Which cruise ship would you choose- Celebrity Summit or Caribbean Princess

[marthasunny]

Hi!

 

I can't decide between the Celebrity Summit and the Caribbean Princess for a November cruise.

 

I want to learn on board. The more educational programs such as guest speakers and lectures that are offered during the cruise, the happier I'll be. I'm much less interested in classes about "hobbies" such as ceramics, computer, or arts classes.

 

Here are the itineraries.

 

Celebrity Summit:

San Juan, Puerto Rico

St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Basseterre, St Kitts

Roseau, Dominica

St. George's, Grenada

Scarborough, Tobago

 

Caribbean Princess:

San Juan, Puerto Rico

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Tortola, British Virgin Island

Antiqua

St Lucia

Barbados

 

From that information, which of these ships would you choose?

 

Thanks!

[Lsimon]

I like Celebrity much more, and have heard that the Caribbean Pricess gets very crowded as they have a lot of passenger capacity in relation to some of the public space available. I also like Celebrity a lot more overall. Each itinerary has pluses that the other doesn't so they are about equal overall.

 

I have no idea about the educational programs. Celebrity always has a speaker but I don't believe I've ever seen the speaker nor topics announced before a cruise - so you might not find out if you like the subject matter until after you get on board.

[kelmac]

Hi!

 

I can't decide between the Celebrity Summit and the Caribbean Princess for a November cruise.

 

I want to learn on board. The more educational programs such as guest speakers and lectures that are offered during the cruise, the happier I'll be. I'm much less interested in classes about "hobbies" such as ceramics, computer, or arts classes.

 

Here are the itineraries.

 

Celebrity Summit:

San Juan, Puerto Rico

St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Basseterre, St Kitts

Roseau, Dominica

St. George's, Grenada

Scarborough, Tobago

 

Caribbean Princess:

San Juan, Puerto Rico

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Tortola, British Virgin Island

Antiqua

St Lucia

Barbados

 

From that information, which of these ships would you choose?

 

Thanks!

 

Sailed both ships and the Summit would be my first choice. The CP is large, which is okay, but the ship is very crowded with 3,120 passengers. The Summit is a bit smaller and only carries 1,950 passengers.

The food is much better on the Summit, in both the MDR and the alternative restaurants. The service is better on the Summit as well.

The Caribbean Princess will have better entertainment, but their venues are so small you need to arrive 30 minutes early to get a seat.

Can't stand Princesse's showers -- they are so small you will get to know the shower curtain a little too well, if you know what I mean.

 

Good luck and have a great cruise,

Kel:)

[JeffCoud]

Hi!

 

I can't decide between the Celebrity Summit and the Caribbean Princess for a November cruise.

 

I want to learn on board. The more educational programs such as guest speakers and lectures that are offered during the cruise, the happier I'll be. I'm much less interested in classes about "hobbies" such as ceramics, computer, or arts classes.

 

Here are the itineraries.

 

Celebrity Summit:

San Juan, Puerto Rico

St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Basseterre, St Kitts

Roseau, Dominica

St. George's, Grenada

Scarborough, Tobago

 

Caribbean Princess:

San Juan, Puerto Rico

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Tortola, British Virgin Island

Antiqua

St Lucia

Barbados

 

From that information, which of these ships would you choose?

 

Thanks!

 

These are both port intensive cruises out of San Juan? I would think their daily activities such as anything, but including lectures would be distinctly limited, as they are on port days. I would think neither of these are the choice for enriching onboard activities. Just my informed guess...aka, there's not gonna be a lot of lectures and classes on either of these two cruises.

 

Jeff

[JeffCoud]

additional idle thought -- for some seriously good enrichment programs...try a Cunard transatlantic! But generally something on the higher end of the mid (Holland America or X or Cunard, etc.) with lots of sea days will get you some better programing with Cunard and HAL being better than X I would think. Also, is there something in particular you'd like to learn? There are special theme cruises of all sorts that you can google search and who knows maybe there is one for something you're interested in?

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Our last Princess cruise was on the CP :(, and it drove us to Celebrity. :)

 

On the CP food had declined; very crowded feel to the ship; beds were hard as a rock; the lido layout was a nightmare. Some days for lunch we'd try a little of 5 or 6 items just to find one we liked....and we are not picky people. Really!

