10 Day Emerald or Equinox

[crystal blue]

Last year I did the 10 day Equinox in Febuary and I am trying to decide if I should do Equinox again or try Emerald. If anyone has done both I would like your thoughts. If you have done the 10 day Emerald please let me know why you liked or disliked the cruise.

[Tak8]

I haven't done the Equinox, but I really enjoyed my Christmas Emerald cruise. How do the islands stack up? Have you been on Princess before? I done several other lines, but not Celebrity. I always say it's nice to try other lines for comparison. You may find a new favorite or strengthen your preference.

[Kirsten T]

Just did the 10 day Eastern itinerary on Emerald (Antigua, St Lucia, St Kitts, Barbados, St Thomas/Crown Bay, Princess Cays.) Did this exact same trip in 2011 and loved it, hence the repeat. (I'm also doing 10 day Equinox next month, lucky me.) We use both X and Princess, and when comparing the S-class X ships to Crown class Princess, I think the big ticket items are:

 

- Princess standard veranda cabins aren't nearly as nice as X std. verandas in some respects - no couch, more spartan bathrooms, not as nicely appointed. Princess has better storage space and on Caribe deck, better verandas (except for the few Celebrity hump cabins with extra space.) That said, Princess mini-suites can be about the same price as an X concierge class cabin and the minis rock, especially the Emerald deck minis with fully covered verandas (all Dolphin deck minis are fully open on Princess Crown class.)

 

- main dining room food quality is just a notch better on X, and the Princess buffets (Horizon and Caribe) are a cruel joke compared the the buffet area on X. Only 2 specialty restaurants on Emerald, with no discounting of the upcharge ($25.) Better room service menu on X. Princess sells a specialty coffee card which includes brewed coffee and tea, separate from their other beverage packages and that works well for us as we don't drink soda. Princess has no "all-inclusive" booze package like X does; they do have a couple NA packages.

 

- itinerary is great on both so I'd call that a draw. Princess uses Crown Bay (mostly) in St Thomas, which I personally hate, so maybe a slight edge for X in St Thomas.

 

- we've had outstanding service on both lines so I'd call that a draw as well.

 

We've tended to do Princess the past few years strictly based on price and departure dates. I think the X S-class ships are better designed and visually more attractive than Princess ships, but that's highly subjective. Guess it'll depend on how comfortable you are with change; Emerald would definitely be a change, but possibly just as good an experience. We thoroughly enjoyed our recent Emerald cruise - best one in a number of years.

 

Cheers,

Kirsten

[crystal blue]

KirstenT thanks for the comparison. I think I am most likely going to do Celebrity. Equinox is sold out except suites for my dates so will do either the 14 day Eclipse (have on hold) or a B2B on the Silhouette.

[davekathy]

Just did the 10 day Eastern itinerary on Emerald (Antigua, St Lucia, St Kitts, Barbados, St Thomas/Crown Bay, Princess Cays.) Did this exact same trip in 2011 and loved it, hence the repeat. (I'm also doing 10 day Equinox next month, lucky me.) We use both X and Princess, and when comparing the S-class X ships to Crown class Princess, I think the big ticket items are:

 

- Princess standard veranda cabins aren't nearly as nice as X std. verandas in some respects - no couch, more spartan bathrooms, not as nicely appointed. Princess has better storage space and on Caribe deck, better verandas (except for the few Celebrity hump cabins with extra space.) That said, Princess mini-suites can be about the same price as an X concierge class cabin and the minis rock, especially the Emerald deck minis with fully covered verandas (all Dolphin deck minis are fully open on Princess Crown class.)

 

- main dining room food quality is just a notch better on X, and the Princess buffets (Horizon and Caribe) are a cruel joke compared the the buffet area on X. Only 2 specialty restaurants on Emerald, with no discounting of the upcharge ($25.) Better room service menu on X. Princess sells a specialty coffee card which includes brewed coffee and tea, separate from their other beverage packages and that works well for us as we don't drink soda. Princess has no "all-inclusive" booze package like X does; they do have a couple NA packages.

 

- itinerary is great on both so I'd call that a draw. Princess uses Crown Bay (mostly) in St Thomas, which I personally hate, so maybe a slight edge for X in St Thomas.

 

- we've had outstanding service on both lines so I'd call that a draw as well.

 

We've tended to do Princess the past few years strictly based on price and departure dates. I think the X S-class ships are better designed and visually more attractive than Princess ships, but that's highly subjective. Guess it'll depend on how comfortable you are with change; Emerald would definitely be a change, but possibly just as good an experience. We thoroughly enjoyed our recent Emerald cruise - best one in a number of years.

 

Cheers,

Kirsten

 

We'll be sailing on the Emerald March/April 2013 and will be stopping at St. Thomas. Based on your post sounds like we'll de docking at Crown Bay. What did you hate about Crown Bay?