Celebrity Cruises, Please

We are die hard Oceania fans, but recently we booked a cruise on Celebrity Summit. I liked the fact that there was a port-intensive itinerary in the Caribbean that included several ports on my bucket list. While I was also hoping to save a little money over Oceania, I am now seeing that once you pay for your own airfare, go to one specialty restaurant, and be nickel and dimed by things such as paying for bottled water when you leave the ship in a hot port in the Caribbean, it is no cheaper than Oceania. Oh well, it sounds fairly nice, and the ship (around 2050 pax) is not ultra, ultra huge, so I think I'll like it.

I know it won't be as nice as Oceania, especially in the food department, but I am interested in hearing from recent Celebrity cruisers who have also cruised on Oceania. What should I expect? What might be better, and what might be worse? Also, if you've cruised on RCL, Norwegian, or Holland, can I assume that it will at least be better than those lines? Are there any little things I should be aware of, after 10 years of cruising with Oceania? For example, is there a nightlight and an alarm clock in the cabin?!

and for the life of me I can't remember about the clock. However, I do remember that you WILL BE NICKLED AND DIMED for EVERYTHING including water. Good luck! If there is an itinerary with ports you want, go for it. We are itinerary driven basically, but expect the least. There is no perfect cruise line.

We are die hard Oceania fans, but recently we booked a cruise on Celebrity Summit. I liked the fact that there was a port-intensive itinerary in the Caribbean that included several ports on my bucket list. While I was also hoping to save a little money over Oceania, I am now seeing that once you pay for your own airfare, go to one specialty restaurant, and be nickel and dimed by things such as paying for bottled water when you leave the ship in a hot port in the Caribbean, it is no cheaper than Oceania. Oh well, it sounds fairly nice, and the ship (around 2050 pax) is not ultra, ultra huge, so I think I'll like it.

 

Sometimes it is worth the extra $$ for Oceania ;)

It is good to have choices

Enjoy your cruise

Lyn

On Celebrity you have the option of Aqua Class which offers intimate anytime dining in Blu restaurant and included bottled water. Fare for that along with all inclusive drink packages still is significantly less expensive than an Oceania cruise. While not the same experience as Oceania, to claim that Oceania is less expensive or equal cost to Celebrity even with "nickle and diming" is a bit of a stretch. Two other areas where Celebrity offers superior dollar value is more diversified entertainment and less expensive shore excursions.

We tried Celebrity once, on one of their smallest ships (Mercury, now part of the TUI line), in Alaska before Oceania went there. While it wasn't bad, we weren't thrilled the way we are with Oceania, and we never went back -- until now. We're booked on the other of Celebrity's smallest ships (Century) on a San Diego/Hawaii round trip. Oceania does not have a similar cruise, Hawaii (where we've never been) has always been high on Betsy's Bucket List, and I don't like to fly that far. This may be our only chance to get to Hawaii.

We had a Sky Suite on our previous Celebrity cruise, with a butler and all the suite amenities, which was still marginally less expensive than an Oceania cruise. That was nice. What wasn't nice was the dining experience -- this was when Celebrity still had fixed dining only, and I never got a hot meal. All the food apparently sat in the kitchen cooling until it was served all at once. There were no specialty restaurants on Mercury. The only hot food I got on the entire cruise was at the pasta-to-order station at the buffet.

Now, we're going to try it again. There is only one specialty restaurant on Century and at $40 per person it's stupidly overpriced, no matter what it is. We don't spend $80 to eat at restaurants, so we definitely won't spend that much to eat when we're already paying for meals. I won't spend $2 or $3 for each soda (and I drink a lot of them), so I'll bring as much soda with me as I can handle, and I'll drink whatever they give me free (like lemonade) at meals and such. I'll bring my two bottles of wine with me for cabin enjoyment, and get get a free one because we have a suite again (the smaller Century Suite, not much bigger than a standard Veranda but with the suite amenities), and I'll buy a wine package to save 10% for dinner wine. We may buy a very few drinks in the evening.

