Royal Caribbean to Celebrity?

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Have always sailed on Royal Caribbean and may have to sail on celebrity for the first time. Has anyone sailed Royal and then Celebrity and can compare the two? And does anyone know how the loyalty programs work since they are owned by the same company?

[George C]

I tried Celeberity a few years ago but prefer RCCL, I am diamond on RCCL so I did get Elite benifets on Celeberity. One good thing on Celeberity was almost smoke free, very few smoking areas. ( Celeberity also upgraded us to a suite )

[Clarea]

Have always sailed on Royal Caribbean and may have to sail on celebrity for the first time. Has anyone sailed Royal and then Celebrity and can compare the two? And does anyone know how the loyalty programs work since they are owned by the same company?

The loyalty programs don't combine points, but they do recognize each other's levels to a point.

 

If you are Platinum on Royal, you will be Select on Celebrity.

 

If you are Diamond on Royal, you will be Elite on Celebrity.

 

You must call Celebrity's Captain's Club and request reciprocity before the cruise.

[Shippy]

....but it really depends what you are looking. We are going on the oasis this summer, there is no other ship on any other cruise line like that.

Like a prior poster....we were able to get elite status on celebrity because we were diamond on Royal. The perks on celebrity are better.

Another thing I love, aside from the recepricle tier status is the casino clubs.

The perks and future cruise credit is interchangeable between celebrity's blue chip club and Royal Caribbean's Club Royale.

 

I would happily sail on either cruise line .

[debshomespun]

....but it really depends what you are looking. We are going on the oasis this summer, there is no other ship on any other cruise line like that.

Like a prior poster....we were able to get elite status on celebrity because we were diamond on Royal. The perks on celebrity are better.

Another thing I love, aside from the recepricle tier status is the casino clubs.

The perks and future cruise credit is interchangeable between celebrity's blue chip club and Royal Caribbean's Club Royale.

 

I would happily sail on either cruise line .

 

I agree with this. I feel Celebrity is a more upscale cruise than RC. The food, IMO, is better on Celebrity. (Again, my opinion). Usually, there are not as many children on Celebrity. What is it you are looking for in a cruise?

[KeywestK]

We cruised on Celebrity (Eclipse) last year for the first time after years of sailing on RCI. Our RCI diamond status was recognized as elite on X, which was wonderful. I think the elite perks are better than the diamond perks. I wasn't bowled over by the food, but that's subjective. Loved the pool area, and never had an issue finding loungers, and there was tons of shade. It's a quieter, more subtle atmosphere, and I enjoyed it a lot. It was a very port-intensive itinerary, and the at sea days were very calm and relaxing. I'd sail X again in the future.

[GracieCat0_1]

I agree that Celebrity is more upscale. Dressier, classier. Food is fancier and maybe better. The activities aren't as "frat party" as RCI. Clientele feels different. Less partier even though mixed ages. Martini bar is awesome! I prefer Celebrity over RCI, but we always have a great time and good food on RCI too. We go where the port, cost, and schedule permits.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

I'm trying RCL and Celebrity this year, and looking forward to both in their uniqueness.

[Patti72357]

IMO it is a very different experience. Celebrity does feel more upscale. We sailed in an Aqua Suite which included dining in Blu. It was a wonderful experience - like dining in a specialty restaurant every night. There weren't as many activities but that could have been since we were in Alaska vs. the Caribbean. They do have some elite perks that are different than the diamond perks, but I don't really agree that they are better. For example, I really enjoy meeting people in the diamond lounge and stopping in during the day for an espresso. The elite event was held in one of the ship's lounges, not a dedicated area with a coffee machine. I would sail on Celebrity again, but I don't prefer it to RC.

[riclop]

RCCl is alot more fun.

[Big_G]

We've only done S Class ships but they were great cruises. As others have a said, it's slightly (and it's only slightly) more upscale but it's also a little more laid back and relaxing. They have a better drink package value and have a great beer selection (compared to any other line) in Michael's Club on Reflection. You'll immediately notice the difference when you receive your glass of champagne on embarkation and there will be a noticeable lack of PA announcements. We booked Reflection again for March but had to cancel because of a family illness. We may be able to book again last minute depending on the family members status in March. We still enjoy Royal just as much but they are different cruise experiences.

Edited January 19, 2014 by Big_G

[Localit]

Short answer in my opinion is Celebrity for food and RCI for party atmosphere. Average age on celebrity was quite a bit older and the mood is toned down music wise.

 

Foodies will enjoy aqua class..

[cruisetrail]

Have always sailed on Royal Caribbean and may have to sail on celebrity for the first time. Has anyone sailed Royal and then Celebrity and can compare the two? And does anyone know how the loyalty programs work since they are owned by the same company?

