Princess Ships

[Beachgator]

My wife and I are considering a Princess cruise, but have never sailed on any of the ships. We have sailed with Celebrity a number of times and was wondering how the Princess cruises and ships compare with Celebrity. Any input would be appreciated.:confused:

[skellis]

I have cruised Celebrity Cruises and while they are my second choice of Cruise line in my humble opinion they don't match up to Princess cruises. I find Celebrity to have less activities, the pools are not as nice, and I don't think that the food or service are as good. I like the itineraries on Princess better than those on Celebrity, the specialty restaurants (Crown Grill and Sabatini's) to be extremely good, the food in the dining room I believe is the best in a midmarket cruise line. Movies under the Stars (MUTS) is a great addition to the ships. The ships are well-maintained and casually elegant without going over the top.

Princess also has such unusual activities as Chefs Table and the Ultimate Ship Tour, as well as the Bon Voyage Experience which are not done on other cruise lines.

 

Princess is also one of the only cruise lines which allow discounting of Cruise fares. Particularly since Carnival no longer allows such discounts.

 

Princess also has the best return passenger program. Sorry to say I found Celebrity to be a bit stuffy.

 

Enjoy whatever line you choose, because being on the water is wonderful regardless of which of the two you choose.

[judy3972]

My wife and I are considering a Princess cruise, but have never sailed on any of the ships. We have sailed with Celebrity a number of times and was wondering how the Princess cruises and ships compare with Celebrity. Any input would be appreciated.:confused:

Sorry can't help you with that question as i've never been on Celebrity. We've been on the Princess Diamond and the Pacific Princess . Two different itineries and two different type of ships, both good.I see we both were on the NCL ship Sunward but I can remember the year.

[Shifra]

I like Celebrity but for me, my favorite is Princess. They are a bit less formal, more laid back overall. There is more to do on Princess especially in the evenings, and more variety of food available 24 hrs.. Dining rooms are always open for breakfast, lunch and daily afternoon tea.

 

Both lines have good food, service and lovely ships. I think you would like Princess. ;)

[K-Roo-Zers]

Hi,

 

We have been on both Princess and Celebrity, but only one ship of each.

 

We were unlucky on Millenium as she experieced numerous mechanical problems shortly after sailing, however we were compensated with an OBC as a result of not being able to visit certain ports around New Zealand.

 

I found the Greek Officers to be incredibly aloof and unfriendly and they stood around talking to each other, with complete disinterest in the fact that the tea and coffee stations had been decimated and each water station was out of order. Most of the staff tried hard, but some of them really needed more training. I don't believe our experience is representative of other Celebrity ships from what I have/heard and read, but inspite of it all, we had a fabulous time and really enjoyed ourselves.

 

Having said that, Celebrity had some nice touches over Princess - their gym was superior, and the health cafe where smaller healthier meals were available was perfect for a snack, in an uncrowded, pleasant area.

 

When we did our first Princess cruise, around Asia, I didn't have high expections and boy was I pleasantly surprised! I really couldn't fault them. Nothing was a problem - the staff were helpful, courteous and the food was really good. I found the food on Princess to be better than Celebrity overall. Food is subjective, but I am health conscious and found both lines willing to accommodate my wishes, but wished the afternoon "cookie lady" on Diamond wasn't so keen to find me and try and tempt me (as she did tooooo often!) with her heavenly delights!! Highly recommend the double chocolate cookies. Wait an hour or so, and head straight to the walking track and don't stop .....

 

Also enjoyed "anytime dining" on Princess, with many venues from which to choose.

 

Entertainment was ok on both - some nighs better than others! Bear in mind, it is almost impossible to please all 2,000 plus passengers!!

 

Give Princess a go. You'll never never know, if you never never go! Then you can post!!

 

Enjoy.

 

Nicki

[RickEk]

And, of course, if you ask this question on the Celebrity board, you would get diametrically opposed answers. :p

[Beachgator]

Thanks to all for the feedback.

