Contrasting RCI with other Cruise Lines

On balance, I favour RCI to other cruise lines because of the overall package plus the loyalty benefits.

However, my next cruise is on P&O (my second favourite) and it has got me thinking about how the two lines offer totally different experiences in the following way :

Pre-cruise there are no discount packages pushed for dinning or drinks.

Dress code enforced more rigorously on formal nights.

P&O has really gone for the premium foodie angle with celebrity chefs linked to speciality restaurants. IMO they offer a superior dinning experience to RCI for those who want to pay.

Cost of speciality dinning and drinks appear to be cheaper on P&O.

It is quite interesting how on the P&O CC forum, people aren't constantly asking about drinks packages, dinning packages, fluctuating discounts etc.

P&O doesn't have many of RCI's on board features and that tends to be a big negative for me. However, I do like their fair pricing on alcohol and the big appeal for me is the overall foodie experience.

The sense of priorities on the two lines intrigue me more than a checklist of offerings. A comparison of chatter on the two CC forums is very interesting.

We did our first HAL last year. I really liked it. We were on a brand new ship, and were in an upgraded suite. Our deal included free drink package, free gratuities, effectively free internet, and on free specialty restaurant. We got off the HAL ship and climbed on Vision the same day. Honestly, I loved HAL, but on Vision I felt I was "home." There are lots of differences. Royal Caribbean has more to do after dinner. The drink package on HAL was limited to 15 drinks per day. That includes coffee, sodas, bottled water, etc. Not really a problem but could be. Still keeps you counting as you decide whether or not to get a bottle of water. Their drink prices were way cheaper. The average drink was $7-$9 as opposed to the $10-$14 on Royal Caribbean. Their specialty restaurants were cheaper also. I will say the food was amazing. Might have to do with the fact we were in Norway and they boarded fresh salmon in Bergen and served it that night!

But, when you compare cruise line to cruise line you have to be sure to compare everything. Our D+ happy hour perks saves us a significant amount of money each cruise and we enjoy having the lounge to socialize. So... it makes a difference.

We did our first HAL last year. I really liked it. We were on a brand new ship, and were in an upgraded suite. Our deal included free drink package, free gratuities, effectively free internet, and on free specialty restaurant. We got off the HAL ship and climbed on Vision the same day. Honestly, I loved HAL, but on Vision I felt I was "home." There are lots of differences. Royal Caribbean has more to do after dinner. The drink package on HAL was limited to 15 drinks per day. That includes coffee, sodas, bottled water, etc. Not really a problem but could be. Still keeps you counting as you decide whether or not to get a bottle of water. Their drink prices were way cheaper. The average drink was $7-$9 as opposed to the $10-$14 on Royal Caribbean. Their specialty restaurants were cheaper also. I will say the food was amazing. Might have to do with the fact we were in Norway and they boarded fresh salmon in Bergen and served it that night!

But, when you compare cruise line to cruise line you have to be sure to compare everything. Our D+ happy hour perks saves us a significant amount of money each cruise and we enjoy having the lounge to socialize. So... it makes a difference.

Never been on HAL but can relate to everything you say. Got 30 yr cruise history with RCI and really like what they offer including the D perks in our case which are amazing. The inflated drinks prices and speciality dinning which then pushes you into packages and looking out for discounts on RCI is a regrettable trend in recent years.

RCI seems to be doing more all inclusive deals as well these days but in UK the deals seem to just have the individual package costs added to the cost.

Norway is amazing btw. Done the itinerary a number of times, never get tired of it.

Personally I'd never set foot on P&O ever again. About as much flair and ambiance as the cafe in Asda IMHO.

MSC is the new kid on the block with stunning ships - if Independence and Meraviglia were both sailing from Southampton I'd pick Meraviglia any day! That is fighting talk LOL.

Click on my link to see a few photos to see what I mean.

Independence needs one of those ceilings,,,,

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2610741

I'm beginning to contrast RCL with Disney World pricing wise. Their drink prices are highest in industry, they have more "for a fee" options than any cruiseline...Their Coco Cay rebuild, for all the new enhancements, is almost all "for a fee".... Plus their cruise prices usually lead the pack in comparison to (Carnival, MSC, NCL, Princess and yes even Celebrity)

Personally I'd never set foot on P&O ever again. About as much flair and ambiance as the cafe in Asda IMHO.

