Summit vs. Golden Princess

[tapia]

Has anyone been on both these ships?

 

Do you have comparisons?

 

Thank you!

[ACJV]

I have sailed on the Summit and the Golden Princess. The Celebrity cruise experience is far superior, in my opinion. The food and service are so much better, and the ships are nicer. I did not care for the freestyle dining on Princess. Our dinner table had different people every night. Our waiter was busy catering to a nearby table with the family that had cruised Princess more than anyone else on the cruise. Needless to say, we were practically ignored. I would definitely go for Celebrity.

Vicki

[mason525]

I was on Summit for a 4 night cruise in 2/05 & will be on her again 7/1/06 for our family's reunion in Alaska. I did the Golden's European Capitals(10 night) last July & will sail on her again 7/31/06(British Isles & Northern Europe). I obviously enjoyed both experiences. I'd give Summit the edge in food & overall elegance. Concierge class offers some great treats. The cabins have more wood than Princess ships. I like Golden's friendly service, value, & dining choices-loved the Personal choice dining especially in the port intensive cruises. I like that there are laundry facilities on Princess. The minisuites are a great value for the money.

We chose Summit for Alaska because I was so impressed on that short cruise. I had sailed on Star Princess her 1st season & were a little disappointed. We booked the Golden because of an unbeatable price(last year) & then I was pleasantly surprised at how lovely our experience was. We happened to have the nicest fellow passengers I have ever experienced but I know that's very subjective & hard to recapture.

I think that covers it. Any other questions? Meg

[MBMiner]

I have sailed on the Summit four times (56 days) and the Golden Princess once (14 days). See my review of the Golden on the Princess board. I'd never return to Princess after that experience.

Bruce

[jakedoc]

We sailed Summit in 2003 to the Panama Canal and sailed Golden Princess in 2005 to the Southern Caribbean. Both were great but I think Summit is a nicer ship with better service. As far as food, Summit had better dining room fare and Golden had better buffet fare. Golden had a much better layout and variety for the buffet. They had food stations which made the flow much better. There is no comparison between the two for service in the dining room. Never really got to know the waiter/asst waiter onboard Golden because they seemed to be so rushed and they seemed not to go out of their way to remember what you drank or suggesting entrees when asked - things like that. Golden had a little younger crowd but that maybe due to Summit was 10 day and Golden was a 7 day cruise. Entertainment was about the same. We usually do our own excursions but looking at them it seemed Golden was more reasonable in their pricing. Staterooms (oceanview) were about the same. I would do both again. Have fun.

[woodofpine]

A lot of comments reflect overall line preferences. I've been on Summit twice and Golden once.

 

Summit's traditional dining and two story dining rooms are more impressive than Princess' low ceiling dining rooms, although I find Princess' friendly can-do service style very appealing. A plus, Celeb is much more heavy on linens and towels than Princess. As far as food itself, Celeb has a slight edge (less than the loyalists would have you believe though).

 

Ship design goes to Golden; far and away, it is more interesting design bow to stern than Summit's fairly simple box car layout. Golden only lacks a forward viewing lounge. Conversely, interior decor art and whatnot is far more sophisticated and interesting on Summit. Unfortunately, neither inside or out does Celeb hold up its end on maintanence (as other threads have noted).

 

If I were picking I go with the preferred itinerary. On the ship' side, I'd consider the superior swimming pools, interesting hull design, and gregarious service style of Princess against the more elegant food and dining (Cafe Milano, etc.) and interior decor of Summit.

 

Tough call... heads or tails, you win.

[tapia]

I actually have been on the Golden Princess twice before. Given, these are my only cruises, I didn't know what to expect on Summit. I will be on the Diamond Princess in February and the Summit next summer to Alaska. I just wanted to know differences.

 

Vicki: Thanks for your comments--I'm really excited about this Celebrity trip--I hope it's a special as I envision!

 

Mason525: I'm also doing Concierge class because I wanted an aft balcony. I don't need the laundry, although it probably would have been good this trip. I've been on the balconies on the Golden, never the mini suites. Thanks for sharing.

