gatordoc
hopelessly addicted...
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2007
- Messages
- 1,197
A little while back I mentioned that we were going on a Celebrity cruise, and a couple of folks asked us to report back. So here it is. I've tried to be as objective as possible, but these are ultimately our opinions and others' experiences may vary.
As a little background, my wife and I are in our early 50s, with no kids. We cruised NCL, Princess, and Carnival (one time each) before our first Disney cruise. We fell in love immediately, and now cruise with Disney several times a year.
We take a trip each August (not always a cruise) for our anniversary, and a cruise to the ABC islands (Aruba/Bonaire/Curacao) has always been on our bucket list. Disney has visited these islands (we were on a Southern that went to Aruba), but never all three on the same itinerary. Early this year we came across an ABC island cruise on the Celebrity Equinox with an attractive Florida resident rate and dates that fit well with our schedule, so we booked it. I took lots of notes on the cruise, and have tried below to summarize our experiences with different aspects of the cruise, and compare them to our experiences with Disney.
EMBARKATION: Easy. Sailed from Miami - stayed there the night before and took a shuttle to the port which arrived around 11:15AM. We all checked in and were on the ship in about 15 minutes total. Very efficient.
Once onboard, cabins were available at 1:30PM, and our luggage arrived soon after. We were pleased to find that all the muster stations are inside (those outside stations on DCL can be miserably hot), and the safety presentation was a clever video.
CABINS: Seem a touch smaller, though the verandas are definitely larger. Comparable storage, though not as well placed - cabinets over the bed, closet right next to the bed which made getting ready somewhat awkward.
Only two electrical outlets, and both are by the desk, so you can't plug something in at the bedside without an extension cord.
The safe is located right on top of the mini-fridge, and as a result everything we put in the safe got rather warm. Plus, the mini-fridge is filled with drinks for sale (and there's more stuff for sale on the dresser - we had our stateroom attendant remove it all).
The bed and pillows were pretty worn - hopefully they will be replaced at the next drydock in May. And the bed is oddly shaped - it is rounded off at the bottom. This helps with moving around it, but was strange when sleeping as I had to angle my legs to the center of the bed so they didn't hang over the edge (and I'm not that tall - 5'10").
REALLY missed the split bathroom - this is a big advantage for Disney. And the bathroom was poorly laid out. For example, the toilet was wedged in to the extent that we had to have one foot in the shower to sit on it comfortably. Also no clothesline for wet swimsuits, etc.
The stateroom TV was a mixed bag. Lots of music channels, which we really liked. But only about 8 or 9 free on-demand movies. And their navigation channel was nearly useless - only showed the ship's current position, not its past or future track and no speed info, etc.
PUBLIC SPACES: A nice looking ship, but kind of reminded us of an upscale shopping mall. No smoking anywhere indoors (including the casino), which was great. We both felt the indoor spaces were very warm, though. One odd thing - there are almost no trash receptacles. We would wander around for quite awhile looking for a place to throw something out. And no water fountains anywhere except in the health club.
One of our biggest frustrations was finding a lounge chair on sea days. Apparently, unless you claim one really early in the morning, you're out of luck. Made us really appreciate the relatively uncrowded adult areas on DCL.
And I must mention the horrible music that plays throughout the ship, including the "quiet" areas and in the restaurants. Really bad pop music. No one we talked to liked it at all.
ONBOARD ACTIVITIES: We had four sea days on this cruise. These are usually my favorite days on DCL, but they were painfully boring on this cruise. In addition to the above mentioned problem finding loungers, we really couldn't find much to do. The daily schedule seems to be filled with activities, but they're almost all related to alcohol, gambling, shopping, or the spa - none of these really interest us. They have movies, but only in the evenings, so that's not an option. Trivia is a joke - frequent cruisers show up with notebooks filled with the questions/answers from past cruises - where's the fun in that? There was one cooking demo during the entire cruise (making sushi) that we enjoyed, and there was a fun Q&A with the senior officers, but that was about it. They also have a Hot Glass making activity (kind of like what happens at the crystal shop at WDW on Main Street), which we watched once. Interesting, but not worth seeing more than that.
