Celebrity vs. Carnival Valor-class

[askabry]

I am considering sailing on Carnival's Valor class ships instead of Celebrity ... mostly because I can't really carry the cost of M-class ships. I'm concerned about the cuisine; I'm a real foodies, although I can enjoy a good honest meal and wouldn't be disappointed.

 

If you've sailed both ... and in particular a Carnival ship lately ... I'd love to hear from you. I've posted the same query on the Carnival site (to gather both biased points of view).

 

So you know where I'm coming from ... I feel the food on the Summit and Millenium has been generally awfully good and sometimes sublime and I'm just crazy about the Healthful cafe near the spas.

 

Also ... talk to me about the spacial "feel" of the ships.

 

Any feedback much appreciates ... and bon chance on your next voyage!

Alex.

[chessbriar]

I can't speak for the Valor class, but I have sailed on both lines. My quick observations. The food on Carnival does not compare. I find in more in the line with say an Applebees. The decor is another thing that kills me. Carnival very bright, lights everywhere with shinny surfaces all around, think Vegas. The service is another area where there are marked differences.

 

If you are looking for a comparable cruise, try Princess or Holland America.

[mmp13]

Sailed a spirit class ship, the Legend about a year ago. We were pleasantly surprised. while the meals were not gourment they were quite good. we never had a bad meal. there lunchtime buffets were better than Celebrity in our opinion. Of course, you do have to carry your own tray and find your own seat. It was never a problem for us . The specialty resataurant on the legend was exceptional. that being said, Celebrity is a cut above as far as service goes. We would not hesitate to sail carnival again (only the newer ships) if the price was right. Staff on Carnival tried very hard to please they just did not seem quite as accomplished as Celebrity staff.

[askabry]

Tried HAL ... god that was awful. I sort of liked my brother's observation of HAL ... the average age of a cruiser ...was deceased.

 

Princess ... the cabins in the smaller class get to be 138 feet. That's just ridiculous.

 

Bottom line is I know I need to make sacrifices; I just don't want to "save" $450 on Carnival and "waste" $2000. The alternative is simply to not go at all ... also not a good alternative.

[askabry]

Sailed a spirit class ship, the Legend about a year ago. We were pleasantly surprised. while the meals were not gourment they were quite good. we never had a bad meal. there lunchtime buffets were better than Celebrity in our opinion. Of course, you do have to carry your own tray and find your own seat. It was never a problem for us . The specialty resataurant on the legend was exceptional. that being said, Celebrity is a cut above as far as service goes. We would not hesitate to sail carnival again (only the newer ships) if the price was right. Staff on Carnival tried very hard to please they just did not seem quite as accomplished as Celebrity staff.

 

Carrying my own tray? How dreadful. (Jk!). Yeah, that level of service really is nice but not an absolutely important thing to me. Celebrity does service well ... and charges you for it, too, in gratuities.

 

And if I get one really incredible meal in a "pay" restaurant ... that IS important. I mean, on a 7 night cruise with X at least one if not two is spent in the Normandie/Olympic. I'd be happy to enjoy "honest food" for four or five nights; I think the main dining room at X was just a touch above that anyways.

 

Your post is encouraging. My price difference is pretty substantial ... $1220 for two versus $1700 for about the same itinerary, same departure point, same length. So ... is X worth 40% more?

[ocngypz]

Our dinners last winter on the Carnival Legend were terrific. Of our table of 8, there were 4 Celebrity Captain's Club elite members. We all thought the food was great.

 

Legend's Lido buffet simply blows away any buffet on Celebrity. Many more options... Deli, hot buffet, International (which changed every day) Oriental...and the selections on the salad bar were awesome. We did eat in the Lido one night for dinner. The food was excellent. On the last sea day at lunch time there was a chocolate dessert buffet. Some of the best chocolate truffles I've ever eaten....and God kdnows I've eaten more than my share of chocolate truffles over the years.

