Celebrity Questions from a Princess Platinum cruiser!

[tinatark]

We are considering the March 30 E. Caribbean Getaway cruise on the Reflection. I am very comfortable with Princess/booking/onboard guidelines, etc. - have a few questions about Celebrity!

 

Booking - Princess no longer allows discount rates from the published fares - my discount ta "gets around that" by offering OBC for 10% of our fare. Is Celebrity also a "no discount fares" line?

 

Upgrades/Upsells. We cruised Carnival once (ONCE!) - got a call to "upsell" from our balcony to a suite - it seems they push upsells rather than upgrades - how is Celebrity in this regard?

 

If you have cruised both lines (Princess and Celebrity) - what do you find the main differences to be? I've read about Celebrity and it seems the venues will be a little nicer on Celeb., food about the same - how about daily activities? We're not the lie out in the sun all day type - like to find something to do - we find ourselves looking at the patter and finding we want to do several things offered at the same time!

 

(Silly Question, but I'll ask) - can I bring soda on board - I don't drink enough soda for a drink card, but when I do I like Dr. Pepper, from a can. Soda from a gun = ick!

 

Any other comparisons/advice? Thank You!

[TeaBag]

Others will probably give you a better answer to your questions than I can. We have not sailed on Princess since 1999 and we liked it fine then. However, we discovered Celebrity and that is now our line of choice. When we first sailed Celebrity, we were also sailing on Princess and we thought the food on C. was much better. I don't know how it compares now since I think all lines have cut back on the food budget. We still think we get good food on C.

 

We like C's no smoking policy. Smoking allowed only in designated areas on the ship.

 

Like you, we find too many things to do in the day and have to choose between them. C has lectures, cooking demos, trivia, wine tastings, scrapbooking, water color painting classes etc.

 

The upgrade fairy does not sail on C often but I've heard of people getting some amazing upgrades. We never have. I have also heard of people being given Elite status on their first cruise with Celebrity...a great marketing idea.

 

If you stay with C, (10 points to get to Elite status, which can be achieved on as little as 5 short cruises), the perks are wonderful and that is why we stick around.

 

Yes, you can bring soda, water and 2 bottles of wine on board when you embark, not a silly question.

 

Celebrity is maybe a bit quieter than Princess, attracts an older crowd, maybe, and I think from what I heard lately, the entertainment might be slightly better on Princess. When we last sailed there was only one announcement/day which we really like, but I have heard that the CD is now making one also.

 

The S class (Reflection etc) ships are beautiful. I think you should go for it. HTH.

[Denny01]

Booking - Princess no longer allows discount rates from the published fares - my discount ta "gets around that" by offering OBC for 10% of our fare. Is Celebrity also a "no discount fares" line?

Response: Celebrity is the same. No discount rates. TA's get some group rates (same as Princess now), and OBC's/pay for gratiutities or insurance...pretty much the same as what TAs do for Princess now.

 

Upgrades/Upsells. We cruised Carnival once (ONCE!) - got a call to "upsell" from our balcony to a suite?

Response: Never had the happen or heard/read that happening with Celebrity. Celebrity does have upgrades and so on which all Lines have, but not the 'Upsale' business.

 

If you have cruised both lines (Princess and Celebrity) - what do you find the main differences to be?

Responses:

-Made 11 Celebrity and 3 Princess...enjoyed all cruises. I find Celebrity more layed back.

- Not as much 'group activities' that I'm not into anyway.

- Less hardsell on Celebrity. Normally only one announcement per day. Do have sales and tables out infront of stores, but not the press I felt more on Princess. Everytime I ordered a glass of wine (well, not Everytime!), the Princess waiter would ask if I wanted a winetasting ticket.

- I found the Celebrity common areas are less crowded, and better layed out. Had to go pretty early to get a seat at Princess events, especially the theaters. Theaters were too small for the ship...Celebrity had a larger theater and the lounges, bars, library, card room, etc didn't seem as 'full' - well, except for the Martini Bars at party time!

