Hey Celebrity People! We LOVED Royal Caribbean!

[cathykins]

I know I am opening myself up to a lot here....and I plan to post the same thing on the Celebrity board. But here goes....

My husband and I have been on three Celebrity cruises and really enjoyed them. I have read the Celebrity postings on this site for a couple years. The general over-all feeling over there (with exceptions of course), is that Celebrity was somehow superior to Royal Caribbean. I enjoyed Celebrity so much that I figured that was probably true.

WELL....we had a certain week when we wanted to cruise and I had looked at the RCCL "Jewel" and was intrigued by her. She sailed the week we needed and I decied to book it. I was very prepared for an experience that would somehow "teach me a lesson" from straying from Celebrity. How wrong I was!

We felt that ship was beautiful, with some of the most lovely bar areas I have ever seen. (Especially the one at the back of the ship where you could see the ship's wake sparkling in the moonlight and look up through a glass roof and see the stars.)

Our room was very similar to the one we had on Celebrity, with three notable exceptions. The bathroom was nicer, brighter and had a great built in shower screen as opposed to a curtain...the deck was a little larger and they had put an upright chair and a lounger on it, and they had placed the bed NEXT to the window and the view, where I feel it should be.

The food? Honestly, I think all cruise ship food is fairly similar. Wether it be Carnival, Princess, Celebrity or RCCL (all of which we have sailed). I get bored of all of them after a few days and the specialty resteraunts are good on all of them.

YES, YES...there were a few more announcements on this ship. But they have a dial in your room where you can turn them down and you will only hear the ones that are meant for an emergency if that is what you prefer.

They have a VERY pretty Centrum area and it was utilized all the time. There was always something interesting to see or do or listen to going on there. Many times they were giving dancing lessons there...another time there was the most amazing flamenco style guitarist...the ship just felt like it had more energy than Celebrity did.

We did, in fact, see more kids on board (they said there were 600!), but they were never a problem and that is coming from someone who doesn't have kids!

We found the service to be very good and accomodating.

I think there were two things that got me to write this review...one was that I felt I needed to be honest about how pleasantly surprised we were.

The other was an incident that happened at our table at dinner. We were seated at a table for ten. There were two other couples and a family of four. The wife stayed at home, and the two kids were two of the nicest junior high kids. The husband was a medical resarcher.The first formal night they did not show up for dinner. The next night, we told them we missed them and asked where they were. The wife looked embarassed and said "We don't have any formal clothes and we have friends that said they went on Cruise Critic before they took a Celebrity Cruise and were so intimidated about what to wear that they never went to the formal nights." My husband, who had brought a beautiful suit, along with a jacket, slacks and dress shirts, said to the husband "Didn't you bring just a jacket?" and the husband said "I don't OWN a jacket...and we couldnt afford to go out and get new things for all of us." My husband said "You should be here for the next formal night...you paid for the lobster, you should enjoy it with us. I won't wear a jacket either." The husband said "REALLY?" and we all made them promise to come and enjoy the meal. They did and they loved it! They looked absolutley fine wearing the best they had. Nobody cared! And I realized how out of touch some of the cruisers on these boards have gotten about the meaning of being gracious to everyone and making others feel INCLUDED, not excluded.

Anyway, we would sail either line again and hope to sail RCCL or Celebrity to Europe in the future. Please understand that this is just one person's observations and I probably won't win any popularity contests but what the Hey...my life needs a little excitment anyway!

Thanks for reading this,

Cathy

[rapsodyme]

Kathy, your review was a delight. How nice to hear postive things.

Your treatment of the other folks makes me really hope I will be blessed to have someone like you at my table. We love to dress up but this next cruise

some of our adult children are coming and I told them whatever they wore to chruch they could wear to formal night. I just can't see them spending money for clothes they will only use so seldom. In todays world , enjoy while you can with what you can afford.

Thanks again for a great review.

 

Lois

[NoVa Mimi]

Cathy, I think you and your husband sound like very kind and thoughtful individuals. I hope many of us will read your post and carry with us a similar kindness to others, both on cruises and in our day to day lives. Thank you!

[Maineac]

Amen!!!!

[cruiser_carol]

Kathy....thank you so much for your lovely story. We were in a similiar situation last year. I have been a full time housewife for 25 years... and also looked after my parents for many years. My husband was in the navy/ and now a teacher... all of our life has been focused as being carers. We are still a family of 6. So we wear basically the same few things all the time. Me a couple pairs of jeans..and a couple tops. Although my husband does have a suit.

 

Last summer, we took our first cruise. 14 days to the Med. on the Legend.The opportunity came up unexpectedly. We have never had such an expensive vacation. In fact, for many years, we have had No vacation. It took all of our money to meet the fares. But, It was a dream come true..I couldn't stop talking about it..and still haven't. But we were terrified at the thought of the formal nights..and dressing up in general. Having to eat dinner at a table with others.. and how they would accept us. My kids got busy on EBAY, they were fantastic.

