Cruiseline preferences

[hawkfanI]

Looking for some advice on cruise lines. We have sailed 3 times, twice on Celebrity and once on Princess. Celebrity, by far is our favorite! We're thinking we would like to do the Pacific side of Mexico our next trip. Our previous cruises have been in the Caribbean. For those of you who have cruised RCCL and Celebrity should I expect the same level of service and quality? Has RCCL and Celebrity crossed over on their Club discounts and specials? Although we loved Celebrity we would like to try a cruise line that's a little more active, is RCCL the ticket?

[Katie1219]

Looking for some advice on cruise lines. We have sailed 3 times, twice on Celebrity and once on Princess. Celebrity, by far is our favorite! We're thinking we would like to do the Pacific side of Mexico our next trip. Our previous cruises have been in the Caribbean. For those of you who have cruised RCCL and Celebrity should I expect the same level of service and quality? Has RCCL and Celebrity crossed over on their Club discounts and specials? Although we loved Celebrity we would like to try a cruise line that's a little more active, is RCCL the ticket?

 

Hi Hawkfan..........

We have sailed twice, once with RCCL and once with Carnival, so I can't really compare them to the Celebrity and Princess, but I can tell you that overall, we think RCCL is better than Carnival. I do have to ask you tho about your cruise critic name............would that by any chance be Hawkfan, as in Iowa Hawkeyes?? If so, we live in Iowa and have this to say: GO HAWKS.........BEAT WISCONSIN!! Good luck on finding the perfect cruiseline.........I'd go RCCL, but that's my opinion:)

[hawkfanI]

Sorry Katie, I'm a Jayhawk fan from Kansas!

[Host Kewlguy]

I say try as many different lines as you can. No two are the same. Personally I will stick with Royal and Norwegian and occasionally Celebrity when the price is right. It really depends my mood.

[ilionite65]

We have sailed on RCCL, Princess and on Carnival. Of those lines RCCL is the clear cut favorite for us. Celebrity is an RCCL line, and from what I understand it is slightly better. I have heard that the service is very good on Celebrity, and not having sailed her I can't truly compare. I can say though that I can't imagine better service than that we have gotten on RCCL. So, in that area maybe Celebrity is as good as RCCL. I guess the best way to find out would be to try RCCL, I really don't think you will be disappointed.

[Host Kewlguy]

We have sailed on RCCL, Princess and on Carnival. Of those lines RCCL is the clear cut favorite for us. Celebrity is an RCCL line, and from what I understand it is slightly better. I have heard that the service is very good on Celebrity, and not having sailed her I can't truly compare. I can say though that I can't imagine better service than that we have gotten on RCCL. So, in that area maybe Celebrity is as good as RCCL. I guess the best way to find out would be to try RCCL, I really don't think you will be disappointed.

 

Service and food are "Excellent" on Celebrity. On the flip side the entertainment on board leaves a lot to be desired.

[newmexicoNita]

Man, that is a hard one: our favorite line is NCL because of freestyle cruising; next is Celebrity as it is a little more upscale and the service is wonderful. I have cruised all the mass marketed lines except Princess and no matter what anyone says there is very little difference. Carnival has the largest cabins, RCI the most activities for the sports minded, Carnival the best night life, Celebrity the best food and little niceties and NCL the freestyle dining plus a very relaxed crew and the best entertainment (again this is a matter of preferance) Still the differences are not that great. I would choose by itinerary and price I think. Of course each thread here will give a differenct opinion as most readers have a certain loyalty to a particular line. NMnita

[OPSoccermom]

We have found both the food and service on X to be better than RCCL. RCCL does offer more varied itineraries and entertainment.

[beachchick]

About the loyalty clubs. RCI and Celebrity have reciprocal (not combined) benefits for the higher levels, but not the "entry" level (which I assume you are having cruised Celebrity twice). So, at this time, no you would not qualify for the reciprocal goodies. The way it works is that whatever level you are on one, you get those benefits onboard the other.

