How is Celebrity different?

[harrypotter01]

Hi my husband and I are thinking of doing a 4 night on Celebrity this fall.  We usually do one couple's trip each year but only for a few nights since we have kids at home.  We are experienced cruisers but have never done Celebrity.  We've done lots of Disney cruises (which we love), a few Carnival, one princess and one NCL.  We've liked all cruises and are not hard to please. But we are at a point where we do like a little more upscale cruises now.  We're thinking Celebrity would hit that mark for us.  

 

How would you describe Celebrity and how is it different from other cruise lines? It looks a little more "adult" even though I know kids are permitted.  And a little more upscale. 

 

Do they generally have good food in the main dining rooms and buffet?  Is everything included for the most part or do they "nickel and dime"?  

 

Thanks!

[Georgia_Peaches]

I think you'll find a nice, upscale feel for the most part.  You can do as much or as little as you like.  There is generally something for everyone...ie solarium, pool deck, nice gym facilities.  I can't really recommend Celebrity for the food and drink alone but as a complete package, I think it's a nice product.  As for nickel and diming...it depends on the package(s) you enter with on embarkation day.  We always have a drinks and wifi package...for us, a must.

 

Celebrity is NOT Disney...in any way, which IMO is a blessing.  If you like Disney ships for ambiance, layout, food, etc...you may not be happy with Celebrity.

[39august]

Depends on the ship. The newer E class ships are more like RCI than not to me. The older S and M class are the old style, classic design. There will be a different atmosphere on any 4 night cruise than a longer cruises. There are likely to be more children and younger adults. On longer cruises you will find that Celebrity pax are generally more mature and laid back than RCI and with a lot fewer children. 

[canderson]

There are adults, and there are 'adults'.  Have you ever sailed for such a short period before?

[ScottC4746]

9 minutes ago, canderson said:

There are adults, and there are 'adults'.  Have you ever sailed for such a short period before?

No matter the line we will not do less than 7 nights.  We have been on a couple of cruises across all the lines you see in my signature and the tend to be booze cruises.

[PTC DAWG]

17 minutes ago, 39august said:

Depends on the ship. The newer E class ships are more like RCI than not to me.

Sailed a good bit on both, I don’t get this take at all..

 

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

12 minutes ago, ScottC4746 said:

No matter the line we will not do less than 7 nights.  We have been on a couple of cruises across all the lines you see in my signature and the tend to be booze cruises.

I'm glad that Celebrity finally started offering shorter itins for those who just can't squeeze in longer cruises.  I'm taking my DM on one next month because she likes to gamble and we'll have fun together in the casino.  I just have to wonder...is a Celebrity booze cruise anything like a Carnival booze cruise?  My DM does love her martinis but I can't see her twerking in the atrium because she's had one too many...maybe she'll surprise me 😂.

Edited June 15 by Georgia_Peaches

[ScottC4746]

1 minute ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I'm glad that Celebrity finally started offering shorter itins for those who just can't squeeze in longer cruises.  I'm taking my DM on one next month because she likes to gamble and we'll have fun together in the casino.  I just have to wonder...is a Celebrity booze cruise anything like a Carnival booze cruise?  My DM does love her martinis but I can't see her twerking in the atrium...maybe she'll surprise me 😂.

I cannot imagine they would be. 

[harrypotter01]

34 minutes ago, canderson said:

There are adults, and there are 'adults'.  Have you ever sailed for such a short period before?

Yes - we've been on lots of 7 day and longer trips, and several 3-4 day cruises.  I've been cruising since the 80s - just never been on Celebrity before.

[cruisestitch]

It’s a valid piece of advice.  We can describe some things that would set Celebrity apart from other lines, like they’re no smoking anywhere inside policy, but it’s very hard to know whether you and your friends and family will enjoy it more than any other line. A short cruise is a good tester. 

[bEwAbG]

Of the ones you've sailed, Celebrity is going to be most similar to Princess as there is a lot of crossover between those two and HAL.  What level of room you book can also come into play (suite or not).

[hcat]

We have been on most of the ships but most recently E Class..

 

.7 days on ASCENT in AQ class was great..we ate at BLU and  Specialty Dining as well..EDEN was our favorite .  The buffet was not great!

 

We very much  enjoyed the ship, itin and the  excursions we chose. We had great service from room steward and did ok with cocktails...but  not big bar goers so hard to judge that!

 

Ship was fairly full,  and sadly for us, it was a very loud party type vibe(January)   set by the CD and his staff...It .was hard to find quiet spots at times..but we did.  During the day games and sports were spread out indoors and pickleball was played  up on the roof top garden...plink plink ..

 

OP...To try X for 4 days would be smart..see what you enjoy.   We are tryng Silhouette for 4 days in Dec..change of pace from E Class

[Ergates The Ant]

We started cruising with Celebrity because at the time, it was the only cruise line which didn’t allow smoking in any indoor places. That’s a deal breaker for us. 
We also prefer to eat in the buffet for convenience, and Celebrity ships had the best laid out buffet, with easily the best food and choices.

Service was always excellent, and it was noticeable how friendly all the staff were. The on board ambience was adult and stylish, and we loved the wow factor on the S class ships. We’ve just cruised on the Apex, but although we enjoyed ourselves, I thought the layout and styling were a bit too hotel / conference centre for my liking.

our second choice is Royal Caribbean. We enjoy seeing the activities like the flow rider and the parades, although it was noticeably more attractive to families with children, although we typically travel outside school holidays. The casino was non smoking on cruises out of the UK, so that was good.

