Celebrity vs Princess: a comparison by an inexperienced cruiser.

[schlot]

You did a great job here Kim - excellent and balanced presentation.

 

I was on Connie a year ago as well and found her levels of service to be above Caribbean Princess as well.

 

Like you too, I really appreciated CBs open deck space and the sense of never being crowded (except in Horizon Court or around the Atrium).

 

Hobbsey....neither of these places are crowded at 4am. :)

[DrivesLikeMario]

Thanks for a fair, well-informed review. Your perceptions are pretty accurate IME.

[junglejane]

DH and I are fans of both Celebrity and Princess and will happily cruise on either one. But I also think comparing the Connie to the Caribbean Princess is a little apples and oranges. My brother and SIL have cruised multiple times on the M-class Celebrity ships and just returned from the Solstice. They thought the Solstice was way too big. I"m a little worried because they are booked to go with us to the Baltics on the Caribbean Princess in June. I've warned them that the Caribbean Princess is big, too. But sometimes you have to compromise ship size for timing and itinerary. Hopefully they will enjoy the Caribbean Princess. Fingers crossed!

[Bimmer09]

Excellent comparison review. Well considered.

 

I am currently an avid Princess cruiser but have a soft spot for the Connie because of her design inside and out. Nice size too.

 

When I do sail X I think it would be on the Connie first just to satisfy my curiosity.

 

Here she is next to the Ruby Princess in PE Jan. 24th

 

Norris

 

[kimlovesfl]

it's interesting review. I always find it interesting to see what other people see as important to them when they review or compare ships. A few things you mentioned would not even have registered with me. Such as the curtains in the main dining room.

 

Cost and itineraries are extremely important to me and I wish more of these items will be reviewed

 

Well, the price on our cruise last week couldn't be beat, which is why we went. Price and itinerary are important to me, too, and as far as the curtains, I like being able to look outside, and when you are in such a beautiful location as the ocean, you should be able to see outside.

[Susie51]

Thank you for your comparison. I've been on Infinity which I like very much and I think it is a sister ship of Connie. I've been on Diamond Princess, but I don't know if it is similar to Caribbean Princess.

 

I agree with you plenty of seating in the buffet on -X-

[kimlovesfl]

I think the Infinity is a Solstice class ship, and larger that the Connie, but I may be wrong.

 

Another difference, and it's minor, is that there is almost no smoking on the Connie mot even in the casino, while the CB's casino is smoking, but it is easy to avoid. CB's casino was much busier.

[Cruise Junky]

I think the Infinity is a Solstice class ship, and larger that the Connie, but I may be wrong.

 

 

 

Another difference, and it's minor, is that there is almost no smoking on the Connie mot even in the casino, while the CB's casino is smoking, but it is easy to avoid. CB's casino was much busier.

 

 

Infinity is a sister ship of Connie. Loved the non smoking casino on Celebrity.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[maggie.1008]

Infinity is not a S Class ship it is M class

[Cindy]

I really enjoyed this comparison! My only Celebrity cruise so far was on the Constellation, and we loved it...what a nice ship!

 

I will tell you that our first cruise was on the Sea Princess. We were in awe, and loved everything about it. We also thought that that was how cruising would be...regardless of ship.

 

Our second cruise was on the RCI Rhapsody of the Seas, and we thought almost everything about it was lacking. In hindsight, it wasn't at all. Our problem was that we kept comparing everything to cruise #1, and you can never quite replicate that first "WOW" experience.

 

We've now been on many different lines, and have found there are things we like and dislike about each. For us the decision comes down to itinerary, price, and availability, and we take it from there.

[eandj]

We've now been on many different lines, and have found there are things we like and dislike about each. For us the decision comes down to itinerary, price, and availability, and we take it from there.

 

YES. We have cruised more than once on 4 different cruiselines. They all have had things we really liked and some not so much. But being experinced, we don't look for faults. We look to make happy memories.

So far, luckily we have never cruised an "awful" itinerary or ship. :rolleyes:( It always amazes me when that word shows up in cruise reviews.)

[LabGuy64]

Am doing the November 2016 TA on Silhouette....can't wait

 

 

I know the ships aren't exactly equal, because the CB is much larger, but the lines are kind of similar. Princess is sometimes cheaper, but for the TA cruise I am considering on the Silhouette next year, Celebrity has a better price by far, for a great itinerary before you cross the waters.

 

Should I also post this on the Celebrity board?

[Murray's Pop]

Just wanted to add a comment regarding the Captain and Officers on Celebrity.

 

We mostly cruise on HAL and some on NCL, but did our first Celebrity cruise last year (doing our first Princess cruise in April). I have to agree that the Captain and ships Officers on Celebrity are by far, the most friendly and engaging in our cruising experiences.

 

We would have coffee every morning around 10 in the Cova Cafe, and 10 of the 15 mornings on the cruise we were joined by the Captain and Hotel Director who sat with us. We were very impressed!

[maggie.1008]

Celebrity and Azamara do a wonderful job with Officers being friendly. We have had the Captain come to our table at lunch and ask if he could join us.

[kimlovesfl]

Am doing the November 2016 TA on Silhouette....can't wait

 

Really hoping to do that one myself.

[LabGuy64]

Well then how would you compare CB with the solstice or equinox?...they would be a better comparison than connie.

 

 

DH and I are fans of both Celebrity and Princess and will happily cruise on either one. But I also think comparing the Connie to the Caribbean Princess is a little apples and oranges. My brother and SIL have cruised multiple times on the M-class Celebrity ships and just returned from the Solstice. They thought the Solstice was way too big. I"m a little worried because they are booked to go with us to the Baltics on the Caribbean Princess in June. I've warned them that the Caribbean Princess is big, too. But sometimes you have to compromise ship size for timing and itinerary. Hopefully they will enjoy the Caribbean Princess. Fingers crossed!

[LabGuy64]

We have a pretty active rollcall....think it will be a fun trip

 

Really hoping to do that one myself.