RCCL Diamond, Tried Celebrity for the 1st time

[doodbug]

Our family (2 grandparents, 2 kids aged 7 and 8, and us) just returned from a 13 night Celebrity Silhouette cruise. We've never sailed with Celebrity before, and here are some of our personal sentiments.

 

It surprised us, but there was much we missed about RCCL:

- Diamond Lounge

- Sounds crazy, but the RCCL's sourdough bread available at all meals whether it be at MDR or Windjammer.

- RCCL's desserts. Even simple stuff like cookies and ice-cream and soft serve frozen yogurt. Although there was a wide range of ice-cream flavours at Celebrity's Ocean View Cafe, somehow, we thought RCCL's ice-cream tasted better.

- Tea/Coffee making facilities in RCCL cabins. We were in a COncierge Class Cabin on Celebrity but the cabin did not have tea/coffee making facilities.

- Park Cafe and Cafe Promenade, and the Promenade

- RCCL's MDR is 3 course, vs Celebrity's 4 course. RCCL's MDR is thus slightly faster, which works out for us as we do prefer not to have dinner dragged out for too long.

 

So yes, we did miss RCCL!

 

That said, there were also plusses with Celebrity:

- Ocean View Cafe buffet is generally, one up from Windjammer.

- The crowds. Celebrity does not ever feel as crowded as RCCL.

- The production shows on the SIlhouette were outstanding.

- Elite laundry benefits. A wonderful touch.

- Good talks by historians, good port talks etc.

 

Overall, we enjoy both RCCL and Celebrity.

Edited December 4, 2013 by doodbug

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

We are D+ on Royal, but it will just take us so long to reach Pinnacle at our age. We'd be in our mid-eighties. So we have branched out and tried Celebrity. Our cruises have been so positive that we pretty much alternate between Celebrity and Royal now.

 

We like the Solstice-Class ships, but have sailed on Millenium and liked it too.

 

I agree with you that Celebrity's buffet is a cut above the Windjammer. For one thing I like the glass dishes and coffee cups instead of Royal's Melamine. Also I like the food selection better and the layout of the buffet.

 

We find the Concierge Class cabins very comfortable.

 

We'd like to try Reflection, but it just does Eastern Caribbean itineraries, so we'll wait and hope that the intinerary will change in the future.

[JimAOk1945]

Thanks for your comments and comparisons. We are thinking about trying Celebrity in the near future.

Edited December 4, 2013 by JimAOk1945

[SPacificbound]

"Doodbug" thank you for starting this thread and noting your observations! :)

 

After our 8/2014 Alaska cruise we will be Diamond, and our next cruises in spring 2015 we will have three Celebrity cruises. It is very interesting for me to see your comparisons. Thanks!

[doodbug]

Thanks for your comments and comparisons. We are thinking about trying Celebrity in the near future.

 

I often get the impression that Celebrity is a far superior product to RCCL (it is often pricier) so I was a little surprised that there was much about RCCL that we missed while on Celebrity!

 

I have to say the passengers onboard the SIlhouette were gracious and well-mannered. No one cuts the buffet line, no chair hogs in theatres etc. Adds up to a pleasant experience.

[monkeyinhat]

We also missed things about Royal. Enjoy the Promenade and Sorennto and café Promenade. Sometimes thought the MDR food was better. like the balcony discount

 

 

Celebrity enjoyed the elite internet perk, laundry perk

Liked the less announcements VERY MUCH.

and was nice on a couple of sea days they came around with fruit skewers, one day ice cream.

Like the buffet better and the hand dipped ice cream

 

I agree like these lines the best. But wish they would change up ports a little more.

[jt1120]

 

It surprised us, but there was much we missed about RCCL:

- Diamond Lounge

 

Uh, Celebrity has the same thing. Not sure how you missed it but we never do. Plus, the beverage offerings are better than with RC.

 

- Sounds crazy, but the RCCL's sourdough bread available at all meals whether it be at MDR or Windjammer.