- Celebrity does have drink packages, but not the Coffee card I loved on Princess.

- Celebrity doesn't have MUTS.....I never really took advantage of that anyway. But loved the popcorn machine on Princess!

- We would go with the mini-suite on Princess because the standard SR was too small to have friends over and sit and socialize. Celebrity standard SR's have a better sitting area around a couch. Princess had better storage.

- Enjoyed both for dining in their MDR's, but like Celebrity buffet better. Rotating choices and stations weren't nearly as crowded.

- Overall, I thought Celebrity was nicer and fit my personal perspectives. I don't need group activiites. I meet with friends, meet new friends, and like you, check the Daily and join in if I like it.

 

(Silly Question, but I'll ask) - can I bring soda on board.

- Not silly. Yes, you can bring cartons of water and soda if you wish. Just tag it. Can only bring 2 bottles of wine per SR at embarkation, and Celebrity (usually) catches this.

 

Enjoy. I think if you Love Princess, you'll at least really enjoy (and probably also Love) Celebrity.

 

Den

[junglejane]

We, too, are Platinum on Princess. We love both Princess and Celebrity and I am sure you will enjoy yourselves if you book the Reflection. We have been on the Princess grand-class ships quite a few times and while we enjoy them, they are all quite similar and it was great fun to cruise on the Equinox and explore a new ship. The Celebrity s-class ships are fantastic and our next cruise will be on the Silhouette.

 

I generally agree with Denny01's comments on Princess vs. Celebrity. I would add a few things to his comments. It's true that the Princess Theater on the grand-class ships is far too small to accommodate 1/2 the ship. It's nice on Celebrity to know that you can arrive in the theater a few minutes before showtime and usually find a good seat. On the other hand, Princess also has the Explorer's Lounge and Club Fusion as alternative entertainment venues. The S-class ships have many great bars and lounges, but don't really have comparable venues to the Explorer's Lounge and Club Fusion which have stages and can host entertainers such as comedians, jugglers, magicians, etc.

 

After our cruise on the Equinox, we posted a review that contains quite a few Princess vs. Celebrity comparisons. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1431761 In summary, I think you should definitely book the Reflection and see for yourselves, then come back and give us your own assessment!:)

[Mulege]

I am Elite on Princess. Ever since I sailed on the Solstice Class ships, I have not gone back to Princess. I still loved my trips on Princess, but found Celebrity ships and service a step up for the same price.

 

My advice is give it a try and keep an open mind. Be fair with your comparisons.

[ariawoman]

We are considering the March 30 E. Caribbean Getaway cruise on the Reflection. I am very comfortable with Princess/booking/onboard guidelines, etc. - have a few questions about Celebrity!

 

Booking - Princess no longer allows discount rates from the published fares - my discount ta "gets around that" by offering OBC for 10% of our fare. Is Celebrity also a "no discount fares" line?

 

Upgrades/Upsells. We cruised Carnival once (ONCE!) - got a call to "upsell" from our balcony to a suite - it seems they push upsells rather than upgrades - how is Celebrity in this regard?

 

If you have cruised both lines (Princess and Celebrity) - what do you find the main differences to be? I've read about Celebrity and it seems the venues will be a little nicer on Celeb., food about the same - how about daily activities? We're not the lie out in the sun all day type - like to find something to do - we find ourselves looking at the patter and finding we want to do several things offered at the same time!

 

(Silly Question, but I'll ask) - can I bring soda on board - I don't drink enough soda for a drink card, but when I do I like Dr. Pepper, from a can. Soda from a gun = ick!

 

Any other comparisons/advice? Thank You!

 

Just an FYI - soda is not from the gun on Celebrity (or most cruise lines at this point i think). It is from the can. I was always given a can of coke and I was offered a glass of ice. Dr Pepper wasn't on the menu though :( Sadly. You can bring as much soda/water on board as you want.

