My Celebrity comparison to DCL that nobody asked for...

[brentm77]

Forgive my obnoxiously verbose comparison. I added a TL;DR for those who don’t want to read my dissertation full of personal opinions.

TL;DR: Based on one Celebrity experience, I currently prefer Celebrity in many ways and would pick Celebrity over DCL maybe 2 out of 3 times. However, my wife and two college-age daughters prefer DCL, even though they thought Celebrity was good. The compromise for our family will probably be to use DCL for relaxing Caribbean vacations and sail Celebrity in destinations where there is a large price difference, such as Europe. I loved the food, MDR experience, ship design, service, and cleanliness. I didn’t love the upselling, missing DCL ambiance, and lack of hand washing.

Background: We have sailed DCL six times, on the Fantasy, Magic, and Wonder. Wonder was the most recent, and my favorite ship. We like Disney, visit the parks somewhat often (with decreasing frequency as of late), but sail DCL for cleanliness, service, passable food, ambiance, lack of smoking, entertainment, and Castaway Cay. Since the kids grew up, we don’t care about seeing characters or standing in line to meet them. But we all love sailing DCL.

Celebrity Experience: We recently sailed the Celebrity Edge in Alaska. It was absolutely amazing. Not only was the itinerary the second best we have sailed (with the Italy/Greek Isles still holding the top spot), but I really loved a lot about Celebrity. As expected, there are pros and cons to Celebrity over DCL, but I think the pros outweigh the cons overall. I would say 75% of the experience is the same as DCL, and it really comes down to the 25% differences.

Pros:

• The Celebrity service was nearly identical to DCL, including the stateroom host.
• You can book excursions at the time the cruise is booked, which I prefer.
• Check in was much easier and less stressful than DCL. Yes, you still get assigned a boarding time, but Celebrity doesn’t really enforce them.
• Speaking of boarding, Celebrity was better than DCL. They hand out boarding groups based on when you arrive at the terminal (not assigned boarding time) and don’t care about your assigned boarding time. It was faster with fewer bottlenecks than DCL.
• You can drop bags off in the room as soon as your board, even when it’s not ready. In fact, it’s encouraged. This is fantastic for us, since we like to carry on, but would even be nice for a day bag you don’t want to carry around after boarding.
• Dinner on Celebrity is so much better, in my opinion. You pick from one of four restaurants each night and show up whenever is convenient during dinner hours. We were always seated quickly, and the restaurants were more upscale than DCL, quieter, and more enjoyable in nearly every way for me. Tables were spaced out in more segregated spaces, making it feel more intimate and personal. Yes, you get the theming on DCL, but I would gladly give it up for the Celebrity experience.
• I liked not having the same servers every night. When you get a great one on DCL, it’s great, but when you get a bad one, you are stuck with them all cruise. The dining service was excellent on Celebrity, and it just seemed like less work to have a new server every night for various reasons.
• The layout of their buffet was so much better than Cabanas (on the classic ships at least). Stations were spaced, with a lot of room to move between them, which avoided some of the chaos in Cabanas. Seating was also sort of segregated into smaller sections, making it more enjoyable, and it was so much bigger. I seems like the buffet area and seating were at least triple the size of Cabanas. I really liked it. And, it was open for dinner, leaving an easy option after long days.
• Food quality was hands down better on Celebrity. Every single meal I had in the MDR’s was restaurant quality. It tasted made to order. And the menus have so much more variety. Not only did you have the classic items that were available every night, but each of the four restaurants had rotating dishes, and you could order from any of the menus in the other MDR’s, no matter which one you were in. Unlike DCL, I wasn’t feeling like I was tired of the food by the end of the cruise. The food in the buffet was closer to on par with DCL, but did have much more variety. I loved that they had a real salad bar and not the mid pre-made salads offered at Cabanas. Celebrity's pizza was actually good, whereas I can’t really stomach DCL’s “pizza.” The burgers were better too, with bacon, mushrooms, and sautéed onions offered as toppings.
• The ADA process for my daughter in a wheelchair was better when boarding at the port, with help at every turn, which was different than what we experienced at DCL.
• The ship’s elevator banks were so much better than DCL’s classic ships. There were two banks of 8 elevators. They were also much bigger inside. I also liked that the entire door lit up green if going up, red if going down, resulting in less confused passengers. The better elevators made a big difference for my daughter who can’t do stairs.
• The indoor pool area was nice for an itinerary like Alaska. I think it would be nice on really hot cruises too.
• The entire pool deck was leagues better than DCL. There were two large pools and much more deck space overall. It was a huge improvement over the DCL ships, but not something we really got to enjoy in Alaska.
• Celebrity did a much better job of creating indoor spaces with huge view of the ocean. In particular, Eden in the Aft is a three-story space with live acoustic music every night and a view that isn’t available anywhere on the classic DCL ships. We sat there most nights enjoying the music, with more than enough seating, and watched the sun set. It was a unique space that really improved the quality of the cruise.
• I loved that it was all non-smoking indoors like DCL. The Casino was pretty discreet, and we even had fun dropping $25 on roulette one night, which is not something I thought we would do.
• You can control the window blinds and lights with the app on your phone.
• Gelato was included for free.
• The naturalist they brought on board was so informative and entertaining. I have no idea how DCL compares in Alaska, but the guy Celebrity had would be impossible to beat.

