Royal Princess or Celebrity Solstice Class?

[shipfriend_max]

Hi guys,

 

my cousin and me probably plan a caribbean cruise during easter 2014.

 

For example we plan a cruise from Florida - would you recommend to choose Celebrity Silhouette/Reflection or the new Royal Princess? :)

 

Thank you!!

[Tak8]

I already gave you my thoughts on the Celebrity board, but I wanted to see what others have to say on the Princess board.

[kk99]

Hi,

We are at the elite level tier on both Celebrity and Princess. I've sailed on Reflection as well as the other S class ships, and we have Royal booked for Canada/NewEngland next year.

 

If theitineraries are roughly the same, then compare prices for similar cabins on both ships, and whatever promotions that the cruise lines are offering for the sailing.

 

Celebrity and Princess both have a lot of pluses. If you want a bigger( nonsuite) balcony for your cruise, pick Celebrity. The balcony size on Royal is smaller from all of the reports and pictures posted. We chose not to cruise the Caribbean on Royal since we like spending time on the balcony in warmer weather.

 

 

I find that Princess has more daytime activities that I like than Celebrity. Both have paid specialty restaurants and I enjoyed all five of the ones on Reflection.

Both have good main room dining, and Princess' pizza is better than Celebrity. Princess' coffee, other than specialty coffees is not the best in my opinion. I prefer the buffet on Celebrity S Class ships to the older Princess buffets. The new Royal buffet looks good, and I look forward to trying it out.

 

Drink costs are comparable( unless you are able to book a Celebrity cruise where they include a drink package as a promotion), and Royal will have self service laundry on it while Celebrity does not, although they run laundry and dry cleaning specials during the cruise.

 

Princess has Movies Under the Stars, Celebrity doesn't, if it matters to you, although you can eat at a picnic on the Lawn and listen to music on Celebrity S class ships.

 

Celebrity has a more restrictive smoking policy than Princess does, and in my mind that is a plus. Both casinos take your money, and sometimes give it back.:D I like the entertainment on both ships, although I think Celebrity's production shows may be a bit better.

 

For me, it would come down to the price and amenities offered by the cruise line and your travel agent for the booking. There should be a slightly younger demographic if you cruise during the spring break time period.

 

I know you will have a great cruise on whatever line you pick.

[dorisis]

For me the cabin size could be important. Celebrity's are larger.

[Cruise Junky]

Celebrity is giving away free drink packages with all 2014 Caribbean bookings right now. Make sure you take that into consideration.

[rdsqrl]

It might help if you posted the two itineraries. Unless you've been multiple times to the Caribbean, I presume itinerary would be first priority, closely followed by price. At least, I assume that because those would be my first two priorities . . . so, in the absence of that information, I can't offer an opinion. Beyond, of course, my purely subjective preference for Princess all the way!

[shipfriend_max]

Itinerary:

Royal princess: FL - Princess cays - at sea - St. Thomas - St. maarten - at sea - at sea - FL

 

Reflection: Miami - at Sea - San Juan - St. Thomas - St. Maarten - at sea - at sea - Maimi

 

Silhouette: FL - at sea - Cozumel - Grand Cayman - Falmouth - Labadee - at sea - FL

 

I really like both Princess and Celebrity, but I do not know Royal princess or any of the Solstice-class-ships.

But the Royal princess itinerary is somewhat boring, I'd only book this cruise if the ship is REALLY GREAT! :D

But I also hear only good things about the S-Class-ships... we will see what happens.

Maybe we also book Celebrity Summit or Jewel of the Seas out of San Juan. :)

[Crystabel]

We are Platinum on Princess and took our first Celebrity cruise to the Caribbean this year. Considering the drink package promotion, the itinerary, and Celebrity's cabins, I would chose the Reflection. As kk99 stated, both cruise lines have their pluses and minuses. You won't be disappointed with any choice you make. Have a wonderful cruise.

[sandinmyshoes]

I'd go Celebrity's Solstice Class every time. No question! And we are premier with Princess.

