Past Celebrity Cruisers ... compare RCCL!

[slavearlen]

I'm a 8 time Celebrity Cruiser who is booked October on Adventure of the Seas. Very nervous!! Celebrity ranks high and their crew and staff is impeccable. We have chosen to venture and try RCCL. The ship was selected based on the San Juan departure and the ports of call. BUT,in CondeNast magazine things look very poor if you go by their rankings. Celebrity ranks very high .. SO, tell me my choice is not going to be a bad one!!! Talk to me!!!!

[rundogrun]

Well, I'm partial to Celebrity (Mercury, Galaxy, Millie) myself, but we just enjoyed our cruise on Voyager. Better entertainment, more things to do on Voyager. Better food, service on Celebrity.

 

This was my first RCI experience and as much as I like Celebrity, I wouldn't hesitate to cruise RCI again if the situation was right.

[jezzdogg]

We have cruised Celebrity and RCCL 6 times each. They are different kinds of ships depending on what you want to experience. Is the food and service better on Celebrity. absolutly. That being said, there is more to do and better entertainment on RCCL. What I like about RCCL are the sea days for relaxing, parades, more active CD. We were on the Adventure (and for the life on me I do not know why she is rated that low-- however she is one of the top ships for cleaniness) and had a ball. We have 3 cruises coming up Millie in Europe (and it was a toss up between her and Brillance-she had more ports we had not been to)Navigator of the Seas (W. Carib-my girlfriend/ her new husband and his kids want that one because its out of Miami) and Jewel of the Seas(Northern Europe 2005) Enjoy you did not make a bad choice. Are you doing the route with Aruba and curaco - tht's my one of my favorites.

 

norm

[slavearlen]

Ok, you guys are beginning to make me feel better ..! The rating in CondeNast showed Celebrity Summit, Constellation, Century and Infinity at the top 10. Service was something like 97.0 or better. But the poor AOS was #30 with a rating of 77.0 or similiar. So you can see why we were shocked. We had already planned the trip, paid the deposit and made our own air reservations. Hardly easy to change. But we had not seen anything that told us it was rated so low by CondeNast. Anyway, we're all excited and even thought it's 5 months away, dieting, tanning, shopping, etc., etc. I do know that Celebrity does not have that much "to do" onboard and the entertainment is always a problem. So I am looking forward to all the choices. This may sound like a crazy question, but on Celebrity the nationality of the crew is, for the most part, mid-eastern. They are amazing at service and charismatic. Is the crew similiar on RCCL?

[Michele Noel]

I love Celebrity. You will have robes in the cabin, cold or hot towels when you board in each and every port, sherbert at the pools, people carrying your trays at lunch and many other things. But my husband after three of the new large Celebrity ships wanted to try another line. We went on the Adventure of the Seas. He loved all the activities, basketball, volleyball and other things to do. The ice show is the best show and it is not like the ice capades where you sit far away. You really are in a small arena to see this show. He was more impressed with RCI - he thinks the food is spicier, more use of garlic and spices and he likes that. I still love Celebrity but he wanted to have more activities. We just went on the Serenade of the Seas to Hawaii. It was wonderful, the ship was extremely beautiful and the dinners were very good. The only thing they do not have at dinner is chocolate desserts. Only a few dinners have them. Sometimes they have white chocolate which is not the same. At lunch they had very good chocolate desserts.

I think if you like cruising, you will love the Adventure. Enjoy it. Best

[lolane1]

I have been and still am, a loyal celebrity fan. However, after sailing on the Serenade, I dare to say that the food was actually better than the food on the Constellation and the Millenium. Frankly, the quality of the food served at dinner on these )connie and Millie) large ships is not as good as that on their smaller ships. Exclude dessert, the Connie pastry chef received a standing ovation at the end of the cruise. The Serenade's food was outstanding, every meal a delight. As far as I'm concerned, both lines are excellent. It's like choosing between Tiffany's and Cartier's, at a fraction of the price - well almost.

[MHoward909]

Both lines are good but I like Celebrity the service is the best.