 

MSC is the new kid on the block with stunning ships - if Independence and Meraviglia were both sailing from Southampton I'd pick Meraviglia any day! That is fighting talk LOL.

 

Click on my link to see a few photos to see what I mean.

Independence needs one of those ceilings,,,,

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2610741

I just cancelled a cruise I had booked on MSC on the Seaview for Europe this summer. I rebooked on the Symphony of the Seas.

The Seaview looked like a beautiful ship and perhaps I will get another opportunity to try them out. However, they really misled us about our cabin. We booked a two bedroom, two bath "Grand Suite" or so we thought. They have 14 Grand Suites, but only 3 of them actually have two bedrooms and two baths. And how did I find out? By reading these boards. I kept seeing posts that the cabins had only one bedroom and one bath. My sister is also my travel agent and I nearly drove her crazy because I kept having her call to confirm the layout of the cabin. On one such call she waited 20 minutes for a supervisor who confirmed that "our" cabin was 2bed and 2 bath. I still questioned them and on the last call we found out that actually our cabin was only a 1 bed and 1 bath. We had reserved months in advance and at this point there were no other cabins that would work for us. So, that is how we ended up switching to the Symphony.

Never been on HAL but can relate to everything you say. Got 30 yr cruise history with RCI and really like what they offer including the D perks in our case which are amazing. The inflated drinks prices and speciality dinning which then pushes you into packages and looking out for discounts on RCI is a regrettable trend in recent years.

 

RCI seems to be doing more all inclusive deals as well these days but in UK the deals seem to just have the individual package costs added to the cost.

 

Norway is amazing btw. Done the itinerary a number of times, never get tired of it.

HAL is for almost dead people.....no action at all!:rolleyes:

It's a rare occasion when we get to do more than one family cruise in a year. Last year, we found an incredible deal on Celebrity, our travel agent's favorite line. We also cruise with RC shortly before our Celebrity cruise.We were excited about having a new experience. When we booked this year, it was with RC. We didn't find Celebrity's food better. We found ourselves looking for something to do at night, and there are 3 generations of us...and I'm 67. I missed Royal and it took all of us until we got home and were ready to book the next cruise to be willing to admit that perks or not, we liked RC better and would be a little disappointed if we weren't going on RC.

I can’t really compare P&O with Royal or Celebrity fairly. Their (P&O) tv adverts show just how dated their offerings are, all dinner jackets and dining and corny actors. There is no “ fun” like Royal has or “quality” like Celebrity has. We will sail Royal or Celebrity dependent on who is with us and if we need to be entertained (Royal) or want a relaxed, quality and easy to meet people cruise (Celebrity). We have both lines booked this year. P&O have no USP.

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HAL is for almost dead people.....no action at all!:rolleyes:

HAL is considered a more "itinerary" cruise line rather than an entertainment cruise line. Don't make that remark on the HAL forum or you will be burned at the stake. :)

I can’t really compare P&O with Royal or Celebrity fairly. Their tv adverts show just how dated their offerings are, all dinner jackets and dining and corny actors. There is no “ fun” like Royal has or “quality” like Celebrity has. We will sail Royal or Celebrity dependent on who is with us and if we need to be entertained (Royal) or want a relaxed, quality and easy to meet people cruise (Celebrity). We have both lines booked this year.

 

 

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Exactly. Royal is not competing to or about to follow the lead of lines like P&O or Hal. Their main competitors are Carnival, NCL and now MSC in the Caribbean.

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Most of recent cruise were grand suites on rccl, agree on Hal it is dead by 1130 at night limited entertainment. I would add princess line which has some good points , enjoyed last celebrity cruise but that too has issues with entertainment. Since we like suites really want to try msc with private pool and suite area , also celebrity edge which also has private pool.

