Rccl and celebrity are more like distant cousins...

[LabGuy64]

In my opinion....much is determined by the level of the cabin you stay in....at veranda level and below the differences are fewer between Royal, Princess and Celebrity. However, if you stay in a Grand or Owners suite on Princess and then a Penthouse or Royal on Celebrity......there is a world of difference. The level of perks offered on Celebrity are MILES beyond the anemic package (read breakfast at Sabatini's and one full minibar) you get on Princess.

 

 

I have found no definitive difference between those lines & ships.

 

Each line/ship has things we like better/worse than other lines/ships.

 

But truly, cruises are far more alike than different.

 

And I think Celebrity gave up "premium" line some time ago--mass market for them as well.

[keithm]

I do agree with the lounge chair HOGS! Hey if you get down early get a chair in a location you prefer and put a towel on it, great ..then your butt needs to be on top of the towel now if you want to go grab breakfast and back in 20 minutes to a half hour ok with that. If these chair HOGs that leave a towel and book on a lounge chair and come back 5 hours later is what I have problems with.

this is all from no enforcement by celebrity...they really need to work on this.

From here on out if I go to the pool area and wander around for a half hour and see the same pair of chairs empty I'm on them when owner comes back you don't have them all day..ridiculous...

If I see a seat unused for an hour(or more) I just move in, remove items to lost & found. Simple as that. If the "owner" returns, I just tell them.. "Where's your name sewn into the seat?" Works every time. One pax, I heard, actually tossed the items into the trash. sorry, not willing to go that far!

[keithm]

You're kidding, right? Both are mass market cruise lines. We just got off the Eclipse and, while the service was good, the food in the MDR and the Tuscan Grill was terrible, worst we have had on 15 cruises. Didn't feel like a premium to us

Really?? We found the food on the Eclipse to easily be better than other lines we travelled. Murano had the best food since we last cruised the Queens Grill on the QM2. We're both in the food industry, so we have some idea in this area. Please list some of the "15" cruises/cruiselines you've taken. It would better support your claims.

[Aquahound]

Let me qualify.. Short cruise, not a big port, small ship, spring break. Could this be the entire fault?!

 

Well...mostly...yes! Of course that's mostly to blame.

 

Not for nothing but while I agree Celebrity is a bit more upscale than RCI, the experience you described sounds a lot like the 4 day cruise I took 2 years ago on Connie. Bars were packed, bar service was slow to impossible, pool deck was packed during the day, etc, etc. That's the dynamics of a 4 day cruise. Seen it on RCI, seen it on Celebrity, and seen it on Princess. I've also seen it on NCL but in their case, I think it's just normal.

Edited March 23, 2016 by Aquahound

[keithm]

In my opinion....much is determined by the level of the cabin you stay in....at veranda level and below the differences are fewer between Royal, Princess and Celebrity. However, if you stay in a Grand or Owners suite on Princess and then a Penthouse or Royal on Celebrity......there is a world of difference. The level of perks offered on Celebrity are MILES beyond the anemic package (read breakfast at Sabatini's and one full minibar) you get on Princess.

We did a B2B on the Regal Feb.7-21. Though the MDR food was pretty good(not, mind you as good as Cunard/Celebrity)We TOTALLY agree..what a "shaft" the Suite pax get on Princess! Really! the suite price is about the same as Cunard/Celebrity, but again a minibar!? Really! No butler service, no dining in a specialty rest. except Sabatini's, which we found only a "tad" better than the MDR. I'd NEVER book Princess for a suite.

[LabGuy64]

Exactly......

 

After a California coastal cruise I did last year I suggested on the Princess board that they could at least give priority disembarkation at the ports and preferred seating for the shows to the high suite pax.....the out cry was amazing. Basically they said the suite pax should just be happy with the bigger cabin. many said they cruise Princess BECAUSE they don't give all the perks to suite pax.

