Comparing Princess and Celebrity

[perfect match]

Norris, I just popped in to wish you and Carol a very Happy Easter!

[Bimmer09]

Norris, I just popped in to wish you and Carol a very Happy Easter!

 

Thanks Nancy we are spending the weekend in Michigan to reclaim our home after the November incident (our first overnight) and are being rewarded with a garden full of green things popping up.

 

Happy Easter to you too and thanks for thinking of us!

 

I am glad to hear, via Joe's review, that you are on the mend.

 

Norris

[Notquite50]

I am so late to this party - but I wanted to thank you for your review. I just sat down on this Easter Sunday and discovered it. Although I haven't read all of it yet, I'm already hooked by your cleaver wit. My best friend and I are booked for the Caribbean Princess this November to celebrate my 50th birthday. Kids and husbands will be left behind as we embark on a 8 days girls/teachers gone wild getaway. Thirty years ago I sailed on Carnival - which was perfect for twenty years olds, and more recently I sailed with the whole family on Disney - and again - perfect for sailing with small children. My last cruise was 5 years ago with my DH on RCL, Freedom of the Seas and once again it was perfect for a romantic celebration.

 

Both my friend and I are easy to please. As long as we are not wiping noses or teaching kids to learn to tie their shoes - we will be happy. During our years in Prek and Kindergarten we would promise each other that one day we would set sail with drinks in our hands that had little umbrellas. Nowadays neither of us teach kindergarten. She is back to 2nd grade and I work with a blind student who is a freshman in high school. I convert all of the curriculum into Braille and have been with my student for over 6 years.

 

It took us over 10 years - but we are finally keeping the promise we made each other.

 

SO after that long winded thank you .....I've settled in with my easter candy and a glass of Merlot to join the party.

[IndiTravler]

Just found this thread.... After I reached Platinum Status on Princess and didn't find a Princess Itinerary I liked for Canada/New England in Fall 2017 and have booked by first Celebrity cruise. The side by side comparison was very helpful and I'm more confident of the choice I've made. I want to thank you for the hours of work you did to provide the information to all of us. I hope to meet up with you at some point on some cruise.

 

-Indi

[GUT2407]

Just found this thread.... After I reached Platinum Status on Princess and didn't find a Princess Itinerary I liked for Canada/New England in Fall 2017 and have booked by first Celebrity cruise. The side by side comparison was very helpful and I'm more confident of the choice I've made. I want to thank you for the hours of work you did to provide the information to all of us. I hope to meet up with you at some point on some cruise.

 

-Indi

 

I don't think you will be disappointed.

[keithm]

Thanks for the head's up. We are eager to give the X MDR another chance. I think our last night will be another Lawn Club Grill if it's a warm evening. I'd like to think though that as you pay for a 7 night cruise there should be no relaxing of standards on the last night.

 

So many good places to eat on X but of course the MDR is included in the fare for all. I'll be the first to give them credit if they can show me food and service of the caliber of Princess' MDRs.

 

Norris

though the food on the Regal was good from Feb.7-21(exception the Duck al Orange' truly awful!) We found the food on the eclipse to be FAR better in every way. I'm sure quality varies a lot on the many different ships of each line. All that being said the food on Princess was good, but not as good as The Eclipse.

[Bimmer09]

Just found this thread.... After I reached Platinum Status on Princess and didn't find a Princess Itinerary I liked for Canada/New England in Fall 2017 and have booked by first Celebrity cruise. The side by side comparison was very helpful and I'm more confident of the choice I've made. I want to thank you for the hours of work you did to provide the information to all of us. I hope to meet up with you at some point on some cruise.

 

-Indi

 

 

Indi, I'm glad you found the thread helpful and thanks for letting me know.

 

The hours of work turn into hours of fun when people read it and respond.

 

The easiest way to meet me on a ship is to go to the smoking bar and shout "who'd like a pint of Guinness". That will be me suddenly standing beside you.

 

As GUT2407 says- you won't be disappointed on Celebrity (I can only speak for the S Class but the M Class gets many X cruiser votes too.) There's a good photo review of the Connie going on right now- a mom and daughter team.

 

Which ship have you chosen?

 

Norris

[susancruzs]

After reading this thread, I might have to try Celebrity again some day if the itinerary is right. I've sailed with them twice and wasn't impressed. It was when the Summit was relatively new and my friends raved about it so much, how I would love it over RCI and Princess, better in every way.

 

I had such high expectations and was disappointed in the food and service. The cruises weren't bad but not that great after all the raving and hype I heard. I'm "older", cruising since 1982, so I've seen the changes within the industry. I've sailed with 6 cruise lines and prefer Princess and RCI because they match my personality best.

