Princess for a Celebrity cruiser?

[spearmint]

Have put out requests on another thread for Carnival vs Celebrity, but have also, since, looked at Princess. On Celebrity, we love the food, the service, traditional dining time, the Rendez-vous Lounge, the pools, and the disco; also, the formal nights and informal (do not bother with casual).

 

That said, will we be happy on Princess? In a 10-day Caribbean cruise, for the price of an ocean-view Plaza deck on Celebrity, we can have a balcony on Princess....

[10july86]

My family and I took a Princess (Star Princess) cruise 4 years ago. We sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale and went to San Juan, Tortola and Nassau. We would never take another cruise on Princess again. The service basically didn't even exist. For example: our table in the dining room was the closes to the entrance. People waiting for the second seating were standing outside smoking and the smoke was wafting directly to our table. I asked our waiter if the doors could be closed and was told no. I then went to the maitre d and asked him. He was nice enough to close the door. Second problem-at dinner one night I didn't care for anything on that night's menu. So, I asked out waiter if he could take one of the chicken breasts that were standard each night, have the chef melt some cheese and put some tomato sauce on it making it fake chicken parm. I was told no again. Now, I wasn't asking for lobster on a non-lobster night, I was just asking for some fake chicken parm. Everyone at our table was very surprised. So, I once again had to go to the maitre d who spoke to our waiter. The next night they brought out all kinds of goodies to our table. I know these are small examples of poor service, but I've never been told no on a cruise for basic requests. My husband, who is laid back and nothing bothers him even complained about things. Anyway, I think I made my case. We prefer X and will stay with them. But, as I've always said, a bad day on a cruise is still better than a good day at work!!! Good luck.

[DeepWaterMariner]

On Celebrity, we love the food, the service, traditional dining time, the Rendez-vous Lounge, the pools, and the disco; also, the formal nights and informal (do not bother with casual).

 

If these things are important to you than stick with Celebrity. If having a balcony is more important go with Princess. We love Princess for two reasons that are almost the flip side of why you like Celebrity...love anytime dinning, only two formal nights on a 10 day cruise with no informal nights. The pools on Princess are fresh water which is generally preferred by most users to salt. You can have traditional dinning on Princess but it is sometimes difficult to obtain.

[Pilot70D]

We have sailed on Princess, HAL and then we took our first Celebrity cruise this past December. Here is my over all rating of these three mass market cruise lines:

 

1) Celebrity

2) Princess

3) HAL

 

We started out cruising with Princess and we really liked their product. We never had a major problem on any of our cruises with them and we would sail with them again IF the price and itinerary were to out liking. The food was just as good as that on Celebrity and we really liked their anytime dining. The only reason we left Princess was their itineraries. We wanted a 10 to 14 day cruise to the Caribbean and Princess didn't offer such a product.

 

We then cruised with HAL three years in a row. The first two cruises were really great. Unfortunately the third cruise while not the cruise from hell was pretty close consequently we decided that there had to be a better way and we tried Celebrity. On our third and last HAL cruise the quality of both the food and service had declined noticeably. We encountered numerous service lapses in the main dining room which we think are directly attributable to staff cutbacks put in place by HAL's management. The food in the main dining room on our last HAL cruise was mediocre at best. We found that both food and service was better up in the Lido buffet so we dined there most of the cruise. Embarkation and disembarkation were events from HELL. Disembarkation was so bad that I swore never to cruise with HAL again. Several other CC members noted in their posts how bad disembarkation was for this particular cruise.

 

We tried Celebrity and we once again had a really great cruise experience. Embarkation and debarkation were efficient. Celebrity's disembarkation process is the best that we have seen out of three cruise lines. The food was very good on our cruise and the level of service throughout the ship was excellent. Our next cruise will once again be on Celebrity.

 

Cabin comfort and layout on the three lines goes something like this. First is HAL, second is Princess and third would be Celebrity. Let me state that VERY LITTLE separates first from third though. We have always had either minisuites (Princess & HAL) or a CC cabin. The cabin layout on HAL we think was better then that found on Celebrity. There was more closet space and storage in each of our HAL cabins. Princess wasn't far behind in these categories though.

