Why choose to cruise with Celebrity Cruises?

When it comes to cruising, you have so much choice in terms of lines and destinations that sometimes it can be difficult to choose.

In this blog series we’ll look at the top reasons why you should consider various cruise lines.  In this blog we explore my six reasons why you should consider Celebrity Cruises.  With some of the most innovative and elegant ships out there, they have something to suit everyone.

Modern Luxury

Celebrity cruises prides itself on its cool, contemporary design and warm spaces, together with high levels of service.  You will not find waterslides, rock climbing walls, or surf simulators on board (although they do cater for families very well).  Instead you’ll find out-of-the-world design with chic bars and spaces, impressive entertainment and amazing food.  Sounds good right?

Destinations

Celebrity offers a wide variety of itineraries across the globe.  Destination immersion is a key part of this, and the line offers regular overnight stays in ports to allow passengers to experience more and not feel rushed.  Celebrity also tends to operate more longer (greater than 7 day) itineraries depending on where you are sailing from.

In addition to this, Celebrity is one of a handful of cruise lines to offer sailings around the Galapagos Islands, through a fleet of small ships.  In 2019, Celebrity Flora debuted as a purpose-built suite-only ship for the Galapagos and is truly out of this world.

Staterooms

Celebrity offers a variety of rooms to suit all needs.  This includes well-appointed interior, ocean view and balcony cabins, as well as what the line terms Concierge Class cabins, which add a number of additional perks including priority boarding and a concierge service.  Then there’s Aqua Class, offering all the amenities of Concierge Class, but adding in an exclusive restaurant, Blu, unlimited access to the Personal Garden spa lounge and other amenities.

Celebrity also offer a variety of upscale suites, including the one of a kind Reflection Suite found on Celebrity Reflection, or the incredible Iconic Suites found on board Celebrity Edge and Apex.

If you book a suite you will also have access to The Retreat. This is Celebrity’s suite only area featuring private dining, lounges and sundeck, together with specific amenities and benefits on board.  You can find out more here.

Foodie heaven

Celebrity ships are a foodie heaven, with a variety of venues serving cuisines to satisfy any appetite.  This includes the complimentary main restaurants, to speciality dining, including Qsine, a quirky, unique experience where you order intriguing dishes, such as sushi lollipops and lobster escargot by iPad.  Not to be missed.

Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Apex take cuisine to a whole other level with a host of new included and for-fee restaurants.  Instead of one main dining room, Edge and Apex feature a series of smaller, more intimate venues including Tuscan, an Italian inspired restaurant, Cyprus, a Mediterranean restaurant that is a nod to Celebrity’s Greek routes, Normandie, with contemporary French cuisine, and Cosmopolitan, featuring a range of mouth-watering international selections. Yum!

On top of this, Edge and Apex also feature a number of new for-fee speciality restaurants.  One of the quirkiest is Le Petit Chef experience.  Here your tabletop is brought to life by petit animated characters who appear beside your plate and prepare each course for you.  It’s such a fun experience that had me chortling in my chair the whole time.  When the animation is finished your food is presented to you.  When I’ve experienced things like this in the past the disappointment has come when the food arrives, but not here.  The food was really exceptional.

Staff, value and service

For me what makes a good cruise experience great is the staff and service you receive.  And Celebrity really up there in terms of providing service, and then some, wherever you may find yourself on board.  They will try to anticipate your needs and provide special touches throughout your journey.  Because of this you easily make friends on board and I keep in touch with so many members of staff from cruises over the years.  What more could you ask for?

On top this, from November 2020 Celebrity announced a new approach to cruising called Always Included, putting an end to confusing promotions, add-ons, and offers. Instead, every Celebrity Cruise will include Wi-Fi, drinks and tips, simplifying the whole experience.  You can also upgrade this experience with Elevate (£25 extra per person per day) and Indulge (£50 extra per person per day), which upgrades the drinks package and Wi-Fi, and money towards on board spend and excursions.  This a really exciting change for Celebrity and something I definitely will be taking advantage of when I book next.

They’ve got the (Celebrity) Edge

Celebrity is an innovative brand where it tries to push the boundaries of design and what it means to cruise.  For instance, with the Solstice class of five ships, which first debuted on 2008, they introduced a new area on the top of the ship called the Lawn Club. And yes, you’ve guessed it, it is a real lawn where people can sit, relax or play lawn games.  The feature varies from ship to ship with some including exclusive lawn cabanas, live music, hot glass art shows, or speciality restaurants.  It’s a great space to experience – just picture yourself on a warm Mediterranean night looking out over the sea as you leave Santorini.

In 2018 Celebrity launched its newest ship, Celebrity Edge, followed in 2020 by Celebrity Apex.  They both once again redefine Modern Luxury for the brand with reimagined staterooms, innovative spaces, such as the Magic Carpet.  Cantilevered over the side of the ship, this tennis court-sized space will move vertically between different decks transforming into different venues, including bars and eateries, depending on where it is situated.  I’ve loved spending time on board Edge and Apex and look forward to spending more time on board in the future.

You can read my full review and ship tour for Cruise International Magazine of Celebrity Edge here.

And my review of Celebrity Apex when I visited her at the shipyard in France, here.

Want to know more?

Visit the Celebrity Cruises website here.

Let me know in the comments and on social media your thoughts on Celebrity Cruises.  What’s your favourite part of the brand?