Just back from consecutive RCI & Celebrity cruises: My impression & comparison...

[hildacloake]

Enjoyed reading your comparison! Very interesting. Thanks.:)

[bighairtexan]

OP I enjoyed and for the most part agree w/ all your observations. And I do have to tell you, I'm in my late 50's and a couple of years ago did a 13 day transatlantic on the Summit w/ my then 26 year old daughter. We were almost the youngest and second youngest passengers and joked that the median age was just this side of "dead." It was still one of our favorite cruises of all times, but I think older retired folks are more likely to have the money and especially the time to take longer vacations, especially when school is in session..

[Sabbycat]

I have found the European (Med) cruises have a very wide spread age range, say 20s to 70s. There were quite a few guests in their 30s and 40s.

 

We have previously done our med cruises in the fall. The S class ship had more of a younger crowd than the M class.

 

These are one you may also want to consider. Found lots of people our own age and had LOTS of fun.

[Jazzbo]

We were on the January 9th Solstice 7-day Eastern Caribbean. There were a wide variety of ages on that cruise. Very few children, because school was back in session. We are mid-50s and mid-60s, but there were several couples in their 30s in our Roll Call, plus we saw lots of people in that age range at the Sunset Bar on the Lawn Deck and at the Molecular Bar. There seemed to be quite a few people in their 20s. I agree with others that the length of the cruise and the time of year affect the demographics, but somethimes it may just be random.

[portofrome]

Thanks for your comparisons.

[Classynfun1]

I just returned from my second Celebrity cruise. Both times I was on the Eclipse (1st week December '10 and now). The cruises were both 7 nights, during off-peak, and were both in the caribbean. That said, that is where the similarities ended. The demographic on the most recent cruise was MUCH older and the activities, jokes, timing of activities, activities not done, etc were geared to accomadate this.The other guests were nice, but the ship was pretty lacking overall after 10:30pm. There was a late night comedian on board but while in the night club, she made a joke to those of us in the late 20-early 30's demographic that we must have been 1)care takers or 2)got the name of the ship confused with the Twilight movies. Well, all three of the guest performers made similar jokes during there shows. :eek: And then I was run over by an electric wheelchair (actually funny now).

 

Did I have a good time? Yes! Was I surprised in the difference between the difference in the 2 cruises? Absolutely. I think enjoying longer cruises and this level of service comes with these types of challenges. Timing is very important. My next cruise will probably be AOTS or OOTS, however.

[Gracie115]

I cruised Navigator for 5 days in November followed by Eclipse for 3, so I think I can give a similar comparison.

 

I think you are on the mark when you mention the more varied activities that Royal has, including the mini-golf, the rock wall(though I 've never used it) and the much larger pool areas.

 

I think Royal is accented more towards a more active crowd, but not necessarily a younger one. We had a pretty much equal spread of ages on both cruises and I think everyone here is right saying that the longer the cruise the older the demographic. We took a 10 day Royal cruise to the Panama Canal which had a decidedly older demographic, not that we cared.

 

We loved Royal's Schooner bar with a REAL piano bar player, he was great fun on Navigator, don't know if he was the same guy when you were on but this guy played to full rooms each night, something I haven't seen on any X ship except for the time I was on a ship with Perry the player on Constellation now. This is something X is really lacking in my opinion. Their late evening entertainment is sparse, not that we are late night partiers, but on Royal ships there is MORE to do from 10-1AM, especially with the Schooner bar and pub entertainment on the promenade.

 

The food in ALL areas was far superior on Celebrity. The service was far superior on Celebrity. Navigator had no graprefruit juice ANYWHERE on board....amazing considering it's based out of Florida...hope they've fixed that now.

 

The TV and "on demand" features on the Eclipse are far superior to anything Navigator has, but you're right it's an older ship now, perhaps when it goes through an extensive dry dock it will get updated.

 

Royal does constantly barrage you with ways to spend your money...it gets old hearing about the "inch of gold sales" and the "t shirt" sales...Celebrity is much more subdued in this area.

