Celebrity at a crossroads

[basenji56]

2 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

When we compare Celebrity with Princess, it comes down to itineraries with Princess coming out ahead every time when we’re looking for longer more unique 3-5+ week itineraries. Celebrity wins most of the time with transoceanic and shorter B2B Caribbean cruises.

 

But entertainment onboard is pretty much the same with quality productions shows, fun interactive game shows, multiple trivias, good food, and affordable cabins, except for maybe Celebrity’s suite prices, which have recently gotten a little pricey.

You are probably right about itineraries 

 

I thought Princess had better shows

 

But I thought the Princess buffet was very disappointing and their MDR food not up to Celebrity standards 

 

However, all of this is subjective 

[catgirl411]

6 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

You are probably right about itineraries 

 

I thought Princess had better shows

 

But I thought the Princess buffet was very disappointing and their MDR food not up to Celebrity standards 

 

However, all of this is subjective 

Agree…in Dec we had some real clunkers in the MDr on Princess(inedible short rib for eg). The buffet was quite repetitive as well. 

[Ken the cruiser]

13 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

You are probably right about itineraries 

 

I thought Princess had better shows

 

But I thought the Princess buffet was very disappointing and their MDR food not up to Celebrity standards 

 

However, all of this is subjective 

I have to admit we now only book Reserve Collection (formerly Club Class) cabins or Vista Suites on Princess and Aqua or Sky Suite cabins on Celebrity, and usually only dine in the buffets at lunch on port days. We like the anytime dining options those categories offer, plus the food is usually pretty tasty.
 

But at the same time we are addicted to cruising, so for us it’s the whole package. Heck, if the itinerary is awesome, we’ll even book an NCL cruise like the 38-day Africa B2B (see the Live From thread in my below signature area) we went on last November in an aft-facing Club Balcony! 😁

[Loracpin2]

5 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

IMHO if you’re interested in what Oceania has to offer, book a 10 day cruise on one of their O class ships and see how you like it. We had a great time on our first cruise on the Riviera in the Caribbean in a Concierge veranda cabin!

We've also booked both Riviera Caribbean & Marina in Concierge veranda's for . Great cruising experiences.

[jonthomas]

10 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Oceanic 15 night TA Rome to Miami Nov 2023  basic rate balcony is $346 CAD per night for one person , no alcohol 

Constellation 16 night TA Rome to FLL Nov 2023 , Always included  balcony , is $136 CAD per night for one person , we are booked on this one 

Is Oceanic $200 a night better ? 

If quality of food, more people, kids on board, no incentives to do activities, paying for shuttles in every port etc. do not matter then go for C....forgot to mention C has a class oriented atmosphere without any class...

[jonthomas]

12 hours ago, chamima said:

 

 

Question for all of those who have switched to O or other more upscale cruise lines. My husband is a vegan and I am a vegetarian who eats fish but not shellfish. So fabulous cuts of beef or large lobster tails don't do anything for us.

We cruise in Aqua on Celebrity and find that in Blu our needs are always taken care of.

Does anyone know how O accommodates special diets like ours?

Plenty of veg dishes...I don't eat shelfish...no lobster, no shrimp...

 

When we did 3 O cruises this year, I complained that there was too much sea food...having spent almost 2 weeks on a Viking ship, I will now be overjoyed to be back on an O ship again. The only good thing about V ship, is that I have lost weight instead of putting on 10 pounds on O....yes the food is that good, but you wouldn't know it until you try another line.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, jonthomas said:

12 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Oceanic 15 night TA Rome to Miami Nov 2023  basic rate balcony is $346 CAD per night for one person , no alcohol 

Constellation 16 night TA Rome to FLL Nov 2023 , Always included  balcony , is $136 CAD per night for one person , we are booked on this one 

Is Oceanic $200 a night better ? 

If quality of food, more people, kids on board, no incentives to do activities, paying for shuttles in every port etc. do not matter then go for C....forgot to mention C has a class oriented atmosphere without any class...

