Great videos, Gary. My wife and I love both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. When people ask us what the difference is, I usually say that the easiest way to sum up is: "picnic on the grass and whisky tasting on Celebrity. Belly flop competition and tequila tasting on RC".
Just got back from a cruise on Celebrity Summit in The Retreat for my 30th birthday. Have to say one thing about catering to age ranges is that there are stereotypes play a huge role in defining that. As an introvert with a pretty stressful job, my ultimate cruise is one where I can relax on a quiet deck with a drink, enjoy the views and scenery of the ports, and eat great food. All that to say ultimately the best advice is to watch videos like this and research various lines and ships for what is a best fit for you. But don’t rely on a cruise line being labeled as for or not for young people (or any age really) because that is based on general personas which almost certainly don’t fit you 100%.
@@charlesedwardsjr7194 my 2nd time on the Summit and I enjoyed it both times. It is one of the older ships in Celebrity’s fleet so you won’t see all the stuff of an Edge class but the benefit is there really isn’t a wait for a lot of things. I ate at Luminae and not the MDR but walking by the MDR I didn’t see a huge line ever. I enjoyed the shows a lot and the shows are well staffed so everyone who wants one can get a drink. The service is amazing. Very attentive. A lot of my experience was with Retreat only stuff. But as a frame of reference I sailed on Royal Caribbean a fair amount and my mom and I had food on Celebrity’s buffet and to us it was way better than anything in RC’s buffet. Let me know if there’s anything in particular you’re wondering about.
@@charlesedwardsjr7194 i didnt eat at Blu but Retreat guests have Luminae access and that was really worth it to me. It’s much smaller than the MDR and the service is more personalized. I talked to a couple who had done Aquaclass previously and they said that they enjoyed it and Celebrity enough that they decided to try The Retreat. I’m not sure if Blu does this but in Luminae on the Summit you could order off the MDR menu which was nice because then you could kind of mix it up and if there wasn’t an appetizer you liked on the menu you could try one from the MDR.
We sailed on three Celerity cruises in the upper suites. The separation from the rest of the ship with the retreat, keeps the young or old issue out of bounds. Only complaint is the Kelly Hoppin furniture which is very low and is an issue for older pax. On the last two cruises I hooked my foot on the furniture and injured myself. Too many little pieces that are hazards in heavy weather.
You convinced us to go! I have been researching cruises for the Norwegian Fjords with my husband, found this set you did on Celebrity, and we decided to go with them for next summer. Thank you for all of the videos on Celebrity. We will be perfectly happy on the Silhouette.
Really interesting video Gary. I agree with your analysis and conclusions although individual cruise itineraries and dates can also impact the experience and perhaps highlight the gap between what Celebrity aspires to be and its past. I sailed on a Solstice-class ship in August with lots of families and an Edge-class ship in November with a much older guest contingent. On the latter cruise, there was a Q&A session with the Cruise Director and two of the questions were "what happened to the Library?" and "what happened to the Card Room?" As a new solo cruiser, I thought that that the cruise experience was excellent on both ships, particularly the food and the service as you highlighted, as well as the accommodations. I found the entertainment to be a bit of a mixed bag; audience reaction seemed to be polite but lukewarm so I think this is still an area for improvement. Re prices, I managed to get some great deals in the spring/summer (heavily discounted, no single supplements) but the prices are much higher now. That said, it hasn't deterred me from booking more cruises with Celebrity so perhaps their strategy is working. Thanks for your many helpful videos - it's a great channel!
We just got back from our first cruise since 2019 (pre-CVD) and were on the Apex. Previously we were on the Reflection twice & the Silhouette so this was our first Edge-class ship. We ended up liking the Infinite Balcony and the bathrooms in general (larger showers!). The buffet was just as good (we never go to the dining room, it's 3 buffets a day for my hubby) but the shopping was pretty poor. Even their Black Friday sales (on Thurs and ON Black Friday) included the same merchandise with the vast majority of products not discounted at all. We went for the cruise-only fares since neither of us drink and the wifi usually stinks (it did on this cruise, too, from what we heard from others). We've already booked our next cruise so it wasn't all that bad. But it is on the Silhouette. Absolutely nothing against the Edge-class, though! Great video, as usual, Gary!!
We just took our first Celebrity Summit cruise to New England and Canada. The ONLY disappointment was that we were unable to do most of the ports (due to Hurricane Fiona). EVERTHING ELSE about the cruise was outstanding and amazing: the staff, the food, the entertainment, THE SOLARIUM, our room, the dining room! I just can't say enough about what a great time we had! We have booked a second transatlantic with Celebrity Beyond and a Hawaiian circle cruise out of San Diego! We will enjoy more!
Love your channel, Gary. The information is presented in a comfortable, informative, and engaging way. I really appreciate your insights. I’ve been using your input to prepare for my first cruise in 20 years as we celebrate my father’s birthday.
