Loyal X cruisers try RCCL - LONG review

[lysolqn]

Thanks for the great review, we are trying X for the first time in January having been on RCI 3 times.

 

Hope you enjoy!

[WineDown17]

Having sailed both lines numerous times, this was spot on.

 

RCCL definitely has more for our kids- including other kids...

 

But I prefer a more intimate setting- the M class ships are a great "compromise" if you will of size, amenities, and traditional cruising.

 

My biggest disapponintment when comparing the 2 lines side by side are their suites. I am a huge fan of the suites on X (who wouldnt be!!?!) Having a butler who spoils you rotten- and gets memy cappucino free each morning- divine. Not to mention the accomodations themselves.

 

The "suite" we have on Voyager was nothing more than a slightly larger room with a curtain you could pull between the couch and our bed. No special treatment, nothing at all special about it. It was a HUGE waste of money.

 

I also prefer the itineraries on X for Western Med more- it is nice to have the option to do a cruise that covers more miles- vs doubling back to always return to the port of origin.

 

And dresscode was spot on. My 9 year old wore a tux on formal nights on RCCL- and he was the ONLY child on that sailing that did so. Polo shirts were far more common. Didnt bother me, but I wanted him to experience that more traditional "formal night" experience.

 

As my dad used to day, "That is why they have chocolate, vanilla and strawberry icecream- so everyone can have something they like".

[lysolqn]

It makes one wonder why RCCL doesn't just amalgamate Celebrity's ships into the parent company and do away with Celebrity altogether. :eek: I sincerely hope not though.

 

Ouch...bite your tongue! While owned and operated by the same parent company, the two lines are distinct in both the products they offer and the demographics to which they target market (although, admittedly, the line of demarkation with respect to both the aforementioned does, on occasion, seem to blur just a wee bit). The introduction of the Solstice-class and its new innovations makes me wonder if that line isn't going to become even more blurred with time but we'll just have to wait and see. I, for one, hope RCI not only continues to keep the X and the RCCL products distinct, but also continues to focus their respective marketing efforts on different segments of the cruising public. (I suspect if I said the same thing over on the Royal Caribbean board I'd be run out of Dodge in a heartbeat!)

[4Adam13]

Awesome review. It was very detailed and quite objective for the most part. I think it will serve a lot of people well who are loyal X cruisers and considering one of the new giant ships.

 

On a side note that I find interesting....

 

According to RCL's corporate annual report, RCCL serves both the contemporary and premium segments of the cruise industry, with the focus on contemporary, while X serves the premium segment.

 

With that in mind, I've noticed that the vast majority of X cruisers who have sailed on RCCL, find the food (which I think is one of the biggest draws to cruising) and service so much better on X. But....if you look at the overall pricing of cruises between RCCL and X, RCCL I think is much higher. It would appear that maybe RCCL is trying to compensate for large expense of the "new, bigger, and better" ships by charging a premium.

 

Just a thought I had and again, thanks for the review. It was A #1!

[Sky Sweet]

Awesome review. It was very detailed and quite objective for the most part. I think it will serve a lot of people well who are loyal X cruisers and considering one of the new giant ships.

 

On a side note that I find interesting....

 

According to RCL's corporate annual report, RCCL serves both the contemporary and premium segments of the cruise industry, with the focus on contemporary, while X serves the premium segment.

 

With that in mind, I've noticed that the vast majority of X cruisers who have sailed on RCCL, find the food (which I think is one of the biggest draws to cruising) and service so much better on X. But....if you look at the overall pricing of cruises between RCCL and X, RCCL I think is much higher. It would appear that maybe RCCL is trying to compensate for large expense of the "new, bigger, and better" ships by charging a premium.

 

Just a thought I had and again, thanks for the review. It was A #1!

 

I can't speak for RCCL's mega ships because I have never been on one, but the food on RCCL's Brilliance of the Seas during our cruise from Barcelona to the Greek Isles and Turkey was very comparable to our dining experiences on Celebrity. The only difference is that Celebrity has a better specialty restaurant, while Royal Caribbean has a much better buffet.

[4Adam13]

I dont' think for a minute that everyone who frequents X believes that the food and service is better than RCCL, but out of all the reviews I've ever read, it seems the vast majority do. Coinicidence....maybe.

[lysolqn]

Awesome review. It was very detailed and quite objective for the most part. I think it will serve a lot of people well who are loyal X cruisers and considering one of the new giant ships.

