Celebrity vs Royal Caribbean

[OCVTSGIRL]

I am a Royal Caribbean Diamond member who hasn't sailed a Celebrity ship in a really long time.  I was wondering if anyone has sailed on both and how they compare.  I'm pretty sure my Diamond status will be accepted on a Celebrity ship but I don't know how beneficial that is.  Looking to sail out of Cape Liberty in NJ.  Thanks...any thoughts and/or experiences are greatly appreciated.

[jelayne]

Celebrity ships don’t resemble a theme park full of kids.  Some kids but not many, food and service better IMO.  Generally a more refined adult experience with excellent food and service. 
Your Diamond status will give you the benefits of Elite on Celebrity.

[ymncruise]

For me it’s not having to check out pool towels and not needing reservations for shows. 

[Cruising89143]

It depends on the atmosphere that you’re looking for. We like that Celebrity is smoke free inside their ships including the casino. Only one announcement daily which is from the Captain. It’s much more laid back. The entertainment on the larger RCI ships is better but Celebrity can hold their own in most cases.
 

We were on the Navigator a few weeks ago and the specialty dining at Chops and Jamie’s was as good or better than anything we have experienced on Celebrity. We tend to shy away from the MDR and buffets but when we have tried them, Celebrity was better. We have also found the service to be a little better on Celebrity. 
 

The biggest difference would be the suites. Much nicer overall on Celebrity and I have found that in most cases by the time time that I add up the price of a suite, drink package, gratuities and internet which is included on X it’s about the same price as RCI and you also have the Retreat on most ships including Luminae which is the suite dining room. Even the cheapest Sky suites qualify where RCI omits the JS from most of the suite perks. 
 

I suggest giving them a try again. We had not cruised on RCI in a while and we did enjoy being back on the NV but found that we enjoy Celebrity more for the longer cruises. 

[George C]

We still do both , diamond plus on rccl , rccl has the best entertainment, but a few too many children, totally love the new Edge class of ship for celebrity, much smaller than oasis class, but good entertainment. We now sail in suites and suite perks are way better on Celebrity, people in general on older and do not dress as casual as on rccl. 

[woneill63]

My wife and I, diamonds on Royal, Elite on Celebrity, are getting older, late fifties now, and are slowly transitioning to Celebrity.  We have a fifteen year old son and still do two or three Royal cruises a year.  We first tried Celebrity three years ago on a 10 night Constellation cruise out of Venice.  Even though the ship was almost twenty years old, the service and meals were spectacular, even better than Royal's. 

I have been on many Carnival and NCL cruises, and I have seen, first hand, their quality of meals, and levels of service, Royal beats them hands down.  We enjoy our Royal cruises, with all the bells and whistles, but, as we get older,  Celebrity will be a better fit for us.

 

 

 

[jelayne]

2 hours ago, ymncruise said:

For me it’s not having to check out pool towels and not needing reservations for shows. 

That’s part of a adult experience, no checking out pool towels, no announcements every 15-30 minutes reminding you of trivia, bingo, etc 

[cruzer0007]

Our last 3 cruises have been Celebrity, prior 4 or 5 were RCCL, I think the biggest difference is RCCL is clearly targeting families with kids and younger adults, with high energy activities, celebrity probably targets the 40+ demographic, less rigor in activities, but you see plenty of diversity in passenger ages on both lines.   Definitely less kids on celebrity, when you stay away from prime school holiday seasons.  We feel like service and food quality are very similar, we favor celebrity now because for us, it feels a little bit more relaxed, low key, maybe a bit more elegant, and that’s what we enjoy (I’m 60, wife 58).  We all like different things, you might not like what we do.  Reciprocal status in the loyalty clubs does work in each direction.

[DingoMom]

When we go with our grandkids, or with the kids + grandkids, we choose Royal, which is multi-generational friendly. When it is just us as a couple, we choose Celebrity for the (lack of kids and) elevated ambience. We have now become accustomed to Sky Suites on Celebrity…in our opinion, a far better experience than JS on Royal.

[SFCAcruiser]

7 hours ago, OCVTSGIRL said:

...I'm pretty sure my Diamond status will be accepted on a Celebrity ship but I don't know how beneficial that is. ....

 

As mentioned earlier, you will have Elite status in Celebrity Captains Club, but it is not automatic; you will have to get a Celebrity loyalty number. From the Celebrity web site ...

 

if you are a Crown & Anchor member but not a Captain's Club member and plan on sailing with Celebrity Cruises®, please call the Captain’s Club at 1-844-418-6824 to enroll in the equivalent tier.

