We're trying to make a final decision about which cruise to book. The ports, prices... are comparable. The two ships are the Celebrity Constellation and the Emerald Princess. Has anyone been on both of those ships? Do you have any recommendations or a pros and cons list?
I'm taking my son for his high school graduation and he's not real excited about dressing up. Is one more casual than the other?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Have done both and enjoyed Connie as it was not as many people and staffing levels were much higher than EM Princess.
The Princess ship seems more lively and more going on than Connie, but food and service is better on Connie.
For kids and teens Emerald may be a better bet.
Our kids are all now grown up so we would choose Connie.
Cookie, thanks so much for the response. I have another question for anyone who has been on both Celebrity and Princess. For a teenager who is not as interested in looking at historic buildings as he is in doing activities, do you think Celebrity or Princess would have better excursions?
I have heard that you can easily do all of the Baltic ports by yourself except for St. Petersburg. There are hop on and off buses you can take, and most cities and towns are easy to walk to from the ship.
Most people find you can see and do more on your own, for much, much less. You can stay longer if you like a particular site or area, and don't have to worry about being herded back on the bus. Waiting for everyone at every stop to get on and off the bus wastes hours of time when you could be exploring. the buses often are delayed leaving and then come back a half an hour before they are supposed to, so all in all they waste hours of time for nothing.
Maybe get your son involved in looking up some of the ports on the internet before going and see what he finds that he would enjoy doing.
To the OP: We have been on the Connie many times, seen changes (both positive and not-so) and we still give them and Celebrity overall the nod.
We did not sail on the Emerald, but many of our friends have. They seem to have great itineraries. I believe the theater on the Emerald has some disadvantages. From what I have heard, it's just not big enough to accommodate a lot of passengers. I hear you have to get there pretty early to get a seat.
We returned from the Pacific Princess, and the shore excursions were amazing - loved them all. We've also loved Celebrity's though.
IMHO, Celebrity has a higher eschalon of service.
To Annista: You're correct abou the Baltic ports. Taxis and HOHO buses can whisk you most anywhere. St. Petersburg is the exception. MY recollection (2007) was that we had to be on a chartered excursion with Celebrity, or else have a Visa...at least I think I'm recalling correctly and don't have memory problems, yet! lol
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Celebrity Constellation or Emerald Princess?
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