Is Celebrity worth $400 more than Princess?

[Shadow9612]

Decision made. Celebrity Silhouette, February 18th. Deciding factor, Balcony size and indoor pool (in case of rain). After adding up the perks it wasn't much different in price. Thank you for all the advice. Next cruise Princess Regal or we may spend a bit more and go on Viking or Oceania.

 

I hope you have a fantastic time. The silhouette is my favourite ship. I'd be really interested to hear how your cruise is next year! The solarium is wonderful and peaceful. So are the balconies. What cabin location did you book?

 

I'm trying out the Regal next year so I'll be able to compare better to X.

 

Happy holidays and happy cruising!

[neverbeenhere]

Book the Regal if you the balcony size is not important to you as you can use the $ 400 savings to book Specialty dining. Book Celebrity, if the opposite is true, but you won't get the specialty dining.

[MicCanberra]

More alike than different, while I prefer X for $400 difference pp I would cruise Princess.

[wishfulone]

The Regal really is the pick of the Princess Fleet. You'd have a wonderful cruise on it regardless of the size of the balcony. But after years on Princess we're returning to Celebrity next month for the first time in 4 years. Nothing booked with Princess until 2019 and we're seriously considering cancelling that one.

[Podie]

I'm really surprised Celebrity is not including their classic beverage package, which is worth about $60 per person per day. I've cruised Celebrity 4 times - just returned from Eclipse last Thursday - and had the drink package and $200 OBC. I bet they'll offer this again in Jan.

[MicCanberra]

We have normally had it included as a perk as well.

[keithm]

We're booking a last minute cruise in February. I've researched and thought I wanted a balcony on the Celebrity Silhouette. However, the Regal Princess is $400+ less for their balcony. Is it really worth that much more? We've only cruised on RC, Disney and Carnival before. We're ok with both itineraries and neither includes drinks. We've heard Celebrity is nicer but is it really that much nicer?

Thank you!

Regal balconies are very small in comparison. Bath towels on any Princess ship are horrendous! Overall bathrooms are smaller, too. I guess a lot depends on some issues:Length of cruise & ports. Food is good on both lines, but I find the specialty rest. much better on the Eclipse(Silhouette's sister ship)Buffet, however on Regal was best we've had on any line. As a whole we found less smokers on Celebrity(by a wide margin)The pax on celebrity were just a tad more classy(obviously that's open to broad interpretation!)As a whole we prefer Celebrity a bit more, but itinerary of the cruise can make or break a deal with us.

[Mynki]

no way!!!

 

Anybody else wonder if the account 'Riclop' is actually a badly written bot produced by Princess instead of a human being? Check the historical posts and you'll understand. :D

[keithm]

Decision made. Celebrity Silhouette, February 18th. Deciding factor, Balcony size and indoor pool (in case of rain). After adding up the perks it wasn't much different in price. Thank you for all the advice. Next cruise Princess Regal or we may spend a bit more and go on Viking or Oceania.

Due to hurricane damage, we switched to Oceania's Riviera for 10 days this Jan. Mostly for the supposed excellent food(we're in the food industry) We love the 14 day trips on Eclipse(soon to be a thing of the past)In 2019 we're trying a 14 day trip on Reflection. We got a great deal: Concierge for 14 days for about $2600PP. Really can't pass that one up. I'll post a long detailed review the end of Jan. when we get back.

[chamima]

Anybody else wonder if the account 'Riclop' is actually a badly written bot produced by Princess instead of a human being? Check the historical posts and you'll understand. :D

 

 

riclop seems to comment on many cruise lines and some ports also.

All the comments are very succinct ( VERY succinct!!!) , though.

I'm not sure how a bot works but if it is one it's a CC bot, not just Princess.

[keithm]

I found that the Celebrity ships were much brighter than Princess which I found rather dark (e.g. woods in the interiors). I really like the Solstice class ships. I am not familiar with the Princess ship you are talking about, though.

Did 14 days on the Regal in 2016. Decided to split up a few of our Eclipse trips. We found food much better on Regal than this past Jan. on Eclipse. Just can't believe food quality could go down so much. I feel it's a poor Ex. chef. Here's the plusses & minuses of both: Regal: larger cabins & better storage. Really terrible bath towels. Bathrooms more cramped. Very small balconies. Theater amazingly small for ship as big as Regal. Entertainment quality about equal. NO lounge over front bow of ship?! I mean really? Food:Much better in MDR of Regal than Eclipse. Buffet was by far the best we've had on any cruiseline. Pools were nice. Really loved Sanctuary on Regal. Price of about $40p/day. Really worth it. They really pamper you there. Crooner's bar is a great place to relax & people watch.Staff was the nicest & most genuinely concerned we were enjoying our cruise, than on any other line. Real honest to God tea service. Cunard beats all others, however.