[sabookkeeper]

I already gave you my thoughts on the Celebrity board, but I wanted to see what others have to say on the Princess board.

I think you will enjoy yourself on either line. Just a couple of things to note...to get a sofa in the stateroom on Princess you have to book a mini suite or on the Royal a Deluxe Balcony where Celebrity they are in all of the staterooms. I believe Princess has better dessert choices and their "goodies" in the International Café are better than the selections offered in Café Al Bacio. Princess has Sanctuary which is an adult only area (for a fee) but Celebrity has the Solarium for adults only and we never had any problem finding somewhere to sit. Lastly, if you are considering the Royal, the balconies are considerably smaller than the balconies on Celebrity ships.

[shipfriend_max]

We are Platinum on Princess and took our first Celebrity cruise to the Caribbean this year. Considering the drink package promotion, the itinerary, and Celebrity's cabins, I would chose the Reflection. As kk99 stated, both cruise lines have their pluses and minuses. You won't be disappointed with any choice you make. Have a wonderful cruise.

 

Hi! Thank you so much! :)

Why would you choose the reflection itinerary and not Silhouette?

 

Hello at all the others,

thank you also for your answers!!:)

[fishin' musician]

Hi Max, I recommend not confining your vacation to those ships, those ports are the most "touristy" in the Caribbean. For example, check out the ports on the 10 day Emerald itineraries. HAL and NCL also have more exotic offerings.

[Crystabel]

Hi! Thank you so much! :)

Why would you choose the reflection itinerary and not Silhouette?

 

 

 

It's just a personal preference with regard to the ports. Check out Trip Advisor and the threads here on CC. You can get a lot of information and opinions from those who've sailed to all of these islands. I find that researching is part of the fun and adds to the anticipation of my cruise.

[lovevacadays]

For me the cabin size could be important. Celebrity's are larger.

 

Is this true for most categories of cabins? Do you have the size for both Princess and Celebrity's inside, outside, balcony, etc cabins? I would be very interested in seeing the comparison.

 

Itinerary:

Royal princess: FL - Princess cays - at sea - St. Thomas - St. maarten - at sea - at sea - FL

 

Reflection: Miami - at Sea - San Juan - St. Thomas - St. Maarten - at sea - at sea - Maimi

 

Silhouette: FL - at sea - Cozumel - Grand Cayman - Falmouth - Labadee - at sea - FL

 

I really like both Princess and Celebrity, but I do not know Royal princess or any of the Solstice-class-ships.

But the Royal princess itinerary is somewhat boring, I'd only book this cruise if the ship is REALLY GREAT! :D

But I also hear only good things about the S-Class-ships... we will see what happens.

Maybe we also book Celebrity Summit or Jewel of the Seas out of San Juan. :)

 

If I was going to pick solely on itinerary I would pick the Reflection or Silhouette. I am disappointed in the Royal's Caribbean itinerary. I do love San Juan so I might lean toward the Reflection.:)

[rdsqrl]

Ditto Michelle's answer above: I'd pick the itinerary that includes San Juan, which is one of my favourite Caribbean ports -- so much to see and do there. If the Royal had that port stop also, then I'd vote for trying Princess, but the Reflection's itinerary is just better. I may have to turn in my tasteful Princess Seawitch logo pompoms . . .

 

I refuse to go to Jamaica right now, and Grand Cayman bores the living daylights out of me, so the western route is a no go to me. Here's an itin where Princess excels: their route out of Galveston/Houston goes to Belize and Honduras -- definitely more interesting than Celebrity's.

[Bently57]

surpassingly sad when a brand new ship has a review rating on this site that drops lower each time I check. we are platinum on Princess but smaller balconies ain't my thang. Hopefully after the Regal is finished they change this aspect of their new builds.

