If I like Celebrity cruises, what other cruise lines will I enjoy?

[villauk]

On 9/2/2024 at 10:19 PM, Stem to Stern said:

Azamara is a much smaller, cozier on board experience with only 600 or so passengers.  It might remind you of your favorite boutique hotel.  Older, but beautifully maintained and traditionally decorated smaller vessels that allow for sailing into smaller and more interesting ports of call.  We have our second Azamara cruise booked.  It is a 9-nighter starting in Dublin and ending in Reykjavik with only one day at sea.  We have two stops in The Faroe Islands and five stops in Iceland.

 

We’re thinking of booking Azamara, so may I ask what was your first impressions regarding the ship’s stability. I ask because I’ve been watching some YouTube videos and someone mentioned lots of movement and feeling unstable. Just trying to get a feel as to the different things to expect. Are there any points you think it’s worth knowing before we book?

[Tom47]

21 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

We’re thinking of booking Azamara, so may I ask what was your first impressions regarding the ship’s stability. I ask because I’ve been watching some YouTube videos and someone mentioned lots of movement and feeling unstable. Just trying to get a feel as to the different things to expect. Are there any points you think it’s worth knowing before we book?

We book mid ship cabins on deck 6 or 7.  There is an Azamara era thread for newbies   

 

Edited September 8 by Tom47

[Stem to Stern]

5 hours ago, villauk said:

 

We’re thinking of booking Azamara, so may I ask what was your first impressions regarding the ship’s stability. I ask because I’ve been watching some YouTube videos and someone mentioned lots of movement and feeling unstable. Just trying to get a feel as to the different things to expect. Are there any points you think it’s worth knowing before we book?

Azamara Onward in 6083 in Eastern Caribbean in December 2022 ~

 

We did experience some weather to the point that two tender ports were changed to dockside calls:

- St John, USVI was changed to Havensight, St Thomas,

- Virgin Gorda, BVI was changed to Road Town, Tortola.

I am grateful the Captain was able to facilitate these substitutions rather than keep us at sea for additional days as I frequently read about happening on Oceania sailings.

DH slept like a baby as he always does.

At night I was kept awake by the pitching and rolling of the ship to the point that I felt like the ship was going to capsize.

 

For our 2025 Iceland sailing on Azamara Quest, I am planning out my plan of attack for defeating sleeplessness including:

- popping a double dose of Benadryl each night,

- securing any loose, noise-making items such as hangars,

- using my noise machine.

The head of the bed was aft in this stateroom.

 

The movement did not ruin our cruise by any means.  

The pros of Azamara far outweighed the cons.

 

We are currently on board Celebrity Beyond for the first time.

The two experiences are not comparable.

Celebrity may tout Beyond as a “city at sea” but we are finding the city’s traffic and congestion a bit much at times.

We are finding that we prefer quiet and boring over loud and busy.

Let me know if I can answer any other specific questions.

 

Edited September 9 by Stem to Stern

[ClaudiaB]

We have sailed Celebrity 15 times, and Azamara and Oceania once each.   I would highly recommend either of those.   Much smaller, less 'activity' but beautiful ships, superb service, and very relaxed atmosphere.   

[villauk]

9 hours ago, Tom47 said:

We book mid ship cabins on deck 6 or 7.  There is an Azamara era thread for newbies   

 

 

Thanks. I did check out the newbies thread but nothing about movement, hence me asking @Stem to Stern when they said they had been on an Azamara ship.

[villauk]

4 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

Azamara Onward in 6083 in Eastern Caribbean in December 2022 ~

 

We did experience some weather to the point that two tender ports were changed to dockside calls:

- St John, USVI was changed to Havensight, St Thomas,

- Virgin Gorda, BVI was changed to Road Town, Tortola.

I am grateful the Captain was able to facilitate these substitutions rather than keep us at sea for additional days as I frequently read about happening on Oceania sailings.

DH slept like a baby as he always does.

At night I was kept awake by the pitching and rolling of the ship to the point that I felt like the ship was going to capsize.