I would say that 95% of our cruises have been with Royal. We have tried Celebrity a few times and enjoyed certain aspects and like mentioned before the entertainment does lack some what when compared to Royal, but the service and variety of bars certainly were on a different level. As for P&O well what can I say, there was a two year gap between our cruises with them and the differences were staggering. The first cruise we did the food, service and drinks were excellent but the entertainment was terrible, the one and only time I have ever walked out of a show was on P&O, absolutely terrible. The next time we sailed with them the food, service and drinks were the worst we'd ever experienced on a cruise so we made a pact never to sail with them again. Must say the glasshouse on P&O is the only shining light on these ships. So loyal to royal we are but with some of the prices that are currently on show for 2019 European sailings this might have to change too, how can it be cheaper to fly to the states and cruise then to sail from the UK?

I have to say in the past I was a Royal Caribbean loyal passenger but have branched out in the past few years.. I do think their entertainment is tops. We have tried most of the major Cruise Lines and would rank them as: 1. MSC (Yacht Club) 2. Celebrity, 3. Royal Caribbean, 4. Princess 5. NCL

That's my ranking for what it's worth. I realize each individual has different experiences.

I have to say in the past I was a Royal Caribbean loyal passenger but have branched out in the past few years.. I do think their entertainment is tops. We have tried most of the major Cruise Lines and would rank them as: 1. MSC (Yacht Club) 2. Celebrity, 3. Royal Caribbean, 4. Princess 5. NCL

 

 

 

That's my ranking for what it's worth. I realize each individual has different experiences.

Thanks for that info. Would MSC be in that list if it wasn’t in the Yacht Club?

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We did our first HAL last year. I really liked it. We were on a brand new ship, and were in an upgraded suite. Our deal included free drink package, free gratuities, effectively free internet, and on free specialty restaurant. We got off the HAL ship and climbed on Vision the same day. Honestly, I loved HAL, but on Vision I felt I was "home." There are lots of differences. Royal Caribbean has more to do after dinner. The drink package on HAL was limited to 15 drinks per day. That includes coffee, sodas, bottled water, etc. Not really a problem but could be. Still keeps you counting as you decide whether or not to get a bottle of water. Their drink prices were way cheaper. The average drink was $7-$9 as opposed to the $10-$14 on Royal Caribbean. Their specialty restaurants were cheaper also. I will say the food was amazing. Might have to do with the fact we were in Norway and they boarded fresh salmon in Bergen and served it that night!

But, when you compare cruise line to cruise line you have to be sure to compare everything. Our D+ happy hour perks saves us a significant amount of money each cruise and we enjoy having the lounge to socialize. So... it makes a difference.

We have three RCI cruises this year and just booked a Thanksgiving cruise on HAL. It's been 14 years since our one and only HAL cruise and we were a bit underwhelmed by that one. We booked this one primarily because it was a very good price and, I have to admit, their website actually works!

I can’t really compare P&O with Royal or Celebrity fairly. Their (P&O) tv adverts show just how dated their offerings are, all dinner jackets and dining and corny actors. There is no “ fun” like Royal has or “quality” like Celebrity has. We will sail Royal or Celebrity dependent on who is with us and if we need to be entertained (Royal) or want a relaxed, quality and easy to meet people cruise (Celebrity). We have both lines booked this year. P&O have no USP.

 

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I quite enjoy the down to earth evening entertainment, the talks on sea days and the speciality dinning options. I also like the British experience like afternoon tea. It is a different experience and it is a matter of taste but I would disagree that it has no USP.

One of the biggest USP is choice of wine on board which is available by the glass and at reasonable prices.

I generally find it is quite relaxed on the ships I have sailed on. People make more of an effort on formal nights to dress up but that is not a bad thing.

So loyal to royal we are but with some of the prices that are currently on show for 2019 European sailings this might have to change too, how can it be cheaper to fly to the states and cruise then to sail from the UK?

I have a similar problem. Prices for European and Southampton sailings for RCI seem unreasonably high. It has nudged me back towards P&O although I would stick with the large ships.

I have come to like P&O Ventura, so given price and what's on offer, I am happy with the package. Ticks the VFM box. Probably don't encounter as many MDR issues as I eat a lot in the speciality restaurants.

I suspect experiences differ between ships. IME that applies to RCI as well.