1st Time - Celebrity Millennium vs Princess Caribbean?

[April28]

I'd love to get some good advice from some experienced cruisers. My husband and I are planning a cruise with his parents. We are in our late 20's and they are in there early 60's. It will be our first cruise and this will be their 4th. We are trying to decide between two different ships bound for the eastern caribbean out of ft. lauderdale - the Celebrity Millennium vs. the Princess Caribbean. I've read a range of reviews for both ships . . .please help!

 

Thanks, April

[SANDY BEACH]

April, My DH and I really love Millennium. We have traveled her twice and find her to be the perfect size, great service, good food and the entertainment is fine. She is very warm in her furnishings. A great specialty restaurant that is a must. Never tried Princess. If you have any specific questions regarding Millennium, please ask. There are many here that will be able to help. I think she would appeal to your parents plus when we sailed there were quite a few younger couples around your age. My vote is for her.

[April28]

The milennium lists sport coats for men on the dressy casual nights. Are the majority of men really wearing jackets? Or would a dress shirt and slack with a tie be alright? Neither my husband or father-in-law own a sport coat. Also, what did you think of the food in the spa? I've heard they offer a lighter fare than the buffet.

[Tmeister]

Celebrity generally attracts an older crowd than Princess, but you will find travelers of all ages on both. Celebrity's service and food are both better than Princess. Princess tends to have livelier entertainment, both on deck and in shows than Celebrity. However, the differences are not major, and you's have a great time no matter what. I think I'd be guided by what the parents enjoyed most on their other cruises, and then look for the ship that will provide more of the same.

 

Rather than the shirt and tie, go with nice slacks and a stylish (not garish) Hawaiian print shirt or golf shirt. Even a good quality dress shirt without tie can be dressy casual. The sport coat is optional. I usually bring one with me and wear it in the dining room if the temperature dictates, not for style.

[SANDY BEACH]

Most on Celebrity do follow the dress code and on informal nights, a jacket is required. Formal nights are self explanatory and casual nights are the ones where you can dress down, no jackets. We did eat in the spa area for breakfast one morning and it was very good and quite healthy. I understand that they have great tilapia for lunch but missed it when it was offered. On our trip next Feb, I plan to check out the spa area dining even more. Hopefully, fewer pounds gained which is very hard to do.

[AZPam]

I have cruised with both lines and liked both lines very much. I would say I would lean a little more towards Princess just because it was a younger crowd. With that being said, I am not so sure I would want to sail on the CP. I very much like the Grand class ships, but just feel the CP has gotten a little too large. They added an entire deck of cabins but not any additional public space. My vote would be for Princess if I could sail on a different ship.

[mollyanne]

April - Let me give you my take as I have actually sailed both ships (can't believe I am even saying that!). Sailed the Millennium in April 2005 with my husband, 63, son 18, and I am 50. We had the Concierge Class on deck 9. Loved everything about the room and the ammenities that come with CC. The little touches like flowers in both the cabin and bathroom, a plush towel that you can actually wrap around yourself, canapes in the afternoon - even a golf size umbrella in the closet - they were all very nice. Our balcony was big enough for the 3 of us and allowed us to take in all the sights and sounds of being at sea.

 

The food was wonderful in the dining room. We loved the Traditional dining and had a family of three at our table almost like us - their son being just a little younger than ours. We immediately hit it off with each other and had 6 great dinners with them. The service was impeccable. Loved our waiters and had a very good rapport with them. We mostly had breakfasts and lunches in the buffet since we were on our son's time schedule (late) but always plenty of choices and I felt the quality was very good. My husband could make a meal just out of the fresh fruit - if nothing else was offered!

 

We loved the Mast Bar (aft - 10th deck??) - it was always a beautiful place to be! Celebrity served little hors d'ourves late day while you enjoyed a cocktail. At night there was a fantastic Spanish guitar player, Pepe, and he had everyone joining in singing and even dancing. We actually danced under the stars and a full moon our last night at sea!

 

Other than the shows, which we did not really partake in much due to late seating, Celebrity does roll up the sidewalks fairly early. I did not see much nightlife late (although I am now remebering the piano bar - that was fun, too). There is no late night dining - although how much can one eat?

 

I found the shopping to be fun on Millennium. Nice shops and prices weren't too bad. We did buy several souvenirs to take home to family.

 

One thing we were not crazy about was the ports. Loved St. Thomas and San Juan - hated the Dominican and Nassau. The stop at Casa de Campo was about 10 hours long and there was nothing to do after the first hour! We went to the Marina and there are only 4 - 5 shops and that's it. My son wanted to go to Los Altos de Chavon but we passed and from what we heard later missed nothing! Nassau had many shops with just the same stuff over and over - should have stayed on the ship.

 

To sum up the Millennium - it is elegant, staff is fantastic, and I would do it again in a hearbeat if the ports were changed and the prices were now a little more reasonable. Right after we came home in April I priced our same trip for 2006 and it was $1000 more. They are now getting for 5 days what we paid for 7 days.

 

Fast forward to October, 2005. I surprised my husband by taking "us" on the Caribbean Princess for our 25th anniversary. I told him just 17 days before we left, so he would have time to pack! Believe me, it was hard to keep this a secret for 4 months!

 

This was a fantastic experience! The ship is spectacular - being now only about 18 months old. We had a cat BD on the Aloha deck - just 2 decks down (aft) from where all the action is! Our cabin was very spacious - maybe because it was just the 2 of us - but we had plenty of room. The closet is huge and not directly across from the bathroom door like on most ships. We had a wonderful steward, Mary, from the Philippines, and she took great care of us. We loved having a refrigerator in our room (not on Celebrity) if even just to keep our water cold. We had a nice sized balcony and were out there morning, noon and night.

