Comparing Princess and Celebrity

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

Best wishes to you this week....as you re-face your ordeal.

May the perp rot in jail!

 

Thanks for the good wishes!

 

I have to be in court at 8.30 a.m on Thursday but the court is about 100 miles away and 3 inches of snow are going to fall. So I am staying at our place in Michigan 20 miles from the court, the night before which will be my first night in the house since the incident in November.

 

I have been in court before- I testified against a shoplifter in Chicago once and had him put away for 4 years. At the time of the crime I could see what he was up to and stalled him while I called the Police. When he ran out the back door with the swag there was a welcoming committee of 4 Chicago cops waiting.

 

This should be satisfying as a "Crime doesn't pay" lesson and an open and shut case scenario given the evidence. I am looking forward to it.

 

He is charged (in my case as he has another armed home invasion case in another state to answer) with about 60 years of Felony jail time so he'll have plenty of time to count snowflakes or whatever people do to pass the time in prison.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Princess has a lot more ways to combine OBC. I am heading out this Friday for a b2b. Total OBC for the two cruises $1500.

 

Even if you don't use the laundry facilities, the fact that Princess has them for the people that do use them is a significant advantage, especially on longer cruises, such as 31 days.

 

Thanks for stepping in with some great points.

 

$1500 OBC?? Wow and yikes!!!

 

Enjoy your B2B!! What itineraries?

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I have 2 Celebrity cruises under my belt and another one booked. I have loved my X experiences so far, but have been curious about some of the other lines, Princess in particular. Followed your Celebrity review, and went back and read a couple of your Princess reviews. Am really looking forward to your comparison. And I love your sense of humor!

 

Lyn, thanks for the response and this review was meant to show Princess to X cruisers and vice versa so that's pleasing that your curiosity is piqued.

 

Which PCL reviews did you read by the way? I'm just curious.

 

I'm glad you're enjoying!

 

Norris

[GrammySpo]

Have been reading along on several of your boards, starting with the Emerald TA. We were also lucky enough to be on board with you. Celebrity sounds like a must try, but we just achieved Elite status on Princess so we must give it another go. Just had to share that when we were looking to book a cruise last week my husband wanted a room close to the laundry (even though we shouldn't need it since we are Elite). He does love doing laundry and is a master folder. How lucky am I? Enjoying the reads and dreaming of another cruise I need to take! Nadine

[RDC1]

Thanks for stepping in with some great points.

 

$1500 OBC?? Wow and yikes!!!

 

Enjoy your B2B!! What itineraries?

 

Norris

 

Buenos Aires to Santiago and Santiago to LA.

 

The shareholder OBC, the military veterans OBC, the FCC OBC, combined with special sale OBC adds up quickly.

[Bimmer09]

Have been reading along on several of your boards, starting with the Emerald TA. We were also lucky enough to be on board with you. Celebrity sounds like a must try, but we just achieved Elite status on Princess so we must give it another go. Just had to share that when we were looking to book a cruise last week my husband wanted a room close to the laundry (even though we shouldn't need it since we are Elite). He does love doing laundry and is a master folder. How lucky am I? Enjoying the reads and dreaming of another cruise I need to take! Nadine

 

Nadine, thanks for joining us here and I'm glad you enjoy the reviews.

 

You were on the Emerald when we did the Rome to Barcelona? Great itinerary for us-unforgettable!

 

I find doing laundry therapeutic and relaxing so I would get on well with your husband.

 

Norris

[Elevatorman]

Hi Norris, mrs Elevatorman here. Just wanted to mention that we got an upgrade on X once, and turned it down. The walk to an aft sky suite seems like a city block. The aft elevators on S class are really mid ship. Aft on princess are really aft. Our friends have had aft sky suites so we have walked the walk.

[Bimmer09]

Buenos Aires to Santiago and Santiago to LA.

 

The shareholder OBC, the military veterans OBC, the FCC OBC, combined with special sale OBC adds up quickly.

 

What a fantastic itinerary!! Someday I will follow in your wake.

 

Did you ever read Miaminice's review of B Aires to Valparaiso on the Celebrity Summit? One of my faves.

 

Thanks for the swift response!

 

Norris

[LynMcGad]

Lyn, thanks for the response and this review was meant to show Princess to X cruisers and vice versa so that's pleasing that your curiosity is piqued.

 

Which PCL reviews did you read by the way? I'm just curious.

 

I'm glad you're enjoying!

 

Norris

 

Norris--I read your Emerald and Ruby Princess reviews. I'll be reading some of the others when I get some alone time at the computer.

[RDC1]

What a fantastic itinerary!! Someday I will follow in your wake.

 

Did you ever read Miaminice's review of B Aires to Valparaiso on the Celebrity Summit? One of my faves.

 

Thanks for the swift response!

 

Norris

 

Have read several, but not their's. I started cruising on the Celebrity M class ships.

