Questions on Celebrity from a mainly RCCI Cruiser

[MMOMOM]

We have sailed on other lines, but usually it's a 'great deal, good timing, last minute thing' and always had a good time. How can you not when you're cruising, right?! :) But, to this point, our favorite line is RCCI. However, we have always wanted to try Celebrity and have some questions. I've also posted on the Royal Forum for those who have sailed both lines to see what they might have to say. We are Diamond level on Royal, not that 'levels' mean that much to us, but hey, the perks are good! I understand that means we would be Elite if we sailed on Celebrity for whatever perks that has. We are looking right now at the Solstice Class ships and the Equinox and Reflection sound very nice. We are also interested in a Southern Caribbean cruise. Most seem to leave from San Juan, which we've done before many years ago on the Adventure of the Seas. But, I see that some do leave from Miami or FLL. They are a little more in cost, but it would probably work out the same if you consider flights to Puerto Rico and hotels. And, lastly it would be nice to see some different ports. I'm a little confused on the cabins. We always book a Junior Suite on Royal and whatever we feel is comparable when sailing on other lines. I've been looking and it seems the Sky Suite might be good, but I wonder what the difference is between a Sky Suite 1 and a Sky Suite 2 when booking. The size seems the same, but the price is a little more for one than the other. Any advice or information on any of this would be greatly appreciated. Thanx in advance! :)

[jelayne]

The difference between S2 & S1 is primarily location. S1s are on the aft corners and have a slightly different layout and a large round window in addition to the door to the veranda.

 

You didn't mention what you particularly like about Royal so I can't make a comparison. We have sailed Royal 7 or 8 times. We prefer Celebrity, quieter ( no announcements), very restricted smoking policy, prefer the food and feel service is a bit better. Normally fewer children. On the other hand we think Royal has better shows and miss the mini golf.

[MMOMOM]

The difference between S2 & S1 is primarily location. S1s are on the aft corners and have a slightly different layout and a large round window in addition to the door to the veranda.

 

You didn't mention what you particularly like about Royal so I can't make a comparison. We have sailed Royal 7 or 8 times. We prefer Celebrity, quieter ( no announcements), very restricted smoking policy, prefer the food and feel service is a bit better. Normally fewer children. On the other hand we think Royal has better shows and miss the mini golf.

 

Thanx! Hmmm .... what do I like about Royal? LOL!! Well, first of all, other than the 'exploratory' to see if we even liked cruising years ago on the Carnival Imagination 4 nighter, our next cruise we really considered our first was The Adventure of the Seas Southern Caribbean out of Puerto Rico. We were just blown away with everything ... the ship, the service, the ports, the food and entertainment. We just liked it. After that we stayed with Royal and cruised both the Freedom Class and Oasis Class ships. We don't necessarily need the 'Wow' factor people talk about, but we like the JS, the extra room and double points and just I guess the 'feel' of the line. We always seem to get really good service. We've been on HAL once, the Eurodam and absolutely loved that! It was a last minute sale we took advantage of and we loved the food, service, etc. Carnival is not our favorite at all, but we did sail the Freedom a few years ago when the sailing coincided with a week we were booked in FL making a two week vacation instead of one. But, we wouldn't go looking to book Carnival again. We took another last minute sale on NCL's Epic and didn't like that one at all and probably would not book that line again. My husband really likes the shows on Royal too. Regarding the S1 and the S2, I'm assuming the corner aft is the more expensive, I can't remember now when I had the site up, but we're not huge on the aft thing. We like the hump pn Royal. Do you know if the Sky Suite has any perks? Someone said it didn't qualify for some suite perks ... I'm assuming maybe like the JS doesn't qualify for some things? Appreciate your input.

[gkm]

Also, the Sky Suites have butlers. You'll enjoy having afternoon tea/coffee with snacks. It's a nice perk.

