses.  

[Dobby36]

I would second the HAL recommendation above, especially due to your note about interesting itinerary choices. The age group also seems suitable, and the focus on food and music.   They have a couple different lounge spaces that host pianos, rock cover bands, and other non-stage production musical entertainment choices.  

[Hobbsey]

1 hour ago, Islander500 said:

Hello fellow cruisers,

As a loyal and long-term Celebrity cruiser, I am starting to do some due diligence for other cruise lines.  Of course, I have a lot of research to do but thought I'd ask you experts who have also been Celebrity cruisers. Some info about us. We are in our 60s/70s, typically travel with friends of similar age, looking for interesting itineraries, excellent meals (we like the size and ambiance of BLU), lounge spaces with live music of various kinds, nice seating spaces to relax, chat, have a cocktail or coffee, somewhat reasonable pricing (whatever that means for you) for balcony cabins (don't need suites.)

 

Would love to hear your thoughts with some details, and thank you in advance.  💗

 

 

 

 

 

I’d take good look at HAL

[wahlct]

We did Azamara earlier this year.  Got a 9 night cruise in Italy in a suite, cheaper than the balcony we are doing in the Med in a couple of weeks.  The food is on par with Luminae, and the specialty restaurants are far better.  Loved the itinerary.  The only drawback is the limited entertainment and no casino.  But the crew is really top notch, going out of their way to make of for these shortcomings.

[CruisinShips]

As many of us longtime cruisers know, the ship is less important on an itinerary-heavy cruise, whereas it's much more important on a Caribbean or TA cruise where it's less about the ports.

 

HAL or Oceania can win out on the former, and Celebrity, RCL or even Virgin work better on the latter IMO.

Edited August 16, 2023 by CruisinShips

[rodndonna]

You mention "reasonable pricing", and with that in mind I would also recommend you take a look at HAL. In our experience (lowly cabin inside or balcony cabins) HAL is generally a little cheaper and has what I would consider better (more interesting) itineraries than Celebrity.

[bikerunner]

After I finish up my 2 maybe one Celebrity cruises early next year I already have booked out Oceana and Azamara as I am done with Celebrity.  I have done NCL, Princess in the past and did not care much for them overall.   I did like startup going on cruises as others pointed out they where empty overall, or around 1/2.  Figure with Azamara Ill be good with a full ship of 700ppl.  I like the option of the itinerary's that are givein with the overnights etc.  

[C 2 C]

1 hour ago, Islander500 said:

Hello fellow cruisers,

As a loyal and long-term Celebrity cruiser, I am starting to do some due diligence for other cruise lines. 

 

 

 

 

We've cruised on every class of Celebrity ship from Horizon to Edge.  We started cruising with HAL in 1989  and cruised a dozen times with them over the last year.  HAL has better itineraries, a crew that is just as friendly as on Celebrity and lower prices for drink packages than X.  We like the new class of Pinnacle ships better than the Edge class.  Celebrity has stunning design but the practicality of HAL's ships is more to our liking.  The Crow's nest on HAL beats anything that Celebrity has as a go to place on board.  Celebrity has given all the best views to suite passengers but HAL uses the forward observation lounge as a meeting place for coffee, puzzles and activities such as trivia.  There are real dance floors on HAL whereas on Celebrity they are walk through locations.  However we love the older Millennium class ships more than the older HAL ships.  We have found that many Carnival cruisers have moved up to HAL just as Royal pax move on to Celebrity.  Flip a coin to pick your voyage when in doubt.  Both lines will give you a fantastic experience.

[DeltaJoe15]

Have booked our first Princess Cruise in may  Celebrity is out priceing us

[basenji56]

I have several cruises booked with Oceania.  Also plan to try Azamara, the reborn Crystal and Virgin.  

[bnurick]

We are Celebrity and Disney cruisers. Probably will book more Disney now that X is cutting back. Disney does require more planning and status is a big help as things book up quickly. We prefer the food on Disney too and like they do not do drink packages, so you know what you are getting (no switching on you). Our last Disney cruise was in June in Alaska.

[Poconolady]

Does anyone have any personal experience with Viking Ocean cruises? I’m about ready to jump ship from Celebrity.

[xamsx]

We are also looking around.  We currently have cruises booked with Princess, Oceania, Viking, and Silversea (RCCL). We only have one future cruise booked with Celebrity.  

 

Right now, itinerary is driving our bookings (within reason) instead of loyalty. We do hope that a new line will become a "favorite" as Celebrity was in the past for us, but in the meantime will be having fun cruising while looking around for that new favorite. 

 

Good luck!

[Lena11033]

I haven't booked anything but been looking around at Oceania based on the pricing being like X's - actually one room I saw (that included Butler service) was the same as a Sky suite for pricing. So I am thinking about trying them out at some point, plus they get into some different ports

[basenji56]

10 minutes ago, Poconolady said:

Does anyone have any personal experience with Viking Ocean cruises? I’m about ready to jump ship from Celebrity.

Viking Ocean is very nice.  Small ships.  Food is somewhat better than Celebrity--particularly for breakfast in the dining room.  Spa is free and fantastic.  Entertainment is smaller scale.  Problem is the limited itineraries in the Caribbean.  And payment is generally due a year in advance.  

[CruisinShips]

7 minutes ago, Lena11033 said:

I haven't booked anything but been looking around at Oceania based on the pricing being like X's - actually one room I saw (that included Butler service) was the same as a Sky suite for pricing. So I am thinking about trying them out at some point, plus they get into some different ports

I believe Oceania's PH suites are the most equivalent to a SS.  I had a Caribbean cruise booked on Oceania's new Vista ship for next February, but ended up switching to the Apex because I thought a 1200 passenger ship would be too small for a Caribbean itinerary.  We have several friends who only cruise Oceania...they swear by the food and the service, but admit there is less to do on those ships at night and on sea days.

[Ipeeinthepools]

1 hour ago, Dobby36 said:

I would second the HAL recommendation above, especially due to your note about interesting itinerary choices. The age group also seems suitable, and the focus on food and music.   They have a couple different lounge spaces that host pianos, rock cover bands, and other non-stage production musical entertainment choices.  

 

1 hour ago, Hobbsey said:

I’d take good look at HAL

I agree with HAL.  I think you will be fine with HAL and you’ll find me in the HAL pool.  Welcome aboard 

Edited August 16, 2023 by Ipeeinthepools

[MACruisers]

As a long time Celebrity Suite cruiser, I am also looking at other options. In the past, I have been very pleased with the Celebrity product both pre “retreat” and post.  As a consumer I understand Celebrity is a business and suffered tremendous losses during the pandemic.  That said, there is only so many price increases and quality/service cuts you can pass on to a consumer before they start looking for value for their money.  I’ve only ever cruised with  RCG brands (RCI and X), and I still have 4 cruises booked with Celebrity in Suites and I am holding judgement until I experience my next cruise with Celebrity.  The info on this board and put out by Celebrity has raised my level of concern enough to explore other brands.  

[Lena11033]

4 minutes ago, CruisinShips said:

I believe Oceania's PH suites are the most equivalent to a SS.  I had a Caribbean cruise booked on Oceania's new Vista ship for next February, but ended up switching to the Apex because I thought a 1200 passenger ship would be too small for a Caribbean itinerary.  We have several friends who only cruise Oceania...they swear by the food and the service, but admit there is less to do on those ships at night and on sea days.

 

Yeah I think I'd need to see more of what they have, I'm not really a partier but I travel solo so needs to be some things otherwise I'd get bored. BUT I'd probably do it more for Europe not for the Caribbean and in Europe it tends to be more port intensive so may be fine