What is your favorite Celebrity ship and why? I've sailed with Celebrity three times and my favorite is Millennium. It was just a super cruise. Met great folks and everything about the ship was super!!!! Can't wait to sail with Celebrity again. I hope it is very soon.
Mary Lou
Thursday Chat Host
Mary Lou,,You know my favorite is the Infinity,,First cruise, no way to compare,,but the cruise was perfect,,from the ship, the weather, the people...air flights,,I am ready to book #2,,still trying to decide on Celebrity,,or venture and try one of the RCI Explorer class ships..
The Infinty is so clean,,and I loved that, we had a great balcony cabin, the food was great, the ports were fantastic,,the crew was excellent, and we had a table of 10,,with each person being unique, very nice, fun,, all around,,only complaint,,we couldn't sail her back 2 back,,,
I actually have two favorite ships. The Infinity and the Century. Both were very unique in many ways. The service was fantastic on both ships including the food. Part of the crew that was on the Century was on the Infinity as well so I knew quite a few people. It was fantastic!
The Mercury. Because she is the only Celebrity ship we've sailed on. We have a booked a suite on the Century for 03 and can't wait to go. We've sailed the Grand Princess and we liked Mercury so much more I don't if we'll ever consider another cruise line. We felt very pampered with Celebrity something we didn't really get a feel for on Princess.
We enjoyed our 11-night Ultimate Caribbean on Zenith last March. Only ship we have sailed on with Celebrity. Looking forward to another great one with Summit in May.
Even though Zenith is older, it is well maintained and the staff was super. Very friendly people and our favorite server was Simona in the Rendez-Vous Lounge.
Our table for dinner was super and we enjoyed the company of 4 Brits that were such funny and great people!!!! (Table for eight)
So far it's the Galaxy we sailed on her in November. We have booked a Eastern Caribbean on the Century for this Nov. I expect the same Excellent Service etc....
I separate *ship* from service or crew experienced on the ship at the time of sailing. I think one can have a favorite cruise on a ship, but I think that the favorite ship has to be outside of the crew as the ship remains constant (unless stretched or totally refurbished and redesigned within) while the crew changes.
Mine is the Galaxy. I like her lighter (than most Celeb ships) color palette, her understated yet chic nature, her Savoy Lounge is one of my favorites on any ship, her general size is fairly large yet she feels intimate within in many areas. I like her 3 deck Orion foyer and the uniqueness of her dining room and Rendezvous Lounge. Love her Tastings and how it is located in its own separate area of the foyer. She also separates Tastings from Cova and has her own small Cova Cafe Bar in the Interlude Bar. She is the only Celeb ship that does this. Love the Stratosphere's huge windows and disco area and entrance to the disco area. Love her girl on the swing painting in the foyer. Upscale, luxurious, chic yet comfortable with period areas. That's the Galaxy.
My wife and I are booked an Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Century September 21, 2002. We will be glad to share our experiences with you when we return. Hopefully some pics as well
Mercury is our Celebrity favorite, we do include the crew and staff as being a pivital part of a cruise because they can really "make it or break it" as far as service onboard the vessel.We perfer the Celebrity century class ships and feel the service and quality we recently had on Infinity simply was not up to our previous eight Celebrity cruises. We are sailing the Galaxy on the May/June -11 day Canada New England cruise and look forward to the "right" size ship and staff. We have sailed Celebrity since the old days when Chandris was the owner. For the money, we feel Celebrity offers an very good productat a very fair price.
My favorite ship is the Mercury. I have cruised on her 3 times.We were on the Millennium last year and are booked on the Infinity. These are both beautiful ships, and we enjoyed our cruise on the Millie.But I love the Mercury.We had three wonderful cruises on the Mercury and I would go on again and again!
The Mercury is my favorite ship. We have cruised on her 5 times, and the 6th will be next winter. We've also cruised on the Century, Infinity and Millennium, which were all great cruises too. The Mercury just has a certain "feeling" to it. In talking with many of the crew, they said they preferred the Mercury over some of the other ships too. Looking forward to our next cruise on her.
I'm answering the question literally which is what is your favorite Celebrity ship and why.
Yes, the staff matters in a *cruise* but my point it is that it is possible to have a wonderful staff on one cruise and a not as wonderful staff on another cruise on the same *ship*. The ship can still be wonderful even if one of the cruises onboard the ship was subpar compared to another time cruising on the same ship, or subpar for the line. Also, it is possible to have lousy weather or a mechanical malfunction on one cruise and great weather and a perfectly functioning ship on another cruise on the same ship.
For me, there's a connection between the ship enviornment and personal feelings that the environment may evoke.
For me there is a difference between the ship and cruise aboard the ship. Paradoxically there are tie-ins because the crew is an integral part as well as the ship when dealing with a full cruise experience. You can have the same staff on different ships yet the ship can make a difference as to the overall personal most enjoyable experience. Yes, a great cruise must have a great staff. But, for me, a wonderful ship is a creation and vision of those involved in creating it. Then the job is to consistently full it with wonderful staff.
