Is Princess becoming the new X?

[ChucktownSteve]

echo, echo :D

[TFLG]

 

On our recent Eclipse cruise lots of folks were unhappy when the cruise director insisted on blasting play by play for pool volleyball...throughout the entire pool deck (and above). There were about 16 folks playing volleyball and hundreds of others with no interest. But Celebrity insists on disturbing the masses for the gratification of a very few.

 

Hank

 

Hey now, I love the volleyball:D and half the pool deck was cheering us on. Peace and quiet available for no charge 50 yards forward in the solarium!:p

Edited January 13, 2017 by TFLG

[gordylad]

A second series of The Cruise started in the UK last night night following once again the Regal Princess this time in the Med.

 

We have never sailed Princess but areas look very similar to Celebrity and the staff [i don't know if its because they know they are being filmed] come across as very helpful.

 

Could be a cruise line to try in the future especially if Celebrity maintain these ridiculous prices.

[shipfriend_max]

Not trying to upset people, but I've been reading many posts and reviews and have seen many complaints regarding the quality of food, lack of assistant cabin steward and service along with other cutbacks on X. I've also been reading how Princess is improving it's cuisine, its service and so on. Is X downgrading while Princess is upgrading? Is the perception changing/swapping on these cruise lines?

 

You might be VERY RIGHT with this thesis.

 

Also Princess has taken some minor cutbacks, but far not as huge as X is doing - X has taken several cutbacks, and when we have been sailing on Millennium in Aug 2015 and later on NCL JADE in April 2016, we had to ask ourselves what X actually does better than NCL! - so not to mention Princess on that.

 

Seen as such, Celebrity still offers a good overall vacation, but compared to others they are not the unique major cruise line anymore - and no premium line anymore!

Princess offers things Celebrity does not do anymore, such as:

-Afternoon tea time for free

-Champaign pyramid @formal nights, balloon party @formal night

-Petit fours and sorbet between the courses @formal night

-Great open air cinema with complimentary snack service

-Free snack service @open decks on days at sea (also NCL does)

-Snacks (nuts/crisps) served with cocktails (also NCL does), Celebrity does not

 

So my points of view are that Celebrity is getting downgrade more and more, and moving towards the level of NCL (a cruise line I like), and Princess is overtaking them more and more, if this development conitinues.

And Celebrity does not even manage to serve fish knives... :rolleyes:

[biscotti2016]

We are looking at booking the British Isles on the royal princess but not til 2019 and hoping royal princess will still be in northern europe as they are starting in that area in 2018...princess sounds amazing

 

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[cruisemom42]

We just returned last Sunday from a New Year's cruise on Regal Princess, and could not help making some comparisons with our New Year's cruise two years previously on Silhouette. Overall, we preferred our experience on Silhouette much more, although there were some things Princess did well or even better. For us, the food (yes, even the MDR food), service, entertainment and decor were all better on Silhouette. While we liked the piazza on Regal Princess (and especially the International Cafe and Alfredo's pizzeria (no charge), we didn't particularly like the ship's design. Entertainment venues tended to be crowded, and who wants to arrive 30 minutes before a performance to get a seat when the performance itself only lasts 30-35 minutes? :cool:

 

We really liked the modern decor on Silhouette and felt the Regal was sort of faux glitzy (more like a mid-range Las Vegas hotel). Passengers on X were also more dressed up; despite the fact that Princess still has formal nights, we saw many more pax wearing VERY casual clothing (i.e., shorts) in the MDR at night. Yes, I realize Celebrity has discontinued formal nights since our cruise two years ago, but even on casual evenings we found most people well dressed.

 

 

On Equinox the buffet area was extensive, bright and open to observation which made it easy to "find" what we wanted to eat. On Royal it is an exercise in frustration to "find" anything since the entire area is broken into a warren of nooks and crannies that seemed designed to confound and obscure the choices from the passengers.

 

I totally agree with this! I was very surprised as most comments about the Lido buffet had been very positive. But the layout doesn't "invite" you in, and navigating in and out of the halls was not so easy.

 

No. I don't agree. A year ago on the Star Princess their "stage show" was five "performers" lip syncing to a sound track. No live band, just a sound track. Awful and terrible are the most positive things I can say.

 

In response to the above, let me say that the music on Princess was one of their strong points. There was an orchestra for each major show in the Princess theatre. (Believe me, I know -- most nights they were actually on the stage, plus the cruise director made sure to stand up and thank them every single night.) In addition, there was a classical string quartet, a modern cover band, two pianists, a second quartet, and a steel drum player. There was always live music somewhere, and it was very enjoyable.

