RCL or P&O for the med?

[KeithOP]

We're still looking at options for my wife's birthday in July next year.

She really fancies something round italy, so looking at a 14night med cruise from southampton (although I wish they did some from Liverpool)

P&O and RCL are the main contenders I guess, anyone done them or even better both of them to compare?

Any others I should look at?

Two adults, no kids, looking for fine dining, wine, dont care about water sports or anything else like that... fancier the better really

[June8th]

My pick order would be
Celebrity
P and O
Cunard
Princess


Food wise, all the above are good. Cunard are the most refined and formal. You will find a greater mix of nationalities on Princess and Celebrity.
Quite often Celebrity & Princess will do a deal that includes a drinks package, which we find worth having. If there are no drink deals available then P & O has the cheapest pay as you go prices!

We haven’t tried Royal, we had been booked but they pulled the ship from Southampton. Royal are far more lively , with pool competitions etc.

[katiec68]

We like P&O and Princess.
with Princess always look for a drinks package or extra OBC.

P&O are very good and you know what you are getting - plenty on FB groups etc.

We did eastern med with Celebrity and were disappointed with the food and service - and they were ALWAYS trying to sell restaurant upgrades - at $50 a go - no thanks!

Obviously Cunard are supposed to be the best of the "normal" lines - we are booked with them for next November.

I would say that we try to pick by destinations rather than cruise line - we're not overly fussed on which ship/line etc - its the ports we go for!

However we would probably avoid more family friendly ships as there are just the 2 of us and we try to avoid too many kids where possible

[disney_l81]

We've done RCL, and this year did Celebrity for the first time, liked Celebrity weve booked again for next year.

RCL have Anthem coming to Southampton next year, but prices are horrendous which is one of the many reasons weve booked celebrity.

I've a friend at work who cruises regularly and she said P and O is hands down the nicest food they've ever had. We re booked on their new ship iona next year for a Christmas market cruise so looking forward to trying the food then.

Enjoy whichever line you choose! 😁

[sherrar]

Just to throw this into the mix.
We recently did Viking Ocean - very much for adults - treated as such as well. Only 900 ish passengers.
Speciality restaurants included, drink at lunch/dinner, tour in each port, all balcony cabins.
Looks expensive when you first look, but when you work out what is included it makes more sense.
Best cruise line we have ever done.

[stecee]

We’ve recently returned from our 2nd cruise with P&O and our 6th cruise in total. We have really enjoyed both our cruises with P&O, it’s become my wife’s favourite cruise line.
We have sailed with RCI, which we enjoyed and have another booked for next year.
If you want a British feel to your cruise, everything is priced I £, choose P&O, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

[SquishTheWhale]

I'm not sure you will find either super fancy. Both are good though.

It depends on the ships, but P&O is very British so you will find the food and entertainment geared towards Brits. There's no tips required and drinks prices are reasonable.
RCI is very American, loud brash and fun. Again depends on the ship but they tend to come with all the bells and whistles like water slides, ice skating, surfing simulators etc. Entertainment is more impressive (IMO) with broadway shows such as Grease and hilarious game shows. Bar prices are expensive but they offer a better choice of drinks packages which are sometimes free. Tips are added on daily so factor into cost.

You can certainly make either fancier by booking a suite, RCI in particular on the large ships has some amazing suites with butler service and many perks (the prices will make your eyes water though). You may also want to look at Princess and Celebrity as they are quite refined. We've sailed several different lines and the best food for us was on NCL. NCL also has the Haven on its larger ships which might suit what you're looking for as it is indeed fancy. It's essentially an exclusive suite area within the ship with its own restaurant/pool etc.

Personally I would choose RCI any day over P&O but we like the fun aspect with lots of things to do, we aren't bothered by fancy.

[vampiress88]

I’ve only ever been on p&o and the same ship so I can’t compare it to RCI.
Would love to go on a RCI one as it looks more fun to me and we are 31 with kids.
P&o definitely does cater to a generation older than myself but I have always found it to be good. The food in main dining rooms are good mostly but the buffet went down hill for us compared to when we went in 2012.

For me it’s the price. I have a cruise booked for next year for two weeks in school holidays and it was £2886 then £90 top cashback too so for us that swung it.
Not looked recently at RCI prices but I’m sure it would be more than that.

[Just_Pete]

I did a long deliberation process for booking my med cruise which is in 10 days. So I haven't done it yet, but RCI seemed to come out on top in categories for me after weeks of Vlog watching, forum hopping & review reading.

We are in our thirties no children, and the RCI offering albeit more expensive seems more geared to us.

[holidaysaver75]

We’re booked on the Azura next July and have sailed on the Ventura before. We had a lovely time on the Ventura but there isn’t as much to do as there is on RCI for us now we have the boys. Having just come off Independence, I’d love to switch but got to agree with other comments - Anthem is so comparatively expensive. We’ve paid £1500 each for a balcony on the Azura; RCI want £2800 for an inside on a similar itinerary.