Princess vs Holland America and Celebrity

In recent years we have sailed on several Holland America cruises and some on Celebrity. It has been several years since we have chosen Princess and we would appreciate hearing the reasons you are loyal Princess cruisers over those two lines. We all have our favorite for different reasons. Why is Princess yours? Thanks!

Celebrity was more formal and had better food in the past, but general consensus is that it has declined such that food is at best no better than Princess, and probably not quite up to Princess. One time I imagined returning to X to build up status there once reaching Platinum on Princess, but now I;d like to reach Elite and I'm not sure we'll return to X again - would need to feel compelled by a ship or itinerary in the future I guess.

My impression of HAL has always been that it is high quality, but also high age bracket, so I would be interested to hear from you if that has changed and age is bracketing down. I could see being interested in HAL for certain ships and itineraries, but we don't want to be overly formal.

I think Princess strikes a good balance in the "resort nice" ambiance without being stiffly or overly formal. We like the staff service and friendliness on board.

I am pretty much always impressed with Princess' customer service - how they treat customers in general. I have always found good solutions to any issue from them.

I like the passenger mix and when I've gotten to know passengers a bit for one reason or another, it's always been a pleasant experience.

We just like the overall "feel" of Princess - and it's a sum of the parts sort of thing I guess.

As always it is every single person's own preference that rules what lines they prefer

As said the Celebrity was excellent with superior food and entertainment but like most of the other lines they have cut down and now it is very similar to Princess

I personally found HAL food very poor - and so did our whole table of 8 - I have had meals on Princess which were not perfect but they were not frequent.

I note that the itineraries of Princess AND their price are good in comparison to then other two lines and one gets good perks earlier than on HAL.

I have only once traveled on HAL and Celebrity. I found the lines to be similar. I enjoyed Celebrity over HAL and Princess over both. The loyalty perks is what keeps me coming back to Princess. Would I travel the other cruise lines if the opportunity was great (better itinerary/fare). Sure.

I prefer Princess' Tea service better than Holland America (Indonesian style).

I liked the sofa and tub in the regular cabins on HAL. I had a obstructed ocean view cabin that was footsteps away from the Promenade Deck. Nice cabin location.

I liked the Sunday brunch on Celebrity with both dining rooms connected. Not sure if this is still valid.

There are too many good things about Princess, but I am rather jaded. I'll let others make the list.

We prefer Princess primarily because of the many choices of sailing, excursions, perks especially shareholder benefits, good MDR service and decent cabins. Food wise in the MDR, Celebrity definitely wins it over Princess as well as its full time sommeliers with none on Princess ships (we are big wine drinkers). Princess has a decent wine list but Celebrity seems to offer better and more comprehensive selections however Princess excels in much better prices for the premium wines over Celebrity. Princess provides much better MDR service compared to Celebrity. Princess is not perfect, none are but it provides what we need. Naturally if money was no object, Crystal or Seaborne would likely be the ultimate choice.

Yes, I will concede on the wine list. Princess' has deteriorated in terms of imagination and decent selections. Lots of sub-$10 stuff on the list now for low 30's per bottle. A little less of that and a little more of stuff up to $20 would be better.

It may have changed, but I found some of the sommeliers on X would kind of "attach" themselves once an interest in wine was expressed, seemingly in the hopes of more sales. It would be interesting to see a current X wine list selection to compare with Princess.

I try to bring my own on board as I only need 3-4 bottles for a 7-day and I can get better value even with paying a corkage fee. Oh, I do believe X's corkage fee is quite a bit higher than Princess' $15. Yes, I just looked it up and it's $25 - ouch!! Was $15 or $18 many moons ago.

We select a cruise based on itinerary, line and price. We have cruised all three in both the Caribbean and various European itineraries. All 3 are very similar but we've pretty much crossed HAL off our "go-to" list because we find the entertainment lacking on HAL (we are in our mid 60's). We found the evenings to be boring. Much more doing on Princess and Celebrity.

I have only sailed Princess but there is one thing about HAL that kind of puts me off which is the fact that they allow smoking on balconies. I would really hate to pay for a balcony that I couldn't enjoy because of somebody else's smoke.

I used to say Celebrity has the best food, except for seafood and pastas, but I haven't cruised with them since 2007 so my information is definitely dated. I thought their dining service was better too, but, again, things have no doubt changed. I do like their dining rooms much better than anything on Princess. Celebrity used to feel more upscale than Princess to me.

Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam had perhaps the best food I've ever had on a cruise. The Noordam had some of the worst. The Nieuw Amsterdam had wonderful dining service; the Noordam and Maasdam had the slowest. I guess my opinion on HAL is that things are very uneven among their ships.

I am attracted to Princess because of their combinable OBCs and passenger laundries, in addition to the fact that they do many things well and none poorly. There is simply nothing I truly dislike about the cruise line.

We have sailed on all three lines.. After a few HAL cruises, we dropped them in favor of Celebrity and Princess..