Edited March 28, 2016 by susancruzs

[IndiTravler]

 

The easiest way to meet me on a ship is to go to the smoking bar and shout "who'd like a pint of Guinness". That will be me suddenly standing beside you.

 

As GUT2407 says- you won't be disappointed on Celebrity (I can only speak for the S Class but the M Class gets many X cruiser votes too.) There's a good photo review of the Connie going on right now- a mom and daughter team.

 

Which ship have you chosen?

 

Norris

 

I picked the Summit for my Mom and I. I think that's an M class.... Really cool two week itenerary round tripping out of NJ (no flying for me), an overnight in Quebec City, and a couple of other bucket list ports for both of us.

 

I'll look for you when I order my first pint! Love Guinness. Have you tried Sweet Baby Jesus Porter or Moose Drool (on the West Coast)?

[AlbertaAnnie]

I just clicked on the Princess forum and lo and behold I found Bimmer09 and his wonderful sidekick Carol.

I have never cruised, and am always for items like this.

Plus....Your trip reports are always spectacular.

[TracieABD]

Hey Norris!

Thank you so much for your amazing comparision! We have yet to sail X, but I loved your detail-- and we just might have to go there. We love the specialty restaurants, and with X's variety, that may be a tipping point for us.

 

Princess needs to send you a thank you note. We have never seen the merit of the UBD, but with your two videos- SOLD! We will be doing this on our cruise in June (well, I hope so-- the balconies are really, really small on the Royal class ships)- not sure if it is going to work for us. We are actually considering upgrading ourselves to an OS and that would certainly solve the balcony size issue.

 

I adore your writing style and all of your pictures- I plowed through the 38 pages in two sittings-- so I feel like I have just been on a cruise! I appreciate all of the time and effort you have dedicated to the review- and to your thoughtful responses to people who have commented.

 

Thank you for a most entertaining evening!

 

Take care-

Tracie-Lynn:):)

[BlessedAZWife]

Norris, I have spent hours reading your reviews and comparisons, and every second has been beyond enjoyable! I love the way you write and your amazing attitude!

My husband and my first cruise was RCCL Adventure of the Seas and we were hooked! Hubby resisted mightily as he was certain he would be bored. HA! When some Corvette friends mentioned they had the cruise booked, I hit the computer and presented it as a fait accompli! Did not regret one second.

Second cruise was a family birthday celebration for hubby's 60th. Both adult kids along with their respective spouses joined us, along with some friends. Regal Princess was wonderful!

Next as a training experience for my new business we were on Celebrity Silhouette! We both recognize that X and Silhouette are "home" for us! We love this ship and line. Although we are less than impressed with MDR. However, Oceanview Café works for our needs. We are booked on Silhouette again December 2016 for Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Falmouth Jamaica. We will definitely be trying the LCG on your recommendation, as well as the specialty restaurants.

Thanks again for your amazing insight and willingness to share your amazing journey, wit and photos with us!

[MicCanberra]

Indi, I'm glad you found the thread helpful and thanks for letting me know.

 

The hours of work turn into hours of fun when people read it and respond.

 

The easiest way to meet me on a ship is to go to the smoking bar and shout "who'd like a pint of Guinness". That will be me suddenly standing beside you.

 

As GUT2407 says- you won't be disappointed on Celebrity (I can only speak for the S Class but the M Class gets many X cruiser votes too.) There's a good photo review of the Connie going on right now- a mom and daughter team.

 

Which ship have you chosen?

 

Norris

Agreed. Great job Norris.:D

[MicCanberra]

Loving the review.:D

[Bimmer09]

I am so late to this party - but I wanted to thank you for your review. I just sat down on this Easter Sunday and discovered it. Although I haven't read all of it yet, I'm already hooked by your cleaver wit. My best friend and I are booked for the Caribbean Princess this November to celebrate my 50th birthday.

 

SO after that long winded thank you .....I've settled in with my easter candy and a glass of Merlot to join the party.

 

Never to late to join the thread. I'm glad you found it interesting.

 

I haven't read any of it yet as I still have half of my Silhouette review to finish first. I planned the Comparison before I went on X as I expected it to be different in some ways just by looking at the ship over the years. If you've read the full Silhouette review you'll see that I had many happy surprises day after day.

 

We had a great cruise out of Houston on Caribbean Princess so there's a review of that if you are interested. None of our cruises have been "perfect" but all of them have given us wonderful experiences to remember. Bumps along the way were all minor.

 

We are happy now to have two great lines to choose from!

 

Thanks for the response and the compliments and I hope to see you in future reviews!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

After reading this thread, I might have to try Celebrity again some day if the itinerary is right. I've sailed with them twice and wasn't impressed. It was when the Summit was relatively new and my friends raved about it so much, how I would love it over RCI and Princess, better in every way.

