How does Carnival compare to Celebrity?

[sparks1093]

38 minutes ago, crzndeb said:

I am going on my first Celebrity cruise next May. Had to cancel a couple, so it’s a swap, so I don’t lose deposits. I wanted something close to home, so just doing the 6 night to Alaska on the Edge. Looking forward to that ship. I get benefits from my sailings on Royal, so I’m sure I will enjoy it. Least of my concerns are snootiness.

I have run across several, what I call, “ugly Diamonds” on Carnival, so it’s definitely not a brand trait. LOL

It certainly isn't an overarching concern, that's for sure. After all, you usually see those things you are expecting to see so I don't want to focus on anything other than having a great cruise with my sweetie.

[CruizinSusan70]

8 hours ago, jsglow said:

You've just answered your own question. Celebrity and Princess seem like a much better fit for your cruising style.  Not that there isn't significant overlap across all brands, and while I can't speak directly to Celebrity, I do know and appreciate the difference between Carnival and Princess. 

And this was the exact reason I mentioned the Majestic Princess west coast cruise as an option.  We're in her right now for 14 days in Alaska and it's been great.

[vswan]

Another option to consider is HAL. Took an 18 day round trip out of Vancouver to Hawaii and it was wonderful. Definitely a different vibe than Carnival, but if partying is not important to you something to consider. They had hula and ukalele lessons, it was on the Konsingdam which is one of their newer ships, but much smaller than some of the giants from some other lines.

[Octavias]

9 hours ago, vswan said:

Another option to consider is HAL. Took an 18 day round trip out of Vancouver to Hawaii and it was wonderful. Definitely a different vibe than Carnival, but if partying is not important to you something to consider. They had hula and ukalele lessons, it was on the Konsingdam which is one of their newer ships, but much smaller than some of the giants from some other lines.

HAL is Holland America line? 

[vswan]

Just now, Octavias said:

HAL is Holland America line? 

Yes.

[jsglow]

9 hours ago, vswan said:

Another option to consider is HAL. Took an 18 day round trip out of Vancouver to Hawaii and it was wonderful. Definitely a different vibe than Carnival, but if partying is not important to you something to consider. They had hula and ukalele lessons, it was on the Konsingdam which is one of their newer ships, but much smaller than some of the giants from some other lines.

We are seriously considering HAL. Their focus is on destinations, not ships themselves. Completely different from RCCL for instance.  And we do sense that they've purposefully moved away from the 'God's waiting room' clientele base with their emphasis on live music. As you said, Konsindam is only 99,000 tons; big for them but small by industry standards these days.  

[Aplmac]

Not all Carnival cruises are wild and debauched.

 

We've done 11 Carnival cruises, most of them boarding

at either Barbados, or at Old San Juan PR

to do the Southern Caribbean cruise..

 

but we also  did two Carnival Glory "Canada Cruises"

out of Manhattan NYC -and the difference in vibe-on-board

was sobering: these were no Southern Caribbean cruises

with fiery Puerto Ricans on board! ...It was borderline dull

but at least the itin. was interesting. Boston is nice!

 

That first Canada Cruise had so many scooters on board

I felt like I was still on Times Square:

our second Canada Cruise had very few scooters.

 

So it seems like

departure point and itinerary have significant bearing

on what your cruise might be like.

 

[kwokpot]

42 minutes ago, Aplmac said:

Not all Carnival cruises are wild and debauched.

 

We've done 11 Carnival cruises, most of them boarding

at either Barbados, or at Old San Juan PR

to do the Southern Caribbean cruise..

 

but we also  did two Carnival Glory "Canada Cruises"

out of Manhattan NYC -and the difference in vibe-on-board

was sobering: these were no Southern Caribbean cruises

with fiery Puerto Ricans on board! ...It was borderline dull

but at least the itin. was interesting. Boston is nice!

 

That first Canada Cruise had so many scooters on board

I felt like I was still on Times Square:

our second Canada Cruise had very few scooters.

 

So it seems like

departure point and itinerary have significant bearing

on what your cruise might be like.

