Should we switch to Princess?

[Simon08]

After booking our honeymoon cruise with Celebrity and flights, I've found that they rarely visit two of the ports on our itinerary. These are the Morocco stops (the main reason we chose this cruise) and they frequently skip these ports because of safety reasons.

 

We're very upset and are considering switching. The only one that will work with our flight schedule is the Emerald's Grand Mediterranean - Venice to Barcelona 12 night trip. We'd prefer this itinerary as it's exotic and stops in several places we haven't been before, whereas Celebrity would only visit a few new places if the Morocco stops are canceled.

 

Has anyone been on the Grand Med. trip? Switching would put us in a cabin on a lower deck and add $1200 to our total bill, so I'm curious if it would be worth the switch. We have never sailed with Celebrity or Princess so don't know what to expect from either. I'd appreciate any help or thoughts! Thanks!

[rdsqrl]

I've not been on this itinerary exactly (only to Barcelona, Rome, and Florence) but it sounds great -- I'd do it in a heartbeat. It's very port-intensive, so you'll be off the ship most of the time, but you do have two sea days in there to enjoy the Emerald's amenities. I've been on her twin, the Crown, and she was a beauty. A cabin on a lower deck isn't necessarily a bad thing, and you won't be spending any time in it anyway on this itinerary!

If you take the Celebrity, and they cancel the Morocco stop, you'll be disappointed and angry, so why risk it when there's an option that meets your needs. Sure, it is more expensive, but you are going to some terrific ports. To me, it's a no-brainer -- all places you haven't visited before, on a beautiful ship, and since you haven't sailed either line, it's not like you'll know what you're missing, for lack of a better way to put it.

[caribill]

Princess will also cancel stops in Morocco if there are safety concerns at the time of sailing.

[BJS]

Grand Med is a great itinerary so I say go for it since these are new ports for you. I would not count on Celebrity going to Morocco.

 

The US department of state still advises that all U.S. citizens are urged to remain alert to local security developments and be vigilant regarding their personal security in Morocco. Cruise lines will continue to avoid Morocco as long as authorities continue to disrupt groups seeking to attack U.S. or Western-affiliated and Moroccan government targets.

 

Princess cancelled Casablanca because of safety reasons this past December so all cruise lines will do the same as safety is a primary concern.

 

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[rjg41]

The reason for canceling ports in that corner of the world has nothing to do with which cruise line it is.

[bubbadog]

the grand mediterrain cruise is a great cruise, we loved venice and the other ports, if it were me i would dump celebrity and book the emerald:));)

[Islandbuoy]

Both of these cruise lines do a very good job!

[PIC-2 psychologist]

(1) I would guess that folks who read these posts are biased towards Princess.

(2) In my case, I've only been on Princess once (Panama canal from San Juan). I remember the canal experience and south Caribbean stops as great, but only remember this was our first balcony (never again without a balcony) so I'm not particularly in favor of one or another cruise line. (Now groups of cruise lines are consolidated. Princess, Holland America, and Carnival are within the same corporation.)

(3) Consider first the itinerary and the ship. We are going on the Emerald 24 May from Barcelona to Venice. Selected the Emerald because it is now one year old = brand new yet more likely the kitchen etc. now works. Selected the itinerary because of the ports (Istanbul, Venice, Athens, Pompeii/Amalfi coast). Have arranged a tour out of Marseille and will live through the fact that Florence museums are closed on Mondays.

(4) At your age, I'll bet that you haven't gone to Venice and Athens, or looked into what is offered at Ephesus. We are very excited about this cruise.

(5) Consider requesting a table for two, selecting a fixed dinner time. Consider a balcony (although I haven't looked at what the weather will be like in September). At least the Europeans will be off vacation and the US kids will be back in school.

(6) Maybe you need to shop around for cruise prices. I would think that the September cruise prices would have more give in them than those in June/August. We have used the same xxxxxx.com agent twice, the company competes through favorable rates it gets plus the amount of commission they give back to the customer.

(7) Look for the posting of a Roll Call for your selected cruise, compare pricess for cruise-arranged tours (Princess still hasn't posted theirs) and seriously consider joining others in private tours.

Best wishes,

David

[Dodger Blue]

After booking our honeymoon cruise with Celebrity and flights, I've found that they rarely visit two of the ports on our itinerary. These are the Morocco stops (the main reason we chose this cruise) and they frequently skip these ports because of safety reasons.

 

We're very upset and are considering switching. The only one that will work with our flight schedule is the Emerald's Grand Mediterranean - Venice to Barcelona 12 night trip. We'd prefer this itinerary as it's exotic and stops in several places we haven't been before, whereas Celebrity would only visit a few new places if the Morocco stops are canceled.

 

Has anyone been on the Grand Med. trip? Switching would put us in a cabin on a lower deck and add $1200 to our total bill, so I'm curious if it would be worth the switch. We have never sailed with Celebrity or Princess so don't know what to expect from either. I'd appreciate any help or thoughts! Thanks!

 

We did the Venice to Barcelona and that has been my favorite cruise to date. All of the ports were terrific and we especially enjoyed Venice and Barcelona. We stayed an additional three days in Barcelona following the cruise and had a wonderful time. I would redo this cruise in a minute.:cool:

[Cruise Junky]

The itinerary of Emerald looks awesome. We cruised Barcelona to Venice on Celebrity and enjoyed both the ship and the ports. I really don't think you'll be disappointed in Princess, I just hate to see you have to pay extra because of booking late.