Carnival v Celebrity - what differences will I notice?

[TMLAalum]

TOWEL ANIMALS

 

We have had towel animals on Celebrity! Most recently in March on the Eclipse Cabin 9194 on leg #1 of a B2B- when we changed cabins down to Deck 6 that steward did not make us towel animals.

 

That being said, the first time we had the swan, the turtle, the hanging monkey, etc., we were delightfully surprised. But we haven't missed not having them.

 

If you are sailing with kids or are first-timers, it would be disappointing to be expecting a terry cloth critter on your bed and finding none there!

[Cruising89143]

Two totally different cruise lines targeting two different types of consumers. To be upfront I haven’t stepped foot on Carnival since September 2004 but we finished cruising Carnival with over twenty cruises under our belt on the line so we had a lot of experiences with them. As a person that has been cruising 30+ years I feel that I know cruising pretty well and I have seen very little growth in Carnvial’s product. Their ship design has stayed basically the same with just expanding upon the old Destiny class. Their new Mardi Gras will be the first true new design in years and looks nice but reading the Carnival boards tells me that Carnival is still pretty much the same with changes not for the better but then again just about every cruise line is doing that to keep stock holders happy. 

 

When we much younger Carnival fit our needs. After a few issues we tried RCI and never looked back. Our first RCI Cruise was in December of 2004 and at that time we found RCI to be so much better than Carnival in all areas with the exception of the lido burgers 😉 but that was it. Who cruises for just burgers? 🙂 I don’t like RCI’s new non refundable deposit policy and I hope X stays far away from that. Also while we thought the Oasis class was probably one of the best class ships built we are tired of the huge mega ships that size and that’s the direction RCI has decided to take.

 

Again our focus changed and we tried Celebrity. We love the no smoking policy on the interior of the ship. One announcement per day with no annoying push for inch of gold and art auctions. It’s a more laid back atmosphere. Beautiful adults only (16 and older) solarium with a nice pool. No belly flops contests or water slides. Less children. Celebrity doesn’t have to limit alcohol consumption on the drink packages and treats their guests like adults. Where Celebrity shines in my book would be the suites and benefits. Yes they’re more expensive than Carnival but worth it to us. That is not one of Carnvial's strong points and one main reason that we moved on. Celebrity is also spending major bucks on refurbishing their ships and they’re not going to the extreme of changing the names of the ship. Also some of the above comments would be why we decided to move away from RCI. 

 

I think it’s good to try other cruise lines. Every person has their own opinion but only you will be able to determine if a cruise line is a good fit.  We’re on NCL (Bliss) in October because they have a ship based here on the west coast and we don’t have to fly. It will be our chance to see how NCL’s Haven class matches up to X. I also want to try Oceania at some point but we still enjoy X and have another cruise with them on the books for next year.

 

Enjoy the Eclipse. I love the S class. 

[bethtex]

Mister Kevin- Carnival is cheaper and markets mostly to Americans, so it will be more economically, socially and racially diverse I would expect than a more expensive line. 

 

So looking forward to trying Celebrity.  Will be even more interesting we are going from it straight to a Silverseas cruise, then 3 mos later may go back on Carnival with some friends. Guess sometimes you want fast food vs moderately priced sit down vs fine dining.  

[NCteacherlovescruising]

31 minutes ago, misterkevin said:

Carnival cruisers are more likely to be markedly overweight. 

 

My husband and I are both in what I’m assuming were your undesirable passenger category of being overweight.  Hopefully you won’t have the displeasure of cruising with us. 

 

16 minutes ago, bethtex said:

Mister Kevin- Carnival is cheaper and markets mostly to Americans, so it will be more economically, socially and racially diverse I would expect than a more expensive line. 

 

So looking forward to trying Celebrity.  Will be even more interesting we are going from it straight to a Silverseas cruise, then 3 mos later may go back on Carnival with some friends. Guess sometimes you want fast food vs moderately priced sit down vs fine dining.  

 

We actually priced Carnival, NCL, and RCCL before booking our next cruise with Celebrity because we got the best value with Celebrity, all things considered. 