 

For the OP the issue isn't just the on board experience but probably more important is the ship's ambiance and amenities of the cabin. If you notice the OP is sailing in a suite on one of Celebrity's newest and most upscale ships. The suite they are staying in comes with lots of additional amenities such as a Butler, a private lounge with free drinks, a private sundeck, a private dining room. These amenities aren't available when booking a suite cabin on even the newest Carnival ship, never mind one of the oldest Carnival ships the OP is considering. These amenities and a luxury experience is what the OP states are important factors for them. 

[marci4tony]

I have been on both.  

One and done with Celebrity - not that they offer a lesser quality product than Carnival - but the fact that they attract a "different" crowd and fail to MANAGE said "different" crowd.  So for me - I will take drunk/unruly kids all day long.  

Carnival is my choice.

[lazydayz]

6 hours ago, marci4tony said:

I have been on both.  

One and done with Celebrity - not that they offer a lesser quality product than Carnival - but the fact that they attract a "different" crowd and fail to MANAGE said "different" crowd.  So for me - I will take drunk/unruly kids all day long.  

Carnival is my choice.

My hubby agrees with you! It was one and done on Celebrity for him.   In contrast, we have sailed over 30 times with both Carnival and Royal and four with HAL.  While the Celebrity ship was beautiful, it was too boring for us.  As to the OP, I agree with the Princess recommendation.  Sounds more like what they are looking for.  

[CruizinSusan70]

1 hour ago, lazydayz said:

My hubby agrees with you! It was one and done on Celebrity for him.   In contrast, we have sailed over 30 times with both Carnival and Royal and four with HAL.  While the Celebrity ship was beautiful, it was too boring for us.  As to the OP, I agree with the Princess recommendation.  Sounds more like what they are looking for.  

Your lone Celebrity cruise was more boring than the 4 you took on HAL? It obviously wasn't on one of the Edge Class ships.  

[lazydayz]

1 minute ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Your lone Celebrity cruise was more boring than the 4 you took on HAL? It obviously wasn't on one of the Edge Class ships.  

it was the Silhouette and was fairly new at the time.  Food was great and we enjoyed the bars.  But just not enough to do.  Our cruises on the Eurodam were actually a lot more fun. But we prefer Carnival or Royal to either Celebrity or Holland. 

[CruizinSusan70]

10 minutes ago, lazydayz said:

it was the Silhouette and was fairly new at the time.  Food was great and we enjoyed the bars.  But just not enough to do.  Our cruises on the Eurodam were actually a lot more fun. But we prefer Carnival or Royal to either Celebrity or Holland. 

Never cruised on those dam ships yet.  But at only 99.5 K tons, they are much smaller than the new builds we primarily cruise on. 140+ K tons on the Edge, Apex, Prima, Celebration, Mardi Gras, Discovery Princess.  And future bookings on Beyond, Wonder OTS, Enchanted Princess, & Sun Princess.

[cruisinfamily7609]

My husband and I sailed Celebrity when we were young. I think we were just about 30. It was a lovely, but very quiet experience compared to Royal Caribbean (keep in mind this was 22 years ago, so yes now I’m in the 50+ crowd. LOL) At the time, we could see why people loved Celebrity, but we were still craving a little more nightlife. Nowadays, we are more than ready for peace and quiet when we cruise alone. That said, we are going on a cruise a week from today and will be going with our three adult kids...and we’re on Carnival. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun and a cruise I hope to remember for a very long time. 🙂

 

Best of luck - I think you’ll figure out what will work best for you!  

[Vagabond Knight]

We have sailed both Celebrity and Carnival.  There IS Bingo on Celebrity ships.  There ARE deck parties with bands and dancing, though perhaps not as often as on Carnival does them?  There IS night life... "Silent Disco" is a blast!  Yes, some of the older crowd doesn't stay up late for the dance bands, but the younger crowd parties late.  Like it or dislike it, there are far fewer kids on Celebrity.  There's a kids club and a teen club, but not as many kids/teens in them.  The kids we've seen on Celebrity have been surprisingly well behaved. 

