Usually cruise with Royal but lookig at Celebrity

[toxicfairy]

Just got back on the 21st from a cruise on the Liberty. While it was another fun cruise we heard a rumor at dinner one night...One of the couples at our table said they had just booked a future cruise But with Celebrity:eek:. They said they were told it is more formal as far as the dress code goes and that it is less kid friendly...lol...ok just that there are less kids. Now I realize that working for a school has it's good points and it's bad, the bad being I burn out on patience for other people's kids and I can only cruise in the summer when it is "kid season" (with the exception of every few years I can sneak off on President's weekend with a few personal days thrown in ;)).

SO is there any truth to the more formal thing? My DH is a tower worker (builds and maintains cell towers) and I work in a classroom in speacial ed. So we don't get dressed up for work but oh do we enjoy it on vacation. I love seeing him in his suits and I wear a dress every night and a full length qown for formal nights. It does get ruined though when your sitting at the tabe with a guy wearing a baseball cap :( threw the ENTIRE dinner!! And the kids table next to us (6 kids) they were very well behaved UNTIL they were done eating at which time it was potty mouth time. Parents were at the next table and said nothing not even when the one boy proceeded to LITTERALLY lick his ice cream bowl clean!!! SO looking for a change when we cruise with just the 2 of us. Something a bit more classy would be nice ,I am not knocking Royal as I still love them but a change now and then would be nice. Any help would be appriciated . Also why can I not find any summer cruises on the celebrity site?? When would their summer 2014 itinerary come out?? Is there any ship that people prefer over another I know it is a matter of preferance. I love Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas , but we just did her sister ship Liberty and the service was no where near the same. Which is why I need guidance with Celbrity. Well any help and or opinions would be great . Thank you in advance!!

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I see you are from NJ but if you want to avoid kids- don't do Summit out of Bayonne. I have a child and did one last summer. We had a ball but the pool and hot tubs were full of kids and I never felt tempted to use the pools as a result.

 

In summer Celebrity will have kids even in the Caribbean. So you aren't going to avoid them but there will be fewer than on Royal Caribbean. The youth program on Celebrity is stellar and the kids spend much of their time there. So kids aren't a nuisance on Celebrity.

 

I did Alaska this summer in July and there were fewer children. We loved that cruise.

 

I have sailed Royal and the first thing my son said when we boarded Serenade of the Seas in January was "where is the welcome aboard champagne and orange juice!". There are little things like that that Celebrity does better. The food is better on Celebrity IMO. I love the specialty restaurants, which I thought were better than the ones on Royal. Qsine is really fun and whimsical and Bistro on Five ($5pp) is wonderful! Go there on embarkation day to avoid the crowds in the buffet.

[celebrity]

I think you would enjoy Celebrity. Please note that while anytime you are sailing during school break there will be more kids, there will be less on Celebrity than RCCL. As you can see from my screen name, Celebrity is my favorite line . The reality is that I have sailed on RCCL more than Celebrity simply due to the fact that I prefer sailing in summer and Celebrity has been lacking in that dept for a number of years in summer. I am taking a Med cruise on Equinox in Sept and happy to be back. I do feel that Celebrity is a bit more formal but not stuffy. However, there is no flow rider, rock climbing wall, etc. is that important to you?

[Gracie115]

Just got back on the 21st from a cruise on the Liberty. While it was another fun cruise we heard a rumor at dinner one night...One of the couples at our table said they had just booked a future cruise But with Celebrity:eek:. They said they were told it is more formal as far as the dress code goes and that it is less kid friendly...lol...ok just that there are less kids. Now I realize that working for a school has it's good points and it's bad, the bad being I burn out on patience for other people's kids and I can only cruise in the summer when it is "kid season" (with the exception of every few years I can sneak off on President's weekend with a few personal days thrown in ;)).

SO is there any truth to the more formal thing? My DH is a tower worker (builds and maintains cell towers) and I work in a classroom in speacial ed. So we don't get dressed up for work but oh do we enjoy it on vacation. I love seeing him in his suits and I wear a dress every night and a full length qown for formal nights. It does get ruined though when your sitting at the tabe with a guy wearing a baseball cap :( threw the ENTIRE dinner!! And the kids table next to us (6 kids) they were very well behaved UNTIL they were done eating at which time it was potty mouth time. Parents were at the next table and said nothing not even when the one boy proceeded to LITTERALLY lick his ice cream bowl clean!!! SO looking for a change when we cruise with just the 2 of us. Something a bit more classy would be nice ,I am not knocking Royal as I still love them but a change now and then would be nice. Any help would be appriciated . Also why can I not find any summer cruises on the celebrity site?? When would their summer 2014 itinerary come out?? Is there any ship that people prefer over another I know it is a matter of preferance. I love Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas , but we just did her sister ship Liberty and the service was no where near the same. Which is why I need guidance with Celbrity. Well any help and or opinions would be great . Thank you in advance!!

