RCCL vs Celebrity...help us out!

I'm trying to plan a cruise for next February 2017. We recently sailed the NCL Escape and had a great time. But the ship had a ton of features that were just not any use to us. The top deck is 1/3 waterslides, kids pool and rope courses which are features that we just don't need or want.

Celebrity looks like it has all of the features that appeal to us. More upscale, smaller, no waterpark at sea taking up valuable deck space, better food and so on. The other main contender is RCCL Freedom of the Seas. While it is a very different ship and experience from X Reflection, we also know we like it. FWIW, Celebrity's deals right now are much more appealing over RCCL too, by several hundred dollars and extra perks thrown in.

My big hold up on Celebrity is the clientele. In my very scientific research that includes watching Youtube videos and Instagram, the clientele is really, really old. Nothing against older folks at all, I would rather have that over 1500 kids on board. But we will be 32 and 38 at the time we sail. It does seem our demographic prefers Celebrity. But I still have some reservations...

*Do you find yourself getting bored? The only common mention of nightlife I read about is the martini bar. We don't need a 3am disco, but I don't want to be in bed at 9pm either.

*We're not huge show people, but are they over the top cruise ship cheesy?

*Do you find that you fit in with the clientele overall? I have this premonition (thats probably wrong) that we are going to be 40 years younger than the rest of the passengers.

This would be a 2 sea day, 4 port cruise leaving from Miami vs Fort Lauderdale, which I have read draws a little more spry crowd as well.

My preference is Celebrity for the reasons you have mentioned... it is, as you have already pointed out, a grade above Royal and NCL.

Less kids, better service... Now I like Celebrity but I will also say that the nightlife is calmer than the other two... but I like that so it works for me...

I would try Celebrity with the current deals, get a balcony room if possible and try the dining options outside of the main dining room...

~Steve

Celebrity will be a better fit unless you need on board skating and rock walls. Royal is ideal for families. When our girls were younger they LOVED Royal. Yes, the average passengers might be older than you but on a seven day cruise it will most likely not be extreme.

The Solstice class ships including the Reflection are a really wonderful design. That class is our favorite larger (not Mega) ship. If the deals are better this is a double win choice.

We have been on several Celebrity cruises as well as two on Royal (one of those was Freedom of The Seas). We are a couple in our mid-forties.

Based on what you have said, I would lean toward Celebrity for you if the slightly more refined experience and better food are a priority. Also, as the cruise you are looking at is 7 days it will skew a younger demographic than one of Celebrity's longer cruises.

I suggest you go to the Celebrity board as there are a few posts there by couples in their 30's and 40's which may assist you somewhat.

bon voyage

We started cruising in my late 30's and until now my very, very early 50's :D. I don't think our transition from Princess to Celebrity is reflective of my age - I think it is more my aversion to children and the desire to relax. In our early cruise years we mainly did gay charters and strictly viewed cruise lines for their offerings. Princess was okay, RCL was fun, HAL was okay, NCL was fun, Celebrity gave us exactly what we wanted. After being on Celebrity a couple times, we tried the NCL Getaway - hated it for the reasons you stated - the entire deck felt like a very crowded playground.

We find Celebrity desirable for the reasons you describe. The martini bar is always active for the evening, but there are other things to do in the evening if you like piano bars and acoustical music. We have not gone to many of the theatre shows because I too often find them uninspired - Celebrity is no different.

We have never felt that the age demographics of Celebrity was too old. We have regularly met people our age - and lately even younger. If you do the activities you enjoy, you will find the same. Your cohorts will you usually be within your age group give or take 10 years.

I think it would be a shame if you did not give Celebrity a chance. With their prices and packages, I don't think they can be beat. NCL is a close match with pricing and packages, but the large ships aren't for us. But we do enjoy the smaller NCL ships.

Kip

Thanks for the replies! I went ahead and booked Reflection through a TA which is something I've never done. Slightly lower fare than X directly, a cabin category upgrade and double the OBC! Nearly $1200 cheaper than the RCCL itinerary after purchasing drink packages. Now the long wait...

Thanks for the replies! I went ahead and booked Reflection through a TA which is something I've never done. Slightly lower fare than X directly, a cabin category upgrade and double the OBC! Nearly $1200 cheaper than the RCCL itinerary after purchasing drink packages. Now the long wait...

You won't be disappointed!

~Steve

We are a couple in our mid 40s. We started off as pretty loyal to RCI, but as we hit our 40s we came to prefer Celebrity. And with Celebrity's package pricing, it's usually cheaper than RCI. I think you'l enjoy...especially the Soltice class ships.

We have cruised a few times and I have to say Celebrity is our preferred line.

From our first Celebrity cruise we have found them to be inviting and friendly. On the first cruise we ended up with about 40 guys and girls having cocktails at the martini bar and dancing the last night away in Quasar, we are still good friends with some to the point of visiting each other’s towns.

On every cruise we have had similar experiences, and on the last one, on night one as we sailed away, we had a group of 28 guys (only 3 couples knew each other prior to the sailing) drinking and laughing which continued on for the next seven days.

The great think with Celebrity is that they do not target the younger crowd, if we have seen a 100 kids of age 18 or below on all of our cruises combined it would be a lot.

We did do an RCI and were overrun by kids and unfortunately the clientele was not as inviting or educated. Trying to get to the pool was a nightmare.

Whichever line you end up choosing, enjoy the cruise.

Another vote for Celebrity. My husband and I are about the same ages as you two, and Celebrity is really the best fit for our interests. I don't know if this is a huge thing, but Celebrity has also been the best at matching us with tablemates that are about in our age range at dinner. Our first cruise (Carnival) we were at a 6-stop with a family of four.

