A cmparison of our cruises on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean

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Celebrity v Royal Caribbean

 

A lot of people tend to ask how RCL, Celebrity and Princess stack up so I thought I would post my observations on various aspects of two cruises taken by us. Both were one week Caribbean itineraries, taken during the school period to avoid as many children as possible. No, we don’t hate your children but some other people’s kids can be very badly behaved. :) In both cases, we booked through an online TA and so we cannot really comment on either line’s booking practises, although I suspect they’re not that different. When we called Celebrity once, a man answered “thank you for calling Royal Caribbean” and, realising his mistake, said he was sorry, he didn’t realise which line he picked up. Is suspect the CSR’s are pooled between both lines.

 

I’m going to try to describe various aspects of the experience and then say which line I felt had the advantage in each area. While this cannot be a comprehensive comparison between two lines really, it will be as fair comparison between Navigator of the Seas and Constellation as a subjective one can be.

 

 

Embarkation.

 

I would give the advantage to Celebrity here. We arrived early in both instances and while the ensuing wait is then our own fault, I felt that Celebrity was kind to provide a seating area for the last thirty minutes or so of waiting, in an air conditioned area (this was in San Juan) whereas in Miami, RCL didn’t seem to mind that folks were sitting on line on the floor. On the other hand, kudos to RCL for giving us lemonaid and providing very clean restrooms while we waited. To be fair, comparing waiting time is really a comparison of port facilities but I do think the lines bear some of the burden for deciding what their terminals look like.

 

General appearance of ship - outside

 

The definite edge here goes to Navigator. The ship is sleek and beautiful, with nicely flowing lines and pleasing colours. I found Constellation to be very boxy, with lots of exposed equipment and cabling. Also, with the lifeboats protruding from the ship as they were, I’m think many folks who buy balcony rooms have their immediate view dominated by lifeboats. I think the best way to articulate my feelings about this is that Navigator looked like a floating resort where Constellation was undeniably a ship. Obviously, some will prefer one or the other. One odd thing was that Celebrity has gone with a new paint scheme for its ship and they still have the old postcards in the room. I liked the old paint scheme better.

[Schplinky]

General appearance of the ship - inside

 

I would say this is a draw. Both are more subdued than I expected a cruise ship to be, the Constellation more so (in a good way). I was surprised that there were so many quiet nooks on both, which are large ships. Navigator is a larger one but even still, like Constellation it felt like you were really only on a ship with a coupe hundred people that you would see over and over. We stood in very few lines on either. I liked the grand foyer on Constellation a bit more than the Centrum on Navigator but I liked the art on Navigator better than on Constellation. I know the idea of a promenade is not for some people but the fact is, it’s really just the shopping area and Constellation’s wasn’t windowed, either. Both ships required a lot of walking, especially if you got someplace and found that you had forgotten something.

 

Promenade Decks

 

Both were fine but I wish you could walk all the way around. You couldn’t on either.

 

Pool areas

 

I liked the solarium pool better on Constellation. I thought I would mind that it was covered but it didn’t seem to be a big issue. The Solarium on Navigator was fine, but it was a fairly high traffic area with folks passing through. Constellation’s solarium area was more peaceful, also.

 

Main pool

 

The advantage here is with Navigator. The decoration was colorful in a playful way (not tacky) and the shades over the hot-tubs were nice and effective. The Constellation pool was fine but the chairs were fairly crammed in and it was more often difficult to find a place to sit. Chairhogs were out in force on both ships but with fewer seats, the Constellation pool area was crammed earlier in the day and their pool attendants were not helpful in finding a seat or moving folks’ abandoned things. There were silly pool games on both lines.

[Schplinky]

Buffet

 

I don’t love buffets and so we tend only to eat in them on the lunch of embarkation. The Constellation buffet opened late, due to a CDC inspection, so they may have been frazzled. The service was fine and the food was very average, in the same way that the Navigator’s was. The Navigator’s has a number of areas with separate lines whereas the Constellation seemed to have just one long line (which you had to stand in in order to get a tray and utensils). I found the food to be very similar on both lines but give the edge to Navigator here because we had three different waiters try to sell us drinks in collector mugs in the first five minutes on Constellation while the servers on Navigator seemed to work only one zone so you felt less bothered. I don’t mind saying no politely but I don’t like to have to say it to a number of bartenders.

 

Sushi

 

The sushi area (Jade) on Navigator was not very imaginative. Most of the fish was not fresh (tuna was canned, salmon was smoked). On the other hand, the sushi we saw on Constellation looked delicious, although we never got to eat any. We saw them setting it up but they will only serve from six o’clock onward and we had 6 p.m. dining. Afterward, we were never hungry before the sushi finished for the evening. It’s a shame that they don’t start at 5:30.

