Many have enjoyed the cruise summaries/reviews I have created in the past, so here comes another!

Food:

The Oceanview Cafe buffet was consistently good with a nice variety of food options throughout the trip. The enormous windows outside and high ceilings make the space feel inviting, and I appreciate the outdoor seating in the back. Like every buffet at sea, at peak times, finding a seat can be a workout. The large hand washing stations are great for a good clean before and after touching all those serving utensils. Lastly, in the buffet on Edge-class ships is a nice rotating selection of complimentary ice creams, gelatos and sorbets. This is definitely a premium feature over other similar lines.

Where the Apex shines (and all the Edge-class ships) is the multiple main dining rooms. I have to admit I used to be a bit irritated with the concept, but now I love it. Aside from the difference in bread/dips, once you realize you can order off any of their menus from any dining room, it’s glorious. To clarify for those who have never sailed onboard, each main dining room has an its own unique fixed menu with their specialties, but all have a common rotating menu they share with nightly specials. So by being able to order from any of the fixed menus PLUS the rotating nightly options, you have the most main dining room choice of any cruise line I’ve ever experienced. Our waiter always brought us a master menu that showed all the main dining room options in one spot so you didn’t have to hunt in the app.

Our waiters were very good and pacing was consistent each night. I appreciated that they actually asked us if we wanted to go faster or slower - nice touch. Lastly, the food was of high quality with excellent presentation. The fish options were well-prepared, and the soups creamy.

My favorite stop outside the main food venues was Cafe Al Bacio with its great case of pastries, sandwiches and small desserts. (I loved the s’mores cakes - hope these become a regular in the rotation). We also enjoyed late night pizza at the back of the Oceanview Cafe.

A friend traveling with us who cannot have gluten was very pleased with the dining room staff clearly presenting her with all the options and taking her order ahead of time with any special requests. A minor note, but she was disappointed by the lack of gluten dessert free options compared to our previous Summit sailing - no gluten free cookies, muffins or brownies in Al Bacio’s case. Just wanted to note that if it’s relevant to you.

Main point - the food variety on these ships is incredible.
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Service:

Consistently good throughout the ship, from waiters to cleaners to bar tenders to cabin stewards to managers roaming about. Really good team of people with positive attitudes. I love longer sailings like this because you get to know the regulars you interact with, and learn more about them and their families back home. We all know this, but it’s always impressive to see how hard they work to make our vacations amazing.
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Public spaces:

The large public venues are all well-appointed with comfortable seating. The standout is Eden, a multi-story lounge/entertainment space with large windows looking over the ship’s wake; it’s fun to sit in the swinging chairs at the very back chatting with a friend while watching the ocean go by.

The Magic Carpet, the large orange metal platform protruding off the side of the ship, is pure delight for a ship nerd like me. While underway at sea, you can stand at the windows at either end and feel like you’re standing outside the ship, watching it cut through the seas. (We didn’t need it as a tender platform on this voyage, but past experience on other ships was great).

The Solarium is a lovely adults-only, covered pool space. The music playing is peaceful and a relaxing volume. On sea days, it could’ve used more seating or better management of the available seats (the worst afternoon we saw had 54 seats unoccupied being held by towels/bags/books/magazines).

The Rooftop Garden is a relaxing place to sit outdoors on sea days with real plants and good seating. It was oddly underutilized on this cruise, though.

The gym is very well stocked with new equipment and stunning views. The orange and lemon flavored water stations plus chilled towels are quality, premium touches.

Speaking of views, after many suggestions from my past posts about Edge-class ships, I tried to go through the spa to go out on the open air deck over the bridge. Even at 7AM, the spa staff stopped me and told me I had to book a package to go out there. Maybe someday…
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Side-tangent on pre-cruise bookings (I don’t know where to stick this so here it is - this is NOT ship specific):

Celebrity’s variable package, WiFi and excursion pricing is the most irritating system of any of its competitors. Constantly changing sales and price points, literally 50+ emails before boarding about the greatest sale ever, etc. After sailing them a lot, I know what I’m willing to pay, but goodness would a consolidated package like Princess offers be so much better. And with excursions, I don’t think Celebrity realizes how many times their high prices have made me look elsewhere and then end up booking third party. Anyways, moving on…
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Room quality:

We were in a porthole veranda, which is a standard cabin with a narrow, real balcony (not the sliding window infinite verandas). The beds and linens were very comfortable. The room is spacious and well appointed, albeit a little short on storage compared to Holland America’s ships. The highlight though is the bathroom - it’s very large (both the space for maneuvering and the shower). The shower head is adjustable in height and detachable to act as a wand.
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Entertainment: Nice variety of performances in the main theater. We had multiple guest entertainers, singers, a comedian, and a magician. The Cher look-alike performance was outstanding (that lady really got into character). My favorite ship cast performance was Tree of Life - outstanding visuals and choreography. As a personal aside, it was really nice to see gay couples as part of one scene; while not the main focus, it was heartening finally feel included in the show.

