Celebrity vs Royal Caribbean

[travelgyalrox2]

Hi! I actually dont wanna say bad stuff about either, I'd like to know who agrees with me and why you dont, because Ive only been on one cruise on each. Basically, I want to know if this applies to only my experience or if its more general.

 

Food :::ROYAL CARIBBEAN!

breakfast Royal Caribbean for dining room, celebrity for buffet (especially for waffles and pancakes!)

lunch Royal Caribbean for dining room , celebrity for buffet (had more variety)

dinner Royal Caribbean so much better. however Celebrity had sushi and other fun options in the buffet

 

well...Royal Caribbean didnt have a grill on the pool deck which is fun. But it does have the cafe on the promenade which is also nice! And celebrity had an icecream sundae bar!!

 

Kids Programs::: ROYAL CARIBBEAN

more dynamic and fun

 

Beauty of the ship ::: ROYAL CARIBBEAN

(think thats cuz my celebrity ship was old though)

 

Service:::hmmm

 

Royal Caribbean I preferred my room attendant and dinner servers but other people on Celebrity were very nice so this is really a tie

 

Pools CELEBRITY

 

bigger

 

fun stuff to do....well....ROyal Caribbean

 

 

I guess you can tell I preferred my RC experience. But what do you think?

I wouldnt wanna rule out Celebrity.

[kitty9]

If you have kids, RCI is the way to go. But in my experience as a Diamond Plus member of RCI and an Elite on X, I think the food, which I know is subjective, is far superior on X. A number of times our server on our most recent RCI cruise said "eat quick because it's cold", or "the steak has been pretty tough" and he was right on all counts. We were vastly disappointed in the food in Chops, with our steak, ordered medium, was burned beyond anything, and our French Onion soup had to be sent back because the cheese on top was burnt to a crisp.

 

As for decor, it all depends on individual taste. I personally don't care for the Vegas glitz of RCI ships and their Promenade is crowded and nothing more than a boost for their bottom line. I also think their public venues on RCI are far too small for their passenger capacity. For example, the champagne bar on RCI had maybe enough seats for 2 patrons while the same bar on X can handle four times that amount. Same for their Schooner Bar and other lounges---just too small and crowded for the number of passengers they carry.

 

But, we're lucky to have choices and those who love RCI can go with them, and those who love X can cruise on that line.

[travelgyalrox2]

If you have kids, RCI is the way to go. But in my experience as a Diamond Plus member of RCI and an Elite on X, I think the food, which I know is subjective, is far superior on X. A number of times our server on our most recent RCI cruise said "eat quick because it's cold", or "the steak has been pretty tough" and he was right on all counts. We were vastly disappointed in the food in Chops, with our steak, ordered medium, was burned beyond anything, and our French Onion soup had to be sent back because the cheese on top was burnt to a crisp.

 

As for decor, it all depends on individual taste. I personally don't care for the Vegas glitz of RCI ships and their Promenade is crowded and nothing more than a boost for their bottom line. I also think their public venues on RCI are far too small for their passenger capacity. For example, the champagne bar on RCI had maybe enough seats for 2 patrons while the same bar on X can handle four times that amount. Same for their Schooner Bar and other lounges---just too small and crowded for the number of passengers they carry.

 

But, we're lucky to have choices and those who love RCI can go with them, and those who love X can cruise on that line.

 

yeah i was pretty surprised that I preferred RCI's food! maybe celebrity is generally better and I just got a really good chef on RCI and not the best on celebrity. The MAriner didnt have Vegas glitz...not like Carnival...it was just a little more modern than my Celebrity ship. Celebrity did have nice lounges though. Actually, I agree with the size thing. Celebrity's lounges were actually almost half empty or more all the time, unlike teeny tiny RCI. The promenade was crowded on the first day but empty after that in my experience, I wonder what it would have been like crowded all the time :confused:

 

thankyou for your response!;)

[SUZCRUZ]

If you have kids, RCI is the way to go. But in my experience as a Diamond Plus member of RCI and an Elite on X, I think the food, which I know is subjective, is far superior on X. A number of times our server on our most recent RCI cruise said "eat quick because it's cold", or "the steak has been pretty tough" and he was right on all counts. We were vastly disappointed in the food in Chops, with our steak, ordered medium, was burned beyond anything, and our French Onion soup had to be sent back because the cheese on top was burnt to a crisp.