Cons:

• The biggest con was the ambiance. The ship had a very upscale feel, but it also felt like a hotel and not a cruise ship, with the exception of the great views. The classic DCL ships have done such a good job of having a fun whimsical style, that says “cruise ship” at every turn. I missed that. I missed the music in the hallways and artwork too. I just missed the overall feel of DCL. My wife says DCL feels like coming “home,” which wasn’t the same when we boarded Celebrity after a day in port. I agree.
• DCL has far superior theater entertainment. I am not a fan of a corny storyline created to fit pop songs like Celebrity does. On the other hand, we mostly skip the shows on DCL now because they never change them (and even repeat them on other ships instead of offering variety). The variety acts on Celebrity were better than DCL, but I am sure that is hit and miss on both.
• DCL's activities host for things like Match Your Mate, and trivia are better.
• There was zero enforcement of hand washing. They had many stations, but 90% of passengers walk by them without a word form cast members. I was careful, but still caught covid by the end of the trip. I know a lot of that is random, but it hasn’t happened to me on DCL. I am sure washing hands at least helps a little.
• There was only one soft serve offered self-serve and the hours were very limited compared to DCL. The included gelato and soft serve at the ice cream shop was good, but they were super stingy with serving sizes and it felt awkward to ask for four scoops to get a portion I agreed with.
• The Facebook group was not very active and not nearly as fun as the DCL groups I have joined. Obviously not having the DIS community around Celebrity is a con too.
• Constant price changes- Celebrity plays stupid games where they always have a sale, and you never really know if you got the best price, including on excursions, unless you watch your cruise every week for months. Even though you can re-price it, it’s not really worth the effort for me. I like that with DCL you are generally rewarded for booking early and not wondering if you received the best price.
• No soda included, but I think I spent less than $100 on soda, so it’s not a huge deal. Coffee, some juices, and iced tea were included.
• The upselling on Celebrity was a major con for me and took away some enjoyment of the trip. Within the first few hours of boarding, as we tried to get lunch and explore the ship, we were stopped no less than 15 times to try and sell us dinner reservations, spa packages, fitness classes, drink packages, etc. Yes, you could say, “no,” but it’s also annoying to pay thousands of dollars to walk through a beautiful ship and be treated like you walked onto a used car lot. I got so fed up that I started just brushing the salespeople off and walking by without conversation. The pitches lessened significantly after the first day, but it was still common to get asked about dinner reservations as you walked into the buffet. I did not like this at all. My wife and kids were also commenting on it within an hour of boarding. We even got daily phone messages (that you had to listen to in order to stop the giant red blinking light) selling stuff and flyers in the room. It was too much. It was nothing like the few questions you get about drinks on the first day of boarding DCL. That said, I did not feel nickel-and-dimed. We turned everything down and still felt pampered.
• I prefer Disney’s atrium. Celebrity uses theirs more fully, which some prefer, but I like the ebb and flow of the way DCL uses theirs. Sometimes its busy and active, sometimes it’s a quiet place to relax. Celebrity's atrium was always packed and always loud, and not nearly as elegant as DCL’s.
• There are no free movies in the cabin. The pay-for-view costs money and the three channels showing movies were mediocre. We missed the DCL on-demand library.
• DCL beds are much more comfortable. Celebrity left me with a hurting back every morning.

Conclusion: In the end, it’s a very similar cruise experience if you can get over the missing DCL ambiance. The MDR experience and food made it better in many respects. I would gladly sail Celebrity to save money going forward and not feel like I am missing too much, but will also be happy to come home to DCL from time to time, particularly to go to Castaway.

 

[catsrgr8]

Omg I totally wanted this!!! Literally looking at Alaska cruises this week, not on DCL, and have been considering Celebrity Edge. I know your kids are older but I’m curious how many kids were on board? Or I guess, whether it seemed like there were a decent amount of kids? My daughter would be 9 when we sail and I know they have a kids club but wasn’t sure if or how many kids there might be.

 

[brentm77]

Omg I totally wanted this!!! Literally looking at Alaska cruises this week, not on DCL, and have been considering Celebrity Edge. I know your kids are older but I’m curious how many kids were on board? Or I guess, whether it seemed like there were a decent amount of kids? My daughter would be 9 when we sail and I know they have a kids club but wasn’t sure if or how many kids there might be.

Honestly, I had the impression the number of children was very low - maybe less than 10% of the ship. The kids that were there seemed to be more teens too. As much as I love Celebrity, it does seem geared to an older crowd. Even among adults, we felt youngish in our mid-forties compared to the general demographic. But there was small groups of teens and they did seem to be hanging in groups, so maybe it works out ok. Or if you daughters doesn't mind hanging with you, it's still a great ship. They do more kid friendly variety shows earlier in the evening and than have more adult versions late in the club, much like DCL. I like kids, but it was a nice break from the chaos that DCL can be on certain cruises.

