Cruise line alternatives for Celebrity enthusiasts

[Silkroad]

No longer true. If you are in the Yacht Club you have drinks available to you all over the ship (this also includes the delicious Gelato, Gelato drinks and milkshakes,) and, of course, a fully stocked mini bar that is replenished each day.

Sounding better:D

[grandgeezer]

I submitted the status match to MSC based on reading this thread. They only go up to “elite” on the pull down menu for celebrity, so that must be enough for their highest status. It’s been couple of days, haven’t got anything back.

 

 

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It took about a week to ten days. We are Elite Plus so we are "Black", their highest level on MSC. I think Elite would get you the same thing.

[phoenix_dream]

Reading this thread with interest as the Celebrity prices have been rising so fast I don't know that Celebrity will be our first choice much longer (after more than 40 cruises:(). Getting recommendations to go Azamara, or Regent or the like aren't really very helpful truthfully - much smaller ships and much higher prices. I am interested in hearing more about ships of similar size and prices more in line with the last couple of years than the 'Edge Years' upcoming. We have only sailed Princess once, many years ago, and were not impressed at all. I am curious how it ranks now. From other threads I have read, Holland seems a reasonable alternative (we are at the beginning of their typical age demographic I think), although I strongly prefer Celebrity's smoking (or non-smoking) policy. Need to learn more about MSC Yacht Club. Is everyone saying do not sail MSC unless you are in the Yacht Club? Is the remainder of the ship more RCI like? RCI has nice ships, but I do not like the large ones (even Freedom class is too large), and I prefer to sail with fewer kiddos.

[George C]

No longer true. If you are in the Yacht Club you have drinks available to you all over the ship (this also includes the delicious Gelato, Gelato drinks and milkshakes,) and, of course, a fully stocked mini bar that is replenished each day.

 

Yes yacht club perks seemed so much better than celebrity, rccl hal and others none of them offer minibar except maybe rccl 5k and better genie suites.

[Denny01]

So the consensus from the number of posts seems to be MSC............I think I’ll stick with Celebrity as my go-to Line.

 

Den

[SimonaD]

I just priced out a random Caribbean sailing on MSC for November

11 days, 10 nights

Inside $599

Balcony $899

Yacht club $3199

Whoa Nellie. At that price I’m running to Oceania, thank you very much!

What could be so amazing about the yacht club to justify that kind of a jump?

 

 

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[Stateroom_Sailor]

Having read this, it’s safe to say I’ll never try RC. Based on reviews alone, RCs food quality and service have always been factors for me, but I have been tempted occasionally to pop onto a last-minute RC cruise from Baltimore (a fairly short drive for me). Your description of the people in the Diamond Lounge who wouldn’t give up a saved seat to someone on crutches disgusts me. I promise you that either my DH or myself would have immediately offered you our chair. In fact, I don’t personally know anyone who wouldn’t have done. Beyond that, the unbelievable cheek - and ignorance- of the person who challenged your right to be in the lounge because, being British, you couldn’t be Diamond level. I’m very sorry you had those experiences.

 

We sailed on a 7 day out of Galveston, and there's a good 25% snobbish base. You would think it was Crystal Cruise line or something, but apparently being a step above Carnival makes everyone psudo elite. Our dinner table-mate got slammed in the MDR for breakfast for being a truck driver, too low class for RCCL.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

Has anyone tried Avalon River Cruising? It seem like a closer fit to Celebrity as far as decor and room innovations, than let's say Viking River.

 

[Fogfog]

We've been general fans of X and preferred when we could use the UDP ...as the MDR has disappointed too often.

 

Watching the changes on Edge and what it will bring to the S class and M class...we will greatly miss Murano--which had great food and service. We ate there often.

 

We enjoyed the Sky Lounge which will be taken out for the "retreat" and I gather that Xs suite class will be more money than MSC YC.

 

I suspect we will be moving to MSC to try YC sooner than later.... and trying to sail Xs S class and M class ships prior to their "revolution" to enjoy those last Murano meals/bank points and status match as we go.

 

I am all for improvement however creating smaller public spaces and removing ones like Sky lounge takes away from the environment we had enjoyed. Removing favs like Murano for the menus we saw here on CC for Le Bistro is no suitable substitute.