 

Garry

[Poodleleena]

We like the S2 suite on Celebrity and like the location of our canons on upcoming cruises just a bit behind middle. For perks, we like the capuccino espresso service though if you have a drinks package it is moot. The perk that really convinced us to upgrade to suite is the new restaurant S2 is eligible. S2 is not eligible for Michaels club. I think Celebrity suite and higher and Zenith cc members. I think MDR is fine and usually have a veranda cabin when traveling with family. However, I am looking forward to the service in Luminae because we loved Blu when we had the opportunity to try last year. We could go anytime though we tended to still go at 6 and service was quicker. My daughters love RCCL best but also enjoy Celebrity when they are with us. What's not to like? It's cruising.

 

 

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[MMOMOM]

We like the S2 suite on Celebrity and like the location of our canons on upcoming cruises just a bit behind middle. For perks, we like the capuccino espresso service though if you have a drinks package it is moot. The perk that really convinced us to upgrade to suite is the new restaurant S2 is eligible. S2 is not eligible for Michaels club. I think Celebrity suite and higher and Zenith cc members. I think MDR is fine and usually have a veranda cabin when traveling with family. However, I am looking forward to the service in Luminae because we loved Blu when we had the opportunity to try last year. We could go anytime though we tended to still go at 6 and service was quicker. My daughters love RCCL best but also enjoy Celebrity when they are with us. What's not to like? It's cruising.

 

 

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This is all sounding great to us! We're not big on the aft thing like so many others, so I guess the S2 would be what we would want. Love having cappuccino too! We're not huge drinkers, so we don't usually do the drink package ... another reason hubby loves the 'cocktail' thing before dinner being Diamond, LOL!! So, are you saying that even Sky Suites have access to Blu? Somewhere I thought that was only for Aqua Suites. But, like I said, I'm not familiar with their cabin categories. And Garry .... yes, afternoon coffee/tea and snacks sounds like a nice perk too! Right now we're booked on the Allure in May for a Med cruise .... but I'm looking right now for next year and thinking I may pay extra attention to some of the Celebrity sales! Thanx all! :)

[Caribbean Chris]

Regarding the S1 and the S2, I'm assuming the corner aft is the more expensive, I can't remember now when I had the site up, but we're not huge on the aft thing. We like the hump pn Royal. Do you know if the Sky Suite has any perks? Someone said it didn't qualify for some suite perks ... I'm assuming maybe like the JS doesn't qualify for some things? Appreciate your input.

 

Yes, your assumption correct that S1 is more expensive than the S2 Sky Suite.

 

Not all S1 rooms are corner aft - If you like the hump, Reflection has hump S1 Sky Suites, (originally known as Aqua Suites) with full size whirlpool tubs and Hansgrohe shower panel fixtures that presumably stay even though their name is changing to "Sky." Look at Deck 12 to see the S1 and S2 locations that are not aft.

 

There are many great perks for Sky suite guests on Celebrity including the new Luminae dining room starting next month, butler service, one or two free specialty restaurant dinners, priority embark/debark/tender, afternoon tea, cappucino, etc...but no Michael's Club lounge access or liquor/unlimited specialty dining type benefits coming for the higher level suites.

[jonesdee]

I didn't mean to confuse Blu for Aqua class guests with Luminae for Suite guests. I'm just assuming the great service will be similar.

[MMOMOM]

Yes, your assumption correct that S1 is more expensive than the S2 Sky Suite.

 

Not all S1 rooms are corner aft - If you like the hump, Reflection has hump S1 Sky Suites, (originally known as Aqua Suites) with full size whirlpool tubs and Hansgrohe shower panel fixtures that presumably stay even though their name is changing to "Sky." Look at Deck 12 to see the S1 and S2 locations that are not aft.

 

There are many great perks for Sky suite guests on Celebrity including the new Luminae dining room starting next month, butler service, one or two free specialty restaurant dinners, priority embark/debark/tender, afternoon tea, cappucino, etc...but no Michael's Club lounge access or liquor/unlimited specialty dining type benefits coming for the higher level suites.

 

Thanx .... this is all great info .... I think I see a Celebrity Cruise in our future! :) Been playing online all day looking .... and enjoying every minute of it! What's your favorite Celebrity Ship?

