RCCL vs. Celebrity

[Aconcha21]

I have been on RCCL over 10 times and I am looking for something new. Has anyone been on both and what are the pro's and con's of each. I would be with my wife and two young boys 9 and 11. Thanks!

[Diva Onboard]

We are curious about the differences too. Anyone out there that can comment, please let us know.

[hdawson]

On the subject of DR food, thre is little comparison. Celebrity wins hands down.

All breads, salad dressings and ice creams are made onboard. There are no PA announcements on Celebrity, hawking bingo, pool games, etc. When boarding you are escorted to your cabin while sipping champaign or OJ. There is no bottle of water for sale in the cabin. There is a complementary carrafe of water. These are just a few differences. I'm sure others will add to the list.

[chessbriar]

As you probably know RCCL owns X. The best way to compare would be to say, RCCL is Ford and X is Lincoln. X it their upscale version. Higher levels of service and quality.

[debkaysmith]

We have cruised both lines with our children, now 17 and 19. As youngsters, they far preferred RCCL with its fabulous adventures. They loved ice skating, rock climbing, hanging out with kids their own age, going to the movies without mom and dad, the seemingly unlimited soda card, etc. Our kids wandered around for the entire week with friends made on-board while cruising with RCCL. On Celebrity, there is a far more refined crowd aboard. We found far fewer young people aboard Celebrity, and our kids were a bit disappointed. That said...the food is far superior on Celebrity, as is the service, the attention to detail, the Martini Bar, etc. There were a lot more pool-side activities on RCCL than Celebrity as well. If you want your children to have fun, so you can have fun, go RCCL. If you're looking for fabulous food, and a relaxing atmosphere, go Celebrity. Either way...happy sailing!!!

[TechKnowBabble]

On the subject of DR food, thre is little comparison. Celebrity wins hands down.

All breads, salad dressings and ice creams are made onboard. There are no PA announcements on Celebrity, hawking bingo, pool games, etc. When boarding you are escorted to your cabin while sipping champaign or OJ. There is no bottle of water for sale in the cabin. There is a complementary carrafe of water. These are just a few differences. I'm sure others will add to the list.

 

Is the carrafe of water just for certain cabins? We have a standard verandah cabin (2B) will we have the carafe of water? Is it refilled daily? I would love to be able to drink a little less soda :)

[newmexicoNita]

My opinion only:there is no way you can call X the Lincoln and RCI a ford, maybe a ford and merc or a Merc and Lincoln. Celebrity is a bit more upscales, much more subdued and the food is better, but all lines have very similar food anymore. Celebrity probably does a better job on presentation. We did have been service on Celebrity and the little niceties like champange upon arrival are added features, but they do not put the line that much ahead of other lines. The best way to compare any cruise line with another is ship for ship and not line per line. Again this is just my observation. We do like Celebrity but there is more to do on RCI and NCL ships. NMnita

[Leela]

Is the carrafe of water just for certain cabins? We have a standard verandah cabin (2B) will we have the carafe of water? Is it refilled daily? I would love to be able to drink a little less soda :)

 

As far as I know it is in all cabins, and is refilled daily. And if you drink it all up, you can simply call room service and ask for more ice and another carafe of water.

[TechKnowBabble]

As far as I know it is in all cabins, and is refilled daily. And if you drink it all up, you can simply call room service and ask for more ice and another carafe of water.

 

Excellent...thanks for the info

[goouchjac]

On the subject of DR food, thre is little comparison. Celebrity wins hands down.

All breads, salad dressings and ice creams are made onboard. There are no PA announcements on Celebrity, hawking bingo, pool games, etc. When boarding you are escorted to your cabin while sipping champaign or OJ. There is no bottle of water for sale in the cabin. There is a complementary carrafe of water. These are just a few differences. I'm sure others will add to the list.

Our last two times on X there were bottles of water for sale and the price was ridiculous,,don't get me wrong we love X but are trying RC in Jan. Have read over and over the X's food is better, honestly we were disappointed on the Millie last Dec., food not up to par..:( Have done 14 X cruises and never had problems with the food till last year,,,maybe the kitchen was not doing what they are supposed to do...:rolleyes:

[ajpack]

Always thought Celebrity had better food, but my last cruise on Millennium in October the food wasn't nearly as good as my Royal Caribbean cruise in August. It really needs improvement. As far as everything else, I don't pay much attention.... I'm happy as long as I'm cruising.