I have been sailing with Celebrity since 1990, I have been on 34 Celebrity cruises. I will not get into how great they were from 1990 -1997...when Celebrity was bought by RCCL, Celebrity went down hill very rapidly, Soon they introduced Aqua Class and we fell in love with all the Amenities...a few years later, many of the amenities either disappeared or was severely downgraded, in fact during this time the food in Blu was no better then the main dining room....But then something else happened, though they did not bring back any of the Aqua Class features prices across the board started to rise drastically but along with that service and food quality started to rise again and has greatly improved. I sailed on the Edge in Europe though the food in the 4 dining rooms were very good along with the service, the deal breaker for me is the infinite verander. IMHO all the Infinite Verander is, is a room with a window that opens. I love the traditional verander where you can step outside instead of sitting in a room with a open window. Until Celebrity builds a Edge class with classic veranders I will stick with the Summit and Soltice class.
I just got off a Celebrity cruise and was highly disappointed in the quality of food, service and general activities. It appears as if they are marketing toward families vs a more luxury line. Will not rebook.
We have done 16 or 17 Celebrity cruises. The last 2 on the Apex. We sail on the Millennium in October so will give a good comparison back to a regular balcony. My feeling after the two Apex Infinity experiences was that I would prefer regular balconies in warmer climates like the Caribbean or Mediterranean. But Infinity in cooler such as the Baltic and North Sea. I like that the Infinity always gave us a view of the ocean. We never closed the blinds. We never actually used the regular balconies in the Baltic even in Late June.
Gary, my wife and I are about to book our first cruise on the QM2. I'm sending her your videos on the topic. Thanks for your informative videos and blogs over the years! We'll be doing the Canadian sight seeing tour in September for our honeymoon!
One thing you cannot plan is how good your Cruise Director is, the best ones match the available talent both professional and amateur on the ship and learn quickly what works and what doesn't for the particular passengers on your boat. The other tip is to avoid the lady who became known as the ' Death Eater' on our table, she has 3 cruises a year but non can match the one she had in 1953, and she will go to great lengths to criticise the current cruise and every other cruise she has been on.
OMG, I know what you mean with the "death eater"! Saying things like what you mentioned is just non stop complaining. Let me enjoy my cruise. I am there to relax and enjoy not to hear someone constantly complain.
Gary - love your channel and your comprehensive and informative presentation style - thx for your efforts ! We experienced our first Celebrity cruise, and in every way, it was superb. Our trip was an early October twelve day voyage thru the Greek Isles, along with stops in Istanbul, Athens, and Naples (culminating in a final stop in Rome). I would say that the entertainment (every night) was engaging and satisfying. Yes, the songs and performances are not highly original, but they are relaxing and refreshing to watch. The center Atrium was a great congregation spot after dinner, and a wonderful place to meet new friends. Looking forward to your review of the Celebrity Ascent (late 2023) !
I just finished a Celebrity cruise on the Solstice. They are trying to push the luxury experience with over the top service but failed a bit with the food. For instance I don't need my room cleaned 3 times a day. After a while it started getting a bit annoying having the steward lurking right outside our room waiting for the "do not disturb" sign to fall. And in the public toilets there is always some guy watching you use the urinals. Then at the same time the coffee shop and Mast grill was woefully understaffed. The main dinning had good food and great service so it didn't make any sense to try any of the other restaurants. So basically the whole 5th deck was a waste of space other than the coffee shop. A huge area dedicated to overpriced art and watches. The buffet was OK but started getting sick of it after eating there a couple of times.
Hey Gary, you're bang on. Having just gotten off the Silhouette this morning (I'm in my 30s), I found the experience to fit traditional cruisers very well. As for the song selection, I thought it was a bit older, especially when compared with the HAL cruise I took just a month prior. HAL played pop and EDM - which surprised me since I thought they catered to the older demographic.
I'm so intrigued to try the EDGE-class of ships - I've only cruised on Silhouette, but was really impressed. I'm keen to see if the feel of Silhouette (what 'feels like Celebrity') for me, translates to the other ships. I do find that the older MSC ships feel VERY different to the newer ones, and want to see first-hand if this is the same thing with Celebrity. Great video as always, sir!
I had one of the best deals ever on a Celebrity cruise back in September. It was on the Equinox Southern Caribbean route, and I had an interior cabin in an excellent location midship. As a solo traveler, that was more than good enough for me. At my stage, I'm not into the suites as I spend very little time other than to sleep in my cabin. Anyway, my point is: It's probably best to start out with what someone's price point is and what time of year they want to cruise. For example, some people are only looking for suites, and wouldn't be happy with less. Then there are people like myself who are more about the cruise and are happy with the less expensive options.
Thank you Gary. My in-laws and husband are begging me to cruise with them. I just don’t want a Carnival Cruise, spring break atmosphere. It looks like celebrity is the best choice.
We travelled on Celebrity Apex in May all about the British Aisles. Previously my cruise experiences were on RCCL, Princess, and one Carnival. Carnival is not for me. RCCL was great, but I no longer wish to use the activities aimed at younger cruisers. I found Princess to simply be okay. After my Retreat experience, I'm now spoiled. We booked another cruise on Edge this year. Barcelona to Rome for 12 days. In a Sky Suite. I found the food, service, and ship itself, to be superior to any previous experience. Eden is the finest dining experience I've ever had on a cruise. Yes, they are more expensive. However, when I receive the experience I expect for paying more, I'm good with that.
