Reflection Mediterranean twice as much as RCI Jewel?!?! comments please

We are researching a Mediterranean cruise in the Fall of 2018. We have been on Celebrity and Princess and never RCI. For comparison, I found a virtually identical itinerary for the Jewel of the Seas and it is half the cost of the one on Celebrity.

Yes, I am totally ignorant about RCI, and would like comments from those who are familiar with both. I would not expect many children on either one as it is in the Fall.

We appreciate great food, entertainment, aft balconies and itineraries.

Thanks :cool:

Love to see a link to both cruises to compare but half price seems like a good deal

Jewel is older...Radiance class ship similar to Celebrity M class size.

Reflection is the largest S class ship and can feel crowded at times.

Jewel is a really nice ship with a good layout and would be a good deal at half the price of Reflection...esp on a port intensive Med cruise, Food probably better on Celeb but music and shows may be better on Royal C.

Not completely surprising. Consider that supply/demand is what ultimately determines cruise prices and apparently Celebrity thinks it can get more money per passenger day. We cruise many different lines (including Celebrity) and if indeed, you are comparing apples to apples (similar cabin category, amenities, etc) then we would certainly book RCI if it was half the price. We used to think that Celebrity was a much better (overall) cruise line then RCI....but constant cutbacks on Celebrity (which started with the tenure of the current CEO who comes from RCI). The Radiance Class ships of RCI have long been our favorite class of RCI ships as are the Solstice Class of Celebrity.

At one time we would have posted that the food and service is better on Celebrity. Now, not so sure.

Hank

That would be about right. Was on Jewel July 16 and Silhouette March 17. There is no comparison between radiance class and solstice class ships. The service, buffet and cleanliness was far superior. The M.D.R would probably be where R.C.I. gets closest to Celebrity. That said we had a terrible head waiter in my time dining on Jewel. Our March 17 cruise on Freedom somewhat restored our faith in R.C.I. There was a very unhappy crew on the Jewel last July. It got a lot of negative reviews in the Med during the summer of 2016 and it may be making it harder to fill cabins.

We were on the Jewel of the Seas last July and although we had some slow bar service at the Schooner, we had no major complaints!. We love the Radiance class ships! For half the price one can do with a little less"luxury"? Spend the money on excursions.

We are Diamond on RC and Elite+ on X. We liiked the Jewel when we did a TA on her but that was quite a few years ago.

My question is what perks are included in the fares of both? If both fares are without any perks (beverage pkg, prepaid gratuties, Internet or OBC) and RC is 1/2 the price then I would go for it. Although we feel the food & service is better on X.

If the X fare comes with a drink package and and pre-paid grat's or Internet then we would opt for X.

Every RC cruise we have been on, including fall TAs have had far more kids than a X cruise in Europe in the summer (or X hides the kids better:).

I agree with the others. Go with the Jewel. The Jewel is a lovely shop and was our favorite class for many years. Our service and food experience is meaningless, since it was when the ship was new; but the RCI food and service on their other ships we have been on more recently is still good.

Based on my experience with RCI and Celebrity, I could partly defend that price differece. I done full suites (GS) on RCI and regular balcony on Celebrity, and both my wife and I agree that we would choose a regular balcony at Celebrity over a full suite on RCI.. Better food +++

BUT Jewel is a great ship, and if you decide to go with her then try to get an aft balcony..

Sometimes choosing a ship can be like buying insurance. What are your specific needs? What do you have to have and what is a deal breaker? I have been on both ships and that is why I sail Celebrity; however, that is me at this time in my life!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We are Diamond on RC and Elite+ on X. We liiked the Jewel when we did a TA on her but that was quite a few years ago.

 

My question is what perks are included in the fares of both? If both fares are without any perks (beverage pkg, prepaid gratuties, Internet or OBC) and RC is 1/2 the price then I would go for it. Although we feel the food & service is better on X.

 

If the X fare comes with a drink package and and pre-paid grat's or Internet then we would opt for X.

 

 

Every RC cruise we have been on, including fall TAs have had far more kids than a X cruise in Europe in the summer (or X hides the kids better:).

Hi,

I have been comparing RCCL and Celebrity for similar cruise but departing from Southampton for the Med in Sept 2018. Celeb around 50% more expensive.

The perks on offer $600 - OBC for Veranda Cabin on RCCL and Classic drinks package on Celebrity.

Jim

For a modest drinker, and low data internet user, the OBC is a better perk

My DH and I got a steal of a deal on Adventure OTS several years ago on a Med cruise. We had never sailed RCI, but it was cheaper to fly to Spain and cruise than to Fla and cruise. We grabbed a balcony Guarantee. The ship was a little older, but we had a great time. The food was very good, we enjoyed the ports, and loved the cruise director. We would definitely take a great deal on one of the older smaller RCI ships again.

