Coming from RCCL and looking for change?

[crcossel]

So I just reached Diamond on RCCL and we've been talking about doing a special vacation in 2020 or 2021 for just my husband and I. What are the differences? What are your favorite ports? I'm just starting to look into this so interested in any and all advise. 

[MightyMike]

We are going the opposite direction. Our kid is a teenager now and I think he will enjoy the toys and amusements that Royal Caribbean offers.

 

I suspect the similarities will far outweigh any differences. I've heard that Celebrity has a more grown-up and sophisticated feel. You will be offered champaign upon embarkation. You won't need to check out towels using your card. Food might be a step up. Entertainment might be a step down.

 

Ports will generally be the same, although since none of Celebrity's ships are as big as Oasis-class ships, you may have access to additional smaller ports. You won't be visiting Coco Cay or Labadee. 

 

Our spring break cruise on Summit had only 58 teenagers. Royal Caribbean ships had hundreds.

 

Cabins will be similar, although I've heard Celebrity provides additional bathroom products. Both companies are investing in their existing fleets. Royal Caribbean calls this "amplified," while Celebrity calls it their "revolution."

 

Cruise Planner will be the same. Rules and policies will be the same. Suite passengers get access to special lounges, decks and dining rooms. Prices will probably be higher on Celebrity, but they will likely throw in drink packages and credits as perks. Most Celebrity passengers seem to be on beverage plans.

 

Celebrity Edge will probably be the most different since they are trying out new things there, such as infinite verandas and Eden.

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, crcossel said:

So I just reached Diamond on RCCL and we've been talking about doing a special vacation in 2020 or 2021 for just my husband and I. What are the differences? What are your favorite ports? I'm just starting to look into this so interested in any and all advise. 

Welcome aboard flute of sparkling wine during embarkation.  No inside smoking  including the casino or on balconies, no rock climbing walls, no flow rider, no ice skating rink, no QUEST. You will be elite with 0 points. Call the Captains Club at 1-800-760-0654 to verify your status is documented. No 24 hour dedicated CC HH lounge for elite and elite plus. CC HH is from 5 PM to 7 PM in the Sky Lounge except the evening of embarkation. Unlimited CC HH drinks loaded on your Seapass card (except for the first evening) to enjoy at the bars except at the World Class Bar. CC HH drinks are not excepted in the dining venues.  No buffet set up during CC HH in the Sky Lounge but servers serve petit fours along with taking drink orders. Like RC you will receive in your stateroom a full list of all elite perks for your cruise.  We enjoy cruising with both Celebrity and RC. We like the similarities and differences between the two cruise lines. 

Edited May 20, 2019 by davekathy

[George C]

I agree being given a glass of sparkling wine when you board is just a great way to start a cruise. I believe many of the ports will be the same. Entertainment is not a highlight for celebrity, rccl is way way better, not as many children on celebrity in general since they do not have the waterparks stuff that is in rccl. We do suites and celebrity are expensive but perks are way better than rccl and other lines we have cruised. Make sure you inform them of diamond status so you can get your elite perks. 

[chemmo]

Celebrity is more about rest and relaxation whereas Royal Caribbean is about action and activity...We have cruised both.

 

We find food better on Celebrity and enjoy the live music in the bars and lounges. Variety and quality of shows is better on RC.

 

There are things to do on Celebrity but there aren’t the constant announcements you get on RC, you need to look at your daily sheet.

 

Re ports of call, what part of the world are you considering?

 

We prefer the S class ships. There are 3 classes of ships on Celebrity, like RC, depending on which class you book will determine the layout, restaurants etc.

 

Hope you find a fantastic cruise.

[Luvcrusn]

We find the service  better and much more attentive on X than Royal, the food a bit better. Diamond on Royal equates to Elite on X. That will give each Elite member a choice of 90 minutes of free WIFI or 30% off of a WIFI unlimited package (minutes don't have to run consecutively so be sure to log out when done. Also there is some free laundry and dry cleaning and pressing. It's a much more laid back atmosphere and NO smoking indoors, which makes the casino much clearer for those with smoke related issues. We also prefer the S-class ships. Aqua class and suites have their own dedicated dining venues. The ships that have been revolutionized have dedicated suite areas. Generally (except for Christmas, New Years and Spring Break) there are far fewer families sailing with children on X than on Royal.

[bonsai3s]

4 hours ago, davekathy said:

Welcome aboard flute of sparkling wine during embarkation.  No inside smoking  including the casino or on balconies, no rock climbing walls, no flow rider, no ice skating rink, no QUEST. You will be elite with 0 points. Call the Captains Club at 1-800-760-0654 to verify your status is documented. No 24 hour dedicated CC HH lounge for elite and elite plus. CC HH is from 5 PM to 7 PM in the Sky Lounge except the evening of embarkation. Unlimited CC HH drinks loaded on your Seapass card (except for the first evening) to enjoy at the bars except at the World Class Bar. CC HH drinks are not excepted in the dining venues.  No buffet set up during CC HH in the Sky Lounge but servers serve petit fours along with taking drink orders. Like RC you will receive in your stateroom a full list of all elite perks for your cruise.  We enjoy cruising with both Celebrity and RC. We like the similarities and differences between the two cruise lines. 