 

Our service in the dining room was excellent. No messed up orders, attentive and personable waitstaff. Never had problems finding a clean table in the Lido area. Yes, we carried our own trays, but it's been years since any staff member (other than staff who were friends) carried my tray on Celebrity.

 

I cannot comment on the Valor-class ships of Carnival. But the Legend was top notch.. and we all really enjoyed the extensive entertainment choices available.

 

Oh.. we did eat in the Golden Fleece supper club. We had a terrific evening.

 

Happy cruising.

[askabry]

Our dinners last winter on the Carnival Legend were terrific. Of our table of 8, there were 4 Celebrity Captain's Club elite members. We all thought the food was great.

 

Legend's Lido buffet simply blows away any buffet on Celebrity. Many more options... Deli, hot buffet, International (which changed every day) Oriental...and the selections on the salad bar were awesome. We did eat in the Lido one night for dinner. The food was excellent. On the last sea day at lunch time there was a chocolate dessert buffet. Some of the best chocolate truffles I've ever eaten....and God kdnows I've eaten more than my share of chocolate truffles over the years.

 

Our service in the dining room was excellent. No messed up orders, attentive and personable waitstaff. Never had problems finding a clean table in the Lido area. Yes, we carried our own trays, but it's been years since any staff member (other than staff who were friends) carried my tray on Celebrity.

 

I cannot comment on the Valor-class ships of Carnival. But the Legend was top notch.. and we all really enjoyed the extensive entertainment choices available.

 

Oh.. we did eat in the Golden Fleece supper club. We had a terrific evening.

 

Happy cruising.

 

Thanks for these comments ... I know you to be a knowledgeable poster. One of the things I'm not concerned about is nightlife, as it barely exists outside the theater on Celebrity. It's good to hear your success ...

 

best wishes on the new year.

[mmp13]

OCNGYPZ and I seem to have had similar experiences and as you said she is quite knowledgable. Persomally I think Cruises are what you make them. had one Galaxy cruise I really did not think was great and the second one (my husband talked me into it) Was fabulous. Same cruise, same itinenary, same everything but very different experience.

[askabry]

Many people seem to leave a ship with the same sour attitude they walked on with ...

 

... I've enjoyed cruising for nearly ten years, and even the worst cruise was a good time. I'm looking forward to sharing my love of cruising with my new wife, and I don't think she'll be disappointed.

[marco]

We have been on both, as well as many other lines. I don't think the "class" of ship is going to make much difference in the personality of the line, only in the amenities the ship itself offers.

 

Carnival probably will have a younger median age on board, while Celebrity will have on a whole, an older crowd. That doesnt mean your not going to find 60 plus year olds on Carnival, nor 20 somethings on Celebrity, but the Carnival crowd will be soemewhat younger and more active. You won't be buying a bucket o' beer on Celebrity, and there probably won't be the hairyest leg contest, either.

 

Carnival will be louder in noise level and decor. I don't recall any music venue not blaring on Carnival, be it in a lounge, disco or by the pool. The decor is much more Vegas than Celebrity, as well. Much more glitzy, loud and bold on Carnival.

 

The cuisine: Kind of like if you were booking a wedding. Carnival is the $50 pp package, Celebrity is the $75 pp package. Both good, and I'm happy with both, but there is a difference, and Celebrity offers more variety, more "upscale" choices, is a bit more "foo-foo shi-shi when it comes to presentation, and you can order something not on the menu.

 

Service is MUCH more polished, personable and professional on Celebrity, While more than adequate on Carnival, it seemed to have a more, "Hey dude, we're going to party togeather" attitude.

 

But....if you are from a winter cold weather climate and you are going to the Caribbean, it will still be 80 degrees and sunny no matter which line you go on and I seriously doubt you will have a "bad" time, not matter WHAT line you take.

[DrKoob]

AAAAGGGGHHHH!!! Are you all kidding? No one has mentioned the biggest difference between the two lines. The purpose of a cruise on X is travel and relaxation. The purpose of a Carnival cruise seems to be getting drunk and partying.

