Royal Caribbean vs. Celebrity

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 4

Helpful Votes: 88

Review summary

This post will discuss our first cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship and make comparisons to similar amenities on Celebrity. We sailed on Jan 23, 2022 on RCL Oasis of the Seas. We were fortunate to have our bid accepted for a stateroom upgrade from an Owners Suite to a 2-bedroom Aqua Theater Suite. The Owners suite is what RCL calls Sky Class, and the 2-BR Aqua Theater suite is their top Star class. The main difference between Sky and Star class is that Star class gets the service of a "Royal Genie". Star class also gets unlimited specialty dining, and free laundry among a few other things. When on Celebrity while booked in a "Retreat" Suite, ALL retreat levels get a "Butler" but there are more amenities as the staterooms increase in size and cost. Royal Genie vs Celebrity Butler For the sake of brevity I'll refer to the two positions as Genie and Butler. The Genie is a Butler on steroids combined with a Concierge service. We have always enjoyed the Butler service on Celebrity and when needed used a different person in the Retreat lounge for Concierge service. It has (and is) easy and efficient. However, having a Genie do everything you need, be available by text messaging in an instant, and escort you to different parts of the ship while alerting restaurants (and getting the best tables) and (reserved) entertainment venues to give you extra special service is a step above the Butler. We have never had better service on a cruise. The Butler service is outstanding and the Genie is a notch above that. Our Genie's name was Derick Martis. He helped start the entire Genie program with RCL a few years ago. I would highly recommend him to anyone sailing in Star class. Entertainment on RCL vs Celebrity There simply is no comparison. RCL quality and quantity far exceeds anything Celebrity has. This is true for adults and 10-fold true for children. That being said, when we go on a cruise we do not want children running around and being loud or impolite in restaurants , the buffet, or the theater. On a letter scale, RCL is an A and Celebrity is a C. However, if you want a quieter, more adult guest environment, you'd prefer Celebrity Food on RCL vs Celebrity Comparing the suite restaurants of RCL's Coastal Kitchen to Celebrity's Luminae - Luminae wins hands down. The food is better (quality, preparation, and presentation). The restaurant decor is better in Luminae with table cloths vs bare (sometimes sticky) table tops in Coastal kitchen. The wait staff in Coastal Kitchen wore wrinkled shirts and no coat or vest, while the staff in Luminae are always smartly dressed with pressed clothes and vests or coats. Luminae has a Wine Sommelier but at CK the wrinkled-shirted waiter takes drink orders and delivers them from the bar. We ate at several specialty restaurants on Oasis. 150 Central Park, Izumi Sushi, Chops Grill, and Giovanni's. Chops grill was highly recommended and VERY highly rated. It was horrible. Service was great, but the meat, for which they are allegedly famous for, was some of the worst we've had. We had a New York Strip, and a Bone-in Rib-eye and both were tough with a lot of gristle. We were VERY disappointed and would not go back. On the other hand, the Izumi Sushi was great and we went back a second time. The other restaurants were OK but nothing to write home about and of questionable value for the surcharge for a specialty restaurant. Even though the food was below par, the service at all restaurants was very good. Suite Lounges on RCL vs Celebrity The Suite lounges are pretty similar in function but Celebrity is better in form. On Oasis of the Seas the lounge had bare tables and the view out the large windows was of overlooked a noisy kiddy pool and slide and play area. After sitting down in the lounge area on multiple different days I never ONCE had a wait staff approach me for a drink order. In the Retreat lounge it usually has a quiet peaceful view of the ocean, and higher quality furniture and more attentive wait staff. Staterooms on RCL vs Celebrity One cannot really do an apples to apples comparison of staterooms but here are a few comments. The Aqua Theater Suite had the biggest balcony on the ship. It had an inside view for watching the Aqua show, a rear view to watch the ship's wake, and a huge outside side view - port or starboard depending on what side of the ship your stateroom was on. It was HUGE. The room had a living room, a long hallway, and two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The smaller bathroom was separate from the smaller bedroom and had a shower that was very narrow and confining. You couldn't bend over to wash your legs or feet, or pick up a bar of soap if you dropped it because it was so small/narrow. Celebrity suites start at Sky suite, then Celebrity suite, then Royal, then two more ultra fabulous categories. We have stayed in three levels of the suites (Sky, Celebrity, and Royal). The Aqua Theater Suite on RCL with the large balcony was probably equivalent to a Royal suite on Celebrity which has a good-sized balcony with a hot tub. Both have similar amenities which included unlimited specialty dining. Which is better? - It is totally a personal preference. Younger families with children are much better suited for RCL. Older/retired adults and those that prefer a bit more quality and quiet, will probably enjoy Celebrity more. One additional note about the Suite/Retreat class venues. On the Oasis class RCL ship the Suite Lounge and Suite Restaurant [Coastal Kitchen] are one big room. One half is the lounge and the other half the restaurant with a single bar between them. Both overlooking a noisy kiddy play area. On Celebrity the Retreat Lounge and the and the Suite restaurant [Luminae] are totally separate and in two different locations on the ship. RCL setup may be more efficient but I much prefer two separate locations and decor and ambiance.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

Perfect Day At Coco Cay, Bahamas

Cozumel, Mexico

Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

Disembarkation

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