Ship comparison Grand Princess vs Celebrity Millinium

[pd52]

We are regular cruisers and mostly sail on X. We can get a balcony on the Grand Princess for an OS on the Millie. We have gotten very comfortable over the past several yrs with X, but we are contemplating "going to the other side" to try things out due to this deal. We have never been on Princess. If anyone can help us with some comparisons, it would be appreciated. Hate to be sorry.

They are both 7 day cruises in the Carib.

 

Thanks

[operafan]

We are regular cruisers and mostly sail on X. We can get a balcony on the Grand Princess for an OS on the Millie. We have gotten very comfortable over the past several yrs with X, but we are contemplating "going to the other side" to try things out due to this deal. We have never been on Princess. If anyone can help us with some comparisons, it would be appreciated. Hate to be sorry.

They are both 7 day cruises in the Carib.

 

Thanks

 

The only thing I can tell you is that our experience on the "Grand" was awful. Inedible food, terrible service, lines for everything..........Ship had a couple of positives; Muts was terrific (except for the stale popcorn they passed out) and the ship's decor is nice. I'm generally not much of a nit-picker and DH rarely complains about anything but we REALLY had to dig deep for our sense of humor during this fiasco. I could go on for pages and pages but suffice it to say I would NEVER recommend the "Grand".

[Alaskan Traveler]

We are regular cruisers and mostly sail on X. We can get a balcony on the Grand Princess for an OS on the Millie. We have gotten very comfortable over the past several yrs with X, but we are contemplating "going to the other side" to try things out due to this deal. We have never been on Princess. If anyone can help us with some comparisons, it would be appreciated. Hate to be sorry.

They are both 7 day cruises in the Carib.

 

Thanks

 

Hi pd52,

 

Both cruise lines offer about the same great service and food. The Grand Princess is larger than the Millie and holds about 2,600 passengers compared to the Millie's 1,950. There are only minor differences between the two cruise lines. The price difference that you noted are not that unusual as most cruises that I have looked at Princess is usually cheaper for teh same accommodations. There are only small differences like Princess does not offer a welcome champagne when you first board the ship, but on the other hand there are no pods to worry about on Princess ships.

 

If you are thinking about a balcony on Princess check out the price difference to move up to a mini suite. The mini's often are not that much more and there is a lot more room and other amenities that go with the mini. The Princess mini's are about the same square footage as the Sky Suite on Celebrity.

 

I am sure you will enjoy your Princess cruise. I know I will get a lot of argument on this forum, but I feel overall Princess offers a better cruise experience than Celebrity. I am one who enjoys trying out different cruise lines and experiencing different food and entertainment instead of just sailing the same cruise line all the time.

 

Happy Sailing.

[dutchess43]

I have done both Princes & X(Millie twice) & I have cruised on the Grand in 2005. We like both as they both offer different ammenities. We found X ships easier to get around by that I mean the decks seem to go completely through from the front to the back. If you are into wine X still has sommiliers while Princess you receive suggestions from the waiters. X only has traditional dining(which we prefer) Princess has traditional & anytime dining. I like the layout of the princess balcony cabin better. We loved the food on both. On Princess, lunch time you seem to have a lot more different buffett themes. The Grand is bigger then the Millie. IMHO we like trying different cruise lines so we can branch out & get different views & services. This month will be cruising on our 22nd cruise. Our future cruises that are booked are with RCL, X, & Princess.

[woodofpine]

I agree that Princess and X are pretty comparable. If you keep your expectations modest and you're open minded then you'll probably have a great time. On either line, it's amazing how the food can vary per ship/chef.

 

I had high expectations of my first X cruise on Summit and was sort of disappointed (X later redeemed). Princess provided a superb first cruise so I'm a little partial there.

 

That said, on harder structural stuff, the dining room architecture is more impressive (2 story) on the M-class than the Grand. Otherwise the Grand is a more achitecturally impessive ship. Princess pools are famous (T-pool notwithstanding). X leans more toward formal elegant service style, Princess leans toward chipper friendly-gregarious. It's pretty incremental a difference though.

[jerseygirl3]

We are regular cruisers and mostly sail on X. We can get a balcony on the Grand Princess for an OS on the Millie. We have gotten very comfortable over the past several yrs with X, but we are contemplating "going to the other side" to try things out due to this deal. We have never been on Princess. If anyone can help us with some comparisons, it would be appreciated. Hate to be sorry.

They are both 7 day cruises in the Carib.

 

Thanks

 

 

I'm not sure I understand. Do you mean to say you can get a balcony cabin on Grand Princess for what an OS (Owner's Suite) will cost on the Millie? Surely I've misunderstood.

[ocngypz]

OS is outside.. which really is OV in Celebrity lingo.

 

What I really enjoyed about the Grand Princess was all the choices of entertainment venues at night.. and SkyWalkers Disco.. is a knockout.

[hcat]

What is the big thing across the back of the Grand--have always wondered what it was--looks kind of scary!

[amagar]

We bounce between X and Princess depending on itinerary and cost.