Celebrity now offers open dining (called "Select"), which we will be using, so hopefully the food will be reasonably freshly prepared. I'm already resigned to the fact that food can not possibly be as good as on Oceania. We'll tender twice, and I'm ready to accept the fact that tendering will take longer because there are 50% more people than O class ships. I know the beds won't be as comfortable.

If I was not flying to San Diego and back using miles (Total cost, $20 tax), the total cost would probably be close to Oceania, which would fly me at prices I can't match. Because of a special promotion, out gratuities ($450 total) will be paid by Celebrity. Out total cost will be around $250 per day pp.

I'd rather be on Oceania, but they don't make this trip.

I just got off the Solstice today This was my fourth celebrity cruise.

Sailed from sydney to Auckland

MDR was fabulous. Far better than O

Specialties were great. As good as O

Buffet was a disappointment O is far better

Entertainment was great as was the music in all the venues

They introduced Zumba classes (free). What fun. Very popular

You are not nickeled and dimed. Just buy a beverage package if u care about the cost of water or a latte. No big deal. You will save a fortune compared to O

The Elemis spa was great and reasonably priced

We love Nautica and will be back on her in April. But Celebrity is the best value at sea IMO. We had a great cruise with wonderful service. No. It is not O. It does not try to be. We enjoy both lines and do not find the need to compare. We like them each for what they are

We have sailed on the Summit many times and done the trip from San Juan twice, we took it from NY to San Juan in October. The big difference is the size of the ship. There are 2000+ pas vs 1200+ with a lot less crew/pas, so the ship will seem more crowded and the service less personal. That said the ship is very nice, has just been redone down to each cabin. If you feel paying for most drinks is bad get a drink package. The food is good to excellent in Blue and the speciality rest. The lido is no comparison. Shows are very good to excellent. Spa is very nice. As far as this talk of Oceania and Celebrity costing the same, we are going to the caribbean on the Rivera in March and have a ocean view room, cost is $245pp per day without air. The trip on the Summit for March is $148pp per day for a ocean view room, that's a lot of bottle water. We booked two 4 hour shore ex and one class in the Culinary center that's 2 hours long for a cost of $650, that's $32 an hour. it might be worth it but it's not cheap! As far as the "Free Air" I took the credit of $400 per person, got my own air RT from NY to Miami and a hotel for one night and saved $100. They are not the same price however I do not believe you can compare the two lines, they are giving you a different product. I can take a Limo or a Gray Hound Bus from NY to Boston, in the end I will be in Boston but the experience is not the same. IMO if you have convinced yourself the Celebrity trip will be sub par then save your money.

I agree with the last two posters. Go with the right expectations and don't spend your whole cruise comparing to O or any other line for that matter, take Celebrity for what it is, and it is a pretty darn good mainstream line. Look for the positive, not the negative.

We were on the Summit last March, granted we did have a Sky Suite with Butler who was more than fantastic. Being in a suite, we did get a complimentary specialty dining the first night, and it was so good we went back two other times. We also bought a drink package, there are various ones some include wine, beer and alcohol, and some are just soft drinks and bottled water, it was well worth it and after a day or so, in the Crush martini bar, the waiter knew us and didn't even ask for the card. The food was good some days and not so good others in the MDR, we only used the buffet for breakfast and it was fine.

We were with a small informatl group, and that made it fun as well, but we would do Celebrity again.

Go, enjoy and have a great time, and enjoy those bucket list ports.

Thanks for all the information, and to anyone who posts in the future. No, I'm not planning to spend the whole cruise comparing one ship on one cruise line to those on another line, as I know they're different. We cruised once on Princess to Alaska (before O went there) and while it was one of their Regatta-sized ships, it was different. It was not, however, horrible. In any case, I've already found out some good things about Celebrity, like the fact that shore excursions are cheaper, although we don't usually do a lot of them on any cruise line. They also don't restrict the thassotherapy spa (sorry, I don't remember how to spell that) so I'll be able to check that out. I understand the spa is great, but that's not something I've ever used on O, so I'll probably pass on that.

