A Tale of Two Cruises – Holidays 2013

This year we had the unique opportunity to take two different cruises over the holidays.  Thanksgiving was aboard the Carnival Breeze for an 8 day Southern Caribbean cruise to a couple of ports we have not done before.  Over Christmas we decided to enjoy a last minute 5 day Western Caribbean voyage on the Celebrity Constellation – and we barely missed the huge ice storm leaving town!  How did they compare? Did we enjoy both? What would we recommend to clients?

First Impressions

Carnival:  Great job Carnival for moving ship décor away from the neon cartoon like features of the Joe Fracus designs. We really enjoyed the new fresh contemporary look while leaving a few whimsical and fun design elements. The ship design is still the basic Carnival design with the Atrium, promenade on one side of the ship, and the galley in the middle with two dining rooms.  The new Carnival look should be liked by many guests.

Celebrity:  Celebrity has been adding new features to their ‘older’ ships and the results are fantastic. We loved the Constellation’s sleek and modern style. We enjoyed viewing all the cool artwork throughout the ship.  Since she is smaller than most ships there is no 6 story atrium but the three story atrium served her well with bars and cafés centrally located.  The ship was also decorated for the holidays in grand style. Being greeted with champagne (and OJ for the kids) started us off on the right foot.



Service / Staff

Carnival:  Since Carnival is a value oriented line the staff to guest ration is a bit lower than other lines.  This does show when waiting in some lines for lunch, debarking, guest services, or a bar waiter.  Some might not notice but since we cruise a lot it is something that did stick out with us. But our stateroom steward was the best we have had in a number of cruises.  She was truly a ninja – we would leave the room for 20 mins and like magic our room was cleaned.  Our dining wait team seemed to be overworked and our first couple of dinners took forever.  It did get a bit better as the week progressed but due to the lower staffing levels at time service can suffer a bit.

Celebrity:  We had one of the best and funniest cruise directors and assistant directors in many cruises.  We actually looked forward to watching their morning ‘talk’ shows on the TV while preparing for the day.  The officers were everywhere mingling with guests.  The Captain  was recently promoted and available in many venues to speak with guests.  He even participated in many of the activities which were a lot of fun to watch. The staff aboard the ship was very attentive and we had no service issues at all.


Dining

Carnival:  The dining on Carnival overall is very good. One of the things I miss from other lines is at times there is a lack of variety in the buffet and other venues. The differences in some of the quality are noticeable– for example frozen waffles heated up in lieu of freshly made on other lines.  We did visit the premium steakhouse which was very good with excellent service – well worth the nominal fee. Thanksgiving dinner was so so with the typical cruise ‘Tom Turkey dinner’ which was a bit disappointing.  The ‘food court’ areas such as Guy’s Burgers, Fat Jimmy’s BBQ, and Blue Iguana Cantina were very good.

Celebrity:  The Celebrity buffet was great with lots of freshly prepared items and a good variety for a smaller vessel. The dining room had some very good selections and we enjoyed most of the items that we ordered.   The Tuscan Grill was a nice treat for specialty dining with the excellent steaks cooked to perfection.

Café al Bacio is now the Operach’s favorite spot on the ship with premium teas, coffee, and pastries served in classic Italian style service ware.  On Christmas there was even a special added menu for dinner to make the day special and memorable.




Entertainment / Activities

Carnival:   The entertainment was the new breed on the Breeze. With Carnival you do get less production shows than some other lines.  The two we did see had prerecorded music, limited sets, limited cast, and were shorter in duration than the usual shows.  The shows were adequate but the particular singers on our ship were average at best.   Where Carnival does excel is the George Lopez’s Punchliner Comedy Club which we enjoyed very much.  They are so popular that the venue they are held in is just too small.  Get there early to be sure to get a seat!  Other entertainment in the smaller venues was good but also limited. Carnival does have the water park and ropes courses for the kids.  They particularly ventured on the ropes course many times.

Celebrity:  The best part of this cruise was the Entertainment.  The production shows were some of the best we have seen.  The cast of singers were extremely talented and we wanted more of the shows and music. They received a standing ovation every night. We also enjoyed the enrichment programs on Celebrity for variety where for example you can learn about the ports (not just shopping) or about the ship navigation.  In our cruise the Captain himself did a presentation which turned into a very interactive and interesting QA session. Celebrity did a fantastic job on Christmas day with Santa visiting the ship and visiting with all of the young cruisers with gifts in hand.  The special Christmas show was spectacular and well done.


Final Thoughts

We had a spectacular time on both cruises.  These experiences just reinforced the advice we give to our clients. Carnival is a solid value oriented brand that does the basic very very well.  Carnival may not have the variety of offerings, spectacular entertainment, or white glove service … but that is not who they are. They are the Fun Ships with a casual and laid back environment that offers great value for your dollar.

Celebrity lives up to their ‘Modern Luxury’ tag line with contemporary well-designed ships, attentive service, and variety of dining options.  They are excellent at providing a premium product at competitive rates.

Depending on what type of cruising experience you are looking for, both Celebrity and Carnival will provide you excellent value and a fantastic experience.

Happy Cruising!