Mostly Loyal to Royal tried X and loved it!

[jules815]

As another poster noticed, the Millennium class on X is very much like the Radiance class with one big exception, Millennium has a lot fewer passengers , so it tends to be much less crowded.

Celebrity just does not pack a lot of inside cabins in those ships compared to Royal.

 

This is something we did notice. We would be cutting through the ship and noticed some decks had no interior rooms at all. And there was never really a wait for an elevator and often they were empty.

[Big_G]

Celebrity's prices have been a little higher category to category but the all inclusive packages tend to even it out. As for casino smoking, Celebrity is a prime example of what happens when you remove smoking...nothing. We have yet to see a casino on Celebrity that wasn't as busy as any Royal casino.

[Jeremiah1212]

I wouldn't say we are RC loyalists, but the bulk of my cruises have been with on Royal. But we are also booked on Reflection for next winter. No kids, so the characters and slide type stuff isn't important and we like a little more upscale and quiet atmosphere. It's been a long time since my one and only Celebrity cruise, but I would compare it to the difference between driving a Toyota and Lexus. Overall similar, but you'll notice the extra attention to detail and overall more upscale feel but without being stuffy.

 

When we started cruising years ago we did RCCL. Tried X and were very impressed. Climbed to Elite status on X and thought we would try RCCL again as they match status. Did cruise in Feb. on SOS and was just OK so we are moving back to X. We think the perks and the difference in food makes the difference. After viewing X and RCCL Car. cruises offered next year,there doesn't seem to be much difference in price.

 

On similar 7 day itineraries for next winter on a non-Oasis class ship (which is hard to find on RC next year) we found Celebrity to be cheaper and included a beverage package. Then when I shopped TA's, the amount of OBC offered was far higher than anything I was offered on Royal. We came out with $600 in OBC for a 7 day cruise. The highest offer I had on Royal was $100 and that TA had just increased the package price to accommodate for it. That $600 will easily counterbalance the higher cost of Celebrity's specialty dining.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Evening entertainment - As mentioned in a previous post, Royal excels in evening entertainment and live music. Celebrity offers more single performer shows and certainly more subdued music.

 

Good to know I will have my evenings free in February. If the "entertainment" on Celebrity is worse than what I saw on the Radiance this past summer, no way will I waste my time. I only sat through the show I did because I was trapped in the row and didn't want to bother anyone by climbing over them. I've seen better dreck at Six Flags.

[Jeremiah1212]

Good to know I will have my evenings free in February. If the "entertainment" on Celebrity is worse than what I saw on the Radiance this past summer, no way will I waste my time. I only sat through the show I did because I was trapped in the row and didn't want to bother anyone by climbing over them. I've seen better dreck at Six Flags.

 

I can't speak to the production shows, but one of the recent common complaints I read on here from the urmm... 'more seasoned' group is that there is too much loud Top 40 and DJ music throughout the ship, especially at night. I imagine that's an area where Celebrity is trying to attract a younger demo. You can't please everyone, but for me personally...I would enjoy it.

[jules815]

I can't speak to the production shows, but one of the recent common complaints I read on here from the urmm... 'more seasoned' group is that there is too much loud Top 40 and DJ music throughout the ship, especially at night. I imagine that's an area where Celebrity is trying to attract a younger demo. You can't please everyone, but for me personally...I would enjoy it.

 

I liked the DJ music in the Grand Foyer area. It complimented the "show" at the Martini Bar.

[tserface]

We go on X or RCI kind of interchangeably. Since we are Diamond status on RCI and Elite on X we get similar loyalty benefits on either. We like balcony discount on RCI. We tend to look at itineraries. RCI tends to have better back to back itineraries and X has better longer cruises. We've also found that on longer cruises there are fewer kids. We like kids (a lot), but don't mind not being inundated on cruises.

 

There are some things we like about X (Concierge class, specialty restaurants are slightly different, ships less noisy, a little more low key and, perhaps, classier) and stuff we like about RCI (promenade, more upbeat, shows, newer ship designs)

 

The reciprocal loyalty agreement makes it really easy to try either direction.

 

Tom

[Aquahound]

I was just on Celebrity Eclipse a few months ago and was blown away. I've loved Celebrity since my Solstice cruise in 2009 but with Celebrity stealing CD Richard Spacey away from RCI, that Eclipse cruise was amazing.

 

Today, Celebrity and RCI are the 2 first cruise lines I look at.

[TexCruise371]

We have sailed on the Summit and the Eclipse and really, really enjoyed both cruises.

 

We came home and told our loyal Royal cruising friends how much we enjoyed them. So, they gave X a try and did not enjoy themselves at all :eek::eek:. You just never know

 

We also currently have two X next cruise certs and look forward to cruising on them again.

[dnwside]

Good information folks. We too are thinking of trying X after our next cruise on RCCL. We too were waiting until we turned diamond and will after this next cruise on the Harmony. I appreciate all of the insight from everyone.

 

Good question!:)

[Virtopia]

This was an interesting thread to read.

 

I'd like to try Celebrity one day but I feel like the night life wouldn't satisfy me. My next cruise will make me Diamond as well and I have sailings booked on Royal up until December 2017, but I may give them a try in 2018. Maybe a shorter Caribbean cruise just to see how I like it.

[FSUNole]

Sounds like most folks feel Celebrity is a notch above Royal. I suppose what Royal spends on the "attractions", Celebrity puts into service and quality.

