DCL compared to Celebrity and Princess

[Daria]

We are looking to do a 7 night cruise for our Spring Break trip for 2004. While looking at the prices for different lines DCL is MUCH more $$ than other lines. I know that it is a superior product compared to most other lines and I have absolutley loved my two Wonder cruises. However we are thinking either the Celebrity Millenium or Golden/Grand Princess for our trip. Has anybody ever tried these ships/lines? How did they compare? Would you still sail them after doing DCL? Did Celebrity seem snooty ?

I am just worried that I won't as impressed as I was with disney

Thanks for any info!

 

[yourtravelpro]

Disney, Celebrity and Princess are all 5 star cruise lines. They all will have children's programs, however you didn't mention if you were bringing children or not. Celebrity does cater more to adults and couples. It's NOT a snooty cruise line at all. The service and food are impeccable. I just got off the Mercury about a month ago and I was very impressed. The Millenium is a newer ship than the Mercury so I am sure it will be wonderful. Princess is nice also, but again if you have children Disney would be my 1st choice. If, however, you have older children in their teens you might want to try one of the "Voyager" Class series ships on Royal Caribbean.

 

[hilltopfamily]

You may like visiting the Cruise Critic boards as they have boards for each of the cruise lines as well as general question-asking boards, family-related boards, etc., etc. They have wonderful reviews of ships, lines, and trip reports. You'll find them at www.cruisecritic.com. While I love this Dis board, going to cruisecritic has been a great help in our planning our next cruise. Another valuable site is www.cruise-addicts.com. Hope this helps.

And often they have threads with comparisons of various lines, which may help you compare against DCL.

 

[Jules1]

Hi,

We've been on 4 Princess cruises, 2 Celebrity cruises (Mercury and Constellation-sister ship of Millenium) and 1 Disney cruise (2nd cruise scheduled for March 2004). We have 2 kids (now 13 & 16) My recommendation if you choose not to sail Disney would be Princess. If you've enjoyed your Disney cruises, I would assume that you enjoy the activities and entertainment. Princess IMHO has more activities (both adult and kid) and better entertainment than Celebrity. In fact, our Celebrity Mercury cruise prompted us to book another Disney cruise in March 2004. We were down right bored on our Mercury cruise. Luckily we had upgraded to a royal suite and had a fabulous room to watch the NCAA basketball tournament in, and with the living room the kids could have other kids in to hang out. There just weren't many activities scheduled. We're not lay around the pool all day people (besides that, it wasn't warm weather -Ca coastal cruise in March). They didn't have movies during the day, bingo canceled for lack of interest, etc., etc. We did sail on the Constellation in Aug to the Baltic sea. It was fine - but, it was a VERY port-intensive cruise and we were off the ship sightseeing, not looking for shipboard activities. On our Celebrity Constellation 14 day cruise, they only had 2 production shows. That seemed pretty slim for a 14 day cruise. Many people believe that Celebrity has better food than Princess - we did not find that to be the case. We enjoyed Princess' food and their personal choice dining much more than Celebrity.

I do understand about the Disney price - and have found that if you don't book early, the price keeps going up, unlike other cruise lines where the closer you get to the cruise the price goes down. We booked our upcoming Disney Magic March 2004 cruise last March. When I looked at the prices yesterday (just checking), the same week, cabin category, same travel agency, - for the 4 of us the cruise price had gone up $2211.00. That's unbelievable! I guess with Disney it truly does pay to book early.

I think that you and your family will be pleased with Princess if that's the route you choose to go.

 

[SandraLee]

Jules1 . .
Can you tell me more about the kids program? I have DS9 and DD5. Do the parents get pagers? Is there a 'Navigator' outlining the activities for the kids? Seperate groups?

Also, what about the entertainment? My kids LOVE shows, but we are done with Morty and Hercules. Are there kid-friendly shows on Princess?

Thanks a bunch.

Sandra

 

[FLeisure]

In my opinion both Princess and Celebrity are far better than DCL.

Personally, I'd take Celebrity above Princess. It's a class above and the food and service reflects this. Princess ranks on the same lines as RCCL IMO. Celebrity isn't snooty IMO but I'm rarely moved by such things anyway!

As far as kids are concerned, my kids have loved Princess and Celebrity and absolutely hated Disney. How old are your kids Sandra? If they are in the 7 upwards range then you won't find Princess or Celebrity to be a problem.

