Celebrity vs. Disney

[ncdisneynut]

As my name says, we are DisneyNuts. We have done 7 disney cruises with two more booked. Our disney cruise for next year is Northern Europe, the Baltics. I have been looking at Celebrity and they have a new ship that will be out next year and doing Northern Europe, the Baltics. The price is almost $6,000.00 cheaper for the three of us, me, DH, and son 11. I'm really having alot of trouble paying $6,000.00 more for Disney and the Celebrity cruise is 14 days and the Disney is 12. Has anyone done both Celebrity and Disney? What are the differences? What about the kids? Any help is appreciated.

[kitty9]

Overall, they are two vastly different experiences. Celebrity is not as kid-centric as Disney. Of course the name Disney says it all as far as kids are concerned. The food is quite a bit better on Disney and you don't have the round robin restaurants on Celebrity. The one thing that has kept us from Disney since our first cruise is the lack of a casino. We love the casino aspect, and Disney's lack of one keeps us with Celebrity. But the adults only area on Disney is wonderful and they do make sure it stays adults only. I also think the spa area on Disney is nicer. I also think the evening entertainment on Disney is better than on X.

 

But, for a port intensive cruise like the Baltic can be, I don't see anything wrong with Celebrity. You're going to be very busy touring so the kid's program isn't as necessary as it might be on a more leisurely cruise in the Caribbean.

[eandj]

Personally for that cost difference I'd go with Celebrity. Seeing your son is 11, he doesn't need to be hand-held and if you're cruising in the summer will meet and enjoy others his age on X. They do have a kids program, but obviously not as the big theme on Disney. Entertainment will not be as exciting for him on X either. But because of the heavy itienerary, I wouldn't worry too much about keeping him busy in the evenings. He'll be exhausted too. ;)

[cruzmaven]

For the price difference of $6,000.00, this is a no brainer. Go with Celebrity. As others have said, a Baltics cruise is very port intensive and that money is better spent on excursions. Food and service on Celebrity is as good or better than on Disney, though more formal. Your 11 year old son might be ready for a more grown up experience.:cool:

[Tazzycat]

Kitty9, You have to be kidding about the food on Disney being better than on Celebrity. I have never been on Disney because I am allergic to thousands of screaming brats running up and down the halls and teens pushing every button in the elevator and all the other things associated with parents who do not raise perfectly behaved children.

I have, however, been on 6 cruises, various companies, and in all those cases, the hamburger and french fry crowd have lower standards concerning what they want to have for meals.

Does Disney really have great food for the adults?

[ncdisneynut]

The food on Disney has always been pretty good. Our Son likes going to meals with us and likes to order off of the adult menu and try different things. He thinks snails are so cool to eat.

 

How are the big celbrity ships?

 

We did Royal Caribbean three weeks ago but we were on the Monarch of the Seas, which I guess is one of the older ships. We didn't really like it. The food was very cafeteria type, the ship wasn't in that great of shape and the crowd was kind of wild. We drink and have a good time, but we are not 18 anymore. Now it was a four day and it's an old ship, so I keep telling myself Celebrity will not be that way with a newer ship and a older crowd.

[eandj]

The food on Disney has always been pretty good. Our Son likes going to meals with us and likes to order off of the adult menu and try different things. He thinks snails are so cool to eat.

 

How are the big celbrity ships?

 

We did Royal Caribbean three weeks ago but we were on the Monarch of the Seas, which I guess is one of the older ships. We didn't really like it. The food was very cafeteria type, the ship wasn't in that great of shape and the crowd was kind of wild. We drink and have a good time, but we are not 18 anymore. Now it was a four day and it's an old ship, so I keep telling myself Celebrity will not be that way with a newer ship and a older crowd.

 

Whoa...I was on the Monarch about 15 years ago. The rooms are teeny and altho at that time is was a pretty neat ship, nowadays the ships are much nicer. And you can never compare a short cruise on ANY line to a longer one, especially a European 12 + days. You will find Celebrity a totally different and better experince than your RC shore cruise.:D

[Morris4me]

Hands down, I would have to seriously consider the Celebrity cruise for that large of a difference in price. At a $6K savings, you could probably take two more cruises!

