Any Celebrity fans left in here?

[cruisegal1970]

22 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I really only find that to be true if you sail the Caribbean, which is a no go for us , better to go a resort if you just want to go to a beach 

Try Mykonos with 7 ships, it's getting ridiculous...........the Med is worse than the Caribbean

[Gracie115]

6 minutes ago, cruisegal1970 said:

Try Mykonos with 7 ships, it's getting ridiculous...........the Med is worse than the Caribbean

 

I can't imagine Mykonos that way...... and just have to believe the people living there must hate it.  That just sounds awful.   

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

2 hours ago, cruisegal1970 said:

Try Mykonos with 7 ships, it's getting ridiculous...........the Med is worse than the Caribbean

The difference is one Caribbean port looks like the next Caribbean port 

if I want beach and sun I will go to a land resort 😁🏖️🏝️

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, cruisegal1970 said:

Try Mykonos with 7 ships, it's getting ridiculous...........the Med is worse than the Caribbean

I know you’re serious, but I always find it funny when people say something like this.  “Yes I wanted to go there but why did all the OTHER people want to go there TOO???”  😂

 

If you don’t want crowds don’t take a cruise.

 

My least favorite port was Santorini where we waited 45 minutes for a cable car to get back to the ship.  After trying to get on an excursion that specifically said  bus back to tender.  I guess that wasn’t possible there.

[mickey89]

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

 

......If you don’t want crowds don’t take a cruise.

 

 

The large cruise ships are killing tourism in the Mediterranean and on some Caribbean Islands. There was always crowds BUT not to same extent as today. There are so many people it's better not to go ashore that's why cruising has lost it's appeal, to us at least.

Edited January 23 by mickey89

[calicakes]

12 minutes ago, mickey89 said:

 

The large cruise ships are killing tourism in the Mediterranean and on some Caribbean Islands. There was always crowds BUT not to same extent as today. There are so many people it's better not to go ashore that's why cruising has lost it's appeal, to us at least.

Last April we decided to book a week at an all inclusive( big mistake, never again on the all inclusive) resort in Aruba.  We'd first visited Aruba on a Celebrity Cruise.  The resort was great and we were able to use the private island.  The beaches were not crowded.  We rented a car and had a great time           ( aside from the crappy food at the resort).  We paid about 6k USD for that full week and I earned enough Marriott points for 2 free nights at any of their hotels.  We used 1 night in NY and 1 night in Ventura, CA. 

[Gracie115]

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

 

If you don’t want crowds don’t take a cruise.

 

 

 

That's not an answer, you can find out what ships are due in ports so you plan accordingly.  In ports that have 4,5,6,7 ships we always plan some kind of private tour that is away from the crowds.  But I agree with @Ex-Airbalancer that Caribbean ports are all very much the same and not worth booking cruises anymore... our last one had 5 ships in Belize...horrible.  

[Ex-Airbalancer]

2 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

 

That's not an answer, you can find out what ships are due in ports so you plan accordingly.  In ports that have 4,5,6,7 ships we always plan some kind of private tour that is away from the crowds.  But I agree with @Ex-Airbalancer that Caribbean ports are all very much the same and not worth booking cruises anymore... our last one had 5 ships in Belize...horrible.  

On our November Constellation TA , there was only 1 to 2 ships in port include us in the European ports 😁, Nassau there was 5 ships 😢

we have never done a Caribbean cruise 

[Gracie115]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

On our November Constellation TA , there was only 1 to 2 ships in port include us in the European ports 😁, Nassau there was 5 ships 😢

we have never done a Caribbean cruise 

 

I wouldn't have walked off the ship in Nassau....  

 

What kind of condition is Connie in?  We have always loved the M class ships, but it's been a long time since we've been on one.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

20 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

 

I wouldn't have walked off the ship in Nassau....  

 

What kind of condition is Connie in?  We have always loved the M class ships, but it's been a long time since we've been on one.

Most of it looked in better condition than my house 😉😁

it was 16 night TA , there was going to be a stop in the Azores , but it was canceled because of storm and we stopped in Gibraltar, so we had 8 seadays until Nassau, first time we were there , hopefully last 

We eat ever night in MDR , the food was good

The only disappointment was the people who bought the flu on the ship and the lack of staff ,

the staff that was there was very hard working 

we like the S class for most than m class and e class would be last 

 

[The Fun Researcher]

1 hour ago, Gracie115 said:

 

I wouldn't have walked off the ship in Nassau....  

