Celebrity Fans Try CB Princess Aug 22-29th Review

[tcdtcd]

Caribbean Princess is probably Princess' lowest-end offering. I've not been on it, nor any of their 3100-pax ships, but they do get the most complaints. Nor have we been on Solstice. We've been on X's M-class and on Princess' Grand-class (Star and Grand) -- same age/similar size. So our comparisons are based on that.

 

We like both lines, for different reasons.

 

Princess advantages:

+Ships/cabins are in much better shape - pristine - even the older ones.

+Freshwater pools, more of them, larger -- overall far better pool situation.

+Mini-suites -- X has nothing like them!

+Dedicated open seating DR - if you want it, fine. If you don't, there is a dedicated traditional DR. Never had a problem with Anytime Dining -- its especially great on Med and other port-intensive cruises.

+ Waaayyy more activities at any given time - theatres - 2 shows twice a night, more daytime activities, etc. Without the rock-climbing/ice-skating

stuff of RCL/Carnival - a good thing!

+ Often better itineraries - and better/more active/more varied excursions

 

 

Celebrity advantages

+Better service overall - staff seems happier

+Specialty restaurant is better

+Buffet is better - sushi, waffles, etc

+Love the FV cabins on M-class - P has nothing like them!

 

X claims better food, and a notch above overall -- we didn't really find that. More similar than different.

[Caribensun]

Nice to hear the comments about the CB, what about smoking, did you notice a significant difference from Celebrity compared to Princess? Had problems with smokers on the balcony and smoke coming into the cabin.

We have not liked the pizza on princess and the ship we were just on the bed was horrible. I did notice the top sheet missing too and gave up asking my room steward and for the pillow menu, we were in a mini suite. We did not get any different toiletries than some friends we met who had an inside cabin. We are going to try a full suite then thinking we will book the Solstice. Hard to choose a cabin.

[KODA C]

JOANNE,

 

Yes you can ask for a blanket etc.

 

KC

[Solstice23]

Nice to hear the comments about the CB, what about smoking, did you notice a significant difference from Celebrity compared to Princess? Had problems with smokers on the balcony and smoke coming into the cabin.

We have not liked the pizza on princess and the ship we were just on the bed was horrible. I did notice the top sheet missing too and gave up asking my room steward and for the pillow menu, we were in a mini suite. We did not get any different toiletries than some friends we met who had an inside cabin. We are going to try a full suite then thinking we will book the Solstice. Hard to choose a cabin.

 

smoking was not to bad, mostly when walking through the Casino. As for suites Yes we usually book Sky suites when possible on Celebrity, love them! As for the Caribbean as a ship just based on design and layout it does not come close to the level of design and detail as the solstice class. But still the CB has some nice features!

[warmwinds]

My question, and I hope it can be cleared up by the Princess people, is not WHETHER you have one sheet or two or a duvet or a blanket, but rather if you are not happy with what you have, do they just fling the solution (extra sheet, extra blanket) at you through the door (slight exaggeration I will admit) or will your cabin steward make your bed right?

 

On Celebrity it might take a day or two to get your steward to know EXACTLY what you want (how many towels, how many sheets) but once they get with the program it is EXACTLY the way you want it.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Thanks for your review. I'm sorry that all aspects of your cruise were not to your satisfaction, and I appreciate the time you took to write a comparative review, which I feel are the most helpful reviews on CC.

 

I guess we've been lucky...with about 180 days on Princess and 140 on Celebrity, it's obvious we love both lines. I guess I would say that I prefer Celebrity, mostly for its service quality and, although I'm still in my 40s, I love their slightly more "classical" entertainment offerings. We didn't start cruising Princess until 2003, and it's the itineraries that kept us coming back. We currently scheduled for 3 cruises (30 nights) B2B2B on the Ruby next January/February, but I would be just as happy on a Celebrity ship, particularly with the new Captain's Club benefits (we're Elite on both lines).

 

I would hate for someone to write off either cruise line totally, because they both have wonderful attributes. And although we've had some Princess cruises that have surpassed our Celebrity cruises, we've had some that didn't live up to X's standards. I guess it would be most accurate to say that Celebrity has been more consistent, and that's a good thing.

