celebrity ships

[wch]

Can anyone tell me how some of the older ships like Galaxy and Century compare to the newer ones like Infinity, Summit, & Constellation? I have heard great things about Celebrity but wanted to if you can have the same experience on an older ship.

[hajekfam]

We like all Celebrity ships - no matter what their size. The basic experience is the same on the ships - same service, food, etc. The only difference is that the Millennium, Infinity, Summit, and Constellation have Thalossatherapy pools free of charge. The Galaxy and Mercury have a charge for the Thalossatherapy pool (t-pool as it commonly called) as it is located in the spa, is smaller, and more powerful. The Millennium, Infinity, Summit, Constellation, and Century have a specialty dining at an additional charge and also have an Aqua Spa Cafe (no charge) with healthier choice dining.

The Century was remodeled last year to include balcony cabins, a specialty dining restaurant and an aqua spa cafe. At that time, they removed the t-pool.

[Lsimon]

Century was completely refurbished last year. We have not been on it, but reviews have been good.

 

We've been on M Class ships 6 times (Summit and Constellation), and last February sailed the Galaxy. The Galaxy had been getting a bad rap on these boards due largely to its condition and we became a bit worried prior to the cruise.

 

We had a fantastic cruise on the Galaxy, with all the great service, food and entertainment we've experienced on other Celebrity cruises. The ship itself was in fine shape, and being improved. I don't know if it was in response to recent criticism at the time, or just scheduled work, but they've been doing a lot of improvements and updating. when we sailed they had just finished resurfacing the pool deck, and just replaced all the exercise equipment and furnishings in the gym. I'd say about 60% of the carpeting in the ship, both common areas and staterooms was very new, and they were in the process of replacing the other areas. The furniture and upholstery throughout the ship looked just fine to us. The cruise director told us they were doing a lot of maintenance and on every cruise that was not sold out a maintenance crew came aboard to work on another area. So they have been doing a lot to maintain these ships. There were some minor things we saw that reminded us the ship was not brand new - like exterior areas where there were many coats of paint. But nothing that detracted from our enjoyment. If you search you'll find lots of posts about the conditions of these ships - but I'd pay more attention to those posted in the last six months than older ones.

 

As far as ship layout there were some things we liked more about the M class ships, (Larger martini bar, jogging track, and common aqua spa area). And some things we liked more about the Galaxy (lounge size, location and layout, one more show lounge, and aft pool area). Overall I think I'd prefer the M-Class layout, but my wife says she prefers the layout of the Galaxy. Bottom line is have no fear - you'll have a nice cruise on either!

[tom_uk]

Larry's comments are very fair, and based on recent time on Galaxy. As he says, there are a lot of things that are integral parts of the Celebrity experience that you will find on all the ships: excellent service & good cuisine being two of them.

 

The M-class ships do offer some advantages, I think, over the C-class ships. More balcony cabins, for one (by which I mean that balcony cabins represent a higher proportion of overall cabins). Also all the M-class ships have the speciality restaurant - of the C-class ships, only Century has this, following her refit in spring 2006. (Everyone is hoping/expecting that Galaxy & Mercury will also get a refit & extra facilities such as a new restaurant, but as yet no such refits have been announced for them.) And finally, Concierge class cabins on the M-class ships are actually bigger than the standard balcony cabins; on the C-class ships, the Concierge class cabins are the same size as normal balcony cabins, and are therefore less attractive, perhaps.

 

But don't forget the thing they all have in common - they all provide Celebrity cruises!

[TRadle]

Are there as many things to do on sea days on the C class ships? Is the pool deck crowded? We are considering Mercury for a Hawaii Circle cruise after two cruises on Voyager Class ships and one Freedom (these are Royal Caribbean ships). These ships are massive and I think we will be ready for a smaller ship but don’t want to get bored. :)

[Lois R]

Are there as many things to do on sea days on the C class ships? Is the pool deck crowded? We are considering Mercury for a Hawaii Circle cruise after two cruises on Voyager Class ships and one Freedom (these are Royal Caribbean ships). These ships are massive and I think we will be ready for a smaller ship but don’t want to get bored. :)

 

Hi,:) I have sailed Mercury 3 times and she is one of my favorite

ships.

 

As for comparing her to a Voyager Class, I don't think it is an

even comparison. Though I have never sailed Voyager class I have

heard they are sort of like floating cities or malls. (Not something that

appeals to me).

 

As for things to do, I doubt there would be as much to do as

the Voyager class but I am the type of person who is happy

with a good book, a seat at the pool bar with an adult libation;), and

a friendly bartender to chat with:)

 

They do offer activities, don't misunderstand. Trivia,

Bingo, wine tastings, etc.

