Help Deciding between Emerald Princess or Solstice

[MessyJessy]

Hi Folks -

 

We are trying to decide between Emerald Princess or Solstice and I need some help from all you Celebrity folks. The itinerary is similar (eastern carib) and isn't important. We will mostly be relaxing on the ship with our daughter and in-laws.

 

We (me, dh and dd) can cruise in a Concierge Class Cabin on Solstice or for approx $90 less cruise on Emerald Princess in Mini-suite (AB).

 

Any pros or cons for the Solstice? I've read a lot of reviews from those that hate it and some that love it - doesn't seem to be much of a middle ground.

 

Any tips? Anything special about CC that will sway me one way or another?

 

Please help me decide!!! :)

[Sadebud]

Hi Folks -

 

We are trying to decide between Emerald Princess or Solstice and I need some help from all you Celebrity folks. The itinerary is similar (eastern carib) and isn't important. We will mostly be relaxing on the ship with our daughter and in-laws.

 

We (me, dh and dd) can cruise in a Concierge Class Cabin on Solstice or for approx $90 less cruise on Emerald Princess in Mini-suite (AB).

 

Any pros or cons for the Solstice? I've read a lot of reviews from those that hate it and some that love it - doesn't seem to be much of a middle ground.

 

Any tips? Anything special about CC that will sway me one way or another?

 

Please help me decide!!! :)

 

Hi,

 

I haven't had the pleasure of a mini-suite on Princess but have sailed on the Star Princess with my parents who did have one. The difference between a balcony cabin and a minisuite was HUGE. The mini suite was bigger and the bathroom had a tub/shower whereas a regular balcony cabin had pratically no shower whatsoever.

 

I have sailed the Equinox (sister to Solstice) in a regular verandah cabin and am booked on Eclipse in a CC cabin. From what I understand, the cabin layout is the exact same...fairly large and nicely laid out. The CC cabins have a better shower head but bathrooms are same. The bathrooms are much nicer and bigger than those on Princess (non-suite). The amenities in CC class are what set the category apart from regular verandah cabins. I have no experience with AQ but I hope to someday!

 

I have sailed Princess 4 times and Celebrity once. I have also sailed NCL, Sitmar and others. Celebrity's service and S Class ships are the best I've ever experienced.

 

Not sure if this helps you or not, but I thought I would put my two cents in!

 

Tracy

[Croooser]

Per our sig, we have been on the Emerald and the Equinox. Both are nice ships.

 

Food selection and quality in MDR was much better on Equinox about equal on buffet for breakfast and lunch with Emerald having a much better buffet selection for dinner. If you want the flex diniing option, Princess does it better with 2 dedicated DRs for anytime.

 

Ship decor and ease of getting around was better for us on Equinox.

 

Daytime activities about equal with a slight nod to Equinox for the lawn and glass shows. Evening shows and headline acts were much better on Equinox - the circus show was not flawless but we loved it anyway. Late night music scene and parties are better on Princess.

 

We did not have CC or mini so won't comment on those but we thought the decor and finish of our standard verandah on Equinox was better than Emerald. Storage space was much better in cabin on Emerald.

 

Service levels were better on Equinox than Emerald although every other Princess cruise that we have been on had service levels as good as Celebrity.

 

We recently booked on Celebrity for this year's cruise because overall we like it better than Princess for the reasons listed above.

 

As always, YMMV.

[blubionda]

I haven't been on Princess in several years but was on ships similar to Emerald at that time (Star/Grand). We sailed Solstice last Spring and will be on her again in two weeks.

 

I don't mean any disrespect to Princess but I find Celebrity to be a "step above" Princess in ship atmosphere (service, attitudes (both passengers and crew, etc.,). Every ship/experience can have minor "issues" but unless the bigger cabin (minisuite) is really important to you (which it very well may be if you plan to socialize in your cabin with 4 or more people), my vote would be for Celebrity. While CC class amenities are not especially worth the money, they are nice to have - we find the shower/larger towels to be great and I've heard you only get verandah footstools in the CC cabins. Your access to restaurant reservations (either specialty or anytime dining goes up to "priority" status with the CC cabin as well but I can't comment on if you would ever have a problem getting reservations without the CC status).

[jd1966]

Hi Folks -

 

We are trying to decide between Emerald Princess or Solstice and I need some help from all you Celebrity folks. The itinerary is similar (eastern carib) and isn't important. We will mostly be relaxing on the ship with our daughter and in-laws.

 

We (me, dh and dd) can cruise in a Concierge Class Cabin on Solstice or for approx $90 less cruise on Emerald Princess in Mini-suite (AB).

 

Any pros or cons for the Solstice? I've read a lot of reviews from those that hate it and some that love it - doesn't seem to be much of a middle ground.