 

Evaluating the entertainment on any cruise is highly subjective. Some will love a particular entertainer or show while others will hate the same things. Overall I would say that the entertainment on Princess was a half step better than that on HAL or Celebrity. Public rooms and spaces on all three were very good we felt and were just about equal.

 

We definitely like the Celebrity demographics better than that which we encountered on HAL. All of our cruising has been done during the same time of the year and to roughly the same destinations so we do have an apples to apples comparison. On HAL we were definitely younger than the overwhelming majority of passengers. We are both divers so we went diving in almost every port. We were the ONLY two divers on all of our HAL cruises. HAL didn't even offer any dive excursions. A lot of the time I wondered if we had sailed on the Geritolendam rather than the Volendam or the Veendam. On Celebrity we found that there are many, many more passengers in our age group (late forties to late fifties).

 

One the enjoyment scale there is one thing to take note of. The War Department (aka Mrs. B) is a rabid BINGO addict......oops, I meant dedicated BINGO enthusiast. She rates the BINGO on HAL to be a little bit better followed by Celebrity and Princess in a dead heat.

 

I hope that our opinions help but whatever line you cruise on next, enjoy it to the max.

[Host Anne]

Spearmint ~ we have sailed Princess, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean pretty interchangable over the years. We've had some terrific cruises on Princess, just like we've had on Celebrity. We've also had some less than terrific cruises on both lines. We much prefer traditional dining than Princess' Personal Choice but as long as you can get their traditional dining, you should be OK. The one time we didn't get traditional was during a Cruise Critic host cruise (pretty funny, huh?) and what they did for us was give us the same table at the same time (8:00 PM) with the same waiters every night....pretty much traditional but we were in a Personal Choice dining room.

 

It would also depend on the ship for me, although I think 99% of the time, I'd take a balcony over a non-balcony. I like all of Celebrity's ships better than the Grand Class ships of Princess. But given a balcony on one, I'd take it over a non-balcony on another line. Food is a very personal thing. I've always found the food on Princess acceptable. Our food on Constellation recently was fine but so was our food on Brilliance in December. Maybe we just aren't that fussy when it comes to food.

 

We're pretty much like you when it comes to dress. We seldom dress truly casual. We are casual every day for work (I know, we're not the norm) so we enjoy dressing up on a cruise. I don't think there is a ton of difference when it comes to dress. Or again, maybe I just don't notice.

 

Over the years, Princess has been very good to us. They were the cruise line that waited more than an hour for us when we had a mechanical issue on Delta that caused us to be delayed. That was a big deal on a ten day cruise where the first two days were at sea (it was the last time we used cruise air but they still waited for us).

 

OK....I've gone on long enough. Of the cruises we have booked in the next year, one is on Royal Caribbean, one on Princess and one on Celebrity so I'm always willing to sail them all.

 

Good luck with your decision!

[Desertbelle]

Unfortunately, our two Princess cruises were huge disappointments for us. Not only were the cruises themselves filled with problems, dealing with Princess customer service was horrible.

 

I can't say that we will never cruise with Princess again, but it would have to be under very special circumstances.

[willysgrandma]

I think Princess is the closest to Celebrity of the lines out there IF you go on one of the newer and larger Princess Ships.

 

I loved the Crown Princess but didn't like the Dawn Princess. The Crown's amenities on the ship were close to Celebrity. But the service ont he Dawn was great (it was good on the Crown too, but more personal on the Dawn). IHaving said that, I sailed the Celebrity Horizon and I thought the service and the ship was just awful, but I loved the Century.I tend to like the bigger ships regardless of the lines).

 

One thing I will say is that Celebrity does have better food. But Princess has some great itineraries.

 

If you want to try another line, Princess is a close second to Celebrity in my opinion.

[Tatka]

We really love Celebrity, but cruise on Princess was our best overall cruise.

 

Celebrity does offer the best, even white gloved service out of all massmarket lines, but Princess is very very good in service department too in both housekeeping and restaurants. Our Caribbean Princess cruise was actually more formal (in Caribbeans!), because there were many British PAX who liked to dress up every night.