 

I've always had sourdough bread on Celebrity. Not sure why you didn't.

 

- Tea/Coffee making facilities in RCCL cabins. We were in a COncierge Class Cabin on Celebrity but the cabin did not have tea/coffee making facilities.

 

Wow, you've got me on this one. I've never had coffee-making facilities in any cabin on the 29 cruises I've been on. Guess I need to upgrade to an even better cabin.

 

- Park Cafe and Cafe Promenade, and the Promenade

Oh, you mean the Mall of the Seas? One of the reasons why we will never cruise an Oasis-class ship again. Too claustrophobic.

 

- RCCL's MDR is 3 course, vs Celebrity's 4 course. RCCL's MDR is thus slightly faster, which works out for us as we do prefer not to have dinner dragged out for too long.

 

Wow, I would think that an additional course would be a good thing.

 

That said, there were also plusses with Celebrity:

- Ocean View Cafe buffet is generally, one up from Windjammer.

- The crowds. Celebrity does not ever feel as crowded as RCCL.

- The production shows on the SIlhouette were outstanding.

- Elite laundry benefits. A wonderful touch.

- Good talks by historians, good port talks etc.

 

You also forgot to mention that diamond-level cruisers on RC only get 30 minutes of free internet vs. 45 minutes on Celebrity. I'd say the Elite level perks are far better than the Diamond level on RC.

Edited December 4, 2013 by jt1120

[macruisefan]

Uh, Celebrity has the same thing. Not sure how you missed it but we never do. Plus, the beverage offerings are better than with RC.

 

 

 

I've always had sourdough bread on Celebrity. Not sure why you didn't.

 

 

 

Wow, you've got me on this one. I've never had coffee-making facilities in any cabin on the 29 cruises I've been on. Guess I need to upgrade to an even better cabin.

 

 

Oh, you mean the Mall of the Seas? One of the reasons why we will never cruise an Oasis-class ship again. Too claustrophobic.

 

 

 

Wow, I would think that an additional course would be a good thing.

 

 

 

You also forgot to mention that diamond-level cruisers on RC only get 30 minutes of free internet vs. 45 minutes on Celebrity. I'd say the Elite level perks are far better than the Diamond level on RC.

 

 

There's always one homer around here who takes someone elses honest and fair review as some sort of personal insult. Congratulations jt1120, today you get to be that homer....:p

[cruisegirl1]

Yes – Celebrity offers cocktails in the evening (an equal to the lounge) but there no dedicated lounge if one wants to use the venue during the day. Some actually use the lounge for something other than cocktails. We stop in at least twice a day for specialty coffees. As there is no lounge, there is no reciprocal for the coffee. Elite Plus/Zenith get complimentary specially coffee, but not Elite or any RCCL diamond/D+ or Pinnacle who reciprocates to standard Elite.

 

Both have a good product, with a few variances. Naturally there are specific benefits to either line, depending on what is important to the cruiser.

 

We share our time with both RCCL and Celebrity and believe we get the best of both worlds.

 

 

m

Edited December 4, 2013 by cruisegirl1

[Clarea]

U...You also forgot to mention that diamond-level cruisers on RC only get 30 minutes of free internet vs. 45 minutes on Celebrity. I'd say the Elite level perks are far better than the Diamond level on RC.

I'd say the perks are different. For example, I don't believe Celebrity offers a discount on balcony staterooms. I'd prefer to pay for $11.25 for 15 minutes of internet in return for a $200 discount on my stateroom.

[villauk]

Wow, you've got me on this one. I've never had coffee-making facilities in any cabin on the 29 cruises I've been on. Guess I need to upgrade to an even better cabin.

 

 

jt1120

I think you'll find that RCI ships that sail from the UK have coffee & tea making facilities in the cabins ;). So, possibly none of your 29 RCI cruises have sailed out of England?