 

For our 2025 Iceland sailing on Azamara Quest, I am planning out my plan of attack for defeating sleeplessness including:

- popping a double dose of Benadryl each night,

- securing any loose, noise-making items such as hangars,

- using my noise machine.

The head of the bed was aft in this stateroom.

 

The movement did not ruin our cruise by any means.  

The pros of Azamara far outweighed the cons.

 

We are currently on board Celebrity Beyond for the first time.

The two experiences are not comparable.

Celebrity may tout Beyond as a “city at sea” but we are finding the city’s traffic and congestion a bit much at times.

We are finding that we prefer quiet and boring over loud and busy.

Let me know if I can answer any other specific questions.

 

 

Thank you for explaining. At least I am now prepared for it. My DH wants to try the small-ship experience and Azamara do seem to offer different ports from the usual mass cruise lines. The sailing we’re considering is an ‘immersive’, so there is only one sea day anyway. Is there a good mix of nationalities and ages on board? One reason we don’t sail P&O is because of it being full of Brits 🤣 - we prefer a mix. ‘Quiet and boring’ sounds perfect for me 😉.

[Stem to Stern]

You @villauk should join us on the Iceland and Faroe Islands cruise on July 12, 2025 (one sea day) because it sounds like we would have a jolly good time all being quiet and boring together since we are American.😂

 

The Caribbean cruise had a wonderful mix of nationalities including US and 🇨🇦 Canada.  When I get home next week I can look in my paperwork and tell you the exact breakdown because one of the many cool things Azamara does is publish in the daily planner the nationality breakdown down to the exact number of guests on board from each country.  We met a truly lovely couple from Amsterdam one half of which was Dutch and the other of Columbian descent.

 

Reflecting on this a bit more deeply now, the crew was also comprised of a nice mix.  Eric, the cruise director was Canadian.  Captain G and Nico (shore excursions) were Italian.  The lovely Vasi on the keys was American, but of Greek descent.  She kept The Den alive with her nightly musicality.  It was almost like an 11-night never-ending cocktail party.  You ran into fellow guests and crew over and over again around the intimate ship making it easy to make new friends quickly.

 

I just received an email from Azamara offering us 8% on board credit if we make an early payoff of our cruise next month.  They have offered this on several occasions in recent months.  This time our sailing falls within the date parameters of the offer.  I think we will take advantage of this.  The OBC will be spent on shore excursions as they are a bit pricy in the lands we will be visiting.

 

So, I think you probably get where I am going here.  There were so many nice, unique details to the line that it was impossible to let a few waves ruin a very pleasant holiday.

 

 

 

Edited September 9 by Stem to Stern

[villauk]

7 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

You @villauk should join us on the Iceland and Faroe Islands cruise on July 12, 2025 (one sea day) because it sounds like we would have a jolly good time all being quiet and boring together since we are American.😂

 

The Caribbean cruise had a wonderful mix of nationalities including US and 🇨🇦 Canada.  When I get home next week I can look in my paperwork and tell you the exact breakdown because one of the many cool things Azamara does is publish in the daily planner the nationality breakdown down to the exact number of guests on board from each country.  We met a truly lovely couple from Amsterdam one half of which was Dutch and the other of Columbian descent.

 

Reflecting on this a bit more deeply now, the crew was also comprised of a nice mix.  Eric, the cruise director was Canadian.  Captain G and Nico (shore excursions) were Italian.  The lovely Vasi on the keys was American, but of Greek descent.  She kept The Den alive with her nightly musicality.  It was almost like an 11-night never-ending cocktail party.  You ran into fellow guests and crew over and over again around the intimate ship making it easy to make new friends quickly.

 

I just received an email from Azamara offering us 8% on board credit if we make an early payoff of our cruise next month.  They have offered this on several occasions in recent months.  This time our sailing falls within the date parameters of the offer.  I think we will take advantage of this.  The OBC will be spent on shore excursions as they are a bit pricy in the lands we will be visiting.

