RCCL fans…thinking of trying Celebrity?

[micmacmissy]

You should be!  Especially with this new class of ship.  (Edge, Apex, Beyond)

 

I didn’t think our Allure cruise could be beat…or at least, beat by much.  But we recently sailed Celebrity Apex and it is truly.  Next.  Level.

 

Photo review here if you’re interested!

 

[broadwaybaby123]

People always ask me this as I am loyal to both lines. I always tell them "They're owned by the same company. If you like Royal, you'll likely like Celebrity." It's like asking someone if they prefer a Ford or a Lexus: they're both owned by the same company, one is just a higher end version of that company.

[Ocean Boy]

17 minutes ago, broadwaybaby123 said:

People always ask me this as I am loyal to both lines. I always tell them "They're owned by the same company. If you like Royal, you'll likely like Celebrity." It's like asking someone if they prefer a Ford or a Lexus: they're both owned by the same company, one is just a higher end version of that company.

I thought Lexus was owned by Toyota?🤔

[mafig]

2 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I thought Lexus was owned by Toyota?🤔

 

LOL!  It is.😏

[mmcgann11]

We sailed Edge last summer after our trip on Oasis was cancelled. We thoroughly enjoyed it and would happily sail Celebrity again, especially on an Edge-Class ship. It's a different vibe, a bit higher end, but still very enjoyable. The family connection between X and RCCL comes through pretty strongly.

[leaveitallbehind]

I think to better determine if trying Celerity would be a good thing you should understand the differences between the two lines.  While they are both part of the RCI family, they are two different companies that operate independently and have different target markets and on board experiences.  I'm not sure that simply because they are part of the same holding company would assure that if you enjoy one you would automatically enjoy the other.  Just my opinion.  That being said, we do enjoy both as in our experience with both they both a good cruise experience.

 

RCCL primarily targets the family market with venues and activities on board oriented towards activities that would appeal to families.  Celebrity is more upscale and primarily targets adults, with none of those venues and activities found on RCCL, resulting in a more traditional cruise experience.

 

Thirty years ago we started cruising with RCCL, as that style of cruising appealed to us.  Our children were young and the clubs and activities on board were a big part of that decision. We remained loyal to Royal for many rears as a result. 

 

As our family grew older and our children were now adults, we started cruising on Celebrity as our alternative, in particular because the on board atmosphere provided far less children and none of the activities that originally appealed to us on RCCL.  Celebrity, as a result, is now our primary choice for essentially the opposite reasons RCCL was originally.

 

We still enjoy RCCL very much and do still cruise with them.  But within the RCI family, as mentioned, Celebrity is now our primary choice of cruise lines.  They are very different companies that offer very different experiences.

Edited May 8, 2022 by leaveitallbehind

[billslowsky]

I find that the "nice" things are nicer on Celebrity, and the "fun" things are funner on Royal.

[broadwaybaby123]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

I thought Lexus was owned by Toyota?🤔

It is, my bad. I meant Lincoln.

[publicpersona]

9 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

We still enjoy RCCL very much and do still cruise with them.  But within the RCI foamily, as mentioned, Celebrity is now our primary choice of cruise lines.  They are very different companies that offer very different experiences.

 

Well said. Your observations were exactly what I would post as well.

 

There was a time 15 or more years ago that I felt like Celebrity's clientele was too old for my taste. Amazingly, they now seem to be more our age.

[micmacmissy]

12 minutes ago, billslowsky said:

I find that the "nice" things are nicer on Celebrity, and the "fun" things are funner on Royal.

 

This is the best sum-up I’ve seen.  You are 100% right.

[Cruising89143]

After many years and cruises on RCI, X has become our first choice. The more important areas for us is only one announcement per day which is the Captain’s daily update, no smoking allowed indoors and X knows how to do suites much better than RCI and the price gap hasn’t been that different. At least that’s been our case.

 

With that said we took our first RCI cruise in nine years in March on the Navigator. Since RCI placed a ship on the west coast year round we decided to try it again. The NV has been one of our favorite ships. We just returned again on Friday and have two B2B’s coming up over the next few months. Great crew and the ship looks great. 
 

We’re still cruising with X for the longer cruises but both cruise lines are still nice in their own way. Just make sure that you know the differences and what to expect. 

[loman]

I think Celebrity is in our future , as we are avid Oasis class fans at this point .

I will start to review their offerings after our next RC cruise .

 

[kevnick0814]

Our June 11th Allure will likely be our last RCCL for a bit. We are going to try a X cruise next. All the reasons mentioned in previous comments. We are older, son is older, space taking slides don't do anything for us, etc. It's all about 'the chill' now. 😎

[leaveitallbehind]

26 minutes ago, kevnick0814 said:

Our June 11th Allure will likely be our last RCCL for a bit.

....34 days!  (but who's counting?)

 

And will look for you on "X" one day.....

Edited May 8, 2022 by leaveitallbehind

[kevnick0814]

Just now, leaveitallbehind said:

....34 days!  (but who's counting?)

