Favorite Celebrity Cruise?

[MaryLou]

I'm curious as to what has been your favorite Celebrity cruise and why?
My first cruise was on Celebrity's Galaxy in 1997 so that holds a very special place in my heart. But, a very close second was our cruise on Millennium....we just loved her. I love the look and feel of the milli class ships.

[slotaddict]

Originally Posted by MaryLou

I'm curious as to what has been your favorite Celebrity cruise and why?
My first cruise was on Celebrity's Galaxy in 1997 so that holds a very special place in my heart. But, a very close second was our cruise on Millennium....we just loved her. I love the look and feel of the milli class ships.

My first cruise was on the Horizon, I was hooked after that. But I think that my favorite cruise was on the Century, I have been on the Century twice and it was actually the second cruise that was my favorite. I guess it was the friends that I cruised with, we had an excellent time and it will always stand out as the best.

[cruiztime]

November 2001 - Summit.

We were married on this cruise. Not on the ship but on a beach on St. John. It was a very special 10 days for us.

The only thing I would change was not accepting the invitation to the Captains Table. Did not enjoy the dinner at all. Too many people at the table, took too long to be served and to eat. We had late seating and everything was cold by the time it was served.

Leaving on the Infinity in two weeks, can't wait. Have been on Millie - that just leaves the Constellation. However, all the Celebrity ships are wonderful. No such thing as a bad cruise, just a better cruise!

[Y2C]

That is a hard one to pick, since all of our Celebrity cruises have been outstanding.

If I have to choose it would be the Mercury April 2001 Panama Canal.
There were six couples we met through the message boards and keep in touch all the time via e-mail. Have cruised with these folks on separate cruises since then. These people were from England, Hawaii, California, Colorado and New Jersey. And most of all the Captains wife who was just the greatest person from Greece.

Not only was the Panama a wondrous cruise but these folks made it very special.

[Rev22:17]

Y2C,

That is a hard one to pick, since all of our Celebrity cruises have been outstanding.

Yes, that's my sentiments, too. I have been aboard GTS Infinity (Panama Canal Westbound, October 2003), GTS Constellation (Caribbean, March 2004), GTS Millennium (Transatlantic Westbound, November 2004; Eastern Caribbean, March 2005), GTS Summit (Gulf of Alaska Northbound, July 2005), and MV Galaxy (Transatlantic Westbound, October 2005), and have enjoyed every one of them. I'm eagerly anticipating upcoming cruises aboard MV Mercury (Mexican Riviera, 13 February 2006) and GTS Infinity (Hawaii Round Trip, 22 October 2006), and I probably will return to Alaka this summer as well if I can find a good deal aboard GTS Summit.

Ultimately, though, I think that my favorite cruise at any given time is the one that's in process at the time....

Norm.

[Rev22:17]

cruiztime,

The only thing I would change was not accepting the invitation to the Captains Table. Did not enjoy the dinner at all. Too many people at the table, took too long to be served and to eat.

I really hope that you'll try the Captain's Table again if you get another opportunity, and also that it will be a more pleasant experience, because it's extremely gauche to decline an invitation from the captain while embarked in his vessel. In fact, the norms of social etiquette require that one retract previous acceptance of another social invitation and send regrets if one receives a social invitation from (1) a head of state or (2) the captain (or master) of a vessel in which one is embarked. (It is, however, permissible to answer in the negative if the social hostess or another member of the ship's staff asks you whether or not you wish to receive such an invitation.)

We had late seating and everything was cold by the time it was served.

That's absolutely inexcusable, but the fault rests with the waiter for not timing the delivery of food properly. If the Captain's food was also cold, it's a pretty safe bet that the master addressed the matter with the maitre d' after the meal. Unfortunately, that did not remedy your legitimate complaint.

Norm.

[big apple]

Our best celerity was our trip with invite to captain,s table for dinner with drinks before dinner,great wine, and our reserved seats at the show with after dinner drinks and a special photo with our captain to remember this cruise C annot believe anyone would decline this invitation unless you habve a real problem.

[cruiztime]

Thanks Norm for the etiquette lession. I was not aware of the ships protocol regarding dinner at the Captain's table. However, we were invited because of the wedding and I am certain we will not be invited again - unless of course, we get married again on a cruise!

I agree, the cold food and slow service was the fault of the staff and I could not believe it was happening....I expected that the Captain's table would be served first and the service would be the best on the ship...not the case with our dinner. There were 12 at our table and more staff was needed to take care of the table. It left a lasting negative impression with me. Guess I should have not posted about my negatie experience. Often it is better to keep thoughts to ourselves. Thanks!

[Rev22:17]

cruiztime,

However, we were invited because of the wedding and I am certain we will not be invited again - unless of course, we get married again on a cruise!

The wedding probably was one factor, but they also extend invitations to some of the most travelled passengers. You'll start getting invitations with increasing regularity if you take enough cruises.

I expected that the Captain's table would be served first...

