Advice Needed.... Eclipse vs Royal Princess

[bwg03]

All-

 

Hope everyone is having a good Hump Day!

 

My soon to be wife (Sept 12 wedding!!) and I are planning a cruise next spring and I wanted to get your input. I have cruises on Celebrity 5 times and absolutely love every aspect of it but wanted to get some advice and thoughts especially with the great itinerary on Princess (Only issue is short time in ports which takes away from benefit as outlined below). Price difference - OV on Celebrity is $400 more than Balcony on Princess.. Thanks in advance!

 

Drink packages are included on both ships

 

Eclipse (14nt)- At sea, At Sea, Aruba, Curacao, Curacao, At Sea, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, At sea, At sea

 

Royal Princess (10nt)- Sea, Sea, Aruba, Bonaire (7-2), Grenada (12-7), Dominica, St. Thomas, At Sea, Princess Cays,

Edited August 5, 2015 by bwg03

[OCruisers]

Eclipse gives you four more days and you already know you like Celebrity. ;)

 

LuLu

[tartan cruiser]

We've done both, most recently the Eclipse 2/2015. You can't go wrong with either choice. The short time in Bonaire is the only one that could be a problem. Grenada time is fine for most excursions. We did an island tour through a private company. About 3 1/2 hours long. The snorkel trip with Woodwinds in Bonaire is one of the best ever. We were back by 12:00 so it should work since they offer an afternoon tour at 12:30 as well. Not far back to the ship from their dock.(If you decide to do this excursion book it as soon as you book the cruise. It sells out sometimes a year in advance.) We actually have The Royal booked again for 2017. Personally I'd lean toward Eclipse. Love the ship, 4 days longer and you can build status points. Like I said can't go wrong with either choice.

[downsmead]

I agree with Tartan Cruiser, we have been on the Eclipse and Regal Princess and loved them both. I would go for the longer cruise. We love the ABC islands and Eclipse offers you 3 days there opposed to 1.5 on the Royal (though Bonaire is great for snorkelling). You also get 5 other ports on the Eclipse compared to 3 + Princess Cays on the Royal, so more islands to see and explore.

I would consider the extras on the Eclipse well worth the $400. Enjoy, which ever one you pick :):).

Edited August 5, 2015 by downsmead

[newmexicoNita]

All-

 

Hope everyone is having a good Hump Day!

 

My soon to be wife (Sept 12 wedding!!) and I are planning a cruise next spring and I wanted to get your input. I have cruises on Celebrity 5 times and absolutely love every aspect of it but wanted to get some advice and thoughts especially with the great itinerary on Princess (Only issue is short time in ports which takes away from benefit as outlined below). Price difference - OV on Celebrity is $400 more than Balcony on Princess.. Thanks in advance!

 

Drink packages are included on both ships

 

Eclipse (14nt)- At sea, At Sea, Aruba, Curacao, Curacao, At Sea, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, At sea, At sea

 

Royal Princess (10nt)- Sea, Sea, Aruba, Bonaire (7-2), Grenada (12-7), Dominica, St. Thomas, At Sea, Princess Cays,

Just my opinion and that doesn't make it right: we have sailed both lines more than once. i would take Celebrity over Princess almost anytime plus I happen to think the itinerary you are posting for Celebrity is darn good. We love Barbados and ST Kitts, Curacao is a fun island and msot everyone enjoys St. Maartin. I don't happen to think there is anything special about Aruba. It used to be a great lsland until it became too crowded, too many people living and working there from Venezuela and not Aruba and it is way too touristy. Of course Dominica is a wonderful port as well. I am just not a fan of Princess, we think it is over rated and if you are in the under 50 age bracket you might feel like a baby on Princess.

[bwg03]

Thank you all!

 

We are in our mid/late 20s. Definitely not party people as we just enjoy to sit back and relax and lay by the pool.

 

I am leaning towards Celebrity because well..... who wouldn't want 4 more days on a cruise ship! And status points are always big with me!