 

All in all, we had a fine time on Princess, but at the end of the day, we enjoyed Celebrity quite a bit more. I'd not be so quick to say that Princess is the new Celebrity. I've been cruising since the 1970s, and since I've been on Cruise Critic (10+ years), I have heard continuously how all the lines are "cutting back" -- if this were true, we'd all be eating worse than dog food by now and making up our own cabins. :eek:

 

These things just tend to go in "waves" -- Celebrity was riding high for the last few years with their new class of ships and "Modern luxury" approach, but now that prices have risen commensurately, they are no longer everyone's darling.

Edited January 13, 2017 by cruisemom42

[gordylad]

how did the actual cost of the cruises compare?

[cruisemom42]

how did the actual cost of the cruises compare?

 

If you're referring to me, I'm not sure you can compare directly as the Silhouette cruise was two years ago and was 7 days, while the Regal Princess was 10 days. The Celebrity cruise included drink package (classic) and gratuities. The Princess one did not. When you add in what we spent for those two items, the Princess cruise was about $100 more (for 10 nights) than Celebrity was (for 7 nights).

 

I did not directly compare Celebrity's 2016 pricing with Princess. The cruise itinerary on X did not appeal to us as much. The Princess cruise did have a very nice itinerary: St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Thomas, and Grand Turk.

[chamima]

Not trying to upset people, but I've been reading many posts and reviews and have seen many complaints regarding the quality of food, lack of assistant cabin steward and service along with other cutbacks on X. I've also been reading how Princess is improving it's cuisine, its service and so on. Is X downgrading while Princess is upgrading? Is the perception changing/swapping on these cruise lines?

 

I have both an X cruise and a Princess cruise booked, hence the 'research'.... Not BASHING, just asking.

 

You might be VERY RIGHT with this thesis.

 

Also Princess has taken some minor cutbacks, but far not as huge as X is doing - X has taken several cutbacks, and when we have been sailing on Millennium in Aug 2015 and later on NCL JADE in April 2016, we had to ask ourselves what X actually does better than NCL! - so not to mention Princess on that.

 

Seen as such, Celebrity still offers a good overall vacation, but compared to others they are not the unique major cruise line anymore - and no premium line anymore!

Princess offers things Celebrity does not do anymore, such as:

-Afternoon tea time for free

-Champaign pyramid @formal nights, balloon party @formal night

-Petit fours and sorbet between the courses @formal night

-Great open air cinema with complimentary snack service

-Free snack service @open decks on days at sea (also NCL does)

-Snacks (nuts/crisps) served with cocktails (also NCL does), Celebrity does not

 

So my points of view are that Celebrity is getting downgrade more and more, and moving towards the level of NCL (a cruise line I like), and Princess is overtaking them more and more, if this development conitinues.

And Celebrity does not even manage to serve fish knives... :rolleyes:

 

 

 

We sail both lines (usually 1 or 2 cruises on each every year) and have for the last 10 years or so and that is definitely our impression.

 

We are just off 2 weeks on Princess and the service and food .was wonderful, as always.

We have a month on the Eclipse coming up and I really hope that all the cutbacks in service I'm reading about on here won't be evident! :(

[grandgeezer]

We just returned last Sunday from a New Year's cruise on Regal Princess, and could not help making some comparisons with our New Year's cruise two years previously on Silhouette. Overall, we preferred our experience on Silhouette much more, although there were some things Princess did well or even better. For us, the food (yes, even the MDR food), service, entertainment and decor were all better on Silhouette. While we liked the piazza on Regal Princess (and especially the International Cafe and Alfredo's pizzeria (no charge), we didn't particularly like the ship's design. Entertainment venues tended to be crowded, and who wants to arrive 30 minutes before a performance to get a seat when the performance itself only lasts 30-35 minutes? :cool:

 

We really liked the modern decor on Silhouette and felt the Regal was sort of faux glitzy (more like a mid-range Las Vegas hotel). Passengers on X were also more dressed up; despite the fact that Princess still has formal nights, we saw many more pax wearing VERY casual clothing (i.e., shorts) in the MDR at night. Yes, I realize Celebrity has discontinued formal nights since our cruise two years ago, but even on casual evenings we found most people well dressed.

 

 

 

 

I totally agree with this! I was very surprised as most comments about the Lido buffet had been very positive. But the layout doesn't "invite" you in, and navigating in and out of the halls was not so easy.

 

 

 

In response to the above, let me say that the music on Princess was one of their strong points. There was an orchestra for each major show in the Princess theatre. (Believe me, I know -- most nights they were actually on the stage, plus the cruise director made sure to stand up and thank them every single night.) In addition, there was a classical string quartet, a modern cover band, two pianists, a second quartet, and a steel drum player. There was always live music somewhere, and it was very enjoyable.