Since we have the same status on both and feel they have equal quality in food (in my opinion), it comes down to service and perks. Princess comes out on top in both categories.. By using shareholder, FCC's, and loyalty benefits.. Princess is much preferable.. Celebrity prices have always seemed a bit higher even when they add their 1-2-3 Free perks..

Unless there is a specific itinerary or ship that has peaked our interest, we'll stick with Princess..:D

Thanks so much for your comments. We are booked on an upcoming Princess cruise so it is helpful to hear what we have to look forward to. We are 4* Mariners on HAL and Elite on X so it is hard to only be Ruby on Princess! We enjoy the free laundry on HAL (we send it out every day!) as well as the half-price specialty dining and coffee drinks. Plus the cabins tend to be bigger on that line. On X we are Elite so have internet minutes, happy hour, etc. with them. Yes, HAL tends to be older on its longer cruises but on its 7-day Caribbean, it is a mix. X seems to be a bit younger. We have had great food on both lines but since RCCL bought X, the food has definitely changed and not for the better. Entertainment on both has been a mix of great and not so good. We love HAL's itineraries and sometimes we find Celebrity's lacking or just not interesting to us. The Princess cruise we are going on was chosen for itinierary which when you have cruised a lot is usually the deciing factor. Now if we could just take what we love about each cruise line and make one with those ingredients...I can dream!

Allow me to toss in a counterpoint here...

I am NOT "loyal" to Princess...I actually prefer Celebrity by a WIDE margin (I have cruised on 8 different lines but have yet to cruise on HAL)...

I am "Elite Plus" on Celebrity, "Platinum" on Princess...

Why do I go back to Princess? Pretty much only for specific itineraries. Since I live in Southern California and like to cruise a few times a year, it's great to get some cruises in where I don't have to fly somewhere to get there. Since my choices out of the LA area are, for the most part, limited to Princess or Carnival, THAT choice is EASY...

But, when it comes to cruising in Europe, Alaska or the Caribbean--where both of these...and other...lines compete, that choice is also easy...and it's not Princess.

Most posters here have focused on food. Before saying anything on that, let me point out that "food" is purely subjective. Everyone has their own particular taste...making it very hard to say any cruise line's food is "better" or "worse"...Personally, I find Celebrity's food to be "better" (though I prefer Oceania's even above that)...I find the soups on Celebrity superior...as well as the breads...

But, for me, it all goes well beyond just the food...

A couple of folks have noted the service...

First, let's consider dining room service...In my book, Celebrity wins here hands down...

I usually choose Anytime Dining nowadays...Celebrity runs this WAY better than Princess...On Princess, I've often been handed a beeper or asked to wait for a table...that rarely happens on Celebrity. Part of the problem is that the Princess dining rooms are disjointed...ships have multiple (up to four, depending on the ship) rooms...and it's hard to control who goes where. The single large room on Celebrity works much better. The bigger issue with Princess is that they allow people with traditional seating assignments to show up and be seated in Anytime...This causes the traditional rooms to sit half empty while the rooms earmarked for Anytime are overburdened. Another part of Celebrity's superiority here is that they track where they seat you each night of the cruise and try to give you the same waiters most nights...so the quality almost matches traditional...The actual table service, once seated, is good on both lines, but Celebrity still maintains a bit of an edge in my book...

The "service" around the rest of the ship is more tied to the "crew per passenger" ratios--which are superior on Celebrity ships...

Cabins are another area where I find a difference...Celebrity cabins and Princess cabins are purported to be about the same in terms of square footage...but, all square footage is not equal..."standard" Princess cabins we've been in have no sofa and coffee table as the Celebrity cabins do...It's all in the layout. Princess devotes a good deal of space to a hallway fronting the closet and leading to the Bathroom...Celebrity uses that space in the main area of the cabin...making it more spacious and allowing for the small sofa. To get that sofa/sitting area one gets in a standard Celebrity cabin on Princess, one must move up to a mini-suite...of course, Princess does have more closet space...But, how much do you need on most cruises?

The biggest issue to me is the relative spaciousness/crowding of the ships...This is where Celebrity is far superior...One only needs to go as far as the "space per passenger" ratios--the number of passengers per the size of the ship...This is where Celebrity beats everyone (save the smaller ships such as Oceania, Azamara and the luxury lines)...

It really bears itself out in the entertainment venues...The showrooms on Celebrity have more than enough seats to easily seat everyone for a show in two seatings...But, on Princess, the typical ship has over 3,000 passengers but a main showroom with only 900 seats...The effect is that one has to show up considerably early to get a seat for a popular show...never a problem on Celebrity...The same problem continues on Princess where they try to put magicians or comedians into a lounge that is well undersized for the crowd...

Now, on the whole, does all of this make Princess a terrible cruise? By all means NO...It is a very good product overall...just with some drawbacks...and those same drawbacks are not evident on Celebrity--which is a VERY good product...

You never evaluated the food

You never evaluated the food

Actually, I did...to a small extent--noting I like Celebrity's soups and breads better...If you want a little more specificit, Princess, basically, just goives you plain dinner rolls...Celebrity has wider and more interesting variety...