For me it is wonderful that my favorite cruise happened on my favorite (newer) ship and I'm hesitant to sail the Galaxy again because I don't think that any other cruise on her could live up to the wonderful staff I had on her the time I cruised aboard her in 1999 (most of which have moved to the newer ships). But I would not hesitate to tour her just to again be in the wonderful environment she provides.
My new favorite Celebrity ship is the Summit (softer colors and decor than the Millennium). Even though this ship is larger than the Century (used to be my favorite), it was easy to find your way around. There were more little seating areas placed about the ship also. Felt more comfortable and relaxed on this cruise. Never seemed crowded anywhere. The Summit and the service experienced on it is a "class act" in my book.
hi, we have reservs on hold for the millie for september 2002, 10 day ultimate carribean...we also are contemplating the century which is half the price (7 day w carib)--i would appreciate your thoughts...we have been on the horizon to bermuda in 1999 and really enjoyed it...i am concerned and have read that some folks are not as happy with the service and or food on the millie as the century seems to get consistent good reviews...i am also worried about motion sickness--thanks for whatevr feedback you can give us...we will have a midship ocean view cabin...linda
Linda:
I can only speak from my personal experience....Millennium was wonderful. The service and food were great. But, I haven't been on her since January of 2001. I believe you will read many differing opinions about both ships. Try the Member Reviews here on CM and see what you can find out there. Maybe some folks have cruised more recently than me. Another great place for advice is in our chatroom. Join us weeknights beginning at 9 p.m. eastern time. We would love to have you there.
Mary Lou
Thursday Chat Host
My favorite (former) Celebrity ship is the Meridien. Boy was she beautiful, the rooms were great. Everything about the ship was wonderful. I wish she wasn't gone. We were on one of the last cruises, Baltimore to Bermuda in 1995. As a result of her we were hooked on Celebrity.
After the Meridien, we love the Galaxy (2times), then Horizon and Zenith (2 times). We haven't been been on any of the newer ships, but will be sailing to Hawaii in September on the Summit. Only 233 more days!
Im with you Mary K. Had my first cruise/Honeymoon on her when she was just out of refurb in 1991. Great lines, great service, unbelievable
food.Got me hooked on cruising & Celebrity.I was saddened to hear of her abuse and sinking at the hands of the company that bought her.
Unfortunately, she's no longer an option. We were on her second-to-last cruise (after six previously) and I felt like I was saying goodbye to an old friend. Little did I know how final that farewell was.
Add another vote for the Meridian. Our first ever cruise was aboard the Meridian in 1996 to Bermuda and we were hooked!! We had an inside cabin on deck 4 with a shower so small you dare not drop the soap. But the ship had class & character with the lines of a classic ocean liner and a crew that was so friendly. We've met crew members on other Celebrity ships since then and all agree it was like family between the crew & passengers with many repeat passengers. She'll always have a special place in our heart.
There is an article about the classic liners in the Feb. issue of "Cruise Travel" magazine in which they tell the history of Meridian.She was built in 1964 as the "Galileo Galilei". She was renamed "Galileo" in 1984 under the Fantasy Cruises name & in 1989 was refitted & renamed Meridian & sailed as such until 1997, when she was sold & renamed "Sun Vista". In 1999 she caught fire & sank in the Strait of Malacca.
When we sailed on the Zenith in 1999 there was a large model of her on display in the Fleet Bar which is quite impressive.
Having sailed Mercury, Millennium & Infinity, the beautiful Mercury gets my vote. Certainly nothing wrong with Millie or Infinity, but Mercury being my first Celebrity cruise, with her beautiful lounges is my favorite. Love the Martini & Champagne bars on her.
Looking forward to sailing Galaxy & Century some day.......
Another tidbit about GG/Meridian ... She was built to carry immigrants to Australia with some rich folk along for the ride in first class. That's why she had the "stairs to nowhere".
Having sailed on the Zenith, Century, Mercury, Galaxy, and Infinity. The mercury gets highest marks, then a tie for Zenith and Infinity. We are booked again on the Infinity for the Hawaii to Vancouver, B.C. repositioning in May. Can't wait. We've also sailed on other lines but by far, Celebrity is our all around favorite - no way to have a bad time.
We've done Century, Mercury and Millennium. Really like the Mercury, but the Millennium tops my list. Actually tops my list of all the ships I've been on so far.
One of the main reasons we picked the Summit, Hawaii to Vancouver in May/02 for our CruiseMates Group Cruise.
Hey Bert.. sounds like you're cruising with us. Stay in touch, and join the CruiseMates bunch in some onboard fun!
We just got back from sailing on the Infinity to the Eastern Carib. We had sailed the Galaxy and Century earlier. The Infinity was best of all (Millenium should be equal, given they are sister-ships). Taking the Zenith next Feb in South America. The kids program on Infinity was super. Our grandchildren could not wait to get back each time. Infinity thalassotherapy pool was heaven on earth. Never seemd to be that large a ship, crowd-wise. Only the walk from the dining room to the theater made you realize what a behemoth it is. Meals and service seemed uniformly good regardless of the ship. Infinity evening shows were better than the other two ships. Comedian Jeff Nease was superb. I thought the Galaxy had a couple of clinkers, one of which was a piano-pounder/comedian? named Elliott Finkel.
What is your favorite Celebrity Ship and Why?
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