RCCL vs Celebrity - Impressions

[SeaGal]

We have been on two RCCL cruises (Radiance and Adventure of the Seas) and five Celebrity cruises (Galaxy and Infinity). The Radiance cruise was only three nights, so I do not consider it to be a typical RCCL cruise, although we enjoyed the ship and the cruise.

 

Based on our recent Adventure of the Seas cruise and the five Celebrity cruises, here are some impressions and comments comparing the two lines:

 

1. Elevator areas on AOS are very attractive, but the elevators were ALWAYS full and very slow. This was a constant problem on this ship. We gave up using them (good for the heart, but hard on the legs). Celebrity ships have larger elevators and they were faster. We quickly learned it was faster to walk up or down ten decks rather than wait for an elevator. This is a significant drawback, even though my family and I are all ambulatory. Someone with trouble walking would have a serious problem getting around on the ship, unless they were vastly patient.

 

2. The dining room on AOS was elegant. We were on the middle floor and it was never noisy. The chandeliers were gorgeous. As much as I like Galaxy’s constellation ceiling, AOS’s dining room was nicer. Galaxy, however, has huge aft windows in the dining room, which offered a spectacular view of the sea.

 

3. There is no water pitcher in the cabin on RCCL. Just an ice bucket. I really missed the pitcher of water Celebrity provides. The bathroom water was always warm and melted the ice too fast for a cold drink.

 

4. I was concerned about announcements being annoying in the cabin on AOS as they were on our Radiance cruise. But there is an on-off switch with a volume control under the mirror at the left corner of the dresser. Glad to find this, as I do not care to know when the next bingo game is being held.

 

5. The safe on the AOS is much easier to operate than the ones we’ve had on Galaxy (don’t remember the one on Infinity).

 

6. A note about our AOS cabin – D1, aft, # 1392. This was a great cabin and I was really looking forward to the large balcony. But I was a little disappointed in it. First, it was fully covered and I had hoped for some sun. Second, it felt a bit like a metal tube. It was long and narrow and surrounded by metal. I noticed that 1390’s balcony was wider and had a bit of an angle where sun would come in. I would have preferred that cabin. Also, there was only a small cocktail table – certainly nothing on which you could place breakfast.

 

7. I preferred the pool area on AOS to Galaxy or Infinity’s. There were always chairs available on both AOS’s pool decks. Prominent signs asking guests not to save chairs all day by throwing a towel on them in the morning may have helped alleviate the poolside chair shortage. The shallow shelf surrounding the deeper part of the pool was a wonderful place to sit and cool off without going all the way into the pool.

 

8. On formal nights there were far less tuxes on RCCL than Celebrity, but I did not see any inappropriately dressed guests in the dining room. The “Smart Casual” night, where men were requested to wear a coat (similar to Celebrity’s “Informal”), was largely ignored and looked like a regular casual night.

 

9. The halls to the cabins on AOS are nicer than on Celebrity. They were wider and curved, so that you did not have to look down a long, straight, boring hall. Doors to the rooms are at an angle, which also broke up the sight line and made the halls more appealing.

 

10. One of the largest negatives with AOS was the constant selling of stuff. There were sale tables everywhere – outside the Windjammer café, at the pool, and in the Promenade. It was especially unpleasant in the Promenade because it made it impassable and gave the ship have a very crowded feel. Celebrity contains their sales tables to outside the shops and at the gangway (water). At times AOS had the atmosphere of a garage sale.

 

11. I have heard complaints about the beds and pillows on both lines, but I thought my bed on AOS was very comfortable. But the flat pillows (on both lines) are another story. Cannot wait until those get replaced.

 

12. AOS’s running track was first rate. The surface was reasonably soft, and because the track was a fifth of a mile in circumference, we didn’t get dizzy doing laps.

 

13. The AOS exercise room was under-used, and the equipment was new and in excellent shape.

 

14. The peekaboo bridge—where guests can peer down through windows at the officers working on the bridge—was a nice nautical touch, with nothing like it on Galaxy or Infinity.

