Biggest difference between Celebrity and Royal Caribbean

[KathyPet]

Did a 8 night Bermuda cruise on Enchantment in June and just returned from a 12 night Med cruise on Silhoutte. I will not even talk about the demographic differences because obviously a cruise to Bermuda in June and a Med cruise in October will have a total different demographic make up regardless of the cruise line.

Food was better on Celebrity in my opinion. NOt just the actually cooking of the food but what was offered. Celebrity had Chateubriand, Beef Wellington and Steak Tartre (appetizer) on the menu. I did not see any of those offered on RCCL. I thought the prime rib on RCCl was very bland and totally tasteless. Prime RIb on Celebrity was much better. We had breakfast in the MDR twice on Celebrity and I appreciated not having to listen to the waiter shill for the fresh squeezed orange juice the way they do on RCCL. The cafe was a draw IMHO. We ate in Murano's twice on Celebrity and while I found the food to be very good I thought the service was rather pretentious. THey were very concerned with impressing you with how very very elegant they are.

 

Service was far better on RCCL IMHO. There was nothing wrong with the service on Celebrity but it was much warmer and friendlier on RCCL. Service on Celebrity was professional but not warm.

[ricntina]

Rick: I didn't say everyone was lower class. There was a certain group (small percentage) of people who were loud, discourteous and annoying on the recent Allure cruise that was not on the Celebrity cruise a little earlier. This was the case on the Coral Princess Panama Canal cruise last year also. Everyone had moved away from this group or those like this. No one is talking about you. Don't be so sensitive.

 

Well yes I am sensitive. In fact after reading your post, I cried and had trouble falling asleep:rolleyes:. Actually, when I posted my comment I had a big smile :) on my face and I knew you were not talking about me.

On every cruise we have taken, there have always been rude, pushy, loud and generally obnoxious folks on board. I guess that just goes with the territory, but I don't let that bother me.

However, to be honest, I just don't like the term "lower class". Guess I don't like the term "upper class" either. We try and make friends with everybody and it has aways worked out well for us.

Rick

[ricntina]

:cool:Not at all Rick. We have high class, low class, middle class, then the most of the rest. Then we have TEXANS. A breed of them selves LOL. Lived in Grapevine for 6 years. Both girls born in Dallas. Got me two native texans. Loved it there. A breed apart. :cool:JACK IS SAILING AGAIN

 

Jack:

Thanks for your comments. Actually, neither Tina nor myself are really Texans. Tina is from NY and I'm orig from Chicago, but we sure do like it here in Fort Worth. Other than that, I seem to be somewhat of a trouble maker.

Rick

[neverbeenhere]

No one mentioned the free personal back massages from the Captain's Club host.

[momofmeg]

Rick: I didn't say everyone was lower class. There was a certain group (small percentage) of people who were loud, discourteous and annoying on the recent Allure cruise that was not on the Celebrity cruise a little earlier. This was the case on the Coral Princess Panama Canal cruise last year also. Everyone had moved away from this group or those like this. No one is talking about you. Don't be so sensitive.

 

I understand"Low class" in the way they acted. What many do not understand is that is what our parents called people who acted obnoxiously and were inconsiderate of other's desires/and fellow rights. (I am closer to 60 than 50) I think a better term is "classless." Even though "low class" by my mother's terms had absolutely nothing with being poor or uneducated. Heck my dad had a GED diploma, Mom had a high school diploma and we were lower middle income. I do find my self saying "low class" because my mom did an dthen I have to explain what I mean.

 

I realize many people think of "class" by the terms of countries such as England (in the early 1900's) and India who STILL has very big "cast" distinctions. I never understood why fellow Americans think that-we never really had those type distinctions- most of our ancestors were poor folks who came here for a better life -and had no real wealth. Although there were a few snobs who liked to trace their linage back to the Mayflower, the majority of us were not about that.

 

So when people hear their grandmother or great grand saying "low class" (or someone their age) they need to realize this means people's actions-not how much money they have or how educated they are.

[maimaisnana]

Did out first Royal Carribean last July-it was nice and done because we took our 12 year old granddaughter but it isn't Celebrity-we have cruised 7 times on Celebrity before this and has booked 2 more (December and August 2013) and can hardly wait to get on board-it's those little extras like cold towels waiting for you on the dock when you return from a tour on a hot day, the cabin attendant knocking on the door with a tray of hot coffee/tea when you return on a cold day-yes this did happen on Century with no prompting from us-we are Celebrity cruisers and always will be

[Watery Dan]

Celebrity is just a little bit classier. The food, the service and the activities are just a step up from RC.

