Mike.s

According to Cruisemapper Icon has started her sea trials
https://www.cruisemapper.com/?imo=9829930
 

We're looking at Princess sailing out of the UK and the Med, fares look very attractive and the add on pacakges are way cheaper than Royal and Celebrity, just haven't taken the plunge yet.
Keen to hear what others think, can see us dipping a toe in the water on a short cruise from Southampton to see how they compare.

I'm a die-hard Celebrity Cruise Line loyalist having notched 72 cruises with this company since 2001 and sill haven't come close to reaching Zenith!! There are many things I like about sailing on a Celebrity ship but the concept of "X" = excellence and beyond expectations (among other jingles over the years) has lost some of it's luster IMO. The industry always competitive has become more so post COVID as the lines work to recoup billions in lost revenue and retire debt. Celebrity sailings have become more homogeneous with other lines that seem to "try harder.  setting themself apart to gain market share. TBC, I'm not making this post to ding Celebrity - we have 6 future cruises booked so, we still enjoy what the company has to offer.
But, when checking fares for 7n E or W Caribbean sailings out of Fort Lauderdale, I became discouraged at the pricing, especially for suite classes. First, Industry wide, suites are in high demand so, available suites fill up fast and after introducing itineraries as far out as 24 months in advance, dynamic pricing models take charge with prices rising with demand. Just for fun, I thought I'd take a look at Princess Cruise Lines and specifically, Caribbean Princess that sails 7n E, W Caribbean itineraries out of Fort Lauderdale. If I'm looking for a suite, it's  not going to be one of the high end types (e.g., Iconic) but rather a Sky Suite. These are particularly nice on Edge class ships as are the suite perks (Retreat, Luminae Restaurant) exclusive for suite guests. They are rather ordinary on Solstice and Millennium class ships but with the same attempt at exclusivity.
Caribbean Princess was launched in 2003 and completely refurbished in 2019 so, she's a bit long in the tooth. But the cabin pricing for equivalent low end suites was 30-50% less than any Sky Suite cabins on  Equinox - the one Celebrity ship that sails the Caribbean in the summer months. So, I said, I'll give Princess a whirl - my first. Princess has a very British way to classify it's suites: Suites (high end) Club Class Mini-Suites (added perks the same as full suite guests) and Mini Suites (same cabin minus the full suite perks). Booked the Club Class Mini Suite. Compared to well under 300 sq.ft. for Equinox's Sky Suites. The Club Class and non-Club Class Suites are a spacious 325 Sq.ft sporting two rooms and very large balcony with two lounge chairs and a walk-in closet just outside of a large tub equipped bathroom. I was very impressed with the Club Class Suite. 
Princess does a similar if not a bit more convoluted "everything included." There are two tiers - Standard and Premium, priced differently with different perks. The pricing of the Standard offering is also considerably less than the "everything included" on Equinox and the Premium, although more costly, turns out, on a day to day basis, to be a really good deal. The Premium offering includes two specialty dinning credits per person (Sabatini's, an Italian menu and Crown Grill - steaks), and a photo package along with the standard prepaid gratuities, wifi and drinks package. For all categories of suite guests, a section of one of the main dining rooms is reserved for these guests. Because the number of guests is limited, there is never a wait, table spacing is more generous and table service is accordingly better. This approach, compared to Celebrity's Luminae (exclusive dining for suite guests) is hands down better in terms of quality of service and noise control that Celebrity's exclusive dining. Menus were varied and with plenty of choices. Food quality and presentation was equivalent to Celebrity's menus and for a few specific dishes, were better.
There were lots of bar venues with differing forms of entertainment. We easily found a favorite that we made our way to every night before shows. You could always find a seat at a bar; that is not the case on Equinox where unless you camp out at the Martini Bar (AKA, Ice Bar) when it opens at 4pm, it's hard to get a seat unless you happen to be walking right behind someone that is leaving and grab the bar seats before others approach and beat you to it. The production sows and entertainment were good and, for the most part, on par with Celebrity's, We were sailed aboard Caribbean Princess in early June and watched the premier of a new production show - Bravo.  It was Vegas and certainly close to Broadway level performance.  
The bottom line is that if suites are in your cruising budget, the value on Caribbean Princess sailing out of Fort Lauderdale is remarkably good. So good that, in fact, we booked Caribbean Princess sailing a 13n Fort Lauderdale to Quebec starting July 222nd on board. Doing so got us a 50% discount on a Mini-Suite (not Club Class - they were sold out) and 50% off the Premier Everything Included package. The cabin fare was equivalent to those found on 7n cruises and purchasing the Premier package was the best deal I've gotten in a long time on any cruise line. We had a very good, if not limited to one ship, experience with Princess. I'm not abandoning Celebrity but Princess is, for sure, "trying harder." 
 
 

HELLO FROM EXPLORER OF THE SEAS!
 
