Never been on Princess - how will it compare to Celebrity?

[trishh]

On 9/24/2019 at 9:19 AM, micmacmissy said:

We love Celebrity Solstice class but dates don't line up for us.  We have also been on Royal Caribbean and enjoyed it.

 

Currently looking at the Sky Princess eastern caribbean.

 

If our priorities (family of four, kids are 18 and 19) are relaxation, great dining, nice adult pool area, excellent service - will Princess fit the bill?

 

Looking for January...so not much time to research!  Thoughts??  Thanks in advance!

 

 

Just an FYI for the kids-Princess usually offers a meet and greet for 18-20 year olds but only on the first or second night, so you have to look for it carefully in the Princess Patter or ask the cruise director about it. It's a great way for young adults to get to know each other and not be completely bored on the ship.

[keithm]

On ‎9‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 7:19 PM, micmacmissy said:

We love Celebrity Solstice class but dates don't line up for us.  We have also been on Royal Caribbean and enjoyed it.

 

Currently looking at the Sky Princess eastern caribbean.

 

If our priorities (family of four, kids are 18 and 19) are relaxation, great dining, nice adult pool area, excellent service - will Princess fit the bill?

 

Looking for January...so not much time to research!  Thoughts??  Thanks in advance!

 

 

You'll find the Sanctuary is a great place to unwind. It was $40 a half day when we were on the Regal in 2016. Hopefully, it hasn't gone up by much. Dining was quite good. Much better than our 2017 Eclipse trip. Exception were the specialty rest. which were still excellent. The Regal buffet was the most varied we've ever seen. That does NOT mean the best(our 2 Oceania trips attest to that)but variety was exceptional. Sabatini's/Crown Grill were decent, but a far cry from the quality of Toscana/Murano on the Eclipse. I do recommend checking the lunch on the ship. They had an outstanding English pub style meal on our cruise on Regal & we loved it. Check with guest services to see if it's offered. There is an ok tea service offered daily, but a more high-end one offered for about $25 that was worth it. Again check with guest services. Check out the "Chef's table" or perhaps "Ultimate Balcony dinner". We're foodies & always check these things out. If you are in a suite, then they fail miserably compared to those on Celebrity. No butler service/no canapés/No Sommeliers' on any Princess ship. Overall Princess offers a good product, but just a tad below what Celebrity offers.

  I do highly recommend Oceania! That being said, we are on a 15 day trip on the Star to Hawaii. We don't expect the same ambience of Oceania, but my spouse wanted to try something different.

[capriccio]

3 hours ago, keithm said:

You'll find the Sanctuary is a great place to unwind. It was $40 a half day when we were on the Regal in 2016. Hopefully, it hasn't gone up by much.

 

Are you sure the $40/day was the half day price or was that the price for 2 people?  It should have been the full day price (or at least that was what it was when we were on the Royal Princess in 2016 and the Crown Princess last December) per person.  Prices then (and now as far as I know) are $40 per person per day; $20 per person per 1/2 day;  and $30 per person per day when booking for the entire cruise.

[aprilsp88]

On 9/25/2019 at 8:18 PM, mek said:

Entertainment on X and Princess is similar, but nothing as good as the Oasis class ships on Royal.

By entertainment do you mean shows or all activities such as live music and game shows? I remember a comment earlier that X has less live music.

[micmacmissy]

These comments are so helpful!  A few more questions as i'm about to book...

 

What is Medallion service and do we need it?

 

Does the Sanctuary give you guaranteed loungers, or is it still a fight for chairs?  If we do the regular pool deck or adult pool area, is it a fight to get space?

 

We are looking at either 2 mini suites, or 2 premium deluxe balconies...can't seem to see a difference...???

Edited October 20, 2019 by micmacmissy

[Sanz]

5 hours ago, micmacmissy said:

We are looking at either 2 mini suites, or 2 premium deluxe balconies...can't seem to see a difference...???

We are booked on sister ship Enchanted Princess.  We were unable to book a deluxe balcony  for our "touring " cruise and ended up with a mini suite.

 

 

Deluxe Balcony

The deluxe balcony has a love seat that appears to accommodate two people and a desk chair.  It has one television and a shower in the bathroom.

 

 

Mini Suite

The mini suite has a sofa that appears to seat 3 people and a chair (in addition to the desk chair). There is an end table with storage next to the sofa.

 

There are curtains that can be closed between the seating area and the bed.

 

There is a television by the bed and one near the sofa.

 

The bathroom has a bathtub.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2019 by Sanz

[4cats4me]

5 hours ago, Sanz said:

We are booked on sister ship Enchanted Princess.  We were unable to book a deluxe balcony  for our "touring " cruise and ended up with a mini suite.

 

 

Deluxe Balcony

The deluxe balcony has a love seat that appears to accommodate two people and a desk chair.  It has one television and a shower in the bathroom.

 

 

Mini Suite

The mini suite has a sofa that appears to seat 3 people and a chair (in addition to the desk chair). There is an end table with storage next to the sofa.

 

There are curtains that can be closed between the seating area and the bed.

 

There is a television by the bed and one near the sofa.

 

The bathroom has a bathtub.

 

 

 

 

Having been in both of these accommodations several times, the mini suites are quite a bit larger in length and also have two TVs, as well as all the aforementioned items.  

We just got back and chose an obstructed deluxe balcony,  due to a much larger balcony size.  We have had full suites, mini suites, deluxe balcony and balconies and actually prefer the deluxe for cost savings and the obstructed deluxe for further cost savings since we don’t care If we have a life boat obstruction or a non see through balcony. 

 

Edited October 21, 2019 by 4cats4me