 

We immediately requested to be at a table alone for 2...but ended up with a table for 8. I was so afraid, I didn't want to go to dinner the first night. But my husband insisted.

 

Thankfully, they were a wonderful family of 5...mom, dad, 16 year old daughter...and grandparents. they were just as nervous.. Everyone onboard was so friendly and nice. We never felt underdressed...even though our clothes were definitely cheap and cheerful. (I had nothing actually formal. Just a longish skirt and top.) But, I never felt more comfortable with other people...or so happy. Everyone spoke to us. Including couples in very formal wear...men in tux. We had the most wonderful time..This cruise gave us a whole new lease on life.

 

I think most people onboard these cruises are like this. Their main concern is to enjoy themselves..not be judgmental of others. No one should be put off by the clothes issue. Just take the best you are able to manage...and enjoy the cruise!

 

After all....Why?... should someone be criticized...or denied the right to take part in the full cruise experience...to have to miss the formal dinners..(.having saved for a long time for their ticket)...just because they haven't as fancy a clothes as others...or the money to buy them? Neatness..and looking presentable for the ocassion ...should be sufficient... regards,Carol

[cruiser_carol]

Kathy, I forgot to add...I loved your review of the Jewel....she sounds absolutely gorgeous. I especially loved the part about the moon shining on the wake. How beautiful. I would love to sail on her sometime.

 

I Also wanted to add what has already been said...your kindness will have made all the difference to these people, and their cruise. They will not forget for a very long time. The same as we feel about the family at our table....(who vacation each year on the French Riviera I might add).... if they had not made us welcome...had been rude or indifferent...it could have changed entirely the outcome of our cruise. Well done, Kathy, and Happy Sailing! Carol

[Nliedel]

What a lovely review.

 

As to clothing. People get really uptight on the boards over it. There are a ton of reasons for it that I will not delve into, but for the most part the people here would welcome good kind tablemates regardless of clothing style.

 

I have seen people in outfits some would consider heinous sitting with dressed to the nines types and watched them become good friends. You just never know.

[Lizziemom]

I really enjoyed your post. No one should be afraid to go to dinner. After all they paid for it.

 

When our teenager cruised with us, we gave him a tie to wear to dinner and he was fine. They grow so quickly, I did not want to waste money on a suit. Most of the teens were dressed this way and they looked great.

 

I have found that you can fit right in and feel comfortable with a black skirt, black top and a bright scarf to add some color. This whole outfit can be purchased at TJ Max for very little. I feel like I fit right in and the fashion police will not even notice my lack of a formal dress.

[Happy ks]

Love your review, in reality that's what a cruise is really like. Friendly people, beautiful ship, lovely service.

 

I think the danger of getting too caught up in CC is what it can do to the above mentioned family. I'm forever on the fashion board, so many people, I think, are too timid to post there. In reality, we do celebrate each others bargain finds, tell each other about Ebay, consignment stores, borrowing from friends or family. Most of the time the snootier clothing threads are on the line specific boards. It's just too bad some people take it so seriously. I read so often how people aren't happy with the cruiseline "enforcing dress code policy" when in reality, the staff onboard cruise ships are gracious like your husband.

 

We've been seated with a family like the OPs, although the father was a doctor and they probably could have afforded better clothing. You could tell it just wasn't an issue for them, nor was it for us. We had the absolute best time with them, I prefer to get to know the people, not the clothes they are in.

 

We've cruised several different lines and I have to agree on many of the points you made. While there are a few differences, most of the time the experience of cruising is the same. We love to be on the ocean, it's our favorite part of cruising. We love the absolute relaxation of having absolutely nothing to do, other than get ready for dinner that night. I love to see the people having a good time, from the toddlers all the way to the elderly grandparents who need assistance.

 

I think the majority of people are kind, considerate and well mannered. The bad ones here just stick out more.

[Murphy]

Thank you for your post and for your kindness to fellow passengers! Wish there were a few more of you out there... I too have sailed Celebrity and RCCL and while there are slight difference, we enjoy both nearly the same and now pick between the 2 based on itinerary and price. We sailed Celebrity several years ago and one of our tablemates didn't show up for the first night either. They were the absolutely nicest people and we ended up doing some excursions with them. The night before the second formal night they told us they wouldn't be coming to dinner on formal night because the didn't like to dress up. We insisted they come any way, we truly enjoyed them for their company, not their attire, but they refused. It's one of the sadest moments of my cruise experience and wish our evening had turned out like yours.

[PoohUnderstands]

I usually just read these type of threads, enjoying them, but never responding as usually people before me have said all that needs to be said. But this time, I am adding my kuddos to your husband and your family. I think what he did was fantastic. Though I have never had this situation on my cruises, I have had times when my tablemates have "seemed" to be very uncomfortable, and I love to make them at ease and enjoy themselves.