The health club is fine, but their outdoor "jogging track" is a joke - it's filled with people in loungers by 8AM or so.
ENTERTAINMENT: The theater has plusher, wider, more comfortable seats than on DCL, so that was nice. The outside entertainers (comedians, musicians, etc.) were outstanding. But their three production shows were terrible. Lots of people (us included) walked out after awhile.
Bars and dancing seemed to be big on this cruise. Neither appeal to us, but lots of folks seemed to enjoy this.
FOOD: We had high hopes for this, as we had read lots of reviews about how great the food is on Celebrity. Our experiences were somewhat mixed.
The buffet is comparable to DCL for breakfast, but we thought lunch was far superior in terms of both variety and quality. They also have a nightly dinner buffet with even more choices than lunch, and which is very much appreciated after a long day if one is not interested in dressing up for the MDR or wants to eat at a different time. Really wish DCL had this.
The MDR food was also a cut above what we've had on DCL, though the service was not nearly as good.
Quick service is almost an afterthought - all they have is a small burger place by the pool. Really appreciate the wider range of choices on DCL.
The specialty restaurants were a mixed bag. The best was Silk Harvest, which has a variety of Asian dishes all of which were excellent. Sushi on 5 was good, but no more so than our local sushi joint. But their two "signature" restaurants were disappointing. Murano is their French restaurant that they bill as the finest dining at sea. It was comparable to a good (not great) restaurant on land. But Remy is exponentially better for both food and service. Tuscan Grill is their Italian restaurant, and was unfortunately one of our worst meals on the cruise. Appetizers were average at best. The pastas were pretty good, but nothing special. And the main courses were just bad - a nearly flavorless veal dish, and a steak that was mostly gristle. Again, Palo is far superior.
I feel I must mention the beverage situation. I realize DCL is unique in including soda in the cruise fare, but I didn't realize how much we missed that. Celebrity really pushes their unlimited beverage packages, but they are quite expensive - $15-$20/person/day for non-alcoholic and $50-$60/person/day for alcoholic. We ended up with the lower end non-alcoholic package because we don't really drink, which got us soda, water, and better quality tea and coffee. But lots of folks were clearly trying to get their money's worth on those alcoholic packages.
FELLOW PASSENGERS: definitely an older crowd. Not quite a retirement home on the water, but close. There were a few younger couples, and a few families with kids, but not many. Lots of challenged mobility, and a very slow pace. Like any cruise, we found some folks to be pleasant and some not so much. But we missed the energy of a DCL cruise.
CREW MEMBERS: Mostly pleasant, but in general English skills did not seem to be as good as what we have experienced from those on DCL. And Guest Services was pretty useless - unable to provide even basic information or assistance in the couple of times we had a question or issue. Our stateroom attendant was great, though. And Captain Kate is fabulous.
INTERNET: packages are for the length of the cruise, which I didn't really need (the free 50mb on DCL is enough for us), but lots of people seemed to have them. Phones and tablets in use everywhere.
And I will never complain about the DCL app again. It's the greatest thing ever compared to the Celebrity app, in which most of the information is either incorrect or absent.
SHORE EXCURSIONS: generally managed well. No issues here.
DEBARKATION: Again, very easy. We were in line for express walk-off at 7AM, started moving off the ship at 7:10AM, and were through customs and out the door by 7:25AM.
So would we sail with Celebrity again? I don't think so, mainly because we really didn't enjoy the onboard experience at all, and when you add everything up (fare, packages, excursions, etc.) the cost per person per night was about the same as DCL. We still had a great trip, though, because the ports were awesome. Key West is always fun, and the ABC islands were fantastic. Beautiful people, great food, and the best snorkeling in the Caribbean. We'd definitely like to go back, but hopefully will be able to do so on DCL. This was confirmed for us as we were driving home from Miami. When we passed the Port Canaveral exit on I-95 on Monday morning my wife and I both had the same thought: wonder if we can just get off here, go to the port, and get on the Dream... Fortunately, our next Disney cruise is not far away
As a little background, my wife and I are in our early 50s, with no kids. We cruised NCL, Princess, and Carnival (one time each) before our first Disney cruise. We fell in love immediately, and now cruise with Disney several times a year.
