RC vs Celebrity

[flarad]

We’ve done both several times. For a relaxing adult vacation we would choose Celebrity every time. It’s more relaxed, seems a bit “classier.” Definitely better food and service on Celebrity. Also RCL is very mass market appeal. If you’re traveling with a large family group with kids there’s more to do on RCL for that demographic. DH and I think RCI feels like a trip to a large mall, not much emphasis on the ocean and water, while Celebrity is really moving to keeping that ocean connection,.

[DaKahuna]

The only difference that I have not seen anyone mention here is with regard to the rooms.  On Celebrity there is no room equivalent in size to the Junior Suite without going to a Sky Suite.   
 

We still sail on both.  When we are on Celebrity we daily in Sky Suites.  On Royal Caribbean we sail in Junior Suites except when on Oasis or or Quantum class where the benefits of being in a Suite are worth the extra cost.
 

 

[ShawninFL]

We are Diamond + on RC and Elite + on Celebrity.  We enjoy both lines, but in our early 40s we we began gravitating towards Celebrity as it's more laid back and a step or so above RC.  Although food preference is very subjective, we think Celebrity is much better as is the service.  Entertainment is better on RC, but for the most part, I find Celebrity's entertainment just fine.  We now tend to select our cruises based on itinerary, but we always give Celebrity the first look to see if they offer what we're looking for.  From what you describe you are looking for, I think Celebrity may be a good match.

[keesar]

17 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

The only difference that I have not seen anyone mention here is with regard to the rooms.  On Celebrity there is no room equivalent in size to the Junior Suite without going to a Sky Suite.   
 

We still sail on both.  When we are on Celebrity we daily in Sky Suites.  On Royal Caribbean we sail in Junior Suites except when on Oasis or or Quantum class where the benefits of being in a Suite are worth the extra cost.
 

 

 

Love the Junior Suites in the Aft on RC.  It was perfect for us at a reasonable price.  

 

We enjoy the higher energy level on RC.  Lower energy level on Celebrity but that is relaxing.  Both provide different but enjoyable experiences.

[rakes5]

We've generally have been doing the Celebrity ships recently for the reasons mentioned. Looked forward each night to fun at the Martini Bar on the S Class ships.

 

However, pre-COVID, we did like to book any new Oasis class, for the entertainment. We enjoyed the Broadway shows, Diving, Ice Skating, and Comedy entertainment. We also enjoyed the adult (16+) area, in the front of the ship, during the day; having a drink in Central Park at night, listening to acoustic musicians; and people watching on the Prominade Deck or the Rising Tide Bar.

[miched]

On 5/3/2021 at 1:05 PM, JABTPS said:

I should have clarified for Celebrity gratuities on drinks are not included.  See bottom of drink package comparison:

 
I don’t know what the on the rest of the page but I think it pertains to purchasing the drink package.   If you purchase a drink pack the price stated doesn’t include the 20% gratuity.   If you upgrade from classic to premium it is $10/day plus 20% gratuity being $12/day.

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[markeb]

One question for the OP. What's your Crown and Anchor status level?

 

We're a little younger than you, but went through this question a few years ago (our cruising has slowed recently). With no kids, and no big kids included family vacations, we find Celebrity a better fit for us.

 

If you're Diamond or above, recognize you only match to Elite; you start at 0 nights if Elite+ is important.

 

Celebrity doesn't have a Diamond lounge or Diamond Concierge; you only get that level of service by paying for a suite. But a Sky Suite (more or less equivalent to a Junior Suite) includes Suite benefits, unlike Royal.

 

We've only done two Celebrity cruises so far, but find the experience better, and the passengers more like us (I don't want to say mature, or older, or any other potentially derogatory term. The median passenger is just different from the median on Royal Caribbean in a hard to really explain way. And we were median on Royal for a long time!).

 

Now, when cruising restarts, who the blank knows what things will look like!

[PhillyTravelBug]

This thread was very helpful.  We had our first Celebrity cruise booked on the Apex last June. What a heartbreaker. I’m dead set on Norway dor next year and Royal has a pretty good deal on a 9 day, but I may settle for the 7 day just to go on the Apex.

[hmorrow]

We are Elite on Celebrity, hence Diamond on Royal.

Prior to X's all inclusive, drink times were better on RCCL. Nice party, AND drinks on your sea pass card...

Really like the jr suites on Royal- affordable and spacious

Have never cruised on Royal, on a BIG ship- only the smaller ones, and usually, hardly any rug rats-lol

Never been on a cruise, or a line, I didn't like!!! (well, hardly ever-lol)

[woneill63]

Very interesting topic.  We are diamond on Royal and should make diamond plus late next year.  We finally got a chance to cruise Celebrity during the summer of 2019, did a 10 nighter on the Constellation, started in Venice and ended in Rome.  Even though it was incredibly hot everywhere we went, it was a fantastic cruise and the time flew by.  The ship is a lot smaller than most of the Royal fleet but we really didn't miss all the bells and whistles, the better service and food more than made up for it.

We are 57 years old with a 14 year old son who loves the large Royal ships so we will continue to sail with them until he goes off to college, then probably transition over to Celebrity for most of our cruises. 