[Bimmer09]

Hi Norris, mrs Elevatorman here. Just wanted to mention that we got an upgrade on X once, and turned it down. The walk to an aft sky suite seems like a city block. The aft elevators on S class are really mid ship. Aft on princess are really aft. Our friends have had aft sky suites so we have walked the walk.

 

Agreed on the long walk and the elevators.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Have read several, but not their's. I started cruising on the Celebrity M class ships.

 

Sorry I said Summit when I should have said Infinity.....

 

http://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/S-America/s-america.html

 

Enjoy one of my favorite reviewers. He's German, a guy called Oliver who lives in Florida.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Just a shout out to a couple of people jlf1 (Judy) and SOLIVITA LADY who sent Birthday wishes. Thank you ladies. I'm sorry if I have missed anyone.

 

The Method

 

I had first thought of doing an A - Z comparison in an orderly fashion but realized I could get all the way down to R and realize I hadn't covered something in A- like Aardvarks on board or something (Art?) so it's all coming at you randomly.

 

Time figures in the complex algorithm too as something like Laundry can be written without pics in 2 minutes while other topics like Specialty Restaurants or Entertainment will take a while (and some Advil) to put on the thread.

 

I'm thinking that just about every aspect of life on these ships/lines will get touched on in some way eventually. I don't play bingo or use the casino or drink Martinis though. Nor do I buy art or use the spa. I'll probably think of more things as we go along.

 

I answer responses as soon as I can and so the morning is taken up with that and the comparison chapters follow later when I have time.

 

Ok, back to our regularly scheduled programming!

 

Norris

[Luvmyrotti]

Princess has a lot more ways to combine OBC. I am heading out this Friday for a b2b. Total OBC for the two cruises $1500.

 

Even if you don't use the laundry facilities, the fact that Princess has them for the people that do use them is a significant advantage, especially on longer cruises, such as 31 days.

 

Agree! We layer on promo OBC, with additional OBC from our TA plus FCC OBC plus OBC from our Princess credit card plus veteran's OBC. On our 10 day coming up we'll have something like $800 or $900 in OBC. My understanding is that none of the other lines allow for layering as generously.

 

As for laundry, I like the ability to do a quick load if needed, as my DH is a bit of a mess and often spills. We also typically book suites, so if there is no rush we send it off in the complimentary laundry.

 

While the Wow factor of the dining room looks to be quite something on X, I would wonder if it's loud? We really enjoy the tucked away alcoves and corners of the P MDRs. It makes for a more intimate dining experience, even in a large room.

 

Norris, thanks so much for this great comparison. I've often wondered about X and have come close to trying it out, but our platinum perks and the great aft vista suites on P keeping pulling us back. If anything gets us to try out X, it will be this review. Great photos!!

[Bimmer09]

....

 

Norris, thanks so much for this great comparison. I've often wondered about X and have come close to trying it out, but our platinum perks and the great aft vista suites on P keeping pulling us back. If anything gets us to try out X, it will be this review. Great photos!!

 

Doreen, I'm glad you are following along and getting a look at X from this. Thanks for the photo compliments!

 

There's a full Silhouette review in my signature.

 

Norris

[msmoger]

Laundry...I actually see this as a win for X for not having a self service laundry, especially for those poor saps who don't know any better and book a cabin right across from one of them as every time the open their cabin door it looks right into the laundry and during the day there always seem to be a few people milling around outside the laundry clogging the passageway....

 

Actually, based on our experience, this is inaccurate. It may seem like a small point, but there are two doors that must be opened before you actually enter the laundry room, therefore there generally is no direct line of sight into the room.

 

Second, and we always try to book a cabin as close as possible to the self service laundry due to the convenience, we have never experienced any noise noise from slamming doors or milling people. You basically don't even know it's there unless you use it.

 

Finally, as has been stated previously, many of us take longer vacations and cruises and find the self service laundry to be an enormous and economical convenience. Also, my husband cringes at the thought of someone else doing his laundry, but that of course is a product of his control freak OCD thing. :D

[GUT2407]

Princess has a lot more ways to combine OBC. I am heading out this Friday for a b2b. Total OBC for the two cruises $1500.

 

Even if you don't use the laundry facilities, the fact that Princess has them for the people that do use them is a significant advantage, especially on longer cruises, such as 31 days.

 

Being able to stack OBC is great.

[GUT2407]

Actually, based on our experience, this is inaccurate. It may seem like a small point, but there are two doors that must be opened before you actually enter the laundry room, therefore there generally is no direct line of sight into the room.

 

Second, and we always try to book a cabin as close as possible to the self service laundry due to the convenience, we have never experienced any noise noise from slamming doors or milling people. You basically don't even know it's there unless you use it.

 

Finally, as has been stated previously, many of us take longer vacations and cruises and find the self service laundry to be an enormous and economical convenience. Also, my husband cringes at the thought of someone else doing his laundry, but that of course is a product of his control freak OCD thing. :D

 

I agree about no line of sight and no noise and if you have an allergy the detergent on board can play Hancock wit your skin, whereas with self serve laundry we can just bring our own detergent.

