Celebrity Cruise Mistakes No-one Realises They’re Making (Until It’s Too Late!)

The first big mistake I see people making when it comes to Celebrity Cruises is thinking it’s going to deliver on their advertising promising “modern luxury” and that “nothing comes close”. Once on board however, cruisers quickly discover they’re not on a luxury cruise line.

This is just one of six mistakes I see cruisers make.

Why do I say that while Celebrity delivers a good experience it is not, nor delivers, a luxury line experience?

Mistake: Thinking Celebrity Is A Luxury Line

Celebrity operates in what the cruise industry calls the “Premium” category.

That places it between huge resort-style cruise lines, such as Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival and MSC, and the luxury and ultra-luxury lines, including Viking, Regent, Silversea and Crystal.

Celebrity has much in common with the other “premium” cruise lines, like Princess, Holland America and Virgin.

Celebrity’s ships are large. Some carry more than 3,000 passengers, making them considerably busier and more crowded than most luxury ships, which carry around or fewer than 1,000 guests.

Celebrity also caters to a much wider range of budgets than luxury lines do. You can book everything from a relatively affordable inside cabin to an expensive suite. Unlike the only balcony suites offered on luxury lines.

There is also a major difference in service levels. Celebrity has a much lower crew-to-passenger ratio than the luxury lines, so although the service can be very good, it is not as personal nor attentive.

Celebrity offers a wide range of dining, and I have eaten some very good food on their ships.

But there are charges for speciality restaurants and sometimes for individual menu items like steak and lobster. On luxury lines, fine dining and speciality venues are included in the fare.

Celebrity also has many more onboard revenue-generating activities and add-on costs. These include not only speciality dining, but gratuities, drinks, Wi-Fi, art auctions, photos, and various other added-charge experiences.

The daily program is considerably livelier than luxury lines. On my recent Celebrity Silhouette cruise, the Cruise Director announced there was an activity starting every 15 minutes.

Luxury lines tend to be much more sedate, with fewer organised activities and more enrichment focus.

There are differences in quality of furniture and fittings too. Most Celebrity ships are stylish and contemporary, but the linen, toiletries, and overall level of finish are not as elevated as those on luxury lines.

Celebrity delivers a good premium cruise. But it is not a luxury cruise line, and people who board expecting a luxury experience because of the advertising are often disappointed.

Also on a luxury line, everyone can use the same restaurants, lounges and deck areas, regardless of which cabin they have booked. That is not the case on Celebrity.

This leads to the second mistake: not understanding how class-driven the Celebrity experience has become.

Mistake: Thinking Everyone Gets The Same Experience

People often talk about Cunard as being class-based because passengers in the top suites have their own restaurants.

But Celebrity also has a hierarchy of accommodation categories, each with its own exclusive areas.

There are regular cabins (Inside, Oceanview and Balcony), Aqua Class cabins, and The Retreat suites.

Aqua cabins are broadly similar in size to the standard balcony cabins, although in better locations. The main perk for them is exclusive access to Blu, a dedicated restaurant, for breakfast and dinner.

Then there is The Retreat, Celebrity’s “ship-within-a-ship” for suite guests.

Retreat guests have exclusive access to Luminae Restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as an exclusive lounge, and a large private sundeck with pool, bar, and dining.

There are many other perks too, such as reserved theatre seating.

All this has an impact on regular passengers.

The Retreat occupies quite a lot of space, particularly on the Edge Class ships. The private lounge, restaurant and sundeck all reduce the areas available to passengers staying in regular cabins.

On the Solstice Class ships, like Celebrity Silhouette I was on recently, The Retreat areas are more tucked away and less limiting. But it still closes off sections of the ship to regular passengers.

One of the biggest frustrations is that the best forward-facing outdoor area is reserved for Retreat guests across the fleet.

When I sailed out of New York on Celebrity Silhouette, Retreat guests could enjoy spectacular views from their private open air Retreat deck overlooking the bow.

