Thinking of Jumping Ship!!

[goouchjac]

We are seriously thinking of leaving Celebrity and going to Princess,,actually have been looking at the 2/26 sailing of the Caribbean Princess,,as avid X cruisers (9) to be exact will we be happy...also not knowing the layouts of the ships, need help picking a category and a deck (we like the balcony's) any help will be greatly appreciated...Thanks:)

[Toto2Kansas]

If it's in your budget, try for a mini suite on Princess. This class of ship has hundreds of them and you will be spoiled forever. There are times that the prices are not that much higher than a regular balcony cabin but they offer so much more than just the plain balconys. No extra perks are included with the minis on Princess but the extra space, sitting area, larger bathroom with full sized tub is fabulous.

Welcome to Princess!

[Seabee]

Goouch...you will be joining an ever growing crowd of Xers over here. I am booked on the 3/19 Carib Princess after 8 straight cruises with X. Just couldn't get X to budge on the rate and since I am paying for our adult childrten to join us on this cruise, I needed a break! Reading some of the posts over on the X board, it seems there is a lot of anger at X for various reasons.

[grace5]

If you are looking for a large balcony and not the mini-suite, go for a cabin on Caribe deck. Otherwise there is not any real difference in the balcony cabins other than deck level. Lido deck is nice for being near the pools and the food.

 

 

I am sure you will enjoy Princess. I do give it a slight edge over Celebrity, but I enjoy both.

[JNLROSE]

Hi Gooch & Seabee! ANOTHER X-jumper here! Waiting for dates to be released for the Pacific Princess--Tahiti to Hawaii in 2006 for us! Seems to me X has really screwed up their itineraries for 2005 too--they have canceled the Century in the Carib. & are moving her to Europe too! :confused: :confused: :confused:

[marly]

Anybody who is going to try Princess for the first time, please let one of us help you get shipboard credit -- and you'd be helping us too! Princess has a referral program where if we put your name in prior to your booking with them we all get shipboard credit. You can contact me by clicking on the Y to top right if you are interested and care to help me out! Thanks!

 

My recommendation for a balcony cabin would be on the Caribe deck.

Marly

[Nitemare]

We sailed the Connie last summer after 3 Princess cruises, and loved them equally. We're back on Princess next fall, but would go back to X in a second if the price, date, and destination all worked out right.

[Coral]

We are seriously thinking of leaving Celebrity and going to Princess,,actually have been looking at the 2/26 sailing of the Caribbean Princess,,as avid X cruisers (9) to be exact will we be happy...also not knowing the layouts of the ships, need help picking a category and a deck (we like the balcony's) any help will be greatly appreciated...Thanks:)

 

I have not been on the Caribbean Princess but a FYI - the Caribbean Princess has about 500 more passengers than other Princess ships about the same size (Grand, Golden, Star). Some people have commented that the Caribbean Princess seems crowded at times.

 

I hope you like your cruise on Princess :)

[zebra]

We too have done 3 X cruises but come back to Princess each time. We love the flexibility on Princess - Personal Choice dining and the large variety of restaurants on the new Grand Class ships. Also the Large Mini Suite balconies - It's great to come back on board after a busy port day and sit out on the balcony enjoying a glass of wine whilst we sailaway. Then take a bubble bath and get ready for dinner at the time we determine. We prefer the mini-suites on Dolphin Deck. This is subjective as they are open (people can see you from above - not from the sides), but this openess works for us. We like to lie out there on our chaise catching rays in the Caribbean and not have to always strive to get the "perfectly positioned" lounger at the pool. In Alaska (on the Diamond Princess) the Dolphin Mini's balcony was awesome for us as we had super sunny weather where again we could enjoy as much of the sun as possible. Some don't like these balconies for the same reason - too open they prefer the privacy of a Caribe deck balcony. Our balcony had a table, 2 chairs and 2 loungers. The cabins are also great - a seperate sitting area with TV, minibar and another TV in the bedroom.

Also the Grand Class ships are large but extremely well designed - you just don't feel like there are that many people on board.

Any other questions that we can maybe answer for you???

[srpilo]

I'm a jumper too..

 

I'm just a little tired of all the "off the cuff" changes Celebrity seems to be making lately with absolutely no reguard for their previous customers... So my last cruise was on HAL and my next one will be my first Princess cruise..

 

 

Just trying to find a cruiseline that "REALLY" cares about my business.

 

Srpilo

[Lsimon]

We've done three Princess Cruises, last was in 2003. Last year we had our first x cruise on the Summit and loved it. We're booked on the Summit again next March, same room but different itinerary.

 

I just booked the Island Princess for Alaska this summer.