All the cruises we have been on, there are usually less than 20 children on the ship, not including the ones at the Bars 😁

I cannot remember the last time I paid for a port shuttle 
you need “incentives to do activities”, that is just weird , what does that even mean 🤔😳

On our up coming TA , there is over 20 people that we are cruising with from all over the North America, that we meet on a TA 10 years ago , talking with them for 2 weeks is really the only activity we need 

Since all of our friend also cruise balcony and lower we really don’t notice a class difference, the only time when a partner was quarantined, people in suites were treated better 

We have been on smaller ships where it felt more crowded than a S&M class ship 

if you like “O” better why are you on the Celebrity section ? 
Is it to tell people you like to spend more money for a cruise ? I don’t get it 🤔

 

 

 

Edited April 2, 2023 by Ex-Airbalancer

[ldubs]

4 hours ago, jonthomas said:

14 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Oceanic 15 night TA Rome to Miami Nov 2023  basic rate balcony is $346 CAD per night for one person , no alcohol 

Constellation 16 night TA Rome to FLL Nov 2023 , Always included  balcony , is $136 CAD per night for one person , we are booked on this one 

Is Oceanic $200 a night better ? 

If quality of food, more people, kids on board, no incentives to do activities, paying for shuttles in every port etc. do not matter then go for C....forgot to mention C has a class oriented atmosphere without any class...

 

I hear the quality of food is better, but also read many who say not much different. I have to suspect it is better. 

 

I like ships with 2500 - 3000 passengers.   I'm not partial to the mega ships nor to the small ships. 

 

I am a family man and have no issue being around families including children.  

 

The comment about incentives to do activities has me baffled too.  

 

Silly to think your shuttles are free when you know the cost is covered by the 2.5x higher fare paid.  

 

As far as "without any class" some comments speak for themselves.  

 

[catgirl411]

It really is a matter of personal preference. One of the things we like about O is that it seems less likely to attract large groups. There are more couples which is nice if you are also travelling as a couple. It seems easier to meet people for casual chat. People travelling in large groups (often families) create their own mini-cruise which is great for them but not for others. The last Princess cruise we were on had a multi-generational family of 26, celebrating an anniversary. Lovely people but when they arrived en mass to Crooners each night it was difficult for others to enjoy the music. It became their party and the rest of us were crashing it.

[jonthomas]

Those that have done O, understand what I mean by incentives....the rest probably wouldn't appreciate them as on this V ship, people prefer ro do nothing but drink all day.

 

Sail an O ship, then you can make an informed decision or criticism.

If you like to sail with a large family on a large ship, with kids, definitely stay away from O.

I can't value criticisms of O from those who have never sailed on one of their ships.

[C4HCG]

17 hours ago, basenji56 said:

Smaller ships. More intimate experience. Beautiful ships. Fewer passengers. Less crowds. 

Thank you, rules Oceania out for us then, like the size of the Solstice ships, wouldn’t want to sail in smaller ones and have no issue with crowds of passengers.

[basenji56]

6 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

Thank you, rules Oceania out for us then, like the size of the Solstice ships, wouldn’t want to sail in smaller ones and have no issue with crowds of passengers.

Yes, Celebrity sounds like a better fit.  I am constantly telling people--there are a lot of cruise lines.  No one brand works for everyone.  Try different ships--don't be blinded by "loyalty programs."

 

[jagoffee]

On 3/20/2023 at 4:24 PM, goofysmom99 said:

