Princess vs Celebrity - My Thoughts

[keithm]

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.

We've done two 14 day trips on the Eclipse & a 14 day B 2 B on the Regal.(FOOD) We liked the beef much more on Eclipse. The seafood was better on the Regal. Specialty rest. were better overall on Eclipse, but at higher prices. Buffet on Regal has more variety & makes skipping a night in the MDR worthwhile.

(ROOM)We did an interior room on both Eclipse & Regal. Much better storage on Regal. Bathroom was much better on Eclipse(almost a deal breaker)Bath towels on the Regal were by far the worst we've ever seen. Disliked the shower curtain on Regal. Love the glass doors on the Eclipse shower. (ENTERTAINMENT)Loved Muts on the Regal. Liked theater(and shows) much more on Celebrity. Theater MUCH bigger. Great views from Sky Lounge on the Eclipse.Elevators are better on the Eclipse. Stairways are nearby if you prefer that to the elevators. Elevators back up too much on Princess. Did like the Piazza & loved Crooners. A great place to people watch. We did like the "rest" station set up outside the Regal gang plank. Nice touch. Celebrity does the same. Love Sanctuary on the Regal. worth every $. Though I've seen poorly behaved & dressed pax on Cunard/Celebrity, the Regal had the most I've seen anywhere. Hopefully with it being Super bowl that first week, it was a fluke. Being on the Eclipse on Superbowl week, sorry we didn't see that kind of boorish behavior. Generally older crowd might have something to do with that on the Eclipse. Overall, We'd do Princess again, probably do the Caribbean Princess or similar. Generally more similarities than dissimilarities.to both lines.

Edited May 6, 2016 by keithm
adding a few more touches.

[kendon]

I have been on 25 plus cruise with Princess. We did the Celebrity Summit several years ago to Bermuda simply because Princess doesn't go to Bermuda :(.

 

We couldn't have been more disappointed with the Summit. It was dreary, dirty, and the food was awful. In fact, several months after returning from the cruise, the Summit failed health inspection! When does that ever happen on a mainstream cruise line these days? The decor is Ikea-like in some areas, and 80's in others.

 

So sorry to disagree with the OP, but given the experience on the Summit I hesitate to try any other Celebrity ship. Both the Princess Coral and Celebrity Summit are smaller/older ships, but they cannot be compared at all. I'd take the Coral any day.

 

I appreciate the review all the same :)

[keithm]

I have been on 25 plus cruise with Princess. We did the Celebrity Summit several years ago to Bermuda simply because Princess doesn't go to Bermuda :(.

 

We couldn't have been more disappointed with the Summit. It was dreary, dirty, and the food was awful. In fact, several months after returning from the cruise, the Summit failed health inspection! When does that ever happen on a mainstream cruise line these days? The decor is Ikea-like in some areas, and 80's in others.

 

So sorry to disagree with the OP, but given the experience on the Summit I hesitate to try any other Celebrity ship. Both the Princess Coral and Celebrity Summit are smaller/older ships, but they cannot be compared at all. I'd take the Coral any day.

 

I appreciate the review all the same :)

The Solstice class ships of Celebrity are excellent overall. We did a 14 day trip on the Regal this past Feb. We did have a very good overall trip, but still like the eclipse more & are returning to it next Jan.

[denatravels]

I have been on 25 plus cruise with Princess. We did the Celebrity Summit several years ago to Bermuda simply because Princess doesn't go to Bermuda :(.

 

 

 

We couldn't have been more disappointed with the Summit. It was dreary, dirty, and the food was awful. In fact, several months after returning from the cruise, the Summit failed health inspection! When does that ever happen on a mainstream cruise line these days? The decor is Ikea-like in some areas, and 80's in others.

 

 

 

So sorry to disagree with the OP, but given the experience on the Summit I hesitate to try any other Celebrity ship. Both the Princess Coral and Celebrity Summit are smaller/older ships, but they cannot be compared at all. I'd take the Coral any day.

 

 

 

I appreciate the review all the same :)

 

 

The summit just came out of dry dock and was very nice (although I hadn't been on before)

 

 

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[Thermy]

Thanks for your review! I have only ever cruised on Princess or Celebrity (ignoring a P&O cruise I did back in 1999) and found them pretty similar in quality.

 

The only difference that really impacts me is that Celebrity has a separate Vegetarian Menu in the MDR which has multiple options for each course. It's great having multiple options. To make up for that Princess has self-service laundry which is great when most of your cruises are longer itineraries. :)

[ABoatNerd]

Excellent analyses.

 

Having sailed with Celebrity since 1992, Celebrity used to be considerably higher in quality service and product versus the other main stream cruise lines. Up to 2011 or so, Celebrity earned the right to call themselves a "premium" cruise line.

 

Not so today. Celebrity has deliberately downgraded their product offering while competitors have upgraded - so the former gap is gone.

 

While each cruise line has unique attributes - generally all of them including Celebrity - reside in the "bell curve" of main stream offerings.

 

We no longer patronize Celebrity as we are fed up with their constant downgrading of food quality in the MDR, up sell shrilling, their fixation on their 4 class system, the bull of their "free" drink package. Moved on to Cunard and Oceania.

 

Our last Princess cruise last year was the equal to our past Celebrity cruises.

 

In the end, our household is blessed to be able to cruise.

 

ABoatNerd

[CI66774]

OP - thanks for your thoughts. I, too, think they're both good cruise lines and I wouldn't hesitate to sail on other line again!

[keithm]

Excellent analyses.

 

Having sailed with Celebrity since 1992, Celebrity used to be considerably higher in quality service and product versus the other main stream cruise lines. Up to 2011 or so, Celebrity earned the right to call themselves a "premium" cruise line.

 

Not so today. Celebrity has deliberately downgraded their product offering while competitors have upgraded - so the former gap is gone.

 

While each cruise line has unique attributes - generally all of them including Celebrity - reside in the "bell curve" of main stream offerings.

 

We no longer patronize Celebrity as we are fed up with their constant downgrading of food quality in the MDR, up sell shrilling, their fixation on their 4 class system, the bull of their "free" drink package. Moved on to Cunard and Oceania.

 

Our last Princess cruise last year was the equal to our past Celebrity cruises.

 

In the end, our household is blessed to be able to cruise.

 

ABoatNerd

Never had a bad cruise. Seen pax I'd rather not see again, but always had a good time. We did the Regal this past Feb. because a screw-up caused us to not go on Celebrity. The cruise was good, though a lot of pax left a lot to be desired. The staff was some of the best we ever had & will look at Princess again, just for them. If the eclipse trip next Jan. doesn't meet my expectations, we'll check Princess again or go back to Cunard.