Caribbean Princess or Celebrity Summit?

[as41shots]

We're looking at a December holiday cruise out of San Juan. Two families with a total of 3 boys - 18, 14, 14.

 

Any thoughts on which might offer the better total experience? We like the itineraries on each. Never cruised on Princess, but our first cruise was on X about 8 years ago to Bermuda which we enjoyed very much, and we have been on 3 RCCL cruises since then, also very satisfied (except for when my photo knapsack got stolen in Miami while being loaded on the ship, but that is my fault for being an idiot and letting them have it in the first place).

 

I'm leaning towards X, but have a little concern about there being enough kids for the boys to hang with.

 

Great boards here on CC, so I am looking forward to your input. Will cross post on the Princess board.

 

Thanks.

[marinearchit]

It's a hard choice. Caribbean Princess is a great ship, and while I haven't been on the Millenium class ships (only Century) they seem equally great.

 

I cruised CB over Thanksgiving, so she was loaded with families. I think 400 kids and teenagers total. I had fun and made good friends and it was an awesome time. It did, however, seem much more impersonal because there were so many of us. Not to mention, because there were so many, it became like the average high school and everybody started hanging with seperate groups. I'll never forget the one group of kids who kept picking on this boy who wanted to play video games all the time. They always took his hat.

 

I cruised Century, however, in Feb. (No holidays, no school breaks, etc.). The odd time, combined with the somewhat less mass market ship, resulted in a total of 8 teenagers. Well, we basically owned the teen center. And, I must say, that cruise was the best out of the two. I'm still good friends with some of the people I met on Century. We hung out all of the time, and basically had a significantly larger amount of freedom being the only teenagers onboard. Overall, I think the counselors were more friendly because they had less of a burden. They were good on Princess too, especially the women who headed the program.

And, aside from that, the food was far better on Celebrity and the service surpassed Princess in some areas. Also, I noticed a better variety of live music on Celebrity. You also can't beat Celebrity's perks like the cold towels and different juices and water when you're waiting to tender in hot weather or getting back to the ship on a hot day.

 

I'd say go with the Summit. There should be a very good amount of families with teenagers onboard because of the holiday, so don't worry about that.

[marinearchit]

Just another thing I thought I'd add...

The actual activities that were organized for the clubs were the exact same on Princess and X. The only thing I can think of Princess having that X didn't was a hot tub party (We had sodas and chips and sat in a big hot tub) and a teens-only party in Club Fusion. But, they'll probably also do this on Summit because of the holiday.

[flag fan]

The Summit was a wonderful ship. Unfortunately, I can't compare it to the Caribbean Princess because I don't sail on her until later this year. Some things that I know are different though are: (1) no laundry rooms on Celebrity, there are on Princess; (2) no full buffet on Celebrity, although there are night-time pizza and pasta and salad stations and a casual dining area; (3) Summit sails from San Juan, which is a nice port to visit; (4) Celebrity has a reputation as a more premium line with older passengers; there were not that many children on my February cruise, but it may change depending on time of year; and (5) Summit used to have a problem with its propulsion system (pods), but no problems for about a year, whereas Caribbean Princess is currently having a problem with an engine or generator or something that is causing it to go slower (reducing times in ports) and causing poor air conditioning in some cabins--it does not go into drydock until next year, so the problems may not be fixed for a December cruise. I don't know if any of these are factors for you; Summit was great, but I'm looking forward to the Caribbean Princess (and Movies Under the Stars).

[ISABELLA]

We have been on both ships and if I have teens to travel with, I will go on Princess. I think they will have more stuff to do, including MATS, which we liked a lot.

[jerseygirl3]

It's a hard choice. Caribbean Princess is a great ship, and while I haven't been on the Millenium class ships (only Century) they seem equally great.

 

I cruised CB over Thanksgiving, so she was loaded with families. I think 400 kids and teenagers total. I had fun and made good friends and it was an awesome time. It did, however, seem much more impersonal because there were so many of us. Not to mention, because there were so many, it became like the average high school and everybody started hanging with seperate groups. I'll never forget the one group of kids who kept picking on this boy who wanted to play video games all the time. They always took his hat.