 

Princess, at least their big ships (Caribbean, Crown, Grand etc) have terrific pools for all tastes. 2 adult only, 1 with music, 1 with movies under the stars, couple of small pools for the kids.

 

Despite a huge size Princess ship felt very intimate and cozy.

 

We are sailing brand new Ruby Princess in November and way too excited. :D

[Marabella2004]

We have been on 3 celebrity cruises, and 2 princess cruises in the last several years, and have 3 celebrity cruises planned. Overall, we prefer the extra touches that Celebrity provides. The Constellation is our favorite - because of the captain and the crew.

[jt1120]

Hi, spearmint. Remember, on a thread like this, you're liable to get a host of different opinions, and I'll add mine to the list. We are =X= fans, and decided to try Princess last fall. Was it a mistake? Maybe yesm maybe no, but I'm not going back to Princess any time soon. The good: our cabin was the best one we've ever had on a cruise ship. The bad: service was hit and miss, the food was defnitely hist and miss. Sometimes the food seemed like it was warmed up from earlier, and other times it was good. (NOTE: Princess does not know how to do lamb - hated it both times I ordered it). We have no kids, so I can't give you a read on the amenities for children.

 

For our cruise dollar, we feel that =X= does it better and with more consistency.

 

I'll have my greeting champagne now.

[rebeccalouise]

I am not an expert on Princess but can make a comparison between Sapphire Princess and Millenium Class ships.

 

I was on Sapphire to Alaska. Things I liked better about Princess- the aft hot tubs and the internet was cheaper.

 

Why I wouldn't sail Princess again. Service across the board was bad. The bartenders by the pool and in the buffet weren't knowledgeable, friendly or well-trained. The dining staff was overworked and rushed us through dinner. In fact, we would often be the only ones left in the diningroom by 8:30. We are not demanding and are seasoned cruisers. The service on Princess was the worst I have encountered from the front desk- cabin steward- dining (casual and fine dining). The buffet food was horrible for the most part. Drinks were absent- except for coffee and tea. Juice was by the glass served only in the AM. No trays or anyone willing to help with food. Terrible layout in buffet. Long walks to the table making second trips because of no trays. Horrible with kids IMO.

 

The pool we rarely used. I didn't care for the pool setup and hated having to bring towels from the cabin and walk back with wet towels. We only used the aft hot tubs.

 

Kids program was much more limited than on Celebrity.

 

Too many passageways leading to nowhere. Long walks to get to anywhere. Spa was ok but they were pushy on sales and late in taking me for my appointment.

 

All and all I felt like a number on Princess and to a lesser degree on Cunard. Don't know if it is the "Carnival" way but I suspect that all the lines operated by them are going to have a similar feel- with regard to lack of training and/or general disinterest from the staff.

 

Maybe these things aren't important to the average Princess cruiser but I have had better treatment on all the other lines I have sailed. Cunard had the second worst dining service I have encountered. As you can see I cruise alot and am not "picky" but just know better.

 

Now don't get me wrong. It isn't like there is nothing good about Princess or Cunard or any of the other lines for that matter. This summer we are giving Holland America a try for the first time in over 20 years. I am hoping that Holland is close to Celebrity.

 

But with travel time for me at a premium (as well as money)... Celebrity is my first choice of the lines I have sailed. Celebrity food is just ok- nothing special but I am a person who appreciates being waited on and treated like a "Celebrity". So to me an average dinner is made more special by the tablemates and the wait staff. I am a single parent and don't have anyone to help at home so cruising is a nice change of pace for me. I have always found the crew on Celebrity to be professional, friendly and helpful.

 

The Olympic was exceptionally good but you pay a premium to eat there. The main diningroom had something I liked every nite. The appetizers were especially good. Mains are standard- pasta dish, meat dish, fish dish with a starch. Caeser salad was consistently good. Desserts were bland.

 

All in all- for the price of a Celebrity cruise- I think you get bang for the buck.

[spearmint]

:) It never ceases to amaze me how helpful the posters on these boards are, when one needs to find out information. Some of your responses are so detailed; I truly thank you all for your help. I have formed some definite opinions but, the next move is to have "the boss" check out these responses as well. She will tell me what I like!;)

[ECCruise]

Having spent about 50 days on Princess ships and roughly the same amount on Celebrity ships in the last 18 months, I feel I can add a little to the discussion, especially since our impressions are fairly current rather than a number of years ago.

