Chrissy and I are new to cruising and had been apprehensive about doing one, but we were intrigued when we heard some other travelers talk about using repositioning cruises to get across the ocean as an alternative to flying. So we dove in. We had an 11 day cruise across the Atlantic last year and we’re currently on a 21 day voyage across the Pacific. Two different cruise operations and two different experiences.
The transatlantic was with Celebrity on the Celebrity Apex. The transpacific is with Princess on the Princess Discovery.
A primary difference was that on the transatlantic cruise, we were with a group of nomads and slow travelers organized by Amy of Go With Less, so we had daily meetups, dinners together. For our transpacific we were going out on our own.
Both have pluses and minuses. In the GWL cruise we had an instant community. Without that structure we’ve been on our own most of the time. We’ve still had some fun get-togethers on the Princess, and a totally awesome excursion with some new friends. But mostly we’ve kept to ourselves.
Cruises
This second ocean-crossing is a long one. We boarded in Auckland, New Zealand on April 13th and are scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles on May 2nd. Twenty-one days is a long time to be on a cruise ship, even with three beautiful port stops (two in French Polynesia and one in Hawaii.)
I’m still forming an opinion on cruising. On the one hand, as a full time traveler it’s a reasonable way to change continents. You’re going slow enough to avoid jet lag, and it’s pretty relaxing. On the other hand, being on a cruise ship is like being in an all-inclusive resort. Many people love resorts, but that is just not how I personally like to live. I’m a fat person. I have a fat attitude towards food. So having buffet breakfast, and a buffet option for every meal is rough. It’s hard to make healthy choices when… oh, look… bacon.
I also pretty much hate having overly-attentive housekeeping staff coming into the room every time I leave and tidying everything. It drives me crazy. I left my glasses with the arms open because I want them that way! Don’t close them! Don’t close or open my drapes! I want them that way. Etc.
The days are packed with activities that many people seem to enjoy, but I have no real interest in. Trivia, karaoke, gambling, shopping. … There are some that I’m kind of interested in such as the lectures about various things like ship communication, navigation, nature etc. Also, the dance classes are a good idea. They’re beginner lessons but any dancing is good.
There are opportunities to socialize on the ship but Chrissy and I more often than not just like to keep to ourselves. That said, we’ve met some folks through our nomadic Facebook groups that we really liked. It’s been very enjoyable to share war stories with fellow nomads and slow travelers.
Speaking about our fellow passengers, these ocean crossing cruises are long, and obviously cater to folks who have tons of time on their hands – retired people. That means that the ship’s average passenger age is decades older than ours, making us feel a little out of place. And we can’t help but speculate whether this is what retirement home living is like.
Cruising is confusing, how to make it better for noobs?
As relatively new cruisers there has been one constant with the two operators we’ve used, and that is a lack of information. They don’t tell you anything, just expecting you to know how everything works. The first and weirdest example is, they don’t really tell you where the ship is going to be! You know what city the ship docks in, and that’s it. They don’t tell you the address of the dock, which port it will be in. The docks are not always close together, so it’s valuable to know, especially if you’re hauling luggage around and trying to get an uber to get you close. For this recent Princess cruise out of Auckland, Chrissy figured it out by using the Auckland Port Authority website to see what ships were scheduled to arrive. It’s kind of absurd that the cruise company doesn’t put this key info into an email, a text… or hey, what about putting it into the app!
The lack of info doesn’t stop there. Once on board, which restaurants are included in your package is kind of a mystery. We got an upgraded package that included four visits to what they call “casual dining” restaurants. But in the app, there is no filter for “Casual.” There the restaurants are categorized as “Specialty, Main and Extraordinary.” It seems really odd that they expect you to just figure this out.
What they should do
Tell you exactly where to go! Seems so simple but for both cruises we kind of had to figure that out on our own. They should tell you what to do if you have luggage that you want porters to handle vs if you can carry your own bags. “Print these tags and bring them to the pier” is a start. But… where is the pier? As in which port?
Another mystery, what is included in your selected package, and what isn’t. Where you can eat that is already paid for, and where you will have an additional charge. What drinks are included, and aren’t. A video tour of the ship’s amenities and how to access them might be nice. It just seems really strange that they don’t provide this in a clear way. It makes noobs like us feel like morons for not knowing. Our package says that it includes specialty teas and smoothies but we’ve not seen anywhere to get them or even know how to ask for them.
Gratuities
On our first cruise, I had no clue how this worked. I just started noticing charges from the cruise company showing up on my credit card every evening. I later learned that this was for gratuities. It seemed odd that it wasn’t made clear how that worked. From some things I’ve seen online it sounds like “gratuity” is actually what makes up the base salary for the service workers on the ship. If you want give them a tip, it would be something extra on top of the default “gratuity.” The more I hear, it seems like it should just always be a part of the ticket.
