Celebrity v P and O

[allaboardsharon]

Hiya me and my husband have just booked our 2nd cruise in May with celebrity on the eclipse. Our first cruise 2 years ago was on the Ventura. I was wondering how celebrity compared to P and O. I've been told P and O are 4 star ships and celebrity are 5 star. Any other comments would be helpful. Thanks xx

[upwarduk]

We have done 2 P&O cruises and 8 on Celebrity.

I wish I'd found Celebrity sooner, but flights were often involved, so that is why we gave P&O a try.

Now of course there are 2 Celebrity ships sailing ex UK in the summer months.

 

IMO Celebrity give better value:

In 2008 we sailed on Celebrity Mercury( now no longer with the fleet) in a balcony cabin. In 2009, we sailed Arcadia, but could only afford a partially obstructed Ocean view.

 

P&O serve cheese & biscuits with coffee after your evening meal.

I believe their drinks cost less ( more on a parr with pub prices) but Celebrity are now offering drinks packages as part of your booking.

 

Eclipse ( launched 2010) is a beautiful ship. You will love her, she is spacious. I have never been on Ventura, I was put off her as she was launched as the 'Family Ship' of the P&O fleet. Usually there aren't too many children on Celebrity, unless it is school holiday week at the end of May.

Edited February 4, 2014 by upwarduk

[allaboardsharon]

On the Eclipse. We aren't big drinkers anyway

 

 

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[Askwith]

Hiya me and my husband have just booked our 2nd cruise in May with celebrity on the eclipse. Our first cruise 2 years ago was on the Ventura. I was wondering how celebrity compared to P and O. I've been told P and O are 4 star ships and celebrity are 5 star. Any other comments would be helpful. Thanks xx

We have been on both ships, and Celebrity is a lovely ship much better than the P&O

[Niclia]

We too prefer Celebrity and find Eclipse to be a lot more elegant in a contemporary way. Ventura has a confusing layout in places and I found it quite disorientating whereas Eclipse has a much more straightforward layout and everything was easy to find from the central lifts. Theres less congestion on Celebrity ships (I'm thinking in particular that deck with the photo gallery, speciality restaurant and lounges on Ventura which was always rammed and noisy in the evening). I also find the food better on Celebrity as the food

on Ventura was very British and the type of meals I cook at home whereas Celebrity was to me restaurant quality rather than pub food. The buffet on Celebrity has a much better layout with stations grouped centrally rather than the poorly layed out buffet on Ventura.

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

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[upwarduk]

If you would like to get an idea of life on board Eclipse check out this thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1979030&page=6

[shoreham01]

We have been on a short cruise wiht P&O and would not want to go with them again. The food was awful, both in the buffet and MDR. When I asked for cheese and biscuits I was asked 'which piece of cheese would you like and which biscuit - yes I repeat biscuit.' The waiter was horrified that I asked for a selection of cheese and a few biscuits.

 

All in all we think that the food on Celebrity and on Princess is far superior to the food they serve up on P&O. The staff are more friendly too. Don't know if it was just the cruise we were on but the staff were very unfriendly even though I am quick to say hello and smile at everyone, sometimes I just received an emotionless face back, so much so that it made us laugh in the end.

 

What is far better on P&O is the entertainment. Unfortunately, Celebrity has fallen behind with their entertainment program. Drinks were cheaper on P&O but as someone has already said, drinks are included not with Celebrity on some deals. I would rather have good food and less to drink.

 

Hope this helps.

[happygran]

We were on Ventura last year & never again. To us it was like Butlins at sea.

 

There's just no comparison.........

[Chunky2219]

Can't comment about Ventura, because we've deliberately avoided the big ships, having been told repeatedly that they are like cattle boats. But we've done both lines several times and I'd sum up as follows:

 

• P&O has (or had) better food and better service in the MDR than Celebrity. By a country mile.
  
• Celebrity are a small margin further up market, but I wouldn't put them in the 5* class.
  
• On the P&O smaller, comparable size ships to say, Constellation, we usually found it difficult to find somewhere to sit in a bar or public space in the evening. Never, ever has this been an issue with Celebrity. There always seems to be more room on an X ship, day or night.
  
• Like for like (remembering that we tend to go for a highish cabin category) Celebrity seem to be better priced.
  
• With P&O, if the price drops after you've booked they might give you a different cabin, or some on board credit, or maybe a stuffed toy. With Celebrity, you get the price drop.
  
• Minor item, but P&O have better car parking at Southampton (C&PS) than the firm used by Celebrity.
  
• Celebrity has a loyalty programme that gets people all heated about what they're not getting and someone else is, or how they no longer get rose petals spread before them. P&O folks seem to be happy to be getting a holiday.
  
