Celebrity vs Princess - My Thoughts

We took our first Celebrity cruise after 8 Princess cruises a few weeks ago. We were happy with Princess but thought it was time to try something different to just compare. We walked away saying that there were things different on both lines, some better and some worse but there was nothing that would keep us from cruising with either line again.

As a little background:

We are both in our late 50's; still working and cruise 1-2 times per year. We've never sailed on the Regal/Royal but quite a few of the other Princess Ships. We generally like the grand class but love the Coral/Island and generally book a mini suite. The Celebrity cruise was on the Summit in a Concierge cabin.

Cabin: Princess cabins are much larger than the Summit. The balcony is also much larger. Storage was fine on both. We liked the closet doors on Celebrity but liked the closet location better on Princess. Princess bathrooms seemed bigger as well. Two TVs on Princess (which I thought was silly) but only one on Celebrity and placed on the far side of the bed so made watching from the couch awkward. We both agreed that Princess wins this one hands down.

Food: (Yes, I know - very subjective) We like the MDR and buffet food on Celebrity better but we liked the specialty restaurants on Princess better. We really liked the International Cafe on Princess better than the cafe on Celebrity.

Dining Experience: Summit just went through a retro fit that impacted the MDR and so it was very hectic. We found the atmosphere more relaxed on Princess but I'm sure that the Summit will settle down and get in a rhythm.

One night we couldn't face the chaos in the MDR so went to the buffet (which was a first for us on any cruise for dinner) and had an amazingly relaxing time. Who knew?

Decor: (Again subjective) We loved the decor on the Summit. It was just a little more modern which is more to our liking. Princess is beautiful and a little more elegant but Celebrity hit home with us. We did miss the atrium on Celebrity but we also noticed that not having the formal atrium also made the ship feel less crowded (not open space wise but less crowded with people).

Pools: I really like the therapy pool on Celebrity and covered adult area (redone during dry dock) but my husband did not. The pools on Celebrity were nice but small. We really missed the aft pool on Princess. As I've gotten older and my bones are getting more creaky I really appreciated how easy it was to get in and out of the Celebrity pools (stairs vs ladders).

Theater: We went to one show on Celebrity, a comedian, but did attend a couple of events in the theater. It was nicely laid out with bench seating with small fixed tables for drinks. It was easy to make you way through the rows. We don't go to production shows on either line but I think I liked the Celebrity theater better for our purposes.

Bars: Celebrity wins this one. Their bars seem to be smaller, more intimate that Princess bars and a lot more lively. We loved the Martini and the Sunset bar on Celebrity. The aft bar on Princess is as close of a comparison as I can make on Princess. The exception would be the Adagio on Princess but still a more formal feeling bar than the liveliness of the Celebrity bars.

Promenade deck: (Almost the deal breaker) My husband loves to walk the P deck and there isn't one on the Summit. They have a walking track that winds its way through lounge chairs and a rather large smoking section (11 times around is a mile). This was a huge issue for him but he got over it.

MUTS: The Summit added an outdoor screen and lovely rattan lawn chairs with cushions during dry dock. It was a great place to watch a movie. It hasn't caught on yet to the masses and when it does the space doesn't really seem big enough to accommodate a lot of people. The one nice thing is that it is away from the main pool area so there wasn't the constant noise around the pool from movies and concerts. Princess wins on the movies they show but the experience is better on Celebrity.

As you can see there wasn't anything that would keep me from sailing on either line. The one thing I did learn is that flying to Puerto Rico for a one week cruise is too far for this Arizona girl. Maybe when I retire I'll think differently.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for your review and comparisons.

While I agree with a lot of your observations, I have to point out a few things:

1. You're comparing a mini-suite on Princess to a regular balcony cabin on Celebrity. Hardly a fair comparison. If you had compared apples to apples, you'd see that Celebrity's balcony cabins ARE bigger than Princess' and include a couch/sofa. Concierge Class cabins are not a good comparison to Princess' mini-suites at all.

