Carnival v Celebrity - what differences will I notice?

[bethtex]

I will be doing my first Celebrity cruise on Eclipse in November.  Have sailed Carnival many times. What are the main differences between the cruise lines that I will notice?

On Carnival we love the trivia games on sea days and the comedy shows at night. Does Celebrity have the same?

 

[1025cruise]

Celebrity will be a bit tamer than Carnival. There will be trivia, and a fly on comedian, but not the nightly comedy lounge.

[Cruise Raider]

The most obvious difference is that Carnival caters to families and children in particular, whereas Celebrity does not really attract that same demographic.  

They have some comedy shows but not nightly.  They will be mixed with production shows, magic, singers, etc.  It gets a bit quiet later at night on the main decks on Celebrity.  There are still activities, bands and such but it is quieter and you may have to retreat to one of the top lounges for continued entertainment.  The coffee shop and martini bar actually draw some crowds, as does the casino, which usually has raffles and tournaments after the late show.  

Oh ... and there is the silent disco, where guests can dance to their own music with head phones they provide you.  

But, all in all, I would add that Celebrity has more of a 'white glove' service feel than Carnival.  

[Snacheeze]

Less children and less obnoxiously drunk people. 

[lovecruzin]

Never cruised on Carnival but on X there is generally only 1 announcement per day!

There is generally trivia a couple times per day, and several times on sea days!

[hshowalter]

On Celebrity you will have bubbly when you board & you will have linen cloths in the rest rooms. The food is much better on Celebrity. there is no announcement of Bingo  etc. Celebrity is more upscale.

[Mike45LC]

Celebrity attracts a classier clientele than does Carnival.  Although Carnival has outgrown the Spring Break/let's get drunk and puke in the corner/college frat party atmosphere, it still attracts a younger and rowdier group of passengers.  

 

Carnival has more fun activities during the day and evenings.  Celebrity has no rock climbing walls, no water slides, no hairy leg contests.  The pool party contests on Carnival are a lot more fun. 

 

I've never seen the cruise staff on Celebrity demanding passengers walking by the pool fully clothed to be the first to jump in the pool for a bottle of (horrible) champagne -- I know it was lousy champagne because I jumped in fully clothed and won it on a Carnival cruise!

 

Both are fun cruises, but it helps if you are in the demographic that is the target audience!!

 

[jelayne]

No hairy chest or belly flop contests. Officers vs Guest  Pool volleyball and bocce    Ball.  Few children , more sedate, average passenger age older than Carnival.

[vms]

I just took my first Carnival cruise and the biggest difference to me was smoking. On Carnival the smoke drifted out of the casino into the coffee area where the trivia and other games were played. We started going up a floor to cross over the casino area and come back down to avoid having to walk through the casino area.

 

Other differences-

Guy's Burgers are much better than the poolside burger joints on Celebrity.

 

Trivia on Celebrity isn't just an excuse to shell for BINGO card sales (as one Carnival staff member told us).

 

I haven't had good luck getting towel animals on Celebrity, but had them every night on Carnival.

 

Only 1 daily announcement around noon by cruise director & captain over the loudspeakers on Celebrity, rather than every 2 hours or so all day and night on Carnival (at least after little ones were in bed. 😞 )

 

The muster drill on Celebrity is no longer held out on the deck, but in lounges/the theater where it is to your benefit to get to your station at the beginning of the drill to get a good seat.

 

And as others have said, there is less of a "party" atmosphere on Celebrity, although I've never had a problem finding something to do, but I'm not a stay up all night/sleep all day kind of person.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise!