 

Deck Bars

 

The aft bar on Constellation was beautiful and all teaked out. It was the prettiest of the deck bars on both ships. I liked the Sky Bar on Navigator but all in all, the main pool bars were the same. The placement of the one on Constellation made more a speed bump in terms of getting past the crowds when it would get busy there. We were surprised how early folks on Connie started drinking. Both lines tried to push their collectible cups.

 

I would give the deck bars on Constellation the edge.

 

Theatres

 

The theatre on Constellation was prettier, I thought. I also liked that there were small cocktail tables at our seats so that we didn’t have to put our drinks in cup-holders and liked that Celebrity’s seats were more sofa-styled.

 

In terms of production shows, I preferred Navigator. The songs came from shows like the Producers, Mamma Mia and Contact, as opposed to Mame and Will Roger’s Follies and other older shows. The sound quality suffered on the Constellation from a crackling mike that they didn’t fix before the next show, since we heard a lot of unpleasant static in that one also.

 

Celebrity had a sampler of Cirque de Soleil that was very entertaining, especially considering that it was being done on a small stage at sea. It was tremendous. RCL had an ice show in their skating rink that we went to with some trepidation but really quite enjoyed.

[Schplinky]

Dining

 

I am very surprised to be saying that we didn’t find much difference in the food on either line. Perhaps we had a great week on Navigator or a weak week on Connie but the superior food on Celebrity was not served at our table. It was fine and understanding that they serve thousands of meals an evening, it’s good, but it was no better than Navigator’s. In terms of service, we had better service on Navigator. Our waiter was pleasant and his assistant was, also. On Constellation, our waiter seemed to have too many tables and was most often rushed when he spoke to us. Often, he would walk away from our table in the middle of taking orders in order to give menus to another table. The assistant was pleasant and one of the nicer aspects of Celebrity was the presence of a sommelier. I thought his suggestions were very good and he was very affable.

 

I would say that slightly more folks dressed up for dinner on Celebrity and about 3/4 stayed dress for the whole evening, which is more than on Navigator. On formal nights, I would also say more folks wear tuxes on Celebrity but there was a diversity of fashion to be found on both lines.

 

There was a formal afternoon tea on Celebrity (which RCL didn’t have) but they scheduled it for the same day as the formal at 4, meaning that if you had early seating you would be eating at 4 and another large meal again at 6. Celebrity does not really seem to take the needs of those with early seating into account. We would have gone to the tea and skipped dinner to try the sushi but not if that meant missing a formal.

 

Where Celebrity did excel above RCL was in the specialty room. This was a wonderful meal of delicate tastes and good wine (we bought the pairing). The steak house on Navigator was fine but it was not a meal to be remembered in the same way.

 

Shopping

 

RCL has shopping in the Royal Promenade and Celebrity has an arcade also. Both are the passageway between one venue (the theatre) and another (the main centrum or foyer). The stores carried nearly identical things but I would give the edge to RCL here. I found that the stores on Celebrity were not open a great deal and when they were, we were often elsewhere (as in dinner or the show). They had an advertised gold by the inch sale and when I got there, I was told it was the next day only. I went back and there was no sale and only one or two styles at the low advertised price. I was told that the prices don’t change throughout the week and the sale was more of a feature since they don’t offer the jewellery every day. This seemed much like a bait and switch to me. Also, the gift shop didn’t have a lot of sizes of Celebrity clothing and the clerk said it was because they hadn’t received a shipment in a while. They had pool sales but they always started late and folks were very pushy. How often do you ever find it difficult to spend money on a ship?

 

Cabins

 

This isn’t a fair comparison in that we had two different cabin type. On Navigator, we had a PR cabin (internal room with a view of the shopping arcade) and on Celebrity we had an ocean view. We thought the cabin on Constellation was more cheerful and better organised. The bathroom was larger, also. In terms of repair, the cabin on Navigator was in better shape, and both ships were of similar ages when we sailed them. On Navigator, the room looked quite new. On Constellation, there were some stains on the upholstery and the shower grout was looking discoloured. All in all , though, For the cheerful and well organised room, we give the edge to Celebrity.

 

Bars

 

We thought the martini bar service and drinks were better on Celebrity but the actual bar (Cosmopolitan Club) was better on Navigator, because of the amazing views. The piano bar (Michael’s Club) on Celebrity had a wonderful library feel to it while the Schooner Bar on RCL did nothing for me. The Ixtapa on Navigator was only full during events and the same can be said for the Rendez-vous bar on Celebrity. The Ixtapa was decorated in a Mayan look and was out of step with the rest of the ship because of the tacky decorating. Similarly, the Rendez-vous lounge looked about 15 years older than the rest of the 3-4 year-old Constellation. Tacky colours were the culprit here.

