Please compare Celebrity Summit to Princess Regal

[bestdogever]

We are iin our early sixties and nterested in a New England cruise next fall and are considering the Princess Regal or Celebrity Summit. We prefer the Summit’s itinerary and length, but have not been on Celebrity before and other than hearing they are on a par with Princess, we don’t know much about the general atmosphere and quality of a balcony room, service, dining, shows and activities. We know what to expect with Princess Club Class. For those who have been on both, what do you see as the major differences or pros/cons?  If we select the shorter itinerary we ould probably go in a few days early to tour New York. Thanks in advance!

 

Edited November 6, 2018 by bestdogever

[1025cruise]

You might get a better response asking in the appropriate cruise line forums.

[ericosmith]

I've not been on the Regal but have sailed on both the Summit and several other Princess ships.  Having just returned from the October Summit cruise I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the balcony.  It was way too cold, windy and wet to use it after the first 3 days.  Personally I would choose based on the itinerary and the size of the ship.  

[pacruise804]

15 hours ago, bestdogever said:

We are iin our early sixties and nterested in a New England cruise next fall and are considering the Princess Regal or Celebrity Summit. We prefer the Summit’s itinerary and length, but have not been on Celebrity before and other than hearing they are on a par with Princess, we don’t know much about the general atmosphere and quality of a balcony room, service, dining, shows and activities. We know what to expect with Princess Club Class. For those who have been on both, what do you see as the major differences or pros/cons?  If we select the shorter itinerary we ould probably go in a few days early to tour New York. Thanks in advance!

 

I haven't been on Celebrity yet, but have heard good things about them.  I have been on Regal Princess once and would personally try Celebrity if I like the itinerary and length (and total price).

 

We found the service and overall atmosphere very good on Princess.  Winemaker's table was an amazing experience and we also enjoyed Alfredo's for a quiet embarkation lunch.  We didn't care for the tiny balcony (although as mentioned it is sometimes too windy to use the balcony as much for that itinerary while at sea) or the odd layout of the ship.  We often found we couldn't "get there from here" and would have to walk up or down a flight, go midship, then down or up again to get to the dining room.  There was something odd about the location of the fitness center too.  The promenade was lacking too if you enjoy walking around the exterior of the ship without as much wind as the upper decks.  Some people love their buffet - we didn't eat there much but found it a little confusing to make sure we hit all the areas.  I did like the table service for drinks.

 

My experience on 4 different lines (CCL, RCCL, NCL, and Princess) has been that each does certain things well and each have their short comings.  Even on the exact same ship and similar itinerary the passenger mix or different cruise director can make a big difference.  Not to mention my attitude and circumstances going in to the cruise.

 

My impression has been that Celebrity is similar to Princess for food quality and passenger demographic - maybe skewing slightly younger for Celebrity.  I think you will enjoy whichever cruise you decide.

 

[mskaufman]

I have sailed on both Celebrity and Princess (in Europe) but not on either of these ships.  My recommendation is to select the itinerary that best interests you.

[BarbinMich]

On 11/6/2018 at 6:28 PM, bestdogever said:

We are in our early sixties and interested in a New England cruise next fall and are considering the Princess Regal or Celebrity Summit. We prefer the Summit’s itinerary and length, but have not been on Celebrity before and other than hearing they are on a par with Princess, we don’t know much about the general atmosphere and quality of a balcony room, service, dining, shows and activities. We know what to expect with Princess Club Class. For those who have been on both, what do you see as the major differences or pros/cons?  If we select the shorter itinerary we would probably go in a few days early to tour New York. Thanks in advance!

 

We have been on the Summit twice (2003, 2015).  In 2003 the ship was 2 yrs old; in 2015 the ship was still in pretty good shape as I recall except noted below.  We haven't been on the Regal, but have been on her sister, the Royal, several times.  The Regal was launched in 2013.  So there is an obvious age difference, but probably more important is the size/# of pax.  The Summit carries about 2,100 (2 to a cabin) while the Regal carries over 3,500 and is a much larger ship with huge public areas.  We're Elite or the equivalent on both cruise lines.  We were impressed when on the Summit the first time when it was relatively new, less so on the more recent cruise after we'd sailed on many newer and larger ships (mostly Princess, but one on Celebrity Eclipse in 2014).  So it's really like comparing apples and oranges.  More entertainment and eating options on a large ship than on a smaller one.  Service was good on both, shows more spectacular on the Royal/Regal because it has a much larger stage and cast.  Activities similar (trivia, of course, and the other usual things).

I don't know if the Summit has anything like Club Class.  In the past people have said the food is better on Celebrity, but food is so subjective!  But I will say that the Summit's "cafeteria" seemed really dated in 2015 and not particularly attractive, especially for dinner (we did have dinner in the Dining Room once and it wasn't the best experience either).  The Regal has the International Cafe for better coffee and munchies; the Summit doesn't have an equivalent as I recall, although Celebrity's newer ships like the Eclipse do.  As it happens our second cruise on the Summit was the the Canada/NE itinerary and we enjoyed that itinerary very much.   One of the best features of the Summit is it forward wrap-around lounge on its top deck--it's huge!  There's a bar there so it's active in the evening as well as during the day for scenic viewing.  Finally, I assume you're aware the Summit departs from Newark, which gives you great views of Manhattan when you sail away.  We did several nites pre-cruise in Manhattan and shared a hired car to get over to Newark to board the ship.

