New to Celebrity- a few questions

[dmopink]

Hello Fellow Cruisers: 

 

We just returned from a Family Carnival Cruise to the Mexican Riviera. It was nice trip- affordable for our family. Me (F50), husband (M53) and son, (M18).  The biggest plus was being able to drive to and from the port, with no added airfare. It was a fun trip, especially since our son kept us on a schedule of fun activities, instead of just going to the room after dinner. But, I have to say we might be done with Carnival altogether. We returned home on Saturday, 8/12, and on Sunday, 8/13, booked a 7-Day Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Beyond  in May 2024. 

 

A few questions: 

1.  Typically, (if there is such a thing) are Celebrity ships usually sailing at full passenger capacity? I ask, because on our last cruise (Carnival)  there were 4K passengers. It was A LOT of people- which we knew going in.  But definitely, a turn off. I've seen several You Tube videos, of people sailing on Beyond, and it just doesn't seem that crowded, even at peak times. I know the capacity is about 3260, but was wondering, do the SUITES ONLY ACCESS areas, make the other areas less crowded? What was the feeling of the ship as far as "crowdedness"?

 

2. We're sailing the beginning of May, and hoping to avoid a ton a kids on summer vacation- We love kids, but after the Carnival experience, we're hoping to experience a little more of an adult vibe. What has been your experience with kids sailing on Celebrity?

 

3. If you could only book one or maybe two specialty dining places on Beyond- what would they be? The La Petite Chef looks intriguing.  Thoughts?

 

4.  And of course- the most controversial topic of ALL.  the Infinite Veranda!!!  On the last few cruises we have enjoyed traditional balconies. My husband is really wanting to try the Infinite Veranda, and that is what we booked. My biggest concern is the heat factor, if the AC goes off when we have the window down. Also, along this line, I read online that if your neighbor has their window down, it can turn off the AC in your cabin.  Surely that is not the case!!!  Any thoughts on these IV cabins is appreciated. 

 

Thanks in advance for any information- looking forward to a very special cruise. 

 

Dawn 

 

 

 

[NMTraveller]

3.  Eden is one of the restaurants I would consider.  La Petite Chef is fun if you have not been to a projection show.  For most it is a one and done sort of thing.  It is more of a novelty.

[Tierun]

Ships are sailing full, but everyone pretty much marches to the beat of their own drum so there’s not the overcrowding that you get on Carnival.

 

Celebrity has begun marketing to families so I’m not sure what the future holds, but presently there aren’t many kids onboard except during school breaks and even then the numbers pale in comparison.

 

Eden is a must do dining experience along with LPC since you haven’t done it before.

 

Lastly, I describe the IV as an inside cabin with the curtain down, and ocean view when the curtain is up, but not a true balcony when the window is open. It can be everything except what X claims it to be.

 

 

[Random Cruizer]

The funny thing about the IV is this--it really did make the room seem a lot bigger than a tradition balcony, I was surprised.  A traditional balcony has the sliding doors, curtains to the side etc., so a little closed in.  The IV with the shade on top, so true floor to ceiling window, really made the room seem big.

 

BUT, of course, it's not really a balcony, so if that is super important to you, you will hate it.

 

But it did make the room seem surprisingly spacious, I liked the floor to ceiling window.  Also, I always freeze in the AC, and can never figure out the controls--just cracking the window at top turns off the AC.  I actually used that to turn off the AC on Beyond a number of times.

[chrisn-au]

1 hour ago, NMTraveller said:

Eden is one of the restaurants I would consider

I would concur 

 

1 hour ago, dmopink said:

What has been your experience with kids sailing on Celebrity?

We have only done a Med cruise in late September - it was quite weird looking back to last year have zero memories of any kids - I am sure there were some but were not obvious  -(we explicitly left our 24 and 14 year old sons at home for this trip )

 

over all our experience was really positive - it was a nice laid back but sophisticated vibe (if that even makes sense) - we love it so much we are off to Greece in 5 weeks for a Israel , Egypt, Turkey cruise 

[ebtrip]

I had canceled a cruise on the Beyond, and rebooked on the Equinox for a Caribbean cruise next month, only because of the Aqua IV balcony. Have friends who loved the Beyond and didn’t mind not having a true balcony.  We cruise on Celebrity because there are very few children and never feels crowded. I’m sure you will enjoy your cruise, the ship looks fantastic. 

