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RCCL and Celebrity


Baked Alaska

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Yes, the way this reciprocity works is that you get "bumped up" to whatever corresponding level each agrees to cross-honor. So if you're Diamond on Royal, and never sailed Celebrity before, you'll start off with "Elite" status in Celebrity's program... and zero points. Until you've sailed with Celebrity long enough to have earned the points for "Elite" rank, you have no way to move past "Elite".

And likewise, nights you sail on Celebrity don't get applied to your Royal C&A points total. You have to sail on ships belonging to the cruise company's loyalty program to continue earning points in that program.

That said, there's a big difference in how points are earned between the two lines. With Royal, it's purely based on number of nights, doubled for a sailing if you sail in any kind of suite or if you sail solo (and tripled if you sail solo and in a suite of any level). But on Celebrity, the points earned vary with each room category. If you go to this page on Celebrity's site and scroll past the table, you'll see how many points each room category earns.

I'd argue that if you want to sail Celebrity, and have already built up some loyalty with Royal, keep doing that until you at least hit Platinum in Royal and auto-match to Select with Celebrity; at least then you can start getting some discounts and such. Celebrity already carries a premium price vs. Royal, so if your per-cruise budget can't increase then you'll most likely be sailing in a lower category room than you did on Royal, and that means slower point buildup with Celebrity. Maybe @twangster has a different feeling on this, as I know he's cruised both. Speaking personally, I can't afford Celebrity right now unless I just sail an Inside cabin, so I might as well stick with Royal for now and build up loyalty that will eventually translate to some breaks on Celebrity that should make Verandah rooms more in my reach. Either that, or by that time I'll also be an empty nester and then I'll have all the budget in the world! ?

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The key word between loyalty programs is 'recognition'.    Starting at Platinum they will recognize that when sailing Celebrity and vice versa. You only earn points for the cruise line you sail.   After sailing Celebrity your C&A points balance won't change while your Celebrity points will increase and vice versa.  

What draws me to Royal are all the things to do. Royal has a history of providing things for babies through great grand parents.   It's in their roots and a core philosophy of Royal.  

Celebrity is a wonderful cruise line but geared for a more refined experience.   There are things to do but for a more select target audience.   No baby splash zones, bumper cars, zip lines, etc.  

While I may not participate in all the things Royal offers, I enjoy being around all those things and all the happy people doing them.  It keeps me young.  

When I want modern luxury without breaking the bank, I can sail Celebrity.   Basically Celebrity is there waiting for me to grow up.  

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We're considering Celebrity simply based on a very intriguing itinerary.  If we could get a similar one on Royal, I'd prefer it, simply based on the fact that we're both pretty casual people.  But these have been interesting tips.  I had NO idea that someone traveling solo on Royal would get double points (I'm traveling solo in Feb, so I guess I'll see for myself!).

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On 12/1/2018 at 9:41 PM, JLMoran said:

Celebrity already carries a premium price vs. Royal,

Joe, I actually find Royal (depending on ship) to be more expensive.  As you know, I'm a suite snob.  I can't afford an Owners Suite or Genie on Royal, but I pay about $2000 less per sailing on Celebrity in a Celebrity Suite or Sky suite, and that includes the 4 perks versus Oasis, Symphony etc .  Hell, I'm not even taking the Drink package on Grandeur in February as it's $1000.  Again, probably if looking at inside or balcony perhaps Rc is less expensive.  I actually love both cruise lines but dollar for dollar when booking a suite, I find Celebrity to best (again they include Premium Drink, Internet, Gratuities and $300 OBC).    

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1 hour ago, Boston Babe said:

Joe, I actually find Royal (depending on ship) to be more expensive.  As you know, I'm a suite snob.  I can't afford an Owners Suite or Genie on Royal, but I pay about $2000 less per sailing on Celebrity in a Celebrity Suite or Sky suite, and that includes the 4 perks versus Oasis, Symphony etc .  Hell, I'm not even taking the Drink package on Grandeur in February as it's $1000.  Again, probably if looking at inside or balcony perhaps Rc is less expensive.  I actually love both cruise lines but dollar for dollar when booking a suite, I find Celebrity to best (again they include Premium Drink, Internet, Gratuities and $300 OBC).    

