Carnival Celebration or Regal Princess?

[kuxiam]

We have booked a great deal for a balcony on Celebration, then along comes an even better deal for a balcony on the Regal Princess. We have a couple days until final payment for Celebration. We have never been on the Excel class of Carnival ships. The Princess cruise comes out to $300 less pp, with potentially even more savings over Carnival if we choose plus. But we can't decide! Is cruising on the new class of ship worth the extra $$$?

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by kuxiam

[mz-s]

Assuming similar itinerary etc, I'm not sure I'd pay more for a Carnival cruise on any ship. Each to their own.

[kwokpot]

The short answer is no, it's not worth it. But you're comparing 2 totally different cruiselines. According to your signature you're no stranger to what a Princess cruise represents, so how was your past experiences on Princess compare to your Carnival cruises? Are you looking for a high energy cruise or a calm, relaxing cruise with an older demographic? 

[kuxiam]

I'm usually motivated by price when choosing between Princess or Carnival. We do enjoy the entertainment more on Carnival, but also enjoy Princess for different reasons. We are happy on either line. I guess I'm just trying to figure out if the new boat is worth it. 🤔 

[kuxiam]

5 hours ago, kwokpot said:

The short answer is no, it's not worth it. But you're comparing 2 totally different cruiselines. According to your signature you're no stranger to what a Princess cruise represents, so how was your past experiences on Princess compare to your Carnival cruises? Are you looking for a high energy cruise or a calm, relaxing cruise with an older demographic? 

I'm usually motivated by price when choosing between Princess or Carnival. We do enjoy the entertainment more on Carnival, but also enjoy Princess for different reasons. We are happy on either line. I guess I'm just trying to figure out if the new boat is worth it. 🤔 

[mz-s]

The Excel class is different - but to me, not different enough to pay more than an overall elevated experience on Princess. Mind you I say that as someone who has not sailed an Excel class ship yet so take it for what it's worth...

[CruizinSusan70]

Only you can decide.  If you want a relaxed experience that is more adult oriented, then the Regal would be the choice.  It's an eight year old ship that went into dry dock five years ago.

You sailed on the Royal Princess four years ago.  If you had a good time, then the Regal should be your choice if you wish to save money and cruise on something you're familiar with.  If you wish to pay the extra to cruise on the Celebration, then stick with what you have.

You can always keep the Sun Princess in the back of your mind since it will be coming out in 2024 and will be Princess's first ship based on the Excel platform.

[Cruisin4beaches]

What about the deposit money you'll loose on the Carnival cruise. You have to factor that into overall cost comparison.

I've gotten great prices on either cruise line any time of year. The worst price is Princess $1.00 deposit sale.

Best Carnival prices are about 60 days or less from sailing date.

Only you know what's right for you!

[CruizinSusan70]

3 hours ago, Cruisin4beaches said:

What about the deposit money you'll loose on the Carnival cruise.

Not all reservations on future Carnival cruises have non refundable deposits.  Currently have 15 cruises booked (5 on Carnival) and only 4 have non refundable deposits (0 on Carnival).

[LouChamp]

Two different cruise lines, two different experiences, two different passenger makeups. One is more energetic but then prone to more drinking, arguments and basically rudeness. The other is more laid back. Not to say there are no bozos on Princess.  It is a matter of personal choice. As for me I believe my Carnival days are over as are my days on large mainstream cruiselines. I am starting to migrate towards smaller ships as I get older lol. Whatever choice you make, please keep us posted and smooth sailing! 

[cruisinqt]

We cruised the Mardi Gras in July and liked it so much we booked the Celebration in February. The Excel class reminds me a lot of Royal Caribbean. It’s very different from any other Carnival ship in the way it’s laid out and how it’s decorated and flows. And for the first time ever, I got lost in the casino. That’s a first for me but the casino is truly massive.
 

I really liked the variety of specialty restaurants like Emeril’s which has excellent Cajun food super cheap. Breakfast was $3, huge side dishes and appetizers were $4 and main entrees were very reasonable. We enjoyed the $4 beignets (big enough to split) every evening as a late night snack. The boudin balls and red beans and rice were excellent. They tasted just like they do in New Orleans. Rudy Sodamin has a nice restaurant that we really enjoyed too. Shaq’s chicken place had really good chicken biscuits that was a great place to grab breakfast quickly and get off the ship while in port. The food alternatives were a big hit with me. And don’t even get me started on the street eats area, it was so good. Okay if you haven’t guessed already, I’m a foody.
 

One other big improvement is that the Excel class has soda fountains in the Lido and at Guys bbq restaurant. Just swipe your card and pay by the ounce or if you have the bubbles program just swipe and go. I really enjoyed filling up my tumbler and not having to wait in long lines at bars to get a soda. The Excel class also has many more shopping options onboard with many of them being recognizable name brands like Victoria’s Secret. 
 

