Need Help Selecting a Cruise

[Morris4me]

Having a really tough time picking from these two cruises and would love some advice. Which would you choose and why?

 

Ruby Princess (10 days) - Princess Cay, St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Aruba, Bonaire

 

or

 

Celebrity Equinox (10 days) - St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Barbados

[GORDONCHICK]

I generally prefer Celebrity, but I like the Princess itinerary better so that's the one I'd take.

[paul929207]

i will also vote for Princess.

[cruiseapril]

They are both good itineraries. The first is more geared to adventure and beaches- the second offers many historic and cultural tours(Barbados, St. Kitts), some adventure tours, and much scenic beauty.

 

Aruba and Bonaire are beach and snorkeling destinations- the ABC islands are desert-like with lots of cacti. Princess Cays is a beach day. On the other hand, Dominica is very lush and undeveloped and offers many Rain Forest excursions.

[fann1sh]

Like the posters above, I like the Ruby Princess itinerary.

 

Why? It's Grenada, Aruba and Bonaire (in the very southernmost Caribbean) which get my interest.

 

Grenada is "the spice island", and I've enjoyed excursions which show the sources of the spices.

 

Bonaire has only been visited by cruise ships in the last 7 years, I believe. However, since the island is only beginning to get used to mega-ship visits, book a tour (ship's own or private), or be prepared to use your elbows to be among the first to get taxis.

 

Aruba is the "ABC" I haven't yet visited, but like Curacao and Bonaire it features desert landscape in the interior very unusual for the Caribbean.

 

However, have you visited any of the ports on the Equinox itinerary? These are great, too - just more familiar.

 

Have you read about these ports on the CC main pages? That might settle your mind one way or the other.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/area.cfm?area=34

[Morris4me]

What about the cruiselines? Would you pick one over the other and why?

[momofmeg]

What about the cruiselines? Would you pick one over the other and why?

 

Celebrity is "classier" than Princess, plus, the food is much better, plus you would be cruising a brand new ship-BUT- that Celebrity ship holds almost 3000 PAX which destroys one of the reasons why I prefered Celebrity, not as many people. The Constellation was the perfect size ship.

 

As others have mentioned, the Princess ittenary sounds better-so I guess I would go for Princess this time.

[fann1sh]

At 2,850+ passengers, Equinox is "smaller". Ruby Princess holds 200 more.

 

Equinox doesn't debut until 2009, and Ruby will debut in November (I think) so both are new ships. Both are 5 star rated. Both sail out of FLL.

 

I'd normally give X the edge, too...but this one is a toss up because like MomofMeg, I don't like ships over 2,000 pax (helpful, aren't I? :rolleyes:)

 

Any price difference?

[azspring]

Having a really tough time picking from these two cruises and would love some advice. Which would you choose and why?

 

Ruby Princess (10 days) - Princess Cay, St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Aruba, Bonaire

 

or

 

Celebrity Equinox (10 days) - St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Barbados

 

A lot about which cruise you choose should be based on what type of experience you're looking for. Celebrity is a more formal line with a higher level of service. Princess is good, but more casual. As for the ports, I would chose Princess. Dominica is beautiful - very lush with lots of amazing waterfalls.

[flamomo]

Princess may be considered more "casual", but it is a classy cruiseline, with beautiful ships, good itineraries, great ambiance; great service, entertainment options and very good food are also part of the Princess experience.

Am I a Princess fan? Yep, and in less than 3 weeks I will embark on my 7th Princess cruise in 4 years.

As far as itineraries, I would choose the Ruby because most of the ports are in the Southern Caribbean, which I prefer over the Eastern route (which I way prefer over the Western itineraries).

[Morris4me]

Celebrity is a more formal line with a higher level of service. Princess is good, but more casual. As

 

Thanks to all for the great feedback!

We actually prefer the Equinox itinerary as the Ruby Princess stops is Aruba. We spend 10 days in Aruba each year and prefer not to repeat it on the cruise and we think Bonaire is going to be very similar to Aruba. We'd like to go to places we've never been before. So..... we're leaning toward sailing on the Equinox. However, your comment above about Celebrity concerns me. Formal is ok but will we have fun? I don't want to be on a ship that's going to be too stiff or formal for us especially since we're at sea for 4 day.

[amapola]

Haven't been on Celebrity yet (first time coming up in Jan). We like Princess very much and expect to like X just as much :). However, we're not beach people, so Princess Cay would be a wasted day for us. Between these 2 cruises, X would win hands down for that reason alone.

[GORDONCHICK]

Thanks to all for the great feedback!

We actually prefer the Equinox itinerary as the Ruby Princess stops is Aruba. We spend 10 days in Aruba each year and prefer not to repeat it on the cruise and we think Bonaire is going to be very similar to Aruba. We'd like to go to places we've never been before. So..... we're leaning toward sailing on the Equinox. However, your comment above about Celebrity concerns me. Formal is ok but will we have fun? I don't want to be on a ship that's going to be too stiff or formal for us especially since we're at sea for 4 day.

 

There are fewer pool-side announcements on X than Princess. They still have activities and games. I think in many ways, the two lines are more alike than different. I enjoy both lines so I would base my decision solely on the itinerary, though I do like the food better on X.....

 

Princess has a good evening buffet, but it's yet to be seen if the new X ships will even have a buffet in the evenings, as their other ships do not. That leaves specialty restaurants (service charge pp) if on a ship that has one, the grill, room service, pasta and pizza bar/station, and the buffet area is turned into a sit-down restaurant (reservations prefered and service charge added, $2 pp). Princess has Anytime Dining along with traditional (what Celebrity has). It's similar to showing up at a restaurant and being seated in the order people appeared. More people are usually dressed all-out formal (long gowns and tuxes) on X, but many will on Princess too. But in these days of charges for luggages when flying, more and more people are cutting back on their formalwear.