[kelmac]

We are taking our 5th RCI cruise this week(Vision) and our 7th Celebrity cruise in two weeks(Summit). Celebrity wins hands down for food, service, space and an "upscale" feel. RCI does have great ships, and there is nothing like their megaships, like the Adventure! I LOVE these ships! So much to do and see.

RCI serves large amounts of low quality food. They don't use high quality ingredients, and many meals are from mixes, canned goods, and frozen low grade meats. I read somewhere that Celebrity spends almost twice as much, per passenger (compared to RCI), on the raw ingredients for their meals.

I'm sure RCI spends more money, per passenger, on the Cruise staff, entertainment...,

They are owned by the same company and they are trying to offer different products to meet the demands of the market place. As much as I like the ships of RCI, this could be our last cruise with them. The food has become a "deal breaker." We are looking at staying with Celebrity and perhaps moving to the Vista class ships of HAL. If the food improves on RCI, then we would be back in a heart beat!

Having said that, I'm sure you will enjoy the Adventure! Enjoy! Kel

 

link to Skagway weather

[cantw8]

I have done both and I don't think Celebrity service is any better than RC. On RC I had robes, someone carried my tray for me, and I am only in my 40's so it is not like they just do it for old people. All the staff was fantastic and I like the food on both lines equally. if iI had a choice of the two and they were doing the same cruise for the same money I would go RC. I think starting on a Voyager class ship spoils you for the rest. JMO

 

Toni

 

Infinity Hawaii 2004

Galaxy 2003

Voyager 2002

Explorer 2001

[NYDee]

We have sailed both Celebrity and RCI. I don't think the food is any better on Celebrity than RCI. In fact on one Celebrity cruise we thought the food was not very good. We have always had excellent service on RCI. Average on Celebrity. We like the "upscale" feeling on Celebrity and enjoyed the classical musicians on our last Celebrity cruise. We love the beauty of the RCI ships and also like the "fun" atmosphere of the ship. We like each for different reasons. However, we are beginning to worry about RCI with all the comments about misbehaved kids onboard. If we ever experience it, we will have to rethink any loyalty to RCI. We usually cruise in Feb. before spring breaks and take longer cruise. However, Celebrity hasn't posted its Northern Europe cruises yet, so we are booked on the Jewel for next summer. We also have booked a 7 day Caribbean on the Navigator of the Seas for Feb. 2005.

 

I would hope that RCI will become more aggressive in enforcing its own rules and put anyone regardless of age off the ship if they are disruptive to other passengers. The kids and drunk, obnoxious adults. But with RCI's current advertising it seems they are trying to be more "Carnival" like.

[hess2201]

I would ditto rundog.....

 

we LOVE Celebrity, But we had a wonderful time on the Voyager. The food was better than princess, but not as good as X. The crew was very nice, and the cabin was wonderful. I will cruise RCI again, and have another wonderful trip.

 

Oceanic 1988

Oceanic 1992

Sea Princess 2000

Summit 2001

Galaxy 8 of 2002

Horizon 2 of 2003

Grand Princess 5 of 2003

Horizon 6 of 2003

Horizon 9 of 2003

Zuiderdam 1 of 2004 !!

Voyager OTS 5 of 2004

[mslaabs]

We just came off the Navigator of the Seas last week. Our other 2 cruises have been on the Century. I have to admitt I was a little leary about moving to such a large ship, but I really enjoyed the Navigator. There was so much more to do on the ship and I enjoyed the lounge entertainment better than Celebrity. Although I will have to agree with previous posts, the food is better on Celebrity. I'm not saying the food was bad on RCI, it was good and I enjoyed every meal, but just liked the options better on Celebrity. As far as service goes, we received great service on both ships. There were a few minor differences, like on Celebrity in the buffet the waiters carry your tray for you. On the Navigator I carried my own tray, which really isn't that big of a deal. However, we never received towel animals on Celebrity, but got one every night on RCI. I would sail either one again.

