Celebrity VS Princess

[orilian]

Just new to cruising and have LOVED our Princess cruises. Celebrity has a DEAL on for a trans Atlantic Cruise next May. The price for the Constellation seems almost too good to be true. Will we regret going on Celebrity? Comparisons please. Will also post on Princess in case some there have also done Celebrity. Thanks!

[markstudy]

Just new to cruising and have LOVED our Princess cruises.

 

Me too. We had the absolute best trip with Princess :D

 

But looking at Celebrity for my next trip because people smoking on their balcony, kind-of ruin the idea of fresh sea air. It was the only negative we found with Princess.

 

The only negative I see so far with Celebrity is a smaller number of trips to choose from compared to Princess.

[terrierjohn]

We have done both and they are very similar, our comparisons would be as follows.

Dining - Both equal and now Celebrity also does anytime dining.

Staterooms - We prefer Celebrity where standard cabins get a 2 seater sofa.

Bathrooms - The new Solstice class wins hands down.

Entertainment - main theatre shows about on a par, but Princess have more alternative venues than X.

Service - Again both about equal.

Launderette - On a long cruise Princesses launderettes are a benefit.

Shore Excursions - Princess are cheaper, so far we have not used X, but probably will this Sept. on Eclipse.

Cleanliness - both equal.

Maintainance - I think Princess keep their older ships looking better, we found some flaws on our Millie trip, but never on Princess.

 

Hope that helps.

[Bruin Steve]

Just new to cruising and have LOVED our Princess cruises. Celebrity has a DEAL on for a trans Atlantic Cruise next May. The price for the Constellation seems almost too good to be true. Will we regret going on Celebrity? Comparisons please. Will also post on Princess in case some there have also done Celebrity. Thanks!

 

Everyone's perceptions may be different...because we all start with different criteria, different standards and different expectations...

 

So, this is purely MY look at things...

 

I have cruised with seven different cruise lines, most of them multiple times...

I think it's really hard to have a BAD cruise...

They all have more good points than bad and your first cruise ALWAYS feels wonderful...

 

That said, I think Celebrity blows Princess clear out of the water...

 

Here's why:

For me, the most important thing is how crowded or uncrowded the ship is...For those who haven't done multiple cruises or cruise lines, you probably won't notice...because you got comfortable with whatever you had...

 

But, comparing, say, the Sapphire Princess that I was on last year, and the Celebrity Constellation...The Princess ships cram over 3,000 passengers into 113,000 to 116,000 gross ton ships, while Celebrity puts 2,000 onto the 90,000+ gross ton M-Class...The difference is astounding...Celebrity is much more comfortble, much more relaxing...Service is much better due to the better rtios as well...

 

Secondly, my wife really enjoys the entertainment onboard...The Princess ships' showroom is drastically undersized with only 900 seats...NOT ideal when you have over 3,000 passengers wanting to see a show...So, you end up having to show up at the showroom a half an hour to an hour in advance just to get a seat...With Celebrity M-Class and a larger theater for fewer passengers...

 

I also thought the Dining Room management on Princess was pretty bad...in trying to be all things to all people, they seemed to create a mess...Traditional dining was half empty with people with traditional assignments being allowed to use "Anytime" and people showing up at Anytime were given beepers and had to wait up to an hour for a table...

 

I also found the schedule on Princess poorly laid out with too many conflicts in the evening's entertainment programs...probably an effect of having too many passengers for the size of the venues...

 

IMHO, Celebrity is just much better managed and has better food and service...

 

Also, I found my Caribe deck cabin on Princess to be poorly laid out with no sofa and too much space wasted in hallway...I prefer Celebrity's cabin layout...

[usha]

I agree with Bruin Steve that Celebrity blows Princess out of the water, for much the same reasons.:)

IMO...

Celebrity's ships are SO much more spacious than Princess ships.

Celebrity's food is better than Princess' food.

Celebrity's service isn't even in the same ballpark, it's that much better than Princess' service.

Constellation just got all new beds. Princess has the worst beds at sea.

