Royal vs Celebrity

[spintowin]

What are the main differences between  RCI and Celebrity? We are diamond + on Royal and are ready to jump ship. Too many complaints to mention, biggest being the food. Anyone experience  both and prefer Celebrity? We are mid 60's and live in Florida.  Thanks.

[davekathy]

1 minute ago, spintowin said:

What are the main differences between  RCI and Celebrity? We are diamond + on Royal and are ready to jump ship. Too many complaints to mention, biggest being the food. Anyone experience  both and prefer Celebrity? We are mid 60's and live in Florida.  Thanks.

We are in our 70's. We sail both Celebrity and RC. We don't cruise on RCs mega size ships. Freedom Class is the largest class we cruised on. We prefer the Voyager and Radiance class the best. Celebrity's fleet of ships would be in the Radiance and Voyager class. Less kids on Celebrity. Food and entertainment I feel is subject.  We like the differences and similarities between the two. You will be elite on Celebrity. Celebrity doesn't have a dedicated lounge like RC does (DL). The Captains Club stopped doing the CC HH in the Sky Lounge when they started back up. Bummer! RC excels in that category. Elite, elite plus and Zenith get unlimited drinks from 5:PM to 7:PM at most bars every evening except the first evening (embarkation). Nothing for that night. No CC HH drinks in any of the dining venues or theater except in the morning from 8:AM to 10:AM in the Tuscan Grille where they serve bloody mary's, mimosa's and bellies and a continental style breakfast. 

[basenji56]

Some random musings: Real balconies on Royal.  Infinite balconies on Celebrity Edge class.  Celebrity has a good variety of ice cream for free in the buffet.  I prefer the Royal benefit for Elite/Diamond since you get four drinks you can use all day.  Food is generally better on Celebrity.  Fewer kids on Celebrity.  

[DaKahuna]

Just a couple of observations in addition to what @davekathysaid above. 

 

We believe the quality of service and the quality of the food is better on Celebrity than Royal Caribbean. 

 

Celebrity does not have anything equivalent to the Junior Suites that Royal Caribbean does.  One Celebrity the veranda's, Concierge, and Aqua staterooms are all the same size and are pretty similar to a standard balcony stateroom on Royal Caribbean. 

 

On Royal Caribbean Star class passengers get a Genie, on Celebrity all Suite guest get a Personal Retreat Host.  

 

 

[lola2013]

I have mostly sailed Celebrity for the last ten years; however, sailed on Mariner of the Seas this past August.  I made the switch because RCCL's itinerary to Bermuda worked best for our group.  I would sail RCCL again if the itinerary worked.  My next four cruises are Celebrity. 

 

While I am not a "foodie", I did find Celebrity's food to be better.  Portions on RCCL in the MDR were smaller (which was probably a good thing), but the flavor on some of the classic selections is better IMO on Celebrity.

We booked balcony cabins on RCCL and follow suit on Celebrity.  The SV is my balcony of choice and I did that on two Edge sailings.

I am Elite on Celebrity which transferred to Diamond on RCCL.  As a non-drinker, I shared my four daily drink coupons with my family.  

I love that I now get a free bag of laundry on Celebrity...didn't get that benefit on RCCL.

 

 

[jelayne]

On Royal bombarded with noise, announcements, people shouting in the halls, kids being kids running and screaming.

Celebrity much calmer 1 announcement a day, fewer kids more refined experience.

[kwokpot]

What hadn't been mentioned is Celebrity offers a more relaxed cruise experience. It's a 'make your own kind of fun' cruiseline since the ships themselves, even their newest, don't have the bells and whistles of water parks rock climbing walls, zip lines, surfing simulators that Royal offers. The general ambiance is a more sophisticated shop design with Royal's Quantum class being the closest in feel to Celebrity's ships (which is why many Royal aficionados claim the Quantum class ships don't feel like a Royal Caribbean cruise ship). There won't be crazy poolside events,the most strenuous being volleyball in the pool or golf putting. 

Edited October 7, 2022 by kwokpot

[jwlane]

35 minutes ago, davekathy said:

 The Captains Club stopped doing the CC HH in the Sky Lounge when they started back up. 

They stopped doing an "exclusive" HH in Sky Lounge---but CC HH is still available in Sky Lounge.

[basenji56]

19 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

What hadn't been mentioned is Celebrity offers a more relaxed cruise experience. It's a 'make your own kind of fun' cruiseline since the ships themselves, even their newest, don't have the bells and whistles of water parks rock climbing walls, zip lines, surfing simulators that Royal offers. The general ambiance is a more sophisticated shop design with Royal's Quantum class being the closest in feel to Celebrity's ships (which is why many Royal aficionados claim the Quantum class ships don't feel like a Royal Caribbean cruise ship). There won't be crazy poolside events,the most strenuous being volleyball in the pool or golf putting. 

Good to know about Quantum class.  I booked a transatlantic on Odessey for later this month.  Had originally booked Apex but cancelled it because I am not of a fan of the infinite verandas (although I love almost everything else about Edge class ships).  

[kwokpot]

Just now, basenji56 said:

Good to know about Quantum class.  I booked a transatlantic on Odessey for later this month.  Had originally booked Apex but cancelled it because I am not of a fan of the infinite verandas (although I love almost everything else about Edge class ships).  