When I was on Celebrity Beyond in September I discovered the music playlist on the ship’s Navigation TV channel (where you can see the view from the bridge and the navigation maps) which plays very contemporary music. I would often have it playing in the background when I was in my stateroom. I think it’s the same music they play in the public areas of the ship.
I like the idea of a Rooftop Garden to relax and walk around in, most cruise lines have tiny pools anyways and lot of waste of space for sunbathing this is just a waste of resources. Pools and hot tubs are nothing but a liability for cruise lines thats why they are becoming smaller and smaller, plus it requires heavy structural reinforcement. Great video.
Celebrity is definitely on my list to try. I am nearly 60 and I think I'd sail the Edge Class. But, before I make a decision, I will rewatch all of your Celebrity videos because you are the expert. Thank you for an excellent video.
I sailed on the EDGE in April 2022 and on the APEX three weeks ago (identical sister ships), and I don't think you should hesitate to pull the trigger and book a cruise on these stunning ships. The service, the food, the shows, the activities...all wonderful! My friend and I started with Celebrity on the Millennium in November 2021, and we loved the experience so much that we decided to try the EDGE five months later, and now we are totally head-over-heels in love with Celebrity's EDGE-class ships, although I don't mind at all sailing on the older ships, all of which have been updated and remodeled or "revolutionized", as Celebrity likes to call it. This is where the Nike slogan comes in handy....JUST DO IT!!! 😄
Interesting thoughts Gary. We are aprx 60 and have cruised for 19 yrs mainly on RCL and viewed Celeb. as ‘stuffy’. However the new Edge ships intrigue me, meanwhile the new RC Wonder/Icon OTS holds no appeal ! Things are changing for sure .
We were on the Reflection a few weeks back. The food was not very good. The service in MDR was very spotty. Cabin steward was not focused on the details.
Look at the "cruise only" fares! I had vacation plans fall through, so booked/planned a new vacation with 3 weeks lead time. My travel agent gave me the "inclusive" and "cruise only" prices. 5 nights "Concierge" level (veranda with a few small perks) on a Millennium class. The inclusive price was more than double, and after paying for basic wifi, gratuities, and drink package (premuim non-alcoholic), I still had enough of a difference that my airfare and 2 nights (1 before & 1 after) at a hotel near the port was ~$100 more than the inclusive cruise fare would have been. Also, they may be changing how they charge for more people in the same room. The cruise only price has been "2nd person 75% off". The sale ends then an identical one starts, several times.
We traveled to Alaska on Celebrity this summer and I found it to be a lot like Royal Caribbean or NCL in terms of service and food. Unfortunately the entertainment was very weak and the people onboard were older and stuffy compared to above mentioned lines. We are mid 40s with teens. The ship was beautiful and never felt crowded despite being at capacity. Overall I was a little disappointed.
Gary, Excellent comprehensive yet not painfully long review...,. I have travelled on most premium and super premium lines... As far as the Celebrity experience I could not agree with you more... I think the Retreat experience rivals similar experiences on the other premium and luxury lines... ONE THING.... the Luminae restaurant AND BLU restaurant allow you to order off the menu....
2 over 60s cruised Summit and Reflection last year. Our experience on the Summit was Better. BUT Destinations and time of year will make a huge difference on your Cruise Experience. SUMMIT was fall Boston to Quebec no kids on board. REFLECTION New Years Eve Caribbean cruise. We prefer the Summit and no kids which means picking our cruise when kids are in School, Caribbean will always have kids and a younger crowd.
I have cruised Solstice Class and Millennium Class Celebrity cruise ships, with Edge Class coming this summer (fair warning to Norway - thanks Gary for the Norway cruise videos, btw!). I agree that Luminae needs to add more variety (or flexibility) to their menus, especially breakfast, as that gets repetitive and boring on any cruise longer than a week.
Went on celebrity 7 years ago and it was amazing, on a cruise right now and it just hasn't delivered as previous cruises has. Service, food, speed all down from previous experiences.
This is one of THE BEST videos you've ever made, Gary. And as an avid Celebrity cruiser, I agree 100% with the points you raised. The biggest issue I find people having is the traditional verandahs vs infinite verandahs. I feel that the constant reminders about the surveys mean that the employees are actually afraid of them and I noted this multiple times to Celebrity.
Oh, well... Infinite cabins will be great... If done right, like MSC is doing on the World Europa. Give me a larger hotel room at sea at the expense of not having a balcony, and I'd to pay a premium for it. Now X is doing it by pretending you have a balcony... You haven't, have you?... This is the kind of inconsistency that's unexpected from the likes of X. Hope they correct for the next ships and on their first 5 years old dry dock for the existing ones!
I’m a very youthful 54 year old and I cannot wait for my Celebrity Beyond Cruise this coming February! I think the Edge Class ships are what I was waiting for with Celebrity and I think it’s going to be a perfect fit for Me!
