I am planning a cruise to Hawaii in Dec '07.

Theses two ships and itinerates are impossible to separate on paper and since I haven't sailed with either, I am having trouble deciding which to go for.

Can anyone help me make my mind up?

Here I go again. I preface this with, I don't work for Princess. We've sailed on NCL, RCL, HAL, Carnival, Costa, and Princess. To me, personally, Princess is the best. We've only been on the Dawn, Sea, and Sun and are going back on the Sun this October. So far, the ships have been immaculate, the service impeccable, and the food has been great. There are plenty on this board that will disagree. The choice of cruise line is totally subjective, what I like might be horrible to someone else. The best advice is to seek a travel agent that is a cruise specialist. They would be the best to match your needs/desires to the proper cruise line. Just my 2 cents, I like Princess the best. No matter which ship you choose, have a marvelous time!

Hello IanR
When we went we went with Princess, it was ISLAND PRINCESS and had a great time and service. I know you will love Princess!

Island Princess
4 Nov 2004 - Nov 2004
92,000 Gross Tons
964 ft. in length
sister ship to Coral Princess
Cabin B714

Day 1 Fly UK/Los Angeles
Transfer to Hilton Hotel and stay overnight

Day 2 Los Angeles – Embark Island Princess

Day 3 - 6 At Sea

Day 7 Hilo (Hawaii, Hawaiian Island)

Kilauea Volcano (evening scenic cruising)

Day 8 Kona (Hawaii , Hawaiian Island)

Day 9 Honolula (Oahu, Hawaiian Island)

Day 10 Lahaina (Maui, Hawaiian Island

Day 11 Nawiliwili (Kauai, Hawaiian Island)

Day 12 - 15 At Sea

Day 16 Ensenada ( Mexico) Cruise , got off in port shops (what a dump)

Day 17 Los Angeles Disembark Island Princess and use hospitality facilities
before transfer to airport for overnight flight to UK.
Had lunch at Hilton Hotel.

Day 18 Arrive UK
arrive home 16:15

some photos of trip

I've been on both ships. They are both very nice ships. The Diamond is one of my favorite ships (along with the Island/Coral Princess). In general I prefer Princess to Celebrity for several reasons:
I prefer the flexibility of Princess' anytime dining. While Princess does offer assigned seating (which is comparable to Celebrity), Celebrity does not offer anytime dining.
I prefer the layout of the Princess ships.
I like the fact that Princess has smaller dining venues. While Celebrity's single main dining room (with 2 levels) is impressive, I enjoy the smaller dining rooms on Princess more.
While Celebrity has a great reputation for it's food, I think it is just as good on Princess--and I like the menus better.
I like the freshwater pools on Princess. Celebrity is saltwater.
I like the fact that Princess has self-service laundries. Since I have enough cruises to get free laundry and dry cleaning from Princess, I don't use the self serve laundries anymore. But I used to find them useful, especially on longer cruises.

Anything other than Hawaii, I'd rather go with Princess. However, if I were to do Hawaii again (I have cruised roundtrip from Honolulu on NCL, and roundtrip from LA on the Summit)--I would fly to Hawaii, spend a few days in Hawaii, and sail roundtrip from Honolulu or Maui on NCL. I prefer the extra time in Hawaii to the sea days to and from the islands. If you go roundtrip from the mainland, more than half of the time is transiting the Pacific. And first few and last few days can be rough and chilly. Not good if you want to use the pools. Also, the newer NCL ships that just do Hawaii are very nice.

Try Summit first, you'll love it

Tuuuuf question! Diamond is an upper end Princess ship (I sailed sister Sapphire) while Summit is Celebrity's top tier Millennium class. You can't go wrong with either.

However, be forewarned, if you sail Princess you'll miss the truly world class Normandie, the Summit's specialty restaurant and one of life's greatest pleasures. Those nights in the specialty restaurant (always book TWO nights!) are the stuff dreams are made of, not to mention great conversation and memories for years to come.

The Princess line, and this ship in particular (if it's anything like the Sapphire) has its own strong points, which I can address later if you're interested.

KK

Would like to mention that jjf50's remarks (just above) are right on. In addition, Princess allows wine/champagne to be brought on board, no problem, no questions asked. That's becoming an increasingly sensitive issue for other cruise lines.

In addition, sailing Princess more than a few times (6 actually) merits full internet access free of charge. Celebrity is charging .70/minute, and does that add up!

Speaking of which ship, does anyone have an idea on what time of year is the best to cruise the Princess 15 day intinerary to Hawaii from LA? I want to do this cruise but want to miss all the storms and rough water

Hi
I went in Nov and the weather was great both ways

Island Princess
4 Nov 2004 - Nov 2004
92,000 Gross Tons
964 ft. in length
sister ship to Coral Princess
Book JJ Cabin B714

Day 1 Fly UK/Los Angeles
Transfer to Hilton Hotel and stay overnight

Day 2 Los Angeles – Embark Island Princess

Day 3 - 6 At Sea

Day 7 Hilo (Hawaii, Hawaiian Island)

Kilauea Volcano (evening scenic cruising)

Day 8 Kona (Hawaii , Hawaiian Island)

Day 9 Honolula (Oahu, Hawaiian Island)

Day 10 Lahaina (Maui, Hawaiian Island

Day 11 Nawiliwili (Kauai, Hawaiian Island)

Day 12 - 15 At Sea

Day 16 Ensenada ( Mexico) Cruise , got off in port shops (what a dump)

Day 17 Los Angeles Disembark Island Princess and use hospitality facilities
before transfer to airport for overnight flight to UK.
Had lunch at Hilton Hotel.

