Celebrity Summit vs. RCL Freedom OTS - Which to Choose?

Hi All,

I'm looking to book a cruise for my upcoming birthday. I've narrowed down the list of options to two different options, one on Celebrity Summit and one on RCL Freedom OTS. My question is...which one is better suited for me?

I'm looking to do the Southern Caribbean (as I've never been to any of those islands before). I'll be traveling with my BF (gay couple in our mid-30's)...we're both fairly active and enjoy being around folks around our same age/with similar interests. I've been on 3 previous cruises...one on HAL and two on Carnival.

Here's the dates/itineraries for each:

Celebrity Summit: 10/27-11/3, R/T San Juan, PR

Ports: St. Croix, St. Maarten, Dominica, Barbados, Grenada

RCL Freedom OTS: 10/28-11/4, R/T San Juan, PR

Ports: ABC Islands, St. Maarten, St. Thomas

Any recommendations would be much appreciated!

Based on itinerary I'd go w/ Freedom OTS.. ABC's are some of my favorite ports. Also considering your age group, there's more night life and active things to do on RCI too during the day.

Celebrity is more sophisticated but not stuffy (anyone remember that ad campaign in the 90's?) and has what I consider to be better food and SLIGHTLY better service.

More kids on Freedom for sure, so I don't know how/if that factors into your considerations.

In my experience (I've been on some partial Pied Piper charters), Celebrity is quite gay friendly.

I persoanlly prefer the Celebrity Summit over Freedom of the Seas from a ship design perspective. Many more venues with large ocean facing windows, less crowded and noisy, fewer children. The Martini Bar is usually the location of the nightly LGBT gathering and is quite "happening" for most of the night. I always have felt that Celebrity do more to make LGBT cruisers feel welcome and that we are more visible as a result :) FYI - I am in my mid 40s, have sailed Celebrity since I was in my late 20s and have found them to be my line of choice in general. I have sailed Celebrity as a single gay man, a gay man with friends/partner and with family, and in all cases we met other LGBT cruisers, and non, and had a splendid time!

I personally prefer the St. Croix, St. Maarten, Dominica, Barbados, Grenada run on the Summit over the ABC islands on Freedom. More options for diverse activities if one is not into beach/sailing/snorkeling. I am doing the exact sailing you listed on Summit on 12/8 and can't wait!!!!!!

After a few cruises on Carnival, my husband and I (we are in our fifties) cruised a southern itinerary on the Summit in January. I loved it so much, I cancelled a Havana cabin on the Carnival Horizon for another Celebrity cruise this October. We met other friendly LGBT folk at the martini bar where there was a nightly meet and mingle. As a gay man, I'd never felt as comfortable and safe in a cruise. The ship itself is just very cool and a little smaller, but never felt crowded. It's filled with interesting art everywhere. That was unlike any other ship we've sailed. Service is excellent. We cruised Aqua Class and adored the special perks. There whole experience feels more upscale. That being said, it's not a go-go fun atmosphere like Carnival and (I suspect) RCL. If entertainment and activities are what's most important to you on a cruise, Celebrity wouldn't be my first choice. Don't get me wrong, there are trivia games and shows, but it's not where they focus most of their attention. Celebrity felt more modern, and I loved it.

There is a thread right now by ChicagoPaul. They seem to be of your same age. You may want it read it and it will give you a feel for Celebrity

I have on sailed on Carnival, HAL, RCCL and Celebrity

I have been on FOS and Summit.

Being on them I find FOS or RCCL is about the same as a Carnival cruise and HAL is similar to Celebrity

They are both the bottom and midrange of each cruise company.

RCCL owns Celebrity and Carnival owns HAL

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅😄

I have sailed on both ships and hands down I prefer the Freedom. So much to do onboard the Freedom vs the Summit. Entertainment on the Freedom is superior plus the ship does not close down at 10PM. There will be more cruisers in your age group on the Freedom.