[sjb317]

Celebrity is just a little bit classier. The food, the service and the activities are just a step up from RC.

 

That's exactly what we've heard over and over for years. Just completed our first Celebrity cruise and can honestly say we did not see much difference in the quality of food or the service between the two lines. Entertainment was pretty equal too, several of the shows were shows we have seen on RC.

 

I do think the Century is one of the most elegant, "classy" ships I have been on.

 

Sherri:)

[momofmeg]

That's exactly what we've heard over and over for years. Just completed our first Celebrity cruise and can honestly say we did not see much difference in the quality of food or the service between the two lines. Entertainment was pretty equal too, several of the shows were shows we have seen on RC.

 

I do think the Century is one of the most elegant, "classy" ships I have been on.

 

Sherri:)

 

Sherri I disagree, in my experience the main dinningroom is much better. I also preferred the Tuscan Grille's food to RCI's Italian restaurant. Maybe you took a dud cruise? You really cna't judge from just one cruise-especially when it is a much older Celebrity ship. I have 29 days with Celebrity and 19 days with RCI. My most recent on those lines was June for Celebrity and last December for RCI.

 

There is a reason why RCI corporation has more than one cruise line-they want to attract different clientele-it would not be good business for them to have clone cruiselines.

[sjb317]

Sherri I disagree, in my experience the main dinningroom is much better. I also preferred the Tuscan Grille's food to RCI's Italian restaurant. Maybe you took a dud cruise? You really cna't judge from just one cruise-especially when it is a much older Celebrity ship. I have 29 days with Celebrity and 19 days with RCI. My most recent on those lines was June for Celebrity and last December for RCI.

 

There is a reason why RCI corporation has more than one cruise line-they want to attract different clientele-it would not be good business for them to have clone cruiselines.

 

I wasn't expecting a "clone" cruise line, nor would I want one. And I don't think we took a "dud" cruise. In my opinion (and of course, you have the right to disagree) there was not much difference in the quality of food between our one 15 night Celebrity cruise and our 28 (for a total of 260 nights) Royal cruises. There were definitely more choices in the MDR on the Century and some items were really good (I think the poultry dishes were excellent) but most of the food was not any different than what we find on Royal. And some items we much prefer on Royal, such as the breads & pastries.

 

Sherri:)

[momofmeg]

I wasn't expecting a "clone" cruise line, nor would I want one. And I don't think we took a "dud" cruise. In my opinion (and of course, you have the right to disagree) there was not much difference in the quality of food between our one 15 night Celebrity cruise and our 28 (for a total of 260 nights) Royal cruises. There were definitely more choices in the MDR on the Century and some items were really good (I think the poultry dishes were excellent) but most of the food was not any different than what we find on Royal. And some items we much prefer on Royal, such as the breads & pastries.

 

Sherri:)

 

No offense Sherri but I stand by what I said. You were on one of Celebrity's older ships. You need to compare it to a Monarch of the Seas cruise not a freedom class or Oasis class. Besides if you have taken 260 nights on Royal perhaps great food is not a top priority as those ships making 2000 meals at once cannot produce anything better than hotel banquet food. That is true of even ships of over 3000 PAX-no matter the line. Mass produced food is nothing but mass produced food. I can honestly say even thoguh I found Solstice's food better than any RCI food I have had-it still was not up to the standards of the Connie 5 years ago when the Connie was still a fairly new ship about the same age as Solstice. I do feel it had a lot to do with almost 800 less PAX. However the Connie has some age on her now so I am sure she can't compete with the Solstice as it seems to me the newer ships get the top chefs.

 

You need to remember Celebrity has to use some of their older ships for some itineraries (like Hawaii and the Baltic) because a smaller ship works better for some of the ports. A larger ship would have to skip or tender certain ports. I think that is why the Connie is used for the Baltic in the summer. However when she goes to the Caribbean she does the shorter cruises as she can't compete with the newer Solstice class.

 

It is sort've like RCI has to use Jewel class from Tampa-that port can't take a larger ship so it uses a smaller ship.

