Thinking of Trying Celebrity and Need Some Feedback

[danny8826]

 

We have cruise with Royal Caribbean, Princess, Carnival, and Norwegian, but we haven't cruise with Celebrity before.

We are looking at a holiday cruise on the Celebrity Solstice out of Los Angeles on Dec 19th.

 

My travel companion love day activities such as dance classes and games / game shoes.

Are there any of those on the Solstice?  What kind of activities can I expect during the day or sea day?

 

I heard food are outstanding and seen some videos on entertainment as well that there are some shows that include acrobat which are great.

 

Thank you in advance for your input.

Edited July 29, 2022 by danny8826

[Vlgg731]

We have done Princess, Holland America, The Big Red Boat, Carnival and Royal Caribbean.  We just returned from an Alaskan Cruise on Millinium-Aqua class and absolutely love the ship and Aqua class.  The ship was beautiful, the food was excellent, the entertainment was very good and the service was outstanding.  We have never been on a ship where the captain and hotel director were so visible.  We are already looking at booking Southern Caribbean in February 2023 on a Celebrity ship.

[danny8826]

7 minutes ago, Vlgg731 said:

We have done Princess, Holland America, The Big Red Boat, Carnival and Royal Caribbean.  We just returned from an Alaskan Cruise on Millinium-Aqua class and absolutely love the ship and Aqua class.  The ship was beautiful, the food was excellent, the entertainment was very good and the service was outstanding.  We have never been on a ship where the captain and hotel director were so visible.  We are already looking at booking Southern Caribbean in February 2023 on a Celebrity ship.

 

Thank you.  I wonder if all the things you have mentioned are the same fleet wise because I am looking at the Solstice.  

[cangelmd]

Never been on NCL or HAL, but have sailed the others. Celebrity appeals to people who are looking for a quieter, somewhat more elegant ship and experience. Think cool evening jazz with cocktails in a good New Orleans hotel vs Mardi Gras. There are things to do, but you have to seek them out a bit. The cruise director may do poolside dance lessons on a sea day, but there’s no belly flop competition. Pre-Covid, the crew passenger ratio was higher than any of the other lines you mentioned, that has been problematic in post Covid world, but staffing has improved.

It’s been awhile since m last Royal cruise, but I felt that Celeb Solstice class is more “sea” oriented than atrium oriented and just overall less crowded.

[letsgogogo]

1 hour ago, danny8826 said:

 

Thank you.  I wonder if all the things you have mentioned are the same fleet wise because I am looking at the Solstice.  

Solstice is lovely. Our very first cruise was solstice to Alaska. One of my most memorable trips. Don’t think twice about doing this. 

[chemmo]

Think of Celebrity having a focus on rest and relaxation in elegant surroundings with good food and excellent service…

 

No ongoing announcements of activities, if you want activities they are there but you need to look them up. We often mark up activities on the daily planner and then can’t be bothered to go because we are simply happy sat comfortably somewhere people watching…
 

Shows on Celebrity are less spectacular than on the mega ships but fine. We rarely go now preferring the duo, small group musical events that move from bar to bar during the day and evening.

 

If you board looking for what Celebrity has to offer rather than board looking for things you have experienced on other ships then you will open your mind to new experiences. For example, Celebrity usually has some cooking demonstrations and lectures on sea days. May not sound enthralling but give them a go, we have enjoyed them.

 

Also recommend you give the speciality restaurants on Solstice a go. Murano is lovely with an elegant atmosphere and table side preparation whilst Tuscan is more relaxed with stunning wake views…

 

Sincere best wishes for a wonderful first Celebrity Cruise!

 

 

 

 

[danny8826]

13 hours ago, cangelmd said:

Never been on NCL or HAL, but have sailed the others. Celebrity appeals to people who are looking for a quieter, somewhat more elegant ship and experience. Think cool evening jazz with cocktails in a good New Orleans hotel vs Mardi Gras. There are things to do, but you have to seek them out a bit. The cruise director may do poolside dance lessons on a sea day, but there’s no belly flop competition. Pre-Covid, the crew passenger ratio was higher than any of the other lines you mentioned, that has been problematic in post Covid world, but staffing has improved.

It’s been awhile since m last Royal cruise, but I felt that Celeb Solstice class is more “sea” oriented than atrium oriented and just overall less crowded.

 

Thank you.  

 

12 hours ago, letsgogogo said:

Solstice is lovely. Our very first cruise was solstice to Alaska. One of my most memorable trips. Don’t think twice about doing this. 

 

Wow, that said a lot about Celebrity.  Thank you.  