 

Bored? I have never been bored but again, I don't always

have to "doing something".

 

I love the size of Mercury and C-class ships.

 

Then again I have also sailed 3 M-class ships and have

had wonderful times on those as well. Guess I just enjoy

Celebrity, whatever ship I sail:D

[rebeccalouise]

I have now completed 5 Celebrity cruises and am booked on my 6th in July.

 

The first and second ones were on Zenith. We had a really nice time. The third was on Galaxy in 2004 and it was fantastic. Then in 2005 I did the Millenium and thought I died and went to heaven. Then in 2006 I did the Constellation and it was even better than the Millenium.

 

Would I go back to the smaller ships? No. Why? I just love the spacious feeling of the Millenium Class ships. By day the interior spaces are nearly empty and I would stroll through the beautifully decorated, light flooded interiors. There is glass everywhere- so you don't miss a bit of scenery. I especially loved riding up the glass elevators amidship- that allow you to look out over the water. Just great. I love the indoor, adults only heated pool and spa cuisine too. The buffet area is open and airy also.

These ships just never feel crowded.

 

So while I enjoyed Galaxy tremendously, my heart is with the Millenium class ships.

[TRadle]

We fell in love with cruising on Century 9 years ago. However, we have sailed on RCCL since then because our kids have been with us. The youngest “kid” is soon to be 20 and the rock wall, Flowrider, ice skating, and all of the night life have great appeal to this generation. However, DH and I really don’t care about that stuff. The last sailing was on a sold out ship and it felt very crowded. It seemed like a cattle call at ports and for dinner. And chairs by the pool deck…..forget it! :eek:

We will be sailing on Freedom in August with the kids…..and then our sailings will be just the two of us and we our leaning towards Mercury. :D

[usha]

I love 'em all! Century and Galaxy are a bit smaller and older than the M-class ships, but they're both beautiful and spacious. Service & food was excellent on both. They both have the forward observation lounge on the sky deck, like M-class, as well as another nightclub on the entertainment deck aft. They don't have the huge glass domed spa pool, but Galaxy still has the small glass roofed pool aft. Century lost its wonderful spa pool:( , and now there's a Persian Garden (go figure). Galaxy still has its wonderful spa pool, but it'll probably be ripped out when Galaxy gets its gutting & redo. Century now has its own specialty restaurant (which was booked solid before the ship even left Miami!)

I've thoroughly enjoyed every single cruise we've taken on Celebrity's ships, and never felt disappointed or bored. They're all wonderful.

[giraffenana]

We cruised on the Constellation to the Baltics last August. It is a great ship, with lots to do, but we went mainly for the ports. At Christmas we cruised on the newly refurbished Century. We found the ship in great shape and loved the upgrades. On both ships there were far more things offered than I had time for. Then again, it doesn't take much to please me.

 

Joy

[C 2 C]

I have heard great things about Celebrity but wanted to if you can have the same experience on an older ship.

 

Since the food and service on Celebrity ships is good to excellent on all Celebrity ships, the itinerary you prefer should indicate which ship you pick for your cruise. Since we have sailed frequently on all Celebrity ships we know that ports and price are more important than the age of the ship. I have seen as much wear and tear on the furniture in the newer ships as I have on the older, "smaller" vessels. My favorite is Century but as the other ships get "upgraded" I think you will find little difference in the product. Set your budget, pick your ports and pick any Celebrity ship. You will not be disappointed.... (but sometimes stuff happens, on any size size or age or ship)

[Kathie44]

We started out with Explorer and were wowed by her, but never felt overwhelmed by her size. We've sailed on several different ships as you can see from the list below, but only two cruise lines (RCCL and Celeb) We had a fabulous time on each cruise and are cruising Mercury again in Jan. You will NOT be bored on any of these ships.

I am busy all the time with trivia and other games, card playing with an organized group or new friends, dancing, music, shows, excursions and still have plenty of quiet reading time.

There are also classes on computers, digital cameras, cooking, flower arranging, different kinds of dancing, the culture of where you are going. You will have a casino, bingo, art auctions, shops, night clubs, movies, spa/salon, pools, accupuncture, fitness activities and on and on, not to mention amazing food. If anyone is bored on these ships, it is not the ship's fault.

 

1/02 Explorer E. Carib.

1/03 Explorer W. Carib.

8/03 Summit Alaska cruise/tour

2/04 Adventure S. Carib.

2/05 Galaxy Panama Canal

6/06 Jewel Brit. Isles/Nor. Fjords + 3 days in London

1/07 Mercury Mexican Riviera

1/08 Mercury Aust/NZ