Day 18 Arrive UK
arrive home 16:15

[URL=http://community.webshots.com/user/jamesraymondcox]

Not much to add; I agree with everything that was said about Princess. I've cruised with them for over 30 years and always had wonderful experiences. The ships are all great and Diamond Princess is one of the best. I would recommend Princess without hesitation.

I did the Celebrity Summit LA/Hawaii round trip in January 2006. The ship was impeccable, service was excellent and dining was a real pleasure. For me, dinner conversation with your table mates is one of the highlights of the cruise experience. I have a cruise scheduled on the Sapphire Princess next month and was disappointed to learn I have been wait listed for main dining.

Celebrity offered excellent enrichment programs with knowledgeable lecturers on everything from finance and investing to Broadway composers. They also had a Hawaiian Ambassador on board who gave a series of interesting presentations about each port and Hawaiian culture in general. But, I really, really liked the way Celebrity handled the shows. There are two performances each night, so it does not matter whether you have early or late seating. We went every night but the first formal night (tuxedo malfunction) and I must admit that we enjoyed each and every one. Even those we came expecting not to. I understand that theater capacity is a problem on Princess, so I hope that doesn't spoil my upcoming voyage. Ice cream was free on the Summit, but the station was not always open. Similarly, although there is almost always food available somewhere and Room Service is available 24/7, there is no all-night buffet like Princess advertises.

As far as the weather is concerned, jff50 has it right. At that time of year, it is kinda just a matter of luck the first couple days out and back. It can be a little rough and chilly.

I thoroughly enjoyed my voyage.

Jim

Yes Princess advertises a 24 hour buffet, but it pains me to have to report that after 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. it's pretty slim pickins--usually a few leftover desserts and some tired cold cuts; you are better off with room service.

The buffet food selections on the Caribbean Princess would change at 11 PM to deserts & sandwiches. This wasn't usually a big deal since we weren't that hungry anyway but if they were removing something like carved turkey or a ham & replacing it with a salami or ham & cheese sandwich I felt shortchanged.

RichC, I'm with you. Calling it a buffet after 11:00 is a bit of a stretch.
Whether or not we're hungry is irrelevant--although like you, it was no big deal. But the few times I was up in the wee hours and feeling a bit peckish, it was a disappointment.

DIAMOND PRINCESS, NO COMPARISON IN SHIPS...the Summit was very nice in it's day. It's has passed.

quote:

Originally posted by thomas stanton:
DIAMOND PRINCESS, NO COMPARISON IN SHIPS...the Summit was very nice in it's day. It's has passed.

I know this was posted back in march but it gave me a smile.....why i hear you say
because I think this is the same thomas stanton who made a HUGE outburst against princess in june/july 2004, even ending with the words no matter how cheap a princess cruise is I will never book a cruise with them....or something like that.....

and here we are in 2007 and hes supporting princess...the cruise line he was raging against less than 4 years ago.....
just goes to show .....time goes on ...and sometimes people change their minds....and princess is still doing ok

I doubt if thomas will see this but its nice to know he can put aside his dislike of princess cruises to make a positve reply when necessary

Hi IanR i have never cruised with princess but am cruising on Mar 2nd on the diamond princess on a 15 day hawaii cruise out of Los Angeles. I have been told this is a great cruise we have a mini suite which most say is very nice so am looking forward to it.

If you are flying to the port, then the very nice self service laundry rooms with washers, driers, and irons on Princess ships is a deciding factor for me. This is a long cruise, and the convenience of not having to pack for 14 or 15 nights, but being able to do laundry a couple of times is a deal maker for me. (
Also nice to be able to quickly iron something that is wrinkled. No Celebrity or Royal Caribbean ships have guest laundry rooms.

I was on the Regal Princess in August for the same cruise you are contemplating, and it was fabulous. You will be on what is considered a much nicer ship, certainly much newer. My vote; gor for Princess.

We are going on the Diamond Princess in 2009 on the Asian tour, never cruised before any tips.

Hi baggy2508, welcome to Cruise-Chat. There are tons of tips and suggestions on this website. You can use your search feature and look for new cruisers, tips, etc. What a wonderful way to start off your cruise experience. I do hope you enjoy Princess as much as we do. We've sailed on NCL, RCL, HAL, Costa, Carnival, and Princess and truly feel Princess does it best. The Diamond Princess is a beautiful ship and I hope you enjoy your experience. The biggest piece of advise I have is to relax and enjoy. Don't try to do everything there is to do, unless you just want to exhaust yourself. Read your Princess Patter (the news letter left in your cabin) and choose what sounds the best. For ports we have not visited before, we normally book our excursions through the ship. A lot of people will swear that doing them on your own is the way to go. I do some on my own, when I return to a port if it's easy to get around. If it is somewhere that I don't speak the language, or have never been, I feel more confident in booking through the ship. It's not that much more expensive and I know they've researched the vendors. Once again, welcome on board. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask. We will do our best to help. Best wishes!