[hubofhockey]

• Carnival crowd is younger and less affluent.  Their kids programs are great.
• Carnival has water slides.  Celebrity does not.
• Carnival's food is different.  Yes, you can get a better burger and focus is more on comfort food.  
• Carnival pipes announcements into rooms.  Celebrity does not.
• Carnival cruise directors are part of entertainment.  They tell the typical jokes (not their own).  
• I was witness to some great cat fights near the Carnival pools in the day, even on a Med cruise.
• Carnival passengers more likely to be publicly (rip roaring) drunk.
• Celebrity has more of a relaxed kicked back feel to it.
• Celebrity has some great itineraries all over, even with some overnights.  Loved Adriatic.  Carnival focuses on Caribbean and some Alaska.
• I would say Carnival has better entertainment, but I don't think it does.,  Neither is in the league of Royal Caribbean.
• Celebrity has more and better specialty restaurants.    Carnival has more and better bars (but nothing like martini bar on Celebrity).
• I wouldn't go on Carnival ever again, but my tastes have changed.  However, I would go on Royal Caribbean on a family cruise (kids are now in 20s).  

[the_dylaness]

I have been on one Carnival cruise (which I will never do again) and a handful of Celebrity cruises.

Above posters pretty much summed it up. I also felt that the one Carnival ship I was on had just horrendously tacky decor (Carnival Legend, about 11 years ago).  Even when I sailed the older Mercury in 2009 it looked... to have a patina... and a bit out of date, but rather like an aging, classy sort of style, rather than tacky neon crap everywhere.

 

I did not like my Carnival cruise at all.  Only cruise I have lost weight. Food was overall terrible, drunk, bawdy, rude people all over the place.  Not saying at all that everyone on a Carnival ship is rude and classless but those who were there certainly made an impression.

[cangelmd]

Someone recently posted a comparison that really summed it up for me.

You won’t see abandoned glasses just sitting around all over the ship on Celebrity, as in after sail away.

on the other hand my 7 and 10 year olds loved Carnival, the kids club, the slide, etc.

We had only been on Celebrity before Carnival, and really noticed the reduced level of service. And this was over 20 years ago - that 10 and 7 year old now have kids of their own.

Each line has its niche and has things that it does better. A multi-generational trip is harder to do on Celeb, and not just because of activities, there are fewer choices of accommodations, and class system of dining complicates the choices.

[niborHS]

That's like asking whether you would notice a difference between driving a Chevy Malibu and a Cadillac. 

[bethtex]

Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences.

We really enjoy Carnival but never go to the pool area, dance clubs or bars.  Maybe that improves our experience. 

I like the towel animals and our cabin stewards have always been excellent. 

But other than missing Guy's Burgers, it sounds like Celebrity may be more our style now. 

 

[DENIE]

Have been on both, but more experience with Celebrity.  Will not do Carnival again... just not our taste.  Too many drunks, and the pool games (hairy chest contest) were ridiculous in our opinion (but just our opinion).  Better food on Celebrity. Clean comedians versus raunchy comedians. You get the picture...

[GastroGnome]

I miss the towel animals too.  I asked the Hotel director a couple of cruises ago what happened to them and apparently the loss rate was massive - people kept nicking them and taking them home.Apparently the choice was cheaper towels to cope with the loss or better quality towels and no towel animals.  We cruise with DD and there are usually some stuffed animals around (She's 20 - don't go there!).  We find the stewards arrange them and make up little dioramas with other stuff in the suite.  Took me 20 mins looking for my sunglasses once to discover they were in fact being worn by a bear apparently sitting at a beach bar!

[fizzy1]

9 hours ago, Snacheeze said:

Less children and less obnoxiously drunk people. 

Thank god !!!! Haha 

[bookitdanno]

You will not find a cloud of cigarette smoke hanging over 3 or 4 decks near the casino.

You will not find waitstaff dancing on your table during dinner.

Again... Thank God!!!

[yorky]

You are on a ship which is the same, other than that everything, chalk and cheese with Celebrity a level up on most things.

[TeeRick]

Celebrity ships like Eclipse in the Caribbean will have a bit more of a party atmosphere but absolutely nothing as loud as Carnival.  RCCL might be a intermediate choice.  In November, if it is Thanksgiving week you will find a lot of kids even on Celebrity.  If another week Celebrity will have very few kids. If you go on a longer destination cruise (9+ nights) on Celebrity outside the Caribbean (or perhaps outside of Alaska in summer) then the Celebrity demographic is really a much older crowd and almost no kids.

