Celebrity vs RCCL

[Andrewgary]

On 10/19/2022 at 8:43 AM, Ex-Airbalancer said:

If you like Belly flop contest and bingo announcements than stick with RCL 

if you like a up scaled feel to a cruise than chose Celebrity 

How about an upscaled belly flop contest? 

[George C]

In about half or more of my rccl there was a real dress code. Started cruising in 70’s , started cruising rccl in late 80’s , diamond plus on rccl. 

[Jeremiah1212]

15 minutes ago, TheHawk1 said:

While Celebrity has an upscale feel, with better service and food than other cruise lines, the downside to that is a higher percentage of fellow passengers who are pretentious snobs.  They are quietly, or not so quietly, judging you about are you wearing the right clothes in the dining room, are you using the right fork, are you sniffing your wine glass before drinking, etc.  That's an experience I tend to avoid on land, so certainly don't appreciate it when paying for a vacation at sea.

 

Agree to disagree? I've always gotten the impression that on groups like this site there are a small group of people who want to portray Celebrity being much more highbrow than it truly is onboard. 

 

The overall feel is definitely more upscale than Carnival, but I've never seen anyone make fun of someone for using the salad fork on their entree. 

[TheHawk1]

1 hour ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

Agree to disagree? I've always gotten the impression that on groups like this site there are a small group of people who want to portray Celebrity being much more highbrow than it truly is onboard. 

 

The overall feel is definitely more upscale than Carnival, but I've never seen anyone make fun of someone for using the salad fork on their entree. 

Don't get me wrong, I like the product that Celebrity offers, even though my experience is limited to a couple cruises, with a couple more to follow in the next 18 months.  And agree there is a vocal crowd on this forum that want cruising to remain in a time warp of how "grand" it used to be. But I still get the sense that Celebrity markets itself as more upscale and therefore attracts customers who believe that and therefore want to enforce that impression. 

[TheHawk1]

1 hour ago, George C said:

In about half or more of my rccl there was a real dress code. Started cruising in 70’s , started cruising rccl in late 80’s , diamond plus on rccl. 

Just got off a European cruise on Wonder of the Seas, where they are supposedly more fashionable than North Americans.  There were shorts and tshirts in the MDR, even on formal night, and no one batted an eye.  Not that I dress that way, but I don't judge others for doing so, as it doesn't really affect my vacation one way or the other.

 

[Birdnutty]

Agree with most of the posters here, on all points.  Much depends not he ship you're on, also.  We've been on 25+ RCCL and about 10 Celebrity.  Last one was the Apex.  One major difference, the one that affects us the most, is activity. We are early 70's, but find that the demographic for the Celebrity ships is markedly older, at least in activity level.  Using Apex as my example - the ship is absolutely knock down gorgeous.  Luxury oozes from every pore.  We were on a two week B2B, and by the middle of the second week, we got bored.  There were only so many aerialists we could watch, and trivia games we could play.  They're big on sit-down activities.  We participated in every activity that involved movement, like Zumba, exercise classes, scavenger hunt (which we loved) but there were very few of them - at least not enough for us.  Going to the gym is something I can do at home, so that's not much a draw.  They did have an assortment of activities at times - all scheduled for exactly the same time of day, so unless you could instantly clone yourself, you could only do one.  

 

So if you like a lot of (active) things to do, this might affect you.  I haven't sailed many of the older Celebrity ships lately, but am specifically referring to the Edge class at this point, if you're sedentary, it's perfect. If more active, you may be disappointed.  Of course, this is MHO only, and confined to the few ships we were on.  YMMV

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, Birdnutty said:

Agree with most of the posters here, on all points.  Much depends not he ship you're on, also.  We've been on 25+ RCCL and about 10 Celebrity.  Last one was the Apex.  One major difference, the one that affects us the most, is activity. We are early 70's, but find that the demographic for the Celebrity ships is markedly older, at least in activity level.  Using Apex as my example - the ship is absolutely knock down gorgeous.  Luxury oozes from every pore.  We were on a two week B2B, and by the middle of the second week, we got bored.  There were only so many aerialists we could watch, and trivia games we could play.  They're big on sit-down activities.  We participated in every activity that involved movement, like Zumba, exercise classes, scavenger hunt (which we loved) but there were very few of them - at least not enough for us.  Going to the gym is something I can do at home, so that's not much a draw.  They did have an assortment of activities at times - all scheduled for exactly the same time of day, so unless you could instantly clone yourself, you could only do one.  

