About to Take a Royal Leap

[oneputt18]

We are Diamond on Royal and switched to Celebrity three years ago. Have cruised 3 Novembers in a row on the Equinox and are booked again for this November. We also booked a 14 night Southern Caribbean for March of 2018.(wife is finally retiring in December) Celebrity is alot more laid back than Royal. Too old for rock walls and surfing, so we don't miss that. One thing you will notice is the visibility and friendliness of the ship's officers. Royal does win on entertainment.

 

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[wallie5446]

We are Diamond on Royal and switched to Celebrity three years ago. Have cruised 3 Novembers in a row on the Equinox and are booked again for this November. We also booked a 14 night Southern Caribbean for March of 2018.(wife is finally retiring in December) Celebrity is alot more laid back than Royal. Too old for rock walls and surfing, so we don't miss that. One thing you will notice is the visibility and friendliness of the ship's officers. Royal does win on entertainment.

 

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We too are Diamond and have cruised on the Equinox in 2014 & 2015 with Pat n Joe, and are booked this November with them again along with 8-10 from the previous years.

 

Think RCCL as Six Flags and Celebrity as a nice Country Club.

[griffy116]

We're from the deep South and are teachers and have students in school so we have to cruise in summer or week long breaks. The heat doesn't bother us. We did a Med cruise in June and Turkey was HOT. We did Universal Studio this past Labor Day and it was Hot. At least in the Caribbean you are on the ocean or there is a breeze. We love cruising the Caribbean during the summer. We just got back from a Royal cruise in December (Christmas break) and will be going on our first Celebrity cruise in June. We're Diamond on Royal so Elite on Celebrity. We're excited about trying out a new ship, new menu's and seeing how they compare. We have friends that have sailed Equinox and say we are going to love it. We don't expect to be treated like Royalty. We keep our cabins in order every day. We are happy to have someone make the bed and bring in fresh towels every day. That's about all it takes to make us happy in our cabin. We are pretty easy to please at dinner and have never felt a need to go to the specialty restaurants, although I agree that the quality and the choices have gone downhill in recent years with Royal. We are going to miss the Promenade on Royal. We've gone on their ships with the Centrum instead of the Promenade and always miss sitting at the Promenade Cafe or the pub doing a bit of people watching. The FlowRider, slide and rock climbing wall and activities for the young ones in our family was a draw to Royal, but my Grandson is now 23 and used the FlowRider and the slide ONCE on our last cruise because of the line. He's Diamond on Royal on his own points and has been reluctant to try another line. When we mentioned trying a new ship, this time he was ready so since Celebrity had an itinerary that included Key West, where he was born, we "jumped ship" and booked with Celebrity. This will be part of his college Graduation present. He's bringing a friend. Her first cruise was with us in December and I'm hoping they enjoy Celebrity as much as they enjoyed Royal. I have found a lot of helpful information here, such as the Al Bacio, which I can't wait to try, the Mast Grill, which I think will be enjoyed by all of us and the cabins seem to have more storage space than the Royal ships, since some were nice enough to post video tours on line of the cabins. We have three balcony cabins for the six of us and can't wait to have a bit of that "newbie" feeling again.

[caribill]

I am not a very experienced cruiser, but I have been reading and reading on every major cruise line threads. They all seem to have the same exact complaints. Same complaints, same complaints. I don't get it. What is it that everyone wants? What does everyone expect?

 

In general, all of the major cruise lines have been making cutbacks and what posters want is the same quality experience they have had in the past.

 

Sort of like the airlines. Airline travel today is a miserable experience compared to even five years ago. At least cruise lines have not sunk that low yet.

[cmalagngl]

In general, all of the major cruise lines have been making cutbacks and what posters want is the same quality experience they have had in the past.

 

Sort of like the airlines. Airline travel today is a miserable experience compared to even five years ago. At least cruise lines have not sunk that low yet.

 

I have to comment on your airline experience as I agree totally that it is miserable. I flew extensively for my job for 20+ years. Little did I know that flying in the 80"s and 90's was the golden age of airline travel. We now very much consider the flights we have to take to get to our cruise. In some cases cruising one cruise over another just because of the flights involved. We were in Europe twice last year and when we got off the last flight we both knew it would be awhile before voluntarily put us through that experience again. That being said we are booked on a Japan cruise in 2018 another 11 hours in the air. Ugh.