I cruised many, many years to reach zenith on Celebrity and have four future cruises, all booked onboard so only $100 deposit each.  I choose Concierge cabins for location, however, I'm becoming disenchanted about X's prices.  I would love to book a higher level cabin so I could dine somewhere other than MDR and OVC.  Checked the prices for next year's 13-night Silhouette TA out of Barcelona.  My C2 cabin solo is $2942; A2 $5850; S2 $10134.  Factoring in the gratuities I'd pay with C2, it would cost me $2674 more (+$205/night) to eat in Blu and $7205 more (+$554/night) to eat in Luminae.  Blu and Luminae have always been lovely, but not that lovely.  So I checked Silversea (all suites).  A veranda (separate shower and tub) all-in for 14-night TA would be $5813.  That's less than Blu and includes butler, minibar, bevs, wifi (not the premium, though), self-serve laundry, excursions, and specialty restaurants (probably left something out).  Plus ALL areas of the ship are accessible to all pax, including forward lounge.  Even with my free wifi and bev, the C2 (MDR) just isn't worth the price to me.  I'm willing to pay more for a better experience but Blu @ $450/night doesn't compare to Silversea's better cabin and benefits @$415/night.  Sooooo, it saddens me to say that I'm jumping ship from X to Silversea next year.  

 

BTW, on one of my February Summit cruises, I did see a younger demographic.  I did notice a few knee-walking drunks but they were happy and harmless.  My favorite moment was watching a couple wearing bathing suits (no coverup) walk through Rendezvous to line up for dinner in MDR the first night....and then stroll back through the Rendezvous after being turned away.  They both stood in front of my chair to dance to the music and I saw things burned into my brain (they boogied there for the rest of the set - I moved).  That was a personal first for me.

Are you prices you posted above in your examples include the solo supplement?

[ldubs]

On 4/2/2023 at 6:18 AM, catgirl411 said:

It really is a matter of personal preference. One of the things we like about O is that it seems less likely to attract large groups. There are more couples which is nice if you are also travelling as a couple. It seems easier to meet people for casual chat. People travelling in large groups (often families) create their own mini-cruise which is great for them but not for others. The last Princess cruise we were on had a multi-generational family of 26, celebrating an anniversary. Lovely people but when they arrived en mass to Crooners each night it was difficult for others to enjoy the music. It became their party and the rest of us were crashing it.

 

 

Interesting and a valid concern, especially in a place like Crooners.   If you ever encounter our family group, you would be engaged and made to feel more than welcome to join in (I guess we are just nosey, haha).  

[scubagal44]

On 4/1/2023 at 4:14 PM, basenji56 said:

I am interested in hearing from people who have sailed on Virgin Voyages and how the food compares to Celebrity and Oceania.

 

 

The included food on VV is much better than the included food on X.  VV's included restaurants are as good as, and maybe slightly better than, the specialty restaurants on S-class.  I haven't been on any E-class ships so I can't comment on those.  Also haven't been on Oceania.

 

On my last X sailing we got a specialty restaurant package and only ate in the MDR once on a 10 nighter, so I think I got a good tour of X's specialty offerings and can accurately make this comparison. Service, both in the restaurants and in general, was better on X. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

44 minutes ago, scubagal44 said:

 

The included food on VV is much better than the included food on X.  VV's included restaurants are as good as, and maybe slightly better than, the specialty restaurants on S-class.  I haven't been on any E-class ships so I can't comment on those.  Also haven't been on Oceania.

 

On my last X sailing we got a specialty restaurant package and only ate in the MDR once on a 10 nighter, so I think I got a good tour of X's specialty offerings and can accurately make this comparison. Service, both in the restaurants and in general, was better on X. 

 

And we should add VV has much greater food selection and is available during longer hours

[markeb]

1 hour ago, scubagal44 said:

The included food on VV is much better than the included food on X.

 

Can you expand on that? I've always found cruise ship food to be "perfectly adequate". Sometimes really good, but mostly satisfactory. That includes Celebrity. But I keep hearing the food on pick-a-line, mostly recently Oceania or now VV, is better without explanation. We're open to a smaller ship, premium cruise but if "better" is simply more of things that aren't horribly important to me (prime rib and lobster, for instance) or huge portion sizes then it's a difference that makes no difference. Thanks.

