Thinking about celebrity

[Solstice23]

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

 

See we did not find a social hub or place on the Caribbean Princess....on the other hand on Solstice, Equinox, Eclipse etc we find the Martini bar, Molecular bar, The passport bar, all great Social hang outs and happening some in day some in evening.

 

Cafe Al Bacio as a coffee Bar Has tables and comfy seating and at night time is lighted with Candles giving it a Urban Cafe feel. On princess it was on the main level of the Atrium with not enough seats and not intimate etc?

 

We are not one for needing Grand Atriums, but rather have amazing design and public spaces

[MattOsprey]

See we did not find a social hub or place on the Caribbean Princess....on the other hand on Solstice, Equinox, Eclipse etc we find the Martini bar, Molecular bar, The passport bar, all great Social hang outs and happening some in day some in evening.

 

Cafe Al Bacio as a coffee Bar Has tables and comfy seating and at night time is lighted with Candles giving it a Urban Cafe feel. On princess it was on the main level of the Atrium with not enough seats and not intimate etc?

 

We are not one for needing Grand Atriums, but rather have amazing design and public spaces

Having only been on Constellation and not been on CB then I can't comment. However after seeing the pics for Solstice, Equinox and Eclipse, I am looking forward to finding a 14+ nighter at a good price. We would like to give these a go.

To us, all ships are great. We found Volendam a little old and tired but still had a great time and thought the service was fantastic. I honestly believe that if you want to enjoy your cruise you will. You may find differences that will make you prefer one cruise or cruise company over another but if you can't enjoy a cruise you should probably stay at home!

If we had the time and money we would try all ships.

Matthew

[winncruiser]

Again, thank you all for your fabulous responses. After searching around today on discount cruise sites I have found reduced rates for the Med cruises onboard Princess that I'm interested in. My sister wants to pay no more than $2,500 for her basecruise fare for a balcony cabin and I have found a 12 night Sept cruise onboard Princess for just under that..so hopefully we'll book it before the great price goes away. We'll be celebrating her 40th and my 50th birthdays (without husbands and dogs) onboard so I know we'll have a wonderful time!

[Shep_Proudfoot]

I am also in this dilemma for a possible September Med cruise. Celebrity is far cheaper at $700-800 per person than Princess for similar iteneraries, and the Celebrity ships are newer and maybe a half star higher rated by the "professionals", for what little that's worth. When I've priced Carribbean cruises in the past the two lines have always been much more similarly priced so this major of a difference seems odd to me. Does anyone have any insight into why this might be the case? Is Celebrity doing poorly or have they over-expanded into Europe or are Princess deals just much harder to find than those for Celebrity? Or do Princess sailings tend to come down in pricing at a certain point prior to sailing, as their discounting is currently quite low? Just trying to make sense, any insights are appreciated.

[Sanlin]

Only sailed HAL until a Solstice cruise last April (first Princess will be this April). Ship was beautiful, service and room steward great and no complaints at all. Had a balcony on the hump which made it bigger and put us close to the elevators. Loved how the elevator lights changed colors as they were arriving...shower with the glass door was another bonus...Adult solarium pool very relaxing...nice cruise.

[Pam in CA]

I'm looking forward to my Celebrity cruise in June. It'll be interesting to see the differences between Celebrity, Princess and HAL.

[jd1966]

Go with an open mind and you'll have a blast! One poster indicated that there was "nothing to do" after 10:00 PM......well that's simply not true. You just won't find the various clubs and bars very crowded. Plenty of places to sit, room on the dance floor and fast bar service. If you need crowds to enjoy yourself, then you may be bored.

[London25]

I think you should check some old posts under Celebrity for what happened last summer (I think. I know it was in 2010) when the ship broke down near France. Celebrity was not very helpful in getting passengers home and it sounds like it took a lot to get a refund back. If it doesn't bother you, then go ahead and book.

[ECCruise]

We have 125 days give or take on each line in the last 5 years or so. In our opinion, Princess excels in a number of areas, notably entertainment and Celebrity in a number of areas, notably food quality and presentation as well as overall service level. Solstice class is simply a new generation ship while the Princess ships are, to us, a generation behind (basically the same as the Grand Princess, launched nearly 13 years ago). This spoken from someone who will be sailing a Grand Class ship 6 days from now.

 

If the price was the same, would not hesititate to sail Celebrity. If the price were less, would book Celebrity in seconds.

[NJRonbo]

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.

 

That was just one post I picked out amongst

many here.

 

Some of you are really blowing my mind with

your opinions.

 

I always "assumed" that Celebrity was better

than Princess. It is supposed to be the upper-tier

of the Royal Caribbean line in the same fashion

as Holland America is to the Carnival/Princess line.

 

I feel good to hear some people say that they

enjoy Princess more than Celebrity -- even when

it comes to the food.

 

I may try Celebrity one day, but it has always

been more expensive than comparable Princess

sailings.

