Opinions please

[Leroyr55]

All of our cruises so far have been on Royal. We just started thinking about a cruise to Norway and the fjords in 2027. We’ve seen a few shows with ships cruising in them and they really peaked our curiosity. Our travel agents one suggestion was on Celebrity Apex for ten nights. I’m looking for opinions I guess manly on Celebrity and Apex. 

[steverk]

I've sailed on Celebrity Edge, but never Apex. They're sisters, so I expect them to be similar. 

Celebrity targets couples rather than families. By that I mean better food and service. Better decor and less crowded overall. But no toys like water slides or zip lines.

If you're good with that, I'd highly recommend Celebrity. 

Btw, they released the 26-27 Europe sailings this week.  A couple that might interest you. In June there's a 14 night Norway and Arctic Circle cruise.  In early August there's an eclipse in the Mediterranean.  Celebrity has 2 ships offering cruises for it. One of them is the brand new Xcel.

[Pattycruise]

I’m currently on Apex, and I’ve done a lot of sailings on Royal-and have pinnacle status with Royal,  I’m not one for change so sailing Celebrity is an adjustment and I’m only 3 days on the ship of my 24 day Norwegian fjords sailing.  I have some minor complaints-minor in the grand scheme of things…1) staff don’t seem as friendly as they are in Royal.  I tip, I’m not seeing anyone else do any tipping. Not even a smile or a thank you from the coffee shop. I just told the husband I might consider not tipping there. I asked a bar tender if he could make a particular drink and showed him the ingredients. The drink he offered was nothing like it and then he came back with his “special drink” that was supposed to be close to it.  It was no where close.  I found a different bar to ask and they did a pretty darn close drink/ needles to say the bartender will keep getting my tips and a positive review.
 There are 4 dining rooms on the ship and it’s day 3 and I’m still not fully aware as to what’s up. on day 1 I asked about my seating and was told I had my time dining which was not what I signed up for nor what my travel agent confirmed. In fact he had confirmed I was at a shared table.  Not the case.  Thankfully I was signed up for a tour of the ship on day one (really an orientation) and the guide mentioned you can get fixed seating on one restaurant instead of picking a line each day. I have a bad back and no way I’m standing on a line when I’m hungry…2 strikes to start!  So we went and asked for fixed seating. There’s a menu that lists certain foods you can get from the other restaurants…That menu doesn’t change, but you need to know to ask for it.  The people at the table next to us change nightly/they don’t get offered that menu at all.  We had to ask for it the first night.  I’m not impressed!!
 That said I’m excited about the starters as they have some great stuff 

casino person seems to have difficulty explaining their program to me. I’m well versed in Royals casino program so this shouldn’t be difficult. But somehow it is.  I’ll try again in a few days. 
 

went to their version of a loyalty ambassador and introduced myself-and level “zenith” which was my match since I’m pinnacle ion Royal.  The guy didn’t seem to give a hoot. A nice little “welcome to Celebrity” would have been nice. 

On our orientation I was told e we could change Norwegian krone at guest services. When i went to the first person she didn’t have a tilll.  So wait for another rep and he says they don’t change krone-only euro and British pounds.  So misinformation on the tour, allegedly there’s an ATM onboard with krone but I was looking to break a large bill.  Oh well. 

my stateroom attendant is great-so there’s that!

hopefully my small concerns go away. we just had our first port day. Fantastic  

[Traveling Mike]

My son and I gust got off the Celebrity Millennium doing a 12 day Best of Japan.  I cruise on RCL about 5 cruises a year and my 28 year old son does 1 cruise every other year.  Here are our opinions on Celebrity.

1. Two years ago I did a B2B on the Celebrity Beyond and the shows were great.  On this last cruise on the Millennium we walked out of 1/2 of the shows because they were just bad or not worth our time.
2. We did not purchase a drink package because we only drink 1 or 2 alcohol drinks a day and I get free drinks between 5 pm and 7 pm.  We paid $20 for a JD and Coke.  Once we found out they were charging $20 for a drink we stopped purchasing drinks.
3. There were very few nights my son did not complain about the dinners.  He was eating two entree items so he was trying a lot.  We skipped most of the deserts because they were not worth the time.  We would go to the buffet later and find something.
4. My last thought is Celebrity does not like Solo Cruisers.  If I try to book a cruise Solo they have me paying 225% for Solo Supplement.  

