Recommendation for RCL ship for Celebrity Fans

[Cruise a holic]

19 hours ago, Maggie4nc said:

Wow!  Thank you for all the great input!

We have been Celebrity loyalists and have always loved it but it's good to try new things.  This year we tried a couple Princess cruises, we liked them and would travel on them again.  We are looking to RCL RCL as seems to offer high quality with more entertainment options.  The fact they status match is nice too!

We wanted to know where to start looking and now we have a great jumping off place! We will look at RCL for 2023, the Quantum class is most likely going to be our starting point then go bigger or smaller from there.

This all being said, we just booked on Celebrity Beyond for November. Change is hard😜

Thanks again for all of your help!  

Being a Royal Diamond plus and Celebrity Elite plus member, I would strongly suggest you try the Royal Oasis class ships.  The Aqua shows are wonderful as are the iceskating show, broadway show, comedy and other entertainment venues are wonderful.  We enjoy the layout of that class also.  We had also tried the Quantum class and didn't really like it.  Ship layout, entertainment not great.

[IsanTom]

On 9/13/2022 at 12:42 PM, Maggie4nc said:

What ship should we try for our first RCL cruise?  We usually cruise with Celebrity but would like to see what RCL is like.  We are a couple 53/55, active and no children.

I see you are childless. WE are too, so avoid cruises where they say children FREE! We take two TA's every year and very few children, so the ship is more peace full and less full!  We also love Celebrity, but enjoy RCL, too.

[Spurschick]

On 9/13/2022 at 12:42 PM, Maggie4nc said:

What ship should we try for our first RCL cruise?  We usually cruise with Celebrity but would like to see what RCL is like.  We are a couple 53/55, active and no children.

If you have done edge class I would say definitely oasis class. 
 

If you have done solstice class then you could do freedom class but Oasis class is the best.

[shofer]

On 9/14/2022 at 5:29 AM, Cruise a holic said:

This past may, we were on the Adventure of the Seas.  The ship was really a mess.  Rusty- plumbing not working in our bathroom, we had service a few times during our cruise to fix it.  Furniture old and dingy- crowded ship- subpar entertainment- suite lounge coffee machine broken most days. Buffet like a school cafeteria  I do not know why people like these older ships?  Perhaps it reminds them of good times years before- but now, things have changed.

In 2015 we took Vision of the Seas on a Med cruise,  We were nervous about the condition of this "older" ship but she had just come out of dry dock and the furnishings and fixtures were very nice.  The only complaint and this was a major one, was the food.  The buffet and the dining room were definitely subpar and earned a Zero on our survey.

Fast forward 2 years and we booked Vision again for a Baltic cruise.  She still looked pretty good and the rooms none the worse for wear.  Big surprise on embarkation day was the buffet.  It was 1000% improved as was the dining room.  We actually looked forward to meals.  

I do agree that the newer ships usually have the better food and entertainment.

[Cruise a holic]

13 hours ago, shofer said:

In 2015 we took Vision of the Seas on a Med cruise,  We were nervous about the condition of this "older" ship but she had just come out of dry dock and the furnishings and fixtures were very nice.  The only complaint and this was a major one, was the food.  The buffet and the dining room were definitely subpar and earned a Zero on our survey.

Fast forward 2 years and we booked Vision again for a Baltic cruise.  She still looked pretty good and the rooms none the worse for wear.  Big surprise on embarkation day was the buffet.  It was 1000% improved as was the dining room.  We actually looked forward to meals.  

I do agree that the newer ships usually have the better food and entertainment.

You were brave.  After the Adventure of the Seas cruise, I would never again sail on that ship.  Glad you enjoyed your Baltic cruise-  We went on the Oasis this past August and had a wonderful experience.  Will only consider Oasis class (suite level) royal cruises again.  

[broadwaybaby123]

It really doesn't matter what ship is best, since Royal and Celebrity are owned by the same company. If you like one line, you'll like the other.

[Bxc53]

4 hours ago, broadwaybaby123 said:

It really doesn't matter what ship is best, since Royal and Celebrity are owned by the same company. If you like one line, you'll like the other.

I have to disagree. We are just finishing our second RCL cruise but have done 5 on Celebrity. They do share ownership, but are managed separately and follow different standards. In our view, Celebrity has much better food. We are not impressed with the offerings on our present  RCL cruise. Celebrity also has much less of the theme park ambience and more traditional onboard experience. One major difference is the pool deck experience. On RCL it was much more crowded with extreme “chair hogging” and no RCL enforcement of the policy. Much more refined atmosphere on Celebrity.   

[Spurschick]

On 10/11/2022 at 7:24 AM, broadwaybaby123 said:

It really doesn't matter what ship is best, since Royal and Celebrity are owned by the same company. If you like one line, you'll like the other.

Not necessarily - just because someone likes Celebrity does not mean they would like Royal. 
 

Firstly the type of demographics onboard are completely different, as is the overall experience. Also, I noticed a big difference in the food onboard.

 

That’s like saying Carnival Corp own Carnival, Princess, HAL, Cunard and Seabourn and more so if you sail one you will like all of them.

 

They are different brands for a reason. celebrity regard themselves as luxury. Royal is not. Not everyone wants to sail luxury - more formal dress code etc onboard, likewise those that like luxury do not necessarily want to sail non luxury

Edited October 25, 2022 by Spurschick

[taglovestocruise]

On 10/5/2022 at 5:28 AM, Cruise a holic said:

Being a Royal Diamond plus and Celebrity Elite plus member, I would strongly suggest you try the Royal Oasis class ships.  The Aqua shows are wonderful as are the iceskating show, broadway show, comedy and other entertainment venues are wonderful.  We enjoy the layout of that class also.  We had also tried the Quantum class and didn't really like it.  Ship layout, entertainment not great.

Close to 50 nights on Oasis Class and love them. Just got off 17 night S2S on Ovation/Quantum.  Never again on Quantum Class, just feels small and poorly laid out. 270 is the worst show venue I can remember, seems like 30% of the seats can not see the dance floor or stage.  

[Btank]

I've sailed on:

• Celebrity: Summit, Eclipse
• Royal: Anthem, Freedom, Liberty

I'd go with Freedom OTS.  Similar in physical size to Eclipse, just more pax.  Anthem had a lot to offer, but it just felt more crowded at times.

 

       --bruce T.