Princess Loyalists Please Brag and compare to Celebrity

We are looking at trying Princess

Please tell me if you have sailed both Princess and Celebrity and what you prefer and why

Things to know about the loyalty points/programs... like does level of cabin booked matter

Is the ship experience A la Carte or are there best bets for wine/spirits, specialty dining

We're over 50, enjoy great food/great service and meeting interesting people

I am from the UK and have sailed on Princess on the Royal and on Celebrity on Infinity. Celebrity was just ok and Princess was exceptional. I would say acts in main theatre were on a par, service good on both but food, variety of entertainment and wowo factor of the ship itself were where Princess won hands down. I would possibly cruise with Celebrity again but only a newish ship and only if the price was good. Whereas I am already booked to cruise again with Princess in the summer and can't wait.

We have been on both and found the service on both to be equal, Celebrity have better cabins in our opinion, and shore excursions similar. In our opinion the food in the dining rooms on both are similar although service was better on Celebrity, Princess is way ahead with the buffet, and has far more options for entertainment. Celebrity cram most things in to the atrium whereas Princess have entertainment at many more locations around the ship.

Frankly though if both lines were available, I'd take the best itinerary, as both will do us.

TY

Looking at Trans Atl...

and comparing an aqua class to a club mini suite

My favorite cruise line has always been X...but Princess has better itineraries and and much better website & land support.

I am more interested in service and staff......than food and accommodations.....I have always enjoyed the staff on X ships, more out and about.

Never done a TA...so no opinion.

On specialty restaurants X wins hands down....

Ditto (In reverse)

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2585621

Princess is always my first choice but Celebrity is a close second. We're Elite with both lines.

You'll notice much less of a hierarchy on Princess. Your key card is based on how many cruises you have with them, not the category of cabin you've booked. There are hardly any spaces onboard that will prevent you from going into them if you aren't in a full suite (only Sabatini's during the breakfast hours and the Platinum, Elite and Suite cocktail hour at night). People just don't care what type of cabin you're in whereas on Celebrity, it seems to be much more of a big deal.

With Princess, there are less wine-driven bars/venues. Yes, there's a good variety but it's not the main focus for your evening like it can be on Celebrity.

Celebrity's balcony cabins (especially on the Solstice Class) are so far superior to Princess', it's hard to even compare them. Bath amenities for Elite members are better on Princess. In fact, all Elite perks with Princess are better than Celebrity.

Celebrity ships feel more modern than Princess' Grand Class ships but are a good equivalent with their Royal Class ships. IME, Celebrity attracts a younger, fitter crowd and has a better, bigger gym.

The food IMO is better on Princess.

Service is a lot better on Princess. This is especially noticeable on the last day of the cruise when people are leaving and the crew and just as friendly and happy as they've been all week. With Princess, it's like experiencing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

We cruise for itinerary so whichever line has the one we want, that's what we cruise.

Here is a very thorough comparison of Princess and Celebrity by Bimmer09 aka Norris. Be prepared, once you start reading one of Norris' reviews you will find it hard to stop, and you will end up reading all of them.

Comparing Princess

and Celebrity http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2317130

Princess is our favorite cruise line. Our last Celebrity cruise was a disappointment in terms of food and service.

We are elite on both lines...we prefer Princess to X. Overall service, food and entertainment are more consistent on Princess. Actually prefer the older ships on both lines. The new Royal and Regal are similar in to newer X ships. We really enjoy the Crown Grill, steak house on Princess, pay extra for it $29 pp. Loyality program on Princess seems better to us, not linked to type of cabin booked. We always book a mini suite on Princess, because we like the larger cabin with a bath tub, plus large balcony on older ships. What we really like about Princess is how responsive the line is to off menu requests, this is something X never did well for us. We tried Blu, it was okay but not as good as Crown Grill. We usually eat at the buffet on X because the MDR is so inconsistent for us. Now we find we eat either at the Crown Grill, the buffet or do room service on Princess. We have well over 60 cruises on 9 different lines.... so we have seen a lot changes in service over the years. Other lines we have cruised on recently include Cunard and Holland America.

