serenade or the celebrity constellation or March 2006 so. itin

[maggieq]

Has anyone been on either or both that has good/bad comments on each.

 

Last two cruises have been rccl and I am a little scared to try celebrity just in case it does not have the amount of entertainment rccl offers.

 

I do, however, enjoy great service. I have heard great things about celebrity being a more service oriented cruiseline.

 

We do enjoy nightlife and wonder whether celebrity would be too quiet for us?

 

Thanks.

[boehling]

We've been on both and really enjoyed Celebrity...plenty of night life...NOT a problem!!

[caviargal]

We've been on both and really enjoyed Celebrity...plenty of night life...NOT a problem!!

 

I answered the OP's post in detail on the Celebrity board but had to chime in and say that "plenty of nightlife" is a matter of perspective. On my southern route cruise on Infinity three years ago, the sidewalks rolled up after dinner. There was really no nightlife to speak of! This has always been my biggest disappointment with Celebrity and the reason I seldom cruise with them.

[cruiserone]

April 2005 we saild the Constellation and LOVED it! Have not been on Serenade. We had an aft cabin with a balconey that was VERY large. Loved the food, the comedian was the best we have ever heard and the martini bar is the best we have ever been in. Yes, the crowd is older. Yes, there is action in the theatre and casino until late in the evening. But not like on RCCL or Princess. We only cruise in Feb. or March when kids are in school, as our kids are now grown, so I cannot tell you if there are kids any other time of the year. We saw none in early April. We stayed on the CC level and I cannot say enough great things about it, including a choice of pillows and a duvet cover on the bed. Get opinions on the Serenade and check out the boards on Celebrity. Happy Sailing no matter what you choose.

[Iamthesea]

I've been on both (well, it was the Millennium.:o ) OK, if I had to choose between the two, I believe the Serenade would win because of the stateroom. RCCL's staterooms are better IMO. We loved Celebrity, the food and service. It was excellent, but the night life was so, so. The Serenade, on the other hand, had it all (although the food was not wonderful, it was pretty good.) We stayed in a JS equivalent on both ships with large balconies. We had the aft on the Millennium, but prefer the side balconies.

[nerak]

We've only been on the Serenade...getting ready for our 5th time. Can't say enough about the whole ship. As stated above, the food is good...not great. Service and crew is the best we've had. The ship itself is beautiful. We have had an aft balcony, an E1, D1, and an outside.....the aft was by far the best! The Serenade dies down quite a bit at night on the Ensenada to Hawaii, and the Alaska cruises. The Southern route stayed much livelier.

[missbear]

If nightlife is a big deal to you, and you're under 50, Celebrity's idea of nightlife may not be what you're after.

 

I'm much under 50, and do like some lively nightlife, good dance club or something, but....the Millenium class ships are really pretty! I sailed on Millenium and want to sail on Constellation. The solarium made up for any lack of nightlife for me. I'm trying RCL for some more energy, but in general I think Celebrity is more my style. I was worried they'd feel like you needed to be old to be welcome and I was worried they'd be stuffy. They weren't either. We were a bit young but who cares, there were fun people on board. They weren't at all stuffy. Relaxed but still elegant.

 

One complaint I do have for Celebrity is they shut the hottubs off! And they do it way too early (around 6pm). This does hurt our willingness to book with them again.

 

Can't tell you a thing about Serenade. Best wishes.

[jaxon41]

I've sailed both and they are both very nice. I prefer Celebrity because I find the service just a smidgeon better on ship. The Serenade's friendliness/service is a bit spotty. Booking/air folks for Celebrity are far above and beyond the folks for RCL, imo.

 

The food is comparable, but I like the Windjammer food stations on Serenade better than buffet lines on Constellation. I also prefer the room decor on Serenade, richer fabrics, darker colors/woods. Serenade had the best entertainment of any ship I've sailed -- their singers and dancers are top notch, but having said that, I have never been disappointed with Celebrity -- and the Constellation had plenty going on. The disco is larger on Constellation -- never even used it on Serenade.

 

Finally, and this is important to me -- I really dislike the lay out of Serenade. Compared to the Constellation, the Serenade always felt crowded, and I think the lay out is the reason. I hate the Serenade's use of the atrium, called the centrum. It is not an adequate lounge for dancing and a drink before dinner. Serenades lounges are lined up in a row (escept for the sport's bar which no one seemed to use) -- have to go through the Schooner to get to the far lounge where a more adequate dance floor exists. It also seemed that for 2nd seating, there was nothing pre-dinner except for that horrible centrum lounge. Great music, but no sitting area, bright and moodless, tiny dance floor. ICK! Serenade is also a bit tacky in their frequent announcements of Bingo, etc. and their art auction in the centrum where the auctioneering floats up to all floors. There are daily programs for a reason -- enough with the Bingo announcements!

 

Bottom line -- I'd go Constellation unless there was a marked difference in price.

[jaxon41]

I've sailed both and they are both very nice. I prefer Celebrity because I find the service just a smidgeon better on ship. The Serenade's friendliness/service is a bit spotty. Booking/air folks for Celebrity are far above and beyond the folks for RCL, imo.

 

The food is comparable, but I like the Windjammer food stations on Serenade better than buffet lines on Constellation. I also prefer the room decor on Serenade, richer fabrics, darker colors/woods. Serenade had the best entertainment of any ship I've sailed -- their singers and dancers are top notch, but having said that, I have never been disappointed with Celebrity -- and the Constellation had plenty going on. The disco is larger on Constellation -- never even used it on Serenade.

 

Finally, and this is important to me -- I really dislike the lay out of Serenade. Compared to the Constellation, the Serenade always felt crowded, and I think the lay out is the reason. I hate the Serenade's use of the atrium, called the centrum. It is not an adequate lounge for dancing and a drink before dinner. Serenade's lounges are lined up in a row (except for the sport's bar which no one seemed to use) -- have to go through the Schooner to get to the far lounge where a more adequate dance floor exists. It also seemed that for 2nd seating, there was nothing pre-dinner except for that horrible centrum lounge. Great music, but no sitting area, bright and moodless, tiny dance floor. ICK! Serenade is also a bit tacky in their frequent announcements of Bingo, etc. and their art auction in the centrum where the auctioneering floats up to all floors. There are daily programs for a reason -- enough with the Bingo announcements!

 

Bottom line -- I'd go Constellation unless there was a marked difference in price.