Compare celebrity with princess

[keenager]

As a loyal celebrity cruiser I would love to know how people would compare Princess ,in particular Carribean Princess ,with the solstice ships? I would not normally consider changing but as we are in Florida at a time when the Celebrity ships are still in Europe ,we don't have a choice. Have just been reading the member reviews on the Princess ship and am not filled with confidence to book it! Has anyone been on both? How would you compare them?

[Nancyquilts]

We like both companies. It all depends on the itineraries. Or, in our case, which one sails from San Francisco. Princess has a ship regularly here, but in September we're taking Century to Alaska.

[RickT]

We've done both and while different, they both provide a good cruise product.

 

I find the S class ship a little nicer, but do love MUTS and the aft pool area on Princess.

 

We've had good meals on both.

 

I'd say go for it and see for yourself. Just take the time to enjoy the cruise and don't spend too much time comparing it to Celebrity.

[Shake]

As a loyal celebrity cruiser I would love to know how people would compare Princess ,in particular Carribean Princess ,with the solstice ships? I would not normally consider changing but as we are in Florida at a time when the Celebrity ships are still in Europe ,we don't have a choice. Have just been reading the member reviews on the Princess ship and am not filled with confidence to book it! Has anyone been on both? How would you compare them?

 

No comparison on the ships. The S Class ships are heads above the Caribbean Princes. The décor especially is dated with the Princess boats, reminds me of the 90's.

 

If your not going Celebrity, I think the better choice would be either the Allure or Oasis with Royal Caribbean. We really enjoyed our cruise on Allure. :cool:

[BosoxI]

You can't take anyone's word for this; you have to see for yourself. For us the X ships are nicer but the food on Princess is better. We have always preferred Princess' itineraries, but there can't be much difference in the Carib, can there?. BTW comparing a Solstice ship with any older and smaller ship is likely to bring disappointment. Our neighbors just returned from a Caribbean Princess cruise and said they had a great time, even though their cabin was way forward.

[shipfriend_max]

I just can compare X Summit with Crown and Emerald Princess.

While I like both products, IMHO Celebrity is slightly better, because:

-better ratio between space and passengers

-food slightly better, stations with fresh made food at the buffet

-no plastic plates at buffet, Princess uses them

-sommeliers in MDR, important for wine lovers

 

But also I really like Princess, because:

-great evening buffets

-Open Air Cinema!!!

-fruit basket in your cabin

-very appealing decor

 

So if you like Celebrity, you also should like Princess!

 

 

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[Lin336]

We enjoy both cruise lines and which one we book depends on itinerary, when we can sail & pricing. We have cruised on the Caribbean Princess several times as well as other Princess ships and very much enjoyed each cruise. We also have cruised on the S class, M class and C class with Celebrity and very much enjoyed each cruise.

 

In November, we are booked on the Caribbean Princess then boarding the Constellation the day we return to Ft. Lauderdale. Obviously we like both experiences!

[20pluscruises]

We have done both and prefer Celebrity.

[TomTN]

Ok I'll be blunt. The worst cruise ship I've been on is the Caribbean Princess. Once upon a time Princess decided to add a bunch of cabins to that ship after it was built. They failed to enlarge the theatre or the buffet. As far as I know they did not enlarge any public rooms.

So it was nearly imposssible to get a table in the buffet. People would find someone who appeared to be almost finished with their meal, and stand behind the to claim the table when they left.

The final seats in the theatre were taken 45 minutes before the show began. Yep, that is the worst seats. I saw two men nearly come to blows because one of them was saving seats, and the other guy couldn't find seats.

Passageways were very crowded. Often unable to get anywhere because of the bottlenecks.

My understanding is that Princess is a comparable cruise line to X, and I will sail with them again because we have a relative who will sail with no one else. Hopefully it will be on a ship that they have not modified so horribly.

Perhaps Princess has made changes to that ship to improve the problems. Many people love Princess, and other than those problems other areas were ok. More entertainment than X, and the best pizza at sea.

MUTS- love it or hate it. I'm in the hate it camp, but you, like others, might love it.

Edited June 10, 2014 by TomBeckCruise

[OhioDogLover]

We have been on both. The Caribbean Princess is our least favorite ship of all the Princess ships. It can feel crowded. That being said, we have sailed on that ship three times, so it isn't that crowded. Our favorite lines are Celebrity, which in our opinion, is just a bit nicer than Princess all around, and Princess. We don't sail the premium lines, at least not yet.