:(

[grandgeezer]

I just priced out a random Caribbean sailing on MSC for November

11 days, 10 nights

Inside $599

Balcony $899

Yacht club $3199

Whoa Nellie. At that price I’m running to Oceania, thank you very much!

What could be so amazing about the yacht club to justify that kind of a jump?

 

 

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Check Celebrity's rate for the same time period, over $400 p.p. per day for a Junior Suite and that doesn't include taxes and fees.

We are doing the Yacht Club Deluxe Suite in September, seven days for about $270 p.p. per day taxes and fees included.

[Shadow9612]

Reading this thread with interest as the Celebrity prices have been rising so fast I don't know that Celebrity will be our first choice much longer (after more than 40 cruises:().

We have only sailed Princess once, many years ago, and were not impressed at all. I am curious how it ranks now. From other threads I have read, Holland seems a reasonable alternative (we are at the beginning of their typical age demographic I think), although I strongly prefer Celebrity's smoking (or non-smoking) policy.

 

I too have sailed mostly Celebrity - although not 40 cruises - wow :)

I have tried Princess 3 times - 2 on Grand Class ships (wasn't impressed) and 1 recently on the Royal Class (Princess Regal).

 

Wow, what a different (positive) experience on the Regal! It was more similar to what I love about the Celebrity S class ship. The buffet was much better than my other Princess cruises.

 

At the end of the day, I still feel more "at home" when I'm on a Celebrity cruise, but I wouldn't hesitate to sail Princess again on the royal class, just for a difference. Still, I prefer the food quality on Celebrity (while the Regal certainly had a larger daily selection of 'different' options, which was 'good', the taste of the food was better on Celebrity).

 

I'm also following this thread, looking forward to hearing more opinions on MSC, as that night be my next "trial".

[Shadow9612]

I just priced out a random Caribbean sailing on MSC for November

11 days, 10 nights

Inside $599

Balcony $899

Yacht club $3199

Whoa Nellie. At that price I’m running to Oceania, thank you very much!

What could be so amazing about the yacht club to justify that kind of a jump?

 

Whoa Nellie! You can say that again.

[Shadow9612]

Would not book MSC unless I were in the Yacht Club, ships are too large.

Oh, another thing I noticed when researching MSC - for a given sailing itinerary, it appears as if people can 'join' the ship at many times along the routing.

 

How does that affect the cruise experience if you always have people coming and going throughout your cruise? I've never sailed an itinerary with that happening....

[villauk]

I just priced out a random Caribbean sailing on MSC for November

11 days, 10 nights

Inside $599

Balcony $899

Yacht club $3199

Whoa Nellie. At that price I’m running to Oceania, thank you very much!

What could be so amazing about the yacht club to justify that kind of a jump?

 

 

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I don’t know whether you have looked, but 7 nights in a basic infinite balcony on Edge in Europe in the summer I saw running at $3800 plus taxes (all pp rates quoted) :eek:. An Icon Suite is only $28,000pp plus taxes. So, comparing it to the above, 10 nights in the Yacht Club is a steal ;p. 7 nights on Infinity in a Concierge cabin is $2500pp plus taxes :o - again, the prices are :loudcry: (eye watering) or in our case: not worth it!

[emmas gran]

Hi

Like Phoenix Dream we have done a few cruises including 21 with X and decided to try MSC YC next year so we have booked 3 cruises!! Caribbean -Dubai to Tokyo and NY to Miami (this being with friends who haven't been to NY).

We have cruised in Balcony, Concierge ,Sky suites, Celebrity suites and a RS x 3 times (all the suites were on M Class). This fall we are trying Aqua and Sky suite B2B on Equinox .

Given our cruise history we do look for value and enjoy cruising with or without friends but Celebrity is pricing us out of the market when we want to cruise for 6-8 weeks each year. If MSC doesn't suit us we will try another line, but we have the time to research and find what is good for us

[Mynki]

7 nights on Infinity in a Concierge cabin is $2500pp plus taxes :o - again, the prices are :loudcry: (eye watering) or in our case: not worth it!

 

That is a ridiculous for an old ship with limited amenities and very average standards of accommodation. People could buy an awful lot of quality land based holiday for $5000 per couple over a week!

[4774Papa]

We prefer Celebrity, but my Daughter and her family have done the Haven on NCL and love it.

[micmacmissy]

If you sail while the kids are in school, there will be very few of them. Royal Caribbean is a lot of fun, fancy decor, innovative activity features. Service is top notch, and cabins comfortable (we were the first sailing after a dry dock, not sure if that's typical).