 

On a side note that I find interesting....

 

According to RCL's corporate annual report, RCCL serves both the contemporary and premium segments of the cruise industry, with the focus on contemporary, while X serves the premium segment.

 

With that in mind, I've noticed that the vast majority of X cruisers who have sailed on RCCL, find the food (which I think is one of the biggest draws to cruising) and service so much better on X. But....if you look at the overall pricing of cruises between RCCL and X, RCCL I think is much higher. It would appear that maybe RCCL is trying to compensate for large expense of the "new, bigger, and better" ships by charging a premium.

 

Just a thought I had and again, thanks for the review. It was A #1!

 

Thank you.

 

Yes, we've noticed that RCCL's prices are oftentimes considerably higher than X's for similar cruises - an interesting phenomenon when you consider that one is a mainstream product while the other is considered premium. And while a criuse is a cruise is a cruise, differences do exisit one line from the other (as noted in my review). From personal experience, I can tell you that the tab for seven of us on this seven-night Freedom cruise was way, way higher than what we've paid for seven of us on longer X cruises! In fact, when planning our recent cruise, we were also considering Liberty of the Seas which left the day before we did, but the pricing was in the stratosphere. I'm not sure how to explain it, but perhaps it does have to do with RCI's debt service.

[lysolqn]

I dont' think for a minute that everyone who frequents X believes that the food and service is better than RCCL, but out of all the reviews I've ever read, it seems the vast majority do. Coinicidence....maybe.

 

No, I don't think it's coincidence at all; I think it is the result of the two lines offering different products to different target markets. While we had no issue with service on Freedom, it is, in fact, different from the service on X, primarily I think, because of passenger demographics. But, food selection/quality/presentation is a whole other subject, and IMHO RCCL isn't even in the running.

[Sky Sweet]

Thank you.

 

Yes, we've noticed that RCCL's prices are oftentimes considerably higher than X's for similar cruises - an interesting phenomenon when you consider that one is a mainstream product while the other is considered premium. And while a criuse is a cruise is a cruise, differences do exisit one line from the other (as noted in my review). From personal experience, I can tell you that the tab for seven of us on this seven-night Freedom cruise was way, way higher than what we've paid for seven of us on longer X cruises! In fact, when planning our recent cruise, we were also considering Liberty of the Seas which left the day before we did, but the pricing was in the stratosphere. I'm not sure how to explain it, but perhaps it does have to do with RCI's debt service.

 

Hi lysolgn :)

 

The reason why Royal Caribbean's prices are often considerably higher than Celebrity is probably due to the fact that they can fill their ships with higher prices than most Celebrity cruisers are willing to pay. What is really surprising is that Celebrity has a lot less ships/berths to fill so it should be easier for them to fill their ships with higher prices, especially since it has a reputation for being a superior product, and reputation is usually a more significant factor in creating demand than reality.

 

In my opinion, this suggests that while some people prefer Celebrity, a lot more people prefer Royal Caribbean, but most of them don't post on this board.

[4Adam13]

Hi lysolgn :)

 

The reason why Royal Caribbean's prices are often considerably higher than Celebrity is probably due to the fact that they can fill their ships with higher prices than most Celebrity cruisers are willing to pay. What is really surprising is that Celebrity has a lot less ships/berths to fill so it should be easier for them to fill their ships with higher prices, especially since it has a reputation for being a superior product, and reputation is usually a more significant factor in creating demand than reality.

 

In my opinion, this suggests that while some people prefer Celebrity, a lot more people prefer Royal Caribbean, but most of them don't post on this board.

 

I conducted a financial audit study on RCL's corporate annual report for one of my MBA classes and the reason those prices are higher is directly related to the cost of the Freedom class of ships. With that being the case, since X has new ships on the horizon, I can venture a pretty good guess that their prices will rise a little as well. Check it out in their annual report if you want the proof in the numbers.

[Sky Sweet]

I conducted a financial audit study on RCL's corporate annual report for one of my MBA classes and the reason those prices are higher is directly related to the cost of the Freedom class of ships. With that being the case, since X has new ships on the horizon, I can venture a pretty good guess that their prices will rise a little as well. Check it out in their annual report if you want the proof in the numbers.

 

Hi 4Adam13 :)

 

I understand that if a corporate entity has more invested in a product they will try to recoup that investment.