We have signed up for the select dining, which means we can go eat anytime rather than pick one of the two the standard seating times. (Actually, by booking now, there was no choice, as the seatings are already full.) If the MDR has been better than the buffet for most people who cruise Celebrity regularly, I guess my husband will be more convinced to put up with the formal-ness and length of MDR dining during the absence of his beloved Terrace dinner experiences! I can eat pasta a lot, but I need something more.....and what I'm hearing is that it's in the MDR.

Has anyone been on Summit and eaten at Normandie or Qsine? Comments? I'm trying to determine if one is better than the other and also maybe even if it's worth spending that $80 on a week long cruise to eat at one or the other. I was hoping to keep the price down on this cruise, as we have our major cruise coming up in August on Marina.

Thanks for mentioning the drink packages. I'll have to take a look. I didn't do that as we have little interest in alcohol or even sodas, but if we have to pay for bottled water every time we go off the ship, who knows, maybe the cheapest package might be a good thing!

Couple questions, which I realize are a bit subjective, but here goes:

On a ship with around 2000 passengers, about how long does it take for lots of people to get off the ship when the ship docks? (We'll be in the Caribbean; no tendering listed).

Can you bring bottled water on board - just a six-pack at a time? How about when you embark? I read Celebrity's policy about the two bottles of wine (and no other alcohol to be brought on board, I think) but do they allow you to bring bottled water or sodas??

Is the pool grill just a burger, hot dog and pizza thing?

There's a very active Roll Call for my cruise, so I'll post these questions as well, but if anyone here has answers (from a recent, similarly-sized ship) those would be appreciated!

...Thanks for mentioning the drink packages. I'll have to take a look....

Through February 17, Celebrity is offering a special deal in which you get to choose some OBC, free gratuities or a Classic Beverage Package for 2 when you book. The beverage package is worth $44 per day or $88 per day for two. It includes sodas and other soft drinks, specialty coffees, wine to $5 per glass and drinks to $8, and includes drink gratuities. If you drink a fair amount, the choice is a no-brainer. If it's a European cruise, you get to pick 2 of the 3.

We're on a 15 day cruise, so the drink package would cost $1518 including gratuities, while the cabin gratuities would cost $450. Our drink tab would be less than $450, so we chose the gratuities as our benefit.

Thanks for all the information, and to anyone who posts in the future. No, I'm not planning to spend the whole cruise comparing one ship on one cruise line to those on another line, as I know they're different. We cruised once on Princess to Alaska (before O went there) and while it was one of their Regatta-sized ships, it was different. It was not, however, horrible. In any case, I've already found out some good things about Celebrity, like the fact that shore excursions are cheaper, although we don't usually do a lot of them on any cruise line. They also don't restrict the thassotherapy spa (sorry, I don't remember how to spell that) so I'll be able to check that out. I understand the spa is great, but that's not something I've ever used on O, so I'll probably pass on that.

 

We have signed up for the select dining, which means we can go eat anytime rather than pick one of the two the standard seating times. (Actually, by booking now, there was no choice, as the seatings are already full.) If the MDR has been better than the buffet for most people who cruise Celebrity regularly, I guess my husband will be more convinced to put up with the formal-ness and length of MDR dining during the absence of his beloved Terrace dinner experiences! I can eat pasta a lot, but I need something more.....and what I'm hearing is that it's in the MDR.

 

Has anyone been on Summit and eaten at Normandie or Qsine? Comments? I'm trying to determine if one is better than the other and also maybe even if it's worth spending that $80 on a week long cruise to eat at one or the other. I was hoping to keep the price down on this cruise, as we have our major cruise coming up in August on Marina.

 

Thanks for mentioning the drink packages. I'll have to take a look. I didn't do that as we have little interest in alcohol or even sodas, but if we have to pay for bottled water every time we go off the ship, who knows, maybe the cheapest package might be a good thing!