 

I can see things I like about both lines, why go exclusively one way or the other? Variety is the spice of life and let's face it - both lines are great!!

 

Some day I'd like to take a back to back cruise, but from talking to others I'd do this on two different ships instead of one ship for two weeks. And Celebrity/Princess would make a great combo!

[JNLROSE]

Lsimon, I love your atitude! Yes, why??????? :confused:

 

Srpilo, hi there--we've chatted before on the X board! ;)

Zebra, we're looking at a mini suite on the Pacific Princess, can you tell me anything about that???? I know the Sq Ft, the layout, but what else is significant to that particular cabin??? :D

[zebra]

Hi Rosie, Gee I wish I could help you but the Pacific Princess is a completely different size ship to the Grand Class so I'm not sure how their mini's would differ. We love the extra space - it's much roomier than a standard balcony cabin and the bathroom is also much bigger. I'm sure someone on this board will be able to help you with more of the specifics for the Pacific.

[goouchjac]

First thanks for all your reply's,,see some famaliar names over here on the Princess board,,,have to say our last cruise on the Millie, 12/12/04 was disappointing, we are captain's club members (founders) seems like they treat the new cruisers much better than the loyal ones who keep coming back, we had alot of issues and they certainly didn't respond to them...Guess our money will be going somewhere else:D ..Getting ready to write a long letter to X, have the "chief conceirge" address,we spent some time in his office while on the cruise, guess all fell on deaf ears:mad: ....We will be booking Princess in the near future....

[AdrieneAGD]

You're not alone in those who are probably jumping the RCCL/Celebrity ship to Princess. We're switching to Princess after a bungled handling of our refund from the Mariner of the Seas which got cancelled due to Hurricane Frances.

 

I'm wondering if RCCL/Celebrity is noticing this? Their customer service has gone down the crapper in the past year or so.

[JNLROSE]

Thanks anyway Zebra!

 

Yes, Celeb's customer service is almost non-existent any more! We're also founder Cap's Club members, however we haven't really had any bad issues, mostly just the lack of overall expectations.

Just got off the Mercury on 12/6, 11 nights to Mexico, not what I would call a great cruise--food was OK, service was excellent, entertainment sucked BAD, the ship was OK, wouldn't sail her again, would stick with the newer M class ships. "Treated Famously"---yes, service was excellent, that's it, everything else was just average. And the price of everything seemed higher than on Summit in March. Seems like Celebrity is really trying to make some big bucks lately.

Anxiously awaiting trying Princess!:D

[donnaw]

Geez, I thought I accidently clicked on the X board! Do get there occasionally to check on Lois and Tugger. Welcome all to Princess! We are back after 2 x cruises and would still be x except for their treatment when we went to book the Mercury. That said, Neither X or Princess play runnerup or second choice with us. Whichever has the better price/itinerary will be the one we book. Each has its own little pluses that make them different but both enjoyable products.

[JNLROSE]

Hi Donna!

 

Yes, I'm friends with Lois & Gail too! I'm glad to hear from X cruisers that they like both Princess & X the same, we're not unhappy with X, just looking for some new & interesting itineraries--Tahiti to Hawaii is it for us! Can't wait to try it.:D

[donnaw]

Hi Rosie,

 

For that itinerary, Princess is the only choice! Celebrity better be watching closely because if Gail and Lois start booking elsewhere, they will know they are in big trouble! We sailed with Gail on the Horizon and she is an absolute blast! You'll have a little less formal cruise but the staff is as friendly as the Horizon staff which is saying a lot!

[JNLROSE]

Thanks Donna, I know we will not only like that itinerary, but the Pacific as well!!! :D Sometimes, it's nice to have a change!

[carol allen]

i agree

 

celebrity's itineraries for 2005 are awful - so we are sticking with princess

 

they should have better ships for the 10 day cruises in the carribean instead of the older century without balconies.

 

carol

[JNLROSE]

Carol, they made the Century 9 & 10 nighters for 2005 & now they just announced they were all cancelled & are moving Century to cruise Europe during the summer!!! I think all they will have left until September is the Horizon to Bermuda & the Zenith doing whatever she's doing! All the rest will be sailing Europe or Alaska.

[iluvcruzin]

Variety is the spice of life. I've stopped being a one cruiseline loyalist a long time ago. It was a great decision :D

[JNLROSE]

I'm beginning to think I am going to agree with THAT statement!!! :D

[BigTimeCruiser]

After our cruise on the Celebrity Infinity in January, we are going totally with Princess. Enjoyed a B2B on the Grand Princess last October. Captain's Circle has so many more benefits than the Celebrity Program. Another big difference is the overall attitude of the crew--very friendly and always looking to help.:D