I love the decor on Celebrity. It feels more fresh and modern and I enjoyed my cruise on Apex this past July but when looking for a one week cruise to Norway the price point was so over priced. Ill go with Holland who i also enjoy even at the expense of modern decor and the martini bar which we loved on Celebrity
Well having had to wait from 2020 for my first ever cruise on a a celebrity chartered sailing, I finally had my maiden voyage on the beyond in its inaugural season - thanks in no small part to you, not only have I had another cruise since but I start work with the most brilliant cruise agent! I’m pretty sure if celebrity hadn’t delivered delivered I might not be the cruise addict I have become. I’m hoping that they split between family travel and non family travel though.. xx
This was a great video talking about new and old Celebrity. I have sailed on a on a Millennium class ship (Infinity) and Royal Caribbean's Vision OTS. Both were great but Celebrity was just a little bit better and more to my taste. However, looking at the Edge class ships, I'm not that interested. Mostly due to my tastes and not because the ships doesn't look interesting. I am looking at a more traditional and relaxed/tone down cruise experience. I am planning on going on a NCL cruise in 2024 to Aus/NZ. I chose NCL over Celebrity because they also had an itinerary that allows for seeing both countries while Celebrity was either seeing NZ or Australia. This video is giving me the indication that maybe I need to switch to NCL for the future. Thanks!
I am really happy to hear about the elevated quality of food. I have primarily been a Royal Caribbean cruiser but have recently been dissatisfied with the food quality. I booked my next 2 cruises on Celebrity.
The food is brilliant...The staff are incredible...This cruise is made by the unwavering high standards and dedication to customer services from every staff member. I was blown away by the hard work( team work) to keep the masses happy...Great hansom ship which breezed through high winds on our first night.
We find Celeb is doing more cutbacks, cutting corners, taking away benefits one had previously. Examples are things like having a lavazza in room are now "only penthouse", guess they havent sailed NCL suites.. The food in the restaurants used to be exceptional, now it can be hit and miss... The food choices have also been cut back. We only sail solstice/century class because we love our balcony and have been cruising celeb (and ncl a few times) since the mid 90s.
Just back from our trip on Edge. Our 5th cruise with Celebrity and our last, certainly on Edge class. We’re late 50’s and opted for suite class. Retreat was lovely, cabin great but the food was very average at best ( I’m a former professional chef). Previous cruises have been in either on solstice or millennium class with cabins in Aquaclass with exclusive use of Blu when the food was outstanding. We dined in Blu the first night and the food was inedible and had to be sent back and Luminae was no different until we and are travelling companions complained. The wine list has shrunk in an attempt to up sell bottles even though we had a Premium Drinks Package. Another complaint direct to the Miami office, sorted this. Our butler had been promoted from cabin attendant the week prior with no training. Mixed age group of travellers with many older teenagers a group of which snuck in to the Retreat area and had to be escorted out. Hardly any officers about, never saw the Master and many crew were clearly inexperienced. Some of our waiters were outstanding and one in Eden made the most amazing Old Fashion and French 75 cocktails. Celebrity like many other cruise companies fired all their staff during the pandemic and can’t re-hire them or find good crew.
My husband and I just went on our first cruise on Celebrity Solstice going to Alaska. We had a wonderful experience and found the staff very accommodating to my husband who is partially blind and was in a wheelchair. We had an accessible balcony zero obstructions. We loved the two formal nights! So much fun and I loved dressing up! My favorite place was Sky Lounge and the Lawn Club. I like that the classic drink package included some alcoholic drinks under $10 were not extra. I’m not a big drinker but it was nice to have a glass of wine once or twice. The shows were good and I found the adults only comedy show hilarious. There was one show I forget the name of that was really cool that had the performers flying and doing flips in the air. The internet was just ok as we had the basic package included in our fare. Our next cruise I’ve already upgraded to premium wifi!
I just got off the Beyond. I have been on 80 cruises. This was one of the very best ships I have been on. The food and service were first class. My only negative was the singers and dancers. I highly recommend Celebrity for a first class experience.
We sailed Apex in Sept for 12 days, repositioning from Amsterdam to Civivitechia. Age 68. Everything was good except dining service was inconsistent. Celebrity admitted they sailed 225 crew short. Incredible ship. Did not feel crowded except at prime time at the buffet. Plenty of other choices., though.
