Summit vs Princess

[cruzduo]

We are deciding between Celebrity Summit - 12 days from Venice to Barcelona Aug 2, 2009 vs Ruby Princess 12 days Venice to Rome. First time cruising in Europe and using these cruise lines.

[junglejane]

We took the Summit Venice-Barcelona cruise in June of 2008 and had a truly great time. You can read my review here: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=43890. One thing that would attract me about the Princess option is the Venice-Rome itinerary. I absolutely loved Venice and was very glad we spent extra time there. But we were soooo rushed for our shore excursion in Rome, that it would've been nice to have had the opportunity to spend more time there. On the other hand, I really liked the fact that our Summit cruise had 3 sea days versus just 2 for the Princess cruise.

 

Based on my limited experience (4x Princess vs. 2x on Celebrity), my overall feeling about Princess vs. Celebrity is that they are both very good and basically similar. Best to decide based on the itinerary!

 

Things we like better on Celebrity:

slightly more polished, formal feel to the dining room service

food was slightly better, including in the buffet

trays and linen napkins in the buffet

overall the ship had a more upscale ambiance

less "in your face" upselling (e.g., no interrupting our dinner to try to sell us wine packages, etc.)

full room service breakfast is another big plus

specialty restaurant on the M-class ships is outstanding

 

Things we like better on Princess:

better cabin layout in standard balcony cabins

freshwater pools on Princess

self service laundries

dining room open for breakfast and lunch on port days

availability of Anytime Dining

greater variety of evening entertainment options

better perks for repeat passengers

better choice of itineraries

 

I'm sure either cruise will be very nice.

 

--Junglejane