For those who enjoy both Princess and Celebrity

[caviargal]

I have an opportunity to cruise on the new Crown Princess in December for my honeymoon. It is basically a "gift". But, cost is not the reason I would decide to go, more the the experience itself. I have cruised a lot and want a nice experience, especially on my honeymoon.

 

X has only the Galaxy in the Southern Caribbean and I am afraid she would be like Mercury, which for me personally was not a great experience and the worst of my 4 X cruises.

 

I was on Princess once in the 90s and found it stuffy so never went back.

 

Although this ship is way bigger than I like, we will be in port most days (my favorites, mostly) so it should not be an issue with overcrowded pool areas, etc. And we can confirm traditional dining, our preference.

 

There are two adult pools, also a plus, although I read that Princess does not attract too many families.

 

I do love the M class of Celebrity and will be on the refurbed Century in November.

 

For those that have experience with both lines, can you offer comparisons? I often read that Princess and X are of similar quality. Is this true overall?

 

Food is subjective and I really enjoy the food on X overall. But service is more important to me as is some nightlife (not shows) and a great workout facility.

 

I have read that Princess cruisers generally dress for dinner, which I also like.

 

We have a BB balcony (9x10 balcony so a good size) confirmed but I am hesitant to purchase air until I make a final decision.

 

Thanks for any input.

[catmand]

We have enjoyed both of our Princess trips. They were on Grand Class ships when they each were very new. There is always something to do on these ships, pools open 24/7, two large theater/lounge venue's, first run movies......etc. We found more things alike than different with these two lines.

Happy Honeymoon, give Princess a try....................it's always nice to have choices!

[CGTNORMANDIE]

HI CAVIAR!!!

 

OK...you want to go PRINCESS...do not expect the level of service that you get on X. P is a mass market line that does most things very well. The food is OK but not as good as X (most of the time). The entertainment is great. You will find plenty of seating around the pool but you might not be able to handle the music and MUTS blasting constantly. There should be an adult pool on the stern and that is a great place to hang out if you can't handle the music and noise around the pools.

 

Try and get a Mini Suite...it is the biggest bang for the $ on Princess. The BBs are nice...all the Princess balcony cabins are nice...but the Mini is far and away your best bet. Do not bother with a Suite...not worth it.

 

People do dress for dinner (most of the time on most P ships) and you will find some delightful lounges onboard. Stay away from the slots in the casino...they are set at the lowest payout I have ever heard of...stick to the table games. Do go to the Steriling Steak House more than once...it is a bargain and really good. You will not find the Grand Class ships of P to be stuffy at all. Make sure that you enjoy the night club....it is spectacular!!!

 

ROSS

[caviargal]

HI CAVIAR!!!

 

OK...you want to go PRINCESS...do not expect the level of service that you get on X. P is a mass market line that does most things very well. The food is OK but not as good as X (most of the time). The entertainment is great. You will find plenty of seating around the pool but you might not be able to handle the music and MUTS blasting constantly. There should be an adult pool on the stern and that is a great place to hang out if you can't handle the music and noise around the pools.

 

Try and get a Mini Suite...it is the biggest bang for the $ on Princess. The BBs are nice...all the Princess balcony cabins are nice...but the Mini is far and away your best bet. Do not bother with a Suite...not worth it.

 

People do dress for dinner (most of the time on most P ships) and you will find some delightful lounges onboard. Stay away from the slots in the casino...they are set at the lowest payout I have ever heard of...stick to the table games. Do go to the Steriling Steak House more than once...it is a bargain and really good. You will not find the Grand Class ships of P to be stuffy at all. Make sure that you enjoy the night club....it is spectacular!!!

 

ROSS

 

Ross, this was very helpful, thanks.

 

They allowed me to pay the upgrade to a balcony but will not let me pay the difference for a mini suite. I will ask again at the pier and hope for the best.

 

We would do the alternative dining at least once each (3 options) I am sure as we like the upgraded service and smaller dining venues.

 

And, the adult pools would be a must anyway as prefer peace and quiet to a kid zone, period, although music would be nice.

 

And the night club sounds perfect! We do enjoy stepping out while on vacation because we have such limited options here at home.:)

[sweetair]

caviar: first congratulations!

