7 day Celebrity VS 10 day princess0.

[Cruise Arizona]

Hello everyone,

 

I am in need of serious input here.

 

MIL has put me in charge of planning a group cruise for 2007 to Alaska that will include our family of 4 with two children, my MIL, my SIL and her DH, and possibly some cousins, aunts, uncles and other extended family membes.

 

MIL has already said that she loves Celebrity, and if that is our preference, then she'll push everyone in that direction.

 

Problem is that we need to do the cruise during high season, late June, early July as my SIL is a teacher and she need to go during her break.

 

We'd also like to do the more than 7 days. During late June/Early July Celebrity only does the 7 day itenerary.

 

Princess, atleast in 2006, offers a 10 day itenerary from San Francisco from May-Aug on the Regal. I love Celebrity, but I met people on my last cruise that were such Princess Loyalist, and couldn't help but say that thier last Princess was so much better than thier current Celbrity.

 

So what would be the pros and cons of a Princess 10 day VS a Celebrity 7 day cruise to Alaska.

[Times Prince]

The SF cruise goes to different ports than a standard Alaska cruise - so the big question concerns your family's interests. If you want to see glaciers, then a cruise with Glacier Bay and College Fjord is a must. If your family has seen these before and want more cultural experience then something that includes Ketchikan and Sitka might be more to your liking.

 

Check out the Alaska board - you will see a lot of posts by some real Alaska experts.

 

Why don't you post another message giving more information on your interests and options? Are you being driven by air fare (round trip vs not)?

[spongerob]

We're booked on the 10-day cruise next year, and while I might recommend it to almost anyone, consider that you have a lot of sea and "scenic cruising" days. With children, that might a bit of a problem. Maybe not, if they make friends on board, but I thought it worthwhile mentioning it. I think you get more value from a 10-day cruise and will come home feeling like you've really had a vacation.

[Cruise Arizona]

Gosh it would be hard to say what the priorities would be. As long as the ship has a good kids program I would think that the days at sea, glacier viewing, days would be no problem. Just got back from 15 day Hawaii, and the Celebrity kids program was great for days at sea.

 

DH and I did the Rotterdam in 1993 for our honeymoon to Alaska. We really enjoyed the college fjord.

 

RT Airfare not an issue as most of us for this trip will probably book the cruise air package, no reward milage involved.

 

I guess that if I had to prioritze the itenerary for the guest, since for most it will be a first time trip to Alaska, then Glaciers would be the first priority.

 

What would we enjoy on Princess that is not offered on Celebrity?

[Coral]

What would we enjoy on Princess that is not offered on Celebrity?

 

Glacier Bay - Celebrity currently doesn't have permits to Glacier Bay. Only 2 cruise ships per day can go here and permits are difficult to come by. Princess/HAL/NCL seem to have most of the permits.

 

The combination on the one way cruises (Vancouver to Whittier) has a great combination of Glacier Bay and College Fiords (2 great glacier viewing days).

 

Princess also has anytime dining which is fantastic in Alaska. Because you are in ports late, it is often nice to not have to rush back to the ship and quickly dress for dinner - you can go to dinner anytime you want.

 

I have not done the 10 day Princess sailing and we won't know until April/May time frame if Princess will have the 10 day in 2007. Currently the 10 day cruise on Princess does not go to Glacier Bay.

[jnc411]

Hi , since there will be children then I would suggest checking out the specific ships you are considering and see what the amminities are. IF you are thinking about the Regal Princess, it is one of the older (but very nice) ships and does not have the really nice pool areas and as many things for kids. Just my two cents.

Cori

[travellady]

Not sure what Celebrity ship you are considering. I've only sailed the Celebrity Mercury and wasn't real impressed. Service was good, food was good, but the ship was worn. Worse mattresses I've ever slept on on a ship but I did hear they are refurbishing it sometime in the next several months so that problem may be taken care of by summer. I've heard the Infinity is much nicer, and bigger, so probably more to do for the entire family.

 

I have sailed the Sapphire Princess to Alaska, and its sister the Diamond Princess to the Mexican Riviera. We love these two ships, and thoroughly enjoyed the Alaska itinerary from Seattle. My 12 year old and his best friend were with us and they loved it - kept busy all the time, enjoyed the ports, but also anxious to get back to the ship and fun (freshwater 24 hour pools, decent kids club, just lots to do to keep them busy).

[rollingstone]

We did the 7 day on the Summit last July. Beautiful ship, great itinerary. Not only were there a lot of children on board but there were really a lot of activities to keep them busy. You could also consider doing a cruise tour, if you have the time. We chose this ship because it went to the ports and glaciers that we wanted to see. I would not choose just because of the cruise line.

[houch]

I did Alaska in 1995 on the Regal and loved it. It is a smaller, older ship and I have no idea how it would be for kids, since I have none I don't look at that. I generally chose a cruise for the itinary, since I don't know what you are looking for I can't say which line would be best for your cruise. We chose Celebrity Infinity for Hawaii cause it had a crossing only one way, we didn't want to spend all our vacation on sea days, (though I love them). Infinity was bigger and newer and might have more for kids to do. Many people rave about Celebrity, I didn't see anything to rave about. It was a very nice cruise but not superrior to any other I've been on. With all things being equal as to what I wanted I would definitely chose Princess, it is my favorite in all areas. Just this persons opinion. Be aware this is a popular cruise for the elderly and with summer vacation, also for kids. So there will probably be a lot of both on board.