 

Both ships had similar champagne bars and Navigator also had a wine bar.

 

The disco on Navigator was full each night and was fairly fun. On Constellation, it was quite large but not well used. We went to the Cirque Ball and there were many people dancing but the next night, we went to the disco divas party and there were only four people there: us. Many evenings, we wondered where folks had gone after ten. I suspect it was to bed.

 

Spa and Gym

 

Both were fine, although I did like Celebrity’s sauna, as there were large portholes in them to look out to the sea. The Celebrity spa was much smaller than the Navigator one but folks didn’t seem to have trouble getting appointments. Celebrity had a thermal suite which Navigator didn’t but navigator had free steam rooms in the changing rooms. I’d say it’s a draw here.

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Activities

 

I had hoped there would be more lectures and demonstration on Celebrity but the activities schedule was pretty sparse. On average, there was one thing an hour scheduled, most often a trivia game or some pool activity. Activities area forte on the Navigator and we often found ourselves choosing from different things. Royal Caribbean is the easy winner here, even if you factor out things like the rock-climbing, ice skating, and other activities not present on Constellation (although if you’re comparing, why would you). Bingo was over-priced on both lines ($20-30) but the prizes were more on RCL, owing to the higher pax count. My feeling is, if the prize is only going to be about a hundred bucks, it’s obscene of X to charge so much for bingo.

 

Ports

 

It’s not very fair to hold a line responsible for your time in port but I would give the edge to Celebrity for making the disembarkation and reboarding process smooth. They sometimes had cold towels on reboarding, which was refreshing.

 

Attitude of staff

 

We found that the staff on both ships went well past our needs or even hopes for service, except our waiter on Celebrity. If you took him out of the equation, you would not be able to distinguish the two ships, service wise. We had nice service from the Concierge on Celebrity (my luggage was lost) and some very nice encounters on Navigator, also. There were bingo announcements every day on both lines. Royal Caribbean made more announcements and Celebrity put pages of shopping ads in their Daily Compass (the amount of paper these lines must waste each year is phenomenal).

 

Attitude of other passengers

 

I don’t think you could distinguish between the two crowds. Most people go on holiday to relax or have fun and folks were doing those things on both ships. The average age on Navigator, according to the cruise director, was 41. They did not announce the average age on Celebrity but I would put it at mid to late fifties, which is not that different and likely would have no effect on the ship’s activities, although there were more sedate activities and the shows were certainly geared toward folks who recalled older songs and Broadway numbers.

 

Overall

 

We enjoyed both cruises and would travel each line again, based on the itinerary and price. We likely had more fun on Royal Caribbean but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend either line in the future. Both have their merits and both are very similar in many ways. Celebrity advertises itself as “refined” but I think sedate might be a better descriptor, based on our week. It was a more relaxing holiday because of the slower pace of the ship and it was fun.

[WeBeCruisin']

Lee, thanks for a very fair, objective and well-balanced comparison of the two lines.

 

I agree with just about everything you've said, having sailed Celebrity three times and Royal Caribbean five times. For comparison purposes, though, I'll only mention Celebrity's Constellation and Summit, and RCCL's Brilliance of the Seas, since they're more in line with the size of the ships you mentioned.

 

We were up until about 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. each night and found things still vey lively, but to be fair, we were primarily in the casino and in the Martini/Schooner bar areas, where they had late-night live entertainment. On those ships we really didn't visit the disco, so maybe that venue was dead each night at an early time, also.

 

Another factor might have been length of cruise and itinerary, although generally, the longer the cruise, the more "sedate" the passengers. We were on the Summit for a 10-day Southern Caribbean over Thanksgiving, the Constellation was a 14-day Baltics and Russia, and the Brilliance was a 12-day Med/Greek Isles.

 

Also, maybe port intensity would dictate late-night participation, particularly if there are early morning excursions almost every day.

 

I also thought that RCCL's dining room offerings and service were not that much different from Celebrity's, and I would give RCCL a solid edge in the buffet layout and food offerings. Although Celebrity has waiters who will carry your tray for you and find you a table, Royal Caribbean made you sometimes have to wait for a coffee attendant to serve you, rather than letting you get your own.

 

Again, great comparison!

 

Allen

[nyer]

Thank you for that great comparison. I just recently sailed on Navigator (2/06) and I am considering the Constellation for my next cruise, so I really appreciated this review.

[C 2 C]

Thanks for the detailed comparison. We've been on three RCL ships and found none remarkable. We have sailed a bunch on Celebrity but some of them have also been unspectacular. We are on Voyager next month and it will be nice to experience a newer class of ship... as well as RCL perks compared to Celebrity's:rolleyes: (lack thereof.)

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Thanks to all for reading. It ended up being longer than I planned.