Celebrity?

Richard M · February 10

Anyone have an opinion on sister line Celebrity? It's supposed to be quieter, older crowd, etc. I know that Loyalty points accrue to RCCL, (although the perks are not the same)

Looks a bit more expensive. Food any better? Worth the price?

steverk · February 10

Food and itineraries are a step up. It's quieter, less crowded, especially in the elevators. Prices vary by the sailing. Decor is similar to a Quantum class ship.

They have kid's clubs, so families are welcome, but no water slides, flowrider, etc. so not a lot of kids. But you will have some.

OCSC Mike · February 10

Maybe try reading some Celebrity blogs in the Live Blog forums.

AandD · February 10

After 20 cruises on Royal we took a trip on Celebrity Summit last march. I thought the service was exceptional. The food in the main dining room was better. One of the things that really impressed me was the cruise director and/or upper-level crew handing out water and towels at one of the ports we tendered to.

Starrynight0154 · February 10

I’m a longtime Royal Caribbean cruiser and took my first Celebrity cruise last week. Food is better. Everything seemed like it had more flavor and seasoning. There were more expensive foods that are complimentary. For example caviar in main dining, Mahi Mahi, tuna fillets, lobster rolls in the buffet. Different types of homemade sauces for burgers, and a chili or rosemary infused olive oil for pizza. Calzones and pizza are in the buffet everyday.

Eden class ships have large deep pools you can swim laps in, main pool and solarium.

Less kids, and a lot more older couples over 70. Most of the young people I saw were performers for the shows. Shows were fantastic, specifically the Crystalize show. Celebrity is relaxing and doesn’t have all the bumper cars or water slides that make Royal Caribbean fun for families.

Had a guarantee infinite veranda on Apex and the obstruction was not an issue, we were lucky being near the flat portion of the lifeboat deck 6. $2,750 for wife and I, total after taxes and tips. Plus $200 onboard credit.

You can drop off bags immediately after boarding before room is ready. No need to check towels in or out. Room steward services room twice per day. Bathrooms don’t have paper towels they have real washcloths.

Edge class has artists onboard and we took a glow in the dark neon painting class in a room filled with black lights while sipping cocktails at night. Cool experience.

loki007 · February 11

really depends on what you like. Definitely adult oriented, not really a family line but you will see some bored kids. Food is definitely better, no need for specialty dining. Service is great. We love the soltice class ships. Not a fan of the "infinite verandas" on edge class. Depending on the time of year a much older crowd. We were on the Beyond in October and definitely felt young (we are 55)

PhillyLady · February 11

I have sailed on both lines for many years, as well as many other cruise lines, and enjoy them all in different ways. I never choose a cruise line just for loyalty status.

I actually sailed on both RC and Celebrity last year. I choose RC for fun, relaxation, and a more casual yet still trendy experience. RC is superb for families, with all the bells and whistles like slides and ice-skating rinks They also have great private beach ports. We did the Western Caribbean in April. The average age of RC cruisers is now in the 40's.

I select Celebrity for a bit more upscale, adult-oriented cruise with more complex itineraries and more in-depth shore excursions. We sailed to Iceland and Ireland in July. I am willing to pay hundreds of dollars for special excursions like horseback riding on volcanic fields in Iceland. Some of the performers are a bit more sophisticated than RC. Celebrity trends a bit older, with more couples 50 or 60 plus. The price can be more per night than RC depending on itinerary and cabin choice.

I think there are interesting specialty restaurants on both lines. I enjoy the shows and all the activities.

I also sailed on Carnival in December just for the party experience (NYE). There are many, many family and friend groups on Carnival, and the ages seem to trend young. Carnival is well priced for first time cruisers. I will sail on Princess in July, comparable to Celebrity, but IMO, a touch warmer. We will tour the British Isles, and I have already spent thousands on shore excursions, which I know from past experience are always very high quality.

Variety is the spice of life!

ScottD · February 11

Paging our unofficial Celebrity cruise shill... @asquared17. But also, like Mike mentioned above, go to the live blogs section and you will see a few reports from various Celebrity cruises.

Pattycruise · February 11

I sailed on Celebrity just after Covid and didn’t care for the food.
I sailed Celebrity Apex for the Norway itinerary, expecting “eh” food and it was absolutely fantastic. The ship was gorgeous.
I’ll be sailing casino comps on Apex and Xcel for the Caribbean….i know the good will be fantastic. The itinerary-I’m not so excited about but it should be warmer than the northeast!

Matt · February 11

Traveling Mike · February 11

I really like Celebrity but if you are cruising solo double check your prices. On a lot of their cruses they charge Solo Cruisers 225% or they will not show you available cabins.

mac66 · February 11

I hesitate in answering because so many Royal cruisers are expressing interest in Celebrity. We don't need more cruisers on X.