2. The renovation on the Summit had nothing to do with the dining room that I'm aware of - nothing has changed there.

I've had every class of cabin on Princess from inside cabins to the Grand Suites. While the 2 TVs are nice in the mini-suites, they are narrow. There are pros and cons to every cabin IMO.

While I agree with a lot of your observations, I have to point out a few things:

 

 

 

2. The renovation on the Summit had nothing to do with the dining room that I'm aware of - nothing has changed there.

 

Things did change in the MDR after the Drydock. They changed Select dining to deck 4 and the traditional dining to deck 5. By doing this they waitstaff and such aren't really familiar with the table numbers and layout as of yet. So yes, others that have cruised since drydock have mentioned there was more confusion while dining as they are still learning the new layout.

Thanks for the great review. My only comment - if you liked the décor of the Summit, you would love the Solstice-class ships. They're really beautiful and the cabins are nicer than on the Summit, in my opinion.

Thanks for the great review. My only comment - if you liked the décor of the Summit, you would love the Solstice-class ships. They're really beautiful and the cabins are nicer than on the Summit, in my opinion.

I am under the same opinion. I really would like to experience the S class ships.

..... We generally like the grand class but love the Coral/Island and generally book a mini suite. The Celebrity cruise was on the Summit in a Concierge cabin.

 

Cabin: Princess cabins are much larger than the Summit. The balcony is also much larger. Storage was fine on both. We liked the closet doors on Celebrity but liked the closet location better on Princess. Princess bathrooms seemed bigger as well. Two TVs on Princess (which I thought was silly) but only one on Celebrity and placed on the far side of the bed so made watching from the couch awkward. We both agreed that Princess wins this one hands down.

However, you may not be aware that you did an apples to oranges comparison here.

The mini suite on Celebrity is a sky suite, not a concierge cabin.

Promenade deck: (Almost the deal breaker) My husband loves to walk the P deck and there isn't one on the Summit. They have a walking track that winds its way through lounge chairs and a rather large smoking section (11 times around is a mile). This was a huge issue for him but he got over it.

While it doesn't wrap all the way around, you can cut across through the interior on both ends if you want to get to the other side, or just walk both ways nearly the full length of the ship on the starboard side, which is completely smoke free.

Thanks for the review. Appreciate your taking the time to write and post it.

 

However, you may not be aware that you did an apples to oranges comparison here.

The mini suite on Celebrity is a sky suite, not a concierge cabin.

 

 

:confused: Did he not like walking on the big promenade deck on the Summit, deck 4?

 

 

While it doesn't wrap all the way around, you can cut across through the interior on both ends if you want to get to the other side, or just walk both ways nearly the full length of the ship on the starboard side, which is completely smoke free.

 

 

He did do this walk a few times. I just think he was spoiled by the older Princess ships. The newer ones (Regal/Royal) don't have a true promenade either. I think they are going to be a thing of the past.

I like Celebrity's ships and Princess' food. Any cruise line that could combine these two would get my business and loyalty forever.

The two posts above about apples and oranges are both misleading. The Princess mini-suite is a category that Celebrity doesn't have. It is larger than a Celebrity veranda and MUCH less expensive than a Sky Suite. At the present time, when all Princess passengers eat in the same MDR, the mini-suite is an excellent value proposition. In the near future, when Princess introduces their Club restaurant section for the top mini-suites and all "real" suites, this will have to be re-evaluated (because nobody knows what price increases the Club Mini-Suites will see).

Thanks for the great review. My only comment - if you liked the décor of the Summit, you would love the Solstice-class ships. They're really beautiful and the cabins are nicer than on the Summit, in my opinion.

I totally agree with you...OP must try an "S" class ship...[emoji844][emoji173]️

Any idea when Princess will introduce the Club restaurant?

Thanks so much for posting your comparison. We sail both lines and see the pros and cons of both. My husband hates wearing a suit, so the more relaxed "evening chic" is making us lean more to Celebrity these days.

Thanks for the review. Did you get a chance to check out the spa?

