Celebrity vs Royal Caribbean

[seaandsea]

We have been on RCCL several times and we are thinking of trying Celebrity. We have heard Celebrity is more up scale. Just wondering if it will be up scale. We like to relax and let our hair down. Can anyone give us a comparison?

Thanks, Cheryl

[rebeccalouise]

Royal Caribbean is much more casual. The ships are also fuller than Celebrity. That's because there are more families on board- more 4 to a room than Celebrity. There are more kids on Royal Caribbean. That means more kids in the pool, more discarded pizza crusts by the pool etc. Just my take on the cruise experience.

 

I much prefer Celebrity for service, food and ambiance. I like a more formal, traditional- ocean liner experience.

 

Royal Caribbean is like a floating hotel but Celebrity is designed with the sea in mind. Great views of the water from every area on board. Just great ships in my view.

 

There aren't as many partiers on Celebrity. I would say the average age on board is 60, with many passengers in their 40s on board. Not many people between the ages of 18-30.

[karbonkat]

I have been on RCI and Celebrity many times (I'm a diamond member) over the last 22 years. I started cruising with RCI at age 11.

 

However, I find that RCI doesn't offer a cruising experence anymore....it feels like a holiday inn hotel. On our cruise last year in the granduer of the seas. We saw kids running around unsupervised by their parents. My husband and I even had to walk over a kid who was having a temper tanturm in the hallway. ( Let me state there was no parent to be found and him and his sister were not of an age to be by themselves on the ship)

 

We were treated horribly by the staff... which you could tell were sick of dealing with low class guests who thought they were at a holiday inn instead of on a wonderful cruise ship..when we complained to the future cruise consultant her comment was " if you feel that way you should go on celebrity" Which is my advice to you. Celebrity will not disappoint you. We are booked on the Constellation in Septemeber for Scandiva and Russia.

 

I am in the 30 something bracket and I find that Celebrity's ships and the staff are amazing. They care about you and your experience. My husband and I will never go back to RCI again.

[denb]

Cheryl,

We love both lines, for different reason. Most have already been stated. When we want a more relaxed vacation, without having to stay dressed up after dinner, we choose RCI. When we're ready for a more refined cruising and dining experience, with a larger passenger/space ratio, we choose X.

[operafan]

Cheryl,

We love both lines, for different reason. Most have already been stated. When we want a more relaxed vacation, without having to stay dressed up after dinner, we choose RCI. When we're ready for a more refined cruising and dining experience, with a larger passenger/space ratio, we choose X.

 

Ditto to that. We like Rccl in the Caribbean. More to do & more casual. We make it a point to cruise Caribbean when school is in session so we aren't inundated with children. Makes a huge difference. When we cruise Europe, or any port intensive itinerary, we love X. It's just an all around more refined, relaxing experience with great food and service.

[jackdiamond]

I agree with the comments of the other responders. Celebrity is about a half a notch above Royal Caribbean, but they are both nice. Our experiences have been on the Radiance, Millennium and the Constellation. Sadly, our favorite ship (Millennium) will be going "down under".

[seaandsea]

Thank you so much for your quick responses. It is great to have all you experienced cruisers out there to guide us.

Thanks, Cheryl

[tromvest]

Aren't the Radiance Class and the Millennium Class ships comparable? I have always read that if you want to try RCCL, you should go on the Radiance Class ships.

[TRadle]

I’ve also sailed both lines and find Celebrity to be a notch above RCCL. However, when we vacation with our 20 something kids we sail on RCCL because there is much more to do onboard for this demographic.

I also disagree with the statement that RCCL is like a Holiday Inn…..not so. I’ve never encountered pizza crust on the pool deck, tantrums in hallways, are many of the other behaviors you’ll read about on the RCCL forum. RCCL gives a fabulous cruise experience for families and young adults at a great price.

[denb]

Aren't the Radiance Class and the Millennium Class ships comparable? I have always read that if you want to try RCCL, you should go on the Radiance Class ships.

Pretty close in most respects, except X's ship is larger (GT) with less pax. I think that's one of the big contributing factors towards the 'notch above' experience. (Sorry for the format..... tables don't copy well in a post.)

