I've sailed 18 times on Celebrity Cruises. I love the brand but I have not sailed on Celebrity after COVID. All cruise lines have changes and I will let you know my thoughts. I don't want to appear to be negative, but if you want to book Celebrity, it's good to know what they've changed.
- No prizes at trivia
- Most activities are
upsells not activities (I’ll take a picture of the last day so you can
see)
- Room service
after dinner and chocolates on the pillows is still happening! Most cruise lines have stopped this and it's great to see Celebrity still offers it.
- Food in dining room and
buffet not as good as before, lots of complaints.
- The buffet lacks service
with cleaning tables and no one ever brings you coffee as they do on other
lines in the morning.
- Upcharges for lobster or
a good steak in the main dining room US$19.00 each but it is offered as an entree on one night.
- Classic drink package
only covers drinks up to $10 (Princess Plus is $15) Classic package is not a
great selection of hard liquor! If you like hard liquor, check out the list before you purchase a package and make sure you get what you want.
- Basic internet is
basically useless. You need to upgrade to Premium. The speed using both Classic and Premium was 3.5 Mbps Download, Upload was 1.5 Mbps. It's Starlink Satellite feed so you would think it would be faster. Starlink advertises it is much faster: Starlink users typically experience download speeds between 25 and 220 Mbps, with a majority of users experiencing speeds over 100 Mbps. Upload speeds are typically between 5 and 20 Mbps. I met a colleague that couldn’t open his bank app with
basic internet. I couldn’t post a picture on social media on basic. It is faster than other lines who will hopefully install Starlink.
- The Celebrity app was good to view your account and daily activities. It was "down" for some time and is not even close to the information and features on the Princess Medallion.
I do not want to appear to be negative because we had a fabulous cruise. The food and service in Blu was wonderful. The entertainment was excellent. The daily activities were not as many as before but COVID has changed cruising.
The sheet below looks busy, but I stroked off all the activities that are upsells. Complimentary treatments and consultations are always accompanied with pressure to purchase products.
The Art Auction is another sell, but it's not pressured and you pick your own art. Glass blowing was 20 minutes of instruction and the instructor really does most of the work. The end products are lovely and cost between $120 - $200. At least you know what to expect before you attend. Many people go to the other seminars/consultations not realizing the pressure to purchase their over priced products.
We were upgraded to Aqua Class. It's a balcony stateroom with benefits. There is premium bedding, bathroom amenities and a massaging shower head. You get complimentary fitness classes (yes, you now pay for fitness classes) plus unlimited access to the Persian Garden spa. The benefit I loved was Blu, the restaurant for Aqua Class guests. It's a healthier option and the food was very hot, tasty and the service was the best I've ever had on any ship!
Will I book Celebrity again, absolutely, and I will upgrade to Premium Wi-Fi and book Aqua Class. You get what you pay for.
