Anyone ever try celebrity or royal??

[cruzeluver]

From my experience (have sailed all three lines in the last several years) Royal is a small step up from Carnival and Celebrity a giant one. In terms of cuisine, service, accommodations, décor etc.

[sgttami]

I sailed RCL for years and loved it (Diamond Plus). Also did one Celebrity that was a charter and that was great too.

 

Can't say anything negative about either. Some things are better/different than others on cruises and I've always had a good time.

 

Just discovered Carnival last year and so far, it's my new favorite line. Hands down, Carnival is the friendliest by far when it comes to meeting new people on board.

 

The only line I'd never sail again is Norwegian and despite the fact that I couldn't say one positive thing about it, I still managed to have fun!

[Jay Sam]

I want to try a "nicer" cruise line. Obviously nice is subjective so I'm looking for opinions from people that are into the same.

 

Wife and I are early 30's. Like to drink and gamble. One thing I noticed is that royal has an actual poker table and not the electronic one. Big deal imo.

 

I just don't want to go on a cruise where the average age is 60.

 

Royal seems like a better overall fit. Any especially with their drink packages. Any thoughts??

 

Royal Caribbean is my other favorite line. Very nice experience. Great ship, Adventure of the Seas, beautiful. Service is much like I have had on Carnival, but maybe a tiny bit more polished. MDR food is not as good as Carnival, as the Berlitz cruise book mentions too.

 

Celebrity is top notch. The food and service is the best, but I don't feel at home on Celebrity. They have an air of snobishness about them, as do some of the passengers. Don't mention you like Carnival or have ever cruised them. They will think you are insane for even considering it.

 

So with the great service and great food on Celebrity, I still like Carnival and Royal the best. Been on 5 Carnival cruises and not 1 has disappointed. Just got back from a Paradise trip and even Fantasy class was marvelous.

 

Least favorite of 5 lines is NCL. Been on them twice, including Epic, and just not for me.

 

So if you want to try another line, my vote goes to Royal Caribbean.

[Cruisegirl6]

My favorite cruise line is RC then Princess....my most disliked cruise line is NCL and actually HATE it! I always come back to Carnival for one reason or another and NEVER expect to eat well in fact my last two carnival cruises I lost weight now that never happened on any other cruise line.

Edited February 13, 2015 by lyndamr

[Jay Sam]

My favorite cruise line is RC then Princess....my most disliked cruise line is NCL and actually HATE it! I always come back to Carnival for one reason or another and NEVER expect to eat well in fact my last two carnival cruises I lost weight now that never happened on any other cruise line.

 

Amen regarding NCL. Guess I don't hate it, but it isn't my cup of tea. I began laughing when I read what you said about NCL. I thought, oh yeah.

[dogbert's mom]

I haven't cruised Celebrity but recently cruised on the Allure of the Sea. I really expected to be Wowed by RC after reading so many reviews here but was disappointed. The shows were very good but we are at the point were we don't cruise for shows. We enjoy the comedy club and after dinner jazz or pop/rock music and didn't find anyplace on the Allure that caused us to return nightly.

 

Food was no better than CCL and the desserts weren't half as good. We had a drink package and felt that the bar service for most parts was lacking. Normally we bond with a bar server you will see them all over the ship or in the dining room. This makes you feel special and a little pampered. We never bonded with a server because none of them seemed to be bothered to recognize you.

 

We might sail on RC again on a smaller ship or if there is an itinerary that interest us.

[Cruisegirl6]

Jay Sam LOL but its true lol

 

The Allure had a Jazz Club perhaps you didn't find it, believe it was on deck 4...they had nightly jazz.

[High Seas Texan]

I love Carnival. I have done Holland America and enjoy them as well. Very upscale and excellent service. I did one (1) Celebrity cruise, immediately after a HAL, so I could not help but compare. IMHO, Celebrity is so over rated. I will personally NEVER sail Celebrity again. I was so displeased with them, I swore I would never give them any of my vacation money, or any of their subsidiaries. that said, I did sail RCI, which comes under their umbrella, and I was impressed with them. I was taken by a buddy who had already paid for the cruise and his companion bailed and I had a passport, so I went. They won me over. The ships themselves were just a tad nicer than CCL. Food and service were about the same. Entertainment shows were not as good. For the price, I still think CCL is hands down the best. If you want a more upscale experience, splurge for a suite, dine in the steakhouse and chefs table. Buy the spa package on the larger ships for the private pools and saunas. Bottom line, just enjoy your vacation.