I just returned home April 15th (2023) from a 7 day cruise on Celebrity Apex which is an elegant, peaceful & beautiful high end ship! Three ports were visited: San Juan, PR; Tortola, BVI & St Kitts, West Indies ---> LOVED ALL OF THEM!!! I enjoyed this ship very much. After docking at 3:30 PM, we walked around Old San Juan near the port. We took no excursions on San Juan because the ship arrived late & would remain at port until.10PM. I have been to SJ in the past and had already visited El Cristobal Fort & El Morro which are highly recommended as excursions. In Tortola, we took the Town & Country Tour including one hour at Cane Garden Bay Beach, then we returned going around Tortola from another direction (3.5 hrs). We saw amazing views of Roadtown & our ship, plus many jaw dropping views of various islands & landscapes. Our driver & tour guide was Kumba and he was fantastic. St Kitts was our third island, where Century Apex & three other ships docked, Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas, a Carnival ship & Marella Explorer 2. Needless to say, the area outside the gate was crowded with people milling about trying to find their line for the booked excursions. Royal Carribean passengers were most numerous as their ship was huge. We took the "Scenic island cruise and beach tour" (3.5 hrs). A boat took us away from the pier and we viewed several islands at a leisurely pace while heading toward the most beautiful view in the distance, the island of Nevis. We had one hour to enjoy Lime Beach (part of Pinney's beach) near the Marriott Hotel. Then qe returned by boat to the marina. The ship Celebrity Apex was *ASTONISHING*. The Theater entertainment was *PHENOMENAL* with singing, dancing, & acrobatics included in highly creative programs!!! Also, individual singers on specific nights were extraordinairily talented!!! Everything was memorable about the Celebrity Apex! Not enough space here nor enough time to describe what was so great & why it was so memorable & enjoyable!
This is interesting. I'd love to see more solo traveler recommendations videos for pricing and experience. As well as how amenable places are for food allergies, such as gluten-free or sugar restrictions. I'm just learning about this cruise world, and as a single adult female with food allergies, it seems like an insurmountable thing to really get a good grasp on with what cruise line I should go with to fit my travels.
As my food allergies are to fish and eggplant, it was pretty easy for me to avoid items and find alternatives. A friend who is a coeliac asked me about the food and I played a little more attention after that. While it was harder to see dietry informationin in the cafeteria and other people were ignorant of cross contamination and used serving implements which they shouldn't have, the fine dining options had little icons next to the menu choices with dietary information. They labelled things as containing gluten, meat or being vegan. I asked about any fish stock being in a prawn meal and was served it without sauce to avoid a dangerous reaction. So some allergies might be relatively easy to contend with. But your food options may be reduced.
Interesting to see how cruise lines change over time. We sailed with Celebrity the first time in 2009 to Norway. We loved it and thought they had wonderful service & extra touches like chocolate on your pillow. We again sailed on Celebrity Solstice in 2018 to Australia/New Zealand. and found that the service had significantly gone down. There were not the little service extras. There definitely was louder music and game shows for younger people. We unfortunately had a cabin more near the atrium so we found it to be loud after 10 o’clock. So now it sounds like celebrity is moving back to better service. They were fabulous with meeting our medical needs on that cruise and refunded anything that we were not able to attend, even if it was at the last minute.
Your videos are outstanding. My wife and I are considering the Viking Mississippi cruise. The ship was launched in 2022 and looks beautiful. Would LOVE for you to do a Viking Mississippi cruise review. It looks very appealing. Thanks!
You might want to wait on the Viking Mississippi cruise until the Mississippi River recovers from the draught. The boat had to quit its cruises because the water was too low. The Viking Mississippi is intriguing though.
There are some great fares available at the moment in the Celebrity ‘ Semi Annual Sale ‘ , unfortunately there seems to be no special offers for single travellers.
Hi and thanks for the video! Recently booked an upcoming trip on the Beyond. We'll be on the lower rungs of the ship's caste system. Will we still be able to find peaceful areas of the ship and low-key venues that, for example, play unplugged instrumental jazz? Or will be stuck on a loud, obnoxious boat with rampaging feral children for seven days because the illuminati suites were out of our budget? I've seen commercials for Carnival where people are shrieking like harpies on roller coasters and pool side twerking. Please tell me it's not going to be like that on a Celebrity cruise. If so, I'd rather stay home and shovel snow.
Excellent content as always, Gary. We (mid-60's age group) did an 8 night Western Med cruise on the Edge in late September. It was our first on Celebrity and we booked a sky suite so had access to the Retreat and related amenities. Overall we had a great experience and meet some wonderful folks of all ages. There weren't many children on the ship due to the time of year I suppose. Interestingly enough, the cost of our cruise was actually less than a similar 7 night itinerary on NCL in the Haven. We've cruised the Haven on a couple of occasions and I would rate the Retreat on Celebrity slightly above in terms of the quality of food and service but both are wonderful experiences. While we sometimes miss the more formal times of years gone by even on land, we do enjoy the flexibility of a more casual cruise experience.
Good video. But for solo travellers there is more to consider than the cabin and fare. For example, on Seabourn, they make a point of inviting solo travellers to hosted tables for dinner. This helps to meet people and be part of the cruise. How would you rate celebrity for solo travellers aside from cabin and fare? Thanks!
I fell in love with Celebrity after my first cruise and have been a loyal customer to them ever since. I’ve only ever sailed once on RC and it was fine but I prefer the polish that Celebrity has.
