First time celebrity cruiser. May I ask some questions?

[UKLloyd]

Hi, I hope you are all well.

 

Me and my wife have only ever sailed on Royal carribean and NCL. However have seen a fantastic itinerary on celebrity Solstice in 2025 sailing around Asia. 

However, having never sailed this line, Just want to make sure we won't be completely out of place. 

 

Has anybody sailed these lines and seen any major differences? We sailed last year on Jewel of the seas around Greece, It was the first time we had done a smaller ship (without water slides etc) and really enjoyed the smaller ship. Is the Solstice a similar size? 

 

We will be mid to late thirties when this sailing happens, Doing a little research suggests age range on celebrity will be 50 plus. Not massively concerned about this as I know all sorts of age ranges sail, However curious if this is accurate and if we will be out of place?

 

Any advice for first time celebrity cruisers?

 

Appreciate any help in advance.

[CaroleSS]

Celebrity is geared more to couples, not those with children (although I've seen plenty of children onboard). In that comment, I mean to convey that all ages are welcome and will have a wonderful experience, but also would like you to understand that it is a more "adult" type cruise. 
 

There will not be any belly-flop contests at the pool, but rather croquet on the lawn. There are no slides, ice skating rinks or video arcades, but they do have trivia games, silent disco and evening shows. If you want a party atmosphere, you will be disappointed. If you want to be catered to, lower-key entertainment and outstanding food, you will be very happy.

 

We like the smaller ships as they provide a more attentive crew and allow us to meet people easier than on a large ship. Our children (late 30s) prefer Celebrity as their lives are quite hectic and they enjoy the "calmness" of Celebrity. I don't think you will feel out of place at all.

 

My suggestion.....give Celebrity a try. You might love it, you might not....but at least you will know and will be able to plan moving forward. If the itinerary excites you, you will have a fabulous time!

 

Let us know how it goes!

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Like any trip trip it is what you make ! 
beening in you mid 30’s there a good chance you have a good time with the entertainment staff later at night 😁

our daughter & husband in early 40’s did their 1st cruise on the Apex TA which are know to be an older democratic and they had a blast , with the entertainment staff

I didn’t see them for days , she said they only made to breakfast only five times in two weeks 🤣

Solstice is smaller  than Voyager class ship , a great size 

[hrhdhd]

The Google shows that Jewel of the Seas and Solstice are similar.

 

As far as age, that itinerary leads me to think the passengers will be relatively older, but I wouldn't let that deter me from booking. Take the cruise.

 

[cmaleblanc]

My Girlfriend and I are both in our 30's and while we were the youngest people, I think on our last cruise on the Apex, it worked for us. We work crazy hours at home and we love the slow relaxed atmosphere on Celebrity. We never felt rushed for dinner or events, everything was fantastic from food to the service. We did meet a few people just a little older than us, but for sure in your 30's you'll be the youngest on the cruise. We are adventurous people and go scuba diving and other sports on excursions, but on the boat and sea days we love just sitting around the pool with drinks chatting. If you are ok with forgoing the water slides, and VR games/Arcade, and focus on relaxing on the ship, and leaving crazy adventures to before/after or during shore days, I think you'll like Celebrity. 

[Stealthdog]

Our first cruise was on Celebrity when we were in our 30s.  There were a handful of younger couples like us.  Having been on all 3 lines multiple times, Celebrity will have the oldest average age (it will be higher than 50).  That doesnt bother us, but the entertainment is tailored for an older clientele.  You wont find contemporary entertainment on Celebrity like you get on NCL or Oasis Class Royal ships.  After learning that lesson a few times, we often just skip the shows on Celebrity and go to the Casino or do something else. 

 

The overall feel on the ship feels "classier" though, more refined.  You will encounter much fewer children and it has a much more adult feel.  You may find the quality of the MDR better on Celebrity (food is subjective), but the specialty dining is not as good as NCL.

 

All things being equal (price, itinerary, etc), celebrity would be our choice.  We are going on a B2B on the Odyssey of Seas then Beyond in 9 days, so will be exciting to do a comparison between Quantum Class and Edge Class ships.  I think we will like Quantum Class better than Oasis Class because its more traditional design.

Edited November 24, 2022 by Stealthdog

[Denny01]

The Celebrity cruises you are considering are port-intensive, most with 2 at sea days so the focus wont be too much on the ship itself. But with that said, we started cruising Celebrity in our early 40’s, took our teen kids who now are 30-40’s and love Celebrity also. 

 

Have done RCL and enjoy the smaller ships, but no NCL cruises, so can only compare those. Disliked the large RCL and the smaller RCL’s are good, but I found Celebrity to be a big step up…..for us. It is lower key experience, what I like is I can entertain myself and dont need the ship constantly trying to get me going to some ‘event’. Lots to do, but only one announcement per day, great venues to explore and an outstanding staff. Lots of opportunities to meet other cruisers…..or to focus on yourselves. 

 

Enjoy! We signed up for the Best of Japan cruise on the older Celebrity Millennium in 2025…..good to see others are booking over 2 years ahead! 

