Celebrity vs RCI...how do you choose

[kandj05]

Thank you all for your feedback. We will definitely have to try Celebrity in the future. This is probably wrong but I don't want to start over on points with Celebrity.

[jellybabe2]

We have just completed first celebrity (eclipse) cruise

Previous RCI independence & radiance

We found the entertainment slightly better on RCI main show

Missed the lovely salads in MDR lunch time & roast beef rolls on RCI

Lunch time. On celebrity a bit of a disappointment lots of fast food

Generally food slightly better on celebrity

Also missed the savoury rolls they do so well on RCI but they are available in qusin

We always have the premium drink package & celebrity win hands down lovely wine selection & didn't find any extra cost ( special coffee, fresh sq orange juice & water all included

RCI horrible wine can't drink it one red one white & one rose also lots of top shelf drinks not included in package

Celebrity also have lovely ice creams in ocean view cafe we don't normally eat ice cream but these we delicious especially maple & peacan, caramel, banana lots of toppings avail

Celebrity cruise director appeared to take a very background seat

RCI cruise directors work very hard lots of announcements & information at shows & TV & appears at most events

Hope this helps

[mtn_couple]

We've cruised both RCI (Voyager of the Seas) and Celebrity (Solstice) this year. We MUCH prefer Solstice because:

 

- the MDR food is better (didn't order anything I didn't enjoy on X, but re-ordered or went to buffet after dinner because I didn't like things on RCI)

- the buffet has a better layout

- our son enjoyed the kids club on X (hated RCI and refused to go)

- the ship feels less crowded, no lines or wait for elevators as much

- the rooms are better - the showers have glass doors, not shower curtains like RCI which I hate!

- There are more 'tasteful' activities on X. Like cooking demos or interesting talks on X, where RCI has 'hairy man contests' or 'belly flop contests'

- The staff are friendlier and generally seem happier in their job

- little extra touches like cold water at the gangway when you reboard after a day ashore or helping our 4 year old get on/off the tender

[harz99]

If you have traveled on both RCI and Celebrity but now prefer Celebrity, would you please help me understand what helped you make that choice?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Jackie

 

I know this isn't a direct responce to your question, however both lines have good points according to personal preference. We use both as well as NCL and do so purely on the basis of itinerary first and price second, all else is subjective.

 

HTH Doug.

 

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[Presto2]

Just a thank you to all who contributed so far....this comparison is really helpful with great detailed comments. Several friends tried to steer me to RC saying it was the better deal. But I'm loving what I'm reading here and glad I spent the extra $$ for Celebrity as my first-ever cruise experience, since I'm childless and not really into tons of kids and family-oriented activities.

 

Hi we are like you, no children so when we first decided which cruise line to go on we spent at least 12 months researching which would be best (including Princess). We chose Celebrity and ended up on the Silhouette - as you can see from our 'signature' we were not disappointed. We'd even phoned RCI to ask about a cruise and the guy we spoke to suggested we cry Celebrity ! The ship is perfect for couples very stylish, with lots of quiet areas to relax - well was when we were last on there in 2013.

 

Having done RCI for a mini cruise I would definitely say that we made the right choice. The mini cruise on IOS was full of children (it was a school holiday though) and the outdoor decks were definitely more for entertainment. I can imagine it would be our version of hell on earth in August.

We sailed from Southampton so the formal night was very formal. The service was no different to be honest and we found the staff really friendly. They were really eager to hear our view of RCI after sailing Celebrity as they themselves thought it was a notch up. As we'd sailed on Celebrity we were moved across to the same level in their loyalty club and got some great offers.

 

The food was about the same - to be honest, one of the best meals we've ever had (anywhere) was in the Italian speciality restaurant on the Independence of the Seas. Even better than the speciality ones on Celebrity. The cabins were of a similar standard - though the one on the IOS had an amazing open balcony at the front of the ship and the Silhouette a sunset veranda so not easy to compare / fair.

 

Would we sail with either again - perhaps, if the right deal came along. Would we sail with RCI mid August (no chance). A mini cruise would tempt us. Would we sail with Celebrity again having read about all of the cost cutting and little things we loved about the cruise disappearing despite prices getting higher and higher, sadly, we're not sure. (but that's for another thread).