Thanks for the review. Did you get a chance to check out the spa?

I walked through it but didn't use any services. It looked lovely.

Any idea when Princess will introduce the Club restaurant?

Hi,

 

According to the Princess website, Club Class Mini-Suites will debut on the following dates:

• Ruby Princess, Dec. 10, 2016
  
  
• Emerald Princess, Dec. 12, 2016
  
  
• Island Princess, Jan. 4, 2017
  
  
• Sapphire Princess, Jan. 7, 2017
  
  
• Regal Princess, Jan. 8, 2017
  
  
• Grand Princess, Jan. 9, 2017
  
  
• Royal Princess, Jan. 29, 2017
  
  
• Coral Princess, Feb. 6, 2017
  
  
• Majestic Princess, March 30, 2017
  
  
• Sun Princess, April 5, 2017
  
  
• Crown Princess, April 8, 2017
  
  
• Star Princess, April 11, 2017
  
  
• Caribbean Princess, April 6, 2017
  
  
• Diamond Princess, April 20, 2017
  
  
• Pacific Princess, June 9, 2017
  
  
• Sea Princess, Sep. 2, 2017
  
  
• Golden Princess, Oct. 2, 2017
  
  

Chuck

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=49900118&postcount=15

I assume the restaurant will debut at the same time.

I didn't care for the Summit at all. Dh and I just prefer the S class ships, but the Summit does the NJ to Bermuda and back cruise, so that is the ship we used. On Princess, we love having self serve washers and dryers, mini suites are larger than sky suites on Celebrity, if comparing apples to apples--

We just use a cruise as the most comfortable way to get from port to port without having to pack and unpack as on land tours. So it is itinerary first, cruise line and ship second. We like aqua class on Celebrity-- On our next Princess cruise- New England itinerary- the Regal will suit our needs- we only wanted a 1 week cruise for that- Summit itinerary is too long for us for that trip for us- for that cruise we will be in an inside cabin for the first time, as there is only 1 sea day-- we will be busy all day at the ports and will pretty much be eating at the buffet which is supposed to be quite good. But if the Summit had a 1 week cruise for New England, we would have looked at the pricing-- for inside cabin- and booked whichever was the best deal.

I didn't care for the Summit at all. Dh and I just prefer the S class ships, but the Summit does the NJ to Bermuda and back cruise, so that is the ship we used. On Princess, we love having self serve washers and dryers, mini suites are larger than sky suites on Celebrity, if comparing apples to apples--

We just use a cruise as the most comfortable way to get from port to port without having to pack and unpack as on land tours. So it is itinerary first, cruise line and ship second. We like aqua class on Celebrity-- On our next Princess cruise- New England itinerary- the Regal will suit our needs- we only wanted a 1 week cruise for that- Summit itinerary is too long for us for that trip for us- for that cruise we will be in an inside cabin for the first time, as there is only 1 sea day-- we will be busy all day at the ports and will pretty much be eating at the buffet which is supposed to be quite good. But if the Summit had a 1 week cruise for New England, we would have looked at the pricing-- for inside cabin- and booked whichever was the best deal.

The buffet on the Royal and Regal are very good. Dh and I tend not visit the buffet onboard but these turned out to be the exception.

One sailing offered every year at the end of October by Princess is the 10 night repo from NY to FLL on the Regal. Many sea days with nice ports of call over Halloween. :)

Thank you for your thoughts. Great review. :)

On Princess, we love having self serve washers and dryers

I love having access to a washer and dryer! I don't mind taking a little time to do a load of laundry, especially since I don't like to send many of my things out and I end up hand washing them.

mini suites are larger than sky suites on Celebrity, if comparing apples to apples--

I don't think they're both apples at all. One comes with perks including a dedicated restaurant and a concierge lounge, and one doesn't.

We took our first Celebrity cruise after 8 Princess cruises a few weeks ago. We were happy with Princess but thought it was time to try something different to just compare. We walked away saying that there were things different on both lines, some better and some worse but there was nothing that would keep us from cruising with either line again.

