My Impressions of Caribbean Princess as first time cruiser....

[Ebvette]

So I was part of the group on the "Concerts at Seas" Rock and Roll Cruise on the Caribbean Princess that departed Bayport Houston on 18 Jan, returning on 25 Jan 2014.

 

Background,

 

In the past I have had 2 cruises with Celebrity, well over 23 Cruises serving on US Coast Guard Cutters in the North Atlantic and Caribbean Sea, and had a job where I went on fishing boats installing Loran C equipment for extended fishing on Georges Bank in the Atlantic, so I know my way around ships both military and commercial.

 

But I want to focus this on the Cruise on Princess Lines as to the Cruise on Celebrity. Let me make it clear, we enjoyed our cruise with Princess Lines, and found everybody on the crew friendly and efficient, but just want to provide you my personal feeling on the two cruise lines.....

 

Positives:

 

Specifically about the Caribbean Princess, a very nice ship. I loved the fact that Princess ships have so many pools, deck chairs, and especially smaller bars, and several dinning rooms that you can attend while at sea.

We found the ship to be very clean, fairly well maintained, and our cabin girl (Mary Ann) was very prompt and kept the room very clean. We certainly lucked out, regarding our weather and sea conditions, although the ship was late leaving by three hours due to a scrub down for the Noro Virus, we still managed to board quickly by 3:30 PM, and ship was underway leaving dockside by 6:20 PM. We made all three port of calls, and I found booking and paying for the excursions easy, as you paid once on board the ship, so you did not have to pay in advance. Love the Ice Cream and Pizza bars. We celebrated our 20th Anniversary, they provided two balloons, a card, and a sticker on the cabin door. Liked the little international café that served soup, light meals, and deserts.

 

Now about the Celebrity Cruises: We book the Aqua Class, which has many different options, that includes something like the Serenity Area, that is included, and my review is based on the Aqua Class, that Princess does not have. Celebrities Aqua Class provides only that class with your own Dinning room called BLU. Aqua Class cost includes the following, every day a bowl of fresh fruit, bottled water, fresh flowers, hors d'oeuvres, and also, day you leave port a cold bottle of champagne on ice in your room, room scent, many spa items in the bath, bigger shower with six to eight shower heads. plush terry cloth robs, and slippers, and larger staterooms than Princess staterooms, and much larger bathrooms and showers. We celebrate our anniversary on Celebrity, they provided a cake and bottle of Champagne with card, with chocolate covered strawberries, no additional cost. Celebrity Captain was out an about the floor during the evenings, meeting the passengers, very available as well as the executive officer. Immediately when you board Celebrity you are handed a glass of Champagne or Orange juice, and once in the dinning room before you leave the port you can purchase a special mixed drink, both with liquor or without, and keep the glass. Layout of the ship was much easier to remember and get around, not as many pools, but had larger putting green on real grass. When you return from a day in port Celebrity has set up as you board a tent that contains cold water, fruit juice, and cold washcloths. Although trivial, towels made into animals several times during the cruise, a novelty, but still nice to see and experience. On board TV, you could order many movies in your room, more selection of programing, including more news and weather channels. Although you paid $15.00 per head, you had a very nice afternoon tea. More people engaged in Formal Night than what I witnessed on the Caribbean Princess. Prices for onboard activities much cheaper, including mix drinks, wine, and specialty restaurants, were cheaper. Two toot bags, one for each person, plus little flashlights, and couple other free things. A set of binoculars in the room for your use. Much more on the room service menu to choose from, especially the breakfast menu. Everyplace on the ship you had hand wash stations to clean your hands, only seen them in the dinning areas on the Princess ship. Celebrity had many more waiters, both in the common areas and on the deck.