 

On the other hand, a product's value is determined by what a buyer is willing to pay for it and if passengers weren't willing to pay those high prices, RCCL would have been forced to lower them in order to fill their ships.

 

In addition, since every business wants to maximize their profits, I think Celebrity would charge more for their cruises if their passengers were willing to pay it.

 

I think that one of the reasons why a lot of people are willing to pay more for RCCL is because of the WOW factor of most of their newer ships, which are usually in excellent condition, as well.

 

It appears that the typical Celebrity passenger is more concerned with a relaxing laid back cruise experience, without too many children, while the typical RCCL passenger is more concerned about a beautiful ship in excellent condition with a high energy ambiance.

 

It will be interesting to see if Celebrity's new ships will be able to command the prices that RCCL does.

[78232]

Thanks for the great review. We have sailed with HAL several times and felt very comfortable however I have been wondering about trying X or RCCL. You answered many questions in an unbiased manner, and like you Carnival and NCL aren't an option.

[lysolqn]

I conducted a financial audit study on RCL's corporate annual report for one of my MBA classes and the reason those prices are higher is directly related to the cost of the Freedom class of ships. With that being the case, since X has new ships on the horizon, I can venture a pretty good guess that their prices will rise a little as well. Check it out in their annual report if you want the proof in the numbers.

 

While the RCCL product is by no means bad, it just isn't a particularly good fit for us and from our perspective, the X product is superior; apparently not so for the thousands of others who prefer RCCL over X. Without passing judgment, it's obvious that X markets to an entirely different demographic than does RCCL (just check out the commericials/print ads of each line), yet RCCL's demographic is eager to pay that line's higher fares. Go figure.

[voyager70]

While the RCCL product is by no means bad, it just isn't a particularly good fit for us and from our perspective, the X product is superior; apparently not so for the thousands of others who prefer RCCL over X. Without passing judgment, it's obvious that X markets to an entirely different demographic than does RCCL (just check out the commericials/print ads of each line), yet RCCL's demographic is eager to pay that line's higher fares. Go figure.

 

 

Hi lysolqn :)

 

Thanks for your review. Having 15 cruises on X and RCI under my belt, with RCI being my preferred line, I feel your comments on the demographics & socio economic differences (which you posted on the RCI boards) are a little off. I travel with my longtime GF and group of friends, all of whom have at least a 4-year degree, several (myself included) have graduate degrees. We are all in our 30's and while we enjoy X, we all find that RCI is much more to our liking. We love the activities and night life on RCI. We love the "wow" factor of RCI ships. We don't expect 5 star dining on a mass market cruise line (say what you want but X is mass market just like RCI, Princess, HAL, NCL and the like - check the prices) and have never been disappointed by the food on either line. As some have already stated, RCI is often more expensive than X. Whatever the reason is, I don't care. Perhaps people don't dress as formally on RCI because they prefer a more casual atmosphere, but please don't imply that RCI pax are of a lesser socio economic level because of this than X. That's simply offensive. After all, the luxury lines (Seabourne, Silversea, Regent, etc) have no formal nights. JMHO.

 

Jason

[lysolqn]

Hi lysolqn :)

 

Thanks for your review. Having 15 cruises on X and RCI under my belt, with RCI being my preferred line, I feel your comments on the demographics & socio economic differences (which you posted on the RCI boards) are a little off. I travel with my longtime GF and group of friends, all of whom have at least a 4-year degree, several (myself included) have graduate degrees. We are all in our 30's and while we enjoy X, we all find that RCI is much more to our liking. We love the activities and night life on RCI. We love the "wow" factor of RCI ships. We don't expect 5 star dining on a mass market cruise line (say what you want but X is mass market just like RCI, Princess, HAL, NCL and the like - check the prices) and have never been disappointed by the food on either line. As some have already stated, RCI is often more expensive than X. Whatever the reason is, I don't care. Perhaps people don't dress as formally on RCI because they prefer a more casual atmosphere, but please don't imply that RCI pax are of a lesser socio economic level because of this than X. That's simply offensive. After all, the luxury lines (Seabourne, Silversea, Regent, etc) have no formal nights. JMHO.

 

Jason

 

Jason, my reference to a difference in the socio-economic demographics of RCCL pax vs. those on X has nothing whatsoever to do with how people dress on formal nights. I do not equate one's willingness or lack thereof to "dess up" on formal nights with one's socio-economic position; thus, your point that luxury lines have no formal nights is specious. One simply has to look to the target markets of each line to understand that the onboard demographics will necessarily be different - not better or worse, just different. Are there exceptions to the rule? You bet; there always are. My reference is an observation based soley on our particular experiences on both RCCL and X, an observation with which you are certainly free to disagree.