That's a pretty reasonable assumption if one is not familiar with the peculiarities of the captain's position. Unfortunately, there are sometimes matters that require the captain's immediate attention, not the least of which is other shipping in the vicinity. As a result, the captain's table dines on the captain's schedule and service proceeds at whatever pace the captain sets. They don't delay service to the other tables if the captain's table is slow.

That said, I should mention that the cause of the slow service might have been another guest at the captain's table who ate very slowly. The Captain generally would not signal the waiter to serve the next course until all guests have finished the present course becaue that would be rude to the guest who ate slowly. A slow guest also might have caused the food to sit at the service statoin for a while, growing cold, before it was served.

Guess I should have not posted about my negatie experience. Often it is better to keep thoughts to ourselves.

I'm actually glad that you posted, as the investor in me wants to know where real problem spots are. In fact, I would be very interested to hear the experience of others who have dined at the captain's table!

Norm.

[cookie1207]

Our favorite cruise on Celebrity was an 11 day Canada/ New England cruise on the Galaxy from Batimore a few years ago.

Our favorite ship is th Mercury and least favorite is the Infinity.

[sal7202]

I too have enjoyed all of the cruises I have taken on Celebrity, but without a doubt, my favorite was the 11 day Canada / New England cruise out of New York on the Constellation in September 2004. I'm generally a warm weather kind of guy, but the scenery on this cruise was spectacular. From New Port Rhode Island to Halifax & Quebec The leaves were changing color and the weather was perfect. The 2 days in Quebec city was a real treat, especially at night. But the most spectacular part of all was the cruise up the Saguaney River, truly Gods country, pristine & unspoiled. You got the feeling of what the new world was back when the 1st Europeans set foot on the continent.

[pooh1bear43113]

Let's see:

Our first Celebrity cruise was Infinity's first year - Honolulu to Ensenada - we splurged and booked a window cabin. Celebrity surprised us with an upgrade to our very first veranda (got us reeled in hook, line and sinker for future bookings)! Unfortunately, things were unsettled as it was the first year for the ship - and not a really great cruise.

Our second Celebrity cruise: decided to try Infinity one more time - just to see if things had improved - booked Trans Canal SD to FLL. Different as day and night. Crew/Staff finally got their act together - and we had a wonderful cruise...so good we booked a second TC on Infinity the following year.

We dearly loved the Summit repo. cruise - San Diego to Alaska so much we booked it twice and would love to do it again. Summit is our favorite of the M class vessels.

To date, our favorite Celebrity cruise was on Millie in May - Barcelona to Venice. We had done this cruise serveral times prior to 9/11 but on RCCL ships. Finally worked up the nerve to try it again and booked Millie. She needs some polishing - and was scheduled into dry dock before returning to the States late in '05. A wonderful cruise - with a great crew and staff. One of our most memorable cruises.

Now looking forward to trying our favorite Summit again in April - followed by another Millie in November.

Drat! It's hard to want to try another cruise line when Celebrity (IMHO) does it so well!

(However, there will always be a special place in my heart for RCCL's Navigator of the Seas and her Master, Capt. Bang and his wife, Darlene. Just wish they would move her out of the Caribbean and into another interesting itinerary - but for now, she's our ship of choice for short cruises.)

[daysatsea]

My favorite Celebrity cruise-
We first cruised on the Zenith in its inaugural year. That cruised hooked us on cruising and made us want to do the maiden voyage of the new class of ships.
We did the maiden voyage of the Century and due to a multitude of problems like the pipe bursting in the wall across from our cabin and flooding it, we sort of were down on cruising; having the dining room closed for lunch at one port because travel agents were being wined and dined; etc. After a couple of years, the bad things that happened became funny stories and we remembered all the good things, we started cruising again - back on Celebrity.
Our Alaska cruise was great - the scenery was outstanding and the tours fantastic.
However, I would have to say that our first transatlantic in 2001 was my favorite cruise. We had done two 7 day cruises about 6 months apart. Each of those were 6 ports in 7 days and both were to new places for us. We came home from those cruises as tired as when we left. When I saw the 14 day trans at a lower price than what we paid for 7 day Alaska and the trans only had 4 ports in those 14 days, I knew we had to do it. Sailing was a few weeks after 9/11 and we were concerned that we would be unable to go. The week before, the airline started doing transatlantics again so we were off to Barcelona. The transatlantic crossing was wonderful. The ship wasn't full as many had cancelled. Days at sea were restful and relaxing. We hit that 4th day when a week cruise starts the downhill swing and realized that we still had a lot of time left - we weren't even halfway done. We actually came home from this cruise truly rested and refreshed. We enjoyed it so much that we now do the trans every other year as a recouperation cruise.

[Cruz Crazy]

My favortie Celebrity cruise is the longer the better.