 

 

We've cruised both lines many times and like them both for different reasons. Yes, you will find Celebrity more formal, no baseball caps on formal nights in the dining room(probably not other nights either). The summer/fall/winter itinerary for 2014 will be coming out in March/April. The "S" class ships are great ships on Celebrity, our favorite was the Silhouette but Equinox is great too... Celebrity doesn't have things like the rock climbing wall, flowriders or zip lines(like the Oasis class) but it does have better food, at least equal but usually better service, more sedate entertainment(there is no Quest game...lol) but if we had to pick one or the other we would opt for Celebrity most every time. Oh, and while I expect there are more kids on Royal ships if you cruise in the summer or over holidays there will still be kids on Celebrity....:)

[toxicfairy]

I should have pointed out that I don't dislike kids :o. I have 2 (well they are kind of grown now 23 and 20 but I still see them as my babies :)). Since we mainly cruise in the summer we are use to kids being every where just this last cruise there was a crazy amount of them!! And it seemed most were rasied by monkeys ...ooops did I think that out loud. It just seems that manners are really lacking or maybe it is that "I am on vacation who cares what they do as long as they stay away from us" attitude. No one seems to want to get dressed for dinner any more either. We were the only ones at our table that got "dressed" for dinner.

I don't know that it will be any different but it seems that ever since Royal put in the "Dream works" it is even more Family friendly only they aren't really families they are just children running pampet while the parents relax and ignore them until some one says something to junior then the parents majically appear:D.

Ok well maybe it's not that bad but some times you just want to sit by the pool with out getting splashed on purpose

[Emiliqua]

We have only cruised with Royal; although we loved the experiences on RLLC - I am REALLY looking forward to our first Celebrity Cruise!

 

I also work in education, and when thinking about this cruise my main goal was relaxation (and I really enjoy good food!). I've done some research (on the boards here and elsewhere) and think that the Reflection will offer just what we are looking for.

 

The recent Celebrity promotions (drink package!Aqua Class!) also helped us to try something new.

 

I wish you the best of luck with your search!;)

[phoenix_dream]

Not sure where you intend to cruise, but be advised that Celebrity does not generally sail the Caribbean in the summer. So if you are looking for summer Caribbean cruises, you will need to stay with RCCI (or another line). The ships go to Europe, Alaska, Australia and I don't even know where else - but not the Caribbean.

[Hapytocruise]

Higher child ratio on most summer or holiday season cruises. If you do decide on Celebrity I highly recommend going with an Aqua cabin. Rarely do you see a child let alone a group in the Blu dining room and while formal attire is not part of the Blu dress code - quite a few tux plus many suits on formal night. My DH and I dress for dinner every night and never feel overdressed.

[Russ Lomas]

Just got back on the 21st from a cruise on the Liberty. While it was another fun cruise we heard a rumor at dinner one night...One of the couples at our table said they had just booked a future cruise But with Celebrity:eek:. They said they were told it is more formal as far as the dress code goes and that it is less kid friendly...lol...ok just that there are less kids. Now I realize that working for a school has it's good points and it's bad, the bad being I burn out on patience for other people's kids and I can only cruise in the summer when it is "kid season" (with the exception of every few years I can sneak off on President's weekend with a few personal days thrown in ;)).

 

I too am a spec. ed. teacher and I fully can relate to how you love kids, but are looking for a bit more refined, relaxing vacation with not so many of them. I too am severely limited in my travel times to time when kids are off school due to my employment. We did the Liberty last year as a family and loved it (our first RCCL experience) and I am really looking forward to the Oasis in less than 2 weeks. If you think that Freedom was that much better than the Liberty, I think we will have a great time on the Oasis.

 

 

So we don't get dressed up for work but oh do we enjoy it on vacation. I love seeing him in his suits and I wear a dress every night and a full length qown for formal nights. It does get ruined though when your sitting at the tabe with a guy wearing a baseball cap :( threw the ENTIRE dinner!!

I once again can relate. I like having to dress up a bit to make it seem more like a special occasion. Let the ones in shorts and hats go to the buffet, or maybe have a separate dining level for them (maybe the top one where people in the lower levels do not see them).

 

one boy proceeded to LITTERALLY lick his ice cream bowl clean!!!