Celebrity Apex vs Discovery Princess
Our cabin. Disclosure, we have an upgraded cabin on Discovery. So I’m comparing an interior cabin to an obstructed balcony – not apples to apples. That said, the big advantage that our Celebrity Apex cabin had over the Discovery Princess was the couch. It’s really nice to have a comfortable place to sit in the room that isn’t on the bed. Discovery has a small desk and desk chair but that’s it.
On the plus side for Discovery, I really like the way the closet faces the bathroom which keeps both sides of the bed free and accessible when someone needs to use the closet. The Celebrity Apex had its closet open right next to the bed which was just clumsier to use since you’d interrupt the person sleeping if you needed to access the closet.
Overall the experience of having a balcony is nice. It’s great to have daylight, fresh air, and a small private outdoor space. But it does come with a pretty high cost premium.
Both ships have large, quality theaters at the front of the ship. I found the Celebrity theater to be more impressive and modern with its much higher ceiling. The stage on the Princess is the traditional recessed type with all of the audience sitting in front of it with one large curtain. On the Celebrity Apex the stage is (what I later learned) is called a “thrust” stage. It allows audience members to sit on three sides of it. It feels much more modern and I was just in awe of that space every time we entered it.
As far as the shows themselves, I think that Celebrity was more consistently impressive, especially the acrobatic performances (allowed for by the higher ceiling) and the large-scale cast performances with elaborate sets. They did an amazing job. Entertainment on the Princess Discovery has been less consistent, though they did perform a full set theatrical production a few days ago which rivaled the best of what we saw on the Apex. There were, however, many other less compelling shows, and less variety (lots of singers, not so many dancers and limited acrobatics.)
Entertainment
One other thing about the Apex is that they have two separate entertainment casts, each with their own style, which gives you substantially more variety in their performances. Every night there would be performances from each cast in different parts of the ship. One was in the main theater, and usually the other in the wonderful rear space called Eden. There’s really nothing like Eden on the Princess. Eden is a multi-level space with a wall of windows along the rear of the ship, a bar and seating around the edges, and a large open space in the center for performances. It’s just very creative and exciting to see.
The Food
As for food…I’d give Celebrity Alex the leg up there but it’s not by that much. Overall food quality in the main dining rooms of both ships is close enough that I’d call it a tie. Where Celebrity wins is in variety. The apex has four restaurants each with different menus for you to choose from every day. On the Discovery there are three main restaurants but they each have the exact same menu. On the Apex you can ask to order food from any of the other restaurants and they’ll bring it to you but the main point is that each restaurant has its own unique menu each day which made it feel like you had a lot more choice. The buffets, in my experience, with breakfast and the occasional lunch is close, but in my mind Celebrity Apex still wins. The main differentiator for me is the egg station. You can get a fresh made omelet, poached eggs or eggs benedict every morning. I really missed Celebrity’s fresh cooked eggs while on the Princess.
Fitness
Both ships have large well appointed gyms. But between the Celebrity Apex and the Princess Discovery, I’d say that the Discovery wins this one. Both ships have plenty of ellipticals and treadmills. But the gym on Discovery is larger and has three sets of free weights in two separate areas. There were enough free weights that I’ve never had to wait or change my plans because what I wanted was in use.
Pools
Each ship has multiple pools but again, the Celebrity Apex has the leg up because one of their pools is indoors. That space is kept at a consistent temperature. With that pool available even when it’s cool, overcast or raining you can go for a comfortable dip. All of the pools (that we have access to) are outdoors on the Princess. So I’d say Apex wins again.
Design of public spaces
I think that overall the Celebrity Apex is just a better designed ship. I found its flow and use of space to be more to my liking. My main issue with the Discovery Princess is that every space is a noisy public walkway. The Apex has bars that are a destination that is isolated from a hallway but most of the bars on the Princess are along the walkways, making both the bars and the hallways feel noisier and less relaxing.
Beyond that, Apex has a wider variety of… vibes to its spaces. Both ships have a large multi-floor piazza in the center and both are similarly impressive. Where Apex shines is that it has a variety of public spaces that have a different feel. You can find small quiet nooks to read or have a quiet conversation, or go to a bar and hangout in a more lively space.
One thing that Princess does have that outshines Celebrity is public laundromats where we can wash our own clothing. With Celebrity you either use the ship laundry service, or wash things in the sink. That’s a big win for Princess Discovery especially for a multi-week voyage like the one we’re on.
So, do you enjoy it?
I don’t know. There are some nice things about cruising. I mean, it’s relaxing… mostly. Neither of us has washed a dish in weeks now. No meal planning, grocery shopping or cooking. But that’s also a negative because i’m dying to make my own cocktails and scramble my own eggs again. When it comes down to it, I think that a lot of what the cruise experience offers, just isn’t stuff that I’m that interested in or put much value on. As a means of getting from one continent to another, when you’re in no hurry they are kind of nice. But if you’re like me and want to add a drinks package and internet, the price can get high quickly, leaving me wondering if it would be more cost effective to just fly and spend more time at my destination.
We have two more cruises planned on two different providers. So I’m curious to see how those compare. And whether we’ll be over cruising by then, or have signed on for more.