Yeah, suites are solidly out of my budget and lower-category cabins have been consistently less expensive per person / per night for roughly equivalent sailings. I looked at Celebrity Summit as an option for going back to Bermuda, but her last sailing is still in peak season (last 2019 sailing is Sep 1, with October sailings). I compared the base category pricing for that Summit 7-night sailing against Anthem's Sep 7, 2019 five-night sailing; on a per person per night basis, Celebrity was more expensive once I got to Balcony or JS level:

Anthem, Sep 7 (5 nights):

  • Interior -- $564 = ~$113 pp pn
  • Ocean View -- $644 = ~$129 pp pn
  • Balcony -- $681 = ~$136 pp pn
  • JS -- $1,182 = ~$236 pp pn (well outside my budget)

Celebrity, Sep 1 (7 nights):

  • Interior -- $599 = ~$85.50 pp pn
  • Ocean View -- $899 = ~$128 pp pn
  • Balcony -- $1,249 = ~$178.50 pp pn
  • Aqua Class -- $1,399 = ~$200 pp pn
  • Sky Suite -- $2,499 = ~$357 pp pn (WAAAAAY outside my budget!)

Now, with the current promo that includes a hefty $400 discount on the cabin price, plus the drink package and other included perk, the premium for Celebrity is probably worth it after factoring in the price of a Refreshment Package for my wife and Deluxe Package for me (not to mention getting an extra day in Bermuda!), but man, did this require a lot of math to figure that out!

Also, I can't remember if Aqua Class is equivalent to a JS room on Royal (it does give exclusive access to Blu, similar to CK access in a JS, but it's not the true suites-only restaurant), or if I have to go to a Sky Suite on Celebrity to get equivalent level of amenities / service; while the jump in price to Aqua Class from Balcony is nominal on a pp pn basis due to the current promotional sale, and might be worth considering, a Sky Suite compared to a JS is nearly 50% more expensive and well outside my budget.

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58 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

Yeah, suites are solidly out of my budget and lower-category cabins have been consistently less expensive per person / per night for roughly equivalent sailings. I looked at Celebrity Summit as an option for going back to Bermuda, but her last sailing is still in peak season (last 2019 sailing is Sep 1, with October sailings). I compared the base category pricing for that Summit 7-night sailing against Anthem's Sep 7, 2019 five-night sailing; on a per person per night basis, Celebrity was more expensive once I got to Balcony or JS level:

Also, I can't remember if Aqua Class is equivalent to a JS room on Royal (it does give exclusive access to Blu, similar to CK access in a JS, but it's not the true suites-only restaurant), or if I have to go to a Sky Suite on Celebrity to get equivalent level of amenities / service; while the jump in price to Aqua Class from Balcony is nominal on a pp pn basis due to the current promotional sale, and might be worth considering, a Sky Suite compared to a JS is nearly 50% more expensive and well outside my budget.

Anthem has a high balcony cabin ratio being a newer ship.  Summit or any M class ship are from a generation where interior an OV was more common.  Balconies on Quantum class tend to run more affordable for that reason.  Try pricing a balcony on Grandeur vs. Anthem.  Consequently you can't draw the conclusion that balconies are cheaper on Royal because it varies by ship.

When comparing cabin classes between Royal and Celebrity you can't beyond the basic interior, ocean view and plain balcony on the same vintage of ship.  Aqua and Concierge class are basically balconies on steroids and don't map directly to Royal.  Same with suites.  On Celebrity you get much more for the 'entry level' Sky Suite compared to a Junior on Royal.  It quickly becomes impossible to map them because it all depends on what's important to you.  Aqua class has a dedicated restaurant for all meals which not even the very best suites do on Royal, unless you are looking at QU and OA class.  Owners Suite on Navigator?  No suite restaurant.  All Celebrity ships have Aqua class with a dedicated restaurant. 

