Celebrity Equinox vs Ruby Princess

[dinosaurdem]

Cafe al Bacio on deck 5 of the Equinox. Similar to Princess International Cafe but everything cost.

 

I've been on 10 Celebrity cruises including just a few months ago and never been charged for a pastry at Cafe al Bacio. Please be accurate when you critique. I do prefer Princess' International Cafe, but neither charges for pastries.

[whitecap]

I've been on 10 Celebrity cruises including just a few months ago and never been charged for a pastry at Cafe al Bacio. Please be accurate when you critique. I do prefer Princess' International Cafe, but neither charges for pastries.

 

i will double check shortly and correct if needed. Don't want to be wrong.

[Mermen]

Cafe al Bacio on deck 5 of the Equinox. Similar to Princess International Cafe but everything cost.

 

All of the pastries, savory and sweet croissants and petites are all complimentary. No charge at Cafe al Bacio (only for drinks).

[avalon1025]

Having just sailed the March15th Equinox sailing, these ships are definitely a notch above Princess. Blu was fantastic as was the entertainment. No comparison to the mass market feel on Princess

[whitecap]

I've been on 10 Celebrity cruises including just a few months ago and never been charged for a pastry at Cafe al Bacio. Please be accurate when you critique. I do prefer Princess' International Cafe, but neither charges for pastries.

 

Absolutely blew it! The pastry and cookies are in deed FREE. My sincere apology. I should have tried to order something rather then ask for a menu. So sorry.

[pris993]

Interesting thread, we did a 7 day cruise on the Eclipse and 7 day on the Ruby a year ago, a few days apart. We booked an Aqua class on the Eclipse and a mini on the Ruby. We are elite on both lines.

 

Comparing them, we definitely felt we enjoyed the Ruby more. Celebrity has a lot of hype that just did not seem to be forefilled for us. We enjoy the older Celebrity ships, the Summit, Constellation etc., more than the newer Eclipse and Equniox which we have cruised. Miss no main deck, unfortunately the new Royal Princess is similar in that vain. Entertainment on Celebrity is more creative but also more hit and miss for us. We did not find the food in BLU to be that superior and we find the diningroom on the larger X ships too crowded and noisy. Cabins are about the same, like the layout of Princess mini better.

 

We did not purchase a FFB credit on X, did on the Ruby... that says it all of us.

[Mermen]

whitecap, thank you for providing the comparison. I've been on the sister ship, Eclipse but am really looking forward to the Diamond in September.

[Pam in CA]

Having just sailed the March15th Equinox sailing, these ships are definitely a notch above Princess. Blu was fantastic as was the entertainment. No comparison to the mass market feel on Princess

This is where I feel comparisons and hype between the two lines get confusing. On my Celebrity cruise, I kept being told I should have booked Aqua Class. That it was a much better cruise experience. Since I was already in an expensive 2A balcony, I didn't look into it. Is Aqua Class for the few people who book full suites like on Princess?

[Christine Frances]

This is where I feel comparisons and hype between the two lines get confusing. On my Celebrity cruise, I kept being told I should have booked Aqua Class. That it was a much better cruise experience. Since I was already in an expensive 2A balcony, I didn't look into it. Is Aqua Class for the few people who book full suites like on Princess?

 

It depends on which class of ship you were on. On M Class the standard balcony cabins are 170 sqft and Concierge & Aqua are 190 sqft On the S Class all balconies are 195 sqft. Aqua Class is one level below the suites and has its own dining room, Blu which a lot of people prefer over the MDR - not us tho:D

[roe2ship]

This is where I feel comparisons and hype between the two lines get confusing. On my Celebrity cruise, I kept being told I should have booked Aqua Class. That it was a much better cruise experience. Since I was already in an expensive 2A balcony, I didn't look into it. Is Aqua Class for the few people who book full suites like on Princess?

You could have not been told that because there were no aqua class staterooms on the Summit the year we cruised on her.....I think you may be confusing the Concierge class cabins. I had the CC cabin on Summit and no it's not llike the full suites on Princess, not even the aqua class cabins are. As the previous poster said, the aqua class gets you into Blu which I hear for the most part is fantastic.

[Pam in CA]

You could have not been told that because there were no aqua class staterooms on the Summit the year we cruised on her.....I think you may be confusing the Concierge class cabins.

Actually, I was told that on my Summit cruise, and by avid Celebrity cruisers. Perhaps they were thinking I would book another Celebrity cruise based on my Summit experience.

[roe2ship]

Actually, I was told that on my Summit cruise, and by avid Celebrity cruisers. Perhaps they were thinking I would book another Celebrity cruise based on my Summit experience.

How could they tell you to book an aqua class if they were not on the Summit yet??:confused: The Summit was "solsticitized" (sp?) after the Summer of 2011....that is when a aqua class cabin category was available. I think those avid Celebrity cruisers were pretty confused.:D

[avalon1025]

This is where I feel comparisons and hype between the two lines get confusing. On my Celebrity cruise, I kept being told I should have booked Aqua Class. That it was a much better cruise experience. Since I was already in an expensive 2A balcony, I didn't look into it. Is Aqua Class for the few people who book full suites like on Princess?

