Help me choose-CelebritySummit or RCCL Jewel??

[Boatingmom]

Sailing Easter break with a 16 yo, 2 15 year olds and a 12 yo. Similar ports except the Summit goes to Barbados and St Martin. RCCL Jewel goes to Martinique and Granada. All other ports the same. Can anybody wh has sailed these older smaller ships offer advice. Suggestions/recommendations welcome

[paulscruisin]

We just sailed the Summit to Bermuda and really enjoyed the trip. While she is an older ship the common areas were taken care of and our cabin (which was Aqua) was great. We ate in Blu almost every night and it was fantastic. Given the opportunity, we would sail her again.

 

 

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[Ex-Airbalancer]

Sailing Easter break with a 16 yo, 2 15 year olds and a 12 yo. Similar ports except the Summit goes to Barbados and St Martin. RCCL Jewel goes to Martinique and Granada. All other ports the same. Can anybody wh has sailed these older smaller ships offer advice. Suggestions/recommendations welcome

Since you are having kids along I would pick RCCL

[KEG21552]

Have not sailed on Jewel, but did Serenade 2 years ago and Summit last year. I agree with previous poster, if I was with teens I would RCCL, if only the 2 of us, would pick the Summit. Both are very port intensive so not that much time on board really, but preferred the Summit for the 2 of us because it was very laid back, quiet and not a lot of kids. if I was taking mine, would probably go with Jewel.

Karen

[bplazo]

I agree with the other posters. If I had teens then I would choose rccl. I loved our last cruise on Celebrity hardly any children.

[AlanAllyn]

I have been on the Jewel for three cruises and the Summit for one with another booked.

 

I disagree with everyone else. The Summit will have plenty of kids during spring break, not as overrun with them as the Jewel. Celebrity has an excellent program for children.

[Leesie6351]

I have been on the Jewel and Summit. In your case, I would not consider the ships and itineraries for yourselves as much as the teens. In general, RCCL has a younger demographic and somewhat more relaxed atmosphere so my vote is for the Jewel.

 

ENJOY

[ISABELLA]

Sailed on both, like them both. In our experience we had more Spanish speaking pax on RCCL than on X. Food was flying in the dining room, like in high school cafeteria and it was very loud everywhere.

[jennifers490]

was on the jewel in april, food in dining room was really horrible-not just average, it was horrible and i swear i am not overly picky-maybe it was worse on a shorter cruise...i agree rccl is fun and has a fun disco and great crew but i am sure they'd have a great time on celebrity too especially with a port intensive itinerary-just my opinion

 

going on summit in september hoping for a great trip :)

[ISABELLA]

Bad food was one of the reason we have not been back on Jewel, since we sailed repo cruise from Boston a few years ago. Food at the buffet was better than in MDR.

[aikensbest]

I would most definitely go on the Summit. I have not been on either ship, but find Celebrity to be more passenger friendly than it's competitor. Also Martinique is the most boring and unfriendly port I have visited in 17 cruises. Go on the Summit

[phoenix_dream]

I have a little different opinion than some. I think you want to pick a ship where the kids will have enough to do so as not to drive you crazy, but IMHO until the kids are paying for the vacation, the adults pick what they prefer and the kids learn to appreciate the fact that they are getting to go on a fantastic vacation that I'm guessing many of their friends would kill to go on. Don't mean to sound harsh, so I hope it did not come across that way:). I have three kids of my own, love kids, but as long as the choice is not totally kid-unfriendly, I vote for whatever the adults prefer.

 

In this case, my choice would be the Summit, although I have been on the Jewel and she was a nice ship. The Summit is not Celebrity's premier ship, but then neither is the Jewel for RCI. Both are about the same size, with similar amenities although it is true that RCI has a few more things for the kids to do. Both provide an overall nice cruise experience. I do agree with the above opinion of Martinique. Rarely on a visit to an island (and I have cruised the Caribbean more than 25 times) have I felt so unwelcome as I have in visiting Martinique. I recall a beautiful beach or two, but it is definitely NOT a favorite of mine.

 

All that said, I don't recall if you talked about price. If there was a considerable savings of one over the other, I would pick that one as there are not all that many differences between the two I think. Otherwise, I would vote for Summit hands down.

