Royal carribean as opposed to Celebrity

[rebeccalouise]

There were aspects of Royal Caribbean that I liked but with two RC cruises under my belt, I have to say that I have had a better time on Disney, Celebrity, Princess, Norwegian and Carnival.

 

One huge drawback for me was the greenish tinted glass. On the open deck there weren't many, if any, places to go without glass in your way. There was no wraparound deck so you feel a bit hemmed in- IMO.

 

We always love to board new ships and head for the pool. On Radiance, last Easter, I was immediately struck by the stench from the indoor/outdoor carpet around the pool. I understand that will kids the indoor/outdoor carpet makes sense- less slippage and injury but many people spill drinks, etc on the carpet and when sitting by the pool I was caught a wiff of what smelled like pee. Yuck- stopped hanging out by the pool. Instead we went to the tot pool with the water slide. Better there.

 

All in all, I don't think I would travel RC again unless I went for the itinerary. Like this summer, got a good deal on Princess to Ireland and Scotland. Not a Princess fan but willing to use them for the itinerary.

[SusieV]

You should really reconsider your strict rule of not dinning with strangers for that is part of the fun in cruising

 

Some people do enjoy quality time with their spouses and prefer to dine alone in the evenings. We don't mind sharing a table at breakfast and lunch but dinner is special to us.

 

I realize that many people enjoy the tradition of shared table dining, but there are some of us who do prefer the table for two.

 

My husband and I have been lucky enough to have our request for one honoured on all of our cruises so far and we are not Elite (yet!).

[Tatka]

The main difference I noticed is that Royal Caribbean tends to be more "active." I.e. there are more adventurous activities available such as rock climbing, ice skating, mini golfing etc. There is more to do for younger people. People tend to stay up later and party a bit more. Celebrity is a bit more sophisticated and is more of a laid back, relaxing type experience (although there is still a lot to do if you want to keep busy). I also found Celebrity to be slightly more upscale (i.e. more attentive staff, better quality food, etc.).

 

As for concern about waking up in an inside stateroom, you can always schedule a wake up call or bring a small alarm clock with you.

 

 

Yes, generally you are correct. But, Rhapsody is smaller and older ship. Ice-skating isn't available on anything smaller than Voyager class of RCCL and the only ships with mini-golfing available from Vision class are Legend and Splendor of the Seas.

 

If I had to pick ships I'd choose Infiniti (how is pods problem btw?) of Sapphire Princess. Celebrity would be my choice for it's wonderfull service/food and Princess for its's great pools, various entertainment and anytime dining. :)

 

We have never sailed these itineraries so can't comment on that.

[Tatka]

Some people do enjoy quality time with their spouses and prefer to dine alone in the evenings. We don't mind sharing a table at breakfast and lunch but dinner is special to us.

 

I realize that many people enjoy the tradition of shared table dining, but there are some of us who do prefer the table for two.

 

Same for us. :)

 

I usually make tons of friends, but we are non-English speakers and while our conversational language is fine, it's not relaxing to talk to each other in English during 2 hours of meal.

[oysterfiend]

Again thanks for the replies,

ITS BEEN A GREAT HELP!!!:D

one thing I have learned is that most people like Celebrity Infinity.

I did my sums yesterday with currency exchange etc and Infinity seems to be winning,

Pretty much keen on Panama itinerary now so depending on response from T.A it will be a choice of 2 Panama Trips Celebrity/ Princess,

or the 14 nighter to Hawaii on Golden Princess- only 5 days in port rest at sea- this is choice Number 3 now

So at moment Rhapsody of Seas

is out!

When I did break it down- balcony -for all ships Rhapsody per day actually works out dearer than Infinity- not that cost is everything-

But Infinity sounds a nicer Package overall

Infinity looks as though its cheaper than Princess - if so that will help with cross country airfares.

[San Diego Ellie]

I just got off the Splendour of the Seas seven day Med cruise, and I need to say that Royal Caribbean, at least on this ship was bare bones, and did not compare to Celebrity. We were in a junior suite, and they do not even provide lotion or robes. We were a group of five from three households, and all felt this way. A few other examples: the baked Alaska and lobster have both disappeared. The entertainment was so substandard, the worst I have had in any of my nine cruises on varied cruise lines, and the ship wa short on activities, in my opinion. I do have to say that the coffee was great; the food was adequate; and the staff were excellent.

