RCL or Celebrity?

[candhmama]

My 11yo is going on a Make a Wish trip and she wished for a caribbean cruise. Our wish granters called today and said they usually go through RCL or Celebrity and that my dd could pick her top two choices for cruises. DH and I have cruised on RCL once and have never been on Celebrity. Which one is better for kids we have 11yo and 8yo dd's and our ds will be almost 4 when we go. It is possible that we will cruise on dd's 12th birthday. Since this is dd's wish trip I want to pick the one that would be more fun for her. I have heard that Celebrity is a little more snobbish but I haven't been so don't know.

Thanks so much for your help.

[momva]

I was worried about the supposed snobbishness on Celebrity before I took my son (6) on the Celebrity Summit last Spring. He had a blast. There weren't as many kids as you may find on other ships but that worked to our advantage. He got a lot of personal attention. He enjoyed our Celebrity cruise much more than the Carnival cruise we had taken earlier where he was one of hundreds of kids. In fact, when planning our next cruise, he tried hard to convince us to only ever sail the Summit. We compromised are taking the Celebrity Constellation.

[crusinmama06]

I think if the option includes a RCCL Freedom class (Freedom, Liberty or Independence) then you can't find a better ship for kids.

 

Yes Celebrity has nice ships but they aren't exactly tailored to kids. ;)

[Keith1010]

While both are great lines I would probably go with RCI for the children.

 

Keith

[candhmama]

Thanks for your input. I looked on their websites and Celebrity has no caribbean cruises after April until the fall. We are looking at going in May or June. Right now it looks like we will be picking Freedom of the Seas but we are waiting to hear if we can leave from San Juan or not. If we can we will probably go on the one out of San Juan. I was already leaning toward RCL but I am glad to hear that Celebrity was fun for the kids too.

[wolfshadow]

Wow! A cruise from Make A Wish! They must have more money nowadays. My son chose a computer 9 years ago for his wish when he was 13. Right after that we heard Disneyworld trips were being granted. Of course, 9 years ago, computers were much more expensive than they are now, but still. That is totally awesome that they are now giving cruises for a wish. Amazing that an 11 year old would think of it!

[brazilgirl]

We were on the Celebrity Summit in May and Royal Caribbean´s Mariner of the Seas at the beginning of this month (December 2008).

 

I asked my 3 children (ages 4 , 8 and 11) which of the 2 they preferred...basically , all 3 of them responded that it would be impossible to choose!

 

They really , really had a great time on both ships.I thought when I asked them , they would choose the Mariner , due to the fact that it had more "bells and whistles" for kids.

 

But they said they liked the Fun Factory kids´area better (this was a common assessment from all 3).That surprised me , as it was smaller.

 

On the other hand , there were more kids on Royal Caribbean to play with.

 

Bottom line-both cruiselines are wonderful and you be thrilled with either choice.

 

Celebrity is NOT snobbish-people were wonderful (staff and passengers) and maybe one of the reasons my kids loved it so much was that since there were fewer kids , they got more attention.

 

We have booked another cruise on the Constellation at the end of June and my kids are so happy.

 

I hope your daughter has a beautiful time making her wish come true.

Kim

[Finbar127]

We have never sailed with X so I can't compare. However our kids love the RCI Adventure Ocean program.

[candhmama]

Wow! A cruise from Make A Wish! They must have more money nowadays. My son chose a computer 9 years ago for his wish when he was 13. Right after that we heard Disneyworld trips were being granted. Of course, 9 years ago, computers were much more expensive than they are now, but still. That is totally awesome that they are now giving cruises for a wish. Amazing that an 11 year old would think of it!

DH and I have been on 4 cruises and my dd went when she was 3 and still an only child. Now that we have 3 kids cruising as a family is a little more difficult. My oldest two have really wanted to go on a cruise and her initial wish and been to do a Disney cruise. But Make A Wish told us that DCL doesn't really work with them and are very hard to get. The only ones I have heard of being granted have been 3 or 4 night ones. My dd is very excited about doing this cruise. I hope that your son is doing well.

 

DD, DH, and I made our choice and we have decided to do the Freedom's Eastern Caribbean itinerary. Our first choice is May 17 and 2nd choice May 31. We took the kids to get their passport pictures taken and passport applications in today.

Thank you all for your help.:)

[wolfshadow]

DH and I have been on 4 cruises and my dd went when she was 3 and still an only child. Now that we have 3 kids cruising as a family is a little more difficult. My oldest two have really wanted to go on a cruise and her initial wish and been to do a Disney cruise. But Make A Wish told us that DCL doesn't really work with them and are very hard to get. The only ones I have heard of being granted have been 3 or 4 night ones. My dd is very excited about doing this cruise. I hope that your son is doing well.

 

DD, DH, and I made our choice and we have decided to do the Freedom's Eastern Caribbean itinerary. Our first choice is May 17 and 2nd choice May 31. We took the kids to get their passport pictures taken and passport applications in today.

