March 22/23 Eastern Carribean - Celebrity Century or Princess Golden Princess
 

My wife and I are looking at Eastern Carribean cruises leaving Mar 22 or 23. We will be flying into Fort Lauderdale so the two best/cheapest options appear to be Celebrity Century or Princess Golden Princess. (I have competitive quotes from cruisequick.com, buycruises.com and cruise.com).<BR><BR>We are late 20's and have cruised once before (honeymoon) on Majesty of the Seas Western Carribean and loved it. We were fine with the smallest inside cabin and take this again.<BR><BR>Can anyone compare and contrast these two ship options - food, facilities, passengers, extra costs, etc? Both go to St. Maartan and St. Thomas but Century goes to San Juan and Bahamas wheras Princess has Princess Cay and an extra day at sea.<BR><BR>Thanks!

Hi- I personally LOVE the Century-- In fact, we were going to be on the same cruise as you but had to cancel at the last moment..<BR><BR>It is Celebrity's training ship for their employees so the service is great, the food is great, and the entertainment is very good... We have done this ship with this itinerary once before and LOVED it, that is why we were going to go on it again...Plus the ports are WAY better than Princess.<BR><BR>As for Princess- I have HEARD pros and cons to their personal choice dining ...I have also heard that the ship is gorgeous....<BR><BR>But in my book, I would go hands down with Celebrity!!

This is what I have concluded so far:<BR><BR>Princess - More pools open 24 hours, more shows, personal choice dining (but with fees), newer bigger ship.<BR><BR>Century - Better food, slightly nicer cabins, better itinerary, bit less crowded, smaller casino, older, smaller ship.<BR><BR>Unclear - Passenger mix, cost of onboard extras<BR><BR>Since we don't gamble and like to see new places, we are leaning towards Century.

Passenger Mix on Century varies depending on the time of year- Since you are going in Mar- that is Spring Break time-- I suppose you will have a mix of young marrieds with kids,30-40's , and some retireds thrown in for good measure..<BR><BR>I actually expect the SAME with the Princess ships--<BR><BR>You are travelling during a great time weather wise--and I still would pick Century over Princess since the ports are way way better..<BR><BR>Personal Choice dining is not an OPT OUT of choice once you pick it on PRINCESS_- You are stuck with it....<BR>Go to CruiseDiva.com or www.cruise-addicts.com and put in the name of the ship and the line and see what people have written about the cruises....<BR>There have been more negatives on Princess with their personal choice than any other line....

Century is a wonderful ship...food is great and service is superb!

Since the itinerary is way better on the Century, I would pick it without hesitation. The Golden is much larger and newer, but that isn't necessarily a good thing. We sailed on the Grand (sister ship to the Golden) and didn't enjoy it nearly as well as our Celebrity cruises or the smaller Sea Princess. The Princess Cay is kind of a waste unless you worship the sun and don't mind getting up super early to stake your claim on a beach chair. All the activites, except eating, cost extra. Just our opinion of course, and we are in our mid 40's, so our priorities may differ from yours. Either way....enjoy!

I wouldn't rule out sailing out of Miami on the Navigator of the Seas for example. Miami is just a $15 limo ride from FLL. RCCL's &quot;voyager class&quot; ships are the finest ships afloat in my opinion. Check it out.<BR><BR>Peter