 

As for decor, it all depends on individual taste. I personally don't care for the Vegas glitz of RCI ships and their Promenade is crowded and nothing more than a boost for their bottom line. I also think their public venues on RCI are far too small for their passenger capacity. For example, the champagne bar on RCI had maybe enough seats for 2 patrons while the same bar on X can handle four times that amount. Same for their Schooner Bar and other lounges---just too small and crowded for the number of passengers they carry.

 

But, we're lucky to have choices and those who love RCI can go with them, and those who love X can cruise on that line.

I need your help as we are d+ and are comparing the Majesty vs Century. Last time on Majesty there were no perks. Can you tell me what perks there are on the Century for Elite members?

[Presto2]

Phoned Royal Caribbean last night about a cruise and ended up discussing Celebrity. The advisor was really helpful and told us that RC have more activities and more for families, but if we wanted a quieter / relaxing cruise as a couple then go for Celebrity. He also added that he thought that for quality of service and for food Celebrity just beat RC.

 

I know that they are sister company, but is this a pretty fair reflection of the 2 cruise lines? Then again, may have wanted to sell me a more expensive cruise :D

 

Must admit the more we research Celebrity the more excited we are getting !!:):):)

[adelphi_sky]

Hi! I actually dont wanna say bad stuff about either, I'd like to know who agrees with me and why you dont, because Ive only been on one cruise on each. Basically, I want to know if this applies to only my experience or if its more general.

 

Food :::ROYAL CARIBBEAN!

breakfast Royal Caribbean for dining room, celebrity for buffet (especially for waffles and pancakes!)

lunch Royal Caribbean for dining room , celebrity for buffet (had more variety)

dinner Royal Caribbean so much better. however Celebrity had sushi and other fun options in the buffet

 

well...Royal Caribbean didnt have a grill on the pool deck which is fun. But it does have the cafe on the promenade which is also nice! And celebrity had an icecream sundae bar!!

 

Kids Programs::: ROYAL CARIBBEAN

more dynamic and fun

 

Beauty of the ship ::: ROYAL CARIBBEAN

(think thats cuz my celebrity ship was old though)

 

Service:::hmmm

 

Royal Caribbean I preferred my room attendant and dinner servers but other people on Celebrity were very nice so this is really a tie

 

Pools CELEBRITY

 

bigger

 

fun stuff to do....well....ROyal Caribbean

 

 

I guess you can tell I preferred my RC experience. But what do you think?

I wouldnt wanna rule out Celebrity.

 

 

Food (always subjective): In terms of what? Taste? Presentation? Variety? Quality? Access?

 

Service (always subjective): Were you greeted daily? How fast were issues resolved and questions answered? Did you have everything you needed? How well was your room cleaned? Did they remember your name?

[travelgenie]

I sort of agree with the original post. Our recent cruise on the Mercury out of Baltimore was terribly disappointing when it came to the food. Often our food was luke warm at best, bland and the desserts tasted like nothing. They have very fancy names on the items on the menu, which sounds enticing but does not deliver, it was our opinion on most nights. The ship itself, while the service of the crew is superior to RCL, was old and outdated looking in many areas. Compared to our cruise, last fall, on Legends of the Seas (an older ship as well), it was a far superior experience overall. We were able to snag a very reduced price for our cruise on the Mercury, had a great time, even with the disappointing food, but would certainly hesitate booking it again unless we get a discounted price.

[cruiser61262]

Our last cruise was on RCI and loved it, but I don't think it is really fair to compare because it is like apples to oranges.

Things I liked about RCI:

1.) It was fun to participate in the Fitness Activities

2.) My daughter, 9 years old at the time, participated in the kid's program and had a great time. She also met some wonderful girls from all over the US and England

3.) The people on the ship were very friendly, except for the people complaining about all the kids on a school break cruise.

4.) The food was very good, but not up to "X".

5.) I liked that they had the informal buffet in the evening so that I could take my DD up there for an earlier dinner if she wanted to do something with the kid's program.