Same here, Michael! My first Celebrity cruise was on Millennium in Nov. 2021, and both my friend and I loved it! We were super impressed with the service, attention to detail, cleanliness and quality of the food. Five months later, we sailed on EDGE, and then just three weeks ago I went solo on APEX. Celebrity has definitely won me over! 😄
I’m looking for a new line to check out, probably in late ‘24 or sometime in ‘25. We’ve only done P&O cruises (4 so far with the 5th next April) to date … um, not quite right, we have done two Hurtigruten coastal express cruises but they are such a different experience that I frequently don’t count them 😂 Anyway, our last cruise was so *meh* and full of new micro-transactions (nickel and dime-ing) that, if we didn’t already have one booked, I would be searching for a new line to try. Maybe for the one after that. We like quiet (not a “party boat”), casual (but can do smart/formal when necessary), good food, plenty of sea days etc. Our biggest restriction on who we choose is they have to be “no-fly” round trips from a UK port (preferably south coast). I won’t subject my wheelchair to baggage handlers unless it is essential travel. We’d love to do the Queen Mary transatlantic crossing, but it would have to be both ways, back to back. Cunard might be a good option, we have shares in their owning corporate, so get extra on-board spending (our last cruise ended up with £700 to spend -we *just* managed it!) We don’t have any desire to spend time in the US - my health conditions mean I carry a metric fuckton of prescription medication and I’m not fighting TSA about it 😊
I’m watching this again as I just booked my first celebrity cruise (Millenium -Japan summer 2024). I was able to book room only. If I wanted the everything included package my inside room would have been $2000 more for a 12 day cruise! I’m going alone and that is way too much!
Hi Gary. Never been on a cruise before but have been looking at all the options for Alaska cruises. Where would you consider Norwegian in the cruise landscape? I noticed you identified Celebrity, Princess and Holland in the "Premium" category, below the smaller luxury lines. Is Norwegian also in the Premium camp? Or closer to the more budget friendly cruise lines like Carnival and Royal Caribbean? Thanks.
Hi Gary, First of all, my sincere thanks for sharing your experiences and your videos were a major reason prompting us to book a cruise. I have a query about Celebrity. Its our first cruise next week and we got a document containing all details about cruise. One page was details about booking a future cruise with $100 payment. Do you think its a good idea to book a future cruise that way vs booking through an agent? I followed your advise to book through an agent but this offer was tempting. Looking forward to hearing from you.
In the 90s, the food on Celebrity was fantastic. I wouldn't say the same in the 2000s but always good to see a cruise line up their game. When they began, Celebrity had ushered in a new age of cruising compared to the cruising on ships from the 80s and before. I always tip ship crew above and beyond and same with hotel housekeepers.
It’s interesting- contemporary does not always appeal to me especially music. So I see the fact the acts being 60s and 70s as a huge plus. My own view is there should be a good mix particularly with music.
I found the food poor on Celebrity... unless of course you were prepared to pay at least several hundred dollars to eat each night in one of their speciality restaurants . The buffet lacked any kind of variety, taking the same protein and dumping new sauces on it each night. They didn't even have a soup station. Now if you like bread and dessert, pizza there was lots of that. In the sit down restaurant, they pretended to ask how you liked your steak. I tried the restaurant three times - asking for medium rare and it came back medium well each-and-every-time. Once you overcook a steak it is pointless to send it back as now your partner eats alone while they're-cooking your order. The fancy martini bars.. yea great - as long as you are prepared to pay $20++ US plus for one cocktail. The reality with Celebrity is they get you in the door with one price and by my calculations they want you to spend at least triple that for the "real" Celebrity experience. Bait and switch. Won't return.
Hi Gary, I’m a long time cruiser with Celebrity. The Millennium class is my favorite, next would be the Solstice fleet. That said, I was a big fan of Century, Galaxy, and Mercury. My next voyage is on Summit in the Retreat. I also have a 2024 trip booked on Beyond in the Retreat. I find there is real value added in the all inclusive package with booking in the Retreat. Luminae is worth the price alone in my opinion! Another tip is to regularly check for price changes after the initial reservation. I got an 1,100 USD adjustment on my upcoming Summit trip earlier this year. My Beyond cruise, however, has gone up in price by 2K since booking during the June summer sale. I’m definitely looking forward to comparing my next two cruises. Keep the informative videos coming. Cheers 🚢
Century, Galaxy and Mercury were their best ships IMO. They weren't cookie cutters of each other and had so many quiet spaces and elegant lounges while being contemporary yet classic. I thought the Millennium class weren't quite as nice as they were more cookie cutter like.
We love Celebrity, we’ve sailed with them 3 times and will be on Edge in early 2024. The Edge class ships look to be an absolute game changer. I’m not sure how we will adjust give my Mum and I aren’t ‘high energy’ people.
I've sailed with Celebrity a lot. The last time was a couple of months ago, a transatlantic on The Beyond. The ship's decor is gorgeous, but not being in suite class, there were lines for all the other restaurants, and due to lack of employees, the service was sub-par. They can call themselves "luxury," but the cruise felt far from luxurious. Nothing special at the buffet, lousy service in the dining rooms, long lines...the worst experience I've had on a cruise ship (except for Carnival). Actions speak louder than words Get it together, Celebrity. P.S. The dance performance in the theater was great, and I like the large swimming pool--why the hot tubs are two stories up, involving climbing windy stairs, is another mystery.