 

Food comparable. Princess pools stay open much later, but no T-pool. Princess alcohol much cheaper, but better selection and better made on X. X often older (avg 50-60), Princess 40-50.

 

All things being equal, we give X the edge. (we're kissing 40 ourselves)

 

It's very difficult to compare tit for tat because so much of our experience always hinges on the crew's mood that week and the fellow passengers. Our best crew experience was with Princess, but so was our worst passenger experience -- two Russian woman, early 20s, spent a week in thongs and topless around main pool despite repeated warnings to cover up (didn't bother me, but others concerned)...but then these two idiots stood on a second floor, watching waiters poor champagne into a two-store pyramid of glasses...and instead of throwing their unspooled streamers...they threw them balled up, trying to topple the tower. One of the staff almost fell off a ladder.

 

If you get a good deal with Princess, I wouldn't hesitate. Balcony v. inside for the same price, I'd take the balcony.

[Davey Interweb]

What is the big thing across the back of the Grand--have always wondered what it was--looks kind of scary!

 

That'd be Skywalker Nightclub. Kinda ugly, but neat at the same time.

[harrodsfan]

We had a suite on Grand Princess and concierge suite on Millie..

Food better on Princess./much better in fact.

On the other hand...Millie is much smaller and has better entertainment and public rooms..

try Princess...:)

[taralin]

Skywalker was one of my favorite places to be..during the day it is all but empty ..it's a great place to sit and the views of the wake are spectacular...I've been on two Princess cruises...LOVED them both..my first Celebrity is next April.

[RickT]

Just off the Grand and as others have said, compares well with Millie. Thought the food and service on Princess was comparable. Ships are quite different and there are some pluses for X and some for the Grand. Felt the Millie was more upscale than the Grand.

 

I still prefer the Millie but would cruise the Grand if the price were better and the itinerary was compatable.

[Hafta' Cruise]

:o We have cruised 4 times on the Grand and have always loved it. We have not cruised on Millie but several times on Summit and other Celebrity ships. We love both lines. The food seemed a little better on Celebrity, the entertainment seems better on Princess. Like another poster said they have so many venues for entertainment. Both would be good but if the price is better on Princess, we would not hesitate to book. Just go and know you will have a great time on either ship. I don't know what the first poster encountered on Grand but we love her.:)

[momofmeg]

I liked Princess, enjoyed the food and entertainment which was up to par- but I can say this-my balcony stateroom on caribbean Princess was small-our stateroom on the Zenith(an old Celebrity ship as you know) was actually bigger. So if you are expecting to get a bigger stateroom you will be disapointed-yes the balcony is nice but I am not so sure if an oceanview stateroom that has a little more square footage is worth giving up for a balcony. Maybe you could spend more time on the lido on your Celebrity cruise and go for the larger stateroom.

 

Now if it is just two of you-you won't mind the smaller staterrom and then yes the balcony IS a plus-but we had our daughter with us and our stateroom was just too small. Heck I wanted to be out on the balcony so I would not feeled cramped in the room!

[39august]

Just an FYI - Grand's Caribe deck cabins are just as small as other balcony cabins. But the balconies are twice as big. We used ours like a sitting area. I don't like that there is no sofa in Princess' balcony cabins, only 1 small club chair which is mostly in the way.

[donnaw]

We are regular cruisers on both though our first Millie class is coming up. Links below attempt to give some insight into the differences/ sameness as compared to Century class.

 

Have fun choosing!

[Lsimon]

if you've been on Celebrity a lot, and not Princess, you ought to give the Grand a try. If you can swing it try a mini suite - it is a fantastic room.

 

Overall I like the decor and layout of the princess ships more - including staterooms, lounges and overall decor. But I think the service and food are better on Celebrity and Celebrity has become our line of choice. But you owe it to yourself to try Princess if you cruise often or ocasionally and haven't tried it. As you can see there isn't complete agreement in which is better at what.

 

Oh - and personally I like the show entertainment on Princess better - I've seen some fantastic comic shows - but get there early the seating on the Princess ships for the better shows fills up fast.

 

You'll have a good time on either ship.

[sacway]

Have to agree with other posters, check out the mini suite prices and if that works for you, try one.

 

We used to cruise almost exclusively on X but have branched out to several lines, and it's been great to get to know what we like about each of them so we can take advantage of cruise specials. We are just back from the Golden to AK on a great fare (this time in an inside). We no longer worry about why X doesn't care much about past customers, we just look for a cruise we like on X or another line.

 

In addition to the freshwater pools being open more or less all the time, so is the buffet. Some food isn't so great, but you can always skip one dish and move on to the next. There are self-serve laundromats on several floors. There are usually several choices for meals (main dining, buffet, special something by the pool, specialty restaurants). It can be a little daunting figuring out where you want to eat, and what to eat. If you book this ship, I suggest hanging out on the Princess board so you can get the lowdown on how to have the best cruise possible.

 

With so many on anytime dining, gratuities are automatic and shared (you can take them off if you wish). I wondered if this would diminish service but in our experience it did not.