We discovered Celebrity about 10 years ago when they did longer, different itineraries than what was available on Royal. We've now done 7 long cruises with them. In fact, we'd be D+ by now if we could have carried those points over.

Overall, more of an upscale, mature vibe on X. Like everywhere else food and service largely depends by the ship you are on, and size matters. We like both the smaller Royal and X ships. We were on the Beyond last year and didn't care for the infinite veranda or the floating bar hanging off the side. Generally though, I think X is better across the board than Royal.

It was also nice that we could carry our status over to X. Now that we can carry the actual points over, we'll be doing X more and applying the points to Royal. And it should be pointed out that X now matches status. Pinnacle is now Zenith on X, D+ is now Elite + and of course D is still Elite.

A word about pricing. One of the reasons we chose X in the first place was beside the itineraries, that they often included free gratuities, free drink package and free WIFI. They also offered lots of on-board credit on their longer cruises. Yes, they were more expensive but not always. Those perks made for very competitive pricing and lots of value. They stopped doing the free gratuities last year which was the last time we sailed with them.

smokeybandit · February 11

2 minutes ago, mac66 said:

We don't need more cruisers on X

With status match and Points Choice, RCG clearly thinks they do.

twangster · February 11

It is definitely worth checking them out at least once to see for yourself.

Personally I like Celebrity. I've sailed them six times and have four more booked although I have many more than that on Royal booked. This summer I have a side-to-side-to-side sailing Royal then Celebrity then Royal.

I find the food better. I like that you can drop off carry on luggage and retrieve your sea pass card as soon as you board before rooms are ready. I like that you don't need to check out towels. The ships are smaller with fewer guests and less kids. There are often better itineraries on Celebrity.

Butch R · February 11

I appreciate all the posts from the folks who have sailed Celebrity before. My wife and I are cruising for the first time on Celebrity Reflection in September for our 40th anniversary! ABC islands.

Southern Dan · February 11

I am excited to return to Celebrity for the RCBlog Grp Cruise to Iceland July 27. My first cruise was on Celebrity Zenith in 93 and sailed her sister ship Horizon in 98…will almost be a 30 year gap upon my return!

Jamesszy94 · February 11

There's so many things that X does better than Royal. Like the anytime dining, being able to drop luggage off at your rooms before 1pm and just the general vibe seems a lot calmer than Royal. But also embarking and disembarking the ship is way better and easier than X.

fireclan · February 11

34 minutes ago, Southern Dan said:

I am excited to return to Celebrity for the RCBlog Grp Cruise to Iceland July 27. My first cruise was on Celebrity Zenith in 93 and sailed her sister ship Horizon in 98…will almost be a 30 year gap upon my return!

Sounds similar to our experience with Celebrity. Zenith in 2000, Horizon in 2002 and four more Celebrity cruises up until 2010.

We are now returning with a cruise on Ascent in March 2026, to the Panama Canal from Ft. Lauderdale.

Riley · February 12

Tossing in a plug - if you can manage to get there, the 14-day round-trip cruise on "Equinox" out of Buenos Aires was amazing. The ship is older (the tenders work really hard on that itinerary and are especially showing their age) but all down the line the crew was among the best we've ever had and the food/amenities were top notch.

The Dearly Beloved and I had assumed that due to the distance to get there, the cruise would be a "one and done" but we are actually looking at doing it again in 2028!

Southern Dan · February 12

That is one of the cruises on my “hit list” as I really want to see a little part of the world down there. Happy to hear it was a great time!

JasonOasis · February 12

Well if you're concerned about the food Matt has a article where Forbes just awarded their first five star rating to a restaurant on Celebrity Xcel. Several other Celebrity ships received four star ratings so that should tell you everything you need to know about food on Celebrity cruise ships.

Like others have already stated the best way to know is to experience it for yourself with the new loyalty program in place there is no reason not to try Celebrity as you can have the points applied to your Royal Caribbean account.

Richard M · February 12

THANKS TO ALL FOR THEIR TIME AND THOUGHTS!

mac66 · February 12

Just looked and realized that we went on the Constellation in 2015. We were in Florida one winter visiting my parents then a 9 night cruise on Royal. Then visited my wife's parents when we got back.

Were just king of bumming around Florida when we ran across the Constellation for $233/person for a 5 nighter. Were in no big hurry to get back to the great white north so we booked it. Cheaper than staying in a hotel (less than $100/night). Very fun cruise and we loved the Connie. It was actually our second X cruise.

