Celebrity Reflection vs. Caribbean Princess

[20165]

My wife and i are trying to decide between a 5 day Celebrity Reflection April 21 or a 7 Day Caribbean princess April 20th.  And yes i know im posting on the celebrity board and the reason for that is because im leaning toward Princess from a value standpoint, she loves celebrity so i told her i would post the question here.

Differences, Celebrity is a retreat guarantee suite with the classic drink package and WIFI.  Princess is a Mini suite, their premium drink package, gratuities, wifi, 2 speciality restaurants, and a photo package.  and of course, it 2 additional days.  Cost are Celebrity, $3136 and Princess, $3336

I think from a value standpoint its obvious, but we havent been on princess in a long time, 20+ years, and we loved Silhouette last year.  Retreat is also a bonus but does it out weigh the value and more days?

Has anyone done both and have any recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

 

 

[lola2013]

I have sailed on both ships…each twice.  I would definitely pick the extra two days on Princess.  From a strictly “girlie” standpoint, Princess has the bigger closet and self serve laundry on each deck although maybe not that important on a seven night cruise.  We did 14 nights on Caribbean Princess and the laundry was a life saver.  One downside is the dreaded shower curtain on Princess.  
You don’t mention itinerary, but I would still prefer Princess.

[20165]

12 minutes ago, lola2013 said:

I have sailed on both ships…each twice.  I would definitely pick the extra two days on Princess.  From a strictly “girlie” standpoint, Princess has the bigger closet and self serve laundry on each deck although maybe not that important on a seven night cruise.  We did 14 nights on Caribbean Princess and the laundry was a life saver.  One downside is the dreaded shower curtain on Princess.  
You don’t mention itinerary, but I would still prefer Princess.

Thanks for the reply and the two itineraries are below.  However, we most likely wont even get off the ship at any port or if we do, it will be a quick walk around the port. Been to all of them a lot and this is more of a decompress last minute cruise for my wife and I so not looking for an excursion time...

 

[newfiegirl4]

Celebrity Reflection hands down! Just off the Caribbean Princess in Nov and to for warn you the AC in the cabins ( well ours anyway) was horrible. Always too warm. Couldn’t get it cool enough! We asked our room steward and all was said was to keep curtains closed, still didn’t work! Smaller venues on ship, which when filled was always warmer than it should be!
Only the 2 plugs over by the desk. A pain if you need access to plug in multiple things, phones, hair dryer, curling iron….etc. Just a few things that we experienced. 

Good luck on your decision! Happy cruising 🛳️🥂

Edited February 13 by newfiegirl4

[seacruise9]

Hi, 

 

I have cruised aboard both ships. This is a tough choice. I prefer the Celebrity Reflection, but the Caribbean Princess cruise is two days longer. I would probably choose the longer cruise. 

 

Chuck 

 

[kasowell2]

Princess allows smoking in casino. If the smoke stayed in the casino then no problem but you can’t even walk on that floor without it being overwhelming. There are a lot of reasons Celebrity over Princess but that’s one and we never had a hot meal on Princess.

[prmssk]

The Caribbean Princess was in really sad shape (AC, plumbing, elevator, etc. issues) when we were on her in June/July of 2022 which was a month or so after dry dock. These weren’t just cosmetic issues and reports were that they had been ongoing issues for many months before and after my cruise.
 

Obviously some time has passed since my time on her but I would really hesitate to sail her again without a lot of research from more recent cruisers. 

[mahasamatman]

3 hours ago, prmssk said:

The Caribbean Princess was in really sad shape (AC, plumbing, elevator, etc. issues) when we were on her in June/July of 2022 which was a month or so after dry dock.

 

We were on the Caribbean last September (back-to-back Atlantic Canada and New England) and I can't say there were any issues like that. We had a great time.

 

I would definitely go Princess. Not only because it's a longer cruise, but definitely has a better itinerary (anything advertised as "perfect day" is an immediate turnoff to me).

[dogsdogs]

We were on the Caribbean Princess in Sept./Oct. 2023 and the Reflection in December 2023.  We enjoyed both cruises.  

We thought the dinners in the MDR were a little better on Princess, but they wouldn't give us a table for two unless we ate after 8:30 pm.  

There is no solarium.  I missed it very much.  

As the previous poster mentioned, the casino is very smoky.

The medallion system is great on Princess, our cabin was very nice, and we had no problems with it.

IMO, their coffee offerings were a lot better at the International Cafe than El Bacio, but not the pastries--X wins there.

[George C]

While two extra days are really nice , celebrity offers a real suite with a suite restaurant, suite longe open all day with a concierge. Mini suites are nice but no extra perks . 