Celebrity's smoking policy is awesome! Princess still lets your neighbors stink up your balcony with their smoke.

(Actually, I am embarrassed to say that I really enjoyed the cheesy MUTS on Princess:o I also liked the cookies & milk.

I wouldn't hesitate booking the transatlantic on Constellation if I were you.

[TomTN]

Everyone's perceptions may be different...because we all start with different criteria, different standards and different expectations...

 

So, this is purely MY look at things...

 

I have cruised with seven different cruise lines, most of them multiple times...

I think it's really hard to have a BAD cruise...

They all have more good points than bad and your first cruise ALWAYS feels wonderful...

 

That said, I think Celebrity blows Princess clear out of the water...

 

Here's why:

For me, the most important thing is how crowded or uncrowded the ship is...For those who haven't done multiple cruises or cruise lines, you probably won't notice...because you got comfortable with whatever you had...

 

But, comparing, say, the Sapphire Princess that I was on last year, and the Celebrity Constellation...The Princess ships cram over 3,000 passengers into 113,000 to 116,000 gross ton ships, while Celebrity puts 2,000 onto the 90,000+ gross ton M-Class...The difference is astounding...Celebrity is much more comfortable, much more relaxing...Service is much better due to the better rtios as well...

 

Secondly, my wife really enjoys the entertainment onboard...The Princess ships' showroom is drastically undersized with only 900 seats...NOT ideal when you have over 3,000 passengers wanting to see a show...So, you end up having to show up at the showroom a half an hour to an hour in advance just to get a seat...With Celebrity M-Class and a larger theater for fewer passengers...

 

I also thought the Dining Room management on Princess was pretty bad...in trying to be all things to all people, they seemed to create a mess...Traditional dining was half empty with people with traditional assignments being allowed to use "Anytime" and people showing up at Anytime were given beepers and had to wait up to an hour for a table...

 

I also found the schedule on Princess poorly laid out with too many conflicts in the evening's entertainment programs...probably an effect of having too many passengers for the size of the venues...

 

IMHO, Celebrity is just much better managed and has better food and service...

 

Also, I found my Caribe deck cabin on Princess to be poorly laid out with no sofa and too much space wasted in hallway...I prefer Celebrity's cabin layout...

 

I would agree 99% if we are talking about the Princess class that includes the Caribbean Princess. The only difference was we had to be at the theater 45 minutes before show time to get a seat, and the breakfast buffet was extremely over crowded. the worst I have experienced. Possibly the worst design of any modern cruise ship. i believe I've read that they retro fitted the ship to accommodate hundreds more passengers.

I suspect that other classes of Princess ships are not as poorly designed.

 

Like you we did enjoy our cruise as we have all of them, and Princess has by far the best pizza at sea IMO.

[Ship Dude]

Having sailed with Princess 6 times and HAL once I am hoping that our Celebrity cruise blows both Princess and HAL out of the water. Celebrity is more money per stateroom type so our expectations are a little higher.

 

People and space management is important. I agree with other posters, as we too were on the Sapphire last year and did not like the schedule of evening activities as itr realted to dining. Also, with 4 small dinning rooms for anytime dining there was always a wait and never could we make same day dinning reservations - reservations were always sold out for the times that make the evening activies doable (which, not getting the Patter until the night before, you never knew the next evening's schedule). Still, we had a great cruise.

 

So, here we go in another 5 weeks - Celebrity Infinity to Alaska. Celebrity - bring it on!

[Denny01]

First, I'm a Celebrity Cruiser. This Line meets our niche at this time, and when we decide to cruise, we go to Celebrity first to find a cruise. The only reason we go to another Line is for itinerary or to join frieinds. With that said, we've loved all our cruises, and loved our Princess cruise through the Canal and going to Hawaii in Jan 11 on Golden Princess

 

I'll give you data and then subjective opinion:

Constellation passenger space ratio: 45.0; crew to Passenger ratio: 1 to 2.0.

Golden Princess, space ratio: 42 (goes to 37 on some other Princess ships); crew to passenger ratio: 1 to 2.3.