[Iamcruzin]

Carnival Times Square/Broadway 

Celebrity Madison Ave/Park Ave

Celebrity could be boring if you are coming from Carnival. I just returned from a Royal Caribbean cruise and I enjoyed the entertainment and the relaxed dress code. It’s going to be hard to go back to Celebrity and we are more of the Celebrity demographic than Royal Caribbean democratic. My son wanted to go on Celebrity with us next but when I told him he can’t wear shorts in the MDR he said never mind.

Also Celebrity has a class system based on your room category which dictates what MDR you eat in and what lounges are available for you to use.

Edited July 14, 2019 by Iamcruzin

[Georgia_Peaches]

13 hours ago, hubofhockey said:

• Carnival crowd is younger and less affluent.  Their kids programs are great.
• Carnival has water slides.  Celebrity does not.
• Carnival's food is different.  Yes, you can get a better burger and focus is more on comfort food.  
• Carnival pipes announcements into rooms.  Celebrity does not.
• Carnival cruise directors are part of entertainment.  They tell the typical jokes (not their own).  
• I was witness to some great cat fights near the Carnival pools in the day, even on a Med cruise.
• Carnival passengers more likely to be publicly (rip roaring) drunk.
• Celebrity has more of a relaxed kicked back feel to it.
• Celebrity has some great itineraries all over, even with some overnights.  Loved Adriatic.  Carnival focuses on Caribbean and some Alaska.
• I would say Carnival has better entertainment, but I don't think it does.,  Neither is in the league of Royal Caribbean.
• Celebrity has more and better specialty restaurants.    Carnival has more and better bars (but nothing like martini bar on Celebrity).
• I wouldn't go on Carnival ever again, but my tastes have changed.  However, I would go on Royal Caribbean on a family cruise (kids are now in 20s).  

Agree with this list.  Would add that I've done better on the slot machines on Carnival than I have on Celebrity but prefer Celebrity's casino because like all other indoor areas on the ship, it's non-smoking.

[yorky]

56 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

Carnival Times Square/Broadway 

Celebrity Madison Ave/Park Ave

Celebrity could be boring if you are coming from Carnival. I just returned from a Royal Caribbean cruise and I enjoyed the entertainment and the relaxed dress code. It’s going to be hard to go back to Celebrity and we are more of the Celebrity demographic than Royal Caribbean democratic. My son wanted to go on Celebrity with us next but when I told him he can’t wear shorts in the MDR he said never mind.

Also Celebrity has a class system based on your room category which dictates what MDR you eat in and what lounges are available for you to use.

When you say “class” you know what you actually mean is “cost based” If I book an inside one week and a suite the next week i’m still the same individual, Celebrity won’t refuse my booking because I don’t meet certain criteria. It’s no different to flying. Shorts in the MDR, maybe ok for the children but it’s not eating out at Denny’s.

Edited July 14, 2019 by yorky

[Mike981]

I agree with 'most' of the comparisons, personally I find the MDR food to be more  similar than different. I believe Celebrity is living off of a past reputation with their MDR food, unfortunately it is not anywhere close to what it used to be.

When people ask this question, I wish they would put the caveat of, "you must have sailed on Carnival and Celebrity in the past five years". I have seen people give detailed descriptions of their opinion, to only later in a thread admit that they have not cruised on ______ cruise line in a dozen years. The experience varies from cruise line to cruise line and from ship to ship, weekly. That is what is so maddening when you read reviews and expect the same experience when you go on the same trip and it is not. 

To the OP, I compare it to Walmart vs. Macy's. Based on what you said, you will have a lovely time.

[Ferry_Watcher]

15 hours ago, Snacheeze said:

Less children and less obnoxiously drunk people. 

 

No large groups wearing matching tee shirts that say"Oh Ship, it's a Family Vacation".

 

Or passengers asking pier staff, "Is this where I get Ship-Faced?"