 

We were on the cruise from hell (I have written it up in so many places I won't do it here. See this URL for the whole story http://www.epinions.com/content_59944111748).

 

And even though that was two years ago Carnival doesn't seem to have changed. We were in line for a shore excursion with a few people from a Carnival ship on November 12 of this year in Cabo. They were comparing bar tabs and bender experiences. One guy had run up a bar only tab of more than $2,000 on the sixth day of a seven day cruise and was asking the other guy what he (guy 1) had done the night before since he could remember anything after 9:00 pm. If you want to drink that much, why bother with the cruise? Just stay home and buy yourself a case of your favorite beverage and save the money.

 

We never (AND I MEAN NEVER) felt unsafe on Infinity but we felt very much in danger on our Carnival cruise and much of the reason was Carnival's fault.

 

Would I pay 40% more for Celebrity? You bet. I would NEVER board a Carnival ship again even if they offered me a free cruise. Not our kind of cruise line and not our kind of fellow passengers.

 

Lastly, please don't judge this post until you have read the linked article.

[doree]

NO COMPARISON!!!! Two different class of ships. Did Carnival once.....NEVER AGAIN!!!!!

[niborHS]

I agree with what I think Marco and Drkoob are saying, its not the food, ship, etc that should make a difference to you, its the fellow passengers. You are definitely getting a different class of people on Celebrity, and I'm not talking just about age. So, if that doesn't matter to you, I don't think the other things make that much of a difference.

And another thing, what gets me about all of these boards is that people think that cruise critic, means you have to criticize.

[roscoesdream]

I would say IF you are going Carnival I would choose the Spirit class. It is by far the best. I want to say that it is great to read a board that a person can ask this type of a question and not get flamed. If a question like this were asked on the Carnival board, the poster would be called every name in the book. It makes me think the X cruise we are going on in April will be something special, due to the class of people on the ship.

 

Cruising on the Carnival is much better than not cruising at all. Anyone who does not agree with that I feel sorry for.

[askabry]

I would say IF you are going Carnival I would choose the Spirit class. It is by far the best. I want to say that it is great to read a board that a person can ask this type of a question and not get flamed. If a question like this were asked on the Carnival board, the poster would be called every name in the book. It makes me think the X cruise we are going on in April will be something special, due to the class of people on the ship.

 

Cruising on the Carnival is much better than not cruising at all. Anyone who does not agree with that I feel sorry for.

 

thanks for your comments. Funny thing; I placed the same thread on the Carnival board and got pretty much the same comments. Of course, the one fellow that really ragged on Carnival no doubt never goes to that board.

 

Turns out ... if you shop, you can find the right deal. I HAVE found a sailing on X that actually would be the cheapest deal available, period. A sail from FLL, on Jan 16 in a lower cabin with RT air from BUF ... $1550. That's everything, btw. 7 nights ... on an M-class ship, no less.

 

So ... if we go, this is the one.

 

 

... and just as an aside, one of the precise motivating factors in my considering Carnival is that there would be a younger element and far less snobs than I've found on Celebrity - in addition to the finances. I like the idea of being around people that aren't afraid to let their hair down.

[giraffenana]

We have yet to cruise on Celebrity, Our scheduled cruise is for February 28th. We have cruised on Carnival twice, our first cruise 5 years ago and our last one in September. This was on the Conquest, which is one of the newer ships. We thought the decor was much improved, except for the plastic flower lights. YUK! The buffet area was large and had some booth type seating, which we liked. The food was good, but the service was lacking, mostly in our waiter, who was less than personable. Our room stewards were great. Other staff were pleasant and helpful and seemed happy for the most part. We enjoyed the cruise, but thought the mix of passengers was not so much to our liking. We greatly prefer NCL and RCCL and we expect we will really like Celebrity. We won't say we will never cruise Carnival again, but it will probably be a long time and would sure have to be a great price.

