New to Celebrity - Infinity or Coral Princess????

[West Coast Gal]

I am a long time Princess gal . . . but have to admit to always having a hankering to go on a Celebrity cruise! My DH and I have a tough choice to make . . . a Panama Canal cruise between the Infinity and the Coral Princess [which I am an elite long time cruiser]. I understand the Infinity was built 2001, but just receive a renovation in December. What I have always appreciated about Princess, has been their "crisp" service that makes you feel like a queen [:)], the amount of activities they have on days at sea, and of course we always enjoy fine food. The steak house on Princess has always been an exceptional experience. So does anyone have experience on the Infinity and also a princess cruise that can share their thoughts with us on the comparison of the 2??

[bigbenboys]

I am a long time Princess gal . . . but have to admit to always having a hankering to go on a Celebrity cruise! My DH and I have a tough choice to make . . . a Panama Canal cruise between the Infinity and the Coral Princess [which I am an elite long time cruiser]. I understand the Infinity was built 2001, but just receive a renovation in December. What I have always appreciated about Princess, has been their "crisp" service that makes you feel like a queen [:)], the amount of activities they have on days at sea, and of course we always enjoy fine food. The steak house on Princess has always been an exceptional experience. So does anyone have experience on the Infinity and also a princess cruise that can share their thoughts with us on the comparison of the 2??

 

Hi Seattle mates,

 

We have cruised on both line and they are both nice. We also did the Panama Canal cruise on Infinity in 2004. We booked our room so we would be on the north side going thur the canal. It does get very hot in Panama. As to the 2 cruiselines, we like Celebrity the best. From the food to the pool side sorbet on sea days, The perks for getting over 10 cruises points. You can get up to 3 points on a cruise. We are going on Infinity in June to Alaska just to get away. As to the Celebrity ship we like the newer Solstice ships best. But they all have great service. Richard

[shipshape sam]

I am a long time Princess gal . . . but have to admit to always having a hankering to go on a Celebrity cruise! My DH and I have a tough choice to make . . . a Panama Canal cruise between the Infinity and the Coral Princess [which I am an elite long time cruiser]. I understand the Infinity was built 2001, but just receive a renovation in December. What I have always appreciated about Princess, has been their "crisp" service that makes you feel like a queen [:)], the amount of activities they have on days at sea, and of course we always enjoy fine food. The steak house on Princess has always been an exceptional experience. So does anyone have experience on the Infinity and also a princess cruise that can share their thoughts with us on the comparison of the 2??

 

We sailed on Coral in Alaska in 2003. Loved the ship. Then sailed her sister ship in 2004, Island Princess on a partial transit of Panama Canal. Also, loved the itinerary/Island Princess. Then have sailed Infinity twice through the Panama Canal, 2006/2009 on full transits.

 

We love Celebrity and love Princess. For us, Princess has self service laundry which allows us to bring less clothes. We are elite with Celebrity and typically get a 'bag' of clothes done, but have to wait till special is offered. The specialty restaurant-pre 'solstictizing' was excellent on Infinity! It is called the USS United States. They had souffees (sp?) there for DW. ;) Now Infinity has, I think, 3 speciality restaurants, which I am sure are all very good.

 

DW loves the souffees on Princess in MDR, last sailed on Princess in 2008 - Star Princess to S. America around Cape Horn). I loved the jogging deck on Infinity till they removed at least 1/3 of it and put in, I think, 20+ more balcony cabins on that deck during recent rehab/refurbishment. We have had excellent service on both, so for us, there is no advantage, and we have found over time, the general service level is constant, but what you remember are the exceptions to the standard, either excellent or bad.

 

I would sail on either of them again, and hope to sail Infinity again in 2015 through the new Panama Canal. As you can see from my signature, we prefer Celebrity, but that is due to Captains Club status. We have sailed on Princess 5 times.

 

I would choose the ship/cruise based on itinerary based on my knowledge of them at this point.