[Jay Sam]

Jay Sam LOL but its true lol

 

The Allure had a Jazz Club perhaps you didn't find it, believe it was on deck 4...they had nightly jazz.

 

Lynda, oh so true. Poor NCL. I think of Celebrity as a Symphony - RC/Carnival as an orchestra - NCL as a brass band. I like orchestra the best. I would love to take Allure sometime. Adventure was amazing. Thanks for the tip regarding the jazz club on Allure.

[Tapi]

While I do consider Royal Caribbean to offer a great product for those looking for the "wow" factor in terms of entertainment, activities, and ship size and amenities, I don't consider them to be upscale. IMHO, what makes the upscale cruise lines truly nicer are the small details. We sailed on Holland America and Princess in 2013 and 2014 respectively, and the things that blew us away were the attention to detail and the overall quality. The fresh flowers throughout the ship, the room service served in china, the white gloved service, the laundry wrapped in tissue and delivered in wicker baskets, the unobtrusive announcements, the availability of upscale alternative dinning during daytime hours, the upgraded toiletries, the throw blankets for balcony use on chilly nights, the ultimate balcony dining experience with your personal waiter, the soothing classical music piped in throughout the ship, the more polished and refined service, etc.

 

If these are thing that are important to you, the an upscale cruise line may be for you.

Edited February 14, 2015 by Tapi

[Cruisegirl6]

I believe that Carnival is doing away with the orchestras...believe some ships already don't have them just don't know which ones, just like they did away with the steel band outside, shame because people like these things.

 

I been on 53 cruises, my last one the Allure was my 53rd and she was THE BEST SHIP I EVER BEEN ON! You have to put it on the list, trust me amazing ship overall and NEVER felt crowded ever.

 

Carnival remains to have the rock n roll bands playing at times later in the day and during the night hours. I do also recall another band playing orchestra I think it was.

 

I feel Carnival has the best casino at sea, they really know how to treat the players and they offer the "drinks on us" card when you reach 1500 points on a 7 night cruise, although, my other half gets it automatically on day one, but they also give treats to our cabin such as chocolate covered strawberries, pastries, etc. and we get bottle of wine on formal nights, they really are good here.

 

I never have a bad Carnival cruise and ABSOLUTELY choose them over NCL in a heartbeat!

 

Gosh, I cringe when I think of NCL haha, time for me to go out for a bit, I follow up when I get home.

[dmdiver]

I've done mostly CCL cruises - prices are just better when I am ready to sail. In my limited RC experience, here are my takes. I am currently pricing cruises for September & even with RC Bogo sale, they are still higher than CCL for a balcony cabin. RC cabins a bit smaller than CCL, but very good storage, so didn't really miss the space. Honestly, the standard balconies seemed to be about the same size to me.

 

RC has prettier ships, especially like the adult solarium pool area. Their pools are larger than CCL & I just liked them better. I like CCL food a bit better, although the pizza restaurant on Oasis was better run than CCL's. However, RC has a BBB (Baileys Banana Brûlée) that is super delicious. I know I can always get soft serve or pizza & salad 24/7 on CCL. That wasn't the case on RC. In fact, soft serve machines typically were only running from maybe 1 or 2pm until about 7-8pm. I love CCL comedy club.

 

If you want to see shows on Oasis or Allure, better make reservations. That includes the comedy club. Did not like that aspect one bit, as we did not know in advance what we were going to be doing each night. I loved the parade on the promenade on RC. The shows we saw on Enchantment were very good, can't speak for the ones on Oasis - couldn't get in. Love RC rock climbing walls. Love CCL ropes course & water slides, even if they are hard on the tailbone. Love the Viking Crown Lounge on RC - I think that was the name of it - way up at the top - enjoyed sitting up there in the evenings.

 

I think our room steward on Enchantment was the friendliest we have ever had, but we've never had a bad steward on either line.

 

Kids were all grown by the time we did RC, so I can't speak for the children's activities on RC. My youngest enjoyed CCL kid's activities in 2003/2004.

 

This may be an odd observation, but I liked RC public restrooms better.

