Thinking about celebrity

[winncruiser]

After only and ALWAYS cruising on Princess (7 times Caribbean, 4 times Mediterranean) I am thinking about booking a Med cruise onboard the Celebrity Soltice. I would prefer to go on Princess just because that's what I know and like, but Celebrity is $1,000 cheaper per person than Princess. I can do the Med cruise on Celebrity (balcony cabin) for $1,550/person, granted this is the Nov 4 sailing, but even in November Princess is still $2,800 each. Any thoughts?

[Minoushka]

Go for it Celebrity is Very nice Cabins are OK .Service excellent .If itinerary is good TAKE it

[Cruise Junky]

nothing wrong with Celebrity, but if you're strictly basing it on price, make sure you get a quote from a good TA on that Princess Cruise. Princess allows discounting and their might be some group deals out there. Celebrity doesn't allow discounting.

[mizLORInj]

I liked Celebrity. They are both very good lines IMO and very similar. I plan to try a Solstice class ship soon just to see what it's like.

Princess Pizza RULES!!

 

Good point about the pricing though; Celebrity you'll pay what you see online (though we got a nice OBC through a TA) and Princess still discounts so a TA will charge less than the prices you see online for Princess, and you may get OBC in addition to the discount.

[Ivory171]

If you are considering a balcony stateroom then you can't go wrong on Solstice. It's a stunning ship. Food is fantastic and staff are wonderful. If you could, I would highly recommend an AQ stateroom!

[willysgrandma]

The Solstice is one of our favorite ships. If the itinerary is what you want, don't hesitate. Celebrity is on par with Princess and I think their food is a little bit better - but that is only because Princess is so seafood heavy on their menus and I don't like seafood. But I love Celebrity's cold soups.

[RealDeal]

I've been on about 10 Princess 3 Celebrity & absolutely give the nod to Princess. I would cruise Celebrity again, but ONLY on an itinerary that Princess doesn't offer. I think the food & entertainment are better on Princess & that Princess offers an overall better experience. Solstice feels very "sterile" to me, but some love it. The other thing is that if you're a non-smoker, you'll like X, as there's no smoking on balconies or in the casino.

 

This all being said, if X is really $1000 less, I would give it a shot. (FYI: On Solstice, CC cabins are not any bigger than regular balconies & depending on price difference, Concierge Class may not be worth it.)

 

Just my 2 cents.

[houch]

I cruises Celebrity once and it was a good cruise. Not that different from Princess but we still prefer Princess. Found the food not as good and not as much variety on the menu as Princess. Princess is just a much better fit for us and though I am not rich, I would pay more to be on Princess.

[Cruisers from WA]

Even though We are ELITE on Princess and a stockholder......

Celebrity has much better room service food selection (even steak) than Princess, and even though we are "comfortable" with Princess (and receive elite perks) we are also considering either Celebrity again or another line, just to see some DIFFERENT entertainment and to see a different menu.

If there is that much of a price difference....I say book it: cruise CELEBRITY

[Putterdude]

We are booked on Celebrity next January as we felt the itinerary was better for us and the value was certainly better....IMO one does not give up anything by sailing on X in fact there are somethings that we like better about X.

[MattOsprey]

Having only sailed on Constellation I am not an expert. We feel that Constellation didn't have a descent atrium, which will mean nothing to some, but I like it as a social hub.

Other things I felt were on a par.

We have looked at going on Solstice but booked again with Princess.

If the deal you are getting is that much better I would jump at it. I think it will be fantastic, and at worse, different. Sometimes a change is as good as a rest.

Matthew

[zacc]

After only and ALWAYS cruising on Princess (7 times Caribbean, 4 times Mediterranean) I am thinking about booking a Med cruise onboard the Celebrity Soltice. I would prefer to go on Princess just because that's what I know and like, but Celebrity is $1,000 cheaper per person than Princess. I can do the Med cruise on Celebrity (balcony cabin) for $1,550/person, granted this is the Nov 4 sailing, but even in November Princess is still $2,800 each. Any thoughts?

 

Although you don't say how many days I had been looking at med cruises on Princess for Sept 2011. 7 day balcony are only $1500-$1600/person.

[4cats4me]

we are booked on celebrity next january as we felt the itinerary was better for us and the value was certainly better....imo one does not give up anything by sailing on x in fact there are somethings that we like better about x.

 

i concur.

[scranger]

We sailed the Constellation a couple of years ago and had a great cruise. Two differences that come to mind are (1) no anytime dining, if that's important to you, and (2) ship's excursions are billed to your credit card at the time booked, rather than to your shipboard account on the cruise. IMHO, itinerary and price should be the determining factors in choosing between the two lines.

[Infi]

I say, go for it. In my experience, Celebrity has always been slightly more expensive than Princess, so to find an X Med cruise that much cheaper is pretty rare. It sounds like the main thing holding you back is that Princess is what you know and like. I know what you mean, and we only cruised Celebrity for many years before branching out again to other lines. I'm glad we tried other lines because the variety is nice. You're not always having the same menus, shows, activities, etc. and getting tired of them. Celebrity and Princess are pretty similar IMHO. Princess does some things better and Celebrity does other things better. The experience will be different, but that's part of the fun of trying a new line for the first time. It keeps things fresh.

