We're trying Royal Caribbean: What to expect vs. Celebrity?

[alj1208]

Hi: We are committed Celebrity cruisers, but we are trying a Royal Caribbean cruise next winter. It's a smaller ship (Jewel of the Seas), and we picked it because of the itinerary. Also, we have a 9-year-old child, and maybe there would be more for him to do. But, we hate to compromise on quality/elegance of Celebrity. Is there really a big difference?

[wallie5446]

We first sailed RCCL in 1992, Celebrity in 1994. We would not hesitate booking either line, but they both provide different experiences.

 

You will find passengers on both will dress nicely for dinner.

 

The food quality will be similar, Chops steak is as good as Tuscan.

 

The show productions were better on RCCL.

 

Celebrity is a more refined and laid back cruise.

 

Both have a silly $10 watche sale:rolleyes:

 

In the end we all get off a ship with a different take on the experience.

[jelayne]

More active things for your son to do. More announcements ( a lot). Food not quite as good. Little touches missing- cool cloth and water when coming back to the ship in port, no mimosa, sparkling wine on embarkation. Officers not as visible and engaging.

 

Jewel was a beautiful ship 5 years ago don't know about now but would assume still very nice. Entertainment is better than on Celebrity. If you are Elite on Celebrity be sure to get a Crown & Anchor number so you get the benefits of Diamond on RC; their evening cocktail gathering is better running from 5-8. If there is a Diamond Lounge service is great.

 

All in all we prefer the atmosphere and service on Celebrity but we don't have children. I am sure you will have a great time on Royal.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

We took our first RCI cruise (Vision class, not Radiance class) in April. Our impressions were that mot things were a notch below what we were used to expecting from Celebrity. Service was a bit slipshod and inconsistent, RCI specialty restaurant food equaled X's MDR food, RCI MDR food equaled X's buffet, and so on.

 

As mentioned, little touches were missing-- no champagne or mimosa when boarding, no cool towels and water on reboarding, no chocolates on the pillow at night. Basic TV, no shipboard account information or video on demand. Mattress was uncomfortable (though the steward did provide something to make it better about a week in when I asked for an extra blanket so I could sleep on the sofa, maybe an egg crate foam mattress insert). I found entertainment was on par with X, though less activities. Smoking policy was enforced, though they allow smoking in a part of the casino (which is like allowing peeing in one part of the pool:eek:).

 

All in all, we just kept saying to each other, "I miss Celebrity."

 

With a 9-year old, though, there are likely going to be more kids on board for him to interact with and more to do.

[micmacmissy]

Hi: We are committed Celebrity cruisers, but we are trying a Royal Caribbean cruise next winter. It's a smaller ship (Jewel of the Seas), and we picked it because of the itinerary. Also, we have a 9-year-old child, and maybe there would be more for him to do. But, we hate to compromise on quality/elegance of Celebrity. Is there really a big difference?

 

I'm guessing you're doing a southern caribbean? If so, that's a great itinerary, and very port intensive, so you won't be spending as much time on the ship.

 

I think overall RCCL offers a solid product and you'll have a good time. I do give Celebrity an edge in terms of buffet and food quality. We missed things like the homemade hard scoop ice cream, welcome champagne, omelet station. Also: no cold towels and drinks on the pier after a day in port. But we found the MDR food on RCCL and the service to be really good!

 

The only other thing about RCCL we didn't like was that there were no lounges in the pre-dinner hours with live music. We like a drink before dinner and some music, and on RCCL live music didn't seem to be available before 9:30pm.

 

Our cabin on RCCL, while little more dated looking than on X, was very comfortable and room steward excellent. Our kids LOVED the towel animals each night (tip your room steward on day 1 and tell him/her you'd like some towel animals) and they had an awesome time.

 

So to answer your question: there are lots of small differences, but no big difference.

[micmacmissy]

Oh yeah, just remembered: we could not go NEAR the casino on RCCL. It was SO smoky, even though they only allow smoking on one side. I do like a little bit of gambling on a cruise so was a little disappointed about that.

[bluecruisin]

Announcements have been cut back recently to once a day on Royal. Buffet is better on Celebrity. MDR pretty equal. Entertainment better and more diversified on Royal. Celebrity is more elegant and laid back but there are plenty of relaxing spots on Royal.

[Deeliteful]

I wouldn't hesitate in booking a cruise on RCI especially with a 9 year old. I have enjoyed every cruise I have taken with both lines - though I would probably not sail one of the mega ships like Allure again.

 

Always found food to be good, service good, staff great.

 

Enjoy!

Edited May 11, 2015 by Deeliteful

[celebritydave]

We are veteran Celebrity cruisers and recently took our first RCCL cruise. We had done a Silhouette TA in November 2014 and the RCCL Cruise on Vision of the Seas in December.

 

The Vision had been recently refurbished and was in very good condition. We had a balcony cabin that was roomy. The bathrooms on the Silhouette are much nicer.

 

The biggest difference between the two was the food. We found the food to be much better on Celebrity. The Oceanview cafe on Celebrity was so much better than the on the Vision. More variety and the food quality was better. The hamburgers and hot dogs on the Vision were just fair at best.

 

The MDR food was also better. We did have a good meal at Sabatini's on the Vision and the specialty restaurants are less expensive on RCCL.

 

I do agree with previous posters that the happy hour was better on the Vision. We are Diamond on RCCL and we enjoyed the private lounge very much. Drinks kept coming and the snacks were very good.

 

We really do like the S class ships very much. Maybe a newer RCCL ship would be more to our liking.

 

Dave

[notsomadhatter]

Jewel's entertainment (main production shows) were the worst of any ship I have been on.

 

I wouldn't call Jewel the right ship to experience a distinct difference between X and RC, as it doesn't have any of the updates or family focused things the newer ships do.