Edited July 14, 2019 by NCteacherlovescruising

[cocobakerchica]

52 minutes ago, misterkevin said:

I hesitate to point this out because it's a potentially volatile point, but this is just my experience over the last decade of cruising on both lines.

 

From an ethnographic standpoint, Carnival has a higher percentage of African American cruisers, at least in the Caribbean. Also, Carnival cruisers are more likely to be markedly overweight. 

 

Celebrity tends to attract more European cruisers.

I'm really not sure what you're trying to infer with your comments.  It would only be "read as potentially volatile" if your comments were made to negatively compare and contrast the physical appearance/racial-ethnic backgrounds/nationalities of what you call the average Carnival vs. Celebrity cruise demographics.

 

In my over two decades of cruising on Celebrity ships, I've observed fellow African-American cruisers onboard, as well as markedly overweight and European cruisers(of various racial/ethnic backgrounds since Europe is a continent), and somehow we all managed to have a wonderful time.

Edited July 14, 2019 by cocobakerchica

[aml3679]

We have been on both, Celebrity, of course, is our favorite.

 

What I notice:

 

Less children and teenagers.

 

Less crowded.

 

Staterooms are more classier.

 

Food is better.

 

Carnival has laundry rooms which I think is a nice perk.

 

Celebrity has the 4 perks.  When I looked at pricing, by the time I added everything up, I was surprised that Carnival was more expensive.

 

No hairy chest contests.

 

No announcements in your room.

 

The number one thing I hated about Carnival, without any advanced warning, they would swoop down and clean the windows in front of the balcony.

 

 

 

[misterkevin]

I like both lines for different reasons. I'm in agreement with most of the previous comments comparing the two lines. Carnival is more of a fun, activity and entertainment based ship; whereas Celebrity is more laid back, with better food and service. These are differences I've noticed between the types of people who choose to cruise with them. I mean no disrespect to anyone. I get along with all kinds of friendly folk, regardless of ethnicity or physiology. I have had wonderful experiences on both lines. Moving forward, however, as I've aged, I prefer the quieter atmosphere of Celebrity with fewer children.

[MISTER 67]

We've sailed 60 times and our Carnival Freedom cruise in 2013 was far and away our worst cruise ever. That was our one and only cruise with Carnival and never again.

First of all the Freedom from the outside is a decent looking ship, the interior decor except fo the cabins was atrocious, the decor was plain ugly, it offended the senses. Who ever designed the public rooms and lounges should be exiled to a deserted island. They did have one very nice lounge called the Cuban lounge with a cigar motif but it was hidden on a deck that had no other venues, no one knew about it and it was always empty, a shame.

The food was a step below Golden Corral, in some cases especially in the buffet, it was plain slop. My wife who is a great cook and knows her food said the pastries were baked with lard, not real butter. The chocolate desserts were pathetic.The lobster though decent was served with melted margarine, also not butter. Most of the beef items were tough and and contained a lot of gristle. Chicken and fish were barely edible.

The service was decent but was surprised when the waiters stated dancing with some of the diners a few nights, have never seen that on Celebrity, Holland America or Princesss.

The passengers were well behaved, no crazy stuff but we did have some loud passengers who were drunk and very loud in the hallways when they returned to their cabins around 2am. 

Bottom line, Carnival is K Mart and Celebrity is Nordstoms.

 

 

[Nymich]

2 hours ago, misterkevin said:

 Also, Carnival cruisers are more likely to be markedly overweight. 

 

 

Overweight to Obese people are big time on all ships including Celebrity.   

[Cruising89143]

8 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

We've sailed 60 times and our Carnival Freedom cruise in 2013 was far and away our worst cruise ever. That was our one and only cruise with Carnival and never again.

First of all the Freedom from the outside is a decent looking ship, the interior decor except fo the cabins was atrocious, the decor was plain ugly, it offended the senses. Who ever designed the public rooms and lounges should be exiled to a deserted island. They did have one very nice lounge called the Cuban lounge with a cigar motif but it was hidden on a deck that had no other venues, no one knew about it and it was always empty, a shame.

