Royal Caribbean vs. Celebrity

[donnawoz]

What are your views on the two cruise lines, Same itinerary, Italy and the Greek Isles? Which would you choose and did you do either cruise?

[Merion_Mom]

It's not about the cruise lines, it's about the ships. Which two ships?

[11madmic]

I would like to know what people think as well, in my case Jewel of the seas vs reflection for a Greece cruise.

[davekathy]

The OP started the same thread on the Celebrity forum and specified Reflection vs Jewel.

[peteukmcr]

What are your views on the two cruise lines, Same itinerary, Italy and the Greek Isles? Which would you choose and did you do either cruise?

 

We've sailed Italy and the Greek Isles on RCI when Splendour of the Seas plied that route from Venice.

 

We sailed on Constellation from Italy (Civitavecchia via Greece (Athens) and the islands to Istanbul. Reflection was a round trip from Civitavecchia.

 

From what I can see now, RCI use Jewel or Rhapsody (sister to Splendour) on either a departure from Civitavecchia or Venice.

 

Celebrity appear to use Constellation (our first X ship) and Reflection (sailed on in 2017 in the Med).

 

Constellation is slightly larger than Jewel which in turn is larger than Rhapsody. Reflection is the youngest of the ships.

 

It all depends what you need from a port intensive sailing that these tend to be.

 

We feel the service, ambiance and food is better on Celebrity than RCI. There may be no rock climbing walls on Celebrity, but then again the RCI ships on these routes don't have the amenities of the larger ships like Flow Riders, Zip Lines, Ice Skating etc.

 

Probably comes down to the size of ship you prefer, the price and what offers are being at the time of booking.

 

I wouldn't averse to sailing either line on these routes but if the price was the same would choose Celebrity.

 

Here's a video from our Reflection sailing

 

 

It's not about the cruise lines, it's about the ships. Which two ships?

Don't agree about the ships, we'd take Celebrity over RCI if the price was right.

[peteukmcr]

I would like to know what people think as well, in my case Jewel of the seas vs reflection for a Greece cruise.

 

The OP started the same thread on the Celebrity forum and specified Reflection vs Jewel.

 

I was composing my reply when you you both confirmed the ships being compared.

 

If it was solely on the ships, I'd choose Reflection over Jewel, no contest IMHO.

 

More speciality restaurant choices (Murano, Qsine, Tuscan Grille, Lawn Club Grill, The Porch), fantastic coffee shop in Cafe Al Bacio (which is far superior to any coffee shop on any RCI ship), wonderfully laid out Buffet in the Oceanview Cafe, Lawn Club, outdoor restaurants with the Lawn Club Grill and Porch. The sunset bar is the place to meet in the evening.

 

I need to qualify that we've sailed Brilliance (sister to Jewel several times too)

Edited January 10, 2018 by peteukmcr

[papaflamingo]

For me, it'd be price. Greek Isles are very port intensive, so you really don't do much on board at night. We did it on Rhapsody, and it was, for us, the perfect size ship. I think Jewel hold less passengers, so that might be a plus especially at ports that you tender. So, I'd do best deal for best cabin. Also, since we're D+ the happy hour is definitely a game changer for me. I was not as fond of Celebrity's version. Enjoy Royal Caribbean's happy hour much more. And honestly, it was our "wind down" event after long days in port.

[bouhunter]

I was composing my reply when you you both confirmed the ships being compared.

 

If it was solely on the ships, I'd choose Reflection over Jewel, no contest IMHO.

 

More speciality restaurant choices (Murano, Qsine, Tuscan Grille, Lawn Club Grill, The Porch), fantastic coffee shop in Cafe Al Bacio (which is far superior to any coffee shop on any RCI ship), wonderfully laid out Buffet in the Oceanview Cafe, Lawn Club, outdoor restaurants with the Lawn Club Grill and Porch. The sunset bar is the place to meet in the evening.

 

We've been on Jewel several times and Reflection once (also Silhouette). The above comments are spot on.

[donnawoz]

What are your views on the two cruise lines, Same itinerary, Italy and the Greek Isles? Which would you choose and did you do either cruise? The ships are Reflection and Jewel of the sea.

[peteukmcr]

For me, it'd be price. Greek Isles are very port intensive, so you really don't do much on board at night. We did it on Rhapsody, and it was, for us, the perfect size ship. I think Jewel hold less passengers, so that might be a plus especially at ports that you tender. So, I'd do best deal for best cabin. Also, since we're D+ the happy hour is definitely a game changer for me. I was not as fond of Celebrity's version. Enjoy Royal Caribbean's happy hour much more. And honestly, it was our "wind down" event after long days in port.

Actually Jewel holds slightly more passengers than Rhapsody, although only less than 100 more though.

 

Although I agree as D+ the evening cocktail hour is far superior on RCI over X (their times are too restrictive for us), the fact that all Mediterranean sailings we've had on X included the beverage package meant the Elite cocktail hour wasn't relevant.

[Hoopster95]

I feel that Med cruises are all about the ports and not the ship...

 

From I can see this summer the itineraries are not quite the same... Jewel has 9 day and Reflection 10 day. Reflection stops in both Malta and Rhodes on same sailing, whereas Jewel only one or the other. Hands down Malta is a must see port, one of the very best sail ins/sail aways you will ever experience. Rhodes is also an excellent day (look up Lindos for example and the various awesome beaches).

 

I would choose Reflection for the above reason.

[griffy116]

We did two Med cruises and we were glad we had been on the ships prior to the Med cruises. We barely saw the ship itself. The Med is very port intensive. They pick you up EARLY and you hit the ground running. We had the late dinner and by the time the meal was finished, we were ready to head to bed for the night. We had two sea days in between ports and we spent them laying in a lounge...in the shade. First time we have ever went for the shade but our trips were both in June and we were VERY hot in the sun on our tours. Enjoy your trip. For a Med cruise, the ports are the most important aspect instead of the ship.