 

DH and I have discussed the issue a lot and pick which line to go on based on itinerary. Our thoughts are the following:

 

Edge to Princess (very general)

Entertainment (very close though)

We like MUTS

We like Princess' pools just a bit better

The International Cafe is really nice

We have found the casinos a bit better on Princess

 

Edge to Celebrity (very general)

Food (Especially Blu and if your ship has it, Qsine)

Service (very close)

Coffee bar (that isn't its name, but its function)

The non alcohol drinks package (the premium includes coffee, nonalcoholic beer and wine as well as the usual beverages)

Celebrity ships don't feel quite as crowded, generally

 

I would go on either one and have a great time. Attitude is half of a great vacation.

 

Ohiodoglover

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I sailed on the Caribbean Princess and really enjoyed it. Princess ships are more traditional and a little dated in decor but they are still pretty ships versus Celebrity's more sleek look.

 

Highlights of Princess IMO-

-I love watching movies at night out on the open deck.

 

-There are more pools than on Celebrity. I especially like the Terrace pool on the Riviera deck aft.

 

- Love the huge hot tubs and little pool on Deck 17 aft. Great spot for sailaways. Lovely.

 

-Entertainment is really good on Princess. Lots of lounges, as well as, the main theater to enjoy the piano players and lounge acts. There is lots of trivia and games throughout the day.

 

Low points

- the buffet is area small and the food is repetitive.

 

-The ship is more compartmentalized than Celebrity but it's not claustrophobic- you just need a map in your pocket.

 

Go- have fun, you'll like it.:)

Edited June 10, 2014 by rebeccalouiseagain

[atlasali]

We like both. We have upcoming cruises on both.

Celebrity had covered pool, better for an Alaskan or a New England/Canada or a British itinerary.

Princess seems to handle "anytime dining" better, at least if you are willing to share a table. On our last Celebrity cruise, we had to make a reservation every night or wait until 10:00pm to eat. Defeats the purpose of anytime dining.

Celebrity had nice bench seats in theatre and more comfortable mattresses.

Princess had the International Café and the coffee card.

[makkblin]

Recently sailed on the Pacific Princess and Coral Princess. Food in the MDR on

Coral Princess was not good but better on the Pacific Princess. still question

Some of the "safe" items on the menu.

The buffet area on the Pacific Princess was bad. Air conditioning did not work,

The food looked like it was just thrown out and people were reaching over

Each other to select food. We've been on about 35 cruises, I spent 20+ years

In the Foodservice business, it was really bad.

We're out on two Celebrity cruises in the next 9 months, hopefully they 'll be

As good as the two Celebrity cruises we took this past year.

 

We prefer X but if they don't go where we want to go, we'd sail Princess

Again.

 

Hope this helps.

[keenager]

As a loyal celebrity cruiser I would love to know how people would compare Princess ,in particular Carribean Princess ,with the solstice ships? I would not normally consider changing but as we are in Florida at a time when the Celebrity ships are still in Europe ,we don't have a choice. Have just been reading the member reviews on the Princess ship and am not filled with confidence to book it! Has anyone been on both? How would you compare them?

Thanks so much everyone for your remarks. All so helpful. Looks like we'll just have to go with an open mind as Celebrity just are not available from Florida when we have to go. I think CP will have to be good to match our favorites !

[sunshine nana]

We have sailed both lines, but not the CB ship. No one has mentioned one thing we really like about Princess: mini-suites. They have more room than any of the Celebrity balcony cabins without paying the high price of a suite. Also, I like the self-laundry as I don't mind doing a load or two to cut down on luggage.Also, we think Princess has more variety of entertainment.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I agree about the self-serve laundry. I did use that on my last Princess cruise. It's a help and money saver.

[blambition]

We have done many Princess cruises in the last 10 years and have loved every single one of them including the Caribbean Princess I find their decor to be just understated and pleasant to look at, and have to say we have never been disappointed with their food on any of the ships. We always travel with another couple and use anytime dining which we tend to go in the first night find a nice table that we enjoy and then request that same table or one in that waiters area for a particular time each night and have been accommodated by the maître' d. We usually take the balcony cabin and have been fine with that the mini suites are essentially the same as the balcony cabin with the exception that they have a small couch in the room which makes it a little bit larger. We will be experiencing our first solstice class cruise on Celebrity this coming December and are really looking forward to it. We have not cruised with Celebrity in many years due to one bad experience but our previous experience with Celebrity was wonderful as was our experience on as Azamara!! Hope you have a terrific cruise😊

 

 

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[blueboro]

Ok I'll be blunt. The worst cruise ship I've been on is the Caribbean Princess. Once upon a time Princess decided to add a bunch of cabins to that ship after it was built. They failed to enlarge the theatre or the buffet. As far as I know they did not enlarge any public rooms.

So it was nearly imposssible to get a table in the buffet. People would find someone who appeared to be almost finished with their meal, and stand behind the to claim the table when they left.

