Just got back from a 7-day Alaskan Cruise with Celebrity Cruise line (Owned by RCCL).
We were part of a big family group as it was my in-laws 50th anniversary (And they paid for all of us to go! Thanks Mom and Dad! They even put our DDs in their own cabin!).
Both M&D and DW's brother said before hand that Celebrity was their favorite cruise line.
Here are some comparisons of DCL to Celebrity (OFten referred to just as "X" since that is their logo).
[Note: These are my experiences only and are not meant to be mean or belittle others. Set Flame throwers to "off " positions]
Rooms:
We book Cat 9 on DCL and had a similar room on X. MUCH SMALLER than DCL. Much less storage space.
NO SPLIT BATHROOMS. Gosh we missed them.
We had the best room in the group of seven rooms. All rooms had large porthole, but our king (nice) bed was set away from the outside wall and we had nice access with a sitting area.
Everyone loved our room and it became the party room.
It also had floor to ceiling mirrors facing the bed, which (a) led to increased feeling of space and (b) led M-I-L to blurt out This is the s*x room! as she walked in. My DD (13) turned crimson. We all had a great laugh. But then again ..
Service:
Our cabin steward and his attendant were great. All the others in our group said they were the best they had ever had and never had so much friendly interaction with one before. (None had sailed DCL before).
However, he was equalled by DCL. Our last steward was very friendly. It may be just me but I always find them to be nice and personable on every ship Ive been on.
Food:
No comparison. DCL did a much better job, IMHO. Our servers were good (but the asst. seemed to have a lot to do and wasnt always right there with the drinks).
The food was nothing spectacular, and the portions were smallish. (Tell that to my bathroom scale!).
We were talking after the cruise and we were asking what was the best food item, and were a bit hard pressed. My answer was the consommés.
We did have great staff, including the head waiter who we saw every night .
The Ship:
Just Not Disney. No soaring lobby. The shows were ok, just not eye-popping.
Activities:
They had some, and a kids program. (Cant comment on that since DDs are teens.
No teen program, at least the kids went to.
Did have a decent casino, with a no-smoking area, though.
Itinerary:
OK. Im comparing apples to oranges here. Alaska to the Carribean.
The sights were amazing. Fishing in Ketchikan (Catch-I-Can! Salmon arrives Friday, smoked and processed).
Juneau we helicoptered to a glacier.
Sitka was a charming town, but it was rainy and that put a damper on things.
Wildlife was AMAZING. Bald eagles everywhere. Saw one swoop down and take a salmon out of the water so big the eagle couldnt get fully airborne. Just flew over the water with the fishs tail creating a wake in the water as it skimmed along. Just flew to the shore and chowed on it.
Our fishing charter captain called a BE down with a whistle and threw him a piece of cut herring that he took from no more than 10 feet away.
Whales! Saw them swimming, breaching, blowing air, etc.
My poor sister in law was at the wrong place at the wrong time. She NEVER saw one. Until the last dinner: going through the Inside Passage a pod of 3-4 Orcas swam right by our Dining room window! I thought she would jump out of the ship
NOTE: We did no ship excursions, just did them all on our own, usually using shoretrips.com.
OVERALL Rating:
Service: A
Food: B
Ship B+
Room B
Activities: B
Overall Celebrity Rating: B+.
Overall DCL Rating: A+
Conclusion:
While we had a ball, the ship just was not DCL. I think my rating would be a bit lower even if the itinerary hadnt been new to us and so amazing.
Cant wait to go back to DCL this Xmas!!!!
Sorry this was so long but hope it helps.
Again, these are just my views.
Jim
We were part of a big family group as it was my in-laws 50th anniversary (And they paid for all of us to go! Thanks Mom and Dad! They even put our DDs in their own cabin!).
Both M&D and DW's brother said before hand that Celebrity was their favorite cruise line.
Here are some comparisons of DCL to Celebrity (OFten referred to just as "X" since that is their logo).
[Note: These are my experiences only and are not meant to be mean or belittle others. Set Flame throwers to "off " positions]
Rooms:
We book Cat 9 on DCL and had a similar room on X. MUCH SMALLER than DCL. Much less storage space.
NO SPLIT BATHROOMS. Gosh we missed them.
We had the best room in the group of seven rooms. All rooms had large porthole, but our king (nice) bed was set away from the outside wall and we had nice access with a sitting area.
Everyone loved our room and it became the party room.
It also had floor to ceiling mirrors facing the bed, which (a) led to increased feeling of space and (b) led M-I-L to blurt out This is the s*x room! as she walked in. My DD (13) turned crimson. We all had a great laugh. But then again ..
Service:
Our cabin steward and his attendant were great. All the others in our group said they were the best they had ever had and never had so much friendly interaction with one before. (None had sailed DCL before).
However, he was equalled by DCL. Our last steward was very friendly. It may be just me but I always find them to be nice and personable on every ship Ive been on.
Food:
No comparison. DCL did a much better job, IMHO. Our servers were good (but the asst. seemed to have a lot to do and wasnt always right there with the drinks).
The food was nothing spectacular, and the portions were smallish. (Tell that to my bathroom scale!).
We were talking after the cruise and we were asking what was the best food item, and were a bit hard pressed. My answer was the consommés.
We did have great staff, including the head waiter who we saw every night .
The Ship:
Just Not Disney. No soaring lobby. The shows were ok, just not eye-popping.
Activities:
They had some, and a kids program. (Cant comment on that since DDs are teens.
No teen program, at least the kids went to.
Did have a decent casino, with a no-smoking area, though.
Itinerary:
OK. Im comparing apples to oranges here. Alaska to the Carribean.
The sights were amazing. Fishing in Ketchikan (Catch-I-Can! Salmon arrives Friday, smoked and processed).
Juneau we helicoptered to a glacier.
Sitka was a charming town, but it was rainy and that put a damper on things.
Wildlife was AMAZING. Bald eagles everywhere. Saw one swoop down and take a salmon out of the water so big the eagle couldnt get fully airborne. Just flew over the water with the fishs tail creating a wake in the water as it skimmed along. Just flew to the shore and chowed on it.
Our fishing charter captain called a BE down with a whistle and threw him a piece of cut herring that he took from no more than 10 feet away.
Whales! Saw them swimming, breaching, blowing air, etc.
My poor sister in law was at the wrong place at the wrong time. She NEVER saw one. Until the last dinner: going through the Inside Passage a pod of 3-4 Orcas swam right by our Dining room window! I thought she would jump out of the ship
NOTE: We did no ship excursions, just did them all on our own, usually using shoretrips.com.
OVERALL Rating:
Service: A
Food: B
Ship B+
Room B
Activities: B
Overall Celebrity Rating: B+.
Overall DCL Rating: A+
Conclusion:
While we had a ball, the ship just was not DCL. I think my rating would be a bit lower even if the itinerary hadnt been new to us and so amazing.
Cant wait to go back to DCL this Xmas!!!!
Sorry this was so long but hope it helps.
Again, these are just my views.
Jim
Is it a bear? 
!