[momofmeg]

Just an FYI - Grand's Caribe deck cabins are just as small as other balcony cabins. But the balconies are twice as big. We used ours like a sitting area. I don't like that there is no sofa in Princess' balcony cabins, only 1 small club chair which is mostly in the way.

 

Yep and if you have a third person in your stateroom they are in a berth above you instead of the sofa bed for sleeping. Now I know why many families pick the minisuites on Princess-they have to for the room-so when you consider that-I guess a Celebrity balcony is not any more then a minisuite (or is it called junior suite on Princess? I can never remember which line uses what term-but anyway the next step above a balcony stateroom)

 

I will say this-I had no gripes about Princess food or entertainment-but I did feel the cabins are smallish and for sure they do not do the little extras that Celebrity does-like the steward keeping you a pitcher of ice water-or staff to carrying your tray in the lido restuarant etc. Those are just little things I know-but I really enjoyed that about Celebrity.

[Wilcoam]

My wife and I took our mothers on a Carribean cruise, one year on the Millie, the next on the Star, which is similar to the Grand.

 

Overall, all of us prefered the Star.

 

Though we love X, we thought the ship (Star) was nicer. We also enjoyed the younger pax, and more casual evening dress. There was more choice of entrees on the Star, The hot tubs n pools, and buffet were open later, nightlcubs were more hopping, and the Star has something the Millie does not have, 50% sun exposed balconies. (Caribe deck is to die for)

 

Princess was also less expensive...

 

X's pro's were the T-Pool, Spa, dinner wine service, cabin service, the wet towels coming back from excursions, etc...

 

but overall, I'd have to say, we did not notice the extra pax (2600 to 1850)

 

Millie is great, Star/Grand even better, so with the same price/itin, balcony beats that OC anytime, IMO

 

Good luck

jc

Toronto

[jackdiamond]

For us this is a no brainer. We have cruised on both; and, once we travelled onthe Millenium we never looked back.

[fsdorado]

We sailed on the Golden Princess (Western Europe) a couple of years ago and Millennium this summer (Med). Here's our breakdown:

 

Service was consistently outstanding on the Millennium. We appreciated the cool towels when returning to the ship. We prefered the food on the Millennium, though it was better years ago when we were on the Century. We liked the freedom of Anytime Dining on Princess, though the service suffers a bit because you don't generally get the same waiters. The fresh water pools were nice on Princess. We really liked the self-serve laundry on Princess; I know nobody likes to do laundry on vacation but there's something strange about sending your underwear out to the cleaners. We LOVED the aft CC balcony on the Millennium (to the point that my wife isn't sure she would book anything else :D ). We liked the decor on the Millennium better than the Golden. (My wife said the Golden, especially the buffet area, reminded her of a Howard Johnson - blue and orange.) It's like the difference between a Sheraton (Princess) and a Westin (Celebrity) hotel. There are subtle differences in the quality and appearance of the furnishings. The Millennium seemed very classy. We liked the layout of the Millennium better too; it was easier to move around since the dining room is in the aft instead of in the center. The entertainment on both was good. We thought there were more activities on the Golden; there were times on the Millennium where we didn't have anything to do (which is OK, but we like the option of having an activity).

 

Overall, we like Celebrity better. Princess is very close; there are just little things that Celebrity does (free ice cream all the time, cold towels, always being greeted by the staff, often by name, etc.) that puts them over the top. That being said, we would not hesitate to book another cruise with Princess for the right price and ittinerary.

 

 

Frederick

[GORDONCHICK]

While we haven't sailed Millinium yet, we did the Grand about 1 1/2 years ago. My first cruise was on Galaxy. We would sail Princess again - but only if we could get traditional dining. Because we booked last minute, traditional early seating wasn't available. We never had to wait for a table, but we missed having the same servers (yes, I know you can make reservations and have the same table and servers but we were never "wowed" by any of them) and getting to know the other people at the table. The food was good, but I didn't think as good as Galaxy (but food is very subjective). I thought the Horizon Court (buffet) was horrendously laid out, but the food was fine for buffet fare. If you don't want to go to the dining room in the evenings, Princess does have an evening buffet (X doesn't). Like another poster mentioned, we LOVED MUTS!!!! I thought this was an incredible idea by someone and we really enjoyed it.

 

Celebrity is my favorite at this point, but we would sail Princess again, especially if the itinerary and price were right.

[joandbun]

We will happily sail on both anytime. Differences are subtle - but the basics are virtually the same.

On X Millennium - we like welcome drink & escort to cabin, welcome towels afters days ashore, sorbet parade, free ice cream, trad dining, great food & fasntastic service. very friendly crew, speciality dining, spa cafe & spa pool, lemonade always available

On P Grand, - we like big balconies without going up to suite. Different coloured carpet for port/stardboard sides on cabin decks. Anytime dining,

on balance better entertainment than X, great food & service, laundry room, MUTS

For us in the UK X tends to be come out slightly cheaper.

BTW = never mind X's pod probelms, P getsprobs too. last time on Grand in the MEd they had engine problems so our itinerary was changed & a port was only half a day stop.

enjoy

jo