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, PTC DAWG said:

Sailed a good bit on both, I don’t get this take at all..

 

 

Agree.  

[The_Big_M]

Agree with the comment that it's closest to Princess of the lines you've sailed.

 

It does feel 'more upscale' for example they have a large collection of artwork onboard, unlike say Carnival. Food is reasonable, but there is a lot of 'nickle and diming' as you refer to. Even if you have say a beverage package, or a wifi, they'll still be trying to upsell you to the premium versions.

 

There isn't a lot unique to Celebrity any more; they're just a comfortable upscale line.

[cbfb]

We just sailed on Reflection for a 3 night cruise over Memorial Day weekend. We have sailed celebrity for 11 years but I was a little worried about how this cruise would be as it was sold out and I knew there would be a lot more kids than usual. We booked Aqua Class since the cabins only allow 2 people and because we could eat in Blu. We had a great time, no issues and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

 

Since you are new to Celebrity just be aware if you choose an E class ship only Sunset verandas and suites have traditional balconies. 

[lienf]

We did a 10 night Caribbean cruise on the Silhouette in April and a 4 night b2b. In our opinion, the 10 night was a typical Celebrity experience, but the 4 night was much more of a party cruise. We enjoyed both, but I think a longer cruise gives you a better feel for a cruise line. 

[Stealthdog]

1 hour ago, harrypotter01 said:

Yes - we've been on lots of 7 day and longer trips, and several 3-4 day cruises.  I've been cruising since the 80s - just never been on Celebrity before.

 

 

Basic generalizations that are subjective, so....

 

The food and service on celebrity (MDR) is comparable to Disney.  I find the buffet on celebrity ships to be weaker than other cruise lines.  Specialty restaurants are probably equivalent overall....depends on your personal taste.

 

Overall, the quality of the theater entertainment on Disney will be better than what you see on Celebrity.  But....if you book an Edge Class ship, you will have more variety to entertainment than on the older ships.  If you are interested in a more traditional cruise experience, the older ships are great, if you want a more modern take on cruising go with Edge Class.

 

Even on a short cruise, there will probably be fewer children than other cruise lines.  I won't even bother going into thoughts on short cruises because all the Disney cruises are shorter so you have tons of experience with those.

 

I'd say your experience on Celebrity will probably be comparable to your Princess Cruise and feel much more upscale and adult than your NCL and Carnival cruises.  It will have a much more laid back and slow, relaxing feel than NCL and your Disney experiences.

 

Happy sailing!

[NMTraveller]

1 hour ago, The_Big_M said:

Food is reasonable, but there is a lot of 'nickle and diming' as you refer to. Even if you have say a beverage package, or a wifi, they'll still be trying to upsell you to the premium versions.

 

 

Even if you have the premium drink package you may be paying an upcharge for a good glass of wine ...

 

Celebrity is closest to Princess.

[Liao]

3 hours ago, harrypotter01 said:

Hi my husband and I are thinking of doing a 4 night on Celebrity this fall.  We usually do one couple's trip each year but only for a few nights since we have kids at home.  We are experienced cruisers but have never done Celebrity.  We've done lots of Disney cruises (which we love), a few Carnival, one princess and one NCL.  We've liked all cruises and are not hard to please. But we are at a point where we do like a little more upscale cruises now.  We're thinking Celebrity would hit that mark for us.  

 

How would you describe Celebrity and how is it different from other cruise lines? It looks a little more "adult" even though I know kids are permitted.  And a little more upscale. 

 

Do they generally have good food in the main dining rooms and buffet?  Is everything included for the most part or do they "nickel and dime"?  

 

Thanks!

Are you considering Eclass or S/M class?  There is a big difference.

[NMTraveller]

If E class that is a whole new discussion ...

[Liao]

4 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

If E class that is a whole new discussion ...

Exactly and I am in such a dilemma, lol such a “problem” to have!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

In my experience, there's a completely different atmosphere on board on short cruises on Celebrity vs. 7-nights or longer.  More kids, more "We're here to party!" vibes.  The only way to really tell if you'll like a cruise line is to sail with them.  Everyone has different things which are important to them on a cruise, so there's no one size fits all.

[phoenix_dream]

3 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I'm glad that Celebrity finally started offering shorter itins for those who just can't squeeze in longer cruises.  I'm taking my DM on one next month because she likes to gamble and we'll have fun together in the casino.  I just have to wonder...is a Celebrity booze cruise anything like a Carnival booze cruise?  My DM does love her martinis but I can't see her twerking in the atrium because she's had one too many...maybe she'll surprise me 😂.

That's one of us. I suspect you won't feel like you're on Carnival,  but definitely a younger, more "lively" crowd. Speaking of twerking i actually saw quite a bit of that on Celebrity on a shorter spring break cruise by college age girls in tiny bikinis.

[Liao]

1 minute ago, phoenix_dream said:

That's one of us. I suspect you won't feel like you're on Carnival,  but definitely a younger, more "lively" crowd. Speaking of twerking i actually saw quite a bit of that on Celebrity on a shorter spring break cruise by college age girls in tiny bikinis.

I combined a 5&4 night cruise on Summit in December.  The 5 night was very good but the 4 night was a booze cruise.  The antics in the casino and just outside where they did silent disco…I won’t make that mistake again.