 

Opinon:

- Liked the standard SR layout a bit more on the Princess (Island) with the closets off to the side. Constellation has them algined with the door out and you get into a bumping contest sometimes.

- Constellation BR is much better - I am not large (short and not too squat) and the Princess shower was extremely small. Don't drop anything!

- General Service on both were great, but Celebirty was a cut above. See crew ratio.

- We like set dining and it is very hard to get on Princess. Went open dining and it was Ok, but just like the feel of tradtional dining on a cruise.

- Entertainment. Liked both, but as mentioned before, the Princess theater is very crowded and on the Island, there were more than a few restrcited view seats that were useless. gave up and left twice.

- Dining. enjoyed both but thought Celebirty had more options in buffet and at the MDR.

- common areas: Celebrity gets the Big Plus on this. The space ratio matters and you can tell big time. Celebrity is organized so you don't feel that many others. On Princess, many of the areas we liked in the lounges and music areas were smoking areas or right next to them, which leads to....

- Smoking. Again Celebirty hands down (unless you smoke and get mad you can't smoke anywhere you wish). Princsss has smoking in the rooms and on the balconies and if your neighbors smoke, you get it. Most of the lounges had smokng areas which meant you share the smoke. On Celebrity, there was a nice area in the fwd large lounge for indoor smoking and a number of areas outside. No smoking in cabin, on veranda in casino and in most inside areas.

 

The big plus on the Constellation is the Solairum Pool - the T-Spa pool. Free inside warm saltwater with lots of water action, and steel lounges on the sides with bubbles up through them. Best pool afloat for us. Constellaion has just been updated so very new feel (I read, haven't been on her this year), and they added a new specialty restaurant (Tuscan Grill - loved it on S-Class) and the Bistro on 5 (light dining open 20hrs a day). Also other upgrades including cabin decor and so on. Looks very nifty. See the thread on her above.

 

With All that said....Enjoy!

 

Denny

[kitkat9438]

I agree with all of my fellow cruisers. There is no bad cruise and we liked them both, BUT Celebrity blows Princess out of the water. Our first cruise was on the Caribbean Princess and last year we tried the Celebrity Summit. There really is no comparison. Celebrity became our new favorite line for the following reasons:

 

1. Service is outstanding on Celebrity. They really go above and beyond the call to make you feel special, with the crew stopping what they are doing to greet you or the waiters bending over backward to make sure that you are completely satisfied with your food.

 

2. Food was outstanding on both lines, but we prefer Celebrity. The only negative is that Celebrity does not have a traditional buffet in the evening like Princess where there are lots of selections like you would get at lunch. They do offer a small buffet that has sushi, pasta, salad, stir fry and the M class ships (Constellation) have a casual dining area where you don't have to dress up for $2. This didn't bother us as we prefer the main dining room or specialty restaurants.

 

3. As others have mentioned, you never feel crowded, having to wait forever on an elevator, or trying to find a table in the buffet area. We missed several shows on Princess because the theatres just weren't big enough to hold everyone. You had to stand around or miss it unless you got there really early, which is hard to do when you are eating dinner.

 

4. Princess was always trying to "hard sell" you for pictures and other items. None of that on Celebrity.

 

5. Celebrity offers free ice cream during the day from an ice cream bar. I think they had it on Princess ast special times, but not all day or the variety Celebrity has. This may have changed since I've cruised with them. Celebrity also has free warm pastries in the Cova cafe in the morning.

 

6. We had a ice pitcher filled with water in our cabin. Just a little extra touch we didn't find on Princess.

 

7. Our cabin and layout was nicer, with nicer furnishings and balcony furniture. I was just looking at pictures of my furniture on my mini suite on Princess today and all we had was a small chair, no foot stool and a very small table. On Celebrity you have a lot nicer furniture and a table to actually eat out on the balcony with plenty of room.

 

I do miss MUTS and the seafood buffet the first night on Princess.

