Help choose British Isles Crown Princess vs. Celebrity Reflection

[RNCheryl]

We are not loyal to any one cruise line, choosing rather an itinerary and cost comparing.

 

Spring/summer 2021.  

1.  June 7.  Crown Princess.  12 day.  Southampton, Guernsey, Cobh, Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, SEA, Orkeny Islands, Invergordon, Edinburgh, SEA, Le Havre, Southampton.

          Refundable deposit, Wi fi, Grats, premium beverage, balcony $7798

          VERY concerned about the age, wear and tear of the Crown, especially bedding.

          Otherwise the itinerary is ideal.

 

2.  July 31.  Celebrity Reflection.  12 day.  Amsterdam, Dover, SEA, Cobh, Dublin, Liverpool, Belfast, Glasgow, SEA, Inverness, SEA, Bruges, Amsterdam

          Refundable deposit, beverage package, $300 OBC, grats. Balcony $6758.

          Have been on Reflection and liked it.  However, recent reviews show long waits for dining due to new cabin creation.

 

Would appreciate your recommendations.  Is June 7 too cool, is July 31 too warm.  Ships, ports, what do you prefer.

 

By the way, 70's retired, still very active, don't mind a port intensive cruise, but would like things to keep us occupied on SEA days as well.

We have been to Amsterdam and Dublin and London and Paris and Normandy, otherwise all new.

 

[tcdcruiser]

Loyal to PCL but do not see $1000 benefit PCL vs Celebrity.  Amsterdam is great pre cruise and easier than London since airport and cruise terminal both close to Amsterdam city center 

Liverpool is gateway to Chester which IMHO is great DIY day.  I think your big loss with Celebrity is Edinburgh.  You might consider reviewing Edinburgh sights and may sure you are OK missing that city. 
 

 Consider air costs Florida to London vs Florida to Amsterdam. 

 

 

 

 

[cynbar]

We had the same dilemma a couple years back, ended up going with Princess, and we had a wonderful cruise. Edinburgh was a definite highlight, I think you would be sorry if you missed this port. Princess does the British Isles itinerary all season long, I think they have the inside track on tours, a knowledgeable port guide onboard, and links to local culture. We had a lone piper on the pier playing us in through the fog in Greenock, a young Irish tenor who spent 1 night onboard with 2 shows in the main theater, Irish step dancers in Dublin, and a couple days where local entertainers came onboard for an afternoon show before departure. I don't know if Celebrity does any of this, but we took a Med cruise with them and there was no local entertainment at all.  We sailed in May, and it wasn't too cool even then, nice weather for touring. 

[Dive Girl]

I was on the Crown Princess in December. Other than the elevator doors, she was in great shape! She has the new beds too!

[roxievegas]

We are also considering a British Isle cruise in 2021 and I have tried many combinations of B2B.  I don't want to fly all that way for a 12 days cruise, so considering the FLL to Southampton transatlantic in April and then stay on board for the first cruise of the season, so expect it to be cold.  Then considered flying over and doing two cruises one with Princess and one with Celebrity four or five of the stops will be repeats, but from what I read, stopping at all ports can be hit or miss with the weather.  We would then have to fly round trip.  This would be our final cruise over seas, so want to get it right and hit all the stops.  Doing the two cruises, one gives us Iceland

[Tak8]

I prefer Princess, but I liked my one Celebrity cruise and would go again for the right itinerary.  Having said that, both have some great ports, so I would go with better pricing.  

[patrickmoran]

I like the P itinerary better. With such a port intensive cruise, I would recommend booking an obstructed oceanview cabin. Big savings and same inside room and layout.  There are obstructed oceanview cabins which have no obstruction at all (near the rear of the ship). You might book a guarantee and end up with a nice upgrade or lucrative move over offer. This itinerary is very popular.

[seacruise9]

Hi, 

 

I did a 12-day British Isles cruise on the Crown Princess in September 2019 and had a wonderful time. I highly recommend this cruise. The Crown Princess is fine. The ports are excellent, but this is a very port-intensive itinerary. I did shore excursions in all nine of the ports. 

 

Chuck

[brunoseas]

I live in the UK /the time of year both June and July are good times to visit .Both ships have a good itinerary .Unless there is one which is calling to you .Going on Crown Princess this year for first time to see fjords so cant do a fair comparison until then but I have been on Reflection twice and it is my favorite cruise ship .If you do anytime dinning you can book a time in MDR online before you go (anytime) .That might help with concerns about waiting.Its a matter of personal preference but  although I expect the Crown to be good I dont expect it will be as beautiful as Reflection.Another little thing is if you like to swim  Reflection has the indoor adult pool and the Crown does not .Useful to have a covered pool as the UK even in summer the weather can be unpredictable eg.rain cool hot !!. Hope that helps   

 

[nini]

For a BI itinerary, I like the Crown. And besides, we do not care for Celebrity. We were

on the Reflection a year ago and most likely will not go on Celebrity again for various reasons.

Besides, we like the design of the Crown.

[cruisequeen4ever]

It was gonna be easy to recommend Princess because we believe Princess to be a far superior cruise experience, but then I saw the price difference. That’s tough. Europe is more about the ports than the ship, and $1,000 savings would go far with shore excursions, so I’m almost thinking the Celebrity one would be better for you. 

[nini]

In your calculations, also consider the "bottom line" for the final true cost. 
Fore example, on our next cruise, we are getting a total of $820.00 OBC from Princess and TA,

as well as paid gratuities and WiFi. Those expenses and credits will go a long way in bringing

the cost down. The beverage package was a joke on the Reflection. Only 2 white wines were

a part of our beverage package. And the bartenders were quite snooty about it.