X Cruiser, have you enjoyed Royal Carib?

[JEDIKNIGHT]

I'm trying to arrange a gift cruise for someone and really want to send them on X but due to short notice, schedules, etc it appears X might be tough to do.

 

Question, are there any X cruisers who have RECENTLY done Royal Carib and ENJOYED it?

 

I'm trying to find something that is as good as, or even 'close' to Celebrity. Would Royal fit that bill? Maybe a particular class of ship on Royal?

 

Important stuff is service, and quality of food. Thanks

[philnpen]

Have saile recently on RCL's Grandeur of the Seas. It is about the same age and size as Celebrity's Mercury. Service was great, food and condition was very good also.. Do your friends have children? Seemed to me that the Grandeur's kids club is not as extensive as their Radiance class ships or larger ships.

[fernem]

Hi, Jedi,

 

I have only cruised on Celebrity's M class ships ... although I have a TA on Century coming up in May and am excited to try the smaller ship ... and I have cruised on RCCL's Radiance of the Seas. The Radiance class is similar to the Millennium class in size.

 

I found the Radiance of the Seas to be a beautiful ship. It's got glass everywhere so you get to see the sea a lot as you walk through or sit in places on the ship. It was a nice experience and many people really love this class of ship. I do not think it would disappoint.

 

On the other hand, I think Celebrity's m class ships have way more character; they feel like a ship rather than a floating hotel. (It sounded like your Mercury experience gave you that as well.) I would opt for Celebrity, if possible, but don't feel like you are offering up an inferior gift on the Radiance class. It is quite nice.

 

In terms of food, I, like your parents, am a vegetarian ... and I ate way way better on the Millennium and Constellation than on the Radiance. The food was good enough ... I ate quite a bit of Indian food, actually. I think that was because there were many Indian passengers for some reason on this Alaska trip so the kitchen was cooking for them anyway and I got the benefit. But the food was much more creative and the service and the concern that I eat well and am happy was much better and more evident.

 

I believe you were talking about Alaska as the trip you wanted to offer your employee. If that is true, a ship made of glass ... like the Jewel or Radiance of the Seas ... is a spectacular opportunity to breathe it all in.

It will be a fine gift if you can offer that class of Royal Caribbean ship.

 

Your openheartedness, in your Mercury review and in your desire to give a gift of pleasure to someone, is really touching, btw. Thanks for sharing that.

 

Be well,

 

fern

[lysolqn]

This review is a year and a half old now but it compares our then recent Freedom of the Seas cruise with our many cruises on Celebrity. Hope it offers you some insight into our experiences.

 

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=46072

[Solstice23]

Hey!

 

Well we Have sailed RCCL a few times, and we like the ships greatly, we find the follwoing the issues why we choose to go on Celebrity over RCCL usually

 

Amount of Passengers

Service Level

Food Quality its good on both but Celebrity has a few more refined dishes and I like the room serivce better

Specialty Dinners on Celebrity are some of the best at sea

Design, Less bells and whistles and more clean lines and modern Design

 

But dont get me wrong we enjoy RCCL and would sail them again Oasis was great! loved the Radiance class, but we jsut prefer X overall for a large ship cruise

[algorithmannie]

I'm not a "typical" Celebrity passenger, because I'm in my 20's, but here are my thoughts. I definitely prefer X over RCCL. There's a huge difference in the overall atmosphere, service and food. I recently sailed on Solstice, and on Liberty of the Seas a year ago. Liberty felt crowded, I didn't think the food was outstanding, and the feel wasn't as mellow and relaxed.

 

That being said, I have a fun time on any cruise! I'm sure the recipient of your gift will be thrilled with whatever you end up choosing. You can read more details about both of my trips on my blog,www.candidcruising.com. Good luck!