My favorites in this order:

13-night Canada/New England - Constellation - October
10-night Ultimate Southern Caribbean - Summit - December
7-night Bermuda - Horizon - May
7-night Eastern Caribbean - Millenium - January

Future cruises that may change the above list:

15-night Panama Canal (ends in San Francisco) - Infinity - April 06
14-night Hawaii R/T - Summit - December 06

I think the BEST Eastern Caribbean cruise is the 10-night Ultimate Southern Caribbean and I'm repeating that one on the Constellation in March 2007.

Celebrity has never let me down. They are consistent...consistent...consistent and that's what I like.

Can't wait for the new build to come out in 2008.

[Mike M]

My favorite Celebrity cruise was Mercury in February of 2000 but it was also my first cruise so I have to say there is a prejudice involved.

So, after eight cruises I returned to Mercury in 2003 to cruise Alaska and that became my favorite Celebrity cruise. This time it wasn't because it was my first cruise. It was because the level of service was actually better than the first cruise.

Our waiter was exceptional. Our head waiter knew my love of Viennese chocolate pudding and made sure I had it for lunch and dinner. The food, once again, was cooked almost to perfection and there was a great variety. Our butler, even though it was his first stint, did an exceptional job and the Alaskan itinerary was a dream come true. There was no complaints or issues at all. It is still my favorite cruise.

Take care,
Mike

[Ron]

My favorite Celebrity cruise was on the Horizon way back in the spring of '91. It was new, ported in San Juan doing 7 dayers to Martinique, St. Lucia, Barbados, Antiqua and St. thomas. At that time the Horizon was the largest ship operating out of San Juan. ( times and ships have sure changed ) It seemed that everything on that cruise was perfect. We had always wanted to sail the Horizon again and 3 years ago we did so, taking a 7 day from Tampa. We enjoyed that almost as much as the first one.

Sadly, the Horizon has been sold from the Celebrity fleet and I doubt that it will be sailing too much longer.

We sailed the Zenith in ' 93, when it was new and really enjoyed that too. We are going on a 10 day on it and can't wait to get back aboard . My guess is that it too, will be gone from the fleet in a couple more years.

[scapel]

Our favorite cruise was aboard the Infinity from Valparaiso to Buenos Aires 2004.

Norm asked:I'm actually glad that you posted, as the investor in me wants to know where real problem spots are. In fact, I would be very interested to hear the experience of others who have dined at the captain's table!
We have eaten at the capatin's table on quite a few ships with a story that goes with each of course. It is always very interesting and I have never had a bad meal, I have never felt out of place, I have had just about anything I could ask for. The captain furnishes the drinks before dinner and usually a white and red wine also with dinner. I love to eat at the captain's table, but my wife tightens up with all the pomp and circumstance and doesn't particlualry take to it. She goes because she knows I like it.
On one Celebrity cruise our Maitre'D brought a ships officer to our table and picked up the wine tab. The wife didn't mind that one. He was a very nice looking gentleman and she didn't feel intimated.
We met Captain Otto Bang (RCCL)and his wonderful family on one cruise. We didn't get invited to his table to eat, but we spent a lot of time with he, his wife and son on the bridge. He was very hospitable to us and a lot of fun, but I think he was a tough taskmaster.

[pooh1bear43113]

Some one mentioned Capt. Leif Otto Bang - and I had to add my 2 cents worth:

We had the great good fortune to be invited to dine with Captain Bang and his wife Darlene in December while on a shortie 7-day Western Caribbean.

I have to agree with the previous poster: he is a great Captain - and seems to be a tough task master - which is appreciated. He runs a tight ship.....Not much goes unnoticed on his watch, I'm sure.

We, too were invited to the bridge and had additional one-on-one contacts with Capt. and his wife during this cruise.

As for dining at the Captain's table:

I had always told DH that if and when we were ever invited to dine with a Captain - I'd politely refuse. I'm not one who enjoys even the thought of walking down the staircase (on the M class ships) and to the back of the ship to the Captain's table as other's look on.....just not my cup of tea at all.

However, we were invited to dine with the captain of the Millie while on our Med. cruise this past May. The only thing that made it half way tolerable was to find that another couple we had met thru another cruise web site were also invited and while we had a nice time - I was not at all comfortable but glad that DH insisted that we accept the invitation.

However, the experience in December '05 on NOS, dining with Capt. Bang was as different as night and day. I had the time of my life - and never felt "out of place". It was one of the most enjoyable evenings I've ever spent dining on a ship. This wonderful man did everything in his power to make everyone feel comfortable and he was successful....I'd love to dine with him again. There just wasn't the "stiffness" / "formality" on NOS as I experienced on Millie. Capt. Bang was fun, amusing and interesting as well as appearing to be genuinely interested in what his guests had to say. Just didn't get that warm feeling from the Capt. on Millie and almost felt that it was just part of his job.

Having said that: I do appreciate both invitations to dine with the Captains. And if I'm ever invited to do so again - it will be too soon (unless it's with Capt. and Darlene - however, our next couple of cruises are on M class X ships!).

[Rick]

Our Favorite.... our next cruise on the Summit, 14 Night 26 Feb 2006.