luv2camp04 Posted July 30, 2023 #1 Share Posted July 30, 2023 We currently have a 9 day Mediterranean cruise booked with Celebrity next April, but we are considering changing to a 17 day Princess (Sun Princess). Can y'all give me the good, bad and ugly (or great) of Princess vs. Celebrity (we've only cruised with the Celebrity in the past-M Class and S class). Also, if you have Princess Plus can you upgrade the drink portion to the Premium without going to Princess Premium? What is the cost to do this? Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibertyBella Posted July 30, 2023 #2 Share Posted July 30, 2023 Six of one, half dozen of another. We like both and would sail both, especially in Europe. HAL and Cunard also make the cut. For me, the priority would be itinerary, budget, air fare arrangements, and costs, etc. We tour every day we are in port, so that expense is also significant for us, more than on-board costs. We also limit our cruise length, as we have pets. Have fun planning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted July 30, 2023 #3 Share Posted July 30, 2023 (edited) If you look in my expanded signature below, you will see a Live From thread I just finished posting to regarding our 17-day B2B on the Diamond Princess. I tried to show what evening theater and game shows we went to every night along with all our excursions. In short, we have more fun and laugh more on a Princess cruise. But we also very much enjoy cruising with Celebrity if the itinerary and price is right. Towards the end of the thread I posted the prices regarding the alcoholic drinks, except for the various wines they offered. We had the Plus package and had no issues keeping under the $15 limit. I was even able to get my triple Baileys every night for no extra charge, whereas on Celebrity I have to upgrade to the Premium package to get my triple Baileys at no additional cost. Edited July 30, 2023 by Ken the cruiser 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Rick&Jeannie Posted July 30, 2023 #4 Share Posted July 30, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, luv2camp04 said: Also, if you have Princess Plus can you upgrade the drink portion to the Premium without going to Princess Premium? What is the cost to do this? Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated. OK...I *think* I understand what you're asking...maybe not. If you happen to "go over" your drink cost limit you will just be charged the difference in cost. There is no "halfway to Premium" package that gives you extended drink coverage. Either you upgrade to Premium or just pay the difference on a case by case basis. Is this what you mean? Edited July 30, 2023 by Rick&Jeannie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skynight Posted July 30, 2023 #5 Share Posted July 30, 2023 You can only upgrade from the full plus fare to the full premier fare. There is no individual breaking apart the fares. Is the reason you ask is because of the $15 limit on the plus fare and $20 limit on the premier fare? Probably 90% of all alcoholic drinks are below the $15 limit. Basically some wines and some high end spirits, such as a single malt scotch, are priced above $15. If you have the plus fare package and purchase a drink menu priced higher than $15 you will be charged the difference plus 18%. Example for a $20 drink your account will be charged $5.90. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmsmith Posted July 30, 2023 #6 Share Posted July 30, 2023 (edited) We did our first celebrity cruise about a year ago aboard to Solstice to Alaska. Have a good number of Princess cruises under our belts. One NCL cruise. no desire to touch NCL ever again. But I would gladly sail Celebrity anytime. Overall I felt Celebrity and Princess are pretty comparable. Each does something a little better than the other. Our next booked cruise is a transatlantic on the Sun Princess. while I'm a little concerned about the size of the Sun (one thing we didn't like about NCL was the 5k people on it) and the more family friendly elements I'm willing to give Princess a shot at the large boat and more.ship within a ship experience. We've booked a reserve cabana mini suite with the premier package. I think the new Sphere class ships will feel a little more modern and celebrity like than the current ships based on the renderings. If you like the itinerary your looking at I would say give Princess and the new Sun Princess a shot. Edited July 30, 2023 by rmsmith 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love to cruz Posted July 30, 2023 #7 Share Posted July 30, 2023 Our big draw back to Celebrity is the cost of the drink package. On Celebrity it is $89 per DAY. We are not alcoholics, thus cannot justify such a high rate. Even though I love my Cappuccinos & fresh juice. We like the friendliness of the wait staff on Princess. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare stevenr597 Posted July 30, 2023 #8 Share Posted July 30, 2023 Both cruise lines are more similar than different. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2camp04 Posted July 31, 2023 Author #9 Share Posted July 31, 2023 On 7/30/2023 at 12:50 PM, Ken the cruiser said: If you look in my expanded signature below, you will see a Live From thread I just finished posting to regarding our 17-day B2B on the Diamond Princess. I tried to show what evening theater and game shows we went to every night along with all our excursions. In short, we have more fun and laugh more on a Princess cruise. But we also very much enjoy cruising with Celebrity if the itinerary and price is right. Towards the end of the thread I posted the prices regarding the alcoholic drinks, except for the various wines they offered. We had the Plus package and had no issues keeping under the $15 limit. I was even able to get my triple Baileys every night for no extra charge, whereas on Celebrity I have to upgrade to the Premium package to get my triple Baileys at no additional cost. Thanks!! I will check out the live thread. We are on a 3 month RV trip and I have been without decent cell service and wifi for the last 2 weeks. Trying to catch up 🤪 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2camp04 Posted July 31, 2023 Author #10 Share Posted July 31, 2023 23 hours ago, skynight said: You can only upgrade from the full plus fare to the full premier fare. There is no individual breaking apart the fares. Is the reason you ask is because of the $15 limit on the plus fare and $20 limit on the premier fare? Probably 90% of all alcoholic drinks are below the $15 limit. Basically some wines and some high end spirits, such as a single malt scotch, are priced above $15. If you have the plus fare package and purchase a drink menu priced higher than $15 you will be charged the difference plus 18%. Example for a $20 drink your account will be charged $5.90. Thanks! With Celebrity, you can upgrade from the Classic to the Premium package and we always do, but it sounds like Princess has better pricing on their drinks overall so I guess we wouldn't have to change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2camp04 Posted July 31, 2023 Author #11 Share Posted July 31, 2023 21 hours ago, rmsmith said: We did our first celebrity cruise about a year ago aboard to Solstice to Alaska. Have a good number of Princess cruises under our belts. One NCL cruise. no desire to touch NCL ever again. But I would gladly sail Celebrity anytime. Overall I felt Celebrity and Princess are pretty comparable. Each does something a little better than the other. Our next booked cruise is a transatlantic on the Sun Princess. while I'm a little concerned about the size of the Sun (one thing we didn't like about NCL was the 5k people on it) and the more family friendly elements I'm willing to give Princess a shot at the large boat and more.ship within a ship experience. We've booked a reserve cabana mini suite with the premier package. I think the new Sphere class ships will feel a little more modern and celebrity like than the current ships based on the renderings. If you like the itinerary your looking at I would say give Princess and the new Sun Princess a shot. Thanks for the info!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseSter1ing Posted August 4, 2023 #12 Share Posted August 4, 2023 (edited) Wrong posting Edited August 4, 2023 by CruiseSter1ing Wrong topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseSter1ing Posted August 4, 2023 #13 Share Posted August 4, 2023 On 7/30/2023 at 11:32 AM, luv2camp04 said: We currently have a 9 day Mediterranean cruise booked with Celebrity next April, but we are considering changing to a 17 day Princess (Sun Princess). Can y'all give me the good, bad and ugly (or great) of Princess vs. Celebrity (we've only cruised with the Celebrity in the past-M Class and S class). Also, if you have Princess Plus can you upgrade the drink portion to the Premium without going to Princess Premium? What is the cost to do this? Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated. One thing that I don’t care for on some older celebrity ships like the equinox is the single huge dining room. That vaults up to the 2nd next level. It’s always very loud and hard to have a conversation without feeling that you either can’t hear or need to talk loudly for others to hear you. This is not an issue with the princess dining rooms. Which have a single level ceiling and feel more intimate and cozy. Despite their size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruizinSusan70 Posted August 4, 2023 #14 Share Posted August 4, 2023 2 hours ago, CruiseSter1ing said: One thing that I don’t care for on some older celebrity ships like the equinox is the single huge dining room. That vaults up to the 2nd next level. It’s always very loud and hard to have a conversation without feeling that you either can’t hear or need to talk loudly for others to hear you. This is not an issue with the princess dining rooms. Which have a single level ceiling and feel more intimate and cozy. Despite their size. The Edge Class ships of Celebrity (Edge, Apex, Beyond, Ascent) all have 4 MDR's, each with their own specialty menu, along with the daily menu that is the same in all 4 venues and rotates daily and the always available menu that is available in all four venues each day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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