 

Can you...yes?
 
Will you....maybe...

Looks like the port authority has updated its list and is now showing Independence of the seas out of Southampton instead. 

I believe the contents of the cart are saved but the price is not locked in and could (probably will) be different when you check back.
 
Advice is to buy at a price you are comfortable with, you can always cancel and rebook should the price drop in the future.

We've sailed on both, Anthem, lots to do if you want to, bigger and better shows, does have some drawbacks, the Schooner bar isn't big enough and gets drowned out by the music hall and we didn't like the 4 main dining rooms. We liked the ship overall and We Will Rock you is amazing (assuming you like Queens music).
If you're after a more traditional laid back cruise I'd go for Vision, much more intimate, loved the main dining room and we had great service everywhere.
As others have said you can't go wrong with either, but for me I'd go Vision.

They weren't impressed.
The weren't impressed

I’m afraid this kind of apathy and incivility are not confined to leisure activities.  I think that, in general, many people are no longer operating under the accepted norms of civil society.  I wish it weren’t the case, but I see it everywhere.  Common courtesy and manners are passé and no longer recognized, appreciated or practiced.  It’s sad to see.

We've just seen excursion discounts of 35%, just rebooked a couple of trips in Iceland and saved over £150

Woud be lovely if it were to happen, but I'm not holding my breath.

We've just seen excursion discounts of 35%, just rebooked a couple of trips in Iceland and saved over £150

We have had Ovation since at least 2017 and it will still be here in 2025.
There is only so many times you can watch the same shows before boredom sets in.

Woud be lovely if it were to happen, but I'm not holding my breath.

Here is my comprehensive video review of Wonder of the Seas in 2023. I review the drink package, unlimited dining package, WoW bands, ports of call, and much much more.  Enjoy.
If you don't want to watch it I can sum it up that we will continue to happily cruise with Royal Caribbean. 
 
 

As already stated by others,
Chair hogs, enforce the rules.
Main dinning room, bring back the old menus and enforce the dress code, it's not too much to ask to remove baseball hats and flip flops.
Move to a set price for the drinks/wi-fi package, it seems most other cruise lines offer it for a fixed price, the same for all their ships.
Include gratuities in the base fare.
Rotate the ships more often, we've got bored of Anthem out of the UK.
I've noticed that many people have come up with the same list, perhaps Royal should take note.

Too long; Didn't read?
If that isn't what you meant, I'll gladly apologize.  Normally, I think of you as being incredibly helpful - this, not so much.  Why not just scroll on by? 

As already stated by others,
Chair hogs, enforce the rules.
Main dinning room, bring back the old menus and enforce the dress code, it's not too much to ask to remove baseball hats and flip flops.
Move to a set price for the drinks/wi-fi package, it seems most other cruise lines offer it for a fixed price, the same for all their ships.
Include gratuities in the base fare.
Rotate the ships more often, we've got bored of Anthem out of the UK.
I've noticed that many people have come up with the same list, perhaps Royal should take note.

Disappointing not to see any other Royal ships on the list, still hoping that one day we may get an additional ship out of Southampton.

Disappointing not to see any other Royal ships on the list, still hoping that one day we may get an additional ship out of Southampton.

FWIW, there are rumors that RC will be building a new class roughly the size of Voyager class. These would be the future “small” ships.
Just something I’ve read. I’m no expert on this sort of thing.

Actually, this is exactly the format where fans discuss what Royal does well and can improve on. Knowing that the line yanking your cruise at any moment is a possibility is a great topic to discuss if for nothing else letting all know that while very unlikely, it is a possibility. From those that responded it seems that it's not too uncommon and does happen from time to time. I'm glad to listen to somebody who was disappointed by an action that would no doubt disappoint the majority of cruisers here. Especially those that are new to cruising or don't get to cruise as frequently as others. 
Also, as somebody mentioned, the "they all do it" excuse is such a cop out. While true, it doesn't mean it's right. We book and put money down with in good faith that the company holds up their end of the bargain. For them to go chase a more lucrative deal and abandon their promise after we've spent time working and planning towards that vacation is simply not kind. So who cares if "they all do it", because, "they all shouldn't".

Since I was on Anthem last week, I spoke to the LA about our block and mentioned that I was dubious about it being sent to us in Portugal. 🇵🇹
She looked us up and confirmed that there was an order in for it with FedEx but that it had been delayed due to restocking issues.
Well, wouldn't you know, during the cruise I received an email from FedEx about our order (which I would have been suspicious about if I hadn't spoken to the LA) so I looked up the tracking number and it appears to be legit; it's coming from Sunrise, FL, which I seem to remember seeing mentioned somewhere in a block-related thread.
It's supposed to arrive by this coming Thursday. 🤞

We feel the same in the UK re Anthem, same shows, same itineries. Even a different Quantum class ship would be welcome, or change the shows on Anthem.