[kitty9]

Kitty9, You have to be kidding about the food on Disney being better than on Celebrity. I have never been on Disney because I am allergic to thousands of screaming brats running up and down the halls and teens pushing every button in the elevator and all the other things associated with parents who do not raise perfectly behaved children.

I have, however, been on 6 cruises, various companies, and in all those cases, the hamburger and french fry crowd have lower standards concerning what they want to have for meals.

Does Disney really have great food for the adults?

 

If you've never been on Disney, then how can you make assumptions? I've been on Disney, and I've been on more than 20 Celebrity cruises and the food on D is much better than on X. Didn't used to be that way because X had fantastic food, but not so much anymore.

 

Let me give you a good example that doesn't use D, but another line. I had been cruising Seabourn and Crystal pretty exclusively. My mom and sister had been cruising Celebrity. They wanted me to go on a cruise with them so I agreed to give X a try. My sister was nervous because she was afraid I would hate X because of my experience with the two luxury lines. This first cruise was back in 2001. Well, I was pleasantly surprised by how good X was in terms of food and service and I happily put X in a category above a mass market line. But now, in the past 3 or so years, X's food has declined in taste, quality of ingredients and sophistication. She's no longer an above average line, imho, but just the same as the RCI's and Carnivals of the world.

 

And Disney's "traveling dinner show" is great. You go to different restaurants every evening, moving en mass with your waiter and table mates. And the food in all their restaurants is very, very good with high quality ingredients and excellent taste.

[kitty9]

The food on Disney has always been pretty good. Our Son likes going to meals with us and likes to order off of the adult menu and try different things. He thinks snails are so cool to eat.

 

How are the big celbrity ships?

 

We did Royal Caribbean three weeks ago but we were on the Monarch of the Seas, which I guess is one of the older ships. We didn't really like it. The food was very cafeteria type, the ship wasn't in that great of shape and the crowd was kind of wild. We drink and have a good time, but we are not 18 anymore. Now it was a four day and it's an old ship, so I keep telling myself Celebrity will not be that way with a newer ship and a older crowd.

 

 

The M Class ships on Celebrity are under 2000 passengers while the Solstice Class ships are around 2600.

 

The Monarch is a very old ship, by today's standards. You cannot judge by that one ship. And those four day cruises are not all that. Sometimes they tend to be party till you barf cruises.

[Denny01]

Celebrity doesn't have all those 'mice' and other critters running around!!

 

Denny

[boulders]

I just decided between Disney and Celebrity for the Med! Great minds think alike.

 

I'm traveling with ds 14, dd11, ds5. The price difference for 4 of us between the Magic and the Equinox was $7000. The cabin I was looking at on Celebrity was smaller than the Disney one.

 

We've cruised RCCL on the Voyager and Radiance classes and Carnival (hated Carnival). I was looking for something with a great itinerary, with 10-14 days and somewhat nicer than RCCL. We all love Disney. The kids never tire of going to WDW. We took an Adventures by Disney trip last year and it was the best trip of my life. The older kids though have always thought that people in costumes must have something wrong with them. DS3 loves the characters. I booked a family veranda guarantee a couple of weeks ago.

 

Since 3 out of 4 of us are out of the "magical" stage, I looked around at other offerings. Regent has greatly discounted 3rd and 4th person rates, and free excursions. I calculated that taking into account how much I would expect to spend on excursions, the price for Regent and Disney was equal - category E on Regent vs. Family Verandah on Disney. I like the itinerary better on Regent too.

 

Then I looked at Celebrity. WOW! The price was less than half that of Regent. I could get 2 cabins for about 60% of the cost of the other 2. Like Regent, the Equinox goes from Rome to Venice. It also visits Greece and several other countries on the way. Unlike Regent, it has a couple of sea days to rest. The Disney Med cruise does not visit Greece or Venice.