[tserface]

I think RCCL's reciprocity strategy is working. We also enjoy RCI and Celebrity. They are slightly different cruises, but both have their pluses. It's nice to be able to switch back and forth and still feel so special.

 

It's nice that RCCL allows us this benefit of difference.

 

Tom

 

We are D+ on Royal, but it will just take us so long to reach Pinnacle at our age. We'd be in our mid-eighties. So we have branched out and tried Celebrity. Our cruises have been so positive that we pretty much alternate between Celebrity and Royal now.

 

We like the Solstice-Class ships, but have sailed on Millenium and liked it too.

 

I agree with you that Celebrity's buffet is a cut above the Windjammer. For one thing I like the glass dishes and coffee cups instead of Royal's Melamine. Also I like the food selection better and the layout of the buffet.

 

We find the Concierge Class cabins very comfortable.

 

We'd like to try Reflection, but it just does Eastern Caribbean itineraries, so we'll wait and hope that the intinerary will change in the future.

[Kellie Poodle]

I have only sailed Celebrity Century and M Class ships and I think the buffet on Royal ships is better. It's impossible to get a Swiss cheese omelet at Celebrity's omelet station, but On RCI I just grab a slice of Swiss and give it to the omelet maker. Celebrity does not have Swiss cheese on their breakfast buffet.

 

Celebrity's bakery is not very good. Their pastries are as dry as the desert. Even the highly touted sticky buns are dry as dust under the gooey topping. They have nothing like the rich, dense fruit bread on RCI's breakfast menu.

 

On RCI's buffet, the table ware is wrapped in a linen napkin. On X you have to take your table ware from a container and lord knows whose hands have touched the other utensils. I'll give up china plates for cleanliness. Also X has paper napkins, not cloth. I was astounded the first time I encountered paper napkins at the buffet on an X ship.

 

X has nothing like the RCI Tutti Salad Bar on sea days. It's my favorite meal on any ship.

 

X does seem to have better fare in the MDR and doing Select Dining gets you out faster than traditional seating.

 

I have been to the Elite cocktail hour as well as the Diamond lounge. I think the service is much better in the Diamond lounge, but the drinks are a little better at the Elite hour.

 

The benefits for Elite are better than Diamond, but the balcony discount on RCI is much better than the new one category upgrade on X. I've used the one category upgrade on outside cabins and it amounts to about $50 per person, nothing like the balcony discounts. Perhaps the new ability to upgrade one category on balcony and other higher category cabins will be more of a monetary perk.

 

As a non-smoker, I'm happy that RCI has banned smoking on balconies, but they still allow it in the casino. X does not and I appreciate that (though my DH would rather I not frequent the casino :))

 

We will continue to chose either line based on itinerary and price. I think each has something special to offer on its own and one line is not better than the other, just different.

[tserface]

Yeah, I also think that is kind of sad. I wonder how many people are reticent to do reviews because of the fear of being blasted. In this case OP even said they really liked Celebrity and just missed a few things that RCI has to offer. I thought the OP's review was very fair.

 

Both RCI and Celebrity cruises have special things to offer that we like. Different things. It means we can, essentially, sail different cruises, but stay with the same company and get similar benefits.

 

I don't think there's anything wrong with liking things about both.

 

Tom

 

There's always one homer around here who takes someone elses honest and fair review as some sort of personal insult. Congratulations jt1120, today you get to be that homer....:p

[tserface]

Wow, people from the UK are often concerned that they don't get the same sales or specials that we get in the U.S., but we don't get to make our own coffee in the cabin. There in lies the difference... mystery solved :)

 

Tom

 

Wow, you've got me on this one. I've never had coffee-making facilities in any cabin on the 29 cruises I've been on. Guess I need to upgrade to an even better cabin.

 

 

jt1120

I think you'll find that RCI ships that sail from the UK have coffee & tea making facilities in the cabins ;). So, possibly none of your 29 RCI cruises have sailed out of England?

