First time in Celebrity

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 7

Helpful Votes: 154

Review summary

We had been on the Vista, Symphony, Adventure, Mardi Gras and Wonder 2x in the past 5 years, so we decided to take a run at Celebrity, which is RCL's "luxury" line. We're a young 64 and 63 but wanted a more refined cruise with better food to see if we'd like it. The answer is me, yes. Wife, no. I liked the more traditional setup of the ship, where my wife likes the wide open, bright colors, airy feel of the RCL newer ships. Embarkation at FLL was a breeze. We had a 12 noon time, showed up at 11:10, sat with a group of 50 for about 5 min and were quickly ushered on by 11:25! Took a peek to see if room was done and it was, so we dropped off our overnight and backpack and headed to OceanView Cafe. Read reviews that said it was one of the better buffets at sea, and while it was fine, it was marginally better than Royal's. Plenty of seating and enjoyed the opportunity to eat outside at the back of the ship. Ate here most breakfasts and lunches, and one dinner. Pizza was only served here vs a freestanding stand. I found it ok. No better than Sorrento's. The ice cream had an odd texture and many of the desserts looked wonderful but didn't have a ton of flavor. Cafe El Baccio had coffees, cookies and some pastries. Sadly many days the cookies were either no sugar added or gluten free. The pastries were similar to the desserts upstairs, look good but.... So I was a bit disappointed with El B. Ate twice at the Mast Grill. I love a good burger onboard such as Guys. The burger was pretty well done, but did have a good grilled flavor, but the buns were left out in the wind and were not soft. Had to remove. And the hot dog was tough and not finished. Fries were good. Oddly, rarely were hamburgers and fries available in the buffet. As for the MDR, this was our biggest disappointment. We were early dining at 545 and the line was always about 30 deep but moved quickly. We usually do MyTime, but we booked too late to get it. We're not ones to make an evening of dining, and on Wonder we were in and out in about an hour and ten minutes. Not the case this week. We were constantly pushing 2:30. That wore us out. Other tables were in and out before us. Our waiter while nice, was slow. Also I think the rush of diners at one time with set dining slows things down some, vs MyTime. We also weren't thrilled with the choices and quality. The MDR was not the upgrade we were hoping for. We did eat three nights at premium dining. The second night we ate at Tuscan Grill. We were very pleased. My wife's lasagna was one of the best she's had. My steak, while nice, was a bit on the thin side but still good. Everyone's dinner was filling and worth repeating, which we did the final night. We also did the Lawn Club. We did a pizza for appetizer, Caesar salads (delicious ship-wide) and steaks. I got the strip (not a fan of minced garlic on top) and rest got filets, which by their accounts good. Also heard that Murano was delicious from folks that had tried it, as we weren't big French foodies. Bar service was solid boat wide. Good drinks, no short pours, friendly bartenders (shout out to George who made the best gin lime Gimlet aboard!) and plenty of venues to get drinks. Stayed at the Martini Bar frequently. Entertainment was good for the size ship it is. You won't have an ice rink, aqua show, etc here and it wasn't expected. Angela the cruise director was a hoot and very visible throughout the cruise, unlike the invisible CD on the Wonder in April 23. She was great. Singers were fine as were the dancers. Really enjoyed the new Elysium show they premiered the last night. And the comedian (an older Brit) was very good and clean, proving you don't have to be profane to be funny. He played to at least 2 sellout crowds in the 1100 seat theater, rather than a more cosy club setting, making his job a bit harder but he succeeded. Also lots of trivia and interaction with the crew members. Even got to play the staff and Captn Kirk in water volleyball (almost beat them!) and had a blast. As for the ship, we loved the pool deck and solarium. My wife is fair skinned and loved the indoor hotubs and pool. Outdoor pool always had plenty of shaded areas. Sky Lounge was a good place to hang either quietly with a view, or engaged in trivia or music. Sunset bar another great place to hang, drinking or not. But never got excited about the Lawn. It was highly publicized but rarely used. And for the vast part of the cruise, roped off to let the grass rest. And bocce and a putting green that needed cutting to really putt were sorta useless. Would have loved to had a mini golf course in their place. Did find the bb goal upfront and shot hoops. Walking track can be unofficially made longer by veering off and around the basketball court. But the track isn't a good setup as its narrow and used for foot traffic. And the one venue totally wasted was the Celebrity Central, which looks like at one time was a comedy club. Never went in there for any event. Did go to both venues on 3 and 4 for dancing, singing, etc. This is an older crowd, well, at least this week. I'm guessing 66 is about right. Very few children, which might be the time of year and that the ship has no slides etc. As for ports, we had Nassau (didn't get off...been there done that). And a sidebar, the day after my brother in law went to Blue Lagoon and had a wonderful day, the tender sank to the bottom sadly killing one older lady. We then had a sea day before Falmouth Jamaica. They did the falls/blue hole and while liking the venue, said the 95 min drive on treacherous roads about did them in. The venue was on the other side of Ocho Rios, so I suggest docking there. I decided to stay in port and venture out past the gates into the town. Oh, really really bad idea. Got lots of stares, guys coming up to me etc. Totally unsafe. I'm a brave guy but I lasted no more than 10 minutes before coming back to the friendly confines of the gated port. In Georgetown, did the Turtle trip. Very nice. Low key and pretty cool. Did the ATV adventure in Cozumel. Nice but very strenuous. Lots of potholes, water, rocks and turns in the jungle of southern Cozumel. Not like four wheeling in the states on flat straightaways. In closing, I still liked the ship. To me it was more intimate and cozy than the giants. No eye candy which my wife missed nor promenades/boardwalks. But I liked the change for once. Would I go back, sure. But I think our next cruise will be either Celebration or Odyssey. But one last thing, got a great deal on this cruise. Balcony room, tips, internet (which sucked) and drinks for the same price or less than that on the Wonder for room only. Couldn't pass it up!

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Cozumel, Mexico

Nassau, Bahamas

George Town, Grand Cayman

Falmouth, Jamaica

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

Disembarkation

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