 

I'm like you with the activities, I am not a lay around the pool type. I found that Celebrity always had something for me to do, sometimes too many things conflicting that I wanted to do!

 

You'll have a great time on Celebrity's newest ship. I plan to break her in on her inaugural on 10/12/12 :-)

[mom23guys]

Having sailed both, I think they are very much the same. The big difference is the smoking policy. On our last Princess ship we were next to the party room for a group of twenty somethings( I know that could happen anywhere) but there seemed to be people on the balcony next to us 24-7. That just doesn't happen on X. I like the Explorer's Lounge and general entertainment options a little better on Princess. I prefer the buffet on Celebrity. I've been going with price and itinerary. Try Celebrity, you might like it.

[john_galt]

I just booked the Penthouse Suite on the Celebrity Constellation for a five day cruise in April of 2014. I'm Platinum on Princess but the lure of the butler was just too great to resist. :)

 

My previous cruise on Celebrity turned out to be a themed cruise. More than half the people on the ship were signed up for a Mahjong tournament. It was an unusual cast of characters. I blame my TA for not warning me but I didn't book another Celebrity cruise for a long time...

[fishywood]

Take it from a fellow Princess Platinum just off his first Celebrity cruise: if you value your platinum benefits be prepared for a huge comedown when trying a new line for the first time. On the Inifity there were large signs in the atrium and notices in the daily schedule for the Platinum and/or Elite only events--really made me feel that they were rubbing the noses of the newbies in it.

 

Entertainment: if you have late sitting dinner you will have a pre-dinner show at least 5 or 6 times per week. Only thing ever on at 10:30 is a quick "novelty act" on one of the dance floors (such as "Dancing with the Officers") that usually breaks up within 15 minutes. They pretty much roll up the sidewalks after that--there are no movies shown at all, let alone late night ones as on Princess.

 

Dining: If considering Select Dining (their version of Anytime) you may have read the many threads claiming Celebrity manages thiers much better than Princess. I'm sorry but I found that statement to be a huge flaming pile on the Infinity. Every night I observed passengers assigned to fixed seating and/or Blu (the AQ class dining room) saunter around the queue ro make a deal with the maitre d' and be seated ahead of those assigned to the Select dining room. You must hold your place in the line to be seated; there is no giving your name and then waiting in one of the bars (unless your are one of the 'VIPs' who is personally escorted to a table in Cellar Masters by said maitre d'). On Princess when they hand you a pager you know you can wait where you feel comfortable and know that you will be seated in a fair and timely manner.

 

As for alternatives to the MDR: there is no actuall dinner buffet, just 'stations' with the same curry, sushi, and pasta every single night. The premium restaurants go for $40 a head (nearly double Princess' price) and are all nouveau-artsy-fartsy faux-continential tasting menus. I would have given my right arm for the 20 oz Porterhouse from Princess' Crown Grill/Sterling Steakhouse!

 

Addendum: someone above stated that Celebrity is less 'hard sell' than Priness. Yet another myth I will debunk: when I dined at SS United States the maitre d' came over to my table BETWEEN EVERY COURSE looking to sell me the wine pairing dinner event, champage tea, the cooking class--or whatever else he could think of. And while waiting in the theatre for tours to be called we had to listen to a spa representative reading the list of daily specials there. Never had either of those things happen on Princess.

[tinatark]

Thank you for the responses! I'll be watching - as far as the median age - this is spring break (leaving the Saturday before Easter) - I think even HAL would be "young" that week!

 

We do like traditional dining, so anytime or whatever C calls it isn't an issue.

 

Are the pools fresh water on this class ship on celebrity?

[Cruise Junky]

And to correct your first post, Princess absolutely allows TAs to discount what they don't allow TAs to do is advertise the lower price but agents are free to discount as much as they like. If your TA told you differently, you need a new one.

