Comparing Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises: Which is the Superior Cruise Line?

Royal Caribbean ships also have a shopping mall, restaurants and bars, and a theatre. The ships can accommodate 3114 passengers, and 1185 crew are on board. This is a ratio 2.63 guests to each staff member.

You can choose a Royal Caribbean Cruise Line suite for a luxurious cruise experience. The suites come with butler service, a private lounge and reserved seating in the theater or pool. Suites, and especially bathrooms, are also larger.

Celebrity Equinox, which is a part of Solstice Class ship is a midsize vessel.

The Celebrity Equinox offers a variety of activities, including a pool deck that has separate areas for adults and children. “The Lawn Club”, a grassy half-acre lawn located on Deck 15, also features “The Hot Glass Show”, a demonstration area in which guests can create their own souvenir pieces.

A casino, bars, restaurants, and shopping are also available. The ships can accommodate 2,850 passengers, and 1,500 crew are on board. This is a ratio of about 1.9 guests to every staff member.

Celebrity Cruise Line offers suites that are similar to those on Royal Caribbean Cruises but with upgraded amenities and more space.

Both lines have ships of different sizes. Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas is the largest ship in the RCCL Fleet, carrying 6,680 guests with a crew of 2200. This means that there are 3 passengers per staff member.

Celebrity Edge, the newest ship of the Celebrity Cruises Fleet, hosts 2,918 passengers with 1,377 staff, or 2.12 guests to every crew member.

**The ratio of crew to guests may change, as ships adapt to the changes brought about by 2020. **

What is the importance of ship size?

The larger the vessel, the more features can be added.

But larger ships have also more people.

I have found that crowds on Royal Caribbean cruise ships can be frustrating, especially in the dining areas and pool decks. It can be difficult to find a place to eat casually or to relax at the poolside when so many people are on a Caribbean cruise. We never had to fight for lounge chairs or tables on the Celebrity Equinox.

On our Celebrity Cruise, we didn’t have to wait in line for anything except hand-dipped, ice cream.

On Celebrity Equinox, the crew also cleared away cups and plates quickly in both the buffet restaurant and the pool area. Royal Caribbean allows plates to be stacked anywhere, even near the elevator.

We all enjoyed the ease of navigation on board the Equinox. We were able to move around the ship easily with three elevator banks and two staircases. Even on embarkation day, we had a short wait for the elevators when we used them. Royal Caribbean is congested, and elevators are packed at all times.

What is the effect of ship size on activities aboard a cruise ship?

The flipside is that smaller vessels offer fewer options. Celebrity Equinox has fewer activities, besides not having a “Flowrider” or rock wall.

The Celebrity trivia game was offered daily, and it included music trivia as well as general trivia. Royal Caribbean offers trivia games throughout the day. Themes include Harry Potter, World Geography, and musicals. We could choose from a wide range of games that we enjoyed.

It is the same for poolside games.

Celebrity is more focused on destination talks, wine tastings and other culinary discussions. Royal Caribbean also offers these activities, but they are complemented by free ones like cupcake decorating competitions, which educate and entertain.

Royal Caribbean’s jogging tracks are a big advantage over Celebrity Equinox. The track on Celebrity is a more “pathway”, which runs between lounge chairs and also through Deck 14’s smoking bar. This track is very difficult to jog on, let alone walk. It’s not worth the effort to avoid guests, crew and their carts as well as cigarette smoke. The Royal Caribbean ships have a wider and less congested track for jogging.

Celebrity Cruises’ biggest advantage over Royal Caribbean comes from the ability to interact with staff and guests. We were invited to an exclusive cocktail mixer for Celebrity Cruises first-timers and to the helipad to send off from port. Celebrity’s senior crew are more interactive than Royal Caribbean’s. Even the senior staff will chat with each other during the day.

Both ships offer similar evening activities. Celebrity’s stage shows are a little better than Royal Caribbean’s, but both are great. The Equinox has a better late night dance party, especially the silent disco.

Which cruise line has better cabins: Celebrity Cruises or Royal Caribbean?

Cabins in the Celebrity Equinox class are technically larger than cabins of similar size on Royal Caribbean Voyager.

A balcony with ocean views on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas measures about 200 square feet, and has a 42 to 48 square foot balcony. The cabins can sleep up to four people and include a seating space that converts into a bed. They also have a king-size bed, a dressing table, storage, and a bathroom.

Cabins similar to those on Celebrity Equinox are about 195 square feet, with a balcony of 54 square feet. These cabins can sleep up to four people, with a convertible seating area into a bed. They also have a king-size bed, a dressing table, storage, and a bathroom.

The finishes are notable for their differences.