 

 

Disappointments:

 

For the Princess Cruise, never saw the captain, executive officer, or any other high ranking officer the entire cruise. No champagne at all, none when you board, nothing in your room, nothing at all. Paid more for my balcony state room that I did for the Celebrity balcony state room with the extra Aqua Class. Food was fair, not bad, nothing to brag about. Stateroom was small, bath was a closet, closet was decent, and storage was decent. Balcony was good size. Bed mattress, felt the springs, so I assume mattress was well worn. No extras, one tot bag was provided. The shops had limited sizes on clothes, for example I wanted to buy a Princess Cruise polo shirt, only had sizes small and medium in men's, asked if they will be getting larger sizes, told no. Clothes seemed to be very overpriced, especially anything related to Princess Line Logo. Other stores had good stock, good brands. Drinks and wine seemed to be very very expensive, I don't recall paying as much on the Celebrity Line for mixed drinks or glass of wine. Price of cruise was very high compared to Celebrity, and seemed like you got less. Photographs that were taken was VERY expensive at $25/ 8X10/photo...only bought a couple because of the price. When you return back to the ship from being out on a day in port, no greeting by crew, no smile, just show me IDs. I could only find ice tea in the buffet top deck, nothing in bars, as I don't drink liquor, I had to settle for either tap water, or orange juice, OJ was not fresh but from a concentrate mixed by bartender. Had to ask for ice in my room several times. Sent laundry out on two occasions, both time had to call to get it sent to room, arrived late by several hours. TV was in corner on top of high shelve with limited visibility from the bed, remote never seemed to work right. Too much Trivia. Formal Night was really not enforced and few actually went formal, many shorts and t-shirts, very few tuxes and formal gowns. Princess seems to be much more laxed and less formal than Celebrity. Very limited choices on the room service menu, especially the breakfast menu. Celebrity had three times the choices for all types of meals and snacks for room service.

 

Celebrity Cruise disappointments: Seems like you could never get a deck chair, as they only had a couple of swimming pools. Limited deck space to walk around, most of the area was inside the ship. Many of the bars are in the open, not in rooms like Princess, making it not so personal, seems like you have many people always walking by. I really can not think of many more disappointments with Celebrity, departed on time, arrived back in port on time. Ice Cream was limited on the Celebrity ships and seemed to run out, closed the ice cream bar early by 7:00 PM they seem to run out of ice cream both hard and soft.

 

Overall, I enjoyed both cruises, but feel Celebrity is a much better cruiseline and offers many more options than Princess. Think in the future I will try Holland (sister to Princess Lines), or go back to Celebrity.

 

Look, these are my own feeling and based on how I was treated and what was received by both cruise lines. You may not agree, but again these are my impressions.

Edited January 30, 2014 by Ebvette

[Griller]

Interesting you say there was too much Trivia on Princess.

Do they somehow force you to go to it, or are the questions piped into your cabon on the loudspeakers?

[Ebvette]

Interesting you say there was too much Trivia on Princess.

Do they somehow force you to go to it, or are the questions piped into your cabon on the loudspeakers?

 

When you are out and about or sitting in a bar, like the Explorer room and they start playing over and over, yes too much.

[SkystheLimit]

Thank you for posting. I agree about navigating the interiors of the Grand class ships. Although, some feel that on the S class ships having only two elevator banks is a negative. We didn't find it to be a problem but some did.

 

How was sailing in/out of the Houston port?

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your comments.

[Griller]

When you are out and about or sitting in a bar, like the Explorer room and they start playing over and over, yes too much.

If you read the Princess Patter which was delivered to your cabin daily in advance it does tell you what is going to be on and where, then its possible to avoid being in a place where you find the activities objectionable.

As far as free beverages are concerned in fact lemonade is available free in the buffet as well as iced tea, water, coffee, tea etc.

It sounds like you and Princess are not a good fit, I have the same problem with several cruise lines myself and just don't go on them anymore.

Everyone is happier as a result.

[cruising sister]

I agree with the comparisons of the two cruise lines. I am sorry to say that Princess is not for me. The Caribbean Princess was boring and had lack luster entertainment. It is great that we have several choices for cruise lines and everyone will find what works for them.

[boca7]

So I was part of the group on the "Concerts at Seas" Rock and Roll Cruise on the Caribbean Princess that departed Bayport Houston on 18 Jan, returning on 25 Jan 2014.

