Questions Re: Princess

[luv2camp04]

We currently have a 9 day Mediterranean cruise booked with Celebrity next April, but we are considering changing to a 17 day Princess (Sun Princess).  Can y'all give me the good, bad and ugly (or great) of Princess vs. Celebrity (we've only cruised with the Celebrity in the past-M Class and S class).  Also, if you have Princess Plus can you upgrade the drink portion to the Premium without going to Princess Premium?  What is the cost to do this?  Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated.

 

 

[LibertyBella]

Six of one, half dozen of another.  We like both and would sail both, especially in Europe. HAL and Cunard also make the cut. For me, the priority would be itinerary, budget, air fare arrangements, and costs, etc. 

 

We tour every day we are in port, so that expense is also significant for us, more than on-board costs.

 

We also limit our cruise length, as we have pets.  Have fun planning!

[Ken the cruiser]

If you look in my expanded signature below, you will see a Live From thread I just finished posting to regarding our 17-day B2B on the Diamond Princess. I tried to show what evening theater and game shows we went to every night along with all our excursions. In short, we have more fun and laugh more on a Princess cruise. But we also very much enjoy cruising with Celebrity if the itinerary and price is right. 
 

Towards the end of the thread I posted the prices regarding the alcoholic drinks, except for the various wines they offered. We had the Plus package and had no issues keeping under the $15 limit. I was even able to get my triple Baileys every night for no extra charge, whereas on Celebrity I have to upgrade to the Premium package to get my triple Baileys at no additional cost.

 

Edited July 30, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 hour ago, luv2camp04 said:

Also, if you have Princess Plus can you upgrade the drink portion to the Premium without going to Princess Premium?  What is the cost to do this?  Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated.

OK...I *think* I understand what you're asking...maybe not.  If you happen to "go over" your drink cost limit you will just be charged the difference in cost.  There is no "halfway to Premium" package that gives you extended drink coverage.  Either you upgrade to Premium or just pay the difference on a case by case basis.  Is this what you mean?

Edited July 30, 2023 by Rick&Jeannie

[skynight]

You can only upgrade from the full plus fare to the full premier fare. There is no individual breaking apart the fares. Is the reason you ask is because of the $15 limit on the plus fare and $20 limit on the premier fare? Probably 90% of all alcoholic drinks are below the $15 limit. Basically some wines and some high end spirits, such as a single malt scotch, are priced above $15. If you have the plus fare package and purchase a drink menu priced higher than $15 you will be charged the difference plus 18%. Example for a $20 drink your account will be charged $5.90. 

[rmsmith]

We did our first celebrity cruise about a year ago aboard to Solstice to Alaska. Have a good number of Princess cruises under our belts. One NCL cruise. no desire to touch NCL ever again. But I would gladly sail Celebrity anytime. Overall I felt Celebrity and Princess are pretty comparable. Each does something a little better than the other. 

 

Our next booked cruise is a transatlantic on the Sun Princess. 

while I'm a little concerned about the size of the Sun (one thing we didn't like about NCL was the 5k people on it) and the more family friendly elements I'm willing to give Princess a shot at the large boat and more.ship within a ship experience. We've booked a reserve cabana mini suite with the premier package. 

 

I think the new Sphere class ships will feel a little more modern and celebrity like than the current ships based on the renderings. 

If you like the itinerary your looking at I would say give Princess and the new Sun Princess a shot. 

Edited July 30, 2023 by rmsmith

[love to cruz]

Our big draw back to Celebrity is the cost of the drink package. On Celebrity it is $89 per DAY. We are not alcoholics, thus cannot justify such a high rate. Even though I love my Cappuccinos & fresh juice. We like the friendliness of the wait staff on Princess.

[stevenr597]

Both cruise lines are more similar than different. 

