Loyal to RCI - Looking at X

[lv2bcruzin]

I did a Celebrity cruise many years ago and have been thinking about giving it a run again. From what I remember Celebrity is a classier line in comparison to RCI. At the time I thought the closest class of ships RCI has to X is the Radiance class. Still, I remember the attention to detail in regards to the ship, staff, food, etc on X were top notch and at a higher level of quality than RCI. Is all of that still considered to be true?

 

I am trying to decide on a 5 year anniversary vacation between a 14+ night European cruise on X plus one week in Italy or just do all three weeks in Italy (Almalfi Coast, Rome, Venice).

Edited December 28, 2015 by lv2bcruzin

[az_tchr]

Definately a matter of opinion. X markets more upscale and attracts a slightly older customer in general. If you are diamond on RCL the lounge there is a definate plus. On the other side the buffet at Celebrity is miles above RCL. All in all the same company with a couple of different toppings. Cruise for the itinerary.

[SPacificbound]

We haven't cruised with Celebrity since early 2015 and only on Infinity so I won't do a comparison of Celebrity to RCL.

 

Having said that, I did book two Celebrity cruises for 2017 yesterday.

 

Since you are Diamond on RCL, Celebrity will reciprocate so you will be booked as Elite on Celebrity.

Edited December 28, 2015 by SPacificbound

[diesel1973]

We are doing the opposite. We started cruising with RCCL then switched to X. There are no more cruises on X that interest us so we are trying a RCCL Carr. cruise in Feb, for a change of pace. Will be interesting to see the difference.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Missus Makkem]

And we have changed from being loyal RCI cruisers to Celebrity and have really enjoyed the cruises with them this year , hope for more in 2016.

[ondeckatsea]

I would give it a shot. We were loyal to Royal for years, about 16 cruises, but a few years ago they started messing around with the Diamond benefits so we decided to give Celebrity a try. Now we are Celebrity fans but would go back to Royal if the itinerary was tempting. We kind of like the passenger mix on Celebrity, not as many unsupervised kids running around. Also, not as many announcements and the service and food is better. That's just our opinion but if you see a nice cruise on Celebrity you should maybe give it a try.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Once we reached Diamond Plus level on Royal caribbean we realized that we would probably never reach Pinnacle given our age and the long, long slog to that coveted level, so we thought we'd look at sailing Celebrity. We have enjoyed Celebrity so much, expecially their elegant Solstice Class ships,

we are now closing in on Elite Plus level in their Captain's Club.

 

We still cruise on Royal when the itinerary, timing and price is right, but we like the food better on Celebrity, love the lawn and aft area of Solstice ships and feel the shows are comparable to Royal. Still, it is hard to compete with Oasis class ships for fun and an energetic vibe.

 

In your case, I'd say put intinerary first. If the itineraries are nearly equal, definitely try out Celebrity. Do be aware that the age range on Celebrity tends to be much older than on Royal Caribbean.

[lv2bcruzin]

Thanks for the input by everyone.

 

I do remember my only cruise on Celebrity having an older clientele as well as a different vibe than Royal. But, I enjoyed it just as much (from what I remember :p ). It looks like Celebrity is playing the same pricing games as Royal, which makes sense since they are part of the same company. I guess I was just hoping to see something that really motivates me to try Celebrity.

 

I do see a few different itineraries, but nothing that really stands out. Based on what I've seen it looks like 90% or more of the ports are the same, with basically the same itinerary.

 

For me it seems the biggest reason to give Celebrity a try again would be the supposed step up in class and service.

[TxKroozer]

We were and still are loyal to Royal, yet have enjoyed a few recent and other cruises booked on Celebrity. The same reason others give was our deciding factor. Diamond Plus and no way to Pinnacle. So there were some great itinerary options on Celebrity and the perks they offer were far greater. Our all in cruise per person when you factor in the perks beats Royal handily in some cases.

 

We have enjoyed the service, the food, the ships, and the clientele is not really that different from Royal.