RCCL Jewel vs. Celebrity Consellation-Baltic Cruise

[rosie#1]

Hi,

 

I am trying to decide between the two cruises for May 2011. The itineraries and price are similar. I am platinum on RCCL, but I have never been on Celebrity. I am hoping to get some input from people that have been on both classes of ships. I am leaning towards Celebrity. It will be two of us in our late thirties. I will also post on RCCL board.

 

Thanks,

[jennywren46]

Think that might be a hard choice to make

We did the cruise to the Baltics on Jewel in 2008 .We went in early June, the weather was great and every port was amazing. Jewel is a beautiful ship, I couldnt fault anything about it .

I havent been on Celebrity Constallation but we were on Galaxy and couldnt fault that either. Im sure which ever one you choose youll have a great time .( hope it doesnt come down to tossing a coin)

[CVU]

We have not been on Celebrity yet, but did a B2B on the Jewel for the Baltics and TA to Boston! 24 nights. Loved it! We had a fun time on the Jewel, it has a great crew!!!

[emilygrace]

I've been on the Jewel and the Infinity, a sister ship to the Constellation. They are very similar in size and user friendliness. The Jewel is a few years newer than the Constellation. We had balcony cabins on both and they were very similar.

 

I LOVED my one Celebrity cruise and I am looking forward to future cruises with them. It was like sailing on Royal Caribbean, but a tiny step up. All the friendliness and good service of RCL with a bit of refinement.

[coolsky]

Both cruise lines are owned by RC ltd. Celebrity if more quiet, with less activites soscially. Jewel has a lot to do, with the option of having some quiet time. I would easily say Jewel, but if your looking for a real quiet cruise, then Constalation.

[05mak05]

We've been on both Celebrity and RCI. Lots of people prefer Celebrity but we're big fans of RCI. We were on the Galaxy out of Galveston when it was still in Texas doing the Panama Canal cruise. Our stateroom was really in very bad repair and dirty. My husband is a retired military officer and never complains about anything. However, he could not sleep the first night. The mattress was so old there was little left of it. Housekeeping did replace it but said there wasn't anything they could do about the terribly stained carpet and upholstery. We were on Deck 7, as I remember. We gave Celebrity a 2nd shot on a Grand Med cruise. The ship was in better shape but we didn't think the food compared to RCI. I know, I know ... most will disagree. Again, it's subjective. Celebrity has fewer food choices. Many nights after 10 hours tours, we wished for an evening buffet which isn't offered on Celebrity. The Jewel has so much glass and such wonderful views. RCI keeps their ships in tip top shape, too. Comfortable beds, friendly staff, good food ... you can't go wrong.

[billsgal]

We have been on both Constellation and Jewel and have done long(12 nights) on both of them. Jewel is our favorite ship, and while we had a good time on the Constellation, there were some things we didn't like. The traffic pattern on Jewel is better than on Constellation, and the decor was more to our liking on Jewel. Constellation is pretty, just a bit blah IMHO. Outside dining on both was nice, but the waffle station on Constellation was wonderful, and beats anything on Jewel. Food, which is pretty subjective, was about the same on both, some things better on Jewel, some things better on Connie. We have had excellent service on both ships. However, we do like Chops better than the specialty restaurant on Connie, but again, that's just my opinion. Activities were better on Jewel (at least they were more to our liking). Perry Grant on Connie was fun, but after you have seen one of his shows, they are all the same. Entertainment was more to our liking on Jewel, they seemed to have violin concerts a number of times in the main theater on Connie, and that is just not our style.

 

We also had a problem with our stateroom on Connie (a Sky Suite) and that wasn't taken care of until we insisted they move us (the 9th day of a 12 night cruise) so that may have taken some of the shine off that cruise. All in all, we have never had a bad cruise, some are better than others, but we have two future cruises booked on Jewel and none on Connie.

 

Both lines have folks of all ages, but Royal might appeal to folks your age more than CEL. I wouldn't hesitate to cruise on either ship again, but we so seem to gravitate to the Jewel.