If it were me I’d be doing the Excel class ship just because it’s so different and has so many new things to offer. I also really appreciated that they had 2 comedy clubs open and going all evening so the lines weren’t so bad. The shows were staggered like 7:00, 7:30, 8:00, 8:30, 9:00, 9:30, etc. It was so nice not to have to rush to the comedy club right after dinner and stand in line forever. Carnival really outdid themselves with this new class of ship. They fixed a lot of problem areas and added lots of new interesting things. 

[serene56]

if you booked early saver- you will not be able to just cancel without losing a great deal of money 

[BS Criusers]

just back from celebration TA it was great

 

[Illbcruzn4life]

On 11/25/2022 at 10:18 AM, serene56 said:

if you booked early saver- you will not be able to just cancel without losing a great deal of money 

$50pp. That'll get you a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread these days.

[serene56]

11 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

$50pp. That'll get you a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread these days.

    Depends because it can be 250pp

[SunnyBeaches72]

The Carnival Celebration is awful. We disembarked this morning in Miami. I wish I had done anything but that god awful mess of a cruise. The rude staff, bad food, and obnoxious crowd (we witnessed a domestic fight and multiple arguments over elevators) were deal breakers

[Mr305]

I just got off Celebration this morning, the ship is beautiful.  The pay restaurants were excellent but the rest of the food was hit or miss including service.  I don’t think the staff has found its rhythm yet.

 

What I didn’t like:  Our balcony bathroom was incredibly small, enough to make me rethink the room for something bigger.  The mid-ship theater has a huge design flaw, limited viewing from deck 6 and a major lack of seating.  Unfortunately, a good portion of the shows are performed there.

 

The main dinning room was a mess, slow service and mediocre food at best.  I didn’t see any problems with crowds or fellow cruisers but did hear a lot of complaints regarding out of control kids.  The shows were great, some dated back to 2016 (Amor Cubano).

 

Bolt had technical difficulties on Saturday plus a wrap was being installed behind the stationary car used for pictures.  Also, at all ports, there was quite a bit of painting going on.  Enjoyed the cruise but was disappointed with the included food venues, service and quality of food.  For being their top of the line/newest ship, was expecting a bit more in these areas.  Would I sail Celebration again, for sure but my room choice would have to be different.  Plus I would give the crew a bit more time to grow into their day to day responsibilities.

 

 

Edited November 28, 2022 by Mr305

[CruizinSusan70]

6 hours ago, SunnyBeaches72 said:

The Carnival Celebration is awful. 

 

2 hours ago, Mr305 said:

I just got off Celebration this morning, the ship is beautiful.  

Two different cruisers with opposite views that just disembarked.  Isn't CC grand?

[CruizinSusan70]

6 hours ago, SunnyBeaches72 said:

The Carnival Celebration is awful. We disembarked this morning in Miami. I wish I had done anything but that god awful mess of a cruise. The rude staff, bad food, and obnoxious crowd (we witnessed a domestic fight and multiple arguments over elevators) were deal breakers

So, we have to assume that that'll be your last cruise on Carnival.  Luckily for you there are many other lines to choose from and if you're totally turned off to cruising, you always have all inclusives to fall back on.

[SunnyBeaches72]

31 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

So, we have to assume that that'll be your last cruise on Carnival.  Luckily for you there are many other lines to choose from and if you're totally turned off to cruising, you always have all inclusives to fall back on.

I’ve only been on three cruises. The others were Disney and Norwegian. I’m booked on a spring break and summer Alaskan cruises on Norwegian and the difference is remarkable, particularly in the Norwegian Haven. Before recently we just traveled and explored throughout the world, but at 50 I am enjoying the all inclusive and carefree experience that cruises offer. My in laws love Carnival, they’re platinum level whatever that means, and I don’t exactly enjoy disparaging the Celebration, but it was truly subpar. The ship itself was pretty, but outside of the cabin staff (my wife was on Facebook for this ship and I think we had the absolute best cabin attendant on the ship and she was great) and the bartenders at Alchemy and the Golden Jubilee the staff ranged from marginal to down right rude. We got run over by a staff member in the Lido Cafe who shoved me and my teen daughters out of the way getting into a cabinet in the walkway. I walked away to avoid me losing it, but I’m still angry. The elevators were another issue and that caused confrontations among guests that weren’t what I want my kids exposed to. It was an inexpensive cruise so I wasn’t expecting all that much, but it was worse than I could have imagined. I’ve certainly done other inexpensive vacations, and adjusted expectations accordingly, but we had fun and we’re never treated like this. This was supposed to be the best Carnival offered and if that’s the case then yes I won’t do Carnival again. That said, I hear Mardi Gras is much better. Apologies if I’m being aggressive here. I’m just really that angry. 

Edited November 28, 2022 by SunnyBeaches72

[keels81]

21 minutes ago, SunnyBeaches72 said:

This was supposed to be the best Carnival offered and if that’s the case then yes I won’t do Carnival again. That said, I hear Mardi Gras is much better. Apologies if I’m being aggressive here. I’m just really that angry. 