 

I hope that you get to cruise again in the future and when you do, I hope that I am at your table!!!!!

 

Pooh

[Esmerelda]

Wow Cathy...

you and your family sound wonderful! What a gracious thing to do with the pickle about the dinner clothes. Your post totally touched my heart because not a lot of folks would have went out of their way to do such a kind thing. I bet its something the other family will never forget.

 

 

many blessings to you and yours...and many more great cruises,

Esmerelda

[Inshape]

Cathy, loved the entire review and what you did to make these people feel welcome is wonderful. I feel the same as you and would have told them to just come to dinner anyways. As much as I use to like the formal dressing up years ago( my first few cruises) now i wish they were gone..it is just so much easier to throw on anything and be comfortable and enjoy the surroundings. Bravo to nice people. I am sure they felt 10 feet tall because of YOU.

[franma]

Ditto the other posters' sentiments - you and your husband are a class act. We also like both Celebrity and RCCL and will hopefully continue to cruise both lines (and others as well). In our experience there are not huge differences in all the lines we have gone on. Each ship and itinerary is a new experience to be enjoyed.

[lkb125]

I know I am opening myself up to a lot here....and I plan to post the same thing on the Celebrity board. But here goes....

My husband and I have been on three Celebrity cruises and really enjoyed them. I have read the Celebrity postings on this site for a couple years. The general over-all feeling over there (with exceptions of course), is that Celebrity was somehow superior to Royal Caribbean. I enjoyed Celebrity so much that I figured that was probably true.

WELL....we had a certain week when we wanted to cruise and I had looked at the RCCL "Jewel" and was intrigued by her. She sailed the week we needed and I decied to book it. I was very prepared for an experience that would somehow "teach me a lesson" from straying from Celebrity. How wrong I was!

We felt that ship was beautiful, with some of the most lovely bar areas I have ever seen. (Especially the one at the back of the ship where you could see the ship's wake sparkling in the moonlight and look up through a glass roof and see the stars.)

Our room was very similar to the one we had on Celebrity, with three notable exceptions. The bathroom was nicer, brighter and had a great built in shower screen as opposed to a curtain...the deck was a little larger and they had put an upright chair and a lounger on it, and they had placed the bed NEXT to the window and the view, where I feel it should be.

The food? Honestly, I think all cruise ship food is fairly similar. Wether it be Carnival, Princess, Celebrity or RCCL (all of which we have sailed). I get bored of all of them after a few days and the specialty resteraunts are good on all of them.

YES, YES...there were a few more announcements on this ship. But they have a dial in your room where you can turn them down and you will only hear the ones that are meant for an emergency if that is what you prefer.

They have a VERY pretty Centrum area and it was utilized all the time. There was always something interesting to see or do or listen to going on there. Many times they were giving dancing lessons there...another time there was the most amazing flamenco style guitarist...the ship just felt like it had more energy than Celebrity did.

We did, in fact, see more kids on board (they said there were 600!), but they were never a problem and that is coming from someone who doesn't have kids!

We found the service to be very good and accomodating.

I think there were two things that got me to write this review...one was that I felt I needed to be honest about how pleasantly surprised we were.

The other was an incident that happened at our table at dinner. We were seated at a table for ten. There were two other couples and a family of four. The wife stayed at home, and the two kids were two of the nicest junior high kids. The husband was a medical resarcher.The first formal night they did not show up for dinner. The next night, we told them we missed them and asked where they were. The wife looked embarassed and said "We don't have any formal clothes and we have friends that said they went on Cruise Critic before they took a Celebrity Cruise and were so intimidated about what to wear that they never went to the formal nights." My husband, who had brought a beautiful suit, along with a jacket, slacks and dress shirts, said to the husband "Didn't you bring just a jacket?" and the husband said "I don't OWN a jacket...and we couldnt afford to go out and get new things for all of us." My husband said "You should be here for the next formal night...you paid for the lobster, you should enjoy it with us. I won't wear a jacket either." The husband said "REALLY?" and we all made them promise to come and enjoy the meal. They did and they loved it! They looked absolutley fine wearing the best they had. Nobody cared! And I realized how out of touch some of the cruisers on these boards have gotten about the meaning of being gracious to everyone and making others feel INCLUDED, not excluded.

Anyway, we would sail either line again and hope to sail RCCL or Celebrity to Europe in the future. Please understand that this is just one person's observations and I probably won't win any popularity contests but what the Hey...my life needs a little excitment anyway!