Starrynight0154 · February 12

On Celebrity Apex we did miss the large open spaces Royal Caribbean has(Promenade, Central Park). Not sure if every Celebrity ship is like this. There were narrow walkways, even more narrow than Quantum class esplanades. Great cruise though.

asquared17 · February 12

On 2/10/2026 at 9:29 PM, ScottD said:

Paging our unofficial Celebrity cruise shill... @asquared17. But also, like Mike mentioned above, go to the live blogs section and you will see a few reports from various Celebrity cruises.

hi yes hello I AM HERE!!

we made the switch to celebrity last year and haven't looked back; in fact, the next 6 cruises we have booked into 2028 are all on celebrity. like many others here, we love:

dropping bags in cabin after boarding
twice a day stateroom service
more quiet vibes throughout / less hectic than the typical RC activities of giant parades and endless kiddos *there are kids but it is vastly reduced -- for the record, i actually love kids but seeing them run amok as their parents are nowhere to be found was starting to severely impact my vacation time as we were on RC and we have not had that be the case while on celebrity
disembarkation is a total breeze and very well done
captain + officers are far more visible and make themselves available every night at 8:15 for meet and greet (at least they have on all of our sailings)
food is vastly better, and having the 4 smaller MDRs on edge class is a GAME CHANGER
standard cabin bathrooms on edge class are some of the largest and best appointed we have ever seen!
great new cuisine venues - we LOVED spice, on xcel last week and it was the best grab and go option i've ever seen on a ship with so much to choose from. i wish EVERY ship had spice. think of a park cafe, but a million times better!!

things you will likely miss:

vouchers (if you are diamond or above)
central park
aqua theater
closet space in standard cabins can be tight (e-class specific) if you pack heavy

i hope this helps!! please don't hesitate to ask any questions, if you have them!

Starrynight0154 · February 12

8 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

hi yes hello I AM HERE!!

we made the switch to celebrity last year and haven't looked back; in fact, the next 6 cruises we have booked into 2026 are all on celebrity. like many others here, we love:

dropping bags in cabin after boarding

twice a day stateroom service

more quiet vibes throughout / less hectic than the typical RC activities of giant parades and endless kiddos *there are kids but it is vastly reduced -- for the record, i actually love kids but seeing them run amok as their parents are nowhere to be found was starting to severely impact my vacation time as we were on RC and we have not had that be the case while on celebrity

disembarkation is a total breeze and very well done

captain + officers are far more visible and make themselves available every night at 8:15 for meet and greet (at least they have on all of our sailings)

food is vastly better, and having the 4 smaller MDRs on edge class is a GAME CHANGER

standard cabin bathrooms on edge class are some of the largest and best appointed we have ever seen!

great new cuisine venues - we LOVED spice, on xcel last week and it was the best grab and go option i've ever seen on a ship with so much to choose from. i wish EVERY ship had spice. think of a park cafe, but a million times better!!

things you will likely miss:

vouchers (if you are diamond or above)

central park

aqua theater

closet space in standard cabins can be tight (e-class specific) if you pack heavy

i hope this helps!! please don't hesitate to ask any questions, if you have them!

Do you find food on Celebrity consistently good on different ships? On Wonder/Odyssey/Voyager of the seas I found the food quality varied slightly, even the exact same item on the menu in the main dining room. Wonder food was good, Odyssey was good except for the dining room, Voyager was below average compared to other ships but I still ate plenty of food of course

asquared17 · February 12

Just now, Starrynight0154 said:

Do you find food on Celebrity consistently good on different ships? On Wonder/Odyssey/Voyager of the seas I found the food quality varied slightly, even the exact same item on the menu in the main dining room. Wonder food was good, Odyssey was good except the dining room, Voyager was below average compared to other ships but I still ate plenty of food of course

CONSISTENTLY better, yes!

oceanview cafe (their windjammer) = always had options, well laid out and there was a pizza station in the back often with longer hours
MDR - on edge class there are 4 of these, you may dine any of them, at any time, and they will accommodate you. there is a set menu of a few items that varies each day -- in all 4 rooms -- and a set of specialties that each of the MDRs has available EVERY night. you can order off a master menu to have access to those items even if you are not in that particular dining room. (for example, i am fiercely loyal to the papardelle pasta in tuscan but we dined in the normandie dining room each night.)
mast grill - this is where you go to get burgers and hot dogs -- they are not available in the oceanview cafe -- always delcious and fresh
blu - aqua class ONLY dining room; excellent service and options.
luminae - the suites only restaurant; we haven't tried this yet and have heard it can be hit or miss
cafe al bacio - the coffee shop and snack place - always good!

again food is subjective to each individual's tastes, but they really want you to have a good experience and an even better meal, so if something is not to your liking, i found that they were really more empowered to make it right. this could also be a sheer volume of passengers thing when compared to the bigger oasis class ships etc.

steverk · February 12

Several years ago I did a comparison between Celebrity Infinity and Radiance of the Seas. Perhaps it will be helpful.

Keep in mind that COVID was in full effect at this time and I think it affected my Celebrity sailing especially bad. I have since sailed on Edge and Beyond. Those were much better experiences.