 

Background,

 

In the past I have had 2 cruises with Celebrity, well over 23 Cruises serving on US Coast Guard Cutters in the North Atlantic and Caribbean Sea, and had a job where I went on fishing boats installing Loran C equipment for extended fishing on Georges Bank in the Atlantic, so I know my way around ships both military and commercial.

 

But I want to focus this on the Cruise on Princess Lines as to the Cruise on Celebrity. Let me make it clear, we enjoyed our cruise with Princess Lines, and found everybody on the crew friendly and efficient, but just want to provide you my personal feeling on the two cruise lines.....

 

Positives:

 

Specifically about the Caribbean Princess, a very nice ship. I loved the fact that Princess ships have so many pools, deck chairs, and especially smaller bars, and several dinning rooms that you can attend while at sea.

We found the ship to be very clean, fairly well maintained, and our cabin girl (Mary Ann) was very prompt and kept the room very clean. We certainly lucked out, regarding our weather and sea conditions, although the ship was late leaving by three hours due to a scrub down for the Noro Virus, we still managed to board quickly by 3:30 PM, and ship was underway leaving dockside by 6:20 PM. We made all three port of calls, and I found booking and paying for the excursions easy, as you paid once on board the ship, so you did not have to pay in advance. Love the Ice Cream and Pizza bars. We celebrated our 20th Anniversary, they provided two balloons, a card, and a sticker on the cabin door. Liked the little international café that served soup, light meals, and deserts.

 

Now about the Celebrity Cruises: We book the Aqua Class, which has many different options, that includes something like the Serenity Area, that is included, and my review is based on the Aqua Class, that Princess does not have. Celebrities Aqua Class provides only that class with your own Dinning room called BLU. Aqua Class cost includes the following, every day a bowl of fresh fruit, bottled water, fresh flowers, hors d'oeuvres, and also, day you leave port a cold bottle of champagne on ice in your room, room scent, many spa items in the bath, bigger shower with six to eight shower heads. plush terry cloth robs, and slippers, and larger staterooms than Princess staterooms, and much larger bathrooms and showers. We celebrate our anniversary on Celebrity, they provided a cake and bottle of Champagne with card, with chocolate covered strawberries, no additional cost. Celebrity Captain was out an about the floor during the evenings, meeting the passengers, very available as well as the executive officer. Immediately when you board Celebrity you are handed a glass of Champagne or Orange juice, and once in the dinning room before you leave the port you can purchase a special mixed drink, both with liquor or without, and keep the glass. Layout of the ship was much easier to remember and get around, not as many pools, but had larger putting green on real grass. When you return from a day in port Celebrity has set up as you board a tent that contains cold water, fruit juice, and cold washcloths. Although trivial, towels made into animals several times during the cruise, a novelty, but still nice to see and experience. On board TV, you could order many movies in your room, more selection of programing, including more news and weather channels. Although you paid $15.00 per head, you had a very nice afternoon tea. More people engaged in Formal Night than what I witnessed on the Caribbean Princess. Prices for onboard activities much cheaper, including mix drinks, wine, and specialty restaurants, were cheaper. Two toot bags, one for each person, plus little flashlights, and couple other free things. A set of binoculars in the room for your use. Much more on the room service menu to choose from, especially the breakfast menu. Everyplace on the ship you had hand wash stations to clean your hands, only seen them in the dinning areas on the Princess ship. Celebrity had many more waiters, both in the common areas and on the deck.

 

 

Disappointments:

 