I like my ice cream. A lot! I have been known to lick many ice cream bowls clean too (although not in restaurant).

 

Also why can I not find any summer cruises on the celebrity site?? When would their summer 2014 itinerary come out?? Is there any ship that people prefer over another I know it is a matter of preferance. Which is why I need guidance with Celbrity. Well any help and or opinions would be great . Thank you in advance!!

I cannot comment on Celebrity since I have not sailed with them (YET). As you can see below, I will be sailing with them this New Year's. I am really looking forward to trying out the Celebrity product for all you have previously mentioned (plus the fact that they just offered that great deal with all the beverages included for a bonus). I hope that you find a Celebrity sailing that works for you and that we both enjoy their product (we will continue to sail with RCCL, but when without the kids, maybe a line like Celebrity will be more to our liking).

[Kellie Poodle]

We sail both lines.

 

There are things about Royal that I like much better than Celebrity. For instance, Royal's buffet is much better than Celebrity's, but the MDR food at dinner on Celebrity is a little better.

 

Service on both lines is fabulous.

 

Less children on the Celebrity cruises I've been on, but I tend to avoid sailing on school holidays. I am a grandmother of 11, but I don't want to sail with them. Children are not my favorite people. ;)

 

I have been on Royal Caribbean cruises in Europe where people are much more formal about dinner dress than the people on Caribbean cruises, but, for the most part, people tend to take dressing for dinner a little more seriously on Celebrity. There is very little of the "it's my vacation and I'll dress as I please" attitude on Celebrity. More of it on Royal Caribbean.

 

With either line, a lot depends upon the itinerary. I've found that I find sailings to places other than the Caribbean much more enjoyable on both lines. I think that's mostly because the cost of airfare outside of the US and the longer than 7 day cruises we take appeal to a demographic we are more comfortable with.

 

I'll sail with either line depending on the itinerary. I don't see all that much difference to prefer one over the other.

[toxicfairy]

One more thing but probably not the last:rolleyes:...If we are Emerald on Royal's Crown and Anchor what would we be on Celebrity? I know we won't build onto but I heard they will (oh what is the word I am looking for) we will be equal in points? Ok so we have only done Caribbean cruises so far, where do the Celebrity ships go in summer?? Do they sail our of Florida in Summer? Don't mean to sound dumb but I have only been on 5 cruises DH on about 10. I have done 4 with Royal and one with HAL. Loved them all HAL was my least favorite but it was just not a great cruie experience. Rough seas and the captian announced that the stabalizers were not working properly :eek: as if he needed to tell any of the green people!! The dinning room was practically empty.

 

I am trying to get as much info here as possable (I love CC) then I will start to research on my own. Looking for maybe a summer 2014 cruise.

YES I was being a bit sarcastic about the kiddos. I am totally aware there are kids every where and at the times I can cruise even more so. They do not ruin my cruises ,but I realize I am getting older becasue the way kids are raised these days as apposed to when I was a kid is insanly different.

[vulcan1971]

I should have pointed out that I don't dislike kids :o. I have 2 (well they are kind of grown now 23 and 20 but I still see them as my babies :)). Since we mainly cruise in the summer we are use to kids being every where just this last cruise there was a crazy amount of them!! And it seemed most were rasied by monkeys ...ooops did I think that out loud. It just seems that manners are really lacking or maybe it is that "I am on vacation who cares what they do as long as they stay away from us" attitude. No one seems to want to get dressed for dinner any more either. We were the only ones at our table that got "dressed" for dinner.

I don't know that it will be any different but it seems that ever since Royal put in the "Dream works" it is even more Family friendly only they aren't really families they are just children running pampet while the parents relax and ignore them until some one says something to junior then the parents majically appear:D.

Ok well maybe it's not that bad but some times you just want to sit by the pool with out getting splashed on purpose

 

Hello...

 

You can see from my signature that I've been on several cruises, but the majority have been with Celebrity. I usually choose my cruises based on what I am looking for in my cruise. Sometimes my choice is based purely on cost, the time of year i can get the time off from work, or there is a specific itinerary with port stops I want to visit. However, I never sacrifice on the ships and amenities that I am looking for or plan to enjoy while cruising. The biggest reasons for why I continue to come back to Celebrity is their strong stance on non-smoking, high level of customer service, excellent food quality / selection, and the beautiful public and private spaces. As you cruise more, your tastes change. Just know what is important for you on your vacation and take the time to do the research.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Do Alaska. It's fantastic.