[Gon2hwe]

I actually like the food on Royal better. The main dining room food is about the same but the buffett and other venues are alot better to me. Royal ships are prettier. Not the vegas style decor that carnival does. Kids clubs look better but haven't used them so can't recommend. Kids pools and adult pools are bigger and more for kids to do. But no slides. A lot more for teens and tweens to do. Basically Carnival is cheaper. You get what you pay for.

[Sheeba67]

You can't go wrong with the free drink package on Celebrity. They also include bottled water with their package so you don't have to haul a case of water with you during embarkation. The MDR experience is a little nicer on Celebrity than Carnival, but the food is very comparable. Celebrity night life is a little lacking, but it is nice to be able to sit and talk to a bartender every once in a while. Carnival has much more activities in the day and way more comedy opportunity. Overall, both offer a little different experience, but both are very enjoyable cruises, Try them both and decide foer yourself.

[kicia]

While we mostly sail Carnival, we have also been on Royal for a couple of cruises. The food on Royal is very over rated. Before our cruises people were talking about the little sandwiches along the Promenade. We are used to Carnival's deli sandwiches and were very disappointed in the sandwiches with one tiny slice of ham on a big bun. The pizza had about two small pieces of pepperoni on it. We love soup and every single soup on Royal was like broth. Broccoli cheese soup should not be watery. The only free drinks on the Promenade by the pizza and sandwiches were water and coffee.

 

The Royal ships are very pretty and look better than Carnival's for the most part. Service on both lines has always been very good.

 

The ice show on Royal was very good.

 

There is no self serve ice cream on Royal. It is only frozen yogurt, at least on the two ships we were on, and only available for a couple of hours per day.

 

Like the shower doors on Royal better than the curtains on Carnival but the showers themselves were much smaller.

 

Like the sliding balcony doors better than the regular doors on Carnival.

 

The specialty Italian restaurant on Royal was very good.

 

We would sail on Royal again but certainly not for the food. We are very comfortable on Carnival and it helps that we usually always find someone we know on board.

 

We are not late night people and don't spend much time in the Casino. We missed the Comedy Club but there was a comedian one night on Royal that was good.

 

The wait staff on Carnival was better and we never did find out who the Maitre d' was on either sailing on Royal, but we didn't need anything so everything was fine.

 

Very much a personal choice and it probably is influenced by how much time you spend on any line. Maybe some day we will try a Celebrity cruise just to say we did one.

[sidraimran499]

Fabulous ...

[SewMuch]

Thanks. I don't do a ton of cruises. Usually 1 major vacation a year. Either cruise or vegas. We've been doing 2 the last few years so I figure cut it back to 1 but spend a little more on something I like. I might skip royal and just try a celebrity suite. I just don't want my wife and I to be on a cruise with rose from the titanic.

 

I drink a lot and like to have a good time. Not sure if everyone on the ship will appreciate that.

 

Drinking a lot and having a good time makes me think you're looking for a party atmosphere. There are a lot of different opinions about various lines, but I don't think anyone would refer to Celebrity ships as party boats. But any cruise in the Caribbean will take you to islands where you can book a Booze Cruise or a Bar Crawl Bus to supplement your on board ship experience.

If you go to the Celebrity and RCCL message boards on Cruise Critic its easy enough to do a search for the daily shipboard newsletter (called Cruise Compass on RCCL). This will tell you what kind of activities are available and when the entertainment and bars shut down. This might help you decide.

As for the age of your fellow passengers, which also seems to be a concern of yours, no one is going to have as young a crowd, on average, as Carnival. (Of course there's Disney, but that's a different kind of "Young"!) On most lines, the general rule of thumb is the longer the cruise and the more it costs, the older the average passenger.

[Queenie1975]

If you are deciding between these three cruise lines and want to enjoy a "nicer" cruise line I am assuming you mean an upgraded experience. My advise to you would be to pick the newest ship with the itinerary you want. Then get the most upgraded suite in your budget. The cabin or suite level and the service that comes along with the suites are what truly makes your trip more luxurious on the larger ships. The newer the boat the nicer the suites. But once you cruise in a suite, especially in a higher category suite. Beware you may never be able to sail any other way.

 

 

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[derek01]

I love Norwegian because of the FREESTYLE eatery,meaning they serve food around the clock,not all cruise lines are like that,now as far as a poker table,you would have to call and ask or maybe someone out here might know and definitely get a room with a balcony this way you wont feel so closed in,its great also if you guys smoke,Good luck...