[Bethwte]

I didn't find many snobs on my Celebrity cruise, and even if you do.. just avoid them! :) I much preferred X, and I'm a teenager! Too bad my parents wanted to cater to my younger siter this year, hence carnival and RCCL. :( I think any extra money is worth it for celeb. Not that I've had any awful experience on Carnival, I just adored X! Then again, I may eat my words after my trip on the Spirit! (doubt it though) I'll be sure to write a reveiw (and perhaps a comparison). Most important thing to remeber... you'll have a good time on both, so no regrets either way!

 

BTW- hi from a fellow upstater!

[Tina from Omaha]

After reading some of the replies to your question, I feel it is my duty to set things straight. First off, I am Tina's husband, so don't yell at her for my opinions! Second a little background, we have been on every major line and have not had a bad time on any of them, but each line has something that in my opinion it does better than all others and some things that I don't like. We would go on any of them again in a heartbeat. We are both mid 30's professionals (Dr. and Lawyer) and have been on about 15 cruises including Carnival Conquest and Celebrity Century within the past year.

 

Passengers: I have never seen so many snobs as I have on the Celebrity boards. Thankfully that was not the case on board. I met mostly middle class, normal people who were polite, friendly, and pleasant. A bit more sedate than on Carnival, but they were a fun bunch as well. I saw very few rude poeple on either ship. To all of you who think Carnival has a different class of people, maybe on the older ships or 10yrs ago but not anymore. (Maybe you were the snob on board who had to tell me that your landscaping cost $45,000 or about how much your new BMW cost -- news flash -- nobody cares!!) Or to the guy who was clucking about the CCL passenger talking about his bar tab....maybe he drinks $200 bottles of wine with dinner, who are you to judge?? In my opinion, both groups we encountered were very nice people and not all that different, maybe a more active crowd on CCL and a more international one on X Advantage: would give this category a tie.

 

Service: X wins hands down over any major cruise line, with Princess and HAL in second. CCL was not bad, but everything from embarkation to dining room to disembarkation was better on X. I take that back, the one place where CCL was better was on poolside service, you almost had to beg to get a drink after 3:00 pm around the pool on X. A very minor complaint indeed. Advantage: Celebrity hands down

 

Food: A mixed bag here. My wife is an exceptional cook, so the food is very important to us on a cruise. I must say that X has the best dining room food of any major cruise line. Night in and night out the food was perfectly prepared and the dining room service was first rate. We were fortunate enough to sit at the Captain's Table last cruise and that was beyond amazing. Having said that, CCL has a better breakfast and lunch then X because there is far more variety. The Century did not have a alternative restuarant, so I cannot comment on this, but the one on the Conquest was out of this world. It was the best cruise line meal that I have eaten. The steak was about the size of both my fists and all courses were exceptional. Pizza and others, ie sandwich bar, suishi bar, burgers good on both.

Advantage: Celebrity by a nose....you can't ignore their dining room excellence!

 

Cabin: Nice on both, but the bed on the Century was terrible. I don't expect a luxury mattress on a ship, but the X one was just plain tired, pun intended! The CCL ship was new at the time, so the comparison is not quite fair, but X has done such a magnificent job of maintaining the rest of the ship, they should not have such poor beds. Advantage: Carnival by a nose

 

In summary, if price and other things were equal, I would choose Celebrity. The refined experience simply is the deciding factor. If you factor in a significant price difference, CCL here we come. They have made tremendous strides in recent years in improving their food and service and have tried hard to rid themselves of the wild party ship image that they used to have (and deserved). One caveat though, we would only take CCL's newer ships and only on 7-day itineraries because I don't feel that they maintain their older ships as well as the other lines. Having said that, I would take issue with anyone who says that there is a different class of people on one ship over the other. I saw 2 or 3 times as many people dressed in formal attire on CCL than I did on X. I saw plenty of people who were partying on CCL but nobody was out of hand or disturbing other passengers. Our pet peeve on cruises is rudeness and we saw little on either ship. If I were deciding, I would factor in costs, ports, and X's service and let those all be your guide. Either way you won't go wrong! Good luck and happy cruising!