[lisiamc]

If you don't expect RCCL to be identical to Celebrity, you'll find a lot to like on RCCL. We've sailed many times on Celebrity, and once on RCCL, but our second RCCL cruise is coming up. We were on Legend of the Seas, one of the smaller ships, and found it roughly comparable to Celebrity Millennium class in size, except there are no speciality restaurants.

 

At that time, we were allowed to use the Concierge Lounge as Diamond members, a very nice perk. I think this has changed, and I'm not sure what the current situation is. There were also other useful benefits for being at Diamond level - better than Celebrity was offereing for Elite.

 

I was not expecting very much from the food, but was pleasantly surprised, especially with the dinner salads that the table shares. Drink of the Day was cheaper than Celebrity. On that cruise, the DOD was always either green or orange, and tasted the same every day, regardless of what was supposed to be in it. It became a joke for our group, but we bought them anyway. I have heard that usually, the drinks are a bit more normal.

 

Service was friendly and good, and I have to admit to enjoying the towel animals.

 

Lisa

[Xcruiser]

I haven't sailed on RCCL yet so I can't answer your question but thanks for asking.;):p

 

Joel

[sailor2010]

I am sure I will get flamed for this but it is what happened so it is what I will write. At the time I was 38 and my husband 41.

 

We cruised once on RCCL and would never go back. From the state of the ship - Grandeur of the Seas - to the food and some fellow passengers

 

First - Things that were good - the excursions for scuba were great. Our room steward was wonderful; most of the bartenders were fabulous.

 

Second – The not so good - The ship - Our suite had carpet pulling up around the veranda to worn holes in the couches arms to the main areas in need of an upgrade...our standards are not that high, we stay at Marriot Courtyard much of the time.

 

The food could only be called low-end hotel conference type food. Everything was overcooked; meat and potatoes seemed as though they had been sitting for days, veggies look in need of CPR. It was bad enough that we opted to eat in Bermuda when we were in port on not the ship. Are we picky? I will eat anywhere from McDonalds to Morton’s but I think we expected more from the ship. Our table mates (the other six) had cruised many times and said this would be their last on the line - so we took note of that.

 

Not sure if it was the port we left from but many of our fellow passengers were a cross between Eminem (Google him if you don’t know him) and an old frat crowd. Beer games, hairy leg contests, and very hard "sell" of items or products by the ship all day everyday. Many of the crowd wore tee shirts and pants hanging well below their rear-ends to dinner - enough said.

 

This was our first cruise, my husband was not amused, we thought it would be a lot more refined. The Four Seasons, no, but also not what we got. Our table mates were all long time cruisers of many lines. This was about the time that RCCL started to compete more with Carnival and they stated there was a big shift in the way the line was operating and who it catered to. They said not to give up and try some other lines, one of which was Celebrity. So we are trying again this fall.

[J & G]

We just completed our first Celebrity cruise....have cruised with RC several times since they cruise from a port near our home.

 

Here are the differences we noted:

 

Celeb--Picked up a glass of champagne upon boarding - just glasses of champagne and mimosas sitting on a table with people milling around - really not what I expected.

 

Celeb - cool towels upon reboarding. Nice on a hot day, but certainly not a deal-maker/breaker.

 

Celeb was an older demographic than RC, with almost no children onboard (saw 3 - all under 12 and well supervised - the entire cruise).

 

Celeb ship was less crowded and not nearly as active. Easier to get an elevator. Almost deserted after dinner....sort of errie.

 

Celeb ship was prettier, but seemed "darker".....I guess that had to do with dark wood panelling everywhere. More dimly lit lounge areas and more tables for playing cards or just having a drink.

 

Fewer game-type activities on Celeb. Good for us....not so good for others.

 

Non-smoking casino! Nice! Not a big deal to us, but it mattered a lot to some members of our group.

 

Almost no in-cabin announcements on Celebrity.

 

Food - comparable - maybe a little better on Voyager last year.

 

Service - no difference. We don't ask for much, but do expect good service in the dining room. RC handled My Time Dining MUCH better than Celeb handled Select Dining. I would have thought it would be the other way around.

