Thinking of Royal Princess instead of Celebrity

[dx052]

I have been on a couple of Celebrity Caribbean 11+ day cruises and looking for a comparable Princess ship for a different experience. We are interested in the Princess itineraries and a change of scenery as we are used the Celebrity. We are not tied to any cruise lines so we are free to shop around.

 

 

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[reedprincess]

I have been on a couple of Celebrity Caribbean 11+ day cruises and looking for a comparable Princess ship for a different experience. We are interested in the Princess itineraries and a change of scenery as we are used the Celebrity. We are not tied to any cruise lines so we are free to shop around.

 

 

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There are several recent forum threads comparing Celebrity and Princess, with pictures, dining reviews, etc. A quick search brings them up.

 

Essentially. If you enjoyed Celebrity, it's very likely you'll enjoy Princess. Lots of things are similar with some distinct differences...Princess has more live music, and more happening later into the evening. Princess has no charge for room service #except pizzas) unlike Celebrity's charge from 11pm-5:30am. Princess has 24 food options also with their International Cafe. Princess is less expensive for drinks, specialty dining, gratuities, etc. And Princess still has formal nights - and yes, majority of people make an effort.

 

Overall, they cater to similar markets.

 

Royal Princess is a stunning ship - just beautiful. Have a great cruise!

[stevenr597]

My wife and I are fans of both Celebrity and Princess. We do love the Solstice Class ships and what really has sold us (in the past) on Celebrity was Aqua Class and Blu Dining Room.

 

On the other hand we do feel that the list of port stops on Princess has been superior on European Voyages.

 

We did sail a few years ago on Royal, and we generally liked the ship, except for the absence of a Central Staircase and small balconies.

 

With that being said, we are scheduled on Coral Princess to go through the Panama Canal, and we will again be on Royal Princess next Oct, again to do Trans-Atlantic. What has sold us (again) on the Royal Princess is the new Club Class. In addition both the Atrium and the buffet on Princess were awesome.

 

Both lines, overall, are fairly similar. If you like one, you will probably like the other.

[skynight]

The Royal Princess has so many free dining options in addition to the DR's

*The largest and best buffet area which is open continuously from around 5am to 11pm, never closes. *Alfredo's, walk in, waiter served, individual pizza, calzone, antipasto, salads, desserts open 11am to 11pm. Great for lunch or dinner. *International Cafe open 24/7 serving soups, sandwiches, salads, snacks, desserts, breakfast items, etc. *The Trident Grill and Prego Pizza, pizza by the slice, Soft Ice Cream, by the pool open 11am to late evening. *Pub Lunch in the Wheelhouse Bar on sea days. *In addition to the shows in the theater and Vista Lounge you will find live musicians around the ship all evening and late afternoon. The Piazza area is the most lively area. *Probably 95% plus of all alcoholic drinks on the ship are menu priced under $10. A 15% gratuity is added to all beverage purchases so an $8.95 martini will cost you $10.29.

[reedprincess]

My wife and I are fans of both Celebrity and Princess. We do love the Solstice Class ships and what really has sold us (in the past) on Celebrity was Aqua Class and Blu Dining Room.

 

On the other hand we do feel that the list of port stops on Princess has been superior on European Voyages.

 

We did sail a few years ago on Royal, and we generally liked the ship, except for the absence of a Central Staircase and small balconies.

 

With that being said, we are scheduled on Coral Princess to go through the Panama Canal, and we will again be on Royal Princess next Oct, again to do Trans-Atlantic. What has sold us (again) on the Royal Princess is the new Club Class. In addition both the Atrium and the buffet on Princess were awesome.

 

Both lines, overall, are fairly similar. If you like one, you will probably like the other.

 

Royal has the center staircase. It was there all along, but was recently refurbished for passenger use during her recent Drydock......

I'm always amused by people who comment on the center staircase and also cruise Celebrity - their S-class ships don't have center staircase above deck 7 either, and not even elevators midship....ahh well, that's been "rectified" on Royal, and will be done to Regal in her Drydock next year....

[Candycrusher]

I am not a fan of Celebrity.....but, if you do, do aqua class and eat in Blu

 

 

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[Xport]

also cruise Celebrity - their S-class ships don't have center staircase above deck 7 either, and not even elevators midship...