[Caribbean Chris]

My favorite is probably the next one I'm going to sail on.

 

Kind of depends on whether you like mid-size ships with a sort of ocean liner ambiance (like M class ships such as Constellation) offering some nice features like the bubbling, warm adults-only Thalassatherapy (sp?) pool...and a lounge for dancing music off the main dining room.

 

...or bigger, trendier ships with Euro-resort ambiance - dramatic architecture and open atriums, more & varied specialty restaurants, great theatrical showroom technology, and newer staterooms (like the Solstice Class ships.)

 

It's all good.

[wallie5446]

Our first RCCL was in 1990, Celebrity in 1994, we made Elite before Diamond.

Mariner in '07, Freedom in '11. Reflection in '13, Equinox in '14 and booked on the Equinox again this yr. The Reflection is our favorite ship over 25 yrs and 7 lines.

 

Both lines have wonderful reasons to sail them, Celebrity is our line of choice when all things line up.

 

Cabin choice, personal preference. We prefer to cruise in an Aft cabin, but have more sailings on the hump. The so called 'perks' of a JS or S1 or 2 are not a large enought priority for us to pay the difference.

 

Celebrity is like finally getting to move to the grown up table at a family dinner.

The food is better on Celebrity, yet Chops is our favorite, & shows better on RCCL. The fellow pax are more in the 50-60 age range with many less kids on Celebrity.

[MMOMOM]

My favorite is probably the next one I'm going to sail on.

 

Kind of depends on whether you like mid-size ships with a sort of ocean liner ambiance (like M class ships such as Constellation) offering some nice features like the bubbling, warm adults-only Thalassatherapy (sp?) pool...and a lounge for dancing music off the main dining room.

 

...or bigger, trendier ships with Euro-resort ambiance - dramatic architecture and open atriums, more & varied specialty restaurants, great theatrical showroom technology, and newer staterooms (like the Solstice Class ships.)

 

It's all good.

 

I hear ya!! People ask me which Hawaiian Island I like best (we try to go every year to celebrate our anniversary) and I feel like what you said because I always say .... my favorite island is whatever island I'm on at the time! :) Same goes for ships I guess. We've liked all we've sailed on Royal ... Voyager Class, Freedom and Oasis Class ... but we really liked the Eurodam on HAL too .... a totally different atmosphere! You're right .... it's all good ... it's a cruise! :)

[MMOMOM]

This is all great and I appreciate everyone's feedback. I'm thinking next cruise will be on Celebrity! Now to find the right ship, itinerary, time, cabin and price! I know it will be a great time .... but really have enjoyed the feedback and think I have a feel for what we're looking for. I'll let you know! Thanx again! :)

[MicCanberra]

S class is my favourite but like mentioned the M class are not bad either but have good and bad design features. It all comes down to someone's preferences.:D

[ClaudiaB]

We have never sailed on RCCL but we have taken many 10-14 night Caribbean cruises on Equinox and Eclipse, both S class ships. We love the eastern Caribbean with its lovely ports the best. Great cruise, beautiful ship.

We typically like the S1 corner aft cabins. We do like the aft location BECAUSE it's a fairly long walk to any stairs or elevator. It's private, the view is great, and it's very quiet. And we know we can use the extra walk!

 

What perks do we like? We are very independent but we do like to get the butler to do some things for us on occasion. On our transatlantic last fall we met some lovely people and had a fairly impromptu "cocktail party" in our suite that he set up. We were out of the room for about 2 hours and when we got back he had set up the room beautifully and had glasses, a special table with shrimp and cheese and crackers, fruit and nuts and some fresh flowers. It was great and our friends had a great time.

We like having a full breakfast in our room on every port day so we don't have to go back and forth before heading out. We love the view leaving port from the aft location. We like that more than the view heading out because there is something to see.

The extra space is great, but you know that already.

You will get two free specialty restaurant dinners on a two week cruise - one on a 1-week. After April your dining room will be the new suite restaurant Luminae. That in itself is reason enough to book.

