Celebrity reflection or royal princess for e. Med 2013?

[Dr. Pam]

Before I get flamed, I will post this same thread on Celebrity. (I have cruised on Celebrity, Princess, RCCL, and Disney).

 

THe setting: (costs are approx equal for both)

Eastern Med July 2013 for family of 4 (with 2 teenagers)

Celebrity Reflection Royal Suite vs. Royal Princess Suite (S2) with a balcony (BD) beside us.

 

We have been to all of the ports on both itineraries with the exception of Istanbul.

So my questions:

 

1. Celebrity is in Istanbul for 1.5 days, Princess 1 day.

2. Princess more port intensive...is it too much so?

3. Venice is start point for Princess, Rome is for Celebrity

4. Rome is end point for Celebrity, Barcelona is for Princess

5. I have not saile Princess for 10 years.....how would the food compare?

 

Many questions.....I would love to hear all thoughts. Thank you in advance!

[caribill]

Most of your questions can only be answered by you as it is a matter of personal preference.

 

Number of ports and which ones they are and which ones are most interesting to you should be the deciding factor.

 

Istanbul cannot be seen in a single day (or even a day and a half). Depending on which day of the week you are there, some major attactions may be closed unless you are on a ship's tour.

 

I asusme you have checked to be sure the suite you would want on Princess is available as demand is high for the first season of this new ship.

 

Please realize that suite benefits (such as breakfast at Sabatini's) would not be available to those in your family staying in the balcony cabin.

[OhioDogLover]

I like both lines. I would take the Princess cruise because in my experience it is much easier to get to the airport in Barcelona than Rome, and I would rather sail out of Venice. I also like the option to have more ports. But, that's just my opinion.

In our experience, (2 Celebrity, 6 Princess), we found the food a bit better on Celebrity, but that is a matter of opinion; there are those who go the other way, too.

I don't think you can go wrong either way. Have a wonderful time.

Ohiodoglover

[Dr. Pam]

Thank you for your responses. Regarding the Sabatini breakfast....we prefer to haver room service as our past experience on port intensive cruises, does not justify the leisurely breakfast. I already have confirmed suite and balcony stateroom on Princess and my TA is hopefully reserving a suite on the REflection. Our dates are really set, so it is down to these 2 cruises. I may hold on to both reservations and do a little more research and read a lot more from seasoned cruisers on CC. :)

[dcruisers]

Thank you for your responses. Regarding the Sabatini breakfast....we prefer to haver room service as our past experience on port intensive cruises, does not justify the leisurely breakfast. I already have confirmed suite and balcony stateroom on Princess and my TA is hopefully reserving a suite on the REflection. Our dates are really set, so it is down to these 2 cruises. I may hold on to both reservations and do a little more research and read a lot more from seasoned cruisers on CC. :)

 

I would pick Celebrity over Princess all the time. However, with a med cruise, it is the destination and sight seeing that is most important. But if the Reflection is anything like the Silhouette, it is going to be wonderful!

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

I would pick Barcelona as my end port, large modern airport, close to the port, makes last day painless,

 

Rome airport can be a be stressful and is a good distance from Port

 

the main thing is to see Istanbul great city,

 

 

yours Shogun

[Dr. Pam]

Thank you, everyone! I am leaning towards the Royal Princess because of some great points given to me by my fellow CCers!. !. the port of Venice may be relocated and we may not have the opportunity to sail away with the amazing view of Venice. 2. Teenage kids have their own full washroom not just the 1/2 bath that is on the RS on Celebrity. 3. Royal has the more port intensive cruise (which could be a positive or a negative?) but it will be a nice send-off for our son to revisit some of these ports before he heads off to University :(.

4. Comments suggest that maybe the dining may be better on Princess....very subjective.

6. Entertainment might be better on Princess? 7. Barcelona ( I know from past experience 2x) has an airport that is close to the city and hence we would eliminate the long trek from Rome to FCO airport which I found to be a very busy crowded airport!

 

Anyone that has experience on suite amenities for both Celebrity and Princess, I would love to hear from you! Again, thank you to everyone!

[bphman]

We have had suites on both Celebrity Equinox and Crown Princess and the Celebrity experience is much better. On Princess, we had a cabin steward who doubled as a butler and a real butler on Celebrity. Tea was served each afternoon in our suite on Celebrity and non-existent on Princess. With Princess, the suite is nothing more than a larger cabin albeit a very nice one. Celebrity is really more of a suite experience. We preferred food and service on Celebrity as well and loved the Martini bar on the Equinox much more.

[bphman]

I just looked at the 2 cruises and both are great. I hope to give you some practical advice without being critical. You have to know that Civitavecchia is 2 hours from Rome and FLorence is 2 hours from Livorno so I hope you like buses. The most you will have is 8 hours in each city including mealtime. If you take ship excursions those days, you will be looking at $1,000 each day for four people. I know because we did it. With the Reflection, you start and end in 2 exciting cities and add-on days are tempting. Getting to town in the other ports is simple since you are docked right in each city except for Athens which is a 30 minute Taxi ride. We weren't too crazy about Athens since the Plaka and the Acropolis are some of the few highlights. It will also be broiling hot at around 100 degrees so you will quickly find the delight of ice cold Mythos beer. I also prefer the extra sea day Celebrity offers as these Med cruises can be exhausting. You can't make a wrong choice. Have a great time!

[Dr. Pam]

Bphman....thank you for your thoughts. I appreciate your advice. We were onboard the Equinox last summer and enjoyed our East Med cruise (Although Istanbul was not on the itinerary). We travel to Europe every other year, with cruising being our usual favourite but not only way of travel. We loved our Royal Suite especially with the hot tubs..oops I mean cool tub on the verandah especially when we came in from the hot days in Athens, Mykonos, etc. That is a definite advantage on Celebrity. However, although we found our butler to be very nice, we thought that he seemed overworked and did not impose on him.

We saw him in the morning when he served us breakfast and later in the day for tea delivery. Our only request of Wilson was a tour of the bridge, which he was able to accomodate. To sum it up, the butler service on the Equinox was just OK. We found our room steward on the Oasis on the holiday NYE sailing was notches above in the service department, minus the breakfast service. We also found the dining and food much much better on the Oasis...go figure??!!! Again, dining is very subjective....

 

I think in the end, the itineray will be the selling feature. We have been to all of the ports at least once, and some two or three times. :) :) We have stayed in Rome pre-cruise and also been there as port stops on 2 seperate occasions. We have used driverinrome for some very successful itineraries in Rome and southern Italy. If we did the Princess itinerary, we would be happy just to tour the catacombs, as our DD was not old enough to enter. Regarding the port of Livorno, we have seen Pisa, David, De Medicici house, etc. so I want to investigate something different (less driving) from this port. Naples might be a ship day, as we have visited this area often. Toulon...still questionable, as we had rented a villa in the south of France a few years ago, and did a lot of touring....however, there is still always something we have not seen or done! :) Kusadasi is another return port and I noticed that the Royal itinerary only permits 1/2day. Since we have toured Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary, I think that this might just be a quick shop and barter day. :)

 

I am currently holding 2 ressies until I research all the old ports and Istanbul. ( I know already that Istanbul will probably hold a return visit for us.) I know that we will have an amazing vacation on either cruise line.