The food was a step below Golden Corral, in some cases especially in the buffet, it was plain slop. My wife who is a great cook and knows her food said the pastries were baked with lard, not real butter. The chocolate desserts were pathetic.The lobster though decent was served with melted margarine, also not butter. Most of the beef items were tough and and contained a lot of gristle. Chicken and fish were barely edible.

The service was decent but was surprised when the waiters stated dancing with some of the diners a few nights, have never seen that on Celebrity, Holland America or Princesss.

The passengers were well behaved, no crazy stuff but we did have some loud passengers who were drunk and very loud in the hallways when they returned to their cabins around 2am. 

Bottom line, Carnival is K Mart and Celebrity is Nordstoms.

 

 

 

The Freedom was designed by Joe Farcus. He was known for being “out there” with his designs. Some like it and some don’t. Kind of Vegas like. Especially the Fantasy class ships. When the Fantasy first entered service in 1990 one almost needed sunglasses due to the amount of neon. It was different for sure. Especially at that time. Carnival moved away from Farcus some time back. The new design is much more calm. 🙂

[NCteacherlovescruising]

25 minutes ago, aml3679 said:

We have been on both, Celebrity, of course, is our favorite.

 

What I notice:

 

Less children and teenagers.

 

Less crowded.

 

Staterooms are more classier.

 

Food is better.

 

Carnival has laundry rooms which I think is a nice perk.

 

Celebrity has the 4 perks.  When I looked at pricing, by the time I added everything up, I was surprised that Carnival was more expensive.

 

No hairy chest contests.

 

No announcements in your room.

 

The number one thing I hated about Carnival, without any advanced warning, they would swoop down and clean the windows in front of the balcony.

 

 

 

 

Given all this we should love Celebrity!  I also found Celebrity to be cheaper than Carnival when you add the value of the 4 perks. 

[MISTER 67]

24 minutes ago, cruisingator2 said:

 

The Freedom was designed by Joe Farcus. He was known for being “out there” with his designs. Some like it and some don’t. Kind of Vegas like. Especially the Fantasy class ships. When the Fantasy first entered service in 1990 one almost needed sunglasses due to the amount of neon. It was different for sure. Especially at that time. Carnival moved away from Farcus some time back. The new design is much more calm. 🙂

I've heard that Carnival is toning down their ships, in fact I saw some photos of their newest ship and from what I saw the interior lounges and public rooms were pretty classy looking, would I sail on one of Carnival's new ships, probably not.

[Iamcruzin]

10 hours ago, yorky said:

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.

 I mean Suite Class, Aqua Class and Concierge Class. Each comes with it's own set of privileges as to where you can eat and/or private areas. And yes you will be denied seating in Blu if you didn't pay for Aqua class. Also wearing shorts has no influence on how good or bad the food is.

[yorky]

5 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

 I mean Suite Class, Aqua Class and Concierge Class. Each comes with it's own set of privileges as to where you can eat and/or private areas. And yes you will be denied seating in Blu if you didn't pay for Aqua class. Also wearing shorts has no influence on how good or bad the food is.

Of course you will be denied seating in a place you have not paid for, if I pay for a second class ticket on a train or plane they won’t let me sit in first class. You are correct on the quality of food and wearing shorts, my comment on Denny’s was plenty of people wear shorts in a cafe, not many in an upscale restaurant.

Edited July 15, 2019 by yorky

[fragilek]

I choose a cruise based mainly on what ports I will visit - Bucket list being done - I have sailed carnival twice, royal twice Marella once - celebrity is next followed  by Costa a few weeks later. Only had one bad cruise and that was on our first royal one- food entertainment service all awful (you can read my review for it - it was like a bad comedy  film.) We got compensation so eventually deiced to use it and try again (the first had been so bad we had a back up plan ready for leaving the ship and going to spend the rest of the holiday with family in italy) and the 2nd try had a fab cruise - so my point is even one line on 2 different cruise can give a completely different experience.