[hdawson]

My last cruise on Celebrity was Feb 05. At that time no bottle of water in cabin for sale. Only the carrafe. Refilled twice daily. Five cruises on Celebrity and four on Royal Caribbean and not once did RC's DR food begin to compare with Celebrity. RC's is "good" but no better. Especially on the Horizon which was best of the fleet. Actually, I find Carnival's DR food to be a bit better than Royal Caribbean's. LOve that West Indies Pumpkin Soup on Carnival. Hopefully the Royal Ranch Steak will never return to RC.

[smoothdancer]

Eariler this year we sailed both RCCL and Celebrity. l did not think that Celebritys food was all that much better than RCCL, but I liked them both. Actually I thought the RCL did a better job with thier buffets, yet the tossed pasta on X was great. I visited this food bar way to many times.

 

I did however see big differences in the atmosphere. X is more refined, yet not stuffy. I liked the " no announcements", and just the overall treatment from the staff. I did not have that nickel and dime feeling.

 

Putting food aside, If I had a choce all else being equal I would opt for Celebrity but would sail RCCL again.

[Texed]

My last cruise on Celebrity was Feb 05. At that time no bottle of water in cabin for sale. Only the carrafe. Refilled twice daily. Five cruises on Celebrity and four on Royal Caribbean and not once did RC's DR food begin to compare with Celebrity.

 

 

I agree!

[CGTNORMANDIE]

We love RCI for the "Energy Level"...much more going on than X. We love X for the traditional service and cuisine. The Radiance Class ships on RCI are gorgeous...but don't go for the food...it is fine...but not as good as X. I agree with other posts...compare ship to ship not line to line...and...sometimes the food on X is not up to X standards. RCI would be the perfect choice if the food and dining room operation were up to X standards. Each line has a lot to offer. We just returned from 2 Princess cruises and I can say they were very good but we still prefer RCI and Celebrity.

 

So in answer to your question...each line has something nice to offer. RCI is more rock and roll high energy and X is more refined and traditional. Both are excellent choices. We prefer Radiance class RCI and Millennium class X.

 

Ross

[CaptData]

One other thing, phone CC and get your RCCL cruises crossed over to Celebrity. You will be at Equivalent level.

[BS102]

Been on both 6 times. I asked the same questions of cruise employees. Celebrity spends some training time teaching employees to be a bit upscale. They always call you 'Sir' or 'Madam'. There is that glass of champagne as you come on board. My niece who is handicapped, appreciates them carrying your tray to the table when eating upstairs. They have more/better prizes for trivia/ring toss,ping pong, shuffleboard. etc.

Actually, choosing isn't all that difficult. It's like sex: the worse you ever had was outstanding.

 

BS

[caviargal]

On the subject of DR food, thre is little comparison. Celebrity wins hands down.

All breads, salad dressings and ice creams are made onboard. There are no PA announcements on Celebrity, hawking bingo, pool games, etc. When boarding you are escorted to your cabin while sipping champaign or OJ. There is no bottle of water for sale in the cabin. There is a complementary carrafe of water. These are just a few differences. I'm sure others will add to the list.

 

 

Also, X excels in service in the main dining room and in cabin size over all, except for the top level suites on RCI.

 

I find the buffet options on RCI to be more varied and to my liking.

 

IMO, RCI has a more varied nightlife with lots of quality options. X is pretty quiet after dinner.

 

Also, the fitness programs and facilities on RCI are excellent, less so on X.

 

I find the staff on RCI to be more outgoing and friendly, on X they are gracious and somewhat low key.

[caviargal]

One other thing, phone CC and get your RCCL cruises crossed over to Celebrity. You will be at Equivalent level.

 

You will receive reciprocal benefits. However, Celebrity cannot compare to RCI in this area. The benefits for Elite are meaningless, IME.

[hdawson]

In the buffet, trays are carried for everyone, regardless of needs. When reboarding from HOT ports, there is a steward at the gangway handing out chilled towels. This may sound hokey but they sure are refreshing. The burgers prepared pool-side appear to be fresh ground chuck, almost cooked to order, rather than frozen patties grilled and put in a pan to await an order. Service throughout the ships is very refined and professional.

