Considering Celebrity

[Alicomp]

We are Princess cruisers who are ready to leave Princess. I posted some questions on the Crystal board and am doing the same here.

1) If you are familiar with Princess mini-suites, what is the equivalent accommodation on Celebrity?

2) If we don't want to dress up on formal night are there restaurants open where we can go business casual (other than room service) ?

3) Are there libraries with comfortable chairs where one can sit and read for extended periods of time?

4) We would get the beverage card and use it for soda and coffee. Does the soda include cans or just fountain drinks?

5) What do you like most about Celebrity? If you are familiar with Princess, what are the major differences?

 

Thank you.

 

Alice

[avalon1025]

I am platinum on Princess and sailed Celebrity and Crystal this year. Though Celebrity and Crystal are different segments on the cruise chain (premium/mass market vs luxury), I do enjoy Celebrity and their S-calss ships far more than Princess.

 

On Celebrity, I have only sailed Aqua Class and Suites and eatten in Blu with a drink package which makes Celebrity feel a bit more all inclusive and "ship within a ship" eating in Blu (open seating, smaller, etc)

 

Overall Crystal is a far superior product for food service and passenger space, but if you do Celebrity right, its a great product and a nice step up from Princess

 

On Celebrity the standard S Class balcony cabin is smaller than a mini suite but larger than the standard balcony on Princess. I think a sky suite would be a nice compare to a mini suite on Princess (and you get a butler)

 

My favorite thing on Celebrity is the ships (really pretty), the grass!, and the service and having the option to eat in Blu or several alternative restaurants

Edited December 14, 2013 by avalon1025

[Alicomp]

I am platinum on Princess and sailed Celebrity and Crystal this year. Though Celebrity and Crystal are different segments on the cruise chain (premium/mass market vs luxury), I do enjoy Celebrity and their S-calss ships far more than Princess.

 

On Celebrity, I have only sailed Aqua Class and Suites and eatten in Blu with a drink package which makes Celebrity feel a bit more all inclusive and "ship within a ship" eating in Blu (open seating, smaller, etc)

 

Overall Crystal is a far superior product for food service and passenger space, but if you do Celebrity right, its a great product and a nice step up from Princess

 

On Celebrity the standard S Class balcony cabin is smaller than a mini suite but larger than the standard balcony on Princess. I think a sky suite would be a nice compare to a mini suite on Princess (and you get a butler)

 

My favorite thing on Celebrity is the ships (really pretty), the grass!, and the service and having the option to eat in Blu or several alternative restaurants

 

Thanks Avalon. OP here. I forgot two important questions: Are there tables for 2 in the MDR and if so, are they easy to get? Is there open seating or only assigned seating.

[DebbieMacG]

Thanks Avalon. OP here. I forgot two important questions: Are there tables for 2 in the MDR and if so, are they easy to get? Is there open seating or only assigned seating.

 

 

There are tables for two available on fixed dining times (6pm & 8.30pm) and select dining (open seating) as well, you can also book a table during select dining times either before or during the cruise, or just turn up when it suits. :)

 

Also just to add:

 

 

We are Princess cruisers who are ready to leave Princess. I posted some questions on the Crystal board and am doing the same here.

1) If you are familiar with Princess mini-suites, what is the equivalent accommodation on Celebrity?

 

a standard balcony is bigger on Celebrity than a Princess balcony, but not as big as a mini suite, a sky suite is bigger than a mini suite and will include a butler and other special amenities (special toiletries, room service dinner course by course, afternoon tea, free speciality dining on upto 2 nights and more)

 

2) If we don't want to dress up on formal night are there restaurants open where we can go business casual (other than room service) ?

 

Yes speciality restaurants such as Tuscan grill, Murano, Qsine, Lawn club grill and Bistro on five (depends which ship you are on some have different restaurants,all for extra $) and the Buffet

 

3) Are there libraries with comfortable chairs where one can sit and read for extended periods of time?

 

there's the library itself and also numerous places you can sit and chill with a book

 

4) We would get the beverage card and use it for soda and coffee. Does the soda include cans or just fountain drinks? It includes cans, speciality coffees and teas, bottled water, freshly squeezed juices

 

Hope this helps!

Edited December 15, 2013 by DebbieMacG

[Iluvcruising2]

We cruised Celebrity for the first time, after many cruises on Royal

 

My review in progress:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1952065

 

I have pictures of the library, haven't posted them yet. From what I saw, people sat there for extended periods of time. The chairs are very comfortable.

[Denny01]

We've cruised Princess 3 times and Celebrity 16. Enjoyed both. We'd go Mini on Princess because, as others posted, the standard SRs were smaller. We stay with standard Celebrity SRs because it suffices. It is smaller than a Princess Mini.

 

There are many 2-person tables and there is set dining and Select (anytime) dining.

 

The Celebrity common areas were less crowded, the theater sat more so you don't have to get there 45min before the show to sit together. I found Celebrity had less hard-sell going on, more laid back. Both have great service.