[Gracie115]

I've been on both and for Easter Week I would pick the Summit. They have a great kids program and BOTH ships will have MANY kids on them, I know this as I just cruised Connie during Easter Break this year. Summit will have better food, service and the kids will have plenty of entertainment, Summit is just a better ship in my opinion....

[tserface]

Since you're asking in the Celebrity forum you may get a lot of Celebrity fans answering. I don't think you can go wrong on either.

 

If it were me I'd much rather go to Barbados and St. Martin than Martinque and Granada. I like Granada OK, but if you're not into spices there's not much to do there (not as good of a place for beaches), but Martinque was kind of boring in my opinion. Barbados has some really terrific beaches and St. Martin is one of my favorite places ever (it looks like a Corona beer commercial spot).

 

The ships are pretty similar, but RCCL will have more crazy fun stuff like belly flop contests and Quest and pool slides, mini golf, rock climbing, etc. The rock climbing wall is pretty easy, but fun, and we find mini golf to be a great whole family thing to do on a sea day. Since your kids are teenagers you may enjoy the more "up beat" feel of RCCL as well. My wife and I are in our 50's and we still miss some of this stuff when we go on Celebrity. A lot of Celebrity cruisers think some of these things are"silly", but I think it's fun. The Celebrity crowd will be slightly older, but during Easter break there will be some kids on board.

 

We love Celebrity, but when we cruise with our kids (20 and 30 somethings) we go on RCCL because they love the "gazza" and we love experiencing it with them. When we go alone we go on Celebrity and play cards and trivia and more docile activities.

 

I'd pick the Jewel if it were me, but you can't lose either way.

 

Tom

 

Sailing Easter break with a 16 yo, 2 15 year olds and a 12 yo. Similar ports except the Summit goes to Barbados and St Martin. RCCL Jewel goes to Martinique and Granada. All other ports the same. Can anybody wh has sailed these older smaller ships offer advice. Suggestions/recommendations welcome

[Gracie115]

Since you're asking in the Celebrity forum you may get a lot of Celebrity fans answering. I don't think you can go wrong on either.

 

If it were me I'd much rather go to Barbados and St. Martin than Martinque and Granada. I like Granada OK, but if you're not into spices there's not much to do there (not as good of a place for beaches), but Martinque was kind of boring in my opinion. Barbados has some really terrific beaches and St. Martin is one of my favorite places ever (it looks like a Corona beer commercial spot).

 

The ships are pretty similar, but RCCL will have more crazy fun stuff like belly flop contests and Quest and pool slides, mini golf, rock climbing, etc. The rock climbing wall is pretty easy, but fun, and we find mini golf to be a great whole family thing to do on a sea day. Since your kids are teenagers you may enjoy the more "up beat" feel of RCCL as well. My wife and I are in our 50's and we still miss some of this stuff when we go on Celebrity. A lot of Celebrity cruisers think some of these things are"silly", but I think it's fun. The Celebrity crowd will be slightly older, but during Easter break there will be some kids on board.

 

We love Celebrity, but when we cruise with our kids (20 and 30 somethings) we go on RCCL because they love the "gazza" and we love experiencing it with them. When we go alone we go on Celebrity and play cards and trivia and more docile activities.

 

I'd pick the Jewel if it were me, but you can't lose either way.

 

Tom

 

Even though I said Summit earlier I think you gave a great comparison of the two ships/cruiselines and I basically agree with what you said...except that there will be "some" kids on board Summit during Easter Week, there will be many, based on our experience this year. BUT after reading your post I would have to agree that given the ages of the children the Jewel might be the better choice, Royal does have more "crazy fun" things to do and is more youth oriented. I guess you have to determine what you want out of the cruise.....and choose accordingly. :)

[Boatingmom]

I really cannot decide therefore the decision will be my sister in laws because her family is also going.:o

 

At this time I have prime connecting concierge mid ship cabins eyed for the Summit and a beautiful aft Junior eyed for the Jewel. I think either way somebody will think the grass is greener on the other side. Her family has only cruised Carnival and thinks RCCL is the bomb. Let her decide. From the boards Ihave learned RCCL has more kid friendly activities, way more kids, and more Hispanics if leaving from PR. Summit has better food, is much quieter, and has better service. That seems to be the consensus on both the RCCL and Celebrity boards.

 

Thanks again for your help!:D