How's the Food compared to Princess?

[bamelin]

My first time trying Celebrity, I'll be on the Equinox for 7 days next week.

 

Curious how the food in the MDR and buffets will stack up to Princess?

[cruisestitch]

Many say better on Celebrity, some say about the same. My experience is that the only thing superior on Princess is the pizza.

[Lady Arwen]

Many cruises on both lines and we've found the food to be comparable. Pasta and pizza is better on Princess. Celebrity buffet is slightly better. Princess has International Cafe open 24 hours and it's terrific. Princess buffet is open longer hours. Celebrity room service is excellent. MDR is about the same, with Celebrity slightly better. Food is so subjective, that 10 people will have 10 different opinions. Both lines provide very decent food and you'll never go hungry.

[BosoxI]

Many say better on Celebrity, some say about the same. My experience is that the only thing superior on Princess is the pizza.

 

For my taste Celebrity's buffets on the S class ships are better, but the dining room food on Princess has always been better. Also, the MDRs on Princess are more like regular restaurants and have head waiters in attendance. My wife can't stand the barn known as the MDR on X ships. Her solution is painful-Blu or Luminae.;)

[Lady Arwen]

For my taste Celebrity's buffets on the S class ships are better, but the dining room food on Princess has always been better. Also, the MDRs on Princess are more like regular restaurants and have head waiters in attendance. My wife can't stand the barn known as the MDR on X ships. Her solution is painful-Blu or Luminae.;)

We were booked in an Aqua Class cabin last year and went to Blu for dinner for two nights. We hated it! Tables are so close together and the service was painfully slow. The food was just okay. Asked to be switched to MDR, which they did. It was just lovely. Food was really good. We had a table for two in a very nice section and we were very happy. Everyone has such different opinions and preferences when it comes to dining. Other folks love Blu!

[Husky61]

That's like saying who has the better hamburger, Burger King or Wendy's? Totally subjective.

[sippican]

In comparing X to Princess, our feeling about the food is clear, X is the winner for us hands down. We found the Princess dining to border on unpleasant. Our experience with "anytime" dining lead to an hour wait so we switched to assigned dining. Other than desserts, we were totally unimpressed (and we rarely complain about ships' offerings). The waitstaff seemed harried and unattentive; we only saw them to take orders and deliver food. The buffet had fewer selections than those on X, the dining areas seem dark and closed-in with low ceilings. We tried one specialty restaurant and ended up cancelling the second reservation. We were told by other cruisers that this is not the norm across the Priness fleet, so I guess we just chose the wrong ship.

[BosoxI]

We were booked in an Aqua Class cabin last year and went to Blu for dinner for two nights. We hated it! Tables are so close together and the service was painfully slow. The food was just okay. Asked to be switched to MDR, which they did. It was just lovely. Food was really good. We had a table for two in a very nice section and we were very happy. Everyone has such different opinions and preferences when it comes to dining. Other folks love Blu!

 

Believe me, we are not in love with Blu. We try to dine early so as to avoid the crowd and their noise. Worse, on several occasions we were completely ignored by our waiter, so much so that we walked out without eating. But the MDR is the wild west. Waiters rushing up and down the aisles with a harried look on their faces, carrying trays of food over the heads of the poor unfortunates seated on the aisles, barely avoiding each other at the last second. "No thanks" says DW except for lunch which is more sedate.

[OCruisers]

Many cruises on both lines and we've found the food to be comparable. Pasta and pizza is better on Princess. Celebrity buffet is slightly better. Princess has International Cafe open 24 hours and it's terrific. Princess buffet is open longer hours. Celebrity room service is excellent. MDR is about the same, with Celebrity slightly better. Food is so subjective, that 10 people will have 10 different opinions. Both lines provide very decent food and you'll never go hungry.

 

Agree with the above! (y)

On either we never feel we need to go to a specialty restaurant every night for dinner. :)

[pixiedust777]

Was in the Crown Princess with my daughter on the 11/13 sailing. Hands down Celebrity wins. Even the specialty dinner on Princess was no where near the quality that we have received on Celebrity.

