DCL v Celebrity

[sorceressk]

Can anyone compare the two? Is celebrity any good? Looking for another cruiseline to try different itineraries.

 

[tweis]

Can anyone compare the two? Is celebrity any good? Looking for another cruiseline to try different itineraries.

A very helpful and informative poster on the DIS, kcashner, took a Celebrity cruise to Alaska I think and could probably give you a good comparison, but she hasn't been on the boards lately. Maybe you could PM her if you do not get any other responses.

 

[2disneycruzrs]

I have yet to take a Celebrity cruise but will be doing so next summer in Alaska for work. My favorite travel agent (who doesn't book Disney) speaks highly of Celebrity for an affordable, high-quality cruise experience but the Solstice Class is the best to book. In my research, it doesn't seem Celebrity is the line for kids if that is important. They do a lot of classes at sea i.e. wine education, computer classes, etc. If you're looking at Celebrity for Alaska, I know for next year, the ship the Solstice is really the only one he recommended and it's only round-trip out of Seattle.

Celebrity is part of the Royal Caribbean family. This agent has always been happy with Celebrity. He used to really speak highly of Princess but as part of the Carnival family, he and his frequent cruise clients have seen the quality diminish over the last year, and now most of his clients are on Celebrity, RCCL, or higher-end lines.

 

[Golden Rose]

We've done both DCL and Celebrity and really enjoyed both for different reasons.

If you have children, particularly young children, DCL has better kids programming. Our son liked both the kids clubs, but he likes to spend a fair amount of time with the family. Family time was where DCL had way more options than X. There were so many things DS could do with me or DH, or with my mom, that were really enjoyable for mixed ages, such as the character drawing classes. There just wasn't much like that on X. He was 5 at the time, and napkin folding or cooking classes really weren't his thing.

The food on Celebrity was better. QSine remains our favorite restaurant at sea. The main dining room food was better, and the specialty restaurants were all excellent. (They also permit children in some of them on X. Our son loved QSine, and asked to go to the Bistro on 5 every day for crepes. We would not take him every day of our 2 week cruise, because even the smaller cover charge for the Bistro added up, but it didn't stop him from asking!) We really loved Palo, but honestly, X wins hands down on food.

The ships were both beautiful with art and interesting venues and nooks to explore. We loved both.

A room comparison wouldn't work for us. We were in two low level suites on Celebrity and the Walt Suite on Disney. The Walt wins hands down, but that isn't really fair to X! (The Walt Suite is actually the only reason we were happy with the food on DCL - we could get Palo delivered to our room. We had a couple of really mediocre meals when we ate in the MDR.)

As far as entertainment goes, we liked both for different reasons. X had lovely small ensembles around the ship, pretty much all the time. It felt like anywhere we walked, there was live music. It was wonderful. Disney had better evening entertainment, and the first run movie theater. We loved DCL's production shows. (We did like the shows with the aerialist on X, however.)

Celebrity has more routes that appeal to us. While we have a toddler, however, we're sticking with DCL.

Anyway, we love both. We would, and almost certainly will, cruise either again.

 

[jockotaco]

Can anyone compare the two? Is celebrity any good? Looking for another cruiseline to try different itineraries.

I have done celebrity (no kids) x4. RCL (with kids) x1 and have a July cruise on DCL booked. Comparing celebrity to royal hands down celebrity wins. Food is incredible, service top notch. Honestly after celebrity I didn't enjoy royal. If I were traveling with kids I would stay away from celebrity. Although they have kids clubs and kid areas the line is not designed nor does it cater to kids. If it was an adult trip and you are looking for relaxation, quality entertainment, incredible service and good food you can't miss with Celebrity. Ill post a comparison after our DCL cruise in July.

 

[Deb T.]

After 13 Disney cruises (4 Magic, 6 Wonder, 3 Dream), we sailed Celebrity's Summit on a 7nt to Bermuda last May. The first thing we noticed is that Celebrity's clientele is markedly older - we saw less than ten children under the age of 18! Celebrity Summit has a casino that takes up most of one deck. There is a charge for soda during non-meal times, but complimentary tea and coffee were available 24-hours. Celebrity has several great candy-type toppings for their hand-scooped ice cream, but their ice cream was available on a very limited basis, unlike Disney's self-service Scoops. We didn't care for the buffets on Celebrity - they consisted of the same exact foods everyday... same breakfast offerings, same lunch offerings, same dinner offerings, same late-night buffet offerings... every day... no variety at all. I can't comment on the main dining room because we sailed in their Aqua Class category, so we ate in their Blu (healthy specialty) restaurant every night. Their nightly shows are typical of Broadway revue, whereas DCL shows have a nice storyline. I believe Celebrity has a private island they share with another cruise line, but our itinerary did not include stopping there.

Just asked DH if he had any comments and he said: DCL is more "vibrant", food is better, ships are cleaner, and the shows are better. I should probably mention that we are "young at heart" and active, and usually sail without our grown children/grandchildren, and STILL prefer DCL over any other cruise line!

Those are just our own personal observations. Your mileage may vary.

 

[MousseauMob]

We have done and enjoyed both. My kids LOVED Celebrity's kids club, probably because with less kids they were able to bond better with the other kids as well as with the Councilor’s. Don't get me wrong, they love Disney also, but with so many kids sometimes it's more frantic an intimidating. I think Entertainment goes to Disney, but food goes to Celebrity. I'm not a good person to compare the staterooms, even though I've stayed in comparable rooms, but they were both the largest suites, and although Disney is better laid out for large family's (Celebrity's Penthouse Suite only sleeps 4, and that was with an additional rollaway added, where as DCL has 7 beds), on Celebrity the entire back half of the ship was our balcony with exercise equipment and a private hot tub. All the staff on both lines was wonderful with the kids, maybe a bit more attentive on Celebrity possibly because they don't see as many and miss their families. My biggest beef with Celebrity is the rooms are designed for 2 so if you have 3 or 4 or 5 - it is a challenge, whereas on DCL it's very comfortable.

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful cruise, no matter which line you choose.