6.) Room steward was one of the best we ever had

 

Things I disliked about RCI included:

1.) Had to sign out towels one at a time around the pool and if you threw the towel in the bin without the towel person seeing you do it you had to argue to get a new fresh one.(hopefully this was just a failed experiment on the cruise we were on)

2.) We had a table for 8 at the late seating and never had any table mates. My DH and I had excellent service, but our wait staff only had a total of 10 diners on 3 tables. (We enjoy meeting new people.. so were disappointed)

 

Things I like about "X"

1.) The food

2.) The service especially around the pool

3.) the relaxed ambiance

4.) Less Kids ( my daughter would not agree..)

5.) For one week I feel like I am the queen of the world!!!!!:rolleyes:

Things I dislike about 'X"

1.) Coming home and realizing that I am not the queen of the world :mad:

[tomcruiser1234]

Wow,

 

Not sure there is that much difference.

I agree RCCL has a more children and party style but just nothing to complain about.

 

However we really do prefer X. Maybe because we like to go place's on the ship that are a little slower and X seems to be a little quieter.

 

Food, not much of a critic of either but if were dying for a little more attention /service we just go to the specialty res.

 

We really like both

[royalcruz]

While it has been refurbished, Century is older and smaller than the more recent X ships. S class and M class offer a much different experience from the Century, and even somewhat from each other. I would suggest that anyone who hasn't been on a newer X ship should try the Solstice class and then decide if you like or love X. I love it.

[hcat]

We usually prefer Celebrity overall and are very pleased with the S class ships....I think they are the best right now. But Royal's Radiance class has a similar feel for us & we are looking forward to our next cruise which is on Radiance of the Seas..can't wait

 

We recently tried Navigator of the Seas a larger Royal ship We surprisingly enjoyed that too..food was excellent, Chops was also excellent, shows were good & the ship was very lively--parades and the ice show were something new for us..

 

The Diamond program did not compare well with X perks at the moment...no free internet or free laundry, the nightly party is bare bones & the Diamond breakfast was not yet perfected...cold coffees...slow service

 

 

Celebrity falls very short when you compare the music on board--great bands & music of all types on Royal C but other than that X has that special elegant something all around..

 

it is fun to try both-- the experience depends on the ship, itin & time of yr one is cruising...& a bit of luck too !!!

[cruie4ever]

We have done 45 cruises & 30 + have been on both RCCL & Celebrity ships . I can honestly tell you that the perks on Celebrity for Elite level exceed the diamond + on RCCL . Thus ,we mainly sail on Celebrity now . As for the food quality ,presentation ,taste & all around service we prefer Celebrity . There are less people & more space in public areas on Celebrity ships of equal size . We have had better quality entertainers on Celebrity cruises.

 

Try the new S class ships they are fabulous .

[cruzmaven]

The OP's review may be a valid comparison of his two cruises but you can hardly compare the qualities of RCCL and X based on one sailing on each.

 

Specific qualities of food and service will vary on any particular line, ship to ship and even on the same ship, cruise to cruise.

 

Generally speaking, I think of X as the "grown-up" version of RCCL. If you have children and teens, or if you like the rock climbing and ice rink, etc of RCCL ships, that's the way to go.

 

If you're sailing without the kids and can live without those features, you'll enjoy X more.

 

In my experience, service (dining room and cabin) was better on X. Quality of food, also generally better on X.

 

I think, for adults, the S class X ships are the best of the mass market cruise lines.

[nbp]

We have sailed Royal Caribbean many times and we are looking forward to our first Celebrity cruise to Alaska in May. We chose Celebrity this time because I had read and heard from people who had been on Celebrity that the food and service was a little better. We love Royal Caribbean so I hope this was a good choice.

[Diane Rose]

Generally speaking, I think of X as the "grown-up" version of RCCL. If you have children and teens, or if you like the rock climbing and ice rink, etc of RCCL ships, that's the way to go.

 

If you're sailing without the kids and can live without those features, you'll enjoy X more.

 

In my experience, service (dining room and cabin) was better on X. Quality of food, also generally better on X.

 

I think, for adults, the S class X ships are the best of the mass market cruise lines.

 

I have been on both as well. With my family, I sailed on RCCL and that was definitely the way to go. The kids especially enjoyed the Voyager class of ships.