[knittinggirl]

We didn't miss the coffee making in-room, because we w were in a suite and got complimentary cappuccinos. But our next cruise is Concierge Class, so we will probably change our opinion. We also missed the sourdough bread.

 

We enjoyed being able to order a half plate of eggs benedict. Something that I was discouraged doing on Royal.

[tserface]

Excellently stated!

 

Tom

 

I have only sailed Celebrity Century and M Class ships and I think the buffet on Royal ships is better. It's impossible to get a Swiss cheese omelet at Celebrity's omelet station, but On RCI I just grab a slice of Swiss and give it to the omelet maker. Celebrity does not have Swiss cheese on their breakfast buffet.

 

Celebrity's bakery is not very good. Their pastries are as dry as the desert. Even the highly touted sticky buns are dry as dust under the gooey topping. They have nothing like the rich, dense fruit bread on RCI's breakfast menu.

 

On RCI's buffet, the table ware is wrapped in a linen napkin. On X you have to take your table ware from a container and lord knows whose hands have touched the other utensils. I'll give up china plates for cleanliness. Also X has paper napkins, not cloth. I was astounded the first time I encountered paper napkins at the buffet on an X ship.

 

X has nothing like the RCI Tutti Salad Bar on sea days. It's my favorite meal on any ship.

 

X does seem to have better fare in the MDR and doing Select Dining gets you out faster than traditional seating.

 

I have been to the Elite cocktail hour as well as the Diamond lounge. I think the service is much better in the Diamond lounge, but the drinks are a little better at the Elite hour.

 

The benefits for Elite are better than Diamond, but the balcony discount on RCI is much better than the new one category upgrade on X. I've used the one category upgrade on outside cabins and it amounts to about $50 per person, nothing like the balcony discounts. Perhaps the new ability to upgrade one category on balcony and other higher category cabins will be more of a monetary perk.

 

As a non-smoker, I'm happy that RCI has banned smoking on balconies, but they still allow it in the casino. X does not and I appreciate that (though my DH would rather I not frequent the casino :))

 

We will continue to chose either line based on itinerary and price. I think each has something special to offer on its own and one line is not better than the other, just different.

[cruisegirl1]

I'd say the perks are different. For example, I don't believe Celebrity offers a discount on balcony staterooms. I'd prefer to pay for $11.25 for 15 minutes of internet in return for a $200 discount on my stateroom.

 

Hi Bob,

 

Good point. One has to look at the entire package.

 

Perhaps we’ve been lucky, but in several instances, our Celebrity cruises have priced out the same or even less than the RCCL equivalent, even taking into consideration the D+ discount. We are paying less for an upcoming 2 week Celebrity cruise than we would have paid for the same (date) first week only on RCCL. Also for us, on Celebrity, as long as we are not using an Open Passage ( Next Cruise) we can use the RCI Stock benefit ( a $250 benefit for the 14 night sailing).

 

Best of both worlds for us!

 

Marci

[dln929]

Our family (2 grandparents, 2 kids aged 7 and 8, and us) just returned from a 13 night Celebrity Silhouette cruise. We've never sailed with Celebrity before, and here are some of our personal sentiments.

 

It surprised us, but there was much we missed about RCCL:

- Diamond Lounge

- Sounds crazy, but the RCCL's sourdough bread available at all meals whether it be at MDR or Windjammer.

- RCCL's desserts. Even simple stuff like cookies and ice-cream and soft serve frozen yogurt. Although there was a wide range of ice-cream flavours at Celebrity's Ocean View Cafe, somehow, we thought RCCL's ice-cream tasted better.

- Tea/Coffee making facilities in RCCL cabins. We were in a COncierge Class Cabin on Celebrity but the cabin did not have tea/coffee making facilities.

- Park Cafe and Cafe Promenade, and the Promenade

- RCCL's MDR is 3 course, vs Celebrity's 4 course. RCCL's MDR is thus slightly faster, which works out for us as we do prefer not to have dinner dragged out for too long.

 

So yes, we did miss RCCL!