 

IMHO, each line has its strengths, but not so much that it would push one line far ahead of the other.

 

These are the strengths we see in Celebrity:

Overall service by a small margin.

Food quality by a small margin.

Size/layouts of cabins, comparing regular balcony to regular balcony only.

 

These are the strengths we see in Princess:

Food variety by a small margin.

Overall activity level and variety.

Ship maintenance by a considerable margin.

Frequent cruiser benefits by a significant margin.

 

What we see very little difference in:

Pricing.

Typical cruisers including age.

Entertainment.

The overall cruise experience.

 

We will continue to sail both depending on price and itinerary.

[shofer]

We were making a lot of comparisons on our first cruise with the Princess line after 6 cruises with Celebrity when we were on the Coral Princess for a 10 day Panama Canal cruise in February, 2007.

 

The bathrooms on Celebrity were bigger with shower stalls that were more rectangular in shape and height adjustable shower heads. Celebrity also had dispensers on the walls in the shower with shampoo and conditioner. Princess had all the bath amenities in cardboard containers on the vanity. We had 3 sets of towels in the bathroom on Celebrity but only 2 sets on Princess.

 

The room was lovely. I was surprised at how spacious it seemed. There was a very large, open closet with lots of hangers and a cupboard which contained the safe and shelves for our clothes. There were drawers in the nightstands and in the desk. There was bottled water to purchase in the room and an ice bucket in the small fridge but no pitcher of ice water changed twice daily like on Celebrity. The trash baskets had plastic liners on X but not on Princess which made you hesitate to throw anything messy in the container.

 

Celebrity had robes in the room. We had to ask for them on Princess. We have since discovered you can request them online prior to departure.

 

The freshwater pools were great with plenty of deck chairs. Celebrity has saltwater pools. Celebrity also has unlimited pool towels out on deck. On Princess the pool towels placed in your room doubled as your beach towels. Beach towels were separate on X and were bigger and thicker.

 

I thought the food on Celebrity was more upscale. I was surprised to see plain white rice served with some of our entrees. We liked that the alternative selections were printed on the menu and you did have your option of white rice, French fries or baked potato with your entrée On Celebrity you get whatever is plated by the chef with your entrée. But they will bend over backwards to give you boiled or baked potatoes or any vegetable that you request. It may not be at that meal, but every meal after that.

I LOVED the dessert soufflés on Princess. Some other differences we noticed was that hot cocoa was free on Celebrity whereas you pay for it as a specialty drink on Princess. Of course it is served in a tall glass with whipped cream and sprinkles on top. You also had to pay for ice cream when you finally found the counter by the Spa pool. It was free at certain times in the buffet but we really never made an effort to find it since they moved the location around and did not direct the passengers to it. Rather you paid for the sundaes and shakes by the pool.

 

The service is more formal on X. If my DH chose not to order an appetizer or soup, they brought his salad out while we were eating the other items. On X, he would be served the same course with everyone else. The bus boy acted as your wine steward, no sommelier making suggestions. The wine list on X is much more extensive.

 

DH liked the dispensers for the hot beverages which came out very hot. This made for a nice cup of tea. The cups were also bigger than on Celebrity which offers a barely 4 ounce cup. Princess had a decent sized cup for coffee or tea. The coffee ranged from the merely adequate to the downright execrable. I stick to tea bags since I can control what I actually get.

 

Celebrity does have nice trays with cloth placemats in the buffet and waiters to carry it for you instead of just large platters that you have to juggle with your drink. They also have a sandwich station all during lunch where they will make your sandwich to order. They would have these scrumptious pretzel rolls that Karl would keep going back for. It seemed that Princess only had sandwiches from 3-4 PM in the buffet. I didn’t see it as a food option in the Princess Patter. Maybe it was only for those coming back from a late shore excursion.

 

The pizza on the Coral Princess was very good with an excellent crust and they would make you whatever you wanted, just like Celebrity would.