 

With my DH, I definitely prefer X. Taking our first cruise in September on the Solstice, primarily for the ship, not the itinerary. With the positive opinions here, I am really looking forward to this experience.

[Route6A]

Just yesterday, we decided to take a Celebrity cruise on the Equinox rather than another trip on the Jewel of the Seas, which is a lovely ship. If we sail with Royal Caribbean, we usually eat often in the alternative restaurants, because we don't care for the food and confusion in the main dining room. Both Chops and Portofino are excellent. Lunch in the main dining room has also been to our taste, because there is a good salad option, where staff prepare to order salads for passengers...and a very good seafood appetizer buffet with shrimp. We don't like the smoke on RCI, either, but the musical entertainment is quite good. Staff are excellent generally.

 

In year's past we preferred Celebrity, and we hope this next cruise on the Equinox will provide the wonderful food and service we have come to expect. Our last trip in the fall of 2009 on the Constellation disappointed us, so we are heading to an "S" class ship, and we are excited to try it. Our cabin attendant on Constellation was leaving for Equinox, and he was happy about the change. He had been on the Constellation for many years, but I could tell he was frustrated with the problems his passengers were encountering. Perhaps when the refurbishment in dry dock is completed, Constellation will be back to her former beautiful self, and we will return. I am sure you will find much to enjoy on either Celebrity or Royal Caribbean.

[JEDIKNIGHT]

I've never been on RCCL and only been 0n X once, but I'm surprised some folks report that MDR food and service might be on par or even better than X.

 

For some reason I'd never ever have guessed that

[Sail Girl]

My one (and most likely, only) cruise on the Liberty of the Seas was a year ago. Luckily it was only a 7 day cruise which we booked because of the low price. I feel I got what I paid for! This was the only cruise my DH and I have not thoroughly enjoyed.

 

The food in the Liberty MDR, IMO, was only adequate/good.Certainly not up to X quality. Much of it, especially the soups, were only warm. On the Connie last Nov the soup was served nice and hot as were the entrees.

 

I found the decor on the Liberty of the Seas bizarre. Can't Imagine where the decorators got the "art work" on the walls. (Believe me, I also found some of the art work, especially that on the staircase walls on the Connie also odd.) Guess I'm a trationalist.

 

The entertainment on the Liberty of the Seas done by the staff performers was so bad that many pax left during the performances.

The cast performances on the Connie were better but were a repeat of those we had seen on the Milennium 2 years prior. It's a shame to keep the production numbers for so long, but as they are so expensive to produce, it makes financial sense.

 

We did not enjoy the music played in the public areas on the Liberty. A lot of it seemed to be Pop/Rock. We prefer Latin/Caribbean type music which reflects the itinerary. We did enjoy the dance music on the Liberty.

 

Trivia was much better on the Connie, thanks in part to the hard work by Activities staff member Carl Pucl.

 

Our table mates on both sailings were great and the service was similar.

 

One thing we had been told by several people was that on a ship as large as the Liberty, once you meet someone you never see them again. That did not happen to us. We kept seeing many of the same people as we had similar interests and frequented the same areas of the ship. (Really enjoyed having coffee and cookies after the shows on the Liberty.)

 

The size of the Liberty was overwhelming. We do prefer the size of the M class X ships. Might try a smaller Royal ship if the itinerary interests us.

 

We definitely prefer X based on our one Royal cruise. Perhaos it isn't a fair comparison, but it's all I have to go on.

[Gracie115]

I like the food on Royal, have no problem with it, but think that Celebrity far surpasses it. Have cruised on both many times and hope to continue on both. I think the only food on Royal that holds up against X is Chops and Portofinos, the rest is nowhere the near the quality or variety on X. Just my opinion of course.

[caripoo]

We are Diamond members, so we love the perks on both lines. When we had our young kids with us the larger RCI ships were great. We have loved Celebrity in Europe. We will be on the Connie leaving Amsterdam in Sept. We always look at the sailings with Celebrity and RCI first, but now that we have reached Diamond level, (we will never reach the next level) We are looking to try another cruise line, if the right it. comes along.

[Papa T]

I like the food on Royal, have no problem with it, but think that Celebrity far surpasses it. Have cruised on both many times and hope to continue on both. I think the only food on Royal that holds up against X is Chops and Portofinos, the rest is nowhere the near the quality or variety on X. Just my opinion of course.