Thank you all for your comments!

As someone above said....it depends on what you use the ship for.

I see the OP is from Oregon. Europe is a long way away and they may be doing a lot of sightseeing on a port intensive itinerary. If so, the ship (like it is to me in Europe) is our "moving hotel". If you will be out exploring all day long the ship amenities become less important. You won't be there all that much!

Yes, Jewel is older, but does it really matter?

We have done two Med cruises on RCI. Honestly the Med is so port intensive that we saw almost nothing of the ship. We hit the port at full speed each morning, very early, and by the time we had dinner (late traditional), we were so ready to hit the bed to get rested for the next day that we didn't do very much of anything...and luckily we were on ships we had been on before. I'd choose the best bargain if the itineraries are even close to the same and you like the itinerary on both.

We are Diamond on RC and Elite+ on X. We liiked the Jewel when we did a TA on her but that was quite a few years ago.

 

My question is what perks are included in the fares of both? If both fares are without any perks (beverage pkg, prepaid gratuties, Internet or OBC) and RC is 1/2 the price then I would go for it. Although we feel the food & service is better on X.

 

If the X fare comes with a drink package and and pre-paid grat's or Internet then we would opt for X.

 

Every RC cruise we have been on, including fall TAs have had far more kids than a X cruise in Europe in the summer (or X hides the kids better:).

This is the advice I took, and when I priced out the packages for similar staterooms including everything (considering prepaid gratuities, OBC, etc.), I found that the two cruise lines were much closer in total price than they first appeared to be . . . and I liked the X itinerary better, so we're trying them out. (First time on X.)

However, if RC was genuinely half the price, given all expenses, I'd probably pick that option. I'm cheap.

One thing to look for is port times.

While the ports visited may be the same, pay attention to how long you are in port for, and when. It may make a difference if you have your heart set on visiting a certain attraction.

We cruise on Royal and Celebrity, so we're constantly comparing the two. We've cruised the Med twice on Royal Caribbean (Voyager & Mariner) and twice on Celebrity (both times on Silhouette). We'd chose Celebrity's S class ships any day over Royal Caribbean's older ships. The food is alot better, and we love the contemporary, modern look and feel of the ship.

I know the price difference is huge, but I yet wouldn't chose the Jewel. Personally I don't like smaller, dated ships and I absolutely love EVERYTHING about Celebrity's S class ships. Going on our third Med Cruise in less than 5 days, this time on the Celebrity Reflection.

The only ship that would tempt me in the Med, apart from Celebrity's S class ships is Royal's Oasis class (Harmony/ Symphony) which does 7N Med cruises.

This thread is cracking me up. The Jewel of the Seas is small? We are talking about 90,000 tons and 2500 passengers. My idea of a small ship is less than 300 passengers. In fact, there are many ports of the world that would not even be accessible to the Jewel because she is too big! And also laugh about old since one of our favorite ships is HAL's Prinsendam which was actually build in 1988! And she is only 38,800 tons. The last time we were on the Prinsendam the dinner table conversation was about the Prinsendam just being too big!

Keep in mind that all the Ultra Luxury lines (such as Seabourn, Silverseas, Sea Dream, etc) use smaller ships. Just saying.

Hank

Older ship versus newer ship. Jewel is about the size of M class ships, certainly not small. We usually choose Celebrity but for half the price I would consider Jewel. Are you considering the Celebrity perks and their value in your cost comparison? Sometimes that makes a big difference.

I've noticed the same thing when pricing a possible Med cruise for 2018. Celebrity seems to be much more expensive than the other lines. As others have said, the cruise is so port intensive, I'm not sure the ship matters that much. I would save the money for the excursions.

Thank you all for your comments! :cool:

I booked a 12 night western med cruise on the Jewel for this fall while on board the Oasis last year. Every month or so I would price check various cruise lines as my DH and I are rather new to cruising so aren't yet loyal to any particular line.

Celebrity was running some great deals early this spring so we ended up switching to an 11 night med on the Reflection, with great perks (we only had shipboard credit on the Jewel), for a lower price than we booked the Jewel. We are getting one less night, but drink package and $500 in shipboard credit more than makes up for it, and we got a higher category veranda cabin.

Plus they're sister companies so it was super easy for our TA to switch over the deposit. I would say book the Jewel if you're happy but keep checking Celebrity because you never know!

Thank you all for your comments! :cool:

We did the Celebrity Reflection Med cruise last fall and LOVED it. I had no complaints. Food, service, ship were excellent. We did the balcony and I totally recommend that for the longer cruises and to enjoy the view of the ports. There were very few kids onboard and we never felt it was crowded. We only did one excursion with the ship (Messina) and the rest I organized or booked based on recommendations of Trip Advisor or CC comments. All were a success. If you want a list of who I used, I'm happy to send.