[hardingk]

My first three cruises were Celebrity (Horizon, and the Century twice) we just finished our 6th RCL cruise last week. There are some notebale differences between the two which have been mentioned. But I am sure that you will have a great time. Don't go on the trip ready to compare everything, just start out with an open mind. There is so much to do on the Voyager class ships that I am sure you will have a great time! But personally, the one thing that can not compete with Celebrity is the food.

 

___________________________

RCL~Legend 5/2004, Navigator 8/2003, Majesty 7/2003, Radiance 4/2003, Monarch 8/2002, Nordic Empress 8/2001

Celebrity~Century 7/2001 & 7/1998, Horizon 7/1991

 

Future Cruises:

Enchantment of the Seas 8/30/2004

Brilliance of the Seas 1/14/2005

Till Belize on the Enchantment of the Seas!

 

Till the Panama Canal on Brilliance of the Seas!

 

[xpcdoojk]

I think most of the people responding here have given you a very fair and complete view of the two cruiselines. I prefer RCI because of the activities. I am not a pool laying out drinking in the sun all day person. I like the Rock wall, and the miniature golf, and basketball, ice skating and general activities on RCI giant ships. These ships are amazing. That being said, in most of the 7 day itineraries these huge ships offer more than you can do, and I wish they did more long cruises with lots of sea days, but they don't. Still the two lines are more alike than different. The entertainment is where they are the most different. RCI offers mostly older famous entertainers, and X offers more shows featuring the Celebrity singers and dancers.

 

jc

 

Legend of the Seas RCI 3/03 New Zealand, Tahiti, Hawaii, Adventure of the Seas RCI 2/02 Southern Caribbean, Radiance of the Seas RCI 10/01 Vancouver to Hawaii, Millennium Celebrity 10/00 Eastern Mediterranean, Galaxy Celebrity 12/99 Southern Caribbean, Sensation Carnival 4/98 Eastern Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas RCI 1/96 Western Caribbean

 

email me at xpcdoojk@yahoo.com

 

[hdawson]

Toni. RCI ships don't provide trays in the Lido buffet. Trays are provided on Celebrity and the stewards do carry them to your table for you.

 

After being on Navigator, which is an amazing ship and thouroughly enjoyed, I felt kind of like I had spent the week at Mall of America.

On the other hand, Brilliance offers much more of a feeling of being on a cruise ship with all those walls of glass with views of the sea. For me, bigger is not necessarily better.

[slavearlen]

Wow, you guys are GREAT!!! So much constructive feedback. So... now I'm beginning to feel better. Food, hmmm, well, I'm not a food person (don't laugh ya'll). I can take it or leave it .. no big deal. It's the SERVICE, and the charm of the crew that is important to me. Entertainment is a big deal and I'm very happy to hear about all the choices onboard. Since I have cruised so much with Celebrity, I have become familiar with alot of their crew. That I will miss but I can just make more friends, right? I will go with an open mind and TRY not to compare. I do know that Celebrity does give a "upscale" feel to things and that probably won't be there with RCCI, But you can bet I'm going to make the most of it.

 

Does anyone have ANY idea why CondeNast rated it so low??? Any suggestions?

[hdawson]

The CondeNast ratings are based on reader feedback. You will have a great time on a beautiful ship. Different yes. Some times

subtle and sometimes more noticable.

[xpcdoojk]

CondeNast aims at a very upscale market, celebrity is the upscale version of a mass market cruiseline. IE the pricing is very similar to RCI or Carnival, and yet you get a more refined product, but far less active product. I think the difference in perception is effective marketing rather than a significant difference. A good waiter is a good waiter no matter which ship. RCI has a lot of great waiters, so does X. They both have waiters that are not as good, and when you get a fair to bad waiter it changes your entire perception of the entire cruiseship. I think X has a more consistent dining room product, but if food isn't that important I don't think you are going to suffer on RCI. Although, it can always be a hit or miss thing when it comes to service, just remember to roll with the punches and keep a good attitude and it will all come together for you.