We take a trip each August (not always a cruise) for our anniversary, and a cruise to the ABC islands (Aruba/Bonaire/Curacao) has always been on our bucket list. Disney has visited these islands (we were on a Southern that went to Aruba), but never all three on the same itinerary. Early this year we came across an ABC island cruise on the Celebrity Equinox with an attractive Florida resident rate and dates that fit well with our schedule, so we booked it. I took lots of notes on the cruise, and have tried below to summarize our experiences with different aspects of the cruise, and compare them to our experiences with Disney.
EMBARKATION: Easy. Sailed from Miami - stayed there the night before and took a shuttle to the port which arrived around 11:15AM. We all checked in and were on the ship in about 15 minutes total. Very efficient.
Once onboard, cabins were available at 1:30PM, and our luggage arrived soon after. We were pleased to find that all the muster stations are inside (those outside stations on DCL can be miserably hot), and the safety presentation was a clever video.
CABINS: Seem a touch smaller, though the verandas are definitely larger. Comparable storage, though not as well placed - cabinets over the bed, closet right next to the bed which made getting ready somewhat awkward.
Only two electrical outlets, and both are by the desk, so you can't plug something in at the bedside without an extension cord.
The safe is located right on top of the mini-fridge, and as a result everything we put in the safe got rather warm. Plus, the mini-fridge is filled with drinks for sale (and there's more stuff for sale on the dresser - we had our stateroom attendant remove it all).
The bed and pillows were pretty worn - hopefully they will be replaced at the next drydock in May. And the bed is oddly shaped - it is rounded off at the bottom. This helps with moving around it, but was strange when sleeping as I had to angle my legs to the center of the bed so they didn't hang over the edge (and I'm not that tall - 5'10").
REALLY missed the split bathroom - this is a big advantage for Disney. And the bathroom was poorly laid out. For example, the toilet was wedged in to the extent that we had to have one foot in the shower to sit on it comfortably. Also no clothesline for wet swimsuits, etc.
The stateroom TV was a mixed bag. Lots of music channels, which we really liked. But only about 8 or 9 free on-demand movies. And their navigation channel was nearly useless - only showed the ship's current position, not its past or future track and no speed info, etc.
PUBLIC SPACES: A nice looking ship, but kind of reminded us of an upscale shopping mall. No smoking anywhere indoors (including the casino), which was great. We both felt the indoor spaces were very warm, though. One odd thing - there are almost no trash receptacles. We would wander around for quite awhile looking for a place to throw something out. And no water fountains anywhere except in the health club.
One of our biggest frustrations was finding a lounge chair on sea days. Apparently, unless you claim one really early in the morning, you're out of luck. Made us really appreciate the relatively uncrowded adult areas on DCL.
And I must mention the horrible music that plays throughout the ship, including the "quiet" areas and in the restaurants. Really bad pop music. No one we talked to liked it at all.
ONBOARD ACTIVITIES: We had four sea days on this cruise. These are usually my favorite days on DCL, but they were painfully boring on this cruise. In addition to the above mentioned problem finding loungers, we really couldn't find much to do. The daily schedule seems to be filled with activities, but they're almost all related to alcohol, gambling, shopping, or the spa - none of these really interest us. They have movies, but only in the evenings, so that's not an option. Trivia is a joke - frequent cruisers show up with notebooks filled with the questions/answers from past cruises - where's the fun in that? There was one cooking demo during the entire cruise (making sushi) that we enjoyed, and there was a fun Q&A with the senior officers, but that was about it. They also have a Hot Glass making activity (kind of like what happens at the crystal shop at WDW on Main Street), which we watched once. Interesting, but not worth seeing more than that.