 

Seems like both great options but the short ports and 4 less nights swing it to Celebrity!

[macaroni]

I think princess does a great job and especially enjoy them in the warmer weather when using the pools. They have more choices of pools to hang out at depending on what you are looking for....and most outdoors...celebrity is great but pool choices are limited...at least on princess you get to Bonaire..celebrity took that stop away from us on our next cruise and added the overnight on curaçao...

[ClaudiaB]

That's a great 14 night cruise. We've done that cruise twice and are repeating it again this fall. Some ports are a bit different, but it's wonderful and we love love the ship.

That's only $100 more per day. I don't even think that's a major factor.

And....there's a chance you can catch a price reduction before you final payment and get a balcony. Maybe even an aft balcony (our favorite). Nothing like pulling into port and enjoying room service breakfast on your balcony as you get ready to head on out.

 

Congratulations in advance and happy honeymoon in the spring.

[AZ Ocean Lover]

The balcony on one and an OV on the other would definitely sway me to Princess. We are huge balcony fans so not having one would be a deal breaker for us.

 

If a balcony is not a big deal for you I think all of the other factors would sway me towards Celebrity.

 

You really can't go wrong with either.

[Cruise a holic]

All-

 

Hope everyone is having a good Hump Day!

 

My soon to be wife (Sept 12 wedding!!) and I are planning a cruise next spring and I wanted to get your input. I have cruises on Celebrity 5 times and absolutely love every aspect of it but wanted to get some advice and thoughts especially with the great itinerary on Princess (Only issue is short time in ports which takes away from benefit as outlined below). Price difference - OV on Celebrity is $400 more than Balcony on Princess.. Thanks in advance!

 

Drink packages are included on both ships

 

Eclipse (14nt)- At sea, At Sea, Aruba, Curacao, Curacao, At Sea, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, At sea, At sea

 

Royal Princess (10nt)- Sea, Sea, Aruba, Bonaire (7-2), Grenada (12-7), Dominica, St. Thomas, At Sea, Princess Cays,

 

Having sailed on Celebrity ships and a few Princess ships. I can say that hands down that you will have a better cruise on Celebrity. The food, entertainment, staff and the perks are much better on the Eclipse. The ship is wonderful, and the staff excellent. The ABC islands are also great.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[cynbar]

We love both cruise lines and both ships, but I have to agree that the extra 4 days would sway my decision to Celebrity. A balcony is important to us as well, but I bet you'll be able to get one for a good rate after final payment. Keep an eye on the prices, they almost always drop then unless your cruise is heavily booked. As long as you're paying at least a little extra, you can upsell yourself to a better cabin. We have done this successfully a number of times with Celebrity -- we book the lowest cabin we'd be happy with and keep an eye open for deals. Just call or have your TA call. It's been awhile since we ended up sailing in the first cabin we booked!

[awhfy]

We've done that 14 night itinerary 3 times (twice on Connie & once on Eclipse). It's our favorite itinerary. Enjoy whichever cruise you decide upon & have a wonderful wedding

[searoses]

Balconies on royal and regal are tiny!!.....I vote x....

[blueboro]

Balconies on royal and regal are tiny!!.....I vote x....

 

That and the lack of a mid-ship stairwell are the two main complaints I have seen on Royal/Regal. I have seen photos and it appears chairs have to be turned facing each other as there is not enough room on the balcony to sit with knees facing the water.

[bwg03]

We've done that 14 night itinerary 3 times (twice on Connie & once on Eclipse). It's our favorite itinerary. Enjoy whichever cruise you decide upon & have a wonderful wedding

 

Thanks! Looks as thought you did the same 14 nighter in March of this year. I would assume the weather is perfect this time of year?

 

Are there an overload of children on a 14nt cruise March 6? I would think its before Spring break and most families cannot take 2 weeks off of school!

