Is Celebrity for us?

My husband and I are considering booking the Millenium but are concerned about the night life! We are not real 'foodies' but when we are on vacation we do like a drink and a dance. We have just got back from the Mariner of the Seas and had a ball! Alot of people we met recommended Celebrity as it was agreed that the service and food was far better than RCCL. With this in mind I thought I would ask the experts.

Celebrity is by far my favorite line. Expect a more refined and dressier vacation.

Generally Celebrity are not the 'booze' cruise type. The night life varies by time of year and the group on the ship. I'm 23 and have had a blast on both Celebrity and RCI. RCI is more layed back and attracts a younger crowd probably b/c of the slightly cheaper price.

You got the right advice on the food and service unless you are a meat and potatos person. There is plenty of night life, it is just not so much in your face type stuff. While a lot of phone, you will never find "The Quest" on a Celebrity ship.

Celebrity is our line of choice and we prefer the Millie class ships and love the speciality restaurant.

We dont go to the shows on ships generally as we like to dine later. We like listening to good music and chatting to others. Not into meat and potatoes coming originally from the UK where this is a staple. We like food but it is not a major factor on our choosing a cruise. I think anything tastes good that I haven't had to cook and my husband will second that! We are not big 'boozers' but would rather share a few martinis than spend hours over a dinner.

WE don't choose our cruise by food, however when we do want to eat we want a great meal.

I believe you should give Celebrity a try. There is alot to do if you want to do it and you can do nothing if thats what you like also. What I like about celebrity is there a less children on their ships than RCCL, since we don't have children it works better for us.

I'm sure you'll make a great choice.

We just got back from the Baltic Cruise on the Constellation. Our tablemates were Captain's Club members and have done quite a few Celebrity cruises.

They were not pleased with the food and felt, since the merger with RCCL, the quality of food has fallen.

Apparently, the Constellation has a new chef and new suppliers.

This was our first celebrity experience and we felt the dining room food was OK to good, but not exceptional. We thought the buffets were awful.

My husband and I are considering booking the Millenium but are concerned about the night life! We are not real 'foodies' but when we are on vacation we do like a drink and a dance. We have just got back from the Mariner of the Seas and had a ball! Alot of people we met recommended Celebrity as it was agreed that the service and food was far better than RCCL. With this in mind I thought I would ask the experts.

The short answer would be No, Celebrity is not for you.

Personally we love Celebrity, but we are not big partiers.

We also have friends that love Celebrity. They say the food and service is better than Royal Caribbean but that they always have MORE FUN on Royal Caribbean ships than on Celebrity ships.

Celebrity cruises mostly attract peole that are into fine dining, dressing up, and going to shows at night.

So I would say that Celebrity is not the cruise line for you. But by all means if you get a good deal and the itinerary is right, you might want to book it, just know that the night life and activites are much less than on Royal Caribbean.

Anne Maria

I am a big fan of nightlife, not the in your face kind, but I really enjoy live music and dancing. This is the one and only reason I do not cruise more often with Celebrity.

My four Celebrity cruises have all been very disappointing in terms of what I enjoy after dinner. Their ships are beautiful, food and service very good. But, as one who travels mostly solo or with girlfriends, I would not choose a Celebrity ship unless I was looking for a very low key experience.

I would suggest you consider an RCI Radiance Class ship. They are the closest in terms of elegance to an X ship, and the food and service is good, especially in the specialty restaurants. And the nightlife is, IME and IMO, diverse and very good. I always have a great time on RCI. On X, I settle in with a good book.

CG

No rockwall, ice skating shows, no inline skating track over speed walking around the decks if not jogging & getting really dirty looks from the 70+ crowd who can barely walk it. No "club" for those who do the healthy things with nice gifts such as TShirts, fanny packs, visors, etc. No Concierge Lounge for Diamond & + members for FREE booze before & after dinner, free cappucino, latte, etc on "X" you buy these at the Cova Cafe. They have Concierge Class staterooms with welcoming bottle of champagne chilled in an ice bucket, a glass of champagne or juice when boarding the ship, tho many are stating they didn't have it on their cruise. Many of the shows are prerecorded singing so they lip sinc, which we don't care for. We were D1 on RCCL Voyager & the stateroom was as large as a CC stateroom & had a 50 sq balcony not 40 as "X" has on most of theirs.

The dining rooms are wonderful on both, formal nights are elegant on both, we cruise any time but summer so kids aren't a problem. I miss the fruit bowl I get on "X" in CC class and on RCCL you have to bring back what you want in your stateroom or purchase a fruit bowl at the gift shop. We dine in the dining rooms of both, if not on our CC AFT balcony, and service & food was tied in my opinion, as I am not a big fan of chicken, steaks, burgers, pizza - all the at home food we eat weekly. I want escargo, lobster, crab, clam, DH loves fish not me unless it walks. Both cook wonderfully with different soups, salads, entrees & their deserts are to die for.

On "X' you have some very interesting lecturers on TA or 2 weeks cruises, you have no announcements for bingo, art auctions, only for important info regarding late arrivals or weather.

So depending on the price & itinerary we will sail both.

We had an OS on the Mariner and thought the Conceirge Club was fabulous. It was such a great place to meet others, have a drink before dinner and Yuri the concierge was great, nothing was too much trouble.

On Celebrity we like the itinerary on the 4 Dec but it is full so we are looking at 11 Dec on the Millenium. There are only 2 rooms left but I cannot make up my mind.

Celebrity is by far my favorite line. Expect a more refined and dressier vacation.

Dressier? Only because of the inflated dress codes. More refined? Pure nonsense. Celebrity is on a par with all the other mass-market cruise lines in terms of food, service, on-board amenities, passenger mix, etc. A dining room full of rental and eBay tuxedos does not make for a "more refined" anything.