 

All five of Celebrity's Solstice Class ships have twelve passenger elevators that serve decks two through fourteen [and in some cases, deck fifteen]; four are situated in an elevator lobby toward the front of the ship and eight [four on port side/four on starboard side; each is glass on three sides] are situated in a midships elevator lobby that overlooks the atrium... There are staircases [usually double wide (ie; four walking lanes)], servicing all decks accessible to guest staterooms and guest common areas, adjacent to the front and midships elevator lobbies...

 

Unlike Celebrity's Millennium Class ships, Celebrity's Solstice Class ships do not feature an aft bank of elevators or an aft staircase...

[easyboy]

We did sail a few years ago on Royal, and we generally liked the ship, except for the absence of a Central Staircase and small balconies.

Royal Princess now has a central/mid stair case just after its recent drydock.

Edited December 14, 2016 by easyboy

[riclop]

I have been on a couple of Celebrity Caribbean 11+ day cruises and looking for a comparable Princess ship for a different experience. We are interested in the Princess itineraries and a change of scenery as we are used the Celebrity. We are not tied to any cruise lines so we are free to shop around.

 

 

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Good choice, try the Regal/royal.

[esper10]

Perfect thread for us😊We are loyal to Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. Matter of fact we are diamond in both of them. We live in California so we don't get many ships of both of these companies. Last month we took a 4 nights cruise out of Los Angeles round trip with Crown Princess and we LOVED it. It was more like a combination of both. We had the activities at night that we like with Royal Caribbean and the class of Celebrity with the crew and generally speaking. Now we are sighted up with the Celebrity Infinity for May 2017 as we do each year but we are thinking to go with Ruby Princess in April 2017 instead of the Infinity. Can any one give me also ideas regarding the Infinity and the Ruby Princess?

[Lucky TGO]

I have been on a couple of Celebrity Caribbean 11+ day cruises and looking for a comparable Princess ship for a different experience. We are interested in the Princess itineraries and a change of scenery as we are used the Celebrity. We are not tied to any cruise lines so we are free to shop around.

 

 

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Good decision!! :)

Tony

[stevenr597]

Royal has the center staircase. It was there all along, but was recently refurbished for passenger use during her recent Drydock......

I'm always amused by people who comment on the center staircase and also cruise Celebrity - their S-class ships don't have center staircase above deck 7 either, and not even elevators midship....ahh well, that's been "rectified" on Royal, and will be done to Regal in her Drydock next year....

 

We were on Royal Princess several months after it started cruising . While cruising we heard and experienced several complaints in regards to the ship. One was not enough swimming pools, another was the balcony size, it was felt that Princess made a major mistake in the the majority of balconies were to small, although select cabins did have bigger balconies. The most complaints that we heard was crowding in the center of the ship due to lack of a central staircase. In dry dock several months ago, Princess took care of the crowding problem by converting a crew staircase in the center of the ship to passenger use. Unfortunately, nothing can be done in respect to the balconies and swimming pool.

 

Every ship is a compromise, some changes are hits, and some are misses. Overall, we did feel that Royal Princess was/is a great ship and in fact we are doing a Trans-Atlantic are it this Oct.

 

How does it compare to the Celebrity Solstice Class? There are more similarities then differences (especially with the introduction of Club Class Minisuites), if you like one, you will probably will like the other.

Edited December 14, 2016 by stevenr597
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[floridalover5623]

Unfortunately, nothing can be done in respect to the balconies and swimming pool.

 

Every ship is a compromise, some changes are hits, and some are misses. Overall, we did feel that Royal Princess was/is a great ship and in fact we are doing a Trans-Atlantic are it this Oct.

 

The 2 main pools are much to noisy during the day when at sea & one was used by parents with kids in diapers, so that eliminated that one.

 

The Retreat pool was OK but a little windy & many people didn't appreciate it because it was so deep throughout. The shallow end was over most peoples heads so everyone crowded around the stairs. Even with that it's still nicer than the main pools and no where nearly as crowded.

[skynight]

The 2 main pools are much to noisy during the day when at sea & one was used by parents with kids in diapers, so that eliminated that one.

 

The Retreat pool was OK but a little windy & many people didn't appreciate it because it was so deep throughout. The shallow end was over most peoples heads so everyone crowded around the stairs. Even with that it's still nicer than the main pools and no where nearly as crowded.

If used by children in diapers it was against Princess Policy, which states only toilet trained children are allowed in any swimming pool. One complaint from any passenger and the pool would probably been closed, until the water was changed.

[floridalover5623]

If used by children in diapers it was against Princess Policy, which states only toilet trained children are allowed in any swimming pool. One complaint from any passenger and the pool would probably been closed, until the water was changed.

 

I think you're living in a perfect world.