One drawback for families with younger kids is that the indoor pool area is off limits to kids, except for an hour or two every day starting around 5. But there are plenty of other nice indoor spaced to hang out and I swam in the outdoor pool comfortably since it was heated well. I had it to myself too.

We loved Celebrity for Alaska. The ship is set up very well to see the scenery and the service was indistinguishable from the great service DCL offers. For example, with my daughter in a wheelchair, staff would always approach her and offer to hold her plate and dish up the food she wanted from the buffet. Celebrity itineraries leave from Seattle, which is less expensive to get to from most of the U.S. Their itinerary usually includes a stop in Victoria too, which I haven't seen on DCL. It's fun to go to Canada, and even though it's an evening stop, we had several hours of light still when we got to Butchart Gardens. I wasn't all that interested in seeing a garden when my wife picked it, but it turned out to be one of the coolest and unique excursions on the trip. It was something you have to see in person to understand how beautiful it is. One downside of Celebrity is you don't go to glacier bay. But you still have the opportunity to see two beautiful glaciers on the itinerary and we felt content with the itinerary in the end.

 

[tidefan]

Honestly, I had the impression the number of children was very low - maybe less than 10% of the ship. The kids that were there seemed to be more teens too. As much as I love Celebrity, it does seem geared to an older crowd. Even among adults, we felt youngish in our mid-forties compared to the general demographic. But there was small groups of teens and they did seem to be hanging in groups, so maybe it work out ok. Or if you daughters doesn't mind hanging with you, it's still a great ship. They do more kid friendly variety shows earlier in the evening and than have more adult versions late in the club, much like DCL. I like kids, but it was a nice break from the chaos that DCL can be on certain cruises.

One drawback for families with younger kids is that the indoor pool area is off limits to kids, except for an hour or two every day starting around 5. But there are plenty of other nice indoor spaced to hang out and I swam in the outdoor pool comfortably since it was heated well. I had it to myself too.

We loved Celebrity for Alaska. The ship is set up very well to see the scenery and the service was indistinguishable from the great service DCL offers. For example, with my daughter in a wheelchair, staff would always approach her and offer to hold her plate and dish up the food she wanted from the buffet. Celebrity itineraries leave from Seattle, which is less expensive to get to from most of the U.S. Their itinerary usually includes a stop in Victoria too, which I haven't seen on DCL. It's fun to go to Canada, and even though it's an evening stop, we had several hours of light still when we got to Butchart Gardens. I wasn't all that interested in seeing a garden when my wife picked it, but it turned out to be one of the coolest and unique excursions on the trip. It was something you have to see in person to understand how beautiful it is. One downside of Celebrity is you don't go to glacier bay. But you still have the opportunity to see two beautiful glaciers on the itinerary and we felt content with the itinerary in the end.

How do you feel Celebrity compares to Princess? I love the newer (Royal Class) Princess ships and felt a lot of your comparison would hold true with those ships as well, though Princess includes the movies in the stateroom (as well as old "Love Boat" episodes) and IMHO the beds are the equal of those on DCL...

One thing about Princess though is that the Buffets on the Royal Class ships are vastly superior (IMHO) to those on the Grand Class ships...

 

[brentm77]

A couple more thoughts (as if I didn't say enough already):

Another pro for Celebrity is they offer behind the scenes tours. As someone who loves the sailing part of sailing, this was an exceptional experience. We saw the massive food storage, kitchen, laundry, bridge, engineering, and waste management areas, with great explanations from those running them. The captain spent about 20 minutes with us on the bridge answering questions too. I wish DCL would offer something similar.

Also, controversial, but something I loved is that they kept the virtual muster drill. You watch a video in the app and go to the muster stations for a 5 minute demonstration and check in. I felt as well prepared as I do on DCL, with a clear understanding of where to go and what to do in an emergency. And for parties with mobility impaired individuals, it was so much better than fighting the crowds and waiting 30 minutes for an elevator like we did on DCL, despite having us leave the muster ahead of everyone (who then immediately rushed and passed us in the hall).

I did miss the DCL promenade. But Eden sort of made up for it and there was a running track on the top of the ship. I wish I had a better photos, but imagine three stories of windows looking out at this view, low down in the back of the ship, where you can see the giant engines churning the water. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it was a great way to spend the evenings.



Pulled this screenshot from a video too:

 

[brentm77]

How do you feel Celebrity compares to Princess? I love the newer (Royal Class) Princess ships and felt a lot of your comparison would hold true with those ships as well, though Princess includes the movies in the stateroom (as well as old "Love Boat" episodes) and IMHO the beds are the equal of those on DCL...

One thing about Princess though is that the Buffets on the Royal Class ships are vastly superior (IMHO) to those on the Grand Class ships...