 

All in all, we had a fine time on Princess, but at the end of the day, we enjoyed Celebrity quite a bit more. I'd not be so quick to say that Princess is the new Celebrity. I've been cruising since the 1970s, and since I've been on Cruise Critic (10+ years), I have heard continuously how all the lines are "cutting back" -- if this were true, we'd all be eating worse than dog food by now and making up our own cabins. :eek:

 

Give it a little more time.

[ISABELLA]

[Q

We are just off 2 weeks on Princess and the service and food .was wonderful, as always.

We have a month on the Eclipse coming up and I really hope that all the cutbacks in service I'm reading about on here won't be evident! :(

 

We just back from 10 days on Equinox in AQ. Small cut backs are noticeable from a year ago.

Very limited dessert menu in BLU, same type of bread at dinner - used to be different kind almost every night. Last night of the cruise menu was simply disappointing. Breakfast in BLU was still good.

Variety of cheeses in OV was american, provolone and " mystery" cheese, no more nuts or dry fruit.

Tea and coffee still good.

Have Princess stopped serving brown muddy water they called coffee?

Edited January 13, 2017 by ISABELLA

[shipfriend_max]

We sail both lines (usually 1 or 2 cruises on each every year) and have for the last 10 years or so and that is definitely our impression.

 

We are just off 2 weeks on Princess and the service and food .was wonderful, as always.

We have a month on the Eclipse coming up and I really hope that all the cutbacks in service I'm reading about on here won't be evident! :(

 

Today I phoned with a friend of mine returning from 9 nights Arabian Gulf on X Connie.

 

Overall they had a nice time, but noticed several cutbacks, and she told me she could not feel the difference between middle class lines such as NCL or RCCL, and the "premium" line X:

-The cleaning off service @Oceanview Café (buffet) was very poor since many waiters changed to the Luminae/Blu restaurants and were not substituted by others - many head waiters trying to sell beverage packages had to clean off since it was done so poorly...

-Reduced dessert menu in MDR - only two daily changing dessert items, all the others stayed the same every evening.

-Food quality @Tuscan Grille rather average

 

Just to mention a few things, like I said she overall enjoyed her cruise experience but after several X cruises she also said the "glorious" premium X times are over...

 

What I find to be crass are the onboard drink prices - a Cappuccino costs 6$ (Princess: 2.50 - 3.50, depending on size), and other drinks, some cocktails cost 10$ and more...

Edited January 14, 2017 by shipfriend_max

[Hlitner]

Regarding Princess coffee, in the Lido buffets the stuff is simply awful. But the MDR coffee is a little better and the coffee (or espresso drinks) at the International Cafe are among the best at sea. If one buys a coffee card (you get it punched for expresso and other premium coffee drinks) you can use that card for unlimited coffee/tea at the International Cafe. Unlike the other venues on the ship, the IC makes their coffee in small pots and used high end coffee brands (often Lavazza).

 

Hank

[Mynki]

One question for those who sail Princess regularly, are their ships sailing full? And are they not heavily discounting near sale date?

 

That to me is a true test of how well a line is doing. Ships sailing with empty cabins and lots of late discounting obviously have room for improvement IMHO.

[chamima]

[Q

We are just off 2 weeks on Princess and the service and food .was wonderful, as always.

We have a month on the Eclipse coming up and I really hope that all the cutbacks in service I'm reading about on here won't be evident! :(

 

We just back from 10 days on Equinox in AQ. Small cut backs are noticeable from a year ago.

Very limited dessert menu in BLU, same type of bread at dinner - used to be different kind almost every night. Last night of the cruise menu was simply disappointing. Breakfast in BLU was still good.

Variety of cheeses in OV was american, provolone and " mystery" cheese, no more nuts or dry fruit.

Tea and coffee still good.

Have Princess stopped serving brown muddy water they called coffee?

 

 

 

 

The coffee on Princess used to be awful , I agree.

This last cruise it was actually good.

And their cappuccino (which is $2.50 vs. the $6.00 on Celebrity ) is head and tails better!

 

 

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[richsea]

One question for those who sail Princess regularly, are their ships sailing full? And are they not heavily discounting near sale date?

 

That to me is a true test of how well a line is doing. Ships sailing with empty cabins and lots of late discounting obviously have room for improvement IMHO.

 

We are sailing Royal Princess next week, a 10 night Caribbean. Our sailing only had insides available last week. Yesterday I got a notification from that fishy site that there are balconies available now, but at almost 50% higher than I paid in November. The sailing after ours has balconies available that just increased 5-6%, also higher than 2 months ago. Equinox 10 night sailing for upcoming week has C3 available @ $2499PP. It seems to me that both lines are pretty much sailing full. I have also noticed that Celebrity eXciting deals only list 4 or so sailings lately, so I would guess they're pricing is not keeping people from booking (but it is keeping me from booking). I think we'll just have to wait & see how it all shakes out.