 

So if you like a lot of (active) things to do, this might affect you.  I haven't sailed many of the older Celebrity ships lately, but am specifically referring to the Edge class at this point, if you're sedentary, it's perfect. If more active, you may be disappointed.  Of course, this is MHO only, and confined to the few ships we were on.  YMMV

What you're experiencing is purposeful. Celebrity has always been a 'make your own fun' cruiseline. It's not necessarily about the older demographic but about the type of vacation experience Celebrity wants to aspire to. It's more of an upscale land based resort hotel like you would find in Miami Beach. Think Fountainbleu. 

[Moonarino]

With very limited experience on X and a few cruises on Royal (and more on Carnival), my take is that X is the only one of these three that doesn't try to "FORCE" me to "have a great time". It's been 11 years since I cruised Celebrity, so I certainly can't offer too much detail in that area. But . . .

 

Pet peeve: In the past few years I've grown greatly annoyed by the fact that it's harder and harder to find even a semi-quiet space on Carnival or Royal ships. Music music music, blaring so loud it seems impossible to escape. I love music(!) but good grief gimme a break. The breaking point for Royal was our last cruise on Oasis 4-5 years ago (a big disappointment compared to two previous Oasis-class cruises) followed then Indy OTS in 2019 -- as annoyingly noisy as any Carnival cruise I've sailed in the past 7-8 years. Yes I'm venting. It's gotten ridiculous, and I think even hazardous to healthy ears.

 

I am very much looking forward to our Nov 7 cruise on Silhouette, in part because I'm sure my ears will not be ringing (or roaring) for most of the cruise. If it lives up to expectations, my "return" to Celebrity might just be permanent.

 

My two cents.

 

[NMTraveller]

I would definitely switch to Celebrity.  However start off with the S class ships unless you are sailing in a suite.  The E class ships remind me more of RCL than X.

[Moonarino]

8 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

I would definitely switch to Celebrity.  However start off with the S class ships unless you are sailing in a suite.  The E class ships remind me more of RCL than X.

(Sidebar) I appreciate your perspective. I had a booking on Apex last fall that I ended up cancelling (under covid policy), in major part because I wasn't getting good vibes on E class.

[George C]

On 10/21/2022 at 12:04 PM, TheHawk1 said:

Just got off a European cruise on Wonder of the Seas, where they are supposedly more fashionable than North Americans.  There were shorts and tshirts in the MDR, even on formal night, and no one batted an eye.  Not that I dress that way, but I don't judge others for doing so, as it doesn't really affect my vacation one way or the other.

 

Cruises are more affordable now then in the past , I have rarely seen anyone in suite restaurants and lounges in shorts. I have seen maitre’d question peoples dress for breakfast and lunch a couple of years ago in Luminae. 

[kwokpot]

13 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

The E class ships remind me more of RCL than X.

Not really. E-Class is what Celebrity WANTS TO BE. If you don't like the vibe, then that's you not Celebrity. 

[NMTraveller]

8 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Not really. E-Class is what Celebrity WANTS TO BE. If you don't like the vibe, then that's you not Celebrity. 

The S class is what I want to sail on.

 

The E class is geared towards a younger generation as is RCL.  More loud and shouty for both RCL and E class.  The IVs tend to  get numerous complaints.

 

I prefer quiet and refined and more smaller intimate venues.  S class hits all of those buttons.

Edited October 23, 2022 by NMTraveller

[davekathy]

This thread and many others like it are exactly why others opinions or experiences, positive or negative do not influence our decisions of a cruise line, ship, itinerary and etc. 

[kwokpot]

23 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I prefer quiet and refined and more smaller intimate venues.  S class hits all of those buttons.

I can concede that  two of the three attributes is not necessarily the E-Classes forte but will push back that the E-Class isn't 'Refined'. If your definition of refined is more of an Old World traditional atmosphere I can see why you would prefer the S-Class but that doesn't mean a contemporary environment can't be refined;the two aren't mutually exclusive. 

Edited October 23, 2022 by kwokpot

[davekathy]

Looking forward to our March 2023 Apex cruise. First time on the E Class. 

[NMTraveller]

2 hours ago, kwokpot said:

I can concede that  two of the three attributes is not necessarily the E-Classes forte but will push back that the E-Class isn't 'Refined'. If your definition of refined is more of an Old World traditional atmosphere I can see why you would prefer the S-Class but that doesn't mean a contemporary environment can't be refined;the two aren't mutually exclusive. 

Refined is a very subjective term.  What may be refined to you perhaps would not be refined to me.  I used it in the context of good taste.  I do not view a loud or crowded restaurant as refined.  Perhaps a less subjective term would be ambiance.