[Sky Sweet]

Jason, my reference to a difference in the socio-economic demographics of RCCL pax vs. those on X has nothing whatsoever to do with how people dress on formal nights. I do not equate one's willingness or lack thereof to "dess up" on formal nights with one's socio-economic position; thus, your point that luxury lines have no formal nights is specious. One simply has to look to the target markets of each line to understand that the onboard demographics will necessarily be different - not better or worse, just different. Are there exceptions to the rule? You bet; there always are. My reference is an observation based soley on our particular experiences on both RCCL and X, an observation with which you are certainly free to disagree.

 

Hi lysolgn :)

 

Even though Celebrity has much older passengers and less children than RCCL, both cruise lines have a passenger base that is very comparable in terms of socio economic factors.

 

Celebrity has a tendency to attract passengers who prefer a laid back cruise experience, while RCCL attracts people who prefer a more vibrant ambiance but that has nothing to do with demographics.

[excitedofharpenden]

 

I think that one of the reasons why a lot of people are willing to pay more for RCCL is because of the WOW factor of most of their newer ships, which are usually in excellent condition, as well.

 

It appears that the typical Celebrity passenger is more concerned with a relaxing laid back cruise experience, without too many children, while the typical RCCL passenger is more concerned about a beautiful ship in excellent condition with a high energy ambiance.

 

OK, I picked out this part of your post and perhaps I'm reading something into it that isn't there. You seem to be saying in a round about way that =X= passengers wouldn't be looking for a beautiful ship in excellent condition. I have to say those are a couple of reasons I come back to Celebrity. I think their ships are beautifully understated. No neon lights, but very warm and well decorated (I also happen to like the quirky artwork). I like the relaxing atmosphere too, but if the ships weren't designed to my liking I would probably not return. I hear lots said about the less than excellent condition of Celebrity's ships and I must admit I have never found that. I think there are a lot of "virtual cruisers" on these boards who put that message out having never cruised X or certainly not recently.

 

I haven't tried RCCL yet, but if I were to, I'd choose the Radiance Class. I've heard some very good things about what attractive ships they are and a cruise on one of those is in my future.

 

Phil

[Captain Jake]

Hi lysolgn :)

 

The reason why Royal Caribbean's prices are often considerably higher than Celebrity is probably due to the fact that they can fill their ships with higher prices than most Celebrity cruisers are willing to pay. What is really surprising is that Celebrity has a lot less ships/berths to fill so it should be easier for them to fill their ships with higher prices, especially since it has a reputation for being a superior product, and reputation is usually a more significant factor in creating demand than reality.

 

In my opinion, this suggests that while some people prefer Celebrity, a lot more people prefer Royal Caribbean, but most of them don't post on this board.

 

Actually an RCCL poster is more likely to use the internet than a Celebrity cruiser IMHO

The only places RCCL commands higher prices are in the Caribbean and Alaska when children are available to sail.You would be hard pressed to find sailings at other times when that is the case.RCCL is filling cabins with children that that often spend little or nothing on the extras.While the kids are in school RCCL sailings are a much better value than X and thats when we sail RCCL and give up the great Celebrity ambiance in order to save several hundred dollars.

[Sky Sweet]

Actually an RCCL poster is more likely to use the internet than a Celebrity cruiser IMHO

The only places RCCL commands higher prices are in the Caribbean and Alaska when children are available to sail.You would be hard pressed to find sailings at other times when that is the case.RCCL is filling cabins with children that that often spend little or nothing on the extras.While the kids are in school RCCL sailings are a much better value than X and thats when we sail RCCL and give up the great Celebrity ambiance in order to save several hundred dollars.

 

Hi Captain Jake :)

 

It is also true for their Mediterranean Cruises on Brilliance of the Seas from Barcelona to the Greek Isles and Turkey during prime season. I know because we took that cruise in June, and had researched all of the other options before making that reservation

 

However, there were a few reasons why I was willing to pay more to sail on Brilliance of the Seas.

 

Our elite status in Celebrity's Captain Club entitled us to use their Diamond concierge lounge which is a great perk on such a port intensive cruise. It was really nice to be able to relax in the concierge lounge between a long day of sight seeing and dinner, while enjoying the company of other passengers in such an intimate setting.