[Bethwte]

Can't imagine why anyone would yell at you or Tina for that post. It was very well written, showed well-informed and thought out opinions, and was one of the most unbiased comparisons I've seen in a while. :) I agree with everything you said about X, especially about the service. I still find myself wishing I could have Arles (our butler) back home with me now! I wish I could contribute more to the Carnival side of the debate, but I think they've probably changed a lot in 5 years...

 

Quick note: Should your bed be uncomfortable, I’ve found that Carnival, RCCL, and X all will try their best to accommodate you with something. (I’ve always been lucky enough to have the sofa bed in a suite (in case the sarcasm was missed there because of this being online, they are AWFUL!) LOL) X put down a great foam pad, RCCL used cushions from the couch (and she made up the bed this way every night after) and Carnival’s were not too bad to begin with, but she put down an extra thick blanket (I think) under the bottom layer of linens. Each made the bed much more bearable! So just ask if you find this problem. Wow, sorry for going off on such a tangent.

 

Like I said before... don't worry about this too much. Just go with an open mind and enjoy your vacation! I can think of much worse predicaments than having trouble deciding which cruise to take! ;)

[Cruzenbabe2]

I sailed on Carnival for the second time in Feb. 2004 on the Spirit. This was the best cruise we've been on so far and we've been on 3 other cruises. 2 on Carnival and 2 on RCCL. The first Carnival cruise was on the Imagination, spring break, 4 day cruise, so picture the pax on this ship. Worst cruise we've ever been on. If I would have said I'll never go on another Carnival cruise, I would have never been able to experience the most enjoyable, relaxing cruise with a staff that was out of this world. We were tearing up when it was time for us to leave. I never been on a cruise where I got that attached to the staff. It was a 8 night cruise so that may have something to do with it. They knew us by name and I knew some of their names. I still don't understand why this cruise hit me the way it did. Not only me but my husband too.

 

I disagree that all people that sail Carnival are partyers. We sailed in February and at times I was so bored it was ridiculous. It was a very serene crowd lots of wheelchairs if you get the picture. It was a much older crowd and I remember coming back from St Maarten and relaxing on the deck everyone was quiet and reading books or sleeping you could hear a pin drop it was so quiet.

 

There may have been 30 kids on board if that and everyone was over 35. I myself am 37, hubby 42 son 14. At times my son was bored. So this was not as people would say the "Party Atmosphere" which Carnival is known for.

 

I have to say the food was "UNBELIEVABLE". I never have eaten so much on a cruise before in my life. Everything you can imagine eating was on this ship.

 

I prefer the decor of RCCL, but in all, the Spirit was very nice, especially, the theatre with the egyptian theme.

 

I am thinking of going on Celebrity Century for the first time this August and I am really scared. It's a 9 day itinerary, which we love. But I'm wondering will it be too stuffy for us. I hope their will be families on since it's still the summer month.

 

Go on Carnival, don't be afriad, pay attention to the time of year you're going and also where you're traveling too. Some destinations are known for constant drinking and partying such as Cabo, Key West, etc. This will give you an idea of the pax you will see on board.

 

Money is money, if another cruise is cheaper and it's the same itinerary go for the more economical cruise and use that extra money another way. Carnival newer ships are wonderful I'm glad I gave them another chance.