Note:  There is some things that are very good on Celebrity but not for me.  I will stay on RCL where they try very hard and care that I cruise with them.

[asquared17]

we jumped ship — pun intended — to celebrity in february and LOVED IT. we now will be cruising celebrity instead of royal. 

we found the food to be excellent, and the buffets were an upgrade from the windjammer. 

the crew was wonderful, polite and kind. 

fellow passengers were older than us but very welcoming; we were adopted by several honorary “grandparents” throughout our week on board ascent. 

i have a more detailed review in my liveblog, but the value for us is in the quality and service. for what we want in a cruise — peace, the ability to unwind, delicious food — it far exceeded our expectations. (i’ve linked it staring on page 6 because we are a rambly bunch )

from the second we boarded and walked through the ship, it was a million times calmer and the most relaxing experience  we’ve ever had. 

 

we cannot afford to do sky class in a CLS every time we sail, but in order for us to have a comfortable experience, that’s what we would need to do on royal right now. instead we can have a luxurious aqua class cabin on the edge class ships with a spacious bathroom (for a standard cabin) and private dining room similar to coastal kitchen — which is called blu. 

even if you are not in blu, the 4 main dining rooms are very well appointed and the crew went out of their way to accommodate us when we had trouble finding something to our liking on the menu. 

 

if you are in it for the thrills — physical activity like rock climbing, flow rider, water slides — you will prefer royal. 

if you are in it for a chill time — you will love celebrity. 

there are also shows and activities that we did not take part in but i’ve heard are very good. your trip will be what you make it

i hope this helps, and please feel free to ask any questions if you like!!

we have six more celebrity cruises planned into 2027, so that should give you some idea of how much we loved our time aboard.

[Leroyr55]

So an update and thanks for the replies and input. We booked Apex for July 2027 for a 14 night cruise out of Southampton to Norway. Really looking forward to this one .

[loki007]

Apex is our favorite ship, you will love it 

[PhillyLady]

We sailed on both RC and Celebrity this year.  I found RC to be a bit more "fun," a bit more child/family-focused, and more casual, relaxed and friendly, but I knew all that before even cruising. I really like using RC in the Caribbean.

On my international cruises I much prefer more structured and formal cruise lines, especially if I select a busy itinerary.  About five years ago I sailed Celebrity out of Italy to Greece, and  I had an excellent cruise.  I have also used many other cruise lines. 

I must say, I was a bit disappointed with the Celebrity shore excursion desk on my recent Iceland/Ireland cruise. They had no port information, did not sponsor any port talks, etc., etc.  The entertainment department was also a bit too juvenile given the age/maturity level/sophistication of most of the cruisers. 

I have switched back to Princess for my British Isles cruise next Summer.  

I will continue to use many different cruise lines for my travels--there is no one "perfect" line!

 

First cruise:  1973--Chandris Romanza--bunk beds, no television, no Internet, one dining room for all

 

[Gilley]

On 8/10/2025 at 12:44 PM, asquared17 said:

we jumped ship — pun intended — to celebrity in february and LOVED IT. we now will be cruising celebrity instead of royal. 

we found the food to be excellent, and the buffets were an upgrade from the windjammer. 

the crew was wonderful, polite and kind. 

fellow passengers were older than us but very welcoming; we were adopted by several honorary “grandparents” throughout our week on board ascent. 

i have a more detailed review in my liveblog, but the value for us is in the quality and service. for what we want in a cruise — peace, the ability to unwind, delicious food — it far exceeded our expectations. (i’ve linked it staring on page 6 because we are a rambly bunch )

from the second we boarded and walked through the ship, it was a million times calmer and the most relaxing experience  we’ve ever had. 

 

we cannot afford to do sky class in a CLS every time we sail, but in order for us to have a comfortable experience, that’s what we would need to do on royal right now. instead we can have a luxurious aqua class cabin on the edge class ships with a spacious bathroom (for a standard cabin) and private dining room similar to coastal kitchen — which is called blu. 

even if you are not in blu, the 4 main dining rooms are very well appointed and the crew went out of their way to accommodate us when we had trouble finding something to our liking on the menu. 