 

In general, people dress more nicely for dinner and in the evening on Celebrity and honestly, even throughout the day.  There are exceptions of course, but I've never seen someone on Celebrity show up to the MDR in sweats on "Chic Night" like I did on Carnival. You will likely feel like the atmosphere is a bit more elegant and the service is better on Celebrity, and the MDR food and buffet are somewhat better.  Note that there is a lot of complaining on the Celebrity forum about post-Covid downgrades, but I'm seeing that on just about every cruise line forum these days (we're booked on four different cruise lines over the next year, so I've been looking around).   

 

We thought the "Chef's Table" on Carnival was much better, from food, to presentation, to service, than it was on Celebrity.  Celebrity has a mix of entertainment that ranges from rock/dance to classical style string trios (and you learn which lounge to visit for which type of music).   At least on the smaller Celebrity ships, one thing I find lacking that I enjoyed on Carnival is a piano bar.  Also missing from Celebrity are kitschy types of entertainment such as a hairy chest contest and bellyflop contest (not sure if they're still around on Carnival or not).  Since Carnival tends to be less expensive, you can get awesome cabins for scenery intensive voyages such as Alaska (Vista aft corner wraparound HUGE balconies) for far less than a tiny regular balcony on Celebrity (we did r/t Seattle to Alaska twice on Carnival).  If only Carnival did one-way Alaskan cruisetours... sigh!

 

You'll see a huge difference in the passengers onboard Carnival ships depending upon the itinerary and the length of the cruise.  Those 3-day Caribbean jaunts to the Bahamas for example, will attract a lot of people with whom you may not want to be cruising, including rowdy bachelor/bachelorette parties, spring breakers, huge family reunions, and groups of friends who are splurging for a wild long weekend of drinking and partying. It's not that you won't see the occasional passenger on Celebrity who's stayed a bit too long at the martini bar, but I'm not sure I've seen any passengers who've purposely tried to impress the others in their group with how drunk they can get.  Go on a longer Carnival cruise (and especially with an itinerary that's NOT Caribbean) and you'll probably enjoy a less annoying crowd.  

Edited June 14, 2023 by Vagabond Knight

[kwokpot]

30 minutes ago, Vagabond Knight said:

We have sailed both Celebrity and Carnival.  There IS Bingo on Celebrity ships.  There ARE deck parties with bands and dancing, though perhaps not as often as on Carnival does them?  There IS night life... "Silent Disco" is a blast!  Yes, some of the older crowd doesn't stay up late for the dance bands, but the younger crowd parties late.  Like it or dislike it, there are far fewer kids on Celebrity.  There's a kids club and a teen club, but not as many kids/teens in them.  The kids we've seen on Celebrity have been surprisingly well behaved. 

 

In general, people dress more nicely for dinner and in the evening on Celebrity and honestly, even throughout the day.  There are exceptions of course, but I've never seen someone on Celebrity show up to the MDR in sweats on "Chic Night" like I did on Carnival. You will likely feel like the atmosphere is a bit more elegant and the service is better on Celebrity, and the MDR food and buffet are somewhat better.  Note that there is a lot of complaining on the Celebrity forum about post-Covid downgrades, but I'm seeing that on just about every cruise line forum these days (we're booked on four different cruise lines over the next year, so I've been looking around).   

 

We thought the "Chef's Table" on Carnival was much better, from food, to presentation, to service, than it was on Celebrity.  Celebrity has a mix of entertainment that ranges from rock/dance to classical style string trios (and you learn which lounge to visit for which type of music).   At least on the smaller Celebrity ships, one thing I find lacking that I enjoyed on Carnival is a piano bar.  Also missing from Celebrity are kitschy types of entertainment such as a hairy chest contest and bellyflop contest (not sure if they're still around on Carnival or not).  Since Carnival tends to be less expensive, you can get awesome cabins for scenery intensive voyages such as Alaska (Vista aft corner wraparound HUGE balconies) for far less than a tiny regular balcony on Celebrity (we did r/t Seattle to Alaska twice on Carnival).  If only Carnival did one-way Alaskan cruisetours... sigh!

 

You'll see a huge difference in the passengers onboard Carnival ships depending upon the itinerary and the length of the cruise.  Those 3-day Caribbean jaunts to the Bahamas for example, will attract a lot of people with whom you may not want to be cruising, including rowdy bachelor/bachelorette parties, spring breakers, huge family reunions, and groups of friends who are splurging for a wild long weekend of drinking and partying. It's not that you won't see the occasional passenger on Celebrity who's stayed a bit too long at the martini bar, but I'm not sure I've seen any passengers who've purposely tried to impress the others in their group with how drunk they can get.  Go on a longer Carnival cruise (and especially with an itinerary that's NOT Caribbean) and you'll probably enjoy a less annoying crowd.  

