catugirl

Celebrity and Princess are our two favorites. We were just on Crown Princess in January and had a wonderful cruise. The MDR food was amazing, and the atmosphere in the MDR is elegant and quiet. The International Cafe is great for lunch; we didn't try it any other time of day. The pizza out by the pool is very good. The drinks are very reasonably priced. Movies Under the Stars is fun. Their specialty restaurants are very good and reasonably priced. We were disappointed at no solarium. Princess does not have a couch in their balcony cabins, but this time we stayed in a Vista suite, which was very spacious. The showers in balcony cabins are unbelievably small, but our suite had a spacious tub and shower. Service was super, the entertainment was enjoyable and the ship was beautiful. You can't go wrong with Princess or Celebrity. They're just different.

We just took a Viking river cruise in France in July and a post-cruise trip to England. We got Euros and Pounds from our local bank before the trip, and we were so glad we did. That was one less thing we had to worry about in a foreign country. Anything you have left over from your trip can be converted back to dollars at your bank when you get home.

Thanks so much for this review. It's the best and most complete one I've ever read! It really makes me want to take this cruise.

We love, love, love sea days! Our daily lives get so busy that it's refreshing not to have anywhere special you have to be or anything pressing you have to do. We sleep longer on sea days, read a lot, go to the gym (if we feel like it), swim or lounge by the pool, attend whatever activities strike our fancy, and eat whatever we want (with a few cocktails thrown in for good measure!). Then, when the next port day comes around, we have renewed energy and enthusiasm! The best thing about sea days us it's the polar opposite from our real lives!

I'm assuming you booked online directly with Celebrity? My experience has been never to trust the Celebrity website. However, when I've been able to get through by phone, Customer Service has been helpful. Don't give up. I'm sure you will get this rectified.

I like both lines, but I give a very slight edge to Princess. I did not notice any difference in size of balcony cabins; however, Celebrity does give you a couch, whereas, Princess does not unless you have a suite. We found the MDR experience much better on Princess...better food, less crowding of tables and quieter. Celebrity's bathrooms are far superior to Princess (shower doors, vessel sink, tile backsplash, good storage); that tiny shower with the clingy shower curtain on Princess is annoying. We were on Crown Princess in January, 2014, and never smelled smoke once, so that was not an issue. Celebrity has Aqua Class, which entitles you to dine in Blu (food and service and ambiance are a step above MDR on X). The solarium on S Class on X is so relaxing, and not many Princess ships have one. We found entertainment to be good on both. Service on both lines is great, and the ships are aesthetically pleasing. The thing on Celebrity that drives me bonkers is their website. When it's not down completely, it doesn't work properly, and it's very user-unfriendly to navigate. The Princess website is much better. The actual cruising is pleasant on both lines, so you'll have fun either way.

We were on the Crown in January of this year. We were very pleased with the ship, the cabin, the service, the food and the entertainment. Couldn't have been much better. Enjoy!

Hope you've had a great birthday, Andy. I so appreciate your helpfulness and calm guidance on these boards.

We were on Silhouette last year in Aqua Class on Deck11, starboard side. The bed in our cabin had our feet facing aft. I didn't sleep well the entire cruise, plus the seas were choppy the whole time. It's just not a natural way to move. Imagine how weird it would feel to be riding in a car while facing backward.

Love the glass shower doors in Solstice class ships. One if the few things I don't like about Princess is their tiny showers with the curtain that sticks to you. It's disgusting!

For a few days last week I was unable to access any shore excursions at all in "My Celebrity." Also, I read on CC that the Classic Drink Package changed what liquors are included in May; however, I keep going on the X website, and it still shows the same liquors that were on the old list. It's hard to know what on their website is correct and what is not.

I would miss Bistro on 5 so hope that's not correct, I notice there's no mention of it in the survey. With option two couldn't they offer breakfast and lunch for suite guests in Murano (I too suspect this won't include sky suites) then Bistro can stay and they can better utilise Murano in the day time, with suite guests having the option to choose to eat dinner in any restaurant. This way no one loses out :)

 

This is a great solution! We were in a suite on Crown Princess and loved being able to eat breakfast every morning in Sabatini's (specialty restaurant). Plus, we enjoyed we enjoyed the complimentary meal in Crown Grill on embarkation night. We didn't lament that we didn't have an exclusive suites-only venue for lunch or the the other dinners because we had so many other amenities. I agree that it would be nice if Celebrity would give the suites guests an exclusive place to dine, but your solution would give them that and would still preserve Bistro on Five for everyone else.

