Sell Me on Proncess

[Lightngsvt]

So all you Princess fans, please sell me on why I should choose Princess for our next cruise?

 

Last March my wife and I went on our first cruise together on Celebrity Silhouette for our 10th anniversary. We've talking about another late march sailing this year (yep, getting to be last minute!) for our anniversary. To be honest I loved our trip on Celebrity, but was checking out Princess and the itineraries seems a bit better and the rates a bit lower. Consensus seems to be that the 2 lines are equals.

 

I really dont know much about Princess, the ships or what makes them unique but Id love to learn. We like the more upscale atmosphere and more adults than children that we had on our last cruise. Cabins are important too, we need a couch as well as a decent veranda. Breakfast on the veranda every morning was incredible!

[Colo Cruiser]

So all you Princess fans, please sell me on why I should choose Princess for our next cruise?

 

Last March my wife and I went on our first cruise together on Celebrity Silhouette for our 10th anniversary. We've talking about another late march sailing this year (yep, getting to be last minute!) for our anniversary. To be honest I loved our trip on Celebrity, but was checking out Princess and the itineraries seems a bit better and the rates a bit lower. Consensus seems to be that the 2 lines are equals.

 

I really dont know much about Princess, the ships or what makes them unique but Id love to learn. We like the more upscale atmosphere and more adults than children that we had on our last cruise. Cabins are important too, we need a couch as well as a decent veranda. Breakfast on the veranda every morning was incredible!

 

 

If you need a couch then you will need to book at least a mini suite.

There is room service but anything hot (eggs etc) are not on the list and not guaranteed. Most people just write it in on the door hang tag the night before.

If you are in a full suite you can order anything including off the DR menus.

[cr8tiv1]

It would help if you indicated an area if interest. If it is just to cruise, then iI would suggest looking into a Window Suite on the Grand, Golden, Caribbean Princess. It might even be a similar cost to a mini-suite but without a balcony. Mini-suites are enhanced balcony cabins; not a small suite.

[gcvt]

So all you Princess fans, please sell me on why I should choose Princess for our next cruise?

 

Last March my wife and I went on our first cruise together on Celebrity Silhouette for our 10th anniversary. We've talking about another late march sailing this year (yep, getting to be last minute!) for our anniversary. To be honest I loved our trip on Celebrity, but was checking out Princess and the itineraries seems a bit better and the rates a bit lower. Consensus seems to be that the 2 lines are equals.

 

I really dont know much about Princess, the ships or what makes them unique but Id love to learn. We like the more upscale atmosphere and more adults than children that we had on our last cruise. Cabins are important too, we need a couch as well as a decent veranda. Breakfast on the veranda every morning was incredible!

 

Happy anniversary!

 

Have you chosen a destination yet? Length of cruise? Keep in mind, considering your preferences, Spring Break takes place in March.

[dorisis]

I think you will be with Princess compared to Celebrity.The standard cabins and especially the bathrooms are smaller and the food not quite as good.

[rjack22]

The new Royal Princess has a new category...Deluxe Balcony cabins. These cabins do have a loveseat couch. Then you can go up from there with a mini suite being the next category.

[Debbdo]

Our first cruise was with Celebrity. The two couples at our dinner table told us we would be so spoiled we'd never cruise with another line. We've cruised with Carnival and Princess and are cruising again on Princess next month. Although I loved the Celebrity cruise, I also love Princess. Not a big fan of Carnival, but that's just me.

[Gunner22aa]

Having cruised both multiple times and now decided that we like Princess better I think you will find the two very comparable. For food DW gives Celebrity the nod but only for their deserts.

 

Don't know your preference for ships. Small, large or mega. Princess has them all and the bulk of the fleet fit into the large catagory commonly refered to as the Grand Class. They would roughly equate to Celebrities Milleneum Class of ships. On these ships you will need a mini suite or a full suite to get a couch. As mentioned a mini suite is not really anything other than a larger balcony cabin. There are no special perks to speak of in a mini suite. The perks are nice in a full suite however. Princess does not offer the equilivent of Celebrities Concierge or Aqua Class on their ships

 

 

I find Princess has more interesting and longer itineraries then Celebrity which is a major draw for us as we now typically cruise for a month at a time.

 

As to children that is an easy one. Don't cruise during school breaks including college March break and you will avoid as many children as possible. Also there are less children on longer cruises and from more exotic ports. Our Asia cruise was sold out and there were exactly three children on board. On longer trips to more exotic places you will also find a much older age demographic so you have to be prepared for that. On the Asia trip we were the "teens" on board although in our mid 50's.

 

Hope this helps a bit

[RetiredNTraveling]

Happy anniversary!

 

Have you chosen a destination yet? Length of cruise? Keep in mind, considering your preferences, Spring Break takes place in March.

