Cruise #13, First on Princess

[huskerc]

Recently my partner and I were on the Star Princess, Whittier to Vancouver departing May 23. We've been on several Celebrity and a few NCL cruises, but this was our first time on Princess.

 

We've come to enjoy Celebrity but chose this one because of the timing and itinerary. Since we wanted to do some time in northern Alaska before the cruise, and couldn't arrange to do it after the cruise, on this schedule, this was really the one cruise that worked for us. We've wanted to try Princess so it was a good opportunity.

 

Overall our reaction was very positive. The food was fantastic--easily the best we have had on a cruise ship. Celebrity's MDR has gone so far downhill, both in quality of food and in service, that we just don't eat there anymore. Either we choose Blu or we eat in their speciality restaurants. Our MDR service on the Star Princess was spotty, to be honest, but I think both waiter and assistant waiter were relatively new. It got better over the course of the cruise.

 

Buffet--we are not big buffet people but sometimes it's the only or quickest option. The buffet was very different from Celebrity's. On X there are buffet stations, and several "everyday" options like the Mexican bar and pasta bar. Princess didn't have either of those; instead it was much more of a cafeteria-line style. While I've always liked the stations, they don't work well when one station is popular and there needs to be a line for it--one time the X staff had us lining up the wrong direction, so you were getting sour cream, then cheese, then salsa, and finally you could pick up a tortilla to put it all in. I was surprised that the Princess buffet, which is so small by comparison, could serve so many people so efficiently. The food was again higher quality than anything we experienced in many different Celebrity buffets. Seating was also much more easily found than it is on X. For breakfast I did not find any omelet stations--maybe I just missed them. However there was a great variety of food available in such a small space.

 

The International Cafe is a very nice touch and we would often stop by for some soup or a quick snack, as well as coffee. Celebrity does not have anything like this. There is a coffee bar with some pastries, but the worst pastry in the IC is better than the best one from Celebrity's coffee bar. The IC really shines.

 

The other area where Princess shines is in use of public space. Not a lot of pool time on an Alaska cruise, obviously, but the variety of pools was nice. The bars and lounges are what set the ship apart for us. Vista, Explorers, Wheelhouse, Crooners, Vines, Skywalkers, and probably some that I'm forgetting. The only time we waited more than a minute or so for a bartender was during happy hour in Wheelhouse one night when it was very packed. Celebrity really just has a few bars of this nature.

 

We did have the unlimited drink package and had no problems using it, except for the silliness of constantly signing slips that had zero dollar totals. It's much nicer on X where you don't have to sign anything. Both packages are pretty comparable in cost (though X often rolls theirs in with the cruise fare) and what is included. Celebrity is the clear winner in wine list quality and variety, although to be fair, most of their wines are not available by the glass and therefore not included in the drink package.

 

Entertainment was very high quality. Strangely enough we realized after the cruise that the only thing we attended in the main theater was the muster drill. There were a few shows we would have liked to see and didn't due to conflicts. It was a change from Celebrity's style where there's typically one large show (or the same event with two showings) in the evening and that's it. We liked it and the production cast (saw them in Vista) was pretty good. I'd give the edge to Princess here but this is a very subjective subject and it was just one cruise.

 

Celebrity's Persian Garden wins out over the Star Princess's thermal suite. A long way to go there. The sauna/steam in the changing room were fairly equivalent but didn't seem to get warm enough.

 

We spent a lot of time in the Casino and the staff there was good. I can't say that I saw a difference there from X except that the $5 blackjack table pays 6 to 5. The $10 table pays standard 3 to 2, as do the video machines. We don't do slots or other games so I can't comment on those. I was worried about smoke being an issue (X casino is smoke free) but it really wasn't. The first formal night was declared a smoke-free night and I didn't find a difference.

 

The biggest downside for us was the cabin itself. We had a standard balcony on Caribe deck. The extra size of the balcony itself was a nice surprise. However the interior of the cabin definitely felt smaller than what we are used to on X. The bathroom was tiny and I think some people might have problems fitting into the shower. The changing area was a little..strange, to me. It's a nice space to have, but in such cramped quarters this would have been better spent in livable space, IMO. There is a bed, a small desk, and an in-the-way armchair. By contrast a Celebrity balcony of similar class would have a full-size desk and a sofa. Still, we're talking about a difference of a few square feet--neither space is enjoyable enough to spend large amounts of time.

 

We did make use of the self-service laundry, which was nice. However we are used to having a bag of laundry from Elite status on X so this was not a big deal to us.

 

Our previous Alaska cruise was round trip out of Seattle. On the itinerary I will say this one is obviously far superior. Airfare is not that much more for the one way than for the round trip, and there is so much more to see in northern Alaska. Seeing Denali was fantastic. The 20 hours of daylight was a bit hard to get used to though.

 

Overall we really loved the cruise and will definitely give Princess another shot in the future. The perks of status are nice but for us they don't automatically outweigh the other factors, so we'll continue to take everything into account when booking. I'd be happy to answer any questions especially regarding comparisons with Celebrity.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your review. Glad you had a good time on the Star. :)

[Pam in CA]

Thank you for the review.

 

Every Princess ship has an omelet station in the buffet although it's not obvious. There's a sign in the buffet and staff there to take your order. The omelets are made in the kitchen using multiple burners, not in front of you which is why you probably missed it.

 

On recent cruises, when I ordered an omelet, I was given a ticket with a number to give to the buffet waitstaff after sitting down. They will get your omelet rather than standing around waiting for it. This clears the space in the buffet and is more efficient.

[Bimmer09]

Excellent review and I appreciate the comparison of Princess vs Celebrity.

 

Alaska is a one of a kind destination.

 

Thanks for sharing with us!

 

Norris

[Matcodixon]

Thanks for the detailed review and comparison. We have not been on Celebrity as of yet, but have been interested in trying it out sometime. In the end , the choice for us has been first determined by price and itinerary and so far Princess has been the winner. That may not always be the case in the future, I try to never say never.:rolleyes:

 

Dixon

[Meanee]

Thank you for comparative review. While I prefer Princess, I was eyeing Celebrity for some time. Feedback from someone who did both is appreciated.

[srpilo]

Thoughtful review, and IMO a good take on the differences between Celebrity & Princess.

 

 

Thanks for sharing

Srpilo

[Kenswing]

Thanks for the detailed review. I'm glad you enjoyed your Princess cruise..

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your review and comparison to Celebrity. Nice to read you had a great cruise.

 

Oh the Princess showers. Yep, they are very small. I understand the showers are larger on the two newest ship the Regal and Royal.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thank you for your review and comparison to Celebrity. Nice to read you had a great cruise.

 

Oh the Princess showers. Yep, they are very small. I understand the showers are larger on the two newest ship the Regal and Royal.

 

 

Not really. :(

[AlaskaGolden]

Great review. We're sort of opposite. Most cruises on Princess, just two on Celebrity. I agree with almost all your comparisons! I thought Celebrity would have been a notch above Princess, but just didn't see that on our cruise in 2013. Beautiful ship, but food and service were lacking on Celebrity compared to Princess.

 

Will we cruise Celebrity again? Probably if the price, dates and itinerary are right for us. But, Princess is our preferred line with RCCL coming in second.