I've cruised most of the lines, and Celebrity is my favorite. I thought it had the best food, I loved the atmosphere, and I found the other cruisers to be more my style, casually elegant. It wasn't a rowdy party scene, just people having a nice time. Then again, I'm partial to a more low key, relaxed and yes, refined experience.

I love the decor and design of the ships too, and thought the service was the best of the other mass market lines. I would never hesitate to recommend Celebrity to most anyone, unless you like tattoos, tank tops and loud music. If that's the case, I would go elsewhere.;)

Dressier? Only because of the inflated dress codes. More refined? Pure nonsense. Celebrity is on a par with all the other mass-market cruise lines in terms of food, service, on-board amenities, passenger mix, etc. A dining room full of rental and eBay tuxedos does not make for a "more refined" anything.

An "inflated" dress code? WHat does that mean exactly?

Re passenger mix, I have never observed pax attired in tank tops and shorts in the formal dining room at dinner, conga lines and public announcements in the formal dining room at dinner, pax having to pour their own own coffee in the dining room at breakfast, pax dress in their PAJAMAS at breakfast in the lido, drunks wandering shirtless in the lobby in the afternoons, and kids packing in the stairways and hallways on an X ship. All of those were experienced on my last Carnival cruise. Sorry, but the demographic is not the same.

Actually, IME the pax on Celebrity are a bit more sophisticated than on the other mass market lines and the food and service are much superior. The are elements of class everywhere.

I find that X does offer a more refined experience and make the observation that the pax on Celebrity look quite comfortable in their tuxes and formalwear. I imagine very few of them rent anything.

Re passenger mix, I have never observed pax attired in tank tops and shorts in the formal dining room at dinner, conga lines and public announcements in the formal dining room at dinner, pax having to pour their own own coffee in the dining room at breakfast, pax dress in their PAJAMAS at breakfast in the lido, drunks wandering shirtless in the lobby in the afternoons, and kids packing in the stairways and hallways on an X ship. All of those were experienced on my last Carnival cruise. Sorry, but the demographic is not the same.

I agree completely, and I forgot about the no announcements policy on Celebrity, I absolutely adore that about them. I HATE announcements, and thankfully, they won't do it unless necessary on X.

hotspur. I stand by my earlier post. 4XCarnival, 4XRoyal Caribbean, 5XCelebrity plus a few others.

When you board on Celebrity you are escorted to your cabin while sipping complementary chamgagne or OJ. In the cabin there is a caraffe of water on the dressing table instead of the usual bottle for sale. There are no PA announcements hawking bingo, pool games and the like. Only the noon position report. When reboading from hot climates, there will be a steward at the gangway offering, much appreciated, chilled towels to refresh. In the afternoon around the pool, they will be serving sorbet. The food is, for my taste and many others, much, much better. More imaginative, higher quality and presentation to match. Service throughout the ships is more professional and refined. The "expected" dress standards are about the same as most other mainstream lines and people appreciate those standards. In the buffet, a steward/waiter will carry your tray to the table. Not just for those that "need" help. It's a courtesy to everyone. Celebrity bakes all their breads in two shifts daily. Make their own salad dressings and the ice creams onboard. The bread sticks and the fantastic croissants are my favorites. I'm sure there are many other subtle differences that I've failed to mention. One being about the M class ships. They are built on basically the same hull as Royal Caribbean's Radiance class. However, the Radiance class carries 300 more passengers in the same space.

And I, for one, own my tuxedo, thank you very much.

Dressier? Only because of the inflated dress codes. More refined? Pure nonsense. Celebrity is on a par with all the other mass-market cruise lines in terms of food, service, on-board amenities, passenger mix, etc. A dining room full of rental and eBay tuxedos does not make for a "more refined" anything.

Good to see you are still trawling the dress code threads on the Celebrity board, hotspur. You must have been getting withdrawal symptoms over on NCL:D

I don't think it matters whether you buy your tux on eBay, hire it or have your own from a fancy tailor. It's still making the effort. I also don't feel it's an inflated dress code, just because many want to stick to what the cruiseline asks of them.

Each to their own. You obviously find NCL a better fit for you which is great and you sing their praises loud and high, but I don't understand your need to keep putting down Celebrity.

Phil

I agree with hdawson. My DH owns 2 tuxedos. No rental here.

Wish we could have the overall "Celeb cruise experience" & pax on a Royal Radiance class ship--that would be ideal. Prefer those ships, but Royal is a different cruise experience--too many PA anouncments, forced fun from the CD staff & loud rap music over the PA..also our trip left from Miami & had alot of large families with rude children.... We were impressed with the upgraded food on Brilliance esp in the alt dining venues--Chops & Portofino--excellent food yet not so pretentious as Normandie etc, Also had a ball going in on a horse for the big race! --won't find that on celeb. Guess we go back & forth because each has something to offer--alot depends on the itin.... Enjoy whatever you choose or try both & compare for yourself!

So are Princess and Celeberity on the same level? I am just curious and don't want to start any wars. We are going on our first Princess next month and I am looking at a X transatlantic for next fall (may already be sold out :()

Anyhooooo......thoughts or opinons on those who have sailed both Princess and X?

drunks wandering shirtless in the lobby in the afternoons. . .

I've never done this, but I'm thinking about giving it a try for my bachelorette cruise!

When is your cruise I may want to join in the fun.......

Just curious, how can you tell someone is wearing a tux purchased on ebay?

Dressier? Only because of the inflated dress codes. More refined? Pure nonsense. Celebrity is on a par with all the other mass-market cruise lines in terms of food, service, on-board amenities, passenger mix, etc. A dining room full of rental and eBay tuxedos does not make for a "more refined" anything.

What on earth is an "inflated" dress code?

As to the tuxes, my tailor is offended.