For the Princess Cruise, never saw the captain, executive officer, or any other high ranking officer the entire cruise. No champagne at all, none when you board, nothing in your room, nothing at all. Paid more for my balcony state room that I did for the Celebrity balcony state room with the extra Aqua Class. Food was fair, not bad, nothing to brag about. Stateroom was small, bath was a closet, closet was decent, and storage was decent. Balcony was good size. Bed mattress, felt the springs, so I assume mattress was well worn. No extras, one tot bag was provided. The shops had limited sizes on clothes, for example I wanted to buy a Princess Cruise polo shirt, only had sizes small and medium in men's, asked if they will be getting larger sizes, told no. Clothes seemed to be very overpriced, especially anything related to Princess Line Logo. Other stores had good stock, good brands. Drinks and wine seemed to be very very expensive, I don't recall paying as much on the Celebrity Line for mixed drinks or glass of wine. Price of cruise was very high compared to Celebrity, and seemed like you got less. Photographs that were taken was VERY expensive at $25/ 8X10/photo...only bought a couple because of the price. When you return back to the ship from being out on a day in port, no greeting by crew, no smile, just show me IDs. I could only find ice tea in the buffet top deck, nothing in bars, as I don't drink liquor, I had to settle for either tap water, or orange juice, OJ was not fresh but from a concentrate mixed by bartender. Had to ask for ice in my room several times. Sent laundry out on two occasions, both time had to call to get it sent to room, arrived late by several hours. TV was in corner on top of high shelve with limited visibility from the bed, remote never seemed to work right. Too much Trivia. Formal Night was really not enforced and few actually went formal, many shorts and t-shirts, very few tuxes and formal gowns. Princess seems to be much more laxed and less formal than Celebrity. Very limited choices on the room service menu, especially the breakfast menu. Celebrity had three times the choices for all types of meals and snacks for room service.

 

Celebrity Cruise disappointments: Seems like you could never get a deck chair, as they only had a couple of swimming pools. Limited deck space to walk around, most of the area was inside the ship. Many of the bars are in the open, not in rooms like Princess, making it not so personal, seems like you have many people always walking by. I really can not think of many more disappointments with Celebrity, departed on time, arrived back in port on time. Ice Cream was limited on the Celebrity ships and seemed to run out, closed the ice cream bar early by 7:00 PM they seem to run out of ice cream both hard and soft.

 

Overall, I enjoyed both cruises, but feel Celebrity is a much better cruiseline and offers many more options than Princess. Think in the future I will try Holland (sister to Princess Lines), or go back to Celebrity.

 

Look, these are my own feeling and based on how I was treated and what was received by both cruise lines. You may not agree, but again these are my impressions.

I have sailed numerous times on both, but last few years mainly Princess. The caribbean Princess is older & a well worn mattress is occasionally found, I have found the same problem with older Celebrity, I have never seen shorts & tshirts in MDR on formal nights. I do like both lines equally but pricing on Princess I find much lower. You may need a new TA.

[4cats4me]

I have been on 2 Celebrity cruises and 13 Princess cruises and have found both lines to be more similar than different. Comparing AQ on Celebrity with a regularly balcony experience on Princess is not exactly an equal comparison We like to go AQ on Celebrity, but it is leaps and bounds above the normal Celebrity cabin experience, but there is a nice fee to upgrade to AQ. The AQ experience on Celebrity is more akin to our full suite experience on Princess.

 

Yes, Celebrity does some things better and Princess does other things better, but

I couldn't care less about getting towel animals , or the very cheap and undrinkable faux "champagne" upon embarkation

 

Storage in Celebrity's cabins is not nearly as abundant as on Princess. However, the bathrooms on Celebrity are way larger than on Princess

 

One thing I really enjoy on Celebrity is their buffet, huge and nicely laid out

princess's is cramped

 

I love the decor on Celebrity ships. They're both good cruise lines.

Edited January 30, 2014 by 4cats4me

[Sea Bus]

 

Look, these are my own feeling and based on how I was treated and what was received by both cruise lines. You may not agree, but again these are my impressions.

 

Thanks for the comments. My DW and I are currently 'sampling' cruise lines and currently have the CB booked for March. This will be our first Princes cruise so we are very interested in others views. Of the cruise lines we have tried so far we agree Celebrity is by far the best (for all reasons you listed). Our experience on the Eclipse was IMO the closest to a luxury cruise we have had. We enjoy dressing for dinner on formal nights. I own a tux and don't get many other opportunities to wear it. The Eclipse formal night as you mentioned has more players. I am certain the CB has many things to offer if not all we might expect.