 

What kind of condition is Connie in?  We have always loved the M class ships, but it's been a long time since we've been on one.

By far our least favorite port in the Bahamas/Caribbean.  For being the busiest, it has a pretty pathetic lineup of excursion options.  It's only busy because it's so close to Florida.  I wish they could find a better alternative to Nassau.   We were just there again last month.  We've managed to mostly avoid Nassau but our kids had never been there so we got off the ship to explore the new port area.  If it wasn't for that we'd be HAPPY to stay on the ship.

[NutsAboutGolf]

On 1/16/2024 at 11:12 AM, zitsky said:

I was on the Eclipse and enjoyed it.  No it wasn’t perfect.  Anyone have anything nice to say about Celebrity?

 

Give us your top five pros and top five cons; that's a great summarized balanced review

[Gracie115]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Most of it looked in better condition than my house 😉😁

it was 16 night TA , there was going to be a stop in the Azores , but it was canceled because of storm and we stopped in Gibraltar, so we had 8 seadays until Nassau, first time we were there , hopefully last 

We eat ever night in MDR , the food was good

The only disappointment was the people who bought the flu on the ship and the lack of staff ,

the staff that was there was very hard working 

we like the S class for most than m class and e class would be last 

 

 

Our last TA stopped in Gibralter....very interesting port, as are the Azores, too bad you didn't get there.  

 

We have been looking at a TA on Equinox out of Lisbon for this fall. We also like S class a lot and don't like E class at all.   Have been reading some good things about Celebrity recently so think might take a chance on the Equinox.  We also like Lisbon and would like to spend a few days there pre cruise.  

[Ex-Airbalancer]

13 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

 

Our last TA stopped in Gibralter....very interesting port, as are the Azores, too bad you didn't get there.  

 

We have been looking at a TA on Equinox out of Lisbon for this fall. We also like S class a lot and don't like E class at all.   Have been reading some good things about Celebrity recently so think might take a chance on the Equinox.  We also like Lisbon and would like to spend a few days there pre cruise.  

We are on Equinox TA , our Travel Agent, had a group rate and before Black Friday Celebrity had it on for a really good sale,

so we know over  10 couples who book it 

No drink package for us but our Elite perks will take care of our drinks 

[zitsky]

7 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Give us your top five pros and top five cons; that's a great summarized balanced review

From memory,

 

Onboarding in Valparaiso took forever, 1-2 hours for most people.  We arrived at 3pm after a wine tour.

 

One excursion was supposed to include a sit down lunch.  It included a box lunch.

 

Lectures in theater were interesting.

 

Murano good once or twice not three times

 

Chef’s Table one and done

 

Stateroom attendant Kade very hard working

 

Cellar Masters good place for Veuve Clicquot but it tasted like day old wine (open bottle)

 

Book Retreat to get on ship faster

 

Tuscan decent food and good view

 

Spa good massage.  We liked the Persian Garden.

 

World Class Bar out in the open, not appealing.  Next to the art auction on Eclipse.  VERY ANNOYING.

 

Blu staff and food excellent despite some demanding people

 

Restroom attendants are really under rated considering they are stuck in a windowless room for hours.  We gave an attendant near the Ensemble Lounge a small tip and he broke down almost crying.  I don’t think they get enough appreciation.

 

Service across the ship is generally very good.

 

Passport bar had the best beer selection.

 

Laundry took too long to come back.  Maybe 3 days instead of 2.

 

Ensemble Lounge was the best.  Quiet at times and then relaxing music.  Decent drinks.

 

 

 

Edited January 24 by zitsky

[zitsky]

10 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

 

That's not an answer, you can find out what ships are due in ports so you plan accordingly.  In ports that have 4,5,6,7 ships we always plan some kind of private tour that is away from the crowds.  But I agree with @Ex-Airbalancer that Caribbean ports are all very much the same and not worth booking cruises anymore... our last one had 5 ships in Belize...horrible.  