 

You're entirely justified in your feelings! That would upset me as well, and also be off-putting for a first-timer when I'd heard such great things.

 

Mardi has been sailing for quite some time now with seasoned crew, whereas most of the Celebration crew just came on contract for the TA and these sailings ... I know they were pulling as many Excel-class vets as they could get from the Mardi since they knew the ship layout for crew (which is WILDLY different than other ships, even Vista Class) but even then, there are many new kids on the block. And with a little time, I have faith it will be at the quality that people saying about the Mardi currently. If you were frustrated with them, I can only imagine how frustrated they must be with themselves because the one thing I can say about almost all cruise staff is they truly have a servant's heart and want to provide the best they can for guests. We all have bad days at our job.

 

I sail next Sunday and am completely happy to accept slower service because this trip is to experience a brand-new ship and see some of my favorite crew from my three Mardi sailings that have made the move to Celebration.

[ctlyf]

1 hour ago, keels81 said:

Mardi has been sailing for quite some time now with seasoned crew, whereas most of the Celebration crew just came on contract for the TA and these sailings ... I know they were pulling as many Excel-class vets as they could get from the Mardi since they knew the ship layout for crew (which is WILDLY different than other ships, even Vista Class) but even then, there are many new kids on the block.

That's so interesting... in 2018, we sailed on a different cruise line on their newest and largest ship... not the inaugural sailing but a few months after. In chatting with our servers in the MDR and our cabin steward, we understand that line pulled their best employees from other ships to put them on their newest ships inaugural season. Strange that Carnival would have any inexperienced crew on such an important voyage. 

[keels81]

5 minutes ago, ctlyf said:

That's so interesting... in 2018, we sailed on a different cruise line on their newest and largest ship... not the inaugural sailing but a few months after. In chatting with our servers in the MDR and our cabin steward, we understand that line pulled their best employees from other ships to put them on their newest ships inaugural season. Strange that Carnival would have any inexperienced crew on such an important voyage. 

 

From my crew friends on board, they tried to get as many that were familiar with the layout of the Mardi Gras as they could because it was so different and they needed at least leads in every area that had experience with an Excel-class ship. But as so it goes with other jobs/industries, lots of the inaugural season of Mardi crew in those positions moved on to other ships via promotion to higher/senior positions.

 

The current Mardi crew is only the second contract cycle for the whole ship.

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, SunnyBeaches72 said:

I’ve only been on three cruises. The others were Disney and Norwegian. I’m booked on a spring break and summer Alaskan cruises on Norwegian and the difference is remarkable, particularly in the Norwegian Haven. Before recently we just traveled and explored throughout the world, but at 50 I am enjoying the all inclusive and carefree experience that cruises offer. My in laws love Carnival, they’re platinum level whatever that means, and I don’t exactly enjoy disparaging the Celebration, but it was truly subpar. The ship itself was pretty, but outside of the cabin staff (my wife was on Facebook for this ship and I think we had the absolute best cabin attendant on the ship and she was great) and the bartenders at Alchemy and the Golden Jubilee the staff ranged from marginal to down right rude. We got run over by a staff member in the Lido Cafe who shoved me and my teen daughters out of the way getting into a cabinet in the walkway. I walked away to avoid me losing it, but I’m still angry. The elevators were another issue and that caused confrontations among guests that weren’t what I want my kids exposed to. It was an inexpensive cruise so I wasn’t expecting all that much, but it was worse than I could have imagined. I’ve certainly done other inexpensive vacations, and adjusted expectations accordingly, but we had fun and we’re never treated like this. This was supposed to be the best Carnival offered and if that’s the case then yes I won’t do Carnival again. That said, I hear Mardi Gras is much better. Apologies if I’m being aggressive here. I’m just really that angry. 

You have previously cruised twice, on Disney and in the Haven on NCL.  Enough said.  You're comparing oranges to apples.  First of all, Disney is a separate animal that has no comparison.  If you liked your stay in the Haven, then you should cruise in the Yacht Club on MSC or the Retreat on Celebrity or the Star Class on Royal.  Carnival has nothing comparable on any ship in their fleet.

[CruizinSusan70]

42 minutes ago, ctlyf said:

That's so interesting... in 2018, we sailed on a different cruise line on their newest and largest ship... not the inaugural sailing but a few months after. In chatting with our servers in the MDR and our cabin steward, we understand that line pulled their best employees from other ships to put them on their newest ships inaugural season. Strange that Carnival would have any inexperienced crew on such an important voyage. 

It's a different comparison once the second ship in the new class comes out.  When the MG debuted, Carnival pulled the best from various ships in the fleet and they were then trained on the nuisances of the ship and it was a baptism by fire for all of the crew.  With the Celebration, many can shift over from the MG, but there will also be many that are not familiar with the layout since the Excel Class is so different from the rest of the fleet.  So, it's another baptism for some, but just a shift for others.