Just to be clear the Quantum class has many of the activity elements of the other Royal ships but the general aesthetics, the interior design and layout, is more similar to a Celebrity ship than legacy Royal ships.  Quantum Class has the 270 space aft which is basically the Eden space in Celebrity's E-class ships. 

[bama4cruisin]

It hasn’t yet been mentioned that there is no smoking inside on any Celebrity ship, including the casino.  Big plus in my book!

[pickle11]

Coke or Pepsi.  All about preference.  You have to try to compare for yourself.  You will only get positive responses here. Try this topic on the RCI board.

[basenji56]

Generally, Celebrity is more expensive.  And, until recently, required you to book by paying extra for "free drinks and free internet."  

[jean87510]

This may not matter to a lot of people but a much better selection of gym classes on Celebrity instead of the usual yoga/cycling on RCCL.  We have only done the Summit so far on Celebrity and different classes of ships of Royal.  Royal definitely wins for food variety on Oasis class.  Except for the ice cream and gelato which I give to Celebrity.  It really is apples to oranges and depends on really what you want.

[George C]

Recently I only sail celebrity or rccl ( except one very nice MSc yacht club) , if in a suite definitely cruise celebrity way better suite restaurant and lounge. We sail rccl  because of entertainment, I think they are just the best . Negative on rccl is amount of children and allowing smoking in the casino . I also think buffet is better on celebrity. Also love the new edge class ships on celebrity.

[sjb317]

We have over 60 cruises on Royal and 12 on Celebrity.  There are things I love about each line, so we started switching back and forth on them prior to the pandemic.  back and forth between them.  I think as far as food and service they are are very similar but I do think Celebrity offers more choices in the buffet and MDR.  But, I prefer the specialty restaurants on Royal over those on Celebrity.  I think Celebrity offers better choices for wine.  
 

I also love on Celebrity not having to checkout pool towels and return or exchange them!

 

IMO, Celebrity ships are more elegant and relaxed, Royal ships are more energetic and fun!😂

 

Sherri🙂

[canderson]

2 hours ago, jelayne said:

Celebrity much calmer 1 announcement a day, fewer kids more refined experience.

Above all else, this ^^^^^

 

Nobody on the PA telling me what a great time I'm having, and where the next *can't miss* event is being held.  Not so much of this on RCCL as another line that comes to mind, but much prefer Celebrity's approach.  Changes the whole tenor of the cruise.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Just off Voyager of the Seas TA , B2B Baltic and Arctic TA 

Really hard to compare the two lines 

Voyager felt like it was Brigadoon, a lost and forgotten ship that was badly in need of a make over 

The silver backing on the mirrors was worn off. 
it the little thing that stand out, eggs in the Oceanview were made for you , in Windjammer they made up a bunch of egg plates and put them out 

Lobster on Celebrity they remove the meat from the shell, on Royal they don’t 

it was an Arctic Cruise but the still had bellyflop contest

dont forget to play Bingo with multiple announcements per day 

Some of the crappest entertainment that I have seen in 15 cruises , from the singers to the shows in the theatre

Voyager did lose a lot of crew on the Arctic TA because of visa problems but service was terrible, staff was blaming each other for problems 

and on the last night on Royal they leave out tip envelopes on your bed, so tacky 

Celebrity is not perfect , it is just better in cruises after the restart 

Think Caddy versus Chevy 

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, jwlane said:

They stopped doing an "exclusive" HH in Sky Lounge---but CC HH is still available in Sky Lounge.

Well aware of the new CC HH. Just returned from a 21 September cruise on the Summit. CC HH is available at all bars (Summit). We would like to see the CC go back to what the CC HH was pre shut down not what the CC considers it know.  👎 

[davekathy]

3 hours ago, lola2013 said:

I love that I now get a free bag of laundry on Celebrity...didn't get that benefit on RCCL.

Agree, but you will each get the laundry perk when you make D+ which is easier than making elite+. 

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, bama4cruisin said:

It hasn’t yet been mentioned that there is no smoking inside on any Celebrity ship, including the casino.  Big plus in my book!

Agree. Huge plus in our book! Kudos to Celebrity for that one. And we aren't gamblers. RC only allows smoking in the casino. RC needs to follow Celebrity's lead on that. 

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, jean87510 said:

This may not matter to a lot of people but a much better selection of gym classes on Celebrity instead of the usual yoga/cycling on RCCL.  We have only done the Summit so far on Celebrity and different classes of ships of Royal.  Royal definitely wins for food variety on Oasis class.  Except for the ice cream and gelato which I give to Celebrity.  It really is apples to oranges and depends on really what you want.

We did a B2B cruise in March on the Explorer. Spinners were not available unless taking a class. We did a cruise on the Summit 21 September and there were 4 spinners (Peloton) for anytime use. There were other spinners but they were only for the spinning class. 

[Oskial]

2 hours ago, jwlane said:

They stopped doing an "exclusive" HH in Sky Lounge---but CC HH is still available in Sky Lounge.

Please excuse my ignorance, but what are "CC" and "HH"? 

[davekathy]

1 minute ago, Oskial said:

Please excuse my ignorance, but what are "CC" and "HH"? 

Captains Club and Happy Hour. 

[Oskial]

Just now, davekathy said:

Captains Club and Happy Hour. 

Thank you.  I had them both wrong.