 

I do disagree with your thoughts about the dining rooms. I think Eclipse(Equinox') sister ship has a beautiful main dining room, I found Navigator's simply big, without anything that stood out as spectacular. Eclipse just is so much more elegant in my opinion.

 

Specialty Restaurants are a toss up, I really like CHOPS on Royal ships. The "S" class on Celebrity have Murano's but we found it a poor imitation of the specialty restaurants on the "M" class ships like the Normandie. We loved Tuscan Grill, but it's steaks weren't as good as Chops.

 

I still love Celebrity, and it will always be my first choice, but I'll cruise on Royal again if they have an itinerary that X can't offer. I will say that when I cruise on Royal I will probably eat all dinners in Chops or Portofino's as the BIGGEST difference to me in the two lines is the food in the main dining rooms......I just can't eat one more "onion tart" on Royal....

 

I guess the proof is in the booking!! We're all set for our Silhouette cruise this September out of Rome and can't wait!!!:D:D:D

[SWLinPHX]

I cruised Navigator for 5 days in November followed by Eclipse for 3, so I think I can give a similar comparison.

 

I think you are on the mark when you mention the more varied activities that Royal has, including the mini-golf, the rock wall(though I 've never used it) and the much larger pool areas.

 

I think Royal is accented more towards a more active crowd, but not necessarily a younger one. We had a pretty much equal spread of ages on both cruises and I think everyone here is right saying that the longer the cruise the older the demographic. We took a 10 day Royal cruise to the Panama Canal which had a decidedly older demographic, not that we cared.

 

We loved Royal's Schooner bar with a REAL piano bar player, he was great fun on Navigator, don't know if he was the same guy when you were on but this guy played to full rooms each night, something I haven't seen on any X ship except for the time I was on a ship with Perry the player on Constellation now. This is something X is really lacking in my opinion. Their late evening entertainment is sparse, not that we are late night partiers, but on Royal ships there is MORE to do from 10-1AM, especially with the Schooner bar and pub entertainment on the promenade.

 

The food in ALL areas was far superior on Celebrity. The service was far superior on Celebrity. Navigator had no graprefruit juice ANYWHERE on board....amazing considering it's based out of Florida...hope they've fixed that now.

 

The TV and "on demand" features on the Eclipse are far superior to anything Navigator has, but you're right it's an older ship now, perhaps when it goes through an extensive dry dock it will get updated.

 

Royal does constantly barrage you with ways to spend your money...it gets old hearing about the "inch of gold sales" and the "t shirt" sales...Celebrity is much more subdued in this area.

 

I do disagree with your thoughts about the dining rooms. I think Eclipse(Equinox') sister ship has a beautiful main dining room, I found Navigator's simply big, without anything that stood out as spectacular. Eclipse just is so much more elegant in my opinion.

 

Specialty Restaurants are a toss up, I really like CHOPS on Royal ships. The "S" class on Celebrity have Murano's but we found it a poor imitation of the specialty restaurants on the "M" class ships like the Normandie. We loved Tuscan Grill, but it's steaks weren't as good as Chops.

 

I still love Celebrity, and it will always be my first choice, but I'll cruise on Royal again if they have an itinerary that X can't offer. I will say that when I cruise on Royal I will probably eat all dinners in Chops or Portofino's as the BIGGEST difference to me in the two lines is the food in the main dining rooms.

 

From what you said it seems your experience was similar to mine in just about every regard. Again, I never said the dining room on Equinox was not beautiful, just that Navigator's is done in a traditional, palatial style (think Titanic) and has three tiers instead of two, with different names for each tier (as it reads on your card). All of that just made it appear more grand and overwhelming. In general, many more the public areas on Navigator (Schooner Bar, Dungeon, etc.) have an obvious or novel theme, while Celebrity's was more understated and perhaps even more tasteful. We never dined at the specialty restaurants because, although I was curious and suggested it, my friend figured why pay extra when there is too much food as there is around the clock everywhere you go (including the decadent midnight chocolate buffet, on Celebrity only and not RCI nowadays). I tend to agree with him and most of my expenses are paid in advance. That is why I consider it affordable and enjoy cruises; not worrying about expenses piling up each day. I did lose $150 in the casino in about an hour though, so right there I was going against my own policy.