 

  In summary for us Marella was best for food - 4 different table service restaurants  MDR, formal Italian/French casual Italian and a  casual Tapas. Afternoon teas with amazing GF stuff every day. As well as the  usual Buffet and still did a midnight buffet too.  Carnival next best and the Royal - very poor choices for me regarding GF food 

 

2nd Royal cruise had good shows, Carnival had good comedy but I walked out of the adult show on our 2nd carnival cruise due to the racist content (wtr middle east people and culture). However, the family shows on our first cruise had been great.

Marella was weakest for main show but best for other music shows at night.   

 

We don't take part in any game show stuff so what goes on there doesn't bother us - we sit in the quite areas of ships if we are not in a port.  I have never seen a drunk on carnival or Marella even on a carnival new year cruise, however, I have never sailed a short cruise.  I have seen a few on the royal cruises, didn't cause any harm just embarrassing for the rest of their group - one required a wheelchair ride back to her cabin 

 

Can't comment on the better burgers discussion - haven't eaten any since I was a kid lol

 

I am on celebrity very soon so will come back to this thread with an update of how I think it compares with the others discussed here.  

Edited July 15, 2019 by fragilek
sp

[fragilek]

12 hours ago, misterkevin said:

I like both lines for different reasons. I'm in agreement with most of the previous comments comparing the two lines. Carnival is more of a fun, activity and entertainment based ship; whereas Celebrity is more laid back, with better food and service. These are differences I've noticed between the types of people who choose to cruise with them. I mean no disrespect to anyone. I get along with all kinds of friendly folk, regardless of ethnicity or physiology. I have had wonderful experiences on both lines. Moving forward, however, as I've aged, I prefer the quieter atmosphere of Celebrity with fewer children.

14 hours ago, misterkevin said:

I hesitate to point this out because it's a potentially volatile point, but this is just my experience over the last decade of cruising on both lines.

 

From an ethnographic standpoint, Carnival has a higher percentage of African American cruisers, at least in the Caribbean. Also, Carnival cruisers are more likely to be markedly overweight. 

 

Celebrity tends to attract more European cruisers.

 

14 hours ago, misterkevin said:

 Also, Carnival cruisers are more likely to be markedly overweight. 

 

Form your comments above its seems celebrity also attracts the self focused entitled people who consider themselves 'better' than others. 

[hubofhockey]

2 hours ago, fragilek said:

 

 

Form your comments above its seems celebrity also attracts the self focused entitled people who consider themselves 'better' than others. 

 

"Better"?  No.  Different, yes.  I'm in my late 50s and would just feel out of place on a Carnival ship.  However, our kids are in their 20s and our next cruise with them (after Galapagos, which really only has two options), will probably be on one of the newer Oasis class ships because they really like Royal Caribbean and we like it as long as get some specialty dining plan (and avoid their MDR).  They have been with us through the years on Princess and Celebrity and were pretty bored on both.  I think that's why you get the older crowd on Celebrity.  You are more likely to hear people talking about their kids than to actually hear their kids.  😎  What is on Carnival appeals to Carnival passenger and that's the entire package of comfort food with Guy's burgers to water slides, partying, and loud pool games.  Younger adults might go for that.  Celebrity passengers are at a different point in their lives and want different things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[the_dylaness]

23 hours ago, bookitdanno said:

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!!!

 

On the table?

I can't tell if you are exaggerating or not but if not, that is absolutely disgusting.

I don't even wear shoes in my house much less on the surface where I am eating.

[Tatka]

We cruised with Carnival three times trying to make this line to work for us just like other 7 cruise lines we cruise with.

Unfortunately we couldn't and cruise on Glory in 2013 was our last. Maybe things have changed a lot.  We are easy going so regular mass market like MSC and NCL was never problem for us. Questionable decor, preferences of some part of Carnival's pax (not necessarily excessive drinking which we haven't noticed)  made our experiences not as enjoyable as others especially with Celebrity.

 

As for Celebrity we enjoy this line although not as often as we would like due to better quality food and service, more pleasant pax. Great ambiance. 

