Celebrity fan returns from Grand-Long

[crusing plantlady]

I guess it's funny how you see things. I am the parent of a 13 and 10 year old. We sailed on the Grand March 28th and had a great time, but i didn't think there were enough kids. My children never buddied up. We were very busy as a family with the ports and excursions but I had thought they would find friends, and this never happened. We all had an excellent time and would recommend this ship without hesitation

[woodofpine]

My past few cruises have alternated between Celeb and Princess. Princess "hooked" us on cruising in '01.

 

Line loyalty is a funny thing. Like the prior poster said, you often see what you want to see. I went into my first Celeb cruise (Summit) in a critical state of mind and as a result, I was fairly critical of the experience. My most recent Celeb cruise (a couple weeks ago - also Summit) was sort of a rushed plan with less expectation, and I had a much better experience (objectively). Celeb rose greatly in my esteem as a result - validly too I believe. Both lines are very competitive albeit distinct products. I look forward to trying RCCL and HAL - both have loyalists I know and respect.

 

IMHO there are only a couple very general, generalizations that can be judged between Princess and Celeb. Pools - Princess WINS (Celeb's T-pool is nice though); Towels and Linens - Celeb WINS hands down; Dining - oh boy... Celeb's multi-story musician accompanied dining rooms are nicer than P's physically. Princess 24hr and PC choice options are wonderful for many, but I think PC stresses out the service and kitchen staff with attendant results. Item to item food comparisons have no real value since we all have different taste buds. Summit's food and food service improved significantly in the 15 months between my sailings - interspersed with a PC Golden Med sailing.

 

I think the crews are equally committed to delivering a great experience to their pax and that is probably what makes the lines truly competitive. Having survived its purchase by RCI, Celeb is now doing some interesting things on the exotic side and the benefits of some key Crystal line management hires are being felt. Princess on the other hand is in a "what does it mean to be part of Carnival?" period.

 

That said, Princess has stronger on shore organization, and in a critical nautical situation, I think I'd rather be under the command of a Princess non-hotel crew.

 

My 2 cents...

[cruisesusie]

Thanks for your review - very interesting. I do, however, have one comment - the cabin stewards leave a bucket of ice daily so there is no need to call room service. Did they stop that service?

 

Susan

 

Until Our Island Hawaii Cruise

 

[KruzPrincess]

I'm Princess Elite, but have never been on a Celebrity cruise. I've been on several other cruise lines, though. I think a lot is what you're used to. I love how Princess does things. When I go on another cruise line, we tend to constantly compare it to Princess. I imagine a Celebrity, RCI, HAL fan does the same thing when they go on a Princess cruise.

 

A few comments: I always have ice in a bucket in my refrigerator and have never had to order it from room service. If you didn't have that, you just needed to mention it to your cabin steward. ~ I've never seen a wet t-shirt contest on Princess with women. There are some annoying adult themed games which I avoid, but most other people seem to love it. Princess tries to offer a wide range of activities for different types of people. I continually read that Princess is for old people and doesn't have games for younger people. This is one of those things that appeals to some and not to others. ~ Yes, you can get hot breakfast on Princess. You need to write it on your card or call room service. ~ I don't drink coffee, but none of my friends have ever complained too much about this. ~ News sheets are available to read in the library on most ships. Instead of printing thousands of sheets that go unread and are tossed, they've tried to save on paper by having a few copies in the library for those who want to read them.

 

I have come to love Anytime Dining and miss it when I go on other cruise lines. More and more, Princess has spoiled me. I would love to try Celebrity, but even IF the food is a bit better, I doubt it will make up for the loss of freedom I have with Princess. I just got off the Island Princess, though, and while the food was very good and even excellent at times, the menus were less imaginative than I recall.

[jsea]

woodofpine I think I agree with you to the letter.