The final seats in the theatre were taken 45 minutes before the show began. Yep, that is the worst seats. I saw two men nearly come to blows because one of them was saving seats, and the other guy couldn't find seats.

Passageways were very crowded. Often unable to get anywhere because of the bottlenecks.

My understanding is that Princess is a comparable cruise line to X, and I will sail with them again because we have a relative who will sail with no one else. Hopefully it will be on a ship that they have not modified so horribly.

Perhaps Princess has made changes to that ship to improve the problems. Many people love Princess, and other than those problems other areas were ok. More entertainment than X, and the best pizza at sea.

MUTS- love it or hate it. I'm in the hate it camp, but you, like others, might love it.

 

While we enjoyed our Caribbean Princess cruise last year I tend to agree with your points. Buffet serving areas were cramped and crowded and finding a table was like finding a lifeboat on Titantic. We also found in order to get to some venues you had to go down two decks, walk a way and then go back up two decks. A lot of dead ends and elevators side-by-side that went to different decks. We did enjoy the aft pool and they do have good pizza. Four in our party of eight did the Chef's Table and said it was fantastic.

[goofysmom99]

Do they allow smoking in the casino on Princess? I recently took a Royal cruise. where smoking is allowed, and that has now become a deciding factor for me as to which cruise line I choose in the future.

[CruisingChick]

We also found in order to get to some venues you had to go down two decks, walk a way and then go back up two decks. A lot of dead ends and elevators side-by-side that went to different decks.

 

There is nothing more in this world that I hate than that.....I'm still running into that damn wall on Mercury and ship was sold 3 years ago.

 

Also on our recent Explorer cruise only one set of Elevators went up to the Viking Crown Lodge. I can't tell you how many times we got on an elevator only to have to get off and find the right one. Who designs these ships?

[SnorkelMoose]

I give another thumbs up to the Caribbean Princess, and Princess in general.

 

Princess has awesome desserts.

 

However, Celebrity has excellent stir-fry.

 

Decisions, decisions... :)

[CruisingChick]

I give another thumbs up to the Caribbean Princess, and Princess in general.

 

Princess has awesome desserts.

 

However, Celebrity has excellent stir-fry.

 

Decisions, decisions... :)

 

Really, desserts win over stir fry any day of the week. Princess must send us 2-3 brochures in the mail every couple of week. We have never sailed them before, they must be trying to lure us away from Celebrity.

[SnorkelMoose]

Really, desserts win over stir fry any day of the week. Princess must send us 2-3 brochures in the mail every couple of week. We have never sailed them before, they must be trying to lure us away from Celebrity.

 

LOL--well, I personally loved their desserts. The first time I sailed Princess (years and years ago), I wasn't really impressed with the food. But on my Caribbean Princess trip, and then the Crown Princess after that, I noticed a significant change in quality; the desserts especially were just excellent. Not sure if you're a fan of pies or danishes, but I must've gained ten pounds just eating those desserts on my two latest Princess cruises.

 

By comparison, I sailed on the Millennium last month. It was the first time on any cruise when I would actually skip dessert (I NEVER skip dessert on vacation--ha, ha). For instance, the "apple pie" was some kind of scrawny pastry with two dried pieces of apple inside. At least they were honest about their "dry cake." Gotta tell ya--it was definitely dry.

 

I will say that there was a slightly better offering at Cafe al Baccio. They had a Nutella roll one day that was pretty tasty :)

Edited June 11, 2014 by SnorkelMoose

[CruisingChick]

I will say that there was a slightly better offering at Cafe al Baccio. They had a Nutella roll one day that was pretty tasty :)

 

You have to try the chocolate croissants and the almond croissants in Cafe al Baccio they are to die for. Not a big pie fan unless it's real Key Lime Pie.

 

The best dessert on the ship is the dark chocolate mousse in Bistro on 5. I agree Celebrity's desserts could be better.

[Pennstatedj]

We have top status on Princess and are Elite plus. As people have said both are good but if given the choice I would always sail with X. No Smoking for the most part with X is one of the best thing X has done.

Benefits that X gives its CC put me over the hump for choosing X. With the cocktail hour each day and breakfast in the morning and internet fare exceeds what Princess does for its top cruisers.

What I tell people like the person asking about the Caribbean Princess, pick a cruise line and stay with them until you get an elite status. The perks save you at least $300 per week in drinks, speciality coffees and internet. That is hard to give up to try another cruise line. I only do Princess or Hal when a relative will only sail on them and it happens.

Two years ago, we sailed Princess, HAL, X and Rccl in the same year. When finished we did a detail analysis and my wife and I decided that X was the best, RCCL, Princess and then HAL in that order.

All were good however and if a specific itinerary is what you want anyone of them will be fun.