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

[griffy116]

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

 

Perfect! This is just what I wanted to know. We have the classic drink package. I hear great things about it. As Elite, can you also tell me how the priority tenders work? Do you get a ticket or have to go to a special place to meet to get off the ship?

[BND]

We just got off Summit on Sunday. While we liked the 7 day itinerary to Bermuda, we prefer RCI. Celebrity's classic drink package was nice to have, especially for water and wine with dinner. The Elite and above get together was so-so. We met more people in the solarium than we did in the event. We felt the ship wasn't as clean or in as good repair as it should have been considering it was just in drydock earlier this year. There were chairs in the rendezvous lounge that were showing a lot of wear and some carpeting wasn't totally clean. I also noticed a lot more rust than we've seen on other ships. And, before someone says anything, I know ships have rust and I've stated that to others, but there was a lot more and in areas you don't expect to see it such as in the solarium. The food was just so-so. For what we paid for our concierge cabin and "free" things-grats, classic drink package and obc, we could have had a larger JS on RCI. Internet was fast and we enjoyed Tuscan Grille for our anniversary. It wasn't bad, perse, but it just didn't do it for us.

 

But, just like so many ships now, we were out bright and early, butts in seats just in order to get our shady spot. We spent all our time on deck in the solarium and were usually down there by 7:30 am on sea days. They need to add more loungers to the Solarium and the tables and chairs are too spread out so there is room for more.

Edited August 4, 2016 by BND

[cyntil8ing]

Perfect! This is just what I wanted to know. We have the classic drink package. I hear great things about it. As Elite, can you also tell me how the priority tenders work? Do you get a ticket or have to go to a special place to meet to get off the ship?

 

 

The last time we tendered, we met the Captains Club rep in a lounge and she escorted us to the tender. We did not use tickets. It was a very easy process. She called our room the night before and left a message telling us where to meet her.

[griffy116]

The last time we tendered, we met the Captains Club rep in a lounge and she escorted us to the tender. We did not use tickets. It was a very easy process. She called our room the night before and left a message telling us where to meet her.

 

Were you in a suite or just a "regular old elite" to receive the call and told where to meet?

[cyntil8ing]

Were you in a suite or just a "regular old elite" to receive the call and told where to meet?

 

A regular cabin.

[lynncarol]

My husband and I are Diamond Status but have sailed almost as many times on Celebrity as RCI. On several occasions we have taken our grandchildren with us. Maybe it was because it was only a 4 night cruise on Royal, but on this particular ship, the Enchantment, our grandkids were disappointed with its diamond breakfast area. Much inferior to what they experienced on Celebrity with no fresh-squeezed orange juice and a pitiful array of breakfast goodies.

[AmyIllinois]

On 7/31/2016 at 1:30 PM, leaveitallbehind said:

We are long time RCI loyalists who recently completed our first Celebrity cruise on Summit for a 7-night Bermuda itinerary. I thought I'd offer our impressions of Celebrity as a comparison between the two lines.

 

Summit is akin to the Radiance class ships with RCI, both in overall size and passenger capacity, as well as age of ships. The ship, while a little tired in parts of the exterior, was very well maintained and appointed inside, and had recently completed a refurbishment that had it feeling very fresh. Our stateroom was an aft facing Concierge Class balcony stateroom with a very large balcony appointed with a large table, four chairs, and two loungers. This is a standard class stateroom that while on Summit was a bit larger, would be most similar to a D1 Superior Balcony stateroom on RCI. The following link highlights the amenities package offered with Concierge Class bookings:

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/ships/celebrity-summit#Staterooms/ships/celebrity-summit/staterooms/stateroom-subtype-sm-cc

 

Our comparisons are in the following ares which are important to our cruising experience:

 

1. Degree of Luxury: To us, this is a measure of the little things that make the cruiser feel a bit special in an atmosphere where things are a little nicer and you are recognized as being important to the cruise line. Celebrity includes things like individual "welcome aboard" greetings with a glass of champagne or mimosa, less frequent shipboard announcements, quiet spaces away from loud music, and large recliners and lounging couches as examples of what was a positive difference in our on board experience.

 

Degree of Luxury: Celebrity

 

2. Service and Customer Focus: Our stateroom attendant and assistant were very visible and attentive, always asking if there was anything more we needed from them. They were frequently in the hallway and every time we approached our room, they stopped what they were doing, escorted us to our room, and opened the door for us. Twice we ordered room service that arrived within the designated time frame. We received a call several minutes ahead of the deliveries to tell us it was on its way, and a second call about 30 minutes later to verify that everything was as expected. Once we had a question of Guest Services that was met with a smile and a complete explanation. Later in the day they called to be sure everything was alright and to verify that our question was answered to our satisfaction. The Senior Staff was also very visible and engaging, and were one of the best we've been with on all of our cruises.