[emairs]

I think you should check some old posts under Celebrity for what happened last summer (I think. I know it was in 2010) when the ship broke down near France. Celebrity was not very helpful in getting passengers home and it sounds like it took a lot to get a refund back. If it doesn't bother you, then go ahead and book.

 

This cruise was on the Century, Oct 13/10 sailing.

 

I recommend searching for this thread and reading the many pages of posts. You will then see how Celebrity will take care of you in a crisis.

 

We experienced it firsthand a few years ago on a TA sailing, but not to this extent.

 

We have status on Celebrity, and love the perks, but I don't know if we will cruise Celebrity in future due to their lack of regard for their passengers in times of crisis.

[KruzPrincess]

I mostly cruise with Princess, but I took my first Celebrity cruise in November on the Equinox, sister ship the the Solstice. I chose Celebrity because it was a lot cheaper than Princess when I booked. By final payment, the Princess cruise was the same price, but I'd already made all my other arrangements and stayed with Celebrity. I'm glad I tried it. In some ways, I like Princess better, but there is nothing at all wrong with Celebrity. The balcony cabins are the same size as a mini-suite on Princess. They have big flat screen tv's in every cabin with many free on demand movies (also some pay per view). I had free fresh flowers in the cabin. Hot food breakfast from room service and you can order off the MDR menu and have it delivered to your cabin for dinner. Service was good and staff was very nice. Personally, I like the food on Princess a little better and I like the Princess dinner buffet better. The Celebrity buffet is huge and has many options at lunch and breakfast, but is more limited at night. If you want Select Dining (Anytime) you have to pay or gratuities in advance. I liked the shopping on Princess better. I had the best roll call I've ever had on Celebrity, but people overall seem friendlier on Princess. Oh, and the beds are much better unless you're really tall. In the end, I think Celebrity and Princess are more alike than different. I'd give it a try if I were you.

[FritzG]

After 4 Princess cruises in the last 2 years we tried the Celebrity Eclipse's fall TA with my cousin and her husband. We were all disappointed in Celebrity, and we'll definitely be going back to Princess.

We didn't like the taste or the variety of food in the mdr, we found the service to be lacking except for our terrific dining room waiter, and we didn't like the design of the ship. We like to walk the decks all the way around the ship on several decks which we could do on the Diamond and the Ruby. You could only do this on the very top deck of Eclipse. We also thought the inside decor was dark and unattractive for such a new ship.

There were few daily activities offered on the many sea days, and most of them had an extra charge. On our two Ruby ta's there were more activities than you could ever do on all of the sea days and most, if not all, were free.

 

We liked the bigger shower, and the glass shows were the highlight of the trip, but overall we much prefer Princess.

[Jacqueline]

The Med Cruise is more about PORTS as others have said. People get up early and make the most of their days with extensive touring.... I have done 4/5 European cruises on three different lines and have found this to be across the boards.

I have been on a bunch of lines as I do not find the benefits to be so stunning and I go for price- between Celebrity, HAL and Princess you are not going to go wrong as I find them more alike than different.

Give Celebrity a try.

[meowann]

We did the Celebrity Solstice Med. Last year. It was wonderful. Keep looking for sales on line. We got an amazing discount on Aqua class mini suite. Blue is fantastic. The only thing better on Princess is the entertainment but we were too tired at night to care.

c

:)

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Tried it princess food is beter

[Toddy709]

Anybody considering trying Celebrity needs to go to the HAL board and read the thread Food for Thought. I took a serious look at Celebrity for a while and ruled them out for my own personal reasons. After reading the Food for Thought thread, I'm going to give Celebrity a look again! I may find that I can live without a couple of things that I can get only on Princess or HAL after all:D!

[oratheeexplorer]

I'm looking forward to my Celebrity cruise in June. It'll be interesting to see the differences between Celebrity, Princess and HAL.

 

 

Be sure and let us know how you compare the 3 after your cruise on Celebrity! We have been on 2 cruises now, both Princess, and are thinking about trying something different for a variety......like someone else said, different shows and menus......I like the stricter smoking policy of Celebrity.....maybe we'll try them!

[Benjibass]

The Celebrity Solstice class ships are magnificent. You will not be disappointed, especially at the price you have been offered. Go for it!

[cynbar]

I agree with the posters who have said to go for the cruise with the best price. We are loyal Princess cruisers who sailed Celebrity Eclipse in January -- it was a fine cruise, although we didn't get the WOW factor we expected after reading the raves on the Celebrity boards. And, it was nice to have the different menus, different entertainment, etc. We will still look at Princess first, but wouldn't hesitate to sail Celebrity again . As someone said, the two lines really ARE more alike than different.

[PAPERBKWRITER]

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?

We cruise 'em all and know that Celebrity is on a par with Princess. Go for it.

[winncruiser]

Thank you all for keeping this thread going. Very interesting insight from everyone. Can't wait to check out the "Food for Thought" thread on hal.

[royalcruz]

We prefer Celebrity but will go on Princess occasionally for an extra cruise if the price is great.