[wallie5446]

Our first RCCL was in 1990, first Celebrity in 1992, which has changed quite a bit since RCCL bought it. Celebrity is our 1st choice, but we cruise in summer, Caribbean, so Royal it has been. Princess again last Nov, disappointed, we are booked on Reflection this Nov.

 

Yes it will be a tad quieter, and they no longer 'require' a jacket to enter the MDR. We see unruliness from pax no matter which line, we have tried 7 over the years, but find ourselves always looking forward to returning to a Celebrity Ship. IMHO, X is a tad more 'refined' :)

[gek]

I haven't cruised Royal , but yes, people do dress better on Celebrity than on other mass-market lines such as Carnival. Some people dress up every night. It's still pretty relaxed though. There is no overt dress-code enforcement like you might find on Cunard and some people do choose to dress down, just not to the extent you see on other lines.

 

The number of kids will vary from cruise to cruise but generally they are not running riot. Celebrity is family-friendly but they are not focussed on this market.

[vermonter16]

DH and I love kids. ....We went on our first Celebrity cruise last year after having sailed 6 other times on RCL and Carnival.....and I don't know how we'll ever be able to go back. It was just so relaxing. It may not necessarily have been the 'lack of kids' but less announcements, more quiet time, and more staff to passenger ratio. However, when we did see children, they certainly got a lot of extra attention since there were hardly any on board (but we were cruising in February).

[Seago2]

If I may....

 

I think the problem that people have with kids on cruises is that by definition the cruise is much more crowded. Two adults is one thing... But how about one adult and two kids? Two adults and three kids? It's possible to see a 2100 pax ship swell to 2700 during summer.

 

I don't mind kids at all- I have never seen a kid or teen act as poorly as a boorish adult, but who likes a crowded ship??

 

Glad to hear Summit will have kids aboard because I'm one of those people who would normally be two adults in a cabin and is now two adults and one.... Kid. :eek:

[vickykay]

Do give Celebrity a try- I think you will really enjoy it. We usually cruise on Celebrity but did a cruise last March on the Freedom because of the itinerary. Had a great cruise but still prefer Celebrity. The design of the Freedom felt somewhat closed in, especially the Royal Promanade. Except for the pool deck and when on our balcony, often felt we were not even on the ocean. Overall food was very good but still better on Celebrity, especially theboceanview cafe for lunch. We also found the cafe at lunch time on the Freedom to be extremely crowded to the point where waiters were actually asking people to leave their tables. This was partially due to no outside eating area (ie, the back of the ship) and no food being served by the pool. On Celebrity, one can get hamburgers, hot dogs, etc on the pool deck and eat lunch out there. Never have had a problem with children on board. As others have said, probably more kids, ESP teens on RCA because of the activities (flow rider, etc). I also am an educator, working with special needs preschoolers, but want to relax during our vacation so completely understand your thoughts. We always ask for a larger table for the dining room with others in our age group. We also check out table shortly after boarding. For some reason, they had put us at a table with a family with four young children. I love kids, work with kids, have four young grandchildren but want adults only on vacation. The matre'd was easily able to change us to another table.

 

We did the celebrity cruise to Bermuda end of June. There were more children and families with babies, but were never a problem. We also love the limited smoking policy on Celebrity, especially on the balcony and in the casino!

 

Happy cruising.

 

 

 

Enjoy

[cafediem2]

I have sailed with Royal and Celebrity, both in the summertime, both in Europe, both with my two boys, aged 13 & 16 then 15 & 18. Like the other posters have said, yes, fewer children on Celbrity, which my boys preferred, as they thought there were two many young children on Royal! I did find Celebrity more formal, and I love dressing up on a cruise - I saw no baseball caps or soccer shirts at dinner. I like seeing all my men dressed up too! Passengers were generally a little older, which meant the running track was clearer for my boys.

 

Food was better in the MDR on Celebrity too - just like Royal, for those with larger appetites (eg my boys) more than one item can be ordered per course - by half way through the waiters were bringing apple pie and ice cream in addition to whatever my boys ordered. I agree that the buffet waas probably not as good as Royal, and it was always really crowded for breakfast.

[jhans24]

Book cruises longer than seven days and there will be fewer kids on board as well. We went on a five day cruise in March of 12 and we had our one and four year old sons with us. There were 35 kids on board between the ages of 3-17 for our cruise. The next cruise was going to have more than 350 kids in that same age range. We just missed the spring break crush. Just last week my wife mentioned that on that cruise was one of her proudest parenting moments. We always request a table to ourselves. On the final night in the MDR the woman at the table next to us came over and commented on what wonderfully behaved children we have.