The food on Celebrity 10 years ago was amazing. Unfortunately, they've gone to a two tier system in dining and all the emphasis seems to be going to the upper tier. They've also eliminated some of the nice touches--the brunch, etc. The food you get when you book a normal cabin isn't bad, but compared to what it used to be, it has taken a dive.

We are looking at trying Princess

 

Please tell me if you have sailed both Princess and Celebrity and what you prefer and why

 

Things to know about the loyalty points/programs... like does level of cabin booked matter

 

Is the ship experience A la Carte or are there best bets for wine/spirits, specialty dining

 

We're over 50, enjoy great food/great service and meeting interesting people

One huge thing not mentioned is that Celebrity casinos are no smoking.

TY

Looking at Trans Atl...

and comparing an aqua class to a club mini suite

Ok, comparing cabins - Princess mini-suite is much larger than Aqua Class cabin - somewhat separated sitting area, two TVs, bathtub/shower combo - more comparable to a Sky suite in space, although layout is different. Aqua's Blu dining room and experience is far superior to Club Class in Princess. Blu is an actual separate dining room, totally different menu, staff, erc while Club Class is a small section of main dining room with different colored table cloths and flower, menu has a different cover but it's the same menu with an added dish or two per night.. Better staffed than regular MDR section, and truly anytime like Blu is, but that's about where rhe comparison stops. You do get half bottles of wine in CC, along with a few small other perks vs Persian Garden access with Aqua and a few other perks.

Loyalty programs - we're Elite Plus in Celebrity and Elite on Princess. Celebrity counts nights sailed and cabin category for how many points - higher category cabin, more points per night. Princess counts nights sailed or completed cruises. All cabin category are equal except suites, which earn an extra cruise credit (one completed cruise, one cruise credit. Sail in a suite, two credits. Sail solo, two credits, sail solo in a suite, 3 credits.) A completed cruise is any length, so a 1-night sailing counts the same as a 15-night or longer. Princess also counts days sailed, and you move up to next level by either one, whichever comes first...details at website, obviously.

Perks comparison - they're both good. We much prefer the free cocktail hours from Celebrity vs the $6.50 drink of the day cocktail hour in Princess while we prefer the free unlimited laundry from Princess vs a couple bags from Celebrity. We like the interest perk from Princess, but we usually get unlimited Internet included from Celebrity, so that's a wash. We like the 10% off in shops on Princess but like the discount on drink packages from Celebrity.. Afternoon tea in cabin is great from Princess, but not enough to make much of a difference for us. And so on.

We don't cruise for the perks, we cruise for itineraries, dates, ships, friends. So, we'll sail whichever ship fits what we're looking for in that particular cruise... I have no doubt you'll enjoy Princess if you've been enjoying Celebrity. They cater to similar demographics, and offer a product that's more similar than different overall....

I posted this on another thread ... am copying and pasting it here as it applies. I think I am pretty fair and balanced on my comparisons. Some things are just better on Princess ... some are just better on Celebrity. Hopefully, you can glean from this what is most important to you as the reason I love Celebrity is based on what's important to me. Here goes ....

Hands down, for me, it is Celebrity!! I have over a dozen sailings on Celebrity and twice that many on Princess. I like the Princess itineraries better, especially since they sail pretty much right out from my backyard. But, the ships on Celebrity (probably aside from the Royal class on Princess) are much nicer and better maintained.

The differences that I find are:

Celebrity doesn't really attract a family crowd whereas you will find a younger demographic on Princess. Either will have very few kids onboard, if any, whe the sailing is 14 days or more. Service is a little more white glove on Celebrity but I've also experienced some outstanding crews on Princess.

The specialty restaurants on both are wonderful, much cheaper on Princess, though ... although you can usually get a great discount on Celebrity. The MDR might be a tie. The buffet definitely goes to Celebrity but the pizza goes to Princess.

Pools go to Celebrity. The indoor pool on Celebrity is for adults only, which they actually enforce, with very limited family time schedules.

Entertainment goes to Princess for the most part. The venues for entertainment are much better on Celebrity, though, as Princess doesn't schedule the correct venues for popular events / shows.

Cabins go to Celebrity as they actually have a couch instead of that one lone chair that always seems to be in the way. Closets on Princess, with their open design go to Princess, though.