To be honest, I am not very familiar with Princess and haven't really talked to people who have sailed them. If we do Alaska again in five or so years, I want to try them so we can experience Glacier Bay.

The buffet on Celebrity really was a better experience than DCL. However, while the MDR desserts were great, the desserts were terrible on the buffet - worse than DCL's somewhat mediocre buffet desserts. They looked amazing, but had no flavor at all. Most of them tasted like flower and a little sugar. It was actually strange that they could make them took to tempting, yet taste so boring.

 

[justafigment27]

I’ve been watching a bunch of Celebrity vlogs lately and I get the “floating hotel” vibe a lot. I’m thinking that Celebrity would be a good line for my Disney loving family (DH and I plus 2 college kids) when the ports are the main focus and DCL would be better for Bahamas/Caribbean? I would really like to do a Norwegian Fjords cruise and Celebrity has really piqued my interest.

Edited to add: Thanks for posting this comparison!

 

[Mango7100]

We just sailed on Celebrity Beyond early August and I agree with much of your review! All 3 of us preferred Celebrity (Including DD11) though we will still do DCL to do new ships and get our CC fix. We all thought the food was much better than DCL. Loved Eden space—we went one day just to play a board game we brought and enjoy the views. Sunset Bar was outstanding, and we enjoyed the pools much more on Celebrity. We spent much more time there compared to DCL because they weren’t as chaotic and didn’t have movies blaring at all times.

We personally liked the entertainment shows on Celebrity more, but it may be a function of how many times can I see Beauty and the Beast and hear the same Disney songs over and over again. We had a fantastic illusionist that we went to both his shows and DD loved the Cirque de Soleil type show and Broadway show (that is probably because she is a dancer and loves that type of stuff).

We had a totally different experience with upselling. We were not approached to buy anything one time during our 8 night cruise. I did notice hand washing being less enforced, though I liked how they had actual soap and sinks stationed at the buffet vs just the hand wipes that DCL gives out (which are less effective than handwashing and do nothing to stop norovirus). We don’t eat at buffets on any cruise ship including DCL because buffets creep me out. We did go for ice cream on Celebrity since it’s served to you— the self service soft serve on DCL grosses me out after you see kids literally lick their hands and pick their nose and then use it

We are looking at doing Northern Europe on Apex next summer

 

[sponica]

though I liked how they had actual soap and sinks stationed at the buffet vs just the hand wipes that DCL gives out (which are less effective than handwashing and do nothing to stop norovirus). We don’t eat at buffets on any cruise ship including DCL because buffets creep me out. We did go for ice cream on Celebrity since it’s served to you— the self service soft serve on DCL grosses me out after you see kids literally lick their hands and pick their nose and then use it

This is one place where the Wish is nice. They do have sinks at Marcelline's.

 

[Mango7100]

Omg I totally wanted this!!! Literally looking at Alaska cruises this week, not on DCL, and have been considering Celebrity Edge. I know your kids are older but I’m curious how many kids were on board? Or I guess, whether it seemed like there were a decent amount of kids? My daughter would be 9 when we sail and I know they have a kids club but wasn’t sure if or how many kids there might be.

On our sailing last month to the Caribbean we had 350 kids on a sold out Beyond ship. DD11 preferred the Celebrity kids club to DCL. They are way way smaller, so if your kid likes a lot of bells and whistles they may be disappointed. They also close 2 hours for lunch and 2 hours for dinner. Kids are separated into smaller age groups. In the 10-12 age group they had about 10-12 kids consistently come every night. She liked it because it was more organized, the counselors did games with the kids and interacted more with them according to her, it wasn’t just play video games. They did a scavenger hunt, ping pong tournament, bracelet crafts, origami, made sun catchers, movie night, relay games, etc.

 

[catsrgr8]

We just sailed on Celebrity Beyond early August and I agree with much of your review! All 3 of us preferred Celebrity (Including DD11) though we will still do DCL to do new ships and get our CC fix. We all thought the food was much better than DCL. Loved Eden space—we went one day just to play a board game we brought and enjoy the views. Sunset Bar was outstanding, and we enjoyed the pools much more on Celebrity. We spent much more time there compared to DCL because they weren’t as chaotic and didn’t have movies blaring at all times.

We personally liked the entertainment shows on Celebrity more, but it may be a function of how many times can I see Beauty and the Beast and hear the same Disney songs over and over again. We had a fantastic illusionist that we went to both his shows and DD loved the Cirque de Soleil type show and Broadway show (that is probably because she is a dancer and loves that type of stuff).

We had a totally different experience with upselling. We were not approached to buy anything one time during our 8 night cruise. I did notice hand washing being less enforced, though I liked how they had actual soap and sinks stationed at the buffet vs just the hand wipes that DCL gives out (which are less effective than handwashing and do nothing to stop norovirus). We don’t eat at buffets on any cruise ship including DCL because buffets creep me out. We did go for ice cream on Celebrity since it’s served to you— the self service soft serve on DCL grosses me out after you see kids literally lick their hands and pick their nose and then use it

We are looking at doing Northern Europe on Apex next summer

This is super helpful since your DD is a little older than mine would be when we sail Alaska. I do think she'd really enjoy the shows as she's a dancer as well! When we took her to a Cirque de Soleil show in Vegas a few months ago she really enjoyed it. Did your daughter visit the kids club at all? From what I've read it is very small but it offers more 1:1 interactions and planned activities than DCL so kids tend to have a good time.