 

jc

[malony33]

We have cruised on RCCL ships about 6 times over the years, but took 2 Celebrity cruises last year. Cele. chips are BEAUTIFUL (Infinity and Summit), food was very good (though we both felt the lunch buffets featured too many items we couldn't even identify - LOL), service outstanding, many little amenities. HOWEVER, the general feel was one of formality; you better not change into "casual" clothes after dinner on formal night or some passengers might make you walk the plank! Crowd was on the older side, and generally the cruises were very sedate. Far fewer activities were to be found, so even on sea days it was quiet. We had a good time,though. Summit cruise was the best of the two overall, but that's based on itinerary , cabin steward, and weather. I've just booked an 11-nt. Caribbean sailing on RCCL's Brilliance as a 25th anniv. surprise for my husband. I went back to RCCL for this momentous celebration in our lives because after the 2 Celebrity cruises, hubby said he's much more comfortable on RCCL. So, in the end, it's all just a personal choice based on what YOU prefer.I will miss those cold faceclothes after returning hot and sweaty from an island excursion, though! One more observation: the coffee on Celebrity ships is terrible, unless you PURCHASE a cup at their Cove Cafe.

[FinelyCruising]

I LOVE the art on the RCI ships, and I think they are more intersting overall. We enjoyed Galaxy, Millenium and even Merdian, and have found the energy on RCI more to our liking in recent times.

 

There are noticible large differnces in the ambiance of Celebrity as RCI is a more dressed down crowd.

 

We had the best service of any cruise on AOS this past March, and have enjoyed the food on both lines. Found nice selections and interesting items on both. Cold Salmon in the Spa Cafe on Celebrity and excellent Guacamole in the afternoon in the Windjammer on RCI.

 

Do like the beach towel set up much better on Celebrity.

 

The spas are equally as good, the pools a bit better IMHO on RCI since they have ledges that allow you to read while sitting in the water.

 

While robes are not in every room on RCI, just ask and you will receive.

 

Tips for staff added to your sea pass account/card is a nice thing RCI does to help keep you organized.

 

While we have yet to do a Chops, Portofino's is just awesome, and equally as good The Olympic in terms of quality of food, service and presentation.

 

RCI does the dancing waiter and the towel animals. I realize some think is cheapens the ambiance, I just see this stuff as fun and it makes me smile.

 

Either way, both great lines for cruising. have Fun!

[caviargal]

I, too, have sailed both lines multiple times. I think Celebrity wins hands down for food, service, size and comfort of cabins and the upscale feel of the ships.

 

I continue to choose RCI because of the multitude of activities available and the great nightlife and entertainment. Food is not very important to me but service and service is consistently good on RCI, but more hurried than on Celebrity.

 

I think I would like Celebrity in Alaska or the Med and RCCI in the Caribbean.

 

Frankly, I was bored to death on my southern caribbean sailing on Summit when we were not in port. The ship had mostly couples so my friend and I were just about the only singles aboard.

 

On the other hand, RCI is losing control with the kids running rampant on their ships. I have been really off by this on my last few cruises, including this past weekend on Majesty.

 

CG

 

RCI(37),NCL(12),Princess(1),HAL(2),Celebrity(3), Carnival(2), Eastern (13),Radisson(2), Star Clippers(1),Home Lines(2), Costa(5),Big Red Boat (6), Dolphin (1), Commodore (2), Others (11)

 

[travellgirl]

WE have been on five Celebrity cruises and returned May 12 from our first RCCL on a ten dayAdventure of the Seas. We had a wonderful time, the ship is beautiful, the food was very good (not as creative as some of the Celebrity dishes, but some things were actualy better). if it were my first cruise and had nothing to compare it to, I would say it was perfect. But it was close to it. The biggest thing we noticed was the announcements. Though not terrible, we are used to only the noon announcement on Celebrity. The service all around we felt is much better on Celebrity. We normally get a junior suite and this time got a comparable (pricewise) junior suite. This room was a little bigger with more storage space and a bigger balcony. But there is no butler. The ice show was wonderful, but we don't need all the other entertainment. All in all, we had a wonderful time and met some really nice people. I do have to say there were lots of children on board, but most of them seemed to take advantage of the childrens program and we really didn't encounter any problems with that. I would like to try the Radiance class of RCCL as i have heard it's a little more upscale. We missed the quiet bars and music at night. I don't mean to make it sound as if we didn't have fun, we did. I just prefer Celebrity.

