Constellation, Golden or Serenade

[LarryF]

My wife and I are currently holding space on the Golden Princess, RCL Serenade and Celebrity Constellation for an April 10 sailing all in the Southern Caribbean. This will be our 12th cruise and in the past five years we have sailed on the Grand Princess, Carribean Princess, NCL Sun, Holland America Zuiderdam and the RCL Grandeur of the Seas They were each unique and we enjoyed each one very much in different ways.

 

We have always had an ocean view or balcony cabin, but his year with two kids in college and one of them starting law school next year, our financial situation dictates we are going to have to get an inside cabin. We can get a cabin on the Golden Princess for more than $300 less than the RCL or Celebrity Cruises and we put down a $200 deposit for a future cruis while we on board the Caribbean Princess last June. However, we have heard great things about the Constellatoin and the Serenade and am already familiar with the cruising experience we can expect on the Golden. My queston to others who are not "stuck" on just one cruise line and enjoy trying new lines, would it be worth the extra $300 to get a new experince on the Constellaton or Serenade? If so, which one and why

 

Thanks...

 

Larry

[Lois R]

Hi Larry:)

 

I sailed Constellation last month...it was my first M-Class ship....I had a FANTASTIC week!!!

 

I had such a good time .....going this coming Dec again!.......:)

Financially, I normally always get an inside cabin...now last month, I was able to find a really good deal and had my first balcony. But...when I sail her again, I will be going to an inside.

I sail solo....so I usually have to pay double:eek: ....not a great thing....but..I LOVE Celebrity so much that I choose to spend my money on them.

 

I sailed Zuiderdam in Sept....and the 2 experiences could not have been more different.

My cruise on HAL was less than stellar for me. I will probably get flamed by any HAL cruisers reading this post now.

Anyway...you asked for opinions......I got a great price for that cruise..HAL's single supplements are quite good....but..A BIG BUT...if the service and food are lacking the the good price doesn't mean a lot (In my opinion).

 

Constellation~food, service, ambiance...everything about her outclassed Zuiderdam.

 

I know I sound like I am a Celebrity Homer...that's probably because I am one;)

[LarryF]

Thanks Lois R. While we really did enjoy the Zuiderdam, I agree that it was not quite as good as our experience on Princess and RCL. I really want to try the Celebrity experience, but think we may go ahead and stay with Princess this time on the Golden due to the cost savings.

 

Thanks

[Lois R]

Your welcome...enjoy whichever you cruise you choose:)

[fireguy091]

Is the Serenade really more expensive than the Princess ship. I was on the first Serenade trip to the southern Carrib. Nine nights out of Philly. The ship is fantastic. I haven't been on any Princess ships or X so I can't compare. But I will be on X in less than 2 months... :D

[Tropic]

We were on the Constellation (Baltic 2003) and the Golden (B2B 2004) and enjoyed both. We had 1A pre CC and Mini-suite on the Golden which was comprable... the basic balcony cabin on the Golden is even smaller than the 2ab on the Constellation. We felt the ships were both nice yet quite different and I think we give an edge to the Constellation with some reservation to the food which for a one week cruise would not be a problem, but by the middle of the second week on the Baltic... we asked for tuna sandwiches one night and they got them... just to rich of a diet with rich sauces on every thing they serve. When we went on the Millie for one week in the Car in 2004 we didn't have any problem with the food. Celebrity lets you stay in your cabin on disembarcation and that was nice...don't know if that is still the case. You will enjoy either one... look closely at the itinerary... we liked the week we went to St. Lucia, Barbados, etc more than the other week, but heh who can complain just being on a cruise ship.

 

Good luck

[Host Anne]

We've been on all three or a sister ship to each -- Golden (twice), Brilliance of the Seas, and Summit/Millennium.

 

We enjoy all three lines but when we were on Golden last April, I was very disappointed in the condition of the ship. She was in the worst condition of any ship we'd ever been on (I've been on 20). We were really surprised -- pool chairs that were moldy on the backside of the chairs; pool tiles missing from all the pool areas; carpet in bad shape. Very un-Princess like. I'd check in on the recent reviews of the Golden to see if the condition of the ship has improved in the past couple of months.

 

We LOVE the Radiance class ships (sailed Brilliance last Feb and are scheduled to sail Jewel of the Seas this summer). It's a very pretty ship; great public spaces; tons of windows to watch the ocean from everywhere. Service on our Brilliance cruise was terrific and RCI has even improved their food (in our opinion).

 

We've been on M-class ships three times. We like them very much as well. I'd say they are more classic and understated than the Radiance class ships. Food on Celebrity has always been very good in our opinion.

 

Overall, I've come to the conclusion that there is a reason the Golden is less expensive than the other options. Not that you'll have a bad cruise -- we still had a lot of fun on our April cruise. But we probably won't be back on a Grand class ship soon.

 

Good luck and have a great time whatever you decide.

[jezzdogg]

We have done the sister ship of the Golden, the Grand Princess and sister ships to Constellation.

The food and the service our way ahead on Celebrity. We do not find the sauces too rich, as one postered noted. We like the attentivness of the waiters and the assistants. We found on Princess the waiters had too many tables, plus they were responsible for the bar service and the wine. We also like the atomsphere of the dining room with the string quarter playing in the background. We thought whenever we have been on Celebrity the cruises have been a nice mix and a livelier group.. We have done Princess three times and find that after dinner the ship is like a tomb, just too quite. Just so you know we are a couple in our mid 50's.

Did you check and see if there are ay coupons that may off set the Price on Celebrity?

Whatever you decide, enjoy

[Sea Island Lady]

We were on the Serenade in September and I must say that I preferred the Celebrity Millennium over the Serenade. Althought we love RCCL and the Serenade was a pretty ship, the service just didn't compare with what we had with Celebrity. I hope I am not disappointed in our upcoming Millennium cruise.

 

We have grown accustomed to RCCL and their larger ships, so cruising on the Serenade after the Adventure and the Mariner may have just been a let down, plus we were on her for 11 days and got a little bored.