My daughter and (husband and I) LOVE DCL but with our interest in getting off in the ports in Alaska we don't want to pay 2x the price for DCL. We're aware that the cruise ship might function differently when we're wanting to spend a lot of time in the ports, vs when we just stay on the ship 95% of the time with DCL.

I'm also curious if anyone has sailed Celebrity and Princess and has any thoughts on the two. Princess seems more geared towards families in Alaska but the ship, shows, indoor smoking at Casino, decor etc don't excite me as much as Celebrity.

 

[Mango7100]

This is super helpful since your DD is a little older than mine would be when we sail Alaska. I do think she'd really enjoy the shows as she's a dancer as well! When we took her to a Cirque de Soleil show in Vegas a few months ago she really enjoyed it. Did your daughter visit the kids club at all? From what I've read it is very small but it offers more 1:1 interactions and planned activities than DCL so kids tend to have a good time.

My daughter and (husband and I) LOVE DCL but with our interest in getting off in the ports in Alaska we don't want to pay 2x the price for DCL. We're aware that the cruise ship might function differently when we're wanting to spend a lot of time in the ports, vs when we just stay on the ship 95% of the time with DCL.

I'm also curious if anyone has sailed Celebrity and Princess and has any thoughts on the two. Princess seems more geared towards families in Alaska but the ship, shows, indoor smoking at Casino, decor etc don't excite me as much as Celebrity.

Yes, I replied to your post about the kids club more in depth above. It may not have popped up in time. She went to the kids club every night after dinner (which you dont have a set time so can eat whenever you want) and some afternoons depending on the activity.

 

[brentm77]

We just sailed on Celebrity Beyond early August and I agree with much of your review! All 3 of us preferred Celebrity (Including DD11) though we will still do DCL to do new ships and get our CC fix. We all thought the food was much better than DCL. Loved Eden space—we went one day just to play a board game we brought and enjoy the views. Sunset Bar was outstanding, and we enjoyed the pools much more on Celebrity. We spent much more time there compared to DCL because they weren’t as chaotic and didn’t have movies blaring at all times.

We personally liked the entertainment shows on Celebrity more, but it may be a function of how many times can I see Beauty and the Beast and hear the same Disney songs over and over again. We had a fantastic illusionist that we went to both his shows and DD loved the Cirque de Soleil type show and Broadway show (that is probably because she is a dancer and loves that type of stuff).

We had a totally different experience with upselling. We were not approached to buy anything one time during our 8 night cruise. I did notice hand washing being less enforced, though I liked how they had actual soap and sinks stationed at the buffet vs just the hand wipes that DCL gives out (which are less effective than handwashing and do nothing to stop norovirus). We don’t eat at buffets on any cruise ship including DCL because buffets creep me out. We did go for ice cream on Celebrity since it’s served to you— the self service soft serve on DCL grosses me out after you see kids literally lick their hands and pick their nose and then use it

We are looking at doing Northern Europe on Apex next summer

I 100% agreed on buffet's being sketchy. I don't do them on land, but make an exception for cruising for convivence and time. I also don't touch my food after dishing up stuff unless I wash my hand first. But it is for sure a germ risk, and I paid for it this time. The number of adults who lick their fingers when dishing food up still blows me away every time. They did have several cook-to-order options (pasta and Asian for lunch and dinner, omelets for breakfast), plus meat carving, which would give options for non-self serve food if you are ever interested.

My memory of the classic ships though is that they all have sinks for the buffet entry. It is only when walking into the MDR's that they hand you wipes. Celebrity didn't even do that for the MDR's, unfortunately.

I hope our upselling experience was not the norm, and once I realized I shouldn't get drawn into the conversation when they asked, "do you have any dining booked?" it was easier to brush off. But they were even approaching our table once we sat down to eat.

Enjoy the Apex!

 

[tvguy]

We have cruised Paquet, NCL, RCCL, HAL, Disney and Celebrity, and all were great experiences. Only NCL American, which operates the Pride of America, an U.S. flagged ship around Hawaii was a lesser experience. But that cruise is unique in that the ship really isn't a destination unto itself like other lines, it is a hotel, as the ship overnights in two ports over the 7 days, and a lot of the passengers dine and attend entertainment ashore, not on the ship.
Our last cruise was on Celebrity in October 2019 and the big difference there was the HARD sell to buy specialty dining and wine and drink packages. Three days into the cruise specialty dining went on sale, half off. Our MDR staff said demand for specialty dining was less than expected, and demand for the MDR was greater. Our next cruise is on Princess, in September of 2025 and the hard sell is there too. Since I haven't paid for the trip in full yet, I can't book specialty dining, but MAN do they push their Premier and Premier Plus packages, at a cost of $60 or $90 PER DAY PER PERSON! No thanks.