 

That said, there were also plusses with Celebrity:

- Ocean View Cafe buffet is generally, one up from Windjammer.

- The crowds. Celebrity does not ever feel as crowded as RCCL.

- The production shows on the SIlhouette were outstanding.

- Elite laundry benefits. A wonderful touch.

- Good talks by historians, good port talks etc.

 

Overall, we enjoy both RCCL and Celebrity.

 

Thanks for your well thought out review. People who haven't sailed both lines are always curious about the other, especially before they take the leap and make a booking. It's nice that you took the time to do a comparison.

 

We sail both and pretty soon we'll be going on Azamara, the third line in the Royal Caribbean family. I like X and RCI equally. It just depends on what we're looking for in a cruise. For example, when we take the kids, we go Royal because they prefer putt-putt golf to X's bocce ball on the S class ships. When my husband is overworked and needs a chill vacation, we go X because there's a lot less go-go-go atmosphere. Each line shines in certain ways and honestly, there's something for everyone!

 

Note to jt1120--was such heavy-handed sarcasm to the OP necessary? Liking one thing on RCI over X does not constitute an attack on X. Really now.

[sjb317]

I have only sailed Celebrity Century and M Class ships and I think the buffet on Royal ships is better. It's impossible to get a Swiss cheese omelet at Celebrity's omelet station, but On RCI I just grab a slice of Swiss and give it to the omelet maker. Celebrity does not have Swiss cheese on their breakfast buffet.

 

Celebrity's bakery is not very good. Their pastries are as dry as the desert. Even the highly touted sticky buns are dry as dust under the gooey topping. They have nothing like the rich, dense fruit bread on RCI's breakfast menu.

 

On RCI's buffet, the table ware is wrapped in a linen napkin. On X you have to take your table ware from a container and lord knows whose hands have touched the other utensils. I'll give up china plates for cleanliness. Also X has paper napkins, not cloth. I was astounded the first time I encountered paper napkins at the buffet on an X ship.

 

X has nothing like the RCI Tutti Salad Bar on sea days. It's my favorite meal on any ship.

 

X does seem to have better fare in the MDR and doing Select Dining gets you out faster than traditional seating.

 

I have been to the Elite cocktail hour as well as the Diamond lounge. I think the service is much better in the Diamond lounge, but the drinks are a little better at the Elite hour.

 

The benefits for Elite are better than Diamond, but the balcony discount on RCI is much better than the new one category upgrade on X. I've used the one category upgrade on outside cabins and it amounts to about $50 per person, nothing like the balcony discounts. Perhaps the new ability to upgrade one category on balcony and other higher category cabins will be more of a monetary perk.

 

As a non-smoker, I'm happy that RCI has banned smoking on balconies, but they still allow it in the casino. X does not and I appreciate that (though my DH would rather I not frequent the casino :))

 

We will continue to chose either line based on itinerary and price. I think each has something special to offer on its own and one line is not better than the other, just different.

 

I so agree with you! We have found both lines have things they do well, and both could learn from each other. I too, did not care for the buffet on Celebrity, it seemed like there were not as many choices and the set up was poorly designed. I also thought, with the exception of the pizza & grilled veggies, that the food was rather bland. Breads and pastries on Celebrity were tasteless & dry, I think they could learn from the bakers on Royal. But the ice cream, especially the cinnamon, on Celebrity was wonderful. We also loved the pool side grill, I wish Royal would do something like that.

 

We enjoy the DL/CL on Royal much better than the Captain's Club. We found it was difficult to get waited on and the drinks (this was true throughout the ship) were very weak. We usually don't end up using all of our free internet time on Royal but we do enjoy the balcony discount!:D

 

I did a short comparison of the two lines on the Celebrity boards after our cruise and posters were not too happy with me.:D I did say we really enjoyed our cruise and would love to cruise on Celebrity again if the itinerary & price were right, but so far, we haven't found anything that works for us. Still looking!:D

 

Sherri:)

[mo&fran]

When we started cruising on a regular basis, all of our cruises but 1 were long TA cruises in a suite. As a result , we were Elite very quickly.

