X cruiser tried Royal Caribbean

[cruisestitch]

Because some friends wanted to sail a particular itinerary, I joined them on my first Royal Caribbean cruise, after some thirteen on Celebrity. My impressions:

 

Definitely a step down, but I do see why RCI has loyal followers. In general, the meals were good, our waiter was outstanding, and the stateroom was comfortable.

 

Here were a few things I noticed where X clearly is better:

 

1. While the buffet area layout was much easier in terms of getting one's food, there was nowhere near enough seating in that area and people actually ended up standing up to eat

2. No trays made getting one's choices in the buffet much more difficult

3. No salmon at breakfast

4. No chocolates on the pillow

5. No refreshing drinks on coming back to the ship from shore excursions

6. No appetizers for Diamond/Diamond Plus cocktail hour

7. No shampoo, etc. in bathroom

8. Internet area was unstaffed

9. There was a plastic shopping bag instead of a cloth tote bag

10. No daily faxed "newspaper" with world news

11. The worst cappuccino I have ever had

 

Would I go on Royal Caribbean again? Well, a bad day at sea still beats a good day in the office, but probably not.

[texkan]

Believe Celebrity has gone to no trays. Sailed Solstice early 2010 and there were no trays in the buffet.

[PMT51]

Lots of trays on the Infinty last week.

[Guest maddycat]

On the Explorer there was smoked salmon in the buffet every morning. When we sailed on the Summit most of the mornings there wasn't any smoked salmon.

[tally10]

We had so many chocolates on our pillows on the last two Independence transatlantics that we had to ask the steward to stop leaving them, there was always smoked salmon in the morning buffet until they ran out close to the end of each cruise, we did have happy hour appetizers in the Diamond/Diamond plus gathering before dinner (though they weren't something we enjoyed), and there were the daily papers for the various countries (USA, Britain, Canada, etc). On one of those cruises, we did have the little sample bottles of shampoo (besides what was in the wall dispenser) and lotion. So, maybe it is more cutbacks or depends on the ship/itinerary. We do love both lines but in our experience, the food was better in the MDR on Celebrity but RCI had better food and variety in the buffet. (except no ice cream station). Of course, the evening buffet on RCI is MUCH better and larger than what was offered on the Eclipse and of course, they are doing away with the casual dining as offered on the Connie. Just our opinion. Celebrity wins for us due to the smoking policy, but we have never had a bad cruise except for once on the Brilliance, which was just a bad combination of things.

[cruisestitch]

Interesting about the trays -- maybe an S class thing? There were trays on Connie for the transatlantic. And I forgot to mention the smoking -- where X wins hands-down. I think you may be right, Tally10 that many of these were a ship/itinerary specific. This was on Splendour of the Seas, Adriatic 7 day cruise.

[TroubleT]

Interesting about the trays -- maybe an S class thing?

You are correct! S class ships do not have trays in the buffet. You walk around the stations with your plate (or two plates!:D). Very inconvenient, but less food is wasted. M class ships should have trays.

[Esprit]

Our one and only time with RCL was on IOTS.

 

It was our worse cruise to date, not helped by being full of Brits giving it a cheap UK holiday camp feeling particularly in the Windjammer buffet restaurant.

 

Our cabin however was very good indeed.

[Muushka]

Would I go on Royal Caribbean again? Well, a bad day at sea still beats a good day in the office, but probably not.

I agree. Much different flavor on RCI. We did FOS last month. While the ship was beautiful, the stateroom was great, the service was excellent, it just didn't seem to fit.

 

What we missed:

 

Quiet in the morning. On FOS they had a man outside the Windjammer literally screaming GOOD MORNING!!!

 

My bagel that I can toast myself. They do it for you and they are cold. I figured out waiting for the next one to be set down and grab it!

 

A grill for hamburgers and hot dogs. It may not sound like much, but their burgers are unbelievably bad...sitting in a big pan getting cold. Not fresh in the least. Johnny Rockets was the only place for good ones.

 

The waffles. Not so good on FOS

 

I missed the pods at the cafe on S class. On FOS just the same blah areas.

 

I missed the special foods on S class cafe area, like nuts for my salad or lots of choices. On FOS it seemed like the choices were much less

 

The tons of quiet areas on S class and all of those wonderful diffent chairs

 

The Sky Lounge. On FOS it faced the lousy kids pool! Why would I want to watch kids playing when there is a great big beautiful ocean out there to look at??:confused:

 

The Sunset bar, no place like that on FOS

 

No way to avoid walking through the Casino on FOS

 

No string quartet or nice quiet relaxing entertainment....music wafting up throughout the ship, nothing better!

 

And our biggest complaint.....smoking allowed on balcony :mad:

[cruisestitch]

While I did enjoy many things, how could I have forgotten my biggest peeve -- all the kids in the indoor "adult only" pool. That area was completely taken over by children both in the pool and hot tubs.

 

So, it's back to X for me......

[tally10]

While I did enjoy many things, how could I have forgotten my biggest peeve -- all the kids in the indoor "adult only" pool. That area was completely taken over by children both in the pool and hot tubs.