 

As far as the Golden Princess, that is a nice ship, and we have enjoyed all of our four Princess sailings, one of which was on Golden.

[San Diego Ellie]

I just got off the Splendour of the Seas seven day Med cruise, and I need to say that Royal Caribbean, at least on this ship was bare bones, and did not compare to Celebrity. We were in a junior suite, and they do not even provide lotion or robes. We were a group of five from three households, and all felt this way. A few other examples: the baked Alaska and lobster have both disappeared. The entertainment was so substandard, the worst I have had in any of my nine cruises on varied cruise lines, and the ship wa short on activities, in my opinion. I do have to say that the coffee was great; the food was adequate; and the staff were excellent.

 

As far as the Golden Princess, that is a nice ship, and we have enjoyed all of our four Princess sailings, one of which was on Golden. We have done the RT to Hawaii from LA (on the Regal, now gone to P & O) and loved that cruise.

[johnjen]

I was going to start up a thread on the same topic, so instead I'll just comment on here.

 

Celebrity Solstice next year will be our first cruise with this line. Our previous three were with RCL. While we enjoyed all three of our past cruises, we thought we'd give RCL a break this time and go with another cruise line, so we chose X instead. From what we've heard, we're looking forward to seeing if it's true what others have been telling us, that the X experience is better than RCL. We've never ran into problems with RCL except that our commode in our stateroom on Empress kept on belching an awful stink that was never really corrected by the cabin attendant. Our complaint led to getting a discount on our next cruise with RCL, but it would expire in June this year and we're not cruising this year at all.

 

Anyway, as we sat in the Empress's theatre last year, watching our third "Love and Marriage" game, we decided to try another cruise line. The food on all three cruises was pretty much the same, so it was time to just see what's happening with another line.

 

So far, the people on these forums have been relatively accurate. To the OP, I think your choice of choosing X was a wise decision over RCL.

[Tatka]

I just got off the Splendour of the Seas seven day Med cruise, and I need to say that Royal Caribbean, at least on this ship was bare bones, and did not compare to Celebrity. We were in a junior suite, and they do not even provide lotion or robes. We were a group of five from three households, and all felt this way. A few other examples: the baked Alaska and lobster have both disappeared. The entertainment was so substandard, the worst I have had in any of my nine cruises on varied cruise lines, and the ship wa short on activities, in my opinion. I do have to say that the coffee was great; the food was adequate; and the staff were excellent.

 

We sailed on Splendor of the Seas in Europe in 2004 and it's not typical RCCL experience.. food overall was worse than on Explorer of the Seas last year, and there was no baked Alaska. There was also less activities, I thin because of port-intensive itinerary.

[oysterfiend]

Thanks to everyone who has posted.

I have been up since 4.30 am

Sent my TA about a million emails over the weekend-

She will go nuts this morning (Monday) when she opens her emails

I have all but picked selection of cabins based on a list I got from CC folks

who have posted -

Oceanview deluxe- outlining list of all in this category with larger balconies.

This is for a cruise 25/04/2010- Panama Canal

OMG that seems forever away

 

Thanks for all your help in MY DECISION

 

NOW I only have to convince my hubby!!!!:eek:

[jimgev]

As financial necessities result in consolidation of cruise lines, we will continue to see a range of experiences within the corporate umbrella.

 

RCI will offer Celebrity as it's "top of the line" just as Carnival will offer HAL at its "top of the line".

In the end, you get what you pay for.

[UB & AS]

As financial necessities result in consolidation of cruise lines, we will continue to see a range of experiences within the corporate umbrella.

 

RCI will offer Celebrity as it's "top of the line" just as Carnival will offer HAL at its "top of the line".

In the end, you get what you pay for.

 

Agree that you tend to get what your pay for. Our experience on Oceania's Nautica last year on Rome/Singapore cruise suggested to us that you can even get more than you pay for. It was a relatively expensive cruise but was excellent value for the money. Two for one pricing and air (around the world for us) was included. We will sail with Oceania again. Bill

[Schplinky]

As financial necessities result in consolidation of cruise lines, we will continue to see a range of experiences within the corporate umbrella.

