Celebrity is not any better than Royal Caribbean

[Static events]

I have been on loads of cruises with various lines but now trend to cruise only with RCCL or Celebrity. 
 

I recently got off the Silhouette and I can say without question it was THE worst cruise I have been on in every aspect.

 

Food was shocking

Entertainment in the main theatre was beyond awful, every show was extremely poor.  
Service in the bars slow 

Room attendant non existent 

Queues getting back onto the ship 

Cruise Director poor

 

Given the higher price point (which I don’t mind paying) I no longer see why I would cruise on Celebrity and would rather opt to cruise with RCCL. 
 

If not RCCL or Celebrity who else should one try?

 

 

 

[davekathy]

I agree from your title. They both are equally as good. Thanks for sharing your opinions. Hopefully you mentioned all your complaints on your PCS. No recommendations from me. 

Edited June 2, 2023 by davekathy

[Lastdance]

22 minutes ago, Static events said:

I have been on loads of cruises with various lines but now trend to cruise only with RCCL or Celebrity. 
 

I recently got off the Silhouette and I can say without question it was THE worst cruise I have been on in every aspect.

 

Food was shocking

Entertainment in the main theatre was beyond awful, every show was extremely poor.  
Service in the bars slow 

Room attendant non existent 

Queues getting back onto the ship 

Cruise Director poor

 

Given the higher price point (which I don’t mind paying) I no longer see why I would cruise on Celebrity and would rather opt to cruise with RCCL. 
 

If not RCCL or Celebrity who else should one try?

 

 

 

I say...do your research and then prioritize and choose one!  Have you tried E-class on Celebrity?  I have been on all three and enjoyed each one, but Beyond’s TA and Europe cruises were superb+.  Of course, these were a higher price than Silly. 

Edited June 2, 2023 by Lastdance

[Provence55always]

Sounds like the cruise from hell……but can you elaborate or give examples where you feel Celebrity fell down so badly on all your expectations.

[Static events]

13 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

I say...do your research and then prioritize and choose one!  Have you tried E-class on Celebrity?  I have been on all three and enjoyed each one, but Beyond’s TA and Europe cruises were superb+.  Of course, these were a higher price than Silly. 

I haven’t and desperate to try but I am now worried it won’t be worth the money. 

Edited June 2, 2023 by Static events

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, Static events said:

I have been on loads of cruises with various lines but now trend to cruise only with RCCL or Celebrity. 
 

I recently got off the Silhouette and I can say without question it was THE worst cruise I have been on in every aspect.

 

Food was shocking

Entertainment in the main theatre was beyond awful, every show was extremely poor.  
Service in the bars slow 

Room attendant non existent 

Queues getting back onto the ship 

Cruise Director poor

 

Given the higher price point (which I don’t mind paying) I no longer see why I would cruise on Celebrity and would rather opt to cruise with RCCL. 
 

If not RCCL or Celebrity who else should one try?

 

 

 

 

You should try Virgin, great food and entertainment

[mrgabriel]

We were on Silhouette for the TransAtlantic ending just 4 weeks ago and our experience was so dramatically different from yours. 🤷‍♂️

 

But what I really want to comment on is whether Celebrity is "better" than Royal Caribbean. For us, it's apples to oranges. We sailed exclusively on RCI for several years and had great experiences, but we don't sail with kids or teens and found it more boisterous than we wanted so we moved to Celebrity. More sedate experience. I wouldn't say the food was "better" or entertainment "better" - just different. 

[wanderlust58]

We were also on the Silhouette TA and I'm in the disappointed camp.  In Blu, the same old menu was the same old, but the quality didn't seem as good.  We don't usually do shows, but the one we went to was, at best, only average.  Our cabin attendant was dedicated, although hard to find and slow to respond to requests.I attributed that to overwork.  I recall having a cabin steward and a deputy; when did that change?  The Persian Garden was noisy despite requests to staff to ask patrons to refrain from loud, continuous conversations.  What bothered me was the disappearance of multiple pandemic inspired hand sanitizer locations.  The need will always be there, and not just in the oceanview cafe.  Same thing on toilet seat covers in the public areas.  Not a huge deal, but I'd rather see them cut costs elsewhere. Check-in in Miami was a fiasco.  We were told to show up at 0930.  We did and waited in the sun in an hour-long line, and we were supposed to be the first boarding group.   (Up side, though we met a really nice couple in the line and ended up having dinner with them often.)  We've got a few more booked  -- a TA in November and  a TP, Sydney to Honolulu and Honolulu-Vancouver the next 10 months.  The jury is still out on the TP and Honolulu-Vancouver.  Regardless, I'll be shopping for a new line in the near future.  Too bad too, we just became Elite Plus.. 

[phoenix_dream]

I don't even know how to respond to posts like this.   I am sorry the OP experienced a cruise they felt was very lacking.  It was their cruise and their opinion of their experience.