[luv2camp04]

On 7/30/2023 at 12:50 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

If you look in my expanded signature below, you will see a Live From thread I just finished posting to regarding our 17-day B2B on the Diamond Princess. I tried to show what evening theater and game shows we went to every night along with all our excursions. In short, we have more fun and laugh more on a Princess cruise. But we also very much enjoy cruising with Celebrity if the itinerary and price is right. 
 

Towards the end of the thread I posted the prices regarding the alcoholic drinks, except for the various wines they offered. We had the Plus package and had no issues keeping under the $15 limit. I was even able to get my triple Baileys every night for no extra charge, whereas on Celebrity I have to upgrade to the Premium package to get my triple Baileys at no additional cost.

 

Thanks!!  I will check out the live thread.  We are on a 3 month RV trip and I have been without decent cell service and wifi for the last 2 weeks.  Trying to catch up 🤪

[luv2camp04]

23 hours ago, skynight said:

You can only upgrade from the full plus fare to the full premier fare. There is no individual breaking apart the fares. Is the reason you ask is because of the $15 limit on the plus fare and $20 limit on the premier fare? Probably 90% of all alcoholic drinks are below the $15 limit. Basically some wines and some high end spirits, such as a single malt scotch, are priced above $15. If you have the plus fare package and purchase a drink menu priced higher than $15 you will be charged the difference plus 18%. Example for a $20 drink your account will be charged $5.90. 

Thanks!  With Celebrity, you can upgrade from the Classic to the Premium package and we always do, but it sounds like Princess has better pricing on their drinks overall so I guess we wouldn't have to change.

[luv2camp04]

21 hours ago, rmsmith said:

We did our first celebrity cruise about a year ago aboard to Solstice to Alaska. Have a good number of Princess cruises under our belts. One NCL cruise. no desire to touch NCL ever again. But I would gladly sail Celebrity anytime. Overall I felt Celebrity and Princess are pretty comparable. Each does something a little better than the other. 

 

Our next booked cruise is a transatlantic on the Sun Princess. 

while I'm a little concerned about the size of the Sun (one thing we didn't like about NCL was the 5k people on it) and the more family friendly elements I'm willing to give Princess a shot at the large boat and more.ship within a ship experience. We've booked a reserve cabana mini suite with the premier package. 

 

I think the new Sphere class ships will feel a little more modern and celebrity like than the current ships based on the renderings. 

If you like the itinerary your looking at I would say give Princess and the new Sun Princess a shot. 

Thanks for the info!!

[CruiseSter1ing]

Wrong posting 

Edited August 4, 2023 by CruiseSter1ing
Wrong topic

[CruiseSter1ing]

On 7/30/2023 at 11:32 AM, luv2camp04 said:

We currently have a 9 day Mediterranean cruise booked with Celebrity next April, but we are considering changing to a 17 day Princess (Sun Princess).  Can y'all give me the good, bad and ugly (or great) of Princess vs. Celebrity (we've only cruised with the Celebrity in the past-M Class and S class).  Also, if you have Princess Plus can you upgrade the drink portion to the Premium without going to Princess Premium?  What is the cost to do this?  Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated.

 

 

One thing that I don’t care for on some older celebrity ships like the equinox is the single huge dining room.  That vaults up to the 2nd next level.  It’s always very loud and hard to have a conversation without feeling that you either can’t hear or need to talk loudly for others to hear you.   This is not an issue with the princess dining rooms.  Which have a single level ceiling and feel more intimate and cozy.  Despite their size.  

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, CruiseSter1ing said:

One thing that I don’t care for on some older celebrity ships like the equinox is the single huge dining room.  That vaults up to the 2nd next level.  It’s always very loud and hard to have a conversation without feeling that you either can’t hear or need to talk loudly for others to hear you.   This is not an issue with the princess dining rooms.  Which have a single level ceiling and feel more intimate and cozy.  Despite their size.  

The Edge Class ships of Celebrity (Edge, Apex, Beyond, Ascent) all have 4 MDR's, each with their own specialty menu, along with the daily menu that is the same in all 4 venues and rotates daily and the always available menu that is available in all four venues each day.