[Griller]

Thanks for the comments. My DW and I are currently 'sampling' cruise lines and currently have the CB booked for March. This will be our first Princes cruise so we are very interested in others views. Of the cruise lines we have tried so far we agree Celebrity is by far the best (for all reasons you listed). Our experience on the Eclipse was IMO the closest to a luxury cruise we have had. We enjoy dressing for dinner on formal nights. I own a tux and don't get many other opportunities to wear it. The Eclipse formal night as you mentioned has more players. I am certain the CB has many things to offer if not all we might expect.

I would like to add to my previous comment that I have been on almost all the Princess ships of the last 20 years, some of which are not even in service any more, and Caribbean Princess is my least favorite.

So please don't judge the whole cruise line by one ship, although in all fairness generally the entertainment on Princess is not the best there are some good shows and one or two decent Cruise Directors.

Princess certainly do need a wakeup call on the entertainment and recently on Ruby there were some improvements, though small.

And yes the buffets are lacking in variety and do not have the choice of even Carnival, but don't have the long lines either.............

[KruzPrincess]

Interesting comparison. In regards to price, did you deduct the $600 per person that Concerts at Sea adds to the normal cruise price? That amount is the cost of the entertainment package. I agree that comparing Aqua Class on Celebrity to a regular balcony cabin on Princess is not at all equal. I've cruised on Celebrity and Princess both and find them more alike than different. I prefer Princess, but some prefer Celebrity. The Caribbean Princess is an older ship, so it's not going to be like one of the Solstice Class ships. Have you sailed on the older Celebrity ships? How does that compare? I just looked at your cruise history and see that you sailed on Equinox and Solstice and it was a couple years back. I'd like to hear your opinion after you sail on the Century, which I believe hasn't been Solsiticized yet.

Edited January 30, 2014 by KruzPrincess

[Pam in CA]

Interesting comparison. IMHO, it's comparing apples to oranges since you're comparing the general Princess product to the more expensive AquaClass on Celebrity. It's very possible that if you'd booked a full suite on Princess, you would have found them more comparable. When I cruised on Celebrity, I booked a very expensive balcony cabin but as a single, I couldn't afford nor was I willing to pay for AquaClass. Perhaps I would have had a very different cruise experience but then I probably would have paid at least $3,000 for a 7-day cruise since I paid about $2,200 for the seven days in a 2A balcony cabin. That's over $300/day. Ouch! And not even AquaClass. I had the tiniest cabin I've ever experienced on any ship other than the original Royal Princess for that amount of money. No perks unless you consider a non-functioning toilet for three days a "perk" with no apology, no response from the Passenger Services Desk other than, "You too?" I paid over $2,200 for that. :( Based on the expense, very poor customer service, mostly inedible food (the Maitre d' of the buffet came to our table to apologize it was so bad), no self-serve laundry, no mini-bar, no WiFi anywhere on the ship (although I understand that's been installed), it's unlikely I'll try Celebrity again. Like you, I had a good time anyway but in no way did I find Celebrity comparable to Princess or even HAL.

Edited January 30, 2014 by Pam in CA

[cruising sister]

Again, isn't it great there is so much to choose from out there. Each to their own and no two people will like the same. The Caribbean Princess is due for a complete over haul soon and hopefully she will look better. The beds on the Diamond and the Caribbean were the worst I have ever had and I have been on some old ships. They told me the buffet will be improved with better flow like the newer ships. I will check back in a couple of years after I try other ships and other cruise lines. I am headed for the South Pacific in 2015!

[Woobstr112G]

Interesting comments. Thank you for taking the ime to post hem.....:):):)

 

Bob

[kendon]

I would like to add to my previous comment that I have been on almost all the Princess ships of the last 20 years, some of which are not even in service any more, and Caribbean Princess is my least favorite.

So please don't judge the whole cruise line by one ship, although in all fairness generally the entertainment on Princess is not the best there are some good shows and one or two decent Cruise Directors.

Princess certainly do need a wakeup call on the entertainment and recently on Ruby there were some improvements, though small.