 

Couple questions, which I realize are a bit subjective, but here goes:

 

On a ship with around 2000 passengers, about how long does it take for lots of people to get off the ship when the ship docks? (We'll be in the Caribbean; no tendering listed).

 

Can you bring bottled water on board - just a six-pack at a time? How about when you embark? I read Celebrity's policy about the two bottles of wine (and no other alcohol to be brought on board, I think) but do they allow you to bring bottled water or sodas??

 

Is the pool grill just a burger, hot dog and pizza thing?

 

There's a very active Roll Call for my cruise, so I'll post these questions as well, but if anyone here has answers (from a recent, similarly-sized ship) those would be appreciated!

Just a observation, you might want to take questions about Celebrity to the Celebrity board as you will get people that cruise Celebrity all the time to answer. They will have the latest information.

They currently have a beverage promotion package that you should check with your travel agent to see if you are eligible for. You just might be. It's included. It's a great promotion they have going right now. Oops, I see from your Roll Call that you booked a guarantee inside, you would need at least an oceanview to be eligible for it. It might be worth upgrading.

Like Pacheco, I think Celebrity is a great value, and the best Mass Market cruise line I've been on. I'm a simple person that basically wants decent service, good food and to be left alone. I don't need the cruise line to make me feel special.

It's all good though, even my worst cruise was still fun.

Thanks. I appreciate the info on the 1-2-3 promotion, and I did look at it. However, we're in an inside cabin, and it doesn't apply to those!

Am a committed Oceania supporter. However last Feb sailed Celebrity Silhouette to Carribbean from NJ round trip with a travel group on itinerary I wanted. One big advantage to me was being able to drive to the port .... no disgusting air travel....lol.

Did not know anything about Celebrity and was pleased with Silhouette which was relatively new and not too large. We normally sail PH with 'O' but were happy with an Aqua Class cabin on Silhouette particularly as we were entitled to eat in very good Blue Restaurant for all meals. Did eat once in their 'steak' restaurant (for a premium) which was excellant. Did not eat in their other speciality restaurants which were almost empty all of the time. Did go to their buffett restaurant twice....Ugh! terrible experience. Totally overcrowded..understaffed...fight for a table. People hovered over you while you eat so that they grab your table. You did not dare leave your table unguarded to get food.

Would sail Celebrity again in Aqua Class and the Blue restaurant for the right itinerary.

Don, I'll be interested to hear how this trip goes, since Celebrity may be a possibility for us in future!

Price wise there is no comparison

We got a captains club deal for our 12 night Australia New Zealand cruise

Gratuities included. Discount. Very Large obc from ny ta

Concierge class hump cabin with oversized balcony with full lounge chairs was under 2000 pp. let them charge me for water and lattes. Lol

Yes. You can bring water on board.

Qsine is unique. Do not miss it. The other restaurant will be more formal and traditional high end dining. Quite good but iwouldchoose Qsine

We did only private tours but I did compare prices to ship tours. Ship tours were only slightly higher price wise.

We ate at both Normandie and Qusine. We thought Normandie was wonderful, and the service fantastic.

We also enjoyed Qusine once and it was a lot of fun, and had a really interesting concept. Since there were six of us, we ordered a lot of things and shared them, which allowed for more options. Our waiter actually pretty much gave us recommendations and we followed his suggestions. It is more of a tasting type menu, small plates to share, lots of options. I think there was only one thing I personally didn't like, so just moved on to the next thing.

I've heard bad things about Celebrity's "Choice" Air. Does everybody here book their own air?

I've heard bad things about Celebrity's "Choice" Air. Does everybody here book their own air?

I've used it once for one way air to FCO, worked out great and much cheaper than I could have booked on my own. What have you heard about it that's bad?

