Celebrity Solstice or Majestic Princess for Australia/New Zealand Cruise?

[osumom28]

We are considering a cruise next year leaving from Sydney and ending in Auckland. I've seen two cruises that sound interesting. One is on the Celebrity Solstice and the other is. on the Majestic Princess. I'm interested in hearing any comments from people who have been on either. We have not cruised with either cruise line. Thanks in advance!

[GUT2407]

We have a preference for Princess, but it’s close, Princess tends to a slightly older demographic and will be in Aus$, Celebrity will be in US$.

 

Haven’t been on majestic yet (December is booked) 

 

loved Solstice.

 

tell us the itineraries and I may have more to say.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I've been on both ships and would recommend Celebrity Solstice over Majestic Princess for NZ. The Solstice cabins are nicer, with more comfortable balconies, and there is excellent viewing, both out on deck and in the Sky Lounge, which is important for the Fiordland transit. 

 

Both cruise lines are similar in many ways, both at the upper end of the mass market cruise lines. We cruise on both but prefer Celebrity for NZ. 

[osumom28]

Princess Itinerary: Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Fiordland National Park, Dunedin, Akaroa, Tauranga, and Auckland.

Celebrity Itinerary: Sydney, Eden, Melbourne, Hobart, Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound, Dusky Sound, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Tauranga, and Auckland.

[GUT2407]

Not much different Fjiordland is the same as Milford, Doubtful and Dusky Sounds, just different ways of listing them.

 

theres not a struck match between the two itineraries in my opinion.

 

price might be your real decider.

[GUT2407]

Who have you cruised with and what did you like/ dislike?

[OzKiwiJJ]

The itineraries are much of a muchness.

Both go to Melbourne and Hobart but Celebrity also includes Eden, a small coast town once famous for whaling.

Fiordland is Milford, Doubtful and Dusky Sounds so no difference there. 

Both visit Dunedin.

Celebrity is going to the new cruise terminal in Lyttelton, which is much closer to Christchurch that Akaroa. Akaroa is a tender port but very beautiful.

Princess doesn't go to Wellington.

Both stop in Tauranga and end in Auckland.

 

I'd still choose Celebrity.

[osumom28]

We have only cruised with Norwegian (Pride of America and Epic) and Royal Caribbean (Oasis and Enchantment). We have not cruised around Australia and New Zealand.  I have a friend in Australia who we plan to visit before our cruise. We thought a cruise would be a good way to see parts of both countries.

[GUT2407]

Celebrity is probaly closer to Norwegian than Princess in terms if clientele  but really there isn’t much between those options.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Bear in mind that Celebrity Solstice is a smaller ship that Majestic Princess. Around 2850 passengers to Majestic's 3560. 

 

We started cruising on Princess but chose Celebrity for our first NZ cruise as Princess wasn't doing many one way itineraries then. We cruise NZ to catch up with friends and family there so start in Auckland and cruise back to Sydney. We've done three NZ cruises on Solstice so far and enjoyed every one of them. The most recent was earlier this year.

 

Majestic Princess was designed for the Chinese market and has some differences to the other Royal class ships. Personally Majestic is my least favourite Princess ship, I prefer the smaller Princess ships.

 

Am I right in guessing those cruises are in November 2020? If so, be aware that the weather in NZ will still be on the cool side. Both ships handle rough seas well and there is always a chance of that crossing the Tasman Sea.

[MicCanberra]

50 minutes ago, osumom28 said:

Princess Itinerary: Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Fiordland National Park, Dunedin, Akaroa, Tauranga, and Auckland.

Celebrity Itinerary: Sydney, Eden, Melbourne, Hobart, Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound, Dusky Sound, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Tauranga, and Auckland.

I prefer X to Princess and I also prefer the X itinerary, Eden and Wellington being additional ports.

[MicCanberra]

37 minutes ago, osumom28 said:

We have only cruised with Norwegian (Pride of America and Epic) and Royal Caribbean (Oasis and Enchantment). We have not cruised around Australia and New Zealand.  I have a friend in Australia who we plan to visit before our cruise. We thought a cruise would be a good way to see parts of both countries.

If you have any Loyalty status with Royal, it may be reciprocal with X. Having cruised NCL and Royal I think X is a better fit but as mentioned before it is USD on board where as Princess is AUD. Your dollar will go further with Princess.

[Kangakid]

My choice would be Celebrity, food was much better and speciality restaurants in my opinion also of a much better standard.  We cruised Majestic to NZ at Christmas, no major Complaints but Celebrity in my view just the better choice of those two.  Whatever one you choose NZ is a wonderful destination.

[The_Big_M]

A couple of extra stops with Celebrity. If price is the same, I'd go with them.

[osumom28]

Thanks everyone for your comments! You have given us a lot to consider when planning our cruise. Looking forward to reading more comments!

[cheznandy]

Another vote for Celebrity Solstice over Majestic Princess to cruise NZ.

I have cruised on both and Solstice has a much better design and more outside viewing. 

Lots more public space too. As someone said above, it is has less passengers so that is also a plus!

Have fun deciding!!

[OzKiwiJJ]

If you do choose Celebrity Solstice be aware that there are two cabin configurations, which alternate.

 

Cabins with a square or triangle, that sleep 3 or 4, have the bed by the closet which does make accessing the closet a bit of a squeeze but also means the sofa is by the balcony so you can enjoy the views while sitting there.

 

The other cabins have the bed by the balcony and the sofa by the closet, which gives you more space for dressing. We actually prefer this configuration as we rarely spend time in the cabin.

 

Also the nightstand on Solstice don't have drawers, they are just shelves. We take a couple of small baskets for keeping meds etc in so they don't end up getting knocked on the floor by accident.

[MicCanberra]

I like having the sofa by the balcony, much easier for water watching.

[GUT2407]

2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

I like having the sofa by the balcony, much easier for water watching.

Yep me too.

[jspqld]

If price and ports were same I would always choose celebrity over princess.

 

[pjwaz]

We are cruising Sydney to Auckland on Ruby princess in December.  Wellington is included on  our itinerary. 

[cheznandy]

18 minutes ago, pjwaz said:

We are cruising Sydney to Auckland on Ruby princess in December.  Wellington is included on  our itinerary. 

The Ruby Princess will be a fabulous ship to sail NZ on, the wrap around promenade and all the upper forward viewing, plus aft and two open pool areas as well.......oh and the amazing Skywalkers. We have cruised NZ on the Diamond Princess, QM2 and Explorer of the Seas and the Diamond Princess was the best!!!

Have a great cruise!

[MicCanberra]

I do like skywalkers as a lounge area.

[kowhairob]

We are Celebrity fans after trying Princess a few years ago we found the Celebrity ships to have a better upmarket vibe and found our fellow passengers to be very friendly and lively as well . We have recently sailed on the Solstice and still enjoyed the layout and crew and food , it will be getting an upgrade Sept 2021 . Details below.

 

Celebrity Solstice will receive additional suites including a Reflection Suite and several Signature Suites; all cabins will be outfitted with RFID locks, the line's high-speed Xcelerate Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capability. Additionally, Michael's Club will be transformed into the Retreat Lounge, exclusively for the use of suite passengers; and a suites-only Retreat Sundeck will be added, as well. The ship's Oceanview Cafe buffet restaurant will be redesigned in an open, marketplace style; Cellar Masters wine bar will be transformed into a gastrobar; and the photo galleries will be converted to digital spaces.

 

[MicCanberra]

I like some of those changes, others not so much but I also trust that X knows what it is doing and what works.