[sheilb4]

We are about to book our first Celebrity cruise after eleven years and 17 cruises with Royal Caribbean. We love Royal, but have found that cutbacks and downgrades in recent years leave us feeling a little less pampered and special. We are looking for just a little more of that "they treated us like kings and queens" feeling. We are looking at Equinox out of Miami this summer. Do you have any thoughts or advice?

 

 

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Just my humble opinion, but having been in different suites up to RS level, and diamond plus on RCCL, I jumped back to Celebrity.

A decline in service, friendliness of staff, attitude and overall deterioration in food, entertainment etc on RCCL prompted me to do so, and if you start off on one of the Solstice ships, you will never go back!!

 

YES you are definately made to feel special on X, of course if you are fortunate to have a suite with Butler, even more so... staff seem to want to go above and beyond to enhance your experience, food, entertainment, even passenger ""quality" far superior... (dont flame me, just my own opinion as stated)

You will not be disappointed... if you can start in a Sky Suite even better, but overall a way more positive and better quality experience.

[ggo85]

We've been loyal RCCL cruisers for years. Last three cruises have been disappointments. Main reasons: (1) adding cabins/passengers while reducing public space; (2) drink packages causing crowded bars and drunk passengers (2 drunk women got into a fist fight in the Atrium last cruise and had to be removed from the ship); and (3) push/push/push to sell anything and everything (Bingo, gold by the inch, spa services, drink packages) -- even the Captain was making pitches during his noon announcements; and (4) unruly kids who are unsupervised and do things such as ring cabin doorbells at all hours of the day and night and (literally) crowd onto an elevator so a person in a wheelchair can't get in.

 

We did Crystal once and loved it, but very pricey for small cabins and the itineraries aren't to our liking at the time we can cruise.

 

We're trying Celebrity for the first time this fall. We've heard great things. If they are even mostly true, we'll be happy!

[whitshel]

I just looked on the Equinox schedule and there are only 3 cruises from Miami this summer- two in June and one in August. One basic word to know is HOT.

 

The Caribbean ports are extremely hot in the summer- microwave oven hot!

 

There will also be lots of families with lots of kids on board. This means - well, you know.

 

I don't think you can get a good comparison of two lines at the busiest time of a limited schedule.

 

Equinox is great. I have sailed RCL a few times and greatly prefer Celebrity in every aspect.

 

Whatever you decide - enjoy!

 

Not sure where you looked but the the Equinox has 7 night Caribbean cruises every week from June 4th to August 13th from Miami.

[SamFritz]

Well, we did it. Booked Equinox for Western Caribbean in August with Concierge Class. Also booked Millennium for August of 2018 for Alaska, no concierge class in that one.

 

 

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[villauk]

Well, we did it. Booked Equinox for Western Caribbean in August with Concierge Class. Also booked Millennium for August of 2018 for Alaska, no concierge class in that one.

 

 

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Keep watching for the Millie concierge cabins as they are slightly bigger on M class ships than the regular balcony cabins ;). On S class they are all the same size.

 

Have a great time on your cruises; we've also booked Equinox for the Southern Caribbean, but next August not this year :).

[Shadow9612]

In general, all of the major cruise lines have been making cutbacks and what posters want is the same quality experience they have had in the past.

 

In addition to the above comment, other posters have mentioned a decline in services on various different lines.

 

I have noticed similar cutbacks on Celebrity, but I still feel the service is exemplary and staff are extremely hard-working. There will always be one-offs - we all can have a bad day, once in a while.

 

However, I'd like to throw this question out there - do you think any perceived decline in service or not 'being treated like kings/queens' as some have mentioned, is a result of the changes to automatic gratuities? Did staff 'try even harder' when our tipping wasn't automatic?

[SeaPeaInn]

We used to do suites only on RCCL but find Celebrity aqua class superior.

 

Doing our first suite on Celebrity in May.

[jules815]

I am very happy that I can take a cruise. What I want is to to get the most value for my well earned money. If I have "expectations" it is because they have been met or exceeded in the past and are not being met now. I'm looking at a different line to see if they still rise to that level.

 

 

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We've been mostly loyal to Royal since our first cruise on Mariner in 2006. I sailed with Celebrity for the first time last March (college spring break with my daughter, their 5-day itinerary worked best with her schedule), and it was a real treat. If you can, try to book at least a Sky Suite so you'll have access to Michael's Club and their suite restaurant, Luminae. There are lots of nice little touches around the ship that you'll notice, and we had excellent service everywhere. We have 2 cruises booked with Celebrity for 2017, and will probably book 2018 while on board in April.