 

So, I think you probably get where I am going here.  There were so many nice, unique details to the line that it was impossible to let a few waves ruin a very pleasant holiday.

 

 

 

 

I think you’ve sealed the deal to give Azamara a try 😉. Looking at the deck plans, I believe deck 7 (V2) cabins will probably suit us having cabins above and beneath us.
 

You’ll love the Iceland and Faroe Islands itinerary; we did it a few years ago on X 👍. Thanks again for all your help and advice.

[Stem to Stern]

6 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

I think you’ve sealed the deal to give Azamara a try 😉. Looking at the deck plans, I believe deck 7 (V2) cabins will probably suit us having cabins above and beneath us.
 

You’ll love the Iceland and Faroe Islands itinerary; we did it a few years ago on X 👍. Thanks again for all your help and advice.

My pleasure.  

Our V3 on Deck 6 was very quiet.  
Nice that you will have the laundry on Deck 7.  

Main dining was sometimes a bit hit or miss.  

X main dining is a notch above, but it was not a huge concern for us considering we showed up to dinner on Azamara half-full from the yummy, warm nibbly snacks in the Living Room.😂

Enjoy!!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

22 hours ago, Hilaurennn said:

What does everyone think to MSC Virtuosa... Is this completely the opposite of what I'm looking for? (Calm, not too rowdy, we're in our 30's, non drinkers and want to relax) or something to consider? 🙂   

in Yacht Club? or with the rest of us plebs? if the latter, no, you will not enjoy it nearly as much as Celebrity (even Celebrity's steerage class).

We were in a regular inside room on Celebrity and regular balcony on MSC Seascape, and it's not even close.

[Fairgarth]

20 hours ago, Tom47 said:

 Then Costa ran out of toilet paper.  No more Costa for them

 

We were on one Celebrity cruise where the cruise director had a Q & A session with passengers.  One question related to supplies, things that the ship absolutely could not allow to run out.  For the passengers it was toilet paper, for the crew it was rice.

[wrk2cruise]

1 hour ago, Fairgarth said:

For the passengers it was toilet paper, for the crew it was rice.

 

I would have bet the the answer for passengers would be Grey Goose long before TP.

[kaerofan]

Just got off the Celebrity Reflection a few days ago and was very disappointed (it was my 2nd Celebrity cruise).  Price gouging for everything was out of control. Have also done Royal, Disney and Princess.  Princess is by far our favourite line (better food, better entertainment and nicer ships in our opinion)  Just seems to be a classier, more "chill" vibe.  We are also not partiers.

[hurwitz5]

On 9/2/2024 at 4:01 PM, Hilaurennn said:

Oh very interesting! We have seen cruises with similar itineraries with princess and they are about £1000 cheaper! Would you say princess feels less premium compared to Celebrity (on ship)? 

We prefer Celebrity over Princess.  Celebrity feels like a more upscale experience.  Also, the new Celebrity ships (Edge class) has 3200 passengers.  The new Princess ships have over 4000 passengers.  For us, bigger is not better.  

[Kordy]

Based on my experience, this is how I would rank them:

 

#1: Celebrity - best for couples, without kids, premium experience without a premium price-tag

#2: Holland-America - best for older couples, without kids,  premium experience with a European vibe

#3: Princess - best for older folks, without kids - more American experience, better than Carnival/Norwegian

 

Cunard: how cruising used to be. Classic & timely, but a little out of touch. If you like the British vibe, you will love it.

 

Virgin: adult-only version of Celebrity, with newer ships, more "cool" vibe, different food set-up (no MDRs) and they're trying something different, more hip, but I miss the buffet for breakfast and it's not a classic cruise experience. Also, they have really mediocre pool/hot-tub situation (tiny external pool, no indoor pool, few hot-tubs, no shade).

 

If you have kids, then Royal Caribbean all the way. Carnival/Norwegian - kids friendly, with budget prices. Carnival is especially known for its party scene.

 

Thoughts?