 

We did a B2B on the Regal Feb.7-21. Though the MDR food was pretty good(not, mind you as good as Cunard/Celebrity)We TOTALLY agree..what a "shaft" the Suite pax get on Princess! Really! the suite price is about the same as Cunard/Celebrity, but again a minibar!? Really! No butler service, no dining in a specialty rest. except Sabatini's, which we found only a "tad" better than the MDR. I'd NEVER book Princess for a suite.

[BubMunkeyBles]

I'd agree. Just did a 5 night on the Connie and did a 5 night on the Liberty OTS and Celebrity is so much better. I've also done multiple 5 nights on Carnival that had less rude people on it and better food. It's just not the right cruise line for me and we will be sticking with Celebrity for our kidless cruises (although we're eyeing a New Zealand cruise with the kids). Honestly, I love Celebrity so much we may just try to stick to land vacations with the kids until they're a little older and can do Celebrity comfortably with us, lol.

[OCruisers]

Distant cousins!

Both are mass market cruise lines but VERY different.

[PatC]

Having sailed Celebrity 26 times we did take our first Royal cruise last November on Grandeur out of Baltimore, just because it was a last minute cruise and close to home.

 

I have to say that the crew, staff, food, etc. were excellent, in MY opinion. I thought that Celebrity could take some lessons from this particular crew and staff about friendliness and caring for passengers.

 

We love Celebrity and are on Eclipse next week but I can assure you that we will be comparing. I would sail on Grandeur again and then have a better comparison but every ship is different.

 

I also agree that the Celebrity "premium" of the past is gone and they are becoming more and more "same, same" They are making the ships different "classes" and it shows. Sad for us. While we agree those in "suites" deserve a little extra, those who are NOT deserve at least the same services.

More and more is being taken away from the "lower priced cabins". Again, sad for us but that doesn't mean we won't cruise in the future. Just might start trying other lines. We do not like those mega ships either so we're waiting to see the new Celebrity ships.

 

Pat C

[keithm]

Exactly......

 

After a California coastal cruise I did last year I suggested on the Princess board that they could at least give priority disembarkation at the ports and preferred seating for the shows to the high suite pax.....the out cry was amazing. Basically they said the suite pax should just be happy with the bigger cabin. many said they cruise Princess BECAUSE they don't give all the perks to suite pax.

I enjoyed our Regal cruise pretty much, but feel suite pax get a real shaft for the price they pay! Prices are very similar to Cunard/HAL/Celebrity for the suites, but check what amenities you GET for suites on those lines. Much better perks. A standard cabin on Princess is quite nice. A suite on Princess, not so much!

[eel]

We have 160+ nights on Royal and 40+ nights on Celebrity (all Solstice class). My opinion is that there are differences but they are mostly subjective. I have never had what I would call poor service on either although the quality of service is variable enough that what you experience on a single cruise is just the luck of the draw.

 

What I like about Royal: More activities; better entertainment in the lounges; newer ships have interesting features like IFly, North Star, water slides, diving shows, Broadway plays, etc.; nicer experience in Diamond lounge (compared to Elite event); drinks loaded on sea pass for Diamonds, more of a fun vibe.

 

What I like about Celebrity: Better food (but not exceptionally better), more crew involvement, more interesting itineraries, slightly more luxurious feel, easier to get a drink package included as a perk. As a negative, I find Celebrity takes itself a little too seriously at times.

 

Both lines have very well designed ships that look fantastic.

 

We tend towards Royal for less port intensive cruises where activities and entertainment on board are more important. For port intensive cruises we prefer Celebrity.

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

We like both RCI and Celebrity and the Diamond/Elite status reciprocity between the lines.

 

But we really miss the Diamond & Concierge lounges on RCI when we sail Celebrity. The Diamond/Concierge lounges are the greatest places to snuggle up with our Kindles during the day and escape the 'madding crowds'. And not to mention the fabulous self-serve coffee machines!

 

The RCI lounges are a class leading perk that just aren't matched by the other mass market lines.

