sunshine nana

We also prefer the size of the mini-suite on Princess. There used to be mini-suites on the Gem and Jade as we booked one in 2008. I'm not sure if they still exist and we have gone with the penthouse aft suites on NCL to get the perks. My first question on Celebrity's board was about a mini-suite and I got 0 answers. After more research, I found out that there is no such cabin size on Celebrity. We have decided to go with the Sky Suites if we are on Celebrity.We like the extra room a mini provides and the couch and coffee table as well as extra storage and bathtub.

I know what you mean about the noise when walking across the aft on a Princess ship. It is almost scary! But we have never heard that in an aft balcony on either NCL (Gem and Jade) or Celebrity (Equinox). I had not thought about that until you brought it up. Don't worry, we love the aft and think you will too.

We prefer the aft and want to be more in the middle decks, not right under the bar.

We have had a penthouse suite (not Haven) on NCL because we prefer the aft and an S1 on Celebrity. Both had great cabins. Entertainment was better on NCL, but that is all that was better. Our butlers and concierges were nothing compared to our butler on Celebrity. The MDR on NCL really had gone downhill in food and service by our third NCL cruise. The pools were crowded and noisy. Celebrity had wonderful service and food in both Blu for breakfast and dinner and the MDR for lunch. We also had dinner in two specialty restaurants included in the price. Both were much better than NCL's . The adult only sanctuary pool was quiet and covered. Mostly it was the atmosphere on Celebrity that we loved, the service by all and the other passengers were just more our style.

When we looked at Med cruises for the fall, we really considered NCL because the penthouse suites were so much less expensive than the Celebrity S1, but we decided on Celebrity because we only cruise once a year, and we know everything will be special.Be sure to read what some have written about unruly children in the Haven.

When Princess canceled the Istanbul stop for the Ruby, it was 2010 or 2011. No other ships on any line canceled. There was no earthquake and no unrest. Princess did not give a reason. There was a long thread about the issue. Many were upset. This was not an Egypt situation. There was some speculation that Princess had not applied to use the port in time, but there was no reason given online.We visited Istanbul with Celebrity in 2012 with no problem. It was a great introduction to Celebrity for us. As I stated, we did two more Princess cruises after the Ruby situation, one on the Island last year and the British Isle cruise in 2011.

These boards gave me a real eye-opener when I learned the cruise line can cancel any port any time for any reason. We were planning a cruise mainly to see Istanbul as we had already been on two Med cruises that went to other ports in the area. We had not yet booked a cruise when I learned on CC that the Ruby Princess would not be going to Istanbul. This was several weeks before the ship sailed, but it was after final payment (no refunds). Many people were upset as they had paid and booked their flights. They were told on CC that "if you really want to see a particular port, go on a land trip."
I can understand a weather related problem or a person overboard, but this was weeks before the Ruby sailed. No reason was given.
That led me to our first Celebrity cruise to Istanbul which we loved. We have since been on two Princess cruises, but only because Celebrity did not do the same itinerary.
I think people have a right to know about the Ruby.

I really dislike having to go to the buffet (too much like the school cafeteria). I was disappointed when Princess and Celebrity stopped having lunch in the MDR on port days. Many times, we would be back on the ship for lunch after an am excursion and really enjoyed the peace and quiet. NCL has a separate dining room for breakfast and lunch and it was the best suite perk!

When I wrote my opinion earlier, I forgot to add I really appreciate the washers and dryers available on Princess. It helps to cut down on baggage. I have sent things to the ship's laundry on Celebrity and would not do it again for washing anything of mine. It was ok for DH's cotton shirts and shorts.I like being able to wash and dry my own clothes and it saves a lot of money.

We want to visit the WWII museum in Cantania. Has anyone gone there recently? How do we get there from the ship?

I have always thought this made sense. Similar to the hotels having the lowest price you can get on their own web page. I do all of my own research and would like to book direct with the cruise line, but who can give up hundreds of dollars of OBC from a TA? When we first started cruising, we needed a TA to explain things, but now after 9 cruises and reading CC, we know way more than any TA. Why should the cruise lines give a commission to a TA instead of discounting to me for booking directly with the line?

What we liked about the entertainment on Princess was not the main shows but the extra entertainers they brought in before sail away at each port on the British Isle cruise. They were great and really added to the local atmosphere.The best entertainment we have had was on another line:NCL.

We have been on both Princess and Celebrity. We think they are both great as far as cabins service and food. We thought entertainment was better on Princess and we really like the size and layout of the mini-suite. Celebrity cabins are smaller unless you pay a lot more for a suite.

What we thought was a big disappointment on Princess had to do with getting off and on the ships at ports. We were really turned off by Princess in St. Petersburg when those with private excursions were lied to repeatedly about being allowed to exit the ship and being held back for way too long.This was in 2009 and I hope it has changed. On our Princess British Isles cruise in 2011, there was only one door open when we returned to the ship on Guernsey and we stood in the hot sun for over an hour. On our most recent Princess cruise into the Panama Canal in 2013, there was a huge delay in exiting the ship, long lines and a lot of confusion as again there was only one exit open. Everyone was on a Princess excursion for the canal stop, so they must have known how many were getting off.