 

Bruce: I read through your entire post on the Princess board. I thought the two cruises I had on Princess were great, but it's possibly I don't know any better, having only tried that line so far (only because of the itineraries, not the line). A couple questions / comments for you (mostly clarification to make sure I got it right): Does Celebrity do automatic tipping? I never had a wine steward / bar waiter before and I'm a huge wine fan, so Celebrity should be really fun for me. I never even thought about things like showing a dessert tray! Is ice cream available without charge all the time on the Summit--(even in Alaska)? Does Celebrity supply extra towels at the pool area? Are juices available during the day without extra charge? Does Celebrity enforce it's dress code? Sorry the Princess board was so harsh. I do value all opinions and I thank you for posting.

 

jakedoc: I'm happy I made the right choice going to Celebrity to Alaska. I'm really hoping it is a nicer ship with better service for the money I'm paying. DH will be disappointed with the buffet fare not being as good, but oh well! Does the Summit have stations to? How are things laid out there?

woodofpine: There are 2 story dining rooms, that's really nice! I like heavy linens, so that made me really really happy! What do you mean by box layout? I'm hoping maintenance issues won't affect me :-) [key word: hoping!] The reason I did pick the Summit was the 1) itinerary and 2) it leaves from Seward instead of Whittier, which will save me some time.

Does Summit have indoor / covered pools?

[griswalds]

We have been on the Summit and Grand (sister ship to the Golden?) both last year.

Both are nice ships with the Princess ship being bigger. We liked both cruises for different reasons. There seemed more to do on Princess if that is what you want.

The only thing you need to watch out for on Celebrity M class ships is the problems with the pods. They seem to breakdown at key times.

Princess has MUTS which you will either love or hate, we liked it especially for movies on the deck at night.

I would say the Summit is more traditional and subtle in it's approach. Great wine stewards on the Summit as we went to a special wind blending presentation. For vegetarian meals if that is an interest, Celebrity is better.

I hope that helps.

 

Griswalds

 

 

Has anyone been on both these ships?

 

Do you have comparisons?

 

Thank you!

[tapia]

We have been on the Summit and Grand (sister ship to the Golden?) both last year.

Both are nice ships with the Princess ship being bigger. We liked both cruises for different reasons. There seemed more to do on Princess if that is what you want.

The only thing you need to watch out for on Celebrity M class ships is the problems with the pods. They seem to breakdown at key times.

Princess has MUTS which you will either love or hate, we liked it especially for movies on the deck at night.

I would say the Summit is more traditional and subtle in it's approach. Great wine stewards on the Summit as we went to a special wind blending presentation. For vegetarian meals if that is an interest, Celebrity is better.

I hope that helps.

 

Griswalds

 

It does help, thank you! Actually, the Golden didn't have the MUTS :-( So, I didn't get to even see that......

[woodofpine]

You sound like a great Summit candidate! You'll love the aft concierge cabin.

 

Don't worry about the buffet. Although I've been known to be critical of X, the food department doesn't disappoint although it isn't 24/7. Princess buffet offerings tend to be a tad more "international" (miso soup for instance) and X more euro-centric, but X' food is "probably" dish for dish better prepared. And as for 'stations', at lunch, the X omelet station is changed out for personally prepped pasta that is mighty nice. The buffet service is more formal as it goes - server dispensed food rather than self ladled, cloth napkins rather than paper.

 

X - like many lines other than Princess (which I've never figured given Princess great pools) has good pool towels for continuous change out poolside. The pools are treated salt water. Summits in-door pool is a heated T or thallasotherapy (say what!?) jet pool which is VERY nice and which offers very nice lite health oriented breakfasts etc. in that position which integrates into the spa/fitness area. Summit has an excellent forward ocean viewing gym to work off calories as well as a forward viewing cocktail/dance lounge above. Golden REALLY lacks this so discount my layout comments (Princess Sun class is really nicer than the Grand class in this and many ways IMHO).

 

The Summit dining room is two stories of decks in a horse shoe (a la most RCI ships) with a harpist and/or string trio/quartet accompanying dinner... Yep, even as a Princess fan, X has their low ceilinged rooms beat hands down! X servers are almost always top notch, friendly, but generally a bit more staid than the more Italio-gregariousness of the Princess crew.

 

In layout, the boxcar comment simply refers to a fairly linear deckplan, and that Summit doesn't really have an atrium; Golden's wrap around the bow promenade and "shopping cart handle" lounge is pretty unique among cruise ship designs. That said, in lieu of an atrium the upper tier of the perhaps less than "Grande" foyer is still a Really Nice spot. The Cova Cafe Milano is a superior relax and hangout coffee and pastry place where the dining room harpist is often doing her thing during afternoon hours.