[scubagal44]

40 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

Can you expand on that? I've always found cruise ship food to be "perfectly adequate". Sometimes really good, but mostly satisfactory. That includes Celebrity. But I keep hearing the food on pick-a-line, mostly recently Oceania or now VV, is better without explanation. We're open to a smaller ship, premium cruise but if "better" is simply more of things that aren't horribly important to me (prime rib and lobster, for instance) or huge portion sizes then it's a difference that makes no difference. Thanks.

 

Sure!  I'm a foodie and for me "better" in this discussion means more refined, higher quality, better ingredients, tastier recipes.  Yes, I found the MDR on Celebrity to be "perfectly adequate," but there was nothing that made me think "wow, this is truly excellent and I'd love to have it again."  On VV, the vast majority of things I ate made me think WOW and I couldn't wait to have them again.  Melt in your mouth, explosions of flavors, clever ingredient pairings, all cooked to perfection.  IDK, I think of it like a steak from the OVC or MDR might be "perfectly adequate," but it's always going to be better at Murano.  And on VV, the Murano equivalent steakhouse is included to all passengers at no extra cost.

 

For the record, I had no prime rib or lobster. 😆

[basenji56]

6 minutes ago, scubagal44 said:

 

Sure!  I'm a foodie and for me "better" in this discussion means more refined, higher quality, better ingredients, tastier recipes.  Yes, I found the MDR on Celebrity to be "perfectly adequate," but there was nothing that made me think "wow, this is truly excellent and I'd love to have it again."  On VV, the vast majority of things I ate made me think WOW and I couldn't wait to have them again.  Melt in your mouth, explosions of flavors, clever ingredient pairings, all cooked to perfection.  IDK, I think of it like a steak from the OVC or MDR might be "perfectly adequate," but it's always going to be better at Murano.  And on VV, the Murano equivalent steakhouse is included to all passengers at no extra cost.

 

For the record, I had no prime rib or lobster. 😆

Competition is always good.  Glad to know the food was so tasty.  If Celebrity loses customers to VV, they will need to upgrade its food.

 

[catgirl411]

15 minutes ago, scubagal44 said:

 

Sure!  I'm a foodie and for me "better" in this discussion means more refined, higher quality, better ingredients, tastier recipes.  Yes, I found the MDR on Celebrity to be "perfectly adequate," but there was nothing that made me think "wow, this is truly excellent and I'd love to have it again."  On VV, the vast majority of things I ate made me think WOW and I couldn't wait to have them again.  Melt in your mouth, explosions of flavors, clever ingredient pairings, all cooked to perfection.  IDK, I think of it like a steak from the OVC or MDR might be "perfectly adequate," but it's always going to be better at Murano.  And on VV, the Murano equivalent steakhouse is included to all passengers at no extra cost.

 

For the record, I had no prime rib or lobster. 😆

And I am actually much happier with smaller, well prepared and presented portions and for me Oceania meets that criteria (I haven’t been on VV)

Edited April 3, 2023 by catgirl411

[basenji56]

18 minutes ago, catgirl411 said:

And I am actually much happier with smaller, well prepared and presented portions and for me Oceania meets that criteria (I haven’t been on VV)

Oceania is also a competitor to Celebrity. Albeit a much more expensive competitor compared to VV. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

19 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

Oceania is also a competitor to Celebrity. Albeit a much more expensive competitor compared to VV. 

When I price out VV it is much more expensive than Celebrity 

[basenji56]

16 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

When I price out VV it is much more expensive than Celebrity 

It’s been hard to compare because until recently, VV didn’t have seven day sailings. 
 

When I compared recently, the prices were fairly comparable when you consider that Virgin includes wifi and grats. Nothing like the price difference between Celebrity verandas and Oceania verandas. 

[mickeysgal]

Of all the things posted, I truly don’t understand the fried foods comment. How is seeing others eat fried foods a negative to one’s overall cruise experience? 

[basenji56]

53 minutes ago, mickeysgal said:

Of all the things posted, I truly don’t understand the fried foods comment. How is seeing others eat fried foods a negative to one’s overall cruise experience? 

I love their fish and chips.