[bighairtexan]

I find more similarities than differences between the 2 lines. For me the edge goes very slightly to Celebrity. Service is just a notch more refined. I also find the standard room (or standard balcony room) is bigger on Celebrity. Food is subjective but I find both on a par. Prefer Princess tea and love the pub lunch and pizza.

I'd happily sail either line (in fact October I'll be on Celeb and November on Princess). You can't go wrong w/ either.

[pmck]

My wife and I are considering a Princess cruise, but have never sailed on any of the ships. We have sailed with Celebrity a number of times and was wondering how the Princess cruises and ships compare with Celebrity. Any input would be appreciated.:confused:

 

It's funny, but we are getting ready to leave for our fourth Princess Cruise. We've done the Caribbean, the Grand, the Emerald and soon the Caribbean again. I've talked about maybe going on another cruise line, just to change up the itinerary a little bit, but my husband always says "why try something else, when we love Princess so much?" and I really can't argue with that.. We've always had a wonderful time and our teenagers love it too. This year, we are trying the Southern Caribbean and can't wait!!! You won't be disappointed, I promise :D!!

 

Patti

[AZaTaz]

I have done two cruises on both Celebirty and Princess. I prefer Princess for many of the reasons others have said but one of the big reasons is I believe that Princess maintains their ships better. A big reason we cruise is being on the ship.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Haven't been on a Celebrity cruise -- only on a tour of the Summit a few years ago. Did have lunch in the dining room, but wasn't impressed (but then I'm not a foodie and maybe people into food may enjoy that food more). One major reason we probably would not go on a Celebrity cruise is that there are no self-service laundries. Hubby likes to keep our luggage down, which means doing laundry on any cruise more than a few days, and since one family member is allergic to regular laundry detergent, we need to use allergen-free detergent.

 

Also I like the fact that the buffet is open all the time on Princess ships and that there is a fridge in each cabin, no matter what the category.

[OutofNJ!]

We've done one of each cruise so we're not as seasoned as many posters, but of course I have an opinion! I agree that Celebrity is more "refined" as another poster described it. I think Princess is more "fun". I'm sorry that I never agree with people that say that the food on P is better, or even comprable to X. The food on the Ruby was very good, but we often found ourselves eating in the upscale restaraunts (4 times on a 10 day) to satisfy the lust for fine dining. The portion sizes on both lines were far too large for most humans to consume in one sitting! The MDR on the Millie was far superior. If you're looking for amenities like a semmolier, you won't get that on Princess. Wine list on P is not even close to X. Having said that, I think it truly depends on what type of experience you're looking for. Princess had so much going on, sometimes it was hard to choose what to do! On the older ships, X has nothing like the beautiful Atrium on the Grand Class Princess ships, and it was wonderful to gather there with most of our fellow passengers for special events. Fantastic and fun. Celebrity had the most spectacular midnight buffet I have ever seen. True culinary artistry. The butlered hour d' ourves at midnight was really cool. There were bowls of rose petals in the ladies rooms. You need to decide if little sort of more "upscale" things like that are important to you. Princess had a more relaxed vibe, and excellent service (only a slight edge goes to X). The dress code on P is way more casual than X. The haute coture on the Millie was almost as good as fashion week in New York! The fantastic Princess entertainment went on late into the night, the Millie was mostly asleep by 11 PM. The crew (as in the officers) on the Ruby was so very friendly, all the way up to the wonderful Captain. The crew on the Millie was totally uninterested. Day to day service on both lines were excellent. The future cruise program on P is amazing. What a great marketing idea! We'll be on for cruise number 2 on P in February just for that reason.

 

Your choice should be based on what you're looking for in a cruise. X is more traditional, P is younger and more fun. Both lines are fantastic for different reasons. Just remember, no cruise is ever a bad cruise! Keep us posted and let us know where you land!