Celebrity Cruisers Try Princess (A Long Review)

[RLM77]

Readers of the Celebrity board may be interested in my review/comparison of our Caribbean Princessi cruise, which is on the Princess board, here.

[curiouscat]

Thanks.. we like Princess' smaller ships, X for certain Itineraries(has superior food/service) and RCCL for the "mega" ship experience.

 

Hope all is well w/ Marlee.

[JanineM]

Thanks for the balanced review!

[Andy]

Hi Rich !

 

Thanks for your excellent comparison. I am sorry to see you had to leave the ship early. I hope Marlee is doing better.

 

I felt your comments were similar to my thoughts. We sailed on Caribbean Princess about 5 week ago, and we had a great Cruise. We also felt that Celebrity excelled in some areas, as did Princess. Each has their plusses and minuses. As you know, we have been extremely loyal to Celebrity, but I am glad we tried Princess. It is good to know we have other Cruise options.

 

Whem time permits, I will try to post some of my Celebrity Vs. Princess thoughts as well.

[flashdog_1]

Thank you so much for your comparisons. My daughter (with whom I cruise) has been wanting to try Princess. I'll let her read your review so she'll know what to expect.

 

Question: re the Anytime Dining. I have only experienced one NCL Freestyle, and you were NOT allowed to make reservations except in the specialty restaurants. Therefore there were loooooonnnnggg lines at dinner. I was pleased that you were able to make reservations in the main dining rooms on Princess. Were you able to do that the day of the meal, or did you do it when you first got on board? Thanks. Your answer will help me.

[woody14h]

I enjoyed your long post comparison and for the most part it says that either will be a good choice. For my own observations when we cruised Princess (2X) we were never able to find good seats in the Princess theater. Everyone was always savings more seats than at the pool. Celebrity and HAL were never a problem. We love X for the food and the attention given by the stewards (maybe we've been lucky so far). But we will continue to have X as our first choice. HAL next for the ambiance of the wood deck feeling and food and attention second only to X. We wouldn't hesitate in taking a Princess cruise if the budge and itinerary permits. All have proven to be excellent choices. As they say to each his own but with educated information from CC the choices are made easier.

[RLM77]

Question: re the Anytime Dining. I have only experienced one NCL Freestyle, and you were NOT allowed to make reservations except in the specialty restaurants. Therefore there were loooooonnnnggg lines at dinner. I was pleased that you were able to make reservations in the main dining rooms on Princess. Were you able to do that the day of the meal, or did you do it when you first got on board? Thanks. Your answer will help me.

 

Anytime reservations on CB are accepted beginning at 7 AM on the day before you wish to dine. Tables for 2 go quickly, so it is advisable to make your reservations by noon the day before.

 

Note that reservations are not accepted during peak dining hours; the last reservation for early dining is at 6:00 and the first available reservation for late dining is at 8:00. Those wishing to eat between 6:00 and 8:00 need to go as walk-ins.

[amarillocruisecat]

Readers of the Celebrity board may be interested in my review/comparison of our Caribbean Princessi cruise, which is on the Princess board, here.

 

As your post always are, a well though out and objective comparison. Your comments will prove valuable to anyone wishing to compare the two lines.

 

Thanks.

[halbfl2]

Rich, you mentioned the beds and the bed coverings in your review. This probably belongs on a Princess board, but FYI, you can request an "egg crate" foam pad for your bed and also request that they remove the duvet and put on regular sheets and a blanket along w/the traditional bedspread. We had been forwarned of the less than comfortable beds prior to our Alaska cruise w/Princess last summer so upon meeting our steward on the first day requested the egg crate. After one night of throwing off the duvet and then getting cold, etc. we asked for regular sheets and blanket and were accomodated. We've been on Princess 3 times but our TA next spring will be our first X cruise. We found that w/ the Anytime Dining we almost always ate about the same time anyway, so having the assigned time & table won't bother us. Our Princess cruises have always been a group of 6-10, tho.

We actually liked the buffet lay out on RCCL better than Princess, but only been on one of their ships. When it comes to food, I'm never one to complain as long as I don't have to cook.