I used to cruise with Cunard or Princess and I adore these ships. In 2015 I had to take Celebrity passing the Panama Canal from Fort Lauderdale to Valparaiso because Princess had no vacancies any more. I was so dissapointed with Celebrity ship because the food; was terrible they always run out of cakes in the afternoon, and in main dining room the food was tasteless (I am a Hobby gourmet cook) not to mention in Buffet Restaurant, the walking path outside was untidy especially the windows, I guessed they rarely clean the glasses. The personals were not so friendly like Cunard and Princess. That is why I have never tried the celebrity cruises any more. Before this, in 2011 I took a cruise to Alaska with Soltice but the ship was very contemporary style, I should say a luxury form of Ikea Interior decorations of Sweden!
I just got off a 10 day on the Silhouette - my first, and likely last cruise with celebrity. It was clear this cruise line markets (advertised) toward gen-x and elder millennials (I am 39), but the onboard experience was tailored only for the 70+ crowd. If you're looking to sleep for most of your cruise, celebrity is the way to go.
For anyone who's tried an Edge-class infinite veranda, can the blackout blinds be stopped part way? So e.g. could we open it 1/3 to let some light in at the bottom of the window? Or does it automatically open/close all the way? Thanks!
Although I have been on celebrity, they have gone ultra modern, like a 5 star hotel on park ave. I like to feel like I am on a ship. Entertainment and food is great, but they lack onboard activities, besides drinking, which I also enjoy. Now I travel hal. I love trivia , game shows, not in the atrium with limited seating, but in a designated area.So much fun. At night I like to listen or should I say sing to Led Zepplin, motown,carly simon, etc. I am definetly old school , but I am happy in my era. HAL all the way for older travellers who still remember the good old days, and still know how to party, just not as late into the night. We need our sleep to feel fresh in the morning. lol
Absolutely agree - I’m afraid I fall into the category of ‘traditional elderly cruiser’ and disliked and was massively disappointed with my last cruise in October on the Edge. I have no desire to repeat that experience. The ship felt over-busy and noisy with very few, if any places, where one could relax quietly. In stark contrast with Celebrity cruises I’ve done on Silhouette and Reflection. My fear, however, is that with time Celebrity will not replace those types of ships and offer cruises for people like me. Thanks for your video.
That is disappointing. I just completed a Royal Oasis cruise and the ship was so loud and chaotic. I love to find quiet nooks to enjoy a book and there were no places. I had better luck on Carnival and that is absurd.
Really enjoyed your videos! We are relatively new to cruise (sailed on Sky Princess once before the pandemic), and we are planning our next cruise on Celebrity. One surprise finding is that for Celebrity the on-board Wi-Fi is $35/day/device (and $70/day for two people)! I'm talking about the so-called premium package which would allow streaming shows or videos. Even the All Inclusive package would only include basic Wi-Fi services like surfing the web and checking emails. This feels awfully expensive to us. On the contrary, the Wi-Fi service equivalent to Celebrity's premium package cost only $10/day/device with Princess. If you don't know the difference between basic and premium Wi-Fi package, you might end up paying extra once on-board, as few people these days will be satisfied with what the basic Wi-Fi package would offer. Do I get the fact right? Appreciate your comment/insight and thank you for your excellent work!
I just came back on Jan. 21 from a 7-night cruise on Celebrity APEX. I had the all-included fare, and I paid $95 to upgrade to premium Wi-Fi for the entire week. Celebrity is now using Starlink, and let me say that it is AWESOME! I was uploading bunches of photos to FB, and the uploads were done super fast! No issues at all with streaming or videos either. Honestly, I was extremely impressed because this exceeded my expectations for Wi-Fi onboard. The $95 was definitely well worth it!
Once you are onboard the price for wifi is very expensive! So we stayed with the basic which was just ok. For the next cruise I called them and was able to get premium wifi for two devices for the cruise for $139 which I was ok with as it was cheaper. I also learned to book and pre pay for spa/salon appointments as they were so much cheaper! For example I prepaid for two hair appointments and each cost me $56 whereas if I made the hair appointment onboard the cost was $81 each appointment! And this was for an updo for the formal nights.
Celebrity differs a lot by boat. On the Edge class US sailings it’s a more upscale 30-40 Something market or older hipsters and everyone gets on great. In some the EU sailings you have more older Brits and I enjoy it but I prefer Virgin over the EU / British sailings.
Hmm, it is always hard to generalize but my thoughts are a bit different. I returned recently on the Conne (millennium class) & it left much to be desired. Pre c-19, Celebrity was my only choice. . i always loved the multiple itineraries and life at sea. We are in the 60's, very active and rarely take ship shore excursions as they are too boring and constraining. I found it somewhat disappointing, The ole class was missing, I love the ship but it was very tired, Much varnish was needed, and paint (esp white) and black mould on the windows, esp around the pool. Service was hit and miss - very good to really poor. A function of almost all new crews in training. The one thing consistent was high costs for everything resulting in far less Value. We took concierge service for the 1st & last time.I love the traditional millennium class but gee, way overtime for a retrofit. I hope they are not planning to scrap them as they are on the preferred small size. I have no interest in the glitizy Edge class (it was in Cozumel at the same times as us. the food and dining was hit and miss with much repetition. As some1 onboard stated, we just have to lower our expectations generally, for the foreseeable future. I agree but there has to be a value connection. But Today, i think i would likely return to sea shore vacations
This is convincing me to drop the money for the upscale service next time I wanna go. First time cruising was on the Celebrity Solstice and it was boring, dated and just felt dingy. Like I was on a retirement home tour. Plus the food was terrible and it was so crowded! But all these images look fantastic! Next time… upscale experience for Sure. I want to feel like I’m on vacation, not in purgatory.
