Celebrity vs Princess in Europe?

[Clutterlady]

OP, PLEASE ignore the post by Drivethebus....obviously a ringer:cool:

[Oxo]

When we were on RCI earlier this year there was the added OBC if you booked while onboard, but no discount pricing.

 

FYI - RCI will also allow you to book Celebrity and give a discount while on-board. Just did it this past week. I guess it depends on the cruise you are booking. Just like Military Discounts, etc.

[hubofhockey]

I have learned over the years to know that all so called deals are not always deals. I have talked and dealt with many TAs and agencies. Met many on-board who claim to be the one and only agency that gives the best deal. There is no one TA or agency that always gives the best deal all the time, regardless.

 

There is one whom I found from word of mouth that does seem to offer the best or close to the best deals and I doubt these can be found on the internet since Princess will probably not allow those TAs to be posting cheap prices on the internet. I wish I had found this one sooner. We travel prime time (usually week of July 4) when nobody is discounting and are saving around 14% from the Princess posted prices. I believe these volume discounters get some form of extra commission from Princess and also kick a good chunk of their commission back to customers. As a result of doing so much business, they also gain knowledge as what's a good cabin and what's not. I actually got some good advice in that regard.

[wendyatpml]

We took the Celebrity Equinox to Italy, Greece and Turkey this past September and just loved it. We left from Barcelona so we spent three days there before the trip. We've been on 17 cruises and this one was my favorite. It was port intensive. We arranged all independent tours with very small groups. We've traveled mostly on RCCL or Celebrity and this coming August we're going on Princess to the British Isles. What we especially liked is that there were almost no little kids. That to me is a big plus!

[psujmatt]

We've done both in the Med, and we really like both. In general, we much prefer the Celebrity ships...just the layout and feel and decor is more our style. Between the two, we pick based on itinerary and price. Same itinerary, same price, I'd always choose the Solstice Class.

 

As another poster noted, beware of the Regal. While Princess has announced changes (promenade and aft pool additions), the balconies are MUCH smaller than the Solstice class balconies (roughly 2 feet deeper). Especially in the Med, my wife and I love spending time on the balcony sipping wine, reading, and just watching the water. For us, the Royal and Regal balconies sound too small for what we most prefer. However, some people are fine with an inside and spend little time in their room (easy on Celebrity with various lounges and indoor pool, which also exists on some Princess ships), and we see lots of unused balconies, so this may or may not matter to you.

[Pam in CA]

There is one whom I found from word of mouth that does seem to offer the best or close to the best deals and I doubt these can be found on the internet since Princess will probably not allow those TAs to be posting cheap prices on the internet. I wish I had found this one sooner. We travel prime time (usually week of July 4) when nobody is discounting and are saving around 14% from the Princess posted prices. I believe these volume discounters get some form of extra commission from Princess and also kick a good chunk of their commission back to customers. As a result of doing so much business, they also gain knowledge as what's a good cabin and what's not. I actually got some good advice in that regard.

What happens is that the high-volume Princess bookers (and it doesn't necessarily have to be a big online agency) get the best group pricing to start with. With a group, there's one free fare and they distribute that savings to their customers. Then, they discount part of their commission.

 

No one TA has the best pricing 100% of the time. Sometimes one has better pricing on a particular cruise than another. The discount you get depends on when you book, the cruise and itinerary, and the cabin category. The most important thing is to find a TA or a few TAs you trust, are responsive and offer good service. The other day, I was responding to a post about the 2014 BVEs and said I'd check with my TA. I sent a message to one of my TA's and she responded within 5 minutes and I was able to edit my post.

[Roatanfans]

In 2010 we did Europe and the Holyland med cruise- based on itinerary it came down to Princess or Azumara- we ended up on the Azumara Quest and loved it- it actually ended up being a better price as well!

[Antonintassie]

Hi my wife and I with older teenage son did Royal Princess in the Med for 12 days in a penthouse suite overall the ship and crew where pleasant and the shore days where fantastic.

I would however not do a cruise again on Princess it did not represent value for money as far as "something special" goes the ship was very sedate ( boring) both during the daytime and evenings everyone seemed to be in bed by 09.30

[Cruise Junky]

Hi my wife and I with older teenage son did Royal Princess in the Med for 12 days in a penthouse suite overall the ship and crew where pleasant and the shore days where fantastic.

I would however not do a cruise again on Princess it did not represent value for money as far as "something special" goes the ship was very sedate ( boring) both during the daytime and evenings everyone seemed to be in bed by 09.30

 

Celebrity is no better. I've done the Med. on both and they're pretty comparable for nightlife. I think it's just a product of doing the Med. everyone is exhausted from touring.

[Mulege]

Post this question on the Celebrity board and the X cheerleaders will tell you sail X. X has this and that over Princess and vice versa. I love both lines and enjoy certain things over the other. What drives me nuts is that there are people posting here that admit they have sailed X only once on their older ships and think they are experts. Their bias is obvious if you read their posts.

 

It's simple, either line is a great choice.