[Cruise Arizona]

We did Alaska 13 years ago on our honeymoon on Holland America. Lots of older people, few kids, and even few honeymooners. But we had a great time. Loved every minute of the trip. And that was on the very old, old Rotterdam, built in the 20's or 40's or something like that to do the Atlantic crossing.

 

The Princess 10 day intenerary appeals to me and the Glacier Bay. We did the Hubbard Glacier on our previous trip. The Hubbard Glacier would be fine, but the Glacier bay would be something new.

 

All the Celebrity ships go to Hubbard, I don't think I'd really like the NCL freestyle, I like the traditions of a traditional cruise. Plus with our big group I think we'll want a set dining time. That way we'll all know when and where to meet for dinner with out having to plan something different every day.

 

So that leaves me with HAL or Princess for a Glacier Bay cruise if we decided that is a nessescity.

 

How does the personal choice dinning thing work on Princess?

How about the food?

 

How about the Regal? Did you like the lay out and entertainment choices?

1500 passengers actually sounds like a refreshingly nice size.

[LuAnn]

Suzanne...Have not been on the Regal...but the food served at "anytime dining" is the same served at the fixed seating as far as I know...and IMO great! My understanding is that you have 2 choices with "anytime dining"...you can either just "show up", which might not work well with a large family group, or book a reservation time each day, I believe one day at a time, probably in the AM based on the day's activities. LuAnn

[Cruise Arizona]

I've been reading the CC member reviews of the Regal on the CC editorial pages. They range from great to awful. The most consistant good thing was that the staterooms are spacious and clean, and the service is great.

 

The most consistant bad thing is that the food is bad. However there are some reviews that say it was really good.

 

The other thing that people on the editorial page were saying is that the kids program for 8-12 year olds was kind of lame.

 

But you know Luann, there were so many people on the Infinity with us that kept telling me over and over again, this is nice but its just not my Princess cruises that I love so much.

 

If I had to put the things that are most important to me in a cruise they would be, dining room experience (qualiaty and variety of food and attentive service, wine selection and wine service), General service by the rest of the crew, and then when kids go with me - how fun is the kids program.

 

Things that are some what important are entertainment and activities,

 

and then my lowest priority would be newness, size of ship, decore, cabin size and a balcony. I can deal with a small cabin, ugly curtains and no balcony.

 

From reading the reviews I get the impressions that Service is excellent on Princess, Cabins are spacious, and Entertainment and Activities are generally pretty good. Its the food area that worries me, and the overall dining experience. Please post if your opinion of the Regal differes from those on the Member review pages.

 

Our big group trip is not until 2007, and I'm trying right now to get a feel for what is avaiable then by looking at what is available in summer of 2006, there may actually be more options open to me when the 2007 schedule is released. .

 

Thanks to all of you who have given me insigth overhere on the princess boards, I only got a handful of post when I posted the same question on Celebrity.

[senior lady]

We've sailed on the Regal and she is a great ship. Very large cabins. the food was great.

We just got of the Mercury's Mexican cruise, and I wasn't impressed with Celebrity's dinning room food. We sent several meals back. We had a great table waiter and assistant so that made it worth while. I still put 5lb:eek: I think it was the sushi, and fresh pasta and pizza;)

 

We also sailed last fall to Hawaii on the beautiful Radiance, but still felt that the dinning room food could have been better. That was a great cruise and would do it again in a minute!!!!

 

We're going back to Princess this May on a repo cruise from Ft Lauderdale through the canal and up the west coast to Vancouver. I'm really looking forward to seeing if the food has gone down hill as much as people say.

[Cruise Arizona]

Looks like the Regal will be gone soon, probably before summer 2007 alaska itenerary. Perhaps they will asssign another ship to the 10 day Alaska Cruises.

[calikak]

CruiseArizona, my best guess is that the Golden will take over the Regal's Alaska sailings in summer 2007, since the Golden will be in California then, but who knows? They could do something completely different. The new Emerald Princess will be debuting around that same time, although she's being built in Europe so I think it's unlikely she'll end up in the Pacific right away.

[AZPam]

Having cruised both Celebrity and Princess, in my opinion the food was pretty equal on both. Food is very subjective so I am not surprised when you have two different people on the same cruise say two different things. I think you would be happy with the food and service on both lines.

 

The one thing I was very disappointed in on Celebrity was the kids programs. My kids were younger teens at the time, but there were no planned activities for them and they were bored to tears at night after dinner. In fact, there were hoards to teenagers roaming the ship with nothing to do but get into trouble. This was a few years ago, so maybe things have changed, who knows. I think I would look at which ship has the better kid program in making my decision.

 

Otherwise, I don't think you really can go wrong. You'll be on a cruise!

[houch]

I've cruised Princess 6 times and have never had a bad meal. Always ate dinner in the diningroom, wonderful choices, and if you get something you don't like you can always get something else, no questions asked. Other meals, I call them snacks as the only full meal I eat is at dinner, I have had in the buffet and have been pleased with everything I have had.

I can't say the same about Celebrity or RCCL, although I've never gone hungry.

About RCCL, I have heard they have many good activities for kids of all ages. You might want to look into that.

Carol