 

The only major downfall is the food. MDR meals only partially rotate, with repetitive sides, often lukewarm. The buffet is more limited now, with reports of brownish lettuce by the end of the cruise. Of course this spikes demand for specialty dining, pricing well above what you would pay on land.

 

We've sailed Royal Caribbean twice and Celebrity 3x - and I'm here to tell you that their MDR is better managed than Celebrity, with tables spaced farther apart and less waiting for a table. As for the food, I find the MDR food on both to be comparable. Their specialty restaurants are great (I would say equal to Celebrity). I no longer feel Royal is a step down - especially their newer ships. Entertainment is also much better than Celebrity (at least on the Oasis class ships).

 

The fellow passengers are different, however: on Royal we saw a guy on formal night wearing jeans and a t-shirt that was printed like a tuxedo. Younger crowd, less likely to dress up if you care about that. Sailing off season when there are fewer families would be a good bet.

 

The smoking is much worse on Royal. Can't even go in (or near!) the casino. Yuck.

 

Edited to add: we always sail in a regular balcony cabin, but I have heard horror stories about the rude people in the Diamond lounges on Royal.

[Fogfog]

Reading this thread with interest as the Celebrity prices have been rising so fast I don't know that Celebrity will be our first choice much longer (after more than 40 cruises:(). Getting recommendations to go Azamara, or Regent or the like aren't really very helpful truthfully - much smaller ships and much higher prices. I am interested in hearing more about ships of similar size and prices more in line with the last couple of years than the 'Edge Years' upcoming. We have only sailed Princess once, many years ago, and were not impressed at all. I am curious how it ranks now. From other threads I have read, Holland seems a reasonable alternative (we are at the beginning of their typical age demographic I think), although I strongly prefer Celebrity's smoking (or non-smoking) policy. Need to learn more about MSC Yacht Club. Is everyone saying do not sail MSC unless you are in the Yacht Club? Is the remainder of the ship more RCI like? RCI has nice ships, but I do not like the large ones (even Freedom class is too large), and I prefer to sail with fewer kiddos.

 

 

We are in the same "boat". Empty nesters and were just starting to really enjoy sailing when we felt like it

Enjoyed sky lounge/Murano and the price point of X, size of ship etc.

Prefer to be at that 2000 pax max ...

We sailed Regent once and it was lovely--yet will be 2x what X costs. So its not a viable solution unless we find a great deal on an exotic sailing --which would as Regent does--includes everything/excursions etc

Foodies--w e look for variety/quality in meals, ambiance for bar scene and a touch of clubbing in the evening/or tasteful clean comedy

 

Floating cities of 4000+ is overwhelming. I was looking at deck plans of MSC and wonder if those in YC have reason to leave the YC space when the bar/pool and restaurant are all there in a ship within a ship. Perhaps to walk the public decks or see a show? The idea of embarkation with 4000 sounds miserable.

[kelmac]

For us budget cruisers (usually inside cabins) that place Celebrity at the top of the "best bang for the buck" status (29 Celebrity cruises):

 

You might try the following --

 

--MSC in an inside Yacht Club cabin

--Holland America in one of their newer ships

--NCL ships (what?:eek:) Yes, but only if you pick up an UDP (ultimate dining package) and eat every evening meal in their wonderful alternative restaurants and a drink package helps as well;

Haven too expensive

--Oceania or Azamara if you can score a deal (not easy to do)

--Cunard, but stay away from their less than ideal buffet

--Royal Caribbean with a strong dose of alternative restaurants and the Diamond status helps

(sorry Princess, you don't make this list)

No clue about Carnival and Costa

Crystal, Seaborne, Silversea, Regent, Viking, Virgin -- some day???

 

Enjoy!

Kel:D

[Silkroad]

We've been general fans of X and preferred when we could use the UDP ...as the MDR has disappointed too often.

 

Watching the changes on Edge and what it will bring to the S class and M class...we will greatly miss Murano--which had great food and service. We ate there often.

 

We enjoyed the Sky Lounge which will be taken out for the "retreat" and I gather that Xs suite class will be more money than MSC YC.

 

I suspect we will be moving to MSC to try YC sooner than later.... and trying to sail Xs S class and M class ships prior to their "revolution" to enjoy those last Murano meals/bank points and status match as we go.