Passengers like me in regular cabins had to watch through glass in the Sky Lounge or outside from the side of the ship, though sailing past the Statute of Liberty we got better views as the Captain opened the bow for that stretch.

Celebrity can provide a very different experience depending on the cabin category you book, and parts of the ship will be closed off unless in higher grade cabins.

There’s another piece of marketing Celebrity does that causes much disappointment too.

Mistake: Confusing Celebrity “All Included” for it being “All Inclusive”

This mistake is confusing Celebrity’s “All Included” fare with an all-inclusive cruise.

Celebrity advertises and pushes its “All Included” package, and the name understandably gives cruisers the impression that most of their potential onboard spending will be covered, and it’ll be like going on an all-inclusive line. It will not.

All the “All Included” package has is the classic drinks and basic Wi-Fi packages. That is all.

You will have more costs for gratuities, which at time of recording will add $250 per couple for a 7-night cruise, and speciality dining, which can cost around $100 each for a couple.

Even then many are disappointed by not checking the specifics of the “All Inclusive” drinks and Wi-Fi packages, finding once on board they do not suit them.

At time of making this, the included Classic drinks package has a more restricted choice of brands and only includes drinks with prices under $10. The Premium Drinks package has all brands and covers drinks up to $17.

The “All Included” basic Wi-Fi only allows text messaging, email and web browsing. If you want to stream video, upload larger files or make video calls, you need the Premium Wi-Fi package.

So, many find not only did it not make their cruise really “All Included”, but they had to upgrade drinks and Wi-Fi further once on board to meet their needs.

If you are in a regular cabin and looking to upgrade your experience one mistake I see cruisers make is not seeing if the “Premium Access” package would do that for them.

For example, I had a balcony cabin on my last cruise but by buying the limited “Premium Access” package I could check in from 11am and was in the first group to board, along with suite guests. I was actually the first person on board!

It also included two devices Premium Wi-Fi, complimentary room service, a welcome lunch, reserved seating for all the shows in the front of the theatre, priority tendering in tender ports which meant I was able to get off as tenders started and not wait for tender tickets, and priority disembarkation.

Another mistake cruisers make when they book a Celebrity cruise is not paying attention to the ship class.

Mistake: Book a Celebrity cruise without paying attention to the ship class

Many people choose their Celebrity cruise by looking at the itinerary, dates and fare. They assume that because every ship carries the Celebrity name, the experience will be broadly the same. It is not.

Celebrity has three main ship classes, and they offer different styles of cruising.

The Millennium Class ships are the smallest, carrying 2,200 passengers with a more traditional design and are often used on longer or more destination-intensive itineraries, like Asia.

The Solstice Class ships carry around 2,800 passengers. They have features including the real-grass Lawn Club, a large central atrium, a traditional main dining room, and a layout that feels familiar to people who enjoy classic cruising.

Then there is the Edge Class.

These are Celebrity’s newest ships, carrying around 3,000 passengers. They have the Magic Carpet platform on the side, the Rooftop Garden, the dramatic Eden venue, technologically advanced theatre, modern atrium and decor.

Instead of one large main dining room, they have four smaller main dining restaurants with different designs and menus.

People who like traditional cruise ship layouts sometimes find the Edge Class overly contemporary and too different. Other people love the Edge Class exactly because it feels so different.

So, cruisers need to think about the kind of experience they want to avoid disappointment.

For a smaller, more traditional ship experience and destination-focused itineraries, look at the Millennium Class.

For a classic premium cruise experience with a main dining room, and familiar layout, the Solstice Class is likely to be the best fit.

For modern design, advanced technology, innovative venues and a livelier atmosphere, consider the Edge Class.

There is one more complication.

Do not assume that a ship you have sailed on before will still be the same when you return.

Celebrity has been gradually transforming its older ships through its refurbishment programme. Several Millennium and Solstice Class ships have already received major changes a few years back, but further extensive refits are planned.

