Need help deciding on cruise

[cruiseorbust]

We have never cruised on Princess before, but have cruised with Celebrity and RCCL many times. We are trying to decide for Christmas which ship we might like better. We have 2 young men we will be bringing with us (high school and college age). The Celebrity ship is the Summit (round trip from CA to Hawaii), the Princess ship is the Sea Princess (round trip from Ft. Lauderdale to deep Carribean). Both are same amount of days.

 

We do like the Celebrity ships for the food and service, the boys like them as well. We find Celebrity to be a little slow on activities and shows are ok. Never having been on Princess, we would like input from people that have been on both, especially at holiday time. Also, we are concerned about the seas from CA to Hawaii that time of year if we go on the Summit.

[holidayathesea]

I can't help you out any, I've never been on Celebrity and my first Princess cruise is the week before christmas, we get off the ship on Christmas Eve, my only suggestion is to call your TA and see waht is available, unless you're booking for Christmas of 2006....because they fill up real fast!! Good luck!

[Bruin Steve]

Well...We've taken our daughters on a 10 nighter on Princess (just not the ship you're looking at) when they were 15 and 17...and we took them on the Summit last July (when they were 18 and 20)...

 

...And I know for absolute certain which ship they'd choose (and we would as well)...SUMMIT...

 

My girls were not impressed in the least with Princess and they didn't find a lot to do to satisfy them...

 

As for the Summit, like I said, we were just on it in July in Alaska and I absoltely LOVE those Celebrity M-Class ships...nothing else among the mass marketed lines is quite as spacious (2,000 passengers on a 91,000gross ton ship)...

 

And, I was also taking a good look at that Hawaii round trip...Sort of an intriguing itinerary with sveral "at-sea" days loaded up in front...and then several more to wind down at the end...and no reason to fly one direction or to end up in god-forsaken Ensenada...We're not going to do it for now...We've got the Constellation Northern Europe coming up next month...and we are booking the Pacific Princess for a 25 night Asia cruisetour for next summer as soon as Princess lets us on Monday...We'll have to do the Hawaii thing some future year...

 

Another benefit you have with all of your previous Celebrity and RCI cruises is that, if you have at least five credits on either, you get all the perks of "Select" status...and some of those perks on Summit are pretty nice...not that the Princess perks for higher status aren't nice as well, it's just that, since you've never been, you're not entitled to any...

 

But, really...ANY cruise is nice...either of these would be a great cruise...enjoy...

[Coral]

Well...We've taken our daughters on a 10 nighter on Princess (just not the ship you're looking at) when they were 15 and 17...and we took them on the Summit last July (when they were 18 and 20)...

 

With all due respect, Bruin Steve's only experience with Princess is with one of the oldest ships in Princess' fleet which didn't have any of the new amenities. One can not compare once of Celebrity's newest ships with one of Princess' oldest ones. I don't remember if Bruin Steve was on the Crown or Regal but the Crown has been retired and the Regal is set to be retired. They did not offer the options the other Princess ships offer.

 

I definitley say try Princess. My experience with Celebrity (Millennnium) is similiar to what you described - slow, very few activities, limited hours for food on the ship. I also wasn't impressed with Celebrities entertainment. As someone in my 20's, I was bored on Celebrity.

[susancruzs]

I'd go with Princess! I was on the Summit and was not impressed at all. I expected to be really "wowed" for all the raving I heard about Celebrity, I was disappointed.

 

Not just the fact that the interior reminded me of old world hotels, on sea days the ship was like a tomb, cold, unfriendly, no people around, as Coral says, very limited buffet hours, just not my cup of tea.

 

Susie

[TorontoTL]

Regarding the spaciousness of the ships, the Coral and Island have 1970 pax and are both about 92,000 GRT, therefore their space ratio is also very very high. Celebrity is certainly not the only line with a high space ratio on some of their ships.

[marly]

I like both Princess and Celebrity, but I think you need to consider the time of year and the port you'll be leaving from. We've sailed the week prior to Christmas, not actually during Christmas week, so I don't know if it that makes a difference.