Our last 6 cruises have been in sky suites and we have eaten in Blu every single time, if we weren't in a specialty. We haven't stepped foot in the Main Dining Room. No problem eating in Blu and we love it better, it's quieter and you can go anytime. No charge, and we never ever felt like we were displacing Aqua pax because there were always empty tables. It's particularly great for breakfast.

A suite combined with your Elite benefits are really nice. We go up to the Sky Lounge on deck 14 for the cocktail hour and meet people and have a great time. We look forward to that. The free internet minutes are wonderful for my husband who has to stay connected with his business - if he couldn't, we wouldn't be able to cruise. Two bags of laundry is great too.

I can't think of a negative. The S class ships never feel crowded and we love the relaxed laid-back atmosphere and lack of rah rah, busy busy.

Whichever one you choose, have a wonderful cruise.

[alcpa1]

Here are a few more thoughts....

When you book your X (Celebrity emblem from the old Chandris days) cruise, contact the Captain's Club to get your X number. This will provide several additions to your experience. You will automatically be included in Captain's Club events. You will begin accumulating points from your first sailing. You will be automatically given Elite status along with its benefits. You will receive a page of coupons in your cabin for both of you. That will include internet minutes, laundry, casino freebies etc. You will get more internet minutes on the X than RCI as Diamond. The Captain's Club has a designated staff member who will be far more present on your cruise than on any RCI sailing we have been on lately. He/She is an ombudsman for the members.

In the near future the southern Caribbean cruises from San Juan are on the Summit. It's an M (Millennium) class ship.

There are a couple of sailings from south Florida on S (Solstice) class ships to both eastern and western Caribbean ports and Mexico. Some are weekly sailings and some are 10-11 days for the southern itineraries.

Any suite passenger can dine in Blu on a space available basis. The new suite restaurant, Luminae will be open fleet wide in the next three months. According to all the hype the cuisine is to be a step or steps above the MDR. Any choice on Celebrity is far better than on our last RCI sailing in November. The food, other than Chops, was a big disappointment from the RCI of old. The ambiance is a lot better too. Some of the specialty restaurants on X are traditional and some are funky like Q'sine which I love.

The Michael's Club that has been mentioned began its life as a small intimate bar with piano entertainment at night and will morph into a private area for the full suites and frequent cruisers in the Zenith category. It was also used as a small meeting room and even a couple of Meet and Mingles for our Roll Call groups.

One of the big draws of Celebrity is its smoking policy. Smoking is severely limited to two or three outdoor areas. There is no smoking within the hull whatsoever.

If access is important note that the smaller M class ships actually have three elevator lobbies while the larger S class have only two.

I hope this has helped intrigue you even more. It's time for a change!!!

[MicCanberra]

We recently tried RCI after becoming Elite with X, I still prefer X as they seem to cater for my needs better than what RCI did though. That said, I think you will find X to your liking unless you like things like Ice rinks, rockwalls, flow riders and such.:D

[MMOMOM]

We have never sailed on RCCL but we have taken many 10-14 night Caribbean cruises on Equinox and Eclipse, both S class ships. We love the eastern Caribbean with its lovely ports the best. Great cruise, beautiful ship.

We typically like the S1 corner aft cabins. We do like the aft location BECAUSE it's a fairly long walk to any stairs or elevator. It's private, the view is great, and it's very quiet. And we know we can use the extra walk!

 

What perks do we like? We are very independent but we do like to get the butler to do some things for us on occasion. On our transatlantic last fall we met some lovely people and had a fairly impromptu "cocktail party" in our suite that he set up. We were out of the room for about 2 hours and when we got back he had set up the room beautifully and had glasses, a special table with shrimp and cheese and crackers, fruit and nuts and some fresh flowers. It was great and our friends had a great time.

We like having a full breakfast in our room on every port day so we don't have to go back and forth before heading out. We love the view leaving port from the aft location. We like that more than the view heading out because there is something to see.

The extra space is great, but you know that already.