[floridacruisers]

Well, we did it. Booked Equinox for Western Caribbean in August with Concierge Class. Also booked Millennium for August of 2018 for Alaska, no concierge class in that one.

 

 

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As a retired teacher, I know being treated nice is a BIG change from the classroom. If you can swing it, do try Aqua Class. The extra perks (especially the restaurant, Blu) are, IMHO, worth it.

You have earned it. Makes you forget those days you wish you called in sick.......

 

Phil........floridacruisers

[impatientlywaiting]

Ten years ago, when I was a new cruiser, the service provided on Royal was different than anything I had experienced before. The attentiveness of waiters in the MDR, the friendliness and attention to detail of the stateroom attendants, and what felt to me like determination of everyone from check into departure to make my experience memorable for all the right reasons is what got me hooked on cruising. And, yes that is all it took to make me feel special. Today Royal feels more like the staff is overworked, asked to do too much and just struggling to get the work done. I still love cruising, but I do miss that extra mile service.

 

 

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We must be very lucky. In all the cruises we've taken on Royal, our cabin attendants and MDR waiters are still attentive and seem pay extra attention to detail. We always prepay our gratuities but always tip them more at the end of the cruise because of the extra great service they give us!

 

That said, we have "jumped ship" to Celebrity for our next cruise. Our last 29 day cruise on Radiance I was so tired of hearing the CD read the Cruise Compass every morning and every afternoon. It was absolutely ridiculous.

[NemoCrownie]

Well, we did it. Booked Equinox for Western Caribbean in August with Concierge Class. Also booked Millennium for August of 2018 for Alaska, no concierge class in that one.

 

 

I think you will love it. We are Diamond on Royal but we were getting disenchanted with their product - maybe we just needed a change - decreased staffing levels, overall cleanliness and maintenance, refurbishments that were really to add additional cabins and reduce public space without fixing what is clearly in disrepair, the severely diminished quality and variety of available food options, etc., etc., etc.

 

We just got off of the Equinox on 2/10 (also in Concierge class - you will love the footstools on your balcony) and it ranked up there as one of our very favorite cruises. The ship is clean and in good repair, the crew bend over backwards to make sure you are enjoying your vacation, Guest Relations staff rarely have a line and resolve any issues promptly (mine were of my own doing, no fault of Celebrity), the activity staff were great and live music was seemingly everywhere. The food was definitely a step up from Royal but nowhere near Royal even five years ago - they seemed to be long on pork and turkey but short on beef; the salad bar was much improved and we loved the pasta station and Eggs Benedict stations in the Ocean View cafe. We enjoyed the poolside grill when you are just sick of cruise food and want a decent hamburger. We also enjoyed all of the outside shaded areas to visit, relax and people watch.

 

We loved the little touches that are gone from Royal, ice cold towels and fruit waters upon return to the ship, pen and paper in the room, toiletries in the bathroom, robes in your closet, without having to ask, a few fresh flowers around the ship (and you will receive a rose in your room for your Elite status). We also loved the real towels in the public restrooms, boarding champagne, the Concierge class helipad sail-away and boarding day luncheon.

 

I am sure your experience will be different than ours since it is a shorter itinerary during the summer but I am confident you will love it! As an aside, we never made it to any of the Captain's Club events but I am sure they are well done. We have two more Celebrity sailings now booked and we will only book a future cruise on Royal if there is a great itinerary. If you want to see a real difference, visit the next cruise area - long hours and fully staffed with little to no wait.

[Shadow9612]

We loved the little touches that are gone from Royal, ice cold towels and fruit waters upon return to the ship, pen and paper in the room, toiletries in the bathroom, robes in your closet, without having to ask, a few fresh flowers around the ship (and you will receive a rose in your room for your Elite status). We also loved the real towels in the public restrooms, boarding champagne, the Concierge class helipad sail-away and boarding day luncheon.

 

Celebrity is my cruise line of choice and the little things you itemized below are so nice. I would certainly miss them on another line. Having said this, can anybody list some of those "little things" that collectively add to a wonderful vacation that celebrity does not have, but others do?

 

Sorry if this is a bit of topic from this thread, just thought it the perfect time to respond.

[Tudy]

We have sailed on both Celebrity and Royal. We are elite on Celebrity and only sailed Royal as Diamond members. I understand that "being treated like kings and queens" is just an expression for feeling appreciated and respected. I think that attitude of treating the costumers with appreciation and respect is what sets cruising apart from other vacation options.