 

I haven't sailed on Celebrity yet, but am looking for a slightly more upscale experience than RCCL, but without tripping over little girls in Princess costumes. I'm soo excited.

[dkjretired]

Kitty:

 

I have never been on Disney however the one knock that I have always read from reviewers, magazines and other cruisers is that the food is not good on Disney. Perhaps that is where people get the impression. I have seen many people even on the Disney board say the food is similiar to what you get in the parks.

 

The reviews on food since Disney started, the lack of a casino and the price have kept me away from a Disney cruise even when my kids were little. I can't see spending that much money for a cruise that is shorter than that on Celebrity.

[shoxfan]

We just returned from a Celebrity 10 night East Med. cruise with DD 12 & 16. Only other cruise experience was Disney. I have to say for the price difference you can't go wrong with Celebrity. My daughter age 12 really enjoyed the kids club and actually begged to stay on ship rather than going on the shore excursions. True Celebrity is not a Disney experience but still has much to offer for the younger crowd.

[flagger]

The food on a Disney ship is NOT better than on a Celebrity ship. I saw several of the choices when the kids would eat with the kids clubs and it was high fat, starch this and starch that. French fries and mac and cheese. Very little veggies and over sauced meat. Park food at best.

 

The dining rooms on Disney are not elegant like on Celebrity and with low ceilings it makes for a noisy dining experience. PALO doesn't hold a candle to the food found in the specialty restaurants onboard the Celebrity ships.

[eandj]

I think it's fruitless to argue over the two lines food choices and who has the "better". Totally subjective and as noted can vary from ship to ship and line to line every cruise. I wouldn't totally base a cruise on the food recs of other cruisers. Especially when the critiques vary so. Unless one cruiseline got consistently bad reviews on their food (there are a couple), I'd pay no heed.

 

The ship's atmosphere, amenities, itineraries and cost would be where I'd look.

[dkjretired]

I think it's fruitless to argue over the two lines food choices and who has the "better". Totally subjective and as noted can vary from ship to ship and line to line every cruise. I wouldn't totally base a cruise on the food recs of other cruisers. Especially when the critiques vary so. Unless one cruiseline got consistently bad reviews on their food (there are a couple), I'd pay no heed.

 

The ship's atmosphere, amenities, itineraries and cost would be where I'd look.

 

I agree with you, food is subjective and as you said can vary from ship to ship, line to line and even cruise to cruise on the same ship. My children were young when Disney first went into the cruising business and I was at the time very interested in taking them on a Disney cruise especially since we had done the Big Red Boat when they had the Disney characters.

The one thing that stood out when I did research on a possible Disney cruise were the consistently poor reports of the food on their ships. This was from returning cruisers and cruise reviews by professionals. Maybe I was spoiled because this was when Celebrity was at its peak with their food. Perhaps Disney has changed but my kids are now adults so I guess I will never know. I would prefer to take a two week cruise on a Celebrity, RCCL or NCL ship than one week on Disney for the same price.

 

I guess overall what I'm trying to say is I have never been on a Disney cruise and it was probably because the Disney ships were reported by others to have poor food.

[elvnga]

I was on Disney last year and found it a great experience EXCEPT for the food and service in the main dining room, which I found bland and uninspired. I wa surprised,however, that the snack food on the pool deck was very good and better than on X. The "picnic" on the private island was even better. But for the MDR the food I had on Solstice was infinately better. Palo and the Tuscan Grill were of similar quality.

 

I would not consider Disney unless travelling with kids. But a well travelled middle schooler who has been taught to appreciate how lucky he or she is to go on a Baltic cruise will do fine on X even if there are not a lot of other kids. Make your choice based on the ports and cost. Heck, for $6K you could bring along someone to wear a mouse costume during cocktail hour.