 

Ship Millennium

Line Celebrity

Gross Tonnage

90228

Length

964.3

Beam

105.6

Draft

26.2

Speed

23.5

Passengers (Max)

2449

Passengers (2 per cabin)

2038

Crew

997

Space ratio

44.27

Passenger to crew

2.04

Max Pass to crew

2.46

Cabins balcony

578

Cabins oceanview

217

Cabins inside

224

Cabins Total

1019

Cabins Handicapped

26

Cabins single

0

Cabins suites

50

Max passenger per room

6

Hot tubs

6

Pools

2

 

 

 

Ship Radiance of the Seas

Line Royal Caribbean

Gross Tonnage

85000

Length

961.7

Beam

105.6

Draft

26.7

Speed

23.5

Passengers (Max)

3360

Passengers (2 per cabin)

2102

Crew

858

Space ratio

40.44

Passenger to crew

2.45

Max Pass to crew

3.92

Cabins balcony

577

Cabins oceanview

232

Cabins inside

242

Cabins Total

1051

Cabins Handicapped

14

Cabins single

0

Cabins suites

64

Max passenger per room

8

Hot tubs

3

Pools

2

[gator582]

I’ve also sailed both lines and find Celebrity to be a notch above RCCL. However, when we vacation with our 20 something kids we sail on RCCL because there is much more to do onboard for this demographic.

 

I also disagree with the statement that RCCL is like a Holiday Inn…..not so. I’ve never encountered pizza crust on the pool deck, tantrums in hallways, are many of the other behaviors you’ll read about on the RCCL forum. RCCL gives a fabulous cruise experience for families and young adults at a great price.

I agree. I thought RCCL was wonderful for our family. I have absolutely no complaints about any of the cruises we did with 3 of our kids and their SO's. The ships were always in tip top shape and everything was always gleaming.

 

I'd like to try Celebrity for just me and my husband.

[ATLfuzzy]

We have been on RCCL several times and we are thinking of trying Celebrity. We have heard Celebrity is more up scale. Just wondering if it will be up scale. We like to relax and let our hair down. Can anyone give us a comparison?

Thanks, Cheryl

 

I've done both, twice, and this is my opinion. I enjoyed both lines, but for different reasons. Celebrity is my favorite. I like the luxury and pampering feel of Celebrity. Its has an upscale feel without being pretentious. The food is better on Celebrity. The spa and facilities are top notch. I fell in love with the thalosso pool.

 

Celebrity feels more like a Ritz Carlton hotel, without the attitude, whereas Royal C felt like a Holiday Inn beach resort. Both serve their purpose. Celebrity feels more relaxing to me, Royal C put me in a party/drinking mood.

 

Currently Celebrity is my favorite!

[caviargal]

Aren't the Radiance Class and the Millennium Class ships comparable? I have always read that if you want to try RCCL, you should go on the Radiance Class ships.

 

Yes, in the hull structure. Two main differences are that RCI packs on 400+ more passengers in the same space. And this is painfully obvious on some sailings.

 

Much more casual, active with really good entertainment, good (not great) food, no dress code to speak of, no sommeliers, etc. Lots of action, announcements and activities, new bedding, and clean ships.

 

Radiance class are the top of the fleet, IMO. Voyager and Freedom class are combo shopping malls/amusement parks, not liners. Again, MHO.

 

X has more formal dining room service, lots better food, less crowded ships, more elegant, traditional and adult (most of the time and not Century) atmosphere.

 

I used to be a diehard RCI fan (just finished 50 cruises with them over 30 years). These days, I do not consider the line for personal travel. Family is their focus and they are very casual in too many aspects for my tastes.

 

Great staff, though and well maintained ships in most cases.

[skandls]

We like both RCCL and Celebrity. We are booked on the Constellation for a Baltic cruise. Because this is a 14 nighter and very port intensive we decided on X for better food and more upscale evenings on board.

[caviargal]

I've done both, twice, and this is my opinion. I enjoyed both lines, but for different reasons. Celebrity is my favorite. I like the luxury and pampering feel of Celebrity. Its has an upscale feel without being pretentious. The food is better on Celebrity. The spa and facilities are top notch. I fell in love with the thalosso pool.

Celebrity feels more like a Ritz Carlton hotel, without the attitude, whereas Royal C felt like a Holiday Inn beach resort. Both serve their purpose. Celebrity feels more relaxing to me, Royal C put me in a party/drinking mood.

 

Currently Celebrity is my favorite!

 

I would not say that X feels like a Ritz Carlton, at least not one I have ever stayed in.

 

I would say RCI is like a Hyatt Convention Hotel and Celebrity is a JW Marriott or Park Hyatt.

 

If you want Ritz Carlton with that staff to guest ratio, only the luxury lines can supply the experience.

 

JMO.

[Wildroze]

Question for those who have traveled both lines and are members of the captains club. Does X offer any balcony cabin discount? RCCL says that you are entitiled to the same benefits on X as you are on RCCL. What benefits are offered for Diamond Members that travel on X? RCCL offers a balcony discount,........

 

We have traveled both lines before but would like to try a repositioning cruise in the Fall of 08 if the price is right.

Thanks

[Brahmama]

We have cruised on both and enjoyed both. We just did a 7 day out of Galveston on the Rhapsody with 6 other family members and had a wonderful time. We will go on the Constellation in October and love that ship as well.