 

15. In the AOS D1 cabin there is a sofa bed that our 2 teen daughters slept on. It was ROCK hard and the sheets do not tuck in – they are laid on top of the bed and barely cover it. An adult would be very disappointed with this for a bed. At least the Celebrity sofa beds are made up like a real bed.

 

16. The reading lights in the AOS D1 over the main bed were terrific for reading. They are mounted on the wall above each side of the bed and contain a separate reading spotlight along with the regular light. Very well designed. But there was no reading light for the sofa bed, and the girls had to read by the vanity light

 

17. In AOS #1392 the balcony door slid open from the left side of the room, but the curtain was attached to the wall on this side. So at night, when the curtains were closed it was awkward to go around the curtain to get outside. Hard to describe, but definitely a design flaw.

 

18. There was a lot more evening entertainment to chose from on RCCL than Celebrity. Many lounges had good singers and musicians. My favorite was the pianist/singer Ed Manego in the Schooner Lounge. The Blue Moon Lounge on AOS was a beautiful venue, one of the nicest we’ve seen on a ship. The ice show was a welcomed change from the regular cruise ship singers and dancers. Theater production numbers on all the ships were several steep rungs below Broadway.

 

19. The casino on Galaxy is terribly smoky – it is hard to even walk through it without choking. The air in the casino on AOS is pleasant.

 

20. Teen program was non-existent on AOS. There were at least 600 kids and teens on the AOS and I saw many younger kids in supervised groups having a good time. But the teen activities staff either did not show up or were off-schedule because my daughters would go to a scheduled activity to find the room empty. This was the first time in six cruises that my daughters did not participate in the youth program. They are still in touch with the youth staff from our Christmas Galaxy cruise. This was a significant drawback in that both my daughters had enjoyed the teen programs in the past, and had been looking forward to the one on AOS. It’s my guess that AOS doesn’t know how badly their teen staff is letting them down, or they’d remedy the problem.

 

21. No hand sanitizers on RCCL, but they were everywhere on Galaxy last Christmas. The dispensers were not very attractive, but I think the sanitizers served an important purpose.

 

22. The pools on RCCL are open 24-hours, whereas they close at amazingly early times on Celebrity.

 

23. Missed the Aqua Spa from Infinity and the Cova Café from Galaxy, but having the Promenade Café open 24-hours a day was a life saver for my teens. My favorite place to eat on Celebrity is in the outdoor aft area. There is no comparable outdoor area on AOS.

 

24. I preferred the way RCCL handles their casual dining alternative. You do not have to make reservations to eat dinner in the Windjammer Café. They served the same meal as in the dining room, except that it was presented in a buffet. There is no fee for this. And Johnny Rockets is another good alternative. Celebrity wants you to make a reservation and has a $2 suggested fee. But Celebrity’s sushi dining area is much nicer than AOS’s.

 

25. We found the dinners on AOS to be equal in quality to Celebrity (I know not everyone will agree, but that was the case for our menu selections, except for the desserts). I had only one entrée that was unappealing, a pasta dish where the sauce had a shiny, settled appearance as if it had sat under a heat lamp for several hours. We had a level of service from our waiter and assistant waiter that was comparable to our Celebrity experience, although a sommelier would have been helpful. One difference was that on AOS there was no bread basket placed on the table like Celebrity does. The assistant waiter offered bread from a selection on a tray. But as soon as he noticed we were big fans of bread he returned several times offering more bread. Still, my husband felt as if the bread were being rationed. The other difference was that on AOS only one salad was on the menu each night, although you could always ask for a Caesar salad, even when it was not the salad that night.

 

26. The computers on AOS were strictly for internet use at the online center. There was no office product software available on these computers, so we could not use Word or other applications. On Celebrity you can use the computers free of charge to type documents in Word, Excel, etc. and look at your photos. Celebrity lets you store your photos in a folder on their server and download them to a CD at the end of the cruise ($15 for the download).

