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

[brentm77]

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!

I don't think everyone would like it as much as me. It was jarring when we first boarded because of the different feel, but it grew on me once I got used to it. It was great not to have a drop in service though. I always assumed DCL was the best, but Celebrity was nearly identical in that respect. The servers were great too. They did little things that I like similar to DCL, like ordering two shrimp cocktails for me since they knew they were small. Or bringing their favorite dessert for us to share (sometimes two or three) in addition to what we ordered. I love stuff like that.

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

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. 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.

Yeah, I have often thought that Disney is a very specific taste, and some will get bored of it after a while and move on. Totally get that. I think it's funny they think it means Disney is not as good or something, no, it's mostly your tastes have changed. I am only gold and have some is still new to me as I go to other ships and itinerary. I think it's funny they think it means Disney is not as good or something, no, it's mostly your tastes have changed.

And when you put it in context of price, two verandah cabins versus one shared inside room.. well yeah, I would never even consider a shared inside room lol. sorry, love my kids, but value my privacy at night time.

What I like about the disney dining experience is how it's themed. I know thats not for everyone, and something someone could get bored with. I like the food enough to enjoy it, but agree there is room for improvement. Just dont see me changing cruise lines for that. Now, if you tell me the bars were better lol... but love the themed ones on disney. But my wife really enjoy the experiences we get at Palo and Remi's (or enchante), so when I think of food on a cruise I think mostly about that. and um, the snacks in the concierge area are excellent.

But it's difficult to compete with watching whales while eating! Thats a thought I had, that perhaps your enjoyment was related to where you were cruising. and I think if there way any itinerary that would make me consider other cruise lines, its definitely Alaska. I am sold on the idea of indoor heated areas for that!

Thanks again, very useful thoughts.

 

[Lucien Franciosa]

It was great not to have a drop in service though.

Oh, I had a question about that, I am NOT a Celebrity expert, but most cruise you tubers that I follow comment that cabins are only serviced once a day now (versus the two on Disney). Did your room get straightened once or twice a day. Have to be honest, when I am in hotels I turn down room servicing, but on the cruise its feels like being pampered.

 

[tidefan]

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.

We've never sailed Celebrity, but have done Princess a number of times, so I am interested in the comparison as well.

To your questions on Princess, on our last few Regal Princess sailings, they always had smoke-free nights at the Casino, and quite honestly, I never experienced smoke in there (especially compared to something like Carnival or Royal).

We don't go to shows much in terms of production shows, but Princess is excellent with the smaller venue type shows, especially with Live music (I believe HAL is like that as well), trivia, game shows, etc.

One thing about Princess, the newer ships (Royal Class) will have a much superior buffet to the older ships (Grand Class). I thought that Regal Princess (a Royal Class ship) is one of the most beautiful cruise ships I've been on, but I prefer traditional nautical touches to the modernistic flair that seems to be on the new Celebrity ships, though I have not been on the new Sun Princess which seems to share those design traits.

To be honest, our go-to outside of DCL is quickly becoming Virgin Voyages (and still Princess). Absolutely have loved our cruises on those ships!

 

[brentm77]

Oh, I had a question about that, I am NOT a Celebrity expert, but most cruise you tubers that I follow comment that cabins are only serviced once a day now (versus the two on Disney). Did your room get straightened once or twice a day. Have to be honest, when I am in hotels I turn down room servicing, but on the cruise its feels like being pampered.

Celebrity still does twice a day. Royal, which is owned by the same company, did go to once a day. The stateroom host experience was similar in every respect, except you don't get towel animals. They are corny, but I did miss them a bit.

 

[brentm77]

Yeah, I have often thought that Disney is a very specific taste, and some will get bored of it after a while and move on. Totally get that. I think it's funny they think it means Disney is not as good or something, no, it's mostly your tastes have changed. I am only gold and have some is still new to me as I go to other ships and itinerary. I think it's funny they think it means Disney is not as good or something, no, it's mostly your tastes have changed.

And when you put it in context of price, two verandah cabins versus one shared inside room.. well yeah, I would never even consider a shared inside room lol. sorry, love my kids, but value my privacy at night time.

What I like about the disney dining experience is how it's themed. I know thats not for everyone, and something someone could get bored with. I like the food enough to enjoy it, but agree there is room for improvement. Just dont see me changing cruise lines for that. Now, if you tell me the bars were better lol... but love the themed ones on disney. But my wife really enjoy the experiences we get at Palo and Remi's (or enchante), so when I think of food on a cruise I think mostly about that. and um, the snacks in the concierge area are excellent.

But it's difficult to compete with watching whales while eating! Thats a thought I had, that perhaps your enjoyment was related to where you were cruising. and I think if there way any itinerary that would make me consider other cruise lines, its definitely Alaska. I am sold on the idea of indoor heated areas for that!

Thanks again, very useful thoughts.