 

12 hours ago, chemmo said:

Think of Celebrity having a focus on rest and relaxation in elegant surroundings with good food and excellent service…

 

No ongoing announcements of activities, if you want activities they are there but you need to look them up. We often mark up activities on the daily planner and then can’t be bothered to go because we are simply happy sat comfortably somewhere people watching…
 

Shows on Celebrity are less spectacular than on the mega ships but fine. We rarely go now preferring the duo, small group musical events that move from bar to bar during the day and evening.

 

If you board looking for what Celebrity has to offer rather than board looking for things you have experienced on other ships then you will open your mind to new experiences. For example, Celebrity usually has some cooking demonstrations and lectures on sea days. May not sound enthralling but give them a go, we have enjoyed them.

 

Also recommend you give the speciality restaurants on Solstice a go. Murano is lovely with an elegant atmosphere and table side preparation whilst Tuscan is more relaxed with stunning wake views…

 

Sincere best wishes for a wonderful first Celebrity Cruise!

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for your detailed feedback.  I truly appreciate that.

[jelayne]

Particularly on sea days there are games like Guest vs Officers Pool volleyball or Bocce ball.  Putting contests, trivia, dance lessons by some of the production dancers, line dancing at the pool, lectures. 

[Jim_Iain]

Celebrity has so many things planned no one person could attend them all.

 

To get a good idea would suggest downloading the Celebrity App on you phone and then select any ship (preferably the one you want to sail) and select a current sailing.    On the Daily Planner Tab -

 

First Change filter to ALL ACTIVITIES instead of Suggested and then you can scroll by day and time and see everything available

[Denny01]

I’m like @chemmo, get the daily the night prior, or now check the App and mark all I want to do the next day: Trivia; wine tasting; games; dance instructions; great lectures….then I dont go to half of them as I sit and relax or meet people. The Celebrity common areas are great and thats one (of the many) thing(s) i love about Celebrity over other Lines.

 

They do have Great Beyond the Podium lectures in the theater which are Not the “here is where to shop/what ship tours to take in the next port” fake lectures we’d get on so many other Lines. They are nature discussions, or ones on Hollywood or Broadway or such. Once had the US ambassador to Russia. Excellent, knowledgeable talks during the day, on many sea days.

 

den

[Loracpin2]

17 hours ago, danny8826 said:

 

Thank you.  I wonder if all the things you have mentioned are the same fleet wise because I am looking at the Solstice.  

We have also sailed Princess twice, Norwegain twice and RCI 10 times and after sailing almost 30 Celebrity cruises, I can confirm it is a fleet wide policy!!

[danny8826]

11 hours ago, jelayne said:

Particularly on sea days there are games like Guest vs Officers Pool volleyball or Bocce ball.  Putting contests, trivia, dance lessons by some of the production dancers, line dancing at the pool, lectures. 

 

10 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Celebrity has so many things planned no one person could attend them all.

 

To get a good idea would suggest downloading the Celebrity App on you phone and then select any ship (preferably the one you want to sail) and select a current sailing.    On the Daily Planner Tab -

 

First Change filter to ALL ACTIVITIES instead of Suggested and then you can scroll by day and time and see everything available

 

10 hours ago, Denny01 said:

I’m like @chemmo, get the daily the night prior, or now check the App and mark all I want to do the next day: Trivia; wine tasting; games; dance instructions; great lectures….then I dont go to half of them as I sit and relax or meet people. The Celebrity common areas are great and thats one (of the many) thing(s) i love about Celebrity over other Lines.

 

They do have Great Beyond the Podium lectures in the theater which are Not the “here is where to shop/what ship tours to take in the next port” fake lectures we’d get on so many other Lines. They are nature discussions, or ones on Hollywood or Broadway or such. Once had the US ambassador to Russia. Excellent, knowledgeable talks during the day, on many sea days.

 

den

 

Thank you all so much.

This is great information that I can pass on to my travel companion.

If we don't end up sailing this Christmas, definitely we will one day try Celebrity for other parts of the world.  

 

[danny8826]

8 hours ago, Loracpin2 said:

We have also sailed Princess twice, Norwegain twice and RCI 10 times and after sailing almost 30 Celebrity cruises, I can confirm it is a fleet wide policy!!

 

What is your thought about Princess compare to Celebrity?  We just got off from the Majestic Princess in Alaska and we love it.  My travel companion falls in love with Princess and we have another 2 cruises book with Princess.  But we are open to all cruise lines.  

[Denny01]

20 minutes ago, danny8826 said:

 

 

 

Thank you all so much.

This is great information that I can pass on to my travel companion.

If we don't end up sailing this Christmas, definitely we will one day try Celebrity for other parts of the world.  

 

So nice to come back and that those that posted. 
 

den