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Celebrity or RCI

Cruisin Around

By Cruisin Around,
in Bermuda

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Cruisin Around

Cruisin Around

Posted
Posted

HeyEveryone!

Can you give me your opinions on which is the best line to go on for Bermuda - Celebrity or RCI? I've been on both lines and like them both a whole lot. I'm near the east coast and I can leave from either Philly or Cape Liberty. Both seem to have the same itinerary, 3 days in Hamilton and 2 in St. George.

Anyone like one over the other? Is one ship better than the other? Zenith Vs. Empress of the Seas?

Thoughts?

Thanks!

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jamiski

jamiski

Posted
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Hey Gina,

 

I have been on Zenith to Bermuda 2 times. My mother and I fell in love with the ship, it has so much charm and excellent staff.

 

Some one can correct me if I am wrong, but I know the Zenith docks practically on Main Street in both ports. Usually RCI docks farther away. I do not know about the Empress.

 

I would go with the Zenith.

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Cruisin Around

Cruisin Around

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Thanks for your input! I look forward to hearing from others. I do have sort of a second part to this question. I LOVE sea days so I never have any problem sailing from the east coast. It usually takes us 2 full days to get to the Caribbean. My husband really wants to go to Bermuda and that's fine with me, but does anyone get the feeling when they're on a cruise like this that it's more of a resort vacation than a cruise since we're docked so many days? I was just wondering what others thought about this. Don't get me wrong- I love the ports too so my husband's not twisting my arm but I was just wondering that!

Thanks!

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Jeanne S

Jeanne S

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It is unlikely you would confuse being berthed in Bermuda with being at a resort. Go with Celebrity. The only thing RCCL has going for it is the Rock Climbing wall and unless you are in a suite on the Empress, your cabin is a closet.

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franma

franma

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We have sailed X and RCCL as well. Not familiar with Zenith, but a lot of people really like it. We chose to go on Empress of the Seas mainly because of the convenience of leaving from Philly. We actually were on her in '99 from NYC to Bermuda ( was called Nordic Empress then). Have been on much bigger ships since so I'm sure it will seem small and the cabins are tiny. But - reviews have been good and I remember it being a very pretty ship. Bermuda is lovely - a pretty little island with friendly people. It's still a cruise with all the amenities so no problem, and you should still enjoy the ship even when docked.

BTW - Nordic Empress docks, doesn't tender.

Choose according to budget and timing - both would be fine I would think.

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Jeepers385

Jeepers385

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We've been to Bermuda several times by cruising and we've never felt like it was a resort vacation. We've sailed RCCL several times and will again in May on the Empress and love the ship and the crew. Have never sailed Celebrity but have heard good things about the line. As for docking RCCL used to dock at Kings Wharf and Hamilton but for this season will be going to St. Georges and Hamilton which will be right down town.

Have a good trip whichever one you decide.

Debbie

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riandei

riandei

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We too debated the different ports of departure ... we live so close to philly (6 miles) but opted for the Bayonne departure as we are in a regular outside cabin and the size difference was considerable ... I belive that rccl was 120 sq feet vs X 175 sq feet ... this is only around 6 foot of space ... but hey thats alot in a small room ... also ... we have been on both cruise lines and prefer X.

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coach_anne

coach_anne

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will be cruising to bermuda out of new jersey in june on the explorer. we did a land vacation last august to bermuda and loved the place. this will be our first voyager class ship AND we have and OWNERS SUITE. so much to look forward to!!!!

 

 

Which sailing? Our son's getting married onboard (in port) on 6/11, then we and our DIL's folks are coming along for the honeymoon cruise. Bride&groom have a GS, we "settled" for a JS; we're close to several OS's so we may be neighbors -- if you're on the same sailing. If you are, be sure to see our Roll Call thread.

We've not been on Explorer yet, but recently had a wonderful cruise aboard her sister Navigator OS, and previously Adventure OS -- both wonderful, beautiful, amazing ships!

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Keith1010 "Live from...." Rare

Keith1010

Posted
Posted
Thanks for your input! I look forward to hearing from others. I do have sort of a second part to this question. I LOVE sea days so I never have any problem sailing from the east coast. It usually takes us 2 full days to get to the Caribbean. My husband really wants to go to Bermuda and that's fine with me, but does anyone get the feeling when they're on a cruise like this that it's more of a resort vacation than a cruise since we're docked so many days? I was just wondering what others thought about this. Don't get me wrong- I love the ports too so my husband's not twisting my arm but I was just wondering that!

Thanks!

 

I've cruised to Bermuda twice with Celebrity and have been to Bermuda a few other times as well. I would highly recommend Celebrity.

 

Now to your question. For the days you are in port, in many ways it is like using the ship as a hotel. While the ship is in port, people tend to go off the ship in the evenings to enjoy Bermuda and things like the casinos are closed.

 

With that said you will have the days at sea getting to and from Bermuda so you'll have a nice combination of see and port days. And, by being at port for a few days in Bermuda it provides plenty of time to do what you want to do without the pressure of getting on and off the ship as you find when you are only in port for part of the day.

 

We thoroughly enjoy Bermuda and also thoroughly enjoy cruising so what a great combination for this cruise.

 

Keith

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coach_anne

coach_anne

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we are on the june 25th sailing. congrtulations on your son's upcoming nuptials. how nice that your son invited you on his honeymoon:D . i have 3 sons i will remember this:D

 

Oh well, guess we won't be neighbors, then.

There are limits to our joining their honeymoon... when we were booking cabins, he said he didn't care where on the ship we booked, as long as it was not adjacent to their cabin! :p

Actually, they're not considering this cruise their honeymoon... more a continuation of the wedding festivities. Honeymoon will be later, and we are most definitely not invited. ;)

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kevinandrenay

kevinandrenay

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We have been on 6 cruises now and all but 1 have been on RCI. The other on X. Being in our mid 30's we like RCI alot. In my opinion Celebrity seems as if it is geared towards the older crowd ( not that there is anything wrong with that ). The shows: They had a few good ones but most of them were below average. One night had a piano player playing classical music and another night a singer that many people got up and left early. I am not sure if we went on a cruise and just had bad luck with the acts they booked or not. I hear the acts can be booked on all ships and on all cruise lines. The decor was kind of a plain richness, if that makes sense, where RCI is a little more glitzy. The food on Celebrity was OK. My parents thought it was great. It is what you would find at 5 star restaurant. Very nice presentation, small portions ( you could get more ), and tasty. RCI has the type of food I like with many choices but presentation is not as important. It is not like fancy food. I have never been on the Celebrity ship that is sailing to Bermuda but have been on Empress. Empress is the smallest ship of the fleet but it has alot of what the larger ships have. It is very nicely decorated, very easy to navigate, and has much smaller crowds. The only down side I can think of is that the cabins are smaller but how much are you in your cabin.

 

I hope this helps some,

 

Kevin

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ECCruise

ECCruise

Posted
Posted

Another consideration is the amount of time in port. Zenith spends virtually one more day (10 daylight hours) in port more than Empress.

 

Arrival time: Empress Mon., 2PM

Arrival time: Zenith Mon. 9AM (5 extra hours)

 

Departure time: Empress Thur. 10 AM

Departure time: Zenith Thur. 3 PM (5 extra hours)

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