New to this Forum; Compare and Contrast: Celebrity - Royal Caribbean?

[Ex-Airbalancer]

I don’t need many ship actives to keep us entertained , so really the less the better 

 most of our cruises are transatlantic or repositioning with a lot of seadays , 😁

One thing I wish they would bring back is having a musician playing at the Sunset bar around 5 PM

[NutsAboutGolf]

3 hours ago, Saturngrl said:

We have sailed Celebrity and RC (plus 2 Carnivals for me).  We much prefer Celebrity as Elite level members (Diamond on RC).  Differences:

1.  Cloth towels in the public restrooms on Celebrity, vs. paper towels on RC.

2. Public restrooms on Celebrity are cleaner.

3. Non-smoking casino on Celebrity.

4. Cafe al Baccio is much quieter with better service than Cafe Promenade.

5. No reservations needed for shows.

6. Better food in the MDR and buffet.

7. If you have a beverage package on Celebrity, once you provide your card the bartender will only ask for your stateroom number after that.

8. The vibe on Celebrity is definitely more refined and quieter. 

9.  Bocce on the Lawn Club on Celebrity S-class ships. 

 

 

 

I'm just being fair, the newer RCI ships have two casinos, and the smaller one is smoke-free, I only saw a few slot players and never saw anyone at the tables (I'm just one datapoint) which could be good or bad

 

With Cafe al Bacio, I've been seeing chaos in the mornings as recently as April; 25+ in line, officers doing their best to lend a hand, and zero open seating.  I found the Cafe Promenade to be far more orderly in the morning.  Yet with Cafe al Bacio once the morning rush is over it becomes a relaxing experience

[Saturngrl]

Hi Nuts, 

 

Yes, I visited the non-smoking casino on Allure this past May.  The reason no one plays the tables there is a higher minimum bet on them (only one $15 table and more $25 tables).  Very little variety of slot machines too.  

 

Yes, there is usually a morning rush in Cafe Al Baccio, but we love to visit it later in the day, especially to enjoy a free pastry with a latte' for DH and Darjeeling for me.  

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

I'm just being fair, the newer RCI ships have two casinos, and the smaller one is smoke-free, I only saw a few slot players and never saw anyone at the tables (I'm just one datapoint) which could be good or bad

 

With Cafe al Bacio, I've been seeing chaos in the mornings as recently as April; 25+ in line, officers doing their best to lend a hand, and zero open seating.  I found the Cafe Promenade to be far more orderly in the morning.  Yet with Cafe al Bacio once the morning rush is over it becomes a relaxing experience

Probably if you went to the Diamond lounge it would be a zoo in the morning with people trying get their free cappuccino 😉😁

[NutsAboutGolf]

13 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Probably if you went to the Diamond lounge it would be a zoo in the morning with people trying get their free cappuccino 😉😁

 

On the WoS we went on two different mornings and couldn't get in, I'm 95% sure they were physically closed but I suppose it could have been nearly empty but they were restricting Diamond members.  I have no idea why, never checked the hours in the app

[doghog]

 

42 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

On the WoS we went on two different mornings and couldn't get in, I'm 95% sure they were physically closed but I suppose it could have been nearly empty but they were restricting Diamond members.  I have no idea why, never checked the hours in the app

The Crown Lounge (Diamond Lounge name was dropped last year) is only restricted to D members in the evening during the CAS HH only if the numbers of D+ and Pinnacles are high for only that specific cruise. Never in the morning as the CL is always open. Coffee machine and light breakfast items is always self service. The CL could be closed if there is a maintenance issue. The CL is open even if not staffed. 

 

Since you are a D member you would have received a letter from the LA on your cruise letting you know the times if you were restricted from the CL. 

Edited August 1 by doghog

[NutsAboutGolf]

19 minutes ago, doghog said:

 

The Crown Lounge (Diamond Lounge name was dropped last year) is only restricted to D members in the evening during the CAS HH only if the numbers of D+ and Pinnacles are high for only that specific cruise. Never in the morning as the CL is always open. Coffee machine and light breakfast items is always self service. The CL could be closed if there is a maintenance issue. The CL is open even if not staffed. 