[riclop]

Went on a 5-night Cozumel and Key West on Constellation last week. It was spring break for my daughter, and this was another mother/daughter cruise for us. I'd say Constellation is probably comparable in size to a Radiance class ship. Ship was spotless and in beautiful condition. Very relaxing, without being boring. Probably not the best line for children. There are no characters, etc., but they did have a smaller kid's club area and one for teens as well.

 

We were in an S1 Sky Suite, like a junior suite, but had access to their concierge lounge, Michael's Club, and our dining room was Luminae, their suite restaurant. I specifically booked this category because I really wanted to try a dedicated suite restaurant. We were definitely WOW'd there.

 

We booked two more while on board for 2017. They have some really nice Caribbean itineraries with islands we haven't been to.

 

Next up...Harmony transatlantic!! :D This will also be a new ship class for us, as well as itinerary.

 

We tried X and once was enough for us, never again.

[Clarea]

We tried X and once was enough for us, never again.

Curious what you didn't like.

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Went on a 5-night Cozumel and Key West on Constellation last week. It was spring break for my daughter, and this was another mother/daughter cruise for us. I'd say Constellation is probably comparable in size to a Radiance class ship. Ship was spotless and in beautiful condition. Very relaxing, without being boring. Probably not the best line for children. There are no characters, etc., but they did have a smaller kid's club area and one for teens as well.

 

We were in an S1 Sky Suite, like a junior suite, but had access to their concierge lounge, Michael's Club, and our dining room was Luminae, their suite restaurant. I specifically booked this category because I really wanted to try a dedicated suite restaurant. We were definitely WOW'd there.

 

We booked two more while on board for 2017. They have some really nice Caribbean itineraries with islands we haven't been to.

 

Next up...Harmony transatlantic!! :D This will also be a new ship class for us, as well as itinerary.

 

Nice to hear. We booked an Alaskan Cruise on the Millennium. It'll be a first Celebrity cruise for us and the first Alaskan cruise as well. Another first is an Aft Balcony. Really looking forward to this one. :)

[oceanlovinmama]

I'm Diamond on Royal and just took my first X cruise this past November and LOVED it!! It was a bit quieter in the evening, but other than that it was amazing and I can't wait to book another one. X does pull out of the Caribbean in the summer because she takes her ships to Alaska and Europe since those are the only months you can do those itineraries. I was looking at next year at a Mediterranean on X and a lot are sold out! I was shocked! Their promo deals are awesome and their prices are beating Royal. I'll still book my cruise depending on itinerary, but I'm getting a little tired of the same ports with Royal.

[Keith1010]

Glad you enjoyed the cruise.

 

Keith

[cruiserone]

Our first cruise was on The Song of America in 1989 on Royal. We were loyal to them till we tried Princess. We loved Princess as by this time we had no more children at home and the crowd was older. A price break brought us to Celebrity and we have stayed with them since. We usually book a SS as we love the larger room and two large closets! Sailing on Anthem with our grand children and looking forward to spending time on Royal after all these years.

 

Happy Sailing no matter where you sail or what ship you sail on.:D

[peteukmcr]

Thanks for your comparison. Here's another RCI veteran who's tried X and loved it.

 

As we decided to try other lines due to our impression that RCI standards have gone downhill whilst prices on board have increased to silly heights (cover charges and beverages), you can see from my signature we must have really enjoyed X.

 

We have 2 more booked. Not totally away from RCI, but more in the mix too!

[L454S]

This past year we did 14 days on the Summit, and 11 on the Equinox. Wanted to give X a real try. The itineraries were what we wanted and pricing was comparable.

 

We enjoyed both cruises, but the itineraries and service were the highlight(though not better than RCI), not the ship. Found it hard to get past the decor. Artwork everywhere consisting of partial body parts of Barbie dolls???? I guess I just don't get it. Similar all over. I think the "uber modern" theme did not resonate.

 

Give them a try, you might like them better. For the right cruise at the right price, we might sail again with them.

[Big_G]

Good information folks. We too are thinking of trying X after our next cruise on RCCL. We too were waiting until we turned diamond and will after this next cruise on the Harmony. I appreciate all of the insight from everyone.

 

Good question!:)

 

Pick your Celebrity cruise and book it on-board. Celebrity has better on-board booking perks. We booked our last Reflection cruise on-board Oasis and received $550 OBC, paid grats, and the classic package. We just booked Silhouette on-board for 2018 and received the same package.

[champagne123]

Pick your Celebrity cruise and book it on-board. Celebrity has better on-board booking perks. We booked our last Reflection cruise on-board Oasis and received $550 OBC, paid grats, and the classic package. We just booked Silhouette on-board for 2018 and received the same package.

 

You can book an X cruise on an RCCL ship?

[Clarea]

Pick your Celebrity cruise and book it on-board. Celebrity has better on-board booking perks. We booked our last Reflection cruise on-board Oasis and received $550 OBC, paid grats, and the classic package. We just booked Silhouette on-board for 2018 and received the same package.

Thanks, I didn't know that the X perks for booking on board were that much different than Royal's.

[Big_G]

You can book an X cruise on an RCCL ship?

 

 

Yes. We also booked a Royal cruise while on Celebrity but the perks were the same as if you were on a Royal ship.

 

 

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[champagne123]

Yes. We also booked a Royal cruise while on Celebrity but the perks were the same as if you were on a Royal ship.

 

 

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Yipeeeeee...THANK YOU:):):)