 

As many have said "food quality is very subjective." but I must part company with you. Also with numerous RCCL and X cruises I have found over the years the food to be generally comparable with a clear nod to X on service because of better staffing. But . . . on our last thee cruises (Voyager-TA, November 2009; Infinity-Antarctica, February 2010; and Mariner-Mexico, March 2010) to my surprise the menus and food quality in the main dining room were significantly better on RCCL. Perhaps on Solstice in May I will have a different experience. The bottom line for me is that reading food comparisons on CC is not very informative because of the number of variables involved, and . . . I would never let the food be a factor in choosing between RCCL and X.

[eddy317]

I had previously only sailed RCCL on four prior occasions. The last one was June 2009 on Explorer. I had read a lot about X regarding the food and service, etc. so I was anxious to compare the experience when I booked my 5th on the Equinox in March (Just got back on the 29th).

MY OPINION:

The obvious difference that I noticed first and foremost - in contrast to previous RCCL cruises was the median age group of the passengers!

I am only speaking to my experience on this ship during this cruise but the median age had to be 70. I am 49 and my wife is 47 and we were definitely in the small younger minority. I think there may have been 10 kids-maybe. I believe it to be fairly obvious that X caters to the older crowd-with less kids. This is apparent in the pool-side music, lack of pool-side activities and shows/entertainment, etc. The casino was lackluster and usually empty. The food, I found, especially at dinner, was noticeably better on X. The buffet food quality was comparable. The service, I kept reading, would be superior on X. I did not find that. I had great service but have always had great service on RCCL. I would say RCCL is perhaps a tick better. One evening on the Equinox, we returned from dinner to find that our bathroom had not been cleaned, towels still on the floor etc. This has never happened before on RCCL. We like to order room service for breakfast. The first morning, the order was wrong, had to re-order. The second morning, it never came, we canceled after about 45 minutes. I know things happen and service cannot be perfect. Just saying it was not better on X in my experience. The ship-was new and beautiful. The veranda stateroom-beautiful. The grass-covered upper deck was awesome.

All in all, I would say they are comparable and it just depends on the environment you seek. Choose X if you want a slower paced, older crowd, slightly more elegant feel – and RCCL for a more energetic, adventurous feel.

[FastFreddie]

I really like them Both. I like the Freedom class ships (We were on the Liberty) I liked the smaller Jewel too. Food wise the Jewel was not anyway near as good as the Liberty of the seas. I prefer Celebrity, maybe because I am an old coot! But would NOT hesitate to book either. IF I had my 8 yo GD with us then I'd tend towards RCCL.

 

I never had a bad cruise. Infact my 3rd fav cruse-line is Carnival.

 

Want to try Princess and HAL too

[DocJohnB]

The OP's review may be a valid comparison of his two cruises but you can hardly compare the qualities of RCCL and X based on one sailing on each.

 

Specific qualities of food and service will vary on any particular line, ship to ship and even on the same ship, cruise to cruise.

 

Generally speaking, I think of X as the "grown-up" version of RCCL. If you have children and teens, or if you like the rock climbing and ice rink, etc of RCCL ships, that's the way to go.

 

If you're sailing without the kids and can live without those features, you'll enjoy X more.

 

In my experience, service (dining room and cabin) was better on X. Quality of food, also generally better on X.

 

I think, for adults, the S class X ships are the best of the mass market cruise lines.

 

I was going to post a response without reading what was already written. Glad I didn't.

 

This post is almost exactly what I WOULD HAVE written.

[Aquahound]

dinner Royal Caribbean so much better. however Celebrity had sushi and other fun options in the buffet

 

Pools CELEBRITY

 

bigger

 

I left these two items in your quote because these are the two in which my opinion differs. I do think RCI food is great, but I prefer Celebrity's MDR dinner menu due to the every night options. RCI only has a few items that are offered every night. Celebrity has all my favorites offered nightly. Also, RCI has had sushi on the dinner buffet on every ship I have been on.

 

I'm curious what RCI ships you have been on. The Voyager/Freedom Class pools are bigger than the ones on Solstice.

 

I'm pretty much in agreaance with you on the rest.