 

Sailed on the Equinox and felt we'd finally found value for our vacation dollars. Read the reviews to get an idea about Celebrity.....great ship, good food, wonderful layout, great bathrooms in cabins; much more comfortable beds. I realize that's not the ship you're inquiring about, but it is the only one we know, so far, though another is coming next May.

 

Good luck with your decision....no more Princess for us!

[44majestic]

We've sailed both. Two years ago on CP and last week on Summit. I would choose Summit for the following reasons:

The ship did not feel as crowded.

Layout of the ship was simpler to figure out how to get there from here.

More friendly staff.

 

CP was good, Summit better. Although food in MDR on the first few nights was disappointing on Summit.

[cruisecriticmember]

We've sailed both. Two years ago on CP and last week on Summit. I would choose Summit for the following reasons:

The ship did not feel as crowded.

Layout of the ship was simpler to figure out how to get there from here.

More friendly staff.

 

CP was good, Summit better. Although food in MDR on the first few nights was disappointing on Summit.

First of thanks to everyone who responded. This has helped me as well as , I'm sure, the original poster. I asked a more general comparison question on the roll call thread for my cruise and got no responses. Now could you clarify your comment about food on the Celbrity ship the first few nights dissappointed: did you switch to other meal options than the MDR or did the food in the MDR improve over the lenght of the cruise? Thanks in advance.:confused:

[marthasunny]

Thank you so much! Your responses made my day. I was stunned by all of these responses to a simple question. You guys are great! I've chosen my cruise now - Celebrity Summit- and can't wait to post my travel experiences. Having a port-intensive cruise is important to me, and these two cruise ships have the most amount of ports for a 7 night Caribbean cruise.

 

I found information about the educational programs on Celebrity Summit at the following website, and they seem better than anything that I could find on Princess. (Of course, it was much harder for me to find for Princess.)

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/whyceleb/singleThumbTxtSub.do?pagename=celebrity_life

[bubbie617]

marthasunny,

 

I don't think you'll regret your decision. We've sailed on both ships. I would do Summit again any time, but I would never go back on Caribbean Princess. The Princess ship felt very crowded. Their buffet was a nightmare as far as we were concerned. The food was barely acceptable. The staff was not as friendly nor as accommodating. The theater is too small to hold all the passengers that want to see the show at any given time. We walked out of the theater more than once (during a 7 night cruise) because we could not get a seat. It was very frustrating. The coffee was made from a syrup concentrate and was undrinkable. They only way to get a cup that was all right (not fabulous, but all right) was to buy their coffee card. The layout of the ship was such that we always felt we were criss-crossing the ship every time we wanted to go somewhere. The bonus is that Celebrity only allows smoking in a very few places - not in cabins and not on balconies.

 

We are sticking to Celebrity. Will we ever do other lines? Sure. But after trying Princess three times, they won't be getting our money again.

[phoenix_dream]

I absolutely love Celebrity and am no fan of Princess, so based on ship alone I would pick the Summit in a heartbeat. That said, I personally like the itinerary on the CP better. But you spend more time on the ship than on the islands (and the Summit is not a bad itinerary, just not as good IMHO) so I would still pick the Summit.

[Feelin' Nauti']

The food is much better on the Summitl

 

We've sailed both. Two years ago on CP and last week on Summit. I would choose Summit for the following reasons:

The ship did not feel as crowded.

Layout of the ship was simpler to figure out how to get there from here.

More friendly staff.

 

CP was good, Summit better. Although food in MDR on the first few nights was disappointing on Summit.

 

I have sailed on the CB 4 times. Love that ship.

Can't complain about the food. To me it's excellent.

Service is outstanding.

Shows ~ uh, well that needs to be improved.:rolleyes:

Never feels crowded, except on sea days around the pool.

 

I am looking forward to my Summit cruise.

Never been to St. Croix, Dominica, Grenada, or Tobago.

So glad to read that others like this ship, good to know.

[bellybutton530]

summit.

[BratDet]

Hi,

 

I have sailed on CB (Carribean Princess) last summer and this. Wonderful trips both. Hope to do a three-peat on her next summer...

 

Been looking at a cruise for next April on either the CB or Summit...so your post is quite interesting.