Edited Wednesday at 08:14 PM by Kordy

[Liao]

3 hours ago, Kordy said:

Based on my experience, this is how I would rank them:

 

#1: Celebrity - best for couples, without kids, premium experience without a premium price-tag

#2: Holland-America - best for older couples, without kids,  premium experience with a European vibe

#3: Princess - best for older folks, without kids - more American experience, better than Carnival/Norwegian

 

Cunard: how cruising used to be. Classic & timely, but a little out of touch. If you like the British vibe, you will love it.

 

Virgin: adult-only version of Celebrity, with newer ships, more "cool" vibe, different food set-up (no MDRs) and they're trying something different, more hip, but I miss the buffet for breakfast and it's not a classic cruise experience. Also, they have really mediocre pool/hot-tub situation (tiny external pool, no indoor pool, few hot-tubs, no shade).

 

If you have kids, then Royal Caribbean all the way. Carnival/Norwegian - kids friendly, with budget prices. Carnival is especially known for its party scene.

 

Thoughts?

Agree with your rankings, though I disagree re Celebrity NOT having premium price-tag.  I don't think they are quite at luxury pricing, but premium, they are IMO.

[island lady]

1: Celebrity - best for couples, without kids, premium experience without a premium price-tag

 

Kordy....I agree.   Premium price tag would be more like the RCI line...Silver seas.   

[Boku]

Do you get a mix of nationalities on Celebrity when sailing out of UK? Both our Princess cruises out of Southampton this year were pretty much American.

[Tom47]

4 hours ago, Boku said:

Do you get a mix of nationalities on Celebrity when sailing out of UK? Both our Princess cruises out of Southampton this year were pretty much American.

We have only done one Celebrity cruise from Southampton in 2014 .  There were more British than American passengers.

[Kordy]

Just now, Tom47 said:

We have only done one Celebrity cruise from Southampton in 2014 .  There were more British than American passengers.

 

It's pretty obvious that a cruise ship departing from Southampton, UK - will have more British passengers than American passengers.

 

Just like a cruise ship departing from Fort Lauderdale, will have more Americans than British people on-board!

 

I'm surprised people are asking this question.

[SRQbeachgirl]

On 9/2/2024 at 3:10 AM, ladylemondrop said:

Try the S class Celebrity ships, Reflection or Silhouette are my favourites. 

 

We've been on Reflection twice and absolutely love it. Planning to try the Silhouette at some point as well.

[Boku]

10 hours ago, Kordy said:

 

It's pretty obvious that a cruise ship departing from Southampton, UK - will have more British passengers than American passengers.

 

Just like a cruise ship departing from Fort Lauderdale, will have more Americans than British people on-board!

 

I'm surprised people are asking this question.

Can you explain then why Sky Princess in May and Regal Princess  in September were majority US cruisers?

Edited 11 hours ago by Boku

[villauk]

9 minutes ago, Boku said:

Can you explain then why Sky Princess in May and Regal Princess  in September were majority US cruisers?

 

Were they British Isles cruises? If so, most British people don’t want to cruise around Britain whereas our US friends do. However, I can say that our previous Scandinavian cruises on Princess from the U.K. have mainly been filled with British cruisers, especially in the school holiday season. 

[Boku]

4 hours ago, villauk said:

 

Were they British Isles cruises? If so, most British people don’t want to cruise around Britain whereas our US friends do. However, I can say that our previous Scandinavian cruises on Princess from the U.K. have mainly been filled with British cruisers, especially in the school holiday season. 

Regal was a British Isles cruise. Sky was the Med.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 9/18/2024 at 4:06 PM, Kordy said:

#1: Celebrity - best for couples, without kids, premium experience without a premium price-tag

#2: Holland-America - best for older couples, without kids

#3: Princess - best for older folks, without kids

well, we've never been on HAL (nor are we tempted to), but Princess is our 13 yo's favorite line. He's been sailing on Princess since he was 5. We also tried Celebrity this year for the first time, and he loved it as well. Got two more X cruises booked for next year.

 

Also, Celebrity's prices are very much premium.

Edited 6 hours ago by Itchy&Scratchy