When I stepped back on Celebrity Cruises, where I am now, it had been two and a half
years since my last trip on Equinox in the Caribbean.
And they had (I knew) changed a lot since then.
But as I found out here, more than I’d realised!
And it’s significantly changed the way I think about Celebrity Cruises.
I want to talk about why and how, as they may change your thoughts too about cruising
with them too.
And certainly, how you go cruising with them.
If you’re new here, I’m Gary Bembridge and I’m here to make it fun and easy to
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Last time I was on Celebrity, I cruised in a balcony cabin, and on this trip on Celebrity
Silhouette I booked a suite as a splash-out treat.
My next booking is in an Aqua class on Edge, as I had been recommended to try that by fans
of the line.
So, I probably should not have been as thrown by this as I was, but since my last trip Celebrity
have ramped up on this area.
Quite a few followers of the channel say they are not fans of Cunard, as it is so class
driven which they object to as creates a feeling of “better” and “worse” passengers.
Cunard have Queens Grill, Princess Grill and Britannia Grill.
But no-one has ever said the same about Celebrity to me, which as my bookings show, also has
3 distinct classes.
It does not seem to cause the same angst, and on this trip, I think I have worked out
why!
But first let me quickly explain the classes here on Celebrity.
First there is The Retreat Class.
Travellers in suites on Celebrity, which they now are calling The Retreat, I found not only
have bigger cabins (of course), but also have a Butler (now called Personal Retreat Host),
their own dining room (Luminae) with its own separate kitchen , a Retreat Lounge (open
24-hours and serving drinks, snacks, afternoons tea and hosted by two Retreat Concierges),
and then there is a large access-controlled outdoor Retreat, which on Silhouette was over
two decks, which also serves treats, lunch and drinks.
Then Celebrity has Aqua Class.
These passengers have their own restaurant too, called Blu, with a focus on healthily
dining options, free access to the Thermal Suite in the Spa and other Wellness in-room
goodies.
And then there is the “regular” traveller making up most of the ship, with cabins ranging
from inside through to balcony that dine in the Main Dining Room.
So why does this three-class system not seem to create the same angst as it does on Cunard?
Because, in my view, the overall experience, ship, product, service and food is of a standard
that everyone feels they are travelling in luxury, and there is not some suspicion they
are being offered something second class.
And the recent changes made create that.
In addition to the new modern and luxurious Edge Class ships, since my last trip Celebrity
has been working through upgrading their older Millennium and Solstice class ships, and Silhouette
that I am on has had that.
This Solstice class ship feels so much more plush, stylish and quality than before.
Not that I didn’t like it before, but everything just feels more classy.
They used designers like Kelly Hoppen I know of, and others I have not heard of, who seem
to have made been told to make things look and feel better.
It felt more like staying at a sort of Four Seasons sort of hotel now.
Food too I felt has improved.
They have partnership with a Michelin-star chef called Daniel Boulud, that they tell
you frequently on everything to information boards stubs the ship to the menus.
I have not heard of him but sounds like he is well-known in the US.
I thought food was elevated, including in the Oceanview Cafe buffet.
The upside if you want to save money, is I thought the speciality dining had less if
a reason to go to now.
Except, for Sushi on 5 (or Raw on 5 on Edge class) as you can’t get that in the restaurants.
One issue I had with Celebrity before is I felt the outside decks on solstice class were
pretty standard and had wasted space, they now have much nicer places to sit, laze about
and are varied ranging from the Lawn Club but I liked the spaces at rear of the ship
too.
Varied and interesting places around now,
On the Edge class ships this is even better with things like Rooftop terrace areas and
bars.
But the big upgrade that counts is in the cabins.
These are so much nicer and (to use that word again) plush.
Even the linen and towels seem better
So, I think this overall shift to make the whole ship experience shift to more luxury
as a base could be why passengers get less uptight about the class system here, and maybe
it’s less obvious and overt too.
However, that shift to spend on the ship upgrades, food and so on comes at a price, and here
I have seen another key change to talk about.
And this is where, when I asked followers of the Channel if they would consider Celebrity,
many raised as an issue.
And that is fares.
One big change from my last Celebrity Cruise is the fares.
They have shifted to more all-inclusive fares which they call “Always Included”
As a base the fare has three inclusions now: Wi-Fi for one device, Classic drinks package
and gratuities.
You can upgrade to higher levels of inclusions, and if you go in The Retreat the fare has
the highest of those which has Faster Wi-fi, Premium Drinks, Gratuities, and big slug of
On-Board Credit.
It is hard to do a detailed comparison as so much has happened in cruising, including
the shutdown, but my conclusion is that the fares have noticeably edged up a bit more
than just those inclusions.
Even if I’m not totally right, comparing other premium lines that also have followed
this more all-inclusive approach (like Holland America and Princess, and even new entrant
Virgin Voyages) their fares generally seem higher on similar itineraries.
However, the question is: do you get value for money here?
I decided with the new elevated product probably yes.
But as I am not a very frequent Celebrity traveller, I asked people on the cruise who
are.
The most common answer I got was “you can see where the money is going”.
So, I think that is as close to a yes as one can get.
Definitely as I planned future cruises, Celebrity like for like cruise itineraries seem to usually
cost a bit more than on similar lines, but I think it is worth it.
Probably telling is I have booked a next cruise based on this one.
However, other than costing more (probably) and improved luxury feel and quality, what
about the people it attracts and the resulting cruise experience and entertainment itself.
Is that different and changed too, based on my past experiences?
In the premium category I think you can rank the lines from traditional and classic though
to modern and contemporary.
Based on that I would rank them as Cunard on one end as the most traditional, then Holland
America, then Princess, then Celebrity and then new premium entrant Virgin Voyages.
Celebrity’s cruise format, entertainment and daily program I found to still be very
traditional with the usual trivia, enrichment talks, shopping, movies under the stars, production
Las Vegas style revue shows, guest singers and magicians, live music in the bars and
so on.
It is the same as on the other established premium lines.
it is really not that different at all to before either.
The shows on Edge class are bigger and more glitzy, the Eden more out there - but overall
the same.
So, on this cruise anyway, they still attracted a travellers seeking a more classic cruise
experience, but I would say with the move to more modern decor and the new Edge class
ships, they do now seem to be attracting a slightly, but not dramatically, younger crowd
than the more traditional Cunard, Holland America and even Princess.
There seemed to be more families appearing, 30s something couples without kids, and many
gay couples (as the line does promote its diversity credentials).
As someone on my early 60s I would say I was comfortably within the average age.
But it felt a different mix and overall more youthful crowd to my recent cruises on those
other premium lines for sure.
Solo travellers are still fairly underrepresented on Celebrity though, but they seem to be moving
on that.
Silhouette has 4 inside solo cabins it the other Millennium and Solstice class do not
cater for solo, but the new ships have more options (Edge 8 and Apex 24 and Beyond 32
solo cabins which include solo infinite balconies).
So, it is still fairly limiting as surcharges are high.
The shift in Celebrity was much more marked that I had expected.
The ramp up of the different classes, especially the suites Retreat class, and pulling more
luxury is making the line feel quite different to the other premium line, and still seems
to mostly 40, 50, 60s I suspect.
But time will tell but consider that!
To find out more about how to make the most of a cruise on Celebrity, take a look at this
short playlist where I start with a big watch out and something to avoid.
See you over there