Love Celebrity Millenium ships BUT would like a change...

[motherchic]

which ship would you recommend?

We have sailed on Celebrity's Millennium ships 4 times and totally enjoyed each one. We thought the food was excellent, the service excellent. We especially love the thallo pool area and eating in the formal dining room in the evening. We especially love the assigned dining ( as a way to get to know our companions )

Our last cruise was 14 day Panama canal cruise.

My only disappointment was that every thing was the "same" on every cruise.

The food though good was the exact same menu, the afternoon and evening activities where also the same (without allot of variety )

There is fun in exploring a new ship-trying new things. Its fun not knowing whats on a certain deck or which way to go. We are considering a cruise again. Probably Southern caribbean and would love to try a different cruise line. Do any of you have a suggestion?

Many thanks

Nadine

[spongerob]

Coral or Island Princess might be a good bet for you. It's actually the same hull as the M-class ships, with different topsides, of course, and different inside as well. The ships were built by the same yard as the Celebrity ships. They don't have those troublesome 'pods, however.

 

Princess cabin configurations are a little different. Don't hesitate to ask if you have questions about any particular ship.

[cynbar]

We have sailed Zenith and Mercury and Infinity, enjoyed them very much, but our last few cruises have been on Princess. The Crown will be doing the Southern route this winter, and we are booked on her for November. Princess offers both anytime and traditional dining for dinner, although traditional fills up fast so you'll want to book early. We have found the food on Princess to be very good to excellent, with a heavy emphasis on seafood ---- ambiance and service are more relaxed and less formal than Celebrity, but that's fine with us. We enjoy the freshwater pools, 24 hr buffets in case we want to eat at odd times, Movies under the Stars, and more evening entertainment on Princess. All the major lines are a little different and all seem to have their pluses and minuses --- if you go in with an open mind, you should have a great time. A little homemwork goes a long way to avoid disappointment, as well as deciding what is important to you. If you are looking for multi-tier DRs, towell animals or parades, Princess is probably not the line for you. But if you want taseful decor, lots of smaller spaces and lots of choices, you'll be in the right place.

[Educators2]

We've been on Constellation four times and Millennium once and give high marks for the food, service, Aqua Spa, and no announcements on Celebrity. We did try Brilliance of the Sea which was a beautiful Royal Caribbean ship. This past February we tried Caribbean Princess and plan to sail on the Crown in September. We loved the anytime dining and the chance to have dessert after the show in the buffet. There were lots of activities on Princess and the ship was large but we didn't feel crowded. You do have to get to the show earlier on Princess but we had a great time.

[lysolqn]

We're loyal X cruisers (30 cruises on X) and have just returned from Crown Princess. I just posted a response to the Crown review 8/19 - 8/28 thread which you might want to read. It is our experience that the Princess product differs much more from the X product than we anticipated and we'll likely not cruise with Princess again. The Celebrity product is more formal and more traditional than that offered by Princess, and it was our experience that food and service on Princess did not compare. Crown is a lovely ship but it lacks the elegance and traditional atmosphere of any of the X ships. Princess wasn't bad but it certainly was different from what we've become accustomed to on Celebrity.

[Coral]

Princess is definitely going to be more laid back then Celebrity. I felt too stuffy on Celebrity and it just seemed like people were not having fun on Celebrity. IT was a weird feeling for me.

 

I agree about Rob's suggestion of the Coral and Island Princess.

[mii]

We're loyal X cruisers (30 cruises on X) and have just returned from Crown Princess. I just posted a response to the Crown review 8/19 - 8/28 thread which you might want to read. It is our experience that the Princess product differs much more from the X product than we anticipated and we'll likely not cruise with Princess again. The Celebrity product is more formal and more traditional than that offered by Princess, and it was our experience that food and service on Princess did not compare. Crown is a lovely ship but it lacks the elegance and traditional atmosphere of any of the X ships. Princess wasn't bad but it certainly was different from what we've become accustomed to on Celebrity.

 

Now I have been on both and while I enjoyed both Princess and Celebrity I give an edge to Princess. In my opinion I think the food in the dining room is about the same. Each line has their pros and cons. I agree with Sponge Rob and Coral in that the Coral and island ships are the best of the fleet. I do not like those big ships either. Coral/Island have 1950 passengers, a ship that you might consider if you should want to try Princess again. I have been on the M-clas ships and their size is the same as the Coral/Island.

 

Marilyn

[wizard-of-roz]

We've done all the major Mass Market Lines......and, Princess, Celebrity and HAL are the ones that stand out for ambiance/service/cleanliness/ship decor/passenger care and food.

I rate Princess very high for all of the above....a bit more noisey than Celebrity and HAL, but definetly one of our favorites. We'll be doing an "almost" B2B in October and November, 2007.

Next would be HAL; so elegant, quiet, great food, the beds and linens are to die for! The best on the high seas! We'll be doing a 7 day in April, 2008.

Last but cerainly not the least would be Celebrity. Our experience on her is best described as "lovely!" We'll be doing a 15 day cruise on her in October of 2008.

These are the top 3, in my estimation!

[starsjohn]

We have done a very large number of cruises on the Celebrity ships and have always liked the line, mostly for the upgraded amentities and food in the speciality venues.

 

However, we are quite taken with the much smaller Tahitian Princess and Pacific Princess and have spent some 120 sea days on them. We prefer the intimate environment and unique locations these ships provide.

 

I also like the Dawn Princess as an older classic cruise ship. The Grand Princess trip in Europe was fine as well. We have no experience with the newest biggest Princess ships.

[ConnMom]

I agree that using the same cruise line all the time becomes too predictable. Celebrity is my favorite line,and Millennium my favorite ship, but after a number of Celebrity trips, we had very good cruises on the Island Princess last year and on Holland America's Zuiderdam three years ago. All three are very beautiful and ships.

I think the service on Celebrity is better than on the other two lines, especially in the dining room, and I would give Celebrity the edge on dining room food, especially appetizers and desserts. But I think that all three of these ships provide excellent cruise experiences. The Zuiderdam had the most beautiful floral arrangements throughout the ship, great food in the buffet dining area, delicious hot hors d'oeuvres in the lounges before dinner, and good entertainment in the piano bar nightly. I think the Island had the most comfortable room layout and the largest balconies of the staterooms we had on the three ships. We found the entertainment on all three lines to be comparable,and while Princess seemed more anxious to sell drinks, bingo cards, etc. than the other lines, it was not bothersome to us. We are looking forward to our cruise on the Dawn Princess in October.

Whatever ship/cruise line you decide on, I hope you have a great cruise.

[Wilcoam]

My wife and I are loyal X cruisers, sailed the Millie with our Mothers in 2005, but with the same group on the Star in 2007, 3/4 of us prefered

Princess and the Star.

 

All the Millie Balconies are covered, the pools and hot tubs close far too early, for us it's a little too formal. Princess Suites are nicer. The Star is a more modern ship.

 

True, Mille has it pro's, food, service, the T-Pool, the towels back from excursions.

 

IMO, if you are 'older', you may enjoy Oceania and/or HAL, but if you're 'younger' Princess is a wonderful wonderful choice. Try them all, I say.

 

jc

Toronto