Celebrity tends to offer perks with your bookings more readily than Princess does. When all is said and done, Celebrity has better pricing than I can find on Princess. The future cruise deposits on Princess are a lot more flexible, though and on Princess, you can also stack your perks / discounts / obc. Celebrity limits which perks are combinable.

Smoking is extremely limited on Celebrity and although you can no longer smoke in your cabin or on your balcony on Princess, there are many more outdoor areas and still indoor venues where smoking is allowed.

Casino payouts seem to have been more generous on Princess, however, Celebrity sets up a lot of fun tournaments and raffles for little to no charge after the who lets out.

Onboard purchases seem to be more expensive on Celebrity.

Princess has a great BOGO event twice daily (buy one drink and get one for $1) if you don't have the beverage package. Also, the wine policy on Princess is much more generous. You can bring as many bottles of wine onboard and incur a corkage fee of $15 for any bottles beyond the first two, which are meant to be consumed in your cabin only. Anything you've paid corkage on, you can consume throughout the ship. On Celebrity, the limit of bottles of wine / champagne you can bring onboard is 2 and if you take these two to the dining room, the corkage fee is $25.

Room service seems to be better on Princess, even though you can order room service on Celebrity on your TV. I've not had good luck with the actual delivery on Celebrity, though, even though I think their selection is better. I read that maybe now Celebrity has a small surcharge if you order room service during nighttime hours. I never order it anymore on Celebrity so not really too clear on the details.

Well, there are probably so many more things I could address ... but think you have some details you can use to make a decision on what the better fit is for you.

Oh ... and I need to add: Celebrity is a lot less formal now. They've swapped out their 'formal nights', which Princess still has, to Evening Chic. For me, that's a plus.

We have found Princess gives us a better overall experience including food quality & variety, service and atmosphere is more to our liking.

Also I simply can’t stand using the Celebrity website. It’s is awful imo.

We love both as each has advantages and disadvantages. But the Celebrity website really is the WORST.

We were on the Celebrity Silhouette last February. Balcony cabin. Was our first time on Celebrity and we were part of a huge group (a conference in fact). All expenses paid. We missed the Princess Piazza, no real gathering spots other than the bars on the Silhouette too white washed and bland. Too much steel. Too much beige. Food was not as good as Princess. Can't put my finger on it but, felt like there was a tier system. And we were all equal on this sailing, it being a conference and all) Too many pay restaurants on that ship. (They were all free for us) but too many pay restaurants in my opinion. Not enough pools. Not enough hot tubs. Didn't like those weird couches on deck near the pool. Would not sail them again.

I am from the UK and have sailed on Princess on the Royal and on Celebrity on Infinity. Celebrity was just ok and Princess was exceptional. I would say acts in main theatre were on a par, service good on both but food, variety of entertainment and wowo factor of the ship itself were where Princess won hands down. I would possibly cruise with Celebrity again but only a newish ship and only if the price was good. Whereas I am already booked to cruise again with Princess in the summer and can't wait.

The Infinity was a joke! The decor is horrible. The "atrium/piazza" was non existent. Thank God we'd won the cruise in a raffle. Can't wait to be back on Princess in April and just got off in December. Princess HANDS DOWN!!!

We're up there in cruises on Princess, with only one on Celebrity to compare. We were told the "food on Celebrity will knock your socks off." Our socks are still firmly on; we weren't impressed. And we had one repeated experience on Celebrity we have never seen on Princess (or any other cruise line, for that matter). Celebrity is the only line where we have seen supervisors publicly chastising their subordinates for real or perceived offenses. That is such a violation of smart management that we've never gone back. Maybe it was just a fluke on that ship.

I've been on Celebrity Eclipse once and the Royal Princess once. The food quality was night and day, especially if you prefer the buffet. (Princess won hands down.)

I was honestly shocked at how overrated X's food was, even in "Blu".

Royal Princess also seemed to have a better staff to pax ratio, but not sure if the actual numbers bear that out.

My recent cruise on RC (Oasis) proved that I'm not likely to cruise with any of that company's lines again. Will return to Princess for sure.