[BosoxI]

I want to thank those of you who list the things that have changed for the worse on Celebrity. I usually don't notice them unless they are truly obvious. I know in the past a list of such items has been published; I hope someone in the know has the time to provide a new one. Apparently, I need help in being agitated. One thing I did notice on a recent 12 day trip in Aqua was that our cabin was frequently not made up until late afternoon. That is upsetting.

 

For those who ask is Princess becoming the new Celebrity, I would argue that would be a downward move in certain areas, particularly dining. Princess' food has always been better and I always enjoyed their main dining rooms with low ceilings, head waiters, and a general feeling of intimacy found in land based restaurants. My wife no longer can tolerate eating in the barn Celebrity provides, and that means paying for Aqua or even Luminae. Ugh.

[richsea]

I want to thank those of you who list the things that have changed for the worse on Celebrity. I usually don't notice them unless they are truly obvious. I know in the past a list of such items has been published; I hope someone in the know has the time to provide a new one. Apparently, I need help in being agitated. One thing I did notice on a recent 12 day trip in Aqua was that our cabin was frequently not made up until late afternoon. That is upsetting.

 

For those who ask is Princess becoming the new Celebrity, I would argue that would be a downward move in certain areas, particularly dining. Princess' food has always been better and I always enjoyed their main dining rooms with low ceilings, head waiters, and a general feeling of intimacy found in land based restaurants. My wife no longer can tolerate eating in the barn Celebrity provides, and that means paying for Aqua or even Luminae. Ugh.

 

Interesting comments regarding the feel of the restaurants. I think that would be a personal preference. I recall the lower ceilings on the one level restaurants of Zenith & the old Meridian; then contrasted by the sweeping staircase of the two story Century Grand Restaurant when she was new. That was a big wow factor back then. I still think Century had the most beautiful restaurant afloat, but again, personal choice. There is much to be said about both designs. Now, with the popularity of anytime/personal choice dining, it would probably be better to offer the smaller dining venues. IMO, in the past Celebrity's MDR food was tops; now X, Royal C. & Princess are comparable.

 

It's hard to come up with a list of things that have changed without running the risk of being called an old fart who just does not like change. I would say the best way to describe the changes are a lack of attention to detail, which used to be Celebrity's hallmark. Things were done a certain way, EVERY time; it was just a certain atmosphere. It's hard to put a finger on it, but anyone who's sailed Celebrity, say since the 90s, will notice it. IMO, Celebrity is still good/very good; but not excellent. There are lots of good/very good lines out there at competitive prices.

[Pushka]

Our Princess NY cruise had a large group (700) from a TA in Russia.

 

Princess regulars noticed the same cut backs as Celebrity people here are saying. What a shame.

Edited January 14, 2017 by Pushka

[Tatka]

We just had back to back cruises on Silhouette and Royal Princess. Celebrity had better pool loungers and main production shows. Princess had better MDR service which was strange... and overall better entertainment. Crowd was a bit younger on X, but it was 4 dayers during Christmas week vs 10 dayers over New Year.

Princess had much more seafood selections.

 

Both are our favorite lines.

Edited January 15, 2017 by Tatka

[grandgeezer]

We just had back to back cruises on Silhouette and Royal Princess. Celebrity had better pool loungers and main production shows. Princess had better MDR service which was strange... and overall better entertainment. Crowd was a bit younger on X, but it was 4 dayers during Christmas week vs 10 dayers over New Year.

Princess had much more seafood selections.

 

Both are our favorite lines.

 

We haven't been on Princess in years but we've done two B2Bs on the Silhouette this year, the last one being last month. The production shows were, by far, the worst we've see in our 39 cruises. Before these, the production shows were highlights, now we don't even walk by the theater on those nights.

[Tatka]

Hmmm... we liked them. Including acrobatics. Anyway Princess's were weaker.

[Pushka]

Hmmm... we liked them. Including acrobatics. Anyway Princess's were weaker.

 

 

Have to agree with you.

[caribill]

I always enjoyed their main dining rooms with low ceilings, head waiters, and a general feeling of intimacy found in land based restaurants. My wife no longer can tolerate eating in the barn Celebrity provides.

 

On Princess boards you can find posts by Celebrity cruisers saying that they miss the multi-story Celebrity dining room and find the one story Princess dining rooms depressing in atmosphere.

[Pushka]

On Princess boards you can find posts by Celebrity cruisers saying that they miss the multi-story Celebrity dining room and find the one story Princess dining rooms depressing in atmosphere.

 

 

Now you mention it, it is the lofty atrium and dining rooms that we miss the most on Princess. Celebrity just seems so more more light, airy and spacious. I will always look for itinerary first but within a few selected lines.