 

Agree with others that the food is better on Celebrity than Royal. Entertainment is better on Royal. All in all we do prefer the Celebrity experience with the Welcome Champagne and other nice, but not necessary touches. We only book Royal if we are cruising with friends who want to do a Royal cruise.

 

One of the things that I like better about Celebrity over Royal is something other people don't talk about.:o I like the free mimosa's and bloody Mary's in the elite breakfast lounge. If you have a drink package it doesn't really matter, but it is nice to be able to start the day with a bit of "relaxation," a reminder that you are on vacation.

 

Another thing, Celebrity's 90 free minutes of internet works better for us than Royal's 1 day/pp. Both internets are slow, but we can do a quick "check-in" every day with Celebrity's plan. With Royal we can only get online for 2 days without additional charges.

 

I am sure that you will enjoy your cruise. You will really like some things. Other things might leave you shaking your head. Be sure to report back regarding your experience!

[Mynki]

I am very happy that I can take a cruise. What I want is to to get the most value for my well earned money. If I have "expectations" it is because they have been met or exceeded in the past and are not being met now. I'm looking at a different line to see if they still rise to that level.

 

 

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Would you like me to post my open, blunt, but brutally honest advice on your decision? Happy to keep my mouth firmly shut if not! :)

[MixerDave]

I just looked on the Equinox schedule and there are only 3 cruises from Miami this summer- two in June and one in August. One basic word to know is HOT.

 

The Caribbean ports are extremely hot in the summer- microwave oven hot!

 

There will also be lots of families with lots of kids on board. This means - well, you know.

 

I don't think you can get a good comparison of two lines at the busiest time of a limited schedule.

 

Equinox is great. I have sailed RCL a few times and greatly prefer Celebrity in every aspect.

 

Whatever you decide - enjoy!

 

 

I am booked on the Equinox out of Miami - 9 nites leaving 5/26

[39august]

I am new to the X boards so need lots of help. I, too, can only see 3 cruises for Equinox on Celebrity's web site for this summer. However, I can see the entire summer schedule on another website. How the heck to you get to see all the summer schedule on X's web site? I can't get an accurate rate on the other site as it is given in euros.

[teecee60]

After more than 140 nights on Celebrity... the lure of lower pricing took me to RCCL ships for the past 55 nights.

 

Both lines are thoroughly enjoyable, the Diamond Lounge on Royal is significantly BETTER than the Elite lounge on X...

 

But I AM looking forward to the (at least as I remember it) MUCH better food (hopefully) on Celebrity Eclipse next month.

 

You're on a CRUISE... try and keep some perspective... ENJOY.

[The Fun Researcher]

We are very much in a similar situation as you, but we have exclusively sailed RCCL 5 times. We are also taking our first cruise with Celebrity on the Equinox this summer.

 

We love RCCL, but are looking to try something new and different. The S-class ships get such stellar reviews that we are very much looking forward to our sailing. My primary concern is going to be the age of the fellow passengers. (kindly, no offense anyone!) We are in our early 40's, and are sailing with 4 other couples of similar age. We'll make our own fun, but I just hope the feel of the ship is not too sedated. The focus of this cruise is relaxation, and I'm sure we'll get that.

 

Dan

[FlamingJune1967]

We are relatively new to cruising and not loyal to any brand - but we absolutely LOVED our cruise on Eclipse in Dec. We felt pampered and special - and this was just in a regular old veranda :) I can find positives and negatives in all cruise lines, but as the number of children we still have left at home lessens and our disposable income increases, I can see opting for fewer cruises on "nicer" lines rather than more of the same (Royal and Carnival)

I would like to add that before we took our cruise on Eclipse, I heard a lot of talk about the "class" system on Celebrity, given the exclusive restaurants for Suite and Spa guests. However, we did not even notice this. In fact, would not have even known about Blu and Luminae had it not been for CC research beforehand.

[Mynki]

After more than 140 nights on Celebrity... the lure of lower pricing took me to RCCL ships for the past 55 nights.

 

Both lines are thoroughly enjoyable, the Diamond Lounge on Royal is significantly BETTER than the Elite lounge on X...

 

But I AM looking forward to the (at least as I remember it) MUCH better food (hopefully) on Celebrity Eclipse next month.

 

You're on a CRUISE... try and keep some perspective... ENJOY.

 

Just out of interest, how is the food on X significantly better? Which restaurants are you comparing on both lines?