 

Another thing to consider is that on a Med cruise, it's so port intensive and busy. You spend much less time on the ship. Even if you don't like the experience, just consider it a floating hotel - after all, you're mainly there to see the Med anyway.

 

Best case scenario is you save some money and find a new cruise line you enjoy. Worst case, you reinforce that Princess is your line of choice. Good luck with your decision.

[Infi]

We sailed the Constellation a couple of years ago and had a great cruise. Two differences that come to mind are (1) no anytime dining, if that's important to you, and (2) ship's excursions are billed to your credit card at the time booked, rather than to your shipboard account on the cruise. IMHO, itinerary and price should be the determining factors in choosing between the two lines.

 

#1 is no longer true. Celebrity now has anytime dining, called Celebrity Select, on all of their ships. #2 is still true, though. :)

[Jenna109]

Celebrity is excellent - in my opinion better than Princess and much better than Cunard. Again this is only an opinion but if you don't try you will never know. We met many 'Cunarders' who had never sailed with another line - how can you know if you are getting the best if you don't try. Celebrity/Princess/Cunard would we our choice - we look at these three and based on itinerary and price we book. Service and friendliness is second to none with Celebrity - enjoy

[winncruiser]

Thank you all so much for the very thoughtful responses. I do think it will be fun to try a different line.....and of course, being in the Med will be wonderful on any ship!

[Hootsie]

We were on the Celebrity Century on a cruise to Scotland, etc... in 2008. Personally, I will never cruise with them again. Service was great, food was just like any other cruise but the ship was SOOOOOOO boring I thought I was going to lose it! Nothing to do after 10pm. The only place you could get a late snack was room service. Not for me.

[The Big Booper]

Solstice class Celebrity ships are more active at night then the older M and C classes. And Celebrity has a better ratio of space to passengers then the newer Princess super-Grand ships or Grand ships.

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

We sailed the Constellation a couple of years ago and had a great cruise. Two differences that come to mind are (1) no anytime dining, if that's important to you, and (2) ship's excursions are billed to your credit card at the time booked, rather than to your shipboard account on the cruise. IMHO, itinerary and price should be the determining factors in choosing between the two lines.

 

We were on the Constellation last November. They now have "select dining" which is run along similar lines as Princess's Anytime dining. Having said that the people who used this facility were not very impressed.

 

We loved our cruise and if they price was right again and the itinerary was good, we wouldn't hesitate to go Celebrity again. :D

[kdooley]

.... but Celebrity is $1,000 cheaper per person than Princess. I can do the Med cruise on Celebrity (balcony cabin) for $1,550/person, granted this is the Nov 4 sailing, but even in November Princess is still $2,800 each. ...

 

After reading this thread last night, I was thinking that we have the same thing happening for a cruise the week before Christmas out of San Juan. And like yours, the Princess cruise is almost $1,000 more than the Celebrity cruise for almost the same itinerary. Right now the Celebrity price is around $900 and Princess is $1,800 for a balcony.

 

The part I wanted to share was that last year we went on the same Princess cruise this past Christmas (same week) and paid around $800 for a balcony. Right now that same balcony is at $1,800! We didn’t start looking until September last year and bought in October, 60 days out, so I am wondering if anyone knows how far out Princess drops their prices to at least match the competitors?

[BosoxI]

We've enjoyed the Celebrity cruises we've taken and would do them again in spite of losing our Elite Princess benefits. But the cruise we're thing of taking in the Med later this year costs a total of $507 per diem on Celebrity and $509 on Princess for equivalent cabins and that's before our agent gives us his usual discount. Given that, Princess here we come.

[nojoke]

We cruised on the Celebrity Solstice on it's 2nd cruise--it is a beautiful ship and we thought it was just a tiny bit classier than Princess. Although we still love Princess!

Go for it!

[Solstice23]

I've been on about 10 Princess 3 Celebrity & absolutely give the nod to Princess. I would cruise Celebrity again, but ONLY on an itinerary that Princess doesn't offer. I think the food & entertainment are better on Princess & that Princess offers an overall better experience. Solstice feels very "sterile" to me, but some love it. The other thing is that if you're a non-smoker, you'll like X, as there's no smoking on balconies or in the casino.

 

This all being said, if X is really $1000 less, I would give it a shot. (FYI: On Solstice, CC cabins are not any bigger than regular balconies & depending on price difference, Concierge Class may not be worth it.)

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

We feel the exact opposite!

 

I would recommend Celebrity esp the Solstice class or the Connie since its been Solstized. The Staterooms on Solstice class are fare better then Princess regular Balconies and really try to watch for Resident rates to upgrade to it! The specialty Restaurants on Celebrity are also amazing..

 

Both lines are good but Solstice class in our opinion wins hands down in many areas...