 

If you are considering the Constellation, you should know there are some cabins that have larger balconies than others. They also have a concierge class cabin where you can get an extra cruise credit to go towards your captain's club benefits (2 instead of 1), fresh flowers, champagne, larger cabin, canapes, etc. Here's the room numbers to look for:

 

SS-6131,6132,6145,6146

 

CC-9043,9038,9201,9164,9162,9160

CC-8045,8046,8185,8176,8172,8170

CC-7203,7212,7208,7206

CC-6135,6136,6143,6144

 

2A-8161,8146,9173,9138

2B-7049,7080,7163,7166,7171,7173,7175,7177,7174,7176, 7178,7180

2C- 6016,6018,6020,6021,6022,6023,6024,6025,6026,6027, 6029,6030,6031,6033,6035,6053,6048

Celebrity also now offers a beverage package that is very good if you like to drink a variety of beverages, whether it's specialty coffee, frozen drinks, wine, beer, martini's, etc.

[ECCruise]

Well over 100 days on each cruise line so feel that we can make a pretty good comparison. Takes a lot more than a single cruise on each to make broad generalizations.

 

Service generally better on Celebrity but frequently friendlier on Princess.

Food a notch better on Celebrity but not bad at all on Princess.

Space ratios and mathematical equations mean nothing to us. Have felt very crowded on Celebrity ships at times and no problem with crowding on Princess ships--but felt the exact reverse at other times.

Both lines can nickel and dime you. Both lines push sales. Saw absolutely no difference between the 2.

Overall ship maintenance better on Princess. Cleanliness the same on both lines.

We make our decisons on itinerary first and price second. Would sail either line in a minute and have cruises booked on both.

[roe2ship]

Wow.....thinking about trying the Summit and reading these comments I hope I don't set myself up with high expectations. Have to say... with some recent postings about the Summit's condition along with the two comments just on here about the maintenance of Celebrity's ships is a bit surprising.

 

Does Celebrity not have a full dinner buffet?

. Takes a lot more than a single cruise on each to make broad generalizations.

 

Space ratios and mathematical equations mean nothing to us. .

I agree. You possibly can't judge an entire cruise line with one cruise. The ratio numbers do not really mean much if the design of the ship is not laid out well. I have experienced the same comparison as posted above on a RCI ship (same amount of pax and gross tonnage) being the higher space ratio number and felt an overall crowded feeling compared to Princess. As for the theater, I have never had a problem getting a decent seat arriving 15 to 20 minutes at the most prior to showtime. Now if I wanted a seat in the first 10 rows, well then that is a different story.

[kitkat9438]

I think the original question was which cruise line you prefer, so I gave my honest answer and also agreed with the other posters on here. I think I am entitled to my opinion regardless of how many cruises I have been on. We travel a lot and go to many fine restaurants so I do consider myself a good judge of what is good service and good food. As I said, I liked them both but prefer Celebrity. They also had the best itinerary and the best prices.

 

Roe2ship, please do not be misled by the comments on here about maintenace on Celebrity. If you do a search on the boards about the Summit you will find that probably 95% love the Summit and will find a lot of great reviews. Sure there's going to be some who will find fault, and actually look for rust, stains, etc. A vacation is what you make of it. There is also a poster who put statistics on the boards about the maintenace that Celebrity does on its ships. We were constantly seeing the crew painting and cleaning and the Summit was a great ship.

[richtara]

Roe2ship: Hard to believe you've sailed on the Caribbean Princess 4 times and not felt crowded. We sailed her once (voyage 2) and it was tight, tight, tight in any venue we went to. Several of my X cruises on Century class seemed almost frighteningly empty by comparison...

[PARROT POP]

WE cruised the Pacific Princess last year and four of us couldn't wait to get off and go bAck to Celebrity..the Constellation we have sailed on..and I would go on it in a heartbeat. We just did the Soltice and are doing the Equinox in October...y ou'll never get me on a Princess Again,. We got nickled and dimned to death and the ship was filthy dirty..There are people on these boards who think that only Princess is the way to go..I'd rather go on NCL than do a Princess ship..Celebrity stands for excsellence and class As far asmy friends and i are concerned

[Lois R]

Wow.....thinking about trying the Summit and reading these comments I hope I don't set myself up with high expectations. Have to say... with some recent postings about the Summit's condition along with the two comments just on here about the maintenance of Celebrity's ships is a bit surprising.