When are you doing the crown? there are a bunch of us celebrity cruisers on the december 9th cruise of the crown princess Please look at our thread and say hi IF thats the cruise you will be doing.

We had the same dilemma when X moved the connie out of PR.

 

i have been on X 18 times and princess 12 times. The size of this ship scares me too considering i do not like anything larger than the M-class. My friends(also avid cruisers..LOVED the caribbean princess..same size)

 

Although i love traditional dining(seeing the same tablemates all week)...we chose personal choice for a few reasons...you may want to consider this:

With personal choice:you can choose a specific time to eat(just like traditional) at the beginning of the cruise and then show up everynight at that time and get a table(only difference would be...not sure its the same tablemates every night) Also IF you decide to go to the 3 extra restaurants...you would not be leaving your tablemates alone. Same thing for them:if they leave you 3 nights then you are alone as well.

 

they have 3 specialty restaurants: a steak and seafood restaurant...i think $10 per person (i have eaten here on a different ship and it was great)

sabatinis italian restaurant...20 per person(friends think this was an awesome place!)

a caribbean type restaurant..serves foods from the islands you are visiting ...might be free.

 

Do not go on this cruise comparing each and every thing that x does and princess does not do(like embarkation)..there are differences but i think princess has a very nice product.

They still have a great party on the last formal night with the "cheesy" champagne waterfall! Gotta love it!

 

as far as service:It is what it is...if you arent getting something you need or want(just like on land based products) you can go to a higher authority. I have rarely had this problem on any cruise.

 

Food:after the last 2 connie cruises(dec 05/march 06) i really do not like their new menu nor the way the food quality has DECLINED greatly. We ate in oceanliners 5 nights!(exceptional and nothing compares to it!!)

Gotta love the souflees in the dining room every night on princess though!

 

This is only my opinion...hope it helps :D

*sweet*

[caviargal]

caviar: first congratulations!

When are you doing the crown? there are a bunch of us celebrity cruisers on the december 9th cruise of the crown princess Please look at our thread and say hi IF thats the cruise you will be doing.

We had the same dilemma when X moved the connie out of PR.

 

i have been on X 18 times and princess 12 times. The size of this ship scares me too considering i do not like anything larger than the M-class. My friends(also avid cruisers..LOVED the caribbean princess..same size)

 

Although i love traditional dining(seeing the same tablemates all week)...we chose personal choice for a few reasons...you may want to consider this:

With personal choice:you can choose a specific time to eat(just like traditional) at the beginning of the cruise and then show up everynight at that time and get a table(only difference would be...not sure its the same tablemates every night) Also IF you decide to go to the 3 extra restaurants...you would not be leaving your tablemates alone. Same thing for them:if they leave you 3 nights then you are alone as well.

 

they have 3 specialty restaurants: a steak and seafood restaurant...i think $10 per person (i have eaten here on a different ship and it was great)

sabatinis italian restaurant...20 per person(friends think this was an awesome place!)

a caribbean type restaurant..serves foods from the islands you are visiting ...might be free.

 

Do not go on this cruise comparing each and every thing that x does and princess does not do(like embarkation)..there are differences but i think princess has a very nice product.

They still have a great party on the last formal night with the "cheesy" champagne waterfall! Gotta love it!

 

as far as service:It is what it is...if you arent getting something you need or want(just like on land based products) you can go to a higher authority. I have rarely had this problem on any cruise.

 

 

This is only my opinion...hope it helps :D

*sweet*

 

The sailing is 12/16. We prefer that date as we will have 2 extra days home when we return due to the holiday.

 

I understand that service is relative and do not expect "The Celebrity Treatment" (although Mercury was a poor example of this). I am just hoping that the staff is warm and friendly as on RCI ships. It is attitude I am more concerned with than high standards as I have read things about a lack of warmth and smiles on these ships.

 

Re "Anytime" dining, we plan a table for 2 so tablemates are not a consideration, and we do plan to try each of the three restaurants. We will switch to "Anytime" if we cannot get a table for 2 confirmed in Traditional.

 

I appreciate your overall positive comments about the line. The ship looks lovely and I know I love the itinerary.

[Lois R]

Hi Kim:) hope you love it!!!!