 

At the time I had made my reservation, which was fifteen months in advance, the M class ships were experiencing unpredictable pod problems and I didn't want to take a chance on having ports cancelled or the ship not leaving as scheduled for a cruise of this nature.

 

I also preferered to sail on Brilliance of the Seas, which is a beautiful ship in excellent condition, than Galaxy which is much older with less amenities, but I realize that is a matter of personal preference.

[Shak]

I have sailed on both lines. While I can’t say I had a bad cruise on X I prefer to sail RCCL because I feel I have more fun on their ships. Lately I have seen more and more X cruisers sailing on RCCL for the Crown & Anchor perks that you don’t get with Celebrity.

Shak

[Captain Jake]

I have sailed on both lines. While I can’t say I had a bad cruise on X I prefer to sail RCCL because I feel I have more fun on their ships. Lately I have seen more and more X cruisers sailing on RCCL for the Crown & Anchor perks that you don’t get with Celebrity.

 

Shak

 

Sometimes we feel like the fun of RCCL and sometimes we want the pampering of Celebrity.The C&A perks are a big plus on RCCL as is the dining experience on Celebrity.RCCL also has regular sailings from Bayonne,NJ which is driving distance.Celebrity has a few sailing yearly from there but they can be a bit pricey

[Schplinky]

I can't speak for RCCL's mega ships because I have never been on one, but the food on RCCL's Brilliance of the Seas during our cruise from Barcelona to the Greek Isles and Turkey was very comparable to our dining experiences on Celebrity. The only difference is that Celebrity has a better specialty restaurant, while Royal Caribbean has a much better buffet.

 

That was our exact impression, too.

 

Kudos to the OP for mentioning where RCL excels (ship design, accommodation, ease of boarding) because I rarely read past the first few paragraphs of a review where everything is perfect or everything is awful.

[PurpleCow]

I think she said "demographic," not socio-economic level. Not the same thing.

[Schplinky]

OK, I picked out this part of your post and perhaps I'm reading something into it that isn't there. You seem to be saying in a round about way that =X= passengers wouldn't be looking for a beautiful ship in excellent condition. I have to say those are a couple of reasons I come back to Celebrity. I think their ships are beautifully understated. No neon lights, but very warm and well decorated (I also happen to like the quirky artwork). I like the relaxing atmosphere too, but if the ships weren't designed to my liking I would probably not return. I hear lots said about the less than excellent condition of Celebrity's ships and I must admit I have never found that. I think there are a lot of "virtual cruisers" on these boards who put that message out having never cruised X or certainly not recently.

 

I haven't tried RCCL yet, but if I were to, I'd choose the Radiance Class. I've heard some very good things about what attractive ships they are and a cruise on one of those is in my future.

 

Phil

 

Phil, I could not agree with you more. The Celebrity ships we've sailed on have been in good repair, just as the RCL ships have been. I do think that a large part of the difference between any two ships is their age. Some older ships just don't hold up well while some do. We had the great opportunity of traveling on Century last spring and I haven't stopped raving about it yet. We've also traveled on Sovereign and Majesty and while they were also great older ships for their line, they would not measure up to Century, in my opinion.

 

I think the Radiance class is the nicest class of ship we've yet to sail and I'm looking forward to seeing what the roughly same-sized Solstice and Equinox have to offer. We said on Brilliance (a Radiance class ship) that if we could have an RCL designed ship with the specialty restaurants and martini bars from Celebrity, while retaining the far superior (in our opinions, at least) entertainment and activity schedule of RCL, we would have found our favorite experience. The RCL specialty restaurants are nice (more along the line of the Pinnacle on HAL) but compared to the Celebrity specialty rooms, they would be considered nothing special.

[Sky Sweet]

I think she said "demographic," not socio-economic level. Not the same thing.

 

Hi Purple Cow :)

 

I had previously responded to the posts about demographics by stating that even though Celebrity has older passengers and less children than Royal Caribbean, both cruise lines have a passenger base that is very similar in terms of socio economic factors.

 

Based on the definition of demographics below, what other characteristics would have been considered by the posters who think that the demographics of the two cruise lines are very different?

 

"Demographics refers to selected population characteristics Commonly-used demographics include age, income, disabilities, educational attainment, home ownership, employment status, and location.