[sammamishcruiser]

I am a long time Princess gal . . . but have to admit to always having a hankering to go on a Celebrity cruise! My DH and I have a tough choice to make . . . a Panama Canal cruise between the Infinity and the Coral Princess [which I am an elite long time cruiser]. I understand the Infinity was built 2001, but just receive a renovation in December. What I have always appreciated about Princess, has been their "crisp" service that makes you feel like a queen [:)], the amount of activities they have on days at sea, and of course we always enjoy fine food. The steak house on Princess has always been an exceptional experience. So does anyone have experience on the Infinity and also a princess cruise that can share their thoughts with us on the comparison of the 2??

 

Hello Fellow Northwesterner!

We have been on both Princess and Celebrity. As you can see by my cruise history, we like Celebrity better. But....our one Princess cruise was on the Sun Princess- very old ship- I would sail on Princess again, just NOT on the Sun. We love the service and the little extras that Celebrity has, ice cold towels on when you come back from shore on hot cruises and hot chocolate/tea or chicken broth on cold weather cruises, just to name a few. I have also found that Princess tends to be a little more pricey, at least for the cruises we have looked at. Nothing wrong with Princess and we would book them again, especially now with the new non smoking policy.

If you are looking to do a full transit of the Panama Canal, look at the Infinity, September 21, 2012. Its a 17 day repo that leaves from Seattle (gotta love the one-way flight!) We did this in 2009 and will go again this year, great cruise.

Can't wait to experience the "new" Infinity!

 

Melody:D

 

BTW, are you enjoying the snow! I am taking a snow day, tried to get to work, NO go!!

[Mulege]

I am a long time Princess gal . . . but have to admit to always having a hankering to go on a Celebrity cruise! My DH and I have a tough choice to make . . . a Panama Canal cruise between the Infinity and the Coral Princess [which I am an elite long time cruiser]. I understand the Infinity was built 2001, but just receive a renovation in December. What I have always appreciated about Princess, has been their "crisp" service that makes you feel like a queen [:)], the amount of activities they have on days at sea, and of course we always enjoy fine food. The steak house on Princess has always been an exceptional experience. So does anyone have experience on the Infinity and also a princess cruise that can share their thoughts with us on the comparison of the 2??

 

I love Princess and have sailed with them 10 times. My last cruise was on the Equinox 11/11 in E Mediterranean. I loved the Solstice class. I like them better than Princess. You will be on a newly refurbished ship that will have many of the Solstice class venues. The specialty dining choices and food are better on Celebrity. The entertainment was much better on Princess. The service was a tad better on Celebrity. To me the big difference is Celebrity tends to have an older clientele. The atmosphere is very nice, no loud party games at the pool, no PA announcements every 30 minutes. If you want more action go Princess for sure. These are my opinions only. You make the call.

 

PS. I find the beverage packages worth it and Princess does not offer them.

[Iamthesea]

That's a tough one! Been on both and I have to say that we loved taking the Coral though the canal. That ship is beautiful and the evening entertainment was outstanding. Love that paneled Wheelhouse bar. It's been a few years for both ships, however. Most recently, we sailed on the Equinox.

[Bobby Dee]

I've also been on both. Coral Princess for partial transit of the canal and Infinity in Alaska. I had a great time on both ships. The things I remember most about each cruise, and remember this was over a period of the last ten years. Princess has without a doubt the best pizza afloat. Both ships had fantastic coffee bars, maybe the Infinity was a little better. The specialty restaurant on the Infinity was the best I've ever experienced and I've been on a lot of ships. Their sychronized serving was as good as any restaurant I've been to. I'm not sure they still do that since the refurbishment, but I hope they didn't mess with perfection. The Coral had golf excursions available that the Celebrity didn't. If you are a golfer, do play the Summit course in Panama. Then again, Celebrity offers a full drinks package which makes the exerience seem all inclusive, Princess does not.

I have a great idea. Whichever one you chose to book this year, save your pennies and go on the other next year.

[emileg]

We have been on both ships. Without a doubt, the Coral Princess is our favorite Princess ship. The interior design sets it apart from other Princess ships, but has enough sameness to make it comfortable. I love the forward facing Horizon Court and four story atrium with its shiny marble deck. It is one of the most beautiful ships.

 

We had a wonderful time on the Infinity as well. Food, entertainment and cabin service are about equal. Dining room service has been better on Princess. For the Panama Canal, I would give a nod to the Coral Princess because of its wrap around promenade deck. You want to be able to see the canal and how it works from all perspectives and you can easily do that on the Coral. But, I would never hesitate to take the Infinity again, especially since the refurb.

