Golden Princess or Celebrity Constellation

[jdm3tz]

I apologize in advance for starting a thread that may exist somewhere else. Anyway, here is my dilemma:

 

My wife and I are looking at either the Golden Princess or the Celebrity Constellation for a Southern Caribbean run in March of 2006. She has only cruised once (Century – Sept 2004) and totally loved it. I however am a cruise veteran of RCCL, Celebrity and Carnival (only once and never again). Neither of us has any experience with Princess and would appreciate any information regarding cabins, food, entertainment or clientele that would sell us on the Golden Princess. I have to admit the fact that we would be new to Princess is a selling point on it’s own.

 

We are looking at the Mini Suites on the Dolphin deck, so any cabin recommendations would also be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in Advance…

[Nitemare]

We've been on Golden twice (late 2001, Eastern Carrib and 2 months ago NE/Canada) and were on the Connie last summer (Norweijian Fjords), and loved both ships.

 

We had balconies on each ship, no minisuites, found the cabins to be similar -- Princess layout is a bit better, closetwise, and they have a real fridge, as opposed to Celebrity's, which was hardly below room temperature.

 

Golden benefits: Freshwater pools/hottubs, better Princess shows, Personal Choice dining

 

Connie benefits: No constant announcements, Thallassotherapy pool, higher quality food, better service (which might be related to Traditional dining, as we had a great waiter).

[mtjlr]

Jdm - We have sailed Celebrity 7 times - 2 times on the Contellation and Princess last year on the Sun Princess. We will be going on the Golden Princess in January. We loved the Constellation, but when booking several months ago a balcony cabin the Golden was much less expensive than the Constellation. We booked a BA on the Caribe deck for the Golden in January and are looking forward to a larger balcony than we had on the Sun last year. You should note from the deck plans that the minisuites on the Dolphin Deck are open and not covered if that is a concern to you.

 

We were a little apprehensive about our first Princess cruise last year, but thoroughly enjoyed our 10 days on the Sun. We thought it was similar to Celebrity in a lot of respects and made a little list of pros for each line on our own when we returned home. They may or may not be helpful to you. We were not hesitant to book the Golden this year after our great cruise on the Sun in January. We felt the food was equally good on Princess as Celebrity. Others may not agree, but we were very happy with the dining room and the wait staff. We opted for traditional dining because that is our preference.

 

Celebrity:

Lemonade and juices available 24 hours, buffet set up much better than Princess. We found the buffet on Princess to be disorganized and opted for the dining room instead for lunch and breakfast, robes standard in state room - you don't have to ask for them, full breakfast available from room service for any stateroom, can get pizza from room service or by the slice, towels always available pool side, no need to take beach towel from room to pool and cold towels on return to ship. Sounds hokey, I know, but very refreshing.

 

Princess: 24 hour freshwater pools, Desserts awesome, esp the souffles, on-board channels very informative, great cruise entertainment staff, muster drill inside - don't have to go out and stand on the decks in the heat, promenade deck all the way around the ship, cheaper internet access, cheaper drinks and sodas with reasonable price for soda sticker.

 

All in all, we felt the Princess experience was very similar to our past cruises on Celebrity. Would cruise either line without hesitation depending on price and intinerary. I don't think you can go wrong with either choice.

 

Have a great cruise. Any other questions about the Constellation, I would be happy to try and answer.

 

Mary

[Nitemare]

Two things you'll find out about the Golden that are different from the Sun, Mary:

 

1) Really good pizza by the slice near the pool at hamburg grill

2) Promenade deck goes all the way around, but you have to go up/down some stairs.

 

Golden's grill beats Connie's hands down, btw. But the AquaSpa cafe on Connie is awesome

[mtjlr]

Nitemare: Thanks for the tip about the pizza by the slice on the Golden. That wasn't an option on the Sun last year. Also, good to know the grill is good food.

 

Again, thanks for the info.

[Robroy]

We had a Dolphin mini on Golden and a regular balcony on the Connie for a Western Med trip a couple of years ago. Would agree with previous posters that both ships are excellent but have different strengths. The specialty dinner in Ocean Liners (I believe) on Constellation was fabulous - best service I've ever encountered in a restaurant but Sabbatini's was great too but not really a fair comparison as the styles are so different.

We found Constellation food and service a bit better but the staff a little more laid back and relaxed on Princess - wouldn't hesitate to do either again. You've got a very pleasant dilemna in terms of choice - no loser either way!

Have a great trip whichever you choose!

 

Rob

[Coral]

Nitemare: Thanks for the tip about the pizza by the slice on the Golden. That wasn't an option on the Sun last year. Also, good to know the grill is good food.

 

Again, thanks for the info.

 

Correct - on the Sun Class ships, there is a pizzeria restaurant. On the Grand class ships, it is sort of like the grill - you go up and ask for pizza by the slice. They usually have 3 different kinds per day (cheese, pepperoni and a speciality).

[jjssitters]

I agree with everything that was said.I have sailed on both and loved both lines and would take either line again.The cabins on princess are in my opinion laid out better but oh my those showers are tight lol.I have to give celebrity the edge on the bathrooms good size showers.my husband said if he sails on princess again and it is a longer cruise he will book a mini suite for that reason.

[jdm3tz]

Thanks for all the great replies!!! My wife and I reviewed all your comments and are going to book a mini-suite on the Golden Princess for either 3/11/06 or 3/18/06. Anyone care to comment on the unique ports of call for either trip, specifically Margarita Island, Grenada, St. Kitts, or St. Lucia?

 

Again, thanks for all the help!!!

[AZPam]

Thanks for all the great replies!!! My wife and I reviewed all your comments and are going to book a mini-suite on the Golden Princess for either 3/11/06 or 3/18/06. Anyone care to comment on the unique ports of call for either trip, specifically Margarita Island, Grenada, St. Kitts, or St. Lucia?

 

Again, thanks for all the help!!!

 

We have a fun group going and a very talkative roll call for the 3/11/06 cruise on the Golden. Come and join us! :)

 

Pam

[Oh2Travel]

Here's another vote for Golden Princess. Mini suites on dolphin are lovely. Service and food good--we are cruising on Golden for a second time later this month. Celebrity is a nice line but it wouldn't be my first or even second choice.

[Casey12]

We prefer Princess to Celebrity. We found the staff on Princess more willing to help and they seemed a lot more friendly. Try the Golden, it is a very nice ship.

[mtjlr]

jdm - check out the ports of call board for info on the islands you will be going to. There is lots of good info there about excursions, from ship excursions to privately arranged ones. You will get a lot of good feedback and helpful information. We have booked several excursions on our cruises from info we have obtained there. It is worth checking out.

 

Mary

[m steve]

Last year at that time and felt it was the best cruise. We had an aft balcony that was very large and could watch as we left each port while enjoying drinks on the veranda. The cabin was Concierge class and woth the extra charge and found the food best of any trip. Also the cabin was much larger than the veranda cabin on Princess Sun although the price was about the same.

[cynbar]

We have sailed on both the Golden princess and Celebrity's Infinity (sister ship to the Connie) and I agree that you can't go wrong with either choice. We have enjoyed Celebrity but Princess usually gets the nod because of the freshwater pools, anytime dining and more entertainment options, also the 24 hr buffet. We did the Explorer rounte on the Golden last April (the same route you'll be taking) and we loved it, it's a nice mix of the busier islands (St Thomas) and the more unspoiled islands (St Kitts and Grenada). Here's a link to our webshots: http://community.webshots.com/user/cynbar101