 

We don't sail on cruise lines, we sail on the ships.

What ships have you sailed on and what ship are you going to compare?

 

Most RCI ships are better designed.

Allure/Oasis outclasses any Celebrity ship in every aspect.

Freedom class (3 ships) is below in food quality/options but otherwise way above in design and spaciousness.

Needless to say that entertainment program is more impressive on the Freedom class.

I would choose any of these five ships over any of Celebrity ships any time.

Celebrity new ships (Eclipse, Equinox, Solstice) are above the old and small RCI ships of course. But this is never a dilemma for me as we always have a choice of much better ships from other cruise lines.

 

Loyalty program is a trap that prevents you from getting a cruising life. Get rid of it. Try different products.

Enjoy your cruises!

Edited January 19, 2014 by cruisetrail

[hansolosmom]

I think it really depends when you go & what ship on the experience you'll have.

 

We did Reflection in the Med this summer. The ship was packed & there were tons of kids onboard. I expected some, heck I had my 2 teens, but not that many with the way everyone talks about Celebrity.

 

Food is very subjective, but we didn't think it was that much better than we've had on any other cruise line. We sat with 2 other couples at dinner. One night one of them made a comment about the food. We were like - wow we thought we were the only ones who didn't think it was great.

Here's a little one but having 2 teens may have been a bigger deal to us. The grill by the pool only had hamburgers & hot dogs. You also have to go to the buffet to get pizza. On the other hand, depending on which ship you're on, they have a crepe place ($5 change). Those were great.

 

The activities are a little more subdued, like no belly flop contest. But, they have lots going on, my dh & I did a couple dance classes, we did trivia. It was funny because you'd hear people say 'there's nothing to do' but there is.

 

Someone talked about announcements. I loved our Capt announcement at noon, he'd always give us some interesting fact about where we were and what we could see from the ship.

[knittinggirl]

We sailed on Century, because we liked the itinerary and Royal didn't offer it. Liked the service, but the ship looked old. We sailed in a Sky Suite that was smaller than our Junior Suites on the Voyager Class. No junior suites at all. On Century, all the verandahs were the same size, and different classes of rooms offered different perks/amenaties. Also, inside staterooms were the same size (1 square foot difference) as the veranda staterooms! It rattled a lot when the seas were rough. Our suite was right under the pool deck. They also had some pieces of wood jammed between the ceiling and the wall. Not sure when their last dry dock was. The food was o.k., but we liked the bread better on Royal Caribbean. But that may change, because on Independence last month, the variety of bread offered had shrunk, but they still had the sourdough we liked (called it something different).

 

Perks are better! We sailed as Elite, and being the only Elite + CruiseCritic member in the butler's group of rooms put us at the top of his list. We got superb service from the head butler. He personally delivered our cappuccinos each morning. Partly because we were top on his list, and about halfway through the cruise he told us he loved seeing our smiles the first thing in the morning.

 

Nice extras! Cocoa or cold water/punch stations when we returned from shore excursions. Rolled towels on each recliner on the pool deck.

 

For people that usually split a meal on land, and get out for under $25 for two, Muranos was excellent, but very expensive. While our service was good, like other specialty restaurants, I noticed that they seemed to give better service to returning customers.

 

We sat in on one of the upcoming cruises lecture and Celebrity seems to have many more itineraries, and many cruise itineraries are for just one sailing.

 

Ours was a port heavy cruise, so we weren't in our rooms much.

 

Since the change of their loyalty club (captain's club) you earn points (2-18 per day) depending on your type of stateroom. Which I consider pretty cool!

[knittinggirl]

We don't sail on cruise lines, we sail on the ships.

What ships have you sailed on and what ship are you going to compare?

 

Most RCI ships are better designed.

Allure/Oasis outclasses any Celebrity ship in every aspect.

Freedom class (3 ships) is below in food quality/options but otherwise way above in design and spaciousness.

Needless to say that entertainment program is more impressive on the Freedom class.

I would choose any of these five ships over any of Celebrity ships any time.

Celebrity new ships (Eclipse, Equinox, Solstice) are above the old and small RCI ships of course. But this is never a dilemma for me as we always have a choice of much better ships from other cruise lines.

 

Loyalty program is a trap that prevents you from getting a cruising life. Get rid of it. Try different products.

Enjoy your cruises!

I like the loyalty program, especially the perk that lets us avoid the long line at embarkation. All that said, Royal doesn't have all the best itineraries, so we've had to change cruise lines from time to time. We wanted a round trip west coast to Hawaii, and neither Royal nor Celebrity offer it for 2015. We had booked a repositioning from Honolulu to Vancouver, and Royal canceled our cruise and redeployed the ship.