 

All I can say is that I have sailed a lot since re-start - don't know the exact number but at least a dozen including 6 so far this year alone - in cabins from Aqua to suites on a variety of Celebrity ships, M, E, and S class.  Of all those cruises only one was somewhat below par, and far from horrible.  So from my perspective, if this cruise really was as bad as advertised, I feel it was an exception.  

[Static events]

33 minutes ago, wanderlust58 said:

We were also on the Silhouette TA and I'm in the disappointed camp.  In Blu, the same old menu was the same old, but the quality didn't seem as good.  We don't usually do shows, but the one we went to was, at best, only average.  Our cabin attendant was dedicated, although hard to find and slow to respond to requests.I attributed that to overwork.  I recall having a cabin steward and a deputy; when did that change?  The Persian Garden was noisy despite requests to staff to ask patrons to refrain from loud, continuous conversations.  What bothered me was the disappearance of multiple pandemic inspired hand sanitizer locations.  The need will always be there, and not just in the oceanview cafe.  Same thing on toilet seat covers in the public areas.  Not a huge deal, but I'd rather see them cut costs elsewhere. Check-in in Miami was a fiasco.  We were told to show up at 0930.  We did and waited in the sun in an hour-long line, and we were supposed to be the first boarding group.   (Up side, though we met a really nice couple in the line and ended up having dinner with them often.)  We've got a few more booked  -- a TA in November and  a TP, Sydney to Honolulu and Honolulu-Vancouver the next 10 months.  The jury is still out on the TP and Honolulu-Vancouver.  Regardless, I'll be shopping for a new line in the near future.  Too bad too, we just became Elite Plus.. 

 

same here Elite plus but I will seriously think twice going with Celebrity again…

[basenji56]

Try other lines. Loyalty is overrated. 
 

I sail on Celebrity, Royal, Oceania and Viking Ocean. Have a cruise booked on Virgin over Christmas. 
 

Have tried Princess but found the food to be mediocre (except for the outstanding pizza)

 

 

[islabahia]

There were so many problems with our suite (TV not working for 24 hours, air conditioner leak late at night necessitating a move to another suite (jetted tub did not work, unable to adjust room temperatures (bedroom warm, living area cold).  Butler was sub par to say the least.  Many of these issues were mentioned in our cruise survey.  It was so bad that before we disembarked, we were given several FCC’s as “an apology”.  Have already cancelled an upcoming December 23 cruise and will use the FCC’s next December on what will be our final X cruise.  Next for us is Regent or Oceania.  

[Gracie115]

3 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

Try other lines. Loyalty is overrated. 
 

I sail on Celebrity, Royal, Oceania and Viking Ocean. Have a cruise booked on Virgin over Christmas. 
 

Have tried Princess but found the food to be mediocre (except for the outstanding pizza)

 

 

 

We've been on one Princess since the restart and found the food surprisingly good.  Our next cruise is on Princess too..... after 35 or so on Celebrity

[basenji56]

3 minutes ago, islabahia said:

There were so many problems with our suite (TV not working for 24 hours, air conditioner leak late at night necessitating a move to another suite (jetted tub did not work, unable to adjust room temperatures (bedroom warm, living area cold).  Butler was sub par to say the least.  Many of these issues were mentioned in our cruise survey.  It was so bad that before we disembarked, we were given several FCC’s as “an apology”.  Have already cancelled an upcoming December 23 cruise and will use the FCC’s next December on what will be our final X cruise.  Next for us is Regent or Oceania.  

When you pay those suite prices, I don’t blame you for being upset. I think you will enjoy Oceania. 

[basenji56]

1 minute ago, Gracie115 said:

 

We've been on one Princess since the restart and found the food surprisingly good.  Our next cruise is on Princess too..... after 35 or so on Celebrity

Maybe they have improved it! I remember the buffet was particularly disappointing. a lot of jello. 

[prmssk]

@Static events I'm sorry you had such a terrible cruise.  Even with all that did not go well, I hope you found ways to enjoy your vacation.

 

One thing I'm seeing across all the lines we have sailed since the restart is inconsistency.  So what you experienced on the Silhouette is not necessarily what you would experience on a different Celebrity ship with a different crew and chef.  The same is true for RCCL.  Overall, I personally still think Celebrity is a noticeable step above RCCL (with the exception of entertainment on RCCL's larger ships - Celebrity can't compete with the entertainment budget for a large ship like that) but that doesn't mean any individual sailing on Celebrity will be when noticeably better when comparing to another individual sailing on RCCL.

 

I suspect the inconsistencies is because of the sheer number of inexperienced crew (a lot of experienced crew found other jobs during the pandemic) and the number of vacancies still to be filled.  And I'm not sure suppliers on land are in any better position.  