[sjb317]

No offense Sherri but I stand by what I said. You were on one of Celebrity's older ships. You need to compare it to a Monarch of the Seas cruise not a freedom class or Oasis class. Besides if you have taken 260 nights on Royal perhaps great food is not a top priority as those ships making 2000 meals at once cannot produce anything better than hotel banquet food. That is true of even ships of over 3000 PAX-no matter the line. Mass produced food is nothing but mass produced food. I can honestly say even thoguh I found Solstice's food better than any RCI food I have had-it still was not up to the standards of the Connie 5 years ago when the Connie was still a fairly new ship about the same age as Solstice. I do feel it had a lot to do with almost 800 less PAX. However the Connie has some age on her now so I am sure she can't compete with the Solstice as it seems to me the newer ships get the top chefs.

 

You need to remember Celebrity has to use some of their older ships for some itineraries (like Hawaii and the Baltic) because a smaller ship works better for some of the ports. A larger ship would have to skip or tender certain ports. I think that is why the Connie is used for the Baltic in the summer. However when she goes to the Caribbean she does the shorter cruises as she can't compete with the newer Solstice class.

 

It is sort've like RCI has to use Jewel class from Tampa-that port can't take a larger ship so it uses a smaller ship.

 

Actually, I am comparing the Century to our September cruise on Monarch but I also think the ship is comparable in many ways to any of the ships in the Radiance class which happen to be our class of choice. I am also taking into consideration the comments of our tablemates who said the Century has the best food of any of the Celebrity ships. They were celebrating their 100th cruise with Celebrity on our sailing so I think they have some experience with Celebrity. Plus, I believe it was the hotel director who told us in the Captain's Club that Century is consistently rated number one by Celebrity passengers as having the best food.

 

Not sure why you feel a need to explain to me why older, smaller ships are used in certain ports?

 

I guess we just have to agree to disagree.:D

 

Sherri:)

Edited November 9, 2012 by sjb317

[cruisetrail]

..so I booked a 12 night cruise with Celebrity Constellation in November 2013, while I was on a 12 night cruise with Mariner of the Seas.

 

So far I got 4 cruises with Royal Caribbean. What is the biggest differences between a Celebrity and Royal Caribbean cruise?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

The fundmental difference is in their ships design.

The ships design determins all the aspect of your life at sea.

A well designed cruise ship gives you a variety of features and services so that you can pick what you like and build your own cruise.

Large RCI ships are way more advanced in design as cruise ships.

More space, more open promenade decks, much better entertainment program (shows), no awkwardly placed life boats, more connection to the sea - the core of sea travel.

Althougn Celebrity offers somewhat better food service, overall I rank large RCI ships higher than Celebrity.

Never book another cruise while on board no matter how tempting the offer is. This will limit your cruising experience.

Try different cruise lines.

[momofmeg]

Actually, I am comparing the Century to our September cruise on Monarch but I also think the ship is comparable in many ways to any of the ships in the Radiance class which happen to be our class of choice. I am also taking into consideration the comments of our tablemates who said the Century has the best food of any of the Celebrity ships. They were celebrating their 100th cruise with Celebrity on our sailing so I think they have some experience with Celebrity. Plus, I believe it was the hotel director who told us in the Captain's Club that Century is consistently rated number one by Celebrity passengers as having the best food.

 

Not sure why you feel a need to explain to me why older, smaller ships are used in certain ports?

 

I guess we just have to agree to disagree.:D

 

Sherri:)

 

 

We agree on one thing the Jewel class of RCI is the best RCI has to offer-but not the food-this is still just so-so-so maybe we do not agree-LOL!

 

BTW- I am just adding my bit-not specifically to you but to how I disagree with your post. Many people read these posts and they need to get a well rounded view- of more than just one person on the points (food) you bought up-this does not make me right or you right but it does give a person an idea whether he/she will like a specific line. I am sorry if you felt it was a personal attack. But I still do not agree with you about the food on the 2 lines.

[momofmeg]

The fundmental difference is in their ships design.

The ships design determins all the aspect of your life at sea.

A well designed cruise ship gives you a variety of features and services so that you can pick what you like and build your own cruise.

Large RCI ships are way more advanced in design as cruise ships.

More space, more open promenade decks, much better entertainment program (shows), no awkwardly placed life boats, more connection to the sea - the core of sea travel.

Althougn Celebrity offers somewhat better food service, overall I rank large RCI ships higher than Celebrity.

