Royal Caribbean vs Celebrity

[Ret MP]

1 hour ago, Tatka said:

 

This is the same corporation and they have reciprocity in statuses (not all the way, but for Select/Platinum and Elite/Diamonds), also Celebrity often offers all inclusive packages which include internet/drinks/tips. Fares are higher, but with this inclusion you get the best of both worlds.

 

 Oh, we are now loyal to Royal (sailed with 8 lines), but for Celebrity I would cheat.

 Missing my Princess somewhat.

I know that and I figured that that was a given!  I didn't mention any brand or any subordinate brands.  

 

However, Royal has venues that X doesn't have and vice versa, I just happen to appreciate many of the venues that Royal has and the perks that make them even more attractive.  I'm sure that if I had started with X, I'd probably be just as loyal to them for many of the same reasons.  

 

I was, for many years, loyal to Rustbucket Cruise lines until they weren't loyal to me but, when I was loyal to Rustbucket I never cruised on any of their subordinate brands, either.  

Edited July 24, 2023 by Ret MP

[tserface]

Just to add to all of the refreshingly direct and civil answers about cruise line favorites 🙂

Be sure to check itinerary and price.  We've found that Royal cruises are getting way more expensive for similar or not as good itineraries.  Royal has a better family factor and lots more to do for kids like arcades, zip lines, rock climbing, carnival rides, etc.  Celebrity has none of that, but pretty good kids clubs.  When we go with our grandkids we go on Royal, but we often do a Celebrity cruise the week after to decompress.

My all time favorite ships are the E-class (Celebrity), but the S-Class are a close second.  So, if you're adulting, definitely consider Celebrity, but if you are going with a family with teens or younger Royal will be more fun for them.

[simon.hed]

I have only sailed on Celebrity once (Solstice to Alaska) and it was amazing. The vibe is much more aligned with where we are in our lives now.

 

I agree with most of the points about both lines in this thread btw. 

 

Sailing with our early 20s children has lead to us doing so on RC. We have 5 booked on RC, though I suspect we will end up back on Celebrity at some point.

[George C]

26 minutes ago, simon.hed said:

I have only sailed on Celebrity once (Solstice to Alaska) and it was amazing. The vibe is much more aligned with where we are in our lives now.

 

I agree with most of the points about both lines in this thread btw. 

 

Sailing with our early 20s children has lead to us doing so on RC. We have 5 booked on RC, though I suspect we will end up back on Celebrity at some point.

I was a little surprised my niece went of rccl last year on symphony with her husband and 3 teenagers then did celebrity apex in Europe last month and her twin 19; year olds preferred celebrity.

[Tatka]

2 hours ago, tserface said:

My all time favorite ships are the E-class (Celebrity), but the S-Class are a close second.  So, if you're adulting, definitely consider Celebrity, but if you are going with a family with teens or younger Royal will be more fun for them.

 

I would say with teens especially. For younger kids Celebrity is good, for Teens there is no comparison... at least it was like that 10 years ago. 

[oddly excitered]

Just back from my first celebrity cruise after several on royal. I was not blown away by any of the experiences over royal.

We did eclipse out of Vancouver and had a very nice time but my expectation for celebrity was too high. Entertainment was good, but less than royal, Alaska cruise so plenty of kids but somehow, they seemed better behaved than on royal. Food is subjective and we don't do specialty but always dine in the dining room as opposed to buffet, we found it very similar. 

I like the more open feeling of the royal ships, never done oasis class, mostly quantum class.

Basically, I think they are becoming more similar than not these days and we booked our next trip on royal as soon as we got off the ship!

[LEMJMcC]

What would be the equivalent to a Royal Caribbean Junior Suite on a Celebrity ship?  Is there a direct comparison?  Do the cabins vary greatly from one Celebrity ship to another? 

 

We have always selected a Junior Suite on every Royal cruise we've done: Brilliance, Freedom, Oasis, Mariner, and Wonder.  These cabins were almost exactly the same layout and features.

 

What Celebrity class cabin would I look into if I wanted to expand my cruising experience?

 

Thanks.

[barbeyg]

22 hours ago, hrmkr said:

Looking for information to be able to compare food, entertainment and appearances, etc.

 

Before I do a comparison, this is my own personal opinion, and I don't expect others to agree with me. 🙂

 

I will compare Oasis class with Edge class.  I've sailed both of those, in suites (and on RCI, balcony cabins).  

 

Food:  Celebrity definitely a step up.  The food, across the board, was better than RCI.  

 

Entertainment:  RCI has the edge, at least for us.  Celebrity has more traditional venues, with some interesting shows, though.  I enjoy both.

 

Appearances:  The Edge class and the Oasis class are beautiful, each in their own way.  I would give the edge to the Edge class for elegance, but RCI does a great job with the design of their ships.