Also, please remember to provide your membership number when booking a Celebrity cruise to ensure you receive your Club Points and benefits while sailing.

 

The benefits of Elite status are described on Celebrity web site. With many cruises providing the "Always Included" packages, you may or may not find any added value in the program. This topic has been discussed on this board many times, so I will leave it at that. 🤐

Edited March 30, 2022 by SFCAcruiser
typo

[chemmo]

Celebrity = Rest and Relaxation, Royal = Action and Activities 

 

Definitely better shows on Royal but in our opinion both the food and ambiance in all restaurants from the buffet to the speciality restaurants are better on Celebrity.

 

Like many others we started on Royal when our son was young and then swapped to Celebrity…No particular desire to return to Royal….Not a criticism, they are still offering a quality product they do well, we just no longer want what they offer.

[Ipeeinthepools]

There's nothing wrong with kids on cruise ships, but the cruise experience is just much nicer on Celebrity with far fewer children.  I enjoy hanging out in the pool most days and it's definitely much nicer on Celebrity without a lot of children splashing and screaming.  Nothing better than a sea day on Celebrity spending the day in the pool having a few drinks.

[lv2cruisgrl]

After years on Royal we switched to Celebrity also. We love The Retreat and all it offers. Less kids, a quieter more adult like atmosphere. Love the service and food.

[chemmo]

31 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

There's nothing wrong with kids on cruise ships, but the cruise experience is just much nicer on Celebrity with far fewer children.  I enjoy hanging out in the pool most days and it's definitely much nicer on Celebrity without a lot of children splashing and screaming.  Nothing better than a sea day on Celebrity spending the day in the pool having a few drinks.

Agree, but would add nothing better than a port day when everyone else gets off and you spend the day by the empty poolside having a few drinks!

 

Each time we cruise the Caribbean we now tend to nominate one frequently visited port as our ‘ship’ day. 

[davekathy]

14 hours ago, OCVTSGIRL said:

I am a Royal Caribbean Diamond member who hasn't sailed a Celebrity ship in a really long time.  I was wondering if anyone has sailed on both and how they compare.  I'm pretty sure my Diamond status will be accepted on a Celebrity ship but I don't know how beneficial that is.  Looking to sail out of Cape Liberty in NJ.  Thanks...any thoughts and/or experiences are greatly appreciated.

When setting up your logon and password for Celebrity, use the same ones as your RCs logon and password. Once you're logged in click on your name (upper right hand side). From the drop down click on my tier and points. You will have no Celebrity cruise points but should show your CC number. If it shows nothing call the Captains Club at 1-800-760-0654. Unlike RC, Celebrity does not have a dedicated lounge for elite, elite plus and zenith. We like the overall difference and similarities between Celebrity and RC.

[Oceansaway17]

well one thing is Celebrity does a better job with hotel add ons for those sailing from Southampton UK.

I tried in 2019 to reserve a hotel package and RCI said sorry not available just waitlist.

So I tried for same time frame with Celebrity going to Canary Islands and BINGO, no issues.

They were able to provide a hotel package and transportation to port if flying in the day before.

I told them about RCI, and the agent thought that was odd since London has thousands of rooms.

Must be RCI does not have the same clout as Celebrity.

 

and yes I agree having to scan your sea pass card each time for towels is a bit annoying and tacky.

All they have to do is what NCL does, provide a towel in the room for use on the ship.  You can swap out daily and at the end of the cruise leave in the room.  Let the room steward report the loss of towel.

[Mark_K]

17 hours ago, DingoMom said:

When we go with our grandkids, or with the kids + grandkids, we choose Royal, which is multi-generational friendly. When it is just us as a couple, we choose Celebrity for the (lack of kids and) elevated ambience. We have now become accustomed to Sky Suites on Celebrity…in our opinion, a far better experience than JS on Royal.

As far as the experience, and the perks, you should really compare Grand Suites to Sky Suites. Junior Suites get very few of the perks full suites get.

Edited March 30, 2022 by Mark_K

[phoenix_dream]

12 hours ago, chemmo said:

Celebrity = Rest and Relaxation, Royal = Action and Activities 

 

Definitely better shows on Royal but in our opinion both the food and ambiance in all restaurants from the buffet to the speciality restaurants are better on Celebrity.

 

Like many others we started on Royal when our son was young and then swapped to Celebrity…No particular desire to return to Royal….Not a criticism, they are still offering a quality product they do well, we just no longer want what they offer.