DH and I just cruised on Crown Princess in January and had an incredible experience...food, entertainment, service, food and general ambience. Last year we cruised Celebrity Silhouette in Aqua Class, and loved it in every way. In several months we'll be on X Reflection in AQ again. Next year we're sailing on both lines. IMHO, nightlife is livelier on Princess. MDR food is better on Princess, but food in Blu (AQ dining room on Celebrity) was amazing. From these boards, it seems Blu has gotten much more chaotic lately, though. Service is great on both lines. Princess has self-service laundry, but X has very reliable laundry/dry cleaning service for a fee. Cocktails are a little less expensive on Princess (unless you have the Classic Beverage included in your deal on X). Celebrity has more beautiful ships and more spaces you can get away from the crowds. There are more specialty restaurants on X; however, the fees for specialty venues are more expensive on X. On either cruise line, I'd be surprised if you didn't have a great experience. Go with your preferred itinerary and enjoy!

As the OP who posted the copies of the reduced Classic Package inclusions I thought I would update you as we departed Eclipse today.

 

I had limited wifi so didnt see all that was being posted nor any Facebook activity however I did see that they effectively reverted to the original Classic inclusions after a few days.

 

I have to say this was not evident onboard at all. No one on the Classic package was aware that they had access to more items than the A4 sheet I posted despite Celebrity posting an extended list on here and as the cruise drew close to an end many still didnt know about the original truncated list of what they could order within their package which was available at Guest Relations from day one.

 

The list X published on here showing the knee jerk changes back to effectively what they had a couple of weeks before our cruise, whilst more inclusive, doesnt really help re cocktails. Im not a big cocktail drinker but will try some on a cruise but unless you know the name of a cocktail then the only way to know for sure what was available was to ask a barman what was available and what they contained.....not really practical. In the two weeks I didnt find a single bar menu that showed any cocktails priced within the classic package despite many being available. Unless X reprints its bar menus this is likely to cause continuing issues for passengers on the classic package.

 

Anyway, as I posted at the start of this thread, I had spoken with a Bar Manager and the Food and Beverage Director but to no avail. On day three we had the feedback form in our room so I filled it in saying I was unhappy they had reduced options within the classic package and that they had not resolved the problem. I got a call later that day from another Bar Manager. He again offered a free bottle of something in our rooms. I declined. He then said if we told him where we would like to have a drink he would ensure that bar would be made aware that a specific drink should be provided to us. Again I declined reiterating we just wanted access to what we had paid for and expected. So finally, after speaking to three people he gave us the premium package for no additional fee. So three days into our cruise we could access the drinks we had anticipated enjoying, plus of course some more. On balance I would have preffered just to have access to the classic package inclusions we had expected to enjoy and not have three days of hassle and dissatisfaction. Celebrity's handling of this change to the packages has been woeful but at least they have perhaps recognised it but its worrying that no one predicted that slashing the classic drinks offerings would cause such discontent.

 

As I posted a while back, drinks service onboard was excellent everywhere. From the buffet, to the pool bars to the MDR and we never felt like we were waiting to be served or topped up.

 

 

 

 

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OK, now I'm confused again. You spoke of having reduce options on the Classic Package. The list on this thread showing included liquors, beer and wines (posted by X) showed MORE options than there were several months ago, not fewer. Please clarify.

I always take seasick meds with me on cruises. I have experienced three cruises when we had very rough seas. I was taking non-drowsy Bonine, which did well preventing seasickness on two of those cruises, but it made me very sleepy (don't know why they call it "non-drowsy"). On one of the cruises it was rough the whole cruise, and I felt queasy the entire time, even with Bonine. I now use the wristbands for seasickness and ginger chews. I also have an inhaler which is supposed to cure seasickness, as well as a homeopathic pill if you get seasick to the point of being bedridden. I also take the Bonine with me, just in case. I know this is probably "overkill," but I don't want to EVER feel seasick again and would do anything possible to prevent it!