 

[brentm77]

We have cruised Paquet, NCL, RCCL, HAL, Disney and Celebrity, and all were great experiences. Only NCL American, which operates the Pride of America, an U.S. flagged ship around Hawaii was a lesser experience. But that cruise is unique in that the ship really isn't a destination unto itself like other lines, it is a hotel, as the ship overnights in two ports over the 7 days, and a lot of the passengers dine and attend entertainment ashore, not on the ship.
Our last cruise was on Celebrity in October 2019 and the big difference there was the HARD sell to buy specialty dining and wine and drink packages. Three days into the cruise specialty dining went on sale, half off. Our MDR staff said demand for specialty dining was less than expected, and demand for the MDR was greater. Our next cruise is on Princess, in September of 2025 and the hard sell is there too. Since I haven't paid for the trip in full yet, I can't book specialty dining, but MAN do they push their Premier and Premier Plus packages, at a cost of $60 or $90 PER DAY PER PERSON! No thanks.

My biggest fear is that lines cut back the quality in the MDR's to push the specialty dining, but that hasn't happened on Celebrity yet. We did one specialty, Le Petit Chef, and we all liked our MDR meals better. But that one is more about the show than the food. It was worth doing once, but once was enough too.

 

[tvguy]

My biggest fear is that lines cut back the quality in the MDR's to push the specialty dining, but that hasn't happened on Celebrity yet. We did one specialty, Le Petit Chef, and we all liked our MDR meals better. But that one is more about the show than the food. It was worth doing once, but once was enough too.

We have only done specialty dining once, on HAL, and it was the no extra cost Italian specialty restaurant.

 

[Mango7100]

My biggest fear is that lines cut back the quality in the MDR's to push the specialty dining, but that hasn't happened on Celebrity yet. We did one specialty, Le Petit Chef, and we all liked our MDR meals better. But that one is more about the show than the food. It was worth doing once, but once was enough too.

We did Le Petite Chef as well and while it was fun because of a new concept, we consider it a one and done. We also did the Rooftop Grill which we all enjoyed and would do again. We had a reservation for Eden but cancelled after we found we were perfectly happy with the MDRs and had already done 2 special dinners. I heard Eden is the best of all the speciality dinners but we decided to save the $80 per person instead. Maybe next time.

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

Forgive my obnoxiously verbose comparison. I added a TL;DR for those who don’t want to read my dissertation full of personal opinions.

TL;DR: Based on one Celebrity experience, I currently prefer Celebrity in many ways and would pick Celebrity over DCL maybe 2 out of 3 times. However, my wife and two college-age daughters prefer DCL, even though they thought Celebrity was good. The compromise for our family will probably be to use DCL for relaxing Caribbean vacations and sail Celebrity in destinations where there is a large price difference, such as Europe. I loved the food, MDR experience, ship design, service, and cleanliness. I didn’t love the upselling, missing DCL ambiance, and lack of hand washing.

Background: We have sailed DCL six times, on the Fantasy, Magic, and Wonder. Wonder was the most recent, and my favorite ship. We like Disney, visit the parks somewhat often (with decreasing frequency as of late), but sail DCL for cleanliness, service, passable food, ambiance, lack of smoking, entertainment, and Castaway Cay. Since the kids grew up, we don’t care about seeing characters or standing in line to meet them. But we all love sailing DCL.

Celebrity Experience: We recently sailed the Celebrity Edge in Alaska. It was absolutely amazing. Not only was the itinerary the second best we have sailed (with the Italy/Greek Isles still holding the top spot), but I really loved a lot about Celebrity. As expected, there are pros and cons to Celebrity over DCL, but I think the pros outweigh the cons overall. I would say 75% of the experience is the same as DCL, and it really comes down to the 25% differences.

Pros:

• The Celebrity service was nearly identical to DCL, including the stateroom host.
• You can book excursions at the time the cruise is booked, which I prefer.
• Check in was much easier and less stressful than DCL. Yes, you still get assigned a boarding time, but Celebrity doesn’t really enforce them.
• Speaking of boarding, Celebrity was better than DCL. They hand out boarding groups based on when you arrive at the terminal (not assigned boarding time) and don’t care about your assigned boarding time. It was faster with fewer bottlenecks than DCL.
• You can drop bags off in the room as soon as your board, even when it’s not ready. In fact, it’s encouraged. This is fantastic for us, since we like to carry on, but would even be nice for a day bag you don’t want to carry around after boarding.
• Dinner on Celebrity is so much better, in my opinion. You pick from one of four restaurants each night and show up whenever is convenient during dinner hours. We were always seated quickly, and the restaurants were more upscale than DCL, quieter, and more enjoyable in nearly every way for me. Tables were spaced out in more segregated spaces, making it feel more intimate and personal. Yes, you get the theming on DCL, but I would gladly give it up for the Celebrity experience.
• I liked not having the same servers every night. When you get a great one on DCL, it’s great, but when you get a bad one, you are stuck with them all cruise. The dining service was excellent on Celebrity, and it just seemed like less work to have a new server every night for various reasons.
• The layout of their buffet was so much better than Cabanas (on the classic ships at least). Stations were spaced, with a lot of room to move between them, which avoided some of the chaos in Cabanas. Seating was also sort of segregated into smaller sections, making it more enjoyable, and it was so much bigger. I seems like the buffet area and seating were at least triple the size of Cabanas. I really liked it. And, it was open for dinner, leaving an easy option after long days.
• Food quality was hands down better on Celebrity. Every single meal I had in the MDR’s was restaurant quality. It tasted made to order. And the menus have so much more variety. Not only did you have the classic items that were available every night, but each of the four restaurants had rotating dishes, and you could order from any of the menus in the other MDR’s, no matter which one you were in. Unlike DCL, I wasn’t feeling like I was tired of the food by the end of the cruise. The food in the buffet was closer to on par with DCL, but did have much more variety. I loved that they had a real salad bar and not the mid pre-made salads offered at Cabanas. Celebrity's pizza was actually good, whereas I can’t really stomach DCL’s “pizza.” The burgers were better too, with bacon, mushrooms, and sautéed onions offered as toppings.
• The ADA process for my daughter in a wheelchair was better when boarding at the port, with help at every turn, which was different than what we experienced at DCL.
• The ship’s elevator banks were so much better than DCL’s classic ships. There were two banks of 8 elevators. They were also much bigger inside. I also liked that the entire door lit up green if going up, red if going down, resulting in less confused passengers. The better elevators made a big difference for my daughter who can’t do stairs.
• The indoor pool area was nice for an itinerary like Alaska. I think it would be nice on really hot cruises too.
• The entire pool deck was leagues better than DCL. There were two large pools and much more deck space overall. It was a huge improvement over the DCL ships, but not something we really got to enjoy in Alaska.
• Celebrity did a much better job of creating indoor spaces with huge view of the ocean. In particular, Eden in the Aft is a three-story space with live acoustic music every night and a view that isn’t available anywhere on the classic DCL ships. We sat there most nights enjoying the music, with more than enough seating, and watched the sun set. It was a unique space that really improved the quality of the cruise.
• I loved that it was all non-smoking indoors like DCL. The Casino was pretty discreet, and we even had fun dropping $25 on roulette one night, which is not something I thought we would do.
• You can control the window blinds and lights with the app on your phone.
• Gelato was included for free.
• The naturalist they brought on board was so informative and entertaining. I have no idea how DCL compares in Alaska, but the guy Celebrity had would be impossible to beat.

Cons:

• The biggest con was the ambiance. The ship had a very upscale feel, but it also felt like a hotel and not a cruise ship, with the exception of the great views. The classic DCL ships have done such a good job of having a fun whimsical style, that says “cruise ship” at every turn. I missed that. I missed the music in the hallways and artwork too. I just missed the overall feel of DCL. My wife says DCL feels like coming “home,” which wasn’t the same when we boarded Celebrity after a day in port. I agree.
• DCL has far superior theater entertainment. I am not a fan of a corny storyline created to fit pop songs like Celebrity does. On the other hand, we mostly skip the shows on DCL now because they never change them (and even repeat them on other ships instead of offering variety). The variety acts on Celebrity were better than DCL, but I am sure that is hit and miss on both.
• DCL's activities host for things like Match Your Mate, and trivia are better.
• There was zero enforcement of hand washing. They had many stations, but 90% of passengers walk by them without a word form cast members. I was careful, but still caught covid by the end of the trip. I know a lot of that is random, but it hasn’t happened to me on DCL. I am sure washing hands at least helps a little.
• There was only one soft serve offered self-serve and the hours were very limited compared to DCL. The included gelato and soft serve at the ice cream shop was good, but they were super stingy with serving sizes and it felt awkward to ask for four scoops to get a portion I agreed with.
• The Facebook group was not very active and not nearly as fun as the DCL groups I have joined. Obviously not having the DIS community around Celebrity is a con too.
• Constant price changes- Celebrity plays stupid games where they always have a sale, and you never really know if you got the best price, including on excursions, unless you watch your cruise every week for months. Even though you can re-price it, it’s not really worth the effort for me. I like that with DCL you are generally rewarded for booking early and not wondering if you received the best price.
• No soda included, but I think I spent less than $100 on soda, so it’s not a huge deal. Coffee, some juices, and iced tea were included.
• The upselling on Celebrity was a major con for me and took away some enjoyment of the trip. Within the first few hours of boarding, as we tried to get lunch and explore the ship, we were stopped no less than 15 times to try and sell us dinner reservations, spa packages, fitness classes, drink packages, etc. Yes, you could say, “no,” but it’s also annoying to pay thousands of dollars to walk through a beautiful ship and be treated like you walked onto a used car lot. I got so fed up that I started just brushing the salespeople off and walking by without conversation. The pitches lessened significantly after the first day, but it was still common to get asked about dinner reservations as you walked into the buffet. I did not like this at all. My wife and kids were also commenting on it within an hour of boarding. We even got daily phone messages (that you had to listen to in order to stop the giant red blinking light) selling stuff and flyers in the room. It was too much. It was nothing like the few questions you get about drinks on the first day of boarding DCL. That said, I did not feel nickel-and-dimed. We turned everything down and still felt pampered.
• I prefer Disney’s atrium. Celebrity uses theirs more fully, which some prefer, but I like the ebb and flow of the way DCL uses theirs. Sometimes its busy and active, sometimes it’s a quiet place to relax. Celebrity's atrium was always packed and always loud, and not nearly as elegant as DCL’s.
• There are no free movies in the cabin. The pay-for-view costs money and the three channels showing movies were mediocre. We missed the DCL on-demand library.
• DCL beds are much more comfortable. Celebrity left me with a hurting back every morning.