I'm sure we will go on Princess again, but it just seems that on the three cruises mentioned, no one was in charge. Celebrity just seems to be better organized.

This will also have an effect on the cruise lines. We booked our Sept. cruise to sail out of Venice one more time. It will be a huge hassle if we dock somewhere else after we have made our pre-cruise hotel reservation. I hope to find out before I do that.

Thanks for the replies. DH really like the aft, but if an S2 aft would be the same size, all we would be giving up would be the wrap around balcony and extra window. We would pick an aft (there are a few S2's on the aft.)

I've seen this comparison before, but a search did not bring it up. I know that the S1 has the extra round window shown in the literature, but is there a difference in cabin size? I'm thinking of a true aft S2 on Silhouette. I know the corner S1's have a great wrap around balcony, but other than that, what is the difference? Thanks

I'm very sorry this happened to you and Celebrity is not calling back when promised. We ended up on our first Celebrity cruise because a Princess cruise a few years ago (I think the Ruby), canceled Istanbul AFTER final payment but Before sailing. It was not weather or mechanical, but people were not allowed to cancel without penalty.We had not booked it, but the situation made me wary of a Princess cruise to Istanbul. We booked Celebrity and had no problems.

We chose the Sky Suite for the extra room, both in the cabin and the bathroom. All our cruises are port intensive, but we are in the cabin or balcony each am and evening. We would pick a mini-suite like Princess has if Celebrity had such a category. We also enjoyed eating in Blu or a specialty rest. every night (2 free specialties) and also enjoyed breakfast in Blu many mornings. We take only one cruise per year and are at the point where the extras are worth it to us.

After our first Princess cruise in a balcony, we booked minis for our next 4 Princess cruises. We really like having the couch and coffee table since we have coffee and yogurt delivered for breakfast. The extra room and tub in the bathroom are great also. I like to get goodies from the International café and eat in the cabin when we return from excursions. These were all port intensive cruises. We have done research and have booked the minis with the huge balconies on the Crown and Emerald and picked a great location near the huge aft balcony on the Island.

We found out we had to tip the M'D to get a table for two with anytime dining even though we were there when they opened. We were told there were no 2 tops when we could see many. Others went past us to "their" tables. We pressed the issue, did not tip and eventually prevailed. I complained here on CC and there was a long thread on it. I'm wondering if that was your experience? Hope it was not. Hope there was some action take by Princess. The cruise was great otherwise.

I agree. We took our first Princess "freestyle" cruise in 2004. Some people who have never been on Princess or Celebrity still don't realize they have "freestyle" dining for dinner in the MDR. Both worked very well for us.The food and service are much better than NCL and you do not have to have assigned seating or wear a suit!

We had a great time overall on our 3 NCL cruises (the last two in a suite), but by the third, we found the food and service in the MDR poor. We have been on 5 Princess (2 in Europe) and one Celebrity. Both Princess and Celebrity HAVE "anytime or select " dining. The food and service in the MDR have been much better than NCL. The price is higher though.

DH loves the aft and we think the money could be better spent on specialty restaurants or drinks etc. We liked Blu, but it's not worth giving up the aft and paying more for us. Nice choice either way.

We stayed in BW Olimpia pre-cruise which DH really liked. I liked it ok. As to why we would stay at the Marriott instead of Venice proper comparing the Marriott hotel to Hoboken, NJ, we got a chuckle from that comment from someone who we think probably visited Copenhagen, Stockholm, Athens, Venice, St.Petersburg, Tallin, Berlin, Florence, Naples, London, Dublin, Boston, Aruba, Malta.... and did not stay in the city proper, but stayed out in the OCEAN!!! We just returned from a trip to DC by train and we stayed in Alexandria, Va for about 1/2 the price of DC. The train trips into DC were just part of the fun!!!

WE ended a cruise in Venice and took the bus from Plaza Roma to the Marriott near the airport to be close to leave early the next am. It was also much cheaper than the hotel we stayed in at Plaza Roma pre-cruise. After checking into the Marriott, we took the bus in front of the hotel into Plaza Roma and walked to St. Mark's square and everywhere else. The bus runs every hour and is very inexpensive.The hotel had a free shuttle to the airport. Just be sure to reserve the shuttle when you check in.

After a couple of "close calls" on Princess, we now carry our luggage on and off ourselves. We don't overpack, each has one carryon and we share a larger bag, all on wheels.We do crosspack in case the airline loses a bag. Also, I do not take any of my favorite clothes on any trip. We don't know any of our fellow passengers and will never see them again. We dress up for dinner each night, but not in anything we would hate to lose. Same with jewelry.On one trip on NCL, every day an X-ray of a bag full of some woman's shoes was displayed as it was lost. I just feel better not letting our bags out of our sight.