As to other main dining room food, they all serve the same basic stuff...just that everyone has different recipes...If you like a certain chef's cooking, you may not like another's--may not be that it's better or worse...

What also happens is that cruise lines change the master chefs--and the menus from time to time...which cause some people to say thinks like "the cruise line's food has gone downhill--it used to be better"...They were, perhaps, just used to the prior chef and recipes...

I have breakfast each Wednesday morning with a small group of friends that includes a couple of recently retired (or unemployed, depending on how you look at things) Princess executives (I live not far from Princess Corporate Headquarters...and they've been going through some turmoil of late due to Carnival Corp's cost cutting by combining a lot of Princess' operations/executive corps with HAL's up in Seattle). These guys know the ins and outs of Princess' operations like no one else...We'll often talk about what's going on in the operations of all the cruise lines...and there's a few good laughs in all of it...Public perception is often far different from reality. I will leave it at that...

(I live not far from Princess Corporate Headquarters...and they've been going through some turmoil of late due to Carnival Corp's cost cutting by combining a lot of Princess' operations/executive corps with HAL's up in Seattle).

Boy, I'd love to be a mouse in your pocket listening to those conversations! I was caught up in some of those changes in Seattle and believe that was a huge error on Carnival's part that the HAL operation will end up suffering under. But, I only see that from one very low position, so what do I know. :o

Tom

Thanks, Bruin Steve, for your frank accounting. I have to say I am shocked to say the least that in a basic verandah cabin there are no sofas. I hear that there are no bathrobes either. I know I want to reserve my impressions of Princess to my own experience, however, from what you have shared, and I realize it is one person's opinion, HAL which I am most familiart with, seems to be a superior cruise product. Anytime dining on that line is almost seamless with one dedicated dining room and rarely a wait except possibly on formal nights and then only for a few minutes. And they never allow traditional diners in the anytime venue. The show lounge handles the passengers well in two seatings though can be croweded for the very popular shows. It amazes me how you can be owned by the same corporation and be so different. We have had positive experiences on X except for one cruise when we were on the very tired and worn Summit in a concierge class cabin that had none of the concierge class amenities. We were told ithey weren't offered on that ship! Then why sell that class?! But we had a wonderful time on the sailing. I guess when you pack 3800 people on a ship such as the Regal you have to give up something. Though the Silhouette is not that much smaller and it had the features that we have come to expect in a verandah. Celebrity and HAL have a very different feel but I like them both and hope that Princess will be close to them in cruise experience. And how bad can it be -- we will be on a cruise!

In recent years we have sailed on several Holland America cruises and some on Celebrity. It has been several years since we have chosen Princess and we would appreciate hearing the reasons you are loyal Princess cruisers over those two lines. We all have our favorite for different reasons. Why is Princess yours? Thanks!

We cruise Princess, Holland America, Cunard and Celebrity.

We are elite on Princess and Celebrity... many more cruises on these two lines than others.

We look for the intinerary we want, price... all of these lines are very similar.

HAL which I am most familiart with, seems to be a superior cruise product. QUOTE]

 

Just goes to show you how opinions differ. I have 11 cruises on Princess, 2 on Celebrity and 1 on HAL. I saw a great itinerary on HAL today and I just can't bring myself to book that line again. So much was wrong with that sailing. I pretty much agree with what Bruin Steve said especially comparing the S class to Princess. I found the M class to be very similar to the Grand class. Same itinerary, I'd probably lean towards a celebrity S class but there's nothing wrong with Princess. But no way would I book HAL again

Actually, I did...to a small extent--noting I like Celebrity's soups and breads better...If you want a little more specificit, Princess, basically, just goives you plain dinner rolls...Celebrity has wider and more interesting variety...

So, I caught up with you again. :)

When I saw the stats on the Carnival Vista (133,500 tons - 3954 lower births) I immediately thought of you.

http://http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=982 ...

Carnival Vista, under construction at Italy's Fincantieri shipyard, will be the first in Carnival Cruise Line's new Vista class. Measuring 133,500 gross tons and holding 3,954 passengers, it will be the largest ship in the cruise line's fleet when it debuts May 1, 2016.

I know how much you enjoy the extra space Carnival affords its passengers. The ship is about the same size as Royal Caribbean's Voyager class (138,000 tons - 3114 lower berths).

So I figured you booked at least the maiden voyage and the following week. Am I right or am I right? :D

Passenger space ratio:

Carnival Vista - 33.8

Voyager OTS - 44.3

I gave Mastro's Steakhouse a try recently. The food was great, but the tables are too close together. What are your thoughts?

Thanks, Bruin Steve, for your frank accounting. .....................I hear that there are no bathrobes either. I know I want to reserve my impressions of Princess to my own experience, ........................ And how bad can it be -- we will be on a cruise!

Just ask. The robes are not very plush, but, better than nothing....maybe?

You are right, you will be on a cruise. Enjoy! :D