 

I had such high expectations and was disappointed in the food and service. The cruises weren't bad but not that great after all the raving and hype I heard. I'm "older", cruising since 1982, so I've seen the changes within the industry. I've sailed with 6 cruise lines and prefer Princess and RCI because they match my personality best.

 

Susan, thanks for the response.

 

We had high expectations in January when we sailed the Silhouette.

 

I think my review of her shows that they were met. We are both glad we took a chance. I can only speak to the Silhouette but I'll add the Reflection to my experience come January. Maybe there will be another X booking before we disembark in Miami?

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I picked the Summit for my Mom and I. I think that's an M class.... Really cool two week itenerary round tripping out of NJ (no flying for me), an overnight in Quebec City, and a couple of other bucket list ports for both of us.

 

I'll look for you when I order my first pint! Love Guinness. Have you tried Sweet Baby Jesus Porter or Moose Drool (on the West Coast)?

 

The overnight in Quebec sounds exciting! The two weeks will keep Canada at bay for us until we retire, alas. Summit is an M Class indeed. We have done many driving trips up to Canada but the distance only lets us get as far as Ontario and none of the places which are heavily French where I'd be happy to polish off my French vocabulary as I don't get to France often enough.

 

I haven't tried any of those drinks. My contract with Guinness is pretty tight.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I just clicked on the Princess forum and lo and behold I found Bimmer09 and his wonderful sidekick Carol.

I have never cruised, and am always for items like this.

Plus....Your trip reports are always spectacular.

 

Thanks Annie-so glad you enjoyed.

 

It's time you took a cruise!

 

Thanks for the compliments on the reviews. Have you read them all?

There must be a ship and itinerary that you can't resist.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

[susancruzs]

Even though I'm trying to get to my bucket list itineraries, I always look at the end of season NE ones! :) I absolutely love Quebec, an awesome city! I took a positioning in2013 that started in Quebec to Ft. L. I flew in several days early, stayed at an awesome boutique hotel, and the ship was still there for an overnight after we boarded.

 

Many people like staying at the Frontenac, too big for me, I've been inside several times, but don't care for it. The Hotel du Vieux is on a corner with restaurants, shops nearby.

 

Thanks for your insights and great reviews!

[Buckcruise]

Susan, thanks for the response.

 

We had high expectations in January when we sailed the Silhouette.

 

I think my review of her shows that they were met. We are both glad we took a chance. I can only speak to the Silhouette but I'll add the Reflection to my experience come January. Maybe there will be another X booking before we disembark in Miami?

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

 

Some disappointed campers on the Silhouette board right now! Odd ....different strokes for different folks.

[chamima]

Hey Norris!

Thank you so much for your amazing comparision! We have yet to sail X, but I loved your detail-- and we just might have to go there. We love the specialty restaurants, and with X's variety, that may be a tipping point for us.

 

Princess needs to send you a thank you note. We have never seen the merit of the UBD, but with your two videos- SOLD! We will be doing this on our cruise in June (well, I hope so-- the balconies are really, really small on the Royal class ships)- not sure if it is going to work for us. We are actually considering upgrading ourselves to an OS and that would certainly solve the balcony size issue.

 

I adore your writing style and all of your pictures- I plowed through the 38 pages in two sittings-- so I feel like I have just been on a cruise! I appreciate all of the time and effort you have dedicated to the review- and to your thoughtful responses to people who have commented.

 

Thank you for a most entertaining evening!

 

Take care-

Tracie-Lynn:):)

 

 

Tracie-Lynn

You HAVE just been on a cruise! :p;)

[Cruise Junky]

Some disappointed campers on the Silhouette board right now! Odd ....different strokes for different folks.

 

That thread is over the top ridiculous. I wouldn't give it any credence. Who books an obstructed balcony and then whines when their balcony is obstructed? Someone didn't do their homework.

[TracieABD]

Tracie-Lynn

You HAVE just been on a cruise! :p;)

 

It was just a tiny cruise... And it was 3 whole weeks ago!!! There is no such thing as too many cruises!

[CRLess]

It was just a tiny cruise... And it was 3 whole weeks ago!!! There is no such thing as too many cruises!

 

But a fun one nonetheless!:D

[AlbertaAnnie]

Thanks Annie-so glad you enjoyed.

 

It's time you took a cruise!

 

Thanks for the compliments on the reviews. Have you read them all?

There must be a ship and itinerary that you can't resist.

 

Cheers!

 

Norris

 

Yes I have read them all, and thoroughly enjoyed the intricate detail that make your reviews so enjoyable.

I would love to cruise the British Isles. Born and raised there, but never went the the northern Isles. In Canada now and no one wants to go there with me. May do a solo.