I just want to respond to a few points you made. Although I haven't partaken in the Chief's Table experience on either cruiseline (my husband is a particular eater and a fixed menu doesn't work for him) you're not the first person to say that Carnival does a better job with that than Celebrity. 

One of the major differences between the ship designs of the entire fleet of both Carnival and Celebrity is the absence of dedicated spaces for a piano bar and comedy club on Celebrity. All Carnival ships have dedicated venues for those types of entertainment, as opposed to none of Celebrity's ships. 

 

 

Edited June 14, 2023 by kwokpot

[happy cruzer]

Celebrity has very limited smoking areas,  Smoke free casino, just one outdoor area for smoking.

 

Celebrity ships are less crowded i.e. higher space to passenger ratio.

 

We do both lines.  Carnival is great for home port cruising like you seem to need, convenient and at a good price point. We avoid Carnival during school breaks because of the crowding.

 

Just do the research and set your expectations.

[sanger727]

On 6/8/2023 at 11:08 AM, luv2trvlnow said:

I believe it on the cost.  For us it was the same cost as Carnival.  The reason we did Celebrity was we had airfare to San Juan and then Carnival cancelled our cruise, but Celebrity was available for the same time. 

 

 

We did Hawaii to Vancouver in 2018 and considered Carnival, Celebrity, and Royal. Once the "perks" were factored in and compared against a drink package with Carnival - Celebrity was cheaper. Royal was much more than either of them. 

[sparks1093]

On 6/13/2023 at 9:09 PM, Vagabond Knight said:

 

 

In general, people dress more nicely for dinner and in the evening on Celebrity and honestly, even throughout the day.  There are exceptions of course, but I've never seen someone on Celebrity show up to the MDR in sweats on "Chic Night" like I did on Carnival. 

 

Also missing from Celebrity are kitschy types of entertainment such as a hairy chest contest and bellyflop contest (not sure if they're still around on Carnival or not).  

 

 

Appreciate the insights. I saw one fellow on a Carnival cruise in the MDR in gym shorts and a t-shirt. Said he just got off of a Royal cruise the day before boarding the Carnival cruise. Something tells me that he wouldn't have worn that attire on a Royal cruise and being on a side to side indicates some means, so the way people dress on Carnival might only be because they feel comfortable enough to dress that way. In any event why people dress the way they do on a cruise is probably fodder for a number of doctoral theses. (You comment triggered this memory and I just wanted to share it.)

 

On our last few Carnival cruises they didn't have the hairy chest or belly flop contests. I've heard that they were eliminated because of COVID, which is just as good a reason as any.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

2 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

On our last few Carnival cruises they didn't have the hairy chest or belly flop contests. I've heard that they were eliminated because of COVID, which is just as good a reason as any.

 

Indeed - perhaps the best excuse that's come around in decades !

 

Next, we'll be able to blame things on AI ...

 

Tom

[jimbo5544]

Doing a 14 day Celebrity cruise in January to Antartica.  

Edited June 17, 2023 by jimbo5544

[topaz123]

Been on both.....Celebrity foot better, quality better....with the Steakhouse and Rudi's on Carnival thats a pretty good match point.  Not so sure the extra $$$ is worth it  Seems more to do on Carny.

[jimbo5544]

3 hours ago, topaz123 said:

Been on both.....Celebrity foot better, quality better....with the Steakhouse and Rudi's on Carnival thats a pretty good match point.  Not so sure the extra $$$ is worth it  Seems more to do on Carny.

To be honest, wanted to try Celebrity, but the itin was the big draw.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Just now, jimbo5544 said:

To be honest, wanted to try Celebrity, but the itin was the big draw.

The Solstice class ships are nice. I've yet to try Edge class.

[jimbo5544]

1 minute ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

The Solstice class ships are nice. I've yet to try Edge class.

Going on Eclipse, aqua class room