[shipfriend_max]

Hi Max' date=' I recommend not confining your vacation to those ships, those ports are the most "touristy" in the Caribbean. For example, check out the ports on the 10 day Emerald itineraries. HAL and NCL also have more exotic offerings.[/quote']

 

Hi Tim,

 

thanks for help! I've looked up the Emerald itinerary but my cousin is new to cruising and he only would like to cruise one week to have the experience - on top of that, the Emerald is a littlebit too expensive...;)

If we sail from Florida, I will suggest Silhouette on the western caribbean itinerry, because the ports in the eastern caribbean which are visited by X Reflection I know...

 

But as I wrote before: maybe we also choose the Southern caribbean out of San Juan again...:)

[MamaKD]

Celebrity over Royal Princess for us....just got off the Royal and would not sail her again. We were prepared to love the ship given all the anticipation and hype but it did not deliver. Aside from the usual (small cabins and miniscule balconies, lack of central stairs etc.) we found the food sub par and downright weird at times. While I recognize that food is subjective, veal sweetbreads and chicken livers as appetizers, tripe in the soup?? Eating in the dining room is something we seriously look forward to and we were disappointed. Room service was poor with only cereals and pastries available at breakfast and there was a sameness about the choices at the buffet. There were a lot of little things that were insignificant on their own but grouped together became pretty irritating over 12 days. One example - the bathrobes were a disgrace. Picture one of those cheap waffle dish towels that shrink to half their size after first wash....I'm a small person and had to wear 2 just to be decent!

 

Considering we paid about twice as much for the Royal 12 day than our 12 day Solstice 2 years ago, I expected more. While there were some things I liked (closet area, International Cafe and the overall decor and public spaces) it was not enough to make us want to cruise Princess again.

[Casey12]

Celebrity.

[JimmyVWine]

For me the cabin size could be important. Celebrity's are larger.

We are Platinum on Princess and took our first Celebrity cruise to the Caribbean this year. Considering the drink package promotion, the itinerary, and Celebrity's cabins, I would chose the Reflection.

I'd go Celebrity's Solstice Class every time. No question! And we are premier with Princess.

If I was going to pick solely on itinerary I would pick the Reflection or Silhouette. I am disappointed in the Royal's Caribbean itinerary.

Ditto Michelle's answer above.

Celebrity over Royal Princess for us....just got off the Royal and would not sail her again. ...While there were some things I liked (closet area, International Cafe and the overall decor and public spaces) it was not enough to make us want to cruise Princess again.

Celebrity.

This thread is very enlightening. I think that it is worth noting that despite the constant scolding of people who criticize Royal before sailing on her, in the real world, the vast majority of people planning a vacation and selecting the ship and itinerary will have to do so prior to actually ever sailing on either of the ships they are choosing between. And if this is the reaction that Royal and her itineraries are engendering, Princess had better sit up and take notice. Few people are going to take the: "I think I'll plunk down my money on Royal and decide for myself" approach. To the contrary, most people are going to be persuaded by word of mouth, and if this is any indication, Princess has some serious re-thinking to do as it moves forward.

[UpcountryTravelers]

We love both Princess and Celebrity (at least Reflection, which has been our only Celebrity so far). Would book Celebrity again, if we find an itinerary we want. Especially the beautiful Reflection.

 

Our TA gave us this headsup: On Princess your amenities and perks are primarily based on your loyalty level. On Celebrity they are based on your cabin class. Example: some restaurants and poolsides were "off limits" to us because we were "only" Concierge Class. Knowing this in advance helped us to plan. I don't consider one better than the other, simply different.

[kath00]

We were surprised at how much we LOVED Labadee when we went there with Allure. It was our fave stop in the whole Eastern/Western itniary B2B we did this past Spring. I would frankly chose the itiniary with that stop!

[shipfriend_max]

We were surprised at how much we LOVED Labadee when we went there with Allure. It was our fave stop in the whole Eastern/Western itniary B2B we did this past Spring. I would frankly chose the itiniary with that stop!

 

Thanks! I am also interested about Labadee - I really would like to stop there some day! :)

[koolforkatz]

Hands down Celebrity - the S class ships are gorgeous.

[terrierjohn]

Not been on the Royal but with its teeny weeny balconies, and no sofas in standard cabins , it would have to be Solstice class for us.