 

Destination & length are important but of more is timing! Sounds like you are like us. You prefer limited number of children! If so, watch out for Spring Break, :eek: as it can ruin you celebration!

 

Princess treats you like royalty whether you are in a balcony stateroom or a full suite. Of course mini-suites are a step above and full suites are simple outstanding. Check out the amenities of the various staterooms / suites before deciding. But as Loyal Princess Cruisers, believe me when I say; "You can't go wrong with Princess!" :D

[melody hounddog]

Happy anniversary!

 

Have you chosen a destination yet? Length of cruise? Keep in mind, considering your preferences, Spring Break takes place in March.

 

Spring Break can also be in April. I have 2 children, one has their break in March and the other in April. No spring break vacation for us this year.

[Happy2cruise]

So all you Princess fans, please sell me on why I should choose Princess for our next cruise?

 

Last March my wife and I went on our first cruise together on Celebrity Silhouette for our 10th anniversary. We've talking about another late march sailing this year (yep, getting to be last minute!) for our anniversary. To be honest I loved our trip on Celebrity, but was checking out Princess and the itineraries seems a bit better and the rates a bit lower. Consensus seems to be that the 2 lines are equals.

 

I really dont know much about Princess, the ships or what makes them unique but Id love to learn. We like the more upscale atmosphere and more adults than children that we had on our last cruise. Cabins are important too, we need a couch as well as a decent veranda. Breakfast on the veranda every morning was incredible!

We have 26 cruises with Princess and took our first Celebrity cruise last March on the Silhouette which we loved and in fact are

doing it again in a few weeks. Our opinion is that is Princess and Celebrity are very similar....if you like Celebrity I would say you will like Princess too!

 

We have found longer cruises tend to have fewer children. Just got off a 10 day cruise on the Emerald Princess and saw very, very few children. Time of year and route factor into this. Did the Panama Canal twice on Princess and literally no children. As far as a couch, the regular balcony rooms do not have them (except some on the Royal) so you would probably be interested in a mini-suite.

 

Agree that morning coffee and breakfast on the balcony is fantastic. Also, let Princess know it's your anniversary and they will decorate the door with a sign, balloons and even have a cake for you:D

 

Good luck in deciding and whatever.....enjoy your cruise

[Happy2cruise]

There is room service but anything hot (eggs etc) are not on the list and not guaranteed. Most people just write it in on the door hang tag the night before.

If you are in a full suite you can order anything including off the DR menus.

We always get a regular balcony and have been able to get anything we asked for eggs, bacon, bran muffins, yogurt, fruit etc with no trouble...they are very accommodating. We do not put the breakfast card out at night because we never know what time we wake up instead we just call room service whenever...it's easier for us:D.

[Shake]

So all you Princess fans, please sell me on why I should choose Princess for our next cruise?

 

Last March my wife and I went on our first cruise together on Celebrity Silhouette for our 10th anniversary. We've talking about another late march sailing this year (yep, getting to be last minute!) for our anniversary. To be honest I loved our trip on Celebrity, but was checking out Princess and the itineraries seems a bit better and the rates a bit lower. Consensus seems to be that the 2 lines are equals.

 

I really dont know much about Princess, the ships or what makes them unique but Id love to learn. We like the more upscale atmosphere and more adults than children that we had on our last cruise. Cabins are important too, we need a couch as well as a decent veranda. Breakfast on the veranda every morning was incredible!

 

We are fans of both Princess and Celebrity. However overall if the rate and itineraries are close to equal, Celebrity is definately our choice. Especially with the (5) S Class ship selections. You recently coming from the Silhouette you will probably be not as impressed with the Princess ships. What we like about the Celebrity ships vs. Princess ships is the more modern contemporary interior design, the open air 2 level MDR, lots of red and blue lower level hue lighting, improved bars/lounges, better speciality venus, better rewards program, couchs in all the balcony rooms, in room music selections/photo/infomation choices, the larger showers. I'm sure the new Royal Princess is a step in the right direction but right now at this time there is only one of them in the Princess fleet.

[Lightngsvt]

Thanks everyone! At this time Im 41 and the wife is 39 but we prefer fewer children, our anniversary is 3/28 and plan to be on a ship over that date. Last year on the Silhouette there didn't seem to be an overabundance of kids so the date "seems" safe, we did western Caribbean. Planning eastern this year, Princess's itineraries do seem more interesting, but seems like the Solstice class ships, cabins in particular, are a little nicer is that true? What are the standard balcony cabins like on Princess? We did spend time in our cabin so it is important.

[Shake]

Princess is nice but keep your expectations in check. Not great but good, that is the difference. Cabins are not as nice. The Princess ships compared to Celebrity are definately dated. :cool:

[ne1travel]

We only have two cruises under our belts, both with Princess. What keeps us coming back going forward is their no-smoking policy. While docked in St Maarten, we noticed many passengers smoking on the balconies on the Holland America tied up across from us. We enjoy hanging out on the balcony not being bothered by smoke. What is the smoking policy on the Celebrity line?

