Princess v Celebrity

Any views on the above. We sailed on the Grand last April and are sailing on the Star later this year. We are looking to book for next March, but would like to try another cruise line and the Constellation with Celebrity has caught our eye. Anybody been on both?

I have had three cruises on Celebrity (Horizon, Century, and Galaxy). We are planning a family trip in November on the Coral Princess. I would also appreciate any information comparing the two including a comparison of dinner dress.

Bill

Horizon, 2002

Galaxy, 2003

Century (Eastern), 2003

Century (Western), 2004

We have done Celebrity, RCC and Princess. I wouldn't do RCC because there were way to many kids running around unsupervised, I think they told us over 650 kids aboard. (the one with the rock climbing wall) Celebrity was wonderful and the food was outstanding. We loved Celebrity and would do it again. However, Princess remains our favorite. I just feel more pampered and better taken care of. Celebrity did a good job but Princess is #1 for us.

Caribbean Princess 4-10

We find Princess more fun and lively, and Celebrity more dressy and upscale with premium eating and room oportunities. Princess gets the nod for more cruise value per dollar spent.

John

I have heard over and over again that Celebrity actively enforces their dress codes and that Celebrity passengers actively adhere to them.

CGT, my experience with Celebrity has been a lot of trips in Alaska where, yes, the crowd in general really dressed up. I wonder if this holds in the Caribbean which is a more relaxed type trip in a hot climate? I know that we were asked to dress formally for the captain's repeat passenger cocktail party and most everyone had a tux or dark business suit.

John

I've been on the Grand and Coral as well as the Millennium. Loved all the ships, the Coral my favorite. The Celebrity dining room seemed a little more dressy on formal nights, but I saw everything from dressy pant suits to long gowns...men were mainly in dark suits. Celebrity was nice and I would cruise again with them, cabins were spacious, food in the dining room very good, ship sparkling, spa second to none. However, I did not find the service and staff nearly as helpful and friendly as that on the Princess ships. On the Grand and Millennium sailings we were with 17 other family members. The unanimous consensus was Princess over Celebrity...fresh water pools, better entertainment, casinos, food service hours and a much friendly staff and crew. I would be very hard not to have a great time on either line though!

We have a split vote here, DH loved Princess and will cruise with them next April on the Coral - I very much enjoyed Celebrity for the food but.... RCCL for activities. As long as I'm on a cruise ship, I am very happy. Happy sailing...

Serenade of the Seas 9/03

Celebrity Constellation 12/03

Summit 4/04

Infinity to Alaska 9/04

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Eliz:

However, I did not find the service and staff nearly as helpful and friendly as that on the Princess ships.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have heard this too. Service on Celebrity is more aloof, while I know first hand that on Princess, the service was more personalized (our cabin steward being a good example).

No 24hr dining on Celebrity either.

For me personally, the 24 hour fresh water pools and 24hr Horizon Court on Princess are a big big plus.

Just came back from 7 nights on the Connie. Have also done seven nights to bermuda on Zenith.

I have also been on the Grand for a 7 day Western Caribbean and also on a 12 night Med.

Disclaimer- I love the Grand. In particular- the aft pool where there is usually space and a great view, the hot tubs at night, the plethera of small nooks here and there. Also love the friendly staff , great card/game room and the fairly priced drinks of the day. 24 hour horizon court is also in my mind, a great feature, esp if your destination has a heavy sightseeing component.

I was not that happy with my first Celebrity experience on the Zenith, but was curious about the M class ships, as I am so fond of the Grand class.

What I liked- I found the ship very esthetically pleasing, aside from some strange artwork. This ship is just beautiful at night in the interior spaces. Dining room is much lovelier and more stately than any on the Grand class. I didnt have a big ah-ha moment boarding but the beauty of the ship grew on me throught the week. I loved that there was always space in the show lounge, great sight lines, no seat saving, no stress getting to shows a half hour early. The martini bar is great- fantastic bartender (Sudi). Traditonal dining experience. So this is subjective. If you like the way the Grand was before personal choice, its a walk down memory lane. Believe it or not I didnt like having a sommelier and bar staff getting drinks. They were never timely enough because they were working so hard. The Princess system worked better for us in terms of beverage service. I found the food pretty similar. Food in the seaview not anything special, but the seating and views better than Horizon court. The design of the space is very clever with bump outs, affording lots of great dining areas. From the outside, its pretty unsightly. The pool areas are pretty and more varied on the grand, althought he aquaspa has its fans. I liked their lunches, too.I found the service at a very high level. My steward took amazing care of us. Same with DR staff. Head housekeeper checked in with us. They really took it up a notch. And we had an inside cabin (but on the concierge level).

THe kids programs were also great on Celebrity which was a bit of a suprise. Great teen center and very extensive kids program. It runs from about 8am till 1am so practically around the clock. They even will take little ones to dinner, if you want. The extensive prgrams and facilities for kids was a suprise.

Cant go wrong with either, in my opinion.

Jacqueline

Constellation 3/20/04

HAL Westerdam 7/30/04

Tahitian Princess August 2003

Grand Princess Western Caribbean 2003

Brilliance of the Seas Baltic 2002

Ocean Princess- Alaska 2001

Celebrity Zenith- Bermuda 2001

Grand Princess Med 2000

We had a wonderful time on the Celebrity Mercury. Ship was beautiful, loved the wooden promenade deck. The food was outstanding, the service great, the cabins very nice with a much larger shower, did I say the food was excellent?