 

Try one and see for yourself. It is all so subjective on what is important to each.

 

Welcome, and enjoy!

 

Den

[Cruise Raider]

While I like Princess ok, Celebrity is my favorite. For one, Princess usually has a lot more kids onboard -- I know that is heavily dependent on the itinerary, but have seen far fewer children and teenagers on Celebrity. We are Elite on Princess and soon to be Elite on Celebrity, so have traveled on both lines extensively. I am with you, after our last Princess cruise, we've decided we like a bit more of the white glove service provided by Celebrity.

 

We are Princess cruisers who are ready to leave Princess. I posted some questions on the Crystal board and am doing the same here.

1) If you are familiar with Princess mini-suites, what is the equivalent accommodation on Celebrity? I think the Princess mini suites and solstice class balcony rooms are pretty much equivalent to one another. I think the sq footage is about 15 sq feet less on Celebrity's balcony. Plus, there is one less tv and a shower vs a tub on the standard Celebrity balcony. The beds and pillows are worlds better on Celebrity and the cabins on the Solstice class seem to be much more soundproof than those on Princess.

2) If we don't want to dress up on formal night are there restaurants open where we can go business casual (other than room service) ? A real benefit of the specialty restaurants on Celebrity is they are always smart casual, even on formal nights. This is a huge plus for us.

3) Are there libraries with comfortable chairs where one can sit and read for extended periods of time? We've always seen people reading and even nodding off into a sound sleep in the libraries on Celebrity. There are a variety of chairs, small couches -- pretty comfortable in there. Princess' libraries seem to be stuck in with the computer room now.

4) We would get the beverage card and use it for soda and coffee. Does the soda include cans or just fountain drinks? Not sure. While I do order club soda, I believe it did not come in a can.

5) What do you like most about Celebrity? If you are familiar with Princess, what are the major differences? Outstanding service on Celebrity. While Princess has offered us some outstanding service, it has been inconsistent. The beds are so much better plus I love the hump cabin balconies you can find on many of the Celebrity ships. The bedding is so much better on Celebrity. I love the entertainment in the Centrum of the ship and everything just seems a lot cleaner on Celebrity. One more thing, they allow you as many pool towels or blankets that you need on Celebrity. Princess is back to guarding them as if the passengers are going to abscond with them. Really?? You can be dripping wet and freezing cold and they won't hand a dry towel over until you have signed all the paperwork for a dry towel.

 

Thank you.

 

Alice

 

That is just a few of the things I like about Celebrity over Princess. While Princess does have some great entertainment and food as well, Celebrity's has just beat them out in more recent cruises.

[ginnynj]

There are tables for two available on fixed dining times (6pm & 8.30pm) and select dining (open seating) as well, you can also book a table during select dining times either before or during the cruise, or just turn up when it suits. :)

 

Also just to add:

 

 

We are Princess cruisers who are ready to leave Princess. I posted some questions on the Crystal board and am doing the same here.

1) If you are familiar with Princess mini-suites, what is the equivalent accommodation on Celebrity?

 

a standard balcony is bigger on Celebrity than a Princess balcony, but not as big as a mini suite, a sky suite is bigger than a mini suite and will include a butler and other special amenities (special toiletries, room service dinner course by course, afternoon tea, free speciality dining on upto 2 nights and more)

 

2) If we don't want to dress up on formal night are there restaurants open where we can go business casual (other than room service) ?

 

Yes speciality restaurants such as Tuscan grill, Murano, Qsine, Lawn club grill and Bistro on five (depends which ship you are on some have different restaurants,all for extra $) and the Buffet

 

3) Are there libraries with comfortable chairs where one can sit and read for extended periods of time?

 

there's the library itself and also numerous places you can sit and chill with a book

 

4) We would get the beverage card and use it for soda and coffee. Does the soda include cans or just fountain drinks? It includes cans, speciality coffees and teas, bottled water, freshly squeezed juices

 

Hope this helps!

 

For our 2014 annual winter escape cruise, DH and I am sailing on the 14n Eclipse Jan 25th after 27 Princess winter escapes. We thought it was time for a change and after all of the great information from experienced Celebrity cruisers I feel confident that this is a good choice. We are Elite on Princess and I will miss a few things, like the E 730 or 731 large balconies on grandclass ships, free laundry and lots of free internet, but I chose an aft Eclipse balcony that looks a little wider and I definitely like aft cabins (9378). So glad that there are tables for 2 in fixed dining, I enjoy meeting folks as we cruise but do like just the 2 of us at dinner since we both work way too many hours and we use the cruse to reconnect :-) I am definitely on cruise countdown as the Philly area just had its 3rd snow event yesterday in less than a week, if you are football fans, we have taken to calling the Link (Lincoln Financial Field ) the Snow Globe :-) Any way, thanks for all of your comments and shared info, we look forward to our first Celebrity (we sailed years ago under the Chandris brand) and hope to have a great cruise. Wishing you all Happy Sails !