 

Does Celebrity not have a full dinner buffet?

I agree. You possibly can't judge an entire cruise line with one cruise. The ratio numbers do not really mean much if the design of the ship is not laid out well. I have experienced the same comparison as posted above on a RCI ship (same amount of pax and gross tonnage) being the higher space ratio number and felt an overall crowded feeling compared to Princess. As for the theater, I have never had a problem getting a decent seat arriving 15 to 20 minutes at the most prior to showtime. Now if I wanted a seat in the first 10 rows, well then that is a different story.

 

Hi:) there have also been some very positive reviews about Summit

too:)...

[mom23guys]

I've enjoyed reading this thread. I've loved our cruises on the Golden Princess and the Crown Princess. In two days I'll be able to compare to the Summit. If X is as good as Princess- we'll love it.

[seacruise9]

Hi,

 

I have enjoyed cruising with both lines (six times with Princess and five times with Celebrity). In fact, I currently have cruises booked on both lines for later this year (Star Princess in August and Celebrity Summit in November). Princess is fine, but I agree that Celebrity is better. I prefer the design of the Celebrity ships and think they are more spacious. I cruised aboard the Celebrity Solstice in May and absolutely loved the ship. Anyone who likes Princess would also like Celebrity.

 

Chuck

[dutchess43]

I have sailed Princess 4 times 5th coming up & X four times as food is subjected I find both compatable except the beef a little better on Princess. The lay out of X is far superior them the princess ships I hate to go down to go up because some of the decks do not always go through from front to back. Service in the MDR seems to be better on X also they still have the wine sommerliers. My first TA was on X & loved it.

[Denny01]

This isn't rocket science or mathmatical proofs, this is comparing and sharing very subjective opinions on vacationing. We posters are providing you why we may enjoy one Line over another, all based on our personal experiences and preferences, and biases. It doesn't matter that I may like the closets lined up one way, but think the MDR of one Cruise Line has more selections, or that the beef is better.....you must decide. So just go cruise, and enjoy. If you loved Princess, my bet is you will love Celebrity, as much if not more, but the point is, there is an high chance you will enjoy it, which is the point, not which one is edges out the other a bit in a list of criteria. We get too hung up on reviews and comparisons. Not knocking them, great info, but keep them in perspective.

 

Some people look to Itinerary and Price as their cruise selection criteria, I look to a Cruise Line - I enjoy the ports, but staying one day isn't exactly experiencing a port, it's a quick visit. We cruise for the cruising experience, it isn't a conveyance to ports. So the Cruise Line is important to us. And the criteria we use is very subjective, because it is Our Criteria.

 

So go cruise, go experience it yourself. It's good to ask...I enjoy reading other people's opinion of other Lines so I can compare. After reading these threads, there are Lines I will not try, but although we prefer Celebrity, we try and enjoy other Lines....but again, Go Cruise Yourself.

 

You are not marrying a Cruise Line when you go on one, you are not making decisions of Life/Death, War/Peace, you are going on vacation. And the great majority of us enjoy Every Cruise we've been on. Heck, with all the snide comments I read about Carnival, we've cruised on that Line and enjoyed - not my preferences in some areas, but really had fun. Why? I was cruising - with good friends, met nice people and was able to look out to the Sea, relax and enjoy. I found what I wanted to do on those cruises and did so.

 

Very subjective opinon - if you liked Princess, you'll like Celebrity. So go cruise and enjoy.