[cruisebunny32]

We were on the Carnival Glory last march. THe ship was beautiful. The decor not as flashy as I thought it would be. The entertainment was pretty lousy. The food was good, but as one poster compared it to Applebees, that is about right. I didn't have a bad meal, just not great. The deserts were horrible, unless it was apple pie. The creme brule was aweful. They served mint chocolate chip icecream with the cherries jubilee?! The service was mediocre in the dining room. I did not much like the so called entertainment that the wait staff did, standing on tables dancing and singing. Our cabin steward was new, so I really can't say much about her. She did get better as the week went on. Our bus boy was lousy. I hated that they didn't put the basket of rolls on the table, what is up with that? It felt like something was missing everywhere. The over all atmosphere was very different. I did not have a bad cruise, just would have liked a celebrity cruise better. On thing that was awesome was the chocolate buffet! They don't do that on celebrity. But there is no afternoon tea, and they make you re use your silverware?!

 

All in all, it was a good cruise. Any cruise is better than being at work. I just don't think that I would go on Carnival again any time soon. I am too spoiled with celebrity.

[hotspur]

Having said that, I would take issue with anyone who says that there is a different class of people on one ship over the other.

Exactly right.

 

We haven't sailed Carnival but have seen no difference in the "class" (I bristle at even writing that word) of passengers on NCL, Renaissance, HAL, and Celebrity. All the talk here about Celebrity having "more sophisticated" passengers and passengers "who know how to dress for the occasion" is pure self-serving baloney.

 

Thanks, husband of Tina, for weighing in with your thoughtful and informed testimony.

 

Cruzenbabe2, I had the same concern about "stuffiness" after reading the Celebrity board here for a few months before our first Celebrity cruise this past November. You needn't worry. The odds that you will encounter "stuffiness" on your cruise are very low, if our cruise was any indication. There's a hard-core of regular posters here whose writings would certainly give you the impression of "stuffiness," but they are fortunately much in the minority and you will likely not even be aware of their presence. You'll find the passenger mix on Celebrity to be refreshingly like that on all other mass-market cruise lines. Relax and enjoy.

[garykool81]

I would NEVER board a Carnival ship again even if they offered me a free cruise. Not our kind of cruise line and not our kind of fellow passengers.

 

Couple items I would point out, both agreeing and disagreeing with you and others on this thread...

 

1. I don't think a cruise on Carnival attracts any "different" sort of passenger in terms of rowdy behavior, etc., than any other line. In actuality, and from my personal experience, the LENGTH of the cruise has a LOT more to do with the clientele attracted to the ship itself.

 

IE -- the 5-night Holland America cruise I just got off of was filled with what some might consider "Carnival passengers," meaning those who are more interested in sitting in a hot tub for 5 hours a day getting loaded :-)

 

I am betting good money here that if I were to take a two week European cruise aboard Carnival and compare the passenger makeup to a 5-night cruise aboard Celebrity's Zenith, you're stats would literally reverse.

 

Bottom line -- short cruises atrtact younger crowds which tend to be more "party friendly," and very long cruises attract an older more "mature" crowd. If I were to compare the 5-night Holland America cruise we just got off of to the 10-night Celebrity cruise we did in late October, the age demographic was literally a 30-40 YEAR spread.

 

That said, I would also disagree with those who might argue there to be no difference in clientele between any of the lines. I've sailed Carnival and Celebrity on the same length of cruises, and as a gay man with his partner, I *DEFINITELY* felt more comfortable on one line over the other...I'll let you guess which :-)

 

Again, though, if I were to go on a two week Carnival cruise, I am sure I would feel just as comfortable with my fellow passengers as I do on the same length Celebrity itinerary.

 

And to the person who questioned whether Celebrity would be too stuffy for them? Not at all. We've met some wonderful people and now turned friends aboard our Celebrity cruises and absolutely love the line. It is a perfect blend of classic elegance with more contemporary flare...something I've not seen any other line in the class able to pull off.

[mmp13]

All the above comparisons were interesting and the truth is every cruise has a distinct personalitly. We have cruised Celebrity 2x's. both cruises 10 days on the Galaxy at the same time of the year to the same ports for essentially the same cost. One of the cruises was quite stuffy and the other warm and friendly. Two very different experiences. You just never know!