How does one find out what ships and how many are at a specific port at a specific time?

[Gracie115]

27 minutes ago, zitsky said:

How does one find out what ships and how many are at a specific port at a specific time?

Here:

 

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports

[goofysmom99]

27 minutes ago, zitsky said:

How does one find out what ships and how many are at a specific port at a specific time?

Seriously?  I just copy/pasted your specific text into Google search.  Got the answer Gracie115 gave.  Google uses its artificial intelligence quite specifically.  

[NMTraveller]

38 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Cellar Masters good place for Veuve Clicquot but it tasted like day old wine (open bottle)

 

I experienced the same.  Hard to be a wine drinker and get old wine and pay for all of the upcharges ...

[mickey89]

7 hours ago, zitsky said:

How does one find out what ships and how many are at a specific port at a specific time?

Far easier to use .....https://www.cruisetimetables.com

[zitsky]

10 hours ago, goofysmom99 said:

Seriously?  I just copy/pasted your specific text into Google search.  Got the answer Gracie115 gave.  Google uses its artificial intelligence quite specifically.  

“Use Google” could be the answer for every question.  Who needs Cruise Critic?

 

 

[hcat]

On 1/23/2024 at 7:55 AM, zitsky said:

I know you’re serious, but I always find it funny when people say something like this.  “Yes I wanted to go there but why did all the OTHER people want to go there TOO???”  😂

 

If you don’t want crowds don’t take a cruise.

 

My least favorite port was Santorini where we waited 45 minutes for a cable car to get back to the ship.  After trying to get on an excursion that specifically said  bus back to tender.  I guess that wasn’t possible there.

We had a great Celeb  excursion at Santorini.. Included a  tender to a bus area with.early arrival at first stop

.( Oia?) .easy photo ops..Then to a  picturesque winery for a tasting...Then bus back to town.  It was very hot by time we arrived so we just.walked a bit, took the cable car down..no lines..grabbed a snack at the tender area..and then back to the ship!

 

Now that Akrotiri( sp,?) is open we would book that tour!

 

We had no crowds in Mykonos...a fun  port.....Has great food, small shops & beautiful water... Easy tender service.

 

Also loved Rhodes.

 

We  find  many interesting and fun  things in the Carib.. Some ports in Europe were repetitive..another museum, another church..but we enjoyed them too!

[mickey89]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

 

......We had no crowds in Mykonos...a fun  port.....Has great food, small shops & beautiful water... Easy tender service.

 

You were lucky.  

According to their tourist board 895 cruise ships visited their tiny Island in 2023 up from 608 the year previous - they describe it as a nightmare.  

We unfortunately booked a Celebrity cruise to discover that 7 cruise ships will be there the day we visit on Equinox in July (potentially over 15,000 passengers) which I would say is intolerable and not worthy of departing the ship by tender.

 

As I said earlier the Cruise Industry is destroying tourism and it's getting worse........

Edited January 24 by mickey89

[C4HCG]

14 minutes ago, mickey89 said:

You were lucky.  

According to their tourist board 895 cruise ships visited their tiny Island in 2023 up from 608 the year previous - they describe it as a nightmare.  

We unfortunately booked a Celebrity cruise to discover that 7 cruise ships will be there the day we visit on Equinox in July (potentially over 15,000 passengers) which I would say is intolerable and not worthy of departing the ship by tender.

 

As I said earlier the Cruise Industry is destroying tourism and it's getting worse........

I think the cruise industry is part of tourism so not sure how it is destroying it. The number of hotels etc built on these resorts I would think equally to blame. A complex issue as what would these resorts economies look like without land and cruise tourism, not good I don’t think.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

41 minutes ago, mickey89 said:

You were lucky.  

According to their tourist board 895 cruise ships visited their tiny Island in 2023 up from 608 the year previous - they describe it as a nightmare.  

We unfortunately booked a Celebrity cruise to discover that 7 cruise ships will be there the day we visit on Equinox in July (potentially over 15,000 passengers) which I would say is intolerable and not worthy of departing the ship by tender.

 

As I said earlier the Cruise Industry is destroying tourism and it's getting worse........

Cruising the Med in July and surprised there was 7 ships there 😱