Which is better deal Royal Caribbean which is less expensive but with fewer perks or Celebrity which are more expensive but

[Richie9144]

Does anyone have an opinion on which is 

[ColeThornton]

There isn't enough information provided here to give an informed opinion but I would actually ask (with more info) on the related cruise line forums.

[mom says]

No idea. Are they the same itinerary? Are the ships similar in size and amenities?  Are they equivalent cabins? What is the price difference? 

[bonsai3s]

welcome to Cruise Critic.

A lot of variables, but we love both Celebrity and Royal...so here's just one opinion.

 

Depends on how important the included perks are to you.  For example, if one of the perks includes the drink/alcoholic package...is this important to you?  Do you drink a lot?  It used to be important to us, but with age and medical reasons, alcohol is no longer important to us.

Wifi...if this is one of the perks included, how important is this to you? 

 

The advantage of sailing with Royal would be: having the choice to add and pay for perks that you only want.  With Celebrity, you may be paying for perks you may not want or need.  Up to you.

 

Outside of perks, you may already know that Celebrity and Royal "aim to please" two different types of customers.  Celebrity: less children, better food, a bit more elegant, quieter....Royal: lots of entertainment, family oriented, and the massive ships with all the bells and whistles.

[sanger727]

I really depends on what the price difference is. I look at it is what is the cost difference and are the perks worth that cost to me. If I can get free grauities, wifi, and beverage package on Celebrity; to me that is probably worth around $50 pp per day. It's clearly worth more than that objectively, but that's what I would be willing to pay extra to get it. 

[sparks1093]

What you need to figure out is how much the perks you receive on Celebrity would cost you on Royal and then add those costs to Royal's price to see how close they truly are. This is presupposing that what Celebrity is offering actually has value to you and that you would buy that perk on Royal. For instance, we normally don't buy a drink package so we would need to use our drink budget as a guide instead of the cost of the package. 

 

[Roz]

On 2/4/2021 at 11:53 AM, bonsai3s said:

Depends on how important the included perks are to you.  

 

This.

[shipgeeks]

For us, it would be an easy decision.  We rarely drink, and hardly ever want to use wi-fi.  So the higher X price is not worth it in the least.  (Additionally, we are less likely to enjoy the ambience of a cruise in which people are "getting the greatest value from drink availability", and spending more time on their devices.  But that's a separate matter.)

IMO, it would be nice if all cruiselines included gratuities in the basic price all the time.  But I understand that none of them can start that unless all the others do, as well.

[EatonDoolittle]

 Bonsai's post says it - what is most important to you?

Which demographic that they (mainly) target are you?

Nobody here can make your decision.

It's sort of like a sign I saw once in a tattoo shop:

 

"Cheap, Good, Fast 

Pick one". 

 

 

 

 

[richstowe]

On 2/4/2021 at 12:53 PM, bonsai3s said:

Depends on how important the included perks are to you. 

We calculate the perks with tips and any OBC being valued at their full value . Drinks at about $30 a day on Celebrity . (On NCL it is barely worth anything as their drink package doesn't include bottled water , premium coffee and they have the nerve to add on about $20 charge PP.) Finally the wi-fi is worth 10 PP to us .

[OBX-Cruisers]

On 2/4/2021 at 12:53 PM, bonsai3s said:

welcome to Cruise Critic.

A lot of variables, but we love both Celebrity and Royal...so here's just one opinion.

 

Depends on how important the included perks are to you.  For example, if one of the perks includes the drink/alcoholic package...is this important to you?  Do you drink a lot?  It used to be important to us, but with age and medical reasons, alcohol is no longer important to us.

Wifi...if this is one of the perks included, how important is this to you? 

 

The advantage of sailing with Royal would be: having the choice to add and pay for perks that you only want.  With Celebrity, you may be paying for perks you may not want or need.  Up to you.

 

Outside of perks, you may already know that Celebrity and Royal "aim to please" two different types of customers.  Celebrity: less children, better food, a bit more elegant, quieter....Royal: lots of entertainment, family oriented, and the massive ships with all the bells and whistles.

We love both Celebrity and Royal but found that the Diamond perks we get on Royal are all that we need and that makes the cruise price very, very reasonable.  The problem I foresee on Celebrity with All inclusive perks for everyone is that the crew will be so overworked tht the lines at the venues will be onerous and service will plummet from its current state of elegance to become substandard.

Will have to wait to see if they can overcome the new challenges resulting from their perk policies.

[GUT2407]

Only you can decide what a perk is worth to you. For example as a non drinker I give little value to that perk. Free flights (not an issue here) no use as Mrs Gut is not allowed to fly. Shore tours, have done one in years. OBC is OK as Mrs G likes to spend.

 

‘’Someone else will apply totally different values.

 

having said all that I prefer Celebrity to Royal, just a better fit.

[dkjretired]

Also may depend on whether you want an amusement park on board or not.

 

also, to the person who said they don’t drink, the drink package covers sodas and waters.  The perks also include internet, tips and on board credit in the package.

[shipgeeks]

5 hours ago, dkjretired said:

 

 

also, to the person who said they don’t drink, the drink package covers sodas and waters.  The perks also include internet, tips and on board credit in the package.

Some of us don't ever drink sodas or bottled water either.  Some of us don't ever care to use internet.

[dkjretired]

14 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Some of us don't ever drink sodas or bottled water either.  Some of us don't ever care to use internet.

 

Good for you, I was only passing that on as information on this board.  

[sparks1093]

21 hours ago, dkjretired said:

Also may depend on whether you want an amusement park on board or not.

 

also, to the person who said they don’t drink, the drink package covers sodas and waters.  The perks also include internet, tips and on board credit in the package.

Yes, the drink package does cover that (and specialty coffees) but one still needs to figure out how much that is worth to them as a total value. If Celebrity is $1,000 more and someone knows they will only drink $200 of soda/water/specialty coffee then Celebrity is still $800 more with the included perks. Then the question becomes is Celebrity worth $800 more than Royal and everyone will answer that question differently. 

[Joebucks]

It is a question with a subjective answer. For one person, Royal is the better choice. For another, Celebrity. It depends on what type of experience you are looking for.

 

Unfortunately, to many, the center of their vacation universe is drink packages. While alcohol can be an important factor to consider, there is soooo much more. Itinerary, ship amenities, demographics, dining options, entertainment options, price, etc etc.

[dkjretired]

On 2/15/2021 at 7:45 AM, sparks1093 said:

Yes, the drink package does cover that (and specialty coffees) but one still needs to figure out how much that is worth to them as a total value. If Celebrity is $1,000 more and someone knows they will only drink $200 of soda/water/specialty coffee then Celebrity is still $800 more with the included perks. Then the question becomes is Celebrity worth $800 more than Royal and everyone will answer that question differently. 

Correct and what you say is not uncommon.

[nolatravelgirl]

It isn't just about cost difference but also what is it you want out of a vacation. Does the destination appeal to you? How about the ship's amenities? If I am going to the Mediterranean I am less interested in onboard entertainment and more interested in whether the ship is docking at places I would like to go. On the flip side we did a Disney cruise last NYE and I really didn't care where we went as our main goal was to enjoy the ships entertainment, activities and characters. When considering Celebrity verses Royal then one caters more to kids than the other. Are you traveling with kids who want/need all the kid centered activities?