Beyond any basic non-suite cabin you just can't do apples to apples between Royal and Celebrity unless you are careful to select ships from the same era, then it's somewhat more a fair comparison.

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And Sky suites are much smaller or Grand Suites on RC ships.  Again, @JLMoran it really is budget as well.  We don't have two beautiful girls like you do and to consider college etc. We have two beautiful golden retrievers that still cost a pretty penny when we travel! LOL.  If you are considering Aqua, I can tell you on the Celebrity FB pages etc EVERYONE raves about BLU. I am anxious to see what the Revamp is on Summit as she desperately needed it when we sailed on her last September. Consider the Sept 1 sailing i Aqua class, you are getting 2 additional nights and it's SO relaxing compared to the 5 night cruise (we did that last May on Grandeur). 

 

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I normally wouldn't have any experience in this conversation but just in the last month have gained some, I was looking at booking a special cruise for our 40th anniversary in 2020 (13-14 day Mediterranean), so I had done some mock bookings in Royal for the itinerary and time frame we needed, I was having a problem finding something I liked, I was looking hard at Indy because we had just come off of Freedom and kind of wanted to get the trifecta and going to Gibraltar is on my bucket list, so anyway not finding much I started looking over at Celebrity and found a very appealing itinerary on the Silhouette that fit and if I was reading correctly I could get either a Sky Suite or a Celebrity suite for the same cost as a Grand Suite on Indy. To me it was a no brainier, get a Sky or Celebrity suite which gets me close if not the exact perks as a Star Class room on Royal, I was going to book it. I just had to wait until the 2020 Mediterranean itineraries came out from Celebrity.

Long story short, when the itineraries came out from Celebrity the dates didn't match up for the itinerary we wanted and the itineraries that matched the dates were less appealing, I'm talking 1-2 days off of when my wife has to report back to school, but she couldn't/wouldn't take off the first 2 days of school.

So back to Royal, and even though not exactly what I wanted, I was able to book a Grand Suite on Anthem out of Southampton for June 28, 2020.

One of those strange quirks of booking cruises and using the Royal web page, for almost the exact same itineraries and dates on Indy out of Southampton, Indy was quoting $7000 more for a Grand Suite than what Anthem was.

So I agree with @twangster , and @Boston Babe , you have to look at each cruise line independently and the suites don't necessarily map directly over between Royal and Celebrity.

 

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1 hour ago, tiny260 said:

To me it was a no brainier, get a Sky or Celebrity suite

I agree with you John.  I have booked all my Celebrity cruises VERY early too which gets you the best rates.  On our May 12 Summit, I booked Celebrity Suite, the Sky Suite is more than what I booked the Celebrity for now.  Our Edge booking is $2000 more pp!  I really want to try that Genie though but to get there, it's almost twice as much.  I love both RC and Celebrity so I go back and forth and see what fits our schedule.  too bad about your wife having to go back to school so early.  Have you looked at Inagural for the APEX?  Prices are not bad currently.  

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@Boston Babe , I would say that Edge and Apex were at a minimum 20-25% (if not more) more when compared to Silhouette, but that is understandable when considering they are the 2 newest ships in Celebrities fleet, just like Harmony and now Symphony is for Royal. As an example a 7 day cruise on Apex was as much as the 14 day cruise on Silhouette.

I really thought I could find something earlier in the summer of 2020 but they were either on the Edge or one of the smaller, older ships like Infinity or Constellation, she really prefers to stay away from smaller. She is most definitely a Voyager Class or above sized type of girl.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

We booked the Summit repo in October 2019.  It will be our first Celebrity sailing!  Happy that Summit will be refurbished earlier in the year.  We got a great price with $25 pp deposits during black Friday.  I think the 6 night aquaclass A2 was $849 pp (before port charges, etc).   No perks because it's a repo...but the TA said it was "dirt cheap" for aquaclass.

 

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