 

davekathy...that's outstanding! you've pretty much covered everything.  We used to cruise exclusively with Celebrity then turned to RCCL because of family.  We just disembarked from the Solstice three days ago after not sailing with Celebrity for almost 10 years.  We now remember why we loved Celebrity so much.

 

We wanted to add to your list....the Elite breakfast in the Tuscan Grill from 8am to 10am was fantastic.  We would have capuccinos, cafe mochas, fruit plates, and a few bellinis.  The free bag (1 bag each), 30 pieces maximum, was nice because instead of a paper bag used by RCCL, they provide a nicer, cloth laundry bag.  Lastly, there was a noon event where all of the members of CC were invited...same as the Senior Officers event...they provided free drinks and petit fours.  Note: For that day, I may have had 2-3 bellinis for breakfast, then a few appletinis during the noon event, then a few more shots of cognac in the evening.....but whose counting? 😁

[jmrcruiser]

Loved this post and all the info as I'll be taking my first X this summer and I'm diamond on RCCL. What about robes? Do we get those on X?  

[davekathy]

3 minutes ago, jmrcruiser said:

Loved this post and all the info as I'll be taking my first X this summer and I'm diamond on RCCL. What about robes? Do we get those on X?  

Like with RC robes are upon request. 

[nyllrap]

Nice information! We are Diamond on Royal as well, and are going on our first Celebrity cruise in October - a 14 day transatlantic. We are flying to Rome, hanging out in Italy for a week, and then jumping on the Infinity. It is an older ship, I know, but we don't mind the older Royal ships so I am sure we will be fine. We have 4 Spanish ports, and then a week of sailing back to Florida. After all of the touring, rest, relaxation, and good food will be perfect. Can't wait!

[Luvcrusn]

1 hour ago, jmrcruiser said:

Loved this post and all the info as I'll be taking my first X this summer and I'm diamond on RCCL. What about robes? Do we get those on X?  

All cabins get robes. They should be in your closet on embarkation day. Concierge Class and above get a more plush terry cloth robe. Inside to veranda get a waffle weave cotton robe. 

[39august]

Better service because of ratio of staff to passengers, better food, fantastic buffet, many fewer children, older demographic, very few announcements, smoke free casino, and some very interesting presentations/lectures. We are Pinnacle on RCI and probably will only be going on Celebrity in the future. All cabins may order room service from the MDR menu when MDR is open. Cafe Al Bacio is a great place for specialty coffees. RCI does do muster drill much better and has more varied entertainment. 

[davekathy]

36 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

All cabins get robes. They should be in your closet on embarkation day. Concierge Class and above get a more plush terry cloth robe. Inside to veranda get a waffle weave cotton robe. 

I guess the stateroom attendant on our last cruise forgot ours. 👍 Good thing as we don't wear them. On past cruises when the robes were in the stateroom we had them removed. 

[George C]

I agree on entertainment but much perfer celebrity muster drill , of my approximately 20 rccl cruises only my last on on oasis was indoor and we still had to stand. My celebrity musters have been indoors , but only have cruised them 4 times. 

[RM]

We like the change. Royal has been our go to cruise line but we have done 6 trips and are planning our 7th. Definitely a bit more upscale then Royal.  Crew is about equal. Celebrity buffet has more choices then Royals. Don't go expecting a mega ship with rock walls, etc. I have enjoyed our Celebrity experience.

[mac66]

My wife and I have found the ambiance, service, food, and music venues to be better on X than RC.  They seem to cater to baby boomers more than RCI.  Been on three RC cruises since our last X cruise and we miss X.  Have one more RC cruise in Dec and then back to X in Feb.

[bonsai3s]

Just a couple of random thoughts from our Solstice Alaska cruise last week....while on the treadmill, a crew handed me a nice cold towel...what a pleasant surprise...never happened with RCCL.........also, inside the restrooms, there were rolled up cloth face towels...nice.

 

Oh, while enjoying the Elite breakfast at the Tuscan Grill, with aft floor to ceiling windows, we saw whales...I swear it was not the two bellinis.  We also decided to attend an afternoon "High Tea" in the Blu restaurant...that was just over the top with countless desserts and hors d'oeuvres (SP?) 😊

Note: Not sure if it was for being Elite or being in Aqua Class cabin, but we got a bottle of sparkling wine (Celebrity's own brand), two bottles of water, and canapes every afternoon.

[Luvcrusn]

34 minutes ago, bonsai3s said:

Just a couple of random thoughts from our Solstice Alaska cruise last week....while on the treadmill, a crew handed me a nice cold towel...what a pleasant surprise...never happened with RCCL.........also, inside the restrooms, there were rolled up cloth face towels...nice.

 

Oh, while enjoying the Elite breakfast at the Tuscan Grill, with aft floor to ceiling windows, we saw whales...I swear it was not the two bellinis.  We also decided to attend an afternoon "High Tea" in the Blu restaurant...that was just over the top with countless desserts and hors d'oeuvres (SP?) 😊

Note: Not sure if it was for being Elite or being in Aqua Class cabin, but we got a bottle of sparkling wine (Celebrity's own brand), two bottles of water, and canapes every afternoon.

The bottle of sparkling wine, water and afternoon canapes were a benefit of Aqua Class. FYI, going forward, we always trade the bottle for either a bottle of Prosecco or red that we prefer and ask for a fruit or cheese plate instead of the canapes.

[TeeRick]

On 5/19/2019 at 9:01 PM, davekathy said:

Welcome aboard flute of sparkling wine during embarkation.  No inside smoking  including the casino or on balconies, no rock climbing walls, no flow rider, no ice skating rink, no QUEST. You will be elite with 0 points. Call the Captains Club at 1-800-760-0654 to verify your status is documented. No 24 hour dedicated CC HH lounge for elite and elite plus. CC HH is from 5 PM to 7 PM in the Sky Lounge except the evening of embarkation. Unlimited CC HH drinks loaded on your Seapass card (except for the first evening) to enjoy at the bars except at the World Class Bar. CC HH drinks are not excepted in the dining venues.  No buffet set up during CC HH in the Sky Lounge but servers serve petit fours along with taking drink orders. Like RC you will receive in your stateroom a full list of all elite perks for your cruise.  We enjoy cruising with both Celebrity and RC. We like the similarities and differences between the two cruise lines. 

Agree with everybody's comments posted so far.  This one by davekathy has a lot of great information and I think highlights a key difference if you are Diamond or above on Royal vs Elite on Celebrity.  There is no true 100% dedicated space on Celebrity like the Diamond Lounge on Royal.  If you like to use the coffee machine during the day in the Diamond Lounge or if you want to arrange something with the Diamond concierge, that lounge is convenient.  Celebrity does have a Captain's Club Host/Hostess that has posted hours and location and serves as a concierge.

[helen haywood]

Just to clarify, the Sky Lounge passes hors d'oeuvres during the Happy Hour(s), not petit fours. 

[clskinsfan]

We just did our first Celebrity cruise. The biggest differences for us were the food was MUCH better on the Eclipse than any RCL cruise we have done. The trade off was that the night life was pretty much non existent on this cruise. It could have been that we were in Alaska on a ten nighter and the average age of passengers was higher than normal. Or maybe that is just how Celebrity is? We have booked a Caribbean cruise on Summit in January. And that shoudl give us a better idea of how the night life really is on Celebrity I suppose.

[Luvcrusn]

12 minutes ago, clskinsfan said:

We just did our first Celebrity cruise. The biggest differences for us were the food was MUCH better on the Eclipse than any RCL cruise we have done. The trade off was that the night life was pretty much non existent on this cruise. It could have been that we were in Alaska on a ten nighter and the average age of passengers was higher than normal. Or maybe that is just how Celebrity is? We have booked a Caribbean cruise on Summit in January. And that shoudl give us a better idea of how the night life really is on Celebrity I suppose.

The demographic on X does tend to be older than Royal. You may find a slight difference in the nightlife in January in the Caribbean, but not a big difference. X isn't known for a "rocking" nightlife, although it's not the same as you will encounter on Royal. There will be evening poolside parties, silent disco etc.

[George C]

We found the best of both worlds but it isn’t cheap, we do music charters on celebrity so we get the better food , and way better entertainment , from early afternoon to really late, Last year they had Micheal McDonald, America, B J Thomas , Foreigner etc etc. did it last two years and have it booked for next year. This was 70’s , 60’s had beach Boys etc .

[actuarian]

On 5/22/2019 at 1:27 PM, 39august said:

RCI does do muster drill much better. 

I disagree.  Many RCCL muster stations (all on some ships) are outdoors and require non-handicapped cruisers to stand, whereas all Celebrity muster stations are indoors and have (limited) seating. The seats at the Celebrity muster stations (except the stations in the main theater) often fill up 20-30 minutes before the drill starts but anyone who gets there early enough can get a seat.  This difference is especially important for cruises out of Florida ports during the warmer half of the year, when standing outdoors can be unpleasant.

[Cobeck1234]

We have also used both RCCL AND Celebrity.  Have no issue with either one but noted a couple of differences on our last RCCL.  When on Celebrity we really enjoy Cafe El Baccio.  After a few days, they pretty much know what hubby will want (I tend to mix it up) so they just bring it to him when the notice him.  Served in a cup or mug with a little biscotti.  On RCCL we stood in the que for every drink, served in a throw away cup.   On Celebrity it seems our room attendant was often in the walk way and ran ahead to open our door for us.  We didn’t see our RCCL attendant except on the first day.  Everything was always taken care of.  Again, not a bad thing or something to make me not sail RCCL, just the observation.  Any day on a cruise beats a day at the office!