This list is different from what was published several months ago. I noticed that on this list there are some high-end liquors included in the Classic Package (Bombay Sapphire Gin, Makers Mark Bourbon, Crown Royal blend). These were not on the last Classic list I saw. Also, the list from several months ago included wines $8.00 and under; this list shows wines $9.00 and under are included. I'm confused. It seems these lists change frequently, so I have no clue whether DH and I should upgrade our Classic Packages on our Nov. cruise. Any advice?

On another thread it was mentioned that Celebrity has raised their prices on alcoholic beverages. If this is true, that is a problem. DH and I have Classic Drink Packages for our November cruise on Reflection. We didn't want to pay the extra money to upgrade. Not to mention, significant numbers of other people have the Classic Package as part of the 123Go promotion. There were already very few alcoholic beverages included on the Classic Package. If the prices have been/are being raised on drinks, are there any drinks left that the Classic Package covers? Hope this is not true because that would be really unethical of X to do this right after they pushed the 123Go promotion so hard.

We were in Aqua Class on Silhouette last year, and we loved Blu. The food, service and atmosphere were wonderful. It's quieter and not as chaotic as MDR. Blu is very elegant. Sure, the tables for two are close, but we met some really nice people that way. And BTW, we ate in MDR once and the tables for two were even closer! I've never seen tables that close.

Thanks for your great review. You are a talented writer! Looking forward to the rest of it.

Thanks for all the feedback. Eventhough it's a great itinerary, I think we will avoid cruising over the holidays - especially since we aren't limited to a holiday vacation schedule. It sounds a little risky. Thanks again and happy cruising! :)

 

 

Michael

You won't regret booking another time. DH and I were on a 10 day Panama Canal cruise during the Christmas holidays on Princess Cruise Line one year, and I swear it seemed almost like the kids outnumbered the adults! They completely took over the pools and the hot tubs, and you couldn't even come out of your cabin without having packs of kids screaming and running down the hall, almost mowing you down! We said if we could live through that experience we'd never ever book a cruise during the holidays again. Hope you find an alternative cruise that's wonderful.

We were on Silhouette in January, 2013. We were up on the level where the grass is several times during the cruise , and the grass area was roped off every time. I really liked the idea of a lawn, and we would love to have used it. My question is, when is it NOT roped off? Judging from from others are saying here, I'm assuming it's not often. We never saw anyone using the Alcoves either. What a waste!

 

BTW, using some of the new artificial grass is a great idea! That way, Celebrity wouldn't have to rope it off. My brother-in-law has that grass in his backyard, and it looks and feels wonderful.

Can anyone speak to the local TA versus the online TA? We are probably "old school," but we would love to use a local TA if it is advantageous. Anyone have a really good experience with a local TA? How did you find this person. So far we have only used either an online TA or booked directly with the cruise line. For those of you who choose an online TA, do you always use the same booking agent there or go with whatever booking agent who is available?

How do you go about choosing a TA? Do you use a local agent or an online TA? Talked to one local TA, and she wouldn't give me a good deal. Have dealt with a couple of different online TA's (three different booking agents) and have gotten good deals but less than stellar service. Most recently tried a different online TA to book a cruise, but the service was so horrible that we cancelled (and were charged a cancellation fee); we booked the same cruise with an online website we had used once before. Unfortunately, the service there has not great. We've also booked directly with the cruise line but didn't get a good deal; it did seem less complicated, though. I see on Cruise Critic so many people who are very satisfied with their TA, both in service and great deals. What's the secret?

Anyone know if this promotion will still be going on in November of this year? We will be on Reflection and will probably book another cruise on board if it is.

We have friends who, a couple of weeks ago, sailed out of Port Everglades on Liberty OTS and when they disembarked, they transferred to Oasis OTS the same day. They told us they took the port shuttle, and it transported them and all their luggage with no problem. You might want to contact Port Everglades to inquire about the shuttle.