 

I posted a comparison between the Galaxy (Celebrity) and the Splendour (RCI) in 05 after doing a transatlantic on both. If you would like to read it (it's long and very opinionated!) here it is:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=261262

 

for wildroze:

We are Elite on Celebrity and Diamond on RCI. To answer some of your questions, RCI does give a Diamond discount (about $300 per cabin on our next RCI cruise) Celebrity does not give a balcony discount.

 

One thing that is interesting to me is the difference in the size of $$$ comparable rooms. For example: the JS on RCI is much larger than the CC rooms on Celebrity AND has a bathtub! Go figure.

 

In my thread mentioned above, I do give a comparison on the perks offered by each cruiseline. It's at the very end of the report.

 

They each give some perks, but really quite different.

 

You will *love* the repositionng Trans! Usually priced very well also which we always look for being retired.

 

Good luck! Hope this helps.

 

Carol

 

(I don't usually add my signature, but I will this time - so you can see the ships we have sailed and email me if you have more questions.)

[Hplar]

We took our first cruise on Constellation in January 2007. We were hooked. We then took a cruise on RCCL's Mariner of the Seas in April. We enjoyed both but liked the Celebrity experience better.

[negc]

Question for those who have traveled both lines and are members of the captains club. Does X offer any balcony cabin discount? RCCL says that you are entitiled to the same benefits on X as you are on RCCL. What benefits are offered for Diamond Members that travel on X? RCCL offers a balcony discount,........

 

We have traveled both lines before but would like to try a repositioning cruise in the Fall of 08 if the price is right.

Thanks

 

Celebrity does not offer balcony discounts or some of the other perks that RCI offers its Crown and Anchor members, nor does RCI say that you will get those benefits when you sail on Celebrity. What RCI does say is that depending on what level you are at on RCI, you will receive the equivalent rating in Captain's Club when you sail on Celebrity and you will be eligible for whatever benefits that CC level offers its members. The two loyalty programs offer different perks, so the perks you receive will depend on what level you have reached and what perks are offered at that level for the line you are sailing.:)

[Wildroze]

Carol for the very informative review. We have cruise both lines before and of course like them both. I think I will go for the best value.

Thanks again,

Rose

[cavkc]

We have sailed on both X and RCI several times and if the price and itinerary were right, we would sail with either. That said, if we had to choose, we would always go for X. We were lucky enough to sail on 2 cruises last year and I wrote the following comparison which may be useful.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=392725

[SeaGal]

We have cruised Celebrity mostly, but last summer tried Adventure of the Seas. I posted a comparison in the following link:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=417443

 

I would crusie with either line again, depending upon itinerary and price. But my preference is definitely Celebrity.

[auntdot]

Thanks cavkc for the great comparison.

 

We took our first cruise on Jewel last March and will be going on Infinity to Alaska in August so will be able to make the same comparisons. We thought nothing would top Jewel of the Seas for all the services, food, amentities (although the constant announcements and sales pitches for everything were annoying!), but we keep on reading how Celebrity is just a touch above what we experieinced. You have raised our 'anticipation level' a notch!

[kidznp]

First 2 cruises were on RCCL (Sovereign out of Orlando area and Rhapsody out of Galveston). Both fun, great tablemates, lots of announcements all day long, many activities (just watching the Quest from a safe place was worth the price of the tickets). Would not hesitate to cruise with them again although the big new ships hold little attraction for me personally.

 

Next 2 cruises were on X--Constellation--and like you, I thought X was a little more upscale. Enjoyed these also, mainly due to the ports you can visit leaving from San Juan (Barbados, St. Kitts, Dominica, Antigua). It was a mistake to cruise out of San Juan in mid-December (10-17) on the first trip but it was our 20th anniversary. The ship was overwhelmed with children who were already out of school in PR and we completely avoided the pool area after the first day of the trip. T-shirts and jeans in the dining room were prevalent. Extraordinarily rude behavior by some in the elevator area. That being said, I think it was more the timing than X. The food and service was wonderful, the ship was beautiful, the veranda stateroom was nice and we had a great time. We took another trip on the Constellation the next year (December 2-9) and overall it was better in the public areas but our tablemates (4) spoke no English which was a bit awkward.

 

Overall I did not see a big huge difference between the two and since they are usually comparably priced I would be happy on either. Would choose by the ship and itinerary rather than X or RCCL.

 

Just my humble opinion...

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We are RCI cruisers, but we are considering the Celebrity for a Med Cruise in 2009 along with RCI's Brilliance of the Seas and the new Carnival Freedom. I know that the 3 cruise lines are completely different, but we are looking at price of the cruise, airfare, ship and itinerary. I am interested in all the comparison's, so keep them coming!

 

BTW, we usually sail RCI when school is in session, too and have never had a poor experience. Our favorite ship was the Jewel, but also liked the amenities on the Explorer enough to sail her again!:D