 

A lot of stuff many of you have brought up are things I too could've included, like constant marketing (gold, shopping, art, etc.) and the extra charges for towels and room service, not seen on Celebrity. I not only liked the service better, but just the way guests are treated as adults, not children that have to be kept an eye on and to be reminded of the rules and their enforcement.

 

We actually made friends/peers on the shorter sailing, and the thread for it is still going strong a week later. That is something I missed on the first, where it was more like talking to your friends' parents, and not on the same level as far as playfulness, joking or general camaraderie. Let's face it: no one can really complain that any cruise is a drag, but when you're spending often a month's salary on one, you have to be discriminating and specific about what you want out of it or expect. I believe with experience and a little inside knowledge you truly can have the best of both worlds.

[Gracie115]

Let's face it: no one can really complain that any cruise is a drag, but when you're spending often a month's salary on one, you have to be discriminating and specific about what you want out of it or expect. I believe with experience and a little inside knowledge you truly can have the best of both worlds.

 

 

Absolutely agree with you...there are no bad cruises....but some can be better than others....and you are right to find out as much as you can and pass that info on too so that we can all make the best choices for ourselves...

 

For me the ideal cruise would have Celebrity ship, service and food and Royal's Activities...in the meantime I'll take what I can get and just be very happy I'm able to do it at all!!!:D

[hcat]

OP..

 

you never turned up at any of our CC events on Equinox & no one seems to have run into you.....we thought maybe you missed the ship!

 

glad you made it & enjoyed your cruise!

[Mr. Luckytoo]

A lot of stuff many of you have brought up are things I too could've included, like constant marketing (gold, shopping, art, etc.) and the extra charges for towels and room service, not seen on Celebrity. I not only liked the service better, but just the way guests are treated as adults, not children that have to be kept an eye on and to be reminded of the rules and their enforcement.

I agree with that statement 100% - and that is one of the top reasons that when I'm looking for a cruise Celebrity is my first choice, (followed by Princess). Let me ask you this - do you think the differences in demographics that you so rightly noticed may have something to do with that? :cool:

We actually made friends/peers on the shorter sailing, and the thread for it is still going strong a week later. That is something I missed on the first, where it was more like talking to your friends' parents, and not on the same level as far as playfulness, joking or general camaraderie. Let's face it: no one can really complain that any cruise is a drag, but when you're spending often a month's salary on one, you have to be discriminating and specific about what you want out of it or expect. I believe with experience and a little inside knowledge you truly can have the best of both worlds.

 

Again another excellent observation that I agree with you as well. The first thing that one must know about oneself is YOUR likes, wants, dislikes and most importantly EXPECTATIONS.

 

One of the biggest problems that a lot of novice cruisers have is knowing what they really like and want. When they get on a ship and can't leave it becomes obvious to them that they're missing something. Had they done their homework in the first place it would have been more evident.

 

Your original observation about the age demographics isn't at all surprising to me. Anytime you take a 10+ day cruise you should expect a skewed demographic towards older passengers simply because most Americans only get a limited amount of vacation time. Taking a 10+ cruise would, for most US passengers, take up their time so they would rather do two (2) 7-day cruises (or a single 7-day and something else).

 

The shorter the cruise usually the younger the demographics for exactly the opposite reasons. In addition the 3-day weekend cruises will be more heavily tilted towards more partying and drinking that say a 4-night Monday-Thursday cruise.

