Differences between Infinity and Golden Princess

[grayjay]

I have got a question of my own today: We have left it rather late to book the second leg of our trip to South America "Round the Horn from Bueos Aires to Valparaiso". We're already booked on the repo cruise to Miami. As "Celebrity Infinity" right now only can offer inside cabins and OV's at outrageous prices and their waitlists for balcony cabins seem to be full we are considering to book Princess Cruises for the first time. It's the "Golden Princess" on almost an identical itinerary.

We have cruised Celebrity quite a lot now but never Princess - that's the reason why I'd like to ask those who have sailed both ships:

What were your experiences? Cabins ( we'd have cat. BD if we decide to book), condition of ship, food, smoking policy , and everything else you'd like to mention. I'm still hesitating to book because we feel comfortable on Celebrity ships and the member reviews of "Golden Princess" seem to differ very much. On the other hand I don't know if cabins on "Infinity" will open up after final payment day - and right now their prices for an inside cabin is the same as a balcony cabin on Princess.

Any piece of advice for me?? Thank you!!

[Nanatravel]

I have cruised numerous times on both Cruise Lines. Celebrity still remains my first choice. The biggest difference I find is the balcony cabin layout and size. Princess BD will not have a Love Seat sofa. Just one chair for use at the vanity/desk. Service is not white glove but fine on Princess. You can buy a wine package but I don't know if they have introduced a full Beverage Package as yet. They have a Soda or Coffee card on Princess which works out well. Both lines sail from Port Everglades; a taxi may be necessary to get to the other ship (not always the easiest thing to do as the drivers want a longer fare.)

[mafig]

Just so you know, the balconies on Caribe Deck are 9 x 9, half covered. Try to get one of these.;)

[Ken1359]

I've traveled Princess 16 times....until I had the good fortune to try Celebrity. I'd take Celebrity over Princess any time all things being equal. I was on the Golden r.t. L.A. to Hawaii last October. My cabin was a mini-suite which is about the size of a Celebrity M class Concierge Class cabin. The cabin was comfortable and well maintained with a great room steward. The similarities ended there for me.

 

My traveling companions all commented on the poor meal quality.....some nights not far superior to Denny's. Dinner service was fine, but I couldn't believe what I was being served. One night the prime rib was so tough that a steak knife was almost no match for it. The dish was replaced after some at the table had nearly finished. Another night I was served something claiming to be Beef Stroganoff.....it was a pile of congealed noodles with some bits of beef dropped on top.....nothing coming close to the sour cream and sauteed beef I had been expecting. I asked if it was always served this way and was told yes. No one else at the table recognized the dish either. Am I picky? Not at all, but I've come to expect meals on cruises to be better than average on the whole.

 

The entertainment on Princess is OK if you don't travel with them frequently, otherwise very repetitious from cruise to cruise. As I said, Princess usually does reasonably well, but I'd choose Celebrity if I could.

 

All that being said, enjoy your trip. We all see things differently.

[ORV]

I've been on 1 Princess cruise, and it was on Golden. Most crowded ship I have ever been on. Long waits for anytime dining. Not enough room in the theatre for all wanting to attend.

 

I haven't had any great yearning to book Princess again. I thought Costa was a much better line.

[Cruise Raider]

....and the winner is: the Infinity

 

While the Golden is one of the better ships (IMHO) in the Princess fleet, the Infinity is awesome.

 

The room set up on Celebrity is better, service is more white glove and the public spaces are better maintained. I loved the buffet on the Infinity, whereas it is just ok on Princess. The closets are actually better on the Golden with an open design....just seems roomier.

The Golden does have MUTS, which is a plus for me. The indoor pool, both on the Golden and the Infinity, is so much nicer on the Infinity.

The entertainment venues win hands down on Celebrity -- the rooms are way too small on Princess ships.

Celebrity's non-smoking policy works better for me. While Princess does have non-smoking nights in the casino on formal nights, the casinos on Celebrity ships are always non-smoking....NICE.

[grayjay]

Thank you for all your ideas and help. It was really interesting to read about the views - which were a bit different if you compare this board to the Princess board.

Unfortunately we had to scrap the idea of a BtB-cruise anyway and won't have the chance to try Princess cruises because of family commitments. But as a consolation for the loss of a chance to cruise around the Horn again we decided to book another cruise on "Infinity" to Norway.... :rolleyes::rolleyes:

[gkm]

T But as a consolation for the loss of a chance to cruise around the Horn again we decided to book another cruise on "Infinity" to Norway.... :rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

You won't regret it. We cruise to Norway on the Infinity this past summer and it was a wonderful cruise. Try to get an aft balcony if you can. The views are breathtaking!

 

Garry

[grayjay]

You won't regret it. We cruise to Norway on the Infinity this past summer and it was a wonderful cruise. Try to get an aft balcony if you can. The views are breathtaking!

 

Garry

 

Very true!!!! We have done the fjords trip on "Connie" three times already now :eek: because we just love going to Norway but will cruise "Infinity" this time to see Iceland and the Shetland Isles.

And as a second consolation prize we'll be able to keep our repo cruise from Valparaiso to Miami in an aft balcony cabin - see you on board in a few months time!! :)

[gkm]

Very true!!!! We have done the fjords trip on "Connie" three times already now :eek: because we just love going to Norway but will cruise "Infinity" this time to see Iceland and the Shetland Isles.

And as a second consolation prize we'll be able to keep our repo cruise from Valparaiso to Miami in an aft balcony cabin - see you on board in a few months time!! :)

 

You'll love Iceland. On the SA cruise, you're just 2 doors down from us. :D Bob and I are looking forward to meeting you.

 

Garry