[jessiecat]

We have been on P&O, Princess, RC and Celebrity. Celebrity was the biggest but least favorite.

They ran out of beer, pineapple juice, milk and straws.

We won't sail with them again.

Princess would be our most favorite for staff friendliness and food.

[MSNEmommy]

We tried it once and won't try it again. Two major problems will likely not concern most folks - we were on a norovirus cruise (The last announcement had 54 in infirmary, then they stopped "advertising" the problem) and we have food allergies in our party. The ship was beautiful and had some fun activities, but the passengers and crew and how issues were handled were horrendous.

The passengers and crew both had entitled and/or stuffy attitudes. e.g. Even when we tried to be friendly and say "hi" to our dining room staff at our table in the dining room, they could not manage a smile or pleasant reply. Despite having reported our allergy when making reservations and following up per RCCL procedure and getting a reply from RCCL indicating that they could handle dairy allergy, we were offered only steamed veggies and plain meat without sauce and never dessert in the dining room. We were told that there were only two hot items on the entire lido buffet that we could eat. These dining experiences were after we asked guest services to help us because I had eaten nothing but smoked salmon and fruit for the first day and a half on-board. The steamed veg and plain meat and the person telling us what I could eat at the buffet were my "accommodations" of dairy allergy.

DD was in the 9-11 kids club with a chronic nose-picker and the staff in the club did not require him to wash his hands after nose-picking in the club. Even when we talked to the staff after he vomited in the kids club, they told us that his parents would throw a fit if he were not allowed in the club so there was nothing they could do. So throwing a fit must be the way to get what you want? We were civil - perhaps that's our error... We had to (and did) remove our daughter from the club if we wanted a snot and vomit controlled area.

They really couldn't handle the norovirus cruise. They were squirting everyone who entered a dining area with hand sanitizer but couldn't seem to clean the rest of the ship or suggest hand-washing. While looking for something we dropped in our stateroom, we found a pair of extremely soiled but dried underwear (men's XXL and my DH wears size medium) underneath the sofa in our room. We asked the room steward to attend to it immediately, but it should never have made it from that cruise to our cruise!

I hope you don't face food allergies or a norovirus cruise. However, I can't imagine that the snobbish attitudes or lack of effective cleanliness expectations were confined to our sailing. They may not have caused such disturbing problems on other sailings, but company protocol is company protocol; so we will not try RCCL again. If the activities and casino draw you to RCCL; I recommend that you bring some food for yourself if you have food issues; wash hands after everything you touch; and don't let your kids in the kids club unless you can throw the biggest fit...

[mathdad]

Celebrity is also an older crowd.

[AZbridgebum]

If you want a nice one. .. Try Azamara.. They are a small boutique line of Royal Caribbean's.

[jsquared]

One thing that affects the average age on the cruise that I haven't seen mentioned is the length and even "location" of the cruise. In general, the longer and more exotic the cruise the higher the average age. This is just due to the "cost" of the cruise (both money and time). That being said your cruise is a lot of what you make it. My husband and I started cruising on a 10 day Princess cruise and did find that the average age was higher but we still had a great time (we were 31 &33 at the time). We've been now sailing with them for 13 years (17 cruises) and find that the 7 day Caribbean cruises have the youngest average age (especially during holiday breaks). We are gamblers and like their casino (electronic poker table) and you can earn discounts off of future cruises. The "late" nightlife doesn't seem crazy active but to be honest we spend most of our late evening in the casino. Please note that I don't drink but my husband does so we aren't nightclub people. I think they now have an all inclusive drink package but all adults in the cabin have to take it. A co-worker of mine swears by Celebrity and they enjoy drinking :). They've been with Celebrity since they were in their 40s and rave about it. I believe that she said that alcohol is now included with their cruise fare but I cannot verify. They frequently get suites and love them. I've never been on Carnival but from what I understand if you want a young partying crowd that's probably the cruise line for you. Good luck but just remember. ... being at sea is better than being at work! !!!!!!

[SteveH2508]

I love Norwegian because of the FREESTYLE eatery,meaning they serve food around the clock,not all cruise lines are like that,now as far as a poker table,you would have to call and ask or maybe someone out here might know and definitely get a room with a balcony this way you wont feel so closed in,its great also if you guys smoke,Good luck...

 

For info - you are not allowed to smoke on NCL balconies any more (since Nov 2014).