[voyager90265]

Thank you all for your feedback. We will definitely have to try Celebrity in the future. This is probably wrong but I don't want to start over on points with Celebrity.

 

I didn't take the time to double back to see if you had mentioned any previous travel on RCI or status. However, if you have a status level on RCI, you will get it on Celebrity.

[pcur]

We are going to have an opportunity to compare this coming April. We have sailed on both, but with a large gap of time between. This time we are going on an 11 night Equinox, followed 2 days later with the Allure Transatlantic. I've been on the Allure before, but hubby hasn't. It will be interesting what we think going from one to the other.

 

Based on our previous cruises, I agree with most of the comments above. HAL and Celebrity are very much alike, by the way. HAL has a classic feel to it, too. We were on a HAL ship for 4 weeks and enjoyed it very much, except that the dining hours ended too early.

[wallie5446]

Thank you all for your feedback. We will definitely have to try Celebrity in the future. This is probably wrong but I don't want to start over on points with Celebrity.

 

You will be missing out.

[birmancruiser]

If you have traveled on both RCI and Celebrity but now prefer Celebrity, would you please help me understand what helped you make that choice?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Jackie

I strongly prefer Celebrity. We have been on most every line on over 45 cruises. I have had several friends who recently went on Royal even the bigger newer ships and were dissappointed in food, services and rooms. Side note, We just tried a HAL in December after 10 years. Even tho it was fresh out of dry dock it was still not up to Celebrity standards. Suite was beautifully furnished balcony had great cushions on recliners tho. Food was luckwarm most of the time. It is supposed to be a step up from Royal but still Celebrity for us!

[vickykay]

We mainly cruise on Celebrity. We did the Freedom of the Seas a few years ago based on itinerary. We had a good time but overall much prefer Celebrity. We did not like RCI that you had to,sign out for the towels at the polls and make reservations for shows - we love cruising because it's so stress free but felt this added to stress. We did not like the cafe at lunch time- very limiited choices compared to Celebrity and difficult to find a place to sit. No outdoor seating. Had a great cruise director. Food better on Celebrity. Some like the Promanade, however we felt it was too closed in, never saw the ocean except when on our balcony. We had an enjoyable cruise but still prefer Celebrity.

[crzndeb]

Thank you all for your feedback. We will definitely have to try Celebrity in the future. This is probably wrong but I don't want to start over on points with Celebrity.

 

You do know that Diamond on RCI means you will be Elite on Celebrity and get those benefits? I just reached Diamond on RCI and booked my first Celebrity cruise. I have really wanted to sail on Celebrity and couldn’t resist the Chile-San Diego cruise in 2020.

[Ashland]

After 25+ cruises with RCI I'm getting ready to cruise on X on Eclipse. I usually stay in a JS because of the tub/shower combo. I'm a bit surprised that the comparable on X would be a sky suite...much more expensive than my usual JS...now I've found out that the shower head in the veranda cabins doesn't even slide up and down...as you can tell I'm a bath person and trying to manage a nonmovable shower head is giving me lot's of concerns :eek:

 

Sorry if this concern seems silly to you.

[villauk]

I strongly prefer Celebrity. We have been on most every line on over 45 cruises. I have had several friends who recently went on Royal even the bigger newer ships and were dissappointed in food, services and rooms. Side note, We just tried a HAL in December after 10 years. Even tho it was fresh out of dry dock it was still not up to Celebrity standards. Suite was beautifully furnished balcony had great cushions on recliners tho. Food was luckwarm most of the time. It is supposed to be a step up from Royal but still Celebrity for us!

 

Four years after their OP, they may have already tried X a few times.

[crzndeb]

Four years after their OP, they may have already tried X a few times.

 

LOL.....dang it. I am usually so good looking at the dates, and this one got me. Strike one!

 

I blame birmancruiser...