Edit: would be remiss in overlooking the chance to take a shot at X's website, which is REALLY THAT BAD.

Posting here, you will find Princess overwhelmingly preferred. I imagine if you post on the Celebrity board, people there would say they've tried Princess and like Celebrity better.

We've done both, and have future bookings on both. I'd say they are both good, but have different strengths.

Thanks. It seems Princess varies widely by Ship.. and of course with any line and sailing crew differs.

Same can be said for Celebrity. We prefer the Soltice class

Was looking at Princess for a TA in a mini suite vs concierge or aqua class in X.

With a TA we feel the cabin amenities and balcony will be important, as well as quiet spaces to read, a place for a scotch/martini.

I like enrichment lectures...

I realize food preferences can be relative. On X we really enjoy Murano which is fee based. X changed their specialty restaurant packages so unlike our last sailing when we ate in Sushi on Five, The Porch or the Lawn Club Grill for lunch...and then either Murano, Qsine, or the Lawn Club Grill for dinner... we won't be doing that on the sailing next month. (AND it looks like some venues aren't open for lunch anymore :( )

Has anyone done a TA on both? TYIA

All ships have there good and bad things according to a person's perspective. Little things such as the weather, a wonderful cabin steward, the ports, or pushy photographers can make or break a trip.

I find that both Celebrity and Princess are very similar. They are my two favorite companies and we have traveled on five different lines.

One major difference is that Princess has guest lecturers on their ships. We are traveling on the Regal next week and there are classes on pirates and the history of the islands. When we traveled in Alaska there was a naturalist that gave both classes and descriptions of the sites we were seeing as we traveled along the coast.

Our best experience with Princess is when we missed the ship due to a storm in Atlanta.

We had booked our transportation from the airport to the dock through them.

We were met by a Princess representative at the airport and transferred to a hotel which they arranged and paid for.

The next day we were driven by limo to the next port for free. We also were given a credit of one days worth of cruise fare because we were on the cruise one less day.

We did not expect any of this. We could not believe that they would put us up in a hotel and then give us money back for that day!!

We have sailed both and enjoy both. We think they are more similar than different.. Celebrity

is a little more subdued in our opinion. Few kids on Celebrity. Shows a nod to Celebrity.

International Cafe, great buffets a toss up. Loved the glass shows on Celebrity.

You can't go wrong with either.

K and J

Thanks. It seems Princess varies widely by Ship.. and of course with any line and sailing crew differs.

Same can be said for Celebrity. We prefer the Soltice class

 

Was looking at Princess for a TA in a mini suite vs concierge or aqua class in X.

With a TA we feel the cabin amenities and balcony will be important, as well as quiet spaces to read, a place for a scotch/martini.

I like enrichment lectures...

 

I realize food preferences can be relative. On X we really enjoy Murano which is fee based. X changed their specialty restaurant packages so unlike our last sailing when we ate in Sushi on Five, The Porch or the Lawn Club Grill for lunch...and then either Murano, Qsine, or the Lawn Club Grill for dinner... we won't be doing that on the sailing next month. (AND it looks like some venues aren't open for lunch anymore :( )

 

Has anyone done a TA on both? TYIA

Yes, have done TAs on both lines, more than once for both lines.. Both are lovely. Princess has a little more going in throughout the day vs Celebrity, if that matters to you..

Yes, cabin can make a difference. FWIW - Concierge and Aqua cabins are the same size, etc on Celebrity Solstice class ships. (and same as regular balcony cabins. The only real "difference" is the Aqua shower wirh extra shower heads)... It's location and extras added in such as Blu, aromatherapy, canapés, erc. Concierge and Aqua Class cabins are slightly larger than regular cabins on Millennium class ships, and usually have larger balconies also..

Mini-suites on Princess are considerably larger than Concierge or Aqua cabins on Celebrity, much larger bathrooms with bathtub, somewhat separated sitting area, two TVs, etc.

Club Class mini-suites are as close as Princess comes to anything like Blu or Luminae, however the dining "perk" of Club Class is not a patch of either of those venues..it's just a small area of the dining room with a little higher staff ratio and an extra dish or two each night.

If you like Celebrity you'll very likely enjoy Princess, and vice versa..