 

Any tips? Anything special about CC that will sway me one way or another?

 

Please help me decide!!! :)

We've been on the Crown Princess and the Solstice and it's Solstice hands down (but not by alot)!! The Solstice is a little more laid back and not quite as many activities but is the classiest ship we have sailed!. There is a VERY strict non-smoking policy on the Solstice (no smoking in cabins, on balconies or in the casino and only allowed in a few isolated locations). I thought that the food was comparable to slightly better on the Solstice but my wife did not like the food on the Crown so we have not been back to Princess. Most of the negative reviews I have read on the Solstice seem to come from people who think she is too big and a segment of Celebrity cruisers that seemed to like the 1990's better.......

[Woobstr112G]

I've done the last three in a row on Princess. Have yet to sail on a Solstice class ship. Had a T/A scheduled for October on the Eclipse but had to cancel due to money issues. I've heard nothing but good about the new X ships and will definetely consider them for our future cruise plans......:):):)

 

Bob

[MessyJessy]

Hi,

 

I haven't had the pleasure of a mini-suite on Princess but have sailed on the Star Princess with my parents who did have one. The difference between a balcony cabin and a minisuite was HUGE. The mini suite was bigger and the bathroom had a tub/shower whereas a regular balcony cabin had pratically no shower whatsoever.

 

I have sailed the Equinox (sister to Solstice) in a regular verandah cabin and am booked on Eclipse in a CC cabin. From what I understand, the cabin layout is the exact same...fairly large and nicely laid out. The CC cabins have a better shower head but bathrooms are same. The bathrooms are much nicer and bigger than those on Princess (non-suite). The amenities in CC class are what set the category apart from regular verandah cabins. I have no experience with AQ but I hope to someday!

 

I have sailed Princess 4 times and Celebrity once. I have also sailed NCL, Sitmar and others. Celebrity's service and S Class ships are the best I've ever experienced.

 

Not sure if this helps you or not, but I thought I would put my two cents in!

 

Tracy

 

Thanks Tracy - since there will be 3 of us we wanted as much space as we could get for our budget. The shower head sounds nice on the Solstice.

[MessyJessy]

Per our sig, we have been on the Emerald and the Equinox. Both are nice ships.

 

Food selection and quality in MDR was much better on Equinox about equal on buffet for breakfast and lunch with Emerald having a much better buffet selection for dinner. If you want the flex diniing option, Princess does it better with 2 dedicated DRs for anytime.

 

Ship decor and ease of getting around was better for us on Equinox.

 

Daytime activities about equal with a slight nod to Equinox for the lawn and glass shows. Evening shows and headline acts were much better on Equinox - the circus show was not flawless but we loved it anyway. Late night music scene and parties are better on Princess.

 

We did not have CC or mini so won't comment on those but we thought the decor and finish of our standard verandah on Equinox was better than Emerald. Storage space was much better in cabin on Emerald.

 

Service levels were better on Equinox than Emerald although every other Princess cruise that we have been on had service levels as good as Celebrity.

 

We recently booked on Celebrity for this year's cruise because overall we like it better than Princess for the reasons listed above.

 

As always, YMMV.

 

Thanks for the info - we really enjoy good food at home and look forward to it while cruising. Sounds like Solstice is a step above...One question, What does "YMMV" mean?

[MessyJessy]

I haven't been on Princess in several years but was on ships similar to Emerald at that time (Star/Grand). We sailed Solstice last Spring and will be on her again in two weeks.

 

I don't mean any disrespect to Princess but I find Celebrity to be a "step above" Princess in ship atmosphere (service, attitudes (both passengers and crew, etc.,). Every ship/experience can have minor "issues" but unless the bigger cabin (minisuite) is really important to you (which it very well may be if you plan to socialize in your cabin with 4 or more people), my vote would be for Celebrity. While CC class amenities are not especially worth the money, they are nice to have - we find the shower/larger towels to be great and I've heard you only get verandah footstools in the CC cabins. Your access to restaurant reservations (either specialty or anytime dining goes up to "priority" status with the CC cabin as well but I can't comment on if you would ever have a problem getting reservations without the CC status).

 

I think the large towels would be nice for my husband - he's 6'3" and would appreciate them being just his size. We would like as much room with our daughter in the room, however, service is really important to us.

[SeaCod]

The big plus to the Solstice CC cabin is the balcony. Unless you are able to snare an AD mini-suite on the Emerald, I would not pick Princess. The mini-suite balconies have no cover and no privacy from above.

 

We've been on both the Ruby and the Equinox this year and a give the nod to the Equinox, but also liked the Ruby enough to book her for next Fall.

 

Hope this helps.