 

Denny

[siouxcitysue]

I have 2 cruises on Princess (Sapphire and Ruby - 17 days) and 3 cruises on Celebrity (Constellation, Infinity and Equinox - 34 days); Sapphire and Ruby are sister ships though the Ruby is a bit roomier IMO. I agree with Celebrity fans above on a couple of points. Definitely the Smoking policy on Celebrity is hands-down better for NON-smokers. The only place we were confronted with smokers was in the casino. Smoking neighbors RUINED our Alaskan cruise on the Sapphire. We sprung for a mini-suite and couldn't enjoy it at the glaciers because of the smokestacks in the next cabin. Also, both the Sapphire and Ruby direct all traffic through the photo gallery on the Prominade deck...talk about bottleneck!! Celebrity ships (two different classes sailed) are better in the lay out without question. None felt crowded. I have to give the Ruby kudos for cabin space. We felt a bit cramped in Aqua Class on the Equinox. But, when given a choice with same itineraries, we would go to Celebrity every time.

[geojobes]

We have been on a total of 8 cruises, a whole lot less than many on this board. We've been on 4 different cruise lines & I can tell you, they all do the major things well. The difference is in the little things & each do different little things better than the others.

 

We sailed on Caribbean Princess, we enjoyed it. MUTS was nice & we watched a movie there, when we couldn't get seats in the theater. Thought the popcorn was a nice touch. That cruise was tainted by having a bad waiter in Anytime Dining, but also had 2 other waitstaffs that were among the best we ever had. (I gotta say that I thought bad waiters were a Cruise Critic version of an urban legend until we encountered this guy.)

 

We recently sailed on Celebrity Summit & really had a great cruise. We had excellent food & excellent service. We enjoyed the fact that they had free Ice Cream available from Noon to 10 PM. Free Ice Cream was only available on Princess from 3:30 - 4:30 PM. The cold wash cloths & water & punch coming back on board after being in port is a great little thing. The 1 announcement a day is also nice. The No Smoking in cabins & balcony is really nice, no smoking is casino is really, really nice.

 

We enjoyed Princess, but enjoyed Celebrity even better. No matter what cruise you pick, I hope you have a great time.

[kek123]

Agree with much of what has already been written. Biggest differences for me were, enforcement of NO SMOKING signs/areas on the Caribbean Princess was non-existent whereas on Celebrity Summitt it was clearly marked and compliant. Service was the other factor for me, only had one minor issue on Celebrity towels not replaced (actually they were all missing) one day. One call and they were replenished within minutes.

Princess on the other hand, the problems were serious and multiple, and none were really ever addressed despite many phone calls, visits to various department desks etc. I was also yelled at, threatened and blatently discriminated against. Problems included a non-working toilet several days, being told the only table for a solo is in front of the service area slop bucket, steward entering multiple times without knocking etc. I could go on and on but end of day, Celebrity has my business for the future. Princess couldn't give me a cruise for free.

[roe2ship]

I think the original question was which cruise line you prefer, so I gave my honest answer and also agreed with the other posters on here. I think I am entitled to my opinion regardless of how many cruises I have been on. We travel a lot and go to many fine restaurants so I do consider myself a good judge of what is good service and good food. As I said, I liked them both but prefer Celebrity. They also had the best itinerary and the best prices.

 

Roe2ship, please do not be misled by the comments on here about maintenace on Celebrity. If you do a search on the boards about the Summit you will find that probably 95% love the Summit and will find a lot of great reviews. Sure there's going to be some who will find fault, and actually look for rust, stains, etc. A vacation is what you make of it. There is also a poster who put statistics on the boards about the maintenace that Celebrity does on its ships. We were constantly seeing the crew painting and cleaning and the Summit was a great ship.

My apologies if my post came across the wrong way. Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion however when comments such as “blows another line out of the water” IMO, is a little too strong and to some extent unfair with only one cruise on that line. Lesson learned from my own experiences on my two RCI cruises. While my first cruise on them was very good, my second one was excellent and my favorite to date. It was probably due to that it was another class of ship and/or itinerary. If it was anything like the first….I am not quite sure if I would have given RCI a third try. And with that said, I personally don’t think that I will make strong comments like “such and such” cruise line blows Royal away. I would hope I can simply offer a well balanced comparison and still post my preference from one line over another without unfair or misleading statements. So I guess my point is that cruise experiences can and do vary from itineraries, ship to ship even week to week within the same fleet.