[moorerf]

I am going on my fourth Princess cruise on Sat, have done one on Celebrity. I think they are comparable in many areas. I like the concierge cabins that celebrity offers with the extra perks. The mini suites on Princess have a bit more space but not any special perks. I feel you should look at the dates, see who is sailing where and who has the best prices for what you want and go from there. You cant predict children in most cases but we also find avoiding spring break times...mainly april, christmas holidays is the key. On Princess there are two adult only pool areas on most ships,,,around the spa and aft.

They do a good job of moving children away from these areas. We avoid MUTS area during day and ask at anytime dining not to be seated with children at our table and have had no problems.

[Debbdo]

We only have two cruises under our belts, both with Princess. What keeps us coming back going forward is their no-smoking policy. While docked in St Maarten, we noticed many passengers smoking on the balconies on the Holland America tied up across from us. We enjoy hanging out on the balcony not being bothered by smoke. What is the smoking policy on the Celebrity line?

 

Although I could not find a date, by the comments, I assume this is a pretty recent article and answers questions about smoking policies on most, if not all, cruise lines. Hope it helps.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=225

 

Debbie

[RetiredNTraveling]

We only have two cruises under our belts, both with Princess. What keeps us coming back going forward is their no-smoking policy. While docked in St Maarten, we noticed many passengers smoking on the balconies on the Holland America tied up across from us. We enjoy hanging out on the balcony not being bothered by smoke. What is the smoking policy on the Celebrity line?

 

Our 1st cruise to Alaska the couple next door smoked quite heavy and it was a major disappointment to our balcony. :mad: The last 3 cruises are after the smoking change and we love cruising in the smoke free environment of PCL! ;) We particularly enjoy our balconies without smoke!:)

[Host Jazzbeau]

The best way to avoid Spring Break is to take a cruise longer than 7 days. The Princess partial Panama Canal itinerary (11 days out of FLL) should be safe at any time and it's a great cruise.

 

Some people only like brand-new ships with all the bells and whistles - but these ships also attract lots of kids/teens. We prefer the older ships like Coral/Island Princess - and as it happens they are the Panama Canal ships. [Note that Celebrity doesn't do any partial Panama Canal itineraries; their so-called partials actually tie up in Colon all day so you don't get a chance to go through any locks on the big ship.]

[msmoger]

Princess is nice but keep your expectations in check. Not great but good, that is the difference. Cabins are not as nice. The Princess ships compared to Celebrity are definately dated. :cool:

 

Although it is true that Celebrity has more newer builds than Princess, it should be noted that based on your list of past cruises the newest Princess ship you have sailed (Caribbean Princess) was built in 2004. You haven't experienced any of the newer ships. I think they are beautiful and refined.

[ne1travel]

Although I could not find a date, by the comments, I assume this is a pretty recent article and answers questions about smoking policies on most, if not all, cruise lines. Hope it helps.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=225

 

Debbie

 

Thanks Debbdo,

Great link....

[smilz]

We are almost Elite on Princess (yay), Platinum on RCCL, sailed 6 times on Celebrity, 5 times on NCL, and 1 time on HAL. Boy could I build the perfect ship if I took the best things from all! We cruise itinerary and price. Celebrity has the best service, great food and larger cabins. Their platinum and return passenger parties are fabulous. More like you saw industry wide 10+ years ago. They have more diverse activities during the day, and excellent entertainment on the main stage. Their Martini bars are quite an experience with the way the bartenders mix and pour the martini flights. Not really impressed with the ice bars though. All that being said, I like the pools the best on Princess with the water being fresh water and not yucky salt water. The Patter is the easiest to follow and the evening entertainment has a lot of different options. We enjoy the layout of the ships and find them easy to navigate and ,yes, we enjoy hearing the Captain over the loud speaker every day at noon. The embarkation usually goes very smoothly as does disembarkation. You will have a great time whichever line you choose!

[Lightngsvt]

Good info, sounds like mostly good experiences on Princess. So what are the newest ships, I was a big fan of the Silhouette last year but I should probably be open to trying smaller ships too. The biggest thing that has me looking outside of Celebrity is their very limited itineraries, Princess and HAL seem to definitely have Celebrity beat there. So are Princess and HAL part of the same line? I started looking at HAL and the cabins / layout seem very similar to Princess. How do HAL and Princess compare?

[Woobstr112G]

Princess definitely has the better itineraries. T/A's are my favorite itineraries and IMHO X is very lacking and cannot compare to Princess.....:):):)

 

Bob

Edited February 5, 2014 by Woobstr112G