Difference between X and Royal C

We sailed on the Summit and the Jewel OTS during the last 8 months.

The two ships are more similar than different including the service that we found better than expected on the Jewel due to some negative comments on this board.

The main differences we found are:

Jewel: We found the Centrum more beautiful and we were also pleasantly surprised by the general appearance of the ship including the buffet arrangement and furniture.

Summit: The covered pool area (Solarium) is more pleasant on the Summit because it was too cold (water and air) on the Jewel. We prefer the aft area of the buffet that is a bar (Oceanview bar) and a great place for the sailaways. The food is better in the MDR, the Blu and the speciality restaurants than their counterparts on the Jewel. We like the more quiet atmosphere of the Summit but it far from being boring.

Sherri, I am starting to think we are going to be "The Griswalds" on this cruise. [emoji57] Do they have a "Love & Marriage" type show on Celebrity?

I think they had the same type of show but I'm not sure! :D We had a great cruise but it was just not the "step up" experience I was expecting. More similarities than differences and there were things I missed from Royal.

Didn't feel like the "Griswalds" but I did feel very young! And we were in our mid 50's at the time!:D

Sherri:)

If anyone thinks that Celebrity is similar to a country club, then they haven't been to a nice club

If anyone thinks that Celebrity is similar to a country club, then they haven't been to a nice club

I guess the country clubs in Texas have a higher standard.

We don't throw chunks of ice at a man lying on the ground with a fractured neck.

Thanks for clearing that up.

I guess the country clubs in Texas have a higher standard.

We don't throw chunks of ice at a man lying on the ground with a fractured neck.

Thanks for clearing that up.

:confused::confused::confused:

OK, maybe I'm out of the loop, but please explain that. My curiosity's aroused.

Regarding RCI vs X, we just got off Vision of the Seas this past Sunday after our first RCI cruise (we've done 4 X cruises), so here's my take--

X has better food-- RCI buffet = X room service, RCI MDR = X buffet, and so on. Couldn't order off the MDR menu for room service.

Service was a step below on RCI. We were outright lied to by Guest Services a couple of times, laundry took more than 48 hours (had to go to formal night commando:eek:), inconsistent handling of mandatory sanitary procedures (small illness outbreak, reaction ranged from "I must report this to the Captain" if you declined Purell (DW is sensitive to it and washes her hands before meals instead) to AWOL staff letting everyone in without a spritz), steward refused to empty the minibar (though that happened once on X), though the towel animals were cute.

Entertainment was comparable, IMO.

No champagne or mimosa upon boarding, no chocolates on the pillows at night. We missed the little touches.

We'd cruise RCI again, but as our third choice behind Celebrity and Princess.

Is more for health fanatics and gym freaks, with a high-veg, low-carb "vitality" menu.

Totally OTT description. Good food, nicely served in a restuarant-type environment.

Stuart

Another little touch that X provides, for folks returning to the ship from their shore-side activities: A station with cold towels and iced water -- also, a nice sitting area, dock-side. :cool:

I think the little touches are special-the umbrellas, robes, chocolates, bags, cool towels, cold water @dock. I like the details to be covered and on top of great service/food will set it apart. [emoji6] Hopefully I will not be disappointed.

There have been some valid comparisons in this thread regarding small differences.

After 10 RCCL cruises we just did our first on Celebrity (Reflection). It was a beautiful ship and we wouldn't hesitate to go back. BUT, other than to nit-pick small things (some better on X and some on RCCL), our impression was that it was overall no "Better" than RCCL. We really felt it was pretty much the same as RCCL and in no way felt X was a "step above".....

Ok, then. I used to watch the Newlywed show with my Grandma, so this one show I would miss on a cruise! Always entertaining!

If you liked that one make sure you go to the Liars Club. Now that's a funny show.

If you liked that one make sure you go to the Liars Club. Now that's a funny show.

Forgot all about the Liar's Club. That is a funny show.

I have always heard that X is the "step up" brand to Royal Caribbean ships. (My TA mentioned that it is a more sophisticated cruise line) I have been on Freedom of the Seas and Jewel of the Seas, different type of ship/cruises but I enjoyed them equally. I know that Summit is not their newest/greatest but what are some differences that you have noticed between the two brands? Side note- I read on here too that even the route on this ship effects the menu, is this true?

Our opinion,,,

Celebrity better food, and service.

RCL for younger more active cruisers(zip line, flow riders, rock climbing walls, etc.)

The closet to the Freedom in size is the Solstice Class and they're 30,000 tons smaller. The class closest to the Summit is the RCL Radiance Class, which we think is RCL's best.

But what the Solstice Class lacks in size they make up for in service, elegance, and quality.

By the way, in our opinion you cruised on the best of the large ships, the Freedom, that RCL has.

We have been on both lines many times. We enjoy both and select a cruise based on itinerary, price, ship. OUR experience is that on Celebrity we usually find many people in the Elite hour who have traveled to many different places in the world. They have many ideas and information to share, which we may use for future trips. On RCCL, we find many people in the Diamond lounge who have basically cruised over and over to the Caribbean. That is not a bad thing. We have fun in both places, but just trying to demonstrate OUR experience on both lines. Celebrity offers a bit more "up scale" service, in OUR opinion. One small example. In the dining room, china on Celebrity has a Celebrity logo on the edge. It is always placed in front of you with the logo up right at the top of the plate. RCCL has no logo on the china. Not a big deal, but just a small attention to detail. We go on both lines, as well as Princess. The ship itself probably makes the biggest difference to enjoyment of the cruise.