Never book another cruise while on board no matter how tempting the offer is. This will limit your cruising experience.

Try different cruise lines.

LOL I have-the main reason why I have no real loyalty points with any line.

[celle]

X usually draws a better class of passenger. Our last on Allure back to back was not as enjoyable as our last Celebrity. Passengers were loud, inpulsive and not as courteous as X. Been on Oasis and Allure and unless we take the grandchildren we won't go on these again. But the captain (Captain Johnny) on Allure is the best.

 

Oh, my! Where does that put me? I like to cruise on both lines (as well as HAL).

[gpnfish]

The smoking package is a big advantage with Celebrity, but I'm waiting (and won't be at all surprised) when RCI does the same.

 

And another big advantage with Celebrity-----the Alcohol packages!

[rubrrick]

Just this week having disembarked the Infinity, after a 6 year hiatus from Celebrity, I have both good and not so good to report.

 

We cruise in suites on both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, and there are contrasts. The first......in the morning, my DW likes to wake up, and within a very short time have coffee. The suites on RCL offer coffee pots, Celebrity does not. With a suite comes a butler, and from the time that you first call for coffee, sometimes it's 10 minutes, and sometimes it's longer, vs being able to brew your own.

 

However, our butler has always taken care of all that we ask for, and that is something that we have learned to do for ourselves on Royal Caribbean.

 

When it comes to food, and again I must emphasis that we have mainly cruised on Royal, the food, overall on Celebrity is a cut above Royal.

 

Breakfasts.....in our cabin or in the cafe were wonderful. However, on Celebrity, as others have pointed out, the food, during lunch and dinner does not vary from day to day on Celebrity, and becomes rather boring. That is something that needs to be addressed, as the food on Royal Caribbeans cafe offers many like items as the main dining room in the evening......and that is a major plus for Royal.

 

For those of us that like to have a cocktail in our cabin, from a bottle, the RS and PH suites offer a bottle of vodka, and a bottle of scotch.

 

Also, one can order a package of a liter of alcohol, along with sodas and a snack, starting at $80.00. Unlike Royal Caribbean, that does not offer anything of the kind........if you want to spend the money, you certainly can have a bottle of spirits of your liking in your cabin.

 

And, many have covered that the lack of Public announcements on Celebrity......which is a Godsend for me.

 

But, all in all........I love both lines.

 

Rick

Edited November 10, 2012 by rubrrick

[stag]

The parade and broadwalk on RCL are nice.

[Teresa Price]

On Celebrity no belly flop competitions! Thank goodness

[anandaindonesia]

Never book another cruise while on board no matter how tempting the offer is. This will limit your cruising experience.

Try different cruise lines.

 

Yes, sir!

 

:-)

Edited November 10, 2012 by anandaindonesia

[ghstudio]

The choice between RCL and Celebrity is easy for us....

 

1) We find that RCL ships have far more lines and crowds than comparable sized celebrity ships. We had to arrive at least 30 min before a show to find a seat on on our last RCL cruise.

 

2) We now travel Aqua on Celebrity which gives a very different dining experience....a quiet dining room where you can talk...no baked alaska parades...no happy birthday cakes and so on.

 

3) Subjectively, we find that the kids on Celebrity ships seem to be less out of control than on RCL. If we were travelling with kids, we'd probably pick RCL. Travelling alone, Celebrity seems to be a better match for us.

[Leviathan2772]

These are two completely different cruiselines.

 

Royal Caribbean for me are ships for families and have the venues to do that. I am in my mid 40's, and I found Freedom a little too chaotic for me. My wife and I had a great time, but I would not do RCI again unless it was with my brother and his family. If you are bringing kids under 18 , go RCI.

 

Celebrity is a near luxury experience, but still relaxed and not uptight. When I go on a cruise I don't want a Starbucks Johnny Rocket's experience. RCI ships are like a giant shopping mall. The children are running around out control and the parents don't seem to care. Celebrity is just has more sophistication than RCI.

[sjb317]

We agree on one thing the Jewel class of RCI is the best RCI has to offer-but not the food-this is still just so-so-so maybe we do not agree-LOL!

 

BTW- I am just adding my bit-not specifically to you but to how I disagree with your post. Many people read these posts and they need to get a well rounded view- of more than just one person on the points (food) you bought up-this does not make me right or you right but it does give a person an idea whether he/she will like a specific line. I am sorry if you felt it was a personal attack. But I still do not agree with you about the food on the 2 lines.