Prefer the itinerary on Freedom because of the ABC islands.

At your age I suggest the Freedom. There are many more activities, the itinerary is great and entertainment will be much better. There will be many more in your age range than on a Celebrity ship. I would not be eager to visit Dominica now. The island was devastated in last Sept. hurricanes. I can't think it will be in very good shape by now.

Hi All,

I'm looking to book a cruise for my upcoming birthday. I've narrowed down the list of options to two different options, one on Celebrity Summit and one on RCL Freedom OTS. My question is...which one is better suited for me?

I'm looking to do the Southern Caribbean (as I've never been to any of those islands before). I'll be traveling with my BF (gay couple in our mid-30's)...we're both fairly active and enjoy being around folks around our same age/with similar interests. I've been on 3 previous cruises...one on HAL and two on Carnival.

Here's the dates/itineraries for each:

Celebrity Summit: 10/27-11/3, R/T San Juan, PR

Ports: St. Croix, St. Maarten, Dominica, Barbados, Grenada

RCL Freedom OTS: 10/28-11/4, R/T San Juan, PR

Ports: ABC Islands, St. Maarten, St. Thomas

Any recommendations would be much appreciated!

Hi there. I have no experience w/RCL but can talk a little about Celebrity and the Summit.

My first cruise was on the Celebrity Zenith a million years ago with my partner. As two gay men in their early 30s on a mainstream cruise in the mid-90s, we were amazed with both the onboard experience in general and the number of other gay travelers we found. It was a super week. One not such enjoyable experience on a Carnival ship soon after was the last of my cruising for several years

.

Last year I decided to give cruising a try again, this time traveling solo. The Summit had a 6 nighter Repo down to San Juan. The price was right and I thought that the extra sea days would allow me to test whether I could "stand" being on board for longer cruises. As you'll note from my signature lines, I had a good enough time to repeat the experience several times over this year!

The Summit is due for an overhaul in a few months, so there are spots where she shows some wear and tear- only super noticeable area for me in the 3 trips I've been on her recently involves some of the seating up in the buffet. Beyond that, I think it's a beautiful ship, easy to get around in with just enough to do without overkill.

What makes the experience especially memorable is the team that crews the Summit. Several, across various departments and ranks, have been on that ship for many years and they've created a unique community. Being cared for by that community is an experience one does not soon forget.

Here endth my tribute to the Summit. As someone else mentioned, you can find a "live report" on the boards from ChicagoPaul right now.He's on the Equinox this week, but if you search around you'll find his other updates from Celebrity ships-- it will provide a very up close look at how a gay couple in their 30s are enjoying Celebrity these days.

Which ever you choose, have a great trip!

PS Barbados and Grenada are two of my favorites!

Hi All,

I'm looking to book a cruise for my upcoming birthday. I've narrowed down the list of options to two different options, one on Celebrity Summit and one on RCL Freedom OTS. My question is...which one is better suited for me?

I'm looking to do the Southern Caribbean (as I've never been to any of those islands before). I'll be traveling with my BF (gay couple in our mid-30's)...we're both fairly active and enjoy being around folks around our same age/with similar interests. I've been on 3 previous cruises...one on HAL and two on Carnival.

Here's the dates/itineraries for each:

Celebrity Summit: 10/27-11/3, R/T San Juan, PR

Ports: St. Croix, St. Maarten, Dominica, Barbados, Grenada

RCL Freedom OTS: 10/28-11/4, R/T San Juan, PR

Ports: ABC Islands, St. Maarten, St. Thomas

Any recommendations would be much appreciated!

Hello,

Both itineraries are attractive for different reasons... however, I am not the one on the cruise. Do you cruise a lot? In the Caribbean? If the answer is "yes", then the Summit itinerary is quite standard and maybe boring if you have been to those ports. Seems as though cruises going to the ABC islands is less and less common, especially to visit all 3 in one cruise. If you have never been to Aruba, Bonaire, & Curacao... AND, you don't do cruises often, I would probably suggest / recommend going on the RCCL itinerary.