 

From your overall comments, I think you're going to enjoy Summit a lot. Here's hoping for it (and steady propulsion)!

[tapia]

Thank you SO very much for all the comments. *warning, more questions coming.....*

 

How often is the buffet not available?

 

Dish for dish better is good for me -- I can't eat the much, even though DH can really pack it down.....

 

Pasta station sounds nice! It will be nice to be pampered a bit. I really like that idea :-) I did have a great time on Princess, but I'm hoping for this to be truly fabulous!

 

Hmmmm, interesting. I'm not thrilled with the pools being salt water, but since it's Alaska, I'm not going to be in the pools as often as I would be if we were in the Caribbean. I will mostly be at the ports. The heated T pools sounds amazing, but is there a regular indoor pool? I won't be too disappointed if not, but DH might (oh well.....).

 

I'm also figuring I might be able to walk off a lot of the calories just getting too and from my aft stateroom :-)

 

I'm loving the forward viewing cocktail / dance lounge! That sounds fabulous. I always wanted this on the Golden and now I can have it! I know this wasn't my original topic, but have you been on the Diamond? Since I'm going on that, I'm a little curious as well...

 

I'm very excited about the 2 story deck in the dining room. I think it will be elegant and a great experience. Common now, I had a nice hunky Italian waiter on my Princess ship *wink*

 

You mean the 'shopping lounge' in the middle of the ship Atrium, right? What does the "Grande" foyer look like?

 

I'm am SO excited to try the chocolate croissants at the Cova (which I've heard about on the boards here).

 

I'm just SERIOUSLY going to pray and hope there are no propulsion issues!!!!!!!!!!

 

I want a perfect Alaska trip and I'm planning and hoping to have it! No matter what, I'll have a great time, but I'd like no worries and no rain too. (might as well go for the gold, right?)

 

Also, I haven't done a search on this (I have to admit), so if I can find it elsewhere & you don't want to be bothered, please let me know :-) Thanks!

[woodofpine]

Your excitement is infectious, but... I've tended to enjoy most the cruises I've gone into with the lowest expectations. You actually sound like a potential Crystal/Seabourne/Silversea candidate (got an open ended budget? none of my business...)

 

My first X cruise was Summit. I worked myself into a froth and, frankly, I was a bit disappointed (although it was a very nice cruise). My last X cruise - also Summit - I took my Mom (physically high maintenance - amputee, etc.); I braced myself and it was FANTASTIC! Argueably, the best onboard experience I've had of 8 "modern" cruises (5 lines). But there's no such thing as perfection... although the first on Ocean Princess blew me away (but it was the first - a Panama Canal transit - and I went with low expectation).

 

The grand foyer is basically a large staircase multi-deck access to the purser's area. The "shopping cart handle" I referred to on Golden is the elevated lounge hanging over the stern. That's feature is pretty unusual, and it's NOT a very good torque handling component from an engineering standpoint; hence its deletion in more recent Grand class ships. I haven't been on Diamond.

 

Celebs dining situation has some time limitations. A couple hours in the late afternoon and later at night only room service is available. That's never bothered me (dampens the gluttony - a little). Celeb's pools close relatively early for the night (which is more of a down since I travel with kids) unlike Princess which makes a high point of their 24/7 pools and buffet. The fairly good size T pool should be nice in Alaska and outdoor pool is adjacent. There's no "standard" temp indoor pool.

 

Relax - go with modest expectations, and you'll likely enjoy the friendly formal euro-elegance X shoots for.

[tapia]

SO Sad, no open ended budget here. But, I'm planning on winning the lottery on the new drawing!!!!!!!

 

Hey, I'm just hoping for the best time. If it doesn't brake down, it will make me very happy........ I also go in expecting a few things to be wrong and I don't expect perfection. But, 90% is always nice!

 

Gotcha now on the grand foyer--thanks for the clarification.

 

I'm not really worried on the no dining later at night, as I sleep. But, how early do the pools close? Can I get in there after late seating dinner?

So, you're telling me to run to the outdoor pool in Alaska, which is next to the T-pool, as I'm FROZEN? LOL~I'll let DH do it and laugh while he's at it! Not a big bummer for me, all in all.

 

Thank you so much for all your input!