Now Eclipse: MUCH better theater. Love Sky lounge. Bathrooms much nicer(towels, glass shower, etc.)Cabins NEED more interior storage! Better elevators & better "flow" to MDR. Love the Solarium for it's relaxed atmosphere. It's also inside, if it rains, but be prepared to get mobbed when it does! Food this past Jan. was a major disappointment. Maître D made chef go & explain poor quality of food.(we feel chef should be fired)Specialty rest. leaps & bounds better than those on Regal. Steaks on Regal are standard grade v/s choice(or higher) on Eclipse. I buy a $million+ of beef yearly for my company, so please understand my position on that. Pax seem a little more "worldly" on the Eclipse. Many less smokers(an issue for us)Spas were both about equal. Longer treatments on Eclipse if you were willing to pay the extra price(90 min.v/s 60 on Regal)As a whole we do prefer Celebrity, but will do the Regal if itinerary suits us.

Edited December 26, 2017 by keithm
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[JahHaus]

I recall being on Regal and saw not happy with the size of the balcony in my suite...could only align chairs to face each other...

 

 

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[deliver42]

I just got off the Regal on Dec.17th, and wouldn't go back to princess on a bet. The production shows were so-so.They had a couple of good comics, and one great band Xcite, who were in the atrium at night. Nothing to do during the day. The buffet area is almost impossible to decipher where anything is. It's set up like two different buffets, and very hard to find what you're looking for. The std. balcony cabin is a joke. Small cabin, small bathroom, small balcony, and has been mentioned, a shower curtain. I haven't seen a shower curtain on a ship since the Jewel of the Seas, which is a pretty old ship.

[miched]

No lights on the balcony is a big plus for me. Nothing worse than having neighbors on both sides with their lights on for no reason. Better views at night in the darkness.

 

That is one of my gripes. The other is those that leave their lights on in the cabin with the drapes and or door open later in the evening. Also those with balcony lights will also leave them on with the doors open to hear the waves and have a night light.

 

I like having no balcony light so I can see the stars and distant lights from ships and islands. I don’t need to have a light to read as I use my IPad. More convienent and I can also listen to music using ear phones if desired.

 

Happy cruising and merry Christmas 🌊🛳🇺🇸🌅🎄

[bunzini]

Having been on both ships, it is a tough call. I really liked the Regal and hope to sail on her again soon! I also really like the Silhouette (and all the Solstice class ships). You really can’t go wrong with either. Sometimes when I am comparing I think to myself, well that is 400 toward my next cruise. Do what feels best to you. You will enjoy whichever you choose!

 

 

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[MicCanberra]

$400 can go a long way to pay fro the drinks and such.

[vols52]

Thank you. Have you been on the Princess Regal? I'm still unsure.

We have sailed on the Regal 3 times and 1 cruise each on the Coral, Caribbean and Emerald. On Celebrity we have sailed 3 times and different ship each time. We prefer Princess over Celebrity due to the staff. I have food allergies and Princess is very thorough with the staff coming over each night and telling me about the food being offered the next day so I can make a decision. The MDR staff also tells the specialty restaurants about the allergies. Celebrity has never even mentioned it to me, as my husband goes in the MDR and speaks to the staff. Christmas of 2018 we are going on Celebrity Reflection due to the itinerary. How many times can you go to St Thomas and St. Maarten and the Reflection is sailing to Antigua so a new port for us.

[eileenover]

Okay, we used to cruise with Princess... the previous Crown, the previous Regal, the Island, the Sea, the previous Royal, the Grand, the Golden, the Star, the current Regal... some of them several times. We started in balcony cabins and ended up booking owners suites.

The product deteriorated. Little extras disappeared. The service was not as good. Sadly, we said never again.

Now we're firm Celebrity cruisers. We book suites. We enjoy the whole Celebrity experience. We have never looked back.

Do we miss anything? Actually, yes! Skywalkers! I guess that it seemed to be away from the rest of the ship and so it felt a little special.

The Princess excursions were better value but Celebrity do offer some interesting options not offered by Princess.

What do we like about Celebrity? The ships. The crew and officers. The food in Luminae and also in the speciality restaurants. The entertainers around the ship. The suites. The embarkation process is far slicker.

We're not into shows so we can't compare.

Since our change of company, we've been on the Silhoutte twice, the Constellation twice and the Reflection once. We've booked another Silhouette cruise already.

Prices? Well, we generally think of Princess as two thirds the price of Celebrity.