[Germancruiser]

Since I started cruising on real big ships in 1996 with the then brand new Grandeur of the Seas- which, by the way counted in those days as one of the biggest ships in the world- i loved the RCI experience.

So kept sailing with them- Enchantment, Splendor, Vision, Radiance, Brilliance and Voyager. Then I stopped because of the ships grew to big- to noisy- to many kids- and I freely admit that I am not a big fan of kids- esp. not during my vacation and I absolutly do not need Disney Land at sea.

So I switched to X- and loved it from the minute I set foot on board the Millenium- my very first X- ship ( 2001) Summit, Infinity, Constellation , Silhouette, Solstice, Eclipse , all of them twice or even three or four times. So I am sure you will love X. I also am quite sure  - in my case it is also an " age - thing"- since I switch nowadays from Cunard to X and visa verse. If I cruise I go for the quite, relaxing time- with stunning views out to the sea.

[chemmo]

We are D+ on RC and E+ on Celebrity. 

 

When our son was young we enjoyed RC for its lively atmosphere, range of family friendly suites and activities.

 

Like others we swapped to Celebrity as our focus became more about Rest and Relaxation.

 

One of the biggest differences we found was the quality of food.  We had always booked a speciality package on RC as we felt the MDR was OK but not marvellous. We found the Celebrity MDR a much nicer place to dine, the buffet much less frenetic and when the suite restaurant (Luminae) was introduced it offered much nicer food and ambiance than the equivalent on RC. As with RC, the speciality restaurants are different on different ships so if speciality dining is important to you check what is available on the ship you choose.

 

 

[gfkcruiser]

We have been mostly on many Celebrity after a few on Carnival, and now 3, on Royal.  

August, 2019 we opted for Royals cruise to the Baltic mostly because the cost was considerably less.   Had a great cruise.  Staff was wonderful.  No issue with rowdy children or adults. Downside was smoking in the casino.  It was a smaller ship - Brilliance - so could not avoid on that floor.  Traversed ship on other floors.  Very similar offerings aboard for us.  We do miss the perks on Celebrity given to Elites.  

We are doing a TA on the Royal's Odyssey and have others booked on Celebrity.  

[royalcruz]

You might not want to go back to RC once you've tried Celebrity! It's so much finer!

[davekathy]

We like the differences and similarities between Celebrity and RC. 

[4774Papa]

We have sailed on Celebrity 11 times and Royal 2 times.  Both lines are excellent and our loyalty benefits from Celebrity transferred to Royal.

 

We have never cruised on Royal's huge 6,000 passenger mega ships and probably won't.

Advantages for Celebrity:

1) Celebrity's dining is better than Royal's.  The difference in the MDR is not as significant.  However, the buffet on Celebrity is clearly superior.  We like the salad bar on Celebrity and you don't always have a good one on Royal for lunch.  However, the MDR has a good salad bar for lunch.

2) Celebrity's ship layouts are superior to Royal's.  There are more views of the ocean and almost all Celebrity ships have the sunset bar just outside the buffet seating where you can dine outside.   Don't think many, if any of Royal's ship have that.

 

Advantages for Royal:

1) Entertainment is superior to Celebrity's.  Royal even beats NCL on entertainment.

2) Royal's Diamond loyalty benefits are better, especially the happy hour, which runs from 5-8:30pm.  We have never had to spend a penny on a Royal cruise for alcohol.  We are moderate drinkers and drink at happy hour and during the evening meal.  

3) Now that Celebrity had gone always included, its prices have mushroomed and included perks that we would not opt to purchase, making Royal our likely choice based on price for a similar cruise with Celebrity.

[ChucktownSteve]

On 5/3/2021 at 12:38 PM, Bo1953 said:

Welcome home!!!

 

bon voyage

 

Bo,  That's actually what Azamara says every time you return to your ship.

[Bo1953]

39 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

Bo,  That's actually what Azamara says every time you return to your ship.

cs - I could get used to that, for sure...

 

bon voyage

[songbird1329]

Great topic.  We are booked on the Constellation in 2022, our previous experiences were with Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Thanks for the insight.

[zap99]

On 5/4/2021 at 10:47 PM, miched said:

 
I don’t know what the on the rest of the page but I think it pertains to purchasing the drink package.   If you purchase a drink pack the price stated doesn’t include the 20% gratuity.   If you upgrade from classic to premium it is $10/day plus 20% gratuity being $12/day.

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

In the UK we paid to upgrade from classic to premium. $10 of +20%. No gratuities are then added to each drink.

[cublet]

On 5/4/2021 at 3:00 AM, DaKahuna said:

The only difference that I have not seen anyone mention here is with regard to the rooms.  On Celebrity there is no room equivalent in size to the Junior Suite without going to a Sky Suite.   
 

We still sail on both.  When we are on Celebrity we daily in Sky Suites.  On Royal Caribbean we sail in Junior Suites except when on Oasis or or Quantum class where the benefits of being in a Suite are worth the extra cost.
 

 

Hello,

 

I agree with you re lack of a JS equivalent on Celebrity. Being a solo cruiser paying for a full suite isn't worth it especially as RCI charges only 150% to solo C&A Diamond Plus members (and above) with 340 points and Celebrity charges 200% to all.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet