Celebrity cruisers moving to Royal Caribbean

[4774Papa]

We started cruising Celebrity in 2011 and love the line.   Because of our Elite status, we became Diamond on Royal C. and had two great cruises since 2018.

Now, when comparing comparable Celebrity and Royal C. cruises, Royal C. is almost always significantly cheaper.

 

Celebrity's adoption of Always Included had jacked up their fares and we are not always included now when planning to book Celebrity.

Yes, a few short cruises are sometimes available without AI, but they are largely Caribbean that we don't cruise anymore.   We like long cruises and Transatlantics.

 

Thank goodness Royal C. is there for us.

[Tapi]

I’ve truly enjoyed my Royal Caribbean cruises over the years. Yes, the overall experience solidly feels “mass market”, but if your goal is to sail more affordably, Royal Caribbean will be a great “downgrade” choice from Celebrity. 
 

Since you’re choosing to expand your horizons, I do encourage you to explore beyond Royal Caribbean. There are many other wonderful cruise lines out there that offer varied itineraries, and a great overall experience at competitive prices.
 

On a personal level, I stopped caring about loyalty programs once I realized that other cruise lines were treating me better as a first timer than the cruise lines I’d been loyal to for years. Now I try to make it a habit to not repeat the same cruise line twice in a row. It’s been absolutely fantastic to cruise without the shackles of loyalty programs. 

Edited June 26, 2021 by Tapi

[mek]

51 minutes ago, Tapi said:

I’ve truly enjoyed my Royal Caribbean cruises over the years. Yes, the overall experience solidly feels “mass market”, but if your goal is to sail more affordably, Royal Caribbean will be a great “downgrade” choice from Celebrity. 
 

Since you’re choosing to expand your horizons, I do encourage you to explore beyond Royal Caribbean. There are many other wonderful cruise lines out there that offer varied itineraries, and a great overall experience at competitive prices.
 

On a personal level, I stopped caring about loyalty programs once I realized that other cruise lines were treating me better as a first timer than the cruise lines I’d been loyal to for years. Now I try to make it a habit to not repeat the same cruise line twice in a row. It’s been absolutely fantastic to cruise without the shackles of loyalty programs. 

I've never cared about loyalty programs and have only made it to certain levels because I cruise frequently.  No way would I ever sail exclusively on one line - especially just to get some perks.

Edited June 26, 2021 by mek

[4774Papa]

Thanks for the tips.   We have also cruised on NCL, but their pricing went up because of price bundling with perks as well.

 

I always check for prices and itineraries on Princess and just haven't booked with them yet, since while they are clearly competitive now, Royal C. still seems to have the edge.

 

 

[broadwaybaby123]

I'm a loyalty member for both lines, who are owned by the same company.  If you like RC or Celebrity, you'll like the other.

[retired dude]

Celebrity "AI" plan has forced us back to our friends at rccl...Wish it hadn't, because celebrity is a quality cruise line, but after looking at an upcoming cruise on the "connie" that  we have booked;  and a cabin next door to us is $3100 more than what we paid  last year, we must go back to rccl. We can do two cruises with them for what one on celeb costs. With us being diamond with rccl the 3 hour happy hour is ideal, we dont us wif-fi, laundry(wife packs way too many nice clothes) we dont need the free grats as we always get plenty of obc from our TA, and we dont need the liquor package...We dont book strictly out of loyalty, we book because we enjoy the respective ship...About the only loyalty that i  have is wife and going to jeff ruby's  when we get to cincy....life is good.

[mmcgann11]

It's all about what you need, in terms of measuring cost/benefit. We're loyal RC - if all cruises through next spring go off, we'll finally hit diamond. But...booked on Celebrity Edge after our Aug. 28 trip on Oasis was cancelled (rebooked for a year later, again). As we do get the drink package/wifi and such, the total cost for Celebrity wasn't that much higher than we were used with RC. We've been on other lines, but have generally settled on RC as the right mix of value/comfort/fun for us. But we're kind of excited to try out Edge.

[DAVLIB007]

try NCL as well. their new Prima is coming out and it is a beauty. We do RCCL NCL and Carnival we are platinum on all and will become Emerald on RCCL. i think its fun to try different cruise lines as they offer different experiences 

[George C]

4 hours ago, broadwaybaby123 said:

I'm a loyalty member for both lines, who are owned by the same company.  If you like RC or Celebrity, you'll like the other.

I disagree a little both great lines, rccl is way better for entertainment, rccl also tends to have lots more children, rccl diamond perks are better than celebrity elite.  I love celebrity suite perks , pretty rare to see shorts at dinner on Celebrity, common on rccl, also prefer celebrity buffet.

[4cats4me]

We have done a few X and a few RCCL and many Princess Cruises.  We’ve enjoyed them all, for different reasons.   RCCL best entertainment, X felt more upscale/sophisticated, more of a European vibe, beautiful dining rooms, laid back, prettier ships.  Buffets on newer Princess ships are our favorite, but X comes in second, and Royal third.  

Regarding dining rooms,  X first, Princess 2nd, RCCL 3rd. 

Entertainment: RCCL first, Princess second, X third. 

Staterooms, X first, Princess second, RCCL third. 

Shopping X first, Princess 2nd, RCCL 3rd

Adult (free) pools,  X first,  RCCL 2nd, Princess 3rd

Internet: X and Princess Tied.  

Specialty Restaurants: X first, RCCL 2nd, Princess 3rd

cabin stewards.  all good 

bar service. Princess, hands down! Bar service really suffered on our last X cruise 4 years ago, since majority had all inclusive. It used to be great service.  

RCCL had decent bar service, too  

Activities: RCCL, first, Princess second, X third.  Not enough activities 

coffee bars: X first, Princess 2nd, RCCL third