I generally like the DCL theming of the MDR's. But, they tend to cram tables together in one big room, where as the Celebrity MDR's felt smaller in a good way, with tables segregated into more divided spaces. It made for a quieter experience. It helped that there were few kids and no entertainment in the MDR's too, but I know many like the DCL dinner shows. They are just too loud for me and not what I want out of dinner most nights. Again, I will be happy to go back to DCL and enjoy the theming, but Celebrity was a nice change to add variety to cruising too.

The location did affect my opinion for sure. For example, most of the Edge's verandahs are "infinity verandahs." They were fantastic in Alaska. But they are more like a sunroom with a window that rolls down than a verandah, and climate control turns off when they are down. That would be terrible in the Caribbean. But in Alaska, they were great. First, you get floor to ceiling views that are better than a traditional balcony. Second, you can roll down the window to get the breeze and sounds from the outside, but still have some protection form the cold. They were a prefect spot to enjoy the glacier day. And with a room on both sides of the ship, we could move to whichever side had the best view at the time. It was great.

I also spent a lot of time listening to the naturalist, which wouldn't be the case in other locations. He was so entertaining and informative that it made the entire cruise better.

 

[brentm77]

We've never sailed Celebrity, but have done Princess a number of times, so I am interested in the comparison as well.

To your questions on Princess, on our last few Regal Princess sailings, they always had smoke-free nights at the Casino, and quite honestly, I never experienced smoke in there (especially compared to something like Carnival or Royal).

We don't go to shows much in terms of production shows, but Princess is excellent with the smaller venue type shows, especially with Live music (I believe HAL is like that as well), trivia, game shows, etc.

One thing about Princess, the newer ships (Royal Class) will have a much superior buffet to the older ships (Grand Class). I thought that Regal Princess (a Royal Class ship) is one of the most beautiful cruise ships I've been on, but I prefer traditional nautical touches to the modernistic flair that seems to be on the new Celebrity ships, though I have not been on the new Sun Princess which seems to share those design traits.

To be honest, our go-to outside of DCL is quickly becoming Virgin Voyages (and still Princess). Absolutely have loved our cruises on those ships!

I don't love the modern aesthetic of Celebrity either. It wasn't as bad in person as it looked like on vlogs I had watched, but still not my preference.

Trying Virgin is near the top of my list. I think it would be a pretty good fit for us.

 

[o&smom]

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

Disney ships have had full sinks with soap outside the buffets since well before covid.

 

[Mango7100]

Disney ships have had full sinks with soap outside the buffets since well before covid.

Never noticed them, but I guess that’s because we hardly ever go to Cabanas. We usually do the pool side quick service, and I do not think they are any sinks there?

 

[brentm77]

Never noticed them, but I guess that’s because we hardly ever go to Cabanas. We usually do the pool side quick service, and I do not think they are any sinks there?

There is one small one to the side, but it's not prominent and people aren't encouraged to wash there.

 

[auntlynne]

As for buffets, handwashing and Covid - I’m pretty sure the elevator ride next to an infected person was more dangerous than the serving tongs. Airborne transmission.

Norovirus, however, the bane of cruising, definitely needs the washy-washy song and enforcement. Everyday on NCL’s buffet was a different song by some rather good singers. And they did have sinks and soap.

So glad to hear this was a good trip to Alaska for the family. And talk of a return in the future.

While Glacier Bay is nice, a Princess Voyage of the Glaciers, North- or South- bound might be even better. Because it has Glacier Bay and either the big Humboldt Glacier (Southbound) or several hours in College Fjord (Northbound) with numerous glaciers (my favorite).

And yes! to Butchart. Nice to hear the extended sunlight of Summer means cruises can enjoy it, even with a truncated port stop. It’s possible I may never need to take another picture of a rose.

 

[jimmymc]

I really appreciate the long pros and cons list. The upselling on other cruises also really annoys me. It doesn't ruin a trip, but I feel like so many people just brush it off or accept it as part of cruising when it really shouldn't be.

 

[tink1970]

I don't think everyone would like it as much as me. It was jarring when we first boarded because of the different feel, but it grew on me once I got used to it. It was great not to have a drop in service though. I always assumed DCL was the best, but Celebrity was nearly identical in that respect. The servers were great too. They did little things that I like similar to DCL, like ordering two shrimp cocktails for me since they knew they were small. Or bringing their favorite dessert for us to share (sometimes two or three) in addition to what we ordered. I love stuff like that.

Excellent points! I think when you do sail other lines, you realize what things (large and small) are important to you as a cruiser and that assists in honing in on cruise lines and their ships.

For instance, when we sailed Celebrity, the food options and quality was definitely much better than DCL (on our last cruise we skipped the MDR 4 of 7 nights), both at the buffet and in the suite level dining at Luminae. That said, I'm not a big food person so...