I have been on 5 Oceania cruises -6th next month and 8 Celebrity cruises. I like Oceania better, but it is not apples to apples, considering the price. I am not a drinker, but both lines now offer beverage packages. You can't beat the food on Oceania, but taking an Aqua Class cabin on Celebrity, with dining in Blu, instead of the main dining room is great and the food is comparable to the main dining room on Oceania. Dining is open seating in both places. The specialty restaurants on both lines are excellent - you pay extra for them on Celebrity, but even if you go to one every night, it is still cheaper than an Oceania cruise and Blu is so good that we don't even bother. The Lido on Oceania and the burgers in the Terrace blow anything Celebrity has out of the water - no comparison.

In summary, both are great, although I like Oceania better. I also like business class better than coach, but as the pricing is so different, I can't put either cruise line or airfare class) in the same category. I am talking about a balcony cabin on Oceania, vs an Aqua Class on Celebrity, when I give my comparisons. The cabins are similar. A ten day Caribbean cruise on the Riviera Balcony cabin vs Celebrity Aqua Class, taking away airfare is about twice as much in price. The perks for frequent cruising (we are Diamond Plus with Royal Caribbean, which makes us Elite with Celebrity) with free internet and cocktails every night also makes Celebrity less costly.

In summary, both are great - if price is not an important consideration, I would stay with Oceania, but Celebrity is a great alternative, IMHO-expecially if you go with an Aqua Class Cabin (or on the Celebrity Reflection, Aqua Class Suite).

We are die hard Oceania fans, but recently we booked a cruise on Celebrity Summit. I liked the fact that there was a port-intensive itinerary in the Caribbean that included several ports on my bucket list. While I was also hoping to save a little money over Oceania, I am now seeing that once you pay for your own airfare, go to one specialty restaurant, and be nickel and dimed by things such as paying for bottled water when you leave the ship in a hot port in the Caribbean, it is no cheaper than Oceania. Oh well, it sounds fairly nice, and the ship (around 2050 pax) is not ultra, ultra huge, so I think I'll like it.

 

I know it won't be as nice as Oceania, especially in the food department, but I am interested in hearing from recent Celebrity cruisers who have also cruised on Oceania. What should I expect? What might be better, and what might be worse? Also, if you've cruised on RCL, Norwegian, or Holland, can I assume that it will at least be better than those lines? Are there any little things I should be aware of, after 10 years of cruising with Oceania? For example, is there a nightlight and an alarm clock in the cabin?!

You will enjoy the Summit. The staff is great and it is a comfortable immaculate ship. You can take an all inclusive beverage package if you desire in order to avoid worry about purchasing beverages. You pay so much less for a lovely cabin on Celebrity then sailing on the Oceania. Look at it this way- you pay now (Oceania) or you pay as you go (Celebrity).

When you are on any ship that isn't Crystal or perhaps Oceania it is all a la carte. Yes, Celebrity staff members may try to sell you services including beverage, shore excursions, spa services as well as purchases in all of the shops, that is their job. All you have to do is say no and enjoy your cruise!

You will enjoy the Summit. The staff is great and it is a comfortable immaculate ship. You can take an all inclusive beverage package if you desire in order to avoid worry about purchasing beverages. You pay so much less for a lovely cabin on Celebrity then sailing on the Oceania. Look at it this way- you pay now (Oceania) or you pay as you go (Celebrity).

 

When you are on any ship that isn't Crystal or perhaps Oceania it is all a la carte. Yes, Celebrity staff members may try to sell you services including beverage, shore excursions, spa services as well as purchases in all of the shops, that is their job. All you have to do is say no and enjoy your cruise!

Hhm..I think I'm on your cruise! I hope you don't think I'm being a pain in the butt, and will complain about the Summit versus Oceania if I meet you! I'm just trying to do my thing, which is to find out everything I can before I sail! I'm a real information junkie.