Another little touch that X provides, for folks returning to the ship from their shore-side activities: A station with cold towels and iced water -- also, a nice sitting area, dock-side. :cool:

Or hot chocolate on the dock on cold days. They opened up the helipad for our departure from Stockholm where they were serving hot chocolate and delicious hot mulled wine.

What is the difference between the two lines?

Lawrence Welk versus Dancing with the Stars

Prune juice versus Red Bull

You ask a question like this and you will get lots of subjective responses. Everyone's tastes are different

Both have a kids club but rccl are more family friendly with mini golf, claiming walls, some slides etc.

Both have a range of restaurants and bars with both having the same number of mdr and buffet but celebrity has 3 specialty and rccl ranges from 2 to 3

They both have a theatre with singers and dancers and brought in guests. Both have quizzes and game shows

The live bands differ slightly, celebrity have a jazz band, often a solo singer guitarist and a 4 or 5 piece group and an orchestra and rccl tend to have one or 2 bands

they both have a gym and spa

we find the cabins don't differ that much, obviously the newer ships in both categories have a better layout

That's the objective info, not much difference

Why do we prefer celebrity to rccl?

Celebrity have officers visible and they want to interact with the guests, we find rccl do not on any of the ships we've been on

Guest relations have served us much better on celebrity, we've also been lied to multiple times by rccl staff

The level of service to us is slightly better on celebrity and we enjoy the food more in the mdr and we find the buffet laid out much better

We do like the entertainment on rccl a little better than celebrity but love the fact celebrity still have sommeliers on hand in every restaurant

We went on one RCC and I was not pleased to eat my meals at the buffet on plastic dishes and drink my tea from a plastic mug. And to top it off our group had a formal cocktail party which we paid a lot for and our drinks were served in plastic glasses.

On Celebrity all dishes and glassware are real .. Much classier!!

We're not the world's most experienced cruisers--we've done 2 Royal Caribbean cruises on their Vision class ships Enchantment and Grandeur (i.e., no bells, whistles, skating rinks, indoor shopping malls, etc) and one on Celebrity.

What we really enjoyed on Royal (particularly on Grandeur) was the number of entertaining things to DO. We played trivia multiple times/day, including a fun progressive trivia game, we did scavenger hunts (one was the surprisingly entertaining, if tasteless, Quest and one was a G-rated silly race all over the ship), we went to all the game shows like a name-that-tune game in the Centrum, the Love and Marriage game in the theater, and an everyone-participates game involving guessing the most common answer to various questions about the cruise, and we really appreciated what good sports the participants were and how entertaining the staff were. We enjoyed watching dance lessons and cooking demos and towel folding demos in the Centrum. We didn't catch the chili cook-off on the pool deck but it was fun to see it on the closed circuit TV in the stateroom after the fact.

We found the activities on Reflection felt like an obligatory afterthought, from the locations (some were held in what amounts to a hallway outside the theater, others in the very oddly chopped-up main lobby area that just doesn't work as well as the Centrum on Grandeur or Enchantment) to the attitude of the staff conducting them (the DJ tasked with doing karaoke and music trivia was positively disdainful). It really seems as if most of the guests prefer to spend their time on board enjoying the opportunity to do nothing (i.e., relax) while we enjoy a chance to play and watch organized games.

I will say, the food was better and more available on Reflection (on Grandeur and Enchantment there are times of day where the only place for a snack is the Park Cafe, where the lines get long), and we did appreciate the more tasteful attire and usually more tasteful behavior of our fellow passengers.

We are trying Celebrity once more (Summit to Bermuda later this month) which will allow a direct comparison since we did Grandeur to Bermuda last summer.

We found the activities on Reflection felt like an obligatory afterthought, from the locations (some were held in what amounts to a hallway outside the theater, others in the very oddly chopped-up main lobby area that just doesn't work as well as the Centrum on Grandeur.

Thank you!!! We have been sailing Celebrity since 2002. We have sailed mostly M class ships, Zenith once and Mercury twice. We sailed Silhouette in 2012 her inaugural season and did not like the ship at all for some of the reasons you have mentioned. Haven't been back on an S class after that.

Thank you!!! We have been sailing Celebrity since 2002. We have sailed mostly M class ships, Zenith once and Mercury twice. We sailed Silhouette in 2012 her inaugural season and did not like the ship at all for some of the reasons you have mentioned. Haven't been back on an S class after that.

Will we like M class better?

I guess we'll see soon enough!

The most significant difference for me is the smoking in the casino on Royal Caribbean ships, and none inside on Celebrity ships. We cruised exclusively on RC, so much that we reached Diamond. When we tried Celebrity, they became our first choice for most cruises because it was such a relief to be able to avoid the smoking areas, which were all outside.

I took a cruise on Brilliance of the Seas last week. It was a lovely ship, and in most ways compared favorably to my favorite Celebrity ship, Summit. But the smoke from the Casino spread all over, especially on the same deck. Why can't they have doors that stay shut??

There was a lovey wine bar that was often ruined by the smoke wafting from the casino. The beautiful, multi-story Centrum acted like a funnel for the smoke, which you could still smell several decks up or down.

Celebrity has a few smoking areas outside, but inside is pure, clean air. Please no flames (pun intended :p), I'm just voicing my opinion.

Thank you!!! We have been sailing Celebrity since 2002. We have sailed mostly M class ships, Zenith once and Mercury twice. We sailed Silhouette in 2012 her inaugural season and did not like the ship at all for some of the reasons you have mentioned. Haven't been back on an S class after that.

Oh my! We sailed the Zenith, Century twice, Horizon, then the Reflection. 25+ years and the Reflection has become the benchmark ship. Tho we ar back on the Equinox for the second yr in a row, our thought are of the Reflection.