 

 

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[ChinchillaGrl]

.Four cruises with Celebrity, and did one Pacific Coastal on Princess in October - Celebrity better by far. Princess menu has a few nice items, but not every night. Buffet was okay but not stellar. Room service breakfast was not adequate at all. Service was good in Princess, but I have never seen the "wild west" atmosphere attributed to Celebrity.

 

One place Princess excelled was in beverage and wine service. I was never told that they didn't have all ingrediants stocked for drinks on the menu, and never had to wait while someone ran to a different bar to get something I'd requested! Good by-the-glass selection, and never had to ask to see the wine list in the MDR. Celebrity Infinity has some work to do in that regard. Celebrity is still the preference.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Many say better on Celebrity, some say about the same. My experience is that the only thing superior on Princess is the pizza.

 

This was true on our first two Princess cruises, but sadly this year the Princess pizza was terrible [and when I posted this on the Princess board, every follow-on post agreed that it has gone way downhill]. Princess' regular coffee, which used to be marginally better than Celebrity's [when they were both syrup-based], has also gone downhill [while Celebrity's has soared up with the new Lavazza-branded coffee, even in the buffet].

[ECCruise]

Please don't take comparisons that make huge assumptions on the basis of a single cruise.

 

25 sailings on =X=, a dozen on Princess. The differences in the food are minimal. Anyone who claims huge differences either is not very food savvy or not paying attention. Some dishes may be better on one line, other dishes on another. And it can vary a LOT from ship to ship. Celebrity hasn't changed its menu in years, yet there are preparations on one ship that is far superior to the same dish on another.

 

Don't stress over this. No food in the MDR on a mass market cruise line (which both of these definitely are) is world-class. Very good perhaps and you won't starve, by any means, but doubt that you will find Michelin stars displayed in the dining room.

[riclop]

Food is too subjective.

[eandj]

I enjoy seafood and fish for dinner. Princess has more variety daily in that area for sure.

 

Too we miss the International Cafe for quick light lunches on X.

Edited December 1, 2017 by eandj

[bamelin]

Please don't take comparisons that make huge assumptions on the basis of a single cruise.

 

25 sailings on =X=, a dozen on Princess. The differences in the food are minimal. Anyone who claims huge differences either is not very food savvy or not paying attention. Some dishes may be better on one line, other dishes on another. And it can vary a LOT from ship to ship. Celebrity hasn't changed its menu in years, yet there are preparations on one ship that is far superior to the same dish on another.

 

Don't stress over this. No food in the MDR on a mass market cruise line (which both of these definitely are) is world-class. Very good perhaps and you won't starve, by any means, but doubt that you will find Michelin stars displayed in the dining room.

 

I figured as much. Thanks for all the comments folks!

 

After Celebrity I want to try HAL then decide which of the three lines I like best in the Premium segment.

 

My experience with Princess is that the food was decent enough although after 17 days (I was on a transatlantic) I got tired of it -- with that said I thought Princess specialty restaurant (Crown Grill) was amazing. The food was by far better in the pay venue. I mean MDR stuff wasn't bad but ...

[suec12]

We are primarily X cruisers but have tried a few other lines for various reasons. In July we were on Princess for the first time as it was a family trip, chosen by a sibling.

 

I do think Princess does seafood better (not necessarily fish tho). X is much stronger on beef and lamb. The everyday menu on Celebrity is way better IMO as I LOVE the escargot and French onion soup. I do like the buffet better on Celebrity too but part of that might have been it took me several days to get familiar with the layout on Princess.

 

Princess pizza - line waaaay too long unless you went at odd times.

 

We have done one HAL - I was fine with it, friends that went with us said they lost weight.

 

I think Oceania was the best for food but too pricey for me these days and there was a snob factor from other passengers and staff. I really liked Azamara too but again, not willing to pay those prices now.

[CI66774]

Cruised on both lines. Food is comparable. Some better on X; some better on Princess. Both good - overall.