 

Either way, you can't go wrong.

[West Coast Gal]

I have to say, you all have made me realize that I have a great travel agent for picking out these two cruises for us . . . because after reading what you all have to say, I am down to making a pro and con list for my DH [AND I have never done that before about taking a cruise]. It sounds like we can't go wrong with whichever way we chose!

[FM]

I have to say, you all have made me realize that I have a great travel agent for picking out these two cruises for us . . . because after reading what you all have to say, I am down to making a pro and con list for my DH [AND I have never done that before about taking a cruise]. It sounds like we can't go wrong with whichever way we chose!

 

We are Platinum members and celebrated several occassion with Princess (honeymoon cruise, 10th Anniversay Vow renewals ceremony AND a wedding between my brother and his wife).

 

However we had our very first cruise with Celebrity aboard the brand-new Silhouette on Dec 12th. It was great and a very nice change from Princess. I certainly worried about whether Celebrity would be a lesser experience than Princess ... but not to worry, it wasn't. (One thing it took me a while to get used to hearing was what deck we would be heading to ... Celebrity uses Deck 1, Deck 2 etc ... whereas I kept expecting Emerald Deck, Dolphin Deck, Baja and so forth :D)

 

Both have their pro's and cons and we would cruise with both again. However we are now looking forward to our first experience with Disney aboard the brand-new Fantasy this fall ... celebrating our 20th!

[USVI-4-me]

IMHO the Coral Princess is the better choice for full transit of the Canal.

 

The Coral Princess usually has a lecturer speaking from the bridge all day on Transit day. It has a wraparound promenade, many good viewing areas on lower decks inside w/chairs at the windows.

 

The tiered buffet is open 24/7 at the top front of the ship.

 

The buffet viewing area starts filling about 4:15am on transit day, but it is a great space for viewing, plus their are a couple of good open decks above it and plenty of tables and loungers in the pool area.

 

The Infinity has a lounge at the top front of the ship. The buffet, at the back of the ship, is not tiered or serving food all day. The actual deck space on Infinity is not as viewer friendly for the crowds of people on deck for a Panama Canal Transit.

 

We did the full Panama Canal transit on Coral Princess twice in 2011.

We've done partial transits on the Summit and the Coral Princess.

We have cruised on the Millie at least four times.

 

I recommend a balcony cabin because the full transit is a long hot day.

Coral Princess has bar service available just inside the promenade deck and water service on the promenade.

 

Marisela

[Hestia]

Since you specifically mention the number of things to do as something you love about Princess, i have to say that i have not found a comparable activity scheule with any othe cruise company. I love princess' onboard learning opportunities on sea days. Their guest lecturers are fabulous and it is something i wish more cruise companies would pay attention to! The one other things i loved about princess was the daily presentation of the evening's menu at the luncheon buffet and the fact that the buffet was open 24 hours (we're night owls).

 

Having said that, I love everything else about celebrity even more than princess. Unlike an earlier poster, i found the celebrity crowd far younger and more vibrant than the median age on princess. To be fair, i was on a 14 day cruise with princess and that may account for the age difference in cruisers. The dsign and opennessif the ship, the pool (it's not salt water AND it's actually not freezing cold!), the library and games room, the location of our preferred room upon the same deck as the pool, the service, the welcome champagne, the extra amenities available in concierge class as well as the small niceties already mentioned such as dockside beverages upon return from a shore day. The specialty restaurants are fabulous and i fully enjoyed the evening entertainment we have seen to date. For us, these things have won out over princess depite my lnging for something similar to princess' scholar at sea program.

[USVI-4-me]

The non smoking policy and welcome champagne on Celebrity are a plus for us.

 

Now that Princess has the no smoking policy in cabins and on balcony we will have to cruise either line based on itinerary.

 

We are good at entertaining ourselves but feel Princess ships always offer more entertainment and lounge options than Celebrity.

 

On Coral Princess there is second level seating in the Solarium.

I enjoy the silent movies (MUTES) while sitting at the outdoor pool.

 

Princess pizza beats Celebrity's.

 

Actually, Princess beats Celebrity in most ways. The cabins are designed much better on Princess.

Maris