Princess vs Celebrity British Isles Cruise

[KBates1030]

We are planning our first European cruise and really want to do the British Isles.  Looking at early Sept 2023 and either Celebrity Apex or Princess Emerald Princess.  We've never sailed Celebrity and the Apex looks awesome but not too sure about those infinity verandas.  We love being "outside" on our balcony.  We've done Princess and have had good and not so good cruises with them.  But we really like their itinerary and the price is lower.  We have recently sailed RCL's Harmony and were disappointed in the food but that may have been supply chain issues and new chefs.  Hoping our British Isles cruise has great food!  This will be our first "empty nest" cruise with no kid.   What do you all think?

[Globaliser]

8 hours ago, KBates1030 said:

What do you all think?

 

Are you wanting help with the two itineraries (which look very similar), or are you really asking about Celebrity vs Princess?

 

As usual for British Isles cruises, there are a number of ports of call that really ought to be visited separately, not from a ship.

[eldercruser1]

Look at HAL's August cruise - has overnight in Edinburgh so can go to the Military Tattoo.

[paulandjoyce]

On 6/28/2022 at 7:56 PM, KBates1030 said:

We are planning our first European cruise and really want to do the British Isles.  Looking at early Sept 2023 and either Celebrity Apex or Princess Emerald Princess.  We've never sailed Celebrity and the Apex looks awesome but not too sure about those infinity verandas.  We love being "outside" on our balcony.  We've done Princess and have had good and not so good cruises with them.  But we really like their itinerary and the price is lower.  We have recently sailed RCL's Harmony and were disappointed in the food but that may have been supply chain issues and new chefs.  Hoping our British Isles cruise has great food!  This will be our first "empty nest" cruise with no kid.   What do you all think?

We used Princess  As the itinerary was outstanding - the ship not great (it was the crown before the pandemic)

tske the ships tours to normandy

We used viator for two others - Belfast and somewhere is Scotland 

butler Tours for cork

the shuttle at the port for Edinburough - if still operating and had pre booked the castle

there was a Publix bus into Glasgow and we walked around and went to art museum - I would think of taking a tour if had to do over, but we had fun 

we started the trip in Dublin and went in a few days before and after 

 

 Hope this helps 

[gnome12]

6 minutes ago, paulandjoyce said:

We used viator for two others - Belfast and somewhere is Scotland

Viator doesn't run any tours. They are a middleman. Try googling tours in "name of port" and look for the actual operators of the tours.

[RNCheryl]

The August 2023 tours have been shifted from the Emerald Princess to the larger Regal Princess

[nini]

True, it is now the Regal Princess and we love the Regal. We were on the Emerald for the British Isles this last May and the Emerald was a bit disappointing. However, it could be due to covid is stuff. We actually encountered grumpy crew which was shocking for us. But our itinerary was great.

[juliusguck]

You cannot always sit out on the “balcony” on the infinite veranda. The stewards will lock the doors if it’s windy or weather is bad.

 

[SueMo]

I've found that you don't spend a lot of time on the verandah on a British Isles cruise that time of year.  It can get quite chilly and windy.  I can't speak for the Regal Princess, but I LOVE the Apex.  It's a beautiful ship, has wonderful entertainment and service.  

 

[MICHE99]

We are doing the British Isles cruise with Viking in May. Smaller ship and we are told fabulous food. Viking includes one tour at every port but we like to do our own thing with a smaller group. Hoping to find some recommendations for good tours here on CC.