[Bobal]

We have 160+ nights on Royal and 40+ nights on Celebrity (all Solstice class). My opinion is that there are differences but they are mostly subjective. I have never had what I would call poor service on either although the quality of service is variable enough that what you experience on a single cruise is just the luck of the draw.

 

What I like about Royal: More activities; better entertainment in the lounges; newer ships have interesting features like IFly, North Star, water slides, diving shows, Broadway plays, etc.; nicer experience in Diamond lounge (compared to Elite event); drinks loaded on sea pass for Diamonds, more of a fun vibe.

 

What I like about Celebrity: Better food (but not exceptionally better), more crew involvement, more interesting itineraries, slightly more luxurious feel, easier to get a drink package included as a perk. As a negative, I find Celebrity takes itself a little too seriously at times.

 

Both lines have very well designed ships that look fantastic.

 

We tend towards Royal for less port intensive cruises where activities and entertainment on board are more important. For port intensive cruises we prefer Celebrity.

 

Excellent post - couldn't have put it better myself and agree on all you said :D

[kittyluvrnurse]

I'm in my 30s and I think the entertainment was better on celebrity vs the Royal ship I was just on...

 

 

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[Aquahound]

I'm in my 30s and I think the entertainment was better on celebrity vs the Royal ship I was just on...

 

I'm sure you're right. Entertainment on Radiance Class is typical cruise ship singers/ dancers stuff. It's Freedom Class and up (minus Independence) that has the really good stuff. Best in the industry, I think.

[Big_G]

I'm in my 30s and I think the entertainment was better on celebrity vs the Royal ship I was just on...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I'm sure you're right. Entertainment on Radiance Class is typical cruise ship singers/ dancers stuff. It's Freedom Class and up (minus Independence) that has the really good stuff. Best in the industry, I think.

 

I sailed Brilliance back in December 2015 and had great cruise but I have to admit she's been taking a beating over on the Royal Caribbean boards.

[KKB]

Royal has our favorite cruise ever...and our least fav. (and we have only cruised them 2x!)

 

Adventures of the Seas to MX Riviera--meh. Ship uninteresting; VERY few activities offered. Never need to do MX Riviera again.

 

Oasis of the Seas--OMG. Magnificent ship, SO much to do. Loved it.

 

We continue to want to cruise those Royal megaships again. We love Princess because they offer so so many activities throughout the day (even DS15 mentioned Princess' activities over RCCL AOS & Celebrity!)

 

But the drink package makes Celebrity SUCH SUCH a good value these days. We have spent about the same as a package on each cruise so to get a balcony for basically the price of an interior on other lines does it for us.

[SargassoPirate]

We cruise mostly on Royal and Princess, with a few cruises on Celebrity when the price and itinerary appeals to us. While there are some noticeable differences between Royal and Celebrity - none are a deal breaker.

 

We have, however, found a trick that almost always ensures excellent service and even a few extras on any cruise. We SMILE at the crew members and try to remember their names when we encounter them multiple times.

 

You'd be surprised how many passengers we see walking around the ship with a serious case of GRF (grouchy resting face) :mad: or how many passengers we hear talking down to the crew or using demanding voices.

 

SMILE people. You get back what you project many times over!

[Mr. Click]

Our experiences.. we sailed on Serenade of the Seas 3 times in the southern Caribbean and enjoyed all of them. Went looking for a Med cruise and "had" to take Celebrity Equinox because it had the itinerary we wanted. We loved it. Since then we have been on the Summit, the Solstice, the Silhouette and loved all of them. Loved the service, the food, the ship, the experience. Sandwiched in between was a trip on the Allure a few years ago before the Quantum Class ships. We were disappointed big time. Food in the MDR was barely edible, service was not good, had to beg someone to show us where our table was, got told "no you cannot get fresh piazza even if you wait" in the pizza place. Ended up eating in lots of specialty restaurants that were so so at best but least the service was good... so all in all, yes, there is a huge difference between the two lines. We no longer even look at Royal when we are thinking of where to go. If they would combine the loyalty programs we might consider it again but not likely on either count.