 

I cruised Century, however, in Feb. (No holidays, no school breaks, etc.). The odd time, combined with the somewhat less mass market ship, resulted in a total of 8 teenagers. Well, we basically owned the teen center. And, I must say, that cruise was the best out of the two. I'm still good friends with some of the people I met on Century. We hung out all of the time, and basically had a significantly larger amount of freedom being the only teenagers onboard. Overall, I think the counselors were more friendly because they had less of a burden. They were good on Princess too, especially the women who headed the program.

And, aside from that, the food was far better on Celebrity and the service surpassed Princess in some areas. Also, I noticed a better variety of live music on Celebrity. You also can't beat Celebrity's perks like the cold towels and different juices and water when you're waiting to tender in hot weather or getting back to the ship on a hot day.

 

I'd say go with the Summit. There should be a very good amount of families with teenagers onboard because of the holiday, so don't worry about that.

 

This has nothing to do with the OP question, but I would like to compliment you on your excellent use of grammar. Often times, when I read things written by young people (as well as older folks), I get disgusted by how poor their use of the English language is (of course, I'm referring to those whose first language IS English). Anyway, I just wanted to say it's refreshing to see a teenager who can actually put together a complete sentence and use correct punctuation!

 

Kudos to you!

[marinearchit]

Thank you very much, Jerseygirl. The compliment is well appreciated!:D

[barryod]

This has nothing to do with the OP question, but I would like to compliment you on your excellent use of grammar. Often times, when I read things written by young people (as well as older folks), I get disgusted by how poor their use of the English language is (of course, I'm referring to those whose first language IS English). Anyway, I just wanted to say it's refreshing to see a teenager who can actually put together a complete sentence and use correct punctuation!

 

Kudos to you!

 

Ditto and Summit would be my choice.

 

Barry

[Seabee]

I have sailed both and X is my cruise line of choice...by far. However, with teens I would go with Princess. Many more activities available.

[SandG]

We did Constellation (sister ship) in 2003 and Caribbean Princess last week. You won't go wrong with either choice. They are both wonderful ships and we had a great time on both cruises. I think Celebrity has the edge on food and service. Princess has a wider variety of venues, particularly the MUTs.

 

The Constellation (and I assume the Summit) has a grand feeling to it with large public areas incl. a larger theater. Caribbean Princess multiple smaller areas with the intention of giving a "small ship" feel, which it does pretty well considering that it is carrying a thousand more people.

 

More people = more teens. Marinearchit did a nice job of the pros/cons of this. My nearly-17 year old daughter had an awesome time on the Caribbean Princess last week. She was in the teen center about half the time to play Guitar Hero / Rock Band and attend the dances. The rest of the time she spent with a small group of kids that she had things in common with and they would hang out in the pool area or in one of the nearly-empty nightclubs during the day. They'd join the activities or not depending on their interest. The scheduled teen activities ended anytime between 1-2 AM! She was only 12 when we were on the Constellation so I'm sorry I can't compare it to the teen program there.

 

On CB, they had a few "mixers" for the 18-20 crowd. They are also allowed in all the clubs but of course cannot drink. You should check to see what they do on Celebrity.

 

One major difference is the dining options. I really liked the option to pick either traditional or anytime. I liked the flexibility of anytime dining. You still eat in one of the large restaurants, and then you have the choice of making a reservation at whatever time you want, or just show up. We only waited for a table once. They also have two specialty restaurants (extra charge) that were very good.

 

I don't think there's any best answer. Both ships are great. If you like the anytime dining or MUTS (movies under the stars), go with Princess. Otherwise Celebrity will be a little less crowded and probably a slightly higher level of service. You should enjoy either one. Check to see the available cabins and prices. You may find that'll be the deciding factor.

 

By the way, I think it's a good idea to post on both boards because you will get different biases on each.

 

Sue

[Coolcruise02]

I have been on both and IMHO Caribbean Princess would be more fun for the younger ones. DH and I are in our early 50's and found the Summit to be pretty dead in the evenings and not much "energy" during the day. We went with DD and SIL on Caribbean Princess and had a blast. They are in their late 20's and I know they would not have had as much fun on the Summit.

 

Everyone thinks X has the best food, but we have not found this to be true. We thought the food on CB was better than X.

 

I can have a fun cruise on any ship but traveling with younger people I would not recommend the Summit.