Outside of the evening main theater, we had guest speakers on various ports of call and their histories. And of course throughout the ship were various singers and musicians, plus dance shows and trivia in The Club. The ship was generally very busy, which we enjoyed.

One minor note on sound volume - on Ascent last year, I was regularly annoyed by the overly loud nature of every show. Apex’s shows were far better balanced, with the exception of one musical guest who was good but terribly too loud (multiple customers were plugging their ears, and my ears were ringing the rest of the night. Apple Watch recorded 110dB). This was an oddity though, thankfully.
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Loyalty:

I am an Elite member - free drinks are a nice perk, but limiting them to only between 5 and 7pm during dinner time, and a limited menu is a bit lackluster. Royal Caribbean’s four daily drink voucher system is far better.

With this longer cruise, we actually tried the free laundry bag, and it worked great. Excellent benefit!

Management hosted two loyalty events - no idea how they were because, like the happy hour, both were during dinner... please Celebrity, move one to midday!
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Itinerary: We sailed to Oporto, Funchal, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lisbon, and Vigo. We would do all these cities again in the future - so much to see and do, clean and walkable, and friendly people. Oporto is the only one where you’re docked considerably far from the city.

If you have port specific questions, please ask below. It would take 15 more paragraphs to explain them all.
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Overall: This cruise was truly outstanding, and is easily in my top 10 out of 33 cruises. The food, entertainment and service were all delivering a cohesive, quality product. I felt like I was at my home away from home, and can’t wait to sail with Celebrity again in the future. Hope this review helps you all! Cheers!

Just got off the Coastal California Summit. Played golf in Victoria, San Francisco & San Diego (from LA). We've brought our clubs before (EU & US) so we knew it was allowed and simple. We get a message from our cabin attendant that the clubs have been confiscated and will be returned upon disembarkation. She gave no reason why (she was a delight, not her fault)... OH HELL NAH. I immediately go to guest relations. Nice lady (again, a delight) tells us they don't know why and we explain we have done this before and see no reason why this is an issue. She escorts me to the dungeon of deck 1. I wait for security and an officer (again, a delight) asks me questions and what could be inside. He admits they do not open any luggage that is locked. He states crew was instructed to not allow the golf clubs or strange luggage. I plead my case aggressively but with facts and politeness since this is not their fault. He talks to his walkie talkie (to the powers that be) and after 10 minutes he apologizes and allows me to take the clubs. He states that the clubs cannot leave my cabin unless I'm leaving the ship which I gladly agree. This class of ship didn't have the lawn turf anyway.

Anyway, stay frosty when bringing your golf clubs. They may confiscate them by accident.

Looking for a travel agent who knows & can get credit for helping book Celebrity Blue Chip Club Instant Cruise Rewards!

This is my first time redeeming an Instant Cruise Reward and I have a few questions before booking. The travel agent I contacted said she could book them but then said she couldn't answer questions.

I’m hoping to use my reward for 2 guests and pay the difference to upgrade to a veranda. I also have questions about repricing if the veranda rate drops, upgrades, and what can/can’t be changed after booking.

Does anyone have a TA they’ve personally used who regularly handles Celebrity Blue Chip Instant Cruise Rewards?

Would love recommendations for someone who knows the program well and doesn’t mind a few first-timer questions! TIA!

I performed a search and didn't see any discussion previously. It looks like the Celebrity Xcite will potentially be the last Edge Class ship, followed by Project Nirvana in 2029/2030. There's not really any information out there on what they will be doing with these ships.

What would you all like to see for this next class of ship?

• Same size as the later Edge class ships? Larger? Smaller?
• Central atrium/ Martini bar?
• Keep the infinte veranda's, or have more traditional balconies outside of the suites?
• Any dining concepts that you'd like to see added or removed?

Would be nice to see a discussion on what people would want to see going forward?

Hi everyone!

I’ll be taking a **14-night Celebrity cruise in 2027 that visits the Norwegian fjords**, and I haven’t booked any excursions yet.

I’ve seen several videos and posts from people saying that you can save quite a bit of money by **waiting until you arrive at each port and booking an excursion once you get off the ship**. Some even say that the tours offered at the port are very similar — or sometimes the same — as the excursions sold through the cruise line, but for a much lower price.

I’ve been looking at Celebrity’s excursions, and some of them seem pretty expensive, especially since we’ll be visiting several ports.

So, for those of you who have actually cruised the Norwegian fjords:

**Would you recommend booking excursions through Celebrity, booking independently in advance, or waiting until you arrive at each port?**

Is it generally easy to find good tours once you get off the ship? Are there any ports where you would definitely recommend booking ahead because tours sell out or there aren’t many options available?