For me, dining, didn't overcome the negatives I experienced sailing with Celebrity (atmosphere, spotty service, terrible spa on the M class ship, upselling, etc). When I sail, food is much less down on the list of priorities after room, atmosphere, spa, service and aesthetics. Now that I've recognized this, after the not so great Norwegian Fjords DCL cruise (there's an entire thread about it, for Heaven's sake!), I'll finish my two scheduled DCL cruises and very likely continue cruising with Viking from hereon out, perhaps considering some other lines in the future.

I'm happy you and your family enjoyed your cruise so much and you have another option for future vacations-having another option is good!

 

[TigerLaw]

One question I would have is the cost comparison. I thought celebrity prices were generally equal to if not higher than Disney's so if anyone is familiar about the two and would like to discuss...

 

[holula]

One question I would have is the cost comparison. I thought celebrity prices were generally equal to if not higher than Disney's so if anyone is familiar about the two and would like to discuss...

Celebrity is normally cheaper than Disney. After reading this thread I looked at their Alaska pricing for next summer and for the specific cruise I’d want they run about 20% cheaper than Disney for an inside. With a placeholder which I have it’s 10%. For a verandah it’s a decent chunk cheaper.

 

[brentm77]

Celebrity is normally cheaper than Disney. After reading this thread I looked at their Alaska pricing for next summer and for the specific cruise I’d want they run about 20% cheaper than Disney for an inside. With a placeholder which I have it’s 10%. For a verandah it’s a decent chunk cheaper.

I haven't looked at prices for next summer. They do vary a lot. For example, we had DCL booked in Alaska for the summer of 2023 for a nearly identical price as the same room with Celebrity. But, it was in September, which isn't peak season, and the DCL room was navigator instead of standard verandah. We had to cancel and when we went to rebook in 2024, but for peak season, it was nearly the same price to get two verandah rooms with Celebrity as it was to get an inside shared room on DCL. But, we were booking early, and I think I got a pretty good deal on the Celebrity side of things. I don't think it's always that much better if you want to sail the Edge-class Celebrity ships, but it can be on some itineraries/times of year, so it's good to check and weigh options.

 

[catsrgr8]

One question I would have is the cost comparison. I thought celebrity prices were generally equal to if not higher than Disney's so if anyone is familiar about the two and would like to discuss...

I looked at Alaska for next summer on Celebrity vs DCL and for 2 adults and 1 child in a Verandah was about $10,000 for DCL and $5,000 for Celebrity and this was on the Edge, one of their newer ships. This is why we’re really leaning towards Celebrity for Alaska

 

[jimmymc]

Celebrity is normally cheaper than Disney. After reading this thread I looked at their Alaska pricing for next summer and for the specific cruise I’d want they run about 20% cheaper than Disney for an inside. With a placeholder which I have it’s 10%. For a verandah it’s a decent chunk cheaper.

Celebrity can also be close to Royal Caribbean prices if you go off-season. It can be a really great value considering the food quality.

 

[tink1970]

One question I would have is the cost comparison. I thought celebrity prices were generally equal to if not higher than Disney's so if anyone is familiar about the two and would like to discuss...

I think it depends on so many factors (type of ship with Celebrity, length of cruise, time of year, itinerary, etc), it's impossible to predict if you're going to save money, come out ahead or break even booking with Celebrity v DCL.

For fun, I just looked at a 7 night E. Caribbean on their newest ships (Xcel-debuting in November) and compared the price of a Celebrity Suite to what we paid for our 7 night E Caribbean 1 BR suite on the Treasure (DCL's newest ship) for Jan 2025 when it opened for booking (it seems like a long time ago).

The Celebrity Suite is slightly smaller (100 sq ft and only 1 bathroom) and is about $1500 less than what we paid, whereas if we wanted to book the Celebrity Royal suite which is 1 category higher (about 100 sq ft larger than the DCL suite and 1 1/2 bathrooms), the price would be about $2k higher than what we paid . Unfortunately the "regular" 1 BR on the E. Caribbean itinerary is sold out for DCL so a current pricing cannot be done-although they do have one extended balcony 1 BR suite which is selling for a ridiculous amount. Notably, DCL's W. Caribbean itinerary the week following my sailing in the 1 BR suite does cost less than Celebrity's 1 BR Celebrity Suite which was interesting. So, not quite apples to apples...but the best I could do for illustrative purposes on the fly.

Clearly I have nothing to do tonight . Depending on the size of your sailing party one line could end up being more cost efficient than the other...and if you can catch a "sale" when wifi/gratuities/drinks/onboard credit is included with Celebrity that could also help defer costs as well. DCL definitely doesn't run that kind of promotion (sigh).

TL;DR it depends

 

[Mango7100]

One question I would have is the cost comparison. I thought celebrity prices were generally equal to if not higher than Disney's so if anyone is familiar about the two and would like to discuss...

Our 8 night ABC island cruise on Celebrity Beyond July 27-Aug 4 was $5300 for a concierge verandah room for 3 people. We booked it 4 months out. We originally booked the 10 night DCL Southern Caribbean July 25-Aug 4 more than a year out on an ocean view for $11000. Pretty large difference.