 

Aqua Class is for those booking Aqua Class cabins and above. It was on par with Princess Grill on Cunard last October, open seating, fantastic service and great food. More cooked to order due to its small size vs the MDR. Its realy a fantastic option and one that is very well priced for what you get. The AQ cabin is the standard balcony cabin more or less

[mafig]

Aqua Class is for those booking Aqua Class cabins and above. It was on par with Princess Grill on Cunard last October, open seating, fantastic service and great food. More cooked to order due to its small size vs the MDR. Its realy a fantastic option and one that is very well priced for what you get. The AQ cabin is the standard balcony cabin more or less

 

 

BLU is available to Aqua Class ... those "above" (suites) may dine there on an "as available" basis, but it is not guaranteed.

[Cruiserkenn]

The lack of self service laundry on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean is a negative to us. DH is a runner and I am a walker, and we do laundry at least once during a cruise and more on longer cruises. Yes, people will say you can send it out and that is what they prefer to do, but we prefer to have the option to do our own. And we like the price better!

 

Yes, I am a walker, too. I wonder, how is the walking on Celebrity? I really like to walk the shaded promenade decks on Princess. Anything comparable on Celebrity?

[avalon1025]

Yes' date=' I am a walker, too. I wonder, how is the walking on Celebrity? I really like to walk the shaded promenade decks on Princess. Anything comparable on Celebrity?[/quote']

 

There are shaded areas behind the lifeboats on the newer ships (similar to the Royal Princess) that run the length of the ship, but Celebrity does not have a wrap around promenade

[Cruiserkenn]

There are shaded areas behind the lifeboats on the newer ships (similar to the Royal Princess) that run the length of the ship, but Celebrity does not have a wrap around promenade

 

Thanks so much! Sounds good!

[4cats4me]

This is where I feel comparisons and hype between the two lines get confusing. On my Celebrity cruise, I kept being told I should have booked Aqua Class. That it was a much better cruise experience. Since I was already in an expensive 2A balcony, I didn't look into it. Is Aqua Class for the few people who book full suites like on Princess?

 

No, the price we are paying for Aqua is nowhere close to a full suite. We had originally booked a 2A category, and it was only $199 to upgrade to Aqua. The cost of our Aqua cabin for 10 days on the Equinox is exactly the same amount that our category BB Caribe cabin cost on Emerald Princess 5 years go:eek:

 

Our full suite on Princess was nearly double the cost of category BB

[jnc411]

Thanks to the OP for this comparison, very interesting. Each seem to have the plus's and minus's , just depends on what is most important to the individual. For me I really enjoy the promanade deck on a ship, less wind for walking and strolling than the upper deck . and the laundry option on Princess is a big plus for us as well. Thank you again for a good comparison of the two.

Cori

[Pam in CA]

How could they tell you to book an aqua class if they were not on the Summit yet??:confused: The Summit was "solsticitized" (sp?) after the Summer of 2011....that is when a aqua class cabin category was available. I think those avid Celebrity cruisers were pretty confused.:D

All I know is what they told me while on the Summit. This was before the ship was upgraded. I was remarking how incredibly tiny the cabin was which is when they told me. Maybe they were confused. I don't know. But they were with CC.

[RLM77]

Interesting thread, we did a 7 day cruise on the Eclipse and 7 day on the Ruby a year ago, a few days apart. We booked an Aqua class on the Eclipse and a mini on the Ruby. We are elite on both lines.

 

Comparing them, we definitely felt we enjoyed the Ruby more. Celebrity has a lot of hype that just did not seem to be forefilled for us. We enjoy the older Celebrity ships, the Summit, Constellation etc., more than the newer Eclipse and Equniox which we have cruised. Miss no main deck, unfortunately the new Royal Princess is similar in that vain. Entertainment on Celebrity is more creative but also more hit and miss for us. We did not find the food in BLU to be that superior and we find the diningroom on the larger X ships too crowded and noisy. Cabins are about the same, like the layout of Princess mini better.

 

We did not purchase a FFB credit on X, did on the Ruby... that says it all of us.

 

 

We could not agree more! We just returned from 14 days on Eclipse in Aqua class and longed for the cuisine, quality and variety of musical entertainment and exterior promenade of Coral Princess which we had been on for 2 weeks in October!

 

Not only did we not purchase a Future Cruise certificate, we canceled an existing booking we had on Eclipse in 2014 and booked 2 cruises on Island Princess.

 

Marlee

[pris993]

This is where I feel comparisons and hype between the two lines get confusing. On my Celebrity cruise, I kept being told I should have booked Aqua Class. That it was a much better cruise experience. Since I was already in an expensive 2A balcony, I didn't look into it. Is Aqua Class for the few people who book full suites like on Princess?