Wanda and I both agreed if we had to sail only one line it would be princess but isn't it nice we don't have to limit ourselves.

Don't think either line/ship was "better" they were "different". We really enjoyed traditional seating and found the dining experience a little more formal on the Mercury but we opt for P.C. when on Princess (like the flexibility). What was different.....pools open 24 hours on Princess, buffet also open 24 hours. The entertainment was more varried on Princess....Celebrity had only 4 movies they played in the "theater" and had pay per view on the TV. We enjoy movies but got a little tired of Chicago. Also call us nuts but we pack less and do a couple of loads of laundry on Princess. Celebrity has a ship laundry but a pair of socks is a buck.

You know, I think I should shut up now. Take a look at our cruise pictures and you may get a good idea of how much fun we had.

We would go on either cruise line again...no question!

Star Princess 9/03 Alaska

Celebrity Mercury 3/04 Mexico

Next: Sapphire Princess 10/2/04

Mercury Cruise Pic's 3/13/04

http://community.webshots.com/user/catmand100

Thanks to all for your comments, it's seems that Princess comes out on top for various reasons. I must admit I like PCD on Princess ships and the relaxed atmosphere but until I try something differant I will never know.

Thanks again, happy cruising to all.

OUR FIRST CRUISE

We have just disembarked from the Star Princess and its 30 day cruise of Asia, Mediterranean and Africa.The dress code was adhered to by all and most had evening dress on formal evenings. Most gentlemen wore a tux.Casual dress found many gentlemen in jackets too. The food was excellent. We were on the Infinity to Hawaii in November and Princess has it over Celebrity hands down. We found shorts in the dining room at dinner on Infinity and service was not up to par,. We had both experiences in a short time and can tell you that Princess was far more enjoyable. We found we enjoyed the special attention given in the dining room by head waiters and comfort of a big ship with smaller feeling. The art work in either ship is lacking ,especially Celebrity. We also found that smoking areas on the Infinity were not used and smoke filled many areas of the ship. Princess does a much better job of making you feel like a special passenger. Both lines however do not meet the standards of Holland America which is a cut above both.

I find a more friendship quality to the staff on Princess, where you can share personal stories and develop lasting friends. Celebrity has a more formal training program for its staff, so they remain more aloof and service oriented. It seems that there is an exact level on which they have been trained to interact with the pax.

John

On a recent Celebrity cruise at Open Seating Lunch in the dining room someone ask us: "Which is your favorite cruise line AFTER Celebrity?"

We responded, "Who said Celebrity was our favorite?"

---------------------------------

We've been on many Princess throughout the years, but only three Celebrity. Still, we were extremely happy with the Celebrity cruises. Honestly, we'd have a hard time picking which we like better!

Bottom Line: You'll be fine on either of these!

Happy Sailing! OCruisers

bentley boy,

Why don't you ask this question on the Celebrity board. I bet you'll get much different responses.

We've been on Princess 5 times and Celebrity twice and have no problem doing either again. As catmand stated above, they are just different. I find the food better on Celebrity, but the service better on Princess. Princess offers 24 hrs pools & food on mid-sized ships (Sun, Dawn & soon the Sea will be back) that we like the best. That being said, the Century is probably the best ship we ever sailed. The staterooms are bigger across the board and the two story dining room (vs one on Sun Class ships) is excellent. Don't think you can go wrong with either one.

fun,fun,fun,

the warmth of the sun,

JBrown

booked - Sun Princess (SC-10) Feb 27, 2005

Celebrity Century (EC-7)03/03

Sea Princess (MR-7) 03/02

Sea Princess (WC-7) 03/01

Grand Princess (EC-7) 03/99

Sun Princess (WC-7) 03/98

Celebrity Century (EC-7) 09/97

Star Princess (SC-7) 09/94

RCI SOS (EC-7) 03/92

Carnival SYJ (scrap yard junk) 09/89

Have sailed both lines a number of times and love both - I find dress code not as strickly enforced on either line as much anymore - even on last couple of New Year's cruises on Celebrity, I saw people in jeans in dinning room during nights not formal - about half of men in tuxes on formal nights and New Year's cruise is generally more dressed up then other times.

We have been on 4 Princess, with another booked, and 3 Celebrity, plus the others! I would maybe barely give the edge to Princess, but love Celebrity nearly as well. I don't think you can go wrong with either. The differences aren't that big, and to me, no big deal!

Nita

2dogcarol

Good idea, I will give that one a try.

Thanks

OUR FIRST CRUISE

We booked 5 Princess trips and 4 Celebrity trips this year and will enjoy the variety of ships, staff, and pax. They rate equal in my book.

John

Comparing ship to ship is far more likely to yield solid answers than line to line. That being said... they are both good think of it as comparing a NY steak to a Filet, it is just a subjective call. I prefer Princess ships based on architecture alone, but maybe you like decks that stop for no reason on your way to dinner.

<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>

Diamond Princess 05/04

Mercury 06/02

Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98

Legend o.t. Seas 09/95

<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>

Diamond Princess 04/04

Sea Princess 01/02

Vision o.t. Seas 04/02

Star Princess 12/02<FONT color=red>

West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>

Ecstacy 09/01

Vision o.t. Seas 10/02

<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>

Century 12/97

<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>

Century 9/96