Thank you all for your help.:)

Well that is absolutely awesome! Too bad Disney didn't work out but I'm sure you will all enjoy Royal, also. My son is doing very well, thank you. Even though 7 years after his radiation from his original tumor removal, he ended up with Thyroid Cancer. That was 3 years ago, now he's 22. Between him and I, we keep many doctors in business........lol! Here's to wishing all of you a wonderful cruise and I hope your daughter knows how special she is. Merry Christmas!!!

[crusinmama06]

DD, DH, and I made our choice and we have decided to do the Freedom's Eastern Caribbean itinerary. Our first choice is May 17 and 2nd choice May 31. We took the kids to get their passport pictures taken and passport applications in today.

Thank you all for your help.:)

 

I wish you the best and hope you have a fabulous cruise! :D

 

If you want to see the Adventure Ocean schedule for that cruise, then go into my signature and click on the link that says "Children's cruise activities here" and then click on RCCL Adventure Ocean.

 

Enjoy!

[WineDown17]

Completely off topic.. But I felt compelled to post this!

 

What a wonderful wish- I hope she has a wonderful time,and the opportunity to enjoy several more!

 

I know it will be a great trip as RCCL (and X) are both wonderful!

 

There are about a thousand other posters on these boards who shouldread this post and remember just how very blessed they are...yet come back from a cruise with nothing but venom and negativity.

 

Enjoy and God Bless.

[candhmama]

Completely off topic.. But I felt compelled to post this!

 

What a wonderful wish- I hope she has a wonderful time,and the opportunity to enjoy several more!

 

I know it will be a great trip as RCCL (and X) are both wonderful!

 

There are about a thousand other posters on these boards who shouldread this post and remember just how very blessed they are...yet come back from a cruise with nothing but venom and negativity.

 

Enjoy and God Bless.

Thank you, I am sure she will have a wonderful time.

I agree, no cruise is perfect but even with the negative things we have run into on a cruise they have still been wonderful and I have never felt like I wished I had stayed home instead.

[CrusinCouple]

My daughter...who is still in treatment for cancer has also been granted a wish on a cruise. She too was offered RCL or X and chose X because she liked the ports of call better. My duaghter is 16 and chose Solstice Med. Cruise in May! She is very excited!

 

Have a great wish trip!

[candhmama]

My daughter...who is still in treatment for cancer has also been granted a wish on a cruise. She too was offered RCL or X and chose X because she liked the ports of call better. My duaghter is 16 and chose Solstice Med. Cruise in May! She is very excited!

 

Have a great wish trip!

Yeah! I hope you have a great trip. We are still waiting on confirmation of the dates. Our wish granter told us that we would most likely get our first choice and she thought it was going to be booked over a week ago and we still haven't heard anything. What kind of cabin did you get? I am really curious because we are a family of five and I don't know if we will get a family room or two adjoining rooms.

 

I hope that her treatments go well!

[wrangler4u]

We have been on Royal and Celebrity. I would say that they are both awesome lines, but that the Pools on Royal (for Kids) can't be beat! You will have an awesome time!

[wolfshadow]

My daughter...who is still in treatment for cancer has also been granted a wish on a cruise. She too was offered RCL or X and chose X because she liked the ports of call better. My duaghter is 16 and chose Solstice Med. Cruise in May! She is very excited!

 

Have a great wish trip!

My son is now 22 and has been through two different cancers since he was 11, so I do know what you are going through. As I think I mentioned earlier in this thread my son was granted a wish about 9 years ago now. I hope your daughter will beat this God awful disease and I am so happy for you that you will be able to enjoy her on this cruise. The Mediterranean is an awesome experience. Take care and wish her well from us! And, have a great cruise, you will love X!!!

[rebeccalouise]

Your 16 year old is going to have a fantastic time in Meditteranean. Looks like you are doing the Eastern Med. You are going to love it! Venice, Istanbul are fantastic cities to sail in and out of. In Kusadasi you must go to Ephesus and in Naples Pompeii. They are both incredible sites. If I could give you advice though, I would get books on both places in advance and go by taxi. I found the guided tours to be limiting. It will end up costing you less and it will give you more time to go at your own pace.

[CrusinCouple]

Your 16 year old is going to have a fantastic time in Meditteranean. Looks like you are doing the Eastern Med. You are going to love it! Venice, Istanbul are fantastic cities to sail in and out of. In Kusadasi you must go to Ephesus and in Naples Pompeii. They are both incredible sites. If I could give you advice though, I would get books on both places in advance and go by taxi. I found the guided tours to be limiting. It will end up costing you less and it will give you more time to go at your own pace.

 

We dont know exactly what Make A Wish has planned for us...and won't find out until our "wish party" which will be 1-2 weeks before our cruise...we're buying books and investigating before we go! She's very excited!

[CrusinCouple]

Yeah! I hope you have a great trip. We are still waiting on confirmation of the dates. Our wish granter told us that we would most likely get our first choice and she thought it was going to be booked over a week ago and we still haven't heard anything. What kind of cabin did you get? I am really curious because we are a family of five and I don't know if we will get a family room or two adjoining rooms.

 

I hope that her treatments go well!

 

There is only 3 of us...so there are lots of options. We are in a balcony cabin with a 3rd berth. We've been on a number of cruises, but this will be her first veranda cabin, she is thrilled!