 

[rundogrun]

Can't speak about Princess.

We did sail the Millie this past February. Advantages include better service, better food and better accomodations on a dollar to dollar comparison. My kids (3 and 6 at the time) loved the Fun Factory, and preferred it to DCL's kids program (actually, my daughter, now 4, loved both). They also make a big deal about limiting announcements, which I didn't really think about until I was on the Magic this summer and the cruise director seemed to be on the PA every 15 minutes pushing bingo or promoting some activity. Lots of little things like that on Celebrity.

DCL's big advantage is Castaway Cay and the characters/Disney environment which you can't get anywhere else. The production shows are also better.

You can't go wrong on the Millie...she's a terrific ship.

 

[Daria]

Thanks for the info about the different lines. That helps me make my decision easier. I've looked at Cruise Critic before, but hadn't heard of Cruise Addicts and it looks like it has some great info, thanks.

It's good to hear that Celebrity isn't snooty at all, some of thier adds, though more some the people on the CC boards, make it seem as if it is.

Just found out that both Princess and Celebrity are sailing out of Seattle to Alaska next year, so mabey I'll do the one that I don't try for 2005.

Thanks for the information!

 

[Jules1]

Daria,

I can't remember about the pagers.... Yes, Princess has kid-friendly production shows. They also have ratings (G, PG, PG-13, etc) to help put the content of the other shows in perspective (the comedians, and other evening shows).

Princess divides the kids into age appropriate groups, as does Celebrity. There is a "Navigator" on both ships for the different age groups.

IMHO having sailed Celebrity twice, yes, Celebrity is a bit snooty. Things like, on formal night you HAVE to stay in your formal dress everywhere on ship (even if you choose to eat in the informal dining, you can't be out and about attending the shows in the informal dress), or you could be turned away from the show, etc. There are fashion police out there on Celebrity ships. It makes it a bit more difficult when traveling with kids. If you would like to get a flavor of the Celebrity cruise clientele, look at the cruisecritic.com message boards.

The cabins for 4 on Celebrity are EXTREMELY small. Much smaller than Princess. We had a balcony cabin on the Constellation, which was only 170 sq. ft. The larger balcony cabins (190 sq. ft.) won't accomodate 4. The Princess cabins are much nicer.

Also, re: food. Princess has a pasta course with each dinner offering which my kids truly enjoyed. They ordered it many times for their main course. Celebrity does not have that option. Our food service on our Mercury cruise was terrible (never even learned the waiter's name - we didn't see him much), as was the food. The food on the 14-day Constellation cruise was good (about equal to Princess, without the pasta course) and the service was great. Luck of the draw on what waitstaff you get.

My kids also enjoyed the 24 hour food service on Princess. You could pick up a few items at the buffet at any time for a snack. This doesn't exist on Celebrity, unless you use room service. When the kids ordered a snack from room service in the evening, it took from 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours for it to be delivered (sometimes being delivered after they went to bed).

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Jules1]

P.S. Princess also has a very nice private island in the Caribbean if that's the itinerary you're looking at.

 

[jeanniec]

We did a 10-day Celebrity Galaxy cruise last December. I was afraid that it would be a little too upscale for us. It wasn't, but we just didn't feel as comfortable on CCL as we did on DCL. We did get a 10 day cruise for less than a 7 day on DCL. I wasn't that impressed with the food. It was good, but I didn't think it was that much better than DCL. We had a verandah room on the Penthouse deck. DCL had much better verandah cabins -- bigger, much more storage space and more elegant than CCL. The movie theater was a joke. Just a pull down screen and a few rows of uncomfortable seats, hardly any room. We're going back to DCL in October. We did have a great cruise, but I guess since we are Disney people, we're happier there. Didn't take any kids, but I know they have far less space for the kid's programs than DCL.

 

[DisneyGator01]

bump...

I am really interested in hearing more about these lines.. they are two that I have never sailed before...

 

[fireplug]

We are trying Princess to Alaska mainly because we liked the land tour options the best. My parents went on Princess multiple times and enjoyed themselves. We looked at Celebrity and just did not get that "comfortable" feeling from their brochures. That was just our gut reaction. I think both are good choices and you should continue your research. Eventually one will win out.

GOOD LUCK!

Steve

 

[FLeisure]

Whilst we're talking about other lines, has anyone done Norwegian's new line of ships - Dawn and Star? For me, they are the future of cruising. Again it's freestyle dining (when you want and where you want) and with a choice of some 10 restaurants offering everything from sushi, tappenyaki, to french, italian and traditional fare.