 

So, it's back to X for me......

 

I do agree with you on the kids. On transatlantics, which we mainly do, there aren't that many and they are not a problem at all. I did enjoy the Viking Crown Lounge even though it does overlook the kid's pool. I could not enjoy the Sky Observation Lounge on the Eclipse due to the fact that Celebrity made one side of it a smoking area (best view on the ship) and the smoke wafts over depending on the amount of people up there. I just remembered that last Thanksgiving, we were on the Independence enjoying the holiday dinner on our way to Vigo, Spain. Sigh. Wish I was there now!

[royalcruz]

I always have fun on RCCL, but X provides a more relaxing upscale experience.

[sddsddean]

I just remembered that last Thanksgiving, we were on the Independence enjoying the holiday dinner on our way to Vigo, Spain. Sigh. Wish I was there now!

 

 

Can't believe its a year ago Joyce!

 

Simon

[klingoncruiser]

Thanks for the review. I still love both lines and accept them for what they have that I like.

[tally10]

Can't believe its a year ago Joyce!

 

Simon

 

Yes, time does fly by. It doesn't seem that long ago. That was a good cruise, Simon. We miss you and Jane and would love to sail with you again.

 

Randy and Joyce

[Quigley10]

I'd be curious on which ship/itinerary the OP tried. A loyal RCI customer who will be going on X for the first time next year, I realize that RCI's mega-ships that usually troll the Caribbean would be a disappointment for those accustomed to a more upscale and intimate experience.

 

We were on the Freedom a few months ago. Shampoo is provided in the shower stalls, and on this ship, it was easy to find space in the Windjammer for breakfast/lunch. Pillow mints have definitely been cut since we first started sailing with RCI. For bustling ships with hundreds of activities on board, RCI is great fun and great value. (I do whole-heartedly agree with the poster who said that their burgers are horrid, though! Add to that Windjammer pizza... :( )

[cruisestitch]

As I said, Splendour of the Seas, 7 day Adriatic. It was not a mega-ship.

[LunaSeaRetreat]

Just back from the Freedom. We chose it because our six year old grandson and his parents were cruising with us. We had a great time. We will be on the Mercury next month so I'll get to do a good comparison. I will say the the shows were wonderful. I missed the chocolates. My grandson gave the vacation a 10, right up there with Disney World last year.

 

Cynthia

[mrshark]

Tackiest thing on RCI was the hard cell for fresh squeezed O.J. then I heard the server laughing about how stupid people are paying $4 for orange juice we converted to celebrity in2006 and went on one more RCI cruise last year, we wont be going back

[monkeyinhat]

Cruised 2 weeks ago on Royal.

Was shampoo in shower. and at 2 ports there was a tent set up with ice water and a punch on dock as we were reboarding.

[Snerd]

On the Explorer there was smoked salmon in the buffet every morning. When we sailed on the Summit most of the mornings there wasn't any smoked salmon.

 

Funny how ships can change. I don't know when you sailed, but I was just on the Summit Nov 13-20 and enjoyed lox on a bagel from the buffet every morning. I am really glad they had it as its very light and satisfying for those of us who aren't used to eating heavy (or any) breakfasts.

[We're The Groupnors]

We've been on one RCI cruise, four X, with two more X booked for 2011. While we liked RCI, we agree that it is a step down, if in no other area than ambiance. The minute we stepped onto RCI we were absolutely bombarded with people trying to sell wine packages, drink packages and buckets of beer, and they simply did not let up! It really changed the feel of the cruise for us, so that alone will keep us sailing X.

[Ocean68]

We've been on 15 cruises so far, and the majority of them have been on Royal Caribbbean, which is by far our favorite line. At least so far.

 

We are looking at possibly trying the Celebrity Century this winter. This would be our first time on Celebrity.

 

I saw a few people mention the smoking policy on Celebrity... what is their policy that people have mentioned? Thanks.

 

We sailed on Carnival for the first time a few months ago, and we couldn't get away from the smoke, there was so much everywhere.

Since we don't smoke, that part of the cruise wasn't pleasant.

[Guest maddycat]

We've been on 15 cruises so far, and the majority of them have been on Royal Caribbbean, which is by far our favorite line. At least so far.

 

We are looking at possibly trying the Celebrity Century this winter. This would be our first time on Celebrity.

 

I saw a few people mention the smoking policy on Celebrity... what is their policy that people have mentioned? Thanks.

 

No smoking in the cabins, on the verandas, in the casino and in most bars.

[birdcat]

3. No salmon at breakfast

We have had lox available on every RCCL cruise we've taken (10).

 

6. No appetizers for Diamond/Diamond Plus cocktail hour

Always had nice snacks at the Gold & Platinum parties (including some very nice ones like fried giant gulf shrimp) - Why would they not have them for D/D+?

 

9. There was a plastic shopping bag instead of a cloth tote bag

They're doing away with all the C&A gifts, except for D+ from what I've read. I'll miss the goodies :(

 

11. The worst cappuccino I have ever had

My wife loves their cappucino's. I think the coffee is sub-par (I don't like Seattle's best).