 

We would cruise with either line again - liked the smaller number of passengers and older demographic of Celeb (since we are them!), but would cruise with either one again....and are booked with both.

[RichS10]

I've sailed both RCL and Celebrity. RCL is more lively, but I agree the ships don't flow as as well as the Celebrity layouts. RCL definitely felt more crowded even though both ships were full. Celebrity's food used to be a cut above, but not so sure anymore. Both lines have beautiful ships. (But personally, I would not sail on the RCL Voyager class ships again - that center mall/arcade was too much like a floating Radisson hotel for me)

 

For me, the big difference in the level of service in Suites. Celebrity provides a much higher level of amenities and service (including the butler service) than RCL. RCL doesn't seem to do much of anything extra for their Suite passenagers. So that's a BIG difference if you are contemplating a suite.

 

Celebrity also has Concierge Class which is like a smaller suite without the butler service. I could be mistaken, but I am not aware of a similar class on RCL.

 

Rich

[travelgenie]

I am just back from a cruise on Mercury.....we did an Italy/Croatia cruise last fall with Royal Caribbean on the Legends of the Seas, probably close to the same size as Mercury. I have only sailed one other time with Celebrity in the Med, which was terrific and found this past trip on Mercury not even comparable. I honestly believe it was the cost, apparently they had to offer deep discounts to fill the ship so in that case the quality, mostly in the food suffers, although the service was great. Just comparing these past 2 cruises, RCCL was far superior. We were on the Explorer of the Seas, this time last year and I also thought the food was also superior to Mercury. If service is most important, I would stick with X, but really we had no complaints with RCCL.

[cruising to paradise]

Just back from Southern Caribbean cruise on Serenade of the Seas. Its a great ship and has a great crew. I would definetly reccomend it. We have only cruised RCCL and are considering Celebrity for a mediteranean cruise in 2011. Really like RCCL so we are leary about switching, any suggestions.

[jd1966]

We pretty much stay with "X" and RCCL and like them both. Celebrity will just be a more laid back cruise with less activities both outside and inside. However, we think that the food on Celebrity is a little better than RCCL but no so much that you wouldn't like it. You can't go wrong with either. Both have excellent ships with my personal favorite being the Solstice and the Freedom of the Seas.

[LABCHICK]

I can't really compare the two lines since this will be our first cruise on X. We are diamond on RCCL. We love the Radiance class. Just the right size and very easy to get around. Never felt crowded. We have also sailed on the voyager class. Like it just as much, but for different reasons. They both have their special featurers.

 

We always found something to eat that we enjoyed. We tried the Windjammer (buffet ) several evenings and really enjoyed the very relaxed dinner. Could just take our time and talked with our friends. We always had wonderful service in the MDR.

 

Judi :)

[travelgenie]

Just back from Southern Caribbean cruise on Serenade of the Seas. Its a great ship and has a great crew. I would definetly reccomend it. We have only cruised RCCL and are considering Celebrity for a mediteranean cruise in 2011. Really like RCCL so we are leary about switching, any suggestions.

 

 

We cruised several years ago with Celebrity to the Med and last fall to Italy/Croatia on Legends of the Seas, both were great trips. I usually pick my destinations according to the itinerary, instead of by ship, typically staying with HAL, RCCL, Princess and Celebrity. I find it best to compare all the ships going to my destination and then researching on these boards. Whatever you choose it will be a great cruise, the Med. is fabulous.

[hcat]

Had a great time recently on Navigator of the Seas--but it was not the same as the X experience we had most recently on Solstice...(loved that ship).... Food & service on Navigator were excellent--esp. in Chops... found it to be younger, more casual, lively & there were much better bands on board...this was only a 5 day fun in the sun trip for us--

 

Radiance Class might be closest to X but not really the same!!! we like variety so it depends on what you are looking for...