 

However, cruise points earned are not combined. You will be able to join Crown & Anchor after your first RCI cruise and will be starting as a new member. If you cruise on Celebrity, your points are counted toward your Celebrity level only; cruise on RCI and your points count toward RCI only. So, if (for example) you have cruised 3 times on RCI and 3 times on Celebrity, they don't combine it for 6 total; they remain individual memberships.

 

I hope that helps (I'm not always clear in my explanations).

 

beachchick

[cincicruisers]

Thanks for posting that beachchick. I thought they combined the credits. I was thinking on booking for X when I am on the Radiance this time, but if that is the case I will wait a bit until i reach diamond on RC.

[truffles2]

As you can see by the signature, we have a few cruises with RCI. Several years ago we decided to try Celebrity. Couldn't wait to come back to RCI, as we found everything better there...especially service! No one seemed to be enjoying themselves on our Celebrity cruise.

[missbear]

We have sailed once on Celebrity (Millenium), and just recently sail with RCCL on Adventure. At first I was inclined to say the service was better on Celebrity but I'm not so sure that's accurate. I'd think it's just different. On RCCL the staff was really helpful if you asked for something. I objected to the hours of the rock wall and (after being a little persistant) they offered to schedule some additional time for the wall. I complained about how many vegetarian options RCCL had, and they made me a special dinner each night after that. I was on crutches and no one offered to help me in the buffet, but on Celebrity you're likely to get help whether or not you need it. In hindsight, had I asked for help once on RCCL, I probably would have recieved it without asking from then on. There is more of an atmosphere of service on Celebrity. I think the food was better on Celebrity but that's kind of their nitch so no surprise there.

 

But...we tried RCCL for the same reason, wanting something more active, and it was. It also means attracting a different crowd. More of a family crowd from what we saw, which I like. I heard some complaints about kids but I didn't see too much of interest myself. More nightlife! Hot tubs and pools are open 24 hrs. On the bigger ships, they really are like a city. I'll explain:

 

On a normal vacation you get familiar with your hotel, you get to know where pretty much everything is. You get out to see something new. Most ships you get to know pretty well also but the bigger ships, they are so large that you could find a new area to explore each day of your cruise. Different bars, alternative eating, sports "region", different pools, different theaters, spa, art auction displays (which change and had some impressive names), library..... The Adventure is big! I can't even imagine how it will feel to be on the Freedom of the Seas.

 

I just thought of something I really prefered on Adventure vs. Millie. On both we had a veranda and on the Adventure the bed was closest to the veranda with the sofa near the door-Millie was opposite. Adventure made it easier to get into the cabin without a bottleneck by the bed, and it was Oh so very cool to feel the ship starting to dock and just roll over, move the curtains and see the hills of St. Thomas from my bed. Yeah. That rocked.

[Jeepers385]

Umm, this is a tough one. We enjoy both RCI & Princess alot, haven't sailed Celebrity yet and plan on it w/i the next 2 years but I would probably give a slight edge to Princess. We prefer the Personal Choice dining and the fresh water pools.

Debbie

[lhbsurf]

We have sailed both and enjoy both. I probably prefer Celebrity for just my husband and I, but definiely RCI with the kids. I agree, the service is different on the two. Celebrity is definitely more upscale & I LOVE the champagne & escort to the room.

 

We sailed Constellation and that is my favorite ship so far. My second ship choice is the Mariner, she is lovely also. RCI is great with kids. There are so many kid/teen activities, it keeps them busy and they're really not underfoot. We usually had to seek ours out because the enjoyed hanging out in the teen areas.

 

RCI seems to cater more to families and the active, 30ish-early 40 set. Celebrity seemed a little more upscale across the board, very few kids. Celebrity food slightly better, but speciatly restaurants on both are great.

 

Every cruise I have been on is a different experience and I wouldn't call any of them bad - if you're aware of the ambiance of the line ahead of time - I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

 

Laura

[hawkfanI]

Thanks everyonefor your responses, especially the clarity on the loalty club crossovers. Missbear, I have to agree with you on the veranda suites. Our last two cruises we've had veranda's and I don't know if I could cruise again without one.