 

I do love that on Summit (for April) -each port I have never been to- compared to CB where I have been to one.

 

It also is pretty neat that a bunch of us from our summer sailing will wind up on the Summit.

 

Never felt crowded on the CB & in general food was yummy, service was great....air con worked fine

and in general a great relaxing vacation.

 

Bernadette

[ldo38]

Hi,

 

The Celebrity Summit is one of my favourite ships with an excellent crew. It is much smaller and therefore much friendlier then any of the larger Princess ships can be.

 

We have sailed on fifteen cruiser lines over the past 25 years and Celebrity, while not perfect, is in a class by itself.

[TomTN]

The only ship that I have sailed on that was poorly designed is the Caribbean Princess. If you do not care to eat in the buffet for breakfast, lunch or any other time, and you do not intend to go to the evening show it might be ok. Princess simply put too many people on the ship. You will be lucky if you get a table in the buffet, and if you get to the theater 45 minutes before the show you probably will get a seat.

 

Many things about Princess are comparable to Celebrity, and their pizza is the best at sea, but I would only sail again on Princess if it were on a less crowded ship. I would not sail again on CP or one of their other ships similarly designed.

[julia]

Just to clarify CP = Crown Princess and CB = Caribbean Princess.

 

CB underwent an expansion a while ago, which increased it's capacity. Unfortunately, this has led to overcrowding. We felt the food was overall unimpressive. After our sailing last fall, we said "never again". :(

[roe2ship]

I have sailed on the CB 4 times. Love that ship.

Can't complain about the food. To me it's excellent.

Service is outstanding.

 

Never feels crowded' date=' except on sea days around the pool.

 

I am looking forward to my Summit cruise.

[/quote']Same here.

 

When I read reviews that everything about a ship was complete horrible (this goes for any line or ship) I usually pass that opinion up as I find the credibility of those type of comments questionable.

 

OP, enjoy your Summit cruise!

[gullcruiser]

I would find it interesting what the answers would be if you posted this same question on the Princess site. You might get different opinions!

We have been on the Caribbean Princess and totally enjoyed it. We found the food good, entertainment good, and staff good. We never found it to be over crowed and could always get in at the restaurants or get a pool chair when we wanted. We enjoyed it so much 2 years ago that we are taking our 3 adult children and their spouses this Feb. on the same cruise. We will then stay in San Juan and pick up the Celebrity Summit a week later. I was really excited about this trip since it would be our first time on Celebrity, however, since reading the reviews, I am now a little concerned!

[TomTN]

Just to clarify CP = Crown Princess and CB = Caribbean Princess.

 

CB underwent an expansion a while ago, which increased it's capacity. Unfortunately, this has led to overcrowding. We felt the food was overall unimpressive. After our sailing last fall, we said "never again". :(

 

Yes, expand the number of cabins and passengers, but not expand dining areas or theater seats. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:( That is the problem.!!! If that is not important to you, and it might not be to many, then go for it. Unfortunately we like to go to the buffet in the morning, and DW wants to go to the show at night. After 20+ cruises on many different lines none were as bad as Caribbean Princess. If the OP wants to sail Princess He/she can surely find a less crowded Princess ship or if he/she prefers crowded conditions go for CB.

[MiamiSpartan]

Two different ships....

Summit is smaller, more intimate....

Princess is going to be much larger.....I've had a great time on this one before, but it kind of depends on your taste...

[greeneg]

The smoking policy of Princess and the other Carnival lines would be the deal breaker for us. We won't consider them until that changes, Celebrity and Azamara are much more user-friendly for us.

[Muster Station]

This is the Summit's Itinerary for the Nov 6th & 20th 2010 sailings. Some travel sites have the ports you posted for all sailings.

 

Saturday, San Juan, Puerto Rico -- 08:30 PM

Sunday, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas 08:00 AM 06:00 PM

Monday, Philipsburg, St. Maarten 08:00 AM 05:30 PM

Tuesday, St. Johns, Antigua 08:00 AM 05:00 PM

Wednesday, Castries, St. Lucia 08:00 AM 05:00 PM

Thursday, Bridgetown, Barbados 08:00 AM 05:00 PM

Friday, At Sea -- --

Saturday, San Juan, Puerto Rico 06:00 AM --