[Hobbsey]

16 hours ago, dmopink said:

Typically, (if there is such a thing) are Celebrity ships usually sailing at full passenger capacity? I ask, because on our last cruise (Carnival)  there were 4K passengers. It was A LOT of people- which we knew going in.  But definitely, a turn off. I've seen several You Tube videos, of people sailing on Beyond, and it just doesn't seem that crowded, even at peak times. I know the capacity is about 3260, but was wondering, do the SUITES ONLY ACCESS areas, make the other areas less crowded? What was the feeling of the ship as far as "crowdedness"?

In the past one of the great features of Celebrity and other Premium lines was the promise of a better space ratio.  With the addition of the Retreat those ratios on the rest of the ship would decrease not increase. That said, May is still shoulder season so you should find less crowds than a few weeks later. 

[keesar]

17 hours ago, dmopink said:

Hello Fellow Cruisers: 

 

We just returned from a Family Carnival Cruise to the Mexican Riviera. It was nice trip- affordable for our family. Me (F50), husband (M53) and son, (M18).  The biggest plus was being able to drive to and from the port, with no added airfare. It was a fun trip, especially since our son kept us on a schedule of fun activities, instead of just going to the room after dinner. But, I have to say we might be done with Carnival altogether. We returned home on Saturday, 8/12, and on Sunday, 8/13, booked a 7-Day Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Beyond  in May 2024. 

 

A few questions: 

1.  Typically, (if there is such a thing) are Celebrity ships usually sailing at full passenger capacity? I ask, because on our last cruise (Carnival)  there were 4K passengers. It was A LOT of people- which we knew going in.  But definitely, a turn off. I've seen several You Tube videos, of people sailing on Beyond, and it just doesn't seem that crowded, even at peak times. I know the capacity is about 3260, but was wondering, do the SUITES ONLY ACCESS areas, make the other areas less crowded? What was the feeling of the ship as far as "crowdedness"?

 

2. We're sailing the beginning of May, and hoping to avoid a ton a kids on summer vacation- We love kids, but after the Carnival experience, we're hoping to experience a little more of an adult vibe. What has been your experience with kids sailing on Celebrity?

 

3. If you could only book one or maybe two specialty dining places on Beyond- what would they be? The La Petite Chef looks intriguing.  Thoughts?

 

4.  And of course- the most controversial topic of ALL.  the Infinite Veranda!!!  On the last few cruises we have enjoyed traditional balconies. My husband is really wanting to try the Infinite Veranda, and that is what we booked. My biggest concern is the heat factor, if the AC goes off when we have the window down. Also, along this line, I read online that if your neighbor has their window down, it can turn off the AC in your cabin.  Surely that is not the case!!!  Any thoughts on these IV cabins is appreciated. 

 

Thanks in advance for any information- looking forward to a very special cruise. 

 

Dawn 

 

 

 

 

If there is one restaurant to pay extra to dine in, it is Eden on the Beyond.

 

It was a zoo at the buffet around noon time. People were cutting in lines.   So bad that I started to go towards the end of lunch to avoid the chaos. And there are other options available.   The shows in the theater were packed and if you wanted a decent seat, get there about 20 minutes earlier at the latest.  The production shows were top notch.  Great special effects.

 

I did not think I would like the Infinite Veranda.  It was fine.  The room seemed bigger and less cramped.  There was no problem with the air conditioning.  

 

 

[Albinroo]

I would say the two things that affect number of kids on a cruise is a)school holidays and b)length of cruise. Even on the more family oriented cruise lines there are much fewer kids on longer sailings that aren't over Christmas, Easter or summer. And I say this as someone who cruises with kids, because mine prefer when there are not too many other kids onboard. 

[Cruise till you drop]

1. Capacity - ships are starting to sail much fuller than in recent years.  Unfortunately you’ll never really know the answer for your cruise until you’ve already boarded and sailed

 

2. Kids - I would say beginning of May would be less likely for school aged kids but can’t say for college kids

 

3.  We don’t usually do specialty dining as we’ve enjoyed the select dining in the 4 main dining restaurants.  We did do Eden on the Edge and didn’t care for it.  It was especially loud as they have entertainment in the bar part of Eden

 

4. We will be trying out Infinite Verandah in the Beyond in Jan 2025 so I can’t speak to this as yet (always a balcony but we’re willing to try it out)

[kwokpot]

18 hours ago, dmopink said:

Also, along this line, I read online that if your neighbor has their window down, it can turn off the AC in your cabin.  Surely that is not the case!!! 

You don't need to worry about this, It's not true at all. 

You'll notice a big, big difference between Carnival and Celebrity, especially on the Beyond. Yes, the buffet can get very busy and you may need to walk around a little to find a table during peak lunch times on seadays, but what you'll be rewarded with is a food selection and quality that no other mainstream cruiseline, and especially Carnival, can compete with.