Comparing Ships: Celebrity vs. RCL

[GaryThePhotog]

Out of curiosity, I just did a quickie comparison of two ships, the Summit from Celebrity and the Brilliance from RCL. Some of the simple facts are quite revealing. Let's first look at tonnage, S (for summit, B for Brilliance) is 91,000, B is 90,090, so pretty close in size. S's length/width is 965/105 vs B's 962/106, again very close. But the closeness seems to end here. S holds 1950 PAX while B is listed as 2501 PAX max Cap. That's 33% more people in the same size ship. This can calculate to smaller cabins, longer lines everywhere, and a bigger battle for those lounge chairs. Continuing on, the S's crew size is listed as 999 whereas B's is listed at 850. So Celebrity provides 1 crew per two PAX whereas RCL provide 1 crew per three PAX. This has to translate to less available personal services. Any other opinions on these facts (drawn from VTG website)?

[mferranti]

Out of curiosity, I just did a quickie comparison of two ships, the Summit from Celebrity and the Brilliance from RCL. Some of the simple facts are quite revealing. Let's first look at tonnage, S (for summit, B for Brilliance) is 91,000, B is 90,090, so pretty close in size.

The ships ought to be pretty close. Aren't they built on the same hull design?

[benjamins]

Out of curiosity, I just did a quickie comparison of two ships, the Summit from Celebrity and the Brilliance from RCL. Some of the simple facts are quite revealing. Let's first look at tonnage, S (for summit, B for Brilliance) is 91,000, B is 90,090, so pretty close in size. S's length/width is 965/105 vs B's 962/106, again very close. But the closeness seems to end here. S holds 1950 PAX while B is listed as 2501 PAX max Cap.

 

But you're giving Millennium ships basis 2 capacity, which has been upped to 2030 on Celebrity's website, to maximum for Radiance ships. The max pax with all berths full for Millennium ships is close to 2500 as well.

[cruisenfever]

We sailed on the Summit last September. We have never been on the Brilliance, but have sailed on Radiance, a sister ship. We usually like to stay in a JS. On Summit we stayed in a Sky Suite. The difference in cabin size was quite different, with Radiance class being so much larger and with better closet space. The only advantage, if you can call it that, is in a Sky Suite you have a butler. He really became a pain in the butt after the first couple of days. Always showing up when we were not there, or showing up when we were trying to get ready for dinner.

 

As far as dining goes....the Windjammer on Radiance class ships has a very unique set up that eliminates long lines. Different islands set up in the middle with different food selections. On Summit, in their equivalent to the Windjammer, you have a long serving area...so you are stacked up one behind the other. And, in the morning, if you like your eggs cooked a certain way, you have to walk all the way to the back of the dining area and by the time you finally do get to sit down your food is cold.

 

I would take a RCI Radiance class ship over Celebrity anyday.

[degarr]

See below posted 2x

[degarr]

...........................................Brilliance...........................Summit

 

Length overall ...................293.2m .............................294m

 

Breadth .............................32.2m ...............................32.2m

 

Draft ..................................8.15m................................ 8.3m

 

Tonnage .......................90,090GT .............................90,228

 

Propulsive power ...40,000kW (54,400hp) 2 x mermaid 19,500kW

 

Speed ...............................24.0kts ...........................24 knots

 

Passenger capacity ............2,400................................ 2449

 

Officers and crew .................858.................................... 997

 

Number of pax cabins ........1,056 ...................................975

 

Number of o/s cabins ............818.................................... 780

 

Number of inside cabins .......238 ....................................195

 

www.ship-technology.com

 

Was on Brilliance last March and will be on Infinity in less than 50 days

 

Cruisenfever.......Maybe you should have got your butler to get you an egg warmer:D

[kelmac]

Gary,

 

If cuisine is important to you--Celebrity is a much better fit. We have cruised Celebrity 7 times and Royal Caribbean 5 times and we have given up on Royal Caribbean because the food is very mediocre. Large amounts of low quality food. Celebrity's food and service is much better because they spend much more money in this area. In addition, standard cabins on Celebirty will be a little larger than RCI.(in general)

The "feel" on Celebrity is a bit more formal and refined, as Royal Caribbean is a bit more informal. Activities and Entertainment may be a litttle better on RCI??

Kids will like Royal Caribbean.

No such thing as a bad cruise!

 

Kel

[Robin G]

Kelmac--

 

Question for you. Why did you say that kids would like RC better? Was that your families' experience? Just wondering. Thanks.

 

Robin

[Bette And Bill]

I just book a 9 day cruise on Celebrity. We will be taking my granddaughter on her first cruise. I have sailed RCL and saw alot of activities for teens. Will there be enough for her to do on her own or with others her age on Celebrity?

[LisadelRio]

There will be plenty for your granddaughter to do. Our son is 11 and has been on 4 cruises - 2 Celebrity, 1 RCL, and 1 Carnival. The Celebrity kid's program is his and our favorite.

 

 

Lisa

[kelmac]

Kelmac--

 

Question for you. Why did you say that kids would like RC better? Was that your families' experience? Just wondering. Thanks.

 

Robin

 

Hi Robin,

 

Royal Caribbean is known for being very family (w/children) friendly. More spaces onboard were designed with younger passengers in mind. Rock walls, basketball courts, mini-golf..., Celebrity has a great program for younger kids, but I think RCCL does a better job with the "tweens" and "teens". Simply put, RCCL ships have more kids on board.

Voyager class ships of RCCL is a wonder-land for kids of all ages!

 

Enjoy!

Kel

[Robin G]

We had a Med cruise scheduled for Aug on the Millie and just cancelled it for two reasons: Our daughter will be 9 by then and we decided she may be too young for such a port intensive cruise and we heard there wouldn't be many families on that cruise and she would be one of only a few kids. We only needed two strikes...

 

We just booked on the Celebrity for next Feb. We thought that would be a good way to try a new line for us and get a feel for Celebrity. We still are going to the Med. maybe the summer of 07 or 08 and we still like the Celebrity itinerary better at this point. Our daughter LOVES cruises - doesn't even want to do Disney World anymore. She loves RC Adventure Ocean!! Hopefully Celebrity will be as interesting for her as well. If not, there will always be the pool, at least during the day!! Thanks for the info.

 

Robin

[newmexicoNita]

We had a Med cruise scheduled for Aug on the Millie and just cancelled it for two reasons: Our daughter will be 9 by then and we decided she may be too young for such a port intensive cruise and we heard there wouldn't be many families on that cruise and she would be one of only a few kids. We only needed two strikes...

 

We just booked on the Celebrity for next Feb. We thought that would be a good way to try a new line for us and get a feel for Celebrity. We still are going to the Med. maybe the summer of 07 or 08 and we still like the Celebrity itinerary better at this point. Our daughter LOVES cruises - doesn't even want to do Disney World anymore. She loves RC Adventure Ocean!! Hopefully Celebrity will be as interesting for her as well. If not, there will always be the pool, at least during the day!! Thanks for the info.

 

Robin

 

 

Robin, you might have been surprised at how well she would have handled the ports but only you know her maturity level and interest in sight seeing. Our grandaughters favorite part of cruising (other than eating) has always been the ports even when they were young. Anyway, you know what you are doing I am sure. As for kids, again, you may have been surprised. It is true the longer cruises have older claints but today many families are cruising longer with kids during the summer months especailly with the exchange rate being so bad in Europe, cruising is a bargain this summer. NMnita