The health club is fine, but their outdoor "jogging track" is a joke - it's filled with people in loungers by 8AM or so.
ENTERTAINMENT: The theater has plusher, wider, more comfortable seats than on DCL, so that was nice. The outside entertainers (comedians, musicians, etc.) were outstanding. But their three production shows were terrible. Lots of people (us included) walked out after awhile.
Bars and dancing seemed to be big on this cruise. Neither appeal to us, but lots of folks seemed to enjoy this.
FOOD: We had high hopes for this, as we had read lots of reviews about how great the food is on Celebrity. Our experiences were somewhat mixed.
The buffet is comparable to DCL for breakfast, but we thought lunch was far superior in terms of both variety and quality. They also have a nightly dinner buffet with even more choices than lunch, and which is very much appreciated after a long day if one is not interested in dressing up for the MDR or wants to eat at a different time. Really wish DCL had this.
The MDR food was also a cut above what we've had on DCL, though the service was not nearly as good.
Quick service is almost an afterthought - all they have is a small burger place by the pool. Really appreciate the wider range of choices on DCL.
The specialty restaurants were a mixed bag. The best was Silk Harvest, which has a variety of Asian dishes all of which were excellent. Sushi on 5 was good, but no more so than our local sushi joint. But their two "signature" restaurants were disappointing. Murano is their French restaurant that they bill as the finest dining at sea. It was comparable to a good (not great) restaurant on land. But Remy is exponentially better for both food and service. Tuscan Grill is their Italian restaurant, and was unfortunately one of our worst meals on the cruise. Appetizers were average at best. The pastas were pretty good, but nothing special. And the main courses were just bad - a nearly flavorless veal dish, and a steak that was mostly gristle. Again, Palo is far superior.
I feel I must mention the beverage situation. I realize DCL is unique in including soda in the cruise fare, but I didn't realize how much we missed that. Celebrity really pushes their unlimited beverage packages, but they are quite expensive - $15-$20/person/day for non-alcoholic and $50-$60/person/day for alcoholic. We ended up with the lower end non-alcoholic package because we don't really drink, which got us soda, water, and better quality tea and coffee. But lots of folks were clearly trying to get their money's worth on those alcoholic packages.
FELLOW PASSENGERS: definitely an older crowd. Not quite a retirement home on the water, but close. There were a few younger couples, and a few families with kids, but not many. Lots of challenged mobility, and a very slow pace. Like any cruise, we found some folks to be pleasant and some not so much. But we missed the energy of a DCL cruise.
CREW MEMBERS: Mostly pleasant, but in general English skills did not seem to be as good as what we have experienced from those on DCL. And Guest Services was pretty useless - unable to provide even basic information or assistance in the couple of times we had a question or issue. Our stateroom attendant was great, though. And Captain Kate is fabulous.
INTERNET: packages are for the length of the cruise, which I didn't really need (the free 50mb on DCL is enough for us), but lots of people seemed to have them. Phones and tablets in use everywhere.
And I will never complain about the DCL app again. It's the greatest thing ever compared to the Celebrity app, in which most of the information is either incorrect or absent.
SHORE EXCURSIONS: generally managed well. No issues here.
DEBARKATION: Again, very easy. We were in line for express walk-off at 7AM, started moving off the ship at 7:10AM, and were through customs and out the door by 7:25AM.
So would we sail with Celebrity again? I don't think so, mainly because we really didn't enjoy the onboard experience at all, and when you add everything up (fare, packages, excursions, etc.) the cost per person per night was about the same as DCL. We still had a great trip, though, because the ports were awesome. Key West is always fun, and the ABC islands were fantastic. Beautiful people, great food, and the best snorkeling in the Caribbean. We'd definitely like to go back, but hopefully will be able to do so on DCL. This was confirmed for us as we were driving home from Miami. When we passed the Port Canaveral exit on I-95 on Monday morning my wife and I both had the same thought: wonder if we can just get off here, go to the port, and get on the Dream... Fortunately, our next Disney cruise is not far away