You will get two free specialty restaurant dinners on a two week cruise - one on a 1-week. After April your dining room will be the new suite restaurant Luminae. That in itself is reason enough to book.

Our last 6 cruises have been in sky suites and we have eaten in Blu every single time, if we weren't in a specialty. We haven't stepped foot in the Main Dining Room. No problem eating in Blu and we love it better, it's quieter and you can go anytime. No charge, and we never ever felt like we were displacing Aqua pax because there were always empty tables. It's particularly great for breakfast.

A suite combined with your Elite benefits are really nice. We go up to the Sky Lounge on deck 14 for the cocktail hour and meet people and have a great time. We look forward to that. The free internet minutes are wonderful for my husband who has to stay connected with his business - if he couldn't, we wouldn't be able to cruise. Two bags of laundry is great too.

I can't think of a negative. The S class ships never feel crowded and we love the relaxed laid-back atmosphere and lack of rah rah, busy busy.

Whichever one you choose, have a wonderful cruise.

 

Thank you so much for the information ... it all sounds great! I am definitely looking for a Celebrity cruise for our next one! All the comments so far on both this forum and Royal say pretty much the same .... Celebrity is a great line! We're looking forward to sailing! I'll let everyone know when we book and how it was when we return! Thanx again!

[MMOMOM]

Here are a few more thoughts....

When you book your X (Celebrity emblem from the old Chandris days) cruise, contact the Captain's Club to get your X number. This will provide several additions to your experience. You will automatically be included in Captain's Club events. You will begin accumulating points from your first sailing. You will be automatically given Elite status along with its benefits. You will receive a page of coupons in your cabin for both of you. That will include internet minutes, laundry, casino freebies etc. You will get more internet minutes on the X than RCI as Diamond. The Captain's Club has a designated staff member who will be far more present on your cruise than on any RCI sailing we have been on lately. He/She is an ombudsman for the members.

In the near future the southern Caribbean cruises from San Juan are on the Summit. It's an M (Millennium) class ship.

There are a couple of sailings from south Florida on S (Solstice) class ships to both eastern and western Caribbean ports and Mexico. Some are weekly sailings and some are 10-11 days for the southern itineraries.

Any suite passenger can dine in Blu on a space available basis. The new suite restaurant, Luminae will be open fleet wide in the next three months. According to all the hype the cuisine is to be a step or steps above the MDR. Any choice on Celebrity is far better than on our last RCI sailing in November. The food, other than Chops, was a big disappointment from the RCI of old. The ambiance is a lot better too. Some of the specialty restaurants on X are traditional and some are funky like Q'sine which I love.

The Michael's Club that has been mentioned began its life as a small intimate bar with piano entertainment at night and will morph into a private area for the full suites and frequent cruisers in the Zenith category. It was also used as a small meeting room and even a couple of Meet and Mingles for our Roll Call groups.

One of the big draws of Celebrity is its smoking policy. Smoking is severely limited to two or three outdoor areas. There is no smoking within the hull whatsoever.

If access is important note that the smaller M class ships actually have three elevator lobbies while the larger S class have only two.

I hope this has helped intrigue you even more. It's time for a change!!!

 

Oh I am indeed 'intrigued'!! LOL!! Definitely looking for a Celebrity Cruise that will work for us for our next trip! We are on the Allure in May in the Med and we take a land vacation to Kauai in October, so I'm thinking either next Jan/Feb/Mar or who knows, if the price, dates, etc. work, maybe even sometime between May and October .. who knows!?! We are really liking all we are reading from both this forum and Royal as well .... I don't know why we've waited so long to try Celebrity! I actually have joined the Captain's Club already and got a number right away for both my husband and myself and we were also very pleased to see they put us as 'Elite' right away! And here I thought it would be a hassle to cross over like that! Liking their style already, LOL!! I'll let you all know what we do and how it goes .... thanx again for taking the time to respond and post all this great information! Appreciate it! :)

[MMOMOM]