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Did a TA on RCL in November, first RCL cruise after 8 cruises on Celebrity , what a disappointment

It was on Rhapsody, the ship was very tried looking

So many things are missing on RCLcompared to Celebrity

They only had one guess lecturer on the the TA and she was talking about reality shows :o

Food was not as good, service in MDR was lacking service

Windjammer was a zoo and the food look scary

 

 

We will be sticking with Celebrity unless RCL has some very cheap cruise

 

 

The key to happiness on a RCL cruise is to lower your expectations ;)

[harz99]

After 25+ cruises with RCI I'm getting ready to cruise on X on Eclipse. I usually stay in a JS because of the tub/shower combo. I'm a bit surprised that the comparable on X would be a sky suite...much more expensive than my usual JS...now I've found out that the shower head in the veranda cabins doesn't even slide up and down...as you can tell I'm a bath person and trying to manage a nonmovable shower head is giving me lot's of concerns :eek:

 

Sorry if this concern seems silly to you.

You may be better of with an aqua class cabin then, as they have a good multi head/jet shower, but unfortunately no tub (and yes I know the thread is old but Ashland's comment isn't).

 

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[Miaminice]

We started with many cruises on Royal and liked it. Then we did a short cruise on Celebrity Constellation. Because of a dropped price we got Aqua Class on that cruise... and never went back. After that we cruised on Silhouette. Never have I felt so at home on a ship as on Silhouette.

 

We were happy with Royal and would not exclude Royal on certain ships but clearly prefer Celebrity. It has less of an amusement park atmosphere, feels more grown up and sophisticated and simple more laid back. And that is what we prefer.

 

Anyone who loves Royal for the hype and buzz on the huge ships might feel different, however.

[4774Papa]

We are elite on Celebrity and do cruise NCL as well, when itinerary and price are right.

 

There has been no mention of price when comparing Royal and Celebrity.

 

We are booked on our first two Royal cruises out of Sydney in April. Prior to booking, I checked NCL, Royal and Celebrity for a NZ cruise as well as TP cruise. Celebrity's NZ cruise for 10 days was almost double Royal's 11 day cruise. The TP was better as well and our cruise was longer, ending in Seattle rather than Hawaii.

 

Celebrity's bundled pricing, including mandatory promos that some of us just don't want is a big factor in pushing up pricing. Now, when we book Celebrity, we look for repos or transatlantic where promos are included in the price. We haven't been on our Royal cruises yet, but we will be diamond and I like the extended happy hour.

[keesar]

I would choose RCL for a port intensive cruise as I would be spending less time on the ship and I believe the price would much significantly cheaper than Celebrity. I, too, have sailed in a Junior Suite on RCL and loved it. The price was very reasonable. Our veranda was HUGE. We had 4 lounge chairs on it.

[mek]

I sail on all lines not just Royal or X.

 

For anything other than the Caribbean and Alaska - my considerations are #1 Itinerary, #2 price, #3 ship.

 

For those two locations its - #1 price, #2 ship, #3 itinerary.

[leaveitallbehind]

25 years+ cruising, all on RCI and recently Celebrity. Very loyal to RCI until a couple of years ago. Now most of our planned cruises are on Celebrity. IMO the food is better on Celebrity as well as the level of personal attention to the customer. Also don't need all the bells and whistles with the "attractions" on RCI anymore and like the general atmosphere and demographics better on Celebrity. Probably a result of our changing cruising style over the years.

 

Also not a fan of the current CEO with RCI. I know, he is e.x-Celebrity but just don't like some of the changes hes made since he's been there. Don't sense the same appreciation to their loyal customers as in the past. But that is another discussion.

[Ashland]

You may be better of with an aqua class cabin then, as they have a good multi head/jet shower, but unfortunately no tub (and yes I know the thread is old but Ashland's comment isn't).

 

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Will the shower head in the AQ cabin bathroom slide up/down ?

 

Perhaps I'm wrong but I've read that the AQ cabins usually aren't in good locations ? Also not interested in

most of the perks that seem to come with AQ...like spa, and Blu or am I missing something else ?

We have booked a veranda cabin # 9290 on Eclipse. Is this a good location ?

 

Sorry for all the questions but X is so new for us....and since I've finally found someone willing to respond

I'm trying to ask as many things as I can.

Yes I also know this is an old thread (but since I'm not the one who resurrected it) I felt it was an opportunity to comment/ask. I have commented/asked on other X threads but it has been ignored. So thank you so very much for taking the time to respond.

Edited January 13, 2018 by Ashland