I liked the way you described the difference.  We cruise for rest and relaxation, so for us it is Celebrity hands down.  Our 35 year old son would much rather sail Royal for more to do, although in his youth he sailed Celebrity with us many times and thoroughly enjoyed it.  We have tried Royal a few times and while we liked it, we much prefer a more quiet atmosphere and fewer kids (love kids, just don't want to cruise with them even though that's just what we did years ago).  We have never tried Oasis class and don't plan on it - don't need to sail on a floating resort.  Just way too many people.  We may change our mind when grandkids enter the picture, but we would only go back to Royal for that reason.

[tserface]

We went on Symphony of the Seas this month with our kids and grandkids and had a lot of fun.  Water slides, zip lines, Coco Cay, carousel, etc.  Then, the next week my wife and I went on Celebrity Edge.  It was probably the nicest cruise ship we've ever been on, but no activities like on the Symphony.  We didn't mind.  We were resting up from the previous week.  Celebrity has a pretty good kid's program, but not all of the fun amusement park stuff like Royal Caribbean.  We'd go on either.

We love the Promenade ships, but we also love Martini Bar and Eden on Edge.  We love the differences.

[OCVTSGIRL]

15 hours ago, SFCAcruiser said:

 

As mentioned earlier, you will have Elite status in Celebrity Captains Club, but it is not automatic; you will have to get a Celebrity loyalty number. From the Celebrity web site ...

 

if you are a Crown & Anchor member but not a Captain's Club member and plan on sailing with Celebrity Cruises®, please call the Captain’s Club at 1-844-418-6824 to enroll in the equivalent tier.

Also, please remember to provide your membership number when booking a Celebrity cruise to ensure you receive your Club Points and benefits while sailing.

 

The benefits of Elite status are described on Celebrity web site. With many cruises providing the "Always Included" packages, you may or may not find any added value in the program. This topic has been discussed on this board many times, so I will leave it at that. 🤐

 

[OCVTSGIRL]

I do already have a Captain's Club membership.  Not sure how many points I have because it has been a long time since I have sailed Celebrity.  I was looking at the Summit sailing out of NJ going to Bermuda & Charleston.  Is it true that drinks are included?  Is there a limit...not that I'm a big drinker just wondering if there is a limit.  

 

Thanks to all who have given me feedback.  I really appreciate it.

[KruznKimmie]

12 hours ago, chemmo said:

Celebrity = Rest and Relaxation, Royal = Action and Activities 

 

Definitely better shows on Royal but in our opinion both the food and ambiance in all restaurants from the buffet to the speciality restaurants are better on Celebrity.

 

Like many others we started on Royal when our son was young and then swapped to Celebrity…No particular desire to return to Royal….Not a criticism, they are still offering a quality product they do well, we just no longer want what they offer.

Usually better shows on Royal unless you are on the EDGE or APEX and we found the shows spectacular.

[KruznKimmie]

As has already been said with kids definitely Royal but without Celebrity.  If we could just combine what we liked from both lines we would have the perfect experience.  We find sometimes Celebrity not to be as exciting & everyone goes to bed early.  But the food is definitely better on Celebrity.  It would depend on what kind of vacation you and your group would enjoy.  And sometimes we book based on itinerary.

[mac66]

We are diamond on RCI and elite on X.  We go back and forth depending on what we want to do. We took our 30 something age kids/spouses on Oasis last December because they had never been on an Oasis class ship. Lots of stuff to do and see. We really like the promenade, ice rinks, aqua theater, flow riders, board walk on the Oasis class but tend to only sail them during off peak times.   We did do a couple Oasis class ships in 2019 before the pandemic and had a great time.  But then again we also like the smaller Royal ships where the service and food tends to be better than on the Oasis class.

 

  We (late 60s) do however like the ambiance and upscale service on Celebrity and given a choice prefer X. We will continue to move back and forth depending on price and itinerary.

[jcbc522]

47 minutes ago, OCVTSGIRL said:

I do already have a Captain's Club membership.  Not sure how many points I have because it has been a long time since I have sailed Celebrity.  I was looking at the Summit sailing out of NJ going to Bermuda & Charleston.  Is it true that drinks are included?  Is there a limit...not that I'm a big drinker just wondering if there is a limit.  

 

Thanks to all who have given me feedback.  I really appreciate it.

We just got off of Summit and had the classic drink package (was included). No limit on number of drinks per day.  Limit of $9 per drink but if the drink that you want is over that you pay the difference plus 20% gratuity