 

Not a personal attack, Mom, but your writing tone is a little patronizing!:D

 

Sherri:)

[Kellie Poodle]

We cruise for itinerary so we book either line.

 

I'm not a large ship sailor, but I did a 15 Day cruise on Celebrity Century in April in a top deck S1 Sky Suite and an 11 day cruise on RCI's Grandeur of the Seas in an ocean view cabin on deck 3 last month. Both ships are similar in size.

 

Cabins: The sky suite was huge. Tons of storage. Lovely bathroom and immense veranda. The deck 3 ocean view was adequate with more than enough storage space. Both had great bedding and comfy beds. Celebrity uses a terrible laundry process. Their towels are always scratchy on my sensitive skin. The towels in the deck 3 OV cabin on RCI were far superior to the towels in the Celebrity suite.

 

The cabin attendants on both cruises were exemplary.

 

Breakfast: Celebrity has the worst breakfast pastries. Dry and tasteless. Even the inside of the famous "sticky bun" is dry. Royal has better tasting pastries, especially the raisin, cranberry bread. RCI makes a better omelet. I can get real Swiss cheese in my omelet on RCI without a fight. I have to fight for it on every Celebrity cruise. I don't like waffles or eggs Benedict. If I did, I'd like Celebrity's buffet breakfast better. Both lines make great oatmeal.

 

Lunch: Hands-down, RCI is the winner. There is the awesome Tutti salad bar on sea days and the buffet food is just better with a larger selection. You might not get a tray on RCI as you get on Celebrity, but you will always get a cloth napkin with the tableware rolled in it on Royal. On Celebrity, you have to pull your tableware from an open tray and heaven knows who has touched all those utensils. Celebrity's paper napkins at the buffet are just plain tacky.

 

It says something about Celebrity's lunch offerings when my favorite lunch on an X ship is a hot dog by the pool. Don't get me wrong, they are awesome hot dogs but if they are best choice for lunch, something is not right.

 

Dinner: Here the MDR edge goes to Celebrity, but I had cruised on Infinity in January and, even with the same corporate menu, the food was much better on Infinity in January than it was on Century in April. There are more choices on the Celebrity menu, however, the RCI boards are reporting that a new fleetwide menu, with items similar to Celebrity's nightly other side of the page items is being propagated. Grandeur had not gotten it yet, but the food was very, very good. Celebrity desserts are somewhat better than RCI desserts. Anyway, food is subjective so what I or anyone else says about it can't be taken as gospel.

 

Dining room service on both lines is excellent.

 

For dinner at the buffet, RCI wins again. Much better selection and several of the MDR offerings are there as well.

 

Celebrity's pizza and hand-dipped ice cream are a plus for them.

 

Activities and shows: I've never been bored on either line. Production shows are identical. Talent depends on the itinerary the ship is sailing. We've seen the same acts on both lines. Celebrity does a better job at Trivia using laptops to project the questions so you can read them. Very helpful when the CD staff has accents. Royal has the kids with accents. Sweet but not always understandable.

 

Quiet: I appreciate the Celebrity one a day announcement by the captain and would love RCI to adopt the same policy. That "bingo,bingo bingo" business on the PA can get annoying.

 

Tendering: The tendering crew on Celebrity need to take some lessons from RCI. Never had a bad tendering on an RCI ship and rarely had a good one on a Celebrity ship. I don't know why this is, but I'm not the only one to think so.

 

Overall Service: The service on both lines is wonderful. I had a useless butler on a Celebrity cruise and a surly waiter on an RCI cruise. That's two individuals on a very large number of sea nights.

 

Smoking Policy: Celebrity wins!! Some RCI ships ban smoking in the casino on formal night, but Grandeur did not.

 

Drinking Policy: Royal has just announced a two bottle of wine policy per cabin bring aboard policy. Both lines offer wine packages for sale and I think RCI is experimenting with inclusive beverage package like Celebrity has, but we wouldn't be interested in them, so I really can't comment. Celebrity has a better wine list, but price doesn't always mean a wine is better, just that the label may have better marketing.:)

 

Both lines take great care of their ships. I have never been on an RCI or Celebrity ship that was not spotlessly clean. I cannot say the same for other lines.

 

I'm not going to deal with loyalty club perk comparisons, as that's not what the OP was looking for.