Compare RCI with Celebrity Cruises for me please

[stevea36]

One word sums it up for me:  SMOKING.   Celebrity does not allow it anyplace indoors, RCI does, including the casino.  It's a breath of fresh air (pun intended) to go into the casino without having to hold your breath !!

 

[Cruise a holic]

17 minutes ago, stevea36 said:

 

I mixed up the cruise- Actually  Royal has listed Labadee for our Upcoming cruise in August on the Oasis.  

CAPE LIBERTY, NJ (NY METRO) 

LABADEE, HAITI 

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO 

PHILIPSBURG, ST. MAARTE

Hope they switch to Cococay.  The cruise is the Eastern Caribbean 9 nights-8/5  However pre pandemic we went to Labadee with a celebrity cruise multiple times-

Edited May 19, 2022 by Cruise a holic

[cyntil8ing]

We generally cruise Celebrity, but have been on Royal four or five times, most recently on Anthem last Christmas. I really enjoyed Anthem, over the other two Royal ships I've been on -- Adventure and Enchantment (both older).

 

In general, food is better on X, entertainment better on RCL. For me, other than that, they're pretty similar. Oh, and indoor smoking is allowed on RCL. When we were on Anthem in December, it was the period where it was not. Wish that had stuck!

 

Don't forget to verify your Captains Club and Crown and Anchor levels are linked. https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/exclusive-offers/loyalty-reciprocity-program

 

[twins_to_alaska]

I just did my first Royal early May after 4 Celebrity. I enjoyed the water slides. You have to check out towels with your sea pass card. Can have as many out at a time as you want but $25 for each one not checked back in.

My Junior Suite cabin on Freedom was much nicer than my Sky Suite on refurbished Millennium. Much better seating and tables both indoors and on the balcony. Both had comfortable beds and bathtubs.

I booked Royal as wanted to try Coco Cay which was a wonderful day.

Service on both top notch.

Edited May 19, 2022 by twins_to_alaska

[stevea36]

If you look at my profile you will see that I have cruised mostly on RCI, but that will soon change.  After I cruise in March I will become Diamond on RCI and use my "matched" level and cruise on Celebrity as "elite".  I have found that I enjoy the more laid back vibe of X over the busy vibe on RCI.  One announcement a day is more than enough for me, I don't need any of the poolside activities, but I will miss the "Quest".

 

I enjoy the food more on X and, whenever possible, sail in an Aquaclass cabin (I love Blu)..    The buffet on Celebrity seems to be more civil, not as much a feeding frenzy as well, and their homemade ice cream and pizza is really good !!

 

I will still cruise on RCI as I have a bunch of friends who mainly cruise on RCI because of its larger presence in the northeast (one of the couples will not fly and has not shown any interest in taking a train to FL to join us down here).

 

Steve

[broadwaybaby123]

On 5/18/2022 at 1:44 PM, Jo42 said:

 

We are going on our first ever RCI cruise in September. Over the years we’ve cruised with Costa , P&O and laterally many times on Celebrity ships. 
 

Sailing on Anthem of the Seas we chose this trip as it had the itinerary we wanted and sailed from our home port so no flying. But I’m anxious about whether we’ll enjoy the RCI experience so…What differences can we expect?  We are both about to celebrate our 60th Birthdays but still like to have some fun!  We enjoy good food and wine (got dining and beverage packages) and some entertainment. But won’t be rock climbing or sky diving!!!

Can someone describe the ship’s ambience, level of service, entertainment offerings etc?  I’m thinking it will be much like celebrity but with added entertainment options? School will be back in session so hoping for not too many noisy children 😬

 

Thanks for your help. Feels good to be back on  Cruise Critic!

 I've cruised both Royal and Celebrity many times.  Celebrity focuses more on the subdued, high end cruise experience, whereas Royal focuses more on the innovative and adventurous cruise experience.  They are both owned by the same company, so if you like one, you'll like the other.

 

Join Crown And Anchor Society there, they're the loyalty club for Royal.  If you're a Captain's Club member, they have reciprocal statuses until Elite/Diamond level.  Your points will be separate for each group but you'll get the same status in each club.  For example, I'm close to Elite on Celebrity, which is the same as Diamond on Royal.  Even though I'm turning Emerald on Royal Caribbean (one level below Diamond), I'll get the Diamond perks once I level next year on Celebrity. 

Edited May 19, 2022 by broadwaybaby123

[sjb317]

We have over 60 cruises on Royal and over 10 on Celebrity.  Service wise I think both are pretty equal and food wise, both have  some items that are amazing and some that are not so good. Much prefer the specialty restaurants on Royal.  I think Celebrity has a much better selection of wines and the Martini bar is always fun.

 

Celebrity is definitely more elegant and relaxed but I am always amazed at how uncomfortable their furniture is.   Royal has the better entertainment and music.  I think Royal casino is more fun,  at least I win more on Royal, but I love the smoke free aspect of Celebrity. 
 

We tend to alternate between the two, if grandkids are going, we would pick Royal. Just the two of us, Celebrity.