Will we ever go back to Princess? Well, if there is a cruise that we really want to do and Celebrity don't seem interested...

e.g. Canada to Greenland to Iceland..... But I doubt it.

I hope that this helps you!

[kim826]

Here's my take - we love the adults only Solarium on Celebrity which is free compared to the same for Princess. We spend a great deal of time during the day there. However, I wouldn't pay $400 extra for it. I would follow a previous poster's advice to look at different dates where the price might be lower.

[Hlitner]

Okay, we used to cruise with Princess... the previous Crown, the previous Regal, the Island, the Sea, the previous Royal, the Grand, the Golden, the Star, the current Regal... some of them several times. We started in balcony cabins and ended up booking owners suites.

The product deteriorated. Little extras disappeared. The service was not as good. Sadly, we said never again.

Now we're firm Celebrity cruisers. We book suites. We enjoy the whole Celebrity experience. We have never looked back.

Do we miss anything? Actually, yes! Skywalkers! I guess that it seemed to be away from the rest of the ship and so it felt a little special.

The Princess excursions were better value but Celebrity do offer some interesting options not offered by Princess.

What do we like about Celebrity? The ships. The crew and officers. The food in Luminae and also in the speciality restaurants. The entertainers around the ship. The suites. The embarkation process is far slicker.

We're not into shows so we can't compare.

Since our change of company, we've been on the Silhoutte twice, the Constellation twice and the Reflection once. We've booked another Silhouette cruise already.

Prices? Well, we generally think of Princess as two thirds the price of Celebrity.

Will we ever go back to Princess? Well, if there is a cruise that we really want to do and Celebrity don't seem interested...

e.g. Canada to Greenland to Iceland..... But I doubt it.

I hope that this helps you!

 

We hear what you say and followed a similar path. About 6 years ago we became disillusioned with Princess (and their numerous cut-backs) and stopped cruising with them and increasing our sailing on both Celebrity and HAL. But in the past 3-4 years (since LLP became Celebrity's CEO) we have noticed major cut-backs on Celebrity. Meanwhile, 3 years ago we decided to give Princess another try (after reading some decent reviews here on CC) and were again pretty happy on Princess. So now, we recently (2 weeks ago) completed our last booked Celebrity cruise and will be using other cruise lines until we hear that Celebrity is again moving back to a high quality product. For now, we no longer think that the quality of Celebrity justifies the increased pricing.

 

Hank

[Sanpan]

The Regal was great.

 

 

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[eileenover]

We hear what you say and followed a similar path. About 6 years ago we became disillusioned with Princess (and their numerous cut-backs) and stopped cruising with them and increasing our sailing on both Celebrity and HAL. But in the past 3-4 years (since LLP became Celebrity's CEO) we have noticed major cut-backs on Celebrity. Meanwhile, 3 years ago we decided to give Princess another try (after reading some decent reviews here on CC) and were again pretty happy on Princess. So now, we recently (2 weeks ago) completed our last booked Celebrity cruise and will be using other cruise lines until we hear that Celebrity is again moving back to a high quality product. For now, we no longer think that the quality of Celebrity justifies the increased pricing.

 

Hank

 

Thanks for that, Hank.

It does seem that Celebrity is becoming like Cunard with its Suite/Grill class etc.

Bottom lines talk. When will cruise lines learn that customer loyalty counts for a lot?

Tell me, how has Princess upped its game? What was the accommodation like? The food?

[Mynki]

Bottom lines talk. When will cruise lines learn that customer loyalty counts for a lot?

 

Celebrity are targeting a younger well healed newer demographic. Think about it, crusty old cruisers with high loyalty status know all the tricks to saving on specialty dining, doing their own shore excursions and know how to score deals when booking.

 

Newbies don't have the experience and will add to the bottom line you mention.

 

It's been suggested on here that changes have been made to deter some of their loyal customers in favour of newbies. I'm not sure that they're doing a great job there if it is true because there are very few young people onboard, but I don't think loyalty is particularly important to their management team. As long as they're ships sail full who cares how many elite and above members are onboard etc?

[Arzeena]

We're booking a last minute cruise in February. I've researched and thought I wanted a balcony on the Celebrity Silhouette. However, the Regal Princess is $400+ less for their balcony. Is it really worth that much more? We've only cruised on RC, Disney and Carnival before. We're ok with both itineraries and neither includes drinks. We've heard Celebrity is nicer but is it really that much nicer?

Thank you!

 

We found them both to be similar in many aspects. However, I personally feel the service is far better on Princess.

 

I am also looking at a cruise on Celebrity and comparing it to the same itinerary on Princess...far cheaper on Princess! So if I decide to do that one, I will pick Princess.

Edited December 31, 2017 by Arzeena