Long time "Loyal to Royal" tries Celebrity - A comparison between the two.

[kearney]

Maddy,

My upcoming cruise on Freedom in November will be my first Diamond cruise. Is the 24 hours free internet actually 24 hours online or for a 24 hour period?

 

I love this thread! I'm definitely going to consider Celebrity. It seems like a more "adult" experience. I prefer fewer kids, so never cruise during the summer, spring break or holidays. The smoke free casino is very appealing. The casino is my favorite excursion!

 

Sandy

 

It is for a 24 hour period. So If you start at 11 am on day.. it ends 24 hours later. I like the idea of NOT being connected to land, but I still feel the need to check email and news a couple of times .... I usually use one of the benefits around day 3 of a 7 day cruise and then us dh's benefit on the last day of the cruise. Just enough to know what is going on without completely losing touch.

[sgregel]

It is for a 24 hour period. So If you start at 11 am on day.. it ends 24 hours later. I like the idea of NOT being connected to land, but I still feel the need to check email and news a couple of times .... I usually use one of the benefits around day 3 of a 7 day cruise and then us dh's benefit on the last day of the cruise. Just enough to know what is going on without completely losing touch.

Thanks so much for the info! Unfortunately, I have to keep in touch with work and go through work emails. I'll just wait until Monday afternoon to use the internet and then sign up for daily use on Wednesday.

Sandy

[Baron Barracuda]

IMHO the Ocean View Cafe is superior to the Windjammer. I was also disappointed about the hours the WJ was opened on our last cruise. The OVC offers pizza, sandwiches and desserts practically around the clock and also closes really late at night, unlike the WJ. No-one has mentioned Cafe Al Baccio, you will find sweets and great coffee there all day long and they also close late at night.

Hope this helps.

 

Agree, agree, agree.

 

We really enjoy quality of food in oceanview cafe, while for the past few years WJ has gone straight downhill. The exceptions are Quantum / Anthem where WJ seems to follow the X model.

 

Thanks to the "free" bev package dw spends many hours happily sipping specialty coffees and teas at Cafe Al Baccio. On Royal she'd get her cappuccinos in the dl, but this is so much nicer.

[dani negreanu]

Thanks for a very interesting review :)

 

Tried both lines, enjoyed the food more on X.

 

The lack of interesting itineraries (for me) and few ships keeps me away from booking new cruises with X.

[MomtoCCC]

Thanks for the comparison!

 

We are booked on our first Celebrity cruise (Millennium in Alaska) for next summer. Very excited to try it out!

 

As a bonus, we will reach Diamond after our upcoming Oasis cruise so I'll be able to enjoy the Elite benefits :)

[jules815]

With 99% of your review. We are D+ with RCI and have decided that X is more our cruising style(now days). We will cruise both, depending on itinerary and yes, price. We have found that many times if booked at the right time X has been the same price as RCI and sometimes less. Example, Christmas cruise this year on X for 14 days was much cheaper than a back to back cruise on RCI. This was at the time of the booking, as we all know prices can change.

 

This is why we tried X back in March. Their deal was better than RC, with all the perks we would have paid for anyway included. Really enjoyed our week on Connie. Loved Luminae and Michael's Club. The change was refreshing. Have 2 more booked for 2017 on Reflection.

 

Will continue to sail on both lines. :)

[Snit13]

It is for a 24 hour period. So If you start at 11 am on day.. it ends 24 hours later. I like the idea of NOT being connected to land, but I still feel the need to check email and news a couple of times .... I usually use one of the benefits around day 3 of a 7 day cruise and then us dh's benefit on the last day of the cruise. Just enough to know what is going on without completely losing touch.

 

As Elite/Elite+ I seem to recall we each receive 90 minutes internet and I doubt we use 20 minutes of it. Just check email every day or so. 24 hour period is no deal for most people.