We're doing the Star in Alaska next May and having done the Dawn on the Eastern Caribbean, I'm really looking forward to it. For me these ships are the way most lines will eventually go and it puts them above Princess in my book.

Princess are a nice cruiseline and the staff are excellent. Food is good but not as good as Celebrity IMO. Celebrity do have the nice touches such as people available to carry your trays from the buffet to your table. I like Celebrity and the way they operate...more traditional cruising.

Each cruiseline has their own little traits and quirks...the trick is knowing what you like and having an open mind when you try something different.

 

[Tluvs2talk]

Hubby and I sailed out of Charleston on Celebrity's ship the "Galaxy" in March. It was a 9 day cruise and we really enjoyed it plus Regis Philbin and his wife were on our cruise. I have also cruised on Carnivals ship the Sensation. While I enjoyed these cruises I still prefer Disney, we havebeen on 5 Disney cruises and have 2 planned for next year. I'm sure you will have a great cruise no matter who you go with, you just have to relax and go with the flow and ENJOY!!!!


TERI

 

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by FLeisure
Whilst we're talking about other lines, has anyone done Norwegian's new line of ships - Dawn and Star? For me, they are the future of cruising. Again it's freestyle dining (when you want and where you want) and with a choice of some 10 restaurants offering everything from sushi, tappenyaki, to french, italian and traditional fare.

It sounds great — in theory.

A friend of mine and his wife and son took a 7-night Norwegian Star cruise to several Hawaiian Islands and Fanning Island.

He had praise for the ship, but not for the service. With NCL's Freestyle concept, the tips are automatic and you don't have a set dining time or an assigned server and assistant server. The result was that he found the service staff to be indifferent. This family has cruised many times on RCCL, as well as on DCL and Princess, and they've always enjoyed excellent, personal service on thase other lines.

That makes sense to me. One of the truly wonderful things about our Disney Magic cruise in 2002 was the great service from our stateroom host, server, assistant server, and even the head server. I could see where that could be lost with NCL's Freestyle Cruising.

 

[FLeisure]

I think service comes down to how the actual person is feeling at the time. Generally cruise staff are on 6 or 7 month contracts and naturally they have times when they are down. I've experienced service that isn't as good as usual on all cruiselines and I normally start chatting to the person who's on a downer....before long the service has improved and we're all laughing and joking.

Have to say, my experience on the Dawn was that the staff were fantastic. Every member of the catering team I came across was really friendly and eager to please. Personally I don't think the tip being included in the price makes a difference to the "Freestyle" experience. I thought it was nice to be able to relax and not worry abolut such things.

Holland America have always had a no tiping policy....and their service is probably the best of any cruise ship afloat.

 

[Melrosgirl]

I've been on Princess, Disney and Royal caribbean.

They are all great lines.

Princess - my daughter enjoyed the kids' program BETTER on Princess than Disney. More to do on Disney, yes, and they are open longer than Princess, but it was a small staff, less children, and she got to know the staff. It's been over a year and she remembers every staff member's name. Sometimes she talks about them, too. Disney was only eight months ago and she has no idea who any of the staff members were.

We had a few screw ups on Princess, but had a few screw ups on Disney also.

I think you need to check out both. Contrary to what is usually written, my stateroom on Princess was larger than my stateroom on Disney. I guess it depends on what category though. (Mini suite on Princess and Cat. 5 on Disney.)

We sailed on Golden Princess. Oh I do NOT recommend the anytime dining. We had terrible experience with that. Sometimes a 40 minute wait which made us literally miss the one and only big show that night in the showroom.

I enjoyed both lines overall though.

 

[SandraLee]

Melrosgirl . . .

Thanks for all the great info. How old were your kids when you were on Princess? What itinerary did you follow?

And, I just know I would NOT like the 'Freestyle' aspect of some cruises. Frankly, for me the MOST stressful part of any vacation is deciding when and where to go to dinner. I love the idea that those decisions are made for me on a cruise. I like even better that I can opt out if I want something different.

Sandra

 

[Melrosgirl]

Hi, Sandra

My dd was 4 at the time of the Princess cruise and 5 for the Disney cruise.

We went on the Canada/New England cruise on the Golden Princess. Lovely ship. A little confusing to get around (some elevators don't go to all floors, etc.).