 

I am all for improvement however creating smaller public spaces and removing ones like Sky lounge takes away from the environment we had enjoyed. Removing favs like Murano for the menus we saw here on CC for Le Bistro is no suitable substitute.

:(

I’m concerned about the same things, but I don’t think we can be certain all these changes will occur. Their plans are obviously still evolving, so I’m not ready to abandon Celebrity for unsubstantiated rumors. I was gutted when they replaced the beautiful restaurants on M class with Tuscan Grill. On Summit last year, I was very sad to see for myself the hack job they’d done to the lovely passenger flow of the class. IMO Murano is the only restaurant on Celebrity that comes close to the beautiful restaurants that were on M class, and that only for the food and service, not the lovely, spacious rooms.

 

I too was so looking forward to Le Grand Bistro on Edge, but I won’t be certain it’s gone completely until Celebrity posts another menu. I’ll not be at all happy if I find that non-suite passengers have no outside areas with a forward view on Edge. For 12 years, I’ve been pleased with some changes, and displeased with others, so my hope is that Edge will have new things I like, to balance the things I don’t like:) I won’t know until the first passenger reviews are posted late this year, and I board her myself next April.

 

To date, Celebrity still has the very things that initially attracted me, which are the most restrictive smoking policy, the best food & service, and a very high level of maintenance & cleanliness for my price point. That said, they could easily lose my business, but it won’t be for MSC Yacht Club until I see a lot more reviews from experienced Celebrity cruisers who’ve actually sailed MSC, not just booked great deals on them. Instead, I keep an eye on Azamara, Oceania, HAL, Princess Royal class, and Viking Ocean.

Edited August 8, 2018 by Silkroad

[George C]

Hi - My wife and I have only ever cruised on Celebrity and in the Med. We are looking to do Caribbean this Winter and are exploring alternative lines.

 

I’m looking for some steer (and potentially steer-clear) on alternative options and ships. We enjoy our food, drink, entertainment and partying. Would appreciate if anyone can share any pointers, especially avid Celebrity cruisers who have “jumped ship”?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Jonathan

 

 

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I would also consider rccl which is the main line we cruise even though we also do celebrity. There entertainment is the best, lots of bars and nighttime stuff. I would pick voyager class or larger, since they all have the ice show which is amazing, never get tired of this , larger ships also have broadway plays also. I think food is about the same except for buffet which is much better on celebrity. All ships have piano bar and pub .

[TFLG]

.

 

We enjoy our food, drink, entertainment and partying. Would appreciate if anyone can share any pointers, especially avid Celebrity cruisers who have “jumped ship”?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Jonathan

 

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Royal Caribbean and NCL usually have good entertainment (and drinks;p). The entertainment on most main stream cruise lines will probably be better than Celebrity. We also like to party and Celebrity can sometimes be a challenge especially after 11pm. But we've had some great cruises on RCCL and NCL as far as nightlife goes. Avoid Holland (where fun goes to die). On RCCL and NCL the food in the buffet and MDR are not quite up to most Celebrity cruises but the specialties on both are pretty good. I have not tried MSC and I've heard mixed reviews. It seems people in the Yacht Club like it but if you are not it a suite the reviews are not nearly as good. I would like to try the Seaside in the Yacht Club though. Our next cruise will be on the NCL Bliss in October. Looking forward to better nightlife on that one!

[ORV]

What an amusing thread.

 

It seems quite a few people didn't catch the part about the OP wanting to pay less than Celebrity and are looking for entertainment and partying.

 

Quite a few of the lines mentioned have much of either. None of the luxury lines are going to fit either. Viking has no Casinos, for many people a big part of entertainment. Oceania & Azamara are both going to be too expensive, as well as anything above them.

 

Some of the recommendations are spot on though.

[kristinp36]

What an amusing thread.

 

It seems quite a few people didn't catch the part about the OP wanting to pay less than Celebrity and are looking for entertainment and partying.

 

Quite a few of the lines mentioned have much of either. None of the luxury lines are going to fit either. Viking has no Casinos, for many people a big part of entertainment. Oceania & Azamara are both going to be too expensive, as well as anything above them.

 

Some of the recommendations are spot on though.

 

I was thinking the same thing......for an active cruise we like RC or Carnival but I guess most Celebrity cruisers don't "slum".