And yes the buffets are lacking in variety and do not have the choice of even Carnival, but don't have the long lines either.............

 

I SO agree about the Caribbean Princess after experiencing almost the entire fleet. I always felt that the "B" team worked the CB.

[kendon]

Interesting comparison. IMHO, it's comparing apples to oranges since you're comparing the general Princess product to the more expensive AquaClass on Celebrity. It's very possible that if you'd booked a full suite on Princess, you would have found them more comparable. When I cruised on Celebrity, I booked a very expensive balcony cabin but as a single, I couldn't afford nor was I willing to pay for AquaClass. Perhaps I would have had a very different cruise experience but then I probably would have paid at least $3,000 for a 7-day cruise since I paid about $2,200 for the seven days in a 2A balcony cabin. That's over $300/day. Ouch! And not even AquaClass. I had the tiniest cabin I've ever experienced on any ship other than the original Royal Princess for that amount of money. No perks unless you consider a non-functioning toilet for three days a "perk" with no apology, no response from the Passenger Services Desk other than, "You too?" I paid over $2,200 for that. :( Based on the expense, very poor customer service, mostly inedible food (the Maitre d' of the buffet came to our table to apologize it was so bad), no self-serve laundry, no mini-bar, no WiFi anywhere on the ship (although I understand that's been installed), it's unlikely I'll try Celebrity again. Like you, I had a good time anyway but in no way did I find Celebrity comparable to Princess or even HAL.

 

Funny, I had the same response from the Maitre d' on our Celebrity cruise...I couldn't believe it! Were we on the same ship at the same time? lol The poor food and service was the topic of conversation among all too many of the passengers.

[satxdiver]

I have never sailed on Celebrity so I don't know the differences. I have sailed on RCCL which is the parent of Celebrity and have found the two lines (RCCL and Princess) to be comparable. I would agree that Princess is definitely into trivia games but have never seen them back to back as you stated. They are numerous however particularly on sea days so I suppose that if you stayed in the Explorer's Lounge long enough you would see several separated by hours.

 

As to MDR evening dress, I have seen shorts and tshirt worn on both RCCL and Princess but again I have never been on Celebrity. I would say though that you sailed out of Texas where we tend to dress a lot more informal than on the US east coast. That would be reflected by the pax on a ship departing a Texas port. I have seen a difference in the pax dress between ships sailing out of FLL versus Bayport/Galveston which again points our more informal everyday dress.

 

I have priced Celebrity cruises versus both RCCL and Princess and found Celebrity to be more for a balcony cabin which we like. I would hope for the more money upfront one would get more in return.

 

No one line fits everyone, so go where you feel most comfortable. There are plenty of choices for us all. Happy sailing.

[Working 2 Cruise]

I have checked Celebrity and it's fares and they are so much more expensive than Princess most of the time! Especially Aqua Class...

 

Also, did you go anywhere besides Explorers? There are so many places and nooks and crannies on this ship..

 

I agree with the poster, you probably paid a lot more for your cruise since it was a themed one but apparently cost is not much of a factor.

 

Enjoy Celebrity and the other high end lines... I will happily stick with Princess.

[douglinc@msn.com]

We will be on the CB 3-29 for our 1st. Princess cruise.

 

Doug

[golfb4cruzing]

Princess Champagne Waterfall??

[caribill]

Thanks for your comparison.

 

A couple of items considering you were on your first Princess cruise.

 

a) There is free Champagne (really sparkling wine) at the Captain's welcome party in the Atrium. If you are willing to suffer for a few minutes at the art auction, there is also some there.

 

b) Princess also celebrates special opccasions such as an anniversary with a small cake at dinner on the day you select to celebrate. If you are in traditional dining, your waitstaff should know about it. If you are in anytime dining, there should be a card in your cabin to give to your waitstaff.

 

c) A positive for us is the nightly chocolate on the pillows. I do not know if Celebrity does this.

 

d) Princess does provide fresh fruit upon request in all cabins. There should have been a card in your cabin each evening to request which kind(s) of fruit you would like to have.

 

e) The afternoon tea each day on Princess is at no cost.