• Royal Caribbean has wall-mounted dispensers that hold shampoo and conditioner. Celebrity offers individual shampoos, soaps and conditioners.
• Royal Caribbean provides bathrobes to suite guests ONLY. Celebrity provides two bathrobes for all cabins.
• The bedding on standard cabins of Royal Caribbean is not luxurious. This is actually my biggest complaint with Royal Caribbean. Celebrity Equinox’s bedding is excellent — we sailed just two weeks before the dry dock renovation when all bedding would be replaced.
• Royal Caribbean bathrooms are small! To shave my legs, I had to put my leg out of the shower to balance and used the lid of the toilet to do so (is this TMI?). Celebrity bathrooms are double the size, and there is enough space in the shower for you to move around. They also have a shaving bar.

Which cruise line has better kids’ programs, Royal Caribbean or Celebrity Cruise Line?

Royal Caribbean is the winner when it comes to activities for children. Royal Caribbean has more space for its kids’ programming than any other cruise line.

Celebrity is a better choice for kids who prefer smaller groups.

Both lines have a dedicated area for kids. Celebrity is more flexible with children aged 10-12. Both lines offer staff who are trained to work with children and have a daily schedule of activities. These include activities for older kids.

Celebrity Cruise Lines doesn’t offer an all-day program, but rather a series of programs spread throughout the day. These include family programs which engage both parents and children on board the ship — like a “campfire”, for example.

I personally prefer Royal Caribbean’s kids area because of its space, the children’s pools (which aren’t part of the kid’s programs), and family-friendly atmosphere.

I was surprised to hear that my daughter said she preferred Celebrity because there are programs parents can do with their children.

Which cruise line has a better onboarding/exiting process, Royal Caribbean or Celebrity?

Embarkation Day Review

Both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises had similar embarkation procedures. You will need to go through the same process as for Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean.

Onboard, everything changes. Celebrity crew members welcome guests on board with champagne. The deck 5 leads to the stairs and elevators leading to Deck 14, where a tasty lunch buffet is located. Our lunch was enjoyed on the patio of the buffet restaurant, which looked out onto the Port of Miami.

On Royal, there are long lines to get up the upper decks of the ship for lunch. Royal Caribbean’s Windjammer Buffet restaurant is packed. The already crowded dining rooms — where the tables are close together — become even more crowded when guests with a lot luggage are all crammed in one area. Celebrity Equinox has a more spacious buffet, including a pizza station and an Asian station. It never felt crowded and the tables weren’t as close together.

What are the cruise lines’ policies on port days?

In port, lines can be 20-30 minutes long, and the queue may extend up to two flights of stairs.

The Celebrity Equinox was not as crowded, but there were some issues the first day when they required photo identification for guests leaving the ship.

The tendering process is the same. Celebrity Equinox waited for us less than five total minutes when we tendered on Grand Cayman. On a Royal Caribbean ship, tendering can take up to 20 minutes.

Final Disembarkation

We had a similar experience on both ships when we disembarked to return home. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines was perhaps a little better.

The wait to get off the Celebrity ship was longer than we expected, and this made our return flight home very tight.

The cruise line booked all of our travel arrangements for us, and I was disappointed by the lack of efficiency. It could be due to the nature of Miami’s port. Port Canaveral runs smoothly, at least to us.

Which is more expensive, Celebrity Equinox or Royal Caribbean?

Here’s a breakdown of the costs to compare apples with apples.

Each cruise line offered me a verandah room with a view that was unobstructed for three passengers, departing from Ft. Lauderdale in April 2020. Celebrity offers a 7-night cruise that includes Key West, Costa Maya and Cozumel, plus two days on the sea. This itinerary is for Royal Caribbean and includes Costa Maya Cozumel Grand Cayman plus two days on the sea.

• Celebrity Equinox costs $4085. This includes two gratuities free for two people and a credit of $150 for onboard use.
• Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas with $100 onboard credit costs $3389 or $564 for each guest per night, including gratuities.

There is no 7-night Caribbean cruise offered by RCCL from Ft. Lauderdale. There are also different cruise itineraries from Miami and Port Canaveral. The best I could do was compare the cost per night of a 7-night cruise with a 6-night cruise.

What is the best cruise line between Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise Lines?

Celebrity Cruises offers a $20 discount per day on similar-sized cabins on Deck 7 Aft. Which is better?

What you are looking for in a cruise is entirely up to you.

• Celebrities in public spaces > Public space.
• Relaxation > Celebrity
• Activities > Royal Caribbean
• Cabin space > Celebrity. This is not for space usage, but rather the configuration of the bathrooms. The total space on both ships is roughly the same.
• Cabin Comfort > Celebrity. Royal Caribbean’s beds aren’t very comfortable.
• Cleanliness > Celebrity
• Crew friendliness > Celebrity
• Royal Caribbean offers a variety of children’s programs.
• Food in main dining room > Tie.
• Food at buffet restaurants is better than celebrity, but only by a slight margin.

This breakdown should help you choose the best cruise line for you. Please leave a comment if there is anything else you would like to know. I will do my best to answer all your questions.