I do have to hand it to Princess for the continuous buffet even if I don’t see the need for it to be 24 hours. Celebrity would shut down breakfast an hour before lunch where on Princess they would close one side of the buffet to get ready for lunch and continue serving breakfast on the alternate side until lunch was up and running. We never tried the buffet for dinner as we really liked the dining room experience for that meal.

 

Shore excursions: Princess really shines on this part of the experience. The shore excursions were many and varied, with some unusual choices. You could be as active or sedentary as you liked. Celebrity’s excursions are rather humdrum with more of an emphasis on shopping.

 

When coming back from shore excursions on Celebrity there is a tent set up on the dock for passengers where you could get a drink of cold water and/or fruit punch and a cold cloth for your fevered brow when you are returning to the ship. There was nothing like that on Princess.

 

The production shows were terrific Coral Princess and most of the entertainment was pretty good. We liked the option of 2 different shows a night but the seating in both theaters was limited. The theater only had a capacity of 600 on a ship with 1980 passengers. The sightlines were excellent but this was not set up as a "show lounge" like the Universe Lounge. If you were not sitting on the aisle, you could forget about that after-dinner drink as the theater was stadium seating and the poor drink servers would have to crawl over several people to serve you. Because we had early seating and the age demographic of this cruise was leaning into the high 70's we found ourselves racing to the theater if we wanted to get 4 seats together.

 

Celebrity’s theater will hold half the passengers on the ship and is set up as a “show lounge” with loveseat style seating and small tables to hold your beverages. It was much more conducive to ordering that after dinner drink.

All in all it was a very nice cruise. Princess did a nice job with the shore excursions and the rooms. The ship was lovely and comfortable, except for the theater which was too small.

 

We liked it well enough to take our adult children and their spouses on the Grand Princess in February, 2008 for their first cruise which they enjoyed immensely. Celebrity did not offer a 7-day Western Caribbean itinerary at the time we wished to cruise. We definitely want to go again with the family so they can have the Celebrity experience.

[tbelian]

For me Celebrity wins hands down.

 

Acknowledgement up front, only 1 Princess cruise vs many (10+) Celebrity crusies. the Princess ship was Grand Princess, November 2007.

 

There were some things I did like about Princess:

 

• Sabatini's (their specialty rest., it was very good)
  
• Free laundry for suites
  
• Free internet for suites
  
• the overall price of the cruise.

[CrystalWater]

Have put out requests on another thread for Carnival vs Celebrity, but have also, since, looked at Princess. On Celebrity, we love the food, the service, traditional dining time, the Rendez-vous Lounge, the pools, and the disco; also, the formal nights and informal (do not bother with casual).

 

That said, will we be happy on Princess? In a 10-day Caribbean cruise, for the price of an ocean-view Plaza deck on Celebrity, we can have a balcony on Princess....

 

Princess is definitely much better than Carnival if you are an X lover. It's a few steps down for sure from X, but it's many steps up from Carnival as a whole.

[Andy]

Hi Spearmint !

 

We havent sailed on Princess for several years. We have been virtually exclusive to Celebrity, with a few Royal Caribbean sailings, and 2 Azamara sailings mixed in. Before we switched to Celebrity, we were happy with our Princess sailings...but as I said, it has been a while.

 

We are sailing on Caribbean Princess in less than 2 weeks, and I am very eager to see how Princess stacks up against Celebrity. After our last Celebrity sailing (which was a huge disappointment), I am eager to see if Princess will be a good fit for us, as we are looking for a new Cruise line to call home. I will be sure to report back, when I return home.

[spearmint]

Hi Spearmint !

 

We havent sailed on Princess for several years. We have been virtually exclusive to Celebrity, with a few Royal Caribbean sailings, and 2 Azamara sailings mixed in. Before we switched to Celebrity, we were happy with our Princess sailings...but as I said, it has been a while.

 

We are sailing on Caribbean Princess in less than 2 weeks, and I am very eager to see how Princess stacks up against Celebrity. After our last Celebrity sailing (which was a huge disappointment), I am eager to see if Princess will be a good fit for us, as we are looking for a new Cruise line to call home. I will be sure to report back, when I return home.