As to those who have mentioned price, I always thought that Oceania would be much more expensive than Celebrity, HAL, and other lines. However, for this particular cruise (the more expensive itinerary from San Juan), at the time I booked it (very recently), in the category I booked (inside), it actually is not much cheaper than the going rate right now on Oceania's Caribbean cruises for inside cabins (IF you can get them - and that's a big IF sometimes!) That's when you add air fare (which obviously varies from person to person) and dinner for 2 in one of the specialty restaurants. Some of the other stuff that costs money is really not essential, as I can basically take or leave sodas and booze, and normally don't spend much for other stuff, even shore excursions. The fact that Oceania's Caribbean cruises didn't cost much more was a little surprising, but I have to admit that now I'm actually looking forward to cruising on a different line, even if there's an occasional disappointment along the way. If nothing else, the Summit looks beautiful, the inside cabins are almost as big as the inside cabins on Regatta and Marina, and I will be visiting a number of ports I have never visited! I may not have millions of food choices, but I'm sure I won't starve!

It is nice to hear that most people like Celebrity more than HAL. My husband won't cruise on HAL due to his perception of the line as being formal and stuffy, and I have to admit, I have that same perception. Also, our TA said he liked Celebrity more than HAL, so that's further confirmation that I have made a decent choice in picking Celebrity.

As stated when comparing O to X it is not as simple as comparing apples to oranges.

O is a different experience to X . Each are very good and just require you to embrace the ship you are on.

We now only book Aqua class if we are sailing X.

We will be trying AC on a Millennium class ship next fall. It is 35 days Hawaii to Singapore. Unfortunately O did not offer this itinerary.

However if they did it would likely cost as much for an inside as we paid for AC.

Is AC as good as sailing O, no not in my opinion. However it is still very nice & bottled water is included. As Elite we get more then enough free alcohol and other perks.

Our biggest concern in sailing the Pacific on a M class ship is the size of it. We will enjoy the bigger boat on sea days and evenings for entertainment but are concerned about getting ashore in ports that require tendering. X cannot top O for that you would have to sail Azamara.

The pool grill is just hot dogs and burgers however the lido is open till 11 or 12pm with pizza, made to order pasta etc. they serve dinner there till 10 or so but it is not the same items as the dinning room. This class ship has a beautiful and large thermal pool with a small cafe in it serving lite and healthy breakfast and lunch items. Besides what has been mentioned there is a new "Bistro on 5" cafe serving snacks and speciality sandwiches. That has a $5 charge. On one of the sea days they will have a brunch in the MDR, do not miss it as it is really nice with made to order stuff, ice carvings, etc.

I will be seriously disappointed if the food in the MDR on O is not significantly better than what we experienced on our last two Celebrity cruises. The decline of lines we used to enjoy - HAL and Celebrity - caused us to stop mass market cruising 6 years ago.

I choose O as I have higher expectations for overall quality and less nickel and diming as well as smaller ships and fewer passengers.

Since I am a believer in purchasing the least expensive house in the best neighborhood rather than the best house in an average neighborhood, I also applied that logic to my decision to cruise with O in a standard cabin versus AC on Celebrity or a corner suite on HAL, which is what we used to book.

I will be seriously disappointed if the food in the MDR on O is not significantly better than what we experienced on our last two Celebrity cruises. The decline of lines we used to enjoy - HAL and Celebrity - caused us to stop mass market cruising 6 years ago.

 

I choose O as I have higher expectations for overall quality and less nickel and diming as well as smaller ships and fewer passengers.

 

Since I am a believer in purchasing the least expensive house in the best neighborhood rather than the best house in an average neighborhood, I also applied that logic to my decision to cruise with O in a standard cabin versus AC on Celebrity or a corner suite on HAL, which is what we used to book.

You are correct about "location, location" However I would go crazy on any inside small cabin for more then an overnight cruise. So the type of cabin is important to some people. Having sailed on many celebrity cruises, we decided going forward, to save the money and just book a 1A balcony cabin. The cost is hundreds less than Aqua class. We will eat 5 out of 7 meals in the speciality restaurants with the money we saved. The other aqua class amenities do not matter to us. We are elite members and get many perks. I do not need a fog free mirror, thick bathrobe , a shower with jets, fruit and the daily snacks aren't worth eating to me. Nor is the Persian Garden, which I used maybe twice for 1/2 hour. The cabin is exactly the same. Blu is nice, but not at all like the speciality restaurants.