[wilfros]

My question, and I hope it can be cleared up by the Princess people, is not WHETHER you have one sheet or two or a duvet or a blanket, but rather if you are not happy with what you have, do they just fling the solution (extra sheet, extra blanket) at you through the door (slight exaggeration I will admit) or will your cabin steward make your bed right?

At the risk of being "eaten alive" I am visiting and posting here in an attempt to let people know the experiences of other people who have sailed on Princess.

 

My wife and I sailed on CB from NY to the Caribbean in early June this year. While we may not be "seasoned sailors/curisers, we do have extensive travel experience. We, just as may of you, do enjoy the finer things in life but don't allow the lack thereof to spoil what otherwise could be a great vacation. In other words, we try not to be snobs in the vain attempt to find nothing but the 5 star experience in every and all aspects of the trip.

 

To answer your question above, we found our room steward to be one of the most pleasant experiences of the whole cruise. He was always warm and welcoming whether we met him in the halls or when he arrived at the cabin. Our room was always in tip top shape and he was never in our way.

 

We could want for nothing but he didn't find a way to provide it, and yes, by the second day he knew our like and wants and provided them.

 

I know the above sounds like a generalized statement, however, I was recouperating from VERY RECENT cancer surgery and encountered some difficulties during the cruise. I talked with the room steward about these situations and told him I would be more than happy to have his supervisor come down (up??) to the cabin and I would explain the situation directly to him. The room steward would have absolutely nothing to do with that! He insisted that he could deal with all the problems himself and he more than lived up to his word.

 

My advise, and I believe this holds true for most things in life... You get what you give. If you treat people with respect and grace you are more than likely to receive like in return. That was most certainly our experience on CB.

 

Perhaps, if I am fortunate enough to sail again, we will give Celebrity a shot, but we had such a great time on CB it, right now, seems difficult to imagine something better.

 

Nice way to end and remember a cruise don't you think?

 

I hope this helps.

[IanB]

My wife and I were married on the CB 4 years ago.

At the time it was considered a very big ship, like the Golden Princess with extra accomodation decks. We have sailed many times on Princess, a few on NCL and once on the Celebrity Solstice (concierge class). We used to be in favour of the larger ships because of the facilities they offered but now we think differently. Our favourite ship to date is the Island Princess, a perfect cruise ship in size and proportion, closely followed by the Pacific Princess. The Solstice we sailed on this summer was the biggest dissapointment for us, the food in the MDR was abysmal, strictly for meat eaters. The ship itself was more a large hotel than a cruise ship, we love to stroll on the promenade deck but this was completely missing on the Solstice. Crowded sun decks and an 'afterthought' of a running track. Service was very good though as was the Murano restaurant.

We will try the smaller Celeb ships in future and see if they meet our expectations. We sail on the Sea Princess next Spring so fingers crossed it will be a great cruise.

[kitkat9438]

At the risk of being "eaten alive" I am visiting and posting here in an attempt to let people know the experiences of other people who have sailed on Princess.

 

My wife and I sailed on CB from NY to the Caribbean in early June this year. While we may not be "seasoned sailors/curisers, we do have extensive travel experience. We, just as may of you, do enjoy the finer things in life but don't allow the lack thereof to spoil what otherwise could be a great vacation. In other words, we try not to be snobs in the vain attempt to find nothing but the 5 star experience in every and all aspects of the trip.

 

To answer your question above, we found our room steward to be one of the most pleasant experiences of the whole cruise. He was always warm and welcoming whether we met him in the halls or when he arrived at the cabin. Our room was always in tip top shape and he was never in our way.

 

We could want for nothing but he didn't find a way to provide it, and yes, by the second day he knew our like and wants and provided them.

 

I know the above sounds like a generalized statement, however, I was recouperating from VERY RECENT cancer surgery and encountered some difficulties during the cruise. I talked with the room steward about these situations and told him I would be more than happy to have his supervisor come down (up??) to the cabin and I would explain the situation directly to him. The room steward would have absolutely nothing to do with that! He insisted that he could deal with all the problems himself and he more than lived up to his word.

