will I like X

[Majesty Fan]

Hi my hubby and I are RCI fans over 21 cruise so we have diamond benefits almost diamond plus. We want to do Hawaiii next fall of 07. We are going to do the round trip on either RCI or X. Would I like X? I have herd it is stuff and not many things to do? IS this true? We are not into the spa . We like to enjoy the pool, the Viking crown lounge, and the trivia and sports deck and hot tubs and mini golf when they have it.

Lexi

[superjerryw]

X ships don't have mini-golf or rock climbing or any of that stuff. If you like many of those types of things you may find yourself bored on a Celebrity cruise. Overall, X provides a more formal, adult oriented experience than RCI. The passengers on X still like to dress up on formal nights and you don't see lots of people in the dining room in shorts and flip flops. If you prefer the more casual, family oriented experience you are better off on RCI. In addition, a 14 day cruise to Hawaii with so many sea days would probably not be the best cruise to experiment with X. Try sailing on X on a shorter cruise that has more days in port where you won't be as reliant on the ships activities to keep you busy.

[Schplinky]

I agree with Jerry that a shorter cruise would be a better one to experiment with.

 

We have cruised both lines (both for one week cruises in the caribbean) and did not find Celebrity to be stuffy. Folks do stay dressed more after dinner (although not uniformly) and there are someliers in the dining room to help you with wine but we found the table service to be the same and the food to be comparable. Where RCL's food was mediocre or good, we found X food to be great or not-so-great. If you use the specialty restaurant, Celebrity's was really a dining event where RCL's are not as elaborate (in terms of menu) and are more just a means of having eating in more intmate surroundings.

 

I would give an edge to RCL for shows but Celebrity's were fine. It seemed the musical numbers were chosen to please a slightly older crowd (we heard songs from Mamma Mia, the Producers and Contact on RCL while we heard things like Mame and Will Roger's Follies on X). We really liked the martini bar for variety and service on Celebrity and Michael's Club for sitting around after dinner and would give higher grades to Celebrity for the atmosphere of their nightclubs but in terms of their use, they were often not very well-used outside of pre/post dinner times. We often wondered where everyone was after 10.

 

We thought the cabin design on Celebrity was slightly better but the condition of the room, compared to Navigator, was not as good, in terms of wear and tear.

 

I plan to write a longer thread comparing the two which I'll post here and there (RCL) but the real thing that will decide which you like better is you. It is interesting to me how different things are important to different people so the more you can say about what makes a cruise a success for you, the better. That way, folks who have sailed both (or even folks who have only sailed X), can tell you if you'll find what you're looking for.

 

Lee