 

Do you know what time it opens or if it's 24/7?  I was about to say we did get it during those evening hours but after thinking about it, I believe the couple in front of us held the door so neither of us scanned

 

Edit: so it's possible the sea passes weren't coded correctly; thanks to the reciprocity improvement, will be D+ next time

Edited August 1 by NutsAboutGolf

[doghog]

30 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Do you know what time it opens or if it's 24/7?  I was about to say we did get it during those evening hours but after thinking about it, I believe the couple in front of us held the door so neither of us scanned

 

Edit: so it's possible the sea passes weren't coded correctly; thanks to the reciprocity improvement, will be D+ next time

The ships we've been on the CL is always open. I don't drink coffee and my wife has one cup with breakfast in the MDR. But I  know early risers that go in the CL early in the morning to get their caffeine fix.  Let me preference this by saying the only times we go in the CL is on the morning of TAD if doing a B2B, embarkation day while waiting for the cabins to open (wish RC would follow Celebrity's lead) , in the afternoon after being in port for a glass of ice water and always in the evening for the CAS HH. 

 

My understanding is your Seapass card isn't coded for restricted times if any for that specific cruise. The CL concierge or one of his staff will man the door only in the evening if the CL is only restricted for that specific cruise that would exclude Ds for only the limited hours of the CAS HH. IMO. D members are getting the shaft on those cruises that only allow D+ and Pinnacles in the CL during the evening CAS HH. 

 

Edited August 1 by doghog

[island lady]

12 hours ago, doghog said:

 

The Crown Lounge (Diamond Lounge name was dropped last year) is only restricted to D members in the evening during the CAS HH only if the numbers of D+ and Pinnacles are high for only that specific cruise. Never in the morning as the CL is always open. Coffee machine and light breakfast items is always self service. The CL could be closed if there is a maintenance issue. The CL is open even if not staffed. 

 

Since you are a D member you would have received a letter from the LA on your cruise letting you know the times if you were restricted from the CL. 

 

Agree....I have never witnessed the former DL (now Crown Lounge) closed at any time..on any ship.  

[Harrisonkid]

It’s all been said. As we have aged we enjoy the less hectic vib on Celebrity.

Bottom line is if we are cruising with our grandkids it’s Royal…Friend's or Selves Celebrity.

 

[Vagabond Knight]

Just remember that "generalities" are just that, because your experience can vary from ship to ship and itinerary to itinerary, and the entire experience is from the perspective of a person's likes and dislikes.  In general, we LOVE Celebrity and find the food (in the MDR, buffet, and specialty restaurants) and service to be superior to most cruise lines. We also love the ship design of the Celebrity S-Class ships (ease of moving around, venue sizes, specialty dining options), but don't like Celebrity's Millennium class ship design, nor do we like sailing out of Tampa (the demographic is far too geriatric for us at this point in our lives, and we're in our mid-60s... this perspective may change as life goes on,of course). We'll probably try an E-class ship sometime in the next year.

 

You can generalize about some things fairly objectively. I think we're all in agreement that there tend to be far more kids on RCCL than on Celebrity. Other items fall into the "that depends" category. In the past 8 months, we've been on the Symphony of the Seas and the Radiance of the Seas, for example, and it was like sailing two different cruise lines. The Symphony had amazing, high quality entertainment with top-notch performers. We walked out of two shows on the Radiance because frankly, we've seen better high school productions. The singing and dancing were poor and the choreography was basic and amateurish. On both ships, the more "unscheduled entertainment" was annoying with loud music seemingly everywhere, and often overlapping in range such that you were being bombarded with two competing genres. Trying to find a QUIET place to relax, other than in one's own cabin, seems to be much harder on RCCL.

 

Honestly, you can listen to other people's opinions all day, but you've probably got to give Celebrity a try to see whether the line suits you or not. Like I said, you'll still have differences in your experience between the different ship classes and the departure ports, so you may have to bite the bullet and try several cruises before making up your mind. 😁