We recently tried RCI after becoming Elite with X, I still prefer X as they seem to cater for my needs better than what RCI did though. That said, I think you will find X to your liking unless you like things like Ice rinks, rockwalls, flow riders and such.:D

 

LOL!! All those things are fun to watch, but not exactly on our list of 'must haves' when cruising! I think we will like X as well! Thanx for the comment! :)

[MicCanberra]

I am sure you will love it. Enjoy.:D

[heathermk57]

Hello. :)

Until last year all our cruises had been with Royal Caribbean and we absolutely loved each one. Then they began making subtle changes - big screens on deck, Shrek characters with breakfast (!), waiters pleading with you to give them excellent ratings or they would be disciplined. We decided that we were no longer the target customers for Royal as we had no desire for any of the above.

 

So, we tried Celebrity in October - like yourselves as Elite members due to our Diamond status with Royal Caribbean. How glad we were that we made that move - we found Celebrity to be pretty much everything that we loved about Royal Caribbean before the changes, but with better loyalty benefits.

 

We're taking our second Celebrity cruise in May, just a 2-night one but hey a cruise is a cruise! :) Can't imagine going back to Royal to be honest, I just think they are catering more for families and less for those of us who want a cruise to be a relaxing experience.

 

Enjoy your next cruising adventure, whichever line you choose. :):)

[MMOMOM]

Hello. :)

Until last year all our cruises had been with Royal Caribbean and we absolutely loved each one. Then they began making subtle changes - big screens on deck, Shrek characters with breakfast (!), waiters pleading with you to give them excellent ratings or they would be disciplined. We decided that we were no longer the target customers for Royal as we had no desire for any of the above.

 

So, we tried Celebrity in October - like yourselves as Elite members due to our Diamond status with Royal Caribbean. How glad we were that we made that move - we found Celebrity to be pretty much everything that we loved about Royal Caribbean before the changes, but with better loyalty benefits.

 

We're taking our second Celebrity cruise in May, just a 2-night one but hey a cruise is a cruise! :) Can't imagine going back to Royal to be honest, I just think they are catering more for families and less for those of us who want a cruise to be a relaxing experience.

 

Enjoy your next cruising adventure, whichever line you choose. :):)

 

Totally get all you are saying! We're still looking forward to boarding the Allure in May, but also REALLY looking forward to trying Celebrity! :) Enjoy your 2 night cruise .... doesn't matter how long it is, it's still a great 'Get Away'!! Happy Sailing! :)

[MicCanberra]

Totally get all you are saying! We're still looking forward to boarding the Allure in May, but also REALLY looking forward to trying Celebrity! :) Enjoy your 2 night cruise .... doesn't matter how long it is, it's still a great 'Get Away'!! Happy Sailing! :)

 

Agreed, X will suit you if you feel like heathermk57.

And any cruise is better than no cruise.:D

[MMOMOM]

Agreed, X will suit you if you feel like heathermk57.

And any cruise is better than no cruise.:D

 

Thanx! Couple of more questions!! Got so excited here reading all this great stuff about Celebrity, I tried to see if we could 'slip in a quick cruise' reasonable between our Allure in May and our land trip to Kauai in October, but see that most of the ships stop going to the Caribbean after April, going other places ... :( Oh well ... guess we'll just have to wait and stick with the plan to go next year! So, I'm seriously looking. Anyway, since we are more 'used to' the larger ships we were thinking we'd really like the Reflection, Equinox or Eclipse .... but unless we do something more than 7 days, we're not crazy about the itinerary. The 7 Day Itineraries we really like are the Southern Caribbean and those are mostly on the Summit. So, question is .... which class to you like better, M or S and why? They both seem very nice and the Summit isn't THAT much smaller than those of the S class! Also, second question .... I've read that when in a Sky Suite you get a bottle of Sparkling Wine, a very nice touch. But, just wondering ... My husband drinks, but I don't, however I LOVE the Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Wine .... do they have it and would it be possible to request that instead? Hope that doesn't sound silly and/or be asking too much, but I would just love it! :) LOL! Thanx again!