 

We did Personal Choice dining on this trip - a first. We liked it very much and ate each night in the Palm dining room. After the first night we requested the same section and waiters for the rest of the week - Alberto and U-Thai. They were sweet and always made us feel special. It was really no different from having Traditional dining because the waiters are what makes it special. The food was very good - never had a bad meal - and you can choose from the "always available" menu if there is nothing you like on the regular menu. I did this a couple of nights.

 

Different from the Millennium - this time my husband and I ate most breakfasts in the dining room - the Coral. This was always good and some days we sat with others and a couple of days by ourselves. Service is very good - food is great. My husband loves the salmon and they give you a lovely portion of it.

 

We loved the freshwater pools and they are always open. (Forgot to mention, though, the T-pool on Millennium - it is awesome and there is nothing like it on Princess - we went almost every day and it is heavenly!) There is an adults only pool - aft on 14 - which is fantastic - and a bar area there which is very pleasant. We spent some time there nearly every day. Hot tub above on 15 was also adults only - we even sat out there in the rain - and loved it!

 

Nightlife is much heartier on the Caribbean Princess. There is, of course, Bert Stratton in Crooners Lounge. He is fantastic and packs them in every night! He is quite an entertainer. We also loved Churchill's Bar - a cigar and sports bar. Watched our share of football and baseball playoff games. Staff is very nice here. Nice leather chairs and TV's cover almost every inch of the walls.

 

There are 24 hour buffets on the CB - but like I said before - how much can you really eat?? We never made it late night because the dinners were so good.

 

We did the Ultimate Balcony Breakfast one morning. This was fantastic! Too much food for two people! Salmon, quiche, fruit, pastries and a half bottle of champgane (Moet & Chandon) for $25 per couple. We really enjoyed this alot. There was so much food that we wrapped some, put it in the fridge, and my husband enjoyed it the next morning.

 

As far as ports on the CB - this is what we truly enjoyed - just St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Princess Cays got rained out but that was OK with us. I chose this ship for the 3 sea days and we ended up getting 4.

 

The shopping was not as much fun as on Millennium. I found it difficult to spend money! Also, one huge drawback, the coffee is god-awful - although I hear this could be improved in the near future. If you find you just can't stand it do what I did - just go to the Lobby bar, get a single shot of expresso and then just mix it with the regular coffee. For 1.75 you can get a decent cup of coffee.

 

One last thought, we did Sterling's and it was terriffic! The portions are huge - I don't think I've ever had such large shrimp in a shrimp cocktail. Steaks were superb! I found the service to be excellent. I have seen complaints on this board about inattentive service - not on our week! This was a great dining experience - the only problem being we were so tired from our day in St. Thomas that we might have enjoyed it more on a sea day.

 

In summing up, I loved both ships for different reasons. I would go on either one again and we are seriously condsidering the CB again for next fall. I would do Celebrity again as well if the prices were more affordable. We have also sailed NCL and Carnival but the only line we've ever put down money for a future cruise is Princess.

 

Please feel free to post any questions - I check in here a couple of times a day and will answer.

 

Whichever ship you choose, you will have a wonderful time. Happy sailing, April.

 

mollyanne

[Seabee]

I've also sailed both and [retty much agree with Mollyanne; however unless I have missed something there are refrig's in all staterooms on Millenium. The food and service are clearly better on Celevrity but the entertainment better on Princess.

[montgomeryfamily]

I've been on both and I agree with Mollyanne's assessment. You haven't told us much about you and/or your parents, so we don't know what types of things you are looking for. If you really want great service and food, then Celebrity is the way to go. Caribbean Princess has more entertainment options and a much more active nightlife.

 

If you are getting a CC cabin or a suite, then you would probably enjoy the Millie more than if you were booking a Princess suite. But if you would just like a large balcony and decent size room, then the Princess balcony and minisuite options are much more affordable and give more bang for the buck.

 

The Caribbean Princess is more informal. While I think you can dress more informally on the Celebrity, most people do follow the dress code and there are lots of tuxes on formal night. The Caribbean Princess has the Cafe Caribe that even serves lobster on formal night, so you don't have to dress up at all if you don't want to do so.

 

While the Millie's Aqua Spa is terrific, with lighter fare options, the Cafe Carib on Caribbean Princess has lots of seafood, with two seafood buffets during the week. If you are looking for a more gourmet experience, the Celebrity is the way to go. But the Caribbean Princess does have good food and anytime dining.

 

We also agree with Mollyanne that the prices are what has kept us from sailing more often on Celebrity. You can find Caribbean Princess cruises much cheaper. In fact, there is a Cruise Critic group cruise on the August 19, 2006 sailing--Eastern Caribbean itinerary. You get great group pricing and amenities including shipboard credit. There is a sailaway party and a meet and mingle, but you can do as much or as little with the group as you want. You eat when you want--there is no group dining.

 

In addition, if you haven't sailed or booked on Princess, you are eligible for a referral credit of $25 each, which is combinable with the group pricing. The credit is taken off of the final payment price.

 

For pricing or more information, click on the links on the banner below or email me at kacruiser@ev1.net.

[kitty9]

April28, there is no such designation as "dressy casual" nights on Celebrity. If you're talking Celebrity, they have formal, informal and casual. Informal nights are when the men are expected to wear the sport jacket, and yes, at least 98% of the men will wear the jacket with dress pants and collared shirts. A good number of the men will also wear a tie on informal night.