 

We sail Celebrity for a laid back more adult sailing.  Absolutely love the vibe of the Martini Bar, which is in the heart of the ship.  Celebrity crew are also much friendlier than RCI, even though there are great crew members on RCI, no complaints there.

 

We sail RCI for higher energy, and a larger variety of activities to participate in.  

 

I don't think you could go wrong with either.

Edited July 25, 2023 by barbeyg

[CruisinBanka]

1 hour ago, LEMJMcC said:

What would be the equivalent to a Royal Caribbean Junior Suite on a Celebrity ship?  Is there a direct comparison?  Do the cabins vary greatly from one Celebrity ship to another? 

 

We have always selected a Junior Suite on every Royal cruise we've done: Brilliance, Freedom, Oasis, Mariner, and Wonder.  These cabins were almost exactly the same layout and features.

 

What Celebrity class cabin would I look into if I wanted to expand my cruising experience?

 

Thanks.

Sky Suite on Celebrity is about the same size cabin as RC Junior Suite, but it gives you the full suite Retreat Experience as opposed to Royal. This includes Retreat Lounge, 3 meals a day at Luminae, wi fi, beverage package, tips included and a Butler. 

[George C]

1 hour ago, CruisinBanka said:

Sky Suite on Celebrity is about the same size cabin as RC Junior Suite, but it gives you the full suite Retreat Experience as opposed to Royal. This includes Retreat Lounge, 3 meals a day at Luminae, wi fi, beverage package, tips included and a Butler. 

Luminae is not open for lunch on port days but if ship has a outdoor retreat there is a small menu that you can order from.

[apierson23]

We just cruised on Celebrity last November for the 1st time and it will be the last for us.  The food was better on celebrity and there was very, very few kids which we liked but pretty much everything else was better on Royal.  I'm sure the ship selection is critical but as a whole Royal is more fun and lively while Celebrity is sedate and boring in my opinion.  Not a bad cruise option but not for us.  We sail out on Alure in less then a week so it will be good to be back on Royal.

Edited July 25, 2023 by apierson23

[KKB]

On 7/24/2023 at 9:24 AM, hrmkr said:

We are starting to look at some cruises for Feb and have it down to Royal and Celebrity.  We have sailed on Royal several times but not on Celebrity.  Wanted to see if people can give their opinions about the 2 cruiselines. Looking for information to be able to compare food, entertainment and appearances, etc.

 

Would be helpful if there is feedback from people that have been on both cruiselines.  I know that I will get responses from the Royal diehards which I would love to hear but not negative comments about Celebrity just to put them down. 

 

I am going to post the same thing on the Celebrity Forum to get their "side" of the story.

 

Thank you

3 RCCL cruises since 2010, 9 Celebrity since 2014.

Celebrity is our fav line...we find food & service to be a notch above other lines, ESPECIALLY on the new E class ships. (Ascent, Beyond, Apex, Edge)

 

We like RCCL only if it is the larger ships--we found Mariner had few activities each day (could have been a bad cruise director--he was a pompous a**)

RCCL does "bells & whistles" better--lots of activities on big ships. 

(we aren't into them...and they are charging extra for nearly all of them now)

RCCL production shows are better--ALTHOUGH, Celebrity Eclass give those a run for their $.

 

Biggest reason we choose Celebrity over RCCL is their all inclusive pricing. 

By the time we pay for tips, wifi & drinks on RCCL, the cost is higher than Celebrity.

And we find Celebrity to be a better product for the price.

 

Now, if kids are involved I'd probably choose RCCL (2/3 were with our kids)--tho they sailed the Celebrity Constellation when they were 15-20 & still had a good time. (they like the same things as us--trivia, gameshows, shows, music, hanging out together playing card/board games)

Edited July 25, 2023 by KKB

[hrmkr]

26 minutes ago, KKB said:

3 RCCL cruises since 2010, 9 Celebrity since 2014.

Celebrity is our fav line...we find food & service to be a notch above other lines, ESPECIALLY on the new E class ships. (Ascent, Beyond, Apex, Edge)

 

We like RCCL only if it is the larger ships--we found Mariner had few activities each day (could have been a bad cruise director--he was a pompous a**)

RCCL does "bells & whistles" better--lots of activities on big ships. 

(we aren't into them...and they are charging extra for nearly all of them now)

RCCL production shows are better--ALTHOUGH, Celebrity Eclass give those a run for their $.

 

Biggest reason we choose Celebrity over RCCL is their all inclusive pricing. 

By the time we pay for tips, wifi & drinks on RCCL, the cost is higher than Celebrity.

And we find Celebrity to be a better product for the price.

 

Now, if kids are involved I'd probably choose RCCL (2/3 were with our kids)--tho they sailed the Celebrity Constellation when they were 15-20 & still had a good time. (they like the same things as us--trivia, gameshows, shows, music, hanging out together playing card/board games)

It will only be my wife and I sailing.

 

 

[KKB]

2 minutes ago, hrmkr said:

It will only be my wife and I sailing.