Celebrity guests do take the expected dress standards more seriously. On formal nights 40-45% of the men will be in tux. The interactive TV in the cabin allows for checking the sail and sign acct balance, order room service and even gamble if you would like.

[bilgeboyPa]

IMHO, I prefer X to RCCL. I have done X 5 times and RCCL once and that was on the Explorer of the Seas. Nice ship but the food and service wasn't good. Maybe if you started with RCCL you wouldn't know the difference, but I had 3 cruises on Century prior to EOS and the EOS experience is one I wish to truly forget. They say there can't possibly be a bad cruise..I say guess again. If there was a possible way I could have gotten home quicker without spending a fortune, I would have done it. I had never met such a rude and un-sophisticated crew ever. If they weren't telling you to get it yourself or it's over there, a lot were just down right rude and the Officers really didn't seem to care when you brought it to their attention.

For my taste, I think RCCL is maybe a step up from Carnival....Definitly not right below X by a long shot....But this IMHO of course..:rolleyes:

 

Jeff

[caviargal]

In the buffet, trays are carried for everyone, regardless of needs. When reboarding from HOT ports, there is a steward at the gangway handing out chilled towels. This may sound hokey but they sure are refreshing. The burgers prepared pool-side appear to be fresh ground chuck, almost cooked to order, rather than frozen patties grilled and put in a pan to await an order. Service throughout the ships is very refined and professional.

Celebrity guests do take the expected dress standards more seriously. On formal nights 40-45% of the men will be in tux. The interactive TV in the cabin allows for checking the sail and sign acct balance, order room service and even gamble if you would like.

 

 

hdawson: This was the case on my first three X cruises but not on Mercury last month. My tray was never carried, nor the tray of my travelling companions, 2 of whom were in their 70s.

 

Formal night was respected but the dress code was virtually ignored the remaining nights and I saw - on quite a few people - jeans and flip flops at dinner. I was quite surprised and also disappointed!

[Tide Pride]

I was on the Millie in April of 2005 and I did not see one tray being carried in the buffet except for a few extremely elderly or handicapped people. This was a seven day cruise out of Ft Lauderdale.

Overall my best cruise but I keep hearing over and over again about the service in the buffet and we just did not see it.

[mecb50]

We just returned from our first royal cruise on Jewell of the Seas. We have only sailed Celebrity so we couldn't help but compare....

There are small touches that we really missed on Royal. Real teaspoons at the buffet. A waiter to take your tray and find you a seat. The missing carafe of water ( although it is still tap water on Celebrity, it was nice to have it filled and waiting). We had NO bottle of water for sale on Royal, but we did have it on the Summit. We have never touched it, but it was on Celebrity not Royal.

 

I didn't find the announcements much different. In fact, we had trouble hearing the captain's noon talk on the Royal. The crew was just as friendly as celebrity, but on formal night they dressed the same as always. On Celebrity, they would be "tuxed" and white gloved! Also the dinner itself was much more formal on those nights ( sorbet between courses, etc)

 

There were more children on Royal but maybe we lucked out, since they were the best behaved bunch. We had early seating and sat right near a family with four small children and they were excellent.

 

There was a much more relaxed atmosphere on Royal. After dinner, many went and changed to casual attire for the rest of the night. Some didn't, but they didn't seem to mind if the rest of the ship did. There weren't as many tuxes on formal night and they sprung an extra one on us the night we were supposed to celebrate halloween. That was a dinner with MANY different dress codes. We had casual, formal and costumes!. But as I said it was relaxed and everyone had a wonderful time.

 

I know I still love Celebrity, but I will definately sail Royal again. I might even dare to branch out to even more lines;) I don't know any children that have sailed Celebrity, but the ones I saw in the children's program seemed to be having a ball. Royal seems to cater more to the kids, esp. teens.

 

I'm sure you would love A Celebrity cruise. and if you are going to multiple ports, it probably won't matter about no rock climbing wall,or ice skating rinks. Have a good time. Mary

[shonuf]

Our only RCCL cruise was on the Rhapsody and our only "X" was on the Galaxy. We had a verandah cabin on the ROTS and a Sky Suite on Galaxy. The best steak I have EVER had on a cruise ship was on ROTS and the best desert also ROTS. The worst food we've ever had on a ship was on the Galaxy.

 

Same price, same itinerary....RCCL over "X" any time for us.