 

if you are in it for the thrills — physical activity like rock climbing, flow rider, water slides — you will prefer royal. 

if you are in it for a chill time — you will love celebrity. 

there are also shows and activities that we did not take part in but i’ve heard are very good. your trip will be what you make it

i hope this helps, and please feel free to ask any questions if you like!!

we have six more celebrity cruises planned into 2027, so that should give you some idea of how much we loved our time aboard.

Can you eat at all of the 4 main dining venues on the edge class ships or do you have to select one for your sailing.
I’m doing CELEBRITY beyond in December 2025.  My first celebrity cruise.  Looking forward to it.

[asquared17]

24 minutes ago, Gilley said:

Can you eat at all of the 4 main dining venues on the edge class ships or do you have to select one for your sailing.
I’m doing CELEBRITY beyond in December 2025.  My first celebrity cruise.  Looking forward to it.

the choice is yours!!

each of the 4 MDRs has a theme - normandie (french) - tuscan (italian) - cyprus (mediterranean) - and cosmopolitan (american ?). you can rotate between the dining rooms OR choose one you feel most aligned with from a decor/menu/crew standpoint and make that your "home" MDR for the week. some dishes are available across all four dining rooms and some are specific/special to their theme room. 

we have friends who swore by tuscan and wouldn't go elsewhere and other cruisers who went to tuscan, had a less than desirable experience, and bounced around until they found the one they liked. 

some of the restaurants are also open for breakfast (not all) which may give you additional exposure to the vibe and the crew in each one. don't be shy/afraid to move around. 

[asquared17]

this is on ascent (sister ship to beyond, @Gilley)

 

TUSCAN

 

NORMANDIE

 

[Edmund]

23 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

the choice is yours!!

each of the 4 MDRs has a theme - normandie (french) - tuscan (italian) - cyprus (mediterranean) - and cosmopolitan (american ?). you can rotate between the dining rooms OR choose one you feel most aligned with from a decor/menu/crew standpoint and make that your "home" MDR for the week. some dishes are available across all four dining rooms and some are specific/special to their theme room. 

we have friends who swore by tuscan and wouldn't go elsewhere and other cruisers who went to tuscan, had a less than desirable experience, and bounced around until they found the one they liked. 

some of the restaurants are also open for breakfast (not all) which may give you additional exposure to the vibe and the crew in each one. don't be shy/afraid to move around. 

My family and I are also going on the Beyond for the first time in December. If you rotate between the dining rooms, how does that work with the set dining time? Do you simply show up to the one you want or do you have to "reserve" your spot like Royal's my time dining? Thank you!

[Gilley]

25 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

this is on ascent (sister ship to beyond, @Gilley)

 

TUSCAN

 

NORMANDIE

 

Thank you.  I’m excited and especially to know I can move around to the different MDRs.

[asquared17]

9 minutes ago, Gilley said:

Thank you.  I’m excited and especially to know I can move around to the different MDRs.

you are going to have a wonderful time!! my favorite was the pasta dish that was signature in tuscan. i had it several times throughout the week. 10/10 recommend!

[asquared17]

16 hours ago, Edmund said:

My family and I are also going on the Beyond for the first time in December. If you rotate between the dining rooms, how does that work with the set dining time? Do you simply show up to the one you want or do you have to "reserve" your spot like Royal's my time dining? Thank you!

hi @Edmund sorry i missed your earlier post!

 

you can show up to any of the dining rooms whenever you like — reservations may have you sitting with the same team every night in the same section, whereas pulling up without a reservation may lend itself to a small wait as they figure out where to park your party.

with the 4 dining rooms, i have heard that the wait is never very long and if it is longer than you prefer, you can simply go to one of the other rooms. 

there are two on deck 3 and two on deck 4, with a convenient stairwell between them, so it is an easy walk. 

most folks vary their time or even ask the host when is the best to come for a minimal wait (if that is important.) 

but celebrity is great and will always do their best to accommodate you. show up where you like, when you like, and they will feed you communication and understanding is your best bet for resolving any hiccups that might arise.

and lastly, as you may imagine, normal trends with the first night always being the longest wait still hold true (turnaround day is hard on the crew!) but generally the kinks are worked out by day 2.

also arriving RIGHT as the dining rooms open will usually lend to a queue of folks waiting to be seated — but that is true of any sailing i’ve ever been on, royal and celebrity included.

i hope this helps!!