 

We always book a mini suite on Princess and CC class usually on Celebrity. Because we wanted to try BLU we booked Aqua class on our last Eclipse cruise. While we enjoyed BLU more than the X's MDR because it was more quiet and less crowded, we thought it was on a par with Sabatini's or the Crown Grill on Princess (only included with the cruise fare on X, because you paid extra for your cabin). The CC and Aqua class cabins on X are exactly the same, no different in size or layout. We prefer the layout of the mini suite on Princess over X. X rotates the sofa location every other cabin, in some cabins the sofa is near the balcony, otherwise it is near the bathroom closest area. Aqua class had a few extras in the bathroom and fresh tea delivered to the cabin every day. By comparison, Princess has always been more flexible in the MDR relative ordering off menu compared to X. We are elite on both Princess and Celebrity.. so we cruised both a lot over the years. Aqua class is not a full suite on X by the way. Aqua class is a class in itself. Folks who book a suite may request a reservation at BLU but it is only done on a space available basis. Believe they are charged a small upcharge for BLU as well. Hope these comments help.

[pris993]

There are shaded areas behind the lifeboats on the newer ships (similar to the Royal Princess) that run the length of the ship, but Celebrity does not have a wrap around promenade

 

The lifeboats make walking this area less than enjoyable... you can't see anything compared to walking on a regular main deck, no seascape views. I got board very quickly, would rather walk on a treadmill in the gym on Celebrity.

[whitecap]

Ok, now that we have made it home from our Celebrity cruise I can give our opinion of the experience between the Ruby Princess and the Celebrity Equinox. Please remember that this in our opinion, our experience on both ships.

Cruise Fare: The Ruby Princess was a 7 day cruise stopping at 4 ports of call (including Princess Cays) for a total fare cost of $1958 (2 persons no taxes, fees, port charges) or $279.71 per day; the Celebrity Equinox was an 11 day cruise stopping at 6 ports of call for a total cost of $3296.08 (2 persons no taxes, fees, port charges) or $299.64 per day.

 

Cruise ship: Ruby Princess, well maintained; public areas very clean; size excellent. Celebrity Equinox, well maintained; public area very clean, pubic bathrooms exceptionally clean/modern; size excellent.

 

Cruise activities: Ruby Princess had activities all day long at several locations; Celebrity Equinox had fewer activities, not well attended.

 

Ship Services: Customer relations desk: Ruby Princess provided quick, professional services/answers/advice; Celebrity Equinox passengers service asked about an activity signed up for to take place on the ship, sponsored by the ship and paid for through the ship however passenger service desk had no idea what we were asking about, had never heard of the event and could give no details, referred us to "excursions desk" who when approached referred us to passenger services, finally found a crew member who referred us to the right department.

 

Cabin steward: Ruby Princess, consistent, excellent service; Celebrity Equinox, inconsistent (never knew when they would show up), adequate but nothing exceptional, friendly.

 

Food: Ruby Princess, the best food we have had on a Princess ship, excellent flavors, good variety, very good table service for drinks and food. Celebrity Equinox, great variety, good flavors, buffet easy to move around, plenty of seating, no table service for drinks (exception bar orders).

 

Self services: Ruby Princess, laundry. Celebrity Equinox no laundry, very expensive cost for ship's laundry.

 

Ship's decor: Ruby Princess, excellent, open, airy, light/bright colors. Celebrity Equinox dark, atrium faces open elevator shafts, very small, less seating to watch the few activities presented.

 

Cabin: Ruby Princess, balcony cabin, room good size, balcony very good size, bathroom very small, shower only very small, storage good. Celebrity Equinox balcony cabin, room very good size, bathroom good size, shower good size, sofa in room, balcony small (good for two people, two chairs/small table).

 

Shows: Ruby Princess, good, entertaining. Celebrity Equinox, excellent, best cruise shows we have seen to date.

 

Ship's crew: Ruby Princess, excellent, professional, friendly, quick to respond. Celebrity Equinox, professional, friendly, not always knowledgeable.

 

Ship's passengers: Ruby Princess, friendly, smiles, happy to be on vacation. Celebrity Equinox, many European and many not friendly and would not speak even when you simply say "good morning", felt like many American/Canadian/UK passengers were a click and Europeans were another click; exception we had was three ship excursions where "everyone on the bus seemed to get along, talk and share experiences. Ruby Princess had two formal nights, remainder of the time passengers dressed casual, vacation type clothing. Celebrity Equinox passengers seemed to dress up every night, desks 4, 5 and 6 (shops, bars, casino, theater entrances) were filled with "dressed up people" every night beginning at 5pm, felt like being out on the town rather than being on vacation (individual choice though).

 

Overall experience: For overall experience we prefer Princess but give great marks to Celebrity for itinerary, number of days (with out returning to Ft. Lauderdale) and shows.

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thank you for your review...we LOVE Princess and keep hearing that we should try Celebrity...have done several Royal Caribbean which we also enjoyed very much, but in the end my Elite benefits on Princess usually win out!!