These will include new restaurants and bars, redesigned pool decks, updated cabins, new entertainment spaces and significant changes to the atrium and public rooms. It started with Solstice in 2026 and Reflection early 2027.

Before booking a ship you think you know, check whether it has been refurbished, what has changed or will have before your sailing.

Another mistake cruisers who do decide to go on the Edge class in a balcony cabin is they don’t understand just how different they are in these ships.

Mistake: Book Infinite Balcony without understanding what it is

The Edge class has what Celebrity calls Infinite balconies instead of traditional balcony cabins. They are very divisive.

Instead of an open-air balcony you step out onto, these have a floor-to-ceiling window where the top half rolls down to allow fresh air in. There also some folding glass doors that separate this area from the rest of the room.

While some cruisers like that the cabin is larger, as the balcony is included within the room, others dislike them as they cannot sit outside.

Many do not appreciate that once you open it, the air conditioning shuts off and based on weather, the ability to open it can be overridden by the bridge.

There are some traditional balcony cabins on Edge class ships, but most are not. So, thinking through what you want from a balcony cabin is also key to avoid disappointment when choosing your Celebrity ship type.

There is also something I saw on my last trip that reminded me of another mistake cruisers make and something I see really disappoints some.

Mistake: Book thinking it’s going to be an adult-only experience

Traditionally many cruisers chose Celebrity thinking it’s an adult only and older couples skewed experience. It has never been adults only and always welcomed families, but not many did cruise Celebrity. This is changing, leading to some disappointments.

Like several Premium Lines, Celebrity sees great potential in more families considering the line, offering more cabins suitable for families to share and discounts and even free fares for 3rd and 4th guests sharing a cabin.

I have seen during the various school holidays, increasing numbers of kids and teens children on board, especially on the Edge Class ships, where I found traditional Celebrity cruisers thrown when kids to start taking over the pool and are a larger presence at parties and events.

So, if you do want a more adult experience on Celebrity, look at longer itineraries, out of holiday periods, and Repositioning cruises with lots of sea days, and lean towards the Solstice and Millennium classes as families are more attracted by the Edge class ships because they’re more contemporary, have bigger Kids’ clubs and so on.

But, if you are considering taking your family then the school holidays periods, like Christmas and summer, work well as there are more kids and teens on and more for them to meet, play with and more is organised.

Unlike my recent two-week trip from New York to Iceland on a shoulder period, and while there were kids and teens on, not that many and they all seemed a bit bored because there weren’t a lot of others on to do things with and there was not a lot extra laid on focused towards them.

Another thing too that I see people making a big mistake with is not understanding and getting the most value from the Celebrity Captain’s Club loyalty program.

Mistake: Not Using The Loyalty Club Properly

While you are not going to lose money by not paying attention to the Captain’s Club Loyalty Club, Celebrity is quite active with the perks, and you could miss perks and added value you are entitled to.

Several things make the Celebrity loyalty club appealing.

First, there’s a loyalty match across the Royal Caribbean group (Royal Caribbean, Silversea and Celebrity). This can add a lot.

I used my Celebrity status to get Diamond status perks when I cruised on Royal Caribbean. Things like priority embarkation, Diamond Lounge access, and 4 drinks vouchers per day.

Second, no matter which of the three lines you cruise, you can nominate which of the programs you get your points allocated to.

So, by getting them all added to your Celebrity program if you travel on them more, you can move up through Celebrity faster and use that higher status to status match when going on the others.

Third, once on board check for the perks letter telling you what your status qualifies you for on that sailing as they often have several special added activities.

For example, on that Silhouette cruise I mentioned, as an Elite member, I was invited to a range of activities across the cruise like welcome party, cocktail hours, Senior Officer Cocktail Party, Continental breakfast every day in the Tuscan Grille, backstage tour of the theatre, events like wine tasting and mixology, priority tender access, and then various discounts for on-board services like laundry.

Another mistake is people not properly considering if one of the other premium cruise lines would be a better for them these days. Join me over in this article where I compare premium cruise lines and why one stands out. See you over there.

 

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