And you will have to tell me about it upon returning. I keep saying

I should try Princess. Would love to know what you think about it.

 

Oh, Saturday was great:). It was wonderful seeing you again

and Esther is a hoot too:D

[SeaGams]

I too am a loyal X cruiser who went on my first Princess cruise this past February. We travel with a group from the New England area that are tied to the President's Week vacation schedule. We've gone on 10 night cruises with them for years, and unfortunately X did not have any sailings that met their needs. We sailed Sun Princess, one of the smallest and oldest ships in their fleet. To say I was apprehensive is an understatement. But, I was absolutely and totally impressed with my entire Princess expereince. The service was on a par with X's, the ship was beautiful and in excellent condition despite being 11 years old, and the entertainment was wonderful. We especially liked the two show room concept, and shows before and after dinner. The main pool was adult only, and there were "Youth Security Staff" people who ensured compliance. The food in the main dining room is better on X, although it improved as the cruise went on, and the Horizon buffet is better than X's in my opinion. All in all everyone in our group had a blast, so much so we'll be on the Sun next Presidents week.

 

Hope your experience will be as positive as ours, and congratulations!

 

PS Hi Lois!!

[Longboysfan]

Congrats. Don't smoke on the Balcony..... ;)

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Forget about Sabatinis...frozen Italian does not make a great meal. Both Princess and X fall down on their Italian cusine but Sabatinis is not worth the visit...unless you love Olive Garden.

 

If you book Personal Choice...plan on eating at 8:30 PM and you will be able to find a good table with good waiters. I would probably go with assigned seating the next time. Most X cruisers miss the personal service at the table...it is not the same with Personal Choice. A lot of the Princess waiters can be matter-of -fact or even worse. Remember...food and service on the Grand Class ships are different from the other Princess ships.

 

Keep trying for a Mini Suite!!!

[caviargal]

Forget about Sabatinis...frozen Italian does not make a great meal. Both Princess and X fall down on their Italian cusine but Sabatinis is not worth the visit...unless you love Olive Garden.

 

If you book Personal Choice...plan on eating at 8:30 PM and you will be able to find a good table with good waiters. I would probably go with assigned seating the next time. Most X cruisers miss the personal service at the table...it is not the same with Personal Choice. A lot of the Princess waiters can be matter-of -fact or even worse. Remember...food and service on the Grand Class ships are different from the other Princess ships.

 

Keep trying for a Mini Suite!!!

 

Being a second generation Italian who grew up minutes from Manhattan, Olive Garden does not qualify as "food" at all. :rolleyes: That is disappointing for sure.

 

I have requested traditional dining, late seating as this is our preference. And, I have heard and read more positive things about the service in this dining room.

 

Thanks:)

[hollym]

If you are used to a balcony cabin on Celebrity, especially those on the M class ships, you'll find the BB cabin on the newer ships on Princess are a bit snug. DH and I were in a BA on the Diamond when she first sailed and we kept bumping into one another trying to get around the bed. The shower is the problem though. Watch out for that grab bar. If you hit it with your elbow, and you will, forget about wearing anything sleeveless for the week. :eek: That said, you are right about the balconies. They are bigger and superb! X should take note of the size of those balconies and how great an idea it was to locate the adjoining cabin door in between balconies rather than inside the cabins. Putting the door on the balcony partition solves the problem of noise infiltrating through an adjoining cabin door.

 

Princess embarkation was the worst I had ever seen! I hope yours is better. A full two hours sitting on the floor in the terminal because there weren't enough chairs! When you checked in, they gave you a number and you waited till they called it.

 

Customer service? Our group decided unanimously this is where Princess just can't match X. To begin with, we had a group of eight and all of our booking numbers were cross-referenced for late seating in the regular dining room. We had checked on it more than once but when we got onboard, they had six of our group at one table and two alone at another table elsewhere in the dining room. But what was worse was how they handled the situation. I went to the assistant maitre d right away. Explaining the situation, he simply shrugged his shoulders and said he couldn't do anything about it. I was stunned. X would never have done this. I was on the cellphone from our balcony to Princess before we'd even left the dock but they weren't interested in helping either. Isn't it amazing, but DH was able to fix everything once a $20 bill was produced. You'd better take a few of those along.

