Celebrity vs Royal - Pricing

[ewo1992]

I always thought celebrity was significantly more than royal. I was playing around with cruises for both, same number of nights and stuff and it seemed like with the drinks and tips included celebrity actually seems cheaper than royal once you include tips and buying the drink package separately with royal. Does this tend to be the case or did I just happen to pick sailings with good prices on celebrity. For example 4 night on celebrity with drinks and tips included came out to just over 1,000. While royal it came out to just over 1,400 once you bought the drink package for 2 people (800 base fare plus tips and then about 600 for drink package)

Edited October 24, 2021 by ewo1992

[LeeW]

Same size ship?  For example, Oasis and Anthem class ships on Royal usually have high prices.  And newer ships cost more.

[chemmo]

Prices on Celebrity like RC vary depending on itinerary and ship class. For example the Mediterranean on both lines is always more expensive than the Caribbean. Usually the newer the ship the price is also higher.

 

If you state which two ships you are comparing CC members can comment on both (strengths and weaknesses).
 

As a general rule we find RC has better entertainment (shows and range of activities) but Celebrity has better food, a more relaxed atmosphere and better service. Also Celebrity usually has less children. All depends on what you want out of a cruise….

[4774Papa]

10 hours ago, ewo1992 said:

I always thought celebrity was significantly more than royal. I was playing around with cruises for both, same number of nights and stuff and it seemed like with the drinks and tips included celebrity actually seems cheaper than royal once you include tips and buying the drink package separately with royal. Does this tend to be the case or did I just happen to pick sailings with good prices on celebrity. For example 4 night on celebrity with drinks and tips included came out to just over 1,000. While royal it came out to just over 1,400 once you bought the drink package for 2 people (800 base fare plus tips and then about 600 for drink package)

We have never done a cruise less than  7 days and prefer two week cruises.  Love TA cruises.

When I check Royal and Celebrity for TA cruises, Royal wins hands down.

Also, for us, we don't drink alcohol all day and usually start at happy hour.  Drink and internet packages just add to the cost.    When cruising on Royal, we enjoyed the lengthy Diamond happy hour and NEVER had to purchase a drink.   Not sure we will every book with Celebrity again, if their prices stay so high.

 

 

[graphicguy]

Have found the same with Celebrity, which is the reason I booked them this year.  Their AI is a very nice perk.  Plus, if you sail the Retreat, you get everything upgraded (drinks, internet, etc).

 

Royal has been high, even before the shutdown.  Not sure why.  Plus, their mask wearing policy keeps me from booking with them, anyway.

[Jeremiah1212]

Celebrity is really trying to gain some traction with the short Caribbean cruises this winter so these prices may be abnormally low. But it's definitely not uncommon to see the two have similar prices. If you want drinks and WiFi and you're paying for gratuities no matter what, I find Celebrity to be the better value frequently. 

 

 

[Iamcruzin]

13 hours ago, ewo1992 said:

I always thought celebrity was significantly more than royal. I was playing around with cruises for both, same number of nights and stuff and it seemed like with the drinks and tips included celebrity actually seems cheaper than royal once you include tips and buying the drink package separately with royal. Does this tend to be the case or did I just happen to pick sailings with good prices on celebrity. For example 4 night on celebrity with drinks and tips included came out to just over 1,000. While royal it came out to just over 1,400 once you bought the drink package for 2 people (800 base fare plus tips and then about 600 for drink package)

This has been the case for me since 2013 when Celebrity started offering the drink, tip, and wifi package plus they also offered $300 obc in the early days.  I purchase all of them anyway.  Those who don't use wifi, have reached the loyalty level where they have access to free drink lounges or those who remove tips may find Royal to be a better deal.   What I hate about Royal is the inconsistency in pricing for the drink package between ships. It seems to range from $58 to $72 and that can make or break my decision. 

Edited October 24, 2021 by Iamcruzin

[PTC DAWG]

I’ve sailed both, the Wife and I much prefer the total experience on Celebrity…

[ewo1992]

2 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

We have never done a cruise less than  7 days and prefer two week cruises.  Love TA cruises.

When I check Royal and Celebrity for TA cruises, Royal wins hands down.

Also, for us, we don't drink alcohol all day and usually start at happy hour.  Drink and internet packages just add to the cost.    When cruising on Royal, we enjoyed the lengthy Diamond happy hour and NEVER had to purchase a drink.   Not sure we will every book with Celebrity again, if their prices stay so high.

 

 

I usually haven’t either and usually like to find an even longer one since I have to fly to the ports but I’ll be living next to one for a few months so figured I’d take advantage of it but don’t have much wiggle room with time off right now.

[ewo1992]

10 hours ago, LeeW said:

Same size ship?  For example, Oasis and Anthem class ships on Royal usually have high prices.  And newer ships cost more.

