1st time celebrity, seasoned cruiser review

[thatbloominplace]

this was our first time on celebrity, but we have taken around 20 cruises on many lines including holland america, carnival, princess, royal caribbean, norwegian, windstar, dolphin, and oceania. i would classify ourselves as being young mid-50's.

 

from the posts i read before our cruise, i was nervous that this cruise was going to be similar in quality to the last cruises we took on rci.this could not have been further from the truth. from the day of embarkation we knew that this cruise was better.

 

in particular, the quality of the food was better and more varied. the fact that you could order shrimp cocktail, escargot, or sirloin steak any night definitely made the dinners a plus.i mentioned to our waiter that i was hoping for keylime pie for desert one night and he served the whole table wonderful pie as well as the desert of the night to the entire table.

 

the waitstaff was wonderful. everyone has their own idea as to what makes a good waiter. mine is NOT that he is there chattering with the table and trying to be a buddy. rather, i prefer a more unobtrusive style. this ship's waiters operated as if you were in a fine restaurant on land. constantly serving and clearing without you even realizing they were there. the best service at sea i've seen on a mass market ship.

 

the room and amenities were fine. we opted for an ocean-view, no veranda since this was a port intensive cruise. smallish room, but very well laid out, especially the bathroom.

 

we were especially impressed with our fellow passengers. i am not a snob, but i do believe in abiding by the rules of the game. if you are told in advance what the rules of the ship are, then i expect everyone to be courteous and abide by these rules or find a cruise that better suits your own needs. this goes for the dress code, smoking, hogging chairs, and drinking excessively and being overly loud in public areas. i was pleasantly surprised to see that the men wore suits or tuxes on formal nights and jackets on informal nights. we sat at a table of 8 and had the best time at dinner that we have ever had. i think that on this line we found that there was still a place on the mass market ships for this type of well behaved and mannered passengers. this was our biggest issue the last few cruises with royal caribbean.

 

the itinerary was well put together. there were the lush green islands of grenada and st. lucia, the snorkeling havens of tortola and curacao, the cosmopolitan aruba and st. martin and barbados.you certainly could not complain that these ports were all alike. we either rented a car or took our own excursions that we booked at home so i cannot speak for their excursions.

 

we were looking for something more like oceania but without the higher cost and without having to go to the same line each year. as you can see, we like to vary our experiences. while we will probably use oceania and windstar again in the future, celebrity is definitely in our sights for future cruises. it will be interesting to see what they do with vision and quest in terms of itineraries, pricing, and style.

 

steve

[Lois R]

Hi, glad you had a great cruise:) may I ask what ship

you were on and what week you sailed?

 

Nice to read things went well for you both:)

[thatbloominplace]

we were on the galaxy. a little older ship but it really had the feel of a cruise liner not a glitzy hotel at sea. we sailed on jan. 12 after 5 great days in puerto rico at the westin rio mar.

 

steve

[Host Anne]

Steve ~ thanks for taking the time to post about your recent Celebrity experiences. Please consider submitting your review to the REVIEWS section of Cruise Critic as well. So glad you enjoyed your cruise! Hope you'll come back and join us frequently on the Celebrity board.

[spearmint]

Your comments re: Celebrity's style are exactly how we feel. :)We have only been on Celebrity and have been reluctant to try others, as we really like how Celebrity does it, and would hate to be disappointed. Thanks for you review, especially in relation to RCCL. How would you rate Holland America in comparison, as this is one we have actually been considering?

[CelticEyes]

Thank you for your review of the Celebrity line. I have booked our first cruise on Celebrity, to celebrate my in-laws 50th and our 22nd wedding anniversaries, and after your review feel like it was the right cruise line to choose.

[donnaw]

Galaxy is our favorite ship because it feels like an ocean liner and (for us) has one of the best staffs at sea! Glad you enjoyed it and the great ports!