 

The food was absolutely equal to X in the regular dining room but the room is small and the ceiling quite low. I'm used to the two story X dining rooms with orchestras on formal nights and people dressed up a bit more elegantly. If you prefer the more casual approach, you'll like it. The dining room service was excellent. Our night at Sabatini's was very disappointing. Slow and uneven service and the food definitely not worth the extra charge. Nowhere near the quality of the specialty restaurants on X. Room service was horrible. They often didn't even answer their phone. Cabin attendant was friendly but slow and extra towels had to be asked for more than once. On X they simply appear magically.

 

You might find it hard to get around on this new ship. We did on The Diamond. You had to go down to deck nine (if I recollect correctly) to get from forward to aft. At the end of the week, I was tired of it. Like X, too many kids in all the pools except the very small adult pool outside of the spa. That one was filled with adults just standing around. People soup.

 

All in all, every one of us enjoyed our Princess cruise, but agreed at the end of the week that it just wasn't the same as what we'd come to expect on X. That said, that could all change at any time and your experience might be totally different. There have been some management changes on our favorite X ship since we cruised in December of 05 and we think that change might affect our future cruising choices. We are now booked for next month on NCL. Good Luck!!:D

[Tide Pride]

Until our latest cruise we were firmly in Celebrity's corner.

We cruised April 13 on the Coral Princess to the Panama Canal. We had a blast and the Coral was the prettiest ship we have ever been on and beautifully maintained.

I found the service to be outstanding from embarkation to disembarkation. This may have been the friendliest crew I have ever been around and apparently they were a happy crew.

I would give the Celebrity Dining Room experience an " A " and Princess and " A- ". The lido food was better on Princess and they had wonderful hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza poolside.

The entertainment was first rate.

Do I still love Celebrity ? Yes, but all in all I found this particular Princess cruise to be equal to Celebrity and I would not hesitate to sail either cruise line in the future as equal choices.

[RLM77]

One other thing about Caribbean, Crown, and Emerald (goes into service in 2007) Princess. They are the same size and layout as the older Grand class ships, as well as Diamond and Sapphire Princess. But they have an extra deck that's 100% pax cabins that was added to boost revenues and efficiency. We've never been on them, but some say that the extra pax make the public areas very tight when the ships are full. Folks seem to prefer the older Grand class ships; many also really like the smaller Coral and Island Princess. Approach with caution.

[julinue]

We are fairly new cruisers having sailed a grand total of 4 times! But 2 were X and 2 were Princess. I would go Celebrity hands down over Princess.

To be fair - our Princess cruises were on the Star and the Caribbean while our Celebrity were on the Century and Galaxy. Size does matter!

I found Princess to be just tooo big for me. Both Princess cruises were in the Caribbean and I felt that we were very crowded both times. I realize that's the business model when you have such big ships but I much prefer the smaller Celebs we have experienced.

As someone else has pointed out the dining rooms on the P's are low ceiling and just dark - even with the cutesy effect of the "star lights" in the ceiling. There is something very impressive and opulent about the two story dining rooms.

Over all I think you just can't beat the little things that Celebrity does - like cold towels on the gangway when you are returning from a hot excursion!

We're booked on Century at the end of June and I can't wait!! :-)

[Host Anne]

Caviargal ~ we have sailed Celebrity and Princess pretty interchangably over the years. While I give a slight edge to Celebrity overall, we have thoroughly enjoyed our Princess cruises as well. We have always had outstanding service on both lines. Food has always been very good on both (some ships have been better than others but honestly, I don't think there is as big a difference as you might think). I've been on both lines in the past couple of months....the Grand Princess and Mercury. Service on both were great! If I had to give an edge to food, our food on Grand was actually better. Mercury was good but the Grand was better.

 

Ship for ship, however, I prefer the size of Celebrity ships. I've never cared for the Grand class ships in comparison to any of the Celebrity ships. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't sail them in the right situation.....like we did in January.

 

You should go with your heart. This is an important choice for you. Look at the things that are most important to you. Factor in the opinions here carefully and remember that what some of us like or think is important may be different from what you like.

 

Most importantly, whatever you decide, go and have a fabulous time. You deserve it! Congratulations and much happiness always!