 

 

 

As a little background:

 

 

 

We are both in our late 50's; still working and cruise 1-2 times per year. We've never sailed on the Regal/Royal but quite a few of the other Princess Ships. We generally like the grand class but love the Coral/Island and generally book a mini suite. The Celebrity cruise was on the Summit in a Concierge cabin.

 

 

 

Cabin: Princess cabins are much larger than the Summit. The balcony is also much larger. Storage was fine on both. We liked the closet doors on Celebrity but liked the closet location better on Princess. Princess bathrooms seemed bigger as well. Two TVs on Princess (which I thought was silly) but only one on Celebrity and placed on the far side of the bed so made watching from the couch awkward. We both agreed that Princess wins this one hands down.

 

 

 

Food: (Yes, I know - very subjective) We like the MDR and buffet food on Celebrity better but we liked the specialty restaurants on Princess better. We really liked the International Cafe on Princess better than the cafe on Celebrity.

 

 

 

Dining Experience: Summit just went through a retro fit that impacted the MDR and so it was very hectic. We found the atmosphere more relaxed on Princess but I'm sure that the Summit will settle down and get in a rhythm.

 

One night we couldn't face the chaos in the MDR so went to the buffet (which was a first for us on any cruise for dinner) and had an amazingly relaxing time. Who knew?

 

 

 

Decor: (Again subjective) We loved the decor on the Summit. It was just a little more modern which is more to our liking. Princess is beautiful and a little more elegant but Celebrity hit home with us. We did miss the atrium on Celebrity but we also noticed that not having the formal atrium also made the ship feel less crowded (not open space wise but less crowded with people).

 

 

 

Pools: I really like the therapy pool on Celebrity and covered adult area (redone during dry dock) but my husband did not. The pools on Celebrity were nice but small. We really missed the aft pool on Princess. As I've gotten older and my bones are getting more creaky I really appreciated how easy it was to get in and out of the Celebrity pools (stairs vs ladders).

 

 

 

Theater: We went to one show on Celebrity, a comedian, but did attend a couple of events in the theater. It was nicely laid out with bench seating with small fixed tables for drinks. It was easy to make you way through the rows. We don't go to production shows on either line but I think I liked the Celebrity theater better for our purposes.

 

 

 

Bars: Celebrity wins this one. Their bars seem to be smaller, more intimate that Princess bars and a lot more lively. We loved the Martini and the Sunset bar on Celebrity. The aft bar on Princess is as close of a comparison as I can make on Princess. The exception would be the Adagio on Princess but still a more formal feeling bar than the liveliness of the Celebrity bars.

 

 

 

Promenade deck: (Almost the deal breaker) My husband loves to walk the P deck and there isn't one on the Summit. They have a walking track that winds its way through lounge chairs and a rather large smoking section (11 times around is a mile). This was a huge issue for him but he got over it.

 

 

 

MUTS: The Summit added an outdoor screen and lovely rattan lawn chairs with cushions during dry dock. It was a great place to watch a movie. It hasn't caught on yet to the masses and when it does the space doesn't really seem big enough to accommodate a lot of people. The one nice thing is that it is away from the main pool area so there wasn't the constant noise around the pool from movies and concerts. Princess wins on the movies they show but the experience is better on Celebrity.

 

 

 

As you can see there wasn't anything that would keep me from sailing on either line. The one thing I did learn is that flying to Puerto Rico for a one week cruise is too far for this Arizona girl. Maybe when I retire I'll think differently.

 

 

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

Cookies and Pizza! We prefer Celebrity overall by a good margin BUT- oh boy-- love Princess' Cookies and Pizza.. Don't even get me started on the Princess Dream (desert) [emoji4]

We are not married to any one cruise line. We select our cruises based primarily on the ship.

Having said that, Princess and Celebrity are at the top of our preferred cruise lines. We start with them first.

Solstice class ships remain our favourite though.

Give the S class ships a try and call me in the morning. :p:p