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Royal vs. Celebrity


jamiedego

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Hello everyone,

We have been loyal RCI cruisers for the last 10 years. We are thinking about booking a cruise on Celebrity Millenium. The cruise is a last minute decision and the ports of call are ones we love. On the last few cruises, we have NOT gone to the main dining room for dinner. We are just as happy in the Windjammer Buffet. My question is this.... does Millenium offer basically the same dining venues as Royal?

We are also more laid back and are more comfortable in our shorts and flip flops! Hubby just retired and we just want to be more casual on this cruise. Please help me compare the two cruise lines. We are Diamond status with Royal, does that carry over onto Celebrity?

Thank you so much!!!

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Hello everyone,

We have been loyal RCI cruisers for the last 10 years. We are thinking about booking a cruise on Celebrity Millenium. The cruise is a last minute decision and the ports of call are ones we love. On the last few cruises, we have NOT gone to the main dining room for dinner. We are just as happy in the Windjammer Buffet. My question is this.... does Millenium offer basically the same dining venues as Royal?

We are also more laid back and are more comfortable in our shorts and flip flops! Hubby just retired and we just want to be more casual on this cruise. Please help me compare the two cruise lines. We are Diamond status with Royal, does that carry over onto Celebrity?

Thank you so much!!!

 

 

Hi.

 

Not sure about Millenium but we toured Solstice recently and the dining did appear to be slightly more formal that RCI. Why not email RCI - I'm sure they will help?

 

As for your Diamond status, yes, you carry over the equivalent of your status to Celebrity's 'Captain's Club', but I'm afraid (there's always a catch isn't there?) you don't add any points to your RCI status.

 

Hope this helps.

 

John.

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Having cruised both lines, I found the menu offering in the buffets to be about the same, with the quality being a little bit better on Celebrity. Food in the MDR is MUCH better on Celebrity, in my opinion.

 

If you call the Captain's Club number, your status on Royal can be transferred to the same level status on Celebrity.

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Do call the Captain's Club and get your Elite status confirmed. Depending on where your are going you could get of to 30 items washed for free. (best Royal's $ off). The Mast Grill is like the BBQ area out back of the Windjammer. The Buffet area is the same IMHO.

 

Go into the adult only pool and lay down on the the rodd area it is relaxing.

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There is a dinner buffet on Celebrity but I hear it is more limited than many of the other lines. We haven't tried it, but I have seen several posts criticizing it as limited in choice, with little variety from day to day. I'm sure someone else can give you more specifics. But I do have to say that the overall ambiance on Celebrity is more sedate, formal, elegant than on Royal, which is a good thing for some but not for everyone. You will probably be in the vast minority if you are around the ship in shorts and flip flops in the evenings. I'm not passing judgment in any way, just making sure you are prepared. Have you considered NCL, where the ambiance is very casual all the time ??

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You'll find the buffet offerings on Celebrity in the evening to be much more limited than you are used to. There will be pizza, pasta, salad, a main course, some sides, maybe stir-fry, but not all the offerings you would find in the MDR. No steak, probably not much in the way of seafood, appetizers, etc. You'll never starve, of course. One option you might enjoy, if you are in a verandah especially, would be to order from the MDR menu as room service. Anything served in the MDR that night can be ordered as room service -- consult with your room steward and you'll be able to see the night's menu.

 

 

Here's what Celebrity says on its website:

 

: T-shirts, swimsuits, robes, bare feet, tank tops, baseball caps and pool wear are not allowed in the main restaurant or specialty restaurant at any time. Shorts and flip-flops are not allowed in the evening hours. Additionally, guests are asked to follow the "Smart Casual and Above" dress code in the Celebrity Theater for all evening performances.

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Guest maddycat
Hello everyone,

We have been loyal RCI cruisers for the last 10 years. We are thinking about booking a cruise on Celebrity Millenium. The cruise is a last minute decision and the ports of call are ones we love. On the last few cruises, we have NOT gone to the main dining room for dinner. We are just as happy in the Windjammer Buffet. My question is this.... does Millenium offer basically the same dining venues as Royal?

We are also more laid back and are more comfortable in our shorts and flip flops! Hubby just retired and we just want to be more casual on this cruise. Please help me compare the two cruise lines. We are Diamond status with Royal, does that carry over onto Celebrity?

Thank you so much!!!

 

In my opinion you will not be happy on Celebrity.

 

The evening buffet is much more limited than on RCI ships. Here are a couple of examples of our experiences with the two cruise lines recently. We love the dinner stir fry on the Explorer. You can choose fresh, raw pork, chicken and beef along with many raw vegetables to be cooked to order. You also get to choose the type of noodle and sauce that you want. On the Summit the stir fry consisted of pre-cooked choices that were reheated to order.

 

Celebrity is more formal than Royal. As another poster stated, shorts and flip flops are not allowed in the evenings. Shorts and jeans are not allowed at Captain's Club events, even events taking place in the morning.

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My wife and I were on the Celebrity Summit the first week of August. This was our first Celebrity cruise. Prior to this we have been on three RCC cruises. I think we were expecting better food as many people say Celebrity is a step up from RCC. In our humble opinion, the food on Celebrity was horrible. Choices were very limited, especially at the evening buffet. The food in the MDR was nothing to write home over either. The specialty restuarant was nice but we wouldn't go back. I know you don't necessarily go on a cruise for the food but this was a total disappointment. Fortunately the staff was excellent and very accommodating. We are sticking with RCC.

 

Fred

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Ceelbrity attracks a older pax;because the cruise is more upscale;) .Celebrity has fewer pax than a RCL comparable ship ;thus the space ratios are better on Celebrity:D .

 

Celebrity has a restictive smoking policy;which many cruisers like :D.

 

Celebritys food & service is a notch above RCL;)

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Food is totally subjective, as evidenced by my opinion of the food on RCI. All in our group were terribly disappointed in the MDR food on both Navigator and Adventure. Even our waitstaff would comment on what not to order, and even warned us that the hot soups were hardly warm. We found the cuts of beef to be shoe leather and many meals lacking in flavor. The most disappointing was Chops. Many tout it as being the end all, be all, but it was downright bad, starting with the maitre'd who lectured me, and "threatened" to charge us for a meal when our group was one short of the reservation (she was not feeling well and decided to keep to their cabin), to the charred black steaks that had to be sent back.

 

Service was good on RCI, but it doesn't match Celebrity. My other complaint is that their venues are far too small to handle their passenger load. The Champagne Bar is a quarter the size of the ones on Celebrity. The Schooner Bar, where they held their trivia games, is also too small for a ship of that size. I'll take Celebrity, with their much better space to passenger ratio, any day.

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We've cruised both lines a lot. We are D+ on Royal and Elite with 20 cruise points on Celebrity. Obviously we like both lines and love Solstice class ships on Cele. We are not big fans of eating at the buffet for dinner on either line, but Royal offers the most options. I'll give Celebrity the nod for dinner in the MDR, but it isn't a great difference. Our favorite dining is in Blu on the Solstice ships for AQ passengers.

 

I suggest giving the Millie a try, but would recommend doing Select Dining in the MBR.

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I second seasearider's suggestion-- do select dining in the MDR. Waitstaff are in a position to be much more attentive to your wishes than on RCI.

 

They discontinued the "informal" (coat and tie) dress code a few years ago, so except for formal night slacks and a polo shirt are fine every night.

 

Food on Millenium last December was superb. Ship is elegant in a very restrained way--great ambience to unwind for a week or two!

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