Reflection of my favorite ship!! We will be returning to her in November, 2016. You made the right choice!!

I have to agree with mostly everyone here. While RCI is usually more affordable, the service and quality on Celebrity way surpasses them. Yes they are sister companies but for me, as I get a bit older, I enjoy the finer details and that's what you both will find on Celebrity. Now, in saying that, we've been on Freedom twice and absolutely loved it (great massages and steam room). I do book specialty restaurants mostly every night only because I like to be pampered and spoiled. Hey, I work hard so what the heck!!!

I've done both, but on Atlantis so I can't comment on the clientele. Both are nice but the food is much better on Celebrity, the ships are a reasonable size and the deck space is used sensibly for a pool and not some kids water park

Although I have done a lot more Royal Caribbean cruises than I have Celebrity, I enjoy both lines equally. For me the deciding factor is itinerary and price.I have enjoyed the larger ships but I, like you, don't enjoy a lot of the features on board. I mainly stick with Radiance and Vision class with RC.

sounds to me like X would be a better fit for you.

As you will see for our cruises we definitely prefer Celebrity. We are getting up there in age, however we see many many people in their 30's and 40's as well as older clientele. Have a GREAT cruise

As you will see for our cruises we definitely prefer Celebrity. We are getting up there in age, however we see many many people in their 30's and 40's as well as older clientele. Have a GREAT cruise

I've always found Celebrity to have a decent mix. Of course itinerary and length of cruise will always play a role.

I'm trying to plan a cruise for next February 2017. We recently sailed the NCL Escape and had a great time. But the ship had a ton of features that were just not any use to us. The top deck is 1/3 waterslides, kids pool and rope courses which are features that we just don't need or want.

 

Celebrity looks like it has all of the features that appeal to us. More upscale, smaller, no waterpark at sea taking up valuable deck space, better food and so on. The other main contender is RCCL Freedom of the Seas. While it is a very different ship and experience from X Reflection, we also know we like it. FWIW, Celebrity's deals right now are much more appealing over RCCL too, by several hundred dollars and extra perks thrown in.

 

My big hold up on Celebrity is the clientele. In my very scientific research that includes watching Youtube videos and Instagram, the clientele is really, really old. Nothing against older folks at all, I would rather have that over 1500 kids on board. But we will be 32 and 38 at the time we sail. It does seem our demographic prefers Celebrity. But I still have some reservations...

 

*Do you find yourself getting bored? The only common mention of nightlife I read about is the martini bar. We don't need a 3am disco, but I don't want to be in bed at 9pm either.

*We're not huge show people, but are they over the top cruise ship cheesy?

*Do you find that you fit in with the clientele overall? I have this premonition (thats probably wrong) that we are going to be 40 years younger than the rest of the passengers.

 

This would be a 2 sea day, 4 port cruise leaving from Miami vs Fort Lauderdale, which I have read draws a little more spry crowd as well.

I took my first Celebrity cruise this last December to the Western Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale. I'm a single gay professional in my mid-thirties and I traveled solo. The reason I chose Celebrity was because of the amenities you mentioned, but also because of what I perceived to be the target demographic. To me, they seem to be going after the sophisticated, young professional and that was precisely what I found when I got on board the Constellation in December. Sure, there was a mix of the 65+ set and I think I counted maybe 4 or 5 kids the entire time, but I was happy to meet and mingle with many people, gay and straight, in the 30-50 age range. During our cruise, there happened to be a meeting of Celebrity execs aboard and one night some new friends and I got to chatting with some of them and they turned out to be people from Celebrity's marketing, branding, and social media departments. (They said the CEO had even been aboard the ship, but had just gotten off at the last port.) Well, I couldn't help but rave about the wonderful time I was having and how appreciative I was of the mix of people and the "cool vibe" of the ship and the brand itself. They were so excited that I mentioned that and told me I hit the nail on the head because one of their main topics during their meeting was how Celebrity has been moving toward attracting a younger demographic. They know that the older folks have been loyal and they're not trying to cut ties, but they're definitely trying to focus on a new generation of cruisers. Then, they bought us drinks and we danced the night away. :-) Needless to say I had a great time and I'm in the process of booking my next Celebrity cruise this fall. I'm certainly brand-loyal at this point.

As far as nightlife and entertainment, you're absolutely right, the Martini Bar was THEE place to be each night and that's where I met so many of my new friends on the ship! Entertainment was a miss as far as the stand-up comic is concerned; He was cheesy and not funny, but I caught the early show which is the G-rated one. I suppose the late show with the edgier material may have been better. I will say, they did have a great "adult" musical review called Illyria which was a jukebox musical with songs by Madonna, Britney, Beyonce, Christina, Sting, Justin Timberlake, etc. that was gorgeous. What it lacked in storyline, it made up for in beautiful musical arrangements and gorgeous sets, lighting, and costumes. The narrator was a man in drag who was quite good and very funny during the improvised banter with the audience. It's billed as their "adult" show only because of the more sexually tinged banter and I suppose it's also because the narrator is in drag which I imagine is still very subversive to some of the more mature passengers from middle America, but there's no nudity or anything like that. I must say, I never felt like I was bored. I even played BINGO! That was a lot of fun! Our little group of thirtysomething gays against a room full of pro female BINGO players. It was intense. Hahaha!

In any case, whatever you choose, I know you'll have loads of fun! :-)

Bon voyage!

Thanks for the replies! I went ahead and booked Reflection through a TA which is something I've never done. Slightly lower fare than X directly, a cabin category upgrade and double the OBC! Nearly $1200 cheaper than the RCCL itinerary after purchasing drink packages. Now the long wait...

Bravo! I'm sure you're going to have a splendid time! When is your sail date? I'm looking at a cruise aboard Reflection this fall.