 

 

[wikoffclan]

On 10/20/2022 at 10:57 AM, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Not everyone has time to go on every cruise news site 🙄

I have make rhubarb muffins 😁

the last picking of the year for us 

 

OMG!! Love the rhubarb. My Mom would freeze the strawberries in June and make a Strawberry-Rhubarb pie for my birthday in September. Thanks for the delicious and Very special memory!!

[happy cruzer]

On 10/21/2022 at 9:47 AM, TheHawk1 said:

This is an example of what bothers me about Celebrity.  Having been on more Royal cruises than Celebrity, I can say Royal is more of a "live and let live" type of experience, without being at the low bar of a Carnival cruise where virtually anything goes...I have no first hand knowledge there, just what I read or see on Youtube 🙂

 

While Celebrity has an upscale feel, with better service and food than other cruise lines, the downside to that is a higher percentage of fellow passengers who are pretentious snobs.  They are quietly, or not so quietly, judging you about are you wearing the right clothes in the dining room, are you using the right fork, are you sniffing your wine glass before drinking, etc.  That's an experience I tend to avoid on land, so certainly don't appreciate it when paying for a vacation at sea.

Pretentious snobs or pretentious slobs you can see them both on most sailings on any line...  Neither right nor wrong just different and maybe a bit extreme compared to the average cruiser.  The major cruise lines have room for all the various preferences.

 

Back to the original question, Celebrity has fewer features that target the younger crowd like the rock climbing walls, flow rider, and mega slides so there will be fewer kids which makes for a less crowded (it can still have crowded areas like the martini bar before dinner) and generally quieter ship.  Celebrity's buffet is has more choices including made to order grill.  Both are nice experiences and more alike than different.

[Cruise a holic]

16 hours ago, davekathy said:

Looking forward to our March 2023 Apex cruise. First time on the E Class. 

We will also be on the Apex in March!  But we will be on her for the first time in December/january.  While We are loyal to celebrity and Royal, have tried others including: Disney, Carnival and Princess, they all disappoint us and aren't nearly as good as Celebrity and Royal.  However this is just two peoples opinion.

 

We want to try MSC yacht club as we heard nice things about it.

[TeeRick]

15 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

Refined is a very subjective term.  What may be refined to you perhaps would not be refined to me.  I used it in the context of good taste.  I do not view a loud or crowded restaurant as refined.  Perhaps a less subjective term would be ambiance.

 

 

Go to the RCCL area here on CC and look at ICON of the Seas.  Polar opposite of Celebrity experience.  Then go further and look at the specs for the next ship Utopia OTS.  Give me Edge Class (or S or M) any day!

[CruisinShips]

Great and timely topic for me!  We are Diamonds on Royal and just booked our first Celebrity cruise (Equinox in 2023).  Our last several RCCL cruises have been just the two of us in Crown Loft suites on Oasis class ships. We loved the accommodations, loved the more private suite areas and the perks, and loved the ability to avoid the masses and what we deemed to be increasingly mediocre food in the MDR.

After three successive Oasis class cruises, we realized (slow on the draw as we may be) that it's silly for us to spend all of that money for a ship on which we try to avoid the parts that most find the most appealing...all the kids activities.

 

We then went to what I deemed to be the other extreme and booked a suite on a Holland America cruise (Panama Canal and southern Caribbean).  While it was a great cruise with great ports, it was a little old for us and a little boring on sea days (we are both in our early 60s).

 

So the next one will be Celebrity, and this thread has really sealed that deal for me.  Thanks to all for the great info, and I look forward to participating in the forum going forward.

[davekathy]

On 10/24/2022 at 4:37 AM, Cruise a holic said:

We will also be on the Apex in March!  But we will be on her for the first time in December/january.  While We are loyal to celebrity and Royal, have tried others including: Disney, Carnival and Princess, they all disappoint us and aren't nearly as good as Celebrity and Royal.  However this is just two peoples opinion.

 

We want to try MSC yacht club as we heard nice things about it.

Our March cruise on the Apex will be our first time on an E class ship. 

[George C]

On 10/24/2022 at 5:37 AM, Cruise a holic said:

We will also be on the Apex in March!  But we will be on her for the first time in December/january.  While We are loyal to celebrity and Royal, have tried others including: Disney, Carnival and Princess, they all disappoint us and aren't nearly as good as Celebrity and Royal.  However this is just two peoples opinion.

 

We want to try MSC yacht club as we heard nice things about it.

MSc yacht club is fantastic, similar to edge class suite perks but with a larger outside area including a outdoor restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch, suite lounge had live music from about 5 to 11.

[jelayne]

One if the things we love about X is we can book a Suite and enjoy the Retreat but we also love the other areas just as much.  We have friends who sail in the YachtClub and Haven but don’t enjoy being in the other areas of the ships so they never leave the suite area.