 

f) The new Royal Princess TV on-demand system would give you the variety of movies you would like to have and at no charge. Same on the soon to be launched Regal Princess.

[elliair]

Drinks and wine seemed to be very very expensive, I don't recall paying as much on the Celebrity Line for mixed drinks or glass of wine.

 

I could only find ice tea in the buffet top deck, nothing in bars, as I don't drink liquor,

 

I guess it's not really a point to make since you don't drink liquor or do you? We have found that if you hit happy hour, drinks are very cheap - $4 per drink. Now you know why people smuggle their alcohol because like you, they think it's too expensive.

Edited February 1, 2014 by elliair

[Ebvette]

What to thank all of you for your time to reply to my post. Please let me once again stress, these are my own personal opinions on my own experiences between to the two cruise lines. To be fair, I was only on the Caribbean Princess, so do not know what the other ships are like. On Celebrity I was on the Equinox and the Solstice, and both ships were very much alike with minor, very minor differences.

 

Few more comments, yes Celebrity gives you chocolate at night on the bed turndown. I really don't base the make or break of a cruise on animal towel folds, just thought they were different and enjoyable. No I don't drink, I recouped from a rare cancer that I got from Agent Orange in Viet Nam, underwent a stomach Gastro Bypass surgery so that ended my drinking days and cannot have soda, so its water, ice tea or fruit juice, again this is my own situation, not for the general cruise. By nature I am a very detailed oriented person, so little things make a difference to me.

 

My point was not to offend anybody from there Cruise Line allegiance, but only to give my own insights, and by far I am not a seasoned Cruiser, (except for being in the US Coast Guard being stationed on ships for 4 years), so I am sure many of you who have cruised for years have your own opinions too.

 

Most likely, my next cruise will be on another cruise line, as I really do want to experience the differences, so I am not in any way attached to Celebrity. Neither am I trying to find the "perfect" cruise, just want to experience different things.

 

Again thanks for taking the time to read my post.

 

Regards,

Edited February 2, 2014 by Ebvette

[avalon1025]

Interesting comparison. IMHO, it's comparing apples to oranges since you're comparing the general Princess product to the more expensive AquaClass on Celebrity. It's very possible that if you'd booked a full suite on Princess, you would have found them more comparable. When I cruised on Celebrity, I booked a very expensive balcony cabin but as a single, I couldn't afford nor was I willing to pay for AquaClass. Perhaps I would have had a very different cruise experience but then I probably would have paid at least $3,000 for a 7-day cruise since I paid about $2,200 for the seven days in a 2A balcony cabin. That's over $300/day. Ouch! And not even AquaClass. I had the tiniest cabin I've ever experienced on any ship other than the original Royal Princess for that amount of money. No perks unless you consider a non-functioning toilet for three days a "perk" with no apology, no response from the Passenger Services Desk other than, "You too?" I paid over $2,200 for that. :( Based on the expense, very poor customer service, mostly inedible food (the Maitre d' of the buffet came to our table to apologize it was so bad), no self-serve laundry, no mini-bar, no WiFi anywhere on the ship (although I understand that's been installed), it's unlikely I'll try Celebrity again. Like you, I had a good time anyway but in no way did I find Celebrity comparable to Princess or even HAL.

 

I've sailed nothing but full suites on Princess and you still eat the same food and in the same dining room as everyone else (except breakfast in Sabatinis that was just ok). I'd rather be in a standard AQ cabin single with all it's amenities then sail another suite on Princess. Aqua class is a separate dining room with its own dedicated kitchen. Far superior to anything Princess has to offer and, much less expensive than a single mini or full suite on Princess. As for cabin size size I've never have seen a smaller standard cabin except on the older RCI ships than on Princess ( where's the couch in the standard cabins?)

 

I find Princess is a great line for people that want nothing different from sailing to sailing, bland dated decor and fair service and food. I'm platinum on Princess but doubt I would sail them again until they upgrade their product or offer a ship within a ship experience like many of their competition is doing

Edited February 2, 2014 by avalon1025