 

4 hours ago, chemmo said:

If you state which two ships you are comparing CC members can comment on both (strengths and weaknesses).

Celebrity millennium and summit or independence of the seas. I had a small amount a FCC from a problem we had on a cruise so obviously Royal was better this time but just looking for next time. I do like that royal has better entertainment but always seems to find the food lacking. I also think my wife and I would prefer vibe of celebrity more than royal. 

[ewo1992]

25 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I’ve sailed both, the Wife and I much prefer the total experience on Celebrity…

I think we would prefer the total experience of celebrity more than royal but have never tried them. Did royal as a kid and for our cruise vacations just never switched it up.

[DCPIV]

I've often found pricing fairly comparable when comparing apples to apples.  They are two different products aimed at different markets (family v. not), rather than different price points or standards of luxury. 

[canderson]

3 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

Not sure we will every book with Celebrity again, if their prices stay so high.

 

[4774Papa]

50 minutes ago, canderson said:

I am entitled to my opinion as you with your broken record response.

[pretzlaff]

We started with Royal and then moved to Celebrity.  After not much sailing over the last 2 years, we are oddly moving back to Royal.  The new drinks loaded on the card that can be used any time and any where has changed things for us.  As Diamond Plus, we get 10 drinks between us each day, which is plenty.

 

As such, paying more for Celebrity to get 'free' drinks is no longer needed.  Suddenly, Royal gets cheaper and more interesting.

[Saab4444]

15 hours ago, ewo1992 said:

I always thought celebrity was significantly more than royal. I was playing around with cruises for both, same number of nights and stuff and it seemed like with the drinks and tips included celebrity actually seems cheaper than royal once you include tips and buying the drink package separately with royal. Does this tend to be the case or did I just happen to pick sailings with good prices on celebrity. For example 4 night on celebrity with drinks and tips included came out to just over 1,000. While royal it came out to just over 1,400 once you bought the drink package for 2 people (800 base fare plus tips and then about 600 for drink package)

Depends on itinerary and ship. In Europe Celebrity AI rates are about double the prize for Royal. 

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, 4774Papa said:

I am entitled to my opinion as you with your broken record response.

The horse is dead. 

[canderson]

2 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

I am entitled to my opinion as you with your broken record response.

Yes, you are.  The difference is that I don't repeat myself endlessly.

[tserface]

Celebrity is often less than Royal for similar numbers of days and itineraries.  It's a different kind of cruise.  Royal tends to have lots of "things to do" on the ship like rock climbing, surfing, golfing, better arcades, escape rooms, bumper cars, water slides, ice shows, water shows, zip lines, etc. etc. etc. 

 

Celebrity ships are a lot more basic with just the pool and basic games.  The shows on most Celebrity ships are a lot simpler and more traditional cruise type shows.

 

We don't use a lot of the Royal stuff unless we're cruising with our kids, but it does cause the cruise less to build ships without all these fun things.

 

Celebrity ships are also smaller, mostly, and take fewer people to crew it.

 

We've found the other amenities to be similar.  The food is similar, the rooms are similar, the crew on either is equally competent, friendly, and enjoyable, the trivia and other games are similar and equally as enjoyable.  The ships are equally maintained, up to day, and nice overall.

 

I think more families would be happier with the Royal type ships since they have better kid programs and more stuff to do for younger people.

 

We would gladly sail on Royal or Celebrity and base a lot on itinerary, but there is something extra fun, even for us older types, on the big new ships with all of the amenities.  We love the promenades as well.

 

So, either is good so long as you understand the differences.  For us, the differences are enjoyable since it keeps cruising fresh.  We'd get kind of bored (I know that sounds really snooty... apologies) going on the same kind of cruise all the time.

 

[4774Papa]

46 minutes ago, canderson said:

Yes, you are.  The difference is that I don't repeat myself endlessly.

You do, every time I express mine.

Nothing wrong with difference of opinion.  I will keep expressing mine until Celebrity changes it policies.

[4774Papa]

4 minutes ago, tserface said:

Celebrity is often less than Royal for similar numbers of days and itineraries.  It's a different kind of cruise.  Royal tends to have lots of "things to do" on the ship like rock climbing, surfing, golfing, better arcades, escape rooms, bumper cars, water slides, ice shows, water shows, zip lines, etc. etc. etc. 

 

Celebrity ships are a lot more basic with just the pool and basic games.  The shows on most Celebrity ships are a lot simpler and more traditional cruise type shows.

 

We don't use a lot of the Royal stuff unless we're cruising with our kids, but it does cause the cruise less to build ships without all these fun things.

 

Celebrity ships are also smaller, mostly, and take fewer people to crew it.

 

We've found the other amenities to be similar.  The food is similar, the rooms are similar, the crew on either is equally competent, friendly, and enjoyable, the trivia and other games are similar and equally as enjoyable.  The ships are equally maintained, up to day, and nice overall.