Thanks for reading this,

Cathy

I agree with you Jewel is perfect. cruised with my daughter and 2 grandaughters in January, food, service and everything else was great. I am leaving on April 30 for the transatlantic crossing on the Jewel really looking to share this beautiful ship with my Husband. I also love Celebrity and have been on many cruises with them. Lorelle

[scher]

I always say if people are going to make judgements about what I wear, what I choose to decorate my house with, how my hair looks or anything that has to do with material things, Then I prefer not to have to know them or deal with them they are not good enough for me. My family has enough money to dress how we want. We choose to be as casual and comfortable as possible at all times. If I have to dress up I dread it. I love jeans, sweatpants, sweatshirts, teeshirts and sneakers. Who wants to tackle a lobster in an evening gown? Not worth it!

[glgolfer]

I agree about the dress for dinner issue. i wear a tux just because I've had it for years and figure every time I wear it, the cost per wear goes down. We were on a cruise a few years ago where the other folks didn't show up the first formal night. The next night they said they had to dress for work and didn't want to on the ship and didn't want to offend us by not wearing suits and ties. We said it wouldn't bother us, so the next formal night one gentlrman came in a nice button shirt and the other with a shirt and sweater. The ladies always dressed nicely. They appreciated the fact we didn't care how they dressed and we had a great time.

[RevSmith]

nice story...nice way to handle it...back to the original statement...I agree, both lines are wonderful...My only problem being that now that RCL is going with the larger ships...I'm am not so sure. I love the Radiance class ships...but did not like the Voyager class of ship at all. The only thing I loved about Voyager class was the ice skating rink...I thought that was lovely. But the fact that when we get into a port there are so many of us and with the other ships there the town becomes a parade of tourists is starting to get to me...also tendering can be a longer wait...I asked at the last loyality meeting we had on RCL what was the prospect of ships the size of the Radiance class and smaller and the loyality ambassador told me that in the future RCL will be making larger and larger ships and that if I liked the smaller ships I would be happier with Celebrity...well enjoying both lines...I have deceided to take the ambassador up on this one...now to find a Celebrity ship that goes to the Caribbean in the summer:D

[jdkey]

I enjoy dressing for formal night most of the time and we usually do. But in Jan. we took a cruise on the Grendeur and decided to leave the formal clothes at home. We told our tablemates & waiter the night before so they wouldn't wait for us to order that we had chosen not to bring formal wear w/us & would be eating in the Windjammer. Our tablemates & waiter all insisted that we would be fine in whatever we chose to wear & were weclome to eat in the dining room. We went to WJ but it was nice that they told us we were welcome.

I think as long as you make an effort to look like your not going to a fast food reasturant but to a nice dining experience most people don't really care what you wear.

Thanks for the comparison of Celebrity vs RCI

Debbie

[TexasMom2]

Excellent post and discussion. Where are all the posters who would call this family disrespectful? Those arguments wouldn't hold water against such a logical discussion. Cathy, I would sail with your family any time.

[ChoosinCruisin]

Cathy, great review.

 

Have you sailed the Infinity or other Millenium class ship on X? I am looking for nightlife/entertainment comparison between Infinity and Serenade for a group to Alaska. Any insight would be appreciated.

 

Smooth Sailings All.

[darrencantwait]

Thanks for the great review.

 

Personally, I don't understand why anybody on the RCCL or Celebrity boards feels the need to state that either of the two is better than the other. RCI keeps the lines different for a reason...so satisfy different peoples' expectations and desires.

 

We LOVE Celebrity, but also very much enjoy RCCL. I think both lines do a fantastic job at what they do...and I hope the continue to keep their products seperated. That way we can keep hopping back and forth between the two! :)

[BobBeaSea]

To the OP, thank you for posting your thoughts. I also think the Radiance class ships are special. You have also hit a homer regarding people/dress.

[mojo4trav]

My husband said "You should be here for the next formal night...you paid for the lobster, you should enjoy it with us. I won't wear a jacket either." The husband said "REALLY?" and we all made them promise to come and enjoy the meal. They did and they loved it! They looked absolutley fine wearing the best they had. Nobody cared! And I realized how out of touch some of the cruisers on these boards have gotten about the meaning of being gracious to everyone and making others feel INCLUDED, not excluded.

 

You have to be some of the 'best people' around for doing this for that family! Kudos to you for showing us that not everyone here is pretentious with an over-inflated ego. I'd be glad to have you at my table any time, should our traveling paths cross. :)

[scopewest]

I read your message on the Celebrity board and saw that you got slammed by the fashion police. I totally agree with what you did and would love to sit at your table anytime.

 

Our next cruise is on HAL, and when I posted a sentiment similar to what you said the flames reached my knees. I was told that a "gracious" guest would always follow the dress code, and if I couldn't be bothered to wear my gown, then I could eat in the Lido restaurant on formal night. I dropped the subject rather than argue with closed minds. I'd rather sit with someone who had something great to say rather than great to wear any day!

 

Or maybe I should flatter myself, wow, 900 people eating dinner are staring at me and talking about what I'm wearing!!!