• The entertainment is pretty comparable, but Celebrity probably has the edge.
  

.

[fiona page]

Completely agree with most of the comments.

 

Have travelled with celebrity 6 times and last year tried p&o azura for first and last time.

 

It is so nice to feel I am not strange as most of my friends who travel with P & O think they are wonderful.

 

The one thing I didn't like was everyone pushing and shoving to see shows and feeling like dinner had to be rushed so people could get to the show.

We like to relax and enjoy the ambience (each to their own though)

 

Hopefully you will enjoy celebrity as much as we do

[tom_uk]

We've done a number of cruises in recent years on P&O, and some on Celebrity a few years ago. Last Celebrity cruise was on Solstice. I've blogged from most of our cruises and I've done summary reviews, etc - you can find them on this site. Click on the Reviews section on the r-hand side of the page and you'll find links to reviews of the Ventura cruises and the Solstice cruise.

 

But to sum up: we enjoyed the fellow passengers on Celebrity perhaps more than we did the P&O passengers - perhaps a few too many 'whingeing Brits'. There are a lot of good things about the Celebrity ships, but again there were areas where we preferred the P&O ships. On the P&O ships we were aware of the sea - wrap-round Promenade decks and all that - whereas these things don't exist on the Celebrity ships. That said, the Solstice class is certainly more spectacular than anything P&O has - that 12-deck atrium is extraordinary.

 

Finally, in the past we have found Celebrity expensive for drinks, at least for what we drink. We're not really beer or spirits drinkers, we like wine, and we found in the past the wine prices were very high. This was before the days of the packages, however, and certainly before the packages were included, so things may be different these days.

 

Is this a Med fly-cruise, or from Southampton?

[allaboardsharon]

Thanks everyone you have all been very helpful. I especially liked the thread showing the day to day activities, menus etc. We are sailing from Southampton on 10 May. We are stopping at Malaga, Cannes, Civitavechhia, Livorno, Genoa, Lisbon and Gib. We are really looking forward to the cruise especially now I have saw all of your mostly positive comments.

 

xxx

[MTElkwhistle]

We have done P&O - variety of ships although not Ventura and Celebrity Eclipse x2 all out of Southampton.

 

We really like both for various reasons.

 

We feel the food on P&O is more British, I love the Celebrity food as there is loads of seafood which DH hates. Azura buffet and Eclipse at lunchtime are comparable but at night Azura wins hands down. Sushi during the afternoon is good. Drinks are way cheaper on P&O 1/3 less for a cocktail then X has the tip on top.

 

X feels classier, cabins are bigger, has that American customer service that you just don't get here. X has a mix of passengers, P&O 99% or more UK based.

X excursions are extortionate, P&O are just expensive, we do our own thing.

 

My teenage sons say the best cruise they have done was X, the facilities and staff in the club on Eclipse were brilliant.

 

We enjoyed the entertainment on P&O more that X but that is so subjective. Although the Cirque du Soleil type show was fantastic.

 

But the biggest thing for me - P&O has a self service laundry.

 

We are booked on Equinox out of Barcelona in October (DH choice) and I'll miss my laundry room, having a teen with me!

[little britain]

Friends of mine compared dining on P&O to eating in the café in Tesco. Just saying.:eek::rolleyes:

Edited February 4, 2014 by little britain

[HomelessBear]

Went on Eclipse last summer and Ventura last xmas/new year. The cabin was far nicer and bigger on Eclipse and the bathroom was superb.

 

I personally didn't find much difference in main dining room food, but preferred the Ventura dining room and staff we had (but everyone has their own opinion). The Eclipse buffet was far better though.

I'd be happy to cruise on both again.

[Lovemychoos]

Thanks everyone you have all been very helpful. I especially liked the thread showing the day to day activities, menus etc. We are sailing from Southampton on 10 May. We are stopping at Malaga, Cannes, Civitavechhia, Livorno, Genoa, Lisbon and Gib. We are really looking forward to the cruise especially now I have saw all of your mostly positive comments.