My family sailed on the Beyond in June ‘22, in two suites where our teens had their own. We found the ship activities limited and boring, stuffy, and an overall pretentious atmosphere with ugly art, and much wasted space and too many dead ends while trying to get from one place to another. It was an inefficient layout overall. Our suite staterooms were great though, very spacious and comfortable. But the worst part was the food quality, only mediocre at best almost everywhere. We dined in 3 speciality restaurants and only found that Eden had wonderful food and was worth the very significant up-charge we paid. Luminae, the special restaurant for us as suite guests, was also very underwhelming. Also there were only mediocre quality alcohol offerings and when I found a cocktail I liked in one restaurant early in the cruise, I had significant difficulty getting in anyplace else onboard, even though I told the staff where it was offered, the name, and even the ingredients. And the drink service overall was a constant source of frustration. We waited over 30 mins for a simple iced tea or club soda so many times that I would just go to the bar myself to get them faster.
As a long time Celebrity cruiser, I feel a little cheated by the emphasis on suite cruisers. I understand why, but all that area set aside isn’t available to me anymore.
Great video, congrats!... While; on one hand X is becoming sort of more sophisticated and modern like experience wise, I don't think they're leaning to the small ship experience like sort of cruise vacation. Maybe; generations are changing and X is going to adapt to the likes of the current 50 somethings with kids now well done on their lives... Folks coming from the mainstream lines, some with older kids, perhaps, whom want a more traditional even though flexible cruising experience... This seems to be X focus. No small ship experience possible when your ships are becoming 3k+ guests per sailing!... Obviously for the current X regulars I may recommend to stick with the older ships as long as they're available!
We've recently returned from a Celebrity cruise (Sydney to NZ, return, on the Eclipse). It was our second cruise - the first was with Norwegian around the Mediterranean a couple of years ago. I was shocked with how much more expensive everything was (gift store, excursions, specially dining). The service was fantastic and could not be faulted. The staff in the included fine dining resteraunt (Moonlight Sonata) were amazing and we were asked to fill out the survey by the head waiter. She explained how important it was to her team's employment and promotion opportunities. While the food choices were not huge, they were adequate and we were able to find something new to eat, most evenings. The cafeteria food was disappointing in that there was little variety (my personal gripe was that they kept serving baked ham and called it roast pork - not a deal breaker, just annoying as I really would have enjoyed some roast pork!). We only dined in a specially restaurant for my husband's birthday (Tuscan Grill) and it was superb, just too expensive for us to do more than once. Also, all charges were in US$ so you had to consider that. The stage shows were a mixed bag. The ship band was fantastic! Katei (a rock violinist - you can find him on youtube) was by far our favourite performer and I highly recommend him - a great mix of modern and classical music performed with high energy and great humour. So - while we enjoyed the cruise - we probably wouldn't prioritise Celebrity, again. I'd rather have more cash for excursions and be able to afford the occasional speciality dining experience. Oh, the one thing I didn't anticipate as it hadn't been a problem the last cruise, was the noise from the deck above in the late evening (like 2230-2330hrs) - kids running and jumping! Like a pack of huge kangaroos having a party! That's not Celebrity's fault, though, and they were quick to deal with it ... each time.
We took the Eclipse from Vancouver to Sydney just before you must have embarked. Keep watching Gary, he can help anticipate things like poor cabin locations. We are almost exclusively Celebrity and cannot find a significant .reason to change
I agree absolutely... One of the specialty restaurants cost more than $500 per couple **extra **. The cost of booze was sheer usery. I think they are really jacking up the prices and forcing you to partake for anything decent. Won't be going back.
We are in our 60s and would NEVER take kids on any line other than budget. We booked Carnival Horizon with our Grandson, but booked ultra expensive Galápagos Machu Pichu with my Hisband and I on Celebrity and a back to back to the Great Barrier Reef and NZ. I think it depends on the age and style of the travelers. My kids and grandkids who we pay for, don’t deserve or need Celebrity, but when we cruise alone, as a couple we prefer it.
Tried celebrity this summer with partner and we’re both 30. I just couldn’t figure out who it was for. Entertainment was dated at least on silhouette, cruise director seemed obsessed with 60’s Motown which didn’t feel modern on any ship sailing today. Food was overall fine, nothing to shout about. Seemed like it was trying to please everyone but ultimately not satisfying anyone fully. There was nothing unique about sailing with celebrity.