Then we decided to try a larger ship, and did a TA on Navigator. Then we decided on some Caribbean cruises, and stuck with RC. I liked the larger ships better, especially the Royal Promenade. Plus they have many more ships, so there are more choices. And we started sailing on Explorer out of NJ so we did not have to fly or rent a hotel room, so ultimately it was easier and less expensive.

Will we go back to Celebrity, probably in the future we will. I just like the larger RC ships better.

BTW, we did along the way cruise on Carnival, and have no plans of ever doing that again. Definitealy no WOW factor with their ships.

[Let'sGo!]

Thank you to the OP and others who have done a little "comparison shopping" for me! We finally reached Diamond status on RCCL, and we figure D+ is probably never going to happen for us, so we've been looking at trying other lines.

 

Since hubby is a devote of those cookies from the Cafe Promenade at night, I might have a hard time pulling him away from RCCL, but at least I have some other things I can share with him about it!

 

Ann

 

And for jt1120: I'm sorry you are an unhappy person. It must suck to go through life always looking for ways to nitpick at something.

[The Big Booper]

Park Cafe is in Central Park. And you can sit out under the stars eating your snack on the nice iron-work chairs and benches.

 

The D+ balcony maxes out at $350 per cabin on a longer cruise. We did the repo on Brilliance from Quebec City to SJU and saved $600, $350 to Bayonne and $250 from Bayonne to SJU. Two legs stitched together.

 

IMHO, the Celebrity S ships are far superior to the M ships especially in the buffet, a more upscale version of the WindJammer, with more modern decor and upgraded food.

 

We would have booked an S after tax season but the Vision, going to Charleston and Bermuda, is a draw.

[hansolosmom]

I often get the impression that Celebrity is a far superior product to RCCL (it is often pricier) so I was a little surprised that there was much about RCCL that we missed while on Celebrity!

 

I have to say the passengers onboard the SIlhouette were gracious and well-mannered. No one cuts the buffet line, no chair hogs in theatres etc. Adds up to a pleasant experience.

 

I'm glad they were well mannered on your cruise. We sailed the Reflection in July & it was a mad-house. The ship was filled to capacity & I was never able to find somewhere to relax on the ship. The chair hogs were out in force by the pools in the morning especially bad in the adult only Solarium. I always felt like I was in a crowd. Had a nasty line cutter experience with a lady while waiting for a tender.

 

I guess it depends on when and where you travel which makes a difference for the tone of its the trip.

 

I totally agree on missing little things, there were days I would have loved a soft serve cone & not something fancy.

[Trekker954]

I like Celebrity a lot, we just did a long British Isles cruise on the Infinity and have been on the Constellation and Reflection as well.

 

I think the food is far superior, however, we typically eat in the Ocean View. The trouble there is, the food is so good because its all made fresh, however, when my daughter and I split up to chose differently, because they start making it, we always end up eating alone. one of us gets back to the table first and is practically done when the other arrives. So what is the trade off there. We love their pizza and their ice cream is way better than Royals.

 

I love the Concierge and Aqua class cabins, but know they are much more. We enjoy the thermal spa and Blu that comes with the Aqua class.

 

I certainly missed the Diamond lounge. I do not care for Celebrity's social held in the big lounge. Sort of like the Viking Crown atmosphere. People just don't mix and mingle as much as they do in a D lounge.

 

Some of the onboard perks were better, but overall, we love RCL balcony discount.

 

Far less kids on Celebrity ships, then again the crowd is older. Typically Royal's age group works well for my 30 yo daughter and I. We also like Celebrity's Thalassotherapy pool and spa a lot.

 

I think every D and above should give Celebrity a try. If you are D and above, you've sailed a lot of Royal. Its sort of nice trying other ships if for nothing else, different entertainment and venues and still reaping the benefits of status guests.