 

27. The AOS library was lovely, but had only a few books. Much of the library shelving was empty. We never saw a librarian.

 

28. There was no hairdryer in the bathroom on AOS It was a “real” hairdryer that was powerful enough for me, but it was located in a drawer at the dresser and the cord was locked into the drawer so that the hairdryer must be used there. This also took up a lot of space in the drawer, making it less useful for you own things.

 

29. AOS was perhaps a more beautiful ship than Galaxy and on par with Infinity, but AOS always felt more crowded than Celebrity. There were more passengers on AOS, but it also was a larger ship. Yet on Celebrity I have never felt that I was at sea with a lot of people. There were lots of lines on AOS and at nearly every breakfast we had to roam the Windjammer looking for a table. The Promenade was packed, especially when the sale tables were out, which was much of the time. AOS’s elevators and the elevator lobbies were often packed. Other areas on AOS didn’t seem so crowded: the casino, the sports areas, the exercise room. My overall impression is that Galaxy and Infinity have done a much better job at the illusion of space and quiet, whereas certain areas on AOS felt like the tunnel at a football stadium just before a game.

 

All in all, RCCL and Celebrity both have many things to offer and some are better on one line and others are better on the other and it is all personal opinion and the luck of the draw on the staff you encounter. I thought it would be the service and dining that would be preferable on Celebrity, but that was not our experience. AOS was equal to our past Celebrity experiences in both these categories. I think the chief factor that sways me to Celebrity is the lack of feeling crowded. And those darn elevators on AOS. I would sail both again (sooner the better for either), but I do feel more attracted to Celebrity.

[rebeccalouise]

Very nice review. I have heard good things about Royal Caribbean and am probably going to try it when my son gets a little older and will want to roam the ship on his own.

Right now, we both really like the "M" class ships and Galaxy. I am about to try the 5 day on Century (4/7/07). I will let everyone know how that compares to my other experiences.

[elena7seas]

...a wonderful, even-handed comparison that provides a lot of pertinent information, and helps us to make informed choices. This is exactly the type of thing that I find so invaluable on Cruise Critic.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to post.:)

[meyer4two]

Really enjoyed reading your review. I have sailed on Celebrity 6 times & 1 time on RC. I agree with most of what you said but I do feel the food is better on Celebrity. The elevators are very slow on RC so I did take the stairs most of the time.

One thing I did enjoy was the room on RC (D1). I thought there was more room than the Celebrity ships (and we go concierge) plus more storage space. I did not like the balcony as you said, too enclosed & it echoed because of the metal. We spend tons more time on the balcony on Celebrity. I love both ships but did miss all the extra amenities that Celebrity offers. You feel very pampered when you sail Celebrity, RC is more 'help yourself'. But the RC ships are WOW and more fun, Celebrity is quieter but like I said, I love all the amenities.

Would sail either line, they are just different.

[Sky Sweet]

Thank you, SeaGal, for you excellent review comparing RCCL with Celebrity. Your post was well written and very helpful :)

[Cachecara]

I thought you gave a very nice review!! :D We have sailed equal amounts of times of both Celebrity and RCI and have an equally wonderful time on each.

Personally, I like the idea you mentioned about RCI serving the bread, rather than placing a whole basket on each table. That way they cut down on the waste, I hope.

On one particular X cruise, our window's view was of the dumpsters. I saw an unbelievable amount of rolls/breads being dumped from our cruiseship. Such a shame and waste. Of course, I realized that food unused food was being tossed, but the magnitude of it really hits home when you actually see it. :o

[richsea]

Great post! Thanks for the fair and balanced comparisons! Like you state, the two lines both have their strong points; they're just different.

[cruiseorbust]

Great post, great comparison!!! Thanks for taking the time to do so; I wish more people with do this with other lines as well. It is hard to switch from a line that you like to the unknown. If more people would take the time to do what you did, it certainly would be appreciated!!!!