Celebrity Vs Princess

[JoeyandDavid]

Dan....you may be right...

[Joanandjoe]

Service is partly a matter of the standard set by the cruise line, partly luck of the draw. The worst service we ever had for our stateroom was from a clueless stewardess for our Concierge Class stateroom on (of all lines) X. No matter what we requested, you could be sure that the gal on the Zenith would mess it up. Between that, rough seas (including not being able to sail into St. George's), and a room where the ladder for the unused upper berth rattled all day and night for the entire seven days of our Bermuda cruise, our worst cruise ever was on X. However, as stated many times on these boards, a bad day on a cruise ship is better than a good day at the office.

We haven't tried Princess yet. Except for the former Renaissance ships, all Princess ships are too big for us. Too bad: their Alaska itineraries and cruise tours sound better than HAL's or Regent's; but the ships are huge and we like small ships.

The best service we ever had was on Regent, with Windstar a close second. Our three cruises on HAL had pretty good service, too; in fact, the one time we were in a suite, the Concierge ladies in the Neptune Lounge equalled or bettered service we had on Regent and Windstar.

[JoeyandDavid]

Hi Joan and Joe ..thats the direction we are beginning to look at as well.. It may be that we have to downgrade from a balcony to oceanview on MOST of their Itineraries because of cost... but the other factors would make it so well worth while we believe...

I am already scouring regents site to try and pick the most intimate ship....

[TheSkipper]

Hi Guys,

Sorry Princess did not work for you. But, that's why there are so many cruise lines to choose from and each of them have their "niche."

We have cruised both of these lines many, many times and some of the things you mentioned I never picked up on. Selecting the right cruise line is a very subjective thing. You know what is important to you and you can be the only judge of what is "right" for you.

I found more difference between ships of the same line than between the lines themselves. Our recent Dawn Princess was a real mixed bag. Perhaps the worst Princess cruise we have ever taken, but our Room Stewardess was one of the best we have ever had and the Production Shows were the best we have ever seen aboard ship, but, our waiter and asst. waiter while very good at their jobs had zero personality, and the party hosted by the Captian for the 20 most traveled couples aboard was the worst I've ever attended, so go figure.

A couple of little touches you did not mention for Celebrity is being greeted at the gangway and escourted to your room and "real plates" at the buffet not plastic junk. A minus for us on Celebrity is the lack of laundry rooms, especially on long cruises, makes packing a lot more difficult.

So all this being said, I'm glad you got to make your own comparison and arrive at a decision which is right for you. I'm exploring Oceana and Altimara now for future cruises. I think you would enjoy Silver Seas, but their pricing is kind of out of sight these days.

Welcome home!

[Joanandjoe]

Look for the two for ones.

Regent has four ships: the Seven Seas Navigator, Voyager, and Mariner; and the Paul Gauguin. The PG, which is leased, has smaller rooms (many without a balcony) than the three ships owned by the line; but, then, you're cruising in French Polynesia. The 490 PAX Navigator, which has 36 window suites without balcony and 209 suites with a balcony, is the only ship of the 3 owned ships that has non-balcony rooms. The Mariner and Voyager, each of which have about 700 PAX, are all balcony suite ships.

The best values, other than the PG, are for Caribbean and Transatlantic cruises. Although it's shown poorly on the web site, the last cruise before a Transatlantic, paired with the Transatlantic, will give you very good value. See http://www.rssc.com/specials/detail.jsp?offerId=1542634 for 15 to 17 day B2B's for around $5,000 - even less if you sneak in a short cruise first, so that you qualify for past cruiser discounts. How about 3 nights, 12/14, Ft. Lauderdale roundtrip, for $998? Most of the Caribbean trips are two for one.

Let's hope that the acquisition of Regent by Apollo Management, the owner of Oceania and 50% owner of NCL, will not change the quality of service.

[sailingrose]

Welcome home Joey and David. Sorry you weren't impressed with Princess, they do have some good points but Celebrity definately has much better food. We really like the size of Princess's balcony cabins. You never know until you try, now you know. I hope you won't be disappointed with Monarch, I guarantee the food won't be close to Celebrity. I am curious to hear about the ship itself as I haven't been on her for a few years and she's coming to Port Canaveral next year to take over for Sovereign.

Our only Celebrity experience was the Mercury. We had a great time but we didn't find it to be the stellar service we thought we would get hearing everyone else's experiences. Our dining staff was great but the cabin steward, and the buffet workers (never had a tray carried, dirty tables, etc.) were subpar. Yes, I will go back on X if and when the opportunity presents.

[JoeyandDavid]

While we wrere disappointed......you are correct....that plastic stuff sent me over the top..... and some direction to the stateroom would have been nice...

The best values, other than the PG, are for Caribbean and Transatlantic cruises. Although it's shown poorly on the web site, the last cruise before a Transatlantic, paired with the Transatlantic, will give you very good value. See http://www.rssc.com/specials/detail.jsp?offerId=1542634 for 15 to 17 day B2B's for around $5,000 - even less if you sneak in a short cruise first, so that you qualify for past cruiser discounts. How about 3 nights, 12/14, Ft. Lauderdale roundtrip, for $998? Most of the Caribbean trips are two for one.<]

Outstanding advice thanks so very much

I hope you won't be disappointed with Monarch,

No way Rose will i be disapointed..... the Monarch just for me.......my chance to do something independently from david..........I am going to have a blast .... ...........and it will also be the loneliest cruise of my life!! ... and sometimes that's a good thing!

[KeithnRita]

Comparing Celebrity to Princess is similar to comparing Caddies to Chevys. You get a little more luxury, however you pay for it. We've cruised three times on Celebrity and once on Princess. We do like Celebrity more, however Princess provided us with a very good cruise for less money. That we liked, as well.

[jacketwatch]

Thanks for the input Joey. I have never cruised with X or HAL as well and hope to some day. We have had three cruises w/ Princess and have been vey pleased, especially with the service. However some day I hope to cruise these other lines and compare for myself. This summer we are hoping to cruise on the AOS, a RCI ship and is one of those Voyager class vessels so if we can then we will be in a position to compare. I can say now we preferred Princess and the Carnival Destiny to our only other RCI cruise on the Splendour. Our cruise friends last June actually preferred the Star Princess to the X ship(s) they had cruised on before though perhaps in part that is due to the splendid job done by all concerned to provide our special(Indian) food requests every ningt for 10 nights. They do deserve a big for that. I also do wonder of the new Princess ships would be different. Anyway some day I do hope to post a review of our frst X cruise. Cheers amigo, Larry

[DaCruzNut]

Joey, I definately prefer Celebrity to Princess, also. Some other small touches on Celebrity; a linen napkin on the buffet trays keep the silverware and plates from slipping and rattiling; pads on the lounge chairs.

However, I love Princess also, as a 'close second' to Celebrity. Princess gives you a larger variety of food and food served 24 hours. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give Celebrity a 9 and Princess an 8.9.

My third choice? Surprise.....it's Carnival!