 

Yup, I’m addicted. 

 

Den

[cruisestitch]

Here are a couple of screenshots from a recent thread

 

 

[Pinboy]

1 hour ago, UKLloyd said:

1---However have seen a fantastic itinerary on celebrity Solstice in 2025 sailing around Asia.

2---Just want to make sure we won't be completely out of place. 

1---Just book it-- You won't be disappointed-- Great food, excellent service, clean ships.

( LOL--- My only complaint after XX Celebrity cruises was the time our Waiter forgot to bring my 3 shrimp cocktails at the same time. I was going to " complain " to GR , but, didn't need the plate of chocolate strawberries with the standard " Sorry for your inconvenience ,etc " form letter they would send to our stateroom).

2--- No worries about being out of place--- Sure, there will be passengers older than you, but, no big deal. Some of the older generation are more fun ( interesting ) to be with anyway.

( LOL--- Make sure you cheer loudly at the Welcome to Celebrity show when the Captain introduces " Whomever " ( gotta be careful with that politically correct stuff) who are celebrating their 12,000 Celebrity cruise ). It's guaranteed they will be older than you.

 

 

[Snit13]

2 hours ago, hrhdhd said:

The Google shows that Jewel of the Seas and Solstice are similar.

 

As far as age, that itinerary leads me to think the passengers will be relatively older, but I wouldn't let that deter me from booking. Take the cruise.

 

Both NCL and RCL have ships named Jewel.  I have sailed both.  I prefer Celebrity over any other cruise line.  Try it you most likely will love it.

[hrhdhd]

2 hours ago, Snit13 said:

Both NCL and RCL have ships named Jewel.  I have sailed both.  I prefer Celebrity over any other cruise line.  Try it you most likely will love it.

Good to know. I was answering this question from the OP: We sailed last year on Jewel of the seas around Greece, It was the first time we had done a smaller ship (without water slides etc) and really enjoyed the smaller ship. Is the Solstice a similar size? 

[cruisestitch]

3 hours ago, Pinboy said:

1---Just book it-- You won't be disappointed-- Great food, excellent service, clean ships.

( LOL--- My only complaint after XX Celebrity cruises was the time our Waiter forgot to bring my 3 shrimp cocktails at the same time. I was going to " complain " to GR , but, didn't need the plate of chocolate strawberries with the standard " Sorry for your inconvenience ,etc " form letter they would send to our stateroom).

2--- No worries about being out of place--- Sure, there will be passengers older than you, but, no big deal. Some of the older generation are more fun ( interesting ) to be with anyway.

( LOL--- Make sure you cheer loudly at the Welcome to Celebrity show when the Captain introduces " Whomever " ( gotta be careful with that politically correct stuff) who are celebrating their 12,000 Celebrity cruise ). It's guaranteed they will be older than you.

 

 

Unless the Two cruisers who are in their 30’s and are double (maybe triple by now) Zeniths

[rjrpar]

5 hours ago, hrhdhd said:

The Google shows that Jewel of the Seas and Solstice are similar.

 

As far as age, that itinerary leads me to think the passengers will be relatively older, but I wouldn't let that deter me from booking. Take the cruise.

 

I’ve been on both several times and the Solstice is a much nicer ship. It is also larger, about 15 % wider and longer

[chemmo]

We are D+ and E+ so used to both lines…

 

Whilst the focus on RC can be Activities and Entertainment  on Celebrity it is more about Rest and Relaxation…Ideal on an itinerary which is port intensive.

 

Our son in his 30’s and fiancée prefer Celebrity to Royal. Whilst overall they are younger than most guests they invariably meet up with a few other couples of similar age in one or other of the bars…

 

Much nicer food, in our opinion, in all venues  from buffet to speciality. Make sure you look at the ‘Today’ paper to see what music/entertainment is on. Whilst the big shows may not have the bells and whistles of the bigger RC ships Celebrity is very good at providing a good range of music in a variety of lounges. Particularly recommend the Ensemble Lounge. Great venue to enjoy the music and make new friends.

[UKLloyd]

Would just like to thank you all for your responses. 
 

We have decided to go ahead and book, have just out our deposit down now. 
 

So, only 817 days to go 😅

 

Thanks again. 

[bye-seaya]

6 minutes ago, UKLloyd said:

Would just like to thank you all for your responses. 
 

We have decided to go ahead and book, have just out our deposit down now. 
 

So, only 817 days to go 😅

 

Thanks again. 

Nice! We gave our son and son in law a celebrity cruise in a suite on the Edge as a wedding gift. They liked it so much that they booked the Beyond for this spring. And are talking about another booking for 2024. They are in their mid-thirties. 😀

Have a wonderful cruise!

[lobsternight]

We used to sail NCL, but sent my son(12) with his grandmother years ago with Celebrity.  When they returned he told me I just had to try a celebrity cruise.  The whole family just took another Celebrity cruise in August and that son is 21 now.  He had the best cruise ever, met tons of people, hung out with 18 to 70 yr olds. Its what you make of it. Also that was a solstice class ship, new to him, he loved it