Edited November 8, 2018 by BarbinMich

[Northern Aurora]

Bestdogever:  I check the Celebrity CC forum daily, and if you have asked about the comparisons between the Summit and the Regal Princess, I have missed it.  But there are several folks who post regularly on the Celebrity forum who also spend a significant amount of time on Princess ships too, and their comments may be helpful.

 

We were on a B2B2B the fall of 2017 on the Summit so spent over thirty nights onboard.  The cruise legs included the last two of the Canada/New England cruises (both overnighted in Quebec, but the itineraries were slightly different), followed by the repositioning cruise down to San Juan.  We were also on the Summit for twenty-one nights earlier this summer.  I actually like the ship.  Although we are itinerary driven, I tend to have a preference to smaller ships.

 

But it is important to note that the Summit is scheduled to undergo a massive (and I mean massive) dry dock.  All four of the Celebrity M-class ships will be "Eedgified."  If my memory is correct the Summit dry dock is scheduled for the spring of 2019.  The ship will essentially be re-built including new staterooms, re-designed public rooms, re-designed Ocean View (the cafeteria) and so forth.  If the Cruise Critic search function is up and running a search on the Celebrity forum should provide more information.

[bestdogever]

Thanks everyone!  You are very kind to take the time to offer your thoughts, insights and suggestions. We are still considering as there are pros on both sides. I like the idea of being able to cruise to Quebec (on Celebrity) without having to fly to there or home from there as the cost of airfare is prohibitive for us. Also like the longer itinerary and am intrigued by trying a smaller ship. That said, we very much like Princess (it is my husbands preference for this trip) and know what to expect on their ships. I would say we are a very good fit for their model with regard to age, expectations of quality and service, and preference for activities and entertainment. Although I have been to New York, my husband has not and I think a day or two there before the cruise would be nice.  BatbinMich mentioned the International Cafe on Princess - we love that place!

 

Your comments are helpful as we look to book in the next month or so. I have noticed that both lines are filling up their New England cruises at a good pace.

 

Thnaks again fellow cruisers.

[TM]

We have done 25 Princess cruises and only 3 on Celebrity.  We have done the Summit to Canada/New England twice with the most recent being last month.  While we typically prefer Princess, I much preferred the Celebrity roundtrip itinerary.  And honestly for us the cost was cheaper for an oceanview cabin on Celebrity vs the required balcony on the Regal.  We won't do an inside cabin.  As someone noted, it is generally too cold to even be able to use the balcony on this itinerary.  All of our tablemates complained that they never once opened the balcony door.  Yes the Summit is an older ship but we found it to be very well maintained and the crew was very good.  I would note though that the passenger age was probably a bit older just because of the longer itinerary, but that certainly didn't impact us in any way.  When we do this initerary again in a few years we will most likely go again on the Summit.  No matter which ship you choose it should be a great trip.  As noted food is always subjective.  I typically know what to expect with Princess food and am happy with it.  Celebrity in the MDR is comparable although for me a couple of the dinners were sub par.  But that's OK.  However I did find their buffet area to be far superior to Princess' only because the food stations were more spread out which eased the overcrowding, particularly at breakfast.  

[BarbinMich]

On 11/8/2018 at 8:38 PM, Northern Aurora said:

. . .But it is important to note that the Summit is scheduled to undergo a massive (and I mean massive) dry dock.  All four of the Celebrity M-class ships will be "Eedgified."  If my memory is correct the Summit dry dock is scheduled for the spring of 2019.  The ship will essentially be re-built including new staterooms, re-designed public rooms, re-designed Ocean View (the cafeteria) and so forth.

That's good news!  Look forward to seeing post-renovation photos of the ship.

 

One thing I failed to mention about our 2015 cruise on the Summit:  the captain was a woman (I think it was her first voyage in that capacity)!  She gave a talk one morning when we were at sea and told us a bit about herself.  I don't know if there are any other female captains, but she was the first for us in 50+ cruises

Edited November 12, 2018 by BarbinMich

[Northern Aurora]

1 hour ago, BarbinMich said:

That's good news!  Look forward to seeing post-renovation photos of the ship.

 

One thing I failed to mention about our 2015 cruise on the Summit:  the captain was a woman (I think it was her first voyage in that capacity)!  She gave a talk one morning when we were at sea and told us a bit about herself.  I don't know if there are any other female captains, but she was the first for us in 50+ cruises

 

I suspect you are referring to Captain Kate.  She is now on the Equinox.  Celebrity has at least one staff captain who is a woman and another female master has been hired.  

[BarbinMich]

22 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

I suspect you are referring to Captain Kate.  She is now on the Equinox.  Celebrity has at least one staff captain who is a woman and another female master has been hired.  

 

Yes, that's her; I couldn't remember her name so thanks.  Glad to hear she's "graduated" to one of the newer, larger ships!  I wonder how many other female captains there are on cruise ships.  She was the only one we've had in 50+ cruises, mostly on Princess.