We are 57 & 60...but fell in love w/ Celebrity almost 10 yrs ago.

I HIGHLY recommend Eclass. (listed above)

I would recommend S class  (Reflection, Silhouette, Eclipse, Equinox, Solstice) before M class.

M class are the smallest ships--and a little quieter.

 

[hrmkr]

1 minute ago, KKB said:

We are 57 & 60...but fell in love w/ Celebrity almost 10 yrs ago.

I HIGHLY recommend Eclass. (listed above)

I would recommend S class  (Reflection, Silhouette, Eclipse, Equinox, Solstice) before M class.

M class are the smallest ships--and a little quieter.

 

It will either be the Reflection or Equinox.

 

We are close to your age.  Wanted to be sure that on Celebrity it was not going to be quiet in the evenings.  On Royal, there was plenty to do . We typically go to dinner, see a show and then go to a bar and have a few drinks and listen to some music if we do not have to get up real early to go ashore the next day. 

[KKB]

Just now, hrmkr said:

It will either be the Reflection or Equinox.

 

We are close to your age.  Wanted to be sure that on Celebrity it was not going to be quiet in the evenings.  On Royal, there was plenty to do . We typically go to dinner, see a show and then go to a bar and have a few drinks and listen to some music if we do not have to get up real early to go ashore the next day. 

Equinox has been updated more than Reflection so edge to it.

We like to be busy--evenings involve show, game shows, silent disco, hanging at bar listening to music.

PLENTY to do.

Did Equinox with friends in November--my memory goes back to all these things!!

[tserface]

10 hours ago, oddly excitered said:

Just back from my first celebrity cruise after several on royal. I was not blown away by any of the experiences over royal.

We did eclipse out of Vancouver and had a very nice time but my expectation for celebrity was too high. Entertainment was good, but less than royal, Alaska cruise so plenty of kids but somehow, they seemed better behaved than on royal. Food is subjective and we don't do specialty but always dine in the dining room as opposed to buffet, we found it very similar. 

I like the more open feeling of the royal ships, never done oasis class, mostly quantum class.

Basically, I think they are becoming more similar than not these days and we booked our next trip on royal as soon as we got off the ship!

I agree with you.  I often see people say the food on Celebrity is better, but on our recent Celebrity cruises, comparing with Royal, I think the food is about the same.  The MDR is a little quieter on Celebrity, but the quality of the food is not much different, if any.

The entertainment totally depends on the ship and cruise director.  Royal, of course, has some interesting things like skating, diving/water, and other shows with specialized theaters (like Cafe 270).  I absolutely love the Aqua Theater shows.  Celebrity just has the normal theater shows, but they get some good talent (magicians, singers, other).

For me, the biggest difference is, for kids, there's tons more to do on Royal.  That doesn't mean Celebrity doesn't have good kids programs, but Royal has so many fun things like arcades, carnival type rides, slides, flow rider, etc. that Celebrity doesn't have.  Now that some Celebrity ships are going to Coco Cay there will be some water sports, at least, but it doesn't compare.

For adults only (when we don't go with the kids) Celebrity works much better for us.  Celebrity also has some longer itineraries and it's obvious they are sailing as much for the destinations as they are or the ship.  On Royal, the ship kind of is the destination so you get a lot of same itineraries.

[VegasVic14]

On 7/24/2023 at 4:06 PM, Tatka said:

 

I completely agree with every word about Edge class.

Edge, Beyond, Apex... Ascent(?)

Ships are amazing!!!

 

The only controversial point is Indefinite Verandas.. which I like, but I only visited such room, never sailed in one.

Recently researched Celebrity for a possible upcoming cruise and we concluded that the veranda you mention isn't inviting at all. It appears to be too much of an enclosure without the wide open feeling of a veranda on RCI. On other ships, too many of the verandas on multiple decks look down on life boats, which takes away from seeing your ship sailing through the water. 

[helen haywood]

Then look at Solstice Class.  True balconies…no infinite verandas.  Those are only on Edge Class.

[bonsai3s]

We cruised Celebrity before RCCL...we love both.

Like everyone else, we cruise with RCCL when we're with family.

 

Our last Celebrity cruise was on the Solstice, Aqua Class...it gave us access to The Blu restaurant (breakfast/dinner) and spa...both were phenomenal. The shower in our cabin had 6 water jets on the wall...it was heavenly.

[Tatka]

4 hours ago, VegasVic14 said:

Recently researched Celebrity for a possible upcoming cruise and we concluded that the veranda you mention isn't inviting at all. It appears to be too much of an enclosure without the wide open feeling of a veranda on RCI. On other ships, too many of the verandas on multiple decks look down on life boats, which takes away from seeing your ship sailing through the water. 

 

Well.. Infinite veranda is controversial. Some like it, some don't 

As for your second concern .. which ships deck are you looking at.

It is the same issue for some decks on RCI. Especially on Quantum class.