Princess vs Celebrity

[shofer]

We are thinking of booking a Princess Panama Canal 10-days RT Miami for next February. As a dedicated Celebrity cruiser, will I find Princess more to my liking or less?

 

Celebrity's prices have really gotten out of line in the past year and we can get so much more for our money on Princess. Booking early no longer guarantees you a lower price.

 

I hear that Princess's cabins are larger, is that true? We would be getting some kind of balcony, haven't figured the categories out yet. (There are so many)

 

Celebrity is limited in their fleet and our only choices for a 14 day traverse of the Canal are Summit & Mercury, both of which we have already been on.

 

Any info is welcome. Thanks

[mr green]

I believe that we did Princess v X, a couple of weeks ago. You should take Coral through the Canal, I can't say enough about this ship. As for Mercury I found her to be a very tired, and overrated ship, one that I would never sail on again. The Princess Sun Class ships would be a good second choice, similar to Mercury but far more cheerful, and in better condition. The only thing that Mercury had was better shopping on board. john

[geoherb]

We hope to sail on both cruise lines again. We've been on four Princess cruises and two Celebrity ones. To be honest, while on Celebrity we miss some of the little things that Princess does better--and while on Princess we miss some of the things that Celebrity does better. And on HAL most recently, we missed both Princess and Celebrity--but we'd also book another HAL cruise if it worked out best for us. (And I can't say the same about Norwegian or Carnival.)

[ldoc31]

We have sailed twice on both lines. We took the Coral to the Panama Canal this past Jan. and loved the ship. Each line has its own "special" things, but you won't be disappointed with Princess.

[Coral]

I think the Coral/Island are some of the best ships Princess has. You will find it similiar in size of the Summit. They are 2 different lines and definitely do things differently. You will have to sail to see which you prefer.

[rainbird]

We have been on the Sea Princess and the Summit. We are now back on Princess for next January. We liked both cruises but prefer Princess. The Summit was a newer ship and had a lot more shopping on board. What we missed most from princess, was the 24 hr buffet and the fresh water pools. The pools on the Summit closed to early, about 6-8pm, and the princess pools and hottubs were open till midnight. This is a great time to use the pools and hot tubs without all those people around. We also liked the cruise staff better on princess, a lot more personable. The casino on the Summit was a lot better to us the princess, Princess was really tight for use. Both are great cruise lines.

 

Rainbird

[woodofpine]

Celeb ships are more elegantly decorated than Princess and their dining rooms are more impressive and they do more towels and linens. But Princess has a very friendly chipper crew disposition and their ships are better maintained (as a prior poster alluded to); I also generally prefer Princess' ship deck plans, many of the public rooms, and of course the pools (thellasos notwithstanding).

 

If you can avoid comparison critiquing and just view it as a new experience, then I'm sure you'll enjoy your Princess cruise a lot.

[shofer]

Thanks to all who answered. It seems that we might do the Coral to the Canal next February. Still waiting for the input on the other couples. I do love cruising and apart from sinking, I can't imagine anything that would make me have a bad time. What is the saying? "A bad day cruising is still better than a good day at the office".

[beach spring]

Celebrity: Infinity remains my alltime favorite. Esp. the thelassotherapy pool. Also, could have something to do with the five days of pure relaxation crossing the Pacific from Hawaii to Vancouver. One lovely touch happened on first afternoon out from Hawaii, when it was still quite warm (late May), and I was sunning by the pools. Pool band struck up a fanfare and down from the stairs paraded waiters with small cups of lemon sherbet for all or us, no charge! Wonderful.

 

Also, on Infinity, I was thrilled to discover that there was a well-stocked library and even happier to be able to attend a book discussion in the library. DH attended several lectures on various subjects.

 

Alas, I still regret not buying the CD by the ship band Onyx. They were fantastic. Kicking self still.

 

Sun Princess: Loved the wraparound promenade deck. Really enjoyed the Personal Choice dining option, and the pizza restaurant was great. Liked also having the laundry facility. The champagne waterfall event was exciting. We were not too thrilled with the shows and found the theater smallness very disappointing. Also, the transfer from FL airport to ship was tedious and long; return not much better.

 

Still in all, we are trying Princess again with the May California coastal. After all, any cruise is better than sitting at home;)