 

xxx

 

We are on this cruise too :) and I would add that IMHO, after 30+ cruises with P&O, we took our first Celebrity cruise on Eclipse in Oct 2011 and have never looked back. This will now by our 6th cruise with X, and we prefer everything about them above P&O. The 'nail in the coffin' for us with P&O has been the farce they call 'pricing' lately :eek:

 

Wouldn't say I'd never cruise with them again, but it would have to be at a time of year when Celebrity weren't going to where I wanted to go :D

 

Purely our opinion of course, our best friends have still to be persuaded to come with us, and are P&O die hards,lol

 

Lou

[allaboardsharon]

Lovemychoos. Where are you from. I see your profile says north west. We are also north west

 

 

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[kevinyork]

We have been on 5 P&O cruises and enjoyed them all. We were on the Eclipse last July and loved it. We are booked on two more Eclipse sailings this year. The ambience, feeling of space, food and cabins were all better on the Eclipse. P&O pricing is silly now. They make early or late bookers feel like 2nd class passengers. Cannot see us going back to P&O now. A shame as we did enjoy our cruises with them.

[Lovemychoos]

Lovemychoos. Where are you from. I see your profile says north west. We are also north west

 

 

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We live in Cumbria, right on the west coast, overlooking the Solway :)

 

A bit further north than you are, in fact we can see Scotland from our lounge window !

 

Lou

[lovescarborough]

We tried P&O for the first (and last ) time three years ago on the Azura having done a few Celebrity and Royal Caribbean cruises . There is absolutely no contest here. The Azura was only a year old then and showed signs of wear but the main problem was the sheer number if people on board and the lack of public areas. Whereas Celebrity ships never seem crowded the Azura was cramped and especially on sea days it was nigh on impossible to find a seat anywhere. The bars were always packed in the evening and the waiters impossible to find.The worst bit was the buffet for breakfast or lunch. You could just not move in there and we took to ordering room service for the rest of the trip. We have just returned from the Eclipse Caribbean trip and it was superb . The crew were the friendliest we have ever had and the ship is still as lovely as it was when we first sailed on her in 2010. No contest !

[helpthejuggler]

There appears to be differing opinions on MDR food.

 

On 2 trips on Azura XVII and Sindhu were very good. The Glasshouse was excellent.

 

But in all our nights in the Azura MDR we have always been disappointed.

 

While Celebrity MDR has mostly been good.

 

Entertainment is more lively on P&O.

Celebrity have more varied Entertainment options and you can get a seat for most shows.

 

Azura buffet is just chaos with limited choices.

[MGillie]

We have cruised with both P&O and Celebrity and Celebrity wins hands down on all fronts! The food on Arcadia was like eating in a school canteen........

We met several people on our Eclipse cruise who had made the switch from P&O to Celebrity and not looked back.

[Sparkle 123]

We have cruised with both P&O and Celebrity and Celebrity wins hands down on all fronts! The food on Arcadia was like eating in a school canteen........

We met several people on our Eclipse cruise who had made the switch from P&O to Celebrity and not looked back.

 

Friends of mine compared dining on P&O to eating in the café in Tesco. Just saying.

 

Have to agree with the above comments on the food on P&O. That pretty much described my dining experience on the Aurora last December.

Cannot wait to get back on board Celebrity for the wonderful food served by staff genuinely willing to please rather than the robotic service we got on P&O.

I also agree however that the entertainment on P&O is pretty good but that is not enough to make me want to cruise with them again!

Plus we prefer a more cosmopolitan international mix of passengers rather than the exclusively British fellow cruisers on P&O.

[BMT]

Hi Sharon,

 

I see that you are quite new to this forum.

 

If you click on the link below, you will reach the 'roll call' for your cruise.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1823356

 

We have been on the Eclipse many times. I am sure you will not be

disappointed. Others on the roll call have also been on the Eclipse previously and will, I am sure, be only too pleased to answer any questions you may have.

[Carinthalas]

Last year we cruised on both P&O Ventura and Celebrity Eclipse.

 

We enjoyed both cruises at the time. Ventura was first and our main area's for concern where regarding the food and the entertainment. The food was very good quality, but it was a safe menu. If I want to eat traditional british food I can get that at home. It seemed the majority of the main dining room meals where pick a meat and have the associated vegetables that go with it. The entertainment was tailored towards a more mature market segment than where I currently feel I am and as such was right for the cruise, but not right for me. The exception to this was the trivia, it was incredibly well run and many choices of what type to partake in.

 

We then went on Eclipse. After this cruise we realised that P&O where not for us as everything was just better. The ship was fantastic with small touches everywhere that just made you realise a lot of thought had gone in to how small things can make a big difference. One small example here is in the bathrooms, there is a bar about 18" off the floor in the shower cubicle for a lady to rest her foot whilst shaving her legs. Not relevant to me as a man, but my partner found it a great use.

 

The food and quality of the service on board Celebrity was what made them stand out as a more premium product. The choice and selection of food was fantastic and the way they would pair wines to courses was enspiring.

 

We have booked to go on Eclipse again on 2nd May so will make sure she is ship shape for you when you get onboard on the 10th.