 

You are right…..I have to be reminded sometimes that there are misleading negative comments on these boards…..thank you. For someone to say that a ship is a “rust bucket” or “filthy dirty” is…. in my opinion…looking to find fault, stir the pot or more likely an exaggeration.

 

 

Roe2ship: Hard to believe you've sailed on the Caribbean Princess 4 times and not felt crowded. We sailed her once (voyage 2) and it was tight, tight, tight in any venue we went to. Several of my X cruises on Century class seemed almost frighteningly empty by comparison...

Other than the photo gallery areas and the atrium on formal nights, no I have not felt crowding issues. When I am on vacation, my tolerance level reaches a new height.;)

 

Hi:) there have also been some very positive reviews about Summit

 

too:)...

Yes, I have been reading them with pleasure! Thanks:)

[roe2ship]

I've enjoyed reading this thread. I've loved our cruises on the Golden Princess and the Crown Princess. In two days I'll be able to compare to the Summit. If X is as good as Princess- we'll love it.

Hope you come back and post your comparisons. Enjoy your cruise!

 

We have been on a total of 8 cruises, a whole lot less than many on this board. We've been on 4 different cruise lines & I can tell you, they all do the major things well. The difference is in the little things & each do different little things better than the others.

 

We sailed on Caribbean Princess, we enjoyed it. MUTS was nice & we watched a movie there, when we couldn't get seats in the theater. Thought the popcorn was a nice touch. That cruise was tainted by having a bad waiter in Anytime Dining, but also had 2 other waitstaffs that were among the best we ever had. (I gotta say that I thought bad waiters were a Cruise Critic version of an urban legend until we encountered this guy.)

 

We recently sailed on Celebrity Summit & really had a great cruise. We had excellent food & excellent service. We enjoyed the fact that they had free Ice Cream available from Noon to 10 PM. Free Ice Cream was only available on Princess from 3:30 - 4:30 PM. The cold wash cloths & water & punch coming back on board after being in port is a great little thing. The 1 announcement a day is also nice. The No Smoking in cabins & balcony is really nice, no smoking is casino is really, really nice.

 

We enjoyed Princess, but enjoyed Celebrity even better. No matter what cruise you pick, I hope you have a great time.

Hey neighbor:)

great to hear about the excellent food, that is one of my main concerns when picking a cruise. The cold wash cloths sounds like a nice touch.

 

The ice cream on Princess is now free all day at Scoops.....finally, the charge was a bit ridiculous.

[Lois R]

My apologies if my post came across the wrong way. Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion however when comments such as “blows another line out of the water” IMO, is a little too strong and to some extent unfair with only one cruise on that line. Lesson learned from my own experiences on my two RCI cruises. While my first cruise on them was very good, my second one was excellent and my favorite to date. It was probably due to that it was another class of ship and/or itinerary. If it was anything like the first….I am not quite sure if I would have given RCI a third try. And with that said, I personally don’t think that I will make strong comments like “such and such” cruise line blows Royal away. I would hope I can simply offer a well balanced comparison and still post my preference from one line over another without unfair or misleading statements. So I guess my point is that cruise experiences can and do vary from itineraries, ship to ship even week to week within the same fleet.

 

You are right…..I have to be reminded sometimes that there are misleading negative comments on these boards…..thank you. For someone to say that a ship is a “rust bucket” or “filthy dirty” is…. in my opinion…looking to find fault, stir the pot or more likely an exaggeration.

 

 

Other than the photo gallery areas and the atrium on formal nights, no I have not felt crowding issues. When I am on vacation, my tolerance level reaches a new height.;)

 

Yes, I have been reading them with pleasure! Thanks:)

 

Glad you found them:)...the problem I am having? I need to book

a cruise in the fall and cannot figure out what to do. Solstice,

Summit AND Century all have offerings and I can't decide which

to pick...how bad is that?;)