 

RCI will offer Celebrity as it's "top of the line" just as Carnival will offer HAL at its "top of the line".

In the end, you get what you pay for.

 

Actually, the top end of the RCL experience is Azamara. They spend far more on food and are a pricier experience overall than Celebrity, for those wanting a more premier experience. Celebrity and RCL are often interchangeable, in terms of fares, the basic experience and itineraries.

[Verity]

We sailed on the Infinity from San Diego to Hawaii and back to San Diego in 2007. It was a wonderful cruise and quite possibly our favorite so far. I also look for cruises where my hubby can unwind and relax. All the sea days did the trick plus they had bridge games on the many ocean days which my husband enjoyed a lot. I would say to be careful judging a cruise line by someone's bad experience on a particular ship. Nothing is perfect after all. People who have a complaint are usually the ones to write. I would also bet that the great majority of passengers had a great time even though a couple had problems.

[Sky Sweet]

As financial necessities result in consolidation of cruise lines, we will continue to see a range of experiences within the corporate umbrella.

 

RCI will offer Celebrity as it's "top of the line" just as Carnival will offer HAL at its "top of the line".

In the end, you get what you pay for.

 

Hi jimgev :)

 

If that is the case, than why does a cruise on an RCCL ship frequently cost more than a similar itinerary within the same time frame as a cruise on a Celebrity Ship?

[DC2OC]

I thinks its because RCCL is more for families and the family favored cruises may fill up earlier on that line.Its seems New England/Canada and Europe seem to be pricier on Celebrity............................Frank:)

[Tatka]

Hi jimgev :)

 

If that is the case, than why does a cruise on an RCCL ship frequently cost more than a similar itinerary within the same time frame as a cruise on a Celebrity Ship?

 

It's more expensive on Voyager and Freedom class, because of all "wow" things like Promenade, ice-skating and so on, not because of level of service or food. RCCL does much more ads on many channels so people fill ships better, which allows the rise of prices.

[Schplinky]

Celebrity also does a great deal of advertising, mostly print ads in travel magazines like Conde Naste, which not coincidentally gives it high marks. It seems a reciprocal arrangement. We've alsways noticed that the lines that do well in their annual poll are the same ones that fill ther advertising pages.

[jimgev]

Hi jimgev :)

 

If that is the case, than why does a cruise on an RCCL ship frequently cost more than a similar itinerary within the same time frame as a cruise on a Celebrity Ship?

I believe it is because of market forces. Many people feel that it is more important for them to have a cruise experience that has climbing walls, disco clubs, etc. They value those factors more than elegant dining, etc. There is nothing to say that one thing is more imprtant than another. It is a matter of choice.

Personally, I value the more traditional aspects of a cruise so I would tend more to Celebrity than Royal Caribbean. But that is merely MY choice. I am very happy that other choices are available for those who value other factors differently than I.

[cruise kitty]

you mentioned the possibility of a balcony on one the cruises, for me, that would clinch the deal. Just my opinion.

[Sky Sweet]

In my opinion, personal preferences are the biggest considerations in determining which cruise line is better.

 

In two weeks, we will be boarding a Royal Caribbean ship for our cruise from Barcelona to the Greek Isles.

 

In the past, I preferred Celebrity to Royal Caribbean because it had more spacious cabins, but that is no longer true. Our D-1 aft cabin on Brilliance of the Seas will have a slightly larger cabin than the CC aft cabins we have had on Celebrity's M class ships. Based on recent reviews, it appears this ship is also in better condition than most of Celebrity's ships.

 

While many Celebrity fans think open dining is a horrible cruise innovation, I am thrilled that we had this option on such a port intensive cruise. I have also been reading rave reviews about how well it has worked on this particular ship so far.

 

It is also a nice perk to be able to relax in a concierge lounge, while enjoying hors doevres and drinks, between a long day of sight seeing and dinner. Celebrity doesn't have anything comparable for its elite members.

 

Again, what I consider to be a postive feature of Royal Caribbean may be perceived as a negative by someone else.

[Tatka]

Royal designs cabins very smartly. We had 140 and 160 sq ft insides, both with separate sitting area.