Celebrity or RCI

[bravjd]

My family cruised on the RCI Navigator last month and had a wonderful time. I am now researching cruises for Xmas '06. My DS loved the kids club on RCI. I currently have the Mariner booked but someone told me to look at Celebrity.

 

I was wondering how Celebrity compares to RCI and which ship (Millenium or Century) would be best for us and why?

 

At Xmas there will be a lot of kids, but is Celebrity really kid friendly?

 

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[hdawson]

The DR food on Celebrity is much superior to that on Royal Caribbean. While service is good on all the major lines, Celebrity's is more refined and professional. Guests are more likely to dress to the suggested standards, more tuxs on formal night and they tend to stay dressed for the evening.

Celebrity doesn't use the PA system to hawk bingo, pool games and the like.

When boarding a Celebrity ship you will be escorted to your cabin while sipping complementary champagne. There will be a carrafe of water in your cabin rather than a bottle for sale. Celebrity bakes all their own breads, daily onboard and makes their own salad dressings and ice creams. When returning to the ship from HOT ports there will be a steward offering chilled towels to refresh. These are just a few differences.

 

One other advantage (in my opinion): Celebrity doesn't have a Mall of America of the Seas yet.

[bob278]

I agree in general with hdawson.

 

A couple of additional comments:

 

While Celebrity wins in the dining room, I think RCI is much better in the buffet (Windjammer). MUCH better layout and easier to get your food and the food is slightly better.

 

The specialty restaurant on the Millennium is far superior to Chops and Portifino's (both are great, but you really need to experience the M-class specialty restaurant), but the Century doesn't have anything like those.

 

RCL is a little more active and has a better reputation for kids. Celebrity has the program and our observation (not our children) is that the kids have fun. RCL just seems to have more for them, especially on the larger ships like the Mariner.

 

I think the probablity of kids at Christmas will be about the same on both, with Celebrity possibly having a very slightly smaller number.

 

As to which Celebrity ship, that's very subjective. You said you enjoyed the Navigator. The Millennium is smaller than the Navigator and the Century is smaller than the Millennium. We like the Century better as a ship because it has a more intimate feel to it, but we like aft balcony cabins, which the Century doesn't have. See what I mean about subjective?

 

Celebrity doesn't use the PA to push bingo and art, but don't think for a minute that they won't get the message across that those events are happening.

 

The good news is you don't really have a bad choice. If it were me (and this is just my opinion), if this is a special family holiday vacation, I would take the Mariner if you want to be a little more sure that your son would have a great time and let cost/itinerary help make the choice between the Celebrity ships if he is flexible and the adults want to try a little something different. After all, you know and like the RCL product and only you can decide if experimenting for Christmas is worth even a small risk.

 

We went on the Mariner in January and had a good time. The ship was a little larger than we liked (more people meant we didn't run into the same people a lot and get to know them - some folks might think that's an advantage). We liked the Promenade, but some people don't. We would not avoid a cruise on that class of ship, but if all other things were about equal, we would take any Celebrity or Radiance class ship over it. But keep in mind what I said about subjective likes and dislikes. We have friends who will not cruise on anything except the Voyager class and can't wait for the Freedom.

[wolfganghowell]

I have sailed both lines - although not RCCL's monster ships. I think RCCL just has more to offer kids of all ages and is more family friendly. RCCL and X are marketed differently for a reason - RCCL pushes activities, family fun, more of a party atmosphere. X goes for the gourmet experience in a refined atmosphere. I do know that X has a smaller kids area than RCCL and I have definitely seen less kids on X. As an adult, I prefer X over RCCL but can have a great time on either. If I were a kid, I'd reverse that.

[DancerOT]

Hi - I think it depends how old your kids are. My parents still call their children kids even though we are 18, 24, and 26. We have all gone on Celebrity at many different points. I have always loved every Celebrity cruise I have gone on. My younger brother felt a little left out a few years ago when he was 14, however he was traveling with other "kids" that were 6 to 8 years older than him. I love the Century, have been on her twice, am going again in December and so you know come Dec. '06 she will have been refurbished. She is going dry dock in April '06. Good luck with your decision!

[rjg41]

Everything above is very accurate.

 

I would guess that the adults would like Celebrity better. We are Millie class fans. (Millie, Summit, Constellation and Infinity). As for the kids, age and personality are the key. For kids 6 and under, I don't think it makes a differance of RC vs Celebrity. Of our 8 grandkids, 4 are 7 or over. We would not hesitate to take all four of them on RC but only 2 of them would like Celebrity as much as RC. The two that would prefer RC are higher energy kids. The food is not going to make any differance to most under 21 but Celebrity is clearly superior.

[katiel53]

We have sailed both, and our favorite is Celebrity. But, if I had children, (We do but they're in their 30's etc.) I would go on Royal Caribbean. I think Celebrity is more for older people, not that those in their 30's won't have a good time. It just seems the kids on Royal have a far better time, but I think a lot of it is that their parents are more relaxed. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Celebrity, but if we were to take our grands, it would be on Royal Caribbean. Whichever you choose, you will have a great time.

 

Katie