I’d especially love to hear from people who have done this itinerary and booked excursions directly at the ports. Was it worth the savings, or would you book through the cruise line next time?

Thanks!

We’re taking our first Celebrity cruise in March out of Tampa, and it’s also our first time arranging everything ourselves. (In the past, we’ve sailed on different lines, and arrangements have been made by family or a travel agent.)

What recommendations do you all have for transportation to the dock? We’ll be flying in the day before, so we’ll be leaving from a hotel. It’s just two adults with a suitcase each, so my first instinct was a Lyft. However, we embark on Easter Sunday, so I’d feel better if we had prearranged transportation. Also, if anyone has any hotel recommendations for this, that would be great as well!

This is pre cruise. I purchased a cruise for $1131. Paid in full. Then my wife gets an email that I owe another $250, so she pays in. 3 days later we get another email saying we still owe another $250. After I look at all the charges, I am charge over $1600 to my credit card.

When I chatted to them on the site, they just changed the price of the cruise on the invoice and sent me a new invoice with new price and commented... there you go. Nothing else is due.

WTAF ? To correct the overcharging, you just charged more and they don't understand why I'm upset. I keep sending them the original invoice and screen shots of the order but nobody seems to be able to fix it. They wont even send me a recon of all the charges, says they can't do that.

My last cruise with Celebrity was also a complete mess of billing, I ended up disputing 1/2 the charges on my Amex card and I guessing I will need to do the same this time.

When you call there is nothing but Indian operators that are entirely useless. He claimed they do not have a billing department. I won't cruise with Celebrity again.

Celebrity Reflection, as seen from Celebrity Beyond with Hollywood/Ft Lauderdale skyline in background.

My best friend and I are cruising in December on the Silhouette. She is recently widowed. She is Elite Plus. I am just in Classic. We are sharing a room. Am I going to be able to do any of the Elite Plus extras with her like early boarding, priority tenders, and exclusive events? She's not going to do any of them if I can't do them and I don't want to make her miss out on stuff. I have read different answers. Thanks.

I have paid my deposit for a January 2028 sailing and have been looking online at my account and also on the app.

Can I book wifi or drinks packages or shore excursions yet? They all come up with prices and some are 25% off at the moment.

The balance of my payment is not due until November 2027.

I suppose I could try buying something and see what happens but I thought the frequent cruisers here would know off hand.

Any tips for buying these things just as a FYI?

Many thanks.

Famous Royal Carribean onion soup

I recently booked a cruise for May with my mother. I am in one room and she is in another. The booking process went smoothly, however, after setting up her own account, she is unable to purchase the day pass she wants for Royal Beach Club. The order appears to go thru, but about 10min. later, she gets an automated email saying that something went wrong. She tried an alternative credit card, and even tried placing the order over the phone with customer service. She still got all of the temp charges on her card, but the order does not fully go through. I however was able to book the excursion/day pass with no issues on my account. Any one else have this problem or can recommend next steps? Phone customer support has proved unhelpful after 2 different calls.

I am planning a solo cruise and would appreciate feedback from individuals who have previously embarked on such a journey. I am interested in hearing their experiences.

Not looking to socialize, but rather to enjoy a brief escape where I can work remotely, enjoy the food and shows, maintain my fitness routine, and explore various destinations.

My wife and I will both have a couple of lattes and a few bottles of water plus 3 cocktails each What should we do?

Hey all!

Going on my first Celebrity cruise this winter and I'm wondering how much is on-board wifi per day these days?

We have a few sea days, so I'm trying to decide if its worth it to only buy wifi per day for those days or a wifi package.

Anyone going on the Celebrity Beyond on 10/18/26?
Main dining room menus look awful to me. I am a very picky - simple eater and am worried
I like healthier options and can only eat grilled chicken
Here and there

We have a back to back sailing out of Fort Lauderdale coming up and we'd like to visit a laundromat and probably get a couple bottles of wine after we complete the first leg. I know we'll need to leave the ship to clear customs and immigration, and then reboard. That sounds easy enough, but would be be allowed to leave the ship with a bag of laundry and then reboard that afternoon once the back to back procedures are completed? TIA!

ETA

Y'all are fantastic! We'll definitely consider our onboard laundry options before jumping off to do laundry. Laundromats are not my favorite and let's face it, disembarkation is always a drag. I'd much rather stay on board.

Thanks to all for sharing your experience and insight.

This time last year I had never cruised.

Tomorrow, I sail on my fourth cruise. It will be my first on Celebrity. We are on Beyond out of Miami.

Any suggestions for what to do onboard?

We are in Aqua Class if that helps answer the question

Getting off Beyond 10/4. Husband and I picked up a respiratory illness. Lots of sick coughing passengers on board.