 

Host Andy,

I will be anxious to read your posting! Thanks.

 

Bill

[Tatka]

We are sailing on Caribbean Princess in less than 2 weeks, and I am very eager to see how Princess stacks up against Celebrity. After our last Celebrity sailing (which was a huge disappointment), I am eager to see if Princess will be a good fit for us, as we are looking for a new Cruise line to call home. I will be sure to report back, when I return home.

 

It's a bit different experience, but very nice. Difficult to compare two such a good products.

 

We felt that lounge entertainment was better on Princess, loved production shows on X more. Seafood on Caribbean is to die for (huge Alaskan crab legs split in halves). We had great and very personal service from the room attendant on both ships.. in DR service was more formal on X. Pools are better on Princess. Loved Art Gallery - huge, looks almost like a museum. We felt there was more to do on Princess for all ages.

 

We are sailing on Ruby Princess next and I hope this cruise will be at least as enjoyable as it was on Caribbean.

[woodofpine]

Unfortunately, our two Princess cruises were huge disappointments for us. Not only were the cruises themselves filled with problems, dealing with Princess customer service was horrible.

 

I can't say that we will never cruise with Princess again, but it would have to be under very special circumstances.

 

Interesting, my first X cruise was a disappointment (not bad looking at the ports and whatnot) but not what I expected from a hype standpoint. We experienced a major booking SNAFU (completely the line's fault) and they wouldn't lift a finger to correct it... Very exasperating.

 

But my second X cruise was one of my very best.

 

Princess was my first cruise and it blew me way, but it was a full Canal transit on a Sun class ship - pre-Carnival takeover. So Princess hs a special place in my cruise heart. But the last one in November on Crown sort of had be yearning for X again... (Most X cabins are nicer, at least the bathroom is bigger than the plumbed telephone boot that typical Princess).

[Andy]

Host Andy,

I will be anxious to read your posting! Thanks.

 

Bill

 

Hi Spearmint !

 

It will be my pleasure. I hope the Cruise will be a good one :)

[chrismch]

We've cruised both lines 4x and we had no problems on the 4 Princess cruises; however, on Celebrity it has been one excellent and 3 sub par. The food, amenities and entertainment are pretty equal. Each has some food specialties that I like over the other so it evens out. However, my gripe with Celebrity is with their managment and training of personnel.

 

IMHO mgmt is not well run when a problem is brought up and it takes 2 days to get someone to return a phone call. When you are waiting in line at the front desk and have customer service tell you they have never heard of that problem before when you just overheard the person in front of you voicing the same concern. When the buffet area is out of spoons, glasses, ice etc and the supervisory staff is just standing around chatting not noticing that items are empty. When I brought it to their attn they were suprised! That went on for days on our Panama cruise. They also ran out of Wasabi for the sushi on day 2. When you leave a message for the future cruise consultant that you want to book a cruise and after 2 days no call to set an appt. That's a start of my concerns.

 

Now we have 2 cruises starting this week back to back - both in a balcony cabin. The first is with Princess then Celebrity. I will be taking detailed notes to do an even comparison. I will be posting my reviews. It should be interesting to see who fares better.

[Sky Sweet]

Hi Spearmint !

 

We havent sailed on Princess for several years. We have been virtually exclusive to Celebrity, with a few Royal Caribbean sailings, and 2 Azamara sailings mixed in. Before we switched to Celebrity, we were happy with our Princess sailings...but as I said, it has been a while.

 

We are sailing on Caribbean Princess in less than 2 weeks, and I am very eager to see how Princess stacks up against Celebrity. After our last Celebrity sailing (which was a huge disappointment), I am eager to see if Princess will be a good fit for us, as we are looking for a new Cruise line to call home. I will be sure to report back, when I return home.

 

Hi Host Andy :)

 

I noticed that the recent Celebrity Cruise you are referring to was on Constellation.

 

How did that cruise compare with your cruise on Constellation in Nov 2006? I am curious because we were on the same cruise in November 2006, so it gives me a good point of reference.

[marinearchit]

My first cruise was the Caribbean Princess (7-nights, Eastern Carib), and my second cruise was the Celebrity Century (5-nights, Western Carib).