 

Our oldest starts kindergarten this year and we will only be cruising during breaks. Fortunately he has a two week long spring and fall break. We were going to do one in october thinking it would have fewer kids. However, our youngest was only going to be two years old. Kids must be three to be left at the fun factory, so we started looking at spring break cruises. There was an 11 night Caribbean that went Monday to Friday during that break. In addition, our youngest will turn three the day before our cruise. It was like they asked us what would work best for us when scheduling our next cruise.

[STXCruisers]

One more thing but probably not the last:rolleyes:...If we are Emerald on Royal's Crown and Anchor what would we be on Celebrity? I know we won't build onto but I heard they will (oh what is the word I am looking for) we will be equal in points? Ok so we have only done Caribbean cruises so far, where do the Celebrity ships go in summer?? Do they sail our of Florida in Summer? Don't mean to sound dumb but I have only been on 5 cruises DH on about 10. I have done 4 with Royal and one with HAL. Loved them all HAL was my least favorite but it was just not a great cruie experience. Rough seas and the captian announced that the stabalizers were not working properly :eek: as if he needed to tell any of the green people!! The dinning room was practically empty.

 

I am trying to get as much info here as possable (I love CC) then I will start to research on my own. Looking for maybe a summer 2014 cruise.

YES I was being a bit sarcastic about the kiddos. I am totally aware there are kids every where and at the times I can cruise even more so. They do not ruin my cruises ,but I realize I am getting older becasue the way kids are raised these days as apposed to when I was a kid is insanly different.

 

Have not seen response to your question regarding loyalty program reciprocity. You cannot build on one program in the other line. Reciprocity kicks in at Diamond level on RCCL and Elite level on =X=. When you attain that level on one line, you are the corresponding level on the other. You do however need to join the loyalty program of the other line. Hope this helps.

 

 

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[olemissreb]

We've done one RCI cruise with our kids and one Celebrity cruise without the kids. Personally, I prefer Celebrity. It's the little things that put them over the top - the complimentary champagne or orange juice upon embarkation, the cold punch/water and wash cloths they hand you when coming back from an excursion (in the Caribbean, I've read it's hot chocolate and hot wash cloths in Alaska).

 

Celebrity was the first cruise where we had towel animals. On our RCI cruise, we asked our cabin steward if he would do towel animals for our kids and he did. One night when the boys caught him turning down the cabin, he even showed them how to make a couple animals and so after we got home, DH and I had towel animals every night for about a week! :) Not sure if we would have had towel animals on RCI if we hadn't asked, but then again maybe we would have - asking just insured it!

 

I also love that you get a butler on Celebrity when you stay in a suite. And unlike RCI (with their junior suites) - all suites on Celebrity are true suites and get the same express lines etc. My inlaws booked a junior suite on our RCI cruise and if we had not asked, they would have been in the regular line rather than the express line. Just too much confusion for too many passengers that book those "junior suites" on RCI.

 

As others have said, there is a more laid back, relaxed atmosphere on Celebrity. There are no constant announcements about bingo, ice shows, art auctions etc.

 

My boys loved the Fun Factory on RCI (they were 10 & 14). They are 13 & 17 now and I'm sure they will make plenty of friends in the Teen Zone (or whatever they call it) on our Celebrity Alaska cruise. They actually enjoyed dressing up for dinner on RCI as long as they knew that after dinner they could change back into their shorts! I'm looking forward to seeing them all dressed up again in Alaska.

 

Book Celebrity. I think you will find just what you are looking for! Enjoy your cruise!

[Tayana Freedom 45]

Have not seen response to your question regarding loyalty program reciprocity. You cannot build on one program in the other line. Reciprocity kicks in at Diamond level on RCCL and Elite level on =X=. When you attain that level on one line, you are the corresponding level on the other. You do however need to join the loyalty program of the other line. Hope this helps.

 

 

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I was platinum on RCCL when I sailed on the Solstice two years ago (it was my second cruise on Celebrity) and I was given select status on Celebrity. Since this was two years ago, I do not know if they have changed the reciprocity levels.

[Tayana Freedom 45]

Have not seen response to your question regarding loyalty program reciprocity. You cannot build on one program in the other line. Reciprocity kicks in at Diamond level on RCCL and Elite level on =X=. When you attain that level on one line, you are the corresponding level on the other. You do however need to join the loyalty program of the other line. Hope this helps.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I was platinum on RCCL when I sailed on the Solstice two years ago (it was my second cruise on Celebrity) and I was given select status on Celebrity. Since this was two years ago, I do not know if they have changed the reciprocity levels.

[gelo7]

Give X a try, you won't regret it.