 

With all these annoying cutbacks, we may be sailing outside of RCI more.

Edited January 19, 2014 by knittinggirl

[lexingtonave]

After sailing on Royal for three years, last year we booked the Celebrity Equinox. Here are my impressions. Celebrity is more upscale. Champagne or a Mimosa at embarkation. Bathrobes, toiletries, and an umbrella in all cabins. The pool area was lovely. Wonderful lounges, lots of shade or sun, even hammocks. In terms of food, I think the MDR was pretty much the same on either ship. But, the Windjammer food was better on Celebrity. Right now you are probably thinking I liked Celebrity better. But no. The cabin stewards and wait staff on Royal were much more friendly. My requests on Royal were always remembered (extra towel in bathroom, decaf coffee after dinner), but on Celebrity I asked for these everyday of the cruise. There was more interaction with the crew on Royal, but more with ship officers on Celebrity. The shows on both lines were about the same, but after the show on Celebrity there was little to do. We like music and could always find a band or something going on while cruising Royal. Reading this you might think we are young. Nope, we are both in our sixties but still like a good time. This year we had the option of Celebrity Summit or RCCL Jewel. We opted for the Jewel. Will I cruise Celebrity again. Yes, we had a good time. But, if the ports we want to visit are offered on both lines we'll probably go Royal. As other posters have said, Royal is a fun ship. This is just my opinion. Have a great cruise whatever you decide.

[Cruising89143]

We feel that Celebrity is RCI for adults. The S class ships are beautiful and a great design. Food is a step up across the board IMHO. Entertainment on the S class ships equates to that of the Freedom class. Nothing can beat the Oasis class for entertainment. I find service to be equal.

 

Less kids and only one announcement on X which is the Captain's daily noon update. No belly flop contests. Much more laid back. The length of the cruise will determine the age factor just like any other cruise line. On our Reflection cruise last March the ship was going late into the night. X is now targeting a younger demographic (not your Grandmothers HAL ship).

 

I suggest giving them a try. We really like both lines but for different reasons. X is now our first choice.

[Luvstocruise2]

While I am 58 I think I act like I am 18 sometimes (just for fun though)-WHAT?? no bellyflop contests on Celebrity?? LOL. One of the attractions of RCI to us is the ship's complement is not all geriateic "Valet Walker Service". Sometimes it is fun to watch the crazy stuff just for the entertainment value. (Though I will pass on crowds in a constant drunken stupor all the time).

Though it sounds like there are nice attributes to Celebrity that may be interesting - good food, and a less frantic atmosphere. I survived a Disney cruise a few years ago, so I can handle being around plenty of kids.

 

My curiosity about Celebrity vs Royal is:

Given similar cruises and times of year, etc. how much more expensive is Celebrity, is it like twice the price or just 20 or 30% more?

[Cruising89143]

While I am 58 I think I act like I am 18 sometimes (just for fun though)-WHAT?? no bellyflop contests on Celebrity?? LOL. One of the attractions of RCI to us is the ship's complement is not all geriateic "Valet Walker Service". Sometimes it is fun to watch the crazy stuff just for the entertainment value. (Though I will pass on crowds in a constant drunken stupor all the time).

Though it sounds like there are nice attributes to Celebrity that may be interesting - good food, and a less frantic atmosphere. I survived a Disney cruise a few years ago, so I can handle being around plenty of kids.

 

My curiosity about Celebrity vs Royal is:

Given similar cruises and times of year, etc. how much more expensive is Celebrity, is it like twice the price or just 20 or 30% more?

 

It depends on the cruise and time of year. Sometimes Celebrity can be actually be less expensive. You just have to compare and check the websites for price drops. So far for us Celebrity has been more expensive. We usually book suites and are paying almost twice as much as a comparable suite on RCI.

[Luvstocruise2]

Thanks Cruisingator2

We used a travel agent to book this and while had price comparisons between our upcoming AOS cruise, we just got pricing from Princess that was higher. NOS and Jewel were also more expensive, but I think it was a "ship almost full" issue that drove up prices on the same dates, so we picked AOS.

[Cruising89143]

Thanks Cruisingator2

We used a travel agent to book this and while had price comparisons between our upcoming AOS cruise, we just got pricing from Princess that was higher. NOS and Jewel were also more expensive, but I think it was a "ship almost full" issue that drove up prices on the same dates, so we picked AOS.

 

Enjoy the Adventure. We had a great cruise out of San Juan on this ship back in 2009.