 

 I wanted to write about subdued entertainment, but suddenly remembered that Carnival's shows and overall entertainment did not impress me at the level of other massmarket MSC, NCL, RCCL lines. At that time I kept thinking why Carnival ships were called Fun Ships. So not a big loss here.

Edited July 15, 2019 by Tatka

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, the_dylaness said:

 

On the table?

I can't tell if you are exaggerating or not but if not, that is absolutely disgusting.

I don't even wear shoes in my house much less on the surface where I am eating.

 

No, they don’t dance on the tables people use for dining!!  😝😂 They have tables they use for that purpose. 

[Tatka]

5 hours ago, fragilek said:

From an ethnographic standpoint, Carnival has a higher percentage of African American cruisers, at least in the Caribbean. Also, Carnival cruisers are more likely to be markedly overweight.

 

Not necessarily African Americans. Low prices attract more people from lower socioeconomic levels who of course vary in their food preferences, but with more tendencies to use fast food establishments. I did not cruise with Carnival since 2013, but read about great new options of fast food on board of their ships.. like "Five guys" and such.

[hubofhockey]

1 hour ago, Tatka said:

We cruised with Carnival three times trying to make this line to work for us just like other 7 cruise lines we cruise with.

Unfortunately we couldn't and cruise on Glory in 2013 was our last. Maybe things have changed a lot.  We are easy going so regular mass market like MSC and NCL was never problem for us. Questionable decor, preferences of some part of Carnival's pax (not necessarily excessive drinking which we haven't noticed)  made our experiences not as enjoyable as others especially with Celebrity.

 

As for Celebrity we enjoy this line although not as often as we would like due to better quality food and service, more pleasant pax. Great ambiance. 

 

 I wanted to write about subdued entertainment, but suddenly remembered that Carnival's shows and overall entertainment did not impress me at the level of other massmarket MSC, NCL, RCCL lines. At that time I kept thinking why Carnival ships were called Fun Ships. So not a big loss here.

 

I really don't mean to bash Carnival, but you brought back some bad memories with respect to entertainment.  Their final night entertainment was amateur hour where guests get control of the mics as winners of the cruise talent contests.  Other nights when there weren't shows, the entertainment would TV game shows, again where passengers compete against each other.  To me, this was unacceptable.  Seriously, at that level of cruising, if you're younger, go on a Royal Caribbean cruise where there is real entertainment and quality nightlife.  When you're older, choose between Celebrity or Princess, whichever suits your tastes.

 

I can't say that I've had any bad cruises on Carnival, but I have been bored and disgusted at times.  It's been 8 years since a Med cruise on the Carnival Magic and Carnival is no longer even in my rear view mirror.  I wouldn't take a free cruise from them.  

[NCteacherlovescruising]

7 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

Not necessarily African Americans. Low prices attract more people from lower socioeconomic levels who of course vary in their food preferences, but with more tendencies to use fast food establishments. I did not cruise with Carnival since 2013, but read about great new options of fast food on board of their ships.. like "Five guys" and such.

 

Carnival not so cheap anymore. We typically price a few cruise lines and now that others are bundling in their beverage packages and other perks, and Carnival doesn’t, they sometimes price out higher now. When we booked our Summit cruise, it was cheaper than Carnival, NCL, and RCCL. 

[hubofhockey]

3 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

Carnival not so cheap anymore. We typically price a few cruise lines and now that others are bundling in their beverage packages and other perks, and Carnival doesn’t, they sometimes price out higher now. When we booked our Summit cruise, it was cheaper than Carnival, NCL, and RCCL. 

 

I love the M class ships on Celebrity.  Typically, we'll book Celebrity with two perks (classic drinks package and either $300 OBC or gratuities, whichever is more $) and you get great value.  Enjoy your cruise.  

[NCteacherlovescruising]

4 minutes ago, hubofhockey said:

 

I love the M class ships on Celebrity.  Typically, we'll book Celebrity with two perks (classic drinks package and either $300 OBC or gratuities, whichever is more $) and you get great value.  Enjoy your cruise.  

 

We were fortunate they were offering all 4 perks when we booked. 😊