 

We almost booked the exact same Princess cruise a second time, but ended up choosing Celebrity for Concierge Class.

 

Quick comparison...

Embarkation/Debarkation: Both did great jobs. Maybe a slight edge to Celebrity and the Port of Miami.

Cabin: Both were balcony rooms Caribbean Princess was a regular balcony, Century was a Concierge Class. Balconies themselves are comparable. While Century's was slightly smaller, the table was great. Layout in both was good. The Century's room was much smaller and it didn't feel like it. Also, the room itself looked better. Edge to Celebrity. Not sure if many would agree, but I just liked the room.

Food: We had Traditional on Princess (late seating) and the Late dinner on Celebrity. Both had great food but Celebrity has the edge.

Ship: Both ships had great layouts. CB had 3,100 pax, Century had around 1,600. I felt like the same amount of people were on both ships...very little. Both have great layouts and are beautiful ships.

Service: On Princess there was the girl at the Excursion Desk who went out of her way to get us a private bungalow at Princess Cay, the outstanding restaurant staff (David-Maitre'd, Jun-Head waiter, George-Asst. waiter), and the overall amazing staff.

On Celebrity there was the very friendly girl at the Hotel Desk who was patient and joked with me the 3x I de-magnitized my SeaPass and the 1x I locked it in the room. There was also Thomas, our wine steward who was extremely friendly. Our head waiter and asst. waiter were also great. The Maitre'd was non-existent until the last two nights when he came around for tips.

Entertainment: Can't comment on the theater or lounge acts.

But the pool band on Princess was more experienced, while Celebrity often had many great musical acts throughout the ship.

Teen Center on Princess has the edge. (Mainly for the air hockey and pool table) But the other teenagers I met on X Century I still keep in touch with, so that teen center was also awesome because we just hung out there.

 

We didn't do any Princess tours, so I can't comment.

I say, try Princess! Make sure you sail a newer ship: Caribbean, Crown, Emerald, Ruby, Diamond, etc...any of the newer Grand-class ships.

Definately try to get a partially covered and uncovered balcony. They're less expensive than a mini-suite and have a larger-than-average balcony.

[rucruizin]

Hi Spearmint !

 

We havent sailed on Princess for several years. We have been virtually exclusive to Celebrity, with a few Royal Caribbean sailings, and 2 Azamara sailings mixed in. Before we switched to Celebrity, we were happy with our Princess sailings...but as I said, it has been a while.

 

We are sailing on Caribbean Princess in less than 2 weeks, and I am very eager to see how Princess stacks up against Celebrity. After our last Celebrity sailing (which was a huge disappointment), I am eager to see if Princess will be a good fit for us, as we are looking for a new Cruise line to call home. I will be sure to report back, when I return home.

 

Spearmint, I was on the same cruise as Host Andy...my first on Celebrity. I was quite pleased with the cruise overall, but not pleased enough to pay, and go exclusively X for every cruise.

 

I have been on two Princess cruises...while the cruises themselves were great...I didn't like Princess at all. In fact, Princess is the second to last cruiseline I would choose.

 

Actually I'll correct that...it's really the last because I would NOT sail with Royal Caribbean again...unless it was free.

 

Every cruiseline is pleasing to different people, for different reasons. You need to find the opinions of those who are "most like you."

 

The thing that is nice about Carnival...even though some people are casual all the time...If you like to dress up...dress up. You won't be out of place. If you are the type of person who watches everyone walk in the dining room to see if they are wearing the appropriate attire...it would ruin your cruise. Personally, I like to dress up, and don't mind if I'm the most overdressed person in the room.

 

I love to dress up, but I did grow weary of it night, after night, after night. It would have been nice to just put on a sundress a couple extra times, instead of a formal dress 5 times.:rolleyes:

 

If you do cruise Princess...and you like the traditional dining...do it. I HATED anytime dining. My friend...a regular HAL cruiser, and recentl Carnival cruiser...also HATED anytime dining. She did not like Princess at all, and said she would not sail them again unless she found a great deal, and a perfect itinerary.

 

I would choose HAL over Princess...at least they have amazing cabins.