I think some of the perks vary...
The cold wet towels, for example...
We had them in the Southern Caribbean in March, we didn't have them in the Norwegian Fjords in July...
Same ship...but it makes sense...
Hot weather ports, cold towels...
They weren't really needed in Ireland and Norway...
As to the folks leading you to your cabin, I have found it depends on a number of factors...First, realize they only have a limited number of crew members available to do this (Some crew are operations staff, some are working the buffet, some have other things to do)...so, it depends on how many people are boarding at any particular time...and whether they help YOU may have something to do with how lost you look...
I've been on four recent cruises on M-Class ships and pretty much know my way around...On the last cruise, when the crew member asked to help me find my cabin, I turned him down since I knew exactly where I was going and someone else might need the help...
As to entertainment...or, rather, activities, no, there may not be as much as, say, RCCL or Carnival, but, we've never found ourselves at a loss for something to do...AND, we did bring our then 18 and 20 year old daughters on the Summit to Alaska the summer before last and they found quite enough to satisfy them...and they loved the ship ...We did book them into their own sky suite and they couldn't get over the service and amenities... (and they are veterans of numerous cruises on RCCL, Carnival, Princess and Premiere--that was their first on Celebrity)...I would never tell younger folks NOT to cruise with Celebrity...It is more reserved in some ways, I wouldn't recommend it to someone looking for a wild party boat...
as far as the "formality" goes, I really don't think it's all that big a deal...During the day and while in port, I dress exactly as I do on any other cruise line--T-shirt, shorts, tennis shoes...On "Casual" nights, I again dress exactly as I would on Princess or RCCL or Carnival--Dockers and a sport shirt and casual shoes...On Formal nights, again I dress as I do on every other line--a tuxedo (what I choose to wear, although dark suits are okay as well--just like every other line)...The ONLY real difference is a couple of "informal" nights--and all I do for those is to wear the SAME EXACT thing I wear on casual nights--but with a nice tweed sports coat over it--and I'm perfectly in line with the code and with what others are wearing...It really doesn't take that much adaptation at all...
Everyone has different tastes, different criteria...I prefer Celebrity due to its superior food and service...and due to the outstanding passenger-to-space ratios, especially on the M-Class...The ships are simply less crowded, more relaxing...and the service and elegance is simply spectacular...