[Hapytocruise]

Take it from a fellow Princess Platinum just off his first Celebrity cruise: if you value your platinum benefits be prepared for a huge comedown when trying a new line for the first time. On the Inifity there were large signs in the atrium and notices in the daily schedule for the Platinum and/or Elite only events--really made me feel that they were rubbing the noses of the newbies in it.

 

The plus is that you can get to the highest level "Elite" very quickly on Celeb..(up to 3 cruise credits per voyage) while it takes forever to get past Platinum on Princess to their highest level. Once at Celeb Elite - much better than Princess for perks...the only thing I miss about Princess is their self serve laundry - with Elite on Celeb we get 2 bags of laundry (1 each which is plenty) and "FREE" happy hour is great! Plus their special events provides much better cocktails and selection than Princess.

 

Entertainment: if you have late sitting dinner you will have a pre-dinner show at least 5 or 6 times per week. Only thing ever on at 10:30 is a quick "novelty act" on one of the dance floors (such as "Dancing with the Officers") that usually breaks up within 15 minutes. They pretty much roll up the sidewalks after that--there are no movies shown at all, let alone late night ones as on Princess.

 

Agree

 

Dining: If considering Select Dining (their version of Anytime) you may have read the many threads claiming Celebrity manages thiers much better than Princess. I'm sorry but I found that statement to be a huge flaming pile on the Infinity. Every night I observed passengers assigned to fixed seating and/or Blu (the AQ class dining room) saunter around the queue ro make a deal with the maitre d' and be seated ahead of those assigned to the Select dining room. You must hold your place in the line to be seated; there is no giving your name and then waiting in one of the bars (unless your are one of the 'VIPs' who is personally escorted to a table in Cellar Masters by said maitre d'). On Princess when they hand you a pager you know you can wait where you feel comfortable and know that you will be seated in a fair and timely manner.

 

Agree but it can also depend on the Select Hostess..we have had terrible setting service to which end we switched to late seating but on another cruise had great select seating service where the Hostess addressed us by name every evening, asking us to wait in the wine bar and we rarely waited very long before someone came to escort us to our table. Aqua is the best!

 

As for alternatives to the MDR: there is no actuall dinner buffet, just 'stations' with the same curry, sushi, and pasta every single night. The premium restaurants go for $40 a head (nearly double Princess' price) and are all nouveau-artsy-fartsy faux-continential tasting menus. I would have given my right arm for the 20 oz Porterhouse from Princess' Crown Grill/Sterling Steakhouse!

 

The S-Class buffet is way better than Princess..no lining up but offers food stations which we LOVE and while MDR food I think is comparable - the SClass buffet food is preferrable over Princess....(just my opinion:))

 

Addendum: someone above stated that Celebrity is less 'hard sell' than Priness. Yet another myth I will debunk: when I dined at SS United States the maitre d' came over to my table BETWEEN EVERY COURSE looking to sell me the wine pairing dinner event, champage tea, the cooking class--or whatever else he could think of. And while waiting in the theatre for tours to be called we had to listen to a spa representative reading the list of daily specials there. Never had either of those things happen on Princess.

 

Never had a hard sell on Celebrity ... whereas Princess always selling special daily cocktail.

 

Last Princess cruise was Grand before her refurb..our cabin was well past needing a good redecorate which put us off. Cig burnes in the carpet, faded fabrics and bad mattress.

 

I think you will enjoy Celeb

[Denny01]

Thank you for the responses! I'll be watching - as far as the median age - this is spring break (leaving the Saturday before Easter) - I think even HAL would be "young" that week!

 

We do like traditional dining, so anytime or whatever C calls it isn't an issue.

 

Are the pools fresh water on this class ship on celebrity?

 

The Celebrity pools are saltwater. We also do traditional dining and enjoy that a great deal.

 

Enjoy whatever cruise you pick.

 

Den