Celebrity Cruise vs Royal Caribbean Cruise

In January of this year we cruised on the newest Celebrity Cruise ship the Celebrity Reflection. We had so much fun enjoying this new ship. It was beautiful from bow to stern. The décor throughout the ship was very nice and the food was outstanding. This was our first cruise on a Celebrity cruise. Previously we have cruised with Royal Caribbean five times, with complete satisfaction. We decided to try Celebrity this time and see how it compares to RCCL.

Our meals in the dining room were so good that was never even considered trying one of the fancy “fee” restaurants. Each night the dinner menu had a wide selection of fish, chicken and beef to choose from. One night I ordered the roast turkey dinner which was a full Thanksgiving dinner with sweet potatoes, potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cranberries, and green beans. It couldn’t have been better and the portions were very large.

We enjoyed breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria style buffet restaurant. The food was exceptionally good considering it was buffet style. I think their trick is to serve very small buffet portions so the food is always fresh. Every day in the afternoon there was sushi available and we ate our fair share of that!

The service was good but not exceptional. It seemed to lack the attention to detail that we have experienced on our RCCL cruises. Since Celebrity is advertised as a premium cruise I guess I had high expectations. Don’t get me wrong, the service was good, just not as good as I expected.

We met a great Jamaican bartender on the first day while lying in the sun named Vinroy. He took good care of us throughout the cruise. So good in fact that I tipped him above the automatic gratuity of 15% added to each drink purchase. Vinroy offered us a deal on a bucket of beer; six beers, any kind, for the price of five beers. We told him we would be in the same lounge chairs every day and would only buy from him if he would do six beers for the price of four. It was a deal! What a great time we had lying in the sun drinking ice cold beer.

Everything else, entertainment, amenities, etc., was in line with what I expected.

What didn’t I like? Well, there seemed to be less to do during the day than on RCCL. No rock climbing wall, inline skating, etc. If you are looking for a more active vacation you need to look elsewhere. If you like to read and need some peace and quiet, it would be perfect. Also, the average age of the passengers was much older than us (45). It didn’t matter much because we brought our own friends along with us. Had we gone alone it may have been an issue.

So the question is “Will I go on Celebrity or RCCL next time?”

I think we will be going back to Royal Caribbean the next time we cruise. We live a more active lifestyle and like the daily activities offered with RCCL. The food has always been great on Royal Caribbean and the service is as good as or better than Celebrity. Plus RCCL is 20% less than Celebrity.

If you have been on Royal Caribbean I suggested sticking with them. Overall, Royal Caribbean is a great value and you will not be disappointed with the service or experience.