[kabmab]

There are persistent (and fairly recent) reports of sewage smell in aft cabins of Caribbean Princess which we noticed in May 2022.  Luckily, our cabin was forward.  We're elite on both Princess and X, booked on Sun Princess in 2025 but prob wouldn't sail on Caribbean Princess again.  Adding we did like the extra space of the mini suite.

 

Edited February 14 by kabmab

[20165]

Thanks everyone for the info and my wife nixed the Caribbean princess after reading this and watching some youtube videos.  However, we are stuck on the 2 extra days and are now looking at Enchanted princess compared to Reflection.  7 day Eastern Caribbean, same mini suite, about $200 more than Reflection.  Enchanted is newer, but we are concerned about the issues listed above on Caribbean so do we just bit the bullet and go with the 5 day reflection? 

Thanks again.  Decisions decisions...

[cbfb]

Any chance you could do a B2B on reflection? The 5 night plus a 3 night before or after? Not sure if it works with your dates but I know reflection is doing a lot of short cruises. 

[newfiegirl4]

3 hours ago, kabmab said:

There are persistent (and fairly recent) reports of sewage smell in aft cabins of Caribbean Princess which we noticed in May 2022.  Luckily, our cabin was forward.  We're elite on both Princess and X, booked on Sun Princess in 2025 but prob wouldn't sail on Caribbean Princess again.  Adding we did like the extra space of the mini suite.

 

We were at the very aft of the ship (balcony) in Nov, 2023. No smell at all!! Thank goodness! A note to add. While an aft balcony was beautiful the state room was very small!! 

[AbbyCruiser45]

Hi there, plugging my own thread but I did a Celebrity and Princess cruise this past summer and posted a comparison. Link:

The things I mention are largely nit-picky, but if they make a difference to you then you should choose Celebrity. If what you're proposing was my only vacation of the year, I would still probably go with Princess so I could have two extra days of vacation. 

[Ken the cruiser]

IMHO to be a more equal cost comparison with the perks that come with a Celebrity sky suite, you should price out a Reserve Collection (formerly Club Class) mini-suite on the Enchanted, with the Plus option rather than the Premium. Being able to eat in the exclusive Reserve Dining Room is one of the big perks with that Princess category or higher. Also, FWIW we have no desire to eat in a specialty restaurant with the awesome service and quality of food we continually receive in the Reserve Dining Room.

 

As far as entertainment goes, we have always had fun cruising on both lines.

[Cruise a holic]

We have sailed on both. IMO the Reflection is a much better ship- food, service and entertainment.  The Caribbean Princess, was old when I sailed on her about 18 years ago-  I "assume" she has been updated .  While I agree, two extra days at sea are great- the Princess ship was just plain vanilla and very crowded years ago- perhaps better now. The Reflection we sailed onfor the 3rd time, a couple of years ago and we really enjoyed the ship.

Edited February 14 by Cruise a holic

[chisoxfan]

Just weighing in having sailed on all three ships. Caribbean Princess (10 nights balcony) was a negative for us.

Reflection is a great ship (AQ) but Enchanted (aft balcony) is a newer ship and I would take the extra two days for sure. 

[serene56]

we have sailed princess 3 times     among royal and Carnival.    Just off reflection and can honestly say we will not be doing the other cruiselines going forward.  I was so blown away by everything on the reflection    Including the food.  It was such a top notch experience 

 

[kasowell2]

The level of service on Celebrity is so much better. It’s as simple to us as the sommelier allowing you to taste the wine before pouring instead of the waiter just handing you a glass of wine which took a long time to get to the table. Lots of other things. The only thing good I can say about Princess is no room service charge if you buy the top tier package but if you don’t you have to pay a $15 fee to use the app

[foodsvcmgr]

Having sailed Refection twice and CP once, I would pick Reflection.

It’s a nicer and more contemporary ship and offers many more tangible amenities to suite passengers.

[janetz]

Sailed both,  loved Caribbean Princess, but love the Reflection more

😊

 

[1Virgo]

Probably mentioned somewhere but Retreat comes with Premium drink package not Classic. Wifi Premium. 

[Purplsmurf]

I would choose Reflection in a heartbeat. We like everything so much more. Food is much better on Celebrity, no smoking in casinos (if you gamble), buffet is so much better…..and don't get me started on those medallions. They were the worst! Enjoy whichever cruise you go with!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

We are trying Reflection next month.

 

We did Caribbean Princess in 2016, and it was old and tired even then. I know it got refurbed after that, but we will not sail on her again. What we liked about her was the ABC itinerary and the best MDR waitress we've ever had. 

We do love Princess, but only newer ships.

Edited February 17 by Itchy&Scratchy