Cruise Hacks Debunked Celebrity

There are a ton of cruise hacks and myths to be found on the internet, but are they true? Many of the list of cruise hacks are general, not specific to one cruise line. But do these hacks hold up on a Celebrity cruise?

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Cruise Hack # 1: Bring magnetic hooks – ALL walls are magnetic

This one is not always true on Celebrity. However, something will be magnetic so it is worth bringing the magnets anyway. Sometimes you may have to hang them from the ceiling, the seams of the walls or the mirrors, but it is always possible to find something to stick a magnet to!

Verdict: Not necessarily true, but do it anyway

Cruise Hack # 2: Don’t go to the main buffet for lunch on embarkation day

Cruise lines have really scaled back on lunch options for embarkation day. There are certain selected lines that still offer a sit down lunch option for embarkation day but those are few and far between. However, the main buffet seems to be a little calmer on Celebrity than it is on other ships.

Verdict: False

Cruise Hack # 3: You can’t bring a power strip

Cruise lines do not allow a powerstrip. These will be confiscated and you will have to go collect it at the end of the cruise.

Verdict: True

Cruise Hack # 4: You can’t bring an extension cord

This is one cruise hack I love to debunk for any cruise line, not just celebrity. You can bring an extension cord. It cannot be a power strip and it cannot have a serge protector, but a basic power strip is completely fine. Need to plug something in on either side of the bed? An extension cord is a great thing to bring especially if you are on an older ship!

Verdict: False

Need an extension cord for a cruise? This extension cord is the one we have taken on several Celebrity cruises and never had a problem with. The best part? It’s 15 feet and so you no longer have to worry if there are power outlets on both sides of the bed!

Cruise Hack #5: Save money by bringing your own wine

Most people who sail on Celebrity have a beverage package. It is challenging to book Celebrity without booking the entire package that includes basic beverages, wifi and gratuities. So you can bring your own wine, but I don’t know why you would want to.

Verdict: True, but unnecessary

Cruise Hack #6: You can get a full breakfast on room service

This is one of those little things that you can get on Celebrity that you don’t get on a budget cruise line like Royal Caribbean. You can get a full, hot breakfast through room service on Celebrity. It may not be as hot as you like, but you can still order eggs, bacon, sausage and all of those things to the privacy of your own balcony.

Even if you are not ordering a hot breakfast, I recommend getting a room service breakfast at least once during your cruise so you can enjoy the luxury it brings!

Verdict: True

Cruise Hack # 7: Always book a shore excursion through the cruise line

Depending on where you read your cruise hacks, they are either written to always book through the cruise line or to never book through the cruise line. The truth is somewhere in between. It depends on your port. It depends on the number of sea days after your port and how challenging it would be to get to your next port if you were to get left behind.

I recommend booking through the cruise line. I generally have found the shore excursions on Celebrity to run smoothly, but of course that can depend on the individual sailing. But simply the fact that the ship will not leave you if you book through the cruise is such a help.

We went to Airplane Beach in St. Martin on an excursion with the cruise ship. Honestly, it’s not hard to get there yourself but the excursion had time budgeted that we left after the last of the big planes would be taking off and then we were stuck in awful traffic on the way back. But we didn’t have to worry about traffic at all. We knew the cruise ship would be there waiting for us.

Want to know more about airplane beach in St. Martin? Check out this post!

Verdict: It depends

Cruise Hack # 8: You can fit everything you need in a carry on

We all have the things we like to argue with. This is mine. You should not pack for a cruise in a carry on. You need multiple changes of clothes per day on a cruise. You need lounge clothes, you need bathing suits, you need dinner attire. Why limit yourself? If you are flying to a cruise obviously that needs to be taken into account, but if you are driving please bring all the clothes and a full sized suitcase!

Verdict: False

Want to read a more detailed argument for why you need bigger luggage for a cruise? Check out Why you should OVERPACK for a cruise.

Looking for new big luggage? I’m a big fan of these Samsonite Spinners.

Cruise Hack # 9: Take the stairs

This is so helpful. Elevators are slow. Celebrity doesn’t have the biggest ships but I feel like they have less elevator banks compared to other cruise lines. Their elevators are slow. There are never enough of them.

And Celebrity’s food is really good, so burn off a few of those calories by taking the stairs!

Verdict: True

Cruise Hack # 10: Pack a bathing suit in your carry on

It’s not that kind of cruise. Bringing your bathing suit for embarkation is more something you would do with the kids and more on a Carnival or Royal Caribbean cruise. Embarkation day on a Celebrity cruise is more of a champagne kind of deal.

Verdict: False

Cruise Hack # 11: Pack clothes for dinner in your carry on

Technically you are supposed to wear pants to dinner on Celebrity. Is it possible to get away with shorts…yes. And if you plan to get away with shorts the first day is definitely the day to do it! Celebrity doesn’t have formal nights but they do expect you to dress a little nicer every day than a lot of other cruise lines.

But as far as packing clothes for dinner the first night it’s not really necessary. Most people won’t change from their embarkation clothes. But it also depends on what you have worn for embarkation. If that was basketball shorts or joggers, you should probably bring something else.

Verdict: Usually false

Cruise Hack # 12: Save money by drinking in port

Most people get drinks included on Celebrity. This is one of those times it is not helpful to drink in port. Even if you did not get your drinks included, the drinks are probably still cheaper on the ship than they are in port.

If you walk and find a local place for a drink, they can be cheaper in port. But the fun places near to the port are definitely at inflated tourist prices.

Verdict: False

Cruise Hack # 13: Unpack your suitcase when you get it

Celebrity’s cabins always seem to have plenty of drawers, closets and space. Unpack when you get on board. It will make everything seem so much more spacious and it makes everything much easier to keep clean.

Verdict: True

Cruise Hack #14: Your room steward is your new best friend

Need extra hangers? Extra pillows? Ice? AC in your room having issues? The room stewards on Celebrity are so very efficient. I don’t feel like they are as chatty or friendly as those on other lines, but they are great at solving problems and getting things done and fixed. And I don’t mean that as a complaint. They never seem to get in the way but the room always manages to get magically clean. And they seem happy about it, which isn’t always true of other cruise lines.

Verdict: True

Cruise Hack #15: Celebrity may be more affordable than you think

Celebrity’s pricing generally includes wifi, gratuities and drinks. If you are comparing prices between Celebrity and some of the other cruise lines, you will often find that once you add in the cost of those items Celebrity is a very comparable price to other lines.

For example, we were comparing the prices of summer cruises between Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. If we were going on the Carnival, we would have wanted a Havana cabin, which ups the price. And then adding in drinks and gratuities, the price of the Celebrity was only a few hundred dollars more than the Carnival. Same things with Royal Caribbean, once we added drinks and gratuities the price of Celebrity was more, but not by a lot.

Without children on the cruise with us, it was definitely worth a few extra hundred dollars to cruise Celebrity where we didn’t have to worry about anything and we were able to walk off the ship only having to pay for the things I bought in the cruise shop.

(Celebrity has the best stores by the way. Their stuff isn’t over the top branded and it is a reasonable price.)

Verdict: True

There are tons of cruise hacks on the internet and this is just a small number of them. Cruise hacks depend as much on who you are traveling with and what type of experience you want. But not all of them work on every cruise line. Hopefully this list helped you know if the cruise hacks you read work on Celebrity!