 

And will look for you on X one day.....

💪💪😀

[The Fun Researcher]

We love Celebrity. 

 

Plus versus Royal:

Food overall was a slight uptick versus Royal.  Not night and day though

Service was a slight uptick as well

LOVED the grassy areas and sunset bar at the back of the Solstice class ships

 

Minus versus Royal:

The ship interior layouts aren't quite as good IMO.  (we love the promenade on Royal's ships that have them)

Less to do later at night.

Pool area a little more cramped and not as open

Some of the floor surface in the pool area was nuclear hot and could easily burn the bottom of your feet (85F sunny day)

 

[Deb1953]

I have looked on the Celebrity site but I can't really find what "perks" being Diamond Plus on RC will get us on Celebrity.  Any ideas?

[leaveitallbehind]

18 minutes ago, Deb1953 said:

I have looked on the Celebrity site but I can't really find what "perks" being Diamond Plus on RC will get us on Celebrity.  Any ideas?

Here are two links relative Captains Club on Celebrity.  As shown on the first link. the reciprocity between RCCL and Celebrity "caps" benefits at Diamond and Elite, whereby Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle would all share benefits on Celebrity as Elite, and Elite, Elite Plus, and Zentih would all share benefits on RCCL as Diamond.

 

Celebrity's loyalty program is not as robust as that with RCCL, so the benefits as Elite are not as many or as good, IMO.  These are shown in the second link.  But it is still a nice program.

 

The important thing to remember is that all points earned with each line remain with that line's program and are not combinable or reciprocal.  You only share the reciprocal benefits of the "common" tiers.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/exclusive-offers/loyalty-reciprocity-program

https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/tiers-and-benefits

Edited May 8, 2022 by leaveitallbehind

[EntropyGuardian]

I've never researched Celebrity, so I'm just going off of the replies here. What does Celebrity have that Royal doesn't? Reading the replies there are no slides, no kid focused things, and less to do after dark. 

 

What is all of this being replaced with on Celebrity ships?

[leaveitallbehind]

13 minutes ago, EntropyGuardian said:

I've never researched Celebrity, so I'm just going off of the replies here. What does Celebrity have that Royal doesn't? Reading the replies there are no slides, no kid focused things, and less to do after dark. 

 

What is all of this being replaced with on Celebrity ships?

Agree with all you say except your comment that there is less to do after dark on Celebrity.  As I mentioned in my first response, Celebrity by design is not family focused, but is a more upscale, adult focused line and does not have the slides, kid focused things, etc.  It is a more traditional style cruising experience.  After cruising for many years with our family on RCCL, cruising now without young family,  the adult atmosphere of Celebrity is a refreshing change.  That is the whole point IMO to Celebrity.

 

The lack of these activities and venues is the appeal with Celebrity to us. These things never were on Celebrity, so there is no replacement taking place.  They are two different cruise lines with different cruising styles. But there is still very good traditional entertainment and venues that keep us interested well after dark.

Edited May 8, 2022 by leaveitallbehind

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, pinnacle_king2023 said:

less kids on celebrity 

Bonus. 

[Ashland]

We sailed on one X cruise so far for an amazing itinerary they offered and RCI didn't. We booked again with X and it was Covid cancelled. That cruise was moved to the May 9, 2023 Hawaii -Vancouver and really looking forward to it.

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Here are two links relative Captains Club on Celebrity.  As shown on the first link. the reciprocity between RCCL and Celebrity "caps" benefits at Diamond and Elite, whereby Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle would all share benefits on Celebrity as Elite, and Elite, Elite Plus, and Zentih would all share benefits on RCCL as Diamond.

 

Celebrity's loyalty program is not as robust as that with RCCL, so the benefits as Elite are not as many or as good, IMO.  These are shown in the second link.  But it is still a nice program.

 

The important thing to remember is that all points earned with each line remain with that line's program and are not combinable or reciprocal.  You only share the reciprocal benefits of the "common" tiers.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/exclusive-offers/loyalty-reciprocity-program

https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/tiers-and-benefits

Is Elite Plus higher then just plain Elite. If so how does one on RCCL become Elite Plus since you said all 3 groups on RCCL are Elite= Diamond, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle.......

 

Doesn't make sense?

[Cruising89143]

3 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Is Elite Plus higher then just plain Elite. If so how does one on RCCL become Elite Plus since you said all 3 groups on RCCL are Elite= Diamond, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle.......

 

Doesn't make sense?

Elite Plus is a higher level. The highest matching level that you receive is Elite going from RCI to Celebrity and the same goes for those from Celebrity on RCI which is Diamond. You then have to earn the higher levels on each cruise line.

[kimlovesfl]

We have done 4 cruises with Princess, 5 with Celebrity, and are booked on our first Royal cruise, on the Brilliance, out of Ravenna on Oct 2. We are wondering how we will find the differences. I know we are on an older ship, and that's ok, especially for a port-intensive trip like this. I am dying to try one of those big, flashy ships with the Central Park area and all the bells and whistles.