 

I can tell you that one year we took Celebrity out of Tampa and last year we took Princess out of Ft. Lauderdale. On both occasions my husband and I were one of the youngest people on the ship, and we're in our 40s. I think it's a Florida thing because I don't remember our cruise out of Puerto Rico during the same time frame being as, uh, geriatric.

 

Just something else to think about if you're traveling with kids.

Marly

[Tahitian Princess]

I suggest you change your plans completely, and go on the Tahitian Princess. We took our then 18 year old son. He absolutely loved Tahiti, the ship and everything about the trip. He's like me and can't wait to go back(of course, I've already been there 3x). In our opinion it's the most beautiful place on earth!

[High C's]

IMHO, at that age, it's not the ship but the "company" that will make all the difference to them! We have taken our teens several times, and it is always the other people their age that they meet that enhances their enjoyment!;) While arguments can be made over ships and ports, ALL are lovely in their own way! Princess do have planned activities that my two have always enjoyed, and they have only ever gone "grand class" if that makes a difference, but I truly think it was the friends that they made that was the winning factor!!!!

[Coral]

I like both Princess and Celebrity, but I think you need to consider the time of year and the port you'll be leaving from. We've sailed the week prior to Christmas, not actually during Christmas week, so I don't know if it that makes a difference.

Marly

 

There are a lot of families that sail the week of Christmas. I looked at the number of kids on a sailing the week before Christmas and the week of Christmas on 2 different Princess ships this last year. The week before, there were less than 100 kids, the week of Christmas there were 600 kids. We went the week before Christmas and it was an older crowd.

 

This year, due to how Christmas falls, there may be more kids the week before Christmas then in previous years.

 

I have sailed over Christmas before and it was a wonderful experience!

[jerseygirl3]

Although I've heard rave reviews about the Summit (we were booked for the 10 night southern Caribbean this past March, but had to cancel when my husband became sick), I'd select Princess.

 

We've been on a few Princess cruises, and loved them. While the food quality may be better on Summit, the service on Princess is probably comparable (I'm basing this on our friend's opinion who've been on both Princess and the Summit). The Princess ships are very pretty. I love their mini-suites. We also love the fact that you can do Personal Choice Dining on Princess. You can choose Traditional Early or Late if you wish, but we like the flexibility PC affords us.

 

But the most convincing argument would be the itinerary. Leaving from CA in December would pretty much guarantee cooler weather crossing the Pacific. Leaving from Ft. Lauderdale you'd pretty much be guaranteed warm, sunny weather from the get go. Although Florida can be chilly in the winter, by the next a.m. after you leave, you'll already be in the Caribbean. I also think there'll be more passengers for your kids on the Caribbean cruise than the Hawaii cruise.

[dazee8]

I took the Christmas/New Year's Princess cruise to Hawaii last year and I loved it. True there were a lot of children onboard since school is out, but it's a big ship and you will always find a spot just for you to enjoy your cruise. Happy sailing!

[DrivesLikeMario]

The guys might like the Sea Princess better, but it's smaller and older than the Summit. I would think they'd like having more ports in the Caribbean too. I love the CA-Hawaii itinerary because of all the sea days, but that may bore 2 young guys.

[Guest Snorkelbunny]

That is such a difficult question! If you ask cruisers which line they prefer you will get a plethora of different opinions for just as many reasons. I have three friends who love HAL and hated their two Celebrity cruises because of their perceived "lack of service". I have an aunt who has been on several lines and will now only sail Princess...she simply likes the feel of the ships better. I have one friend who just loved the Freestyle cruising of NCL and thought the chocolate buffet was incredible so he won't even look at another line. I have yet another friend who got his start cruising on Carnival and liked the Vegas style feel of it so really prefers that line.

 

Opinions can have to do with how old the ship is, decor, service, how many children were on board, menus, coffee, is there lemonade available in the buffet, do they still have midnight buffets....it just goes on and on. I would put more weight on the opinions of those who have sailed more than once on any given line. For example, I don't judge NCL on my one experience aboard the older Norwegian Sea; that wouldn't be quite fair. All I can really say is that Freestyle cruising worked well and it had some very cool features for dining such as the poolside BBQ.