Jill · February 23

We sailed Apex last June to Norway. Food to us was about the same. Middle area of the ship (martini bar) was very dark. Hated infinite veranda (fine for cold weather). Entertainment was just ok. We were a little bored

Itineraries in Europe though are better and we will likely sail them again for Europe

PRMLVM · February 23

On 2/12/2026 at 3:38 PM, asquared17 said:

hi yes hello I AM HERE!!

we made the switch to celebrity last year and haven't looked back; in fact, the next 6 cruises we have booked into 2028 are all on celebrity. like many others here, we love:

dropping bags in cabin after boarding

twice a day stateroom service

more quiet vibes throughout / less hectic than the typical RC activities of giant parades and endless kiddos *there are kids but it is vastly reduced -- for the record, i actually love kids but seeing them run amok as their parents are nowhere to be found was starting to severely impact my vacation time as we were on RC and we have not had that be the case while on celebrity

disembarkation is a total breeze and very well done

captain + officers are far more visible and make themselves available every night at 8:15 for meet and greet (at least they have on all of our sailings)

food is vastly better, and having the 4 smaller MDRs on edge class is a GAME CHANGER

standard cabin bathrooms on edge class are some of the largest and best appointed we have ever seen!

great new cuisine venues - we LOVED spice, on xcel last week and it was the best grab and go option i've ever seen on a ship with so much to choose from. i wish EVERY ship had spice. think of a park cafe, but a million times better!!

things you will likely miss:

vouchers (if you are diamond or above)

central park

aqua theater

closet space in standard cabins can be tight (e-class specific) if you pack heavy

i hope this helps!! please don't hesitate to ask any questions, if you have them!

I love all the live music around the ship, in the lounges (Boleros, Schooner, the old jazz club, the centrum area, dazzles, colony club areas on the smaller ships). I check out the large production/theater shows, but prefer the smaller live performers. Does Celebrity offer that to the degree that RC does?

asquared17 · February 24

5 hours ago, PRMLVM said:

I love all the live music around the ship, in the lounges (Boleros, Schooner, the old jazz club, the centrum area, dazzles, colony club areas on the smaller ships). I check out the large production/theater shows, but prefer the smaller live performers. Does Celebrity offer that to the degree that RC does?

yes!! thy have live music throughout the ship during various parts of the day and shows at night. on edge class ships, there is typically a live show (comedian or singer) in the theater at the front and another show (live music or production) in eden/the bazaar at the back.

the times are staggered so some folks do both in one night or repeat throughout the sailing.

while it’s not the same scale as an aqua show, ice show, or broadway show (i’m thinking oasis class mostly) — the quality is very good and most people love them!

entertainment is subjective, but i would not say celebrity is “boring” — more like you have to adjust your expectations as it’s a different experience. reminds me a bit more of radiance class ships, but in a good way!

smaller shows/performances typically take place at the sunset bar or eden before the big shows later in the night.

Bazza · February 24

Thank you - very useful reading all the comments as we have our first Celebrity cruise in December on Solstice, which is currently in dry dock for a considerable refresh!

The itinerary was the main reason, Singapore to Hong Kong via Thailand and Vietnam including a few overnighters. Plus NYE she is moored overnight in Hong Kong so should be a good view of the festivities!

The fact we get Elite status match is a nice perk, even if does not have the benefits of Diamond.

And it will give 15 points towards our Diamond+ target! Happy days.

WAAAYTOOO · February 24

4 hours ago, Bazza said:

Thank you - very useful reading all the comments as we have our first Celebrity cruise in December on Solstice, which is currently in dry dock for a considerable refresh!

The itinerary was the main reason, Singapore to Hong Kong via Thailand and Vietnam including a few overnighters. Plus NYE she is moored overnight in Hong Kong so should be a good view of the festivities!

The fact we get Elite status match is a nice perk, even if does not have the benefits of Diamond.

And it will give 15 points towards our Diamond+ target! Happy days.

What an incredible itinerary. That sounds so awesome !

Bazza · February 24

11 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

What an incredible itinerary. That sounds so awesome !

Yes it grabbed our attention straight away. A few bucket list stops - Bangkok, Ha Long Bay, Ba Hills etc. and staying loyal to the RCI group

Our UK TA package includes 2 extra nights in Singapore before and 2 nights in HK afterwards so plenty of time to take in the sights.

Hopefully warmer than Florida was last month

Starrynight0154 · February 24

5 minutes ago, Bazza said:

Yes it grabbed our attention straight away. A few bucket list stops - Bangkok, Ha Long Bay, Ba Hills etc. and staying loyal to the RCI group

Our UK TA package includes 2 extra nights in Singapore before and 2 nights in HK afterwards so plenty of time to take in the sights.

Hopefully warmer than Florida was last month

Remember to post pictures here. Hong Kong on New Year’s Eve is very festive

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