[Cruzin Carol]

Great review. We are also Diamond Plus but now find ourselves sailing more with Celebrity. We recently sailed from Hawaii on the Solstice, and it was one of the best cruises we have ever done. We like the itineraries and food better plus the perks.

[gagirl7143]

As Elite/Elite+ I seem to recall we each receive 90 minutes internet and I doubt we use 20 minutes of it. Just check email every day or so. 24 hour period is no deal for most people.

 

 

Elite plus receive 200 minutes each.

[griffy116]

IMHO the Ocean View Cafe is superior to the Windjammer. I was also disappointed about the hours the WJ was opened on our last cruise. The OVC offers pizza, sandwiches and desserts practically around the clock and also closes really late at night, unlike the WJ. No-one has mentioned Cafe Al Baccio, you will find sweets and great coffee there all day long and they also close late at night.

Hope this helps.

 

What's the upcharge for Cafe Al Baccio? I didn't see the charge mentioned anywhere. Do you pay a la carte?

[cyntil8ing]

What's the upcharge for Cafe Al Baccio? I didn't see the charge mentioned anywhere. Do you pay a la carte?

 

 

The food items are complimentary. The beverages are covered by the classic package.

[drarill]

What's the upcharge for Cafe Al Baccio? I didn't see the charge mentioned anywhere. Do you pay a la carte?

 

I don't know if this link with the prices is going to work here...

http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/celebrity-drink-lists/

 

We usually have some kind of drink package and the coffees we order are included. :):)

[leaveitallbehind]

I thought Loyal to Royal was for those die-hard fans that don't cruise other lines. Rid yourself of this stigma and enjoy all there is to cruising. Congrats on trying something different!!

 

I started my first RCCL cruise on the Song of America in the 80's. It was my favorite line for many years. Then I "jumped ship" and tried others. I love most of them including Celebrity. I am only loyal to cruising itself. :)

 

Great review and comparison Mike. Thanks for the share.

 

Glad we tried a new line as well. A benefit perhaps to being loyal as long as we were is with the loyalty program tier we've reached, which with its reciprocity with Celebrity provides nice benefits as well. Next up will be MSC at some point as I've heard good things about them as well.

 

IMHO the Ocean View Cafe is superior to the Windjammer. I was also disappointed about the hours the WJ was opened on our last cruise. The OVC offers pizza, sandwiches and desserts practically around the clock and also closes really late at night, unlike the WJ. No-one has mentioned Cafe Al Baccio, you will find sweets and great coffee there all day long and they also close late at night.

Hope this helps.

 

We felt the same way about the OVC - and the pizza selections are way out in front of Sorrento's! Thanks for mentioning Cafe Al Baccio!

Edited August 2, 2016 by leaveitallbehind

[leaveitallbehind]

Thanks for the comparison!

 

We are booked on our first Celebrity cruise (Millennium in Alaska) for next summer. Very excited to try it out!

 

As a bonus, we will reach Diamond after our upcoming Oasis cruise so I'll be able to enjoy the Elite benefits :)

 

Congrats on reaching Diamond - that's a great cruising milestone! Enjoy Elite on Celebrity as well.

[Pipo]

I absolutely agree with the OP. Very accurate descriptions.

[Milly hip]

I was very interested to read your review. My friend and I have previously cruised with RC - Liberty of the Seas and also on Norwegian Breakaway and tried Celebrity Summit to Bermuda in June 2016.

We were expecting that to be an upgrade but in fact it was quite the opposite.

First the cabin, concierge class balcony - just ok but not as nice as previous experiences and on one occasion the sheets actually had holes in them, hardly modern luxury.

Our luggage arrived soaking wet ( raining that day. ) We had no change of clothes until 4pm on day 2. The contents of our luggage was 100% brand new - all purchased the day before we sailed in NYC. Celebrity laundered it and eventually gave us $50 each as compensation. Pitiful, and this took 5 days of our vacation to argue about with them.