 

Sherri🙂

[Jo42]

On 5/19/2022 at 12:14 AM, MLP12 said:

Yes, it is a different experience, but you will not be disappointed. 

Thank you. We are looking forward to it indeed. It’s been too long!

[Jo42]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply. You have really helped, we’ve got the unlimited dining package and had our X Status matched too so thanks for that tip!  It will be different but I know we’re going to have a great time! 🎉 🛳 🥂

[George C]

We are diamond plus on rccl and elite on Celebrity almost all our recent cruises were split between them, poster said they sailed Celebrity many times, if they are elite then they will be diamond on rccl, rccl has really nice perks including 4 drinks daily etc . Rccl definitely has way more children than celebrity and also way more entertainment. Lots of family on rccl. 
  I would cancel the drink package if you are diamond, since you have dinning package that gives you 40 percent off wine by the bottle (if under 100, 20 percent if over) then can buy a nice bottle of wine with dinner every night .

Edited May 20, 2022 by George C

[Tudy]

We have sailed 17 times on Celebrity and 14 times on Royal. I agree with most of the comments.

 

We like both. We recently took my brother and his family on Royal for the first time. (They are avid carnival cruisers). They really enjoyed Royal. He asked me to explain the difference between Celebrity and Royal in one word. Royal=fun, Celebrity=relax.

 

The shows are much, much better on Royal. We think the food in the main dining room is decidedly better on Celebrity. Otherwise, things are about equal. Which cruise line we choose depends on who we are sailing with and the price.

 

We have had the ultimate dining package twice. We found that we got tired of the food. It seemed a bit the same after a couple days. We only went to Wonderland to eat once. That was  more than enough for us. However, we loved the Wonderland bar and went there every night. We have found that the personalities of the crew working in wonderland can be very different and therefore make for a very different experience.

 

We are diamond on Royal by reciprocity. Our last couple cruises on Royal, we did not get a drink package because, quite frankly, 4 drinks a day is enough for us. However, I really missed having the package because I like to try different drinks on a cruise and when I am limited to my 4 drinks, I want to make sure that I enjoy the ones I get. I would suggest that if you have a good deal on your drink package, I would keep it. If you are paying close to full price, I would cancel it. Here's why: if you find out that you like more that 4 drinks or that you like the freedom of being able to order something different and if it is not to your tastes, you can get something else, you can always buy the package for the remaining days of the cruise.

 

That's my "2 cents."

[PhillyFan33579]

On 5/19/2022 at 9:32 AM, Jo42 said:

Thanks Sunshine3601. I wasn’t aware of that. Shall look into it. Wonderland is def on the list! It sounds a bit like Celeb Qsine?

Food is very subjective so I don’t think your comment is wrong. However, in my opinion Wonderland is the worst speciality restaurant I have been to on any cruise line. I have purchased the UDP on my last several cruises including a few more in the next month, but I will never eat at Wonderland again. 

[CharlieCharlieCharlie]

12 hours ago, Belinda Van Krevel said:

I won't go on a line that doesn't have a easy smoking situation. 

If you mean you’d like to smoke just about anywhere, including your balcony, without consequences. Royal is for you. They make smoking rules, that no one enforces. 
Those of us who are non-smokers should choose Celebrity. They at the very least least make every effort to keep the smoking section curtailed to a few small areas. 

Some opinions of mine from Elite Plus and Diamond perspective, primarily suites for the past 15 years:

You can’t beat the entertainment on the Royal Oasis class ships!  They have a great variety and it is really good. Entertainment on Celebrity is pretty minimal. The food is great on Royal, but even though there are fewer restaurants, it is amazing on celebrity ships, especially S-Class and Edge Class. I sort of feel

like a lot of the food, even the top restaurants on the Royal ships is good, but very mediocre. We don’t drink a lot, but just about every mixed drink from a variety of bars and restaurants seems to be really strangely watered down. Staff on both lines are great and all go above and beyond!  Children would have much more fun on Royal - a lot to do for everyone - kids of all ages. Overall  both lines have opportunities for everyone to have a fabulous time!  If Celebrity had a special island like Cococay they would be even better. 
First choice for us is still Celebrity, but Royal is great too!  

[Seamus6]

On 5/19/2022 at 1:11 PM, cruisingguy007 said:

 

LOl, I was thinking that was a terrible comparison myself. Maggiano's Little Italy = Olive Garden in my eyes and I'd eat at Red Lobster over Bonefish grill, in fact, I can get 40%-50% off Bonefish Grill all day/everyday from a gift card arbitrage site I frequently buy from (if that says anything). They (the two lines) don't really compare, one is like a AARP convention and the other a baseball game (crowd wise). Princess is probably closer to Celebrity as far as mass market lines. They have a closer crowd, endless boring seminars and such and no night life, basically sleepy cruises. RCI is more in line with Carnival.     

 

Actually if you want an AARP cruise choose HAL.  I think the average age is 105, Motorized chairs are almost required, and in my early 50's I was often the youngest person in the area.

Don't expect much to do after 10pm

That being said, I like them enough to have gone on 3 cruises and would consider going again. 🙂