 

I think more families would be happier with the Royal type ships since they have better kid programs and more stuff to do for younger people.

 

We would gladly sail on Royal or Celebrity and base a lot on itinerary, but there is something extra fun, even for us older types, on the big new ships with all of the amenities.  We love the promenades as well.

 

So, either is good so long as you understand the differences.  For us, the differences are enjoyable since it keeps cruising fresh.  We'd get kind of bored (I know that sounds really snooty... apologies) going on the same kind of cruise all the time.

 

Royal's mega ships do tend to be expensive than their smaller ships (which are similar in size to X's).  Also, we don't care for the mega ships.

[tserface]

3 hours ago, pretzlaff said:

We started with Royal and then moved to Celebrity.  After not much sailing over the last 2 years, we are oddly moving back to Royal.  The new drinks loaded on the card that can be used any time and any where has changed things for us.  As Diamond Plus, we get 10 drinks between us each day, which is plenty.

 

As such, paying more for Celebrity to get 'free' drinks is no longer needed.  Suddenly, Royal gets cheaper and more interesting.

 

That is a very good perk for Diamonds and above.  We loved it on our last cruise.  We even ended up having some vouchers left over that we could trade for bottles of water or soda at the end of the day.  We also used one for a specialty coffee in the morning.  It's a very flexible system.

 

I'm curious to see what Celebrity will do for Elites in the future since drinks are no longer a big incentive.

 

It's amazing how much difference the incentive programs can make.  In our case, we save $50-$80/day in having to purchase a drink package.

 

When we plan to cruise we will go on either Celebrity, Royal, or Princess.  Each has special things we like.  For example, on longer cruises, Princess is nice since we can do laundry ourselves.  When we're planning a cruise we add up all of the costs and benefits and then compare that with the itinerary we want. If we are choosy about itinerary that almost always wins, but if they are similar sails we will pick the one that adds up the best.

 

We think Celebrity is less desirable now unless the price ends up being the same as Royal (without drink package) since that's really what we're comparing (in our case).

[chemmo]

4 hours ago, ewo1992 said:

 

Celebrity millennium and summit or independence of the seas. I had a small amount a FCC from a problem we had on a cruise so obviously Royal was better this time but just looking for next time. I do like that royal has better entertainment but always seems to find the food lacking. I also think my wife and I would prefer vibe of celebrity more than royal. 

Having cruised on Summit and Millennium and sister ships of Independence I will offer my opinion….

 

Summit and Millennium are both M class ships and have both been upgraded in recent years but they are still older ships. They do have shows but to us their best entertainment options are the live music events that happen in different venues. They have limited speciality dining options (Tuscan Grill, Sushi on Five and Le Petit Chef). This is less than other Celebrity classes of ships. However, we have found both the MDR and buffet significantly better on all classes of Celebrity than on RC…

 

Re the ambiance on board…Celebrity focuses on Rest and Relaxation compared to RC’s focus on Action and Adventure….In recent years we have mainly cruised Celebrity. We get of a Celebrity cruise feeling refreshed, at times you can get of a RC cruise feeling in need of a holiday!

 

I don’t know how fixed your budget is but if you can run to suite category both ships you mentioned have a suite lounge, deck and restaurant. The suite restaurant, deck and lounge are far nicer than equivalents on RC…

 

 

[the penguins]

9 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

We have never done a cruise less than  7 days and prefer two week cruises.  Love TA cruises.

When I check Royal and Celebrity for TA cruises, Royal wins hands down.

Also, for us, we don't drink alcohol all day and usually start at happy hour.  Drink and internet packages just add to the cost.    When cruising on Royal, we enjoyed the lengthy Diamond happy hour and NEVER had to purchase a drink.   Not sure we will every book with Celebrity again, if their prices stay so high.

 

 

Entirely agree. Have already cancelled one Celebrity and moved another to Royal.

[hcat]

11 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

We have never done a cruise less than  7 days and prefer two week cruises.  Love TA cruises.

When I check Royal and Celebrity for TA cruises, Royal wins hands down.

Also, for us, we don't drink alcohol all day and usually start at happy hour.  Drink and internet packages just add to the cost.    When cruising on Royal, we enjoyed the lengthy Diamond happy hour and NEVER had to purchase a drink.   Not sure we will every book with Celebrity again, if their prices stay so high.

 

 

Diffrent strokes for.different  folks.

 

The  Diamond happy hours and music on Royal are excellent.,but  the  overall food and dining and shopping cannot compare to X,   We tried Oasis once...that was enough at any price! The smaller Royal ships were nice..loved R Class and Navigator,  but  they are aging now.. Celebrity EDGE class is outstanding.. no lines for events.

 

We are not drinkers but the  basic drink packages on X  give so much more than alcohol.. excellent tea, special coffees, water.

 

Glad we have choies!