 

Princess is a lovely line to sail with. It has a bit of an upscale feel to it that I enjoy. During the holidays there would more than likely be many young people onboard to socialize with. Would I take young people who are cruising for the first time on the older Regal? No. Give them the bells and whistles of the newer ships and I believe they would have a bit more fun.

 

Hope you receive some good opinions and it helps your decision making process. If you plan to book for this Christmas you should do so immediately. Holiday sailings go quickly!!

[cruiseorbust]

I really appreciate everyone's opinion of Celebrity vs Princess. We do have both on hold already, just trying to decide. I really appreciate everyone's opinions as to why they would pick the Summit or Sea Princess. I guess I am more concerned with the onboard experience at this point, than the ports.

 

Keep the comments coming...they really do help!!

 

Thanks

[Bruin Steve]

With all due respect, Bruin Steve's only experience with Princess is with one of the oldest ships in Princess' fleet...

Yeah...it was the old Crown Princess...

(Which experience isn't preventing me from cruising with Princess again)...

 

But, what it really goes to show is that NO ONE can judge an entire cruise line by one specific sailing...as neither can Coral with Celebrity and her one sailing...

 

There are always different nuances depending, not only on the ship, but on the itinerary, the time of year and a myriad of other factors...

 

Clearly, on THIS message board, you are going to find a majority of Princess afficianados...who will generally reflect very favorably on Princess...and have some negative comments on Celebrity (assuming they have ever sailed them)...If you posted the same question on the Celebrity board, I almost guarantee you will get the EXACT opposite response...

 

Of course, you have to realize that it's all personal opinion...Two people can go on the same cruise and one find it loads of fun and the other find "nothing to do"...

 

MY one experience, thus far, with Princess, the ship virtually closed down every night at 10...Food during after-dinner hours was virtually unlocatable...The entertainment was as poor as on any ship I've ever cruised...The service, other than the dining room, was poor...The food availability, maybe, you could excuse by the age of the ship and the poor amenities...maybe not...There's NEVER an excuse for poor service or bad entertainment...Of course, you might also blame the itinerary--Baltic--or the fact that the demographics seemed to be predominantly elderly...and they all go to bed before 10 apparently...

 

But, I'm willing to accept that these occurances aren't necessarily standard on ALL Princess cruises...I expect fully to have a better cruise next time...

 

OTOH, what I am reading here about Celebrity definitiely has NOT been my experience...We have always found more than enough to do...the ships have well-attended venues clear into the night--including the new Cirque de Soleil lounges which are, to say the least, unique...and, I repeat, the Service and Food are FAR superior...

 

Of course, we ALL have different experiences, different criteria, different opinions...All of the various lines seem to have their fans...and whenever you ask people to choose between two cruise lines on the message board for one of those lines, 95% of the answers will be very predictable...

 

I just happen to be one of the few "Fans of the OTHER line" who also visits THIS board...

 

So, consider my answers as just that...

 

PS, cruiseorbust,

I see you have sailed mostly on Celebrity's smaller older ships...I think you would really enjoy sailing on the M-Class (well, looking again, I see you HAVE sailed the Summit once)...Same service and food, bigger, more spacious and more modern ship...And, with those previous Celebrity cruises under your belt, you get some really nice Captains Club Elite amenities...like Elegant Tea in the Normandie specialty restaurant and all sorts of other "invitee only" events...

 

But, whatever you choose, have fun...

[Twaincruisers]

We will be on the Sea Princess Dec 3-17, because the itinerary will take us to several new islands. We enjoyed the Golden Princess and my wife found many activities she liked to do on a cruise. On the Millennium she complained about the lack of activities she normally attended. The Millennium was also the filthiest ship we have ever been on. The Millennium seemed like it catered a little more to the older cruisers than the Princess, but it is really hard to judge for sure. The Sea Princess itinerary is certainly port-intensive with an extensive variety of island cultures.

 

I am sure you will enjoy either cruise.