[littleface]

We were on the Regal Princess (sister ship) in March and on the Eclipse a few years ago. The balconies are small on Princess! Both ships are very nice. The Princess has a wonderful buffet.

 

You will have an amazing time on either but I would go for the 4 extra days!

[lightsleeper]

We have sailed on both the Royal and the Eclipse

 

Royal

Small balconies

shows only 1/2 hour although they are performed 3 times nightly

Amazing buffet

Movies Under the Stars

Removed one pool mid-ships and put in water display

no middle stairway but never affected us as we use the stairs

Can access your cabin when embark

has the Sanctuary if you are interest... adult only pay for area

Only 10 days

 

Eclipse

Bigger balconies

Shows longer...almost an hour but only twice nightly

very good buffet

better service in dining room...more attention paid...food comparable

cannot access cabin upon embarkation...usually can get access by 2 pm

14 days

 

Just some point off the top of my head

 

 

We would travel either based on ports of call...We are scheduled on the Eclipse and are looking at Royal/Regal for the cruise after

[floridatravelersforlife]

WE have been solely Celebrity cruisers for 15 years. Since the Recession, I always presumed, all cruise lines were cutting back.. We took our first Princess cruise last year on the Royal Princess. All I can say it's good to be able to compare and I wish we had tried Princess earlier. We actually liked the Princess cruise better. Yes the balconies are small and there are some pluses and negatives provided in this thread, but the Princess product is just as good. What ever you choose will be rewarding.

[Cruise Junky]

While "most" of the balconies on Royal are smaller you can snag some decent ones under the sea walk. We just booked and got one on a lower floor to get away from the privacy issues. It's 24 sq ft bigger than the norm. Still not a 1a balcony but it might suffice.

[awhfy]

Thanks! Looks as thought you did the same 14 nighter in March of this year. I would assume the weather is perfect this time of year?

 

 

 

Are there an overload of children on a 14nt cruise March 6? I would think its before Spring break and most families cannot take 2 weeks off of school!

 

 

Weather was great except for Aruba where it poured (never saw rain in Aruba before). There's never a ton of kids on Celebrity but there were more than usual on this one (maybe 35-50). With homeschooling people aren't as tied to school calendars as before. Would I book on this 2week again? You betcha

[Cruise a holic]

Weather was great except for Aruba where it poured (never saw rain in Aruba before). There's never a ton of kids on Celebrity but there were more than usual on this one (maybe 35-50). With homeschooling people aren't as tied to school calendars as before. Would I book on this 2week again? You betcha

 

actually we had an unbelievable amount of rain in Aruba. We were on an open Party bus and got drenched! We were on our way to the beach and within 25 minutes the sun was out. The bus had about 8" or more water in it! It was funny. My DH didn't think so! lol

[Hlitner]

We like and cruise both lines. But under normal circumstances we would opt for the longer cruise :). And having seen the Royal Princess we were somewhat shocked at the postage stamp balconies. Its almost like Princess went backwards when they designed the Royal and Regal.

 

Hank

Edited August 7, 2015 by Hlitner

[nojoke]

We are booked for the 10-day Royal itinerary this November. The reason we chose it over the Celebrity cruise was that we had already been to all of the Celebrity ports more than once, and had never visited Grenada or Bonaire (which Princess visits). We do prefer a balcony, especially in the Caribbean. We sailed on Royal last year, and the balcony size was not a deal-breaker for us. Just saying’!

Just to muddy the waters, I will say that Celebrity is still our top pick!

You will have a wonderful time on either ship.

[emileg]

We have been on the Royal Princess (RP) and three S-class ships. All outstanding ships. I prefer more days at sea, and would probably choose the Eclipse. You can get a very large balcony on the RP by choosing a forward facing stateroom. Forget anything you might have heard about lack of balcony access while at sea. Not so, but you have to be careful when it is windy. I didn't like the outdoor promenade on the RP because it is just a catwalk. However, I love the RP atrium and the frequent classical music played there. I would go on both ships in a heartbeat.