[RDC1]

Agree! We layer on promo OBC, with additional OBC from our TA plus FCC OBC plus OBC from our Princess credit card plus veteran's OBC. On our 10 day coming up we'll have something like $800 or $900 in OBC. My understanding is that none of the other lines allow for layering as generously.

 

As for laundry, I like the ability to do a quick load if needed, as my DH is a bit of a mess and often spills. We also typically book suites, so if there is no rush we send it off in the complimentary laundry.

 

While the Wow factor of the dining room looks to be quite something on X, I would wonder if it's loud? We really enjoy the tucked away alcoves and corners of the P MDRs. It makes for a more intimate dining experience, even in a large room.

 

Norris, thanks so much for this great comparison. I've often wondered about X and have come close to trying it out, but our platinum perks and the great aft vista suites on P keeping pulling us back. If anything gets us to try out X, it will be this review. Great photos!!

 

From my experience on the Solstice last year the noise level in the MD was pretty high. Fortunately we were seated in an area behind a wall that kept it down somewhat. It was much higher then we have noticed on Princess ships. The service and food was good, but the background noise level higher.

Edited February 22, 2016 by RDC1

[UpcountryTravelers]

But on X they gave you $550 OBC to pay for as much laundry as you want or for whatever. I don't think P gives that much in OBC (although self service laundry is free). Self service laundry is never going to happen on any of our cruises on any line. ;)

 

Carry on, I'm really hooked now!

 

Uh, no, self-service laundry is not free. I believe it is about $3 for wash and $3 for dry. 20 minutes attention to the laundry is pretty small on a 10 day cruise, when it enables you to cut your luggage almost in half. We find it especially convenient on longer cruises. Definitely advantage Princess.

 

We have an 11 day X cruise booked and I'm really concerned about packing.

Edited February 22, 2016 by UpcountryTravelers

[El Crucero]

The aft elevators on S class are really mid ship. Aft on princess are really aft. .

 

Agreed on the long walk and the elevators.

 

Agree, this is one way that I like X's M class ships better than the S class. M class ships have three elevator stacks (forward, mid, and aft) like on many of the P ships.

[El Crucero]

While the Wow factor of the dining room looks to be quite something on X, I would wonder if it's loud? We really enjoy the tucked away alcoves and corners of the P MDRs. It makes for a more intimate dining experience, even in a large room.

 

Yes, X's MDR can be quite loud. We prefer the smaller and more intimate MDR venues on P.

 

The MDR's on X, M class ships have an even greater WOW factor with a two deck high glass wall overlooking the wake of the ship. Just another reason why we prefer an M class ship to an S class.

[5:00_Somewhere]

Honestly the last thing I want to do on my cruise vacation is laundry ;)

Bev

 

I would agree with this, but until I was Elite on Princess I used the laundry room on every cruise (still do), if only to press the travel wrinkles out of my shirts. On longer cruises, due to airline weight restrictions, the laundry rooms came in very handy.

 

I must admit that, while I loved virtually everything about the X Silhouette, I did miss the ability to press my shirts. And I'm glad I listened to the X Board folks about not bringing travel steamers (and other electronics). When we were disembarking, we passed a table HEAPED with power strips, travel irons, steamers, hot pots, etc. They really are sticklers, apparently.

 

Fortunately, someone on the X Board made me aware of this fabulous invention known as "Wrinkle Releaser" (which you can make at home using fabric softener and water). I was shocked how well it worked; not iron flat mind you, but it sure helped a lot with the travel wrinkles.

 

Enough about laundry, it's almost 5:00: time for cocktails! :D

Edited February 22, 2016 by 5:00_Somewhere

[lor74]

On our first b2b on the CB, I brought the 3-1 purex sheets, and did laundry on the morning of the turn over day. It allowed us to pack light. On our last cruise I used the free elite laundry, and some of my clothes got ruined [emoji22]. Big thumbs up for the option to do your own laundry on long cruises [emoji106]🏻

[midwestchick]

Yes, X's MDR can be quite loud. We prefer the smaller and more intimate MDR venues on P.

 

The MDR's on X, M class ships have an even greater WOW factor with a two deck high glass wall overlooking the wake of the ship. Just another reason why we prefer an M class ship to an S class.

 

 

When we sailed in the Silhouette, we got to the point we could hardly stand to eat in the MDR because it was so loud and we ate at a two top that was so close to other tables. For that reason and because we have gotten great deals, our last two cruises on X, we have sailed in Aqua. We will also be sailing on Aqua on our upcoming cruise.

I don't mind doing a little laundry, especially if it's a B2B cruise...not much to do on change over day, anyway. We have some free pressing coupons the last time. I sent DH's white shirt to be pressed. It looked horrible. I won't use that service on X again and I have not had good luck with the wrinkle release.