[MessyJessy]

We've been on the Crown Princess and the Solstice and it's Solstice hands down (but not by alot)!! The Solstice is a little more laid back and not quite as many activities but is the classiest ship we have sailed!. There is a VERY strict non-smoking policy on the Solstice (no smoking in cabins, on balconies or in the casino and only allowed in a few isolated locations). I thought that the food was comparable to slightly better on the Solstice but my wife did not like the food on the Crown so we have not been back to Princess. Most of the negative reviews I have read on the Solstice seem to come from people who think she is too big and a segment of Celebrity cruisers that seemed to like the 1990's better.......

 

We like classy!! We're not smokers either so the policy is no biggie for us. Thanks!

[jwright98]

I've done the last three in a row on Princess. Have yet to sail on a Solstice class ship. Had a T/A scheduled for October on the Eclipse but had to cancel due to money issues. I've heard nothing but good about the new X ships and will definetely consider them for our future cruise plans......:):):)

 

Bob

 

This is off topic but is driving me crazy! What is a T/A? Or TA? I know when it is used in the context for meaning Travel Agent, but I see some say "I'm scheduled for a T/A", or "booked a TA cruise".

[MessyJessy]

The big plus to the Solstice CC cabin is the balcony. Unless you are able to snare an AD mini-suite on the Emerald, I would not pick Princess. The mini-suite balconies have no cover and no privacy from above.

 

We've been on both the Ruby and the Equinox this year and a give the nod to the Equinox, but also liked the Ruby enough to book her for next Fall.

 

Hope this helps.

Hmmm - the exposed balcony is not cool. We had an aft cabin once and barely enjoyed the balcony since it wasn't covered.

[cruie4ever]

We love the "s" class ships .We have sailed the Star Princess & the Equinox .There is no question in our minds that the veranda cabin on the Equinox was better & the food on Equinox is better .

[austinlw]

I know when it is used in the context for meaning Travel Agent, but I see some say "I'm scheduled for a T/A", or "booked a TA cruise".

 

TA can stand for Travel Agent or Trans-Atlantic cruise.

[blubionda]

Hmmm - the exposed balcony is not cool. We had an aft cabin once and barely enjoyed the balcony since it wasn't covered.

 

If you do go with Celebrity, it sounds like you want to stay away from the AFT cabins then - we were in #1200 last time (in #1206 next month) and the AFT cabins (except for very top floor) do have full sun and can be seen from above (as top deck is a bar/food service area). However, even though folks looked down on us a few times on the Solstice AFT, it was NEVER like Princess where our balcony stuck way out and we had 2-3 rows of cabins above us looking down on us (as they were further back while our deck "jutted out"). If you love AFT as much as I do, but want shade/privacy you can get the top deck (Resort deck).

[Croooser]

YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary

[KruzPrincess]

Did you post this on the Princess board as well? I didn't see it over there.

[Solstice23]

Solstice! Solstice! Solstice! Have not sailed the Emerald but the Caribbean Princess was not even close to our Solstice cruise!

[Cruise Junky]

I would really like to try the S Class ships and if it were just the two of you that would be my recommendation, but with a 2 1/2 year old, I'd recommend Princess with the mini suite.

[royalcruz]

For the reasons already stated above, Solstice wins hands down. We were on Emerald and Solstice within 3 months of each other and the experience was very different. I see that you haven't yet tried Celebrity. The Solstice would be the perfect introduction to a fine cruise line. IMO Emerald is like a 3 star hotel compared to Solstice which is like a modern and elegant 4 star.

[OhioDogLover]

We like both Princess (4 cruises) and X (1). We are taking X this summer because of itinerary and DH jokes that we will answer the burning question, "which is really better?" (Considering everything.)

I imagine that, as usual, we will have a really good time.

Ohiodoglover

[MessyJessy]

We love the "s" class ships .We have sailed the Star Princess & the Equinox .There is no question in our minds that the veranda cabin on the Equinox was better & the food on Equinox is better .

 

I was comparing the cabins from other passengers pics and the decor is so different its hard to believe they were launched a year apart. Celebrity does have the upper hand in stateroom decor - it looks very modern (more our style).:D

[MessyJessy]

If you do go with Celebrity, it sounds like you want to stay away from the AFT cabins then - we were in #1200 last time (in #1206 next month) and the AFT cabins (except for very top floor) do have full sun and can be seen from above (as top deck is a bar/food service area). However, even though folks looked down on us a few times on the Solstice AFT, it was NEVER like Princess where our balcony stuck way out and we had 2-3 rows of cabins above us looking down on us (as they were further back while our deck "jutted out"). If you love AFT as much as I do, but want shade/privacy you can get the top deck (Resort deck).

 

We were looking at a midship cabin not too far from the elevators. Thanks for the tip about the resort deck!

[MessyJessy]

Did you post this on the Princess board as well? I didn't see it over there.

I did.