Conclusion: In the end, it’s a very similar cruise experience if you can get over the missing DCL ambiance. The MDR experience and food made it better in many respects. I would gladly sail Celebrity to save money going forward and not feel like I am missing too much, but will also be happy to come home to DCL from time to time, particularly to go to Castaway.

So I gave you a thumbs up not necessarily because I agree with your ranking, but because I loved how you were very thorough not only in what you liked and didn't like, but why! This allowed me to consider if the experience was right for me, not if agreed with you or not. In that way it was like a DFB review. Good job!

I do admit to laughing a bit, I mean you got covid, you were harassed on the upsale, the beds were not as comfortable and hurt your back, you missed the dcl ambience thinking it was like a hotel, you didnt like the shows as much, they charge you for soda, no free movies... and I was like... and you dont prefer DCL? seems like its food and elevator size you prefer on Celebrity (oh and price). but thats the power of your review... I can decide for myself what works for me, which is always going to be different than what works for others. preference is a thing. I will always pay more to avoid being harassed on the upsale. It's why I go to Grand Cayman versus other Caribbean islands. If price was my driving factor I might be willing to get a bad back, but its not

Thank you again, wish we saw more of this kind of review and commenting here. Btw I didnt consider you as verbose, it was an entertaining read, I would call it thorough.

 

[cvjw]

I really appreciate the comparison from someone that obviously loves sailing DCL. We are platinum DCL and thinking of giving celebrity a try. Lots of good info in your post!

 

[brentm77]

So I gave you a thumbs up not necessarily because I agree with your ranking, but because I loved how you were very thorough not only in what you liked and didn't like, but why! This allowed me to consider if the experience was right for me, not if agreed with you or not. In that way it was like a DFB review. Good job!

I do admit to laughing a bit, I mean you got covid, you were harassed on the upsale, the beds were not as comfortable and hurt your back, you missed the dcl ambience thinking it was like a hotel, you didnt like the shows as much, they charge you for soda, no free movies... and I was like... and you dont prefer DCL? seems like its food and elevator size you prefer on Celebrity (oh and price). but thats the power of your review... I can decide for myself what works for me, which is always going to be different than what works for others. preference is a thing. I will always pay more to avoid being harassed on the upsale. It's why I go to Grand Cayman versus other Caribbean islands. If price was my driving factor I might be willing to get a bad back, but its not

Thank you again, wish we saw more of this kind of review and commenting here. Btw I didnt consider you as verbose, it was an entertaining read, I would call it thorough.

Haha, when you put it like that, it does sound funny. Honestly, the overall experience is so similar that I focused on the differences, making them sound bigger than they are.

The MDR experience is what won me over the most. For my tastes and preferences, it was a significant upgrade. I don't know if I am getting old, but I mostly just want a semi-casual relaxing dinner with the family these days, with great food. I don't really get that on DCL. While I loved the DCL dining experience when the kids were young, I have become a bit tired of it, particularly towards the end of a cruise.

Going to dinner whenever we felt like it, choosing among four options, being seated in a relaxing environment, receiving good but not overbearing service, and having many more menu options to pick from, worked well. The food was so good that we actually went back to repeat a dish on a different night, which I would never do on DCL if that was an option. It's not that DCL is terrible, it's just that Celebrity was a lot better. And the pizza and burgers were actually good too, which I can't say for DCL. And one night we just went to the buffet and sat at the window watching whales, which was a great option to have.

For MDR's alone, I would favor Celebrity more often than not. I also liked a lot of the ship design choices, like the pool deck. But when you add in the price difference, it makes the choice even easier. We had two verandah rooms for the price of a shared inside room on DCL. That's a pretty big upgrade. I don't even mind paying a premium on DCL for a better experience, but it isn't better in every respect, and worse in a couple of key areas, like the MDR's. Don't get me wrong, I still love DCL and will want to go back, I just won't default to it like we have to date. For what it's worth, I was the exception in the family and DCL would be others primary cruise, with Celebrity as the secondary option. I don't blame them, as nothing compares to the ambiance DCL has captured on their ships.