 

My advise, and I believe this holds true for most things in life... You get what you give. If you treat people with respect and grace you are more than likely to receive like in return. That was most certainly our experience on CB.

 

Perhaps, if I am fortunate enough to sail again, we will give Celebrity a shot, but we had such a great time on CB it, right now, seems difficult to imagine something better.

 

Nice way to end and remember a cruise don't you think?

 

I hope this helps.

 

I agree with everything you have said here! You get what you give and also if you expect to be dissappointed and look for every flaw, you will find exactly that.

 

We experienced no smoking problems, other than walking through the casino, as was mentioned. No one smoked on their balcony dropping cigarrettes overboard on our cruise. If we asked for something in our room, we got it, with a smile on our room steward's face. No "throwing" things in through the door. We requested anything, and when we returned to our cabin, it was taken care of, no matter what it was, missing robe, ice, sheet, etc. I am going to have a great time wherever I am and always make the most of the situation, regardless of a little wear and tear on the ship, hotel or whatever. I never had a problem with the service from the dining room, but I certainly would have said something if I had. I don't mean to sound like I would just take everything. You do expect some sort of service for what you are paying for. That being said I definitely would not let it ruin my cruise.

 

I also agree that I would never let a bad experience stop me from sailing on a cruise line again.

 

I can't wait for my cruise on the Summit to see how these two lines compare.

[happy cruzer]

My question, and I hope it can be cleared up by the Princess people, is not WHETHER you have one sheet or two or a duvet or a blanket, but rather if you are not happy with what you have, do they just fling the solution (extra sheet, extra blanket) at you through the door (slight exaggeration I will admit) or will your cabin steward make your bed right?

 

On Celebrity it might take a day or two to get your steward to know EXACTLY what you want (how many towels, how many sheets) but once they get with the program it is EXACTLY the way you want it.

 

DH likes the two sheets with blanket between them. I like the duvet. We requested a blanket from the room steward. He took intiative and asked us why and what we liked. When we came back to the cabin, one side of the bed had the sheet/blanket arrangement and the other had a duvet. He figured a way to make the bed so we were both happy!

 

We book inside cabins, receive great service, and are happy with the value we receive on Princess and all the lines we travel. I feel alot of folks pay alot for the suites and get the same service as we do and it is not special enough for what they paid. When usually you are justing paying for a bigger room and not much more.

 

I think it is all in how you ask and what you expect. JMHO

[RealDeal]

OP: Sorry about your negative experience. I sailed on the CB in early June too and had no problems whatsoever. We had an aft-facing cabin on Baja & it was magnificent. Our steward was a sweetheart...got us lounge chairs & anything else we wanted. I sailed on Solstice in February and besides the obvious difference in decor, I def. find more similarities than differences in the lines (also was on Millie & about 5 other Princess ships, as basis of comparison).

 

Truthfully, though, I think some people just "gel" better with one line vs. another & X might be more your speed...it's tough to explain! I enjoyed my X experiences & will cruise Millie again next year, but deep down I'm more of a Princess loyalist...different strokes.

[DocJohnB]

Truthfully, though, I think some people just "gel" better with one line vs. another & X might be more your speed...it's tough to explain! I enjoyed my X experiences & will cruise Millie again next year, but deep down I'm more of a Princess loyalist...different strokes.

 

Having never sailed on Princess, I was not going to get involved in this thread other than to read it.

 

I believe the above quote hits the nail right on the head. Luckily, we are all different. Diversified backgrounds, experiences, likes and dislikes. Most people have a tendency to favor that which makes them comfortable.

 

Although I have sampled most other major mass market lines. With one exception I actually like each of the other lines for various reasons, but I keep coming back to =X=, because it is indeed what I am most comfortable with.

[Solstice23]

DH likes the two sheets with blanket between them. I like the duvet. We requested a blanket from the room steward. He took intiative and asked us why and what we liked. When we came back to the cabin, one side of the bed had the sheet/blanket arrangement and the other had a duvet. He figured a way to make the bed so we were both happy!

 

We book inside cabins, receive great service, and are happy with the value we receive on Princess and all the lines we travel. I feel alot of folks pay alot for the suites and get the same service as we do and it is not special enough for what they paid. When usually you are justing paying for a bigger room and not much more.