 

We did not enjoy the entertainment . In our opinion it was amateurish compared to both RC and Norwegian. We did appreciate the smoke free atmosphere.

 

Food was ok in the MDR but not special and certainly not better than RC or Norwegian. The MDR felt very crowded. Speciality dining was excellent and the service in the extra fee restaurants was impeccable.

 

We didn't hate this cruise but the awful response to our luggage problem really tarnished our view of Celebrity and we didn't feel there was any value added over the other lower priced lines.

[4774Papa]

I've been on the Summit six times, four times to Bermuda. I love that ship and itinerary! So, I come at this from the opposite side - I got to Elite on Celebrity before joining C&A at Diamond. I mostly agree with your comparison. We have only been on two RCCL ships, Enchantment and Adventure, so haven't had the full RCCL experience.

 

One thing about the Captain's Club loyalty program I want to mention is a free within category upgrade when booking. It's not as generous as the balcony discount, but it applies to all types of cabins.

 

Also of interest is tiered earning where you earn 50% more daily points for balcony over insides and outsides and depending on suite class, 4x to 9x as many points. One could get to Elite status in just two cruises, a 10-day and a 7-day, in a Penthouse Suite.

 

But unless one cruises in suites, it takes longer to go from Elite to Elite Plus on X as it does from Diamond to Diamond Plus. So I think which program is better depends on how you cruise -- length of itinerary and type of cabin.

 

Because the Celebrity beverage package is now usually included, the Elite cocktail hour, in my opinion, has become more a social thing than a true perk. We usually make more friends at the Martini Bar. :)

 

We dislike Celebrity's new pricing, which bundles in promos like the beverage package that we don't want. It has forced up prices on the cruises that we were researching to the point that we are looking for alternatives. That is why we picked the two Royal cruises from Sydney in 2018. We did book a TA on Eclipse from Southampton for October 2017, because it didn't include the high bundled prices.

[iluvcruzin]

We dislike Celebrity's new pricing, which bundles in promos like the beverage package that we don't want. It has forced up prices on the cruises that we were researching to the point that we are looking for alternatives. That is why we picked the two Royal cruises from Sydney in 2018. We did book a TA on Eclipse from Southampton for October 2017, because it didn't include the high bundled prices.

 

You don't have to book with the bundle. The pricing is lower without it. I haven't found a sailing that it was mandatory to purchase.

[A&L_Ont]

Mike, thanks for the well organized comparison. I look forward to your eventual review of MSC.

 

Hope you and the family are doing well. Say hi to them for us.

[4774Papa]

You don't have to book with the bundle. The pricing is lower without it. I haven't found a sailing that it was mandatory to purchase.

 

Yes, there are many cruises by Celebrity where the only choice is the bundle, unless you book an inside cabin. We are not going to do that.

[TexCruise371]

Great review Mike and I have to say that i agree with you. We have sailed on the Summit and Eclipse and had wonderful cruises on both.

 

We would sail on X more but, most of our cruising friends are loyal to Royal so, that's where we spend most of our cruises.

 

We do have 2 next cruise certs on X that we need to book. :D

[JaniceB]

Thank you for your thoughtful comparison.

[SWFL Cruisers]

Thank you for your review. I urge you to try one of Celebrity's Solstice class ships too. You will be very impressed I'm sure. We love Celebrity and have three more booked between now and March.

[leaveitallbehind]

Mike, thanks for the well organized comparison. I look forward to your eventual review of MSC.

 

Hope you and the family are doing well. Say hi to them for us.

 

Thanks Andrew. MSC may be a ways off but I will do the same comparison when we do cruise with them.

 

All's well here and hope the same is with you and your family. Say hi as well to them.

[leaveitallbehind]

Thank you for your review. I urge you to try one of Celebrity's Solstice class ships too. You will be very impressed I'm sure. We love Celebrity and have three more booked between now and March.

 

We have Silhouette booked for January of 2018. Looking forward to that cruise already!