Is Celebrity for us?

[Schplinky]

Just curious, how can you tell someone is wearing a tux purchased on ebay?

 

I think that was a reference to the great clothing debate of 2005 (and 2004 and 2003...) on these boards where some folks cite the cost of buying fine clothes that are rarely used and others suggest e-bay or used clothing stores.

[hdawson]

I keep waiting for hotspur to come back with a fuller explanation.

[teajak]

I keep waiting for hotspur to come back with a fuller explanation.

I am waiting to find out what an inflated dress code is. Is an eBay tux any different than the one my DH bought at Syms ( a discount clothier) ?

[Janapole]

We have just returned from a 12 day cruise on the Millennium and can offer the following comparisons to RCCL from our experience on Slendour of the Seas and Jewel of the Seas

Cabin Service

RCCL - Ranged from good on Slendour to poor on the Jewel. On Millie both the butler and our cabin attendant were outstanding.

Food

The food in the main restaurants was more or less on par with RCCL perhaps offering a better selection. We had a vegetarian at our table who felt that the selection was poor compared to her previous cruises on RCCL and Princess.

The speciallity retaurants were good on both lines.

The casual dining is far far superior on RCCL. The buffets for breakfast, lunch and dinner have a huge selection and caters for any possible tastes and is available every day for all the meals.

We almost got the feeling on Celebrity that they were on a tight budget when it came to casual dining options. The Riviera poolside grill was good on X but closed at 7pm and the grill in the Aquaspa Cafe closed at 8pm, which on many nights left only the pizza, pasta and sushi stations for casual dining. On a few evenings there was casual dining available by reservation and a suggested gratuity of 2$ per person which was good but with limited choices.

Bars

The poolside bars on X were disappointing as on most evenings only one bar was open and on a few occasions only had one barman which caused quite a long wait for a drink. One evening we waited 20 mins to get a coctail.

On RCCL the poolside bars were always all open and there were also waiters walking around ofering drinks.

Shops

The shops on the Millennium were more extensive than on RCCL.

Kids

Although we found about an equal amount of kids on both lines the children's program was much better on RCCL. (according to my son) Also the majority of the kids on X were Spanish and a lot of the time the minders spoke mainly Spanish.

Movie Theatre

Millennium has a movie theatre which has a few showings a day and a new movie daily.

RCCL has no movie theatre.

Spa

I would say the spa is slightly superior on X and an added bonus on X being the Acupuncture at Sea which is not available on RC.

Cabin

We had a Royal Suite on Millennium which was lovely but something to take into consideration is that the balconies in the Royal Suites have no

covering and no privacy and on a few occasions you get sprayed from the decks higher up being washed. Also when it rains you are more or less confined to your cabin. For this reason I would rather go for a Sky Suite or CC class cabin.

On RCCL we had a Junior Suites which was very nice and had a balcony that afforded you more privacy.

Pooldeck

We found the atmosphere on the pooldeck of the RC line much more festive and with more of a holiday feel. There was always music playing. The X to us was reminicent of the country club and more subdued.

One last thing. If you book shore excursions online with X, make sure that you receive a confirmation within 24 hours of booking and take this proof with you. We booked a shore excursion online that they had no record of and lost out on a trip to Florence as the excursion was fully booked by the time we got on board.

I hope this helps you.

[canderson]

The Riviera poolside grill was good on X but closed at 7pm and the grill in the Aquaspa Cafe closed at 8pm, which on many nights left only the pizza, pasta and sushi stations for casual dining. On a few evenings there was casual dining available by reservation and a suggested gratuity of 2$ per person which was good but with limited choices.

 

 

Just a note -- except for the first night, this latter option (italics mine) was available all through the cruise. You might have missed that, and I didn't want others to be left with the wrong impression. As for the limited choices, we've seen that it's 4 mains instead of 5 as you'd expect in the main dining room, but covers the range fairly well.

[Janapole]

I have just checked our daily dining choices which I brought home with me and on 5 out of the 12 nights it was not available. Overall we just found that on RCCL the casual dining in the Windjammer covered every possible requirement and had a enormous selection of salads, roasts and veg, sushi, soups, stir-fry, pastas, pizzas, cold meat selections, fruit selections desserts and more EVERY night.

[hdawson]

My observations about the poolside food. Of the lines I've been on including 4 on Royal Caribbean and 5 on Celebrity, the burgers served on Celebrity appear to be fresh ground chuck or sirloin, almost cooked to order, and not stored.. On all other lines they have been those frozen patties cooked and put into a pan to await someone to ask for one. For someone that enjoys a burger this is a very big difference. Celebrity's have been very juicy and the others dried out.

[canderson]

I have just checked our daily dining choices which I brought home with me and on 5 out of the 12 nights it was not available.

We'll have to call it an anomoly then. On all of our X cruises, only on the first night (which is pretty much a "come as you are" event in any case in the main dining room) was the informal dining next to the aft buffet area not offered. Can you identify why/when it was not made available? Anything in common to the events of the day? Did they specifically say in the daily that the service would not be offered, or perhaps was it neglected in the list?

[balconyonly]

"Millennium has a movie theatre which has a few showings a day and a new movie daily.

RCCL has no movie theatre."

 

All Radiance class vessels have a movie theatre. It is on Deck six aft, and is two decks high. Very steep angle seating, almost IMAX style. No chance of heads getting in the way. They show several shows a day, in fact it was almost continously.

[newmexicoNita]

I am one of those who sees little difference in any of the mass marketed lines and I have cruised all but Princess. Celebrity is 1/2 step up just because of the little things like wet towels when you return from a day trip in port, champange upon arriving on the vessel, and a few other little things. I found the food to be, again, just ever so slightly better. The entertainment wasn't as good as some lines, the service very good, but the nightlife not there much. If it were me I think I would stick with RCI for what you like. this is not meant to be a putdown to Celebrity, I just think it is a bit over rated. We will be cruising the line again in December.

 

NMNita