 

I think it is all in how you ask and what you expect. JMHO

 

Well to be honest we are kind people...so to suggest we "get what we gie" we find offensive, to ask for something nicely and get rolls of eyes or a rude tone...is not fare, ( other reviews point this out also) We have never ever been treated this way the way some of the staff treated us and others on this past cruise on the CB. I understand some had great exp, but put it this way, I can be on one Air canada flight and have great service and then the next not such good service. We do not feel it represents Princess as a line, but the service we received over all on the CB was the worst overall of all our recent cruises with exception the NCL star. As I said before, we will sail Princess again but on a smaller ship perhaps, I am sure they have a better product then what we paid for last week.

 

 

Everyone has there favorites, and thats the best part of cruises, favorites or not, its not nice when you are treated bad. We are nice people and meet and keep many relationships aboard from all our cruises

[happy cruzer]

I am sure they have a better product then what we paid for last week.

 

 

Everyone has there favorites, and thats the best part of cruises, favorites or not, its not nice when you are treated bad. We are nice people and meet and keep many relationships aboard from all our cruises

 

It still think you are focused on what YOU PAID and expecting something more that what the guy in the inside cabin paid. You called the front desk to get your top sheet. That's the same as complaining about the room stewards service. It is best to ask him to adjust to what you need vs. going over his head. You are used to what you are used to, and since this was a new cruise line that did thing differently, they were wrong. Granted flexiblity is a two way street, Princess could be more flexible but as you point our that is more likely to happen on a small ship than one that carries 3k passengers. Good Luck in the Future.

[Susie51]

This is an interesting thread. I have cruised with 7 different cruise lines and there is something about each one of them I like. When I'm on a ship that in my opinion has a lot of negatives, I try to look for positives. Then several months after the cruise I have pleasant memories of the cruise and the bad experiences seem to grow dim in my mind.

[lauralou2]

They originated from one though. Princess till maintains a lot of it's British Roots.

The duvet didn't cross the channel to Britain until the 1970's before that we used sheets and blankets so Princess's British roots are not responsible for the Duvet being introduced on the Princess ships . In continental Europe they are always plain white and folded in half on the bed every morning you will also see them hanging over balcony's to air , they are never used with a top sheet but if thats what you prefer then I am sure Princess would accomodate you , We are looking forward to our first celebrity Cruise in April 2010 it will be different but thats what cruising's all about diversity :)

[Solstice23]

When we said we had to sit or stand like others, I did mean that others in the theatre had to stand and sit because there was no more room.

 

As for over the top, LOL I am sorry but it was our cruise and if you read my comments some were good, service was just not up to par from our previous cruises. And on more then on occasion said amazing things about princess.

 

Please I came here to write a review not be personally attacked, that is not kind.

 

Thanks for the time and discussion.

[usha]

toronto25 posted an identical thread over on the Princess board that was finally locked up, it was starting to get bloody! (Note to self: don't post uncheery stuff about Princess ships on the Princess board:eek:)

I wasn't on the same sailing as toronto25, but I have been on Caribbean Princess, and I agree 100% about the ridiculous crowding, and the sub-par service. There seemed to be about 1000 too many pax on that ship, and the crew was obviously short-staffed and overworked. Although we did enjoy many aspects of our Caribbean Princess cruise, those two issues put a huge dent in our cruise experience. I'd consider another Princess cruise on one its smaller, less crowded ships, but probably not CB.

[dance4fun]

We have two sailings in with Princess and one planned with Celebrity, along with sailings on Carnival, HAL, and RCI.

 

Our experience is that one can not generalize across a cruise line. It depends on the leadership on the specific ship. We have had the best and worst MDR food on Carnival ships - even better than RCI, HAL and Princess. When we sailed the CB last year, it needed an overall. We will agree that our experience with Princess left us feeling they do need to work on customer relationship. On the last cruise (Baltic this summer), we believe that the cabin steward just had too many rooms to handle to give you that touch of cruising feeling that we were acustomed to. Housekeeping seemed more like hotel service, than cruise service.

 

Cost cutting is hitting them all; the lines need to ensure that they retain some special feeling and do not become just another hotel option.