[tserface]

It used to be that Celebrity was special.  You got sparkling wine when embarking, the service was more over the top, the food was slightly better, and the decor was classier.  These days they are pretty equal.  There are fewer kids on Celebrity so if you like cruising without kids or without rock climbing walls, etc. you may say Celebrity is better.  But, if you like all those things you'll say RCL is better.  We still like both, but it's not like it used to be.  They are cheaping out in amenities, raising the gratuities and specialty restaurant rates, dropping funs stuff like some of the games and bingo, and the talent isn't as good as it used to be.  They are both now charging for extra lobster.

I think they are both good for different kinds of cruises and still enjoy them, but neither is what they used to be.

[mom says]

Personally, I doubt that I would write off an entire cruise line based on a single sub par experience on one ship. And based on threads I've seen on the different forums post pandemic, complaints about perceived drops in quality seem to be similar nearly across the board. But you do you: if you think RCCL will give you the experience you want, then do that.

[Guest 4-2-N-8]

Maybe the plan is for the company to be able to say "RCL is as good as Celebrity."

 

It's a subversive, immersive, and downright conversive strategy. That'll win 'em over!*

 

*Except the chair hogs.

[cruiserchuck]

3 hours ago, Static events said:

Room attendant non existent 

 

So your room was never cleaned?  If it was cleaned, then your room attendant was existent.  I generally prefer it when the room attendant does not interfere with our schedule, and cleans the room when we are out.

Edited June 2, 2023 by cruiserchuck

[neverlaysup]

I actually find Celebrity to be much cheaper when I book All Included versus RCL and purchasing the items separate. That being said, different strokes for different folks. 

 

[Lastdance]

2 hours ago, wanderlust58 said:

We were also on the Silhouette TA and I'm in the disappointed camp.  In Blu, the same old menu was the same old, but the quality didn't seem as good.  We don't usually do shows, but the one we went to was, at best, only average.  Our cabin attendant was dedicated, although hard to find and slow to respond to requests.I attributed that to overwork.  I recall having a cabin steward and a deputy; when did that change?  The Persian Garden was noisy despite requests to staff to ask patrons to refrain from loud, continuous conversations.  What bothered me was the disappearance of multiple pandemic inspired hand sanitizer locations.  The need will always be there, and not just in the oceanview cafe.  Same thing on toilet seat covers in the public areas.  Not a huge deal, but I'd rather see them cut costs elsewhere. Check-in in Miami was a fiasco.  We were told to show up at 0930.  We did and waited in the sun in an hour-long line, and we were supposed to be the first boarding group.   (Up side, though we met a really nice couple in the line and ended up having dinner with them often.)  We've got a few more booked  -- a TA in November and  a TP, Sydney to Honolulu and Honolulu-Vancouver the next 10 months.  The jury is still out on the TP and Honolulu-Vancouver.  Regardless, I'll be shopping for a new line in the near future.  Too bad too, we just became Elite Plus.. 

I canceled our TP, but am just doing the Hawaii to Vancouver; the flight and price is just too much.  Also, I booked a TA with Oceania in a suite, on a new ship.  The price on a suite, along with disembarking in Portugal was perfect for us wanting to stay in Portugal after the cruise.  We are Elite+ so hear you loud and clear on that.  It seems like quite a few upset people with Silly, which is so unfortunate!  I hope you find what you are looking for to move forward!

[coffeebean]

3 hours ago, mrgabriel said:

We were on Silhouette for the TransAtlantic ending just 4 weeks ago and our experience was so dramatically different from yours. 🤷‍♂️

 

But what I really want to comment on is whether Celebrity is "better" than Royal Caribbean. For us, it's apples to oranges. We sailed exclusively on RCI for several years and had great experiences, but we don't sail with kids or teens and found it more boisterous than we wanted so we moved to Celebrity. More sedate experience. I wouldn't say the food was "better" or entertainment "better" - just different. 

One word comes to mind when describing Celebrity (Beyond).......Elegant. Much more so than any RCCL ship I have experienced.

[NMTraveller]

I would try Virgin or Oceania.  Virgin beats Celebrity on the food reviews.

[jaywoods678]

5 hours ago, Static events said:

I have been on loads of cruises with various lines but now trend to cruise only with RCCL or Celebrity. 
 

I recently got off the Silhouette and I can say without question it was THE worst cruise I have been on in every aspect.

 

Food was shocking

Entertainment in the main theatre was beyond awful, every show was extremely poor.  
Service in the bars slow 

Room attendant non existent 

Queues getting back onto the ship 

Cruise Director poor

 

Given the higher price point (which I don’t mind paying) I no longer see why I would cruise on Celebrity and would rather opt to cruise with RCCL. 
 

If not RCCL or Celebrity who else should one try?

 

 

 

I completely agree.