[TBS]

I'm sure I will be in the minority but I was very disappointed in a Disney cruise we took. It was our 1st cruise and not what I had heard cruising would be. Lucky for me we tried one more cruise (with Celebrity) and that met my expectations. I must say we are Disney people, we have Disney Vacation Club, annual passes, and go to WDW at least 4-5 times per year,and thats traveling from N.J. Plus we frequently go without the grandchildren so its not because of children. The Disney part of the cruise was fine. The food not memorable,the wait staff was terrible and overall not what I would have expected from Disney. The stateroom was nice,but not much different from Concierge on Celebrity. Also it was a member cruise for DVC so we received all sorts of trinkets and gifts but I still felt it left much to be desired. I guess I will have to try it one more time just to be sure. ( Castaway Cay was really nice however.)

[SWACruising]

With the 6k you save on Celebrity you can plan a nice WDW trip to get your Disney fix. I can't see you being disappointed with Celebrity.

[Muushka]

Kitty9, You have to be kidding about the food on Disney being better than on Celebrity. I have never been on Disney because I am allergic to thousands of screaming brats running up and down the halls and teens pushing every button in the elevator and all the other things associated with parents who do not raise perfectly behaved children.

I have, however, been on 6 cruises, various companies, and in all those cases, the hamburger and french fry crowd have lower standards concerning what they want to have for meals.

Does Disney really have great food for the adults?

 

Nuff said....

 

I have been on 3 DCL and 4 =X=.

 

DCL = apples

=X= = oranges

 

I love both apples and oranges. As far as the food comparison, I don't think there is much difference between the two. But if I HAD to state a preference, it would be =X= for dining room and DCL for the fast food.

 

DCL can be very over-priced. When their prices are not too bad, we cruise with them.

When not, we cruise with =X=. Either way we have a great cruise.

 

PS we are not fans of screaming kids either. DCL does a great job of keeping them at bay.:D

[winddncer]

Kitty9, You have to be kidding about the food on Disney being better than on Celebrity. I have never been on Disney because I am allergic to thousands of screaming brats running up and down the halls and teens pushing every button in the elevator and all the other things associated with parents who do not raise perfectly behaved children.

I have, however, been on 6 cruises, various companies, and in all those cases, the hamburger and french fry crowd have lower standards concerning what they want to have for meals.

Does Disney really have great food for the adults?

 

I cruised Disney several years ago with my mother, sister, and God-daughter (then 11yo) and never experienced what you claim to be happening. The only time we saw teens unsupervised was for one hour on one day (the teen club had to close for a staff meeting), the rest of the time, they were with their leaders or parents--all well behaved.

 

For that matter, I rarely saw my God-daughter. Sometimes I only knew where she was because my pager went off. "Melanie going to the pool with the club", etc. They are all very well behaved and kept very busy. Melanie would sometimes come back to the room at the end of the day and fall asleep in her clothes.

 

DCL food was fantastic as well as the service. We were told by die-hard DCL cruisers that "Once you cruise Disney, you don't go back." My sister and mom have tried RCL, HAL, and Carnival and have yet to find the level of service and food as what we had on Disney. My sister and I are hoping that Celebrity will come close.

 

My parents recently took a Disney cruise on their own and my Dad, who never likes crowds, kids, etc., loved the cruise.

 

Maybe you should try it (with an open mind) before you judge.

[winddncer]

To the OP: Try =X= and use the money that you save on tours, flights, souvenirs, etc.

[ncdisneynut]

Ok the suggestion that we could pay someone to dress as Mickey Mouse for $6,000.00 has made my morning. lol And the suggestion to take the 6K and hit disney itself is a great idea. Maybe I should see how much Disney Paris would be, since we are giong to be in Europe.

 

I know it makes financial sense, I've just got to convince myself that it will be fine. I mean it's a cruise none the less, right.

 

The figures for Celebrity even include concierge class, which seems to have some perks.

 

I thought the Royal Carribeaan Cruise would help seal the deal, but it didn't.

[Bridge Maven]

I have been reading this thread with interest because I have never tried Disney since it was always a lot more expensive than any other cruise line that we were considering. Even though it appears to be a step above Celebrity, if I was going to spend that much money for a cruise I would try Regent or Crystal.