 

Service and Customer Focus: Celebrity

 

3. Food: We typically elect MTD and did the same with Celebrity's version of this. The MDR food is similar to RCI, but perhaps with a more varied menu, and we only ate there twice. However, they were very accommodating with seating time requests and preferences. We also ate at Tuscan Grill and Q'sine, both specialty restaurants. Tuscan Grill was very good and featured fresh made pasta daily. Q'sine is a very unique restaurant focusing on multiple small servings, each presented in a very unique and interesting manner. This restaurant was very good and we chose to eat there twice. The Oceanview Cafe - Celebrity's version of the Windjammer - was far better than RCI both in variety and quality. They offered a number of dinner selections and we ate there twice, both times being very good. The Spa Cafe offered a variety of fresh selections including grilled salmon fillets, and the Pool Grille prepared thick, freshly made hamburgers and hot dogs on fresh buns out of the bag. This also was the same with their preparation in the Oceanview Cafe. On one day there was also a pool side cookout featuring steak, pork, and chicken, which was very good as well.

 

Food: Celebrity

 

4. Entertainment: Both lines are on a par for the normal shipboard staff entertainment and headliners, but as RCI has Broadway shows and more extensive and unique entertainment venues, they come out ahead here.

 

Entertainment: RCI

 

5. Loyalty Program: The benefits reciprocity between the two lines is a plus, and as a D+ member with RCI, we are eligible for Elite benefits with Celebrity. The cocktail hour that is 3-1/2 hours long every night with RCI is only 2 hours long and on 5 nights with Celebrity, but is otherwise comparable. Most of the Senior Officers were present and mingling with the guests during the upper tier repeat cruisers reception, and we met one on one in conversations with the Captain, Hotel Director, and Housekeeping Manager. We were also introduced to the other staff members present. But overall, RCI comes out ahead with a stronger program that includes balcony discounts and drink coupons, as example, which are not offered by Celebrity.

 

Loyalty Program: RCI

 

6. Overall Value: To be fair we have always felt RCI was a good overall value and in the limited context of a single cruise with Celebrity, I will offer this only as a direct comparison to the same itinerary with RCI, which we have done previously on Grandeur. The pricing overall was similar and the experience on Grandeur very good. But given the differences with our experience on Summit as identified with this cruise, the overall value with Celebrity was better.

 

Overall Value: Celebrity

 

One frustrating point with Celebrity lies with their on board wine program in that they still charge a restaurant venue corkage fee of $25. To us, that rubs against allowing wine to be brought on board as dinner certainly is one of the prime times to enjoy your wine.

 

Someone on board who has cruised both lines said that the difference between RCI and Celebrity is that RCI puts their money into ships and Celebrity puts their money into service and food. I think that is an accurate statement.

 

We will remain loyal to Royal, but not singularly. We have several cruises planned with RCI, which we will not change, and one that we booked on board with Celebrity. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience with Celebrity and moving forward, we will look a itinerary, ship, and price to decide between the two, but will definitely book again with Celebrity.

 

Sorry for the long post, but I hope it is helpful. I will be happy to answer any questions or provide more detail if anyone is interested.

 

Mike

WOW!! This is wonderful!! You did a fantastic job describing the difference!! Thank you So Much!!!  We're gunna have to give celebrity a try 😀👍

[Paulxyz2004]

26 minutes ago, AmyIllinois said:

WOW!! This is wonderful!! You did a fantastic job describing the difference!! Thank you So Much!!!  We're gunna have to give celebrity a try 😀👍

 

You realize this is from 2016!

 

Not to say it isn´t valid anymore, but I was a bit puzzled About Summit being refurbished recently, when it´s due to be refurbished either this or next month, until I realized the OP is from 2016.

[LXA350]

4 hours ago, Paulxyz2004 said:

 

You realize this is from 2016!

 

Not to say it isn´t valid anymore, but I was a bit puzzled About Summit being refurbished recently, when it´s due to be refurbished either this or next month, until I realized the OP is from 2016.

 

You can add that Celebrty invests into the Food and Service and it's ships and especially as well cabins. RCI is great in marketing their refurbishments which only cover public areas but cabins are not being redone on ships that are around 20 years old and they would need new bathrooms etc