These are all "assumptions" so please forgive in advance... however, based on your age and travel companion, I might also suggest the RCCL ship. The ship is bigger and has a lot more to do on the ship, including many things targeted to an active and younger audience.

With all of this said, I tend to prefer a smaller ship, a calmer (not sedate) environment to relax on my cruise and I am easy going with the entertainment options. When it comes to food, hands down... I would pick Celebrity. Sure, you can eat in specialty restaurants on Freedom, but I don't feel the need to do that when I am in the Celebrity MDR. Also, things like service is comparable, but I give a nod to Celebrity.

Either cruise itinerary and ship will be a fabulous post-Thanksgiving escape and at a time of year when the cruises are more affordable. Enjoy whichever cruise you select.

We sailed summit in March and freedom sister ship a year ago, entertainment is not close , rccl is far superior , great ice show etc. the one thing we loved on summit is there buffet was great and rccl is terrible , we did suites on both and suite perks were much nicer on summit. I also prefer islands visited on freedom.

RCL over X any day.

We've sailed both Celebrity and RC and both have their advantages.

Entertainment may be a little better on RC - but the ice show is 45 minutes long. Not enough to book for that. And let's be honest - cruise ship entertainment across the board is dicey at best, especially if you're from a major metropolitan area.

Atmosphere/lounges/live music better on Celebrity - seems to be a slightly more refined crowd of people (more apt to follow dress code, fewer loud drunks).

Smoking - forget the casino on RC - Celebrity caters more to non-smokers, MUCH nicer air to breathe!

Food is better on Celebrity - homemade ice cream, excellent breakfast in buffet, great specialty restaurants. Service in MDR is slightly better on RC. Celebrity's MDR feels so crowded and their "my time dining" is not as efficient as RC.

Ship overall - Celebrity. Gorgeous ship, fewer bells and whistles than RC, but a beautifully maintained and modern ship. Freedom to me feels a little mall-ish and offers fewer ocean views than Summit.

Follow Celebrity's instagram page - they're doing a lot to get the business of the LGBTQ community!

Bottom line: there really is no bad choice here!

We all have our own taste, so I preface this by indicating it is MY opinion. I found Freedom to be too large for me. While I do rather enjoy certain aspects of the Royal Promenade (what some describe - somewhat accurately - as mall-like), I don't miss it on the smaller ships. I mostly frequent the British Pub when on a Promenade ship - great for people watching.

While I will be trying out Celebrity Summit for the first time on my next cruise, I have a decent number of Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruises under my belt. I prefer Royal to Carnival. I prefer the SMALL ships (Radiance Class - similar to Summit in size) to the large ones. Yes, regardless of the size of the ship, it's always possible to find a place to be all alone. But when there are popular events that draw most of the passengers to one location, I found Freedom to be excessively crowded.

The ABC islands are nice - did that on my last cruise. I'm doing the exact Summit itinerary you describe on my next cruise, except Tortola in place of St. Croix.

Come back and let us know what you decide.

I've sailed on the Summit 3 times with my 4th coming up in December going to all the islands you have listed. While I do love the ABC islands that would be the only reason I'd go w/ Freedom of the Seas (not that I've sailed RC - only Celebrity). I'm in my early 40's and like to hang out and have fun at night. I've never had an issue on any of the Celebrity cruises I've been on doing that. The age demographic is trending a little lower from the past. Sure there are some who go to bed early but quite a few who stay up late.

Also, my experience Celebrity is very LGBT friendly. Then throw into that some of the perks they offer such as the beverage package. If you have a good TA they may also add in more. I know mine has better deals right now for Celebrity sailings than RC in their Labor Day sale.

Since you've never been to any of these islands you should love them all no matter what itinerary you choose.