 

Now when you look at it from the perspective of the cruiseline who is the majority clientele? If 70% of the ship is age 60+ then shouldn't the trivia and other entertainment venues be skewered towards that demographic? From a business perspective - of course! That's why you will NEVER see a rock climbing wall on an =X= ship. When I cruise on RCI I do the rock climbing, on NCL I did the repelling wall but on =X= I read my books! (I'm late 40's myself)

 

I think your observations are spot on. I appreciate the time you took to make those observations and personally I'm GLAD there is a difference. When I cruise on Celebrity I DO NO WANT the type of environment that you will find on a Carnival ship. When I cruise on RCI I EXPECT more kids, more noise, and I expect it to be a livlier ship. However if you were to sail on the Navigator of the Seas TransAtlantic 13 day cruise I'll wager that the demographics would be identical to that which you observed on the Celebrity Equinox.

 

Thanks for sharing...

[SWLinPHX]

OP..

 

you never turned up at any of our CC events on Equinox & no one seems to have run into you.....we thought maybe you missed the ship!

 

glad you made it & enjoyed your cruise!

 

Hey HCat...

 

Yeah, the time of the onboard Cruise Critic party something came up and we missed it, but can't remember what it was. Also, we were so tired the night before the cruise there was no way we were gonna hassle trying to find our way around town. We had enough to do as it was and I had like 9 hours sleep in 3 nights. We really needed that night before!

 

To be honest, I found the way Steve jumped down my throat because I started a Facebook event page very off-putting and unfriendly. Here he was hocking T-shirts, etc. but couldn't understand why anyone would use Facebook. I did the same thing for my second cruise and we had 40 on our Facebook page. I made custom name tags and other designs and we all met onboard the first day (although not an official C.C. party as it was only 5 days). They not only used the page but it thrived and people thanked me. I just felt that aside from yourself, the Equinox C.C. group did not come off as friendly (at least to my group) due to the Facebook issue. I think Steve banned people from even signing up on it, as only one did, in contrast to 40 for our second cruise.

 

 

Your original observation about the age demographics isn't at all surprising to me. Anytime you take a 10+ day cruise you should expect a skewed demographic towards older passengers simply because most Americans only get a limited amount of vacation time. Taking a 10+ cruise would, for most US passengers, take up their time so they would rather do two (2) 7-day cruises (or a single 7-day and something else).

 

The shorter the cruise usually the younger the demographics for exactly the opposite reasons. In addition the 3-day weekend cruises will be more heavily tilted towards more partying and drinking that say a 4-night Monday-Thursday cruise.

 

Now when you look at it from the perspective of the cruiseline who is the majority clientele? If 70% of the ship is age 60+ then shouldn't the trivia and other entertainment venues be skewered towards that demographic? From a business perspective - of course! That's why you will NEVER see a rock climbing wall on an =X= ship. When I cruise on RCI I do the rock climbing, on NCL I did the repelling wall but on =X= I read my books! (I'm late 40's myself)

 

I think your observations are spot on. I appreciate the time you took to make those observations and personally I'm GLAD there is a difference. When I cruise on Celebrity I DO NO WANT the type of environment that you will find on a Carnival ship. When I cruise on RCI I EXPECT more kids, more noise, and I expect it to be a livlier ship. However if you were to sail on the Navigator of the Seas TransAtlantic 13 day cruise I'll wager that the demographics would be identical to that which you observed on the Celebrity Equinox.

 

 

I don't disagree. The thing is, I didn't think my friends and I would be such an exception that anyone our age would be hard to spot. I figured if we exist there has to be others who work for themselves or can work from the Internet or cell phone. Also, my previous cruises were mostly chartered so there were a lot of peers. My first cruise (11 days from Vancouver to and around Hawaii) was definitely seniors. I had the same issues but because it was my first cruise and I had only paid $500 w/tax and $75 total airfare I wasn't about to complain. As I have stated, from now on I will only book longer cruises during holiday or vacation times and book shorter ones back-to-back during school season. And I wouldn't want a party cruise either. I don't want any "one-demographic-only" cruise as I enjoy the mix and variety of people. I also conversely do believe you can get a lively, younger group on a Celebrity ship on shorter cruises, and mostly seniors on a longer RCI.