[Tatka]

My only two cruises in NA were on Century and Splendour of the Seas so I can't say about other ships of RCA or Celebrity.

 

My Splendour cruise was in Med. sea so it's also difficult to compare to Carib. cruises in term of activities. (People are so tired from 9 hours of shore tours everyday , thgey don't need parades etc) but...

 

Things I liked more about Century:

 

1) Champagne and how crew members meet you during boarding time (not the most important things but adds a really nice feeling)

 

2) FOOD!!! IMHO there's no comparisson between two. I didn't hate food on SoS but it was nothing to write home about... For me it was like trying to compare 99 restaurant and a nice French restaurant. Even the same dishes tasted differently. Hampurgers, breakfest and lunch were better too. I loved food in Gala Buffet much better.

 

3) Service in the dinning room. My waiter and assistant on Century both were highly professional. Their service was a show and they had a time to perform it. They had 2 tables compairing to our waitress on Splendour (4 tables).

 

Things I liked more about Splendour:

 

1) I absolutely loved Solarium pool which was open 24 hours!!! On our Med cruise weather was still cold during evenings and it was a great pleasure to swim there.

 

2) I loved 7 floors atrium and glass elevators.

 

3) I didn't try but liked mini-golf and climbing wall.

 

 

Now.. I want to try Millenium class and Voyager class.

 

I can't decide what to book!!! Splendour was the first cruise for my husband and I want him to experience Celebrity food but I also want RCL entertaiment for my 12 years old son. (he sailed with me on Century ...and I noticed that food was the last thing he was interested in!!!)

 

------------------------------

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>

<LI>Splendour of the Seas 05/15/04 Barcelona - Marseilles - Villefranche - Livorno - Chivitavecchia - Naples - Barcelona

<LI>Century 07/12/03 Eastern Caribbean FFL-San Juan - St. Thomas - St.Maarten- Nassau -FFL

<LI>Komarno(Volga)07/91 Moscow - Astrahan' - Moscow (honeymoon)

<LI>Komarno(Volga)07/90 Moscow - Astrahan'- Moscow

<LI>Admiral Nachimov(or Nakhimov) (Black Sea)04/1986 Odessa - Batum

 

GO BRUINS!!!!

[AntonJ]

My husband and I (both 42) prefer Celebrity. We have cruised both lines and would continue to do so. We were on the Voyager and had a wonderful time. If timing and ports were similar we would choose Celebrity. March 05 we will be on the Navigator and I'm sure we'll have a great time. I would have to agree with the comments by everyone else who replied. It's a completly different experience (wow, what a big ship!) so don't worry.

[wolfganghowell]

Every poster seems to be on the same page comparing the ships so I'll try not to repeat the obvious - the food, the decor.

 

What I felt was different between the ship personnel was that the RCCL staffers are more outgoing, more casual in their interactions. X staffers are a bit more formal and European in their presentation - they take their cues from the passengers on how "familiar" they will be toward you.

 

They have done an excellent job of providing a niche for each market. Our first time on RCCL we complained to each other the first day - and then we stopped ourselves. We realized that had we never been on Celebrity, we would find nothing wrong with RCCL.

 

RCCL's passengers are more varied - younger skewing, more folks from many walks of life and economic areas. Definitely more families. Celebrity is probably a bit more high end skewing, it promotes a quieter environment - you won't find belly flop contests at a Celebrity pool. The class of people on X seem a bit more reserved, and the ship reflects less of a "party" atmosphere. This doesn't mean X is stuffy, it just promotes a bit of a more refined environment.

 

They are 2 different ways of cruising and we are comfortable going back and forth between the two. But when its a toss up, we will always go with Celebrity - just for the small differences like the food and the concierge amenities.

 

Happy cruising.

 

Century 99-00

Rhapsody 11/00

Rhapsody 10/01

Infinity 2/02

Millennium 11/02

Millennium 11/03

Rhapsody 11/04